Cardinal Roberto Repole of Turin, Italy, strongly condemned a massive attack by several hundred protestors on a construction site in the Susa Valley. The attack left 120 police injured.
The assailants, dressed in black, were protesting against the Turin–Lyon high-speed railway.
“The acts of guerrilla violence that devastated the construction site in Chiomonte yesterday and injured dozens of police officers deserve no attempt at understanding; they are pure terrorist violence that I wish to condemn firmly as a Christian and as a citizen,” Cardinal Repole said in a statement issued on July 26. “Violence is incompatible with the Gospel and with democracy; it must be isolated and punished.”
“Dissent regarding public works is always legitimate, and many honest residents of the Susa Valley feel they must express it to protect the environment, but this has nothing to do with hatred, bullying, or the complete disregard for the rules of democracy, especially when carried out by assault groups that live elsewhere, even coming from abroad, and have no connection whatsoever to the Valley,” the prelate added.