Incendi, the Archbishop of Palermo Lorefice: “Irresponsible politics is to blame for the disasters.”

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“The face of the City and the whole of Sicily is disfigured. However, we all know that this is not an emergency. What has happened in recent days is the ultimate result of decades of decisions, choices, actions, and omissions. The responsibility for this disaster certainly falls on those who have had control of public affairs, on politics; on our educational shortcomings, as well as on the way we communicate the Gospel of our Christian communities; it falls on us, on us as a people.” It is a tense and desperate message that recalls the “Sagunto” mentioned by Cardinal Salvatore Pappalardo at the funeral of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, the one from the Archbishop of Palermo, Corrado Lorefice, on the day when the damage caused by the fires is assessed.

Lorefice’s message starts from the devastation of the Church of the Convent of Santa Maria del Gesù, where masterpieces from the 15th century and symbols of religious faith in Palermo, such as the shrine of Saint Benedict the Moor, the patron saint of the Sicilian capital, were destroyed. “Yesterday afternoon – writes the Archbishop – I was among you at Santa Maria del Gesù amid the flames, while we watched in astonishment the charred remains of Saint Benedict.”

“We have not done enough – he continues – to change our common home, the Earth; to put an end to the logic of exploitation and profit and fight against the mafia; to defend the environment, the territory, our cultural heritage; to create job opportunities and social services. We have been lazy, indifferent, individualistic, fatalistic, distracted by petty interests. The desolate panorama of our cities in flames, heated by a hellish wind, enveloped in smoke, deprived of water and electricity, is a reflection of all this. However, I want to tell you, in the name of the Gospel, that hope is not lost. That there are energies of redemption and novelty around us and within us. My dear and beloved people of Palermo, my dear sons and daughters of the Church of St. Mamilianus, St. Rosalia, St. Benedict the Moor, and Blessed Pino Puglisi, let us rise up! Let us resume the thread of our history, the fruitful flow of our faith supported by prayer.”

“Jesus from the mountain – he concludes – encouraged the poor to rise up and set out: this is what the Gospel word ‘Blessed are the poor!’ means. Let us embark on this path, let us join this group, let us feel the responsibility to create a different world, for ourselves and for those who will come. The time is now. The call is now. All of you, women and men of goodwill, unite, let us unite. I am and will be by your side, to undergo this exodus, to break free from the grip of slavery and injustice, to sing together the song of liberation and consolation.”

In the photo, the Church of Santa Maria del Gesù devastated by the fire.


Incendi, l’arcivescovo di Palermo Lorefice: «La politica responsabile dei disastri»

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