Sheriff: Lofton Out, Wine Allowed for Now

Calling the ouster of Rev. Monsignor Ed Lofton from the chaplain program at the Al Cannon Detention Center an unfortunate misunderstanding, Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said going forward chaplains of religious traditions that require wine for services will be allowed to bring in a small amount of it for their services as long as those chaplains are the only ones that consume it.

On Tuesday Lofton, pastor at St. Theresa the Little Flower Catholic Church in Summerville, was kicked out of the program after he refused to substitute grape juice for the wine he used in performing Catholic Masses at the jail. According to reporting in the Post and Courier, Lofton clashed with Jail Administrator, Chief Deputy Mitch Lucas when jail officials told him the wine was not permitted because alcohol is considered contraband in the facility.

"I think the issue could have been resolved if it had been handled differently," Cannon told reporters outside the Sheriff's Office headquarters. "If Monsignor Lofton had come and talked to me about it first at this 10 o'clock meeting that was already scheduled instead of first talking to the media."

Lofton told the Post and Courier he had been consuming 1 ounce of wine during the services for the past 15 years. However Lucas disputed that claim. During the Thursday press conference, Cannon seemed to back Lucas' position.

"If he had been using wine the whole time I think this would have been an issue before," Cannon said.

Cannon met with Lofton Thursday morning to discuss the issue and said both men agreed that Lofton should not continue as a jail chaplain because of the now strained relationship between Lofton and jail officials. Cannon said he brought up the idea, and Lofton agreed and promised to help the Sheriff's Office find a replacement.

Lofton was not immediately available for comment.

Cannon said the misunderstanding arose because the jail administration assumed the wine Lofton was talking about would be given to all inmates at the service, rather than being consumed solely by Lofton. The argument about the jail policy banning wine didn't get very far though, Cannon said, because Lofton threatened to bring a lawsuit over it.

"Once you say you're going to get lawyers involved, there's a tendency to say we need to stop this conversation and get the lawyers involved," Cannon said. "It's an unfortunate aspect of where we are as a society."

"I don't think he made his position as clear to our folks as he did to you," Cannon said to the reporters covering the press conference.

Cannon added that the Sheriff's Office is studying the issue to determine a permanent policy on what will and won't be allowed into the jail for religious services and the Constitutional issues involved.

As a temporary policy until that review is complete, the jail will allow Catholic chaplains, and representatives of other religions that require the use of wine or alcohol in their services, to continue to use wine as long as inmates are not allowed to consume it as well.

During a Catholic Mass a priest prays over sacramental wine and communion wafers, also called the Eucharist, and Catholic dogma holds that by doing so the bread and wine are transformed in a process called Transubstantiation into the actual blood and body of Jesus Christ.

Both the wafers and the wine are required parts of communion. In some churches parishioners consume both the Eucharist and a sip of wine, while in others the priest or bishop presiding over the mass drinks a sip of wine and the congregation only consumes the Eucharist.