Meloni administration pressed to address issue after other people working with migrants also told they were targeted

An Italian priest who has a close relationship with Pope Francis and was previously in telephone contact with him was notified he had been a target of a sophisticated surveillance tool used by a government, a revelation that will increase pressure on Giorgia Meloni’s government after other similar cases.

Father Mattia Ferrari is a chaplain on the migrant rescue ship owned by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, whose founder, Luca Casarini, revealed this month that he was a victim of a military-grade spyware attack.