Silvio Berlusconi's party has angrily lashed out at claims by a Roman Catholic Weekly magazine that Italy is witnessing the rebirth of fascism.Famiglia Cristiana, which is one of Italy's top-selling magazines, has caused outrage among Berlusconi's centre-right Government which has accused the title of being 'Catho-communist'.
Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa called the magazine 'out of time' while the government's undersecretary for family affairs, Carlo Giovanardi, said 'the only fascism present in Italy today are the brutal tones which Famiglia Cristiana uses'.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has lashed out an a magazine which claims the country is witnessing a rebirth of fascism
The magazine's director, Catholic priest Antonio Sciortino, defended the editorial and said the magazine had no reason to feel chided by the Vatican response 'because we have never dreamed of being the official organ of the Holy See'.
The Vatican has already distanced itself from the editorial in Famiglia Cristiana's Friday edition, which was released to the media in advance.
Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said it 'does not express the views of the Holy See' or of Italian bishops.
The government has already come to blows with the magazine in the past after its last editorial said tough new anti-crime measures would hurt the destitute.
But rather than backing off, the magazine hit back with a piece citing a report on racism in Italy in French magazine Esprit.
It concluded: 'Let's hope the suspicion is unfounded that fascism is resurfacing in our country under another guise.'
The magazine, which ex-President Francesco Cossiga termed 'the publicity arm of the Catholic left', is sold at churches and news stands and has a circulation of 600,000 copies a week.
The centre right is often labelled 'fascist' by opposition politicians and intellectuals including Nobel laureate Dario Fo - partly due to former fascists in its ranks and partly because of its stand on illegal immigrants and crime, which has led it to put thousands of soldiers on the streets.
It has been accused of racism by rights groups and European Union politicians and officials for plans to fingerprint Roma children living in illegal camps, and one of the coalition's main partners, the Northern League, uses xenophobic rhetoric.
But the comparison stings more when made by a publication linked to the Catholic Church to which so many centre-right politicians and supporters swear allegiance.
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