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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 2.25pt 0in 3.75pt 6.75pt"><B><SPAN style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; COLOR: #11568f; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-03-17_117336268.html</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 2.25pt 0in 3.75pt 6.75pt"><B><SPAN style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; COLOR: #11568f; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana"></SPAN></B> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 2.25pt 0in 3.75pt 6.75pt"><B><SPAN style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; COLOR: #11568f; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Pope asks priests to smarten up</SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 2.25pt 0in 3.75pt 6.75pt"><I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Clerics should be more 'recognisable'</SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 2.25pt 0in 3.75pt 6.75pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">(ANSA) - </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Vatican City</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">, March 17 - Priests are under pressure to smarten up their wardrobes after Pope Benedict XVI made an apparent dig at members of the clergy who have been dressing rather too casually.<BR><BR>Declaring a 'year of the priest' that will begin on June 19 in a bid to encourage ''spiritual perfection'' among clerics, the pope stressed that priests should be ''present, identifiable and recognisable for their faith, their personal virtues and their attire''.<BR><BR>According to Naples-based ecclesiastical outfitters Mastranzo, the pontiff has a point.<BR><BR>''Around 30% of priests dress in a (casual) scruffy manner and don't even pay attention to the colour of their clothes,''
a spokesman told Italian daily La Repubblica.<BR><BR>Of the remaining better-dressed clerics, around 40% opt for the black trousers, jacket and shirt with a dog collar combination, while the remaining 30% choose to wear ankle-length cassocks, which should be topped with a tri-crested hat.<BR><BR>Mastranzo said that there has been a recent upturn in requests for cassocks, which are especially favoured by religious members of the Opus Dei and the Legion of Christ orders.<BR><BR>Bardiconi, an outfitters in </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Rome</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">, said the tradition-loving pontiff's influence has already made itself felt among customers.<BR><BR>''With the new pope we had already noted a certain return to the classic look and a drop in casual clothes,'' it said.<BR><BR>Sales of cassocks have been going up at Easter and Christmas, according to the
shop, which said that a good cassock could last a priest ''up to 20 years''.<BR><BR></SPAN> </P></DIV>
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<DIV><EM><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000bf>Like a deer that longs for running waters so my soul longs for you, O God.</FONT></EM></DIV></FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000bf><EM><FONT face="comic sans ms">Ps 42:1</FONT></EM></FONT></DIV>
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