a clear look and unchanged, a reflection of a soul united to God and constantly nourished by their words.
Rosario Livatino Emilio Andreoli |
A judge "super partes" - The written records - The word of the Bishop of Agrigento
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a clear look and unchanged, a reflection of a soul united to God and constantly nourished by their words. | |
The same argument was taken up by Pope Benedict XVI during a dominical visit to the Ministry of Palermo on October 3, 2010: "We should be ashamed of what offends God, what offends the man, we should be ashamed of the evil that is done against civil and religious community with activities in the dark, without the presence of light!"
Significantly, beside the great altar prepared for the Mass of Pope, were placed two large photographs of victims of mob violence: priest Pino Puglisi and that the judge Rosario Livatino.
The young magistrate Rosario Livatino was born in Canicattì (Agrigento) to October 3, 1952, leaving an unknown figure until the day September 21, 1990, when he was killed on the way he did every day, without security agents towards the Court of Agrigento. The crime was committed by four members of the criminal organization known as “Cosa Nostra”. It would also complete 38 years of age.
A life characterized by a serious preparation of the legal point of view and imbued with a strong spiritual inclination. Livatino was a young magistrate before issuing a ruling, withdrew himself from his office and prayed that his decision was not wrong. A faith handed down from their parents, the attorney Vincenzo and Rosalia Corbo, a simple and humble woman. A christian family practitioner. After having been an excellent student throughout her school life, he began his university studies in law school. Concluded this in Palermo with lauds and the maximum score, then got the approval - as one of the first places to judge the contest and achieving even a second college degree in Political Science.
Convinced which was that a judge should be super parties, did no association or political group. In his student days, actively participated Canicattì of Catholic Action, founded by Mario Fani and Giovanni Acquaderno; becoming a judge, he lived the motto of this association: "Prayer, action and sacrifice." He was convinced that true justice, as aptly said Manuel Jimenez Bonhomme, that can only be from God.
Like so many other talented youngsters, Rosario went through during their studies periods of doubt and inner suffering, overcome thanks to his great faith. Recalls his mother who, at times when he put down to seeing the son immersed in any pain, he suggested to her: "Mummy, why not read a page of the Gospel? You will see that it will receive great strength. Indeed, at his desk there was always a Crucifix and a Gospel - when judge also always kept in his office at the Court of Agrigento a Gospel on the table.
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| Rosario Livatino proclaimed Bachelor of Laws. Palermo, 1975. |
His great sense of duty and love of neighbor drove him to a tireless work: it is recalled that a year during the holiday of "ferragosto" (NT: festive day celebrated across Italy on August 15) postponed to the judicial forum of Agrigento to sign a release order, so that there was no day of delay in the release of the detainee.
We remember some similarities between the life of Rosario Livatino and another person with a strong christian commitment, as was the life of St. Giuseppe Moscati. Both chose not to marry: Moscati, to devote himself entirely to God, he pronounced a vow of chastity before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Sacramentine Church in Naples; Livatino, foreshadowing his imminent death, decided to remain celibate not to leave this world a widow with children. Like S. Giuseppe Moscati was seen while in hiding not to notice the great deals that made the Shrine of Pompeii, Livatino, monthly, was careful to meet the needs of many poor people without anyone knowing.
We must add, though, another element is not negligible, it was a constant presence in the church: Moscati walked every day at the Church of Santa Clara to attend the Mass. Also, Rosario Livatino daily, before starting his job, gathered in prayer at St. Joseph Church, neighbor to the Court. Monsignor Giuseppe di Marco, diocesan vicar, priest of the church that was frequented by Livatino the time, so recalls: "I knew nothing about that person, only that it was a judge... He stood a moment and then walked away, silently. Only after the tragedy, when saw his picture in the papers, I could understand who he really was. ".
Remember the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 6: 1-6) "When you pray, go into your room and shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly
For sure, the reward of Rosario Livatino is great in Heaven. He was killed by being faithful to their duty to judge, to that love for truth that characterized the life of St. Giuseppe Moscati.
Your essence, truly Christian, manifested itself in many moments of his short but significant existence: on one occasion, when a dead person of questionable morals, some people were attending the funeral making comments, almost with joy. As such, went Livatino: "Faced with a dead man, a Christian should pray... who is not Christian should have the decency to be quiet." This testimony was given by Priest Pietro Li Calzi, vicar of the Church of S. Domenico which participated Livatino, who also added that typically the young judge spoke with the voice paused, but at that time imposed a different tone, more severe.
Living in righteousness and fear of God, making decisions about their duty to judge, does not mean forgetting the respect for the dignity of every person, even if these concepts are very distant from those who have forgotten the respect for themselves.
How could the mob to accept the existence of a true lover of fairness and justice, properly to them, the "puppets" of that part of the political power known for their misdeeds ...?! Livatino bothered because they had tried to corrupt him and were not able to handle him, then deciding that he "should" be removed before it caused more damage... or - as is the custom in the "honored society" - before placing other obstacles to their designs criminals.
Because of his moral rectitude, knew that his situation was high risk, which is why we offered him constantly, security agents, but the judge Livatino refused to accept. A choice dictated by its desire to avoid a "family man" could lose your life. "The blood of martyrs is the seed of new christians." (Tertullian)
Dura lex sed lex was the motto legal Rosario Livatino also applied himself, under the Lord crying at times when the exercise of his profession was exposed to serious risks.
The greatness of this young magistrate is also evident in small everyday things. Some people say they witnessed on Saturdays with his father, put in a queue of mail without taking advantage of his status or privileges for small favors.
The day of earthly death of Rosario Livatino was actually more harmful to their killers, behold, the young judge marked the beginning of our real life in the House of the Father. We hope that the Lord, through His Holy Church, also manifests on earth the glory this martyr of the Faith and Justice, which we hope will be proclaimed protector of the judiciary.
Written records of Rosario Livatino
The highest symbol and command greater legal are the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, in which the legislator and the executor of the law is YHWH, the God of justice and love.
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| Rosario Livatino (shown in arrow) among his colleagues in the College Classic III year in 1971. |
[...] It is the immense value of the Biblical law of the sacred law, in human culture and the legal case in kind: every law that is related to customs and needs have, in the sacred law, biblical law, a sign of foresight or prescient warning.”
"Countering the concepts, reality, faith and the law may give the impression at first glance, the idea of ??a contradiction, a theoretical opposition absolutely irreconcilable, the one, the most intimate expression of the chord of the human being, the emotional impulse and genuine deeper, more complete and unconditional loyalty to the invisible and, ultimately, the irrational and the other, however, is a different fruit, son of rationality, reflection, cold and impersonal preparation technique: here we have two aspects of the impasse of human life, autonomous and distinct from each other [...] However, it is not so [...] Between the world of faith and the world of law there must be an active and effective participation, emitting a maximum result: it appears from reading the words of Paul VI when in early '70s, in his discourse to participants at the International Congress of Canon Law, sponsored by the Catholic University of Milan (1973), had fervently to focus on the possibilities of a "theology of law that not only will deepen, but the enhance the efforts already undertaken by the Council ", giving a vital boost, even if sub specie juris, the meaning sentire cum Ecclesia."
In this same sense, we find ten years later in a speech made by the current pontiff, Pope John Paul II (Discourse to Union of Catholic Jurists, 1982), the idea of highlighting the need to value each force wisely "act toward Christian ethics within the legal science in legislative activities, judicial, administrative and public life... "
"Life is full of ideals, and to achieve this objective, pure or impure, we have only one objective: the realization of good. Good for us, to the next, and these ideals, the resulting effects in the sense of good and the evil of life. Looking all around us, through a logical and rational, we intuit a common origin for this elusive nature that started it all.
The entire universe, however great it may be, is identified accordingly. God is like an axis around which everything revolves. Everything comes and comes back to God and God is the beginning and end.
"It would be particularly appropriate for a judge to resign as a candidate contests the election - if he considered the seat in Parliament as a goal of power, prestige and importance greater than its magistrate, who make an irrevocable choice, incinerating all his past and the final dismissal of the judiciary. "
"Justice is necessary but not sufficient, and can be overcome by the law of charity, which is the law of love, love of neighbor and God, seeing this other the image of God, not to reduce this feeling as mere human solidarity."
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| Memorial – location of the attack of September 21, 1990. |
"The judge, besides its essence must be independent. [...] It is important that it not look through the image of a rather austere, severe, closed in his world of authority or moral rigor unattainable, but a person serious, balanced, responsible, and we could also include an image of an understanding person and human, capable of condemning but, above all, understand.
Only if a judge reaches these goals in himself, the society can accept that he has power over others so large that it holds. Who cries for justice must be confident that their reasons will be given due attention and seriousness, that a judge could accept and assume, as his own defense that is the cause for judging.
Only after these conditions could therefore an ordinary citizen to win the natural aversion to spill their privacy to a stranger, could rely on the figure of the judge and justice of the State, including accepting the risk of an unfavorable response to his demand [...] The credibility outside the figure of the judge, what he represents, is an essential value to the democratic state, much more today than yesterday.
"Christ did not say that above all we must be" fair ", although on many occasions, has extolled the virtue of justice. He instead, raised the commandment of love rather than the mandatory standard of conduct because it is precisely this leap in quality that characterizes a Christian."
"The role of the judge can not escape the march of history, as well as services provided should be part of a process of adaptation. But this can not be levied only in the courts: one can not only ask them to derive the strength this adjustment."
"In this sense, justice reform, in the objective sense and subjective, must be done not by one but by all: the State, parties, public opinion.
Recovering the right as refer to a single group can not be in a modern democracy, the right of a minority."
Thetestimony of the Bishop of Agrigento Mons. Carmelo Ferraro
"I would like to share reflections on the" phenomenon Livatino "... They say that the judge Livatino were baptized schools, libraries, gymnasiums, squares, streets... and also surrounding the testimony about his life, are dedicated articles, monographs, poems and drawings. We, however, did not want to commemorate the death of a man - although, oddly, the violence of this death takes the brand in the history of the Crucifixion, sported the mark of a power that surpasses even the death.
The question I ask myself is: how can the juvenile universe give much attention to Rosario Livatino? Why? We live in a society that exalts a certain weakness of thought, morality and conformism, doing what the others do, dress like other people say ... We live in a society that exalts the man outside the cult of image. There is also little faith, and are few and weak educational projects. Rosario Livatino strangely young people feel they have an answer.
[…] The man can lie, but not for long time. The case of Rosario Livatino is enlightening in the sense of teaching to all mankind."
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