Known as the "Green Flames", they were supported by sympathetic provincial clergy in the North, who pronounced the Germans to be "unjust invaders", whom it was lawful and meritorious to repel. "Bishops tended to be more cautious", wrote Hebblethwaite, but Maurilio Fossati "visited partisan units in the mountains, heard their confessions and said Mass for them."
Nicknamed the "Green Flames", they were backed by sympathetic regional clergy in the North, who described the Germans as "unjust occupiers", whom it was lawful and praiseworthy to resist. "Bishops tended to be more prudent", wrote Hebblethwaite, but Maurilio Fossati "visited guerrilla units in the mountains, heard their confessions and said Mass for them."