Dario Patruno
Due to his family’s constant demands for money and the desire for luxury, an arms dealer ends up getting into increasingly shady and dirty deals, this is the plot of the famous 1974 film by Alberto Sordi. extraordinary fresco of how we are scandalized by the war but none of us is committed in everyday life to build a path of peace in families that are falling apart, in organizations and working communities, in institutions where our own point of view prevails and there is no no ability to listen.
Zuppi in Bari expressed the desire to put a stop to the desire to think only with the logic of weapons. «I believe that any diplomatic option must be supported. I think that on the risks of rearmament Pope francesco said all there was to say. It is a tragedy to get used to war, even more so in this case, in a conflict that involves two Christian countries ». The president of the CEI also announced that the Bishops’ Conference will support the signing of the Treaty at the UN to ban nuclear weapons. “I think it is important not to lose the awareness on which Europe was born”.
The Mediterranean is the Mare Nostrum – Zuppi recalled – but we must not forget that it is also them, of the others. Do not, therefore, make a mare monstrum, making us overwhelmed by the horror of dialogue ”. And the thoughts of many in the room went to the gigantic table that kept Vladimir Putin’s interlocutors at a distance in Moscow or to the walls raised to guarantee separations, rather than favoring communions and meetings.
Peace seekers are not a minority in the country unlike Parliament. The genius of diplomacy belongs to many and even more to those in power, continuing to supply arms to Ukraine can prolong the resistance but does not help dialogue. It would be opportune and dutiful to insist on both heads of state in the awareness that only peace can make the end of the war beautiful because it saves lives and makes parts of the country rebuildable. Hospitals are once again places of care after the devastation. The secret services of the states exploit the Vatican diplomacy which has always been one of the best in the world with the apostolic nuncios.
I underline and highlight two initiatives in the name of St. Benedict, patron saint of Europe.
The first: While the bombs continue to set fire to Ukraine and reap terror and death among the population, the Benedictine Torch has arrived in Madrid with its message of peace and a united Europe “Pro Pace et Europa Una”.
The very difficult moment that Europe is experiencing has given particular significance to the visit made by the three mayors and a large delegation from Norcia, Subiaco and Cassino, the three cities that have marked the life of St. Benedict.
The Torch, which was blessed on February 23 by the Holy Father and lit inside the reconstruction site of the Basilica of San Benedetto in Norcia in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, has reached the Embassy of Italy in Madrid and, thanks to the commitment of the Embassy itself and ENIT, the Italian tourism board, it was presented to the Spanish and Italian public during an interesting event.
In the presence of representatives of the community of Madrid, of the President of the Comites of Madrid Andrea Lazzari accompanied by other guests, the ambassador Riccardo Guariglia underlined the importance of the message of peace that comes with the Torch at such a dramatic moment for Europe . The Italian ambassador also spoke of the similarities between the Way of Saint Benedict that winds between Lazio and Umbria and the Spanish one of Santiago. Both allow you to get to know places of great natural, historical and cultural beauty. Two paths that promote spirituality and solidarity between peoples and that unite Italy and Spain even more (cf.
The secondI find it in Avvenire of 18 May 2022 where Daniela Fassini indicated a route that has as a stop on 11 July in Kiev.
«I believe that peace is a right for every man. To obtain it, one must act and demand it ». Raffaele is 64 years old and is a pediatrician. His message is one of many left on the platform of the Mean Project, the European Movement of Non-Violent Action.
“That day is St. Benedict, patron saint of Europe”, underlines Angelo Moretti, organizer and promoter of the project and former spokesman for the Italian network ‘For a New Welfare’. That will be the ‘x’ day. The day of the great march against the war. Of the mass mobilization of thousands of European citizens in Ukraine. At the moment 35 associations and a few hundred citizens have joined.
«But day after day there is a lot of interest and participation – underlines Moretti -, now that we have set the date we will certainly also have many adhesions. «Our main idea is to keep alive the transforming force of active nonviolence within the conflict scenario, not only ideally, but concretely, through a mass mobilization of thousands of European civilians in Ukraine. We are convinced that armed resistance can curb or even defeat aggression, but it does not change the context that made it possible, while non-violent mass action at European level is able to create contexts that favor reconstruction on new foundations. and they exclude the use of war as an instrument for resolving conflicts between states ”.
These initiatives must have the right media coverage. Claiming peace is a right!
Last note: the Atlantic Alliance is a guarantee for defense, not a cage that prevents the creativity of diplomacy and dulls the minds of powerful people who are not always free and enlightened. Weapons are not a way to anesthetize our consciences. Let’s not forget June 28, 1914, the day when Francesco Ferdinando and Sofia were shot dead while driving through the streets of Sarajevo. It was the fuse that triggered the outbreak of the First World War. Just a little, a pretext and Peace becomes more and more distant. Memento!
photo pressenza.com