Italy: Country of the Year

Posted on February 10, 2022 by babbityjean

2021 was a difficult year throughout the world.  Covid-19 continued to spread misery as new variants emerged, and vaccines were unevenly distributed.  Civil liberties and democratic norms were undermined in China and many other countries.  Russia’s main opposition leader was jailed.  Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the United States Capitol.  Civil wars erupted in Ethiopia and Myanmar.  And Russia is amassing military forces along the border of Ukraine.

Amid the gloom, one country shined in many ways.  Italy began the year with many successes in sports: the Luna Rossa was the challenger in the America’s Cup sailing competition in New Zealand; Matteo Berrettini made it to the tennis finals at Wimbledon; Italy earned a record 40 medals at the summer Olympics in Tokyo; and Italy won the European Cup in Soccer.  Giorgio Parisi won a Nobel Prize in Physics, and Italy again won the Eurovision Song Contest.

In December 2021, another honor was bestowed on Italy.  The British magazine, the Economist, crowned Italy the “Country of the Year.”  This annual accolade given by the internationally reputed weekly “does not go to the largest, the richest or the happiest” of countries, “but to the one that has improved the most” that year.  In the past, Tunisia was recognized for embracing democracy, and Uzbekistan was honored for abolishing slavery.

The Economist acknowledged the many other victories of Italy this year, but bestowed this award for Italy’s politics.  Central to the honor is Prime Minister Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank:  Italy “has acquired a competent and internationally respected prime minister.”  Moreover, the magazine noted that Draghi manages well internal conflicts at the executive level, and he encourages cooperation from Italian politicians “to support a program of comprehensive reforms that should allow Italy to obtain funds to which it is entitled under the European Recovery Plan.”  The Economist also cited Italy’s vaccination rate that is above the European average and a more rapid economic recovery than that of France and Germany.  Growth prospects foresee an increase in GDP of more than 6%.

The London “newspaper” — as the Economist refers to itself — has not always been benevolent toward Italy.  In the 1990s, it described Silvio Berlusconi as “unfit” to lead the country’s government.  In 2014, it portrayed Matteo Renzi as “clueless,” showing him on board a European paper boat intent on eating a gelato while the boat sinks.  Of course, Great Britain is currently struggling with its own problems, from a confused Brexit, to an irresponsible management of the pandemic, to a clownish and amateurish Boris Johnson as prime minister.

The Economist concludes its accolade to Italy with a warning to Draghi: “There is a risk that this unusual surge of rational government will suffer a setback” if Draghi becomes president of the Republic, a more ceremonial post, making way for a less competent successor as prime minister.  The London weekly expressed its preference for Draghi to remain out of the running for the Quirinale.  And recent opinion polls say that about three quarters of Italians want Draghi to stay on as prime minister at least until the end of the parliamentary term in 2023, instead of taking the role at the Quirinale.  And so it came true!

Posted in English, Foto, Italia, la politica, Lo Sport, Roma | 3 Comments

Padrino: titolo religioso, laico o mafioso?

Posted on February 3, 2022 by babbityjean

Verso la fine del film Il Padrino I, Michael Corleone è in chiesa come padrino del figlio della sorella Connie. Una drammatica musica d’organo accompagna la scena, come il prete intona: “Rinuncia a Satana… e a tutte le sue opere… e a tutti i suoi sfarzi?” – mentre i capi delle famiglie mafiose in lotta fra loro vengono tutti cancellati per volere di Michael. Contemporaneamente diventa sia padrino del nipote, sia padrino della famiglia regnante Corleone.

Padrini e madrine esistono sin dall’origine del cristianesimo, quando la Chiesa era perseguitata da parte dell’Impero Romano ed essa stessa doveva impedire l’infiltrazione pagana. I padrini avevano vari ruoli: attestare l’integrità dell’individuo adulto che riceveva i Sacramenti dell’Iniziazione; servire come guide spirituali se i genitori di un bambino venivano martirizzati e avevano bisogno di una guida nella fede; per proteggere la dottrina della chiesa dal paganesimo e dalla persecuzione. Dopo l’800 d.C., quando il battesimo dei bambini divenne comune, il ruolo del padrino cambiò in quello che generalmente intendiamo oggi: sono adulti che si impegnano ad assistere i genitori nell’insegnamento della fede cattolica ai bambini.

Ora la nomina dei padrini viene sottoposta a un esame minuzioso nel paese che ospita la Chiesa cattolica. La diocesi della città siciliana di Catania ha promulgato nell’ottobre 2021 un divieto triennale di nominare i padrini ai battesimi. I funzionari della Chiesa affermano che la tradizione ha perso ogni significato spirituale. Invece, dicono che sia diventato un modo per le famiglie di migliorare le proprie fortune creando legami vantaggiosi, a volte con loschi personaggi locali. Non solo a molti padrini manca la fede, ma molti vivono vite peccaminose o criminali. In alcuni casi la posizione è stata utilizzata per ricatto sociale e usura.

Mentre i funzionari della Chiesa affermano che il motivo principale per eliminare i padrini è dovuto alla secolarizzazione della posizione, anche l’influenza della mafia ha svolto un ruolo importante. Alcuni parroci hanno accolto con favore i divieti per dare loro una pausa da personaggi discutibili che li minacciavano nel nominare padrini specifici. In effetti, i pubblici ministeri italiani hanno tracciato i battesimi per mostrare come i boss della malavita influissero in tali eventi. A Reggio Calabria, patria della ‘ndrangheta, l’arcivescovo ha proposto un divieto di 10 anni sulla pratica perché per lo sfruttamento da parte dei mafiosi. Ad Aci Trezza, cittadina a circa 10 km a nord di Catania, la diocesi ammette i padrini, ma impone loro di firmare moduli in cui giurano di essere credenti e non mafiosi.

Nel 2014 Papa Francesco ha preso posizione contro la criminalità organizzata scomunicando tutti i mafiosi. Recentemente è stato avvicinato dal clero del sud Italia che vuole il suo appoggio sulla questione dei padrini. Michele Pennisi, arcivescovo di Monreale, vicino a Palermo, è un accanito critico mafioso e sfida l’idea che i boss criminali abbiano un lato paterno: “La mafia ha sempre preso il termine padrino dalla Chiesa per dare ai suoi capi un aspetto di religiosa rispettabilità.” Nel 2008 Pennisi ha ricevuto minacce di morte dalla mafia dopo aver vietato i funerali religiosi per noti boss. All’inizio di quest’anno, ha condannato la decisione di un prete locale di lasciare che il figlio del famigerato mafioso, Toto Riina, diventasse il padrino di sua nipote.

Il prete proveniva dal famigerato villaggio di Corleone, reso famoso dal romanzo di Mario Puzo e dal film di Francis Ford Coppola, Il padrino. Il confronto tra sacerdote e arcivescovo ha portato Pennisi a vietare a chiunque fosse stato condannato per “reati disonorevoli” di fare il padrino. Ma la radicata cultura dell’omertà – il codice del silenzio della mafia –  renderà queste sentenze difficili da far rispettare?

Posted in Abitudini, Calabria, Film, Foto, Italia, Italiano, Italoamericani, Mafia, Sicilia, Storia | 1 Comment

Godfather: Religious, Secular or Mafioso Title?

Posted on February 3, 2022 by babbityjean

Toward the end of Godfather I, Michael Corleone is in church taking the vow as godfather to sister Connie’s son.  With dramatic organ music playing, the priest intones, “Do you renounce Satan…and all his works…and all his pomps?”  — while the heads of the competing mafia families are all being obliterated at the behest of Michael.  He simultaneously becomes godfather to an infant and Godfather to the reigning Corleone family—il capo dei capi.

Godfathers and godmothers have been around since the early days of Christianity when the Church was under persecution from the Roman Empire and had to prevent pagan infiltration.  Godparents had various roles: To attest to the integrity of the adult individual receiving the Sacraments of Initiation; to serve as critical spiritual guides if parents of a child were martyred and needed direction in the Faith; and to protect the church’s doctrine from paganism and persecution.  After 800 CE, when infant baptism became commonplace, the role of the godparent changed to what we generally understand it to mean today:  They are adults who commit themselves to assist parents in teaching the Catholic Faith to children.

Now the appointment of godparents is coming under scrutiny in the land that is home to the Catholic Church. The diocese of the Sicilian city of Catania enacted in October 2021 a three-year ban on naming godparents at baptisms and christenings.  Church officials claim that the tradition has lost any spiritual significance.  Instead, they say, it has become a way for families to improve their fortunes by making advantageous connections, sometimes with shady local characters.  Not only do many godfathers lack the faith, but many live sinful or criminal lives.  In some cases, the position has been used for social blackmail and usury.  

While church officials say that the primary reason to eliminate godparents is due to the secularization of the position, the influence of the mafia has also played a major role.  Some parish priests have welcomed the bans to give them a rest from questionable characters threatening them into naming specific godfathers.  In fact, Italian prosecutors have tracked baptisms to show how underworld bosses spread influence.  In Reggio Calabria, the birthplace of the ‘Ndrangheta, the archbishop proposed a 10-year ban on the practice because it is ripe for exploitation by mobsters.  In Aci Trezza, a town about 10 km north of Catania, the diocese allows godparents, but requires them to sign forms swearing that they are believers and not Mafia members.

In 2014, Pope Francis took a stand against organized crime by excommunicating all mafiosi.  He has recently been approached by clergy in southern Italy who want his support on the question of godparents.  Michele Pennisi, the archbishop in Monreale, which is near Palermo, is a vocal mafia critic and challenges the idea that crime bosses have a paternal side: “The mafia has always taken the term godfather from the Church to give its bosses an air of religious respectability.”  In 2008 Pennisi received death threats from the mob after he banned religious funerals for known gangsters.  Earlier this year, he condemned the decision of a local priest to let the son of the infamous mobster, Toto Riina, become his niece’s godfather.

The priest was from the notorious village of Corleone, which was made famous by Mario Puzo’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s movie, The Godfather.  The confrontation between priest and archbishop led Pennisi to ban anyone convicted of “dishonorable crimes” from acting as a godparent.  But will the entrenched culture of omertà—the code of silence—make these rulings hard to enforce?

Posted in Abitudini, Calabria, English, Film, Foto, Italia, La Gente, Mafia, Sicilia, Storia, Vaticano | Leave a comment