- Feb 5, 2002
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COMMENTARY: Thirty years ago, organized crime in Italy bombed the basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome.
Imagine that St. Patrick’s Cathedral was bombed by the mafia in retaliation for the archbishop of New York denouncing them. Imagine Cardinal John O’Connor inspecting the damage, knowing the attack was directed personally at him.
In 1993, it didn’t happen in New York, the capital of the world, but it did happen in Rome, capital of the Church.
That year the mafia bombed St. John Lateran. The official cathedral of Rome. As the cathedra, or official seat, of the Holy Father as Bishop of Rome, it expresses the universal unity of the Church even more than St. Peter’s Basilica. The latter is the world’s parish church, while St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the universal Church. The inscription in the portico reads: “mother and head of the all the churches in the city and the world.”
Pope Francis last Thursday addressed a public letter to the faithful of his diocese on the 30th anniversary of that bombing. An overnight prayer vigil was held to mark the anniversary. The Holy Father recalled in his short letter the circumstances that led to the sacrilegious attack.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
Imagine that St. Patrick’s Cathedral was bombed by the mafia in retaliation for the archbishop of New York denouncing them. Imagine Cardinal John O’Connor inspecting the damage, knowing the attack was directed personally at him.
In 1993, it didn’t happen in New York, the capital of the world, but it did happen in Rome, capital of the Church.
That year the mafia bombed St. John Lateran. The official cathedral of Rome. As the cathedra, or official seat, of the Holy Father as Bishop of Rome, it expresses the universal unity of the Church even more than St. Peter’s Basilica. The latter is the world’s parish church, while St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the universal Church. The inscription in the portico reads: “mother and head of the all the churches in the city and the world.”
Pope Francis last Thursday addressed a public letter to the faithful of his diocese on the 30th anniversary of that bombing. An overnight prayer vigil was held to mark the anniversary. The Holy Father recalled in his short letter the circumstances that led to the sacrilegious attack.
Continued below.
The Mafia’s Last Gasp Against the Catholic Church
COMMENTARY: Thirty years ago, organized crime in Italy bombed the basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome.
