Stations of the Cross

Is the vatican hazardous to your health? That's what Italy's Environment Minister Willer Bordon is alleging, and the Roman Catholic Church is not pleased. The dispute, which broke out in early March, centers on allegedly excessive levels of electromagnetic radiation produced by Vatican Radio's powerful transmitters. The Vatican claims that as a sovereign state under a 1929 treaty it is not subject to Italian prosecutors. Bordon says that unless emissions are reduced by the end of this week, he will order electricity suppliers to cut off the station's power.

The Jesuit-run radio outlet has several dozen transmitters on...