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 Giuliana Martirani,
born in Naples, is: an expert on the problems of Southern Italy, a
university lecturer of political and economic geography, as well as of
environmental politics, in the university of the Campania’s chief town
“Fredrick II”; she is also a directive member of the International Peace
Research Association (IPRA), of Pax Christi and of MIR, and collaborates
with many more pacifist and ecologist non-violent experiences of
solidarity. She is an expert in the “V Programma Quadro della
Commissione Europea” concerning the socio-economic aspects of
sustainable development ordained to Global Changes, climate and
bio-diversity, and has been an expert analyst of the scenario for
the sustainable development of the Posidonia Project, in the province of
Naples, in the area of the “Programma Terra” of the European Commission.
She is also a delegate of the Peace-Justice commission Safeguard of
Creation on behalf of the Episcopal Conference in Campania; she has
animated a group of persons on the social and political commitment
in the third Congress of the Italian Church (Palermo 1995), as well
as on the inculturalism in the Social Weeks (Naples, 1999). She
is a member of the Policoro Project and of the youth entrepreneurial in
the South. She is a lecturer in the Justice-peace safeguard of Creation,
Peace and non-violence, in the Faculty of theology of the Franciscan
family in S. Angelo in Palco (Nola).
We
have addressed to her a few questions on the ecclesial actuality.
Which effects has the brief pastoral visit of Benedict XVI caused in
Naples?
“The
first effect is surely hope, the hope that is linked to the visit of
John Paul II, when he came to the chief town of Campania and
re-proposed the very important argument of hope. He himself loved to
say: Let us realise hope”.
With his homily during Mass, in the Plebiscite Square, Benedict XVI
asked the intervention of all the components of society: we need to
direct our efforts towards the schools, work and help to the youths.
Fight against violence starts from the formation of consciences, from a
change of mentality and daily attitudes. How to translate this
advice
into practice and which obstacles are against it, according to you?
“It is evident that the commitment of each component of society is
required to translate this into practice. Each one must play his/her
role: As far as school is concerned, it is a problem concerning not only
the public administration and the private schools, namely the school
institutions. It concerns, first of all, the educators, the teachers,
who have often to face the precariousness of their work. It is somehow
like the dog that bites its own tail. Therefore, we must direct our
attention towards the school institutions and their own teachers, by
motivating them, without forgetting that the methods of education are
also to be renewed. We now live in an era of access, of internet and
multi-media. .
The old teaching methodologies are of no use. Most probably, we must not
only work on the objectives to be attained, but also on the methods. We
speak much of work, a thing that brings to surface the years’ theme of
precariousness. The youths are the most martyred persons who face its
cost. Politics on work must be very serious, especially those regarding
the South of Italy, otherwise the easiest step in the world is that of
falling into the hands of the organised criminality. We must never
forget the fight for the formation of consciences towards real
non-violence. The absolute absence of violence in behaviours is also a
question of imitation for the youths, and it urges the effective
capacity of the adults to offer a serious and credible testimony to the
new levers. The adults, as well as the institutions themselves, have
become the first violent beings, dangerous examples.
“Naples surely needs adequate political interventions but, even more,
it needs a deep spiritual renewal; it needs believers that entrust
themselves fully to God and with his help commit themselves to spread
the Gospel values throughout society”: this is one of the strong
statements that the Pope uttered during his pastoral visit to Naples.
For this he invoked everybody’s help, especially that of the lay
faithful operating in the socio-political field, to ensure every
person, in particular the youths, of the indispensable conditions to
develop one’s own natural talents and to mature generous choices of life
at the service of one’s own family members and of the entire community”.
Do you think that he will be listened to?
“I really hope it from the
depth of my heart, because, unluckily, I cannot see as yet illumined
bourgeoisies, not only in Naples, where I live, but also throughout
South Italy. I mean a bourgeoisie ready to be at the service of the last
ones. At times, I see a bourgeoisie that tries its best to reach winning
posts of success, aiming at economical advantageous ends. This, of
course, is incompatible with service. In fact, a bourgeoisie that sides
power, but does not commit itself to serve the marginalised by society
cannot be said to be enlightened” .
Naples, a
city of the Mediterranean sea, which has been able to live centuries of
conviviality along its history, can become a messenger of dialogue and
peace in the world. The community of St. Egidio is convinced of this and
promises the inter-religious meeting “men and religions”, choosing the
Neapolitan city as venue of the last edition. To you, which role can
Naples play in the scenario of the Mediterranean Sea, a place of great
conviviality, but also of violence and separation?
“I think, and I say it
constantly in my books, that Naples and the whole South Italy can have a
very important role. In my last book entitled “A majestic wayfarer”, I
indicated even some methodologies of intervention. I think that Naples
and the south can finally offer a southern development to the North of
Italy and the North of the world. Don Tonino Bello spoke of a southern
thought that, before dying, invited us to find the good, which can come
from Nazareth, from the south of the world. We could mention the very
important values contributing to promote a southern development with
eyes and heart, namely humane. There are still solid values in the
South, even more in Naples; values turned into culture in the southern
inter-culture reality, founded on the Greek, Arabic and French culture.
From the South we may take to the North of the world a message based on
human development, a southern development”.
A recent
investigation, realised for the Viminal by Makno, has brought to
evidence the hostility and opposition, which the Italians nurture for
the immigrants. What can we do in order to return a less negative
connotation to the term “immigration”, and to avoid that an image of
illegality may be superposed on it by a strongly critical evocative
power?
“We must do what Antonino
Bello used to tell us: is there anything good that can come from the
African small villages, from the Romanian assistant or from a Peruvian
maidservant? What good can flow from all these persons of Southern World
origin? A new hope can come with them, they may carry with them very
important new values, which the North has totally forgotten because of
its well-being, forgetting also the way of reaching them”
“The
awareness of having something specific to say and to offer to the
Country as Catholics” emerges from the 45th edition of the
social weeks for the Italian Catholics, thanks to their qualified and
‘vital’ presence”. This is what Monsignor Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of
Genova and President of CEI, says, in tracing, for the journalists, a
first balance of the work in Pistoia e Pisa. What do you think about it?
“I think that the Catholics
can surely offer a more humane thought. They can offer important values,
first of all, that of life, but also that of solidarity and humility.
They can offer also the value of mediation and meekness, which are
essential in society, as well as that of transparency and legality,
which can be offered by the catholic people to leaven the dough of
society turning it into good bread”.
You have written and published numerous books on the theme of peace and
development, environment and inter-culture reality, in particular, the
recent “viandante maestoso” (The majestic wayfarer). La via della
bellezza” (The way to beauty), of Paoline editions: to you, which role
could the religious play for a “civilisation of love”, as invoked by
John Paul II?
“It
is surely that of the vows as condensed Beatitudes. The vow of poverty
synthesises the Beatitude of justice, mercy and surely of obedience for
the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of peace and equality. They go from purity
to non-violence until the building up of peace; we need to look with
pure and chaste eyes at the other, at nature, at our neighbours, at
peoples all over the world. I think that the role of religious and of
the Christian world is of enormous importance. It is like being the
“cantus firmos” in the choir of the world, like a tenor. Just as the
choir of the world is made up by a cantus firmos that holds the note,
similarly the Christians play a role in holding up this society”.
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