Assisi, home of St. Francis, institutes ban on begging

Published: 2008-04-28

ASSISI, Italy (CNS) -- Assisi -- the birthplace of St. Francis, saint of the poor -- has instituted a ban on begging. The mayor of Assisi, Claudio Ricci, signed an ordinance in mid-April that prohibits begging within 500 meters (550 yards) of any church, square or public building -- a decree that effectively makes the entire hill town off-limits to beggars. Ricci said he instituted the ban after numerous complaints from pilgrims, tourists and citizens about aggressive and insistent forms of begging outside the city's medieval churches. "The phenomenon was reaching proportions that went far beyond the poor beggar who occasionally asks for charity. This has become an organized and profitable activity," Ricci said. The measure drew criticism from leftist political leaders in Italy, who said the ban was simply the latest form of social intolerance. At the Vatican, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, also expressed his concern. "Asking for charity is not a crime, and I don't see why it should be prohibited by law," Cardinal Martino told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

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