Thirty-nine people imprisoned for forcing a procession in Sicily to pay homage to crime boss Francesco La Rocca in 2016
The mayor and priest of San Michele Di Ganzaria refused to follow the procession away from its official route and denounced those responsible for diverting it.“You should never invoke God or his name, which is certainly not on the side of the mafiosi, who are violent and ruthless men,” the archbishop of Catania, Luigi Renna, said in a statement.
The group was convicted of disturbing a religious event and incitement to commit crimes. The eight ringleaders received three-year terms, and the others were sentenced to between six months and two years, nine months in jail. “This sentence is certainly going to make people suffer, but I hope that the suffering will bear fruit,” the archbishop said.
This was by no means the first time a religious procession has stopped outside the home of a mafia boss.has always been at the heart of organised crime in Italy. The Camorra pray to Saint Januarius, the patron saint of Naples for assistance and in Palermo, Reggio Calabria and Naples, it has become customary to halt religious processions outside the homes of the bosses to pay tribute to them. Many mobsters see themselves as part of a religious, cult-like group, invoking the help of saints.
In 2014, Francesco Milito, bishop of Oppido Mamertina-Palmi, in Calabria, banned religious processions after a statue of the Virgin Mary was used to honour a notorious crime boss.