A path of dialogue and welcome rooted in the Gospel is the one shared by Pope Francis with the Focolare Movement. Maria Voce Emmaus, who was President of the Movement during the first eight years of his pontificate, describes it.
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Accepting change
As a “distributor of tasks”, over ten years I had managed, in collaboration with our parish priest, to form the Parish Pastoral Council and the Sacristan group. As time went on, I realized my role was shrinking. Many people, previously less active, came forward to carry out various tasks and I chose to step aside to leave them space. Initially, I accepted my reduced role with serenity. Later, however, feeling excluded, I understood how easy it is to become attached to a role, but also how important it is to know when to let go. Sometimes, the Lord invites us to take a step back to prepare us for something new. It’s not easy, because it means accepting change and trusting. Today, although I feel a little on the side-lines, I remain willing to make my contribution if and when I am asked. I am convinced that every service, even the smallest, has a value and that every phase of life is an opportunity to grow in faith and love for others.
(Luciana – Italy)
God sees me
When I lived in Brussels, I sometimes went to Mass in the church of St. Michel’s College. To get there, you had to walk along long corridors with an endless series of classrooms on either side. Above the door of each one, there was a sign that read: God sees you. It was a warning to the boys that reflected a message from the past, expressed negatively: “Do not sin because, even if other people do not see you, God sees you”. Instead, for me, perhaps because I was born in another era or because I believe in his love, it resonated positively: “I do not have to do good things in front of men so that they see me, or to be praised or thanked, but live in the presence of God”. In the Gospel of Matthew 23: 1-12 speaking to scribes and Pharisees who love to show themselves off, Jesus invited them not to be called “teachers” but to have only one concern: to act under the gaze of God who reads hearts. I like this: God sees me, as the signs in the boarding school said; God reads our hearts and that must be enough for me.
(G.F.- Belgium)
The first step
My mother and her sister had fallen out over a matter of inheritance. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time and the rift grew wider, especially since we lived in the city and my aunt in a remote mountain village. This state of affairs lasted until the day, stimulated by the Words of Jesus: “If you are about to present your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go first to be reconciled with your brother; then return and present your offering”, I plucked up my courage. I sought the right moment and then broached the subject with my mother. I managed to convince her to accompany me to visit my aunt. During the trip we kept quite silent so all I did was pray for everything to go well. In fact, things took place in the simplest way: taken by surprise, my aunt welcomed us with open arms. But we had to take the first step.
(A.G. – Italy)
Curated by Maria Grazia Berretta
(taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year X– no.1 March-April 2025)
©Photo: Gerson Rodriguez – Pixabay
Listen to the inner voice
Aim high!
Be merciful
A Pope who dreamed and made us dream… what was his dream? He once said it himself, that “the Church is the Gospel”. Not in the sense that the Gospel is the exclusive property of the Church. But in the sense that Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was crucified outside the walls as if he were a criminal and instead whom God Abbà raised from the dead as the first-born Son among many brothers and sisters, he continues here and now, through those who recognise themselves in his name, to bring the good news that the Kingdom of God has come and is coming… for everyone, starting with the “least” who have been touched by the Gospel for who they are in the eyes of God, the “first ones”. This is true and not a figure of speech. This is the Gospel, that the Church proclaims and contributes to making history. This is so, the more it is transformed by the Gospel. As it happened, from the very beginning, to Peter and John when, on their way up to the temple, they met the man who was crippled from birth at the entrance called the “Beautiful Gate”. Together they looked straight at him, and he in turn looked them in the eye. And Peter said to him: “I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!”
The Gospel of Jesus and the mission of the Church. Make the effort to stand up and walk. This is how the Father thinks of us, wants us and accompanies us. Jorge Maria Bergoglio – with all the strength and the frailty of his humanity, which made us feel that he was like our brother – it is for this that he has spent his life and his service as Bishop of Rome. From that first appearance from the balcony of St. Peter’s, when he bowed and asked for the People of God to invoke a blessing for him, to the last appearance, on Easter Sunday, when in a faint voice he gave the blessing of the risen Christ, then went down into the square to meet the eyes of the people. His dream was that of a Church which is “poor and of the poor”. In the spirit of Vatican II, which called the Church back to its only model, Jesus: who “stripped himself, making himself a servant”.
The name, Francis that he chose expresses the soul of what he wanted to do, and, first of all, to be: a witness to the Gospel “sine glossa”, that is, without comment and without adaptation. Because the Gospel is neither an ornament, nor a filler, nor an anaesthetic: it is a proclamation of truth and of life, of joy, of justice, of peace and fraternity. So, there we have the Church’s reform programme in Evangelii gaudium, and the manifestos of a new planetary humanism in Laudato sì and Fratelli tutti. We have the Jubilee of Mercy and the Jubilee of Hope. We have the document on universal fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi with the great Iman of Al Ahzar, and there we have the countless occasions of encounter experienced with members of different faiths and convictions. There we have the tireless work in defence of the abandoned, the migrants, the people who are abused. There we have the categorical rejection of war.
Francis was very clear that it is not enough for the Gospel to speak, with all its subversive force, in the complex and even contradictory Areopagus of our time. Something more is needed: because we are not only in an epoch of changes, but we are in the midst of a change of epoch. We need to look with a new perspective. The one with which Jesus looked and looks at us, from the Father. The gaze that, with tender and heartfelt words, is described in his spiritual and theological testament, the encyclical Dilexit nos. It is the simple and radical outlook of loving one’s neighbour as oneself and of loving one another in a selfless, free, hospitable reciprocity, open to everyone, everyone, everyone. The synodal process in which the Catholic Church – and, for their part, all the other Churches – has been convened shows the path to take in this third millennium of ours: beyond a clerical, hierarchical, male-dominated Church… A new path because it is as old as the Gospel. A difficult path, costly and full of obstacles. But a great prophecy, entrusted to our creative and tenacious responsibility.
Thank you, Francis! Your body will now rest beside Mary, who accompanied you step by step, as a mother, on your holy journey. With her, you now accompany all of us, from the womb of God, on the journey that awaits us.
Piero Coda
Photo: © CSC Audiovisivi
Heralds of hope!
It is with deep emotion that I write these lines about Pope Francis after his “flight” to the Father. I recall those many thoughtful and meaningful moments, when I was able to shake his hand and feel the warmth of his smile, the tenderness of his gaze, the strength of his words, the beating of his heart ready for a fatherly welcome. And I find it hard to believe that these encounters will no longer have a “tomorrow” or an “again” in my life.
I do not propose to make a thematic summary of Francis’ pontificate. To this end, it will be enough to review the many articles that have been published in recent days, especially the special issue of L’Osservatore Romano – just a few hours after his death – and the more or less exhaustive evaluations that will surely be published in the near future.
What moves me from within is to find that the golden thread that weaves his mission in guiding the Church, to try to be in tune with the centre of his heart and soul. And, from there, to relive the relationship he had with the Work of Mary during these twelve years.
To do this, I meditated deeply on his most recent talks, because I feel that this is where Pope Francis gave the best of himself and where you can find the key to all his thinking and to all his actions.
In the text he prepared for the Easter Mass, there is a quote from the great French theologian Henri de Lubac, who is also a Jesuit, that cannot simply be rhetorical: “it should be enough to understand this: Christianity is Christ. No, truly, there is nothing else but this.”
In my opinion, if we want to understand Francis, we must refer to this absolute: Christ, and only Christ, all Christ. From this we can understand the profound content of his encyclicals and apostolic exhortations, the choice of his journeys, his preferred options, the meaning of the reforms he undertook, his gestures, his words, his homilies, his meetings, and above all his love for those who are excluded, for those who are rejected, for women, for the elderly, for children and for creation.
‘No, there really is nothing else’. That is why one can say – using a pleonasm – that the Catholicism of Pope Francis is simply a “Christian Catholicism”. The new impulse he wanted to give the Church is based on this approach: the transparency of Christ. Because of this, on many occasions he has gone far beyond the politically correct, or rather, the ecclesially correct, without fear of being misunderstood, and without fear of being wrong, even aware of his “contradictions”. In fact, in an interview with a Spanish newspaper he said that what he wished for his successor was not to make his same mistakes.
Because of this Christological centrality, we can acknowledge that we have indeed been living – almost without realising it – with a Pope who is profoundly mystical. After all, this is how Pope Francis has thought and lived the Church: not as a religious organisation, nor as a distributor of sacraments, much less as a centre of economic, social or political power, but as the people of God, the body of Christ, which gives hospitality to humanity in His humanity. A Church, therefore, that is open to humanity, to service, because Jesus is “the heart of the world”.
To reduce Francis to a social reformer or a Pope of disruption shows a tremendous blindness. I often stared at his face when he inserted comments in his messages, for example at the Sunday Angelus. There, with the simplicity of a shepherd who passionately loves his flock, he displayed his harmony with the divine, his wisdom, his crystal-clear and straightforward faith, his profound humility.
In my humble opinion, from the centrality of Christ derive the two fundamental pillars of his magisterium: mercy and hope. Mercy is the expression of knowing ourselves as believers rooted in history, both personal and collective, with all its tragedies; hope manifests the eschatological and salvific tension that determines it. According to the Pope’s thought, there is mercy because there is hope; and it is hope that gives us a heart of mercy. Indeed, in his homily prepared for this year’s Easter Vigil, Francis affirms that ‘the Risen Christ is the definitive turning point in human history’. The important social and ecological messages of Pope Francis are misunderstood if this eschatological tension centred on the Risen Lord is not taken into account.
Francis’ relationship with the Focolare Movement has been very deep during the twelve years of his pontificate. He addressed ten official speeches to it: to the participants at the 2014 and 2021 Assemblies; to all those belonging to the Movement on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of its birth; to the academic community of the Sophia University Institute; to the family focolares; to the participants at the meeting of the bishops of various Churches; to the participants at the meeting on the “economy of communion”; to the participants at the interreligious conference “One Human Family”; to the citizens of the little town of Loppiano; to the Mariapolis of Rome – Earth Village. Furthermore, on one occasion, he granted a private audience to Maria Voce, the first president of the Work of Mary after Chiara, and to myself.
What emerges from these meetings is a great love and a touching pastoral concern of Pope Francis for the Movement. In the virtual ecclesial circularity between hierarchical and charismatic gifts, we can affirm that, on the one hand, the Pope has been able to grasp, value and highlight the gift that the charism of unity, with its emphasis on the spirituality of communion and its concrete achievements in very different ecclesial and civic contexts, represents for the synodal process that the whole Church is living in view of a new evangelisation. On the other hand, he has identified with extreme clarity the challenges and steps that the movement must necessarily take if it wants to remain faithful to its original charism, knowing how to go through the inevitable post-foundation crisis in a humble way, transforming it into a time of grace and new opportunities.
Pope Francis has been for the world an all-encompassing message of fraternity rooted in Christ and open to all. Fraternity is the only future that is possible. We, the people of unity, must treasure this legacy with humility, energy and responsibility.
Jesús Morán
Photo © Vatican Media
Be instruments of love and joy!
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Bring peace
Instill hope
Testify to love
It was with deep sorrow that I learned of the return to the house of the Father of our beloved Pope Francis. Together with the whole Church, we give him back to God, filled with gratitude for the extraordinary example and gift of love that he has been for every person and every people.
There have been many moments, throughout his entire pontificate, in which the Holy Father has been a close and loving shepherd also for the Focolare Movement. He has always welcomed us and has guided us to witness to the Gospel with courage and in a radical way.
We have lived many moments with him, which we will never forget In one of them we remember his words to the General Assembly of the Focolare, when he received us in audience in 2021:
‘Always listen to Christ’s cry of abandonment on the cross, which manifests the highest measure of love. The grace that comes from this, is capable of inspiring in us, who are weak and sinners, generous and sometimes heroic responses. It is capable of transforming suffering and even tragedy into a source of light and hope for humanity’.
Finally, I cannot fail to testify also to the Pope’s love and personal concern for me, for the sufferings of my people in the Holy Land, and my immense gratitude for having invited me to participate in the Synod on Synodality, where he himself opened the doors of the Synodal Church that is now starting to take its steps throughout the world.
Together with the entire Focolare Movement in the world, I unite myself to the prayer of the universal Church and of all men and women of good will, certain that Our Lady ‘Salus Populi Romani’, (Mary, Health of the Roman People) to whom he was so devoted, will welcome him into heaven with open arms.
Margaret Karram
Communicate God’s sweetness
The fullness of joy!
Be silent before each neighbour
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An Easter of hope but above all, an Easter to be lived together. In this year 2025, which marks 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, Christian Churches will celebrate Easter on the same day: Sunday, 20th April.
This is a wonderful coincidence that calls all Christians to take a decisive step toward unity—a call to rediscover ourselves as united in plurality.
In an age marked by divisions on every front and especially at this time that brings us closer to the mystery of the Resurrection, we would like to share what Chiara Lubich said in Palermo in 1998 about “A Spirituality for Dialogues”, specifically an “ecumenical spirituality.”
It is a direct invitation to respond to the call of mutual love, not as individuals, but together. It is an opportunity to look upon the Jesus Forsaken on the cross as a light which, even in the ultimate sacrifice, not only leads us but becomes the sure pathway along which we can take our steps.
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Photo: © Carlos Mana – CSC audiovisivi
Welcome everyone
Carry out acts of service
According to the calendar of major events for the Jubilee of Hope 2025, the Jubilee for Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly will take place from 30th May- 1st June and the Jubilee for Young People will take place from 28th July-3rd August. These will be two major events that will bring thousands of people from all over the world to Rome.
For the occasion, the Focolare Movement is offering several itineraries to provide opportunities to get to know more about the spirituality of unity and the lives of some witnesses of hope. In particular, a multi-stop tour for young people has been created around Italy entitled Youth and Holiness. We interviewed Paola Torelli and Lais Alexandre Pessoa from the Movement’s Youth Centres to find out more.
Let’s start with the Youth Jubilee: where did the idea of the “Young People and Holiness” tour come from?
The Youth Jubilee is a unique opportunity to set out on a journey, both physically in Rome and in other jubilee locations around the world. This journey is not just about visiting places, but above all it is an experience of encounter with God and with many witnesses of hope, whose lives can help us grow in faith and hope. Hence the idea of Young People and Holiness, a journey in the company of some witnesses of hope, for all the young people participating in the Jubilee at the end of July.
What is the Focolare Movement offering?
Several stops around Italy are planned:
Can you choose only one stage or is it one complete journey that includes all the stops?
The proposed stages are independent, each group or person can choose which ones to participate in or, if possible, follow the entire route. Contact details are provided for each stop regarding programs and visits.
Are there any other initiatives for young people?
Every month, at the Focolare Meeting Point in Rome there is a gathering entitled Call to one hope – Young people on the Journey. Together with some other Movements and Associations, we offer a chance to nurture and strengthen “hope” through shared testimonies, reflection, silence, and prayer. It’s an experience of mutual discovery. Preparing these events together with the other Movements and Associations helps us grow and become ever more the Church.
Let’s move on now to the Jubilee for Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly at the end of May: what does Focolare propose?
There will be two events on Friday, 30th May. They are interactive routes to deepen the Jubilee of Hope, designed for families with children and young people up to the age of 12, They include reflections and games suitable for that age group. The first will take place at the Focolare International Centre where participants can visit several significant places, such as the house where Chiara Lubich lived and the chapel where she is buried, together with the co-founders of the Movement. The second event will take place in Rome in several churches and significant places, starting from the Focolare Meeting Point.
For more information click here or write to: sgmu@focolare.org.
Lorenzo Russo
Photo: Città di Sassello (Italia) ©Davide Papalini
Live through problems
Wars, massacres and bloodshed, extreme polarizations, situations in which even pacifism can become divisive: this is the current situation in which we are immersed.
The figure of Igino Giordani (1894-1980), a man of peace because he was a just and coherent man, gives us some inspiration today to lift our gaze and continue to hope, attempting to foster a dialogue even where it seems impossible, to break down crystallised ideologies and absolutisms, to build an inclusive society and to rebuild peace on unity.
One of the most vivid witnesses of the culture of peace of the twentieth century, his pacifism draws directly from the Gospel: killing another man means murdering a being made in the image and likeness of God. Giordani therefore yearned for peace, spent himself in every possible way for it ways, engaged in dialogue with anyone in the name of peace, did not back down even when it came to lending his support to the ratification of the Atlantic Pact and ensuring the security and defence of Europe and Italy… We can say that his pacifism was comprehensive and spared no effort.
Let’s look at some of his writings.
“…World War I broke out […] And massive pro-war rallies took place in the streets, which I attended so as to protest against the war; so much so that once a person I respected, upon hearing my shouts, admonished me: ‘You’re asking to be killed!’…
[…] In the “radiant May” 1915, I was called to arms. […] […]
The trenches. It was there, that I left school and entered life, in the arms of death under the salvos of cannons. Mud, cold, filth, there I bitterly discovered that the soldiers were all opposed to the ‘murder’ called war, because murder meant the killing of a man: they all detested it… […] We were in Oslavia, near some ruins called Pri-Fabrisu: Later during a three-year hospital stay, I recalled the memory of the agony (from the Greek, “agon” meaning struggle) suffered in those places in a short poem entitled The faces of the dead. I remember the last verse that said: “This is curse of war” [2]».
Giordani was seriously injured and when he returned from the trenches, he spent three years in the military hospital in Milan, suffering irreversible damage to one leg. His pacifism was therefore grounded in life experience. Later, when he was engaged in political life, he always strove for dialogue with everyone, even with those whose views differed from his, firmly believing that every person should always be welcomed and understood. He never entrenched himself in absolute positions. This is how he described his speech in Parliament in favour of the Atlantic Pact:
“I remember a speech I gave in the Chamber on 16th March, 1949 […], about the Atlantic Pact, which had for too long been presented solely in its anti-communist aspect, that is, as a military build-up against the Russians […] I said that every war is a failure of Christians: “If the world were Christian, there would be no wars… […] War, I added, is murder, it is deicide (killing of God’s image, that is, of man who is made in his image) and it is suicide”
[3]».
Giordani’s speech was applauded by both the right and the left: a patient weaver of relationships, he highlighted the positive value of a choice by Italy that could have been interpreted as in favour of war. Giordani firmly believed that for peace to prevail, every possible path must be pursued, transcending strategic allegiances. He hoped that Christian politics would be capable of unravelling the existing polarizations to act in favour peace.
In 1953, he wrote:
“War is a large-scale murder, cloaked in a kind of sacred cult […]. It is to humanity, what disease is to health, what sin is to the soul: it is destruction and devastation, affecting both body and soul, individuals and communities.
[…] The end may be justice, freedom, honour, bread, but the means produce such destruction of bread, honour, freedom and justice, as well as human lives, including those of women, children, the elderly and innocents of all kinds, which tragically nullifies the very purpose for which they were intended.
In essence, war accomplishes nothing except to destroy lives and wealth
[4]».
Giordani therefore reminds us that peace is the result of a deliberate project: a project of fraternity among peoples, of solidarity with the most vulnerable, of mutual respect. This is how a more just world is built, today too.
Elena Merli
(Centro Igino Giordani)
Photo © Archivio CSC Audiovisivi
[1] Igino Giordani, L ‘inutilità della guerra, Città Nuova, Rome, 2003, (third edition), p. 57
[2] Igino Giordani, Memorie di un cristiano ingenuo, Città Nuova, Rome 1994, pp.47-51
[3] Idem, p.111
[4] Igino Giordani, L’inutilità della guerra, Città Nuova, Roma, 2003, (third edition), p. 3
Open up to Love
Be gentle
Accompany the suffering of others
Something new can be born from crisis
Go beyond prejudice
We are publishing the report of the year 2024 on the activities of the Focolare Movement concerning the Safeguarding of the Person, starting with the words that Pope Francis addressed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and with which in fact, he updated the mandate with which he had established it 10 years ago. We feel strongly called to fulfil this ‘integral conversion’ to which the Holy Father is calling us, which is never completely accomplished, but asks us to question ourselves continuously, to have for each person a humble, always attentive, protective and welcoming attitude. He asks us to continue with perseverance on the path of formation and authentic closeness, aware of the need for change, so that each person may feel safe, loved and respected in our environments and in our various activities.
2024: listening, formation, regulations
There were three elements that characterised the past year from the point of view of safeguarding in the Focolare Movement: listening and the involvement of victims and witnesses in various capacities in the process of reparation, and the formation of the people in positions of responsibility in the movement; the expansion of courses and formation events for all participants and to continue to establish the regulations, with the updating of the document for the “Procedures for handling cases of abuse” as well as the drafting of the Guidelines for Listening and Welcoming Services.
The meeting last November of those responsible for the Movement around the world, with some people who had been affected either by sexual abuse or abuse of authority, by members of the Focolare Movement, was of fundamental importance. People told their stories of great suffering and the serious consequences on their lives and on the communities that they were or still are a part of. Also present were some family members of one of the people abused who gave their testimony of the serious impact that abuse has on all members of the family. The words of one participant expressed clearly the importance of that moment: ” Listening to these people marked a before and an after. With delicacy and clarity, they expressed to us how much the Movement has failed in what is at the heart of its charism: unity and love of neighbour, because in many cases we have not only been co-responsible in some way, for the abuse committed, but we have also left people alone to cope with their suffering ”.
In addition, the contribution of the those who have suffered abuse together with the involvement of professionals in various disciplines, from outside the Movement, have been fundamental to the work done at the International Centre and in the local areas. This included the documents that have been produced, as well as for the formation in Safeguarding of the Focolare communities around the world, together with the planning and opening of some spaces for listening and welcoming.
Read the report concerning Safeguarding 2024
Downloadable PDF in English.
A Study Commission has now been set up to look at the abuses of authority and spiritual abuses that have occurred within the Movement. The aim is to investigate their causes, so as to be able to change harmful practices and implement the necessary prevention. The study, which is still ongoing, also makes use of advice from specialists from outside the movement in various fields: psychological, pedagogical and legal. This project was supported and encouraged by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and, despite being in its early stages, its great importance is recognised. So it is clear that the creation and enacting of norms and Procedures is not enough, but the dynamics, leading to the various forms of abuse, must be investigated.
Finally, regulatory documents and guidelines have been updated, developed and produced (as illustrated below), which are also the result of a fruitful collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which has followed and promoted the new steps taken.
Stefania Tanesini
[1] Message of Pope Francis to the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, 25March 2025
Recognise the dignity of others
Unreserved welcome!
Take the first step towards others
in an interview published on the Vatican News website, during the days of the ecumenical conference entitled “Called to hope – Key players of dialogue” promoted by Centro Uno, the Focolare’s international secretariat for Christian Unity, Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, said, “Today, more than ever, in the world in which we live, so full of divisions, tragedies, conflicts, where people do not engage in dialogue, meeting together is very significant.” Her words expressed a certainty that resonated in the hearts and in the experience of the 250 people from 40 countries and 20 Christian Churches and of the 4,000+ connected worldwide via streaming, who participated in the event.
The Conference, held at the Mariapolis Centre in Castel Gandolfo from March 26-29th 2025, opened with contributions from Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare Movement and Callan Slipper, an Anglican theologian who said: “Ecumenism, by repairing our personal interactions within the Christian community, allows the Church to be herself. What humanity needs, we need too. Our spiritual health diminishes without it, just as every other dimension of human life cannot reach its fulfilment without the reconciliation brought by Jesus”. Morán concluded: “Unity rather than union and Christianity as a way of being rather than as a doctrine, can be two fruitful paths for ecumenism in response to what history demands of us today”.
The conference proposed a method for walking in unity: the kind of dialogue that emerges from the spirituality of the Focolare, the dialogue of life, the dialogue of the people alongside a similar concept known as receptive ecumenism. Through her experience, Prof. Karen Petersen Finch, an American Presbyterian, highlighted the importance of involving more people in dialogue on the doctrine of the faith, which is normally reserved only for theologians, Church leaders and official committees for dialogue.
One day was dedicated to a pilgrimage to Rome with a visit to the Basilica of St. Lawrence the Martyr and the Abbey of the Three Fountains, where tradition places the martyrdom of St. Paul. In an atmosphere of recollection, one of the participants described the day as: “an encounter with the first martyrs of the undivided Church who, with their authentic life, faith and their witness, instil in us the courage to proclaim Christ today”. The pilgrimage concluded at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls with an ecumenical prayer. Ecumenism has its biblical root in prayer, beginning with Jesus, who while praying, asked the Father: “That they may all be one”. His words, echoed in various passages of Scripture, invite us to ask anything of the Father “in his name, together and in agreement”. And so, together, gathered in unity, priests and lay people of all the Christian confessions present, jointly asked the Father for peace in every corner of the earth and for reconciliation among all Christians.
The themes addressed during the conference included the significant commemorations for 2025: the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea; Easter which will be celebrated on the same day by all the Christian Churches; and the 60th anniversary of the lifting of the excommunications between the Church of Rome and that of Constantinople. Referring to the Council of Nicaea, Dr. Martin Illert, a representative of the World Council of Churches, said: “I am convinced that common prayer and reflection pave the way for unity, as they remind us of both our common roots and our shared mission.” Msgr. Andrea Palmieri of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity observed: ” These events are undoubtedly important, but (…) words must be followed by concrete, prophetic decisions. I am convinced that the reflections initiated this year will contribute to the maturation of decisions that may shape the future of the ecumenical journey. ”
The Conference also explored how synodality can contribute to ecumenism. In a panel featuring participants of the Catholic Church’s Synod: three fraternal delegates (members of various churches), a Catholic Bishop and a Special Guest shared the lived experience of how the active participation of everyone contributed to affective and effective dialogue, which had as His Eminence Khajag Barsamian, of the Armenian Apostolic Church said, a “strong ecumenical dimension, which emphasized unity, shared spiritual experiences and mutual respect among Christians”. Rev. Dirk G. Lange of the Lutheran World Federation, affirmed, “The whole Synod as a spiritual exercise profoundly influenced my understanding of myself, my ministry, and my Church”. Monsignor Brendan Leahy, Catholic Bishop of Limerick (Ireland), added that the Synod’s method, the “Conversation in the Spirit,” made him “more attentive in my work and ministry to listen more, recognizing the seed of truth in every person,” while Dr. Elizabeth Newman of the World Baptist Alliance stated that synodality is grounded ” in the awareness and practice that one’s own point of view must not prevail. You don’t have to ‘win’.” Margaret Karram emphasized: “We know that hope is a virtue and we cannot lose it. We must nurture it, cultivate it within us so that we can give it to others,” and she invited everyone to increase hope and faith through “even small gestures towards others: gestures of solidarity, communion, and openness… only in this way can we hope”.
In summary, the Conference was a call to hope, marked by reflection, in-depth discussions, concrete actions and life testimonies which illustrated the path of ecumenical action at the global level (Global Christian Forum, JC2033), at the international level (Ikumeni– Latin America, Together for Europe, John17) and at local level (from Brazil to the Philippines, from Northern Ireland to Serbia, from the Netherlands to Venezuela, from Germany to Uganda…). It engaged churches, priests, laypeople, theologians, scholars, adults, and young people—truly, all were key players in the dialogue.
Carlos Mana
You can view the streaming of the Conference on the focolare.org Youtube channel
(Photo: © Javier García, Joaquín Masera, Carlos Mana – CSC Audiovisivi)
Be available
Give joy to those close by
For over two years, on the initiative of NetOne, the international network of communicators of the Focolare Movement, a group of communication professionals, has been meeting online every month to explore themes related to the Synod of Bishops, in particular on synodality and communication. Key elements during these meetings include listening, silence, testimony and fraternal communication. In addition to these regular sessions, two webinars have taken place over the past two years: the first in April 2024 (an in-depth analysis is available online here) and the second in February 2025 entitled, “What kind of communication for synodality?” (VIDEO) This event was followed in various parts of the world with the participation of numerous communication experts connected from several countries.
Alessandro Gisotti, deputy director of Vatican Media, opened the series of interventions by citing three essential terms for a good communicator: Communication, Action and Community. He said, “In this Holy Year, we need a synodal communication that is able to accompany the people who will come, without the presumption of wanting to lead them but available to listen to them, to accompany them, to share a part of the journey together”.
From the United States, Kim Daniels, Professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC, Coordinator of the Synod of Study Group 3 explained, “Mission in the digital environment – our goal is to offer actionable recommendations to the Holy Father for the improvement of the Church’s mission in this digital culture, ensuring that it remains firmly rooted in our call to meet people wherever they are, leading them towards a deeper communion with Christ and with each other”.
Pál Tóth, a Professor at the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano, spoke from Hungary, explaining that “healing the deep wounds of the globalized world requires transversal collaboration including with those whose views differ from our own. The idea of differentiated consensus promotes a new type of social relationship: we collaborate for the realization of some values while remaining on different platforms for others”.
The starting point of the Synod is those on the margins. This emerged from the experience of Muriel Fleury and Beatrice Binaghi, respectively Head of Communication and Social Media Officer at the Dicastery for Integral Human Development. “Speaking for those who are exploited or marginalized by dominant processes means making these people visible. Without these countercurrent voices, everything would favour those who dominate, because silence supports those who mistreat, enslave, exploit, or render too many men and women invisible “. Binaghi described the collaboration network created among the “border bishops” responsible for migratory pastoral care in Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama, especially to address the critical situation in Darien through which hundreds of migrants pass every day. “Dialogue and communication have created communities, and the work that was previously fragmented is now more synergistic and impactful”.
The actress Stefania Bogo was asked to give two moments of reflection through an artistic reading of selected passages from the recent encyclical of Pope Francis, Dilexit nos and Chiara Lubich’s “The attraction of modern times”.
Erica Tossani, of the Presidency of the Synodal Assembly of the Italian Church, explained how important it is to listen, that “it is not merely a passive action, a silence waiting to be filled by the words of others. It is an active attitude that involves attention, discernment and a willingness to be challenged. Without listening, communication degenerates into polarization and sterile opposition”.
The experiences of synodality included that of Paolo Balduzzi, correspondent for the Italian Rai 1 program “A sua immagine”. He explained, “The stories told arise from a dialogue shared with the entire editorial team. For me, every interview is an encounter. And synodality begins with this encounter with my interlocutor, that is, entering into their story, into their lived experience and together seeking to grasp the most essential aspects of their story”.
The story of Mariella Matera, blogger of Alumera, a space for evangelization on social media, is the story of a communicator fascinated by the idea of transmitting the Gospel through the internet. She asked herself, “How can I be a little bridge between the web and Christ? In the Calabrian (southern Italy) dialect, the word Alumera refers to the old type of oil lamp. Just as the lamp, as long as it has oil, does not go out, so too I, as long as I have the love of Christ in me, cannot be silent”.
In conclusion, Anita Tano, head of communication for United World Project-NetOne Argentina recounted the experience of Genfest 2024 in Brazil, the youth event of the Focolare Movement which had the theme Together to Care. Featuring cultural exchanges, art and workshops, the aim was to recognise communication as a tool to take care of “one’s own life, that of others and that of the planet”. A message that emphasized the difference between simply being “connected” and being truly “united.”
The live broadcast was moderated by Enrico Selleri, presenter and author of the Italian Church broadcasters Tv2000 and InBlu2000, along with Sara Fornaro, editor-in-chief of the web version of the Italian magazine Città Nuova. The event was promoted by NetOne together with the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, Vatican Media, the Synodal Way of the Church in Italy, TV2000, InBlu2000 and SIR (of the Italian Episcopal Conference), the Sophia University Institute, Weca (Association of Italian WebCatholics), the Città Nuova Editorial Group and the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
For more information and to stay in touch: net4synodcom@gmail.com
www.youtube.com/@SynodalCommunicationNetwork
Lorenzo Russo
Photo: © Pixabay
Promote dialogue with someone who is different from me
“I think that, after Don Silvano Cola, Don Pepe, was the most charismatic Focolare priest I have ever known,” remarked a priest from Italy upon hearing the news of the death of Don Enrico Pepe on 2nd March, 2025 at the Focolare Priest’s Centre in Grottaferrata (Rome). “He was a person with a pure gaze. He saw people in truth and also in mercy”, said another from the USA. Cardinal João Braz De Aviz, emeritus Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, who presided at the funeral, said in the homily: “I thank the Lord for the care he has had for us priests, helping many not to lose the gift of the Christian life and the ministerial priesthood, because we were strengthened by the continuous search for unity among ourselves, with the Church and with the Work of Mary”.
But who was Don Enrico Pepe? He shared a lot about himself in the book, An Adventure in Unity (CNx 2018).
Enrico was born on 15th November 1932 in Cortino (Teramo, Italy), the first of nine brothers and sisters. Despite the shadows of war, he enjoyed a happy childhood. Late in life, he would gladly return to those places, also to reconnect with the warmth of his loved ones: the Pepe “tribe”, now numbering 76 nieces, nephews and great nephews and nieces.
During his secondary school years, Enrico felt called to the priesthood and entered the seminary. He experienced a moment of doubt when a young woman was affectionate towards him, but precisely in that circumstance, he renewed his choice with even greater awareness.
He was ordained a priest in 1956 and in 1958 the Bishop sent him to Cerchiara, a town near the Gran Sasso, divided by two political factions that also affected the parish. Don Enrico, with his evangelical “cunning”, manages to carve out his path and the situation soon calmed down.
In 1963 he met the Focolare Movement. Together with Don Annibale Ferrari, he travelled every fortnight from Teramo to Rome to meet Don Silvano Cola at the first Priests’ focolare. A year later he was offered the opportunity to move to Palmares in the North East of Brazil, where Bishop Dom Acacio Rodrigues had turned to the Focolare Movement, due to the serious shortage of priests. In 1965 Don Pepe became the parish priest in Ribeirão, in an area of sugar cane monoculture with burning social and moral problems. He responded with a pastoral approach enlightened by the Second Vatican Council and by his own common sense. Over the years, a Priests’ focolare was born, a community in which Dom Acacio frequently participated.
After a few months back in his homeland, in 1969 he left again for Brazil, this time to devote himself entirely to the Movement and to develop the spirit of unity among priests. In 1972 he relocated for this purpose to the Mariapolis Araceli, the little town of the Focolare near Sao Paulo. Years later, Don Pepe wrote to Pope Francis, “At that time, the Church in Brazil was going through a tremendous crisis, especially among the clergy. Together with the focolarini, I began to offer the spirituality of unity to diocesan and religious priests and seminarians. In this way, a new and joyful life was awakened in many dioceses and religious congregations.” This led to an unexpected result: “In the early 1980s, the Holy See began to appoint some priests who lived this spirituality as bishops”.
In 1984, Don Pepe was called to the Priests’ Focolare Centre in Grottaferrata (Rome), to look after, together with Don Silvano Cola, the thousands of priests who were living the spirituality of unity and the life flourishing in parishes around the world. In his spare time, he compiled the lives of Martyrs and Saints. This led to a book by the publisher Città Nuova that was so well received that he was asked to expand it to three volumes.
In 2001, the case of the Zambian Archbishop Milingo broke out. When he repented, the Holy See sought someone to guide him through a process of renewal and turned to the Focolare Movement. Don Pepe was assigned this task. Years later, Cardinal Bertone, then Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to Don Pepe: “We met at a special moment in the life of the Church in Rome, without ever having met in person, but we sensed a convergence of ideals, of mission and of transmitting God’s merciful love, which sealed our relationships.”
In his later years, he faced significant health challenges. Don Pepe commented “In Brazil I passed through many airports and now I often see myself on the runway, ready for the final flight, the most beautiful one, because it will bring us to the Beyond”.
Hubertus Blaumeiser
Look to the future with hope
Get out of your own box!
Live the present moment
Trust in God
Nostalgia is a very specific feeling and, in many people, it often gives riseto moral, philosophical and spiritual questions. Etymologically it means “pain of return,” and sometimes has an indeterminate sense: sometimes it is not linked to a past made up of real places, people or events but to a deep emotion that makes us yearn for something beautiful, just and universal. It is as if we know we are part of it or called to this “something”.
The theme of exile runs through the history of human thought: the voyage of Odysseus (sung in Homer’s Odyssey) is a journey that recalls the infinite because although it is unfinished and open-ended, it also conveys a sense of wisdom.
(…)
“Keep Ithaca always in your mind. Arriving there is what you are destined for. But do not hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years. (…) And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you. Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.”[1]
Every story of exile, whether it is taken from ancient civilizations or the present day, addresses existential questions that are fundamental to all ages: does this story have meaning? Is there a “thread” behind it all? This question can also be addressed on a personal level: is there meaning to what I am experiencing or have experienced? Why the evil, the pain, the death? These are questions that are often not asked but, according to recent studies, they are deeply felt by young people and express their real needs. Nostalgia for the infinite is often manifested in melancholy, loneliness and a search for reasons and answers. [2]
Yet these questions struggle to emerge: we are distracted by what is happening around and by the worries that torment us. Perhaps we do not pause long enough to recognise the little answers that surround us that can be a light to help us maintain a sense of purpose in life.
So let us try to look for opportunities where we can find time and space for sharing, listening and reflecting with those who travel through life with us. Let’s do so with our community, our friends and work colleagues. Let’s tackle these questions without losing faith that things can change for the better. We too will feel changed as a result.
In Christian communities all over the world, Easter is celebrated this month. The message that lies behind the “three days” that are central to this season is strong: it poses questions for all people who are ready to reflect and are open to dialogue[3]. The mystery of pain, the ability to “enter” into the wounds of humanity and the strength to begin again are the values shared by every person who accompanies us as we journey forward through difficult times.iii They are a personal guide for us at all times.
© Photo da StockSnap/Pixabay
THE IDEA OF THE MONTH is currently produced by the Focolare Movement’s “Centre for Dialogue with People of Non religious Beliefs”. It is an initiative that began in 2014 in Uruguay to share with non-believing friends the values of the Word of Life, i.e. the phrase from Scripture that members of the Movement strive to put into practice in their daily lives. Currently, THE IDEA OF THE MONTH is translated into 12 languages and distributed in more than 25 countries, with adaptations of the text according to different cultural sensitivities.
[1]Konstandinos P. Kavafis. Poesie, Mondadori, Milano 1961
[2]Istituto Giuseppe Toniolo: Cerco, dunque credo? (Vita e Pensiero, 2024) cura di R. Bichi e P. Bignardi
[3]Convegno Internazionale “Il senso nel dolore?” (Castel Gandolfo, 2017) https://www.cittanuova.it/senso-neldolore/?ms=006&se=007
The exile in Babylon and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem created a collective trauma for the people of Israel and gave rise to a theological question: they asked themselves, ‘Is God still with us or has he abandoned us?’ This month’s Word of Life is taken from the part of the book of Isaiah that endeavoured to help the people understand that God was still at work. They could trust him and would, eventually, be able to return to their homeland. In fact, the face of God the creator and saviour is clearly revealed during this experience of exile.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?.
Isaiah reminds us of God’s faithful love for his people that remains constant and unchanged during the dramatic period of exile. Even though the promises made to Abraham seem unattainable and the covenant seems to be in crisis, the people of Israel are in the privileged position of continuing to experience God’s presence in history.
The prophetic book addresses existential questions that are still fundamental today: who determines the unfolding of history? Who determines its meaning? We can ask these questions on a personal level too. Who holds my fate in their hands? What is the meaning of what I am experiencing now or have experienced in the past?
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?.
God is working in each person’s life and is constantly, doing ‘new things.’ If we do not always notice or can understand their meaning and scope, it is because they are still springing up or because we are not ready to recognize what he is creating. Perhaps we do not pause long enough to observe these tiny shoots of life that are a certain sign of his presence because we are distracted by all that is happening around us or because thousands of thoughts and worries invade our souls and weigh us down. Nonetheless, he never forsakes us and is continually creating and recreating our lives.
“We are the ‘new thing,’ the ‘new creation’ that God has generated… We no longer look back to the past and sometimes regret what has happened to us or mourn our mistakes: we strongly believe in the action of God who can continue to work new things.”[1].
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?.
We live alongside many other people; they may be members of our community or friends or colleagues at work. Let’s approach them and try to work together without ever losing faith that things will change for the better.
The year 2025 is special because the date of Orthodox Easter coincides with that of other Christian denominations. May this shared celebration of Easter be a testimony to the willingness of the Churches to unceasingly continue to dialogue about the challenges facing humanity and to promote joint action.
Let us prepare to live this Easter season with great joy, faith and hope. Christ rose from the dead so, although we may ‘cross through the desert’, let us continue to be accompanied on our journey by the One who guides both history and our personal lives.
Edited by Patrizia Mazzola & the Word of Life Team
© Photo Adina Voicu by Pixabay
[1] C Lubich, Word of Life, March 2004
Do small acts of love
Share joy!
Decentralise!
It was a beautiful afternoon with perfect weather. Lima’s waterfront was crowded: entire families enjoying the beach, parents and children arriving with their surfboards and equipment, surf schools with their instructors, tourists and vendors of drinks and ice cream to offer to that swarm of potential customers.
We were accompanying a friend from northern Peru who had come to visit us. Marcelo and I were taking him to the most pleasant and attractive spots. On the horizon you could see surfers skilfully riding the high waves of the Pacific Ocean – an ocean which despite its name is anything but peaceful. It was a real spectacle! The sun was preparing for its final scene of the day casting an exclusive backdrop of fiery orange and red across the sky.
In this beautiful setting, accessible only to a certain social class, everything seemed to be going perfectly. Amidst the crowd, I noticed a tiny, man as thin as a stick carrying four large sacks of waste material that he had collected: cardboard, plastic bottles, glass… This small figure, completely invisible in that environment, was preparing to climb a long flight of stairs, leading to the overpass that crossed the highway from one side to the other, from the beach to the road. He looked like an invisible ant burdened with a load three times his weight.
In that faceless crowd, his presence caught my attention. “Come, sit beside me for a while,” I said, pointing to the empty seat on the bench where I was sitting. He looked at with surprised, then smiled. He set down his heavy sacks and took a seat. “Hi, my name is Gustavo, and you?”. “Arthur,” he replied with a wide, toothless grin.
He explained that he had come from far away and that he needed to cross the highway, climbing up the steep staircase, to get the bus that would take him home. There, in his humble neighborhood, he would sell the waste material he had collected. This was his daily job which enabled him and his family to survive.
Marcelo gave him 5 Soles, the price of the bus ticket. We said goodbye shaking his sweaty hand warmly and wishing him good luck. As he climbed the stairs with his bags in his hand, every so often he looked back at us and flashed us his toothless smile.
In the midst of the faceless crowd, Arthur became the most important person, the one who touched our hearts, who stirred something deep within us, who connected us with the Beatitudes, to the way God sees.
Gustavo E. Clariá
Lighten the burden of others
