Nazi war criminal refused funeral service in three cities

Eric Priebke died last week at the age of 100

The late German ex Navi officer Erich Piebke, who passed away last Friday at the age of 100 has been refused a funeral service both by the church and state in Rome, where his body lies in a hospital morgue, as well as his hometown and adopted hometown in Germany and Argentina, respectively.

Rome's mayor, police chief, and the pope's right-hand man have all refused to grant Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke a church funeral in the city where he participated in the 1944 massacre at the Ardeatine Caves, in which 335 civilians were killed.

The former SS captain never expressed any regret for his actions, instead insisting to the end that he was just following orders.

Priebke spent nearly 50 years on the run before being extradited to Italy from Argentina in 1995 to stand trial.

Rome's archdiocese on Monday said it had told Giachini to have the funeral at home "in strict privacy'' and that Pope Francis' vicar for Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, had prohibited any Rome church from celebrating it.

Priebke died at the Rome home of his lawyer, Paolo Giachini, where he had been serving his life term under house arrest.

More from Staff Reporter

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"The man died a Catholic". Adolf Hitler was a Catholic and probably in good standing too. When you are dead, you are dead. What the hell does a type of burial have on the corpse? He is beyond caring.

John Mifsud •

Whilst Rome's mayor is a politician and is entitled to make politically-motivated choices, the Church's refusal to give a Christian burial does not makes mockery of its principles of mercy and compassion, especially when the man died a Catholic in good standing. Increasingly, the Church is more interested in looking good with a hostile media rather than following the teachings of its Founder.