00 16/08/2009 20:24




Still bringing this thread up to date.





Posted on 7/21/09 in the BENEDICT thread:


ADDENDA TO REPORTAGE
ON THE ROMANO CANAVESE VISIT


The OR story usually has some details not previously noted or reported, as this one does.


A special welcome
for an exceptional guest

by Nicola Gori
Translated from
the 7/20-7/21 issue of







"Do not be discouraged!"

The Pope's exhortation went to the heart of the thousands who gathered in the small Piazza Ruggia of Romano Canavese, an exhortation for families, single persons and above all, young people - who are suffering the effects of the financial-economic crisis in this small town of Turin province, which Benedict XVI visited Sunday in a gesture of affection for his Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who was born here.

It was a commitment the Pope did not cancel despite the domestic incident Friday that resulted in a fracture to his right wrist.

Benedict XVI arrived by helicopter in what was once an Olivetti industrial area in nearby Scarmagno. He was welcomed by Cardinal Bertone and Mons. Arrigo Miglio, Bishop of Ivrea.

Dozens of yellow and white balloons were released, streamers marked the route, and Vatican flags were waved by enthusiastic residents and visitors who lined the Pope's route towards the parish church of Saints Peter and Solutor.

Welcoming the Pope in front of the church were Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, the Apostolic Nuncio to Italy; parish priest Don Jacek Peleszyk; Mayor Oscarino Ferrero; and other civilian and military authorities.

Inside the church, he was greeted by children preparing for First Communion, altar servers, the sick and disabled, scouts, and volunteers for various church-associated movements.

Also present for the occasion were Cardinal Bertone's Salesian mentors, including Don Pietro Conca, 98, who had been director of the Salesian oratory in San Benigno Canavese, one of the first houses set up by St. John Bosco and where the future cardinal spent some years as a teacher; and Don Nicola Faletti, 93.

The Pope, accompanied by his private secretary Mons. Georg Gaenswein, first knelt in prayer before the main altar, and venerated a reliquary containing a cloth signed in blood by a local martyr, the Servant of God Gino Pistoni, shortly before he died.

A member of Catholic Action and a guerrilla during the Second World War, Gino went to the aid of a German soldier in the front on July 25, 1944 and was mortally struck by a mortar round.

Dipping his finger in his blood, he wrote on his knapsack: "I offer my life for Catholic Action and for Italy. Long live Christ the King!"

After greeting the crowd assembled inside the church, the Pope emerged onto the altar erected over the church steps, and with arms raised, he greeted the crowd.

He listened to the greeting read by Bishop Miglio who said:

"We are heirs to and therefore responsible for a long Christian tradition which has profoundly marked the spiritual, cultural and social life of the Canavese [term applied to the geographical and historical area north of Turin and south of Aosta whose first settlements go back to 123 B.C], leaving behind many values that are still well rooted in its social and personal life.

"These values include, in particular, love for family and for work, solidarity, missionary cooperation with poorer towns, a readiness to welcome new immigrants: we cannot in fact forget that a few decades ago, even this was a land of people who migrated elsewhere.

"But many families, particularly, the young, suffer because of precarious work opportunities and unemployment which cuts across age levels. Alongside material poverty, there is no lack, unfortunately of spiritual and moral poverty, often more serious than material need.

"Your visit, Holy Father, follows that of the Servant of God John Paul II who visited our diocese (Ivrea) [he was in the city of Ivrea, not in the town of Romano] in March of 1990, and your presence today is a living testimony of the continuing closeness of the Pope and the Church to the problems of labor, families, and all human suffering. Thank you, Holy Father, for Caritas in veritate."

Mayor Ferrero also expressed the joy of all the townspeople for the Pope's visit.

"Your gesture," he said, "brings us a message of faith, hope, and charity in truth, virtues which for us are enhanced by the friendship that has linked you for years to our most illustrious townmate, your Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone."

He, too, referred to the economic crisis: "The situation is grave, but we are sure your presence and your prayers will guide us and give us the strength and the courage to overcome this crisis."



Before ending the official welcoming rites, the parish priest offered the Pope a chalice that was fashioned by an artisan from Castellamonte, along with some chasubles for the Pope to send to a mission.

The mayor presented the Pope with a painting by local artist Cristina Ariago. And Franco Bernabe, an official of Telecom Italia, accompanied by Francisco Forlenza, president of Olivetti, presented the Pope with the latest model of the Olivetti notebook computer.

[The story says nothing of the Pope's Angelus message because the entire text is the headline story on Page 1 of tomorrow's double issue.]

After the Angelus, the Pope gave his customary blessing with his right hand, his forearm encased in a cast.

He then proceeded to the family home of Cardinal Bertone, where he had luncheon with the cardinal's immediate clan. Over lunch, also joined by the Bishop of Ivrea, they discussed the work emergency, the future of the youth and the problems of the diocese of Ivrea.

Later, Valeriano, the cardinal's brother, said: "The Pope did refer to his accident, and said he hoped to recover full use of his right hand soon. But his attention was focused on the social problems of the Canavese - not just the unemployment, but also the lack of vocations in the parishes."

"It was a very moving occasion," he said. "And we appreciated it greatly that despite his accident, he came to Romano Canavese anyway."

The Bertone family presented the Pope with some old engravings of the Canavese. And Pietro Tarcisio, the cardinal's four-year-old grandnephew, unveiled a plaque placed on the wall of the Bertone house that commemorates the visit and expresses the family's gratitude to the Pope.

Benedict XVI's visit to Romano Canavese ended around 2:15 p.m., when he took the helicopter back to Les Combes.



Before the Pope arrived, Cardinal Bertone presided at a Eucharistic concelebration at the piazza where the Pope was to lead the Angelus. [The newspaper also publishes the full text of Bertone's homily in this issue.]

There had been a prayer vigil in the church the night before, during which the cardinal told his townmates that "the Pope's visit should bring a message of hope and tell our youth that they should be attractive examples for their contemporaries in being joyful witnesses to the presence of God."

Referring to the recent G8 summit in L'Aquila, Bertone said: "We hope that the positive results and commitments that they publicly proclaimed will indeed be carried out. We as the Church will always represent a critical conscience to see if they respect these commitments."

He expressed the same hope about the commitments made by President Obama to the Pope about making policies that would lead to a reduction in abortions and that would respect conscientious objection by individuals and institutions who are against abortions.

"Those are two significant commitments that Obama said he believes he can do as President".

[Read the news from the USA, Your Eminence. Obama's ambitiously expensive and poorly thought out healthcare reform would require all health insurance companies, public or private, to cover the cost of abortions. Does that sound like any way to reduce abortions????

Speaking with a forked tongue is Obama's SOP - look at all the campaign promises that have already been broken in his first six months as President - and all the lies he told about how he would create 3.5 million jobs, etc., if Congress passed the stimulus bill they had not read!]


Regarding his own brief conversation with Obama, the cardinal said, "He showed a willingness to listen to the positions of the Church". [Well, what else could he do while he was at the Vatican? Tell his hosts, "No, I don't want to listen to what you have to say"? In the same way, the Vatican cannot possibly say, "We don't believe he will fulfill the commitments he made to the Pope." What it's saying at best is "Let's see if he keeps them."]


ADDITIONAL PICTURES