ROME (Bloomberg) — Italy needs a return to "sobriety" in its political life, a top Vatican official said, renewing his criticism of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the sex scandals surrounding him.

The official, Cardinal Walter Kasper, in May was the first Vatican official to speak up when Berlusconi became embroiled in a scandal that prompted his wife to seek a divorce. Kasper told daily La Stampa on May 6 that the premier's behavior was "strange."

In an interview with Bloomberg today, Kasper said, "there needs to be greater sobriety in politics".

Berlusconi courted controversy by attending the birthday party of a teenage girl in April. In June a self-proclaimed escort said she had sex with the premier on the night of Barack Obama's election. Berlusconi said on June 23 he's "never paid a woman" for sex.

The Vatican has avoided making direct statements about Italian politics since the scandals involving Berlusconi surfaced, preferring to express its views through its media outlets including Church newspaper Avvenire.

Dino Boffo, Avvenire's editor-in-chief, stepped down last month after Berlusconi family-owned daily Il Giornale accused him of homosexual harassment and of being "hypocritical" in demanding explanations about the premier's ties to women.