Harmonija istinske duhovnosti

Diplomatska misija / Diplomatic Mission - Msgr. ORLANDO ANTONINI

Čast nam je što imamo priliku da razgovaramo sa njegovom ekselencijom, monsinjorom Antoninijem, ambasadorom Vatikana u Beogradu, ne samo zbog dužnosti koju on obavlja već i zato što je reč o izuzetnom eruditi, čoveku koji gaje mnog umetničke sklonosti i odiže životnim poletom.

Mnogo je predrasuda o ljudima koji su odabrali duhovnost i posvetili život Bogu, a posebno je uvrežen kliše o nadbiskupu, čoveku koji sedi u zatvorenoj mračnoj sobi punoj tajanstvenih knjiga koje kriju suštinske Svete tajne. S druge strane, vi ste videli mnogo toga i mnogo ste putovali – kako biste predstavili sebe našim čitaocima pošto odajete utisak modernog, renesansnog čoveka?

Nisam baš siguran da sam „moderan, renesansni čovek”, niti da su nadbiskupi božji ljudi „zatvoreni u mračnoj sobi punoj tajanstvenih knjiga, koje kriju suštinske Svete tajne”. Jednostavno, ja sam čovek kojeg je, odmalena, privukao Isus Hrist i njegove duhovne vrednosti, i podstaknut Njime i Njegovom ljubavlju prema čovečanstvu, želeo sam Njemu da posvetim život, ne kroz svoju porodicu i poziv, već kroz potragu za dobrim u drugima, kroz sveštenički celibat. Kasnije, sasvim neočekivano, moj biskup, koji je i sam služio kao apostolski nuncij, poslao me je u Rim, u diplomatsku službu pri Svetoj stolici, kojoj sam pristupio 1980. godine. Pretpostavljam da me nije izabrao zbog mog poznavanja arhitekture i muzičkog obrazovanja (na Konzervatorijumu sam studirao orgulje). Verovatno mislite da je kod mene primetio izvesne intelektualne sklonosti, ili veštinu da uspostavim dobre odnose sa raznim ljudima i saosećam s njima, kako sa onima iz visokih slojeva, tako i s onima iz nižih, sa onima na vlasti i sa stručnjacima, što olakšava rešavanje problema na licu mesta. U svakom slučaju, do tada nisam ni bio svestan toga...

Čovek otvorenog duha, znatiželjan um, prvo je što mi je prošlo kroz glavu u vezi s Vašom ekselencijom dok sam istraživala izvore pripremajući se ovaj za intervju. Zar to nije sjajna osnova za raznovrstan unutrašnji razvoj i put ka potpunom samoostvarenju? Da li se to uklapa u donekle stroga pravila religije?

Kao i mnogi, i Vi ste ubeđeni da naša „stroga religijska pravila” ne idu zajedno sa otvorenim duhom, radoznalim umom, unutrašnjim razvojem i samoostvarenjem... Meni iskustvo govori drugačije: zapravo, postoje tačno određene duhovne vrednosti, koje, kada se ispravno shvate i primene, dozvoljavaju našem duhu da bude otvoren, umu da bude radoznao i u stalnoj potrazi za novim saznanjima, a našem biću da raste i dosegne osećaj samoostvarenosti. Uzmite u obzir da su, kroz istoriju, mnogi veliki i izuzetni naučnici, umetnici i profesionalci iz polja kulture – bili ljudi iz crkve. Naša disciplina možda izgleda strogo, posebno mlađim naraštajima, ali ona je neophodna da bi se ostvarili dobri rezultati; bez discipline samo traćite vreme. Jer kada su moralni zakoni u pitanju, sposobnost da ih se pridržavamo ne zavisi od nas, već od Božje moći, ako ste mu bliski: „Jer je Bog što čini u vama da hoćete i učinite kao što Mu je ugodno”, napisao je Sveti Pavle, a to je suština onoga što je Sveti Jovan rekao: „Jer je ovo ljubav Božija da zapovesti Njegove držimo; i zapovesti Njegove nisu teške”, što potvrđuju i Isusove reči: „Jer jaram je moj blag, i breme je moje lako”. I nakon svega, iako mnogi imaju urođenu sposobnost da prevaziđu najveće izazove kako bi vodili život dostojan čoveka, velikodušni su, širokoumni i skromni, te su spremni na davanje i pružanje bezuslovne pomoći drugima bez taštine, drugi ljudi time nisu obdareni, i za njih vam treba izuzetna snaga, koju vam samo Bog može podariti.

Vaša ekselencijo, gde se bili u vreme zemljotresa u Akvili, Vašem rodnom gradu, 2009? Bila je to katastrofa u kojoj su mnogi stradali, tolika tragedija da se čovek zapita – kako je Bog dozvolio da se tako nešto desi...

Tako strašne trenutke nikada nisam iskusio. Bio sam u Paragvaju i isprva sam se premišljao da li da odem tamo, iz straha da ću svojoj porodici više biti na teretu nego od koristi tokom tih sedam dugih meseci koliko su, kao i svi koje je zadesila nesreća, živeli u kampovima. Naša kuća nije srušena, ali je bila veoma oštećena, okružena potpuno uništenim starim građevinama, sravnjenim sa zemljom. Na kraju sam odlučio da odem – stigao sam tamo četiri dana nakon zemljotresa – i to je bila ispravna odluka: samo moje prisustvo, kao i to što sam prevalio toliki put za kratko vreme, donelo je mojim sugrađanima olakšanje i zacelilo im rane, što sam primetio dok sam posećivao kampove i sretao se sa predstavnicima i građanskih i religijskih vlasti, kako onih lokalnih, tako i onih državnih. Sada sam, zahvaljujući amaterskom poznavanju arhitekture koje sam pokazao kroz svoje publikacije, čak uključen i u savetovanje u vezi sa rekonstrukcijom/obnovom grada i spomenika: ta nesreća bi mogla da se pretvori u zlatnu priliku da ispravimo urbanističke greške iz prošlosti i od Akvile napravimo lepši, uređeniji grad, bolji za život, da unapredimo turizam, stvorimo radna mesta i ekonomski oporavimo tu oblast. Razumljivo, pitate kako je Bog dozvolio da se takva katastrofa desi. Zapravo, to je najveće iskušenje naše vere: mnogi poriču postojanje Boga upravo zbog velikog zla koje vlada u svetu, naročito zbog patnje nevinih ljudi, što bi bilo neprihvatljivo da Bog postoji. U pravu ste, ali tu je i pitanje slobode: ako bi Bog intervenisao kako bi se izbeglo zlo, čovek ne bi bio slobodan, a ako nije slobodan, onda on više ne bi bio „životinja koja misli”, ne bi imao mogućnost izbora, a pre svega ne bi umeo da voli, jer da bi voleo, čovek mora biti potpuno slobodan. „Pred patnjom i žalošću”, rekao je papa Benedikt XVI kada je posetio Akvilu posle zemljotresa, „istinska mudrost ogleda se u sposobnosti da istoriju čovečanstva sagledate očima Boga, koji je uvek i jedino želeo dobro svojoj deci, iako ponekad, po njegovom nedokučivom planu, ona moraju da prođu kroz iskušenja kako bi dostigla veće dobro. Znam, ovakvo objašnjenje neće ubediti mnoge skeptike, ali bez Boga rešenje zagonetke neće biti lakše.

(Nastavak teksta u štampanom izdanju)

The Harmony of True Spirituality

It is an honor to be in the position to talk with Your Excellence, not only referring to the title of the position of Ambassador here in Belgrade, but also with a man of obvious erudition, many artistic inclinations and zest for life.

There are many prejudices about men dedicating their lives to spiritualism and God, especially the famous cliché of an Archbishop, closed in a somber space full of mysterious books hiding some Fundamental Secrets. On the other hand, you really saw a lot of this World, travelled a lot – how would you describe yourself to our readers, as you really seem to be a kind of a modern Renaissance-like man?

I do not know if really I am ‘a modern Renaissance-like man’, nor that the Archbishops are churchmen ‘closed in a somber space full of mysterious books hiding some Fundamental Secrets’. Simply, I am a man who since at young age was attracted by Jesus-Christ and his spiritual values, and, moved by him and his love for mankind, I wanted to dedicate my life to Him not through my own family and profession, but rather through the search of the good of others, in an unmarried priesthood. Later unexpectedly, my Bishop who had been himself an apostolic nuncio, sent me to Rome at the disposal of the diplomatic service of the Holy See in which I entered in 1980. To choose me, I suppose he certainly did not do that for my knowledge in architecture and my musical preparation (I was organist by Conservatory). Perhaps you think that he noticed in me particular intellectual interests, or facility to establish good relationships and empathy with all kinds of people, both high and law, public authorities and professionals, which objectively facilitate a smoother solution of the problems in place. In any case, until then I was not aware of that...

As an open spirit, a curious mind is the first epithet that crossed my mind doing a bit of a research for this interview that could describe your Excellence. Is it not that a great base for any kind of internal growth and a path for mature sense of self-realization, and does it agree with somewhat rigid religious rules, as we perceive them?

So like many you are also convinced that our ‘rigid religious rules’ don’t agree with an open spirit, a curious mind, internal growth and self-realization… My experience says the contrary: in fact, there are precisely the spiritual values, rightly understood and lived, which allow our spirit to be open, our mind to be curious and always in search, and our life to grow and reach its self-realization. Please note that in the history among the greatest outstanding scientists, culture professionals and artists, many were churchmen. Our discipline can seem rigid, especially to the youth, but is necessary to have good results in life; without discipline you waste your time. For what the morals concern, in any case, the capacity of its observance depends not on ours, but in God’s power, if you are close to him: it is God in fact – writes St. Paul – “who raises in you to will and to act”, and it is in that sense that St. John can say: “The commandments are not burdensome”, and Jesus himself: “My joke is easy and my burden is light”. After all, and although many human beings have some natural virtues, to overcome the greatest challenges in humanistic approach to life and to have a generous heart, an open mind, modesty and readiness to give and help the other without vanity and expectance of reciprocity, with other human beings not naturally virtuous you need a superior capacity, which only God can provide you.

Where was your Excellence during the earthquake in L’Aquila in 2009, your hometown? It was a disastrous loss of lives; a real tragedy… one always asks himself - how God can even allow such catastrophes…

I didn’t experienced the terrible moment of the big one. I was in Paraguay, doubting in a first moment if I had to go or not, for fear to be, to my family, of more burden than help – for seven long months, like all our affected people they were living in the camps of tents. Our house didn’t collapse but it was completely damaged, surrounded by the ruins of totally destroyed ancient buildings. Finally, I decided to go – four days after the earthquake I was there – and it was a good decision: my presence itself, rushed from so far away, gave relief and wound care to my people, visiting camps and meeting also with civil and religious authorities, both local and national. Now, thanks to my architecture amateurism known through my publications, I am even committed in giving cultural proposals about the reconstruction/restoration of the town and monuments: the tragedy can be turned in a golden chance to correct the urban mistakes of the past and make L’Aquila a nicer smart city, for a better quality of life and to promote tourism, create workplaces and so allowing the economic recovery of the area. Understandably, you ask how God can allow such catastrophes? Actually this is the biggest challenge for our faith: many deny the existence of God precisely for the presence of evil in the world, especially the sufferings of the innocents, which seems unacceptable if God exists. Yes, but there is also the problem of freedom: if God intervenes to avoid evil, man would be not free, and if he is not free he would not be a ‘rational animal’, he would not make choices, in particular he would not love, for love requires necessarily total freedom. “In the presence of suffering and bereavement – said pope Benedict XVI visiting L’Aquila after the earthquake – true wisdom is to read human history through the eyes of God, who always and only wanting the good of his children, for inscrutable plan of his love sometimes allows them to be tried through suffering to lead them to a greater good”. I know, this explanation doesn’t convince so much doubters, but without God the solution of the enigma would not be easier.

(Continue reading more in printed edition)