ITALY
Daily Mail (United Kingdom)
By Nick Pisa
A cash-strapped priest has closed his church until Easter because offerings have plunged during the economic crisis and he cannot afford to keep the building open.
Father Stefano Taffarel will close the picturesque 15th Century church of St Peter at Fontanelle, near Treviso, northern Italy, from the middle of this month until April.
Father Taffarel told parishoners in his weekly newsletter at Christmas that rising fuel costs meant weekly Mass offerings were no longer enough to cover the church’s heating bill.
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