_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Italy_______________
A superior civilization?
Prelate takes issue with politician’s statement
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi caused an uproar in Italy when, in a discussion of tensions between the Christian West and the world of Islam, he unabashedly voiced his opinion that Western culture is clearly superior. Criticism of the Italian leader came not only from the familiar critics of European traditions, but also from an unexpected source: Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger.
The prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explained to the Italian daily La Repubblica that Berlusconi’s statement had been too broad to be accurate. “One cannot speak of the superiority of one culture over another, because history has shown that a society can change from one age to another,” the cardinal remarked. If by “superiority” the Italian prime minister meant cultural dominance, the prelate suggested that at various times in the past several centuries, Islam has been more vigorous than other cultures, while at other times Western Christian culture has clearly had the greater energy.
Cardinal Ratzinger also pointed out that the evaluation of a culture is a “very complex” issue, and it is simplistic to suggest that one culture is dominant without making a series of careful distinctions. Islamic culture, for example, has made enormous contributions to mathematics, medicine, sciences, and architecture, he observed. In recent centuries, the cardinal continued, Islam has undergone “forms of decadence” at a time when Western culture was becoming more robust and energetic.
A reassuring miracle
Italians take comfort in a familiar phenomenon
The familiar “miracle of St. Januarius”—the liquefaction of the blood of the 4th-century martyr—occurred once again in Naples on the saint’s feast day, September 19.
Cardinal Michele Giordano of Naples presided at a ceremony in the city’s cathedral, before several thousand people, as the vial containing the preserved blood of the martyr was displayed. As the cardinal certified that the miracle had occurred, there was hearty applause among the faithful.
According to a popular tradition, the liquefaction is a sign of assurance that the year will be free from disasters. (One of the rare years in which the miracle did not occur was 1939, the year that saw the beginning of World War II.) Cardinal Giordano prayed that this augury would prove accurate, and “new conflicts in the world will be avoided.” He prayed also that world leaders would display wisdom in responding to crises—an obvious reference to the fact that, at the time, the world was awaiting an American military response to the terror attack of September 11.
St. Januarius, who died in the persecutions under the Emperor Diocletian, is the patron of Naples.
Science over politics
Vatican Radio gets a clean bill of health
An international panel of scientists has rejected the charges that electromagnetic emissions from Vatican Radio could be blamed for slightly elevated rates of leukemia in the neighborhood surrounding the transmitter.
The investigators’ report, based on a 5-month study, found “no evidence of a correlation between exposure to electromagnetic fields and the development of leukemia.” The report puts to rest complaints that were raised during Italy’s national election campaign, and gave rise to a series of angry demonstrations against the Vatican Radio headquarters.
Vatican Radio officials had argued that there was no scientific basis for the charges, and pointed out that the statistics showing a higher cancer rate in the neighborhood were badly flawed. Nonetheless, in an effort to stave off controversy, the broadcasters agreed to reduce the power of electromagnetic emissions from the main transmitter. The radio station is now in full conformity with tough Italian standards governing electromagnetic emissions. Whether those regulatory standards will now remain in place, in the absence of scientific evidence to justify them, remains an open question.
Back to Catholic World Report November 2001 Table of Contents