The novitiate despite being a period of detachment from the routine and distractions that fill our lives, we novices continue to be actively interested in the most important topics of the society in which we live.
One of the themes that has risen to prominence in recent times regards the coming Italian Constitutional Referendum. many of us, being Italian citizens, are called to vote on the 4th December 2016.

This referendum, calls us to choose the greater good for our Republic and prompts us to ponder the favorable and not so favorable aspects of the two voting options.
For greater clarity we participated, with great interest, at a public debate held in Palazzo Ducale, here in Genoa, during which a member of the ‘YES’ and one of the ‘NO’ campaign put forward their reasons for why or why not one should support such a notion.

Beyond the political background and to better understand the referendum question, we invited Fr Giuseppe Riggio (editor of ‘Aggiornamenti sociali’ review), to shed light are the actions that the reform foresees, it’s historical drafting and development, whether it meets expectations and possible scenarios of both outcomes.

In the run up to the vote we are called to evaluate and henceforth choose which direction to take, that is what option better expresses the society we want to help create.

It is stimolating to see how this Referendum has triggered a movement of reflection specifically on the values of our Constitution and regulatory content (between us in the community and also civil society, especially among the young generation). One hopes that this momentum fosters further opportunities for discussion in order to mature one’s opinion. An opinion which each one of un is called to express on 4th December in order to promote the common good.