_WORLD WATCH______________________________
______________________ITALY____________________
No more “state religion”
Legal formality supports new concordat
The Italian constitutional court has formally removed a reference to the nation’s “state religion” from the Italian penal code.
The court’s action is a legal formality, underscoring the separation of Church and state in Italy. That separation was made official with the signing of a new concordat governing relations between the national government and the Holy See. The concordat was signed in February 1984.
The latest legal change involved Article 402 of the Italian penal code, which provided for punishment of “outrages against the state religion.” That law has now been nullified. In the same code, untouched by the latest court action, Articles 403, 404, and 405 stipulate penalties for offenses against the Catholic faith, attacks on worshipers or churches, and disruption of religious ceremonies. Article 406 extends the same protection to other religions in Italy.
Huge TV audience
Film portrait on candidate for canonization
A movie on the life of Blessed Padre Pio, broadcast on Italian television in November, drew a viewing audience of over 12 million. Italian press commentators have said that the huge audience for the film, “Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth,” could be interpreted as “a new miracle” for the Capuchin friar.
Since Padre Pio died in September 1968, the monastery where he lived in San Giovanni Rotondo has become a popular pilgrimage site, with an average of 20,000 visitors a day. Padre Pio was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 2, 1999; his canonization is expected to take place next year.
Michele Placido, the actor who played the part of Padre Pio in the television movie, said that the success of the film was caused not by the spectacular miracles that the monk performed, but by the desire to “become better acquainted” with his unique personality. Placido remarked that he had been raised not far from San Giovanni Rotondo, and “since my infancy, I have always wanted to know more about the people of my region.” As he studied the character of Padre Pio, he said, he was particularly struck by “the simplicity of his soul and of his life.” A Capuchin monk who is the postulator for Padre Pio’s cause said that, despite some minor inaccuracies, the movie was “a serious reconstruction” of the famous monk’s life.
Back to Catholic World Report January 2001 Table of Contents