The girl's parents were furious after the priest told them twice that their daughter was "not ready" to receive the sacrament.

The priest, from Sicily, told the girl's mother that her daughter was "unable to understand the significance" of Communion.

He reportedly told the parents to wait until the girl understands more.

The mother told local media that her daughter would not change over time.

"Barring a miracle, she will never be like other children."

The parents pushed for a private ceremony, to avoid "disorder", but the priest still refused.

Italy's Education Undersecretary, Davide Faraone, subsequently took to Facebook to lambast the "ignorance" and "discrimination" of the Church.

Mr Faraone, whose own daughter is autistic, observed that Italian churches routinely shun autistic children.

"If you search 'priest denies communion to autistic child' on Google, there are pages and pages of results from all over Italy," Mr Faraone wrote.

"But religion is about heart, not mind.

"This only happens because there is so much ignorance around autism.

"We can't go on like this and need to end discrimination."

The priest later told media that he "was ready to celebrate the child".

He denied resisting her parents' requests to allow her to take her first Communion.

According to local media, the priest has been criticised in the past for hanging a photo of Sicily's former president, Salvatore "Totò" Cuffaro, at the church.

This was even though Cuffaro had reportedly been jailed for aiding the Mafia.

Sources

• The Local.IT
• RT
• Image: Irish Independent

The bishops of region have included the ban in a new set of pastoral guidelines.

Persons convicted of Mafia-related crimes are also not permitted to carry statues in religious processions unless they have publicly repented of their deeds, the bishops added.

Calabria's bishops met in July last year to discuss ways to cut fake religious ties used by Mafia criminals.

This came after Archbishop Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini of Reggio Calabria asked the Vatican if he could suspend for 10 years the naming of godfathers in his archdiocese.

"There are two problems," he told Vatican Radio last year.

"There is the use of religious symbols and even a sacrament to present a ‘clean' face to society, but there is also the concrete fact that being a godfather at a Baptism or sponsor at Confirmation forms a bond between families."

Some families delay Baptisms of children for years to wait until the "godfather" gets out of jail.

The Calabria ban comes as Sicilian authorities removed a series of roadside billboards announcing the Baptism of a "Cosa Nostra" toddler.

The posters showed baby "Antonio" dressed in jeans and a driving cap with the message: "This marvellous creature is . . . Cosa Nostra!"

Investigators have alleged that Antonio's father may have links to the Sicilian Mafia, known as the Cosa Nostra or "Our Thing".

The Baptism celebration, which was due to take place on Sunday, was going to be covered live by a local radio station and feature several popular Italian entertainers, the posters said.

Antonio's parents cancelled the event.

The family's lawyer, Enzo Iofrida, told La Stampa newspaper that they did not intend to show a "lack of respect for the Church or institutions", and simply wanted to celebrate a lavish event.

Sources

• Catholic World News
• Salt and Light TV
• The Telegraph
• Image: The Telegraph

Fr Alessandro Minutella from Carini has been leading his congregation in prayer at the water source and has wanted to distribute water.

Fr Minutella believes the Virgin Mary led him to the spring.

The priest said he found the flowing water at a spiritual centre he himself had founded, called Piccola Nazareth.

Last Monday, the faithful of Piccola Nazareth were invited for prayer at the "holy" water source.

They were told that it would be distributed for the first time to whoever wanted some.

But the invite, made on Facebook, also said that Fr Minutella would not be attending the event out of respect for the Church hierarchy, after his claims of saintly voices and miracle water angered Church authority.

Archbishop Michele Pennisi of Monreale slammed Fr Minutella's claims as "misleading, manipulative and dangerous".

The archbishop also banned the priest from saying Mass at the Piccola Nazareth centre.

But Fr Minutella has accrued many faithful disciples thanks to the centre's Facebook page and website, and his followers were quick defend him from criticism.

"Jesus healed the sick and preached peace and love, but they still nailed him to a cross," wrote one of the centre's attendees on the page.

Speaking to Italian media, Fr Minutella said of the Virgin Mary: "She doesn't speak to me or for me — but she speaks through me to everybody, inviting them to pray, confess and return to God.".

"Today, people are sad and there is no serenity or peace. The water flowing is a symbol telling people of the need to purify their souls."

Sources

• Christian Post
• The Local
• Image: Blog Sicilia

Despite protests from the boy's family, Cardinal Paolo Romeo, the Archbishop of Palermo, banned the confirmation of the 17-year-old son of jailed killer Giuseppe Graviano in the city's famous Norman cathedral at the weekend.

The 17-year-old was due to be confirmed along with 49 other students of a private Jesuit school in Palermo cathedral on Saturday. But the Archbishop ruled that the mobster's son would have to receive the sacrament in a private ceremony, elsewhere. Continue reading

Officially part of Sicilian territory, the isolated island of 5000 inhabitants is less than 115 kilometres from the coast of Tunisia, making it a beacon for asylum seekers fleeing the poverty and violence that has accompanied the Arab Spring.

Of the 7913 refugees who arrived on the Italian coast in the first six months of this year, 3648 landed on Lampedusa.

Numerous refugees have died at sea, Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento, Sicily, told Vatican Radio, but "the number of deaths does not seem to be of interest because they have black skin".

Archbishop Montenegro paid tribute to the generosity of the island's residents, who have been "giving everything" to help the migrants, who often come with nothing on perilous, flimsy boats.

"[My people] have emptied cupboards, have provided showers, luncheons, goods, clothes," he said.

The prelate revealed that he invited Pope Francis to visit Lampedusa during his May 20 ad limina visit. "I saw the Pope paid close attention to the news I gave him, and I said it would be good if he wanted to come."

During his visit to the island, the Pope "will commit a wreath to the sea in memory of those who lost their lives in the shipwreck", the Vatican announced, before he meets with migrants, celebrates an outdoor Mass, and visits the island's parish.

"Immigration is not an ‘emergency'; we must have the courage to stop using this word: It is the way things are," Archbishop Montenegro said. "Today, 10 will arrive, 100 will arrive, 1000 will arrive; but the problem is not because they arrive in the thousands. The problem is also there if only 10 arrive, because they are 10 men who want to live."

Sources:

Vatican Radio

Vatican Insider

Image: English-Online