Whirlpool, the Archbishop of Naples: 'Here Christ is still crucified'
“Here Christ continues to be crucified.” This is one of the most touching moments of the mass celebrated in the establishment Whirlpool of via Argine in Naples by the archbishop of the city, Monsignor Domenico BattagliaDressed in light blue and purple, Don Mimmo, as he prefers to be called, from the stage of the company theater, set up with the blue banner "Naples does not give up" that tops it and a white one at the bottom, which reads "There is no dignity without work", where a washing machine stands next to the altar, has strong words in his homily.
“The life of every human being is worth more than all the gold of the richest man in the world,” he begins, “this expression contains the meaning of my presence here, among you. I wanted to be present here on the first day of Holy Week, the week of the Passion of our Lord Jesus, because the most important thing is to pause next to the sanctity of tears, next to the infinite crosses of today, where Christ continues to be crucified. Here Christ continues to be crucified. The Passion of the Lord is still being perpetuated on your flesh. I have chosen to be here among you to bring all the anxieties, worries, fears that are agitating your hearts at this moment, but also hope, and to place this hope in the heart of God.”
And at the time of the offerings, the workers of the factory that closed its gates on October 31st and, offer the prelate a uniform, "a symbol of sacrifice and dedication to work", offering their fears and asking to be able to wear it "again with pride and love just as our fathers have worn it over time"; and then the shoes, with which they have "walked for a long time in the streets of the many recognitions received but also of protests and battles"; and even the banner that opened each of their processions, "a symbol of strength, resistance and courage to face this difficult moment, but also a sign of hope for change for us and for the entire country". After the end of the Eucharistic celebration, Don Mimmo entrusts a bunch of white and yellow balloons to a little girl and asks her to make them fly.
Monsignor Battaglia: 'The Church with you to get its hands dirty'
“This Church wants to get its hands dirty and I will do it with you workers. Only together can we make a difference, courage, we continue to fight standing up and with our hands raised to the sky, not as a sign of surrender but always as a sign of resistance”. This was said by the Archbishop of Naples, Monsignor Domenico Battaglia, during his homily at the celebration of the mass in the Whirlpool plant in Naples. Battaglia recalled that “the word work appears 19 times in the Constitution, second only to law.
Work must feed, clothe, produce but above all valorize the person, not humiliate him. This was a place of great quality of work and serenity between workers and managers, then profit logics took over, I know that agreements were made for rescues that were then not respected. I ask the institutions and the government in particular how they can leave 340 families without work, income and hope. And to these must be added the 650 of the related industries. How to erase this factory that was a model and whose government had financed social safety nets.
The Church of Naples is close to you and shares your suffering and asks that we seek without delay ways to find a solution to rekindle hope in your eyes”. The archbishop addressed the workers, emphasizing “dear friends, always fight, fight together because divisions play into the hands of others. Do not let yourselves be caught in the spiral of pessimism. The Church of Naples is close to you and looks at new viable paths to propose, together we seek the common good to rediscover the soul of this city. I hope that a mediation is still sought or at least that you are guaranteed to be able to look at your families, if this does not happen we cannot remain silent. Evil also belongs to those who look the other way. If the laws of the economy are contrary to those of life, they must be changed. A policy that promotes it and frees it from responsibility is also unacceptable.
Now we don't need words but concrete actions. Tonight, this is where the courage to choose which side to be on and to get our hands dirty starts, it's no use having clean hands if you keep them in your pockets". At the end of the mass, the archbishop received the uniform and shoes of the workers as a gift and then read a message from the workers outside the hall and then he and a little girl flew some yellow balloons.
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Morning of extraordinary works in the area of Church Porto Salvo, in the heart of Naples. At the instigation of Mayor Gaetano Manfredi and coordinated by the Department of the Environment, the municipal task force for urban decorum has launched a cleanup and reorganization of public spaces. Operators from the subsidiary Napoli Servizi have carried out maintenance work. weeding, sweeping and washing of the sidewalks, restoring greater decorum to one of the busiest areas of the center.
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