A priest in Naples has
installed a device in his church blocking cellular phones, after
he tired of telling parishioners to shut them off, the newspaper
Il Mattino reported Monday.
The young high tech priest, Don Michele Madonna, has headed
the church Santa Maria a Montesanto, located in a commercial hub
of downtown Naples, for the last two years.
Madonna's initiative received applause from many
parishioners but also complaints from many shopkeepers near the
church.
"For a number of months, we have had problems with debit
cards, which go haywire, as do tablets and cellular phones,"
said one shopkeeper.
Shopkeepers claim Madonna's tech device has also sabotaged
business by interfering with a common practice among merchants
to gather customer orders via cell phone.
The priest denies any blame for the digital mishaps.
"When I installed (the device) a number of months ago, there
was a Whatsapp blackout, and they blamed it on me. Instead, the
block was a national phenomenon," Madonna told the paper.
"I had the prosecutor's office process my request to use the
device that I bought in a specialized shop," added the priest.
"It works exclusively within the 40 square meters of the
church".
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