Rome, January 25: An Italian cardinal has warned that the country’s reputation is at risk as a sex scandal surrounding Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi drags on.
Italians are fed up with the scandal and its domination of the political scene, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco declared Monday at a decision-making meeting of the College of Cardinals, adding that the matter should be resolved quickly.
Cardinal Bagnasco said that it was “easy to foresee that within the collective soul, this could leave profound marks, if not true wounds,” the UK-based Press Association reported Monday.
Italy’s ‘Prince of the Church’ strongly criticized Berlusconi, calling on public officials to control themselves.
“Whoever accepts a public position must understand the sobriety, personal discipline, sense of measure and honor that come with it,” Cardinal Bagnasco noted.
The Italian premier is under investigation for his alleged involvement with prostitutes, including his relationship with 17-year-old girl Karima el-Mahroug, nicknamed ‘Ruby’.
Berlusconi, who has denied the allegations and refused to appear before prosecutors for questioning, maintains that the allegations are part of a politically motivated scheme aimed at ousting him from power.
The girl in question says Berlusconi did give her $9,500 to help her out, but nothing else happened.
Pope Benedict XVI on Friday made a plea for public officials to serve as a strong moral example, while the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said he was watching the sex scandal engulfing Premier Berlusconi, “with concern.”
Another salacious side story emerged on Monday when the Daily Mail reported that Berlusconi paid Alessandra Sorcinelli, a “glamorous” TV weather girl, who attended his infamous sex parties, more than US $150,000.
Last week, prosecutors discovered bank records proving that the Italian prime minister gave Sorcinelli, 26, money in several installments.
——–Agencies