Father Fulco, parish priest at St. Peter’s Church: “Italians in London side with Londoners”

“London is a city that has grown used to confronting terrorism along with the panic it spreads since the attacks perpetrated by IRA, the paramilitary organization of Northern Ireland that fought for a united Ireland. I am convinced that the city will overcome the crises of the past months, blemished by a series of terror attacks, despite the risk of negatively impacting tourism.” Father Andrea Fulco, Pallottine priest, parson at St Peter’s Church in Clerkenwell, the Church of Italians in London, since the 19^th century a point of reference of Italian immigrants, has been living in the British capital since 2014, but long before then he had lived in the capital for short periods for study purposes.

Excluding migration. “It’s my personal opinion: I don’t think that the terror attacks are due to a war of religion”, he told SIR. “Rather, they convey dissent against a political system that intends to exclude migration, to reconsider it and restrict it.” These words are especially significant, also in the light of yesterday’s attack with a vehicle that ploughed into worshippers as they came out of the mosque for the end of the Ramadan prayer. London’s Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan decried the “horrific terror attack against innocent civilians.” “This was clearly a deliberate attack on innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan. While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect”, he said.

Memories and prayers for Gloria and Marco. The thoughts of Father Fulco also go to Gloria Trevisan and Marco Gottardi, the two Italians who died in the Grenfell Tower fire, for whom the priest gathered in prayer with his parishioners. “Clearly, the tower was lacking fire-fighting equipments because of their high costs. This is terrible and the responsibility is of the competent authorities.” He added: “The fire reminds us that London is a very expensive place to live in and that there is a huge divide between average wages and the kind of housing units that people can afford.”

“Brexit was misused.” The parish priest of St. Peter noted a drop in the number of Italians in search of a job in London at a time when the Brexit negotiations between London and Brussels are about to begin.” “Brexit was misused by media outlets over the past months. They spread the fear that it would no longer be possible to live and work in London”, said the priest. “ “The absence of concrete facts caused widespread confusion and the rate of arrivals from Italy has decreased, although the number of job offers in London, in the catering sector, has remained the same.”

Supporting and helping the city. “I am sure that Italians who already work in this country have nothing to fear, although they might have to regularize their situation as concerns their residence, unless they already transferred it here.” The parish priest of Italians in London is sure that the Brexit, due to be negotiated in the coming months, won’t be “hard”, in other words, it will not lead to a definitive separation without an agreement on issues such as the free circulation of people or access to the European single market. “Inside the Italian community I can perceive the hope and also the belief that this farewell to the European Union will be less tragic than imagined.” “London – he added – is going through a very difficult moment, and it’s up to our fellow nationals, approximately 400 thousand, to support and help the city.” “The terror attacks and the Brexit are challenges we must address with confidence.”