Pope Francis Denounces Mafia, Asks Mobsters To ‘Convert To God’

Continuing to be an all-embracing Pope, Pope Francis has reached out to the Italian mafia to tell them to change their criminal ways and to turn to God.

As a response to the murder of Reverend Giuseppe Puglisi, who was shot dead in 1993 after denouncing organized crime, Pope Francis is reaching out to the mafia and pleading for them to “convert to God.”

The Vatican honored Puglisi as a martyr during the beatification ceremony in Palermo this weekend. Puglisi’s murder was attributed to Cosa Nostra.

“Educating young people according to the Gospel, he took them away from organized crime, and thus it (the Mafia) tried to defeat him by killing him,” Pope Francis said of Puglisi. “I think of the great pain suffered by men, women and even children, exploited by so many mafias.”

He went on to denounce the mafias, blaming them for human trafficking that leads to modern day slavery and prostitution.

“Behind this exploitation and slavery are the mafias,” he said. “They cannot make our brothers slaves, let us pray that these Mafiosi and Mafiose convert to God.”