A delegation from the United States of the World and the Fondazione Mediterraneo attended the secular funeral of the President Emeritus of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano, held for the first time in history at Montecitorio, the seat of the Chamber of Deputies. "It was a very touching moment," commented President Michele Capasso, "because in the nine speeches that followed, an exhaustive portrait was made of the politician, the statesman, the man of culture, the grandfather, the father. It was nice to see the protagonists of the last decades, many of them friends or members of our Foundation: from President Emeritus of Portugal Cavaco SIlva to Francois Hollande, from Cardinal Ravasi to Antonio Bassolino and so on for a long list'. After the ceremony, the body was buried in Rome's non-Catholic cemetery.
On the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Gustavo Rol's ascent to heaven, events commemorating the Enlightened Man, Artist and Thinker, creator of the United States of the World, were held at the United States of the World headquarters and the MAMT Museum of Peace.
The Secretary General Michele Capasso, the Council of Ambassadors, the members of the Governing Board, the International Committee, and the heads of the autonomous sections and branch offices express their deep condolences on the passing of Giorgio Napolitano. A dear friend, Giorgio Napolitano, who always supported our Foundation and was even closer as President of the Italian Republic. A great pro-European with the awareness that Europe had to transform itself into UNITED STATES OF EUROPE and look at the Mediterranean not as a frontier but as an opportunity for exchanges of knowledge, cultures and know-how. How can we not remember the discussions on politics "from below", which had to be the foundation of every Party and every aggregation, and his visit in February 2000 to the headquarters of the Fondazione Mediterraneo with the late Andrea Geremicca! And then the singular way in which his election was announced in Algiers: as President of the Republic (see page 23 onwards): https://www.fondazionemediterraneo.org/.../nostro.../01.pdf Giorgio Napolitano's example will guide us through this difficult time in history.
The United States of the World and the Fondazione Mediterraneo took part in the "Mediterranean Meetings" organised in Marseille from 17 to 24 September 2023, at the initiative of the Italian Bishops' Conference: a process of confrontation between the dioceses of the countries bordering the Mediterranean began in 2020 in Bari. This process is in the spirit of Pope Francis' 'Mediterranean' journeys, from Lampedusa (2013) to Marseille (2023), passing through Tirana, Sarajevo, Lesbos, Cairo, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Naples, Rabat, Malta, etc. After 490 years since the visit of Clement VII, a Pope visits the city of Marseilles.
Since 6 July 2000, almost a quarter of a century has passed since the Fondazione Mediterraneo and the United States of the World presented their programmes, projects and concrete initiatives in Marseille on the issues of migration, integration, ecological conversion and respect for creation. Jean Claude Gaudin, Vice-President of the Senate and historic mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020, supported our action by organising a solemn "Rentrée" with les "Assises de la Méditerranée": more than 1,500 representatives from various countries who for 4 days discussed the Foundation's programmes and projects. Present at the "Mediterranean Meetings" organised by the Mediterranean bishops from 17 to 24 September 2023 - with the participation of Pope Francis - President Michele Capasso said: "I thought of those days in July 2000 when we returned from Marseilles full of enthusiasm and hope. And then the visits of Mayor Gaudin to Naples and Benevento, the award to "Marseille Esperance" presented in Naples, the inauguration of the 'Marseille Room' at the headquarters of the United States of the World. So many protagonists reappearing: here is Pope Francis at the centre of the same stage where with Shimon Peres and other Heads of State we gathered the first adhesions to the United States of the World, here are Bishops and Cardinals of the Mediterranean countries at centre stage, as were then academics, university rectors, mayors of the main cities adhering to the United States of the World. Here is the then Mayor Gaudin, tired and disappointed, next to the Pope as if to remind him never to leave the Mediterranean. And then the room where the Pope meets President Macron: the same room where with Shimon Peres we signed the first draft of the Constitution of the United States of the World. And then the driveway to the Pharo Palace, where in the same place where the President accompanies the Pope in his wheelchair we laid the foundations for a true interreligious dialogue with his brother and friend Father Paolo dall'Oglio a few weeks before his death. So many memories entrusted to so many images - President Capasso concludes - with a sadness and a hope. The sadness is not having succeeded, despite constant efforts, in making the Mediterranean a sea of exchanges and knowledge, but a tomb of dignity, as Pope Francis said. The hope lies in this variegated mosaic of cultures and faiths that can, if properly coordinated, be the founding element of a new model of solidarity based on welcome and coexistence".
On the occasion of the 29th anniversary of Gustavo Rol's ascent to heaven, events commemorating the Enlightened Man, Artist and Thinker, creator of the United States of the World, were held at the United States of the World headquarters and the MAMT Museum of Peace.
