Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Scottish Bishop critical of monks over Buckie wine

A leading Scottish bishop has accused the Devon-based Benedictine monks of betraying Christian values, blaming their Buckfast fortified wine brew for alcoholism mong the wider population.

The Right Rev Bob Gillies, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church, is the first senior clergyman to criticise the monks of Buckfast Abbey, who have always claimed they are not responsible for the antisocial behaviour that results from the widespread abuse of their product, the UK's Times Online reported.

"What sort of moral double-take is there that these monks can be so closely associated with that product and knowingly aware of the social damage as well as the medical damage it is doing to the kids who take it in such vast volumes?" he said.

"The monks at Buckfast are in a Benedictine monastery, which is founded upon the rule of St Benedict. Benedict urged his monks to live a simple life following a rule that leads them into closer discipleship with the Lord.

"St Benedict, I would have thought, would have been very, very unhappy with what his monks are doing nowadays."

The investigation reveals that the drink, known colloquially as Buckie, has been mentioned in 5,000 crime reports by Strathclyde Police in the UK in the past three years.

During that period the Buckfast bottle was used as a weapon 114 times and police said the figures suggested there is an association between Buckfast and violence.

Superintendent Bob Hamilton, of Strathclyde Police, told the BBC: "I think it's clear from the figures that there is an association there."
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