Even among the priests there are great fans, so much so that at the end of the championship the appearance of the Inter flag on the bell tower of Torre Boldone caused discussion.
Now, while the enthusiasm for Atalanta’s success in the Europa League continues to be high, a reader reports the presence of several flags, in this case strictly of the Goddess, displayed in the church of San Bartolomeo e Stefano in Bergamo. Two are located on the main entrance portal and one on the left side altar.
To point out the fact is Giuseppe Lo Sardopermanent deacon since 2014, as well as former commander of the Carabinieri station in Sarnico and now lieutenant on leave, as well as pastoral and liturgical collaborator in Verdellino and Zingonia and religious assistant at the San Marco Polyclinic in Zingonia.
The three offending flags
The deacon wrote an open letter to the friar Angelo Preda, superior of the church of San Bartolomeo and Stefano. In the letter he explains his disappointment with the friar, who authorized the presence of the two pennants on the church door and the large flag on the altar. All this “not for one or two days, but until today, this morning they were still present (Monday 3 June)”.
He underlines: «This place is where the faithful can light candles out of devotion to the saints and the Virgin Mary. It is a consecrated place.”
The beating heart
The letter does not fail to note how «on the banners there is also a heart drawn with the words “Here beats a Nerazzurri heart” (these are the flags sold with The Echo of Bergamo). Only one Heart beats in that church and in our churches throughout the world: that of Jesus inside the tabernacle. In my opinion, and I don’t think I’m the only Christian to think this, it has gone too far. Perhaps it would have been better to put these flags in the entrance portico of the adjacent cultural association.”
«Churches are not football pitches»
The deacon explains that he has already reported the facts to the bishop Francesco Beschi, stressing that he would no longer enter the church until they were removed. But then he admits: «This morning I deliberately entered through the side door, and after attending the celebration, I looked at the back of the church to see if the flags were still spread on the ground and on the altar. There were many lights lit and people standing in front of the cave praying!
He concludes: «It is an exaggeration, an abuse and it offends God. I hope that this letter makes us reflect, and that this disappointment is a warning, so that other parish priests do not treat the Churches as secular places and football fields».
