The Vatican court of appeal on
Tuesday upheld suspended nine-month jail terms and huge fines
for two people who staged a protest in the Vatican Museums in
August 2022 to highlight the need to address the climate crisis.
Ester Goffi and Guido Viero glued themselves to the iconic
Laocoon statuary group as part of a series of controversial acts
of civil-disobedience staged by the Ultima Generazione (Last
Generation - UG) group to draw attention to the consequences of
global heating caused by human greenhouse-gas emissions.
Along with the suspended sentences, the pair was ordered to pay
28,148 euros in damages and 3,500 euros in costs and fines by a
Vatican court last June, a ruling that was confirmed on Tuesday.
UG has said the ruling is totally out of proportion, given that
no permanent damage was caused to the statue, as conflicts with
Pope Francis's repeated calls to the international community to
address the climate crisis.
"Guido and I were driven by love and care when we did this and
there was absolutely no violence," said Goffi.
"What is violence?
"Is it remaining indifferent when faced with disaster, or is it
looking for a way to draw attention to it, so that the disaster
can be averted?".
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