Challenge to Vatican Radio Station

L O N D O N, April 10 -- On the outskirts of Rome, the hills are alive with the sound of music.

But in Cesano, a town less than 20 miles outside of Rome, radios are not always necessary to hear Vatican Radio's selection of hymns and sermons.

Citizens of Cesano have reported hearing Vatican Radio's renditions of Ave Maria and other favorites — on their intercoms, telephones, and hearing aids. The songs have even been heard resonating from refrigerators and doorbells.

But those who live near one of the huge antennae of Vatican Radio, are also protesting that despite their proximity to the global center of the Roman Catholic Church, they are the last to benefit from the Church's tenet of "love thy neighbor."

Bad Vibes

Cesano is the closest town to Santa Maria di Galeria, a piece of property which is home to Vatican Radio. When Vatican Radio began a small operation there in 1951 with only three antennae, there were just a few residents.

Forty years later, there are now fifty-eight antennae at the transmission facility, a yellow cross-shaped tower that casts a radiant shadow over the city's horizon.

Now, some of the town's 100,000 residents fear it is also emitting deadly radiation.

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They claim that the transmitters are causing abnormally high levels of cancer, including leukemia in children and tumors in adults.

The claims are nothing new, but now Italy has decided even the Vatican is not above the laws of the land.

In light of environmental concerns and pressure from consumer groups and local residents, Italy's Environmental Ministry last month threatened to shut down Vatican Radio if it did not conform to Italian standards for electromagnetic emissions.

Legal Wrangling

The showdown between the Vatican and the government was shaping up to become one of the fiercest disputes between the Holy See and Italy in years.

But a commission, comprised of representatives from both sides, agreed to try to agree.

"I think that the solution will be reached in a very brief time," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told the Italian press. "But remember that the Holy See's priority at the heart of the matter has been the health of the people."