The Vatican on Monday defended anti-mafia priest Father Luigi Ciotti after a second piece of graffiti against him in a few days was found Sunday in Palermo.
"Father Ciotti (is) a prison guard", said the graffiti in Palermo, after "Father Ciotti is a cop" was found in the Calabrian town of Locri after an anti-mafia visit by President Sergio Mattarella last week.
"Following the recent events in Locri and Palermo," a Vatican official's statement said, "we wish to express our heartfelt solidarity and full support for Father Luigi Ciotti for his fundamental action against crime and organised crime, for the construction of a citizenship of freedom and justice.
The statement was issued by Vittorio Alberti, Officer of the Holy See's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which was set up in August and became effective this January.
One of the problems in fighting Cosa Nostra in Sicily and 'Ndrangheta in Calabria is that they provide jobs to local youths and have some support in communities where some elements view institutions with hostility.
The Locri graffiti said "more jobs fewer cops, Father Ciotti a cop" and the Palermo graffiti said "you are the cops, Father Ciotti a prison guard".
Ciotti has been campaigning against Italy's mafias for more than 20 years.
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