The anti-Mafia priest
Italian magistrates consider the recent attack on Coluccia to be an “assassination attempt” organized by the Mafia. The priest is described by the youth of the neighborhood as jovial and committed to his community: “He talks to everyone, smiles, and gives a medal of the Virgin to whom he asks for advice.”
“Father Antonio has been carrying out his pastoral service for several years at the side of young people who experience the malaise of drug addiction, making his voice heard against those who continue to sow death and to sell deceit,” Reina said in an Aug. 30 statement posted on the diocesan website.
“Intimidating acts like the one committed yesterday won’t discourage Don Antonio in his sensitive mission. … The time we have to live in, with the increasingly rampant diffusion of toxic substances, requires a concerted effort so that the dignity of human life is affirmed, children are guaranteed healthy and safe environments, and the educational challenge is taken seriously, aware of the immense treasure of young people for the present and for the future of our society,” said Reina, who is also an auxiliary bishop of Rome.
The mission to the drug trafficking scene
“The aggression won’t stop me. I will continue my fight, which I am carrying out against the crime that controls the drug trafficking sites in San Basilio, Quarticciolo, and Tor Bella Monaca,” Coluccia told the minister of the interior, Matteo Piantedosi, and the chief of the Rome police, Vittorio Pisani, who called him to check on him shortly after he was attacked.
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