Two weeks after Pope Francis declared members of Italian mafia as excommunicated, defiant Italians are finding different ways to strike back at the Vatican's announcement, Breitbart reported Tuesday. However, the pope's speech in an outdoor Mass in Piana di Sibari, Calabria, didn't make it clear whether the organized crime groups were immediately excommunicated or would eventually face the possibility of getting excommunicated if they failed to change their ways.

On Monday, a religious procession in the Calabrian town of Oppido Mamertina witnessed the statue of the Virgin Mary being diverted and taken to the home of mob boss Peppe Mazzagatti, where the statue was made to bow, as a form of an unusual and insulting response to the pope's declaration.

The tribute to the mafia patriarch comes weeks after Pope Francis told Italian Mafia members on June 21 that they are excommunicated from the Catholic Church, CNN reported. Excommunication, which excludes Catholics from the church, can be imposed by church authorities or incurred automatically for certain grave offenses.

"Those who in their lives follow this path of evil, as mafiosi do, are not in communion with God. They are excommunicated," he said in impromptu comments at a mass before hundreds of thousands of people in one of Italy's most crime-ridden areas. The Pope's remarks were especially controversial in southern Italy since the mafia is known to attempt to portray themselves as upstanding religious men in good rapport with the Catholic Church, in order to maintain local credibility.

During his one-day visit, the Pope denounced the local mafia by calling out 'Ndrangheta as an example of "the adoration of evil and contempt for the common good." According to reports, 'Ndrangheta is one of the wealthiest international crime organizations, with an annual turnover of 53 billion euros ($72 billion), much of it from the global cocaine trade. "They must be told, No!" the Pope said to a crowd of over 100,000 gathered for the outdoor Mass.

"Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedettini said the pope's stern words did not constitute a formal over-arching decree of canon (church) law regarding excommunication, which is a formal legal process," The Guardian reported. "Rather, he said it was more of a direct message to members of organized crime that they had effectively excommunicated themselves, reminding them that they could not participate in church sacraments or other activities because they had distanced themselves from God through their criminal actions."

Francis made the visit in part to pay tribute to 3-year-old Nicola "Coco" Campolongo, who was killed along with his grandfather in an alleged Mafia crime attack last January. "Never again violence against children. May a child never again have to suffer like this. I pray for him continuously. Do not despair," a spokesman quoted the pope as saying.