Pope Francis breaks the protocol and walks to meet the Children of Brancaccio.

Palermo (Sicily, Italy), 15/09/2018. Today, Papa Francesco (Pope Francis) visited Palermo to mark the 25th Anniversary of the assassination of the Priest Giuseppe 'Pino' Puglisi by the Sicilian mafia "cosa nostra". Variously known as Don Pino Puglisi, Padre Pino Puglisi, 3P, U' Parrinu, amongst others, the 'Blessed' Catholic Priest was killed on the evening of 15 September 1993, on the day...
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Pope Francis breaks the protocol and walks to meet the Children of Brancaccio.

Palermo (Sicily, Italy), 15/09/2018. Today, Papa Francesco (Pope Francis) visited Palermo to mark the 25th Anniversary of the assassination of the Priest Giuseppe 'Pino' Puglisi by the Sicilian mafia "cosa nostra". Variously known as Don Pino Puglisi, Padre Pino Puglisi, 3P, U' Parrinu, amongst others, the 'Blessed' Catholic Priest was killed on the evening of 15 September 1993, on the day of his 56th birthday.
Don Pino was murdered outside his home in the Palermitan neighborhood of Brancaccio, were he was born to a modest-working-class family and where, since 1990, he had worked as the Priest of San Gaetano's Parish (1).
In Brancaccio, Don Pino is known for working tirelessly to rescue underprivileged children and teenagers, many of whom were also uneducated, from the clutches of the mafia who used child labour as a form of 'low grade manpower' or, as it is known in Italy, "bassa manovalanza". Children are used to sell drugs/illegal cigarettes, for robbery and underage prostitution, amongst other crimes. In attempting to have even a kind of "dialogue" with the mafia Don Pino used to say: "Why do you not want your children to come to me?" ("Perché non volete che I vostri bambini vengano a me?")
An unpopular man with the mafia, Don Pino's teaching involved educating children in his neighborhood about anti-mafia culture, about love, care, and happiness, covering themes of welcoming, brotherhood/sisterhood, forgiveness, peace, support & solidarity, justice, dignity, hope, and freedom. The aim of Don Pino teaching was to allow the children - the future of Brancaccio - to "walk with heads held up" ("per poter camminare a testa alta") as the ...
(For the full caption read the ARTICLE at the the beginning of this story)
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