Despite concerns, and at least one warning, Pope Francis appears to have won the hearts of at least two Italian mobsters. According to a leaked recording of a bugged conversation between two mafia leaders at a prison in Milan, both Salvatore Riina (pictured), a leading member of the Cosa Nostra and Alberto Lorusso of the Sacra Corona Unita, expressed their admiration for the Pontiff while dismissing as “propaganda” a November warning from prosecutor Nicola Gratteri that the mafia might move against the Pope due to his actions around financial activities within the Vatican Bank.
“This Pope is a good guy,” Riina is heard to say. “He’s really great.”