Don Camillo, Cardinal Ruini who long led the Italian Church during the pontificate of Saint John Paul II, left us facing death serenely in suffering. He was accompanied in his modest ecclesiastical residence, until the last (difficult) breath, by the faithful “perpetua” Pierina.
A clear analyst of public dynamics in the name of “non-negotiable principles,” he wanted to take a stand in favor of justice reform. Not out of partisanship but out of dissent with ideological (in)justice. He indeed hoped for judges who were genuinely independent, oriented to apply and not create laws.
As has often happened instead precisely in ethically sensitive matters with heavy-handed judicial measures while Parliament, even with different majorities, has always considered them with the caution they deserve. His was an influential Church because it was not political but strictly committed to ensuring that public action consolidated and did not demolish the foundation of our nation, that “we cannot but call ourselves Christians” of the atheist Benedetto Croce.
Today, paradoxically, the Episcopal Conference seems to treat differentiated autonomy between Regions as a dogma of faith and end-of-life issues as negotiable matters. Ruini suffered from this even though he always limited himself to expressing his opinions without divisive criticism.
Improperly defined as conservative by non-believers who would want a Church their way, in reality he always and only sought to introduce the discomfort of Christ into the public dimension, the only true and unique answer to the many, especially young people, who in this chaotic time pose a question of the meaning of life.
Yesterday the third edition of the Festival promoted by the associative network “Ditelo sui Tetti” concluded emblematically, one of the many Catholic environments that will continue to adopt his model of presence.
