Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis has condemned mafia groups for ‘exploiting and enslaving people’ and urged gangsters to repent their sins and embrace Christ.

Speaking after his weekly blessing in St Peter’s Square in Rome, on Sunday he said ‘we must pray to the Lord to make these mafiosi convert to God.’

His comments came a day after the Beatification of Don Giuseppe Puglisi, a Catholic priest murdered by the mafia in Sicily in 1993.

“There has been great pain suffered by men, women and even children, exploited by so many mafias, who make them slaves, through prostitution, through many social pressures,” Pope Francis said. “They cannot do this, they cannot make our brothers slaves.”

The Holy Father also used his traditional Sunday appearance to pilgrims to hail Fr Puglisi as a ‘martyr’ and ‘an exemplary priest’ after his Beatification ceremony in Sicily’s capital Palermo drew more than 50,000 people.

Fr Puglisi was shot by a hitman in front of the church where he used to urge his congregation to disobey mafia bosses. He was the first victim of organised crime to be declared a martyr by the Catholic Church.

Six men are currently serving life sentences for the murder, which took place on his 56th birthday. Forty bishops and a cardinal representing Pope Francis attended the ceremony, as well as government ministers from Rome.

Born in Palermo, Fr Puglisi became a target as he grew increasingly outspoken in denouncing crime and alleging collusion between politicians and mafia figures.

He was famous for a rhetorical question, which he used as a catch phrase in order to encourage Sicilians to stand up and fight organised crime: ‘And what if somebody did something?’

High profile killings by the Italian mafia have declined since the 1990s, but through activities such as prostitution, extortion and drug trafficking they still wield a heavy influence over the country and its economy.

— This story ran in full in the May 31 print edition of the SCO