A FLOWER FOR ALFREDO ORMAndo
Tuesday, January 13, 2009, 1:00 PM
Piazza Pio XII
(near St. Peter's Square)
Let's meet and bring a flower so we never forget
‘'A Flower for Alfredo Ormando'’: it is the initiative organized by Arcigay for the January 13, 2009 at 1:00 PM in Piazza Pio XII (near St. Peter's Square) to remember Alfredo Ormando, a Sicilian intellectual, who on January 13, 1998, took his own life by setting himself on fire in St. Peter's Square in Rome to protest against the homophobia of the Vatican hierarchy.
This is about the 11th World Day for Dialogue between Religions and Homosexuality‘: an event that represents, for the homosexual community, an important moment of reflection on the relationship that religions have with homosexuality.
""Remembering Alfredo Ormando – declares Aurelio Mancuso, national president of Arcigay – means honoring his memory and that of all those in our country who suffer because of the homophobic positions of the Catholic Church. Alfredo set himself on fire eleven years ago under Bernini's colonnade, denouncing how, as a believing homosexual, he now considered the stigma of the Catholic hierarchy towards his condition unbearable. Even today, hundreds of thousands of gay lay believers and priests are marginalized, discriminated against, and silenced.".
""With this initiative – he states Fabrizio Marrazzo, president of Arcigay Roma – we want to remember an important and complex figure like Alfredo Ormando, but it is also our way of to pay homage to and support all those lesbian and gay people who are persecuted by religious fanaticism. In many Muslim countries, homosexuality is punishable by torture or even death. And we cannot forget the Vatican's position in opposing the decriminalization of homosexuality at the UN. We want to forcefully reiterate our opposition to any form of persecution of this kind and engage in dialogue with those who, even by virtue of their faith, want to fight discrimination.
