L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano La Città Deserta Pasquino endures another plague H ow lonely she i s n o w , t h e once crowded c i t y ! W i d - owed is she, w h o w a s m i s t r e s s o v e r nations. These lines from the Book o f L a m e n t a t i o n s h a u n t C a r d i n a l A n g e l o D e Donatis, Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, conva- lescing at Gemelli University Hospital. Since the middle of Lent, the coronavirus has been his crown of thorns, but he wears it lightly. "I live this moment as an opportunity that Providence has given me to share in the sufferings of so many broth- ers and sisters," he told the press, after testing positive f o r C o v i d - 1 9 . " I o f f e r m y p r a y e r f o r t h e m , f o r t h e whole diocesan community, and for the people of the City of Rome." "What is this, a Passion P l a y ? " s c o f f e d a r e p o r t e r from Il Manifesto. "Let him go to Sordevolo!" But the j o k e f e l l f l a t . D e D o n a t i s might be the most powerful churchman to contract the virus, but nobody thought his rank would protect him. W h y , o n l y l a s t w e e k , Bishop Angelo Moreschi, the retired Apostolic Vicar of Ethiopia and a prominent S a l e s i a n , h a d d i e d o f t h e infection after having a foot amputated. The Cardinal Vicar insists on Zooming with staff, quar- a n t i n e d i n t h e L a t e r a n Palace. When doctors object, he reminds them that hun- d r e d s o f p r i e s t s h a v e perished: six in Bergamo a l o n e . M o s t d i e d w h i l e anointing the sick or com- forting the dying. Surely, Rome's acting bishop can hold a briefing, despite a slight fever? His aides pop up on the MacBook screen and report. When His Eminence was a d m i t t e d t o t h e c l i n i c o n M a r c h 3 0 , t h e M o n d a y before Palm Sunday, Rome had been locked down for t h r e e s t r a i g h t w e e k s , b u t people still ventured into the s t r e e t s . O n t h i s E a s t e r Monday, the city is as empty as Christ's tomb, its silence broken only by the plash of fountains, the chirps of spar- rows, the sporadic tolling of bells, and, late at night, the rumble of military trucks, i m p o s i n g t h e c u r f e w a n d g a t h e r i n g t h e d e a d . O l d women have stopped singing to each other from their bal- conies. Sullen teens refuse to rev their Vespas in solidari- ty. The Cardinal Vicar cross- es himself. Morale is worse t h a n h e t h o u g h t . I n h i s E a s t e r V i g i l h o m i l y , l i v e s t r e a m e d f r o m S t . Peter's, Pope Francis had compared the suffering from the pandemic to the silence of Holy Saturday, a silence of transition and travail, when Christ harrowed Hell to res- c u e t h e s o u l s t r a p p e d i n Limbo. But this is the silence of the Apocalypse, after the L a m b o p e n s t h e s e v e n t h s e a l : t h e e x p e c t a n t h u s h before a verdict. But who will be judged? B e f o r e t h e p l a g u e s u r - f a c e d i n I t a l y , R o m e w a s blasé. The news from China was distant thunder on a h u m i d s u m m e r e v e n i n g , frisson to liven drowsy gos- sip and tepid Campari and sodas. But things changed when Covid-19 arrived in Milan as boldly as the troops of Charles VIII. Like that syphilitic army, the virus advanced across Lombardy and Veneto, turned south into Tuscany and Umbria, then marched into Emilia Romagna. As the invasion neared, R o m e d e v e l o p e d a s i e g e mentality. Black marketers sold bagged rice and toilet paper. Children syphoned g a s . M a t r o n s d i s i n f e c t e d t h e i r k i t c h e n s u n t i l e v e n fried garlic tasted like lye. Racists, of course, scape- goated tourists and immi- g r a n t s . T h e i r h a t r e d proved more contagious than the virus. Hotels canceled reserva- t i o n s f o r C h i n e s e g u e s t s . Restaurants refused to serve Chinese diners. Universities b a n n e d C h i n e s e s t u d e n t s from classes. Barflies asked Chinese women if they had a c o u s i n n a m e d A h C h o o . Punks vandalized Chinese shops in the Esquilino dis- trict. Graffitists spray-paint- ed the Pu Tuo Shan Temple on Via Ferruccio. Beneath a crudely drawn mouse with s l a n t e d e y e s , s o m e j e r k w r o t e : " T H E Y E A R O F T H E PLAGUE RAT!" Chinese Italian busi- ness leaders protested. They had transformed the seedy neighborhood near Termini Station into a pros- perous enclave of upscale b o u t i q u e s a n d l a u g h i n g B u d d h a s . W a s t h i s t h e i r reward? Sonia Fenxia, owner of the popular restaurant H a n g Z h o u , s h a m e d t h e Chamber of Commerce in an interview for The Guardian, b u t R o m e d i d n o t r e p e n t until the lockdown began. But contrition has its lim- its. How much longer must laymen sanitize their hands w i t h A m u c h i n a ? S h o u l d P o n t i u s P i l a t e b e t h e i r patron saint even after Good Friday? Unrest was growing, w a r n e d P a p a l S e c r e t a r y Y o a n n i s L a h z i G a i d o n WhatsApp. What if millions of Catholics, now unable to attend Sunday mass, got in the habit of not showing up and never returned? People will abandon the Church, if t h e y f e e l t h e C h u r c h h a s abandoned them. Perhaps audacity is required. D u r i n g t h e P l a g u e o f Justinian, aides note, when the dead clogged the streets, P o p e G r e g o r y t h e G r e a t gambled. On April 25, 560 A D , h e l e d a p r o c e s s i o n through Rome, begging God to spare the city. Looking up at the Emperor Hadrian's tomb, he saw the Archangel Michael brandishing a flam- ing sword. As the procession approached, Michael low- e r e d a n d s h e a t h e d h i s w e a p o n . " T h e p l a g u e i s over!" Gregory said. "God's wrath has been appeased!" T h e f a i t h f u l c h e e r e d a n d s a n g R e g i n a C a e l i . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , H i s E m i n e n c e a d d e d , e i g h t y dropped dead, so social dis- tancing might have its merits after all. The Cardinal Vicar ends the Zoom conference and lies back in bed. Time will undo this knot, not men. He reaches for his missal and caresses its leather cover. Bookstores might reopen as early as next week, according to a bulletin from the City Council. If he recovers, he will browse at the San Paolo near the Vatican, and Easter Sunday finally may dawn. U n t i l t h e n , i t i s H o l y Saturday. Rome is Christ's tomb, and we souls in Limbo must await our salvation. Pasquino's secretary is Anthony Di Renzo, professor of writing at Ithaca College. You may reach him at diren- zo@ithaca.edu. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE ANTHONY DI RENZO

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