The elderly priest doesn’t use the Internet and thus hadn’t heard about an ordinance against public religious services.
By Dorothy Cummings McLean, LifeSiteNews, March 11, 2020
CASTELLO D’AGOGNA, Italy, March 11, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― An elderly Italian priest is in trouble with civil authorities for celebrating a public Sunday Mass.
Father Antonio Lunghi, an 88-year-old priest of Castello d’Agogna, a small village in Pavia, was reported to the local public prosecutor after offering Mass in the parish church. Eight people were present, apparently violating an ordinance by both civil and ecclesial authorities against saying Mass in public.
Various provinces and dioceses in northern Italy have suspended public religious services, despite allowing shops, bars, restaurants, gymnasiums, and other businesses to remain open.
According to Italy’s Il Giorno newspaper, Fr. Lunghi was reported to the public prosecutor by the town’s mayor William Grivel.
“There was no complaint,” Grivel told the media. “Simply some residents told me what happened and I referred the matter to the competent authorities.” ….
