Reaction to Italian Andreotti’s Acquittal
Apr 14, 2005
Cardinal Angelini described everything that has happened since 1993, in the six long years of the legal process, as "years of dishonor for our country because, for unknown, disgraceful reasons, a man who should have been thanked for all he has done for Italy -- a true symbol, has been exposed to public ridicule.
ROME, OCT 26 (ZENIT).- Over the last few days the media in Italy has been publishing reactions to Senator Giulio Andreotti's acquittal. The Senator is a well-known Christian Democrat, and one of the most representative figures of Italian history over the past fifty years.
The legal process to which he was subjected, was drawn-out, without evidence, and based on statements of "repentant" Mafia elements, who accused him of collaboration with this criminal organization.
Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, personal friend of the Senator, gave his opinion on this complex case to the newspaper "Avvenire." The case has called into question the methods used by Italian justice.
"My testimony is one of friendship, in line with the biblical proverb that states: 'a true friend is a friend forever, in misfortune he becomes a brother.' I have always been his friend, especially when he fell -- or rather when they made him fall -- off his horse, as opposed to when he was surrounded by waving wreaths," Cardinal Angelini said.
The Cardinal saw Senator Andreotti two days before the sentence. "He came to the chapel of the Holy Face, where I was celebrating Mass. As a priest and Bishop I found myself unable to offer him consolation because once again I realized he is a true Christian. Over all these years I have admired the attitude of a man who, vilified, faced the test that came his way with great serenity, the same serenity that characterized his fifty years in public life at the highest levels."
Cardinal Angelini described everything that has happened since 1993, in the six long years of the legal process, as "years of dishonor for our country because, for unknown, disgraceful reasons, a man who should have been thanked for all he has done for Italy -- a true symbol, has been exposed to public ridicule. Instead, they have demeaned the symbol and dragged it through the mud. But it is right that today justice has rehabilitated this debased symbol, knowing how to find reasons to restore the confidence that was wrenched from people."
In general, Italians have expressed relief over the outcome. Cardinal Angelini interpreted this as a "natural" reaction. "Italians must feel relived to see that the forces of evil cannot suppress the forces of good. Undoubtedly, there is a crisis, but it is a crisis of persons who do not know how to express values because they don't have any. I think that, by his suffering, Andreotti has contributed to the rebirth of politics capable of searching for real culture, for the essentially natural honesty that is in the heart of every man, whether he is a Christian or not," the Cardinal said.
The analysis made by many in the foreign media is that Andreotti could not be condemned because, in so doing, Italians would have condemned themselves and half a century of the country's history. When Cardinal Angelini was asked to comment on this, he said: "I have always said that Andreotti was struck, in order to destroy and dismantle Christian Democracy. Not having been mortally wounded like Aldo Moro, he was stricken by this prosecution. I will not go into the question of political issues, but I think that if he had remained in his public post, Catholics involved in politics would have had a very different role."
Reaction to Italian Andreotti’s Acquittal