Pope Francis supports the project to 'free' the Virgin Mary from mafia exploitation in Italy

Pope Francis praised a new initiative aimed at countering the abuse of Marian devotions by mafia organizations, which use his figure to exercise power and exercise control.

"Liberating Maria from the mafia and criminal powers" is an ad hoc department of the Pontifical International Marian Academy (PAMI). The president of the academy, Fr. Stefano Cecchin, OFM, told CNA on August 20 that the Blessed Virgin Mary does not teach submission to evil, but freedom from it.

Cecchin explained that the terminology used in Church history to explain Mary's "submission" to God's will had been distorted to imply not servitude, but "slavery" characterized by "absolute obedience to superiors".

"In the Mafia setting, this is what the figure of Mary has become", he said, "the figure of a human being who must be submissive, therefore a slave, accept the will of God, the will of the masters, the will of the leader mafia ... "

It becomes "a way in which the population, the people are subject to this domination," he said.

He told CNA that the working group, which will officially begin in October, includes about 40 ecclesiastical and civil leaders, including Italian judges, for "study, research and teaching" to "restore the purity of the image of Jesus and Mary who comes from the Gospels. "

It's a lay-led initiative, he stressed, and as it begins in Italy, he said participants hope in the future to address other manifestations of this Marian exploitation, such as that of drug lords in South America.

Pope Francis, in his letter of 15 August to Cecchin, said he "learned with pleasure" of the project and wanted to "express my appreciation for the important initiative".

"Marian devotion is a religious-cultural heritage to be safeguarded in its original purity, freeing it from superstructures, powers or conditioning that do not meet the evangelical criteria of justice, freedom, honesty and solidarity," wrote the pope.

Cecchin explained that another common way in which Marian devotion is abused by criminal organizations is through "bows", which means "bows".

During the Marian processions in some cities and towns of southern Italy, an image of the Virgin Mary will be stopped in the houses of the Mafia bosses and made to "greet" the boss with a "bow".

"This is a way of telling the population, and in a symbolism that uses the people's religion, that this Mafia boss is blessed by God - indeed, directed by the Mother of God, who stops recognizing that he is the leader, and therefore everyone we must obey him, as if [he has] a divine mandate, ”Cecchin said.

Mary is an image of God's beauty, explained the priest and former exorcist. “We know that the evil one, the evil, wants to ruin the beauty that God created. In Mary, for us, there is the image of the absolutely evil enemy. With her, from her birth, the snake's head is crushed “.

“Therefore, evil also uses the figure of Mary to go against God,” he observed. “We must therefore rediscover the beauty of the religious cultural heritage of each people and, furthermore, safeguard it in its original purity”.

The new working group of the Pontifical International Marian Academy wants to use training to teach children and families a true theology of Mary, Cecchin said.

In an interview with CNA's Italian partner agency, ACI Stampa, Cecchin acknowledged that the project was "ambitious", but said it was "a duty given the times".

He said that the supporters of the project were motivated by the common good: "For us it represents a challenge that we have courageously accepted."

In his letter, Pope Francis affirmed that "it is necessary that the style of the Marian manifestations be in conformity with the message of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church".

"May the Lord still speak to humanity in need of rediscovering the way of peace and fraternity through the message of faith and spiritual consolation that emanates from the various Marian initiatives that characterize the territories of so many parts of the world", he continued.

"And that the numerous devotees of the Virgin take on attitudes that exclude a misguided religiosity and respond instead to a religiosity that is correctly understood and lived," said the pope