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Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide
ROME (Reuters) - Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus
evolution.
An Italian court is tackling Jesus – and whether the Roman Catholic
Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years
ago.
The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from
the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary
school in their teenage years.
The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for
the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal
atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in
court later this month.
“I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow
against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression,”
Cascioli told Reuters.
Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two
Italian laws. The first is “Abuso di Credulita Popolare” (Abuse of
Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or
conned. The second crime, he says, is “Sostituzione di Persona,” or
impersonation.
“The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of
Gamala,” Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought
against the Roman army.
A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted,
at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the
case has enough merit to go forward.
“In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist
as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of
Christ’s existence,” Cascioli said.
Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and
baffled as to why Cascioli – who, like him, came from the town of
Bagnoregio – singled him out in his crusade against the Church.
“We’re both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together.
Then he took a different path and we didn’t see each other anymore,”
Righi said.
“Since I’m a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now
suing me because I ‘trick’ the people.”
Righi claims there is plenty of evidence to support the existence of
Jesus, including historical texts.
He also claims that justice is on his side. The judge presiding over
the hearing has tried, repeatedly, to dismiss the case – prompting
appeals from Cascioli.
“Cascioli says he didn’t exist. And I said that he did,” he said. “The
judge will to decide if Christ exists or not.”
Even Cascioli admits that the odds are against him, especially in
Roman Catholic Italy.
“It would take a miracle to win,” he joked.
Source:
my.netscape.com/corewidgets/news/story.psp?cat=P600&id= 06010412350002482036
ROME (Reuters) - Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus
evolution.
An Italian court is tackling Jesus – and whether the Roman Catholic
Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years
ago.
The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from
the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary
school in their teenage years.
The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for
the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal
atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in
court later this month.
“I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow
against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression,”
Cascioli told Reuters.
Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two
Italian laws. The first is “Abuso di Credulita Popolare” (Abuse of
Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or
conned. The second crime, he says, is “Sostituzione di Persona,” or
impersonation.
“The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of
Gamala,” Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought
against the Roman army.
A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted,
at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the
case has enough merit to go forward.
“In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist
as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of
Christ’s existence,” Cascioli said.
Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and
baffled as to why Cascioli – who, like him, came from the town of
Bagnoregio – singled him out in his crusade against the Church.
“We’re both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together.
Then he took a different path and we didn’t see each other anymore,”
Righi said.
“Since I’m a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now
suing me because I ‘trick’ the people.”
Righi claims there is plenty of evidence to support the existence of
Jesus, including historical texts.
He also claims that justice is on his side. The judge presiding over
the hearing has tried, repeatedly, to dismiss the case – prompting
appeals from Cascioli.
“Cascioli says he didn’t exist. And I said that he did,” he said. “The
judge will to decide if Christ exists or not.”
Even Cascioli admits that the odds are against him, especially in
Roman Catholic Italy.
“It would take a miracle to win,” he joked.
Source:
my.netscape.com/corewidgets/news/story.psp?cat=P600&id= 06010412350002482036
