Florence, meeting of the Mediterranean: final day. Mass with Mattarella
Florence, February 27, 2022 – Final day for the Forum of mayors and bishops of the Mediterranean a Florence. The Tuscan capital increasingly in the center of Europewith a confrontation that saw the mayor Dario Nardella as hosts and, for the bishops, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference Gualtiero Bassetti.
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Encounter of the Mediterranean, the special
“No walls are built at sea”
“I would summarize all that we have lived and that we have said in two words: do not build walls but bridges, also because if the Mediterranean is a continent of water they do, the walls in the water get bad, instead we have to build bridges to connect the various points of the sea “. So the cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti on the final day of a meeting of bishops and mayors of Mediterranean. “It occurred to me when Monsignor Bartoletti, Florentine, secretary of the CEI, took us to Camaldolithere is the tomb of St. Romuald, and founding phrase of the Camaldolese, and founding phrase on the tomb that he said to the monks at the moment of his death: ‘Ego vobis et vos mihi’, we want to remain united forever, I for you and you for me. I believe – that Bassetti may be said – that these are the feelings that we can all greet each other in nourishment: that of this meeting that is said to be the desire for friendship, it is said that it can, if God wants it, produce fruits “.
The mayor of Istanbul
“The Mediterranean has a special place in historythe great religions followed the humanity of discover Dio and to fight against the male which can also manifest itself on a physical, geographical level: the Mediterranean region, the homeland of peace, is a place of culture and cultural diversity. anyone who sees the Mediterranean as one of his properties opens the door to evil, let’s stick to our principles and our faith. “This was stated by the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu talking inside Palazzo Vecchio in Florence on the final day of the forum of bishops and mayors “Mediterranean frontier of peace”. “It doesn’t matter what it is our religion but we all share the same thought that it is good “,” we must rebuild the Mediterranean where peace and democracy are sovereign “he concluded
“The challenge, building bridges”
“And this is still our challenge for the future today: to build bridges of dialogue between the peoples of the Mediterranean. To unite what has been divided for centuries. To unite in the name of human brotherhood as the Abu Dhabi document reminds us. Uniting for pace: we are facing an epochal challenge “, he later said Bassetti.
“‘Breaking down walls, building bridges’: this is the splendid image elaborated by La Pira – continued the president of the CEI -. An image he borrowed from what he saw in Cairo in 1967 after meeting with President Nasser. On that occasion – added Bassetti – he saw a team of workers break down the walls which had been built in front of the hotel doors, as anti-aircraft defense tools’. In that gesture she perceived the symbol of a great political and cultural action. It was necessary to break down the ‘wall of mistrust’ between peoples and build bridges of dialogue between peoples “.
“Sunshine card of Florence”
“The Florence Charter is truly a ray of sunshine in this moment when we hear the noise of weapons around us and there seems to be so much darkness”. Thus the president of the CEI, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti speaking of the document. “Thank you all for the wonderful work we have done together,” he continued Bassetti highlighting the importance of the Florence Charter. “Bring the Charter to your cities, schools, religious communities, parishes. Disseminate it but above all embody it in your life. That charter is the testimony, not only symbolic, that there is – and here it has been reaffirmed – a Mediterranean conscience. This Charter it is a social pact, a pact of friendship “.
The absence of the Pope
A historic meeting, with the participants of participants and a theme above all: that of peace, which already was the meaning of this meeting and became even more so in the light of the war in Ukraine. A final day that sees the absence of Pope Francis.
A pain in his knee forced him to the Vatican, his visit canceled which further underlined the meanings of these five days (the meeting started on Wednesday). The Mass in Santa Croce will be there anyway. Cardinal Bassetti presided over it. And the faithful are in Piazza Santa Croce, as had been planned if the Pope had been present, for a collective prayer for peace.
Nardella’s words
“In these days we have touched the most critical points, the most difficult challenges and talked about this sea that we live in our minds come a barrier because we have to cross it. But we must look at the Mediterranean not as something that separates three continents but as a fourth continent, which mixes the waters and peoples. I confines of this fourth continent to reach Ukraine and for this reason we reiterate: no to war, no to war, no to war, we want peace. “This was said by the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, opening this morning in Hall of the sixteenth century of Palazzo Vecchio, the final session of the Forum of bishops and mayors of the cities of the Mediterranean. “I also greet the mayor of Kiev that I heard last night after I sent him photos of the Italian squares full of people calling for peace – added Nardella – It was a very moving phone call close to the city of Kiev, with which Florence has been twinned since 1967. The mayor of Kiev was moved and thanked me for our solidarity “.
The program of the last day
Bassetti
“Every war leaves our world worse than it found it. War is a failure of politics and humanity, a shameful surrender, a defeat in the face of the forces of evil”. Thus the president of the CEI, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti in the conclusion of the meeting of the bishops and mayors of Mediterranean in Florencesent the message of peace of Pope francesco, absent in the Tuscan capital due to acute knee pain, which “forces him – said Bassetti – to reduce his activities to a minimum”. “We remember him with affection and assure him of our closeness and support, remembering him especially with his message of peace”, “thank you, Most Holy Father, we wish you a speedy recovery”.