Fr. Alessandro Zanotelli turns 80

Fr. Alex Zanotelli at 80

- Fr. Alex, you just turned 80. How would you sum up your life?

I am happy. I am happy to have given my life for the marginalized, the poorest of the poor, those who do not count in society, remembering the advice of Jesus: if you keep your life for yourself, you are already dead. If you dare to give it to others, then you live. I staked all my life on this teaching by Jesus. And, at 80, I feel as alive as ever.

- Do you have any regrets? Something you would have liked to do and didn’t make it?

Many are the things I would have liked to have done, and didn’t do. But life is not lived to do things, but to be spent for a just cause: the others.

- Did you ever regret choices you made?

No. I lost many battles, but even though we are defeated when we are the voice of a minority, I never regretted the choices I made and the paths I walked.

- Which defeat weighs heaviest on you?

That I did not win the battle in favor of the poor. We are all part of a system that allows the eight richest people in the world to own as much as 3.6 billion poor people around the world. The Davos statistics tell us that 1% of the world population owns more wealth than the other 99%. I spent my life for the marginalized, but I have not been able to even nick people’s consciences. For me, this is a burdensome defeat. Wealth and poverty in Mumbai.

- Who has been the most important influence in your life?

My Dad. There were seven of us, brothers and sisters, and he would say: Always be proud of yourselves. I can do it, because I never bowed to anyone. He was against Fascism and the militia tried to shoot him down, but he was able to get away. He carried a bullet in his right arm as long as he lived. And then my mother, she was the other great model in my life. Her example marked me deeply.

- And among the people you met in your life, whom do you remember most?

I have been influenced by great witnesses. When I was studying in the United States, it was Martin Luther King, for example. Then it was Desmond Tutu fighting against apartheid. And in Latin America, people like Bishop Helder Camara of Recife.

- Fr. Alex, why did you become a priest?

Ever since I was a young boy, I always felt that life is beautiful if you give it for something great. Then, one day, a Comboni Missionary came through Livo, in Val di Non, where I lived and said: Why don’t you come to Africa with us? My adventure with Comboni started there…

- Things have changed since then […]. The churches are empty, the priests are old and tired. What happened?

The heart of the problem is human emptiness, even before being a Christian problem […] There used to be a feeling of social solidarity, but today I do not sense a feeling of community. If the human soul of a community dies, so does the Christian spirit. Today Europe is pagan again. I think it’s time to do mission in Europe. Even the Church needs to make a serious examination of conscience on what it has done and on what it has not done.

- But there has to be something good remaining in our valleys.

Yes, I still see the generosity of the people. This is positive. But I notice that it is easy to be generous when we speak of adoption at a distance, but not so much when we want to welcome our refugee and immigrant brothers and sisters.

- Do you still find faith in our communities?

When I went to live in the slum of Korogocho, near Nairobi, I had my own doubts. I was about to side with Marx on religion as the opium of the people. But in Africa, the poor converted me. Their faith was so much deeper than mine. In them I saw the strength of life and, since I believe in the God of life, this vital strength is life, which over here many have lost.

- Then, is there any use for religion today?

Today the West needs religion, God, more than ever. If we do not show them the face of God, they will look for surrogates. The human person is certainly a political and economic animal, but is above all religious. It looks for meaning in things.

- If there is this need, why can’t the Church answer it?

In the West, the Church has become part of the system: this is the problem. Look at Poland where, rosary in hand, efforts are made to reject the hungry who knock at the door of hospitality. We married the system and it uses the Church. They will come from the south of the world to convert us.

- Fr. Alex, are you afraid of death?

(A moment of silence) No, I am at peace. I have loved life so much, risking it for others, that I feel alive, even at 80.

- How do you imagine the Beyond?

I believe in the God of life, and I that’s what waiting for me.

[…]

- You spent eight years in Sudan, 11 in Kenya. Do you miss Africa?

Yes, a lot. Here at home we have no clue of the humanity the poor have. This is why I have settled in the Sanità area of Naples in Italy. Because this is where mission with the poor is. Humanly speaking I deeply miss Africa. The poor know how to show you their support, even with simple gestures. Here instead we live in isolation, in a consumeristic society that has turned us into commodities.

- Fr. Alex, for the last 14 years you have been living in Naples surrounded by crime and drug trafficking. How can you speak of hope?

Hope starts from within us, if we succeed in changing ourselves. We start from the peripheries. I fight to have schools in Naples, opened all day. This is the only way to stop the largest drug trafficking center in Europe.

- Does Africa have a future? China, India, Russia are grabbing a lot of territory and investing a lot in Africa. What do you think?

Yes, the rape of Africa continues. On top of that you have climate change and desertification. By 2050 in Europe we will have 250 million climate change refugees, 50 million just from Africa. Temperatures will increase and make many areas uninhabitable… We should help Africans at home. But our politicians only go to Africa to look for oil and minerals. Last year alone we gave Africa weapons for a total of €10 billion. Is this the way to help Africa? By helping to kill one another? Then you wonder why people run away from there.

- This coming Sunday you turn 80. How will you celebrate?

I will be with the young people of my neighborhood here in Naples. We will have some bible study. Hope comes from them. There are still many great young people around.

- What are your projects for the future? Naples, Africa, your hometown?

Not my hometown. I am thinking of asking my superiors to let me go back to Africa. It is my dream. Even though I realize that the priorities of mission are now here, in the slums of our cities, to witness to alternative life styles. To give hope.

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