Naples. “The tears shed are not dispersed, but collected in a basin of hope and will be water to generate the future. We must leave the time of resignation and indifference”.
This was stated by the Archbishop of Naples, Don Mimmo Battaglia, in his homily at the mass in memory of Fortuna Belisario, the woman and mother from the Rione Sanita' killed by her husband, now under house arrest after two years, on March 7, 2019. "I would like to see - said Battaglia in the church of Santa Maria della Sanita' - closer social networks and more solid policies that are more attentive to supporting anti-violence centers, I would like to see women loved and respected, recognized in their gender identity, free. I would like to see women and men capable of bringing hope to young people and taking the risk of seeing their dreams come true".
STRONG FEMALE WARRIORS IN THE FOREGROUND IN THE BATTLE AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Also attending the mass were the women of the association “Forti Guerriere” of the Rione Sanita'. “Fortuna trusted, perhaps she did not have time to find the strength to rebel against a man who violated her body, she was afraid and perhaps to defend herself she relied on a deceptive silence of hoped-for change that never happened. But on that 7th March 2019, Fortuna became a vehicle of desire for change, courage to denounce. Her death made noise and today it is even stronger, nourished by the sense of injustice that risks sending women a message of the impossibility of escaping violence” continued the Archbishop of Naples in his homily.
"Today - said Don Mimmo Battaglia - we remember Fortuna, a young woman and mother torn from life by violence and we remember so many other women who were offended, trampled upon, stripped of their dignity, killed. The temple, the home, the body that must never be violated, any violence, whether verbal or physical, is a crime of high treason and God always constitutes himself as a civil party. May this March 8 not be a day of words of support for women, but become a day of closeness and concrete support, everyone is called to do their part: women to fight, institutions to guarantee them the justice they deserve. We cannot change Fortuna's destiny but we must ensure that what happened to her does not happen to other women. To Fortuna and to all of them we owe not judgment but solidarity, not silence but denunciation and justice". The archbishop recalled the phone call inviting him to attend today's mass from Father Antonio Loffredo, parish priest of the Rione Sanita': "I told him that I knew this pain from my experiences in women's shelters. There I saw the fear drawn on their faces, the lips pressed together and the eyes watering, the bodies stiffened by the effort of years of fending off blows, without being able to abandon themselves to an embrace. I also saw the strength of those who said enough is enough and found their smile again, rediscovered the possibility of starting over and building relationships to help other women."
The Archbishop of Naples, Don Mimmo Battaglia, at the end of the mass to remember the murder of Fortuna Bellisario met with the women of the association "Le forti guerriere", born in the Rione Sanita' after the death of Fortuna. "It was an important moment - said Battaglia - I told them to stand up with courage, not on their knees as if crushed by life situations and problems, but not indifferent to what happens either. We must have the courage to stand up with our hands raised to the sky as a sign of resistance, not surrender, with the ability to be resilient. I saw a beautiful strength in them, we must walk together all united"
Article published on March 7, 2021 - 16pm
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