Pierino Gelmini

Who is Pierino Gelmini?

Pietro "Pierino" Gelmini is a prominent Italian former Roman Catholic priest who founded the drug abuse rehabilitation center Comunità Incontro.

Despite his 1971 imprisonment on charges of fraud, Gelmini has been highly regarded for his work with the drug-addicted, having received praise from such figures as media tycoon and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who gave € 5 million to Comunità Incontro in 2005, and the Italian Senator Maurizio Gasparri, who once celebrated him as "one of the few heroes of our time."

Personally accused of sexual abuse by a total of twelve young men who claim to have been victimized while recovering at Gelmini's Amelia rehabilitation center, Gelmini was indicted in June 2010 and is currently awaiting a trial set to commence in 2011. Gelmini is now laicized from the priesthood at his own request.