English

Welcome to “Appello Laico”.

The Inaugurazione dell’Anno Accademico (opening of the year) is the most solemn ceremony to be held at a University. Traditionally, it envisages an opening lecture, the Lectio Magistralis and its main important speaker has to be a recognized academic person: he can be both the Dean or a Guest.

This year, notwithstanding many concerns expressed by a part of the community, the Rettore (the Head) of one of the most important Public Universities in Italy, the Sapienza of Rome, decided to invite the Pope, Benedictus XVI, to held the Lectio Magistralis.

Due to several complains, the invitation has been changed. It was decided that the Pope would have delivered an independent lecture, in the same day of the ceremony. The situation produced confusion, the details of which I am not going to present in this context. What is important to know is that the protests of 67 Physicists were made public and, suddenly, a strong campaign against them started. This latter is still taking place in the country supported by all major media and accepted without resistance by politicians and institutions. Eventually, the Pope resigned the invitation. Nearly all official comments were and still are on the side of the Pope, whose voice, according to them, had been shut by those “illiberal scientists”. Of course, to say that the Pope cannot be listened in Italy, is a comical statement.

The actual point, however, was not to shut up the Pope; the University is open to everybody, confrontation and debates are always welcome. The point was that the occasion was definitely not the most appropriate. To cast the Templum of Knowledge under the patronage of the Pope would have appeared as an apparent symbolic offence to the freedom of thought, at least to whoever cherishes the secularity of modern democracies.

For these reasons, if you wish, you may sign a letter which expresses your solidarity to the Physicists currently under moral lynching.

Here below, you will find a translation of that letter, and a link you should follow if you wish to sign. Whoever can help to provide a better translation or corrections is warmly invited to post it.

“We express our solidarity to the teachers of the University “La Sapienza”, who adressed a request to their President aiming at preventing the participation of Pope Benedictus XVI to the “inaugurazione dell’anno accademico”.

We appreciate the sensibility of the Pope, who withdrew His participation; on the contrary, the Rettore Renato Guarini proved to be unfit to His task, unable to defend the secularity of the University, and the universal dialogue. Since he did not accomplish his responsibilities as a guarantor, he posed the signers of the above mentioned petition in the difficult position of compensating this, and he caused a very unpleasant situation.

Finally, we find ourselves shocked by the alarming superficiality and incompetence which has been supported by the majority of the Italian press, seeking for an easy scoop or exploiting politically the situation. In particular, the original meaning of the petition has been completely misrepresented; far from willing to shut a voice and prevent free confrontation, the signers of the petition were only concerned with defending the profound moral and historical meaning of the most solemn academic ceremony, during which the university celebrates the freedom of universal thought, free from any superior control and patronage.

We are also surprised and saddened by the superficiality which led exponents of political parties as well as of institutions (among which we sadly have to mention the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano and the Minister of University Fabio Mussi) to join the moral lynching which the signers of the petition are currently undergoing.”

 

To sign this petition, please follow this link.