The New York Times, in Abuse Loosens Church’s Culture of Silence in Italy, notes that:
In Italy, the “ombra del cupolone,” or shadow of the dome of St. Peter’s, reaches far, and the church has long maintained a forceful grip on public life, if not in Italians’ private lives. But slowly, the sexual abuse crisis that has stirred up Europe in recent months has begun to take root in the Vatican’s backyard.