VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urged members of Italian organized
crime groups on Saturday to repent, saying the Catholic Church would
welcome them if they promised to stop serving the cause of evil.
He spoke during an audience at the Vatican for pilgrims and anti-crime
activists from the southern region of Calabria, home to the 'Ndrangheta,
mainland Italy's equivalent of the Sicilian Mafia.
"Open your hearts to the Lord. The Lord is waiting for you and the
Church will welcome you if your willingness to serve good is as clear
and public as your choice to serve evil was," he said.
When he visited Calabria last June, he accused organized crime groups
of practicing "the adoration of evil" and said members had
excommunicated themselves from the Church by their actions.
The 'Ndrangheta, which makes most of its money from drug trafficking,
has spread from Calabria to northern Europe and North America.
A 2013 study by Demoskopia, an economic and social research institute, estimated the 'Ndrangheta's annual turnover at some 53 billion euros in 30 countries, equivalent to about 3.5 percent of Italy's total official economic output.
A 2013 study by Demoskopia, an economic and social research institute, estimated the 'Ndrangheta's annual turnover at some 53 billion euros in 30 countries, equivalent to about 3.5 percent of Italy's total official economic output.
It has been much harder for
investigators to combat than the Sicilian Mafia because its structure is
more lateral than hierarchical and its tightly-knit families are harder
to penetrate. — Reuters
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