There was no shortage of controversy in Montecitorio during the joint commemoration of Pope Francis .
"He does not deserve the hypocrisy of those who deport migrants," said PD secretary Elly Schlein in a speech that was not applauded by the centre-right benches.
"The passing of Pope Francis deprives us of a significant voice who was able to question believers and non-believers, he deserves our condolences; what he does not deserve is the hypocrisy of those who never listened to his appeals and today try to bury his powerful message in rhetoric, of those who deport migrants, take money from the poor, deny the climate emergency and deny care to those who cannot afford it ," said Schlein.
The Democratic Party secretary remembered the Pontiff as a man who "brought the breath of the periphery of the world, a careful gaze towards the last, and a voice for peace, for social justice, for the environment and for the dignity of people. His words were able to cross the frontiers of faith, reaching believers and non-believers, indicating a path of brotherhood, solidarity and dialogue also with other religions".
Giuseppe Conte instead focused more on his continuous appeals for peace: "Today Pope Francis is celebrated by everyone. In the disordered theater of hypocrisy of empty talk, the celebrations also involve those who have continued to ignore his messages of pain for the injustices in the world, his warnings against words of hatred and the logic of war ", said the M5S leader, recalling his appeals against rearmament.
"In his last Easter Urbi et Orbi blessing," the former prime minister recalled, "he used clear words that once again shake our consciences: 'The need that every people has to provide for its own defense cannot be transformed into a general arms race.'"
Conte remembered the Pope as "the greatest spiritual and moral reference of our times" and added that "the best way to remember him is not to let his teachings fall into the void" .
