Igino Giordani: From Montecitorio to the World
“Politics is made for the people, not the people for politics. It is a means, not an end. Morality first, the human person first, collectivity first – then the party, then the tables of the programme, then the theories of governing.” With these words of Giordani, The Hon. Gianfranco Fini, President of of the Italian House of Parliament, opened the meeting dedicated to the popular deputy, who knew so well the difficult times of Fascist persecution, the atrocity of war, the uncertainty of reconstruction.
The gathering took place in Lupa Hall, on the 14th of June, in the presence of two-hundred people. Fini focused on three cornerstones of Giordani’s actions in politics: the dignity of the human person, liberty, and work. Battles he led that at times anticipated the times, and at a great risk of being misunderstood as in the case of the conscientious objector law. the President of the House also recalled one of his personal battles that came to nothing: the request that the European Parliament would not refuse to acknowledge the role of Christianity in Europe’s roots. Political defeat and misunderstanding have a bitter taste, of course, but Giordani, at critical moments in Parliament’s history, amid the screams and strong ideological contrasts, managed to make reason prevail, humanism, and a Christian spirit that even convinced the Marxists. Alberto Lo Presti, director of the Igino Giordani Centre described Giordani during various phases of his life, offering a picture of the man through short film clips.
“From Montecitorio to the World” was the title chosen for the moment of remembrance, expressing the universality of Giordani’s message, but also the singularity of a particular encounter which happened precisely at Montecitorio, one which literally overturned his life, making him no longer recognizable even by the members of his own party.
The particulars of this encounter with Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, who transmitted to Giordani the passion for unity and for the Gospel which enters into history and resolves even the most complex problems of society, were described by Maria Voce, the current president of the Focolare Movement. “(Chiara) drew God near: she made feel that he was Father, Brother, Friend, present to humankind,” Maria Voce quotes. And this explains to us the political vision of Chiara Lubich, focused on the principle of fraternity which “allows one to understand and make ones’ own the viewpoint of the other, so that no interest and no human need is alien to me. There is need of a pact of fraternity for Italy.” This is the hope of the president of the Focolare, “because the good of the country requires the efforts of all.”
The legacy of Lubich and Giordani, which has been embraced by the Movement for Unity in Politics proposes to parliamentarians, politicians, administrators, political officials, and scholars from around the world to describe the principle of fraternity within the framework of political action. How to apply it in practical terms has been shown by two Italian parliaments, of opposing political parties that have accepted the challenge.
Giacomo Santini, Senator of the Popolo della Libertà, admits the difficulty in “considering the person on the other side of the aisle as your brother when he has just insulted you a few minutes before, as Lubich provocatively invites you to do.” However, it is possible and Giordani showed it by remaining in the political trenches, amid contrasting ideologies, but with respect for diversity. Letizia De Torre, a deputy of the Democratic Party recalls a Giordani who was “secure in his convictions, but not entrenched; able to see the positive, capable of dialogue” For De Torre, gathering his legacy now means “rebuilding a democracy of the community and not of the fifty-per-cent-plus-one, a democracy of reciprocity within Parliament and in the country.”
The word then went to students of participating schools from the world which are animated by the Movement for Unity in Politics. They open horizons of hope and renewal, starting from situations of extreme crisis such as in Argentina. Carlos, from Italy, to do a specialization in labor law says that during the crisis of 2000, when his country was bankrupt, the decision to invest in education policy seemed utopian, and certainly not conclusive for the daily dramas. Today it has yielded 200 local administrators who, from the perspective of fraternity are trying to respond to their country’s problems; meanwhile schools have multiplied to the Tierra del Fuego.
In Brazil, the denunciation of oppressive social inequalities and poverty has not been deemed sufficient by Daniel, a journalist who is studying for a Master in Political Science at Sophia University Institute in Loppiano. A return to the logic of service, of forming consciences to the common good, bending down to meet the problems of the country were the guiding force for his own choice of commitment which he gleaned from the experience of the Political Movement for Unity and the thought of Giordani, who, from the small hall in Montecitorio, in a way he may never have imagined, is now a teacher of life and commitment for the whole world.
“When someone weeps, we must weep with them. And if they laugh, rejoice with them. Thus the cross is divided and borne by many shoulders, and joy is multiplied and shared by many hearts. Making ourselves one with our neighbour is the way, the main way, of making ourselves one with God. (…) Making ourselves one with our neighbour for love of Jesus, with the love of Jesus, so that our neighbour, sweetly wounded by the love of God in us will want to make himself or herself one with us, in a mutual exchange of help, of ideals, of projects, of affections. Do this until establishing between the two of us those essential elements for the Lord to say, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt. 18:20.) Until, that is, as far as it depends on us, the presence of Jesus is guaranteed, so that we walk through life, always, as a little Church on the move – Church whether we are at home, at school, in a garage or in Parliament. Walking in life like the disciples of Emmaus with that Third among them, who gives divine value to all our actions. Then we are not the ones acting in our life, we who are miserable and limited, lonely and suffering. The Almighty walks with us. And whoever remains united with him bears much fruit. From one cell come more cells, from one tissue many tissues. Making ourselves one with our neighbour in that complete self forgetfulness which is possessed (without realizing it or specifically trying to do it) by someone who thinks of the other, their neighbour. This is the diplomacy of charity, which has many of the expressions and aspects of ordinary diplomacy, hence it does not say all that it could say, for this would not be liked by others or be pleasing to God. It knows how to wait, how to speak, how to reach its goal. The divine diplomacy of the Word who becomes flesh to make us divine. This diplomacy, however, has an essential and characteristic mark that differentiates it from the diplomacy spoken about by the world, for which to say diplomatic is often synonymous with reticence or even falsehood. The divine diplomacy has this greatness and this property, perhaps a property of it alone: it is moved by the good of the other and is therefore devoid of any shadow of selfishness. This rule of life ought to inform every kind of diplomacy, and with God it can be done because he is not only the master of individuals, but king of the nations and of every society. If all diplomats in the exercise of their duty were inspired in their actions by charity towards the other State as to their own, they would be enlightened by the help of God to such an extent as to contribute to the establishment of relationships among States as they ought to exist among human beings. Charity is a light and a guide, and the one who is sent as an emissary has all the graces to be a good emissary. May God help us and may we co-operate, so that from heaven the Lord may see this new sight: his last will and testament brought to life among the nations. It may seem like a dream to us, but for God it is the norm, the only one that guarantees peace in the world, the fulfilment of individuals in the unity of a humanity that by that point would know Jesus. Chiara Lubich (an extract from Meditations, New City London, 2005)
The conference offered a series of lectures by prominent figures of contemporary culture: Ugo Amaldi, there was Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Stefano Zamagni, Sergio Zavoli and Martha Nussbaum. Perhaps, few know her by name, but in 1986 she was the first to introduce the concept of “relational goods” – which has since become a stable component of economy. She also greatly influenced the United Nations in the development of the human development index. This was thanks to the capability approach (an approach that respects ability) which she drew up in cooperation with Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen. And no, she is not an economist, but a philosopher, and like the American Martha Nussbaum, professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, she is known in academic circles – and beyond – especially for having introduced the topic of emotions in political and social reflection. And “public emotions” were at the core of the lectures that brought her to the Sophia Institute in Italy. At Loppiano she first met with the students of Sophia for an interesting discussion in which she was questioned not only by students, but also by Nussbaum. This was followed by a debate about the coexistence of different religions and cultures, and different educational systems, given the diverse religious, cultural, and geographic backgrounds of the students. But much of the debate focused on the relationship between philosophy and economics, beginning with the direct experience of Nussbaum with Sen, which led into the additional topic: the interdisciplinarity of knowledge and the need for collaboration among scholars of varying fields. 
The suggestions were many. After observing a minute of silence, a “tree of peace” was planted, and the young people present were invited to write on cards the values which they hold to be important (peace, brotherhood, unity, solidarity, responsibility …). Then the cards were symbolically placed in the hole in which the tree was planted. It was an apple tree. A young person: “The tree has many leaves, which symbolize Europe in its communion in diversity. The fruits, the apples, symbolize the new generations and new ideas.” And another: “The little apple stands for a great goal, peace in Europe but also in our city.” And what came out in the end, is something interior which confirms that “you can hope for a different world; the change depends on our personal sense of responsibility and our ability to work together.” “You could even become passionate about this kind of politics.”