Charity Does Not Begin at Church

By Janice Castro

The Roman Catholic archdiocese in Turin, Italy, has stirred up a fuss by printing signs for all its churches in an effort to drive away beggars. Printed in Italian as well as Arabic -- the language of many of the city's poor -- the signs read, in part: We don't want to buy useless, superfluous goods, or see you begging. Explains Father Gianni Sangalli: "Every Sunday large crowds of immigrants gather at the doorstep of many churches in Turin asking for charity or peddling useless objects."