Angelo Antonio Toriello

ANGELO ANTONIO TORIELLO (born in France in October 1962 and known as well as Friar Emanuel) is a world citizen since he grew up in Italy, but lived in USA, India, Africa, UK and travelled all around the globe due to his many skills. In fact, because of his eclectic personality, he practices different professions at same time which sees him mainly acting as a social-activist, journalist and diplomat. He has also worked for sometime in media projects as a “show-man” in different TV programs and as a documentarian producer. Nonetheless, his eclectic personality but - blended with his heterogeneous contrasting and sometime extreme life’s experiences - has been sometime the cause of legal troubles to him, generating ambiguities and controversies upon his name which let him earn the appellation of a “controversial persona”, in particular when in the late 1996, whilst serving as a catholic Franciscan Friar, he publicly reported the sexual abuses of minors (the world-known pedophilia cases which have infected many religious and laic institutions/organizations) by priests of religious institution/organisations and laic too.
In fact, his public denounce attracted the national and (at later stage the) international press attention, becoming a front page issue of the year for months known as the "Friar Emanuel and Church's Diatribe" reported by Italian newspaper "Il Mattino, Croncache del Mezzogiorno, Famiglia Cristiana, Rai2" and other networks.
The Show business experience
In 1985, after having met the famous Italian showman Renzo Arbore, Angelo A Toriello participated as singer at one of Arbore most famous Italian TV show telecasted by Italian national network (RAI 2) named “Quelli della Notte” having the stage name of Marvin. In truth, the latter had already some minor experience here and there in the show-business as he was attending an acting/directing course in a private academy of art in Rome and Paris (France) and which, all them together, sometime later led him to perform in Las Vegas, USA. Under Arbore’s wing, A A Toriello had the chance to have some more experiences in the show business, rubbing shoulders with artists like Loretta Goggi, Maurizio Costanzo, Roberto Murolo, Bobby Solo (Italian famous artists), Jack Martin (France) and many other famous or “less” famous worldwide artists. In facts, thanks to his social activities, later on he had the opportunity to meet many VIPs from the different walks of life; like for the instance, in 1997/98 the Dalai Lama and Richard Gere in Dharmashala, India.

The Religious experience
In 1992, after many experiences in different fields, A A Toriello decided to re-enter the monkhood as catholic Franciscan Friar although he endured a strong experience of child abuse by a priest at the age of 13th when he was following is youth vocation to become a priest.
In 1996 was forced to quit the monastic path as he publicly exposed the religious institution deviations. “In fact, Angelo A Toriello or Friar Emanuel is one of the first Franciscan Friar who in 1996 had the courage to publicly expose such facts to the UN and to the press, causing his expulsion from the monastic order with consequent fierceness actions towards his person accomplished by the secular clergy. During his monastic days, Emanuel has collected testimony of many concealed cases of child and youth sexual abuses perpetuated by priests through a toll-free line, which was forced to be shut down by church’s pressures. Moreover, he exposed the unrestrained homosexual life consumed inside the church with its overindulging luxury living style well-disguised by the odor of sanctity as well”.
The India experience
Because of that, since many years until nowadays "Friar Emanuel" had to face all kinds of institutional re-actions aimed to contrasting his exposing social campaign against clergy’s pedophilia and which brought him to move in India where in 1997 founded a humanitarian organization called “United Beings”. Today, under his organization’s umbrella, he continues to campaign in favor of human rights, contrasting any sort of abuse of powers, corruptions and social wrongs. By the time the organization has earned some recognition, rewarding him of the whole boycotting and defaming actions he had to endure because of the targeted denigrating campaign moved towards his doing, since today - for the instance - the covert church’s deviation facts have been largely exposed by all media of the world proving him not to be wrong.
In India, Angelo A Toriello through his organization has fostered many social projects, promoting around peace awareness by organizing conferences and media coverage through undercover documentaries which were exposing the wrongs doing of governmental, institutional and public structures, specially highlighting child prostitution and abuse cases. That has ended up to put his family and his own life at risk by having to face few life’s attempts which were duly reported in the press.
The Journalistic experience
Despite all this, it was in these years that he started his investigative journalistic activity, meeting along the way many personalities like Mr. Kaarthikeyan (former director of Central Bureau of Investigations, India and human rights Commission of India, a Padma Shri awarded personality) with whom afterward has shared social projects in collaboration with many humanitarian and social organizations under the aegis of UNO as well.
Among many activities carried out by the social activist team headed by Toriello, it is worthy to mention few investigative journalistic projects achieved by the team itself.

The first one were exposing the corruption of “black agents” in complot with corrupt embassies officers whom were selling visas for travelling to the so-called developed countries at a stratospheric price to - otherwise - “illegible” people due to their social position and status and according to the eligibility criterion's rules applied by embassies to issue a visa.

The second was a most sensitive work as it was exposing child prostitution and which in the end troubled him a lot.
The Politic experience
In November 2007, after returning in Europe, Angelo A Toriello was shortly involved in politics by being elected provincial secretary of the “Socialisti Italiani” party headed by Bobo Craxi - son of the late Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi - an opportunity this for him to cooperate for social development programs by campaigning with veteran politicians like Emma Bonino and Marco Pannella, leaders of Partito Radicale. Unfortunately the party got dissolved in the next upcoming year of Italian elections.
The Philanthropist experience
In November 2010, after many years of social cooperation for the development of African countries, A A Toriello was proposed to became an executive member of the CO.S.INT (Corpi Sanitari Internazionali founded in 1860 by famous General Giuseppe Garibaldi), an Italian (paramilitary) international NGO twinned with the youths of the UNO and committed to the promotion of health and social programs in developing countries with intervention assistance capacity in the event of worldwide natural calamities happening. Honored with the rank of Major General as International Relationship Coordinator, Angelo A Toriello is nowadays committed for the opening of different branches of CO.S.INT in different developing countries - for the instance India and Cameroun - so that each nation can benefit of international assistance and help.
The Diplomatic experience
In March 21st 2012, for such social activities, Angelo A Toriello was gladden by being nominated ambassador at-large and special envoy for the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe by its President Manuel Pinto Da Costa, conferring him accreditations and diplomatic status.
Angelo A Toriello is the first European and ambassador at-large ever appointed by the São Tomean government.

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