Father Vincenzo Federico usually offers prayers when times are tough. As Italy lurches deeper into an economic crisis, the Roman Catholic priest is turning into a financial, rather than spiritual, adviser.
After he guaranteed a loan of 10,000 euros ($12,700) to a family of four earlier this year, his mornings are back-to-back appointments with churchgoers seeking similar aid.
“These days I feel like a banker,” Federico, 40, said by telephone from his parish in the medieval village of Padula in southern Italy. “In 15 years of priesthood, I never thought that this is what I would wind up doing.”
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Priests Become Bankers as Italy’s Needy Turn to God
Father Vincenzo Federico usually offers prayers when times are tough. As Italy lurches deeper into an economic crisis, the Roman Catholic priest is turning into a financial, rather than spiritual, adviser.
After he guaranteed a loan of 10,000 euros ($12,700) to a family of four earlier this year, his mornings are back-to-back appointments with churchgoers seeking similar aid.
“These days I feel like a banker,” Federico, 40, said by telephone from his parish in the medieval village of Padula in southern Italy. “In 15 years of priesthood, I never thought that this is what I would wind up doing.”
Read it all.