Dear Mrs. Kochan,
Thank you for your message. I am so glad that the news from Rome was of interest to you. Below is my translation of an article which appeared yesterday in the paper. I send it along so that you might have a more authoritative take on events in Rome. The translation is mine and there is no copyright on it so please feel free to do as you wish with it.
The article is an interview with Senator Marcello Pera from, "il Giornale", a national paper. It was in the Thursday, January 17th edition. It is worthwhile mentioning that the Rome university, La Sapienza, at which the Pope was barred from speaking because of a faculty-student protest, was founded in the 14th century by Pope
Boniface VIII.
There have been quite a number of pertinent articles such as the one below and it was hard to choose which to translate — this one I guess interested me the most because these words are pronounced by an atheist (which seems such a harsh word for a man as kind as Marcello
Pera) who is a well-known political figure in Europe, and who is highly esteemed in universities around the world for his learning.
Marcello Pera, apart from being a member of the Italian Senate, is a philosopher and professor. These are some of the places where he has been a visiting professor (Visiting Fellow): Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 1984; The Van Leer Foundation, Gerusalemme, 1987; Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, MIT, Cambridge in Massachusetts, 1990; Centre for the Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences, London School of Economics, 1995-96.
Best wishes,
Mrs. Catherine Zeppa Di Matteo
The Insult to Ratzinger? The Left's Vendetta by Alessandro M. Caprettini
"What am I waiting for now? That this anti-religious push from the left becomes a boomerang — that on Sunday at the Angelus in St. Peter's square there will be immense crowds… everyone of us should be there. It would be the best response to not having allowed the Pope to speak."
Marcello Pera, past president of the Italian Senate, did not digest well the forced cancellation of Pope Benedict's scheduled address at Rome's university, La Sapienza, inaugurating the new academic year, […] a renunciation imposed on him by a group of faculty members who seemed more like mean-spirited grade school teachers rather than university professors; and then there was the government's embarrassed "silence" adding insult to injury. But from his office in the Palazzo Giustiniani Pera asks himself once again […] what moves the political right should make now that the last [illusion] has disappeared and it is open war between the secularists and the defenders of Christian tradition in Europe.
"I have been saying this for a long time: that that which polarizes the left and the right, after the death of communism, is now secularism. And so what if they laughed at me when I said so then, but now the proof is on the table: the 'Manifesto' of the Italian left has now become about 'anti-religion'. And Benedict XVI has become the catalyzing force of their protest.
President Pera, meanwhile though, can you tell me what the incident at La Sapienza University seems like to you?
"It is an outrageous insult to the Pope, it is a huge, unprecedented diplomatic fiasco that Italy bowed to the violence of these secularists […] and it is a mortal blow for Italian universities. Oh sure, […] they attempt now to minimize, blunt the blow, and to back-track, but there are people with a huge responsibility for what happened. It would have changed everything if Prodi [Prime Minister] or Amato or Mussi had taken a stand and distinguished themselves as not lending support to that anti-papal protest against the Pope's right to speak. Instead, those 67 [faculty members] were counting on the government's silence in order to break down the door. And they did it.
Do you have an idea of what is behind that silence? Why did Prodi and company not intervene?
"I believe that… it was in order to take revenge. Revenge for the way they had to back down on PACS and DICO [PACS and DICO were two projects for introducing laws permitting same-sex marriage and for granting married status in a legal form to co-habitating couples], and on the question of assisted fertilization [and embryonic research] and for the criticism which came from the Vatican about the degrading state of Rome. You know what I suspect? Actually, it's a certainty. And I will say even more: someone wanted to show the rest of Europe that Italy is better than everyone else because it can even shut up a Pope! And that's more than Zapatero has accomplished…"
Do you really think that the rest of Europe cares much?
"The ideology of the left, which now replaces communism, is built on two pillars: Europeanism and secularism. It is upon these two elements that many have anchored themselves, those who for years and years believed in the Marxist ideology and now look for any substitute capable of keeping their faith alive. And they are not even concerned that their choices are paradoxical: Togliatti [founder and leader of the Italian Communist Party] was not a secularist and the number one enemy of Communism was precisely the Europe of De Gasperi, Schuman and Adenauer [the founding fathers of the European Community, post-WWII].
Are you talking about today's Europe which refuses to acknowledge its Christian roots?
"Yes, I'm talking about the Europe which refuses to acknowledge itself, which bows to Islamic fundamentalism and censures Buttiglione [European Member of Parliament] because he distinguishes between morality and rights; I'm talking about the Europe which refused to defend the Pope after the Regensburg speech, about a Europe which considers it a "right" and a "conquest" to be able to offend Christian traditions; about a Europe which no longer has even the courage to say "Merry Christmas" [instead of a more secular "happy holidays"]. The ex-communists are Europeanists because they love this Europe. And they are secularists because they want to destroy European traditions. The true master of secularism is Pope Benedict XVI. He has a political sensitivity much more profound than many of Europe's leaders. He is so secular that he even proffered a secularistic challenge: what does secularism mean? what values does secularism represent? And because they didn't know how to answer these questions they didn't let him speak [at La Sapienza], and so the speech he was supposed to have given was read aloud in his absence during the ceremony. And it was fantastic; it was a masterpiece of doctrine and culture!
[…]
Can the [political and diplomatic] damage be fixed?
"I see that the diplomatic departments of the Italian Republic and the Secretary of State are already at work, but that which has happened is a multiple catastrophe –international, political, institutional and cultural — which is not fixable. Only people can do that, beginning with the Angelus [in St. Peter's] this coming Sunday and then by staying close to the Pope and to the Church.
Well, don't you think that the political right could do something?
"It would have to find a strategy for combating the forces which are against Christianity and develop a serious debate. What is it that makes us different from the left? One or two percentage points, more or less, with regard to taxes? the infrastructure? […]. We are in need of leaders who are capable of introducing something substantially new and who have a strategic vision. Instead, right-wing politics seem little interested in these subjects [European and Christian-Judeo identity, tradition and culture]. They only mouth them or tack them on to the tail-end of their agendas with the risk that in response to secularism on the left, they will fall into a form of clericalism which would be imposed by others from the outside [because of their own empty convictions]. This vacuum today is filled by Pope Benedict XVI or by newspapers like "il Foglio". People know and understand this and that's why I'm convinced that on Sunday in St. Peter's square there will be an awful lot of people."
[End translation.]
PS: forgive me for taking yet more of your time, but there is another thing which I think really needs telling and it is this: Padre Livio, the founder of Radio Maria, the most popular national Catholic radio station (well, after radio Vaticana, it's the ONLY national Catholic radio) and which is cherished by millions of Italians and for which two Popes made known their profound gratitude, has called all listeners to fast today on bread and water for the holy Father and for all priests.
Radio Maria promotes fasting on bread and water every Wednesday and Friday for the intentions of the Blessed Virgin — so, for us it is not such an extraordinary sacrifice since we're used to this regime (but a pizza is kept hot and ready for when the clock strikes midnight!) and people do it most willingly, so profound is their devotion to Mary. But today a special fast was called for the Pope and I'm quite sure that many people, more than normal and even non-Catholics, participated in the fast today. And so I thought this was something really important about the Church in Italy, about the Catholic faith here.
It's a piece of information that would not likely get to the USA–and yet it is so significant I think.
Well, once again, best wishes,
Mrs. Catherine Zeppa Di Matteo
__________________________
Dear Mrs. Di Matteo,
I am sure our readers will be very interested in this. Thank you for going to the trouble to make this translation available to Catholic Exchange. It does indeed seem that our Holy Father is markedly bringing to the attention of Europeans the stark realities of the choices they face. God bless and protect him. We knew he was God's man for the job - but wow! he is amazing.
Blessings,
Mary Kochan, Senior Editor, Catholic Exchange
January 19th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Bravo!
We here in America need, as laity, to stand and proclaim the Truth and Faith in every home, parish, workplace and social organization we are part of. The secularists continue to push for the death of the family, the Faith , the Church and society with their views on these realms of society.
Pray but work for Catholic virtues to be made real in our society. And pray that the heroic voice of our Holy Father continues to be heard worldwide!
January 19th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Something doesn’t square here, Catherine. You say that “atheist” is too harsh a word for this kind man. Your quote: “this one I guess interested me the most because these words are pronounced by an atheist (which seems such a harsh word for a man as kind as Marcello” Well, is he or isn’t he? For the purpose of this comment I will assume that he is otherwise that label would not have surfaced. I also trust your judgment that he is kind. So how does all of this relate to this unfortunate episode?
The great orator, Mark Anthony spoke of Caesar’s murderers as “honorable men” and so it seems that now we have “honorable men” coming to the aid of the pope. The question is why?
I’m certain that as learned men they see the pope as one of their own. Also as learned men they understand the need for free, intellectual discourse. Some of them may actually see this as a missed opportunity for controversy and the intellectual mumbo jumbo discussions that it spawns. I’m happy and encouraged that the atheists are seemingly interested in this unjust treatment of our Holy Father. The Angelus and fasting is paradoxically the sweet fruit that this bitter event has produced. It would be out of character for me to end it here. I am suspicious of these people.
What these “honorable men” (women included) won’t admit is that this is the logical result of the Godless world that they’ve been cultivating. They are ashamed and refuse to recognize that it’s the Christian underpinnings that have given them the University and all its civilized elements.
Pilate now has a crisis on his hands. He cares neither for God or truth; he just wants order in his province so that governance will continue as usual. So it is with these intellectuals and politicians who cherish their freedoms and safe civilized surroundings but will never bow their heads to any god but themselves.
It is not the Moslems or the Jews or Communists who are responsible for this shameful and unjust act, it’s the baptized honorable men who have forgotten from whence their Salvation comes. They are now looking at the child that they raised and exclaiming: Oh, my God! It’s a good start.
Keep us posted on the developments, Catherine. Chao! (sp?)
January 19th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Dear Goral, ciao! Well, maybe you could look at these atheists as if they were good Samaritans. For that's what they are really. In the story of the good Samaritan, you will remember that the priest crossed over to the other side of the street so as to avoid getting mixed up with the stricken wayfarer, which could well be Pope Benedict. I once read in a scholarly work that Samaritans were like ex-communicated Jews. If this is so then it would lend itself to the analogy I think, that is, Pope Benedict being aided by people born to the faith but then who left it, sort of ex-communicating themsleves. It might help to know that here in Italy the Church is an intimate part of most every person whether one believes in God or not, whether even one goes to church or not. It is the air one breathes, it is the dust under one's feet and it's even the pasta one eats (the strozzapreti for instance, but for love of our priests, I will not translate that!). Or like in Bologna where there are lots of militant communists and yet I know a few whose devotion to the Blessed Virgin of San Luca (the Madonna of the people of Bologna) would put to shame the piety of many a perfect Catholic. These people would never set foot in a church and they proudly boast of being atheist, but they would defend the Virgin of San Luca with their life–(and I can safely say that they would be a good Samaritan to a stricken Pope). I know, it's a big paradox and it just flattens adult human reasoning. But maybe that's why Jesus invites us to make ourselves like little children. Children are not flattened by paradoxes. Well, I wish I could give a better answer to the rest of your comment–but it's such broad topic really, I mean how the Catholic faith is experienced in Europe and especially in Italy, by simple people like ourselves and not just by university professors, politicians, prelates, theologians and such–it is well worth investigating because there is a real goldmine here. One gets a good glimpse of what this is through the stories of the lives of the saints–whose lives are very surprising and like nothing we might imagine. I feel sure that there's a saint out there who would better convince you that heaven likely has a very good opinion of people like Marcello Pera or Vittorio Feltri.
Anyway, at this point it seems quite a good idea to recommend having a look at the speech that Pope Benedict was not able to give: http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/186421?eng=y
At the above Italian web address you will find translated into English the salient points of Pope Benedict's speech in the article entitled, "The University of Rome Closes its Doors to the Pope. Here's the Lesson They Didn't Want to Hear" by Sandro Magister.
So…buona notte! and best wishes.
January 19th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Thank you, Catherine, for your hard work in giving us "on-site" information. I hope many appreciate it.
It sounds, from your writing, like Italy is a country of paradox, not like the U.S. where everything is "black and white". It must be difficult to know who–much less, how–to evangelize. How fascinating.
I hope you will continue to keep us informed. I look forward to hearing more from you.
January 19th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Thank you Catherine for that thoughtful and thought provoking response to my reading of the article that you submitted. I do have an understanding of the Catholic European culture since I’m of that stock. JP II’s to be exact.
The non-practicing disinterested Catholics tended to be in the city, in the upper class and in the intelligencia. They were (are) just as you say. Being from the peasant stock myself, we looked at the Faith quite differently. In the towns and villages, the greatest sin was not going to church. If you were at Mass on Sunday all was forgiven. It’s interesting and fascinating how the Catholic faith is organic to all these different places in the world and how it varies in practice yet is the same in essence.
You have given the topic a broader perspective over my narrow and black and white interpretation. Keep in mind that we American men tend to think this way. In all honesty, I still can’t grasp your quote – “These people would never set foot in a church and they proudly boast of being atheist, but they would defend the Virgin of San Luca with their life” I will just leave it alone.
There are in fact saints on this website who have already tried to steer me in the direction of a broader and more gracious view. I’m still resisting but who knows maybe after the Sunday Angelus there may be unexpected conversions. Even my Italian is improving.
Ciao! Buona notte.