January 23, 2006

Priest raped us in an orgy, says nun

ITALY
The Times

By Richard Owen

A PRIEST whose devotion to saving the souls of prostitutes and porn stars has earned him celebrity status in Italy has been arrested on charges of sexual violence and group rape.

Father Fedele Bisceglia, 69, was arrested after a nun alleged that she and other women had been raped at their Franciscan hostel at Cosenza in Calabria, southern Italy. Antonio Gaudio, 39, Father Bisceglia’s assistant, has also been charged with sexual harassment. Both men deny the charges.

Father Bisceglia, a striking, white-bearded figure with piercing blue eyes, is a national figure in Italy because of his missionary work for the poor as well as his colourful, extrovert television appearances.

He is probably best known for having converted Luana Borgia, a porn actress, to Christianity ten years ago, persuading her to enter a convent on a retreat to reflect on her life and “purify herself spiritually”. Father Bisceglia even accompanied Ms Borgia to the Bologna “Erotic Fair”, where she announced her conversion and set up a stall collecting money for an ambulance for one of his missions in Africa.

Posted by kshaw at January 23, 2006 08:35 PM