Pope Francis upon boarding a plane from Rome to Iraq on March 5.
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ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP
Describing them as “organizations of sin” which exploited the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis launched a new attack on the mafias, this Sunday, the day of commemoration of his victims in Italy.
"The mafias are present in various parts of the world and exploit the pandemic, have become rich thanks to corruption", launched the Pope after the Sunday prayer of the Angelus.
Referring to his predecessors, he added: “Saint John Paul II had denounced their culture of death and Benedict XVI had condemned their path of death”.
"Eradicating the mafia is possible and necessary"
“These sinful organizations, these mafia structures, trade faith for idolatry, contrary to the Gospel of Christ.
Today, we remember all the victims and renew our commitment against the mafias, ”he added.
In September 2018, during a trip to Sicily where he was going to pay homage to a priest murdered 25 years earlier by the Mafia, Pope Francis declared that any Mafia "blasphemes with his life the name of God-love".
In 1993, John Paul II also called on the Mafia to abandon crime and the Sicilians to revolt against the Mafia.
The Italian anti-mafia association Libera has long commemorated the victims of organized crime on March 21, but in recent years this date has become an official national day of remembrance.
In a statement Sunday, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said "eradicating the mafia is possible and necessary".
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