Sicilian priests and Catholic groups served as mafia recruitment and liaison structures

Evidence

During the long period of church—state tension which followed—and which ended only in 1929, when Mussolini and Pope Pius XI signed the so-called Lateran Treaty, establishing an independent Vatican State—the local church in all likelihood found in the mafiosi a more cooperative and respectful secular power. It is certain that the large number of Catholic groups and associations formed between 1874 and 1876 came to the attention of the authorities reportedly on account of their links with interessi di mafia (mafia interests) and that the involvement of mafiosi in local elections, in which these groups also took part, was from a very early stage regarded almost as a natural phenomenon (Marino 1986: 237, 241, 249). A few early cases of priests doubling as leaders of mafia groups have also been documented (Pezzino 1987: 934). A typical example is represented by the career of Don Mariano Ardena, who was appointed head of a local Catholic group by his arciprete uncle (the head priest of the parish) and subsequently went on to enjoy a distinguished career as a mafioso (Sabetti 1984; see also Chapter 3). — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 128

Categorization

• XREF: The priest-as-mafia-boss figure (Don Mariano Ardena) connects to the Corleone’s use of religious ritual and Michael Corleone’s godfather role as a sanctified cover — mutual legitimation between two competing protection authorities.
• SEED: Essay angle: ‘The Godfather’s Blessing’ — how organized crime and religious institutions form mutual legitimation pacts when both face a hostile central state, from 1870s Sicily to contemporary contexts.