The Dress Code for the Vatican – Should it be Universal?

Below is the modesty Dress Code enforced for entry into Saint Peter’s Basilica.

The dress code forbids:

  • hats for lay men inside the basilica
  • shorts/skirts above the knees
  • sleeveless shirts
  • shirts exposing the navel
  • shirts for women that expose cleavage
  • shirts which contain profanity
  • excessive jewelry
  • The use of mobile phones is also prohibited, as is smoking.

In my lowly layman’s opinion, this same dress code should be printed out and posted on the door of every Catholic Church on earth…the immodest clothing displayed on Sunday mornings is over the limit.

The sad thing is that people (especially mothers) used to have a cultured sense of decency. Nowadays this has been lost so that grown men and women see nothing wrong with entering a church half clad. The solution is not to judge and shame others but to bring about a re-education on what is modest and appropriate.

I appreciate your balanced and carefully weighed thoughts on this matter.

PS: Our Lady’s words at Fatima in 1917: “Certain styles and fashions are being introduced which gravely offend My Divine Son.”

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