Pope Francis declares nun killed in satanic ritual a martyr | SW NEWS | 129

Pope Francis has declared that an Italian religious sister killed by three teenage girls in a satanic ritual was a martyr for the Catholic faith – thus paving the way for her beatification. 60-year-old Sister Maria Laura Mainetti was stabbed to death in a park in the town of Chiavenna in the northern region of Lombardy back in June 2000. Her three assailants repeatedly stabbed Sister Maria who, it is said, prayed for her killers throughout the fatal attack. In fact, her last words, according to some accounts of her death, were “Lord, forgive them.” The three girls were subsequently imprisoned for their crimes. Archbishop Cordileone criticizes toppling of St. Junipero Serra statue The Archbishop of San Francisco says the campaign to end racism in the United States has “been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism.” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone spoke out after a group of anti-racism activists toppled a statue of the 18th century Franciscan missionary, St. Junipero Serra, in