The Aggressive Protestants

Protestant preachers in Italy have their work cut out for them. The Italian constitution of 1948 gives them the green light: "All persons have the right freely to profess their own religious faith in any individual or collective form, to proselytize on its behalf and to perform in private and in public acts of worship, provided that the rites are not contrary to public morals."* But mayors and police chiefs seem to prefer the earlier Fascist police laws of 1929 and 1930, under which non-Catholic places of worship must have permits from local authorities and non-Catholic pastors may not preach until recognized as ministers by the Ministry of the Interior.

Last week Italy's Protestant proselytizers had some good news from the Italian equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court. Francesco Giuseppe Rauti, 36, had quit his job as a salesman eight years ago and become a Pentecostal pastor after attending an evangelical service in Bari. He went to Crotone (pop. 40,000) on the sole of Italy's boot in 1955, and since then has managed to recruit a congregation of more than 300. When the police closed down his church in a converted apartment, Rauti carried his case to the 15-man Constitutional Court, whereupon the court ruled that no one in Italy needed a license to build, own or operate a non-Catholic church, but affirmed that ministers must be licensed in order to preach and perform marriages.

Italian Protestant leaders received the decision with muted satisfaction. Dr. Giorgio Peyrot, professor of ecclesiastical law at the Waldensian Theological Seminary in Rome, pointed out that there would be trouble as long as the conflicting Fascist laws were on the books.

If discrepancies remained, said a Vatican spokesman, "it is up to the Italian judiciary to eliminate them." But he added: "The aggressiveness of some Protestant sects, largely financed by funds from the U.S., has become intolerable. The authorities of the Catholic Church feel it their right and duty to forestall the propagation of what they consider heresy."

* Holy Rollers are banned in Italy on the last count, as their services are considered to have a "detrimental effect on the Italian psyche."

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