No major Western European leader in recent years hasbeen a more stalwart ally of the Roman Catholic Church than Italy'sPrime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Berlusconi's stands against euthanasia, living wills, in-vitrofertilization and domestic partnerships have put his country in linewith Catholic teaching, and out of sync with all other major countriesin the region, including traditionally Catholic Spain.
Berlusconi's stands against euthanasia, living wills, in-vitrofertilization and domestic partnerships have put his country in linewith Catholic teaching, and out of sync with all other major countriesin the region, including traditionally Catholic Spain.
His governmenthas also granted large financial subsidies to Catholic schools, andexpanded tax breaks for church-owned businesses.
Yet in Berlusconi's increasingly public personal life, thebillionaire businessman-turned-politician is not exactly a model ofCatholic values.
After months of ever more graphic reports of wild parties and sexwith young women, including several alleged prostitutes, a judge onTuesday (Feb. 15) ruled that Berlusconi must face trial on April 6 oncharges of paying for sex with a minor and obstruction of justice.
The tension between Berlusconi's political platform and his personalbehavior has put church leaders in an exquisitely awkward position, towhich they have reacted with conspicuous understatement.
Last month, in what was widely taken as an allusion to theBerlusconi crisis, Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of Rome policethat public officials must "rediscover their spiritual and moral roots."
Yet in Berlusconi's increasingly public personal life, thebillionaire businessman-turned-politician is not exactly a model ofCatholic values.
After months of ever more graphic reports of wild parties and sexwith young women, including several alleged prostitutes, a judge onTuesday (Feb. 15) ruled that Berlusconi must face trial on April 6 oncharges of paying for sex with a minor and obstruction of justice.
The tension between Berlusconi's political platform and his personalbehavior has put church leaders in an exquisitely awkward position, towhich they have reacted with conspicuous understatement.
Last month, in what was widely taken as an allusion to theBerlusconi crisis, Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of Rome policethat public officials must "rediscover their spiritual and moral roots."
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the church's No. 2official, said the Vatican was watching the Italian situation with"great attention and concern," and he called on leaders to show a "morerobust morality."
Slightly stronger words came a few days later from Cardinal AngeloBagnasco, head of the Italian bishops' conference, who said publicofficials must show "sobriety, personal discipline ... and honor."
Yet even Bagnasco did not refer to the prime minister by name, andhe tempered his criticism by questioning the motives of investigatingprosecutors.
Significantly, the most eloquent statement by church leaders so farmay have been a moment of silence. At a ceremony on Friday (Feb. 18)commemorating treaties between Italy and the Vatican, Bertone andBerlusconi were both present but reportedly did not speak.
Slightly stronger words came a few days later from Cardinal AngeloBagnasco, head of the Italian bishops' conference, who said publicofficials must show "sobriety, personal discipline ... and honor."
Yet even Bagnasco did not refer to the prime minister by name, andhe tempered his criticism by questioning the motives of investigatingprosecutors.
Significantly, the most eloquent statement by church leaders so farmay have been a moment of silence. At a ceremony on Friday (Feb. 18)commemorating treaties between Italy and the Vatican, Bertone andBerlusconi were both present but reportedly did not speak.
By contrast,at a similar ceremony four years earlier, the Vatican's No. 2 spent ahalf-hour in private conversation with then-Prime Minister Romano Prodi,with whom he was publicly at odds over Prodi's support for domesticpartnerships.
Catholic bishops have several strong reasons to refrain from openlycriticizing Berlusconi now. The most obvious is that the church needsthe cooperation of his center-right government to pursue its legislativeagenda.
Church leaders here have long refrained from commenting on politicalleaders' private lives, as opposed to their policies, said MassimoFranco, a writer for Italy's leading newspaper Corriere della Sera.
That public-private distinction also holds in the United States,said Russell Shaw, a former chief spokesman for the U.S. bishops'conference. During the 1998 sex scandal involving President Bill Clintonand the former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the American bishopsnever issued a group statement, and most bishops refrained from comment,Shaw said.
Another factor inhibiting Italian church leaders in the Berlusconimatter, Franco said, may be last year's controversies over clergy sexabuse in several European and Latin American countries, which underminedthe church's moral authority in the eyes of many critics.
Last month, Berlusconi's outspoken coalition-partner Umberto Bossi,leader of the Northern League party, made a not-so-subtle allusion toabusive priests when he suggested that prosecutors who had beeninvestigating the prime minister should also pay a visit to the Vatican.
Still, the pressure on church leaders to break with the primeminister may grow too strong to resist. An anti-Berlusconi demonstrationby hundreds of thousands of Italian women on Sunday (Feb. 13) won theendorsement of the editor of the Italian bishops' official newspaper;one of the most prominent speakers at the rally in Rome was a70-year-old nun who is also an activist against sex trafficking.
Practicing Catholics are a core element of Berlusconi's politicalbase, but their support is "eroding," said Roberto D'Alimonte, apolitical scientist at Rome's LUISS Guido Carli University.
"It's easier for church leaders to turn a blind eye, but there's aproblem at the parish level," D'Alimonte said. "It's not easy for apastor to explain why the church supports a man whose behavior is so incontrast with family values."
Catholic bishops have several strong reasons to refrain from openlycriticizing Berlusconi now. The most obvious is that the church needsthe cooperation of his center-right government to pursue its legislativeagenda.
Church leaders here have long refrained from commenting on politicalleaders' private lives, as opposed to their policies, said MassimoFranco, a writer for Italy's leading newspaper Corriere della Sera.
That public-private distinction also holds in the United States,said Russell Shaw, a former chief spokesman for the U.S. bishops'conference. During the 1998 sex scandal involving President Bill Clintonand the former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, the American bishopsnever issued a group statement, and most bishops refrained from comment,Shaw said.
Another factor inhibiting Italian church leaders in the Berlusconimatter, Franco said, may be last year's controversies over clergy sexabuse in several European and Latin American countries, which underminedthe church's moral authority in the eyes of many critics.
Last month, Berlusconi's outspoken coalition-partner Umberto Bossi,leader of the Northern League party, made a not-so-subtle allusion toabusive priests when he suggested that prosecutors who had beeninvestigating the prime minister should also pay a visit to the Vatican.
Still, the pressure on church leaders to break with the primeminister may grow too strong to resist. An anti-Berlusconi demonstrationby hundreds of thousands of Italian women on Sunday (Feb. 13) won theendorsement of the editor of the Italian bishops' official newspaper;one of the most prominent speakers at the rally in Rome was a70-year-old nun who is also an activist against sex trafficking.
Practicing Catholics are a core element of Berlusconi's politicalbase, but their support is "eroding," said Roberto D'Alimonte, apolitical scientist at Rome's LUISS Guido Carli University.
"It's easier for church leaders to turn a blind eye, but there's aproblem at the parish level," D'Alimonte said. "It's not easy for apastor to explain why the church supports a man whose behavior is so incontrast with family values."
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