Rome denies funeral to Nazi war criminal
Print Edition
Rome’s mayor, police chief and the pope’s right-hand man have all refused to grant Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke a church funeral in the city where he participated in one of the worst massacres in German-occupied Italy. Now comes the question of where to bury him, since neither Rome, nor his adopted homeland of Argentina, nor his hometown in Germany wants him.
The former SS captain spent nearly 50 years on the run before being extradited to Italy from Argentina in 1995 to stand trial for the 1944 massacre at the Ardeatine Caves outside Rome, in which 335 civilians were killed. He died on Friday at age 100 in the Rome home of his lawyer, Paolo Giachini, where he had been serving his life term under house arrest.
Rome’s archdiocese made it official yesterday, saying it had told Giachini to have the funeral at home “in strict privacy” and that Pope Francis’ vicar for Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, had prohibited any Rome church from celebrating it.
But Giachini refused, pressing instead for a private church Mass. The archdiocese responded by reminding all Roman priests they must abide by Vallini’s decision.
Separately, Rome’s police chief and the government prefect for the capital announced they would prohibit “any form of solemn or public celebration” for Priebke. Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino said the city would accept neither a church funeral nor a burial for the Nazi war criminal.
It was a stunning rebuke by both church and state that was greatly appreciated by Rome’s Jewish community, which has long resented having Priebke living in its midst, particularly after he was granted freedoms from his house arrest like going to church.
“Any demonstration of honor — civil or religious — would be an intolerable affront to the memory of those who fell in the fight for freedom of Nazism and fascism,” said the head of Italy’s Jewish communities, Renzo Gattegna.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center also hailed the solidarity shown by both civil and religious leaders to deny Priebke a funeral.
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