Judge tells priest to prove Christ existed

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David Quinn
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Judge tells priest to prove Christ existed

Post by David Quinn » Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:55 am

Judge tells priest to prove Christ existed

Judge tells priest to prove Christ existed
Richard Owen, Rome
January 04, 2006

AN Italian judge has ordered a priest to appear in court to prove that Jesus Christ existed.

The case against Father Enrico Righi has been brought in the town of Viterbo, north of Rome, by Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist.

Mr Cascioli, author of a book called The Fable of Christ, began legal proceedings against Father Righi three years ago after the priest denounced Mr Cascioli inthe parish newsletter for questioning Christ's historical existence.

Viterbo judge Gaetano Mautone yesterday set a preliminary hearing for the end of this month and ordered Father Righi to appear.

The judge had earlier refused to take up the case, but was overruled last month by the Court of Appeal, which agreed that Mr Cascioli had a reasonable case for his accusation that Father Righi was "abusing popular credulity".

Mr Cascioli's contention is that there is no reliable evidence that Jesus lived and died in first-century Palestine apart from the Gospel accounts, which Christians took on faith.

Mr Cascioli's one-man campaign came to a head at a court hearing last April when he lodged his accusations of "abuse of popular credulity" and "impersonation", both offences under the Italian penal code.

He argued that all claims for the existence of Jesus from sources other than the Bible stem from authors who lived "after the time of the hypothetical Jesus" and were therefore not reliable witnesses.

Mr Cascioli maintains that early Christian writers confused Jesus with John of Gamala, an anti-Roman Jewish insurgent in first-century Palestine.

The Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius mention a "Christus" or "Chrestus", but were writing "well after the life of the purported Jesus" and were relying on hearsay.

Father Righi said there was overwhelming testimony to Christ's existence in religious and secular texts. Millions had in any case believed in Christ as both man and Son of God for 2000 years.

"If Cascioli does not see the sun in the sky at midday, he cannot sue me because I see itand he does not," Father Righi said.

Mr Cascioli said he would withdraw his legal action if Father Righi came up with irrefutable proof of Christ's existence by the end of the month.

The Vatican has so far declined to comment.

The Times
Here is a link to Cascioli’s website: http://www.luigicascioli.it/home_eng.php

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avidaloca
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Post by avidaloca » Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:18 pm

Did Jesus exist? Court to decide
Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Posted: 1835 GMT (0235 HKT)

ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus evolution.

An Italian court is tackling Jesus -- and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago.

The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years.

The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month.

"I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters.

Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona," or impersonation.

"The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army.

A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward.

"In my book, 'The Fable of Christ,' I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said.

Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and baffled as to why Cascioli -- who, like him, came from the town of Bagnoregio -- singled him out in his crusade against the Church.

"We're both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together. Then he took a different path and we didn't see each other anymore," Righi said.

"Since I'm a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now suing me because I 'trick' the people."

Righi claims there is plenty of evidence to support the existence of Jesus, including historical texts.

He also claims that justice is on his side. The judge presiding over the hearing has tried, repeatedly, to dismiss the case -- prompting appeals from Cascioli.

"Cascioli says he didn't exist. And I said that he did," he said. "The judge will decide if Christ exists or not."

Even Cascioli admits that the odds are against him, especially in Roman Catholic Italy.

"It would take a miracle to win," he joked.

Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LooF
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Post by LooF » Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:21 pm

now that's hilarious

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