Felix the Cat
01-25-2006, 02:35 PM
Priest arrested over nun's rape claim (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JWAYLAE0RVJB5QFIQMFSFF4AVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/01/24/wfidele24.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/01/24/ixportal.html)
A Franciscan priest famous in Italy for the religious conversion of a leading porn star was in custody last night on charges of sexual harassment after a nun alleged that she was forced to take part in orgies at his monastery.
Fr Francesco Bisceglia, 68, and his deputy Antonio Gaudio, 39, were arrested yesterday after the unnamed sister made a police complaint against them.
Italian police also seized copies of videotapes allegedly filmed inside a Franciscan community centre at Cosenza in Calabria.
According to the Italian media, police had been tapping Fr Bisceglia's telephone for several weeks prior to the arrest and there were also other witnesses who may testify against him.
"I feel persecuted like Jesus," the priest, known in Italy as Fr Fidele, said on his arrest. "It is all evidence fabricated against me. She [the nun] is mad."
The nun, who the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said had passed psychiatric tests, also claimed that she was filmed being raped by several men although detectives have not so far uncovered any evidence to back up her allegations.
Fr Fidele shot to fame in Italy because of his relationship with a pornographic film star, Luana Borgia, alias the Duchess of Hard.
Following her "salvation" Borgia did not, however, take her vows but instead persuaded Fr Fidele to go with her to a sex industry fair in Bologna where he raised funds for orphanages in Africa. "Her conversion was one of the most beautiful conquests of my priesthood. She is a very good and sweet girl," he said at the time.
Besides his quest for the salvation of souls in the sex industry Fr Fidele had already gained a reputation in Italy for his missionary work among lepers and in Africa.
According to his website biography, he has opened an orphanage in Ethiopia, eight churches, a hospital and an orphanage in the Central African Republic and a children's hospital in Senegal. He has also worked in India and Kosovo.
Orphaned at six, Fr Fidele entered a monastery at the age of 13 and rose to the rank of father superior in the Francescan order. In 2001 he was made an honorary citizen of Cosenza.
A Franciscan priest famous in Italy for the religious conversion of a leading porn star was in custody last night on charges of sexual harassment after a nun alleged that she was forced to take part in orgies at his monastery.
Fr Francesco Bisceglia, 68, and his deputy Antonio Gaudio, 39, were arrested yesterday after the unnamed sister made a police complaint against them.
Italian police also seized copies of videotapes allegedly filmed inside a Franciscan community centre at Cosenza in Calabria.
According to the Italian media, police had been tapping Fr Bisceglia's telephone for several weeks prior to the arrest and there were also other witnesses who may testify against him.
"I feel persecuted like Jesus," the priest, known in Italy as Fr Fidele, said on his arrest. "It is all evidence fabricated against me. She [the nun] is mad."
The nun, who the Italian newspaper La Repubblica said had passed psychiatric tests, also claimed that she was filmed being raped by several men although detectives have not so far uncovered any evidence to back up her allegations.
Fr Fidele shot to fame in Italy because of his relationship with a pornographic film star, Luana Borgia, alias the Duchess of Hard.
Following her "salvation" Borgia did not, however, take her vows but instead persuaded Fr Fidele to go with her to a sex industry fair in Bologna where he raised funds for orphanages in Africa. "Her conversion was one of the most beautiful conquests of my priesthood. She is a very good and sweet girl," he said at the time.
Besides his quest for the salvation of souls in the sex industry Fr Fidele had already gained a reputation in Italy for his missionary work among lepers and in Africa.
According to his website biography, he has opened an orphanage in Ethiopia, eight churches, a hospital and an orphanage in the Central African Republic and a children's hospital in Senegal. He has also worked in India and Kosovo.
Orphaned at six, Fr Fidele entered a monastery at the age of 13 and rose to the rank of father superior in the Francescan order. In 2001 he was made an honorary citizen of Cosenza.