A Catholic priest in southern Italy was nearly poisoned by bleach mixed with the water and wine used at communion in a suspected mafia-related attempt at intimidation – or worse.
Father Felice Palamara, pastor of San Nicola di Pannaconi parish in Cessaniti in the southern Italian region of Calabria, told police that when he prepared to drink from a chalice in which he had placed the consecrated water and wine during a Sunday vigil Mass on the evening of 24 February, he noticed a strange odour and interrupted the liturgy, reportsCrux.
Laboratory analysis later confirmed the presence of bleach in the chalice, according to local media reports, resulting in an investigation being launched by the carabinieri, Italy’s military police.
The risk to Palamara from the attempted poisoning was heightened given that he suffers from both asthma and a heart condition, according to local sources.
The “apparent assassination attempt”, according to the Daily Telegraph, appears to be in retaliation to the priest “denouncing” the presence in the local area of the ‘Ndrangheta, a criminal organisation that is notorious in southern Italy and which “makes millions of euros a year from cocaine trafficking and other criminal activities”.
Palamara told reporters that this is not the first time he’s been threatened. Just a month ago, he said, his car was defaced for a second time while parked in the area of his parish. He’s also received various death threats during the years he’s served as pastor to the parish.
“I’m sure that this act of intimidation has nothing to do with my parishioners because I have been here for 10 years and I have always had good relations with the people of the parish, he told the Corriere della Sera local newspaper, the Telegraph notes.
Another local priest, Father Francesco Pontoriero, pastor of a nearby parish of San Basilio Magno, has also faced intimidation. He recently found a dead cat placed on the hood of his car after going out to dinner in the centre of Cessaniti.
Both Palmara and Pontoriero are known for speaking out in support of the judicial system and voicing their opposition to organised crime.
While the threatening letters Palmara has received specifically refer to his alleged role in having the previous pastor of his parish removed, many observers regard the real motive behind the harassment as mafia-related, Crux reports.
The region in which the two priests live is presently being governed by a special police commissioner, after the mayor resigned in August 2023 amid charges that the local administration was, in effect, under mafia control.
Palmara has been given a police escort since the bleach incident.
“I feel calm, although I hope that the forces of justice manage to get to the bottom of these criminal acts,” the Telegraph reports Palmara saying.
Bishop Attilio Nostro of Mileto-Nicotera-Tropea, the diocese in which the various intimidation incidents have taken place, expressed his support for Palmara and Pontoriero, notes Crux.
“The diocese is living through a period of suffering due to acts of intimidation that have nothing to do with the normal Christian life of parishes,” the 57-year-old bishop said in a statement.
“For this reason, I appeal anew to the Christian communities not to be discouraged by this language of violence. We must not cede to this logic, allowing ourselves to be tempted by unease and by anger,” the bishop added.
The local community also expressed its support for Palmara, with Crux quoting one local saying, “We won’t allow anyone to harm our pastor…no one will be able to stop a town that wants, and deserves, relief, that wants to grow.”
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