Attack on a parish priest on the churchyard at the end of Sunday mass. It happened in Bonifati, in the province of Cosenza. The news was reported in a press release from the diocese of San Marco Argentano in which the diocesan community and the bishop Monsignor Stefano Rega expressed solidarity with Don Guido Quintieri. "In recent days, on the churchyard of the Rosary church, Don Guido was the victim of an attack. A serious act that deeply shocked the parish community and all the citizens. During the Holy Week celebrations, Don Guido had the courage to denounce, with clear and firm words, the difficulties and social wounds that mark that small community. His voice was raised against indifference and silence, calling everyone to responsibility, solidarity and respect for the dignity of each person".

The young priest, as far as we can learn, denounced in his homilies the spread of the phenomenon of drug dealing that does not spare small towns. Bishop Rega "on behalf of himself and his brother priests - the note reports - expresses full solidarity with Don Guido and the parish community, showing closeness and support in this moment of trial. In firmly condemning every form of violence, he recalls the indispensable value of peace and harmony, remembering that every gesture, every word, every action must be a sower of reconciliation and hope. The Bishop invites us to pray also for those who committed the aggression, recognizing in that gesture a moment of profound fragility and need for mercy". "Let us continue to walk together - the prelate emphasizes - as a community that believes in the strength of the Gospel and in the light of charity".

The Carabinieri are investigating the incident.

"On Sunday I invited people not to 'let our joy be stolen' - says Don Quintieri himself -. I repeat the invitation first of all to the parish community of Bonifati, whom I thank for the closeness and solidarity expressed to me in all ways. Generous people, with an authentic faith that knows how to go beyond the usual stereotypes of a religiosity trapped by processional routes or how statues should appear from the windows of houses. A community that knows how to understand the fragility of those who, unfortunately - adds the priest - have allowed themselves to be overcome by addictions, for this reason what matters, in addition to the denunciation of these evils as I recalled on Good Friday, for those who believe is prayer, first of all the Eucharist that I intend to celebrate precisely for the one who, unaware of the gesture, has allowed himself to be overcome by the violence caused by these endemic evils. The violent reaction towards me will probably have arisen from the failure to show the statue from the window of their home: personally I will not go into the reasons and I invite you to do the same. We need concrete gestures of hope, because it 'must be organized' as Pope Francis taught us in the bull of indiction of the Jubilee we are experiencing".

"I am convinced - continues the parish priest - that the first concrete gesture to organize it is forgiveness. We must not be afraid to hide our fragilities for fear that the reputation of a place will be ruined, but to know how to recognize them and try to cure them with the commitment of everyone, no one excluded. A community free from fragilities and wounds does not exist. I want to thank everyone for the expressions of solidarity and closeness, first of all my bishop Stefano and the entire diocesan presbytery. I assure you that feeling the closeness of so many friends and acquaintances near and far has helped me a lot". Don Guido then invites the press "not to give in - he says - to the temptation to exploit these news stories simply because they attract the attention of readers. I was educated and trained in beauty and I too am firmly convinced that organizing hope also means recognizing and sharing the good and the beautiful, because only when this makes more news than violence will we find ourselves experiencing a more beautiful and fraternal community ".

(Online Union)

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