சேவை போர்வையில் உலகெங்கும் சிறுவர் பாலுறவுக்கு அலைந்த ரோம் பாதிரியாரை கைது செய்ய இத்தாலி போலீஸ் ஆர்வம்

சேவை போர்வையில் உலகெங்கும் சிறுவர் பாலுறவுக்கு அலைந்த ரோம் பாதிரியாரை கைது செய்ய இத்தாலி போலீஸ் ஆர்வம்

Prosecutors want priest in the dock
March 26 2008 at 02:47PM

Rome - Italian prosecutors have called for an octogenarian priest known for his work with drug addicts to stand trial concerning allegations of child molestation, local media reported on Wednesday.

Prosecutors in Terni in central Italy made the request following a probe into accusations against Father Pierino Gelmini, 82.

The investigation began after sex abuse allegations emerged involving 10 young residents of his Incontro (Encounter) Community to assist drug addicts and others in need, La Repubblica newspaper reported.

ANSA news agency said nine people who spent time at the community had filed sexual abuse complaints, including two who were minors at the time the alleged incidents occurred.







Gelmini earlier dismissed the sex abuse allegations as a conspiracy by a "radical Jewish lobby" bent on weakening the Roman Catholic Church.

Two newspapers quoted him as saying last year the allegations were levelled by youths who had been thrown out of Incontro for theft.

Prosecutors have also asked that two people who worked with Gelmini as well as the mother of one of the presumed victims stand trial as well. They are accused of attempting to pay off witnesses so that they withdraw their complaints.

Gelmini has been viewed as a "spiritual guide" by some Italian right-wing politicians, including former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

He founded the Encounter Community in 1963. Their centres spread throughout Italy in the 1970s and 1980s as well as in France, the United States, Brazil and Thailand.