Emanuela Orlandi, then 15, whose father worked for the Vatican, disappeared on June 22, 1983 after attending a music class in central Rome. Since then, the case has led to numerous theses, never proven and never proven, of no longer fascinating the Italians against the background of conspiracy theories about the secret services, the Mafia, the high Vatican authorities and Freemasonry.
“No State, much less the Church, can justify crime,” proclaimed one of the banners of this sit-in organized by Pietro Orlandi, brother of the disappeared, after the Vatican announced on Tuesday the opening of an investigation into this matter.
“Perhaps they (the Vatican, editor’s note) have understood that it is time to make a point. I hope that’s a point. This is the first time they have opened an investigation into the kidnapping of Emanuela, a Vatican citizen,” Pietro Orlandi told the press.
“I have always been convinced that the Vatican knows that they are aware that the three popes (John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, n.m. outsiders,” he said. The solidarity of those present “is the strength that has pushed me forward all these years,” added Mr. Orlandi.
Series on Netflix
“I hope that after 40 years it will be the right thing to do,” explained Lorenzo Farina, a student who had traveled to the sit-in, following the unsuccessful investigations by the Italian judiciary. “What also struck me was the indifference on the part of the Vatican […] who never cooperated,” he added.
That disappearance was the subject of a 2022 Netflix series in which Emanuela’s brother claims Pope Francis allegedly said to him, “She is in heaven,” which – according to the family – implies the Vatican knows what’s up with the girl happened.