An Italian town councillor has been sacked for the allegedly blasphemous nature of his cellphone ring-tone message.
Emanuele Giani, head of demographic services on the council in this town near Milan, was thrown out of Desio's last council meeting after his phone went off twice with the offending message.
The content of the ring-tone has not been released.
Giani defended himself Friday by describing the ring-tone as "a joke" and stressing he had no intention of disrepecting religion.
"I go to Mass every Sunday, I'm a believer and I think religious values are important," he said.
But Mayor Giampiero Mariani, a strong Catholic who is active in Church social work, was not inclined to take the councillor back.
"I'm not a Bible-basher but it's essential that my councillors respect the values of the (Christian) Faith," he said.
