translated from Spanish: Papa denounced that mafias “take advantage of the pandemic”

“Mafias are present in various parts of the world and take advantage of the pandemic; they are enriched by corruption,” said Francis during this Sunday’s angelus, which he has celebrated from the Vatican Apostolic Library for the restrictions in force in Italy.The Holy Father has made these statements on the occasion of Memory Day and the memory of all the innocent victims of mafias, in which Italy remembers those who lost their lives at the hands of the Mafias , to defend freedom and democracy. Francis recalled that St. John Paul II denounced the Mafia’s “culture of death” and Benedict XVI condemned them as “paths of death.” “These structures of sin, mafia structures, contrary to the Gospel of Christ, change faith for idolatry,” he said. The Pope also recalled that World Water Day is celebrated on Monday, a resource that he said “is not a commodity” but “a universal symbol and a source of life and health.” Currently 2.2 billion people live without access to safe drinking water. The Pope denounced this situation and insisted that it is “necessary to ensure clean water and sanitation for all”. He has therefore called for political and economic leaders to work on this purpose: “I think, for example, of the University of Water, in my land, of those who work to bring it forward and to make the importance of water understand. Many thanks to the Argentines who work at this University of Water”.

Original source in Spanish