Pope Francis had stern words for Italian Mafia members who carry themselves as upstanding religious citizens. In an outdoor mass in Calabria, the pope said, “Those who in their life have gone along their evil ways, as in the case of the mafia, they are not with God, they are excommunicated.”
The pope visited the relatives of a young boy that was the victim of an alleged Mafia hit in January. He was with his grandfather when they were both shot and burned in a car.
Pope Francis condemned the local mafia, known as Ndrangheta, during a one-day-visit to Calabria. He called the organization’s following an illustration of “the adoration of evil and contempt for the common good.”
Ndrangheta has an enormous recruiting pool to choose from due to its alarming unemployment rate of 56%. Ndrangheta is one of the wealthiest international crime organizations in the world; it’s estimated that they pull in $72B annually.
Much of this income is generated through cocaine sales, gambling, embezzlement and extortion.
Ndrangheta expanded its reach after a six-year gang war(1985-1991), referred to as the Second Ndrangheta War. Deputy President of the regional parliament of Calabria Francesco Fortugno was killed by Ndrangheta in 2005. The national government started a large-scale operation in Calabria and arrested many ndranghesti that included the murderers of Fortugno.
In 2012, after months of investigation, Mayor Demetrio Arena and all 30 city counselors were removed from office due to the threat of a mafia presence infecting the local government. Earlier this year, FBI and local authorities arrested members of the Gambino and Bonnano crime families, some of whom are affiliated with Ndrangheta.
Photo: Reuter
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