Carlo Casini, the spiritual leader of all pro-lifers in Italy and in Europe, died on the 23rd of March at the age of 85.
Although being affected by ALS during the last three years of his life, he had been continuing a silent service to life; it was the completion of a total and passional service, started 45 years before, when, as a young magistrate in Florence, he get involved in the case of the first abortion clinic in Italy to be advertised, despite being at that time illegal.
Catholics in Florence responded by opening the first Italian Centre for Mothers, to offer services aimed at preventing abortion. This was the first of a long series of Centres, which spread all over the Country.
After the first shy pro-abortion sentence of the Constitutional Court in 1975 and the chemical disaster of Seveso in 1976, which paved the way for the recognition of “therapeutic” abortions, the time was ripe for the formal legalization of abortion in Italy.
In an unsuccessful attempt to prevent its approval, Carlo Casini launched a Popular Legislative Initiative against abortion. Despite the enormous number of signatures collected, the legislative proposal was never examined. Nevertheless, this extensive mobilization permitted the birth of the Italian Movimento per la Vita (Pro-life Movement).
After the approval of the abortion law in 1978, Carlo was among those who promoted the referendum for its abrogation, the vote for which was delayed to 1981, in order to anesthetize public sensitivity.
In 1979, Carlo Casini started a long political career among Christian Democrats, re-elected until 2014 first to the Italian Parliament and then to the European Parliament,.
Although he did not obtain any tangible pro-life victories, he nevertheless proved to be a powerful voice when advocating for life. This contributed in the creation of a network of European politicians which later on served as the basis for the European Federation “One of Us”. This got his name from the homonymous campaign for a Citizens’ Initiative aimed to recognize that the embryo was a human being: one of us! Despite collecting more than 1.500.000 signatures, the European Commission refused to examine the people’s appeal.
Carlo’s life was marked by important encounters, such as Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Jérôme Lejeune, John Paul II, Card. Elio Sgreccia and Giorgio La Pira, the visionary Mayor of Florence,.
Together with them, Carlo Casini tried to antagonize the rising tide of individualism which was sweeping away the dam of solidarity, the wave of ethic relativism promoting individual instincts, the reduction of human life from precious gift to good for consumption, the transformation of the ethics of responsibility into the new dogma of self-determination, the substitution of the struggle for human rights (intrinsic and inalienable) with that for civil rights (granted by the majority in power of the polis).
Along with Giorgio La Pira, Carlo Casini was deeply convinced that it was necessary to promote a new humanism in a society made sick by utilitarianism and violence. He believed that the right to life was the fundament of every other constitutional right and the basis for democracy. He thought the “ethical” debate about the respect of life should have been considered the basis of every “social” debate, because the response to the of equality and non discrimination depended on it and all the rights which permit us to live equal and free inside our community derived from it.
Through his juridical studies, his intense public activity, the social action of the network of the Centres for Life and of the houses hosting mothers in distress, as well as the foundation “Progetto Gemma” for the financial support of pregnant women in need, Carlo effectively promoted the culture of life and of hospitality.
Time elapsed and new challenges appeared: the chemical abortion with RU-486, the abortion misunderstood as contraception caused by ellaOne and the other morning-after pills, the exploitation of poverty among women with surrogate pregnancy and the market of oocytes, the increasing restrictions to the right of conscientious objection, the new colonialism of gender ideology, easily upgraded to assisted suicide in Italy, the new eugenics, the imminent defeat of the new humanism under the attack of transhumanism. Many of these challenges found powerful support in the legislation and recommendations of the EU institutions, which engaged in promoting every sort of attacks to human life, disguising them as reproductive health, gender equality, women empowerment , compassion, best interest of the patient, quality check of embryo health, etc. In order to cancel every residual cultural resistance, the same powers are able to distribute important funds for educational and research, provided they are “politically correct”. This includes, among others, those on stem cells causing the destruction of embryos.
Carlo passed over in a moment when several of these issues have already succeeded in fogging the mind of many Catholics, numbing the consciences of too many catholic politicians and even using use the unmentionable want of part of the clergy to avoid any conflict with the secular mentality.
I am convinced that he wouldn’t have been at ease in a time when the debate about life is reduced to a battle between the violence of the Masonic power dominating the media and the sectarian fundamentalism of some pro-lifers.
His testament and the passion that animated him in his lifetime battles will remain with us.
It has been a great privilege for me to have known him since I was a young physician. It was also an honour to collaborate with him during my double term at the presidency of FIAMC,
to serve together as members of the Pontifical Academy for Life and to be his successor to the head of the Italian Movimento per la Vita. Finally, I followed his way as a member of the Italian Parliament, having the unpleasant role to guide the slim opposition during the debate for the bipartisan approval of the law on the civil unions between same sex persons and that on the living will and the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments.
He always had a great consideration for the physicians, believing that they were the first protectors and defenders of human life and the strongest influencer of society in the promotion of the dignity of every human being.
He was a teacher and a mentor to me and taught me to never surrender to the inhuman ideologies and to the culture of death. He has planted durable seeds for the future
Carlo left us in the days of the pandemics. One might hope that the mass exposure to death in the days of coronavirus will educate our society to a new respect for life in danger and favour the growth of a new solidarity towards the life of the frailest ones among us.
In 2014, when receiving the mothers supported by the volunteers of the Centres for the Help to Life, Pope Francis told Carlo that when entering the doors of Heaven, he would certainly found many children waiting him.
While thanking him and saying goodbye, I express the wish that he will there for me when my time will come.
Gian Luigi Gigli
Past President FIAMC
Udine, 24 Marzo 2020
