By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe of Naples, Italy announced on Saturday that unrepentant members of the mafia in that city will no longer be entitled to a church funeral, or to serve as godfathers at baptisms.
“How can an anti-Christ present himself before Christians. This is inconceivable,” said Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, which is known as a hotbed of organized crime.
According to Agence France-Presse, the Cardinal made the comments a day after his diocese informed local priests of the decision that no church will be open for mafia members after death, and that they will be buried without a funeral service.
Former mafia boss Mario Savio told the ANSA news agency he thought the decision was “demagogic.”
“People must be helped not condemned,” he said, and blamed poverty and unemployment as being the reason why people turning to the mafia, problems which he believes should be solved first. Savio, who has been serving a life sentence for 35 years, was recently let out of prison pending surgery.
However, the Cardinal’s decision stands.
“If Mafiosi were repentant it would be a different story,” Sepe said, “but as this is not the case, they cannot be godfathers, or witnesses to a marriage, or have a funeral in church.”
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