Yahoo – AFP,
May 26, 2013
VATICAN
CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the "mafias" that
turned people into "slaves" and prayed for gangsters to turn to God,
a day after a slain priest was proclaimed the first "mafia martyr".
"I
think of all the pain of men, women and even children who are exploited by many
mafias," Francis told tens of thousands of followers in St Peter's Square
in a traditional weekly address.
"They
are forced to do work that makes them slaves, like prostitution," he said.
"Behind all this slavery, there are mafias."
"We
pray that these mafia men and women convert to God," he said in unscripted
remarks.
Father Pino
Puglisi, who was gunned down by the mafia in 1993 for turning children away
from a life of crime, was beatified at a mass in Palermo on Saturday with tens
of thousands in attendance.
"He
took young people away from the mafia, which tried to defeat him by killing him
but in reality he is the one who won in the end," Francis said.
Puglisi has
been given the status of "blessed" and "martyr of the
faith" by the Roman Catholic Church, the first step towards full
sainthood.
His pleas
for help from political and religious authorities were frequently ignored but
since his death the Church has become much more critical of mafiosi, who are
often outwardly devout.
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