A Phoenix church leader received a suspended sentence of 10 days in jail and three years probation on Wednesday for violating a Phoenix noise ordinance because his church rang its bells hourly.
The bells at the Cathedral of Christ the King on E. Greenway Road normally chime at the top of every hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The bells have been registered to emit 67 decibels from the nearest property line.
In addition to Bishop Richard Painter's sentence, the judge issued an order restricting chimes at the church to no more than 60 decibels on Sundays for two minutes and on specific religious holidays.
According to a news release from the Alliance Defense Fund, a whisper is 30 decibels and a normal conversation is about
60 to 70 decibels.
Ice cream trucks are allowed to emit up to 70 decibels at a distance of 50 feet under an exemption to the city's ordinance, but no exemption exists for church bells.
Painter has retained attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund to
pursue legal options to defend his rights.
"It's too bad that the value of the bells is lost on many in our society," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Erik Stanley."
"In a busy neighborhood full of sirens, heavy traffic, and loud motorcycles, these chimes are a sound of peace that do not exceed the noise level of an average conversation. Certainly, that should be at least as acceptable as the sound of an ice cream truck," Stanley said.
