Reuters: Saints on cellphones spark controversy in Italy

Reuters reports:

If you are a Catholic looking for a saint in heaven to protect you, you no longer have to carry a small "holy card." You can get the image sent to your cellphone.

A company in Italy started offering the service on Tuesday but ran into opposition from some Catholic Church leaders who think the idea is crass and commercial.

... Many taxis, private cars and trucks in Italy have a small picture of a saint -- known as a "santino" or little saint -- taped to the dashboard. Millions of Italians also keep wrinkled and worn "santini" in their wallets or handbags.

... The company started the service with 15 saints on offer and Labate said the hallowed catalogue will grow. The downloading service, done by sending a text message to a phone number, costs three euros ($4.42).

Nearly every shop near the Vatican sells paper "santini" but not everyone in the Church thinks cellphones and saints are a marriage made in heaven.

"This is in really bad taste," Bishop Lucio Soravito De Franceschi, a member of the Italian bishops conference committee for doctrinal matters, told the Turin newspaper La Stampa.

"It is a distortion of sacred things ... selling 'santini' for cell phones is horrifying," he said.

I'm trying to figure out what exactly is so "horrifying" about folks having sacred images on their cell phone. Of course, as far as I know, cell phones can't carry a blessing like holy cards. But as for this company making a profit from the service - well, I doubt all holy card producers are non-profit.

Indeed, I rather like this sort of thing. See: "Give your cell phone a Catholic makeover!" I did.