Cardinal Martini a saint, but not soon
Milan (AsiaNews ) - Amid all the bad
news emerging during this long hot summer, a bit of good news gladdens the heart
. August
31 marked the first anniversary of the death of Card. Carlo Maria Martini . Last
year I wrote three articles about my relationship with him, but the last one I
did not immediately publish. The good news is that his tomb in the Milan cathedral
continues to draw countless faithful who light candles and stop to pray.
This
article interprets a popular "odor of sanctity" that has permeated
all since the day of his death.
The death of Card. Carlo
Maria Martini (31 August 2012) aroused emotion , devotion, long queues to attend
his "funeral" and for the Holy Mass for the repose of his soul in the
cathedral of Milan , even international press filled pages with obituaries and op-eds
dedicated to him. But no one said he was
a saint, no one noticed the widespread "odor of sanctity" of God's
people , which is one of the signs that can start a cause of beatification .
It is not easy to understand why. Was he not really a saint? Of course only God can be the judge of that. The odor of sanctity is of course born from the saintly life led by a possible "servant of God" but also from the image that he gives of himself not only to those close to him but to the people of God and general public opinion. Not only but also to the mass media which tends to judge everything on the basis of preconceived ideas and also a partial view of the facts. Those of us who have had the opportunity to know Cardinal Martini and follow him closely in his day's work ( as happened to me once a month for six years, in the Diocesan Pastoral Council ), have always admired his serenity of spirit, the constant reference the Word of God, His Holy Mass and prayer, the spirit of sacrifice , the ability to have a fatherly and merciful attitude towards others and to suffer with patience even the keenest disappointments. I remember when in the mid eighties complained that the Rosary and popular devotion to Our Lady were challenged being challenges by groups of faithful.
He was made of the right material
for sainthood. But to understand the man and the priest - bishop Martini, then
his missionary spirit must also be taken into account. This was the underlying cause of his option
for those distant from the church, in two priority directions that were not
always shared. To proclaim Christ in
a credible way, Card. Martini
believed that the Church (ie all the people of God) must be converted to the
gospel in two ways : on the one hand they had to welcome and reach out to the distant,
different, without judging them, trying to understand their reasons, without To
see faith as a gift of God, to understand that the Spirit that blows where it
wills, that the in the most distant and non-believers there are seeds of the
Gospel, we are no better than others. In
short, the Church must always be converted to Christ, as Pope Benedict would
often say, but when Martini would say it, then it aroused dislike and opposition
in the flock safe in the fold of Christ, because of the sometimes negative light
his personality was caste in.
On the other hand, Card. Martini
thought that "the Church was lagging 200 years behind the times" as
he himself said in his last interview . And
this is not the fault of the curiae or priests, but because faith in the West
falters in many , attendance at Sunday Mass decreases and the temptation is to
conservatism, to lock ourselves up in defense like sheep in a fold threatened
by thieves and wolves ,
Martini thought that these signals were instead "signs of the times"
that invite us to a more evangelical lifestyle.
It
is true that many of the faithful were sometimes scandalized by some of his
statements (especially in recent years ) that seemed in disobedience to the
Church and acquiescence to the world. And
it is also true that our dear archbishop was often manipulated by those who did
not love and do not love the Church! Even
in those improper exaltations bothered me and bothered him too
and the Pastoral
Council whenever he made an important intervention he always quoted John Paul
II and everyone would note : " Let's see if he quotes the Pope! again"
, they would say .
How complex the man was! Each
of us is unique, unrepeatable, and incomprehensible from the outside. Only
God can judge because he sees deep within our inner-most intentions.
Non-believers admired
Card. Martini's
ability not to judge anyone, not to argue or impose as well as his civic and
social commitment. They admired the way he posed problems to the Church so that
they would open up to others sharing the sufferings of the people in need and
doing everything possible to help them and make them feel at home in the Church. The
"Chair of the non-believers" was for me one of his most prophetic pastoral
and missionary activities.
Believers
instead complained about his statements, which appeared to "counterpoint
" the Magisterium and Tradition of the Church, but they were a "missionary"
provocation to the mystical body of Christ (one billion and 200 million !) that
moves slowly, because the Church measures time not in years but centuries . His
was a faith that "being one with the other" , not just a "caring
because this is important."
Martini
's faith was firm and clear, but also in search of open confrontation with the
arguments of others . He
did not want a Christian life of habit or routine, he want believers to be
restless in their faith, to confront their beliefs with non-believers and give
an account of why they believe what they believe and to question whether their
lives actually bear witness to Christ , if their faith in Christ is a light
that warms
and illuminates, or a candle flame flickering, or a yeast that does not know how to ferment anything.
The
presence of non-believers closer to us, in our own families and society should
question us and whether we are converted to Christ. This is also a missionary spirit .
I
am convinced that the more time passes, and misunderstood or even questionable aspects
of his teaching disappear, the more Card. Martini
will be understood and appreciated for his authentically missionary attitude, his
dialogue with non-believers or at least his reaching out to those who are
"distant " from Christ and the Church.
.png)
03/09/2012
20/12/2017 15:19
