«We were the city of cars, do we want to become the city of weapons?».
It is a question that weighs like a boulder that posed by the archbishop of Turin and bishop of Susathe cardinal Roberto Repolein the message released for Labor Day on May 1st, liturgical memory of Saint Joseph the Craftsman. A question that is not only rhetorical, but which calls into question the productive, ethical and social future of an entire territory marked by years of industrial crisis and today crossed by new prospects linked to the defense industry whose turnover, according to the latest report from Sipri in Stockholm, reached a new record last year: 2,887 billion dollars spent on weapons with an increase of 2.9% compared to the previous year.
In the Message, Repole does not hide his disturbance: “Our heart in this time of war is troubled and must be vigilant so as not to get used to it, it must remain restless.” A concern that is exacerbated precisely in the face of an evident contradiction: «Wars sow death in the world and yet here in Turin, in Susa and in Piedmont they represent an economic advantage for companies that produce military supplies and offer themselves as an engine for reviving employment».
Hence the decisive question: «Are we okay with this? Do we accept any type of work, as long as it is work?”. The cardinal immediately clarifies that this is not a judgment on workers, especially the most fragile: “No one can expect the unemployed to refuse job opportunities, because they are the most fragile link in the chain.” However, he invites everyone to a shared responsibility: «We must stop and reflect on whether it is humane to put so much effort into attracting and developing weapons factories».
In the message, Repole also unmasks the language that often accompanies the sector: «I know that people prefer to talk about the Defense industry, but there is no point in beating around the bush: the death ordnance market is thriving and distributing rich profits to shareholders». And he adds forcefully: “I believe that we cannot seek life with one hand and take it away with the other, we cannot separate peace and work.”
A military exercise at the Revingehed training camp, near Lund, Sweden
(EPA)
The issue, therefore, is not only economic but profoundly moral and cultural: “Do we want to entrust the hopes of our territory to war?”. A question that is linked to a broader vision of peace, also recalled through the words of Leo
According to the cardinal, in fact, war is not only the result of tensions and injustices, but also «a great economic business» which «is pushing the production of weapons, probably beyond the need for defense on the part of a country like Italy.”
For this reason the final invitation is to collective discernment: «Let’s stop, dear friends, and let’s all think together – institutions and citizens, entrepreneurs, trade unionists, families – let’s ask ourselves what people we want to be, how we want to spend our lives and our community».
A path that the Turin Church says it is ready to accompany: «The diocese with its Labor Ministry is ready to offer itself as a place for meeting, discussion and study».
Words that, on the occasion of May 1strelaunch the deepest meaning of work: not only a means of sustenance, but a decisive area in which the dignity of man and the direction of history are at stake.
