Between the afternoon mass, the showers for the poor, the Caritas activities and those of Libera, Don Angelo Cassano, parish priest of the church of San Sabino in Bari, is inundated with messages. Of solidarity, monothematic hashtags, virtual hugs and a wall of defense that surrounds him, to protect him. It is the city’s response to the attack by the leader of the Forza Italia senators, Maurizio Gasparri.
Him and Piantedosi
Gasparri returned with vitriolic statements on that sentence that Don Angelo pronounced on March 23 from the stage, in Piazza Ferrarese, during the “Hands off Bari” demonstration: “Piantedosi is the real criminal”. Three months after that episode and a few hours before the vote, the senator’s attack: «The Interior Minister should have sued him. He must apologize, he is a disgrace.”
The social reaction
Avalanches of messages flooded Don Angelo Cassano’s Facebook wall, partly under the hashtag #noisiamotuttiangelocassano. Photos portraying him with Don Ciotti, testimonial selfies and phrases of solidarity: “Thank you Don Angelo Cassano for all the commitment, dedication and tireless patience you put into making the world a better place!”, “With you Don Angelo Cassano! Against the denigrating, defamatory and fascist method! With your head held high, always!️”, among many. Which is associated with his personal intervention in the competition.
“The desire to fight”
“Every day I wake up with the thought that we are small things and that life is a gift, that we must challenge ourselves with our limits and our fragilities but never back down from the responsibilities and the possibility of building a more just world, more beautiful, more dignified for everyone, but with a smile even in the face of those who insult us without ever giving in to resentment!!!!”. The anti-mafia priest thanks everyone, “you/us who in many ways do not resign yourself to the logic of the strongest, of the powerful of the moment, who do not allow yourselves to be intimidated and continue to serve this community, this land with passion and love. Yes, just because we love, we denounce evils, many of you are an example for me and I am grateful to God because you are there. Indignation and the desire to fight more together are rising.”
Solidarity with the prosecutor
And like a circle that closes, Don Angelo also declares his solidarity towards the prosecutor Roberto Rossi, who also ended up the target of Gasparri’s attacks: «I attended Emiliano’s anti-mafia commission hearing, he didn’t convince me. There was also the hearing of the prosecutor of Bari which is classified: I will simply say that hearing that hearing I understood why here in Bari things go in a certain way”, he had accused on Thursday”. If Rossi doesn’t comment, Don Angelo comments: «He hurt me even more than the things I heard about myself! Don Tonino said that Jesus’ wounds on the cross are like the slits through which we glimpse the dawn of a new day.”
