GREAT HOMILY BY THE METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN: «WHO WAS SILVIO BERLUSCONI? A MAN"

«Silvio Berlusconi was certainly a politician, he was certainly a businessman, he was certainly a character in the limelight of notoriety. But in this moment of leave and prayer, what can we say about Silvio Berlusconi? It was a man: a desire for life, a desire for love, a desire for joy. And now we celebrate the mystery of fulfillment. Here's what I can say about Silvio Berlusconi. He is a man and now he meets God".

— Liturgical ministry —

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We pastors in the care of souls get used to going up to the pulpits and preaching, we know that there are moments and particular situations in which it is not easy to give an appropriate homily, as in the case of the funeral of Silvio Berlusconi celebrated today in the Cathedral of Milan. Someone might think that the delicacy could be given by the complex personality of the deceased, a man who for several decades rode the national and international political scene. To follow with the presence of the highest state authorities, from the President of the Republic to the Prime Minister. Situations in which it is not allowed, I don't say a word, but not even a wrong sigh. However, this is not the difficulty, even if in more or less similar circumstances several bishops and priests have solved the problem by saying more or less everything without saying anything, thus avoiding any possible problems.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Milan, S. AND. Mons. Mario Delpini, instead he was able to give a truly grandiose homily that brought everyone back down to earth in this aria of beatification of the late Knight, whose figure is part of the history of Italy and for this reason will be the subject of in-depth studies by historians and geopolitical experts for decades and decades. The Ambrosian Archbishop focused on something else: about the man Silvio Berlusconi who was undoubtedly a successful businessman, a politician who presided over the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic for four terms, a histrionic character gifted with a rare and extraordinary sense of self-irony, so much so that he repeatedly declared: «Many are tired of making fun of me, forgetting that I fool myself and that no one can do it as well as me".

Before this complex and even controversial figure, the Ambrosian Archbishop did not hide behind the “say nothing”, but he said it all by building his entire speech on this rhetorical question: «What can we say about Silvio Berlusconi?». Giving the answer right away: "It was a man". And the Ambrosian Archbishop spoke of the man with a Christian poetics that can be applied both to a celebrity like Silvio Berlusconi, or to the last of the elderly who died forgotten in a geriatric ward: a man.

Florence, 14 June 2023

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Full text of the homily of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Milan

Live

Live. Live and love life. Live and desire a full life. To live and wish that life was good, beautiful for yourself and for loved ones. Living and understanding life as an opportunity to put the talents received to good use. Living and accepting the challenges of life. Living and going through difficult moments in life. Live and resist and don't let defeats bring you down and believe that there is always a hope of victory, of ransom, of life. To live and desire a life that never ends and have courage and trust and believe that there is always a way out even from the darkest valley. Live and not shirk the challenges, to contrasts, to insults, to criticism, and keep smiling, to challenge, to counter, to laugh at insults. To live and feel the forces run out, live and suffer the decline and keep smiling, to try, to try a way to live again. That's what can be said about a man: a desire for life, which finds its judgment and fulfillment in God.

To love and be loved

Loving and wanting to be loved. Loving and looking for love, like a promise of life, like a complicated story, like a compromised fidelity. Desiring to be loved and fearing that love can only be a concession, a condescension, a stormy and precarious passion. To love and to want to be loved forever and to experience the disappointments of love and to hope that there might be a way to a higher love, harder, bigger. Loving and walking the paths of dedication. To love and to hope. Loving and trusting. Love and surrender. This is what can be said of man: a desire for love, which finds its judgment and fulfillment in God.

To be happy

Be happy and love the holidays. Enjoy the beauty of life. Being happy without too many thoughts and without too many anxieties. To be happy with lifelong friends. Be happy with companies that give satisfaction. Being happy and wanting others to be happy too. Being happy with yourself and being surprised that others are not happy. Be happy with good things, some beautiful moments, of the applause of the people, praise from supporters. Enjoy the company. Be happy with the smallest things that make you smile, of the nice gesture, of the rewarding result. Being happy and experiencing that joy is precarious. Being happy and feeling the insinuation of a dark threat that covers the things that make you happy with greyness. Being happy and feeling lost in the face of the irremediable exhaustion of joy. This is what can be said of man: a desire for joy, which finds its judgment and fulfillment in God

I'm looking for the man

When a man is a businessman, then try to do business. It therefore has customers and competitors. It has moments of success and moments of failure. He ventures into reckless enterprises. Look at the numbers not the criteria. He has to do business. He cannot trust others too much and knows that others don't trust him too much. He is a businessman and must do business. When a man is a politician, then try to win. It has supporters and opponents. There are those who exalt it and those who cannot bear it. A politician is always a partisan. When a man is a character, then it is always on stage. It has admirers and detractors. It has those who applaud it and those who hate it. Silvio Berlusconi was certainly a politician, he was certainly a businessman, he was certainly a character in the limelight of notoriety. But in this moment of leave and prayer, what can we say about Silvio Berlusconi? It was a man: a desire for life, a desire for love, a desire for joy. And now we celebrate the mystery of fulfillment. Here's what I can say about Silvio Berlusconi. He is a man and now he meets God.

Metropolitan Cathedral of Milan, 14 June 2023

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