A Catholic priest has caused controversy in Italy for having celebrated a mass on Sunday at sea in Crotone in Calabria, in the south of the country. On the images captured by cameras, he officiates in a swimsuit, shirtless, and uses an inflatable mattress as an altar.
In a statement posted on its website, the Archdiocese of Crotone criticized the priest’s decision, arguing that “the Eucharistic celebration has a particular language made up of gestures and symbols that it is right to respect and value, without renouncing them with too much superficiality. Above all, it is necessary to maintain this minimum of decorum and attention to symbols”he insisted.
Faced with the heat and the lack of shade, Don Mattia Bernasconi, a priest from Milan, had chosen to celebrate in the welcoming waters of the Mediterranean the Mass, intended to conclude the activities of a camp of young Milanese volunteers from the Libera association, which manages land confiscated from the mafia.
The priest apologizes and explains his choice
On Wednesday July 27, don Mattia Bernasconi published on the parish website (in Italian) a letter addressed to the archdiocese, in which he defends himself by denying “absolutely that his intention was to trivialize the Eucharist or to use it for other messages. It was simply a mass to conclude a week of work with the young people who participated in the camp”he said.
The priest, however, conceded a clumsy act. “But the symbols are strong, it’s true, and are eloquent. (…) There was a certain ingenuity on my part in not giving them their fair weight”he admitted. “I humbly apologize from the bottom of my heart for the confusion caused by the release of the images to the media.”
The Crotone prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “offending a religious denomination”, according to the agencies.