PRECENICCO. “” We are mad. ” Deputy Governor Riccardo Riccardi does not mince words to define what happened last Wednesday during the inauguration of the primary in Precenicco.
The fuss raised by the gesture of the teacher who interrupted the parish priest on the point of reciting the “Our Father” does not subside so as not to offend those who have another religious belief. And it is Don Samuele Zentilin himself who takes the opportunity to relaunch a broad reflection “on the meaning of being Christians”.
Ithe parish priest
Don Samuele Zentilin does not intend to blame the teacher who blocked him in the middle of the blessing of the building, which welcomes children belonging to several religious beliefs, by not having the “Our Father” recited. Although he was disappointed, he points to a “collective awareness”.
The teacher «even if he has protected an outdated ideology, he has raised a question on which we must think deeply. The error is not of the teacher: we are lukewarm, while being Christians is a serious commitment ».
Then he underlines: «We are a reality born of Christianity, which is a religion of freedom. The “Our Father” is a prayer that makes us equal and does not offend anyone: it speaks of sharing, of mutual forgiveness, of the common good, of commitment against evil. It does not speak of one religion against another ».
This is why what happened during the inauguration of the elementary school “Emanuele Filiberto Duca D’Aosta” must not pass in silence, but must bring to light the sense of faith, which “must be something that unites and not divides”. This is said by Pope Francis himself, in the wake of what has already been done by Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, who “have always favored interreligious dialogue”.
The deputy governor of the Fvg
A stronger comment is that of Riccardi: «In this way we will reach the point of no longer giving blessings. If we question the Christian root, it is over ”. The deputy governor of the Fvg believes that the stop to prayer was “an unacceptable thing”. “I am not an extremist and I am deeply respectful of the ideas and cultures of others, but this seems to me just too much. We must reflect on the fact that, at this rate, we end up protecting everyone except Western civilization ». Not to mention that “if the Municipality organizes an inauguration with a blessing, it cannot be the teacher who decides”.
The other reactions
On the same line as Riccardi, the senator of the Democratic Party Tatjana Rojc: «Cases like this – she clarifies – do not help coexistence and mutual understanding. The blessing is part of our tradition and those who do not share it can quietly remain silent in respect of those who find an invocation in the “Our Father”. The Christian root forms part of the foundations of our common European culture and has the peculiarity of not excluding or silencing anyone. Above all, the other faiths are not respected by setting aside the Christian one ”.
And the leader of the Lega in the Region, Mauro Bordin, presented a question to the regional councilor for education Alessia Rosolen to shed light on the issue and prevent similar events from happening again.
The head teacher
Giovanna Crimaldi, head teacher who runs the comprehensive school of Palazzolo dello Sella, to which the primary belongs, defends the work of the teacher. “I was not present at the inauguration for health reasons” he specifies, before getting to the heart of the matter: “The school is secular – he clarifies -, the Italian State has decided, and we must protect all children, inclusion must be total and complete. If we had known that there would be a moment of prayer, we would have asked a teacher to go away with children who do not follow the Catholic religion. But we didn’t know, if there had been a minimum of programming, all this would have been avoided. I’m so sorry”.
The minority in the city council
The minority council group “Lista per Precenicco” had decided, in protest against the municipal administration, which had prohibited the four opposition councilors from accessing the school site in spring 2020 “citing – explains the group leader Giuseppe Napoli – pseudo-legal reasons on construction site safety “, not to participate in the inauguration of the primary. “A late inauguration – he points out again -, given that the institute had welcomed the students as early as September 2020”.
Naples also beats the organization of the administration, also underlining that the parents were not even invited, at that moment of celebration.
The parents
Among the parents there are those who support the teacher and the teaching staff “who value the differences” and underline other shortcomings on the part of the administration. «The families were not notified of the inauguration of the building, which was already started a year ago – says Beatrice Salzani, mother of a pupil – and that our children would have met external people. The school rules have not changed: you cannot enter. While in what capacity did these people enter? I believe that this controversy is instrumental and political ».