Vatican’s concern over Italy’s moral scandal

(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.