Vatican City - A bullet sent to the office of Genoa's archbishop is the latest threatening message for the prelate, who is leading a campaign against same-sex unions, Vatican Radio said Sunday.
The radio report said that the bullet arrived on Friday at the office of Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, who was recently elected to head the politically-influential Italian Bishops Conference. It quoted a Genoa newspaper as reporting that also inside the envelope was a photo of the archbishop, with a swastika cut into the photo.
Bodyguards stood a few meters (yards) from the altar Sunday in Genoa's cathedral as Bagnasco celebrated Mass. They were assigned a few weeks ago after graffiti threatening Bagnasco were scrawled on buildings.
Vatican Radio quoted the archdiocese's spokesman, Carlo Arcolao, as calling the recent threats work of "very small and psychologically weak fringes."
The bishops conference spokesman, the Rev. Domenico Pompili, told Vatican Radio that "it is not the intention of the Church to fuel a clash that it never went looking for."
Encouraged by the Vatican, the Italian bishops have been campaigning against a proposed Italian law which would grant several rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex ones, but which would stop short of recognizing same-sex marriage.