Amended Act Will Restrict Sale Of Alcohol On Good Friday – Christian Council

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Prime Minister Gaston Browne met with the Antigua Christian Council and the
Ecclesiastical Commission on Tuesday, April 9th.

PM reportedly expressed regret to the ACC for not having the Council involved sooner and
commits to having a better working relationship with the Christian Community.

“Moving forward an amended act was put in place that there would not be any sales of
any alcoholic beverages on Good Friday in Antigua & Barbuda. From midnight Thursday
to midnight Good Friday there will be no alcohol sales,” the council wrote in a news release.

Also, the Ecclesiastical Commission says it will be informed of all new and forthcoming proposed legislation and amendments to penetrate for review and discussion to the Christian Community.

Along with Campaign Reform and Code of Ethics to be presented and
reviewed.

Upcoming National Proposed events:
1. National Day of Prayer
2. Family Week
3. Cabinet retreat with Clergy

Prime Minister stated “When it comes to governance, transparency, and accountability
anything that you think we are not forthcoming with, let us know because we want to
have a truly accountable transparent government”.

William Dorsett is the Exec. Chairman of the Ecclesiastical Commission.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. Didn’t ABLP reverse this nonsense from UPP days? The church write our laws now? We living in medieval Europe?

    If you don’t want to drink on Good Friday then don’t drink, but why should that be a law for all of us Christian or not to follow?

    • We are regressing before our very eyes.

      This is why I HATE when people say we are a Christian country. No, we are not: we have freedom of religion and there are many other religions being practised here.

      But, keep saying it long enough and then the Christians think they have the right to bully-rag people affiliated with other religions, and even get legislators AND the PM himself to join in with the foolishness

  2. Will this foolishness also apply to Hotels and Restaurants? This will negatively affect our fragile Tourism Industry. Let the legislation remain as it is. We are living in a Democracy, not a Theocracy. What the Christian Council will ultimately want, is the Taliban version of Christianity in Antigua & Barbuda.
    By the way, why not have a national dialogue and hear what the PEOPLE really want?

  3. @ Johnny- In all fairness,Don’t think this law has anything to do with UPP at all.The prohibited sale of Alcohol on Good Friday is something that i have know going on as far back as my memory can recall.. Not UPP nor ABLP responsible,it was just a part of our society as a soo called Christian Society.. I see no reasons for it to change either,if someone wants to drink,then do so in his/her home on that day. All the law is saying is that it should not be sold in public on that day.

    • I believe it was changed. Hence why this is now a news article. If it still stood as it was from ever since, there would be no need to amend, right?

      Question is: why revert to the archaic former position? In 2019 we are going BACK to colonial laws??

  5. The success of parliamentary democracy is largely because of the seperation of church and state.

    This move, alongside the proposed actions,cseems to indicate that we are moving backwards towards a church state. The same sort of government that allowed the slave trade to flourish

  6. So if you are going to picnic on the beach in front of Anna’s on Good Friday, you can buy your beer & wine on Thursday, pack your cooler Fri morning and sit and drink in front of people dining in the restaurant who cannot buy a drink,,, what utter nonsense

  7. Exchange an X for a cross?…..nothing new here then, since it was religion that sealed the prolonged suffering of slaves.

  8. No Johnny, this law goes back to slavery and British colonial times.
    Asot Michael lobbied his government as minister of tourism to change it so antigua can be a more attractive tourism destination when the alp won in 2014 and it was done.
    I suspect that Gaston is responding to the barbs on the snake pit about the Easter achohol law and his devilish government which I think is asinine.

  9. This is so hypocritical. What happen too the none Christians who wants to drink on Good Friday. A law to please persons who are getting wealthy by using the church. Good Friday law? Are we progressing or regressing. And the Good Friday myth are being pushed down People’s throats by these people. The Bible don’t support Good Friday. Good Friday is a myth!

  10. Easter is NOT a Christian practice anyway. It has its roots steeped in Paganism. The only thing God asks us to do related to His death is found in Luke 22:18-20

  11. According to old wives tales if you can buy alcohol on HOLY Thursday but same can’t be bought on GOOD Friday then the country in question is a Cartoon Country!

  13. Absolute nonsense. The sale/purchase of alcohol is what’s prohibited… not the consumption on “Good Friday”. Now this is the year 2019…. a 1940s law that was forced upon us is quite irrelevant today. For a country that has tourism as its core economic activity, do you think that our tourist visiting here think that they should be subjected to this. If you’re a Christian and you think that Good Friday is one of your Holy Days and you don’t think that you should be imbibing on any kind of liquor, by all means…. don’t consume any. Here is another example of peoples’ religious intolerance being forced unto other people who do not believe in the same things you believe in. We are a foremost a secular country which the majority of the population purports to be of the Christian faith… does that mean that because the majority are of such, means that the rest have to be subjected to this? Oh by the way, on the same law books, alcohol sales are prohibited on Christmas day and Sundays….. We cherry pick what we are conditioned to do. I just hope one day that we stop this kind of nonsense…

  14. All religions are cults.

    I don’t force my way of life on anyone, they should not force their cult ways on me. You live how you want to and I will do the same.

    Such antiquated b.s. nonsense the govt is getting on with.

Comments are closed.