At least issue the ruling in a confessional
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- December
- 12
Here’s a court ruling you won’t see in the U.S., via the AP:
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A judge in southern Chile has sentenced a Catholic priest to recite seven psalms daily during three months as punishment for illegal parking.
Judge Manuel Perez said he issued the unusual sentence after the Rev. Jose Cornejo said he could not afford the $100 fine that would have been the regular sanction for illegal parking in the city of Puerto Montt.
“He will have to recite seven psalms,� Judge Perez told the Santiago daily La Tercera.
“This is not a sentence that just occurred to me,� he added. “I did it as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, one of the greatest scientists of all time, who received a similar sentence from the Catholic Church during three years for saying the Earth rotates around the sun.�
The judge ordered a court official who lives near the priest to check daily that the sentence was being fulfilled.
The priest said he had parked his car in front of a school where he works because he lacked the money to pay for public parking
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 11:58 am by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
Random thoughts:
Would defintely say that it was much better than remaining in jail until you were able to pay the fine.
Lo and behold that there are judges, in another parts of the world, that are gracious.
Where does the priest park now??
Maybe we should have a similar sentence for Huckabee for challenging Romney’s Christianity in a decidedly non-Christian way.