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VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday urged people to fight organized crime groups like the mafia around the world, warning that criminals were using the Covid-19 pandemic to enrich themselves even more.
In December, the Paris-based Interpol police coordination issued a global alert warning that organized criminal networks were targeting Covid-19 vaccines. In March, South African police seized hundreds of fake vaccines and arrested four suspects.
“The mafias are present in various parts of the world and, taking advantage of the pandemic, they are enriching themselves through corruption,” said Francis, in his speech Sunday at noon on the day that Italy remembers the victims of organized crime.
Italian police say crime clans are using the pandemic to win over poor families facing financial ruin by offering loans and food.
Usurers demanding exorbitant interest rates are bailing out businesses affected by the pandemic, police say.
“These structures of sin, the structures of the mafia, are against the gospel and confuse idolatry with faith,” added the Pope.
In Italy, many members of organized crime see themselves as part of a cult-like religious group, invoking the help of saints and using religious figurines or statues in initiation rites.
The southern town of Oppido Mamertina made headlines in 2014 when locals carrying a statue of the Virgin diverted the route of a procession to stop at the home of a mob boss and bowed the statue slightly as if to kneel in respect.
“Today, let us remember all the victims and renew our commitment against the gangs,” Francis said.
In recent years, Calabria-based ‘Ndrangheta has surpassed Sicily’s Cosa Nostra as the most feared and lucrative Italian criminal group, making most of its money from drug trafficking. It has spread all over the world. – Reuters
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