Pope honours priest slain by immigrant; politician urges vendetta

Pope honours priest slain by immigrant; politician urges vendetta

by Joseph Anthony
130 views
Pope Francis holds the weekly general audience at the San Damaso courtyard at the Vatican



Pope Francis on Wednesday paid tribute to an Italian priest killed by an immigrant suffering from mental illness, while far-right politician Matteo Salvini called for a โ€œvendettaโ€.

Father Roberto Malgesini, 51, who cared for immigrants and other needy people in the northern city of Como, was found dead from a stab wound outside his residence on Tuesday morning.

A Tunisian immigrant who police said was mentally ill later turned himself in to authorities.

Speaking at the end of his weekly general audience, Francis said Malgesini was killed โ€œby a needy person who he himself was helping, a person who was mentally illโ€.

Francis praised the โ€œmartyrdom of this witness of charity towards the most poor (and) all the priests, nuns, laymen and lay women who work with needy people who are discarded by societyโ€.

He then asked the audience of about 500 people in a Vatican courtyard to observe a minute of silent prayer for Malgesini.

Salvini, leader of the anti-immigrant League party and a former justice minister who has sparred with the pope on immigration issues before, mentioned the priest at a political rally in northern Italy on Wednesday morning.

โ€œThe fact that yesterday morning in Como a pastor was stabbed by an immigrant who should have been expelled is something that ought to make everyone cry out for vendetta,โ€ he said at the rally, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.

Nicola Frantoianni of the Italian Left party attacked Salvini, accusing him of โ€œsqualidlyโ€ exploiting the priestโ€™s killing to โ€œinject new poison in the veins of Italian societyโ€.

REUTERS

You may also like

Leave a Comment

Chijos News is an independent online publication that provides readers with the latest breaking Nigerian news, world news, entertainment, sports, business, and many more.

@2024 – Chijosnews.com. All Rights Reserved.

-
00:00
00:00
Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00