1
00:00:20,492 --> 00:00:23,535
Your Holiness,
I started writing two years ago,
2
00:00:23,538 --> 00:00:27,276
one morning in late springtime
in a village in the Langhe district
3
00:00:27,276 --> 00:00:30,239
with cobblestone streets
that spiral up to the square.
4
00:00:30,239 --> 00:00:32,524
There's a castle and
an old church in the square,
5
00:00:32,524 --> 00:00:34,754
like those you find all over Piedmont.
6
00:00:34,754 --> 00:00:38,002
From that square, the valley
opens up to a breath-taking view.
7
00:00:38,002 --> 00:00:42,329
At the end, hills covered
with woods, chestnut and hazel trees.
8
00:00:42,329 --> 00:00:46,372
Below are vineyards and cornfields.
9
00:00:46,372 --> 00:00:48,608
The beauty of the Langhe!
10
00:00:48,608 --> 00:00:51,014
There, the extraordinary
beauty of the landscape
11
00:00:51,014 --> 00:00:55,250
coexists with the horror
of certain families.
12
00:00:55,250 --> 00:00:59,013
Like mine, a middle class one,
among the indifference of many.
13
00:01:01,067 --> 00:01:03,475
Your Holiness, my name
is Ginevra and I’m forty.
14
00:01:03,475 --> 00:01:07,331
I’m from Turin, where I grew up
and went to high school.
15
00:01:07,331 --> 00:01:10,097
And later on, I met the man
I eventually married.
16
00:01:10,097 --> 00:01:11,720
It was autumn.
17
00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:13,787
He was from the Langhe district, Cuneo.
18
00:01:13,787 --> 00:01:16,337
A slender young man who was so polite.
19
00:01:16,337 --> 00:01:20,437
He had just enrolled to study medicine
in Turin, Corso Massimo D’Azeglio.
20
00:01:21,407 --> 00:01:24,241
That day, the fog along the Po river
rose up to the park.
21
00:01:24,241 --> 00:01:27,680
The atmosphere was chilling,
we looked at each other and were happy,
22
00:01:28,350 --> 00:01:31,080
It was a dream that stayed in our blood.
23
00:01:31,590 --> 00:01:33,610
He got his degree, became a specialist.
24
00:01:33,610 --> 00:01:36,390
got married and celebrated
a lavish wedding.
25
00:01:40,435 --> 00:01:42,974
Then came our first son, Matteo:
a gift from God.
26
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,060
I moved to his town.
27
00:01:42,974 --> 00:01:44,896
Then the twins Pietro and Luca.
28
00:01:44,896 --> 00:01:48,056
Pietro – Peter – is the rock
on which Jesus founded his church.
29
00:01:48,056 --> 00:01:51,286
Luca is light, the Virgin’s favourite;
30
00:01:51,826 --> 00:01:54,166
St Luke is the patron of physicians.
31
00:02:00,101 --> 00:02:01,755
My children are beautiful!
32
00:02:01,755 --> 00:02:04,416
They have the healthy complexion
of countryside people.
33
00:02:04,416 --> 00:02:07,944
At the foot of the Langhe,
at the confluence of two rivers,
34
00:02:07,944 --> 00:02:10,234
300 metres above sea level.
35
00:02:10,234 --> 00:02:13,884
It was once a stopping place
for wayfarers and pilgrims
36
00:02:13,884 --> 00:02:17,549
on the old road linking Albenga to Alba.
37
00:02:18,414 --> 00:02:21,013
We live on a big farm,
and during the day
38
00:02:21,013 --> 00:02:23,682
the children run barefoot
on the lawn and jump for joy;
39
00:02:23,682 --> 00:02:25,744
at night the crickets sing.
40
00:02:25,744 --> 00:02:28,036
Andrea is the heir of a wealthy family:
41
00:02:28,036 --> 00:02:31,896
they own a building in town
and a beautiful home in Sanremo.
42
00:02:31,896 --> 00:02:35,512
His family is well known in our town.
43
00:01:54,166 --> 00:01:58,461
Francesca, green eyes and blonde curls,
has a kind of shy look.
44
00:01:58,461 --> 00:02:00,101
She resembles me.
45
00:02:35,512 --> 00:02:37,784
They generously donate to the Church
46
00:02:37,784 --> 00:02:40,294
and on Sunday
he always goes to the service,
47
00:02:40,294 --> 00:02:43,544
sitting in the first row,
with his family’s name on the pew.
48
00:02:44,294 --> 00:02:47,611
As a young man,
he took time off to travel.
49
00:02:47,611 --> 00:02:49,811
But instead of marrying a local girl,
50
00:02:49,811 --> 00:02:53,371
one accustomed to country life,
51
00:02:53,371 --> 00:02:54,814
he chose me.
52
00:02:54,814 --> 00:02:57,873
Turinese, and a “foreigner” in Cuneo.
53
00:02:57,873 --> 00:03:02,163
A slim blonde girl like others
he met around the world.
54
00:03:04,060 --> 00:03:07,861
Unfortunately, our fairy tale ends here:
55
00:03:07,861 --> 00:03:10,252
my husband doesn't have
the virtues of King Arthur.
56
00:03:10,252 --> 00:03:12,772
When he got back
to his hometown, he changed.
57
00:03:13,552 --> 00:03:16,424
It is probably due to the
chauvinistic farming culture.
58
00:03:16,424 --> 00:03:18,214
Maybe his friends at the café,
59
00:03:18,214 --> 00:03:22,206
for whom women don’t count
and are meant to serve them.
60
00:03:22,506 --> 00:03:24,446
Fact is, Andrea got violent.
61
00:03:24,446 --> 00:03:27,956
He's been beating me for 12 years,
and now he also beats our children.
62
00:03:28,794 --> 00:03:32,096
And no Lancelot comes along to save us.
63
00:03:32,096 --> 00:03:36,509
We're not living in some poor suburb.
64
00:03:36,509 --> 00:03:39,412
Quite the opposite:
Andrea heads his hospital department.
65
00:03:39,412 --> 00:03:40,522
He has a good salary.
66
00:03:40,522 --> 00:03:43,614
He only allows me a few euros at a time,
67
00:03:43,614 --> 00:03:46,920
and in the evening he checks back
the receipts from the grocery store;
68
00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,033
he pays the butcher
at the end of the month.
69
00:03:49,033 --> 00:03:52,293
But all in all, money isn't a problem.
70
00:03:53,927 --> 00:03:56,305
The other night Andrea started kicking me,
71
00:03:56,305 --> 00:03:59,164
but I was so tired I couldn’t
stand the pain and screamed.
72
00:03:59,164 --> 00:04:02,398
My daughter suddenly woke up
and crept onto the stairs,
73
00:04:02,398 --> 00:04:04,726
and she saw me on the floor
as her father hit me.
74
00:04:04,726 --> 00:04:07,176
The next day,
she burst out crying at school.
75
00:04:07,176 --> 00:04:09,802
The teacher hugged her
and she told her the whole story.
76
00:04:09,802 --> 00:04:13,027
She was astonished:
she has known Andrea all her life.
77
00:04:13,027 --> 00:04:15,847
She would have never thought
he was a violent man.
78
00:04:15,847 --> 00:04:17,865
But children don’t lie.
79
00:04:18,515 --> 00:04:21,643
Her teacher called me in
and said she would talk to him.
80
00:04:22,303 --> 00:04:24,003
I begged her not to.
81
00:04:24,003 --> 00:04:26,813
That would put me and my daughter
at risk of being killed.
82
00:04:27,853 --> 00:04:30,749
As for now, I don’t feel like rebelling.
83
00:04:30,749 --> 00:04:33,059
I can’t leave this beautiful house
84
00:04:33,059 --> 00:04:36,325
to move into a tiny apartment
with my four children.
85
00:04:37,145 --> 00:04:40,117
Plus, my husband is Catholic
and doesn’t want a separation.
86
00:04:40,117 --> 00:04:42,347
My parents are also practising Catholics.
87
00:04:43,077 --> 00:04:45,699
They live in the city
and I don’t see them often.
88
00:04:45,699 --> 00:04:47,803
My mother has sensed
that something is wrong,
89
00:04:47,803 --> 00:04:50,134
but I don’t want to load her
with my problems.
90
00:04:50,134 --> 00:04:54,643
I already know she wouldn’t be happy
with a divorced daughter.
91
00:04:54,643 --> 00:04:56,561
I do not want to leave Andrea, actually.
92
00:04:56,561 --> 00:04:59,441
I don’t want to go to the police,
as my only friend told me,
93
00:04:59,441 --> 00:05:01,827
a high school classmate
I sometimes meet.
94
00:05:01,827 --> 00:05:04,064
It would be like betraying him.
95
00:05:04,974 --> 00:05:08,018
Maybe I’m doing something wrong:
it all seems so strange to me.
96
00:05:08,018 --> 00:05:11,366
When I met Andrea,
he was kind - he still is.
97
00:05:11,366 --> 00:05:14,076
He beats me, then he hugs me
and says he loves me.
98
00:05:14,076 --> 00:05:15,954
It happens all the time.
99
00:05:16,004 --> 00:05:18,206
If I’m bleeding,
he naturally takes care of it.
100
00:05:18,226 --> 00:05:20,985
No ER, of course:
everyone knows him there.
101
00:05:22,935 --> 00:05:27,999
Families often become a place
of peaceful cruelty, instead of love.
102
00:05:28,918 --> 00:05:33,019
The other day I got home
and his mother was there.
103
00:05:33,019 --> 00:05:35,731
In her youth, she beated
her husband and children.
104
00:05:35,731 --> 00:05:39,642
At home, she doesn’t speak
in Italian, just dialect.
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00:05:39,642 --> 00:05:43,286
In that rough language, a few nights ago
she egged Andrea on to beat me.
106
00:05:44,286 --> 00:05:46,724
Then she was the very one who cast me off.
107
00:05:46,724 --> 00:05:49,264
My children looked on us, astonished.
108
00:05:49,742 --> 00:05:53,692
Maybe that's because people and cattle
are all the same thing here.
109
00:05:53,692 --> 00:05:56,893
I’m from Turin and I come
from a respectable middle-class family.
110
00:05:56,893 --> 00:05:59,741
She would have preferred a local girl,
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00:05:59,741 --> 00:06:02,471
one of those who stay at home
and don’t say a word.
112
00:06:04,572 --> 00:06:06,334
On Sunday I went to confess.
113
00:06:06,334 --> 00:06:09,196
Father Paolo said, I need
to be patient, to put up with this.
114
00:06:09,196 --> 00:06:11,969
Jesus says that the people
who face the greatest suffering
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00:06:11,969 --> 00:06:14,107
are God’s chosen ones.
116
00:06:14,107 --> 00:06:15,694
I must not complain.
117
00:06:15,694 --> 00:06:18,953
Family is sacred and cannot be torn apart.
118
00:06:18,953 --> 00:06:23,839
Of course, it’s hard to stay together
without mutual respect.
119
00:06:24,069 --> 00:06:26,331
But that’s not just about respect.
120
00:06:26,331 --> 00:06:28,851
There is violence,
and violence kills love.
121
00:06:29,471 --> 00:06:32,494
After beating me,
Andrea confesses his sins,
122
00:06:32,494 --> 00:06:35,011
and the priest forgives him.
123
00:06:35,011 --> 00:06:37,471
Then it happens again, he beats me again,
124
00:06:37,471 --> 00:06:39,748
and Father Paolo
forgives him yet again.
125
00:06:39,748 --> 00:06:42,052
He is a country priest,
126
00:06:42,052 --> 00:06:45,052
and my mother-in-law
brings him chickens and rabbits.
127
00:06:45,052 --> 00:06:46,562
Things of the past.
128
00:06:47,272 --> 00:06:48,785
Andrea means man.
129
00:06:49,435 --> 00:06:52,236
Your Holiness, during the service
that started your papacy,
130
00:06:52,236 --> 00:06:56,752
you said that every man must be
the keeper of himself and others.
131
00:06:56,752 --> 00:06:58,715
Andrea was watching the service on TV.
132
00:06:58,715 --> 00:07:01,105
Then it took some pretext
for him to beat me again,
133
00:07:01,105 --> 00:07:02,496
in front of the children.
134
00:07:02,496 --> 00:07:06,381
It has become routine, even for me.
135
00:07:06,381 --> 00:07:09,407
I stay silent as I stare
at my man, distraught.
136
00:07:09,407 --> 00:07:12,497
I raised four children,
but time didn't pass for women, here:
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00:07:12,497 --> 00:07:14,767
they bear children and have no voice.
138
00:07:15,918 --> 00:07:17,196
I am covered in bruises
139
00:07:17,196 --> 00:07:19,706
and I hide my scarred cheekbone
with a bit of makeup.
140
00:07:20,206 --> 00:07:22,576
I have to do something
for them, for my children.
141
00:07:22,576 --> 00:07:25,186
The oldest has started
hitting other people.
142
00:07:25,188 --> 00:07:28,776
Your Holiness, I heard you on the radio,
speaking about the first believers.
143
00:07:28,776 --> 00:07:30,676
I would like to ask for your help.
144
00:07:30,676 --> 00:07:34,138
Maybe all it takes is a word of yours
to end all this violence.
145
00:07:34,138 --> 00:07:37,552
I’ve heard it called
“violence disguised as love”.
146
00:07:37,552 --> 00:07:39,454
But maybe it would have no effect.
147
00:07:39,454 --> 00:07:43,046
What can you say
that hasn’t been said already?
148
00:07:43,046 --> 00:07:44,576
Unless you, Your Holiness,
149
00:07:44,576 --> 00:07:47,836
decide to talk
to priests like Father Paolo.
150
00:07:47,836 --> 00:07:52,709
To not grant forgiveness
to men like my husband.
151
00:07:53,049 --> 00:07:57,239
The Church should only offer forgiveness
when there's honest repentance.
152
00:07:58,283 --> 00:08:02,626
Because formal repentance
allows people to access to the sacraments,
153
00:08:02,626 --> 00:08:05,316
and then return to the usual violence.
154
00:08:05,316 --> 00:08:09,204
One must show repentance,
try to mend oneself.
155
00:08:09,204 --> 00:08:11,564
Before a fake contrition,
156
00:08:11,564 --> 00:08:15,164
a priest cannot – and must not –
absolve that person.
157
00:08:19,003 --> 00:08:22,243
[Two years later, April 18th 2015]
158
00:08:22,243 --> 00:08:24,263
Your Holiness,
I wrote you two years ago,
159
00:08:24,263 --> 00:08:27,490
but you had just become Pope
and it was the wrong time.
160
00:08:27,490 --> 00:08:29,264
You already know me, I'm Ginevra,
161
00:08:29,264 --> 00:08:32,735
I'm from Piedmont like your grandfather
Giovanni and his father Francesco.
162
00:08:32,735 --> 00:08:34,625
I live in Turin: beautiful and ancient,
163
00:08:34,625 --> 00:08:38,134
and when the evening becomes a star
there is a huge crowd of people!
164
00:08:38,134 --> 00:08:40,414
Turin is like Naples
that goes to the mountains.
165
00:08:40,414 --> 00:08:43,650
Turin, with its straight roads,
is the flip side of Rome.
166
00:08:43,650 --> 00:08:48,111
Turin, a city suffering
from melancholy, as Venditti sang.
167
00:08:48,670 --> 00:08:51,006
We live in a condominium on Corso Francia,
168
00:08:51,006 --> 00:08:54,386
a straight road that goes
from Piazza Statuto, Porta Susa,
169
00:08:54,386 --> 00:08:56,444
and leads to Chambéry in France.
170
00:08:56,444 --> 00:09:01,494
It was built by the Savoy ruler
Victor Amadeus II in 1711
171
00:09:01,494 --> 00:09:05,453
and connected the Royal Palace
to the residence in Rivoli.
172
00:09:05,453 --> 00:09:07,520
During the Second World War,
173
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,037
when Italy went to war against France,
174
00:09:10,037 --> 00:09:14,057
the city authorities changed its name
to Corso Gabriele d’Annunzio.
175
00:09:14,183 --> 00:09:16,984
After the war, it got
called back Corso Francia.
176
00:09:16,984 --> 00:09:20,922
The underground runs along here
every day, with nine stops!
177
00:09:20,922 --> 00:09:22,797
At the beginning of Corso Francia
178
00:09:22,797 --> 00:09:25,721
there are lots of lovely
Art Nouveau residences
179
00:09:25,721 --> 00:09:27,411
built in early 20th century.
180
00:09:27,611 --> 00:09:31,421
We live further down, towards Rivoli,
on the outskirts of Turin.
181
00:09:32,214 --> 00:09:36,522
Office workers live in my building
and they leave early to rush to work.
182
00:09:36,522 --> 00:09:39,602
Where I’m living is not my house.
183
00:09:39,602 --> 00:09:42,722
It’s where I grew up, my parents’ house.
184
00:09:43,476 --> 00:09:46,951
They are elderly and left me
their furnished apartment,
185
00:09:46,951 --> 00:09:49,371
and then moved to the countryside.
186
00:09:51,207 --> 00:09:54,060
Now I’d like to tell you
how I worked up the courage
187
00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:56,249
to go to the police and sue Andrea.
188
00:09:56,249 --> 00:09:57,760
I didn’t want to at the time.
189
00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:59,583
Francesca was in fourth grade
190
00:09:59,583 --> 00:10:02,008
when her father kicked me on the rug.
191
00:10:02,008 --> 00:10:04,422
The next morning
she told her teacher about it.
192
00:10:04,422 --> 00:10:07,646
Concerned that the teacher would
go talk to Andrea about it
193
00:10:07,646 --> 00:10:11,677
It didn’t look good for my daughter
to go around and say what happened.
194
00:10:11,677 --> 00:10:13,250
I begged her not to say anything,
195
00:10:13,250 --> 00:10:16,410
as he would have beaten
both me and my daughter.
196
00:10:16,410 --> 00:10:21,350
I had taken this tough decision
for Francesca, now a sixth grader.
197
00:10:22,977 --> 00:10:25,648
After talking to the teacher,
I went to the police
198
00:10:25,648 --> 00:10:28,478
and to the emergency room,
where they reported my bruises.
199
00:10:28,478 --> 00:10:31,524
It wasn’t even the worst
beating I went through!
200
00:10:31,524 --> 00:10:33,724
But it was enough to press charges.
201
00:10:33,724 --> 00:10:36,814
A few weeks later
I went to a law firm in Turin.
202
00:10:36,814 --> 00:10:39,414
I worked with one lawyer
for the criminal case
203
00:10:39,416 --> 00:10:42,026
and another for the civil suit.
204
00:10:42,026 --> 00:10:45,746
No legal aid from the State:
I needed someone I could count on.
205
00:10:45,746 --> 00:10:50,136
I spent everything I had on lawyers.
It was a huge sacrifice.
206
00:10:51,287 --> 00:10:55,257
Now Andrea gives me
500 euros a month per child.
207
00:10:55,257 --> 00:10:57,747
Wealthy as he is,
he should have given me more.
208
00:10:57,747 --> 00:11:00,497
but properties are all
in his mother’s name.
209
00:11:01,350 --> 00:11:04,840
He doesn’t care if our children
no longer have the same chances.
210
00:11:04,870 --> 00:11:09,190
He doesn’t care about my efforts
to pay for English and violin lessons.
211
00:11:09,433 --> 00:11:12,253
The children’s life has changed.
212
00:11:12,263 --> 00:11:15,923
They give up a lot of things,
they go to public school.
213
00:11:15,923 --> 00:11:17,993
Yet they don’t complain,
214
00:11:17,993 --> 00:11:21,423
and they’ve never asked
to go back to their father's town.
215
00:11:21,423 --> 00:11:24,703
They don’t miss that old farmhouse
216
00:11:24,703 --> 00:11:30,893
with frescoed vaulted ceilings,
the terrace, those beautiful arches.
217
00:11:32,107 --> 00:11:35,287
I work part-time as a secretary
at a museum, for 900 euros a month.
218
00:11:35,287 --> 00:11:39,257
We have a lot of expenses, although I pay
my parents just 500 euros a month in rent.
219
00:11:39,257 --> 00:11:40,737
A symbolic figure.
220
00:11:40,737 --> 00:11:43,447
They're both retired teachers
with a few health problems.
221
00:11:43,447 --> 00:11:46,627
They get by, but I can’t ask for more.
222
00:11:46,627 --> 00:11:50,697
They already do a lot and are not wealthy.
223
00:11:51,106 --> 00:11:52,546
They are practising Catholics,
224
00:11:52,546 --> 00:11:55,296
and after many reservations
they have finally accepted
225
00:11:55,296 --> 00:11:58,066
the fact that I left my husband
and asked for a separation.
226
00:11:58,066 --> 00:12:00,246
Can you imagine,
two years ago they asked me
227
00:12:00,246 --> 00:12:02,376
to bear it, to turn the other cheek.
228
00:12:03,376 --> 00:12:07,986
However, my siblings
don't accept my decision.
229
00:12:07,986 --> 00:12:10,766
They live outside Turin,
and I only see them occasionally.
230
00:12:11,396 --> 00:12:14,496
I know I’m running
out of time now, Your Holiness.
231
00:12:14,496 --> 00:12:18,173
Let me just tell you about
how Andrea and his family reacted.
232
00:12:18,173 --> 00:12:20,743
When I left, he was so upset.
233
00:12:20,743 --> 00:12:23,801
Now he’s acting like a country gentleman
hurt in his honour,
234
00:12:23,801 --> 00:12:26,371
and I’m painted as the crazy one.
235
00:12:26,491 --> 00:12:29,361
During the week he's in his white coat
at the emergency room.
236
00:12:29,361 --> 00:12:32,222
On Saturdays he volunteers
at the Green Cross
237
00:12:32,222 --> 00:12:34,382
and works with the elderly every so often.
238
00:12:34,382 --> 00:12:36,402
Service every Sunday, of course.
239
00:12:36,402 --> 00:12:39,602
I’m the one who made it all up.
240
00:12:39,602 --> 00:12:43,652
He has filed against me
in court: five lawsuits.
241
00:12:44,937 --> 00:12:46,907
My mother-in-law took it worse,
242
00:12:46,907 --> 00:12:49,097
now a sort of wild animal
with a wounded pride.
243
00:12:49,097 --> 00:12:51,415
She thought silence
would protect everyone.
244
00:12:51,415 --> 00:12:54,725
She thinks I’m a witch
to send to the asylum.
245
00:12:54,725 --> 00:12:57,317
She doesn’t understand
why I would stand up for myself,
246
00:12:57,317 --> 00:13:00,154
get rid of my country lady life
247
00:13:00,154 --> 00:13:03,504
to live in a suburban apartment
that needs a reprise.
248
00:13:04,094 --> 00:13:07,272
I’ve only whitewashed it,
she kept everything.
249
00:13:07,272 --> 00:13:08,692
I only have a few clothes.
250
00:13:08,692 --> 00:13:11,312
No jewellery at all, he never gave me any.
251
00:13:11,807 --> 00:13:13,307
My string of pearls?
252
00:13:13,307 --> 00:13:16,927
My mother's gift for my 18th birthday,
it’s a tradition in Piedmont.
253
00:13:18,276 --> 00:13:21,056
I’ve never gone back to that town,
it’s Andrea’s territory.
254
00:13:21,056 --> 00:13:24,926
I can’t go back to that house,
not even to get my things.
255
00:13:24,926 --> 00:13:27,366
I ran away from there.
256
00:13:27,366 --> 00:13:30,136
Two years ago it was June,
and schools were about to end.
257
00:13:30,136 --> 00:13:32,326
I barely picked up
my children’s report cards.
258
00:13:32,326 --> 00:13:34,896
One evening Andrea
had the night shift at the hospital.
259
00:13:34,896 --> 00:13:38,036
I took the children and left,
heading to Turin.
260
00:13:38,036 --> 00:13:39,816
We drove 80 kilometres in an old car
261
00:13:39,816 --> 00:13:44,516
that Andrea's lawyers
got back a few months later.
262
00:13:45,499 --> 00:13:49,119
We left no friends behind in the village,
neither me nor my children.
263
00:13:49,499 --> 00:13:53,499
We were isolated, because their father
never wanted anyone over.
264
00:13:53,499 --> 00:13:57,579
It's not been easy,
but I did it. We did it.
265
00:13:58,371 --> 00:14:00,631
Your Holiness, I am not
asking you for anything.
266
00:14:00,631 --> 00:14:03,350
I just wanted to tell you what happened.
267
00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:07,390
I go to to Church every Sunday,
and I take my children with me.
268
00:14:07,390 --> 00:14:10,530
They were accustomed
to that beautiful old church.
269
00:14:10,530 --> 00:14:13,710
After the service,
as the bells were chiming,
270
00:14:13,710 --> 00:14:17,030
we would go into the square,
enjoying a view of the Langhe.
271
00:14:17,190 --> 00:14:21,430
Now we go to the neighbourhood
parish, in Corso Francia.
272
00:14:22,326 --> 00:14:25,226
It’s not the same thing, but that’s fine.
273
00:14:26,456 --> 00:14:31,656
I spoke to a priest about my story,
one I happened to meet on a train.
274
00:14:31,676 --> 00:14:33,696
He made an impression on me.
275
00:14:33,696 --> 00:14:35,625
His name is Father Carlo Caroglio,
276
00:14:35,625 --> 00:14:37,975
and he said we must not
submit to violence.
277
00:14:37,975 --> 00:14:40,285
He is a city priest, modern.
278
00:14:40,285 --> 00:14:43,295
A native of Alessandria, he had lived
in Novara for many years.
279
00:14:44,325 --> 00:14:47,325
Before becoming a priest, he trained
as a chemical technologist.
280
00:14:47,325 --> 00:14:48,697
Just like you.
281
00:14:49,747 --> 00:14:52,267
Father Carlo was different
from the town priest,
282
00:14:52,267 --> 00:14:54,337
the one who keeps telling Andrea:
283
00:14:54,877 --> 00:14:58,297
“It’s not your fault
if your wife left you.
284
00:14:58,297 --> 00:15:01,177
A wife who leaves you doesn’t love you.
285
00:15:01,177 --> 00:15:04,247
She’s the one who should feel ashamed.
She’s not worthy of you.”
286
00:15:05,579 --> 00:15:07,559
Andrea would beat me,
287
00:15:07,559 --> 00:15:09,309
then he would go to the priest,
288
00:15:09,309 --> 00:15:11,059
said he was so sorry,
289
00:15:11,059 --> 00:15:12,829
and the priest would absolve him.
290
00:15:12,829 --> 00:15:15,909
That’s why Andrea now feels he’s right.
291
00:15:16,529 --> 00:15:19,749
Your Holiness, I have nothing more to say
– I don’t have time now.
292
00:15:19,749 --> 00:15:23,329
I trust in your goodness
and understanding.
293
00:15:23,899 --> 00:15:26,089
I have just one thing to ask:
294
00:15:27,045 --> 00:15:33,265
please, do not allow priests
to absolve violent men no matter what.
295
00:15:33,875 --> 00:15:37,485
My warmest regards, Ginevra.
296
00:15:38,128 --> 00:15:41,058
(Applause)