Italian official dedicates country’s law cutting prison time to late Pope John Paul
II
(August 2, 2006): - Italy’s Justice minister dedicated to late Pope John Paul II,
a measure passed by Italian lawmakers, granting sentence reductions to thousands
of prisoners. The law, granting up to three years off prison sentences, easily surpassed
the two-thirds majority needed in the Italian Senate July 29, after having passed
the House of Deputies two days earlier. Pope John Paul II had appealed for amnesty
and clemency measures for prisoners around the world ,as part of the Holy Year 2000
celebrations, and in 2002, he specifically asked Italian lawmakers to adopt sentence
reductions to ease over-crowding in Italian prisons. During the debate, dozens of
lawmakers recalled the appeals of Pope John Paul and Clemente Mastella – Italy’s
Justice Minister, dedicated the final victory to the late Pope. Cardinal Renato Martino,
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, welcomed the vote saying:
“This crowns the dream of Pope John Paul II, and also that of Pope Benedict XVI,
who is very sensitive to the situations in prisons around the world.” Cardinal Martino
and Mons. Giorgio Caniato – the Chief of Italy’s prison chaplain corps, called on
social service agencies and all Catholics, to offer special assistance to prisoners
being released.