A mafia hitman in Italy allegedly poisoned a Catholic priest’s communion chalice in a small town after the holy cleric spoke out against organized crime.
Rev. Felice Palamara had been celebrating mass in Cessaniti this past Saturday, a small town in the southern region of Calabria, when he noticed a rather peculiar smell emanating from the containers of water and wine — the smell of bleach.
“Palamara suspected something was wrong and immediately suspended the service and called the Italian national police, the Carabinieri. The police later determined Palamara’s cruets of water and wine had been laced with bleach,” per the New York Post.
The ‘Ndrangheta crime organization originated in Palamara’s region, and the priest believes that a mafia hitman tried poison him in retaliation for speaking out against the group.
When Father Felice Palmara prepared to drink from a chalice in which he had placed the consecrated water and wine for a Sunday vigil Mass on Saturday evening, he detected a strange odor and interrupted the liturgy.https://t.co/xsy1TYq7Vs
— Crux (@Crux) February 26, 2024
“I’m sure that this act of intimidation has nothing to do with my parishioners because I have been here for 10 years and I have always had good relations with the people of the parish,” Palamara told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
“We don’t allow anyone to do harm to the parish. Nobody can stop a town that deserves redemption and that wants to grow,” he added.
The ‘Ndrangheta is now believed to be the world’s richest organized crime group and has reportedly made “tens of billions of dollars from trafficking cocaine over several decades, and recently has been able to expand its reach across Europe as the Sicilian Mafia lost its influence,” according to the Post.
“In August last year, the local town council was dissolved over concerns the Mafia had infiltrated its ranks, a common measure taken especially in Italy’s south, where Mafia influence has held strong,” it added.
Palamara said that he has been the target of numerous death threats and that his car has been vandalized multiple times. He has since obtained a police escort.
“My revenge is called love, my shield forgiveness, my armor mercy. I will not dwell on obstacles, nor will I be frightened by the darkness,” Palamara wrote on social media.
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