Tourists Hot Over Vatican Dress Code

CBSNews.com ^ | July 16, 2003

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

With temperatures soaring, tempers are flaring as the Vatican's dress police turn back tourists in shorts and bare shoulders trying to get into St. Peter's Basilica.

Vendors are doing a brisk business selling paper pants and paper shirts -- turning St. Peter's Square into an open-air changing room.

“I am born naked and the church wants me to be wearing pants,” Danish tourist Kenneth Bergen, 53, proclaimed to a throng of would-be visitors who had been turned back. Bergen had just bought a pair of paper pants.

Enforcement of the dress turns into a battle each summer, but the verbal skirmishes have been heightened this July because Rome has been in the grips of a relentless heat wave.

For weeks, temperatures have reached into the 90 degrees Fahrenheit each day and the thousands of tourists trudging through the streets seem dressed more for a day at the beach -- shorts, miniskirts, tank tops for both men and women. The city's policemen have been out in force to assure tourists don't cool off their feet in the Trevi Fountain and other landmarks.

At the Vatican, authorities have erected signs showing that no one can enter the basilica with bare legs and bare shoulders. Guards --neatly dressed in shirts and ties -- patrol the entrances.

Showing true entrepreneurial spirit, vendors have popped up at various points around the vast square, keeping one step ahead of the police.

A student identifying himself as Marko from Yugoslavia, visiting the Vatican with his grandmother, plunked down a euro for paper pants, but promptly ripped them as he tried to pull them up above his shorts. A vendor reluctantly reached into his black plastic bag for another pair.

“The information we got was that the dress code only applied when the pope was here,” said Becky Haskin, 44, visiting from Fort Worth, Texas, with three friends.

Blocked on their first attempt, they bought a pair of paper pants and two shawls. “It was worth it,” she said.

Not only the Vatican but the diocese of Rome and its hundreds of churches require what authorities consider appropriate dress. But unlike the Vatican, most of the churches cannot afford guards and -- in the heat of this summer -- they have become cool refuges for the barely clad.

Some tourists do come prepared, pulling out pants and shirts from their backpacks and changing in St. Peter's Square, often prompting whistles and cat calls from onlookers.

[Antoninus]

“I am born naked and the church wants me to be wearing pants,” Danish tourist Kenneth Bergen, 53, proclaimed to a throng of would-be visitors who had been turned back. Bergen had just bought a pair of paper pants.

So.... I guess this imbecile thinks it's fine and dandy to show up in a Church stark naked? How stupid. St. Peter's isn't a museum, Gunter. It's a house of God. Either follow the dress code or GET OUT!

[Antoninus]

Remind me not to go to Rome.

Better not go to Mexico either or a lot of other Latin American countries. A guy wearing shorts in the street in Mexico is assumed to be a homo and will be whistled at by other men. It's a cultural thing.

Similarly, shorts in Italy immediately mark you as a tourist. Italian men don't wear them. You may as well walk around there with a Hawaian shirt and a big camera around your neck.

[Antoninus]

Does the good Lord care what we wear? No, I suspect He doesn't, and I'm sure He would look kindly upon anyone coming to church in tatters and rags if that was all he owned, but geez...when you dress up for parties and not for Him...well...it's just disrespectful is all.

That's just a brilliant distillation of this entire subject. Well done.

[jjm2111]

That's interesting. The last wedding I was at, I wore Full Dress Whites (Navy) to the ceremony and jeans and a polo to the reception.

[jjm2111]

That's interesting. The last wedding I was at, I wore Full Dress Whites (Navy) to the ceremony and jeans and a polo to the reception.

I think the ceremony should be the more formal event.

[presidio9]

Jim the majority of the disrespectfully dressed people in St. Pats are tourists, not there to pray, and it is a real problem. A lot of men walk around the inside of the Cathedral with baseball caps for crying out loud. If you
(and I don't mean you personally) are unwilling to show the proper respect for a house of worship, what the heck is your motivation for entering the buliding in the first place.

[jjm2111]

To the best of my knowledge most of the guards ask men to remove their hats in church. I wear a baseball cap pretty regularly but I take it off if I go to church.

[presidio9]

Speaking of baseball caps, another pet peeve of mine is people who don't remove their hats for the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium. I have sent letters to Bob Sheppherd asking him to tell fans to "Remove Your Caps" after "Please Rise."

[Labyrinthos]

“I am born naked and the church wants me to be wearing pants,”

Its the Pope's sandbox. If you don't like his rules, then go play someplace else.

[jjm2111]

I wonder why people are supposed to remove their hats during the National Anthem? Now, I'm in the reserves and I know you don't doff your cover for the National Anthem.

[presidio9]

Yes, but your cover is part of a military uniform. Removing a civilian hat is a sign of respect. Always has been. Do you tip your cover to the ladies?

[jjm2111]

"Do you tip your cover to the ladies?"

In uniform? Was never told to, that's for sure. Not many ladies around here anyway. (NJ). I heard two twenty-something women (and I'm twewnty-something) on the subway saying the f-word over and over and over and so loud. I was a sailor, so it's not like I've never heard cursing, but coming from two young women it and in public it just seemed so uncouth.

[writmeister]

“The information we got was that the dress code only applied when the pope was here,” said Becky Haskin, 44, visiting from Fort Worth, Texas, with three friends.

What difference would that make? Decent people do not enter others Holy Places without being respectful, whether it is their faith or not.

At least they are not all Aerican these days, the trailer trash of the entire world is on tour.

This is just rewards as Ms. Haskin is a Fort Worth councilwoman who is one of the worst Nanny-staters out there, and is constantly pushing her leftist "quality of life" agenda. It is nice to see someone call out this Dum*ss.

[glory]

“I am born naked and the church wants me to be wearing pants,” Danish tourist Kenneth Bergen, 53, proclaimed to a throng of would-be visitors who had been turned back. Bergen had just bought a pair of paper pants


Who wants to bet this Dane and others like him would have been very reverent and respectful if they asked his wife to dawn headress to enter an Islamic Holy site? I'm sorry, but I will never understand this attitude that exists that sees respecting Christian piety and holy places as an inconvenience(or in the states unconstitutional), yet you see people bending on willing knee with reverence for the rules of any little subculture religion or the "religion of peace".

[glory]

LOL--great comment!

[steveo]

A fifty-three year old guy in a thong.

That was throng son, not thong. But I agree with you 100%, nothing this side of 40 belongs in a thong.

[Hildy]

LOL...try pulling that at the "DOME OF THE ROCK" Nothing could be showing if you were a women. And it gets mighty hot there. Please don't ask me why I went there.

[VermiciousKnid]

That's interesting. The last wedding I was at, I wore Full Dress Whites (Navy) to the ceremony and jeans and a polo to the reception.

Now, that's my kind of party!

At my own wedding, all the men were in white tie and tails, with the exception of my brand-new brother-in-law, who honored me by wearing his USAF dress blues. He looked smashing at church, and surprised us all by removing his jacket (or is that called a blouse in the AF?), revealing a custom-made tuxedo shirt which, when worn with the jacket looked entirely proper, but when the jacket came off had sleeves which were festooned with a very festive Hawaiian print.

Church was lovely and dignified, and the reception was six hours of fun (actually more; I understand the party went on till morning). Just like I wanted it.

Regards,

[VermiciousKnid]

jjm,

You take your hat off when you go to church, and I put mine on.

Which brings me to another question: Are women expected to remove their hats for the National Anthem? I was always taught that no, women are NEVER obligated to remove their hats (except those in the military, I guess). More and more, though, I'm seeing ladies remove their hats for the anthem.

Regards,

[Salvation]

**With temperatures soaring, tempers are flaring as the Vatican's dress police turn back tourists in shorts and bare shoulders trying to get into St. Peter's Basilica.**

I still always wear a dress to church. I just can't do the pants thing. Guess I'm old-fashioned.