Rome and New York City can learn a lot from each other. NYC Mayor Eric Adams reached the Italian capital to attend the World Meeting on Human Fraternity, organized by Pope Francis. Meanwhile, at noon, together with Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, he took part in “Rome Cures Rome,” a large event of collective reclamation of municipal property in Piazza San Cosimato, in the heart of the Trastevere area. With brush and paint, the two mayors repainted part of a wall daubed with graffiti, contributing to the work of volunteers.
“One brush at a time, one broom at a time, one volunteer at a time, will help us turn the pain we felt during Covid-19 into a goal,” Mayor Adams said. And Mayor Gualtieri went on: “Together we can make Rome more beautiful, and there are so many of us: 16,000 volunteers and 328 events in total this year.”
Mayor Adams compared the “Big Apple” to the Eternal City. “New York is the Rome of America” because of the size, the amount of tourists, the traffic, and the difficulties in administering such a metropolis, which are not the only issues Mayor Gualtieri addressed. A comparison, however, that at times jars, as recalled by the many Romans who commented on the NYC Mayor’s visit inside the subway construction site near the Colosseum yesterday.
Mayor Adams’ two-days in the Italian capital are jam-packed with events. After Trastevere, he reached the Campidoglio in the afternoon to participate in the final day of the World Meeting on Human Fraternity–the event organized by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation that involved several prominent figures, such as Nobel Peace Prize laureates, scientists, and economists, to seek alternatives to wars and poverty.
“I realized that all too often a fraternity comes together in times of pain, death and suffering. I believe in what His Holiness has done by convening this very crucial meeting, while all around us we see wars and world conflicts, I think the Foundation understands that it is time for us to take a more active approach to addressing these conflicts,” Mayor Adams said.
He also reminded that among the challenges of large administrations is not only growing the economy and jobs, but also offering fair wages and treatment. Then he added that protecting against crime means preventing the conditions that lead to crime; providing education and instruction, guidance, love, and opportunity to young people. Otherwise, “we will not have the leaders of tomorrow.”
In the morning, Mayor Adams took part in an “private” meeting with Pope Francis anticipating the afternoon event. Forty people attended including first citizens of numerous cities around the world and several Nobel Peace Laureates, such as Dmitrji Muratov, Jody Williams, Tawakkol Karman, Maria Ressa, Leymah Gbowee, Rigoberta Menchù Tum and Muhammad Yunus.
“In order to guarantee lasting peace,” the Pope said in his speech in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, “we must return to a recognition of common humanity and place fraternity at the center of peoples’ lives. Only in this way will we succeed in developing a model of coexistence capable of giving the human family a future. Political peace needs peace of hearts, so that people can meet in the confidence that life always wins over all forms of death.”
