An Italian priest has closed down all activities in his parish, apart from Mass, in an attempt to stamp out rumours he fathered a child.
Fr Luciano Venturi, 50, parish priest of Monteobizzo di Pavullo in Modena, has endured the claims for more than a year.
On August 30, as Sunday Mass was about to start, Fr Venturi went to the pulpit, flanked by the parishioner he allegedly impregnated, her husband and their three young children.
Fr Venturi then delivered a short homily on the subject of his supposed affair with the woman, addressing his congregation while reading a statement.
“I am not the father of that child,” the priest told his flock.
“This is slander and I have asked my lawyers to defend the child, his family and my rights as a priest.”
He then announced that in order to stop further rumours from circulating, all parish activity except for Mass would be suspended.
Those activities include charity groups, choir groups, cooking groups and family groups.
Even the youth football group, run by the priest, has been suspended in a bid to stamp out the gossip, which Fr Venturi viewed as being harmful not only to his reputation, but also to the well-being of the family affected.
Meanwhile, in a homily on September 4, Pope Francis called on Catholics to avoid gossip or speaking ill of their peers in the faith.
“We have to convert ourselves,” he said.
“Never a word that may divide, never; never a word that can bring war, small wars; never the gossip.”
Then, using an analogy he has used several times, the Pontiff said: “To make gossip is terrorism.”
“Whoever gossips is like a terrorist that throws a bomb and if it goes off, destroys; destroys with the tongue, doesn’t make peace,” said the Pope.
“This is cunning, eh? They are not a suicide bomber, no, no, they protect themselves well.”
Offering a final prayer at during the homily, Francis asked that Jesus teach “how to bite my tongue before speaking ill of others”.
Sources
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