Sainthood for murdered judge

Rome – An Italian judge murdered by the mafia in Sicily took a step towards sainthood yesterday, almost three decades after being declared a martyr by Pope John Paul II.

The beatification of Rosario Livatino took place in the cathedral in Agrigento, the Sicilian town near where he was gunned down, aged 38, on 21 September, 1990.

Livatino, who prayed in church every day, had been involved in a mass trial against mafioso and was about to launch a new case when he died. –