«These are choices, I confess, that sadden me and send me into “crisis”because the idea of the oratory in which I grew up and in which I still believe is no longer there, but it is necessary to change the method”. With these words Don Andrea Piana two days ago communicated to the animators and families that from now on the football pitch of the oratory will only be played upon reservation. A measure taken after the double attack on Holy Saturday, in which a boy and the priest himself were involved. «The oratory is and remains a place of human and Christian growth. The oratory is and remains sacred. The oratory is and remains a place where we must pray, play, joke, help together and in peace”, underlines the tried but convinced priest.
We are in Caravaggio, a town in the lower Bergamo area known above all for the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Fonte. Don Piana himself, 46 years old, recounts the events that disturbed Easter: «It was 7pm and, while I was in church hearing confessions, an argument arose on the football pitch. A small group wanted to be able to play all over the field, and they ended up beating a boy». The attackers are about ten boys between middle and high school, whom the priest knows by sight. «They frequent the oratory for aggregation but not for faith, given that they are of Islamic culture. I reached them in the square to tell them that such attitudes are not acceptable and to never set foot in the oratory again. They laughed in my face defiantly, I raised my voice and one of them pushed me». The provocative attitude attracts some adults who reach the priest from the bar opposite, but the situation gets worse. «The kids got more agitated, big words were thrown, a rock and sticks were thrown at me».
Fortunately, the consequences of the attack are not serious for either the boy or the priest. In addition to those directly interested, however, the facts “involve and shock” the entire community, not used to similar episodes. «We kept the oratory closed on Sunday and Monday and then decided that the synthetic field can only be accessed by prior reservation and with a small financial contribution, so as to know who is there and manage the game shifts». A measurement ad experimentum which “certainly doesn’t make me happy”, says Don Piana again. «We have just renovated all the spaces, the oratory is alive and frequented by many people, children, teenagers, adults and elderly people, so much so that we are open every day of the year, afternoon and evening. In sports teams there is room for everyone, Italians and foreigners, but arrogance is not tolerated. The rules must be respected.”
In Caravaggio it is a time for reflection, for children as well as for priests and educators. “There is a certain disappointment,” the priest continues. But the desire – Don Piana always wrote in the parish periodical, in unsuspecting times – is an oratory in which there are “neither guests nor masters” but “people happy because they are in the same place”. Because «The oratory is also your home! Because everyone has the right to have at least one home, because it is still time to talk about the oratory and why the Christian community of Caravaggio still believes in the educational work of the oratory».
