According to Italian authorities, a priest was fined after he reportedly toll his church bells excessively. RTE.
The Florence priest has been enthroning residents at Santa Maria a Coverciano Church for four years. They claim he rings the bells as many as 200 times per day.
According to the townspeople, Fr. Leonardo Guerri used to ring the bells every day from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., interfering with his work, sleeping and relaxation. According to Corriere Fiorentino, people claim that Guerri rings more bells during holidays.
RTE reports that the priest was fined more than $2,000 by the local municipality after years of conflict.
The priest will still be able to ring the bells, but contingent on it being only during the gathering of Mass and the last service of the day at 6 p.m., RTE said.
When contacted, the AFP news agency asked for his comments.
This isn’t the first time that a priest in Europe’s most Catholic country has been fined for ringing parish bells.
After 13 years of complaints, a priest from Florence was fined $60,000 in 2008 for excessive bell-ringing. The Guardian.