(January 21, 2011) The Vatican on Thursday expressed its deep concern over the latest
sex scandal shaking the government of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, saying
the country’s politicians must show "robust morality". Vatican Secretary of State,
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Vatican was "particularly worried" about the impact
the scandal was having on Italy. The turmoil concerns an investigation of Berlusconi
by magistrates who suspect he paid a 17-year-old prostitute and other women for sex
at parties in his villa near Milan. "The Church urges and invites everyone, above
all those who hold public responsibility in any administrative, political and judicial
area, to be committed to a more robust morality, a sense of justice and lawfulness,"
he said. Cardinal Bertone's remarks were significant because the Vatican still
holds enormous political influence in Italy. Berlusconi, a 74-year-old billionaire
media mogul, has been under increasing pressure to resign since magistrates in Milan
accused him of paying for sex with a 17-year-old nightclub dancer, an allegation he
vehemently denies.