In his greeting at his first Mass as Cardinal Fr Stefano Martoglio, his vicar, first of all referred to your family...
I am one of those people for whom roots are very important. And I carry in my roots a great love for my family, with my parents already in Paradise - my mother who died three months ago - for my origins as a child of a fisherman, for being born and raised in a small fishing village, for going with my dad to the sea in the summer months ever since I was thirteen...
Fr Martoglio also pointed out 'Son of Don Bosco by vocation'...
I had not known the Salesians earlier! I went to study at a Salesian School only because a tourist of about 70 years old who developed a strong friendship with my father over the years one day asked him what she thought of my future. My Dad replied that I too probably would be a fisherman. She remarked that I was smart and that she knew some religious people who were involved in educating young people. My parents then objected that they would never be able to pay the fees. But she reassured them: 'You will see that it will not be so expensive! So, I went to study with the Salesians, about 200 kilometres from home.
And then, at the end of middle school, what happened?
I was now well prepared to enter the Faculty of Medicine. Medicine felt like a vocation... I think I would have been a good family doctor! At the same time, however, I also felt the need to have some clarity! Because, I had enjoyed my years with the Salesians very much... During my previous summer at the seaside, I shared my thoughts with my parents, that I planned to become a Salesian religious. Dad and mum told me: 'Son, this is your life. If it will make you happy, go... don't worry about us!’
The moments of the tourist's question and the 'yes' of the parents, the moment of the religious choice and the other 'yes' of the parents.... I cannot but read the birth and realization of my vocation -two great interventions of God!
Let's talk about your coat of arms...
In the first section is the figure, very dear to us Salesians, of Jesus the Good Shepherd. For us, the Good Shepherd embodies the DNA of a Salesian. In the second is the monogram MA, Mary Help of Christians. Like Don Bosco, we Salesians always implore her protection. In the third one we see the anchor, which for me has a double meaning: on the one hand it stands in the Salesian shield and wants to signify that hope and solidity that we Salesians must possess; on the other hand, the anchor refers to my roots as a fisherman, to my family, to my village.
The coat of arms also bears a motto: Sufficit tibi gratia mea...
It was an entirely personal choice, because it expresses how I feel and how I have felt all my life until today. As a Salesian I have lived what I would never have chosen. Provincial, a few years in Argentina, then Rector Major. I now live the cardinalate in obedience to a decision of the Holy Father. As the Lord said to St Paul: 'My grace is sufficient for you'.
Exactly, and in the period in Argentina from 2009 to 2013...
Of course, I got to know Pope Francis as Cardinal Archbishop in Buenos Aires in the years 2009-2013 when I was Superior of the Salesian Province in Argentina. Never will I wear this 'advance' knowledge as a medal of merit. I had a relationship with the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as was the case for many others, priests and religious, including many other Provincials. For me it was always nice to receive him every 24th of May when he came to the Basilica of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in the Almagro district. His parents had lived in that area and he had been baptized there as well.
At the heart of the Salesian charism are young people. After nine years as Rector Major you have visited almost 120 countries. Is there something common to all young people in the world?
Yes. Cultures are different, languages are different, living environments are different. If we compare the life of a young man from Cambodia, one from Madrid, a third -a young Shuar Indian from Ecuador, the difference is enormous even in a world like ours, which is often called a 'global village'. However, after almost ten years of encounters in so many countries, I have become convinced of one thing: all the young people of the world, when they see that an adult approach them with a look of friendship, an open heart, thinking of their good and to be at their service, they turn out to be very welcoming. Young people never close their doors, they have a welcoming heart.
I am thinking of so many young Africans: why do they emigrate? Are there no real possibilities to collaborate in the development of their countries?
I have been to Africa many times as a Provincial -for example to Senegal. What was and remains our intention? To give the young people a proper education in three years of study, to be able to give each one a box with the equipment to be able to work, so that it is possible for them to lead a dignified life, earn some money, stay in touch with their families. We did it and we continue to do it. In fact, there are many who have not emigrated, thanks to us - and to many others who work like us - they have found an honourable accommodation.
However, if we go to a general African level, the situation is different...
The development of many African states must be helped more incisively. The investments made by the European Union, for example, by giving streams of money to build structures to curb immigration - in other words, migrant camps - are doomed to fail. Since, the migrants housed in such structures will sooner or later leave -given the predictable living conditions in the camp. On the other hand, the European Union should look more carefully, more seriously at investing in the vocational training of young people, financing the network of those who already work in that field (I repeat -it is not just us, it is many institutions!). This is, in my opinion, an investment that would bear much fruit!
Let us turn to the condition of young Europeans: their everyday life is very different from that of many African peers, but the problems they face are also complex and even dramatic.
In order to have a complete picture of the complex condition of European youth of today, which can then lead to the loss of faith, one essential element must be added: we have to deal with young people who are fragile! -Yes, but generally they are much better educated than the previous generations or at least are potentially competent. They speak more languages and know how to move on. They are flexible thanks to the use of valuable newer tools of knowledge. And yet this generation of young people carry a boulder on their shoulders: it’s their own future ...
Indeed, how can they plan their lives if many live in uncertainty?
According to data from recent surveys, Spain and Italy have an average age of leaving from their parents as between 28.5 and 32. But at 32 one is a man or a woman, and cab no longer be classified among the young! One still lives with one's parents, because one has no way of building a life outside their family. Of course, it is not only a question of work, but also of the meaning of life. Sometimes you have to make choices... but if the future is uncertain, you tend to postpone them... with the consequence that young people's sense of motherhood and fatherhood, for example, is fading.
And on the subject of war...
This issue makes us suffer. I think like Pope Francis and others who share his thoughts: we are living a new World War, but in pieces. I have matured in my life a conviction: no war makes sense.
In public debate, it is often observed that not all wars are equal...
I repeat: the war is absurd in itself. One can argue about the faults of one or the other, about who started it and who reacted… about the ferocity of fundamentalism... but the fundamental question (and observation) remains one: how many dead have we already loaded onto our shoulders in Ukraine, how many Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians? And how many dead of all origins and ages have we loaded ourselves with in the Holy Land with Hamas' terrorism and Israel's response? How many dead? How many dead? Thousands and thousands. But I am convinced: even one life is sacred.
Realistically, can one hold out hope that one day swords will be broken to make ploughs?
I realize that everything we do in investing for peace will never be enough. I say even more: I am hurt by the absence of a firmer, more determined, stronger action for peace on the part of so many governments, on the part of the superpowers, on the part of international bodies. And on the spread of terrorism - we Salesians also suffer from it primarily in Africa, with many victims - I can only reiterate: terrorism has no justification, none. To conclude: we must invest much more, not in armaments, but in giving everyone the chance to live with dignity in their countries of origin, in Africa and beyond. Otherwise, the thorny issue of migration will multiply, as will the human dramas that are often associated with it. There is therefore no time to lose: let us invest not in missiles, but in the education and professional training of young people, especially where shortages emerge preventing them from planning a future of stability.
Source: Rosso Porpora
