T
TempleofTheSoul
Guest
In Calabria, on the southern heel of the Italian boot, the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate may be more powerful than the Church, or even soccer. And on Easter, they all want to hold Santa Maria.
Easter “processione” are a Calabrian tradition. (photochopper)
By Giuseppe Salvaggiulo
SANT’ONOFRIO - Last year, in this small Italian village in the southern region of Calabria, someone fired a warning shot through the front door of the local priest of the Congregation of the Holy Rosary parish. Why was the clergyman singled out? He had the audacity to ban mobsters from Sant’Onofrio’s annual Easter procession in honor of St. Mary.
But leading up to this year’s Holy Week, the threats have only multiplied – and found a new target: members of a local soccer team, who had been assigned the honor by Bishop Luigi Renzo of carrying the statues of Saint Mary, Jesus, and Saint John during the Easter procession on Sunday.
The members of the 'Ndrangheta, the increasingly powerful Calabrian organized crime network, regard their role in the religious parade as a public statement of their power. This kind of pagan-based tradition is tied to this organization’s liturgy. For example, the group baptizes every new member, requiring him to take an oath while holding a burning portrait of the Archangel Michael.
LINK: worldcrunch.com/italian-mob-threatens-soccer-team-over-easter-procession
Easter “processione” are a Calabrian tradition. (photochopper)
By Giuseppe Salvaggiulo
SANT’ONOFRIO - Last year, in this small Italian village in the southern region of Calabria, someone fired a warning shot through the front door of the local priest of the Congregation of the Holy Rosary parish. Why was the clergyman singled out? He had the audacity to ban mobsters from Sant’Onofrio’s annual Easter procession in honor of St. Mary.
But leading up to this year’s Holy Week, the threats have only multiplied – and found a new target: members of a local soccer team, who had been assigned the honor by Bishop Luigi Renzo of carrying the statues of Saint Mary, Jesus, and Saint John during the Easter procession on Sunday.
The members of the 'Ndrangheta, the increasingly powerful Calabrian organized crime network, regard their role in the religious parade as a public statement of their power. This kind of pagan-based tradition is tied to this organization’s liturgy. For example, the group baptizes every new member, requiring him to take an oath while holding a burning portrait of the Archangel Michael.
LINK: worldcrunch.com/italian-mob-threatens-soccer-team-over-easter-procession