On January 16, 2023, Italy's number 1 fugitive, Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro was caught and arrested by the police. He is known for his disdain for the Catholic Church.
Denaro's notes discovered after his arrest describe him as flying “into a rage” when Fr. Puglisi was beatified. This priest was killed in 1993 for speaking out against the Mafia.
The Mafia boss' journals also express his contempt for the Church's statement on excommunicating Mafia members. All three of the last popes have condemned these mobsters.
POPE JOHN PAUL II
'Convert!' One day God's judgment will come!
POPE BENEDICT XVI
Do not yield to the suggestions of the Mafia, which is a way of death. It is incompatible with the Gospel, as your bishops have so often told you.
POPE FRANCIS
The mafia is not in communion with God, they are excommunicated. Today we profess this before the presence of Corpus Christi, the Blessed Sacrament, exposed in the altar.
Pope Francis reflected on Fr. Puglisi's life of love and service as an antithesis to the life of Mafia members. In 2013 in Palermo, this Italian priest became the first person killed by the mafia to be beatifed by the Catholic Church.
KG
