The original message (August 2002)

NOT ALL AS IT SEEMS (EP News)

Priests in a local Milan parish mistook a young couple's frequent visits to the church as devotion to a Madonna statue as the two sat quietly in front of it for an hour on a regular basis. The couple had been visiting the church for about a month before priests realised that the two weren't meditating in front of the Madonna, but were using an electrical outlet located adjacent to the statue to recharge their cell phone. Parish priest Don Antonio Colombo said that the couple would not be shooed away. "They come here because they don't have a house," he told the newspaper Corriere della Sera. "The church is their house and letting them charge their mobile phone is a bit like giving them a glass of water."

To which on a couple of newsgroups these messages were added:

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They can't afford a place to stay -- but, they CAN afford a cell phone and its attendant charges??

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Yes....

In the US..one can get a cell phone for free...

The attendant charges for the phome are a tiny fraction of what it would cost to rent even the samllest apartment.

And a cell phone can help wuith employment, esp, daily and/or seadonal employment so can be a necesity for those wishing to "better themselves".

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Around here, a "studio" (one room) apartment at less than $1,000 a month is a rare & valuable find. You can get a cell phone for $30 a month.

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Yep. Last year I saw one of those homeless men at the side of the road with a "will work for food" sign that gave his pager number.

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The Italians are even more obsessed with their mobiles than the Irish. I recall a few years ago, a priest interrupted Mass to take a call.

I visit Stockholm sometimes and Sweden is known as a major centre for cellular phone construction. Yet their use public places is insignificant compared to Ireland.