NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    ROME (CWNews.com) - The city of Rome's electricity, gas, and water utility hit the Vatican with a 44 billion lire ($24 million) utility bill on Saturday, but the Vatican said it does not owe anything.

    The recently privatized ACEA utility detailed the charges in its annual report to shareholders. The Vatican has said that the Lateran Treaty, which set up the Vatican city-state while stripping the See of most of its lands, exonerates it from sewage and water charges.

    ACEA chief executive office Paolo Cuccia said the foreign ministry had taken up the matter and further negotiations were due to start shortly. The city of Rome will be liable for the charges if the Holy See does not pay.

    Meanwhile more buried frescoes from the Roman Empire have been discovered in the excavations for a parking garage being built for Rome's Jubilee Year celebrations, causing a potential delay.

    Archeology officials in Rome confirmed on Friday that the excavation uncovered a first-century villa with walls covered in frescoes of birds and mythological creatures. The discovery of a similar room in August caused more than a month's construction delay.

    The parking garage is being built to house buses for the more than 20 million pilgrims expected to visit Rome next year for the Jubilee 2000 celebrations. The Italian department of the UNESCO cultural agency, which wrote to Rome's mayor and Italy's Culture Ministry about the frescoes, said the find must be safeguarded. A decision on the fate of the parking garage and the frescoes is expected later this month.

Articles provided through Catholic World News and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and International Dossiers, Daily Dispatches and Features at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.