Dozens protest over pope's silence in 1983 missing girl case

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InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5

VATICAN CITY -- Dozens of people protested Sunday at the Vatican against Pope Benedict XVI's failure to show interest in the case of Emanuela Orlandi, the daughter of an ex-Vatican employee missing since 1983.

"Shame, shame," cried the protestors at Saint Peter's Square, reproaching the pope for not mentioning her name after Sunday's Angelus prayers, when the pontiff often greets pilgrim groups and mentions topical issues.

"We came from all over Italy to hear the pope say the name of Emanuela but we are once again leaving disappointed. There is something wrong here," one protestor said, reported Italian news agency ANSA.

The protest was organised by the missing 15-year-old schoolgirl's brother, Pietro, who has been leading a decades-long campaign to find out what happened to her. He has also accused the Vatican of silence and even complicity in the case.

Emanuela, the daughter of a member of the Vatican's police, was last seen on June 22, 1983 when leaving a music class.

Theories have circulated that she was kidnapped by an organised crime gang to put pressure on Vatican officials to recover a loan, or that she was kidnapped to force the release from prison of Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to assassinate Pope Jean Paul II in 1981.

The Vatican said on several occasions that it has cooperated with Italian police over the case.

But referring to the pope's silence Sunday, Pietro said it is "a shame, a word of prayer would have been enough."

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