Church increases pressure on Berlusconi
Source: Agencies |
January 22, 2011, Saturday
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ITALIAN Premier Silvio Berlusconi came under mounting criticism from the Catholic Church yesterday over his dalliances with young women, with the pope saying public officials must set good moral examples and Italian bishops planning to discuss the sex scandal.
Pope Benedict XVI didn't mention the scandal or Berlusconi by name. But during an audience with Rome's police chief and police officers, he said public officials must "rediscover their spiritual and moral roots."
"The singular vocation that the city of Rome requires today of you, who are public officials, is to offer a good example of the positive and useful interaction between a healthy lay status and the Christian faith," he said.
Prosecutors have placed Berlusconi and three associates under investigation, alleging he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl nicknamed Ruby. Prosecutors have said Berlusconi had sex with several prostitutes during parties at his Milan estate.
Wiretapped conversations of participants at the parties, printed in Italian newspapers this week, have described the villa as a brothel with topless girls, who at least on one occasion were offered nurses' uniforms and police outfits to wear - an allegation which prompted a formal protest from a police union.
Berlusconi has denied the allegations and accused prosecutors of a witch hunt. He has not been charged.
Ruby, who is now 18, denied she had sex with Berlusconi, though she said he did give her 7,000 euros (US$9,400) to help her out financially.
The church's criticism is a blow to the Berlusconi, who - despite his lavish lifestyle and admitted affection for beautiful women - has tried to establish his coalition as supportive of the church's positions on family, life and social issues.
Yesterday, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the Italian bishops' conference, said the scandal would be discussed at a meeting of the conference's decision-making body.
Benedict's comments echoed those by his No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who said the Vatican was following developments "attentively."
Pope Benedict XVI didn't mention the scandal or Berlusconi by name. But during an audience with Rome's police chief and police officers, he said public officials must "rediscover their spiritual and moral roots."
"The singular vocation that the city of Rome requires today of you, who are public officials, is to offer a good example of the positive and useful interaction between a healthy lay status and the Christian faith," he said.
Prosecutors have placed Berlusconi and three associates under investigation, alleging he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl nicknamed Ruby. Prosecutors have said Berlusconi had sex with several prostitutes during parties at his Milan estate.
Wiretapped conversations of participants at the parties, printed in Italian newspapers this week, have described the villa as a brothel with topless girls, who at least on one occasion were offered nurses' uniforms and police outfits to wear - an allegation which prompted a formal protest from a police union.
Berlusconi has denied the allegations and accused prosecutors of a witch hunt. He has not been charged.
Ruby, who is now 18, denied she had sex with Berlusconi, though she said he did give her 7,000 euros (US$9,400) to help her out financially.
The church's criticism is a blow to the Berlusconi, who - despite his lavish lifestyle and admitted affection for beautiful women - has tried to establish his coalition as supportive of the church's positions on family, life and social issues.
Yesterday, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the Italian bishops' conference, said the scandal would be discussed at a meeting of the conference's decision-making body.
Benedict's comments echoed those by his No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who said the Vatican was following developments "attentively."
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