Itinerary:
In the Year of Mercy, Consecrated Women who belong to the Focolare Movement will hold a week of Spiritual Exercises at their Casa Emmaus Centre in the Focolare town of Loppiano, Italy. “It will be an opportunity for the women to deepen their own charisms in the light of the spirituality of unity,” explains Sister Antonia Moioli, “and in this context to experience the relationship that exists amongst the charisms. Brochure
“Resignation and weariness do not belong to the soul of Europe; even our problems can become powerful forces of unity” For the majority of Europeans, May 9 is an occasion to celebrate the values of integration, unity and peace, as this date marks the anniversary of the historical Schuman declaration that gave birth to the European Union; but for others it marks the time when Stalin declared victory over Germany on May 9, 1945 and rights started to be deprived under the Soviet rule. The innovative process of integration, which Europe dared to start sixty years ago, should be confronted against this historical background even today. Considering the present crisis and the contradictions inherent in the cultural and social paradigms that peoples in Europe are experiencing, one is bound to ask: is the European experience still valid? Do Europeans still want to be together? For Pasquale Ferrara, a diplomat, a scholar and a lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy, “the European vision of integration – which consists of bringing together not so much the leaderships, but the political will of the different countries to govern jointly over phenomena that are beyond control of individual states – is still one of great insight”. Through integration “Europe demonstrates that even today multilateralism can have an added value if attention is not centred on the state but on the political function it performs to provide for the needs of its citizens in a global and transnational world”. “A Europe that is able to stay together and thus rediscover what more can be done for the world in a better way” – these words of Maria Voce summerize the Focolare Movement’s perspective while contributing towards ongoing processes in Europe. An example of this commitment is “Together for Europe”, which brings together more than 300 communities and movements that belong to different Christian Churches. These form a network which pursues shared goals and promotes a culture of reciprocity, which stimulates individuals and peoples to welcome and get to know each other, to be reconciled and to offer mutual support. “’Together for Europe’ is not an end in itself, but its nature is exquisitely political in the noblest sense of the word: it strives for the good of that part of humanity which is Europe; it aims at the revival of its roots and at its awareness to contribute to the rest of the world” . “Together for Europe” is organizing a European event that will take place in Munich from June 30 to July 2, 2016. During the first two days, 36 round tables and forums will offer the opportunity to share experiences and views on issues concerning Europe. An outdoor rally will conclude the event on the third day. Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will be present through their video messages. Jean-Claude Junker, President of the European Commission, and Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, granted their patronage. (http://www.together4europe.org/). “At a time when Europe is mostly needed, the more it seems to lack the ability to face these challenges”, comments Ferrara, while referring to the lack of political figures with a broad vision. He concludes: “But, are we looking in the wrong direction? Maybe we think that one or more political leaders are needed, while instead we must give more value to civil society, focusing more on youth and their social and political creativity, on their ability to imagine the “Old” continent as a “new” one”. Source: Press releases
It was the summer of 2013 when an idea came up among some teenagers from Rome of doing something to curb the proliferation of gambling in the city. It was becoming more and more common to see both old and young people glued to the slot machines that are found in many Italian bars. Despite the economic crisis, in recent years the supply and consumption of gambling in Italy has increased dramatically. Italians spend 85 billion a year on the more than 50,000 latest generation slot machines, and the latest estimates are that more than 800,000 people suffer from gambling addiction. We see how the gambling business is devastating our cities, depleting the fabric of society and creating isolation and loneliness. At the helm of this exponential growth of gambling is an economic vision in which the only thing that matters is profit for the multinationals with the consent from a state that also sees it as an opportunity for profit. In front of such a bleak scene the teenagers from Rome wondered what they could do . . . and from there came the idea of rewarding the barkeepers who have chosen not to make gambling available at their establishments. They went to breakfast at their bars en masse as a Slotmob. Initially they proposed doing it in Rome and Milan, but the simple and practical idea fascinated many Italians from north to south of the peninsula. There have been 120 Slotmobs in the past two and a half years, with the participation of over 10,000 people and a network of more than 200 associations. The project has created relationships with very diverse groups, created meeting spaces, awareness and mended the social bond that gambling had disintegrated. “In Rome we concentrated our efforts on an area known as the Italian Las Vegas,” Maria Chiara explains. “In a short time a network was formed with 7 local associations that deal with different aspects of gambling. A sincere relationship was created, not without the usual difficulties of working with one another. That’s how the Let’s Not Gamble Ourselves Project began and now involves several city schools. Talking to teenagers about the power of our choices and of how we can change unjust situations beginning from ourselves, is not in fact very easy. But it actually is important to build a more just world and to involve young people in the change process.” Maria Chiara continues: “The Slotmob experience is making us meet many people, many stories that show us that gambling is an open wound on our society. During one Slotmob a man that had helped us to organise some games with the young people took the microphone and told his own experience as a regular gambler. He said to us: ‘My life is made of bright spots and shadows, and what makes me gamble is the solitude. But today seeing all of you here I no longer feel alone. So I commit to stop gambling. If you see me in front of a slot machine, you’re authorised to reprimand me and remind me of this promise I make today’.” “When we look back,” Maria Chiara concludes, “we see that we’ve had unimagined results. Two laws were blocked that would have reduced the power of mayors in limiting gambling; we got a partial ban on television advertising, and increased media attention on the problem of gambling. We’re aware that we have a long road ahead of us, we’d like advertising for gambling to be completely banned and we want to re-open the discussion on whether gambling should be in the hands of multinationals. For this reason on May 7 we will be on more than 40 public squares across Italy restating our yes to a different economy and rewarding bars that have said no to gambling.”
