Pope Francis must take extra precaution to protect himself against the Italian Mafia now that he has excommunicated all of its members, according to Leonardo Zangani, Newsmax special adviser on European affairs.
"I would ask him to watch his back,'' Zangani told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV. "It is better he check his coffee before he drinks it.''
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On Saturday, the pontiff traveled to the southern region of Calabria, where the mob has deep roots, and met with the father of a 3-day-old boy who was slain during a drug turf war.
And he boldly declared that all organized crime figures are automatically persona non grata in the Roman Catholic Church.
"Those who go down the evil path, as the Mafiosi do, are not in communication with God. They are excommunicated,'' Francis said.
Zangani said history shows the Mafia has a long memory and gets revenge on those who cross it.
He pointed to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Bobby Kennedy, who, according to some conspiracy theorists, died after their father, Joseph P. Kennedy, axed a lucrative financial deal with the mob.
"Did they go to kill the old man? No, because at that point he's not worth a bullet. They kill the two kids. They killed John, and they killed Bob, and what happened? Joe, the old man died of a heart attack,'' Zangani said.
He added that it was a mistake for the Pope to drag the church into war against the Mafia.
"This is the mistake that he did, to interfere in a field that he should ignore. You leave it alone. We know it exists, let the police deal with them, but don't bring them up,'' he said.
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