ROME (AP) — A magistrate slain by mobsters in Sicily has been beatified by the Roman Catholic church, the last formal step before possible sainthood. Rosario Livatino was gunned down on a Sicilian highway as he drove to work in 1990. Three years later, Pope John Paul II hailed him “martyr of justice and, indirectly, of the Christian faith.” Livatino was beatified on Sunday in a ceremony in a cathedral in Agrigento. Pope Francis at the Vatican later said Livatino worked to judge “not to condemn, but to redeem.” As an investigative magistrate, Livatino, 37, was leading probes into the Mafia and corruption when he was slain. He prayed daily before entering court.
