Bagnasco urges quick election of new Italian president

(ANSA) - Rome, January 26 - Italy needs a new president quickly but the electors must be careful to find someone industrious, who will represent the country with dignity, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) said Monday.
    In a wide-ranging speech to the bishops, Bagnasco also spoke on Italy's continued economic crisis and domestic politics as well as terrorism.
    He said that the economic crisis that "haunts many families" can only be solved by creating enough work for everyone.
    This, therefore, must be the government's highest priority: "think about this before anything else," he said.
    But also crucial is attracting vital investment to get the economy growing again to support the Italian people.
    "(There are) seniors who await their meager pensions eating bread and loneliness, young people who fear for their uncertain future, knocking - not infrequently disheartened - at the gates of the work; adults who have lost work and who have families to support and commitments," said Bagnasco.
    On the international front, he called for greater religious freedom for Christians who are oppressed in the world and denounced violence committed by terrorists in the name of God.
    "You can never kill in the name of God, that is blasphemy against man and against the Creator," said Bagnasco.