+ + +

Editor’s Note: The AP’s report, reproduced above, characterizes this arrest as a possible terrorist cell. However, the report below from ANSA, here in Italy, says that the case seems to involve a Turkish gun-merchant illegally trading in arms in Italy.

The Festival mentioned here is that of Santa Rosa of Viterbo, a Poor Clare tertiary who lived in the 13th century and who is incorrupt. Each year the citizens carry a tower of flowers in her honor, and the narrow streets of the medieval City of Viterbo crowd with 10s of thousands of Catholics. The city of Viterbo is about 1 hour north of Rome.

It turns out that Viterbo has recently become the international HQ of the Turkish Mafia, according to this analysis by Roberto Saviano, a leading expert in Italy on the Mafia, who is of Jewish heritage — this video is in Italian. He holds that the two arrested were not planning an act of terrorism, but were there because they were going to attempt to break out their Mafia Boss, Baris Boyun, who is being held in prison at Viterbo: the founder of a Turkish Mafia clan at Istanbul in 2000, which began with protection rackets, then moved into drug smuggling, and ended in illicit arms trading; in 2022, Boyun’s men assassinated a Montenegrian Mafia Boss, in an attempt to seize their narco-trade, and thus were driven from Turkey after a vendetta between the two groups. — The plot of the 2 arrested could have been an attempted kidnapping of a prominent politician, to be held in exchange for the release of Boyun — but this remains totally speculative, says Saviano.

Members of the Calabrian Mafia, ‘Ndrangheta, are suspected to have ties to this Turkish group, since one of them was arrested with members of this Turkish mafia, a few years back.

Viterbo is where Archbishop Viganò is attempting to renovate a large building and turn it into a seminary, without any ecclesiastical permission, though he is believed to live in northern Italy, on his family’s estates.

+ + +

+ + +

The Book on the Trinity, every faithful Catholic priest would love as his next present

This is Br. Bugnolo's English Translation, of Saint Bonaventure's encylopedic book of theology on the Trinity: With this book, your priest will always have something intelligent and awesomely inspiring to preach to you about God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit!

+ + +