TonH
02-02-06, 12:30
Atheist Sued Priest Over Jesus
Jesus to Court
ERT, 02 Feb 2006 09:09:00
By Vagelis Theodorou
An Italian atheist brought the Church before Justice asking for proof whether Jesus Christ actually existed. This original case is tried in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, as Luigi Cascioli sued Father Enrico Righi for writing an article in the local ecclesiastical newspaper denouncing Cascioli for questioning Christ's historical existence. According to the lawsuit, the priest violated the Italian legislation because he had no proof Jesus actually existed, while Cascioli questions the legitimacy of the Christian Gospels, supporting Christianity relies on purely anecdotal evidence.
Cascioli and Righi were classmates some 60 years ago at the Theological School. In his young years, Cascioli wanted to become a priest, but later drifted away from the Church and became a militant atheist.
The 72-year-old atheist has written many books on the subject, including "The Fable of Christ," which supports that early Christian writers confused Jesus with John of Gamala, an anti-Roman Jewish insurgent in 1st-century Palestine. Church authorities were therefore guilty of "substitution of persons." However, Father Righi did not appear in court and sufficed to say, "If Cascioli does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see it and he does not."
Jesus goes on trial in Italian court
Jan 28, 2006
Vowing to strike Jesus from history, an Italian atheist took his legal crusade against the Church to court on Friday asking a judge to open a formal trial over whether Christ existed.
"Jesus is fiction," said Luigi Cascioli. "The Church is fooling the people - and must be held responsible."
Cascioli invoked a law known in Italian as "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) to accuse a Catholic priest of conning citizens.
He targeted a former schoolmate during his brief stint at seminary school, some 60 years ago.
While Cascioli went on to become a vocal atheist, his friend Enrico Righi became a priest writing for the local religious newspaper.
He says Righi, in a 2002 edition in which he wrote about Jesus as a "man", broke the Italian law and accused him of having no evidence to prove Jesus existed as a historic figure.
After Friday's preliminary hearing, the judge has to decide if the case can go forward, which many feel is unlikely in Roman Catholic Italy.
Looking the part of a scholar, with his brown-rimmed glasses hanging on a cord around his neck, Cascioli waved his book "The Fable of Christ" before a swarm of reporters at the courthouse.
"I show in my book that Christ did not exist," he said. "They have nothing. No proof that he did exist."
He says the Church built the character of Jesus upon the personality of John of Gamala - a 1st century Jew who fought against the Romans.
Righi, who is just days away from retirement, stayed away from the court on Friday sending his lawyer.
"He's very sad. Very sad," said his brother, Luigi Righi. "Not just because of the case, but because he and Cascioli were friends."
Righi and Cascioli are both from the small town of Bagnoregio just outside of Viterbo north of Rome.
Righi's lawyer Bruno Severo said he believed the case would be dismissed. "But maybe Cascioli will sell more copies of his book," he said.
Source: Reuters
Stel dat de rechter hem gelijk geeft... :verward:
Jesus to Court
ERT, 02 Feb 2006 09:09:00
By Vagelis Theodorou
An Italian atheist brought the Church before Justice asking for proof whether Jesus Christ actually existed. This original case is tried in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, as Luigi Cascioli sued Father Enrico Righi for writing an article in the local ecclesiastical newspaper denouncing Cascioli for questioning Christ's historical existence. According to the lawsuit, the priest violated the Italian legislation because he had no proof Jesus actually existed, while Cascioli questions the legitimacy of the Christian Gospels, supporting Christianity relies on purely anecdotal evidence.
Cascioli and Righi were classmates some 60 years ago at the Theological School. In his young years, Cascioli wanted to become a priest, but later drifted away from the Church and became a militant atheist.
The 72-year-old atheist has written many books on the subject, including "The Fable of Christ," which supports that early Christian writers confused Jesus with John of Gamala, an anti-Roman Jewish insurgent in 1st-century Palestine. Church authorities were therefore guilty of "substitution of persons." However, Father Righi did not appear in court and sufficed to say, "If Cascioli does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see it and he does not."
Jesus goes on trial in Italian court
Jan 28, 2006
Vowing to strike Jesus from history, an Italian atheist took his legal crusade against the Church to court on Friday asking a judge to open a formal trial over whether Christ existed.
"Jesus is fiction," said Luigi Cascioli. "The Church is fooling the people - and must be held responsible."
Cascioli invoked a law known in Italian as "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) to accuse a Catholic priest of conning citizens.
He targeted a former schoolmate during his brief stint at seminary school, some 60 years ago.
While Cascioli went on to become a vocal atheist, his friend Enrico Righi became a priest writing for the local religious newspaper.
He says Righi, in a 2002 edition in which he wrote about Jesus as a "man", broke the Italian law and accused him of having no evidence to prove Jesus existed as a historic figure.
After Friday's preliminary hearing, the judge has to decide if the case can go forward, which many feel is unlikely in Roman Catholic Italy.
Looking the part of a scholar, with his brown-rimmed glasses hanging on a cord around his neck, Cascioli waved his book "The Fable of Christ" before a swarm of reporters at the courthouse.
"I show in my book that Christ did not exist," he said. "They have nothing. No proof that he did exist."
He says the Church built the character of Jesus upon the personality of John of Gamala - a 1st century Jew who fought against the Romans.
Righi, who is just days away from retirement, stayed away from the court on Friday sending his lawyer.
"He's very sad. Very sad," said his brother, Luigi Righi. "Not just because of the case, but because he and Cascioli were friends."
Righi and Cascioli are both from the small town of Bagnoregio just outside of Viterbo north of Rome.
Righi's lawyer Bruno Severo said he believed the case would be dismissed. "But maybe Cascioli will sell more copies of his book," he said.
Source: Reuters
Stel dat de rechter hem gelijk geeft... :verward: