Mass without wine

Mass without wine Question from on 06-02-2007:

A local paper ran a story about a Chicago pastor who joined the military to serve as a chaplain for our Catholic troops in Iraq. The article stated that the priest used an empty chalice for Mass, evidently because of the Islamic prohibition of the use of alcohol in that country. Is this a valid Mass? Is it true that Catholic chaplains in Muslim countries offer Mass without consecrating wine? This was disturbing.

Answer by Rev. Mark J. Gantley, JCL on 06-05-2007:

You are correct that the consecration of wine cannot validly be omitted. Can. 927 states: "It is absolutely forbidden, even in extreme urgent necessity, to consecrate one matter without the other or even both outside the eucharistic celebration." Every priest would know this. Perhpas the empty chalice was only shown to the reporters for the sake of safety. Also, I rarely read a report in the secular media about the Church that is accurat

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