This video has been posted on Facebook by Fabio Corazzina, a catholic priest member of Pax Christi, in Brescia, in Lombardia, one of the most italian region hidden by the coronavirus. We are pleased to offer it with English subtitles (with his consent), as a useful worldwide suggestion to fight against viruses that attack social communities.
Good morning for today too. “They shall beat their spears into pruning hooks and their swords into plowshares and they shall learn war any more”.
These are words of the prophet Isaiah that I want to remember today in front of the Breda linked to the Leonardo. It is one of the many weapons factories that there are here, in the province of Brescia. For us it is a very long tradition, with names that are from “Beretta” to “Valsella Meccanotecnica” or to “Sei esplosivi” now called “Rwm”.
Why am I talking you about weapons and what is the sense to talk about weapons, in these days, beyond any useless, futile controversy?
I would like to relaunch a serious proposal presented in these days by “Rete disarmo” and “Rete pace”. It will not always and only be an emergency. The days of the choices will come soon. Let us not forget it. The dramatic situation caused by Covid-19 has to make us meditate on and rethink what are our priorities, concept of defense, the value of the work and public health and the service of common good.
While in ten years the public health expenditure has been reduced by 37 billion, the military expenditure is constantly increased. Today, we can see it. It is not the weapons that give us security, but the promotion of health, of work, of environment. And the photo-news according to which as a result of the panic there are lots of people in line, in the United Staes, to buy the weapons and the ammunitions, under the slogan “we must defend ourselves” is singolar and worrying. Yes, we must defend ourselves using the weapons.
The proposals of “Rete disarmo” and “Rete pace” are four. The first: supporting unarmed and non violent civil defence. The second: moving money from military sector to the civil protection, to the civil universal service and to the civil bodies of peace, to the research about peace and to the conflict prevention. The third: reducing the military expenditure and improving the healthcare. The fourth: aiming for the production reconversion of war industries towards civil sector.
Think!
This is a fact. In these days, in Brescia, in Lombardy, we are able to make handguns, bombs, machine guns, military radars, ammunitions, fighter- bombers, if we join in Cameri with F-35, but we are not able to make masks and health facilities, that are necessary to the life. A pilot helmet of F-35, that will come on foot to Ghedi, loaded with new atomic bombs, costs 400 thousand euros. And life-saving ventilators are lacking. We have to do the fundraisers, at a basic level of people or of families, as donation.
This is called the great hypocrisy. Pope Francis said it a few days ago. “They shall beat their spears into pruning hooks and their swords into plowshares and they shall learn war any more”. It looks a good path. Have a nice day and a good path for today too.
DiReSoM 