Brushing aside worries about his health and safety, Pope Francis traveled to the heart of mob territory today (June 21, 2014) to comfort the family of a three-year-old boy gunned down in a January shootout, and declared that all Italian mobsters are automatically excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, the USA Today website reports.
The underdeveloped Calabria region of Italy that the pope visited is the power base of the 'Ndrangheta -- a global drug-trafficking syndicate that enriches itself by extorting businesses and infiltrating public-works contracts.
During his homily at an outdoor Mass today, Francis denounced the 'Ndrangheta for what he called its "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good."
"Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated," the pope asserted. This is the first time in history that a pope has excommunicated the mafia from the Catholic Church -- a clear illustration of Pope Francis' peerless and fearless papal courage in addressing Christian issues.
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