Italy: A village priest in southern Italy has appealed to the Pope for support after the local bishop and police chief banned him from holding a public Mass to honour a mob boss murdered in Canada.
Father Michele Delle Foglie posted notices in the Puglia village of Grumo Appula inviting locals to attend the Mass for Rocco Sollecito, a local man who emigrated to Canada and became a key boss in the feared Rizzuto mafia clan, which dominated the Montreal drug trade.
Sollecito, 67, who was jailed in 2008 for extortion and illegal gambling, was shot dead in his white BMW by a black-clad assassin in May during a mob turf war which has involved a series of hits on key Rizzuto clan consiglieri.
“Sinners deserve God’s mercy,” Father Michele delle Foglie told several newspapers on Wednesday.
After a request from the family of Rocco Sollecito, 67, who was shot dead in Canada earlier this year, the priest had planned to celebrate a mass in his memory as is the custom in Italy.
Sollecito, who hailed from the town of Grumo Appula outside of Bari in southern Italy, later emigrated to Canada and was suspected of being one of the senior bosses of a mafia organisation in Quebec.
The police chief in Bari ordered the mass to be cancelled over public safety concerns, while the local bishop also prohibited the ceremony, calling it a “grave scandal”.
The notice read: “Father Michele Foglie, spiritually united with family living in Canada and his son, Franco, who is visiting our town, invites the faithful of our community to celebrate a mass in memory of their relative.”
A funeral for the 67-year-old was held in Montreal, and attended by 200 people, but his son, Franco, asked for a mass to be held in his hometown.
“The mass does not honour, but remembers him,” insisted Father Michele as he sought to calm the controversy.