Italian bishop asks Mafia to stop using holy shrines for initiation ceremonies

Monsignor Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini, bishop of Locri Gerace in Calabria, spoke out after more than 300 alleged mobsters - including the 80-year-old "Godfather" Domenico Oppedisano - were arrested in a police blitz earlier this month.

Surveillance footage released by police showed the greying boss being "sworn in" under a statue of the Virgin Mary at Polsi near Reggio Calabria.

In his letter to bosses of southern Italy's N'drangheta crime group, Monsignor Morosini demanded that they stop gathering at the shrine.

"We have seen images of your illegal gatherings and divisions of power at the shrine to the Madonna at Polsi," he wrote.

"We had always thought that these meetings at holy shrines were folklore but now we have had to re-think.

"What sense is there in having meetings and ceremonies at a shrine to the Madonna, where while the faithful pray and reflect in God, you plan your activities which God and the Virgin Mary cannot bless?" he asked.

He ended his letter by reminding the mobsters that the Church was "always willing to welcome you with open arms because it is the only institution that believes in the possibility of your conversion".

Religion and the Mafia have a long shared history. Mobsters follow rituals including the burning prayer cards of saints while promising: "As this card burns so will I if I betray secrets". Members of the mafia are known to carry prayer cards in the belief they will offer divine protection from police or enemies.