Rome

The serene Italian island of Sicily handed down jail sentences to 39 people after convicting them for diverting a Good Friday religious procession to the house of a mafia family. The 39 people had diverted the parade to force it to pay homage to an imprisoned mafia boss.

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What happened?

In 2016, a group of people were carrying a statue of Jesus Christ through the village of San Michele Di Ganzaria during Easter. The accused individuals are reported to have stopped the procession and forced it to pass in front of the house of the mafia godfather Fancesco La Rocca.

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La Rocca was serving a life sentence at the time for mafia-related crimes. However, his wife came out of the house to greet the wellwishers and made an offering.

This suffering will bear fruit: Sicilian archbishop

The mayor and priest of San Michele Di Ganzaria refused to follow the procession away from its official route and denounced those responsible for diverting it.

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A Sicilian archbishop said that the sentence would deter others from doing anything similar in future.

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“You should never invoke God or his name, which is certainly not on the side of the Mafiosi, who are violent and ruthless men,” the archbishop of Catania, Luigi Renna, said in a statement.

The group was convicted of disturbing a religious event and incitement to commit crimes. The eight ringleaders received three-year terms, and the others were sentenced to between six months and two years, nine months in jail.

“This sentence is certainly going to make people suffer, but I hope that the suffering will bear fruit,” the archbishop said.

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