Catholic magazine compares Italy's Matteo Salvini to Satan

Salvini has said the Famiglia Cristiana cover is in bad taste and that many Catholics support him

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A Catholic weekly in Italy has compared the deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini to Satan, declaring "Vade retro Salvini" ("Get back, Salvini") on its front cover – a tweaked version of the medieval Latin formula used during exorcism.

The influential Famiglia Cristiana wrote: "Nothing personal or ideological, it’s just the gospel."

Salvini, leader of the rightwing League party and a Catholic, said the cover was in "bad taste" and "disrespectful". The AGI news agency declared that it had "unleashed war".

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