The Italian Mafia's gay bosses are afraid of coming out because they would get tossed out of the organisation, Palermo prosecutor Antonio Ingroia said on Friday.
Ingroia told the YouTube show Klauscondicio the Italian Mafia is an ''archaic organisation'' which still discriminates against gays.
''Being gay is still a taboo for Italian society in general, let alone the Mafia which is still an archaic organisation. These bosses have to cover their homosexuality, they're afraid because they risk being tossed out''.
Ingroia said the Italo-American Mafia had ''a more broad-minded attitude towards gays and so gay bosses can come out''.
The Palermo prosecutor also told Klauscondicio that the Catholic Church should be more outspoken in its fight against the Mafia.
''Only 30 percent of the Sicilian (Catholic) Church takes an active and leading role in the fight against the Mafia''.
He urged Pope Benedict XVI to follow his predecessor's example by taking a strong stance against the Mafia, saying this would be extremely useful in swaying youths and ''even mafiosi''.
John Paul II won enduring esteem for his ringing condemnation of the Mafia, most notably during a trip to Sicily in 1993 when he warned mafiosi that they, too, would one day ''face God's judgement''.
