ROME—The crypt of the Basilica di San Carlo al Corso near St. Peter's Square has boasted tombs of cardinals for centuries. Today it is taking on a livelier vibe.Read the rest here.
Rev. Maurizio Mirilli, head of youth ministry in Rome's Catholic Church, has converted a section of the crypt into a nightclub with a live-music stage and a bar stocked with beer, Prosecco and other wine. Father Mirilli has christened the new watering hole GP2, short for "Giovanni Paolo II," as the late Polish pope was known in Italian.
For Rome's young and restless, GP2 is the prime destination for mingling, dancing or having "a drink with a bishop," Father Mirilli said Saturday night. He he leaned against the club's mirrored bar and nursed a glass of pineapple juice as a phalanx of young men with gelled hair bobbed their heads to the Black Eyed Peas. Scrawled across the bar was a biblical passage from the Gospel of St. John, quoting Jesus Christ: "Give me a drink." (Actually, he was referring to water).
"There should be more places like this," said Annalisa Gennaro, a 21-year-old theology student, as she and a friend made their way into the club. "It's about time the church woke up."
H/T Rorate Caeli
2 comments:
Boy, that is deeply disgraceful...
They do put a 2 beer limit and do not allow the usual bar nonsense to occur. I think it is quite a good idea actually. Is it a little shallow? Perhaps. It does, however get the younger generation back in church (kindof?)
I suppose only time will tell as to whether it is morally sucessful. Really though, is it really all that different from our Orthodox Churches which often have bars in the halls and alcohol on feast days? The Church doesn't say don't drink, just don't get drunk. Getting drunk is bad for your soul. Having a beer or 2 with your friends in a crypt with Bible verses on a night when most of your friends are out getting wasted isn't such a bad thing when you think about it this way.
But then again, I am just another lousy sinner. . .
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