My journey in social apostolate
The testimony of Paola Piazzi, President of the Jesuit Social Network.
IMy first meeting with the “excluded” took place thanks to the scout movement of which I formed part from 1975 to 2001.Three words describe their style: street, community and service. After the formation period, I chose to take the “venture”, to dedicate my life to the service of others. I was 19. Fr. Fabrizio Valletti SJ accompanied me throughout my formation. It was he who told me about his activity inside the Bologna prison. So, having slowed down my service in the education field within the scouts, I decided to commit myself to this new area. Since 1998, every Saturday, together with 3/4 young people from the “Il Poggeschi per il carcere” association, I met the inmates of the “High Security” section where the “mafia” are held in a secluded area. We talk about and discuss the Sunday Gospel together or meet the prisoners individually if they ask for it.
It is a very rich experience on a human and spiritual level, but also on a political and social one. The issues that emerge are complex. They require preparation, listening skills, a non-judgemental attitude, careful and analytical reading of circumstances and social contexts; it requires empathy and openness. The question I was confronted with is, “doesn’t my standing by them become condescension toward their Mafia mentality? Doesn’t it make me more forgiving of their life conduct by learning about their personal stories? How much do I need to make it clear that I condemn their way of thinking and acting? The association I am part of is mainly made up of university students and young workers, who are accompanied by us adults, to help them live this experience as an opportunity for growth and awareness. Many declare themselves non-believers, but willing to get involved, to dedicate their time to those who suffer. Thus, they gradually become aware of the spiritual dimension of their service to the poor. Many of the detainees also declare that they are non-believers or that they do not belong to any religion, but they are willing to get involved and dedicate their time to those who suffer. It is perhaps through this experience of proximity that some of them become more aware of the spiritual dimension of their service to the poor.
Even many of the inmates I meet say they do not believe or belong to other religions, or live their faith only in the form of external devotion, but I have been fortunate enough to see real change in some of those I have accompanied for years.T hey were just waiting to find the right opportunity and the right people with whom to take this step. My journey in the social apostolate could not have lasted so many years if I did not feel God constantly close to me as a discreet, silent, attentive and participatory presence in my life. In all these years I have seen so many people, after the initial impetus, confronted with difficulties, disappointments, failures suffered, not finding the reasons and the sense to continue a service that seems not to give great results. There is no lack of desolation and fatigue when it seems that no goal is being reached. In the people I accompany I see small improvements and then suddenly a dramatic backslide in front of which I remain helpless.
The work done day after day, which has also given many small gratifications and feedback on the goodness of the road taken, clashes with human frailty that leads again to get lost. It is natural to judge, to say “enough!”, “Make way without me!”. Then I think of the image of the “useless servant” when he has done all he can and I say that I am still a “useful servant” in God’s vineyard. I am grateful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity to live my life in the service of others and to support me in this every day. I feel that I still have a lot to give, that the Lord is still asking me for much more, that I must not stop at the challenges I have to face every day, that bigger and better ones are waiting for me and I am counting on the fact that I will not be alone to live and face them.
Paola Piazzi
