ITALY: Italian Cardinal calls for purification of country's political class following sex and corruption scandals surrounding Berlusconi's government

Record ID: 353193

  • Title: ITALY: Italian Cardinal calls for purification of country's political class following sex and corruption scandals surrounding Berlusconi's government
  • Date: 28th September 2011
  • Summary: VATICAN CITY (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ST PETER'S BASILICA AND TOURISTS LOOKING AROUND THE VATICAN CITY ROME, ITALY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 9, 2011) (REUTERS) ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER, SILVIO BERLUSCONI, SHAKING HANDS WITH PEOPLE AT A YOUTH MEETING ROME, ITALY (FILE - FEBRUARY 18, 2011) (REUTERS) BERLUSCONI ARRIVING AT MEETING BETWEEN LEADERS OF ITALIAN GOVERNMENT AND
  • Embargoed: 13th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Politics,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAE1PX50U1JJQOMJOOCNHKYQEYF
  • Story Text: Italy's powerful Catholic Church issued a blistering attack on the ruling political class on Monday (September 26), saying the country needed to "purify the air" caused by sex and corruption scandals that have given it a bad name around the world.
    A speech by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco to fellow bishops stopped just short of asking for the resignation of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is battling scandals over parties with prostitutes and corruption.
    While Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops Conference, did not specifically name the prime minister, he left little doubt he was referring to scandals that have touched Berlusconi and his centre-right government.
    "Those who are protagonists in politics must act in a sober and proportionate way, and with a personal discipline that their role demands as the country's constitution itself states," he said.
    He said Italians had been left in a state of "dumbfounded astonishment" because of a ruling political class that was enmeshed in scandal and preoccupied with self-preservation while the rest of the country suffered from a deep economic crisis.
    Until now the Vatican and the Italian Catholic Church have been hesitant to be scathing in its criticism of the centre-right, fearing that a leftist government could back measures it opposes, such as gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research.
    The political class, Bagnasco said, had a greater responsibility to live a moral life and set a good example because their behaviour had "undeniable effects on culture and education" and influenced the young and impressionable.
    Bagnasco said many in the political class were propagating a poisonous culture of seeing success as something that could be reached through connections and short cuts rather than hard work. He called for a radical re-think of the way things work.
    "It's not just a question of doing things differently but of thinking differently. There is a need to purify the air so that new generations, as they grow, are not poisoned," he said.
    The Catholic church no longer enjoys the political clout it had years ago but it is still one of the most influential forces in Italian society.
    Berlusconi, who is already facing four separate trials on corruption and charges of paying for sex with a minor, has been engulfed by a new sex scandal just as financial troubles have raised fears that the Italian economy could suffer a Greek-style debt crisis.
    Wire tapped conversations published by Italian newspapers have quoted Berlusconi as boasting of "doing eight girls" in one night, organising trysts with prostitutes at his private residences and making vulgar jokes with a businessman suspected of supplying the women.
    Berlusconi, who has refused to resign, was also quoted as saying in one wiretap that, with all his sexual activity, he was only prime minister "in my spare time".
    The cardinal spoke of "licentious behaviour and improper relations that damage society".
    In recent weeks Berlusconi has faced damning criticism and more or less open calls to resign from emblems of the Italian establishment including employers group Confindustria, the head of auto giant Fiat, and newspapers including Corriere della Sera, Italy's most authoritative daily.
    Bagnasco read his speech at a previously scheduled conference four days after Pope Benedict said Italy badly needed "ethical renewal," a phrase the Italian media saw as a green light for Bagnasco to take the gloves off in Monday's speech.
    He also addressed growing anger in Italy over a privileged political class seen as corrupt and unwilling to share in sacrifices as Italians deal with painful austerity measures.
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register