Holy Week: Catholic Church denies shortage of hosts in Colombia

Some priests in the country recently pointed out that there was an increase in prices for the production of hosts for the sacrament of communion. However, from the Episcopal Conference of Colombia and in parishes in peripheral parts of the country, they denied that the body of Christ is ending this Holy Week.

The controversy began after statements by the Antioquian theologian Luis Fernando Cuartas, who is an activist for Prohostias. This is an initiative born in 1993 whose objective is to donate bags with hosts to the poorest and most remote municipalities of the Archdiocese of Medellín.

In an interview with Blu Radio, Cuartas pointed out that the exchange of a thousand hosts is now around 12,000 pesos, three thousand more than in other times. “Inflation has had an impact on shipments, because the price of the commercial houses that carry them went up a lot. We need about 60,000 very urgent wafers to arrive as soon as possible,” he said.

Cuartas also said that, in view of the alleged shortage, units have been sent from Prohostias to “Caldas, Jericho and northeastern Antioquia, up to the borders with Norte de Santander. We have also sent to Mount Lebanon and covered the entire Chocó through the Dioceses of Quibdo and Istmina Tadó.”

However, the leader of Prohostias said he was concerned about the possible situation in peripheral departments such as La Guajira and the Amazon, whose parishes would have to bear the cost of raising and shipping.

However, the Episcopal Conference of Colombia quickly came out to deny Cuartas. The secretary general of the apostolate, Monsignor Elkin Álvarez, told RCN Radio that the information about the shortage of hosts is false and that “we in the Pacific are not short of supply, we have had good supplies both for this time of Holy Week and for other occasions”.

The priest confirms that the rise in the price of wheat flour, which this year was 5.57% according to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane), did bring an increase in the price of bags of wafers. Despite that, there is no shortage.

The station also made contact with Yilmer Alonso Pérez, a priest who officiates in Leticia, capital of the Amazon, where Cuartas was concerned about the supply of hosts. The priest's response was overwhelming: “We have good supplies, we have plenty of wafers before to send elsewhere, we don't know where this information came from.”

The Eucharist, also known as holy communion, is part of the Catholic Mass. It is a sacrament, a ritual that the Church considers to channel divine grace, inspired by the Last Supper, an event that occurred on Holy Thursday according to the belief of Catholics.

Except for Holy Friday and Saturday, days on which communion is not served as a sign of respect, the participants of the Mass consume bread and wine. Catholics believe that these foods literally transform into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, who had offered himself as a sacrifice during dinner with his apostles.

The sacrament is at the heart of Catholic life and not everyone can receive it. For example, people who attend mass in a Catholic church, but who are not Catholics, are not allowed to receive communion.

There are other restrictions, even for Catholics. For example, a parishioner who has committed what the church considers a “grave sin” is also excluded if he has not confessed.

It is hoped that the new guidelines that the bishops' doctrine committee will prepare will discuss the theology behind the sacrament and the discipline of the Church to impart the eucharist and the people to whom it can be granted.

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