«Wall Between Agnostics and Catholics Fell at Tor Vergata»
ROME, AUGUST 21 (ZENIT.org).- Despite the naysayers among the non- religious portion of Rome's administration, World Youth Day went off without a hitch. Two million people dispersed after the Mass without incidents, despite the extreme heat. The highway was reopened 12 hours earlier than anticipated, because everything was running smoothly. Rome's mayor Francesco Rutelli is very clever in expressing his satisfaction over this, which, nevertheless, could hamper him human and politically speaking; yet, he did not rail against those who predicted, or perhaps hoped for, five Apocalyptic days for Rome's Municipality.
The Italian newspaper «La Repubblica,» which has leftist leanings, explained that «The wall between agnostics and Catholics fell at Tor Vergata.»
-- What remains after an event like that at Tor Vergata?
-- Francesco Rutelli: I hope it will serve as the starting point of a great discussion in our country. These youngsters came to Rome without even realizing that they would become the center of this, thanks to the complicity of broad media coverage. What I hope is that a debate will get underway, that they will continue to talk about themselves, who they are, what they want, how they see the future in families, schools, universities. Of course, it will not be like 1968.
-- Are they very different from your generation?
-- Mayor Rutelli: I think they are more calm, more interested in self-reflection. We wanted to change ourselves by changing the world. Some were successful and others disappointed, but we have had some victories and gone part of the way. These youth of the Jubilee try to work on themselves first, but they do not do so in a solitary way, but armed with a very strong spirit of community.
-- There has been much debate on the dialogue between secularism and Catholicism because of this event. Can gatherings of this kind leave a mark?
-- Mayor Rutelli: I prefer to use the expression secular only as an adjective. In public life, secularism refers to behavior and it can unite believers and nonbelievers. It happens when the time arrives to end a confrontation, which, with the weakening of an ideological charter, has not reason to exist. There is no longer a confessional vision of public life.
-- Have you understood the relation between the «Pope's children» and politics?
-- Mayor Rutelli: They have their ideas, but they express them through channels other than the traditional. Political militancy is no longer an option. They are very little interested in disputes over power and very much interested in specifying objectives.
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