(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 27 - Chiara Colosimo, the president of the Parliamentary Anti-mafia Commission, on Wednesday blasted the fact that a priest in a town near Naples had considered holding a Mass for the repose of the soul of late Cosa Nostra boss Matteo Messina Denaro.
    Tommaso Izzo, the parish priest of the church of Maria SS Annunziata in Casalnuovo di Napoli, told ANSA that a member of his flock had asked him to hold the service and he initially agreed, only to change is mind of out "pastoral prudence" after the move sparked an outcry.
    "I wish to strongly condemn what happened in the church in Casalnuovo di Napoli, where a mass was about to be celebrated in memory of Matteo Messina Denaro," Colosimo said via X.
    "It was a horrific initiative that contrasts with the excommunication process the church has initiated for mafiosi and deserves the unconditional condemnation of all those who believe in the State.
    "This warns us that we can never let our guard down when it comes to law and order and justice'.
    Izzo subsequently apologized for what had happened via Facebook.
    Three Benedictine nuns from a convent near L'Aquila, meanwhile, confirmed to Corriere.it that they went to the mortuary of the hospital where Messina Denaro died "to pray for him, despite everything" on Tuesday but were turned away by police. (ANSA).