More than 50 prosecutors, bishops, United Nations representatives and victims of organized crime came together for a Vatican conference this week to hammer out the Church’s new legal doctrine concerning “the question of excommunication for corruption and mafia association.”

"Our effort is to create a mentality, a culture of justice, that fights corruption and promotes the common good," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's retired ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, who was one of the conference participants.

Pope Francis waves

While Pope Francis has bluntly called for the excommunication of mobsters before, it is the first time mafia and corruption crimes are being considered together  – not worthy of pardon because they are habitual criminal ways of life, as opposed to a single act of sin.

Within the mafia clans of Italy, but also inside the narcos culture of the Mexican and Colombian cartels, pseudo-religious rituals rich with Catholic imagery and references are an integral part of the cultural tradition.

Pope Francis railed against the mafia’s “adoration of evil and contempt for common good” in a high-profile visit to the region plagued by the brutal ‘Ndrangheta mafia organisation in 2014, declaring mobsters automatically excommunicated. Nonetheless, his remarks have failed to halt the “padrino” system of naming children after mobster godfathers or detours of religious processions in front of the homes of known mob bosses as a sign of honour. 

Excommunication, which bans Catholics from participating in the sacraments or communion, is one of the most several penalties within the church. It has been used in the past to isolate a number of religious sects, such as the ultra conservative followers of French archbishop Marcel-Francois Lefebvre. 

But in a Catholic country where corruption in public life is not uncommon, some have publicly complained excommunication for extortion or paying bribes is a step too far.

“I think the Vatican should judge case by case. I confessed to my guilt and I don’t think I should be excommunicated,” ex-Senator Sergio De Gregorio told La Repubblica. Caught up in one of former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi’s political corruption scandals, Mr. De Gregorio admitted as part of a plea bargain that he took millions in bribes in exchange for switching sides to help topple Romano Prodi’s centre-left coalition government in 2008. 

“I admitted responsibility and told the truth. I have sincerely repented for my crimes, why should I be excluded from the Church?”

But Italy’s anti-corruption czar Raffaele Cantone heralded the Vatican’s move as “revolutionary” saying it will greatly increase pressure on those in the worlds of politics, economics and finance who "profess to be Catholic despite not being extraneous to circuits of corruption.”  

Source: telegraph.co.uk