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LA STAMPA

In Turin, Good News Buried With A Lover’s Bench

Digging out of the mud
Digging out of the mud
Massimo Gramellini

TURIN — Riding their bicycles along the banks of the Po river last Sunday, a university professor and his wife came upon a scene that caught their attention: A man and a woman, armed with shovel and spade, were busy digging out a bench, just before the Sassi bridge in central Turin, that had been submerged by mud from the recent flooding of the river.

The professor and his wife asked the couple why they had taken on this public chore. They told them it was a special place, a kind of secluded "lovers' bench," where couples would come to share a tender moment in this northern Italian city. To discover that it had been swallowed by the mud had seemed like something that needed fixing.

Moved by the simplicity of their words, the professor's wife asked permission to photograph them and send the picture to the newspaper. The couple said yes, provided that they remain unnamed. Such people do still exist, capable of performing a small act of altruism in a spirit of public good and perhaps a romantic memory of their own. Bearing witness to this kind of story is not sentimentalism, but rather a basic duty to report: No, not everything is awful out there.

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Society

Is Disney's "Wish" Spreading A Subtle Anti-Christian Message To Kids?

Disney's new movie "Wish" is being touted as a new children's blockbuster to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary. But some Christians may see the portrayal of the villain as God-like and turning wishes into prayers as the ultimate denial of the true message of Christmas.

photo of a kid running out of a church

For the Christmas holiday season?

Joseph Holmes

Christians have always had a love-hate relationship with Disney since I can remember. Growing up in the Christian culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, all the Christian parents I knew loved watching Disney movies with their kids – but have always had an uncomfortable relationship with some of its messages. It was due to the constant Disney tropes of “follow your heart philosophy” and “junior knows best” disdain for authority figures like parents that angered so many. Even so, most Christians felt the benefits had outweighed the costs.

That all seems to have changed as of late, with Disney being hit more and more by claims from conservatives (including Christian conservatives) that Disney is pushing more and more radical progressive social agendas, This has coincided with a steep drop at the box office for Disney.

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