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Comment by Thorentis | Hacker News Reader

There is no issue with alcohol in Catholicism. Indeed, some during the middle ages would live off beer alone during Lent, when they would abstain from food entirely. It is simply a question of moderation. There are many medevial images of monks drinking.

"In Catholicsm, the Pint, the Pipe, and the Cross can all fit together." ~ GK Chesterton.

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> Indeed, some during the middle ages would live off beer alone during Lent

In the middle ages, 'small beer' [0] was a low-alcohol drink which because of the brewing process was often safer than bacteria-contaminated water from some natural sources such as wells and streams

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_beer

Indeed, when I was a kid, I learned that when the parish priest stopped by our home, we always offered him a shot of whiskey.

Yep. My favorite drinking buddy is a priest. We also smoke cigars and pipes on occasion around the firepit.

"There's no issue with alcohol" is the wrong way to put it.

Consumption of alcohol is mandatory at certain times (as part of Mass) and forbidden at other times (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but traditionally every Friday and all of Lent).

The Catholic Church actually teaches that Jesus is present in both the wine and bread, so only one must be consumed. At least in the Roman Rite it is never compulsory to receive the wine, and prior to the 1960s only the priest would receive the wine while the lay people would receive bread only.

Yes I just meant that some consumption of alcohol (by the priest) is a compulsory part of the rite. At least here, the wine isn't generally offered to the laity, though you can get it if you ask nicely.

Also I thought I was going to be corrected on the other part of my claim. Apparently abstaining from alcohol on fast days isn't centralized Catholic doctrine and bishops/archbishops have some discretion on what they tell their congregations to abstain from.

I know in many Eastern Orthodox churches and some ethnic Catholic chruches have bars on the premises so after church you can go get some beer or a few shots, or to go shot-for-shot with the local Bishop.

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