Perhaps I’m not a sufficiently good Italian or a sufficiently good Christian? Or do I pay insufficient attention to symbols? Or perhaps because I am a Baptist I don’t feel that this particular symbol belongs to me? Who knows, perhaps among the various thoughts passing through my mind all these are valid reasons, together with the consideration that I’d like to live in a country where no one expects that their own culture is privileged over others. ?
I think, though, the main reason lies in what I believe is the heart of our faith and in a fundamental question: can the crucified and risen Christ be better known, respected or loved if his statue is nailed to the wall of a classroom or a law court? If the statue of Christ on the cross hangs on the walls, as almost everyone in Italy is demanding, also the xenophobic and intolerant parties, is it more likely that this country will be freed from superstition, from the cynicism of power, from corruption, from verbal and physical violence and from racism, both the kind seen in the streets and that perpetrated by the State?
If that were the case, then I too might have to think again and join the protests of those who are resentful, of those who are convinced defenders of tradition.
The trouble is I don’t believe that will happen. I believe the exact opposite, that is turning the crucified Christ into a sign of ownership which delimits the territory of a country and defending it as a national symbol completely distorts the Christian faith. When the risen Christ for the last time spoke to his disciples before ascending to heaven, he sent them into the world to spread a word: the proclamation of forgiveness, the call to conversion, the good news of a new pact and of reconciliation between heaven and earth in the scarred but living body of the Son of God who died for love, who rose to restore hope when time had already run out. Christ relied on a simple word that was to be proclaimed, not in a national symbol to be maintained. Christians should be unarmed bearers of this word and not expect any privileges. They should put their trust in this word and not try to appropriate it. With their bodies they should become witnesses of a greater love that renews and welcomes without asking for anything in return.