Hi, all

This came across my screen from a Catholic list-serve I'm on. As I read it, I couldn't help but think of the conversations about freedom that we have been having on this board. *****

THREATS SHUT DOWN ANTI-PEDOPHILIA GROUP Cites Lack of Support From Those in Power

ROME, NOV. 3, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- A watchdog group that tracked child-pornography on the Internet and monitored reports of pedophilia was forced to close down after receiving threats.

Rainbow Telephone, a volunteer association, was established in the Sicilian province of Syracuse by Father Fortunato di Noto. During its four years of existence, Rainbow informed authorities about 29,000 Internet sites worldwide involved in pedophilia and child pornography.

Data provided by Father di Noto was used trace the network of sales of sadistic videos to Russia. The video scandal forced the resignation of the director of the news program of Italy's first public television channel, RAI, for broadcasting scenes of torture.

Italian newspapers reported that prosecutor Alfredo Ormanni had charged 1,491 Italians and foreign nationals with offering or downloading child pornography on in the Internet, Reuters noted Oct. 28.

During the past week, both Father di Noto and Ormanni lamented the lack of support from high political circles in Rome because of the weight of the pedophilia lobby in political parties and Parliament.

Both the priest and prosecutor were criticized for not publishing the names of the high-placed protectors of pedophilia. The popular founder of Rainbow Telephone said that he would only reveal the magnitude of the problem to Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

Now, Father di Noto has announced that the telephone line and Internet site are closing down. In a statement, Rainbow explained it "has ceased to exist because those who had the power to defend it have not done so. It is not defeat or, at least, it is not our defeat."

The threats against Rainbow might have come from the Russian mafia, but also from the Sicilian mafia. Father di Noto said that "extremely refined minds" forced Rainbow to shut down -- an expression used in his day by murdered judge Giovanni Falcone.

Giovanni Arena, vice president of Rainbow, was more specific. He said the threats had come from "extremely refined minds of organized crime, which has consolidated its presence in the multimillion-dollar business of pedophilia."

Father di Noto thanked Bishop Giuseppe Malandrino of his Diocese of Noto for help. "From my bishop, I have received nothing but encouragement and support," the priest said. ZE00110304

-- Anonymous, November 04, 2000