Martyred Italian judge Rosario Livatino (1952-1990). Public domain.
Rome Newsroom, Mar 31, 2021 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis has said that the martyrdom of an Italian Catholic judge in 1990 showed the mafia’s “intrinsic denial of the Gospel.”
In the preface to a new book, published March 31 by Vatican News, the pope reflected on the lessons of Rosario Livatino’s life and death.
The pope, who recognized Livatino as a martyr in December, recalled that the judge was shot dead by young men paid by two Sicilian organized crime groups, the Stidda and Cosa Nostra.
He said that Livatino’s last words were: “Picciotti [young mafiosi], what did I do to you?”