Italian bishop condemns Mafia ceremonies at Catholic shrines

CWN - July 26, 2010

Bishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini of Locri-Gerace, Italy, has called upon Mafia leaders to cease the practice of holding initiation ceremonies at Catholic shrines. Reacting to the release of police videotapes showing an initiation at a Marian shrine near Reggio Calabria, the bishop released an open letter to the Mafia condemning the use of religious shrines for criminal purposes. He added the observation that if Mafia figures would amend their ways, the Church is “always willing to welcome you with open arms because it is the only institution that believes in the possibility of your conversion.”

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($13,107 to go):
$30,000.00 $16,892.93
44% 56%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Thankfully, electing a pope is not like electing a president. 11 hours ago
Excellent critique of bias in New York Times abortion coverage 12 hours ago
Pope Francis the Frank June 18
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy June 18
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind June 18

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13