As many know, Emanuela Orlandi's brother, Pietro Orlandi, insinuated during a television broadcast that Pope John Paul II, now a saint, sometimes went out in the evening with some Polish monsignors, "certainly not to go and bless houses", implying that he went in search of prostitutes or even minors. Given the stature of the person, John Paul II, it is a huge accusation. It must be said that if criminal behavior were experienced, everyone would be guilty before the law, from the Pope to the humblest citizen.
In this case, however, I would like to say that the accusations are groundless and I believe I have good motives for stating this, motives based on reason and on some experience of how these things work.
Who was Emanuela Orlandi? She was a teenager, a Vatican citizen, who was kidnapped in 1983. It is one of the most mysterious cases in recent Italian and Vatican history. Even today we do not know whether she is alive or dead and her case has been intertwined with some truly disturbing events in recent history.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Cantus to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.