DOCUMENT CEI
Church and Southern Italy: 'Development in the cohesion' of
Lorenzo Rosoli
The "cancer" of mafias. The inadequacy of the ruling classes. The environmental destruction. Unemployment, illegal work, the poverty of families, emigration of young people. But the mix of modernization and uncritical "ancient seeds" of the family and dell'omertà : how many wounds in the flesh the dramatic problems of the South - the Italian bishops denounce - aggravated by the economic crisis and the 'individual and corporate self-interest' grown throughout the country, which threaten "to cut off the South from the channels of redistribution of resources by making it a collector of drawings votes for its foreign political and economic development." But it is not bad the last word. In Church and society of the South are of social resources, culture, spirituality, which encourage the hope of redemption over 'any form of resignation and fatalism. " A redemption that takes power from the 'Christian humanism ", recognizes the" educational challenge "as" priority inevitable "and solidarity in federalism has an effective tool.
Between teaching and "witnesses".
Just an invitation "to the courage and hope," concludes the document of the CEI For a country united. Italian Church and the South , released yesterday (full text at the center of the newspaper), which incorporates' reflection on path of solidarity in our country, "twenty years after the publication of the document in solidarity Development (1989) and in the light of the conference Church in the South, South Churches (Naples, 12-13 February 2009). The document opens by reviewing the emerging 'old and new "in the South and in the second section, to cultivate hope , the bishops point out to resources and expressions of the' new leading role of civil society and the ecclesial community" (as the Project Policoro ), the third section, resources of reciprocity and care for the education , focuses on mission and role of the community Church. Pages full of quotes and references. The Church's social doctrine, first, but also to those witnesses and that teachers by word and life have opened up spaces of prophecy and deliverance: the children of the South as Pino Puglisi, Giuseppe Diana, Rosario Livatino, Luigi Sturzo , Aldo Moro. And the "fathers" who came from afar as the John Paul II May 9, 1993, in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, said the final word on the Mafia.
The new issue of the South.
A move is the reflection of the bishops' declaration of the continuing problem of the South "that today, as twenty years ago, called the Italian Church to the" inescapable duties of social solidarity and ecclesial communion. " The "people of the South" are "the protagonists of their own, but this does not remove the duty of solidarity with the entire nation," said John Paul II in 1995 at the Ecclesial Convention of Palermo. What has changed in recent decades?
The political geography, the system of representation in the governance of local authorities, the commencement of the privatization of public enterprises, the loss of the system of state holdings, the end of the extraordinary intervention of the Cassa del Mezzogiorno ("we do not want to forget positive aspects, "the bishops underline). Also: many migrants from Africa, Asia, South East Europe have found in the 'first port of hope, "and the South is the" school in the Church that you try, "after having given aid and acceptance," a path of justice and human and a meeting with the religions professed by immigrants and refugees. "
The challenge of federalism solidarity.
The reality of the South, the bishops write, is that of an "arrested development" in which aid does not always get that "help" really, where the direct election of local administrators "did not unhinged or simply perverse mechanisms in unhealthy ' administration of public affairs' where the condition Women still suffer discrimination and exclusion, while there are women rose to the top of the Mafia, where eco-mafia, agricultural crisis, the fragility of the territory and the economy put more mortgages on the road to redemption and prevent the South to take on the role that competes in the heart of the Mediterranean and Europe. These emergencies are calling for a "federal solidarity, and realistic unit" capable of empowering the South strengthening the unity of the country: a critical horizon, on the eve "of the 150th anniversary of national unity."
Mafia structure of sin.
Organized crime now branched across the country, "can not and should not dictate the timing and pace of the economy and politics south, became the medium of any type of brokerage and undermining the country's democratic system." "The gangs are the most dramatic configuration of evil and sin," the bishops write: not merely "an expression of religiosity distorted" but "structures of sin ',' brutal and devastating forms of rejection of God and misunderstanding of the true religion '.
"Only the decision to convert and to reject the Mafia mentality can really get out ', at the cost of" suffer violence and sacrifice. It must be recognized - the bishops admit - That the churches have yet to transpose to the end of the lesson prophetic witness and example of Pope John Paul II died for justice. "
Education and redemption.
in society and the Church there are cultural and spiritual resources for the journey of redemption. The Church, in particular, is with "those who fight for justice in the forefront in the footsteps of the Gospel and work to raise," said Benedict XVI as September 7, 2008 in Cagliari, "a new generation of lay Christians" in the service of common good. Aware of being "a factor of development and cohesion" Social, the Church feels called to the educational challenge and transformation of consciousness, witnessing the style of sharing and communion, first in-house. The problem of development is not just economic: it is "ethical, cultural, anthropological." Thus the Church is committed to "food constantly human and spiritual resources" to invest in the "culture of the common good, citizenship, law, good governance and sound business in the rejection of lawlessness."
Now: "The need to invest in trust law and calls for pastoral action that seeks to erase the gap between religious practice and civil life and inspire you to a better understanding of the social teaching of the Church, which helps to combine the proclamation of the Gospel through the witness of the works of justice and solidarity. "
Source: Future of 24.02.2009
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