A chaplain on a migrant rescue ship in the Mediterranean has been told he was the victim of a spyware attack.

Fr Mattia Ferrari, who is reportedly close to Pope Francis, was contacted by Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads earlier this month. He was told he had been the target of a “sophisticated attack supported by unidentified government entities”.

The priest works on a ship which is owned by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, whose founder, Luca Casarini, had revealed earlier that he’d been a victim of a military-grade spyware attack. His organisation is believed to have saved around 2000 people attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Italy,

Fr Ferrari told The Guardian: “It wasn’t pleasant news when I discovered that my phone had been attacked…

“When I learned that Luca had been spied on, I knew that I too could be a target. I believe it’s quite clear that government agencies are behind it. Unfortunately, for many years now, solidarity has almost become a crime.”

Fr Ferrari was in close contact with Pope Francis before his current illness and has met him several times, including while he was allegedly being targeted.

He said: “Doing good for people, helping those in need, seems to have become a subversive act to be punished. It’s a serious matter, and I hope someone will shed light on what happened. We now demand transparency and truth.”

Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s government has denied intelligence agencies or the government were responsible for the attacks. However, the leader of Italy’s Democratic Party Elly Schlein said:

“The story of activists and journalists being spied on is taking on increasingly disturbing elements…

“The government, and in particular Giorgia Meloni, needs to stop running away and [must] urgently clarify who is spying on journalists and activists.”