Criminal serving sentence with monks pleads for prison, says monastery life too hard

A convicted criminal who was serving out his sentence in a monastery has escaped for the second time. He’s asked authorities to return him to prison, saying life with the with Capuchin monks is too punishing.

Source: Dateline Zero

Authorities within the Sicilian justice system believe that thief David Catalano, 31, has a problem with greed and selfishness. The feel that simply locking him up won’t help him; but he might be healed by living a life charity and poverty.

Thus Catalano was sentenced to live, for a short time, a life of selflessness. He’s been sent to stay with Capuchin monks at a Santa Maria degli Angeli community in Sicily [map].

He was sent to Santa Maria degli Angeli just this past November, and he’s already fled twice. The first time he escaped, Catalano was caught and taken by the police back to the monastery.

The second time, this past Monday, Catalano went directly to a police station. Once inside the police station, he begged officers to lock him up. “Prison is better than being at that hostel run by monks,” Catalano told them.

Authorities aren’t giving Catalano a second chance — he’s now behind bars. But who knows? Maybe the several weeks he was there did a tiny bit of good. Perhaps a seed was sown, so-to-speak.

Full post at Dateline Zero