A new bar for young people has opened in the crypt of the Basilica di San Carlo al Corso in Rome, reports the Telegraph.
The bar, named GPII after Pope John Paul II [Giovanni Paolo II in Italian] is an initiative of the Diocese of Rome and has the support of Acli [Associazione cristiano lavoratori italiani]. The idea is to offer young people a pleasant place where they can relax and have a drink in the evening without paying exorbitant prices and without becoming drunk. Italian health officials are becoming increasingly worried about the incursion of a British binge drinking style into Italian society.
The bar has computer games, music and enough space to stage cultural events such as art shows, book launches and live concerts. The barman is a priest and the waiters wear t-shirts with the logo, GP2. The Biblical phrase “Give me to drink” [John, 4:7] is written on the wall above the bar.
GPII will be open from 19.00 until midnight on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and if it becomes popular it will open on other evenings. Gianluigi De Palo of Acli says that the concept is to show that Catholicism can be enjoyable.
Do you think this is a good initiative?
