Word: borelli
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...arrived at the church he fumbled wearily in his pockets; he had forgotten his key. He hammered with his hands upon the door. The custodian opened it at last; three scugnizzi emerged from the shadows and entered with him. The surprised custodian, alert to the secret, fed Father Borelli bread and jam with the others, even though this breaking of the fast after midnight kept him from saying Mass the next morning. "This seems like a movie to me," he whispered as he passed the food around...
That night of the providentially forgotten key was the beginning of a tide of hungry, hard-bitten little boys that has flowed into Mater Dei ever since. At last, one day Father Borelli felt sure enough of success to walk among the scugnizzi in his clerical robes. No one recognized him until he produced a snapshot of himself dressed as a scugnizzo. First they gaped in astonishment, then they crowded in to touch his habit and kiss his hand...
Handle with Love. Some 200 boys have graduated from Mater Dei's clean dormitories and affectionate supervision to steady jobs and marriage, or back to their families. "Actually, we can't offer them as much materially as they can win for themselves on the streets," says Mario Borelli. "So why do they come to this church, and why do they stay? It is very simple. Scugnizzi are not animals. They are humans, and instinctively feel that animal life is wrong...
Today there are 80 boys in Father Borelli's shelter, and he knows that there would be many more if he had room for them. He is confident that there soon will be room; last week he rejoiced at the news that Naples' church and civil authorities had granted permission for him to move his shelter out of the slums and up to a site he has picked out on Capo di Monte, which overlooks the city...
...really on our way," said Mario Borelli. "We began with nothing, and we got this far-I know we'll be able to raise enough money to go all the way. We'll get them all off the streets and back into human society. Children will always go to open arms and open hearts...