A Romanian priest near
Pisa, Father Marcello, caused a storm of controversy after he
allegedly made a derogatory comment on Facebook referring to
Romani people that was reported to local authorities as racist,
Italian newspaper La Nazione said on Friday.
Under a Facebook post written by someone who expressed
concern over the presence of Romani families illegally living in
a local cycling park, Father Marcello allegedly wrote, "Does
anyone have a match?" to which another Facebook user responded,
"Father Marcello, I'll donate the fuel".
The post and comments were deleted, and Father Marcello
maintains he was misunderstood.
"I wrote that post because in our church we don't have
matches for the candlesticks and also to invite my parishioners
to be careful not to add fuel to the fire," Father Marcello
said.
"I didn't write anything wrong or racist. Everyone
understands what he wants and can misunderstand," he said.
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