Udine - February 6, 2015 - An Italian man has been ordered to take a psychiatric test after giving a Rome woman and her husband 100,000 Euros ($108,500 USD).

The gift was a way of thanking the couple for their friendship and support when his mother died.

But for prosecutor Paola De Francheschi, the act of generosity was too good to be true. She argued that the couple took advantage of the benefactor's "poor mental or physical health" and ordered a psychiatric assessment of the man, a local newspaper reported.

"I donated that money after reflecting on my life," he said.

"They demonstrated closeness and comfort towards me a few years ago, when my mother died."

The couple were named as Monica Braidic, 26, and Shwan A Hamah Rasheed, a 25-year-old from Iraq.

The case come to light in 2011 when Italy’s financial police probed cash transfers to Iraq over suspected money laundering after the couple sent some of the money to help family there.

Ah, Italians know all to well just how bitter inheritance fights can get. Inheritance conflict is always "the final damn straw" for challenged families, with family members vowing to never speak to one another again and warning "nessuno me lo ficca in culo!" (no one is going to stick it up my _____!)

Now, there's the belief that 92% of inheritances are left to relatives who don't deserve them. Interpret this as your golden opportunity to step in.

Earning an Italian inheritance requires a multi-faceted approach that combines psychology, craftiness, wit, a minimum amount of self-awareness and a good dose of common sense. Try out these recommendations when you are in the company of a well-to-do Italian:

1. Avoid giving worthless opinions and get a t-shirt with the words "Sei perfetto" (You're perfect).
   "Who did your hair today...because you're perfect."
   "Where did you dig up those shoes...because you're perfect."
    
2. When an Italian reflects on his life, be careful, he is trying to prove something at the expense of others. And who are you to interrupt this creative flow?
   Therefore, always remember: he knows everything...you know nothing.
    
3. How exaggeratedly proud they can get when they tell a funny story.
   Bring over an accordion player to the house and tell the Italian you want to turn the story into a ballad.
    
4. Answer every incredible question that pops up in their head.
   "Pasquale, if a woman wears a tight shirt, could she become a grandmother one day?"
    
5. When you are witness to an Italian's barrage of reprimands directed at a family member or relative, NEVER say a word.
   With each embarrassing fact, incident or episode presented, nod both "yes" for you confirm it had occurred AND then "no" to illustrate your equal disgust and shock.

Vatican City - February 6, 2015 - Pope Francis told parents it is OK to spank their children to discipline them as long as their dignity is maintained.

“One time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say ‘I sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as to not humiliate them’,” Pope Francis said.

“How beautiful.” he added. “He knows the sense of dignity! He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.”

The Rev Thomas Rosica, who collaborates with the Vatican press office, said the pope was obviously not speaking about committing violence or cruelty against a child but rather about “helping someone to grow and mature”.

“Who has not disciplined their child or been disciplined by parents when we are growing up?” Rosica said in an email.

It recommended that the Vatican amend its own laws to prohibit corporal punishment of children, including within the family, and to create ways to enforce that ban in Catholic schools around the world.

The recommendations were prompted by reports of widespread physical abuse and use of corporal punishment in Catholic-run schools, particularly in Ireland, that committee members said had reached “endemic levels.”

The Vatican had argued that it in no way promoted corporal punishment, but that it also had no way to enforce any kind of ban on its use in Catholic schools, over which it has no jurisdiction. It noted that it was only responsible for implementing the child rights treaty inside the Vatican City State.

In the United States, parents can legally hit their child as long as the force is “reasonable”. In 19 U.S. states, it’s still legal for personnel in schools to practice “paddling”.

"Puttana della miseria!" This isn't going to end, is it!?

It's up to our news staff to acknowledge that there is something not kosher with the Catholic Church and its relationship with Catholic school kids.

If that Vatican never promoted corporal punishment, then who did and why do they still deem it necessary? And what the hell is happening to the little ones up in Ireland, God bless those laddies! That has to explain why they start drinking in second grade.

The nuns...

Oh, "porca vacca", those nuns! Dressed in bloated black and white uniforms that communicated more like bats from hell than servants of the Lord. Why do they always have a “hidden agenda” when they interact with people? What about the ones with the Sally Fields flying nun ensemble? They were the leaders of the pack with the quickest lethal hands.

And what would happen if you were you identified as a "possible" trouble maker, preferably male, by any one of the hysterical ones? Maybe you were a little overenthusiastic from that B+ on the math test? That was it! Your self-esteem became a moving target of the other maniacs as well, whether you were in their grade level or not!

Well, we have news for the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother Charity of the Divine Savior of the Immaculate Conception in Kentucky:

We're curious...most of you have relatives who attended Catholic Schools in the 50’s and 60's. How are they doing? They can't think on their own, can they? That's right, we said it!