The bishop of the Sicilian diocese of Piazza Armerina, Rosario Gisana, and his vicar general, Vincenzo Murgano, have been put under investigation by prosecutors in Enna for alleged perjury, La Repubblica’s Palermo edition reported on Friday.
The investigation comes after Enna priest Giuseppe Rugolo in March was given a jail term of four years and six month for sexual abusing minors.
After the conclusion of the trial, a civil plaintiff filed a complaint, which led prosecutors to open an investigation.
In the Italian Church, such a heavy and messy situation had never been seen before. A priest – Father Giuseppe Rugolo – was convicted six months ago by the Enna court for aggravated violence against a minor; at the same time, the judges – in the reasons for the sentence – raised very serious criticisms of how the bishop – Monsignor Rosario Gisana – had handled the case. He himself, in a wiretap, stated that he had covered it up. To support Gisana, even Pope Francis intervened publicly, considering him persecuted. The latest episode of this incredible story is Gisana’s interview with the newspaper La Stampa, in which he rejects the accusations made against him by the Italian judges and contained in the reasons for Father Rugolo’s conviction. “The facts occurred before my appointment as bishop of the diocese.” Too bad his version was totally denied by the previous bishop. “If I had been aware of these facts, which for me constitute a crime, I would not have hesitated to take action.” With this terse statement, Monsignor Michele Pennisi, emeritus bishop, cast further shadows on how the Church and the Vatican have dealt with an ugly chapter of cover-ups, silence, and transfers.
Pennisi, speaking to Ansa, seems astonished: “I have never received any report regarding Rugolo. When I was informed, as in a case in Gela, I immediately took serious measures.”
