Atheist who sued priest over Jesus' reality fined
But author refuses to pay judgment, saying it violates intellectual liberty
By Joe Kovacs

An atheist who gained worldwide fame when he sued an Italian priest, claiming Jesus Christ never actually existed, has been fined by an appeals court in Rome.

But Luigi Cascioli vows never to pay the $1,900 judgment against him.

The fact he was given the maximum fine is "an abuse of authority against every right of intellectual expression and liberty," the 73-year-old Cascioli said. "I refuse to pay."

In February, Judge Gaetano Mautone threw out a petition by Cascioli who wanted his childhood friend, Rev. Enrico Righi, to stand trial for asserting Jesus Christ was a real person. the rest