Meeting on Human Fraternity: work in which we all share
The Meeting on Human Fraternity took place in the Vatican on 10 June 2023. The Focolare Movement together with a number of other ecclesial movements and international associations and organisations took part in this international event. It was represented by its president, Margaret Karram and a number of other focolarini including Christian Abrahao Da Silva who spoke about his impressions. The meeting had a number of aims: these included promoting and developing the process of participation, rediscovering the meaning of fraternity and building it together through dialogue, knowledge, opportunities for encounter and sharing words and actions. The gathering was promoted by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and St. Peter’s Papal Basilica, under the patronage of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and Vicar General of the Vatican State. It was inspired by the encyclical Fratelli Tutti and participants included several Nobel Peace Laureates and a number of well known people from the worlds of science, culture and law. They were given the task of creating a “Call to Commitment for Human Fraternity.” The document they produced was read by two Nobel Prize laureates, Nadia Murad and Muhammad Yunus, during the Festival held in St. Peter’s Square in the afternoon and was later signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, on behalf of Pope Francis as well as the group that drafted the document. Christian Abrahao Da Silva, a focolarino who attended the Meeting, tells us what an extraordinary moment it was. Christian, what did taking part in this event dedicated to world fraternity mean to you? First of all, it was a great honour. Margaret Karram, the Focolare president, another focolarina called Corres Kwak and I represented the entire Movement during this great event. Its goal was to promote fraternity and social friendship among people and among peoples, as an antidote to the many forms of violence and war taking place in the world. The meeting was held in two parts: the morning session took place in the ancient synod hall, with the presence of representatives of various church movements and associations. Instead, in the afternoon, a large Festival was held in St. Peter’s Square and this connected with events taking place in various squares around the world. How did the Meeting begin? During the morning, we took part in two working groups where we were asked to answer two questions: “What are we doing concretely to achieve social fraternity and environmental fraternity?” and “Is there still an ‘us’?” These were very good sessions in which everyone was involved. People talked a lot about the “garden” in reference to the Garden of Eden about which Pope Francis had written in Fratelli Tutti. The words used most often were were: compassion, responsibility (political and economic), sharing, integral promotion, recognition of every human person, care and welcome. It was a real ecclesial experience: there was great hope that this can grow and witness to the need to rediscover and strengthen human fraternity. What impressed you the most? In addition to the group of Nobel Peace Prize winners and the group of ecclesial movements and associations, there was also a group of 30 young students from various Italian schools who were accompanied by their religious education teachers. They had taken part in a competition to express the theme of the Meeting in a variety of different artistic forms. Their presence was an important sign of the commitment of the new generations to learning about fraternity. Other things that struck me were the experiences that some people shared on Festival stage in the afternoon and the artists who shared their talents so freely and joyfully.
What does the Focolare Movement take home after this event? Pope Francis relaunches fraternity as a new anthropological paradigm on which to rebuild actions and laws because “fraternity has something positive to offer freedom and equality” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 103). This notion brought to mind a talk by Chiara Lubich entitled, “Freedom, equality…what happened to fraternity?” It was one of those events that encourages us to throw ourselves more and more into the heart of our charism of unity. Moreover, Cardinal Gambetti really touched our hearts when he explained the inspiration behind the Meeting. He said it was both a “process and experience, a first step in rediscovering the meaning of fraternity and building it culturally.” He continued by saying that becausé it is not giveǹ biologically, fraternity needs encounter and dialogue, knowledge and shared words and gestures, common languages and the experience of beauty.
Maria Grazia Berretta
It all started in 2018. Tommaso and I were in Argentina. We met at a conference for young people of the Focolare Movement. Since he is a philosopher, he had been invited as a speaker to talk about freedom. I listened to what he said and liked it very much. Over the years he has continued to engage in dialogue with and for young people, so much so that he has decided to compile some of the exchanges in a book, entitled “The last hour of the night”, which will be released by Città Nuova in August 2023. And then came the idea: “Well if a book is coming out, why not do a podcast that deals with the same content?” And so a few months ago I got a phone call inviting me to help him bring this project to life. Tommaso, why a podcast? Sometimes ideas are like a cocktail: they come out of the union of various things. And this is what happened with “Blessed Doubts”. At a certain point I realized that I had a lot of material for meetings, workshops and dialogues, that I had often prepared with young people. Hence the idea of not restricting important themes such as freedom, choices, fragility and vocation to just one occasion but of being able to offer them to everyone. Then I thought that other languages and themes could also be explored and so here is the podcast. I wanted to create a format more suitable for young people, who often nowadays, find reading a challenge. Or at least, they read something after you’ve convinced them it’s worth it. In all this work, an additional factor was the World Youth Day that dictated the timing of this operation a little. I thought it would be nice that the Focolare Movement could offer something to those who are preparing to go to Lisbon. It will be released on the major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast), one episode per week for 6 weeks. Laura, what age group are you targeting? Our target age range is 18-30 years. This is why the main themes are questions about fragility, freedom, relationships, trying to find one’s place in the world. It’s all about trying to see doubt as a positive thing, as a springboard to live more deeply and more consciously what happens to us. 
Tommaso, how did you determine the topics to be addressed for each episode? My initial idea was to replicate the contents of the book, paraphrasing it. Working with Laura, however, I realized that her questions led the conversation to other areas, that the young people she had in mind were also her university classmates who do not necessarily recognize themselves in any religious creed. I understood that Laura had deep questions that were partly hers and partly reflected her world of relationships: it was from those questions that we had to start to weave something suitable for young adults. What was the most difficult episode for you, Laura? I think the hardest was the first one. We were both a bit nervous, and then we had to introduce the podcast, make it clear why we think it is important to ask questions, not to exist in anxiety or submerged in paranoia. A further challenge was that a few days before we recorded the first few episodes, I had a bad cold and a high temperature. Everything always happens at the same time! But we managed to do it also thanks to the super team that supported us during the recording. Tommaso, what did you gain from this project? I learned a lot from all the people with different skills who worked on this project. Indeed, the realization of “Blessed doubts” was a collective operation. And after you listen to the podcast, we’d love to have your feedback, on Spotify, on our social networks (@Y4UW and Movimento_dei_focolari) or via email (
The 2022-2023, third national competition for schools, “One city is not enough. Chiara Lubich citizen of the world”, was promoted by the Chiara Lubich Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Fondazione Museo Storico del Trentino and New Humanity of the Focolare Movement. The title of the winning multimedia graphic essay for the primary section was “Patterns of love”. It was produced by the children of the 1st A of the I.C. Camerano – John Paul II – Sirolo di Camerano (Ancona-Italy), guided by their teacher, Cinzia Malizia. Ms. Malizia, how did you find out about this competition? As can be seen from our video, mine is a very lively class, sometimes challenging and difficult to manage. Despite being 7-year-olds, they give me a lot to do and, since they are children of the Covid era, I noticed a certain difficulty when identifying their feelings, to bring out the “good” things, positive gestures and kind words. I asked myself: “how can I get to the hearts of these children?” I started looking for some projects on Miur (Ministry of Education and Merit), some competitions that might help, especially for some personalities that could be an example. This is how I came to Chiara Lubich, a person I had heard of but knew little about. I started reading her story and, little by little, together with the children, we followed a pathway with the aim of enabling them to above all rediscover that curiosity, that amazement, that wonder that unfortunately seem lost in today’s society. 
Did you have a particular focus? I wanted to work with them on emotions, to understand what they had inside. We dealt with fear, worked on anger, joy and so many experiences came out. They started talking, expressing themselves in their own way, and what used to be the weak point of my class turned into a real strength. In our video you will hear the words, “From fear we found the courage”. The children were the first to understand how good it is for the heart to say “sorry”, to say “thank you” or “good morning”. It’s not that children have changed radically now, they are always the same, they can’t keep still, they scream, they ignore the rules, but there are beginning to be gestures that are small but at the same time great because they are part of a journey we are on together. Chiara Lubich was a guide for us, a reassuring figure, almost like a “grandmother”, who with messages of love, hope and her example really worked to create a better world. Even simply looking at each other with love, regardless of social background, religion, skin colour or culture has affected them a lot. They experienced this in the classroom, with their Muslim companion and this means nurturing good feelings, hoping for a different society. We teachers cannot give up. These children have so much to give. 
How did the children react when they learned they had won the first prize? They were elated, really happy. We worked for months and months and I really think they deserved it. Unfortunately, we were unable to find the means for us all to be able to go to Trent for the award ceremony. Some of us took part by video link while 6 children were able to go, accompanied by their families who were happy to use their own resources to finance the trip. They too were very happy with this project. We worked a lot together, so much together that at the end of the year we’ll do a play based on emotions. The parents themselves have collaborated by making most of the masks that the children will wear and we even brought some of these to the award ceremony. So our journey doesn’t end there. At the beginning, the principal, Dr. Flavia Maria Teresa Valentina Cannizzaro, said to me: “Cinzia, they are so small, do they understand what you are saying?” I hope so, if nothing else they have heard and hearing good things never hurts. I think it’s important that children understand that even before being capable, what matters is being good, having a kindness of mind that allows us to change things for the better. I think Chiara Lubich’s experience really helped them. 
“From the moment I heard that I had been elected to participate, I felt a great joy but also the responsibility to be a true channel through which the Holy Spirit can pass.” This is what Mercedes Isola, a volunteer of the Focolare Movement, said. She was elected by the Bishops in the region of La Plata, Argentina, to be a lay participant in the Continental Assembly for the Synod of the Southern Cone that took place in Brasilia, Brazil, at the headquarters of the CNBB (National Conference of Bishops of Brazil). Mercedes continues, “There was very deep sharing among us and we rediscovered our baptismal dignity that makes us all sisters and brothers, people of God, co-responsible in mission, regardless of vocation. The ‘discernment communities’, made up of people from different experiences and vocations, were a confirmation of this reality: the Holy Spirit is at work in everyone, without distinction.” 
The meeting was attended by more than 200 people. It began with a procession of images of the Virgin Mary, patroness of each country, to whom the work of this Assembly was entrusted. Brazilians, Chileans, Uruguayans, Argentinians and Paraguayans were brought together. It was apparent that amid the diversity of each people, the individual in dialogue with others becomes a builder of true synodality. “Being open to a Church with greater lay participation, a Church that is inclusive, transparent, and consistent in following Jesus and is concrete in its service and mission,” are just some of the points that were addressed and deepened during the Assembly. Eliane de Carli, a married focolarina from Brazil, tells us. “This experience based upon a practice known as ‘spiritual conversion’, ensured there was very deep communion in the working groups. In addition, the richness of this internationality allowed us to get to know the challenges of the Church in each country, some of them very similar.” 
A week of intense work turned into a life experience. This can be seen in what Marise Braga, a Brazilian focolarina, said: “The day began with a short prayer led by each country in turn. The group drafted a final document on the basis of the questionnaires collected in the various countries during the local phase. They answered three questions, highlighting the lights and positive elements that emerged from those reports, highlighting the shadows, tensions and challenges of certain issues in each country, and finally, recognising the priorities to be addressed in the Synod.” The role of women in the Church was one of the recurring themes during this Continental Assembly in the Southern Cone. This is an issue that is gaining importance and, along with engagement with young people, needs to be addressed. “Before the concluding Mass of this synodal phase, the young people asked to speak,” said Mercedes Isola. “It was very powerful to hear from them why their friends are no longer in the Church. The young people themselves asked for greater openness, a Church that allows all God’s people to be protagonists, with open doors as Pope Francis says.”