Police Raids on Italian Churches Raise Religious Freedom Concerns

Country: Italy

Date of incident: March 29, 2020


An unclear regulation about churches caused difficulties between churches and police. The Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia, president of the Italian bishops' conference, asked the government to clarify these rules. During the Lockdown, the churches were allowed to be opened, but the assistance of a Mass was not declared as a vital necessity. The police raided several Mass being celebrated by small groups of people separated throughout the church and some bishops received reports of hundreds of euros for organising a mass.

Source: The Boston PilotCrux Now

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