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BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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In Christmas letter, Berlusconi
thanks Pope for support over attack




Rome, 24 Dec. (AKI) - Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has written a letter to Pope Benedict XVI thanking him for his support after the bloody attack against him by a mentally unstable man in the northern city of Milan this month.

In the letter, Berlusconi said Christian principles guided his government and that it would work for "social cohesion" in the country.

"I can confirm that the Christian values exemplified by Your Holinesss always guide my government's actions. It will take all the necessary action to ensure calm and social cohesion," wrote Berlusconi.

The letter thanked Benedict for the "closeness" the pontiff had shown him in a telegram he sent to Berlusconi in hospital while the premier was recovering from a fractured nose, two broken teeth, blood loss and other facial injuries sustained during the attack against him on 13 December.

A 42-year-old man, Massimo Tartaglia, was arrested after the attack during which he allegedly hurled an alabaster replica of the city's Gothic cathedral into Berlusconi's face.

Tartaglia, who has a history of mental illness, is being held in preventive custody in a Milan jail. He told police he carried out the attack alone out of hatred for Berlusconi.

"Christmas is an important time for reflection for all men of good will. Christ's message of peace and brotherhood is often forgotten when the strength of ideas are met with verbal or physical violence," said Berlusconi's letter, delivered to Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Berlusconi said earlier this week he forgave Tartaglia but wants him to serve time in detention and said such attacks against high-ranking Italian officials must be prevented in future.

His letter to the Pope is another apparent sign that Berlusconi is taking an increasingly pious tone as he eyes Catholic voters in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country.

The premier has been hit by sex scandals this year including alleged dalliances with a prostitute which have strained his relations with the Catholic Church.

His letter to the Pontiff also comes amid talk of a new centrist party to challenge Berlusconi made up of pro-Vatican politicians.

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