Last Saturday, Pope Francis cracked down on the Italian Mafia, urging, “Those who in their life have gone along the evil ways, as in the case of the mafia, they are not with God, they are excommunicated.” The pope did not bandy words when he denounced the mafiosi in a recent homily he preached in Calabria, which is a hotspot for crime in southern Italy. The local Calabrian mafia, the ‘Ndrangheta, were one of the main targets in Francis’ dire warnings. He accused them of “the adoration of evil and contempt for the common good.” In March, Pope Francis even warned, “[H]ell … awaits you if you continue on this road… You had a papa and a mamma. Think of them, weep a little and convert.”
Of course, this is a continuation of the pastoral example set by Pope John Paul II, who condemned the Sicilian mafia in 1993, which led to fearsome threats against clergy. One wonders about the future response from the ‘Ndrangheta. This is a call to repentance by the Pontiff. As my friend Chad Pecknold told Vox, the vocabulary of excommunication is “just something he said in a homily — which is not a vehicle for disciplinary pronouncements.” Moreover, excommunication is “only for individuals,” not entire organizations. Indeed, one is “self-excommunicated” by living in unrepentant, un-confessed sin. One grievous example includes the case of Nicola Campolongo, who was the victim of an alleged mafia hit in January. The three-year-old boy and his grandfather were both found shot and burned in a car.
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