image:28154:0::0

A parishioner heard noises from inside the confession box at his church in the northern city of Cesena, Italy. When he opened the curtains, he found the atheists couple, a 31-year-old laborer and a 32-year-old teacher, having oral sex. The parishioner alerted the police, who arrested the couple.

According to the Italian ANSA news agency, the couple defended their actions. They told the news agency:

We are atheists and for us, having sex in church is like doing it any other place."

Bishop Antonio Lanfranchi of Cesena-Sarsina derided the couple and described their behavior as "an outrage of notable proportions which bespeaks unutterable squalor."

He added that a special ceremony would be held to purify the confession box.

In addition to the prison sentence or a fine, I think the couple should be asked to pay for a new confession box.