Rooms of silence
A collaboration pact that unites the Municipality of Milan, 19 religious and non-believer organizations, three associations and two companies for personal services, the Martinitt and Stelline Milanese Institutes and Pio Albergo Trivulzio and Golgi-Redaelli, together with the National Working Group for the “Room of Silence and/or Cults”.
The signing of the agreement is the result of a process started with a conference on the topic, hosted and sponsored by the Municipality of Milan, which was followed by a resolution with which the Council approved the promotion of "rooms of silence", i.e. spaces dedicated to meditation, meditation and prayer to be made available to all citizens - atheists or members of a religious denomination - within the structures of the National Health System and, in perspective, in prevention and penal institutions, in stations and in airports.
The signatories of the agreement are asked to collaborate in the preparation of a regulation that regulates the use of the first two rooms, foreseen within the Martinitt and Stelline and Pio Albergo Trivulzio and Golgi-Redaelli Milanese Institutes and undertake to collaborate to guarantee the religious and moral assistance in the places that the ASP will make available in its structures. At the moment there are two rooms planned for worship services in the two hospital structures.
The Municipality of Milan undertakes to promote the spread of places of multi-confessional worship or non-denominational reflection in its reception facilities intended for vulnerable sections of the population, also drawing from the experience generated by this first agreement, to promote the culture of freedom of multi-confessional worship and non-denominational spiritual assistance in Asp, in public structures and in other relevant areas, with studies, seminars, conferences, events, to encourage the stipulation of collaboration agreements for these purposes with the religious or non-denominational institutions and representations that share them, and to support new accessions to this agreement together with the others, through public notices issued on a periodic basis.
The task of the communities involved will be to provide the necessary arrangements for religious functions and their custody and maintenance and together with the Asp we will work on a regulation for access and care of the spaces.
The following have signed up to the agreement:
the Islamic Association of Milan (U.CO.I.), the Islamic Federation of Lombardy and national federation, the local Bahà'i Spiritual Assembly of Milan, the Maytreia Foundation, Indian Sikh Community of Italy, Brahma Kumaris, Zoe Pentecostal Mission, the Russian Orthodox Church, the National Working Group for the “Room of Silence and/or Cults”, the Manos Sin Fronteras associations, Opera Nomadi section of Milan, the Jewish Medical Association.