Meeting with the directors of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Minori, bureaucracy, training and anti-Covid measures the topics
IVREA. Protection of minors, adherence to the INPS protocol for all. Questioning how to go forward to give support to the most fragile people in a period – this post-pandemic – full of difficulties and contradictions. The world of diocesan Caritas does a lot for the frail and, thanks to its experience, has planning and support skills. The initiative started from Ivrea – the first after the difficulties of the pandemic – to bring together the 16 directors of the diocesan Caritas of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta in a morning of discussion and comparison. The meeting took place on Monday morning, in the former major seminary in via Varmondo Arborio. With them, in addition to the bishop of Ivrea Monsignor Aldo Cerrato, the bishop of Cuneo and Fossano Piero Delbosco, also regional head of diocesan Caritas and the regional delegate Pier Luigi Dovis. Head of Caritas of Piedmont and Valla d’Aosta.
Cerrato opened the meeting by recalling the previous meeting of the diocesan Caritas in Ivrea in 2017. Only four years have passed, but the experience of the pandemic has greatly reshuffled the cards and only in the diocese of Ivrea the requests for help have increased and Aid was given to 4 thousand people. “It is easy to talk about charity – began the bishop of Ivrea – but it is much more difficult to put it into practice, because the volunteers not only distribute goods but also support, understanding and patience”. Cerrato took the opportunity of the meeting in Ivrea to thank the director Emiliano Ricci and all the volunteers who give their service in the Caritas of Ivrea and in the parish Caritas of the diocese (about 180). Introducing the topics of the meeting was Pier Luigi Dovis, head of the Caritas of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta.
MINOR PROTECTION
The first, delicate topic dealt with was that of the operational indications on the protection of minors and frail people given by the national Caritas and approved by the CEI, the Italian bishops’ conference. Paolo Beccecato, deputy director of the Italian Caritas and Francesco Dragonetti, head of the child protection group. The shocking fact emerged from the debate that one in four girls and one in ten children are abused, and in many cases abused children can turn into abusive adults. The words were clear and the line to follow is that of zero tolerance. “For this reason – it was underlined by the speakers – the priority is the protection of child victims of abuse, not that of trying to avoid the scandal”. «On the abuse of minors – the bishop of Cuneo and Fossano reiterated forcefully – the Church requires zero tolerance of all, especially on the clergy. In order to correctly and completely evaluate the abuses in the church, alongside the diocesan responsible – added Monsignor Dalbosco – it is necessary to create a small team of experts and technicians because a scandal for violence against minors occurring anywhere in the world concerns and challenges everyone. the church”.
HELP TO THE FRAGILE
A big question that those who help the frail ask themselves is that of the opportunities to reach everyone. And the pandemic has further demonstrated the importance of networking. Support for the INPS protocol for all goes in this direction, which will be signed on Thursday in Turin with the aim of reaching people in situations of hardship and poverty and helping them to remove bureaucratic obstacles to law enforcement measures. Aid to the frail also passes through the training of volunteers. And the directors stressed that this formation cannot ignore the specific nature of Caritas itself (help to the least and teachings of the gospel) but focuses on solutions to the need to implement, in addition to face-to-face meetings, online communication to promote the work of team. From a practical point of view, there was also talk of the obligation to have a Green pass from 15 October also for volunteers who will serve and the use of individual anti-Covid protections starting with the mask.
The conclusions of the morning were entrusted to Monsignor Delbosco who urged attention in the choice of volunteers working in the Caritas listening centers who, during the pandemic, also showed willingness to adapt to the contingent situation. At the end of the work, Caritas invited the guests to lunch prepared and served by the students (in their first room service) of the second year of the Prat Hotel Institute. A group then also visited the crypt of the cathedral.