Pope's visit to northeast Italy:
A lesson against materialism
Interview with the OR editor
by Giovanni Viafora
Translated from
Oct. 8, 2010
VENICE - Twenty-six years after John Paul II and 40 years after Paul VI, a Pope returns to Venice. The Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola, announced this Thursday at St. Mark's Cathedral.
Benedict XVI will be making a pastoral visit on May 7-8 first to ancient Aquileia, north of Venice, and then to Venice itself.
"It will be a very significant visit, rich with meanings and reference points", said Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of
L'Osservatore Romano since 2007.
What is the relevance of this pastoral visit?
It is a sign of the Pontiff's great attention for the entire northeast region. But one must also remember that Venice has always been a window towards the Orient, and so other themes will emerge from this.
Such as that of inter-religious dialog?
Precisely. Historically, Venice has always been open to contacts with the Christian Churches of the east, and has had intense cultural and commercial relationships with the oriental world, especially the Muslims.
[Cardinal Scola's foundation Oasis was specifically set up a few years back to promote relations between Catholicism and Islam, and has been very active in its mission.]
But Venice is also a 'gateway from the East' in terms of immigration. I think the Pope will find a region - the Veneto - that is increasingly intolerant of immigrant aliens. How will the Pope address this?
Benedict XVI has always been clear on this. Concerning migrants, one must always think of reciprocal integration that is respectful of each other's cultures - Venetians towards the immigrants, and the newcomers to Italy towards Italians.
Obviously, the problem is not an easy one. In the West, population growth is near zero in terms of the birth rate, with increasing gaps in the labor market, whereas in other parts of the world, poverty and injustice that have become intolerable has prompted mass migrations to the West.
The Veneto region has changed a lot in the past 26 years. It remains prosperous but there has been progressive secularization.
The Veneto is very much alive and has produced much in terms of wellbeing for its people. But it is important that they should not be alienated or distanced from their most authentic cultural and religious roots, because they are at risk of that practical materialism that John Paul II had identified clearly when he visited.
Cardinal Scola will be welcoming the Pope. Is it possible that we may see a repetition of that scene in 1972 when Paul VI, in St. Mark's Square, placed the papal stole on the shoulders of the then Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Luciani [who became John Paul I]?
That was certainly a celebrated gesture that Papa Luciani himself recalled when he was elected Pope. Papa Montini loved these symbolic gestures.
As for Benedict XVI, he has known Cardinal Scola for some time
[since Scola was a young priest and Joseph Ratzinger was a professor in Regensburg - they first met during planning for the Italian edition of the theological journal Communio).
The Pope is very attentive to the signs of Christian tradition and explains them very well in a way that makes us all look to the future with confidence.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/10/2010 18:29]