Abuse of popular credulity

In Italy, a Catholic priest is being sued by an atheist for "abusing popular credulity" presumably by saying that Christ existed. Italy has a law that prevents "abuse of popular credulity."

That got me to thinking that if we had such a law, we'd have some great fun trying King George under it. Just think of all the ways he has abused popular credulity. Just about every word he has uttered as president (ugh, sorry, as monarch) has been an abuse of popular credulity.

AN ITALIAN judge has ordered a priest to appear in court this month 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.

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

Yesterday Gaetano Mautone, a judge in Viterbo, 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 Signor Cascioli had a reasonable case for his accusation that Father Righi was “abusing popular credulity”.