The dialogue between a little believer – as Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia defines himself defending himself – and a little believer, to be written completely attached, recommends the sociologist Luigi Manconi, has a great value: the wonderful gift of doubt. The reader who approaches this text in the hope of receiving only certain answers on the very delicate themes that revolve around the demanding title of the book (The meaning of life, Einaudi Stile Libero), perhaps he would be disappointed. But if instead he wanted to deepen some fundamental issues of our being contemporary citizens – freedom, equality, justice, fraternity – in a frank exchange of opinions and without too much mutual courtesy, he would be fascinated. Because in trying to understand the reasons of the other – which is not always possible or easy – there is a strong commitment to build something together, a new alliance between lay people and Catholics, a different sense of community. In enhancing and respecting differences, for. Not in the indistinct rush of good intentions alone. A question, we would dare to say, of civil life. Essential. Especially after the opening in society of a colossal wound, the pandemic, which will not be healed shortly and the personal condition of each individual is already changing.
We are two beggars on the threshold of mystery – writes the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life – on the way to try to grasp the meaning of existence. We don’t have life in our pockets. It surpasses us and for this reason we seek its meaning. The scholar of political phenomena, former parliamentarian and today a columnist of Republic e Print, recalls Ernst Bloch’s principle of hope, evokes the formation of an anticipating conscience, promotes a pessimism of reason that allows us to walk upright, to better defend personal freedoms and rights. Paglia disputes the individualistic drift of a society imprisoned by desires and, taking up the thought of Don Lorenzo Milani, affirms that the life of each of us also depends on that of others. All the more so in the midst of a pandemic and in the midst of a vaccination campaign.
The duet soon turns into a duel. Manconi denies that life is a gift that we cannot dispose of and, citing the Catholic philosopher of law Vittorio Possenti, notes the uniqueness of a gift that remains the property of the donor. Paglia replies: We have received life as a gift but not to do what we want with it. also a task, a mission, a service for others.
And here we come to the themes of the end of life, of the accompaniment to death, of pain therapy on which the contrasts are clear, but the mutual understanding of ethical and religious dilemmas is still higher. I do not deny the right to self-determination – Don Paglia argues – but I would put the freedom of decision within the framework of a mutual love that must preside over the meeting. My willingness to consider euthanasia – writes Manconi – comes later, only after all the practice of accompaniment, as material assistance and spiritual comfort, is exhausted. Manconi does not speak of the right to euthanasia as much as of negative freedom, that is, of escaping from untenable pain. And it does not deny that the principle of self-determination can translate into a kind of egotic nihilism. The archbishop – who allegedly celebrated Piergiorgio Welby’s funeral, prohibited by the Catholic hierarchy – sees in the propaganda for the right to death the path of the acquittal of the act of giving death to a life, that is, a person deemed unworthy of life. And what would be the distinction between a life worthy and unworthy to be lived? Paglia denies that pain in Christian doctrine is in itself a value. And he quotes Paul Claudel: God did not come to explain suffering; came to fill her with his presence. He adds: Anesthetizing the life of all pain is not only vain but also dangerous. And it recalls the firm stance of Pope Francis against therapeutic persistence. Carlo Maria Martini understood the suffering of Welby who died in 2006 and not by euthanasia. The cardinal, on the threshold of his own life, did not want any obstinacy in his treatment.
The law on bioassay, or on the processing provisions anticipated (Dat), the result of an open confrontation, without ideological preclusions. Too bad it is little known. It is scarcely valued in the public debate like palliative care. Manconi recalls that the suspension of artificial nutrition and hydration occurs because, as most of the scientific literature wants, therapeutic acts are considered.
Straw worried about the growth of a sensitivity which legitimizes suicide. She takes up the words of Luciana Castellina who was unable to forgive the act of a friend of hers (we believe Lucio Magri) who committed death: A self-referential gesture – wrote Castellina – means that the bonds of friendship do not stop you. And that your pain is more important than the pain you cause. Words full of humanity, according to Paglia, who underlines how the issue of dignity must be considered with care, otherwise it becomes a cruel trap. Claudio Magris wrote that euthanasia can easily become a disgraceful, even if unconscious, social hygiene. And if you Luigi asked me – so Paglia turns to Manconi at a certain point – to help you to take your life, I don’t know if I would obey you. a question of love. I will place me there at your bedside and will not give you respite, talking to you and listening to you, round the clock. It would be a nightmare – Manconi replies – like the mourners of the southern rites, the Manzoni monks and the medieval monks who cry: repent !.
In speaking of the meaning of life and also of the end of life, a smile that is never superfluous. Indeed, it relaunches the desire for love and many contacts, hugs, which we have been without for too long.
April 29, 2021 (change April 29, 2021 | 11:50 am)
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