Giorgio La Pira
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Born | 9 January 1904 |
Died | 5 November 1977 (Age 73) |
Nationality | Italian |
Religion | Catholic |
Party | Christian Democracy (Italy) |
Italian Christian Democracy politician, on the left wing of the party, who attended Bilderberg/1957. With contacts with Christians on the other side of the Iron Curtain, he attended the 1957 Bilderberg meeting.
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Giorgio La Pira was an Italian Christian Democrat politician who was Mayor of Florence. A fervent Catholic (during his tenure he was nicknamed the "holy mayor"), a prominent representative of social Christianity, in his work he promoted political dialogue, peace among peoples, ecumenism, charity and respect for human dignity. With contacts with Christians on the other side the Iron Curtain, he attended the 1957 Bilderberg meeting.
Early life
La Pira came from Pozzallo near Ragusa in Sicily. He studied law in Florence and at an early age belonged to the third order of the Dominicans, the secular branch of this Catholic order.
Already in the 1920s he was an opponent of Italian fascism and a champion of democracy. In 1937 he became professor of Roman law in Florence.
His criticism of fascism persisted. It became even stronger when Benito Mussolini introduced the racial laws of 1938, and entered World War 2|the war in 1940.[1] after Italian police raided his offices on the September 29, 1943, La Pira escaped to Siena and then to Rome. The On September 30, the governorship of Vatican City issued identification document as an employee of L'osservatore Romano to keep him safe. He returned to Florence in September 1944 after the Germans had left.
At a national congress held in Assisi in 1942, he spoke in praise of "the peace that builds" and of "the love that rebuilds". La Pira also rejected the criticism of Luigi Sturzo of an alleged economic statism and "white communism"[2]
Politics
After World War II, he participated in the Constituent Assembly and co-authored the Italian constitution. He joined the Christian Democratic Party (DC). In 1948 he became state secretary in the Ministry of Labor.
He was mayor of Florence from 1950 to 1956, and from 1960 to 1964. He was an advocate of a cooperation between the "Abrahamic faiths" (i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam). He belonged to the centre-left group within DC around the magazine Cronache Sociali, which advocated a centre-left coalition (centrosinistra) with the progressive (the smaller of the Social Democratic) parties. La Pira worked for reconciliation between East and West during the Cold War. For example, in 1951 he begged Stalin for peace in Korea.
La Pira was a staunch advocate of peace and made several journeys to places such as the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union that were sometimes considered to be controversial. He also traveled to Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam. These visits were conducted to discuss peace projects and ending conflicts.
La Pira also gave priority to ecumenism as a reason to visit Moscow, where he often met with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.[3]
Even as a citizen without public office, he continued to work for peace. Among other things, he was involved in the discussions on disarmament that led to the Helsinki Declaration. La Pira led a very simple life, inspired by deep faith.
In October 1963, Dorothy Day described La Pira as "a saint in politics" who" took the unused housing of the rich to make homes for the poor." La Pira's close friend Pope Paul VI characterized him as "the example every Christian should keep in mind during his earthly journey towards the kingdom of God", in his speech at a general audience on November 9, 1977. Pope John Paul II later remarked that La Pira was"an exemplary lay Christian".[4][5]
The process for his beatification began in 1986.
Event Participated in
Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
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Bilderberg/1957 October | 4 October 1957 | 6 October 1957 | Italy Fiuggi | The 6th Bilderberg meeting, the latest ever in the year and the first one in Italy. |
References
- ↑ http://www.theflorentine.net/lifestyle/2010/04/giorgio-la-pira/
- ↑ http://www.30giorni.it/articoli_id_3170_l3.htm
- ↑ http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/j051ht_LaPira_3.html
- ↑ http://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/j049ht_LaPira_1.html
- ↑ https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/2004/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20041101_archbishop-florence.html