A Culture of Life proposes that true freedom flourishes only within a caring and cohesive society, respectful of every human being’s dignity and equality. True freedom fosters our commitment “to be my brother’s keeper” to every member of the human family. In today’s landscape of secularism and consumerism, we rarely meet people who uplift mankind where the community’s welfare is placed above personal desires. Last summer I had such a fortunate encounter in Italy outside Salerno’s train station, where I noticed a strange figure talking amicably with three misfits. He had long gray hair and matching beard. He sounded jovial and only wore a strikingly simple sack-cloth garment with belt and sandals. He was oddly out of place, more at home on a movie set. I sat at the café wondering, observing the action that unfolded on the square. Eventually, I asking the owner to clarify what my eyes saw, but my mind failed to understand.
Smiling with knowing respect, the barman told me about Franco, who’d given up a successful career at the Ministry of Interior, to help the homeless along the via Appia between Rome and Naples. If I wished to meet him, my host suggested inviting him over. Unwilling to interrupt, I considered declining, but deepening curiosity prompted me to seize the opportunity. First I rushed to inform my wife and wasn't surprised the train was providentially delayed. Sipping a strong espresso, Franco told me about his call to ministry: how he left everything behind to dedicate his life to the Kingdom of God. He serves the marginalized folk who squat in derelict buildings along the coast: the destitute, the insane, itinerant drifters called ‘barboni’, drunks, druggies as well as thousands of extra-communitarians: the stigmatized migrants who struggle for a toehold of hope in Fortress Europe. His gospel is reminding all of God’s overflowing love.
Franco has no NGO, no home, no schedule, not even a mobile phone. He lives day-by-day assisting everyone with donations from the communities he traverses. He’s a mediator between those who Have and those who desperately Need. Franco prays constantly, smiles even more and benefactors provide rent-free shelters, like his homebase in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Unconventionally religious and charismatically efficient, he lives a simple truth: when followed unreservedly, the Christian faith is a socially determining force that shapes our identities. His love for everyone, the unloved in particular, is the core of his ministry and a courageous reminder nobody can claim immunity from their responsibility to be my brother’s keeper. Franco actualizes the concept of the ideal Christian, the embodiment of the Beatitudes that lies in easy reach of any sincere Christian V.I.P. – he who lives with Vision, Integrity and Purpose.
Third century Bishop Eusebius prayed: “May I be an enemy to no one and the friend of what abides eternally. May I never quarrel with those nearest me, and be reconciled quickly if I do. May I love, seek and attain only what is good. May I desire happiness for all and harbor envy for none. May I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make reparation. May I gain no victory that harms me or my opponent. May I reconcile friends who are mad at each other. May I give all necessary help to all who are in need. May I never fail a friend in trouble. May I be able to soften the pain of the grief stricken and give them comforting words. May I be gentle, and never angry with others because of circumstances. May I never discuss the wicked or what they have done, but know good people and follow in their footsteps.”
