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21 January 2011
Last updated at 11:50 ET
Pope Benedict XVI has said public officials must offer a strong moral example, his first apparent comment on the sex scandal engulfing Italy's PM.
Though Silvio Berlusconi's name was not explicitly mentioned, the Pope's words echo those of a senior Vatican official who said the issue was troubling.
Mr Berlusconi's lawyers have said he will not attend questioning on charges that he paid for sex with a minor.
He has denied the allegations, which he insists are politically motivated.
"Society and public institutions must rediscover their soul, their moral and spiritual roots," Pope Benedict said in front of an audience of police chiefs in the capital, Rome.
Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano has also been outspoken on the matter, saying more "sobriety and responsibility" was needed from public figures in times of austerity.
'Indecent'
Milan prosecutors have placed the prime minister and three associates under investigation, alleging he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl nicknamed Ruby. They also allege that he had sex with several prostitutes during parties at his Milan estate.
Frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy but having sex with one under the age of 18 is an imprisonable offence.
According to unsourced comments published in Italy's left-leaning newspaper La Repubblica, Mr Berlusconi dismissed the Pope's comments as being too generic to refer specifically to him.
But the BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says there was no mistaking the Pope's intention.
He said the fact that he had added his voice to the criticism was very significant as the Roman Catholic Church remains very powerful in the country.
Sex parties Mr Berlusconi, despite the numerous scandals that have surrounded him, has tried to position his conservative coalition as supportive of the Church's stance on family, life and social issues.
In another, highly critical editorial on its website the influential Famiglia Cristiana publication said that Mr Berlusconi had divided Italian Catholics as never before, saying his antics represented "an indecent representation of how to live".
Italian media reports said that Mr Berlusconi's lawyers had filed documents saying that he did not intend to attend questioning on the allegations - scheduled to take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, saying the Milanese prosecutors did not have the jurisdiction to investigate the matter.
Much of the investigation focuses on Karima El Mahroug, an 18-year-old Moroccan belly-dancer who attended Mr Berlusconi's parties when she was 17 and, prosecutors say, was paid to have sex with him.
Both Mr Berlusconi and Ms Mahroug have denied having sexual relations, and she has described a sum of 7,000 euros (£5,900) that he gave her as a gift.
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Though Silvio Berlusconi's name was not explicitly mentioned, the Pope's words echo those of a senior Vatican official who said the issue was troubling.
Mr Berlusconi's lawyers have said he will not attend questioning on charges that he paid for sex with a minor.
He has denied the allegations, which he insists are politically motivated.
"Society and public institutions must rediscover their soul, their moral and spiritual roots," Pope Benedict said in front of an audience of police chiefs in the capital, Rome.
Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano has also been outspoken on the matter, saying more "sobriety and responsibility" was needed from public figures in times of austerity.
'Indecent'
Milan prosecutors have placed the prime minister and three associates under investigation, alleging he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl nicknamed Ruby. They also allege that he had sex with several prostitutes during parties at his Milan estate.
Frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy but having sex with one under the age of 18 is an imprisonable offence.
According to unsourced comments published in Italy's left-leaning newspaper La Repubblica, Mr Berlusconi dismissed the Pope's comments as being too generic to refer specifically to him.
But the BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says there was no mistaking the Pope's intention.
He said the fact that he had added his voice to the criticism was very significant as the Roman Catholic Church remains very powerful in the country.
Sex parties Mr Berlusconi, despite the numerous scandals that have surrounded him, has tried to position his conservative coalition as supportive of the Church's stance on family, life and social issues.
In another, highly critical editorial on its website the influential Famiglia Cristiana publication said that Mr Berlusconi had divided Italian Catholics as never before, saying his antics represented "an indecent representation of how to live".
Italian media reports said that Mr Berlusconi's lawyers had filed documents saying that he did not intend to attend questioning on the allegations - scheduled to take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, saying the Milanese prosecutors did not have the jurisdiction to investigate the matter.
Much of the investigation focuses on Karima El Mahroug, an 18-year-old Moroccan belly-dancer who attended Mr Berlusconi's parties when she was 17 and, prosecutors say, was paid to have sex with him.
Both Mr Berlusconi and Ms Mahroug have denied having sexual relations, and she has described a sum of 7,000 euros (£5,900) that he gave her as a gift.
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