Churches beware: when you let a group use your facilities to film a movie, make sure you know what kind of movie it is. And maybe have someone there to keep an eye on things as well. The church of San Vicenzo in central Italy didn't take such precautions and now they may have to rebless all services held there since 1998, when a pornographic movie was evidently shot there.
Reuters reports:
The church of San Vicenzo's seedy past came to light when a local -- watching "Il Confessionale" ("The Confessional Box") -- recognised the spot. He called in the police who, on closer study of the movie, confirmed his suspicions. The local priest said the film crew told him they were shooting a wedding scene in the church. But actually, a man dressed as a priest was filmed having sex with a woman playing the bride.
According to the BBC:
"All ceremonies performed here since this scandalous act are illicit," Father Paolo Ferrini of San Vincenzo said. ... A bishop will now have to issue a new decree to make all the weddings, christening and funerals which have taken place over the past five years valid. All religious ceremonies have been halted until the church can be purified.
I imagine that this is very distressing to the people who regularly use this church, and in particular those who were married in the church but now whose marriages are technically "illicit." I wonder, though, if this will cause them to reconsider some of their beliefs. After all, their marriages probably don't feel any less licit now than they did before, so why accept the church's assertion that they are?
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assertion that “they is?”
Sometimes religion isn’t about how you feel, that’s why the recognize it as illicit, because they respect the rules of their religion. The rules might not make 100% sense all the time, but if your marriage started out where a porn was filmed, you might be a bit cheated, as you expected it to be a holy place. Just something for you to think about.