ROME — A Calabrian parish priest who has criticized the 'Ndrangheta in his sermons survived an attempt to poison him by diluting his sacramental wine with bleach, the Corriere della Sera reported.

 Father Felice Palamara consecrated the Eucharist as normal during services at San Nicola di Pannaconi, his hamlet church in the province of Vibo Valentia. But when he moved to drink from his chalice of transubstantiated, sacramental wine, a strange smell made Palamara suddenly feel ill, he said. 

 He immediately stopped his Mass and called Carabinieri to the scene. Lab analysis found bleach in the decanters containing San Nicola's sacramental wine and water, the Corriere reported. 

 "I am certain that this umpteenth instance of intimidation does not come from my parishioners," Palamara told Corriere. "I have been in Pannaconi for ten years and have always had a relationship of love and mutual affection with them." 

 Last September, Vibo Valentia anti-Mafia (DDA) prosecutors and Carabinieri made more than 80 arrests in a sweeping operation, codenamed Maestrale-Carthago, to root out alleged 'Ndrangheta influence in local governments around the province.

 DDA prosecutor Nicola Gratteri called Vibo Valentia's alleged 'Ndrangehta ring a "Series A-level" operation in a press conference the day after the blitz. "It controls everything here," Gratteri said. 

 In Cessaniti, Pannoconi's municipality, a swath of public officials — including the mayor — resigned in the wake of Maestrale-Carthago. Cessaniti is currently governed by a special commissioner, who will cede power back to locals after a sepcial election in June. 

 In the months after the Maestrale-Carthago raid and its fallout, Palamara preached during his Masses about the importance of rooting out corruption in government and respecting the law, Corriere reported. So did Father Francesco Pontoriero, a parish priest in nearby Cessaniti. 

 Palamara and Pontoriero have since then both been the victims of intimidation campaigns. Per the Corriere, they have both received death threats to their mailboxes. Last week, Pontoriero found a dead cat on the hood of his car. Palamara's car has been damaged twice in the last month, he said, both times while it was parked in the vicinity of his church. 

 Diocese Bishop Attilio Nostro implored Christians "not to be discouraged by this language of violence" in a press release. "We will not allow anyone to harm our parish priest, and no one will be able to stop a country that deserves redemption and that wants to grow," he wrote.  

 The Vibo Valentia police commisioner has assigned Father Palamara a 24-hour security detail. In an interview with Corriere, he brushed off concerns about his safety. "My revenge is love, my shield forgiveness, my armour mercy," he said.