Rome, Italy, Sep 4, 2009 / 01:53 am
An intense row between a leading Italian Catholic newspaper and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has led to the resignation of the newspaper’s editor over what he called “diabolically engineered” rumors reported by a newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family.
Dino Boffo, editor of the Italian Catholic Bishops Conference’s daily paper Avvenire, resigned a week after the newspaper Il Giornale reported that Boffo had accepted a plea bargain and paid a fine in a 2004 lawsuit after being accused of harassing a woman.
Il Giornale claimed that Boffo had a homosexual relationship with the woman’s partner. The paper also charged that Boffo was a hypocritical moralist who should not criticize Berlusconi’s lifestyle because of his own past transgressions, Reuters reports.
Boffo, who has edited Avvenire for 15 years, denied the report and said the woman was harassed by someone else using his cell phone.