Sweden’s Catholic movements “together”
On the eve of the feast of Pentecost, 19th May, the Diocese of Stockholm hosted a meeting of movements within the Catholic Church, including the Focolare Movement, the Charismatic Renewal and the Neocatechumenal Way. Over one hundred people attended. Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation “Gaudete et exsultate” was presented, provoking an enriching exchange among those present. During the celebratory Mass, Cardinal Anders Arborelius of Stockholm expressed how precious he considers the presence of ecclesial movements in the local Church. The Focolare community responded: “We all felt co-responsible for the meeting, and by the end of the day we were all so joyful and grateful. We think this was a sign of the tangible presence of Jesus guiding his ‘little flock’. Every year, this meeting is becoming more and more enthusiastically received, and we feel the communion among us all is truly growing”.
A welcome at the border
Ventimiglia is a “gate,” not a “border” – at least as long as France does not suspend the agreements in place that allow people to come and go. So it has become a funnel for migrants who consider Italy a stepping stone to reach destinations beyond the border. “In the past year, more than 20,000 people have come through Ventimiglia,” says Paola, a member of the local Focolare community. “It’s like adding another Ventimiglia, since our population is around 24,000 inhabitants.” A teacher at the diocesan seminary, she recalls how “between February and March 2015, the seminarians started to distribute food to the homeless at the station. As days went by, however, the homeless started to multiply.” They were seeing migrants who, after landing on the Italian coast, aimed to cross the border with France and reach other European countries. “That’s when the ‘emergency’ began, and it has not let up since. At the beginning we joined other locals to volunteer and distribute sandwiches on the street.” Collaborating with Caritas, “we contacted the Focolare community on the other side of the border, and they took turns with us, supporting us with money collected from fundraising during Monaco’s Grand Prix. “In June 2015,” she continues, “a Red Cross camp sprung up near the station. Access was limited, but a number of us could enter under HACCP and collaborate in a number of ways.” Alongside this “official” camp was another more “informal” one, right on the border with France. “Many immigrants had no documents, and seeing that the camp organized by the Red Cross required identification, many preferred staying there and trying to cross the border as fast as they could.” Then, at the beginning of October, the camp was dismantled and cleared out in a “pretty rough way.” “When the Red Cross camp was closed in May 2016, we suddenly found ourselves with more than a thousand people in town. It was an unsustainable situation, worsened by a local law that prohibits distributing food and essential goods to immigrants, which carries penalties and tickets. “Then Caritas intervened to mediate. That’s how we started welcoming people at the Church of Sant’Antonio. By day it was a church; by night, a dormitory. Families with children and the most vulnerable were hosted in the church – the pews were moved and we brought covers, and then in the morning we would clean it all up.” In July 2016 a new Red Cross camp was opened outside the city for men. Women and children continued to be hosted in church. “In 2017 a seemingly infinite influx of minors began, and most of them stayed along the Roya River. The local prefect asked the Red Cross to open up a section of the camp for them. “In the meantime, there were continual sweeps, with hundreds of immigrants boarded on to buses for Taranto in Southern Italy. Yet just days later they were back again. “The fact is,” she explains, “that these people want to reconnect with relatives in other countries, and this is why they are ready to do anything. It’s from here that they can try to cross the border. There are some who have tried ten times before succeeding.” The border is guarded day and night. “Unfortunately, all we are doing is fostering dependency. But they don’t need clothes or a pair of shoes. They need to exercise their freedom of self-determination, which every person should have.” Perhaps the solution could be to create a transit camp, Paola suggests, “a place where an immigrant, during the journey, can stop, find nourishment, wash, change clothes – where they can receive medical attention and legal assistance they need.” Paola calls their service “nothing at all,” but it is these details that help these travelers feel like people again. “We cook African or Arab recipes based on couscous and rice, which we learned how to mix with spices and create dishes according to their traditions. “One day we noticed that a Syrian woman bathed herself each time she came to Caritas, yet she kept putting on the same outfit. She was wearing a tunic with pants. She kept reaching into the piles of clothes, but each time she went away empty handed. “Then we understood and asked some friends from Morocco if they had some clothes in her style. Finally, she was able to change and went away happy.” Source: United World Project
A Space For All Christians
Beatriz Sarkis
Photo credit © Albin Hillert/WCC
Photo credit © Albin Hillert/WCC
The new “us”
“You, Chiara, are the one who helped us understand what marriage truly is: openness and the fulfilment of the plan of God on us. We will use all our strength for the family and the world to become what they should be”. Maria da Conceição, known to all as São, wrote this to Chiara Lubich at the start of our joint adventure – recalls Zé Maia. We got married in Braga in 1981 and from our union six children were born. Then the grandchildren started arriving, nine so far. Chiara Lubich had proposed to São a particular phrase of the Gospel to guide her life: “He must increase and I must decrease. (John 3:30)’. How many times São repeated this to me over the years!” In 2002 Zé and São, both Portughese, moved with their children to the nascent Focolare town “Arco Iris”, 50 km from Lisbon, to help in its foundation. In November 2016, São went to the Mariapolis Centre of Castelgandolfo near Rome, to participate in the “Together for Europe” event. “Before she left for Rome, she said to me, Zé recounts, ‘I’m happy to be part of this meeting; I believe this is the way we should follow”. It was to be her last act of love, joyfully living her life for others. Completely unexpectedly, on 11th November, she had a heart attack and God called her to himself.” Today, what I am going through is living her, whom I find within me, as “one flesh” but now between heaven and earth. Her last words remain fresh in my mind, when she challenged us to “go ahead together, courageously”. So I start again every day, with the encouragement and help of the Focolare life. At home with my family, we’re discovering a “new us”, and experiencing how all we’ve built with love remains. It continues because eternity is perfect love. I’m constantly seeking how to become both father and mother. I’m living as if São was here with me, welcoming other people to our home, or out doing the shopping. Together with her I go to get flowers, or cook a nice lunch for the children or prepare those special treats the grandchildren love. Together with her I’ll speak to someone to correct them if need be, or support them or encourage them. It’s a constant dialogue between earth and heaven. Since São’s death, I’ve made a new discovery of Jesus in the Eucharist, as the moment in which we meet. Certainly, I feel so sad at times, but I find those moments are helping me to open up my heart towards my neighbours. I do feel the dark shadow of loneliness. But I realise I need to turn away from this and follow the light. At the end of each day I can find gratitude in my heart in the moments I lift up my gaze towards the invisible. Yet fear can still creep up on me like a thief, poised to steal away my peace of mind. And at times it’s as though my soul yearns to fly away to somewhere else. But in those moments I allow that ray of light to speak to me, it greets and welcomes me». “Sometimes I write to my children to tell them what I’m living with their mother. ‘Each day, through the kaleidoscope of the soul, I see her with a new kind of beauty, like a blue sky in which I can contemplate the mystery of he’. Life goes on in the family and in communion with others around me. I most assuredly miss her, I miss her company, I miss her companionship and I miss sharing everything with her. No-one can ever be ready to lose their spouse, to be left alone without the beloved voice and loving glances. The loss is felt at all levels, emotional, psychological and relational, as well as practically with the children, with the family as a whole and at work.” In 1967 Chiara Lubich addressed this issue. “The sacrament of marriage makes of two persons one, spiritually as well as physically”, she said. So when one of a couple “departs” for heaven “the marriage is ‘broken’, in the Will of God. It is a divine something – if you can say this – like a small Trinity that breaks”. So it is a real purification which can be best approached by setting oneself to love the people around. This year I seem to have discovered the meaning of God as Love. Love, more than being “of” God, is God himself. Only love remains. We found a short prayer São had written: “Help us to become the family you want us to be. Give me the grace to overcome all difficulties with wit, wisdom, intelligence and goodness. Help us to see everything in your own light”». Gustavo Clariá