The last farewell to Carmine De Luca: «True revenge is forgiveness»

A crowd of relatives and friends attended the 47-year-old’s funeral this morning Carmine De Lucaknown to all as “Peppolo”killed together with Rosario Montone58enne di Porticoesfrom a former colleague Francesco Iacovazzoa 72-year-old local, at the Fish Market in Salernoat dawn last Tuesday. The funeral in the church of San Giuseppe Lavoratore in Salerno, in via Bottiglieri.

Don’s homily is touching In the Senator who in many passages urged peace, forgiveness, asking us to abandon feelings of revenge. «It’s not possible – he said – that what happened to this friend of ours and his friend Rosario can happen today. There was an endless line of people who spoke to me about them and above all about Carmine, described as a strong and vigorous man who put his wife and two daughters at the center of his life, here today, closed in their pain . They have lost someone they loved, cared for and caressed. We all rebel today, in a silent way, but we still rebel because of the barbaric way in which they were killed. There are two paths: either the path of violence or of love. You mother – he added, addressing the deceased’s wife – you must be an example for them, an example of a love that knows how to forgive. We all feel the blood boiling and the impulses that would do something else, certainly not forgiveness. But we must change reality because violence only generates violence. Only madness can provoke unprecedented gestures like these. Many friends present here, I saw the Naval League, the friends of the subbuteo, of the Catholic Action, testimony that Carmine was a gentle giant, a generous one. That murderous hand, that hand that pulled that trigger, today lives the most bitter madness. We have a resounding word in our hearts: revenge. But revenge generates violence».

«If you really want revenge – said the priest – love more, be more generous. Because this is the only true revenge. Be you giants of love, giants of forgiveness. But this does not exempt us from telling those who pulled that trigger to have the courage to kneel down and ask for forgiveness for what they did.”

A long applause accompanied these last words of the parish priest, among the tears, the hugs, and the strong and recognizable pain on the faces of the friends and relatives who, even from the altar, described the 47-year-old as “an extraordinary person, joyful, generous friend, attentive to the needs of others, a great and tireless worker, dedicated to his family“.