Shooting in Naples

THE issue of Mafia involvement in Italy's coming general election was brought sharply into focus yesterday when gunmen killed a priest near Naples in what politicians saw as a clear warning to southern voters. Father Giuseppe Diana was shot dead in his sacristy shortly after dawn as he was putting on vestments before Mass. A nun found his body lying in a pool of blood. The killing came as two judges were arrested in Sicily, accused of helping the Mafia, and coincided with a denial by the media tycoon, Silvio Berlusconi, that his right-wing alliance was being helped by the mob. Fr Diana had been an outspoken opponent of organised crime. Reuter