Pope warns Italian Mafia

[mikekle]

I know a little about this kind of thing, I am half Italian and half German, my mom was 100% Italian and came from a very ‘Italian’ family, her brother, who lived/ lives in NJ was involved in some shady things, her uncles and brothers were also somewhat involved in this around the OH area. Im not going into details about them or their business.

I will just say there was a time years back that I was quite interested in going down this path, I was drawn to the money mostly, but thankfully I never went ahead with it and now have no interest in that lifestyle.

It does not surprise me to hear the Pope singling the Italian Mafia out, seems they are still pretty powerful in Italy…They are still fairly powerful in the states too, but its more hidden these days, they dont flash their power and money like they used to, but they still run and control sports betting, still give out loans, still extort money(mostly from businesses for protection), etc.

the only thing that makes me disagree somewhat with the Pope, those people that the Mafia target, they are by no means innocent people, they knew what they were getting involved in when they took the loan, asked a favor, or started doing business with them, everyone knows the risks and knows what happens if you do not obey the rules, so they are not really innocent, I also question how a 4 yr old was killed by Mafia, I think this may have been done by someone else, the Mafia does not usually go after family members, especially kids, so I have a feeling the person that shot this kid was someone other than a Mafia member.

news.msn.com/world/pope-tells-mafia-to-stop-evil-or-prepare-for-hell

 

[McCall1981]

I don’t really know much about the Mafia, but I’m very glad to read that Francis specifically mentioned the reality of Hell.

 

[livingwordunity]

I read some of the article, and I think it’s good that our Pope is speaking out against the Mafia. Pope Francis seems fearless.

 

[RPRPsych]

I don’t really know much about the Mafia, but I’m very glad to read that Francis specifically mentioned the reality of Hell.

Good for the Holy Father. Organized crime in any form needs to be condemned.

 

[Joie_de_Vivre]

I know a little about this kind of thing, I am half Italian and half German, my mom was 100% Italian and came from a very ‘Italian’ family, her brother, who lived/ lives in NJ was involved in some shady things, her uncles and brothers were also somewhat involved in this around the OH area. Im not going into details about them or their business.

I will just say there was a time years back that I was quite interested in going down this path, I was drawn to the money mostly, but thankfully I never went ahead with it and now have no interest in that lifestyle.

It does not surprise me to hear the Pope singling the Italian Mafia out, seems they are still pretty powerful in Italy…They are still fairly powerful in the states too, but its more hidden these days, they dont flash their power and money like they used to, but they still run and control sports betting, still give out loans, still extort money(mostly from businesses for protection), etc.

the only thing that makes me disagree somewhat with the Pope, those people that the Mafia target, they are by no means innocent people, they knew what they were getting involved in when they took the loan, asked a favor, or started doing business with them, everyone knows the risks and knows what happens if you do not obey the rules, so they are not really innocent, I also question how a 4 yr old was killed by Mafia, I think this may have been done by someone else, the Mafia does not usually go after family members, especially kids, so I have a feeling the person that shot this kid was someone other than a Mafia member.

news.msn.com/world/pope-tells-mafia-to-stop-evil-or-prepare-for-hell

If you do business in Southern Italy you will eventually be forced to do business with organized crime, especially in Calabria.

 

[Maria1993]

If you do business in Southern Italy you will eventually be forced to do business with organized crime, especially in Calabria.

this is the same in mexico…
You HAVE to do business or they will kill your family and take your property.

 

[eamonnroma]

It is good that the Pope is condeming the Mafia organizations. However the Catholic Church cannot hold its head high here. The Church has had a long history of collaboration with the various Mafias, particulary the one in Sicily. Even priests were found to have been members of the ‘family’. Some reasonably recent Italian politicians were also embroiled in scandals involving the Church and the mafia. The Church has a lot of skeletons in its cupboard. Thank God for Pope Bergoglio.

 

[Joie_de_Vivre]

It is good that the Pope is condeming the Mafia organizations. However the Catholic Church cannot hold its head high here. The Church has had a long history of collaboration with the various Mafias, particulary the one in Sicily. Even priests were found to have been members of the ‘family’. Some reasonably recent Italian politicians were also embroiled in scandals involving the Church and the mafia. The Church has a lot of skeletons in its cupboard. Thank God for Pope Bergoglio.

Some have really tried to fight organized crime, see Bl. Puglisi who was murdered for his refusal to subordinate himself to organized crime.

 

[SilverCamellia]

There is to be a programme on the UK’s Channel 4 news this week that touches on the Vatican’s relationship with the Mafia. The programme will be broadcast at 11.05pm on Tuesday 25 March. Unfortunately the whole programme seems very anti-Catholic. I saw that it was The Independent newspaper’s Pick of the Week, which reviewed it by mentioning that one of the testimonies within the programme says that Benedict XVI was ‘a weak man who should never have been Pope’, and that he was faced with ‘overwhelming scandal’ including paedophile priests and the ‘Mafia money-laundering Vatican bank’.

Unfortunately it is this kind of programme that gives ammunition to anti-Catholics. My own parents were against me becoming Catholic and say that Catholics are ‘weirdos’, and if they watch this programme it will confirm their view that there is nothing much going for it. It is hard to explain that the beauty of the Church isn’t in its sins but in its history, its Truth and its promises

Anyway, perhaps the programme will not be as bad as it seems to be. I hope it does give some balanced commentary.

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

I know a little about this kind of thing, I am half Italian and half German, my mom was 100% Italian and came from a very ‘Italian’ family, her brother, who lived/ lives in NJ was involved in some shady things, her uncles and brothers were also somewhat involved in this around the OH area. Im not going into details about them or their business.

I will just say there was a time years back that I was quite interested in going down this path, I was drawn to the money mostly, but thankfully I never went ahead with it and now have no interest in that lifestyle.

It does not surprise me to hear the Pope singling the Italian Mafia out, seems they are still pretty powerful in Italy…They are still fairly powerful in the states too, but its more hidden these days, they dont flash their power and money like they used to, but they still run and control sports betting, still give out loans, still extort money(mostly from businesses for protection), etc.

the only thing that makes me disagree somewhat with the Pope, those people that the Mafia target, they are by no means innocent people, they knew what they were getting involved in when they took the loan, asked a favor, or started doing business with them, everyone knows the risks and knows what happens if you do not obey the rules, so they are not really innocent, I also question how a 4 yr old was killed by Mafia, I think this may have been done by someone else, the Mafia does not usually go after family members, especially kids, so I have a feeling the person that shot this kid was someone other than a Mafia member.

news.msn.com/world/pope-tells-mafia-to-stop-evil-or-prepare-for-hell

Please take a few moments to look up Paolo Borsellino, Giovanni Falcone, and Father Pino Puglisi, Carlo Alberto della Chiesa. and Giuseppe Fava.

Then read here

articles.latimes.com/1990-10-07/news/mn-2826_1_organized-crime

cnn.com/2014/01/29/world/europe/italy-child-mafia-hit/

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I think it is very brave of our pontiff to call out violent mobsters. And I love that he spoke of a life of sin leading to hell. To the Pope, an unrepentant mobster goes to hell. Period. And that is refreshing in this day and age of namby pamby “nobody goes to hell” theology it is nice to know that someone (the leader of our faith) still preaches the dangers o living a life outside of holiness. Having said that:

This should be applied to ANY sin.
From Pope Francis:

…Repent. There’s still time to not end up in Hell, which is what awaits you if you continue on this path.”

This should be the Catholic answer for ANY mortal sin. And while the press and perhaps the Church dances for the homosexual or anti marriage or pro abortion or pro birth control crowd, it just seems that this was a case of an easy target.

“Who am I to judge” seems like it would have incited anger by the victims who were there. But there are far more victims in this world of the evils of homosexual behavior/agendas and pro death “woman’s issues”