Experienced journalist and Salesian by adoption

by Gianni Cardinale

Carlo Di Cicco

Carlo Di Cicco, the new assistant editor of L’Osservatore Romano, has been a professional journalist from the early ’seventies. Born 63 years ago in Valleluce, a working-class neighborhood of S. Elia Fiumerapido rich in history, in the province of Frosinone and diocese of the territorial Abbey of Montecassino. He was a conscientious objector, one of the last group of objectors before the depenalization of conscientious objection and the law on service in society. He was imprisoned for some months in Forte Boccea because of this. For about ten years then he edited the bulletin of Pax Christi, when it was directed by Bishops Luigi Bettazzi and Tonino Bello. He was editor in chief of the ASCA agency, responsible for social and Vatican information. He has written for numerous mastheads, daily and periodical, and with specialist reviews. He began and edited the journalistic section of Vidimus Dominum, the first on-line international daily on the consecrated life. Very close to the spirituality of Don Bosco, he edited one of the regular lead features of the Salesian Bulletin, entitled “The young people’s point”. With the ASCA he introduced the first Italian daily newsletter on social and local policies, and the voluntary service. Married and father of two sons, he is author of I guardiani dei sogni con il dito sul mouse. Educatori nell’era informatica [The guardians of dreams with a finger on the mouse. Educators in the computer age] (interview with the then Senior Rector of the Salesians Juan Edmundo Vecchi, Elledici, 1999, translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Slovenian) and Don Luigi Della Torre (Queriniana, 2007). He also collaborated on the dictionary La comunicazione: dizionario di scienze e tecniche [Communication: dictionary of sciences and techniques], edited by Lever, Rivoltella, Zanacchi (Eri- Elledici-Las, 2002). His book Ratzinger-Benedetto XVI e le conseguenze dell’amore [Ratzinger-Benedict XVI and the consequences of love] (Memori, 2006) was particularly well thought of.