A Catholic priest celebrated a mass on the open sea in Crotone (Italy) this Sunday, wearing a swimsuit and using an inflatable mattress as an altar. The scene provoked reactions among believers.
In a press release, the Archdiocese of Crotone criticized this staging. “The Eucharistic celebration has a particular language made up of gestures and symbols that it is right to respect and value, without renouncing it with too much superficiality, we can read. Above all, it is necessary to maintain this minimum of decorum and attention to symbols. »
The priest apologizes
Faced with the heat and the lack of shade, the Milanese priest don Mattia Bernasconi had chosen to celebrate Mass in the Mediterranean in order to conclude a camp of activities for young volunteers. The event was immortalized by cameras and broadcast by several media. We see the shirtless priest in front of his improvised altar and facing his flock in bathing suits.
This Wednesday, Don Mattia Bernasconi explained himself on his parish website, assuring that he had no intention of “trivializing the Eucharist. It was simply a mass to conclude a week of work with young people. But the symbols are strong, it’s true. […] There was a certain ingenuity on my part in not giving them their proper weight. »
The priest concluded his statement by “humbly” apologizing for the “confusion caused by the dissemination of the images in the media”. For its part, the Crotone prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “offending a religious denomination”, according to the agencies.
