Lto Visit ad limina apostolorum is «go to the roots of our faith». It is “returning to what evangelically is the source of our faith”. With «Peter who in his successor confirms us successors of the apostles in the faith». These are the words of Monsignor Fortunato Morrone, archbishop of Reggio Calabria-Bova and president of the Calabrian Episcopal Conference. We meet him after the audience with Pope Francis which kicked off the Ad limina visit of the ecclesiastical region.
“There were almost two hours of direct, frank conversation,” says the prelate. «The Pope – he continues -, despite the difficulties in moving that we all know, seemed very lucid and easy-going. He also reminded us of the four areas to which we are called: towards God, among ourselves, with our clergy and with the people who have been entrusted to us. For our part, we thanked him because in him we see an axiom of the Church personified, namely Ecclesia semper reformanda estwhich is the final theme of the synodal journey.”
Your Excellency, have you addressed this topic of the Synodal Path of the Italian Church?
Yes. In Calabria, despite all the difficulties and hardships found in all dioceses, we are experiencing a positive path, much appreciated by the lay people who felt like protagonists. Maybe it was us priests who caused the problems. It is clericalism that the Pope never tires of denouncing. Clericalism which however sometimes also infects the laity.
What did you talk about with the Pope then?
Our beautiful region unfortunately makes the news mainly for its negativity, which is also there, let’s think about organized crime. We have tried to expose the lights of our lands to the Pope. First of all we confirmed that the Calabrian people are welcoming. And he has demonstrated this by addressing the phenomenon of migrants in recent years, especially on the Ionian coast. I think of Reggio, the Roccella Ionica area or the Crotone area where a tragic shipwreck occurred a year ago, in Steccato di Cutro. Without our Caritas, without Catholic and non-Catholic volunteers, the institutions would have faltered. In short, the Church and the Calabrian people know how to be attentive and hospitable. Even if sometimes, for cultural reasons that are rooted in the past, we are a bit self-referential and have difficulty working online.
Calabria is a land of emigration, especially among young people…
Here is another topic addressed. We have a prestigious university like that of Cosenza, but also Catanzaro and Reggio, but many go abroad. And then there is no work. Even in this field the Church is moving to give young people who want it the opportunity to remain in the land that saw them born. My diocese, together with those of Locri-Gerace and Oppido-Palmi, has launched a project called Job in progress. Then the CEI Policoro Project is always active.
Other issues addressed in the conversation with the Pope?
Healthcare and then, connected to it, the problem of differentiated regional autonomy. We Calabrian bishops, together with others, have spoken out against this project, denouncing the risk of a fragmentation of the State with an essentially unconstitutional profile. Not to mention that we are talking about a legislative project that goes against two key principles of the Church’s social doctrine: subsidiarity and solidarity.
In addition to the lights, I imagine you have also evoked the shadows that lie over your Churches, such as the criminal infiltrations that do not even spare religious events.
The Pope touched on the theme of popular piety, which is very close to his heart. In the Evangelii Gaudiumreferring to the magisterial lesson of Saint Paul VI with the Evangelii Nuntiandi, Francis distinguishes popular piety, a genuine manifestation of the faith of the simple to be preserved and increased, from popular, folkloric and pagan religiosity, fertile ground for criminal infiltration. The position of the Calabrian bishops on this issue has been very clear for some time. Even if sometimes the application of our indications is tiring.
Does this apply to the world of fraternities?
The Confraternities are a very widespread reality in our dioceses. There are many, sometimes with many members. There may also be infiltrations there. But they are a precious resource, which we bishops must follow with evangelically paternal attention.
Ten years ago Pope Francis came to Sibari and spoke very harshly against the “mafia” saying that they are “excommunicated”…
It was a truly important moment both for the Church of Cassano all’Ionio and for all the Churches of Calabria. Even if the question of excommunication is more complex due to the canonical implications it entails. To commemorate that historic visit, the bishop of Cassano, Monsignor Francesco Savino, has prepared a conference to be held on May 27th with the significant title, “Mercy and Justice”.
Has the issue of merging dioceses been addressed?
Yes, and we seem to sense that a rethink is underway, or at least an additional reflection in the name of proximity. After the problem of internal areas re-emerged from below, from the suburbs. We will see.
A few years ago the Pope invited you to unify the seminaries. Have you talked about this?
Certainly. The meeting with the Holy Father was a further opportunity to delve deeper into his point of view on the topic of the Seminar. His educational concern regarding priests, education in a global sense, emerged once again in this very complex time. For this reason, once again the Pope reiterated the urgency of the quality of training and therefore the need to optimize the forces that allow this quality training in the region, starting with a single high-level Theological Institute, which is supported from all the dioceses and, consequently, from the gradual process that leads to a single Seminary, starting from the current situation which sees three locations for the study of Philosophy and a single location for Theology. From this project it emerges clearly that it is not just a matter of identifying places, but of identifying competent people capable of responding to the urgencies of the times in the difficult art of educating a future priest.
