Murdered Sicilian judge beaten
In September 1990, Italian judge Rosario Livatino was murdered in the Sicilian city of Agrigento, 38 years old. On Sunday, he was beatified in the city's cathedral. /d3c137080074e9caaa5adfd0de2eebc9.jpg “/> Pope Francis paid tribute to the blessed Rosario Livatino in his Sunday prayer. Image: Gregorio Borgia/AP/TT Two people linked to organized crime were later sentenced to life in prison for the murder. A few years after the act, the then Vatican head, Pope John Paul II, declared that Livatino was to be regarded as “a martyr for justice and indirectly for faith.” On Sunday, the next step on the road to formal saint status was taken when Livatino was beatified in Agrigento's cathedral. Normally, the Catholic Church requires “evidence of miracles” performed by saint candidates. But the rules make an exception for martyrs, which means that it is now free for the Vatican to canonize the murdered judge. Perhaps the current pope's Sunday prayer in St. Peter's Square was a sign that such a status is now looming. Francis at least took the opportunity to comment on the beatification. “In his work for the public good, as an exemplary judge who never gave in to corruption, he did not strive to condemn but to reconcile,” said the pope.