austraLasia #2302
'They have no wine'.
ROME: 3rd December 2008 -- The following item, interestingly
enough, was reported in Australia's CathNews, an online service of
Church resources. Thought it might be of broad interest to our readers.
--------------------
"Churches in the Holy Land and in Europe are facing
a Christmas without their preferred Cremisan altar wine because Israeli
soldiers are refusing to allow trucks transporting the wine from
Bethlehem to enter Israel. Middle East Online reports the wine
is made by the Salesians of Don Bosco, at the Cremisan winery in Beit
Jala, a suburb of Bethlehem. The Salesians have been producing the wine
for the past 125 years as a direct means of support for their pastoral
and educational work among the poor of Bethlehem and to provide a
livelihood for many local Palestinian families.
Now, for the first time in more than 100 years, the
churches and religious establishments in Jerusalem, Nazareth and other
parts of Israel are being deprived of Cremisan wine, Middle East
Online says.
Christian hotels and pilgrim houses in Israel are
now being forced to buy Israeli wine. Because wines for export are
shipped through the Israeli port of Haifa, no export to the UK and
Europe has been possible for several months. Christians in the Holy
Land and abroad buy the wine not just for its quality but because its
purchase assists the economy of Bethlehem, which has been devastated by
the drop in pilgrim numbers as result of the political troubles in
recent years.
Cremisan began to export to the UK in 2006 through a
not-for-profit company, 5th Gospel Retreats, and to Germany through
Cremisan Germany. The majority of sales are of altar wine which is a
pure, unadulterated wine certified for celebration of the Mass by the
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is sold principally by mail order
and delivered in the UK to an increasing number of churches and
religious establishments.
This is the latest obstacle in a series of
increasing difficulties faced by the winery this year. Supplies of
glass bottles have been held up as well as several truckloads of
freshly harvested grapes, thus rendering them useless for wine
production. All lorries and vans to and from Cremisan ahve been forced
to travel south to the checkpoint at Hebron, such that a journey to
Jerusalem of 10 minutes has become a journey of at least 6 hours,
including waiting at the checkpoint followed by security checks, with
no certainty as to whether permission to pass would be granted.
During 2008 the path of the Israeli Separation Wall
was extended to include the Cremisan vineyards. Once completed, the
wall will sever Cremisan from the Bethlehem villages where all the
workers live, allowing entry to the winery only through a new
checkpoint. The Salesians are currently negotiating for their staff to
be allowed permits to work so that they do not lose their livelihoods
and the winery will not lose its skilled workforce.
There is now no Cremisan altar wine available for UK
churches, including both Catholic and Anglican parishes. In October Fr
Franco Ronzani, Rector and Director of Cremisan, sent a letter of
explanation and thanks to the UK clergy for their continued support,
expecting the shipments to be made in November. When the news finally
came through two weeks ago that the wine was not being allowed through
the checkpoint, 5th Gospel Retreats immediately informed the clergy why
their wine would not arrive as promised in time for Christmas. The
response from the clergy was one of sadness and concern at the
treatment of the Salesians and their wine. They are asking 5th Gospel
retreats to make representations to the Israeli Embassy and the British
Government, as well as to the authorities of the Catholic and Anglican
Churches in both the UK and Jerusalem".
_________________
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Title: australasia 2302
Subject and key words: SDB General Cremisan wine
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2302
