No image available
/ 9 October 2007

Italian church defrocks enamoured priest

A priest who openly professed his love for a parishioner has been defrocked by the Italian Catholic Church despite an overwhelming show of support from his congregation, press reports said on Tuesday. Padua Bishop Antonio Mattiazzo issued a decree on Monday forbidding Don Sante Sguotti to hear confession in Monterosso, near the northern city of Padua.