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Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco agrees
with Pope Francis that sacraments must never be traded for
money, a spokesman for the head of the Italian Episcopal
Conference (CEI) said Friday in attempt to avert controversy.
"The cardinal's words were intended to reiterate the pope's
belief that there must be no commerce in sacred things," said
Monsignor Domenico Pompili.
Bagnasco, who is also the archbishop of Genoa, earlier
denied the pope's allegations that churches in many dioceses
explicitly put their sacraments up for sale, even posting price
lists.
"Sacraments are not paid for in any way," Bagnasco said.
"The faithful are free to make offerings to contribute to
the material needs of the Church".
His comments came after Pope Francis warned during morning
Mass that the Church cannot be run like a business and price
lists for weddings and baptisms creates scandal.
In his homily at St. Martha's House, the Vatican guest
house where Francis lives, the pope referred to the story of
Jesus driving the merchants out of the Temple as illustrating
the need to keep commerce away from the Church.
"I think of how our attitude can scandalize people with
unpriestly habits in the Temple: the scandal of doing business,
the scandal of worldliness," said Francis.
"How often when we enter a church - even today - do we see
a price list hanging there for baptism, blessings, Mass
intentions," he said.
"And people are scandalized".
In his response, Bagnasco went on to say no priest would
refuse a sacrament for lack of money.
"We can always do better in making everyone understand that
there can be no commerce with sacred things - no material
compensation," the leader of Italy's bishops said.
Meanwhile, late in the afternoon President Giorgio
Napolitano met for 80 minutes with Pope Francis at St. Martha's
House.
The visit came as a surprise to outsiders, as it had not
been announced beforehand.
The "strictly private" meeting was "cordial," said Vatican
spokesman Federico Lombardi.
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