"Anonymous" for Borderland Beat
An Italian judge who was murdered by a mafia group in Sicily took another step towards sainthood on Sunday, almost three decades after he was declared a martyr by Pope John Paul II.
The beautification of Rosario Livatino took place in the Cathedral of Agrigento, near the Sicilian town where he was gunned down on September 21, 1990, when he was 38-years-old.
Livatino, who attended to Church every day before going to court, was involved in a mass trial against a mafioso and was about to launch a new case when he was murdered.
He was one of the first investigative judges in Italy to go after the mafia's assets and financial structure.
"He understood that would lead to a weakening of the clans, their loss of control and also of social control," said Luigi Cotti, a priest who wrote a book on Livatino's biography.
His body was found in a ditch close to his home. He had refused armed protection. The two mafia members who killed Livatino, who were identified by a man who drive by the crime scene at the moment he was killed, were given life sentences.
In many of his personal court notes, Livatino marked them with the abbreviation "STD", for sub tutela Dei, a Latin invocation meaning "under the protection of God". This was common practice in the Middle Ages when judges made official decisions on criminal trials.
The notes also revealed that Livatino prayed to God for forgiveness since he knew he job posed a risk to his parents once he learned that the Cosa Nostra criminal group was after him.
John Paul II visited Livatino's parents three years after he was killed and said that their son was "a martyr for justice and indirectly for the faith". He also made statements to the mafia.
"Convert," he said. "The judgement of God is coming."
But Professor John Dickie, author of the Sicilian mafia history book Cosa Nostra, said that the Catholic Church has "a bit of a guilty conscience" on the mafia. Pope John Paul II's words only came after "decades and decades of silence and collusion," he said.
"With the Cold War over and with this upsurge in Sicilian mafia violence, finally the church began to take the mafia threat seriously, and not regard it as a sort of much, much more minor issue compared to the threat of Communism," he said.
In January this year Italy began its biggest organized crime trial in decades. Some 355 suspected mafia members and corrupt officials were charged after a lengthy inquiry into the 'Ndrangheta, the country's most powerful mafia group. It is expected to take more than two years.
Canonization Process
Per Catholic Church requirements, there are three steps to sainthood. A candidate becomes "Venerable", then "Blessed", and then a "Saint".
Venerable is a title given to a deceased person recognized by the Pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.
To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, that candidate needs a miracle attributed to them in addition to having heroic virtue or offered their life. Canonization, the process of becoming a saint, requires a second miracle after beatification. The Pope, however, may waive these requirements.
A miracle is not required prior to a martyr's beatification (which was the case for Livatino), but one is required before canonization.
italin mafia was crazy af with the corleonesie
ReplyDeleteSilent complicity makes money, lately there is silent complicity everywhere, no money needs to change hands, just some ass fluffing and kissing for the hell of it, COVID 19 be damned.
ReplyDeletePlease don't give the cheerleaders and groupies any ideas!!
ReplyDeleteBack in the day the Sicilians was the most ruthless and powerful criminal clan in italy,and among the strongest in the world!
ReplyDeleteNdrangheta nowdays was the most powerful,but Corleonesi was the most powerful in italian history
ReplyDeleteInteresting story. Is this the first case ? I wonder if anyone murdered in Mexico’s drug war will eventually be on the same path. Perhaps a priest who is missing or dead.
ReplyDelete2:53
DeleteOnly if they were doing good and meet certain criteria.
El Señor De Los Cielos, Malverde are 2 candidates, el lazca resuscitated, the saint of the cabelleras cagadas resuscitated too.
DeleteSainthood? He was doing his job and went to church. How is that special or miraculous?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the Catholic Church hands Sainthood to anyone like that Carlo guy, JP II, and John XXIII and now this Judge.
Who knows, George Floyd may be next.
Queso, read the second to last paragraph and pay special attention to the last sentence in said paragraph.
DeleteBetter than making a false Saint like Jesus Valverde that Sinaloans worship because he was a criminal that alledgedly helped people somehow after committing those crimes.
DeleteThis guy committed no crime and helped people by taking dangerous mafia criminals off the street.
"Who knows, George Floyd may be next"
DeleteCareful Queso yu might upset some of these phony social warriors and their crazed bullshit race theories
@2:39
DeleteYes. The Fake Pope may waive the miracles.