Priest who fought Mafia is beatified

Fr Giuseppe Puglisi

Father Giuseppe Puglisi, a priest who was killed by the Mafia in 1993, was beatified in Palermo in Sicily, on Saturday. After the Angelus in St Peter's Square on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about him, saying: “Don Puglisi was an exemplary priest, devoted especially to youth ministry. He taught children according to the Gospel and encouraged them the to get out of the mob, and so they tried to defeat him and killed him. In reality, though, it is he that won, with Christ Risen."

These gangs “cause so much pain to men, women and even to children,” he went on, saying that prostitution was one form of slavery or social pressure used by the mafia.

Pope Francis urged the faithful in the square to “pray for these gangsters so that they convert.”

The killing of Fr Puglisi marked a change in the way the Church dealt with the Mafia. In the past they held protests and prayers, but Fr Puglisi actively worked to encourage young people not to get involved with the mob.

For more information on Fr Puglisi, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pino_Puglisi

Source: VIS