Pino Puglisi

thumb|The tomb of Pino Puglisi Blessed Giuseppe Puglisi, also known as Pino, (1937 – 1993) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who openly challenged the Sicilian Mafia controlling his Palermo neighbourhood of Brancaccio. The Mafia killed him on his 56th birthday. His life story has been retold in a book, Pino Puglisi, il prete che fece tremare la mafia con un sorriso (2013), and portrayed in a film, Come into the Light (Italian original title Alla luce del sole) in 2005. He was the first Mafia victim to be beatified by the Catholic Church. Quotes To this end, it can be useful to talk about the mafia, to talk about it often and in detail at school: it is a battle against the mafia mentality, which is ultimately any ideology willing to sell off human dignity for money. Don Giuseppe Puglisi: vita, insegnamento e martirio di Francesco Deliziosi, PadrePinoPuglisi.it How can we talk about Christ? We must try to present the figure of Christ as someone we love, in the hope that people will listen to us. Antonio Sicari, Ritratti di santi, Editoriale Jaca Book, 2005 It is very difficult to die for a friend, but dying for enemies is even more difficult. Christ, however, died for us when we were still his enemies. God always remains close to us; it is the constancy of love to the extreme limit, indeed without limits. This is the reason for our joy. (homily of 14 September 1993) Don Giuseppe Puglisi: vita, insegnamento e martirio di Francesco Deliziosi, PadrePinoPuglisi.it It is important to talk about the mafia, especially in schools, in order to combat the mafia mentality, which is any ideology willing to sell out human dignity for money. Be a witness, especially for those who harbor anger toward a society they see as hostile. The witness must instill hope in them by helping them understand that life is valuable when it is given freely. Antonio Sicari, Ritratti di santi, Editoriale Jaca Book, 2005 The first duty in Brancaccio is to roll up our sleeves. And the first targets are children and adolescents: with them, we still have time, educational measures can be effective... But even at that age it is not easy, because many children are forced to work or steal. And many girls are forced to do worse, because there are also cases of child prostitution in the neighborhood. Don Giuseppe Puglisi: vita, insegnamento e martirio di Francesco Deliziosi, PadrePinoPuglisi.it The Church has already excommunicated those who have committed atrocious crimes, such as the so-called men of honor. I can only add that murderers, those who live and feed on violence, have lost their human dignity. They are less than men; they degrade themselves, through their choices, to the rank of animals. (homily of 25 July 1993) Don Giuseppe Puglisi: vita, insegnamento e martirio di Francesco Deliziosi, PadrePinoPuglisi.it (Last words) I was expecting that. Francesco Anfossi a Salvatore Grigoli, Gli sparai, lui sorrise, in Famiglia Cristiana, 12 September 1999; riportato in stpauls.it In the parish, all pastoral care should be guided by the vocational line together with the missionary line: “all called, all sent.” AA.VV., Don Pino Puglisi. Prete e martire. Atti del Convegno, Il pozzo di Giacobbe, 2000 Holocaust means burning one's entire existence on the altar of the cross. Antonio Sicari, Ritratti di santi, Editoriale Jaca Book, 2005 Twenty, sixty, a hundred years... life. What good is it if we go in the wrong direction? What matters is encountering Christ, living like him, proclaiming his saving Love. Bringing hope and not forgetting that all of us, each in our own place, even at personal cost, are builders of a new world. Don Giuseppe Puglisi: vita, insegnamento e martirio di Francesco Deliziosi, PadrePinoPuglisi.it You have a family. I have no one. I have no wife or children, and even if they kill me, I don't care. Antonio Sicari, Ritratti di santi, Editoriale Jaca Book, 2005 Il coraggio della speranza Pino Puglisi, Il coraggio della speranza. 100 pagine di don Puglisi, Città Nuova, 2005 When a person's heart surrenders to God, when they say yes to Him, then the Kingdom comes, then God reigns. God loves us, but always through someone else. Those who think too much before taking a step will spend their whole life standing on one foot. We must give and ask our brother for whatever is necessary to help him. Se ognuno fa qualcosa si può fare molto Pino Puglisi, Se ognuno fa qualcosa si può fare molto. Le parole del prete che fece paura alla mafia, a cura di Francesco Deliziosi, Rizzoli, Milano, 2008. ISBN 978-88-58-69344-5 Each of us feels within ourselves a particular inclination, a charisma, a vocation, a project that makes each person unique and unrepeatable: journalist, teacher, priest, student, father, volunteer... This calling is the sign of the Holy Spirit within us. Only listening to this voice can give meaning to our lives. (p. 294) It is important to talk about the mafia, especially in schools, in order to combat the mafia mentality, which is any ideology willing to sell out human dignity for money. (p. 509) Love for God purifies and liberates. This does not mean that we become depersonalized, but rather that our personality is exalted and enhanced, that is, our natural faculties and our intelligence are given new potential. Our will is given new light. (p. 512) Quotes about Don Puglisi was proclaimed blessed on May 25, 2013. He who did not like celebrations, solemnities, or official rites, is consigned to history as the first martyr of the Church killed by the mafia in odium fidei. q:it:Giovanna Montanaro, La verità del pentito, Sperling & Kupfer editori, 2013. On September 15, Don Pino Puglisi, parish priest of the church of San Gaetano in Brancaccio, was killed with a single gunshot to the back of the head. With his tireless pastoral, educational, and social work, the priest had become a thorn in the side of the local mafia. Giovanna Montanaro, La verità del pentito, Sperling & Kupfer editori, 2013. A man, Don Pino [Puglisi], fighting against non-men, mafiosi, and hitmen in the neighborhood to save children and young people from a fate of violence, illegality, poverty, ignorance, and incivility. Nottetempo, casa per casa; citato in Corrado Stajano, Vincenzo Consolo, scritti sulla mafia, Corriere.it, 17 September 2017 External links Category:1937 births Category:1993 deaths Category:Catholics from Italy Category:Clergy from Italy Category:Martyrs Category:Beatified people Category:Roman Catholic priests