His Holiness Pope Francis calls Blessed Rosario Livatino a 'martyr of justice'
Reliquary containing the bloodied shirt of Blessed Rosario Livatino
Pope Francis holds up the heroic example of Blessed Rosario Livatino, an Italian judge murdered by the mafia, and urged judges to learn from his efforts to promote redemption through justice.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Francis recalled the life and martyrdom of Rosario Angelo Livatino, who was beatified on the Italian island of Sicily on Sunday.
Speaking after the Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday, the Pope said the Sicilian magistrate was “a martyr of justice and faith.”
“In his service to the common good, as an exemplary judge who never succumbed to corruption, he sought to judge not to condemn but to redeem,” said the Pope. “His work placed him firmly under the protection of God. For this reason, he became a witness to the Gospel even unto a heroic death.”
Pope Francis urged everyone, especially magistrates, to look to Blessed Rosario Livatino’s example and to learn from him how to be “faithful defenders of the rule of law and of freedom.”
Killed for his faith, justice
Blessed Rosario was an Italian judge who was killed in 1990 by hired gunmen under orders from the heads of the Sicilian organized crime groups Stidda and Cosa Nostra.
His beatification took place in the Cathedral of Agrigento, and was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Killed for his faith, justice
Blessed Rosario was an Italian judge who was killed in 1990 by hired gunmen under orders from the heads of the Sicilian organized crime groups Stidda and Cosa Nostra.
His beatification took place in the Cathedral of Agrigento, and was presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Excommunication for the mafia
On the same day as his beatification, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development announced it has set up a “working group” dedicated to “excommunications of mafia members.” …
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