Nazi flag with Swastika sign for funeral: Rome Church calls it offensive

Rome: A funeral in a local church in Rome where the casket was seen draped the Nazi flag with Swastika sign invited the displeasure of the Catholic Church that condemned the incident, calling it offensive and unacceptable.

In the Tuesday statement, the Vicariate of Rome said this ideological and violent exploitation, that too after an act of worship at a sacred place, was seriously offensive and unacceptable for the church of Rome and all people of goodwill in their city.

Neither the parish priest nor the priest who presided over the funeral was aware of what would happen after the funeral mass. Condemning the incident, the statement said that the Swastika is a "horrendous symbol irreconcilable with Christianity," Associated Press quotes.

Parish priest Rev. Alessandro Zenobbi was quoted in the statement that he is distancing himself and the church from every word, gesture, and symbol attributed to extremist ideologies and far from the message of the Gospel of Christ.

Visuals of the funeral on Monday at the St. Lucia church were published by the Italian online news portal Open.

Nearly a dozen people were seen where the funeral happened, and the casket was seen draped in Swastika, and people did the right arm extended fascist salute, shouting "Presente!" The deceased was identified by Italian media as a 44-year-old former militant of the extreme right-wing group Forza Nuova, who died of a blood clot.