"Today, in front of Martina, we must all take on a collective responsibility. Today we must commit ourselves so that everyone, young and old, is clear that love is not possession. Love is not control. Love is not dependence. True love sets you free. True love does not hold back, does not force, does not punish ."
The homily of the Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, was moving at the funeral of Martina Carbonaro, the 14-year-old girl killed by her 19-year-old ex-boyfriend Alessio Tucci in Afragola . "If loving hurts you, it's not love. If for love you have to annul yourself, it's not love. If for love you end up hurting, it's not love but only violence. And violence is never justifiable." "And I also want to speak to adults - the appeal -. To us. Parents, educators, priests, trainers, politicians. What kind of world are we building for these kids ? What tools are we giving them to read emotions, to deal with disappointment, to overcome frustration? How are we accompanying them to become men and women capable of respect, tenderness, freedom?", he added. "We can no longer postpone. We can no longer say 'it happens to others'. It happened here. To Martina. At 14 years old. And that must be enough," he concluded.
Also at the funeral was the prefect of Naples, Michele di Bari: "We witness acts of unheard-of violence. Often, things happen that leave us stunned." "An act of responsibility is needed by adults, here no one should back down." For the prefect, "we need to face reality for what it is. There is an educational void that has targeted a generation. There is not a day that a deplorable fact does not happen ."
After the funeral ceremony, when the coffin left the church accompanied by the victim's parents, after a long applause many shouted "Justice, justice". Then hundreds of white balloons, held by boys wearing a t-shirt with the girl's face and the words "Ciao Martina", went up in the air.
(Online Union)