Vendors protest Vatican decision that they cannot sell in square

Published: 2008-01-14

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Breaking what the Rome Jewish community says is a concession hundreds of years old, the Vatican governor's office has told the street vendors who sell rosaries and medals at the entrances to St. Peter's Square that they are not welcome. A dozen vendors and their families staged a protest in the square Jan. 12, the latest in a month of demonstrations. The vast majority of the vendors who have sold in the square are Jewish. Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the commission governing Vatican territory, issued the order Dec. 10 as part of an almost a yearlong battle by the city of Rome to stop unlicensed street vendors from clogging the street leading to St. Peter's Square with copies of designer handbags and luggage, watches and scarves. In addition to asking the cardinal to rescind his order, the vendors have applied for permits from the city of Rome to sell religious souvenirs just outside the square.

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