Church Used in Porn Film May Need Reconsecration

The bishop of a diocese in the uplands of central Italy was last night mulling over whether to reconsecrate one of his churches following the discovery that it had been used to film a hardcore pornographic movie five years ago.

Couples from all over Italy are married in the picturesque church of San Vincenzo at Gioia Vecchio in the Abruzzo region, and questions have been raised about the validity of the hundreds of marriages celebrated since 1998, when the film was made.

Prosecutors announced that they were looking into whether to bring blasphemy charges against the producers. The diocesan authorities said they were investigating how access to the 13th century church was provided for the filming of a scene in which a cleric has sex with a bride.

The parish priest at the time, Father Artemio De Vincentiis, 83, said: "I gave the keys to the owner of the restaurant opposite and he was taken in."

Some local people suggested that those involved had been naive.

"What did they think they were making with those girls in there? Animated cartoons?" asked Massimo Frazi, a dentist.

Blasphemous pornography is popular in Italy despite or, more likely, because of the influence of the Roman Catholic church.

But as its publicity made clear, Il Confessionale (The Confessional Box) offered the extra thrill of having been "filmed in a real church".

Described by one specialist website as "very hot Italian porno", the movie tells the story of a priest who "begins to give in to his sexual urges with young women who visit him for confession".

It stars Joe Calzone (otherwise known for his roles in such monothematic dramas as Amsterdam Nights) and Monica Roccaforte, who has also featured in Sacred and Profane and The Return of Father Tonino, both hardcore films. The link between Il Confessionale and the church of San Vincenzo came to light when the film was downloaded from the internet by a man living in the area who took it to the police.

The Catholic church's code of laws states that sacred places which have been profaned ought not to be used until the act has been undone by "penitential rites".

But ecclesiastical lawyers yesterday assured couples who had wed at the church that they remained married.

Alfonso Corsi, who practises at the Sacra Rota court in Rome, said: "It's just a liturgical problem, and not a juridical one."