What’s worse: Screwing around on your spouse…or lying about it?
Um, how about lending your boyfriend your cellphone, only to have him call up your estranged hubby to insult him?
In a predominantly Catholic country you might expect the courts to take a dim view of lying and adultery.
But not in this case.
The woman who brought the appeal was from Porto Ercole on the Tuscany coast, and named only as Carla.
She had lent her telephone to her secret lover, Giovanni, who then used it to call Carla’s estranged husband, Vincenzo, and insult him.
Giovanni, the lover, was convicted of abusive behaviour in a local court, and Carla convicted as an accessory.
But the Court of Cassation found that having a lover was a circumstance that damaged the honour of the person among family and friends.
Lying about it, therefore, was permitted, even in a judicial investigation.
It is not yet clear whether the ruling might also apply to men who have secret mistresses.
As I understand it, men with mistresses have always had an unwritten, “understood” right to lie about it. In fact, lying about it is the EXPECTED thing to do.
The fact that this ruling is the subject of a controversy just tells me that double standards are still alive and well.
