-Caveat Lector-
First, JPII heaps praise on a Nazi collaborator, and now--
Maybe it's just Alzheimer's ...
Italy's Andreotti Has Ups and Downs
By FRANCES D'EMILIO
.c The Associated Press
ROME (AP) -- There were tens of thousands of faithful in front of Pope John
Paul II and the television cameras were rolling when he singled out for his
blessing former Premier Giulio Andreotti.
Just two days earlier, prosecutors demanded a conviction and life
imprisonment for Andreotti in the murder of a journalist. And in another
trial, prosecutors are pressing for his conviction on Mafia-related charges.
For many in Italy on Monday, the blessing was the Vatican's latest and
perhaps most dramatic show of solidarity toward Andreotti since his legal
woes began earlier this decade.
``It has all the flavor of absolution,'' the Rome daily Il Messaggero said of
the pope's gesture Sunday's at the beatification of the mystic monk Padre Pio
in St. Peter's Square.
Andreotti said he was surprised when he was told to approach the pontiff.
``I was summoned by a monsignor,'' Andreotti was quoted as saying in Monday's
Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Andreotti declined to reveal what the pope said to him. But with his
customary irony, he said of the timing: ``It's a coincidence that doesn't
displease me.''
Andreotti was among the VIPs the Vatican offered front-row seats. Others were
Premier Massimo D'Alema, President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and Senate leader
Nicola Mancino.
The Vatican has made no secret of its sympathy for Andreotti, a daily
Mass-goer who, in his seven times as premier, enjoyed close relations with
the Holy See.
In January, for Andreotti's 80th birthday, the pope sent greetings that the
politician read during a toast in the Senate.
Andreotti also shared the podium at a book presentation with Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, who, as the Vatican's watchdog of Vatican orthodoxy, enjoys the
pope's top esteem.
And Andreotti has appeared recently on several TV shows, speaking about the
need for a diplomatic solution over Kosovo, an approach close to John Paul's
heart.
The Vatican denies the papal blessing is an attempt to sway opinion in
Andreotti's favor.
``The Holy See doesn't interfere'' in judicial matters, said a Vatican
spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini. He described the blessing as a ``sign
of solidarity toward a person who is suffering.''
On Friday, prosecutors in Perugia asked a court to convict Andreotti for the
1979 murder of a muckraking journalist and sentence him to life in prison. A
month ago, prosecutors in Palermo pressed for his conviction and a long
prison term on charges that Andreotti did favors for the Sicilian Mafia in
exchange for votes.
Verdicts in both trials are months away.
Andreotti claims he is a victim of political vendetta and that Mafia
turncoats, whose testimony is the backbone of both cases, are taking revenge
for his crackdowns on organized crime.
In an interview in Monday's Milan daily Il Giornale, he said his enemies fear
he will return to politics. Andreotti said he doesn't know precisely who
wants him out of action but insisted he has no plans for a comeback.
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