Fabio Rosini, a Roman priest, is known for his original catechetical itinerary of the "Ten Words", which has accompanied generations of young people on their faith journey for over thirty years.
He is currently a professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he teaches the subject "Bible and Preaching" in the Faculty of Theology. During these weeks, he also proposes a "Workshop on reading homiletic texts"..
In the following interview, the Roman priest shares with Omnes some reflections on fatherhood in contemporary society, the faith education of young people and the importance of a mature spiritual journey.
You are known for the "Ten Words" itinerary, which recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. How did this itinerary come about and what fruits has it produced in the lives of the young people who have participated in it?
-To tell the origin of the "Ten Words" is to speak of pastoral creativity as an expression of love. It was 1991 and I was an assistant pastor. I found myself in front of a group of young people and I asked myself what I could offer them that was truly beautiful, profound and lasting. Coming from the world of art - I was a musician - I knew that beautiful things happen when you really care about someone.
For a year I watched them, silently, trying to understand their truest needs. I became aware of a profound lack: they had no fathers. Mothers were omnipresent, but fathers were boring, insubstantial. And they, the young people, were deluding themselves that they were Christians, but they were living an incoherent faith. I understood that they had to encounter the fatherhood of God, and that they needed a path that touched something irreversible, like the sacraments.
So, using the Decalogue, I began to describe to them not a set of things "not to do," but the beauty of a full life, the image of the free, faithful and mature man. I was not forming made and finished Christians, but people willing to let themselves be formed. The fruit? Countless lives transformed, not because of my merits, but because they were ignited by a process that starts from God.
The figure of the father is therefore a recurring theme in your preaching. What impact does the absence or weakness of this figure have on contemporary society?
-The impact is radical. The absence of paternity generates an ontological deficiency. It's like having incomplete DNA: if one part is missing, the male part, something can't work. Biologically I have experienced it: after some health problems, I discovered a paternal hereditary genetic weakness. But I also see it on a spiritual level.
Today's world has embarked on a path of self-destruction, in which fragmentation is exalted and authority is scorned. What is the result? Entire generations in search of recognition, which is the most specifically paternal act. As God said at the baptism of Jesus: "You are my Son.".
Today, parents are often absent, distracted, marginalized. But young people, like Telemachus, await the return of Ulysses. We need a recovery of fatherhood in all spheres: family, ecclesial, educational. Thirty years ago I started this way: being a father, believing in the value of those adolescents, supporting them with firmness, tenderness and fidelity.
In your books you often speak of spiritual maturity. How do you see the path of growth of young people in the faith today?
-Spiritual maturity goes through specific stages: being children, becoming brothers and sisters, then spouses, then parents. No stage can be skipped. And today, many young people come to me with great enthusiasm, but without ever having experienced even full love. And I say: how do you think you can love a community, a parish, if you have never lost your mind for someone?
The challenge is to rediscover passion, joy and total involvement. Enough of moralism and goodness: we do not need "good" Christians, but Christians in love. Whoever is in love does not need rules: he loves spontaneously, he gives himself, he sacrifices himself with joy. This is what is lacking today: to see people who have lost their minds for the Gospel.
You often speak of "sign language" in the Bible. How can we help young people recognize these signs in their daily lives?
-The Bible is a map that deciphers the profound meaning of history. The signs, like those in the Gospel of John, unite the visible with the invisible. They are windows to the mystery. Young people do not need a superficial religion, but someone who shows the secret of things.
During the shutdown (the suspension of activities due to the Covid-19 pandemic), we should have said it was a time of grace, not repeat empty slogans. Every event - even the most dramatic - can be a sign from God. The way out is always Heaven. I have seen it in prisoners, in the sick, in those who confide: God speaks there. It is up to us to help them see with new eyes.
In the book The art of restartingHow do you convey to young people that failure can be a new beginning?
-It is announced and, above all, it is lived. When we celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the "Ten Words", one of the couples who accompanied me reminded me that it all began with a failure: a proposal that went wrong, a moment of crisis. And there, in the collapse, the turning point was born.
Failure is not the end: it is the beginning. God built salvation out of a cross, out of injustice. Even my illness was an opportunity for grace. Chaos is not disorder: it is a higher order, which we do not understand. And that is where God acts.
In your experience, what are the most effective methods for bringing young people closer to God in an age marked by secularization and relativism?
-There is only one method: be authentic, be courageous, do not compromise. Let us not turn parishes into amusement parks. God has not asked us to entertain people, but to proclaim the beauty of the Gospel, even at the cost of being uncomfortable.
The Gospel is proclaimed with life, with joy, with self-irony. I feel like a happy and grateful man. Even when I risked my life, I had the feeling that God was telling me: "You're not done yet. There's still something left to do.".
What fruits have you seen in your work with young people and what advice would you give to Catholic educators?
-I see beautiful fruits. Lives healed, transformed, blossomed. But it is not my work: it is God who works. We are only instruments, and the key is to put people in contact with the power of his paternity..,
I started to change by washing a plate. Yes, a plate. There I realized that even that gesture could be love. And dish after dish I have come to this day. That is the spirituality of everyday life: to make everything a masterpiece.
Looking ahead, what projects do you have in mind to continue supporting young people?
-My greatest wish? To die. To train others, to leave space, to trust. We live in a gerontocratic society, where nobody wants to leave. I, on the other hand, want to leave. I don't want clones, but creative, surprising, free children.
I dream of a confessional, where I can spend time greeting people. And maybe a beer now and then, with friends. Nothing special, but everything lived to the fullest. And God willing, I will continue to see the birth of beautiful things that will not bear my name, but God's name.
