Terdapat kira-kira 11,500 orang penduduk di Ponzano, dengan jumlah keluarga imigran sebanyak 232 menjadikan jumlah kasar penduduk Islam sekitar 650 orang. Kebanyakan mereka datangnya dari Negara-negara Afrika Utara dan Eropah Timur. Dua tahun lalu, Don Aldo memutuskan untuk membenarkan imigran-imigran Muslim menggunakan beberapa bahagian dalam gereja. Pada setiap hari Jumaat, purata kehadiran penganut islam untuk bersembahyang adalah sebanyak 200 orang. Tapi dalam bulan Ramadan, jumlahnya meningkat ke 1000-1200. “Mereka minta kebenaran dan saya kata ya, lagipun, bahagian dapur dan dewan dah penuh dengan sarang labah”.
Keputusan Don Aldo itu telah menimbulkan rasa tidak puas-hati di kalangan beberapa orang ahli kariah. Terdapat juga bantahan di kalangan bishop tempatan dan paderi yang sampai ke pengetahuannya. “Saya belum lagi meminta kebenaran dari bishop, kerana pada saya ia adalah satu bentuk kebajikan. Kebenaran tak diperlukan untuk buat kebajikan. Selain dari itu, saya lebih tua dari bishop tersebut dan juga, pernah menjadi professor beliau di seminary (sekolah paderi). Sekalipun jika dia melarang saya, saya tidak akan berganjak,”kata Don Aldo dalam nada tegas. Dia tidak ragu-ragu untuk berkata, “Orang Islam yang bersembahyang adalah lebih baik dari orang Kristian yang tidak sembahyang. Anda silap jika menggelar saya seorang yang bersikap perkauman,”. Dalam masa dua tahun yang lalu, Don Aldo telah menerima email dan surat –surat yang menasihati beliau supaya “terus kekal bersama jamaah kariahnya”. Menurut Don Aldo lagi, “pope menggesa supaya pintu dibuka untuk Nabi Isa: Nabi Isa juga berada bersama orang Islam.”
Akhir-akhir ini, Itali menjadi destinasi kegemaran imigran terutamanya, dari kalangan beragama Islam dari Afrika Utara dan Eropah Timur. Berhubung dengan situasi ini, masyarakat awam mempunyai pendapat yang berbeza. “Akhirnya, satu isyarat jelas tentang keterbukaan dan penerimaan’, kata seorang dari mereka. “Tak guna untuk bercakap tentang keterbukaan dan kemudian tidak mengamalkannya apabila diri sendiri mempunyai prasangka. Paderi begini membuat kami percaya tentang masa depan,” tulis yang lain. “Perkara yang paling menyedihkan ialah apabila bilangan jemaah pada hari Jumaat lebih ramai dari jemaah hari Ahad”, komen yang lain. “Harap-harap pastor tidak masuk Islam”, sindir seorang lagi. Sungguhpun begitu, majoriti orang awam menyokong pastor Don Aldo. Dalam arus perubahan globalisasi, Itali beransur-ansur dapat membiasakan diri dengan imigran-imigran yang berlainan agama dan budaya. Kes-kes seperti ini telah membawa kepada bertambahnya perdebatan tentang integrasi dan imigrasi di peringkat kawasan dan kebangsaan, dan ini sangat penting bagi Itali, yang mana di dalamnya terletak Jantung Agama Kristian.
A Catholic Church turns into a mosque every Friday, to enable the Muslim believers to offer their Jumha prayers. In the parish of Our Lady of Assumption of Ponzano Veneto near Venice, the romantic city of Italy, the main hall is converted for use for Jumah prayers.The pastor of the parish, Don Aldo Danieli, 71, affirms, "It's useless to speak of religious dialogue and then bang the door on their face. Pope John Paul II addressed them as, 'dear Muslim brothers'. How can we close our church doors to them?"
At Ponzano, there live some 11,500 people of whom 232 families are immigrants, making their number roughly 650. These are mainly immigrants from North African countries and Eastern Europe. Two years ago, Don Aldo decided to open the doors of the church to these Muslim immigrants and keep a portion of his own parochial house, including a kitchen at their disposal. On Fridays, an average of 200 Muslim believers gather in the church and offer prayers. But in the month of Ramadan, the number swells to 1000-1200. "They requested me and I said yes, moreover, the kitchen and hall were a home for spiders".
The decision of Don Aldo has disturbed the peace of mind of more than a few parishioners. The protests of even the local bishop and priests have reached his ears. "I haven't asked the express permission of the bishop, because it's an act of charity. No permission is needed to do charity. For the rest, I am older than the bishop and been his professor in the seminary too. Even if he had prohibited me, I wouldn't be obliged to obey him," Don Aldo is firm in his resolve. He does not hesitate to proclaim, "Better praying Muslims than non praying Christians. If you brand me a racist, you are wrong". In the last two years Don Aldo has received a number of emails and letters advising him to "remain with his own flock". Don Aldo has taken into confidence the Parish Pastoral Council and is unrelenting. "The pope has exhorted to open wide the doors to Christ: Christ lives in Muslims too."
Italy, of late, has been a favorite destination for immigrants, especially for North African and Eastern European Muslims. The public opinion with regard to immigrants is divided. "At last, a tangible gesture of openness and acceptance", comments one. "It's useless to preach openness and then hold on to one's own prejudices. This priest makes us trust in the future," writes another. "The saddest thing is that the church of Our Lady of Assumption has a larger congregation on Fridays than Sundays", comments another. "Hope one day the pastor does not convert himself to Islam", quips another. Yet the majority is supporting the gesture of the pastor, Don Aldo.
In the changed circumstances of globalization, Italy is slowly getting used to immigrants of religions and cultures other than Christian. Cases like Don Aldo's give rise to regional and national debates on integration and immigration, which are so important to a country in which the Heart of Christianity is situated.
http://beritaislamglobal.blogspot.com/2010/08/terima-kasih-pastor-don-aldo-thank-you.html
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