HOLY SEE SATISFIED BY ACQUITTAL OF CARDINAL GIORDANO

VATICAN CITY, DEC 23, 2000 (VIS) - Yesterday evening, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration following the full acquittal of Cardinal Michele Giordano, archbishop of Naples, on charges of usury and criminal association:

"The news of the sentence handed down today by the Court of Lagonegro - of full acquittal on all charges brought by the local public prosecutor's office against the archbishop of Naples, His Excellency Cardinal Michele Giordano - has been welcomed with great pleasure by the Holy See.

"Ever since the start of the process, it was quite clear that Cardinal Giordano had no connection whatever with the events in question (which took place in Sant'Arcangelo di Lucania where he was born and where his relatives live). Nonetheless it was decided to continue full investigations, even though the outcome of such investigations left no room for any doubt regarding the Cardinal's innocence, which could have been proclaimed immediately.

"The archbishop of Naples opted for a "shortened trial" at the end of which the presiding judge recognized everything the Cardinal had stated in his own defence on all occasions as being true.

"Now that the trial is over, it cannot but be deplored that a person now recognized as innocent should have to have suffered such grave and prolonged harm for two and a half years, a harm that also reflected indirectly on the meritorious institutions of the Church.

"Finally, it is difficult to overlook the violation of the Concordat in the lack of notification at the time to the competent ecclesial authorities of the emission of a notice of impending investigation against Cardinal Giordano (Article 2 b of the Additional Protocol of the Agreement between the Holy See and the Italian Republic of February 18, 1984). Furthermore, it is well known that the methods used in searches and in intercepting telephone calls gave rise to great astonishment and, apart from disturbing the free exercise of his episcopal ministry (as guaranteed by current agreed norms), were not consonant with the position the Italian State recognizes for Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church."

OP;ACQUITTAL GIORDANO;...;NAVARRO-VALLS;VIS;20001228;Word: 360;