Calabria Italy Mafia is hitting news headlines today not for their crimes but because of Pope Francis. A recent crime by the Calabria Italy Mafia has resulted in the death of an innocent toddler during a drug war. Hence, Pope Francis came to the organized crime heartland to denounce the Calabria Italy Mafia.
Italy is one of the most beautiful places on earth. But Pope Francis came to the country not to admire the sites but for an entirely different business. On Saturday, Pope Francis traveled to the town of Cassano all'Jonio in the south of Italy.
According to the Associated Press, the town is currently the battleground for an ongoing turf war between mafia figures. Pope Francis came to the place in a mission to meet the father of a three-year-old who has been a victim of the Calabria Italy Mafia. The boy was killed during an attack linked to the drug war.
Because of the Calabria Italy Mafia drug war which caused the death of an innocent, the Pope reportedly declared that all mafia members are automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
The Calabria Italy Mafia is known to reside in Calabria, a town in Italy recognized as the power base of the 'ndrangheta. The 'ndranghetas are a global drug trafficking syndicate that gets cash through business extortion and infiltration of public works contracts in the underdeveloped town of Calabria.
Pope Francis went on a trip to the heart of Italy's biggest crime syndicate in southern Calabria in hopes of dealing with the Calabria Italy Mafia. He held an outdoor Mass in the town and during the homily, he officially denounced the 'ndrangheta for what he called its 'adoration of evil and contempt for the common good.' He excommunicated all those associated with the mafia saying, 'Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated.'
In the midst of his one-day pilgrimage, he also met with the boy's father. The father of the three-year-old Nicola Campolongo was reportedly jailed in the town of Castrovillari.
Campolo was shot in January, along with one of his grandfathers and the grandfather's girlfriend. The attack was blamed on the drug turf wars of the Calabria Italy Mafia in the nearby town of Cassano all'Jonio. According to The Daily Mail, the attackers lit a car with all three victims inside. Reports said that the parents of Campolo have already been in jail at the time of the attack due to drug trafficking charges.
After the attack of the Calabria Italy Mafia which killed Campolo, the Pope had reportedly expressed his horror and promised to visit the town.
During his visit to the boy's father in prison, the Pope was seen embracing the man. The father of the boy who was slain in the Calabria Italy Mafia attack also asked the pope to pray for his spouse, who was allowed to leave prison after the death of the three-year-old. She remains under house arrest. The pope also went to meet two of the boy's grandmothers.
According to Vatican spokesman Reverend Ciro Benedettini, Pope Francis told boy's father saying, 'May children never again have to suffer in this way.' Benedettini added, 'The two grandmothers were weeping like fountains.'
Calabria Italy Mafia related visit by Pope Francis also included greeting about 200 other prisoners. Along with the prison visit, Francis reportedly also went to a hospice where a doctor removed a wooden splinter from one of the pope's fingers, according to organizers.
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