Religious leaders and opposition called on Silvio Berlusconi to clean up his act as the beleaguered Italian prime minister clung to the support of his key allies in the midst of a raging sex scandal.
As his lawyers submitted a petition challenging the competency of Milan magistrates who have accused him of paying for sex with an underage girl, pundits said he could yet defy the political obituary writers once again.
Though prosecutors have summoned Berlusconi for questioning this weekend, the prime minister's legal team said Friday the 74-year-old would not be going.
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Pope calls for 'ethical principles'
While not mentioning Berlusconi by name, Pope Benedict XVI called Friday for an upholding of "ethical principles" during an audience with Rome's police in what was widely interpreted as a message to the prime minister.
"The new challenges on the horizon require God and man to meet again, and society and public institutions to rediscover their souls, their spiritual and moral roots," Benedict said.
The Vatican's number two, State Secretary Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said Thursday the Holy See was following "these Italian affairs with great attention and concern."
"The Church urges and invites everyone, especially those who hold a position of public responsibility... to commit themselves to a more solid morality, a sense of justice and legality," he said.
One of Italy's most popular magazines, Famiglia Cristiana, said the allegations centring on Berlusconi's relationship with a disco-dancer named Ruby were indecent and alienated Catholics, asking "how will Catholics vote in the next election?"
Newspapers publish sordid details
Reports of Berlusconi's wild parties with specially-selected girls, including sordid details from wire-tapped conversations, have been splashed over the country's newspapers for several days.
While frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, having sex with one under the age of 18 has been an imprisonable offence since Berlusconi's right-wing government voted a law against it in 2006.
Milan's prosecutors revealed their investigation last Friday, just a day after a top court partially stripped the prime minister of political immunity and experts warned the scandal might force the government to early elections.
The opposition PD party said it will start petitioning for Berlusconi's resignation and hopes to collect 10 million signatures from disgruntled Italians.
An open letter yet to be released condemns the prime minister for "dishonouring Italy in the eyes of the world" when "Italy needs to look onwards to finally face up to its (other) problems."
Key political ally comes to aid
But Berlusconi's key political ally Umberto Bossi - head of the anti-immigrant and populist Northern League Party and his partner in the centre-right coalition - came to his aid.
"In a normal, democratic country these things don't happen, you don't put a person under pressure in this way. He's the prime minister, not the mafia!" Bossi said Friday.
According to Stefano Folli, political editor of Sole 24 Ore, Bossi continues to support Berlusconi and the League "holds the keys to the government," with the power to decide on early elections or not.
"For now, surveys show Berlusconi is still popular," Folli added in an editorial Friday.
The fragmented left and centre parties have long called for the prime minister to resign, but Berlusconi seems to lead a charmed life, scraping through a confidence vote in parliament in December.
He accused the Milan magistrates of using their investigation for political ends and employing highly sophisticated technology to spy on his guests as if they were hunting the Mafia.
And he warned that their behaviour "cannot go without adequate punishment".
The head of Italy's magistrates' association hit back, saying Berlusconi's charges were unacceptable and threatened their autonomy and independence.
Both Berlusconi and Ruby have denied having an affair, but the Milan magistrates allege it lasted from February to May 2010, when she was still a minor, and that he abused his authority by telling police to free her after she was picked up for alleged theft.
