Does your parish have a drinking problem?

Alcohol draws a crowd and draws in money at many parish events, but it can also draw out the worst in people. And for some parishes, the days of Oktoberfests and full-service bars at church functions are drawing to a close.

A friend returned to the Catholic faith after 15 years of searching other churches for a spiritual home. She told me that, in her private conference with her pastor before beginning her Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults classes, she asked, "Why does the Catholic Church encourage drinking?" It was not a doctrinal inquiry but a personal question - a stepparent and a spouse had each abused alcohol, and she resolutely distrusts drinking.

Some churches, such as Southern Baptists, take a moral position of abstaining from alcohol use. Baptist churches are not monolithic, says Dr. Ted Sisk, pastor of a large Southern Baptist congregation, but each congregation chooses its own policy. "It is not a matter of law, but an admonishment of the apostle Paul who said, 'If eating meat offends my brother, I will eat no meat as long as the world stands.'"

The scripture reference was to eating meat sacrificed to idols, a problem our society does not have, Sisk says. But the admonition can easily be interpreted as a direction to those in our culture who believe social drinking is a blight on the community. "One out of four who drink will be a problem drinker. It makes sense not to do that as a testimony," he says.

"Say that some parents drink socially and have alcohol in their home and they have four children. One becomes an alcoholic. Wouldn't it be better if the parents had not given [that example] to their children? It is something I am willing to give up to be a witness. Look at the number of drunken drivers who cause deaths on the highways. Drunks who are abusive. Some people will do almost anything to get their drink; they will deprive their families for the sake of alcohol."

Lawrence Cunningham, chairman of the theology department at the University of Notre Dame, says that "traditional Catholic theology has always had a toleration for the use of alcohol but ha s always condemned the misuse of alcohol. Misuse has been condemned since the New Testament. Saint Paul gave a long list of sins and one of them is drunkenness."

Yet Saint Paul did not say drinking was evil. In a letter to Timothy, says Cunningham, Paul advised him "to take a little wine for thy stomach's sake." A portion of a poem by Hilaire Belloc is a reminder of the traditional Catholic sociality of drink. "Wher'er the Catholic sun doth shine/There's music and laughter and good red wine."

The American Catholic culture is an amalgamation of the many immigrant cultures that compose the church, says Cunningham. "A lot of people who immigrated had a culture of using alcoholic beverages - the Germans, the French, the Irish - in a social context and at meals. Many cultures did not seem to have a problem with alcoholism. I spent several years in Italy, for instance, where alcoholism isn't a real problem, but in Ireland it's been a terrible problem."

In the 19th century an Irish priest called Father Matthew addressed what he felt was his people's tendency for strong drink by founding a temperance league. "Even when I was a kid in Florida," Cunningham says, "many of our Irish priests wore a Sacred Heart lapel pin, which meant they had taken the temperance pledge."

In this century, he says, Catholics have often been identified with drink. When Al Smith ran for president during the tenure of the Volstead Act, "he was accused of 'Rum, Romanism, and Ruin.'"

Last call?

Thousands of Catholic parishes serve or sell alcohol at parish picnics, festivals, Oktoberfests, potlucks, and athletic events. For many parishes and schools, the sale of alcohol at festivals is a tradition of hospitality as well as a popular source of revenue. In the last ten years, Catholic parishes and organizations began reevaluating their use of alcohol as a revenue source and as an element of the hospitality table.

Parishes were initially motivated by insurance and liability concerns, though stewardship and scandal have more recently become issues.

Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk released a letter to the parishes and institutions of Cincinnati on April 14, 1994, at the request of the archdiocesan priests' council, calling for the voluntary prohibition of alcohol sales at social and athletic events.

Pilarczyk named the problems that may arise from the sale of alcohol: legal liability, material or formal cooperation in the wrongdoing of another, scandal arising from the image projected by church activity, and a special concern in events primarily involving young people. As the archdiocese did not mandate a no-drinking policy, chancery officials do not know which, if any, parishes and institutions have adopted the letter's suggestions.

The annual festival at St. Rita School for the Deaf in Cincinnati started out as a picnic in 1915, but since then it has grown to what may be the city's largest festival. The sale of alcohol is "a vital part of the festival," says school director Greg Ernst. There are more than 100 booths of games, food, and refreshments. "Cincinnati is heavily populated by Germans," and beer drinking is usually a part of their social occasions, Ernst says.

"It is a viable part of fundraising," he says. "It is legal and, if it is used within reason, it should be allowed. It's like driving a car. It is an earned privilege; it must be used within guidelines. I must stop at stop signs and obey the speed limit. If I do not stop, if I abuse that privilege, then there must be procedures in place to protect myself and others."

St. Rita's initiated procedures for the use and sale of alcohol several years before receiving Archbishop Pilarczyk's letter. "The force behind [St. Rita's alcohol policy] was liability," says Ernst. "Everybody is suing everybody for everything."

Although strict guidelines to prevent alcohol abuse and underage drinking were already in place - such as fencing off alcohol booths from other refreshment booths and having security guards check identification at the entrances - a new committee was formed in response to the archbishop's letter that tightened procedures even more.

"There was some concern that the crowd had gotten younger and was drinking more. Young people sometimes do stupid things," Ernst says. "We addressed this immaturity. At one time we would continue selling beer until closing. Now we don't sell any more beer after a certain hour. In addition to the security at the gates, we have nonuniformed security on the grounds.

"We have never had an incident that would force us to close down. People have a right to exercise the privilege of drinking as long as it is within reason."

Set 'em up

As a young priest, Father Lawrence Hehman says he served "in a German ghetto beer-drinking area. At Holy Name meetings, at parish picnics, there was always beer. It was a way of life."

Now the pastor of Pax Christi Parish in Lexington, Kentucky, Hehman lived in Austria while studying for the priesthood and has enjoyed return visits to both Austria and Germany. "It's part of the German and Austrian lifestyle to eat and drink at a Gasthaus - not at a bar, not to get drunk, but with food and friendship.

"In the church there is still the mentality that whenever Roman Catholics get together, we drink," Hehman says. "But in the last ten years the concept of liability has crept in and forced some rethinking. Catholic Mutual of Omaha, which insures many Catholic churches, insisted dioceses and parishes adopt an alcohol policy. What happens at wedding receptions, parish picnics, anything officially under parish auspices, may expose the church and the diocese to big lawsuits."

Hehman was rector of the Lexington, Kentucky diocese's Christ the King Cathedral when the cathedral center, a space for large meetings, parties, and wedding receptions, was completed. "Mutual of Omaha put a big scare into us. We had a responsibility to our parishioners to have a drinking policy that requires a skilled, official bartender who can identify those who are drinking too much and who won't serve too much, to offer rides home for those who are drinking, and so on." The cathedral policy also requires the sponsor of any function that might offer alcohol, such as a wedding reception, to take out an insurance policy against any violation for individual liability.

Though there are ethnic populations that are more vulnerable than others, alcoholism is a national problem. According to studies, a greater proportion of the population of Native Americans and Irish, for instance, are susceptible to the disease, while Jews have almost no statistical predisposition to alcoholism.

Some professions are more subject to stresses that may trigger the disease and may have, say some sources, a greater alcohol dependency than the general population. Among those professions are doctors, police officers, and ministers.

Guest House is a nonprofit and lay-led alcohol treatment center for clergy and religious in Lake Orion, Michigan. The center, which was founded in 1956, has been officially commended by the Vatican but is not under the auspices of the church. Communication Director Daniel Webster says Guest House treats, on average, 150 clients each year.

Their success rate is impressive - 82 percent of their clients maintain abstinence after their first try at treatment. Another 10 percent are able to cease drinking after one relapse. Those figures, Webster says, are based on a sophisticated study of patients discharged for ten years.

"Clergy are no different from anyone in society," he says. "Drinking is a societal custom and an ordinary part of holidays, parties, graduations, weddings, and rites of passage. We are shaped by our society and families in the use of alcohol. Clergy are very much like anyone else who makes up American society. They are part of the same culture." That culture, Webster says, regards alcohol as a normal, legal, and celebratory beverage. About 62 percent of Americans drink at least occasionally. "Priests and religious are high-profile people. Their use or abuse is more visible than it is for others."

Priests and religious brothers or sisters learn at Guest House that alcoholism is a progressive but treatable disease. "It's not a moral issue but an illness which needs lifelong care, and they learn that," says Webster. "They realize that the way they drink is not normal but that they drink alcoholically and that they must abstain from drinking. It is more treatable than any other disease.

"They know that most alcoholics have acted inappropriately to one degree or another - with irrational behavior or destructive behavior - and they recognize how it manifests in others. It makes them more sensitive to the problems of others when they are released."

There are many recovering alcoholic clergy who regard their recovery program as an example for others. When they return, they become advocates for recovery programs. "A parishioner finds it easier to approach a priest in recovery for an alcoholic brother, cousin, or self," Webster says. "They can see that they can get better, that alcoholism can be corrected ."

A generally accepted conservative estimate is that 1 out of 10 people in the general population is an alcoholic, and 1 in 4 is affected by an alcoholic, either as a child in a family with an alcoholic member or as an adult living with an alcoholic spouse or relative. People in recovery programs should develop a healthy attitude about normal, social alcohol use. They learn that the moderate and mature use of alcohol for those who can tolerate it is not evil.

They also know, Webster says, "that it's a drug and that it changes people's behavior. The church understands that it is an insidious and baffling disease but that, with the help of God in a spiritual program, people can control their alcoholism. The church has seen, through its priests and religious, a shining example of recovery and that it can be treated. So the church tries to get help to those who need it. Recovering priests are sensitized to the unhealthy use of alcohol among the people they minister to."

When the milk goes sour

Father Joseph Martin, S.S. founded Ashley, a treatment center in Havre de Grace, Maryland. He asserts the goodness and grace of alcohol. "Everything God Almighty created is good. Alcohol is good. The church must walk a kind of thin line, advocating the proper use of God's gifts and yet giving an impression that this particular gift may not be so good.

"In a great, great segment of humanity, alcohol is a part of the table that comes in beverage form. Wine and beer for a great many people is as common as milk or tea or coffee on the table. Scripture refers to wine as a gift of God that gladdens the hearts of men. But the greater the gift, the greater the price tag.

"When people drink alcohol they should use not only their mouths but their heads. Be sensible. It is good but, simply, some people cannot use it. There are people who are diabetic or allergic to milk. Sugar and milk are not bad, but certain people cannot use them or must use them with care. We must say yes, it's okay to drink, but it is not okay to abuse."

Martin suggests that parishes should hold some social functions without serving or selling alcohol. "The church should be at the vanguard at social functions, providing an illustration of people enjoying themselves without alcohol. It is not necessary for enjoyment."

A few dioceses have gone further than suggesting that parish and diocesan social functions be alcohol free; they have mandated it. One diocese that banned alcohol, and also banned gambling and all forms of fundraising, did so to practice true and appropriate stewardship. More than eight years ago, now-retired Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux announced a ban on fairs, fundraisers, bingo, gambling, and alcohol as a means of supporting churches in his diocese.

Bishop Michael Jarrell, the current bishop, expanded the upcoming ban, which will become effective July 1, 1996, "to include cake sales, dinners, and dances - wherever tickets might be sold for purposes of raising money for parishes and schools," according to Msgr. James Songy, chancellor of the diocese. "It has been controversial, especially among the school element, because they have been dependent" on these kinds of fundraising events. Though the ban is more than a year away, those parishes and schools that are already complying with the ban have not lost revenue, Songy says.

The purpose of the ban has nothing to do with alcohol or its concomitant social ills. The purpose is to remove an obstacle to stewardship. "If stewardship were truly understood, embraced, and practiced by all," Jarrell told Catholic News Service, "every church and every school would be adequately funded and able to fulfill its mission."

Is it time to dry out?

It is not just liability concerns, or an impression of supporting alcohol use by vulnerable adults and youths, or even simply a disgust of using alcohol or gambling to support parishes and schools that has convinced some parishes to go dry. Some are banning alcohol as a form of witness.

Father Don Headley, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Chicago, says his parish decided to ban alcohol as a positive message to the community. "There are two major Alcoholics Anonymous groups that meet here every week," he says. "You can see people going in and out of the liquor stores on the streets near the church every day. We thought it would be a good example."

Besides, he says, "people can get hurt or killed. When people come here they are usually driving. How are they going to get home? We decided that alcohol does not belong in the parish, and that people can get by without it. It's a quiet message, but it's a message."

Hehman says this kind of witness comes from a holistic spiritual concept that includes witness. "There is no evil in alcohol. The evil comes in when you take a good thing and misuse it. There is no evil in money, but sometimes there is in how it is used. There is no evil in gambling unless you deny family needs because of gambling.

"Catholic life is shot through with good; it's the misuse of creation that is bad. In today's world, there is room for a powerful statement. It's a powerful statement not to serve alcohol or not to have bingo. There is nothing wrong or evil with having bingo or having a drink - a lot depends on what statement you want to make."

The impact of such witness is felt at Notre Dame, as well, Cunningham says. "It's a tidal change," he says. "People in campus ministry at Notre Dame don't worry so much about drugs as they do about alcohol use.... We're taking a whole new look at alcohol. It's changing the picture of toleration."

For some parish communities, alcohol may be a necessary revenue source or an essential lure for attendance at social events - necessities that are less acceptable arguments in current debates of either stewardship or ascetic witness. For other parishes, policies that strictly regulate the use of alcohol is another kind of witness - that drinking can be a hospitable and celebratory beverage if carefully monitored.

Using alcohol with moderation and maturity and offering parish and diocesan help to those who abuse alcohol is a pragmatic witness that suits most Catholic parishioners who consider alcohol a gift, a responsibility, and a cultural norm.

Linda Piwowarski, freelance writer and former assistant editor for Cross Roads, the Lexington, Kentucky diocesan newspaper.