EVEN PRIESTS ARE SCARED OF THE BREATHALYZER. WITH ITALY’S NEW DRUNK DRIVING LIMITS DRINKING THE “BLOOD OF CHRIST” COULD GET ONE INTO TROUBLE

The new laws had initially been created to stop the bad behavior of Italian teenagers who had recently come under the political spotlights after a period of a large number of auto accidents that were caused by drunk drivers. But the road safety laws, with consequential punishment for driving under the influence, risk punishing unfairly other categories as well. And not just the first categories that come to mind, like professional sommelier, wine tasters, enologists and journalists, who now risk high fines and even jail for doing their jobs. There is another group of “professionals” who may also be hindered from doing their duty because of these laws: priests.
The alarm was initially raised on the Valpolicella portal (www.valpolicella.it), one of the most celebrated winemaking areas of Italy with its world renowned Amarone. The site pointed out that with the decline in parishes in recent years, priests must now often commute to reach the churches where masses are celebrated, and drinking wine during the Eucharist could become a risk if a breathalyzer test must then be taken.