Monday, August 2, 2010

Catholics Oppose Booze at Walgreens? Say It Ain't So

This caught my eye in the Indianapolis Star's article discussing Walgreen's attempt to get a liquor license at various stores in Indianapolis, including one on the northwest side at the intersection of 30th and Kessler Blvd.

"As it is currently structured, an excellent facility to have in the neighborhood," wrote Gregory Perkins, president of Cardinal Ritter High School, to the alcohol board regarding the Walgreens store at 3003 Kessler Blvd., North Drive.

"We do not feel that the permission to sell a full complement of alcoholic beverages fits that business model nor fills any specific need of the neighborhood that is not already well served."
Oh, please. Give me a break Gregory Perkins. I assume Perkins is like myself a Catholic. Catholics, unlike some Protestant sects, have never been anti-alcohol, nor consider the consumption of alcohol to be some sort of sin.

Not only that, Catholic churches in Indianapolis are all the time holding events where alcohol is served. I remember being at my church, St. Monica's, off Michigan Road playing basketball one Monday when a keg of beer from a weekend Mardi Gras party was rolled out for return to the liquor store. I thought, drinking and gambling in church, wow, did I sign up for the right religion.

I bet you anything that St. Michael's Catholic Church, which is next to Cardinal Ritter High School, off West 30th Street, has events at which alcohol is served. So much for keeping alcohol away from the school.

12 comments:

Blog Admin said...

I say this to complainers often: If you don't like it, vote with your wallet. And if that means your religion or morals factors into where you shop, then find a place that has similar views.

They'll quickly realize there is no real demand for a Christian convenience store.

Paul K. Ogden said...

IS,

I can't believe Perkins' statements have anything to do with "morality." He's Catholic for Pete's sake. Consumption of alochol has never been considered a sign with Catholocism.

M Theory said...

Who the hell is he to dictate what is an appropriate business model for Walgreens, a private business? Are you kiding me?

He needs to keep his nose in his owned damned business like worrying about all the molested kids in the catholic church.

Gary R. Welsh said...

In the case of the Walgreens by North Central High School, Paul, Murray Clark as the attorney for Walgreens had assured the residents of the Nora neigbhorhood that no alcohol would be sold from that location in order to gain their support when it was first proposed a number of years ago. I was surprised by Walgreens decision years ago to not sell alcohol, as was its chief rival, CVS, but times have changed and they now want the liquor permits they gave up years ago.

Unigov said...

Walgreen's requested a liquor permit for the store in Irvington. Whatever you think about the permit process, Irvington is a DRY town. NO alcohol sales. It's been this way for decades. This was a d*ck move on Walgreen's part.

The other requests, I could care less about.

Cato said...

No, Catholics have nothing against booze and gambling. Let's not turn Catholicism into one of those nutjob, hate-filled, protestant denominations that makes everyone hate Christians.

Cato said...

Irvington is not a town. It's a neighborhood in the City of Indianapolis.

Nobody gets to have a "dry town," any more than they can have a "silent town" where free speech is banned.

Keep this immoral meddling out of your neighbor's freedom.

Unigov said...

Cato -

Irvington, the small original area, is a town and it is dry. It's a local option thing. Been that way forever.

You have as much manners as the original area of Irvington has liquor stores - zero.

Cato said...

Oh, stick it, Unigov. You don't get to attack someone defending freedom as unmannered.

There is nothing more impolite than sticking your meddlesome nose into how someone else conducts his own affairs.

Raoul Duke said...

Maybe it was the reference to nutjob hate-filled Protestants, I dunno.

But in any event, Irvington hasn't been a town since it was annexed by Indianapolis in 1902, and even if it was its own city, there's no such thing as a "local option" that allows a town (or neighborhood or city) to declare itself a "dry" area. Alcohol permits are granted by the state. The so-called "local boards" are just extensions of the state agency.

In practice, some areas defied state law based on local opinion - some local boards steadfastly refused to issue permits to convenience stores that sold gas, or even to grocery stores that are clearly allowed to sell beer and wine. So I don't doubt that there was some sort of understanding that no permits would be granted in Irvington, but to my knowledge there is nothing that officially makes it a "dry town."

Raoul Duke said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dcrutch said...

We've got a kid in a Catholic school because it's a step-up from public school. But, based on observing more than one fund-raiser held at night- you might as well protect the fish against swimming. No offense-We weren't looking for angels and saints. We were looking for and found a decent school (and got some angels and saints as a bonus).

This is some of the most inane and obfuscative political silliness I've heard in awhile.