Pope Francis arrived in Sicily on Saturday to pay homage to a priest murdered by the mafia 25 years ago while trying to save youngsters in poor neighbourhoods from falling into their hands. The brief visit is part of a wider campaign he has been waging against organised crime.
Before arriving in Palermo to hold a mass in honour of Father Giuseppe “Pino” Puglisi, Pope Francis stopped in Piazza Armerina, a small impoverished town in central Sicily.
‘Under-development’
“The wounds which afflict you are many, and they have a name: social and cultural under-development, the exploitation of workers and a lack of decent work for young people,” he said to widespread applause.
Although he didn’t mention organised crime, he spoke about “extortionate money-lending” and “gambling”. The trip was dedicated to Puglisi, who served as parish priest in the rough Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio for two years, trying to engage local youngsters and keep them away from drugs and the mafia suppliers.
But on September 15, 1993 — his 56th birthday — he was shot dead at point-blank range. “I was waiting for you,” he reportedly said with a smile before dying on the doorstep of his modest home in Brancaccio. His murder came as Italy was still reeling from the killings of two anti-mafia judges.
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognised Puglisi as a martyr, “killed by hatred of the faith”. The following year he was beatified, in the first step on the path to sainthood within the Roman Catholic church.
Since becoming Pope in 2013, Pope Francis has openly confronted the mafia and called on the faithful to stop all collaboration with them. Mafiosi are often practising members and benefactors of Catholic parishes.
Local bishops have already excommunicated mafia members but the Vatican is considering creating a new doctrine excommunicating organised crime group members worldwide.