The Montreal Gazette
ROME – Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe declared unrepentant members of the camorra or Naples Mafia will no longer get a church funeral or be accepted as godfathers or mothers at baptisms, said Saturday
“How can an anti-Christ present himself before Christians. This is inconceivable,” said Sepe, the archbishop of the southern city, which is a hotbed of organized crime.
Former Camorra boss Mario Savio branded the decision as “demagogic.”
“People must be helped not condemned,” he told ANSA news agency.
Poverty and unemployment are the problems behind organized crime that should be resolved, he added. Savio has been in prison for 35 years after receiving a life sentence, but is to undergo surgery shortly and has therefore been released.
Sepe however told journalists: “If Mafiosi were repentant it would be a different story, but as this is not the case, they cannot be godfathers, or witnesses to a marriage, or have a funeral in church.”
His comments came a day after his diocese informed local priests of the decision. The Mafia must know that no church will be open for its members after death and that they will be buried without a funeral service, Sepe said.
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