Man accuses priest of illegally claiming Jesus existed

LAWYERS for a parish priest have been ordered to appear in court next week after the Roman Catholic cleric was accused of unlawfully asserting what many take for granted - that Jesus Christ existed.

The Rev Enrico Righi was named in a 2002 complaint filed by Luigi Cascioli after Fr Righi wrote in a parish bulletin that Jesus did indeed exist, and that he was born of a couple named Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and lived in Nazareth.

Mr Cascioli, a lifelong atheist, claims Fr Righi violated two Italian laws: so-called “abuse of popular belief” in which someone fraudulently deceives people; and “impersonation” in which someone gains by attributing a false name to someone.

Mr Cascioli said that for 2,000 years the Catholic Church has been gaining financially by impersonating as Christ someone by the name of John of Gamala, son of Judas from Gamala.

He also asserts that the Gospels - the most frequently cited testimony of Jesus’ existence - are inconsistent, full of errors and biased, and other written evidence from the time doesn’t hold up to analysis.

Prosecutors, who are obliged to investigate such complaints, tried to have the case dismissed, saying no crime could be verified.

But Judge Gaetano Mautone set a hearing for next Friday to discuss preliminary motions in Mr Cascioli’s bid to have the court appoint experts to review the historical data and determine if Jesus existed.

Asked why he went after Fr Righi - a former schoolmate - Mr Cascioli said it didn’t really matter whom he named in his complaint.

“When one demonstrates that Christ didn’t exist, attacking a simple priest is the same thing as attacking a bishop or cardinal.”

Mr Cascioli says he fully recognises his case has a slim chance of succeeding.

He says he is merely going through the necessary legal steps in Italy so he can take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, where he intends to pursue the Church for “religious racism”.