Genoa: The teenage Moroccan erotic dancer who Italy`s Prime Minister allegedly paid for sex has been pressuring local priests in the northern port city of Genoa to marry her and her fiancé on the spot, riling top Catholic officials.
Genoa`s archbishop Angelo Bagnasco has reportedly sent an e-mail to all of Genoa`s parish priests, ordering them to respect the normal rules governing weddings.
"No shortcuts!" warned Bagnasco, who also heads the Italian Bishops`s conference.
Karima El-Mahroug, whose stage name is `Ruby The Heart-Stealer`, and her Genovese fiancé and nightclub manager Luca Risso have been eager to tie the knot for some time and reports continue to circulate that she is pregnant.
Seventy-four-year-old Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is currently on trial in Milan for paying El-Mahroug for sex in 2010 when she was still 17 - a minor in terms of laws governing prostitution in Italy.
El-Mahroug, now 18, has been called as a witness at the trial, in which the media tycoon is accused of abusing his powers as Premier by putting pressure on police to release her from custody on unrelated theft charges in an attempt to cover up his liaison with her.
Both Berlusconi and El-Mahroug deny they had sex although they admit he gave the teenage runaway some gifts including a car and at least EUR 7,000 in cash.
El Mahroug says the publicity surrounding her relationship with Berlusconi has robbed her of her privacy.
In an interview with German tabloid Oesterreich in March, she said she intends to migrate to Mexico with Risso, "have kids and be a housewife".
IANS
