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Catholic World News News Feature

Vatican condemns "vile attacks," irresponsible rhetoric May 03, 2007

The Vatican has reacted angrily to criticism by an Italian performer at a May Day concert in Rome, suggesting that strident anti-Catholic rhetoric could prompt violence against the Church.

The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano condemned the "vile attacks" against the Church, inflaming passions in "an easily excitable crowd." The editorial was clearly referring to remarks by performer Andrea Rivera during the May Day concert, which was held outside the basilica of St. John Lateran.

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, followed up with a complaint that the "irreverent comment directed at the Pope and the Church during the May Day concert were clearly an act of irresponsibility."

L'Osservatore Romano had made the same point in much stronger language, charging: "It is an act of terrorism to stoke blind and irrational rage against someone who always speaks in the name of love." During the concert, Rivera had roused the crowd with a series of comments directed against the Church, drawing loud applause between songs with remarks such as a comment that "the Pope does not believe in evolution, and the Church has never evolved."

Church officials have been particularly sensitive to rhetorical attacks because of the threats that have been made against the life of Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, the president of the Italian bishops' conference, and the vandalism of several churches, particularly in Genoa. Leftist politicians have depicted the Church as the main obstacle to their effort to gain parliamentary approval for a bill granting legal recognition to same-sex unions. Church leaders fear that the harsh anti-Catholic rhetoric used during the May Day concert could prompt further acts of violence.

Father Lombardi remarked that both Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, had appealed for a de-escalation of political rhetoric. The Vatican press spokesman echoed their message, saying that "it would be as well for all of us to seek to diffuse tensions and to recreate the conditions for serene dialogue in our society."

The Radical, Green, and Communist Refoundation parties are defending Rivera’s comments. The senate leader of the Communist Refoundation Party, Giovanni Russo Spena, stated: "Honestly, L'Osservatore Romano is exaggerating."