A Piacenza today it's justice minister, Angelino Alfano, for the first stone of the new wing of the prison. We publish, for the occasion, the budget of the chaplain, Father Adam Affri, published in Freedom on Saturday. Don Adam is a young priest, a robe in the trenches. Wind, storms, cold does not make him afraid. In a year of ministry has succeeded in creating a real church behind bars.
E 'especially after the prison-to worry. The lack of work and solitude, first of all. That's why behind the bars there are also people who do not want to quit.
"A few months ago I visited a young man who had been under house arrest - said Don Adam Affri -. crying. "Out of what we do, I have none - I said - I had friends in prison". "
Affri Don, 41, is chaplain of Novate since January 2010. "I became a priest in 2009-tells - I knew that there was a need in prison and I asked the bishop to go. " Monsignor Ambrose has been given the green light. Not only that. The shortage of young priests, has decided to leave full-time in the service of prison, because behind bars, would create a real church. After a year
Don Affri can pull the first budget. The problems are many and are
. "In the cell are many, should wash with cold water when the boiler is broken, sometimes the food is not acceptable," said the chaplain. "In the story talks about my experiences in Congo and Ukraine as a young lay missionary - he continues - and I realize that in reality the fact that in many and have no hot water is not the fundamental problem. Nobody has ever committed suicide because of this. Who commits suicide because it is only the
ago. Don
Affri celebrates 5 made between Saturday and Sunday in five different sections of the prison, he catechism during the week and every day countless personal interviews. "I saw these people grow in terms of faith in God in so many parishes over the bars such participation does not see," she says.
60 percent of the prison population consists of foreigners from Piacenza with a strong Muslim majority. Novate converge in the Catholic parish of about 150 people of Catholic faith: "The others are left out because you can not oblige. Sometimes they come to the talks, sometimes you want a small contribution to call home. " These are more than 250 other people, because prison breaks today. "We are more than 400 with the services set for just over half - highlights -. Forget for a moment, cold and overcrowding. Many times the inmates vent and comes out in speeches, even during the hours of catechism. The illness is strong but if you compare with the situations of other countries understand that this is not so obvious, to say , have hot water. " "Their deepest wound - is arciconvinto Affri don - is, however, when the other side seems to be absent the dilaogo and respect. They want to be treated as people. The direction is as it may, however, there being so many inmates and so little staff (instructors are two instead of five), it is clear that dialogue is thinned out and all this causes suffering. "
"Let us remember that when these people come into prison, the risk is that you feel more part of society - more - you are deconstructed in front of people has always been used ever since. The only thing that remains are the feelings and faith. My job is to help recover the sense of guilt, to find a way out, which is that of faith and being with Jesus that has to be choice is not an emotional moment. In prison there is great hope, we try to cultivate it. " The city is in this: there are volunteers, schools, parishes, the newspaper Forced Stop, Don Adam is also taking the recreational and fielded in September for a singing competition (a sort of bullfighting). On the labor front, there are some social cooperatives that employ prisoners. "But when it ceases to remain their status alone - highlights Don Affri -. We're trying to build a bridge between reality and the city jail by giving a human face to Novate. I'd like that even from the government and society there was a desire to treat the detainees as persone, più che i loro problemi. Perchè sono persone non cattive ma fragili, senza strumenti per affrontare la vita».
La soluzione? «Sarebbe veramente auspicabile riuscire a fare un articolo 21 (la possibilità di lavorare di giorno e rientrare in cella di notte, ndr. ) a chi sta per uscire. I numeri sono pochissimi rispetto al bisogno. Queste persone quando escono non hanno
nessuno che li aspetta e non sanno dove collocarsi. Sarebbe interessante, ad esempio, creare dei gruppi esterni ai quali l'ex carcerato può fare riferimento».
Federico Frighi
Libertà, 26 febbraio 2010
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