Oct 23, 2023 | Non categorizzato
Conference in memory of David Sassoli. Brussels – 24th October 2023 – European Parliament (Entrance Spinelli building, rue Wiertz 60) room ASP 3H1 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will be broadcast live in Rome, in the Open Space Experience Europe – David Sassoli (conference room on floor -1, Piazza Venezia, 6) From Brussels, beyond violence and wars, a concrete proposal of solidarity and peace starting from volunteering In memory of President David Sassoli, three important European associations, the European Movement, the Focolare Movement and the Roman Group of the International Association of the followers of St Catherine together with the former President of the European Parliament’s Culture Committee Silvia Costa, set up a joint initiative on 24th October on the “European Solidarity Corps and Civil Service” at the European Parliament’s headquarters in Brussels, in video-link with the Space Europe David Sassoli in Rome. The link to access the live streaming will also be available on the Interactio platform and on the websites of the promoters. With the tragic reappearance of war events at the borders of Europe and terrorist actions also in Paris and these days in Brussels, building bridges of dialogue and solidarity in Europe and third countries by investing in the new generations is even more necessary and strategic. We are convinced that the practice of volunteering or civil service experiences must become a constitutive element of the European citizenship. Because taking care of the other, of creation and civil coexistence promotes fraternity and social cohesion but also makes the political project of the United States of Europe grow from below – say the promoters The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), the EU-funded volunteering programme for young Europeans between the ages of 18 and 30, is the active protagonist of this journey. These are projects of solidarity, cooperation, education for peace but also the reception and integration of refugees and migrants, assistance of disabled and elderly people, protection of the environment, safeguarding the artistic and cultural heritage, which constitute an important experience for personal growth and for the acquisition of a more convinced European identity. One example is The Room: Community Drama in Ireland, in response to the social exclusion of Newbridge asylum seekers in County Kildare. Or the project “Mare d’Inverno”, in Italy, with the aim of recovering a natural coastal area near the urban centers of Trani and Barletta, to name but a few. It can be held in Europe as in partner countries, including Israel and Palestine. The conference, hosted by Patrizia Toia and Brando Benifei together with the Socialists and Democrats Group, will also be attended by MEPs from the EPP, Renew, Green and Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and, for the European Commission, Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, Director of the Department of Youth, Education and ERASMUS+ of the Directorate General for Education and Youth (EAC), together with representatives of the European Volunteer Centre, the European Youth Forum, the Director of the Universal Civil Service Office of the Youth Department and managers of the National Youth Agency of the Italian Government. The event will be opened, representing the promoters, by Pier Virgilio DASTOLI, President of the European Movement Italy, Jesús Morán co-President of the Focolare Movement and Aldo Bernabei President of the Roman Group of the International Association of the followers of St Catherine. An intervention by the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, Noël Treanor, is expected and the Secretary-General of COMECE, Manuel Barrios, will also be present. On behalf of the young people involved in the European Solidarity Corps, the voices of Fabiola, Alexander, Maria Stella: European citizens who live firsthand the option of peace and solidarity in their daily and professional choices. They will bring their testimonies by challenging the terrain of politics with the power of ideality. Here you find the Initiative and the Programme
Stefania Tanesini
Oct 18, 2023 | Non categorizzato
Eight years after the Encyclical “Laudato Si,” the Pontiff calls again in the Apostolic Exhortation “Laudate Deum” all people of good will to respond appropriately to the climate crisis. Still, very little has changed in the facts. The world “is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point.” [2]. Last week, it was reported by the European Union’s climate observatory (Copernicus) that “September was the warmest month ever” (since 1850). Rising temperatures are certainly one of the most conspicuous symptoms of ongoing climate change. Last July, the world’s most authoritative journal in the field, “Nature,” showed that the heat waves of summer 2022 caused nearly 63,000 deaths in Europe. Certainly, we should not fall into catastrophic considerations because the margins for changing course are still possible, but we must categorically reject all irrational and unscientific negations. After decisively responding to all the most common objections against the current climate crisis, the pontiff emphasizes: “I feel compelled to make these clarifications, which may seem obvious, because of certain derogatory and unreasonable views that I find even within the Catholic Church” [14]. He distances himself from blaming the poor. “How can we forget that Africa, where more than half of the world’s poorest people live, is responsible for only a small fraction of the emissions accumulated throughout history?” [9]. Bergoglio addresses a call to each of us “to accompany this path of reconciliation with the world that hosts us and to embellish it with our own contribution” [69]. Unfortunately, some effects of the climate crisis are already irreversible: Some species have “stopped being our travelling companions and have become our victims” [15]. Yet, we cannot but “recognize […] that human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures” [67]. All of these cannot leave us indifferent. To enable change, we need to adjust both the way we “look” at others and nature and the way we exercise power to achieve a purpose. Even small individual steps are important: they may not lead to immediate, quantifiable success, but they can act as the blueprint for cultural change and “set in motion large transformational processes that work from the depths of society.” [71]. Caring for every dimension of our planet is a collective challenge that requires a collective response. In recent years there have been many global efforts but with often disappointing results: broken promises and postponed goals. But “if we have faith in the ability of humans to transcend their small interests and think big[…], we cannot stop dreaming that COP28 will lead to a decisive acceleration of the energy transition, with effective and monitored commitments.” [54]. We also cannot give up this “dream.” It is a bet: to win all people of good will to work for a world worth living in.
Stefania Papa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe_bd0TUjk
Oct 13, 2023 | Dialogo Interreligioso, Focolari nel Mondo, Non categorizzato
After the disastrous attack on Israel, the horrifying violence that was unleashed, the wave of fear that rocked the two peoples, the anguish for the hostages and the apprehension for the fate of the people of Gaza, we want to send you news from the Focolare communities in the Holy Land and news of a worldwide call to prayer and fasting for peace on 17th October “We have left our homes and all the Christians are taking refuge in the churches” This short message is the latest news we received this morning from some members of the Focolare community in Gaza. According to Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza, there are 1017 Christians still living in the strip and among them are several adherents of the Focolare Movement, with whom even sporadic communication is increasingly difficult. And in spite of this, a message, from one of them has been circulating over the past few days, thanking everyone for their closeness and prayers for the small community in Gaza. “You have given me the strength not to give in to evil,” he writes, “not to doubt God’s mercy and to believe that good exists. In the midst of every darkness there is a hidden light. If we are unable to pray, you pray; we offer and our work together is complete. We want the world to know that we want peace, that violence only begets violence and that our trust in God is great. But should God call us to Himself, be assured that from Heaven we will continue to pray with you and to implore Him more strongly to have compassion on His people and on you. Peace, security, unity and universal fraternity, this is what we want and this is the will of God and it’s ours too”. Margaret Karram gave us news about fraternity in the midst of hatred Saying this takes courage today when horror and violence fill the entire media coverage, but this is not the only news. There are also stories that make less noise, but which cannot be silenced, such as the worldwide network of prayer that is underway everywhere on earth, regardless of religious belief or affiliation, together with actions and words of fraternity. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement shared this at the daily briefing in the Vatican Press Office, at the ongoing Synod of the Catholic Church, in which she is participating as a special guest. She told us, ‘Jewish friends I know in Israel have called me, a Palestinian Arab, saying that they are worried about the people living in Gaza. For me, this is something very beautiful. Everyone knows the negative stories between these two peoples, but so many people, so many organisations are working to build bridges but this doesn’t make the news. They only talk about hatred, division, terrorism. We are left with images of these two peoples that do not correspond to reality. We must not forget that even today so many people are working to build bridges. It is a seed being sown, even in this difficult time’. From our Jewish friends: creating a community of prayer To confirm this, a Jewish friend wrote to us from the Tel Aviv district: “If you are in contact with the friends of the Focolare in Gaza, assure them of my love and my closeness. I hope they are all safe. These days I am at home with my family, the schools are closed and we are staying close to the shelters. The chats are filled with a constant stream of appeals and offers of help for the families who have fled, for the soldiers and their families. There are also requests for help with funerals, to honour the dead as they should be honoured. It seems that all the young men have been called up to fight and we are worried for our friends and relatives. We fear what lies ahead. I try to keep my children from being afraid, but our terror is insignificant compared to what has happened to our brothers and sisters in the South. I am thinking of my Arab friends in Israel who are running to the shelters like us. I try to pray at the same hour as my Muslim friend, so that we can be a community of prayer even though so many things divide us. Your closeness and your prayers mean so much to us, more than what I can express. What can we do? At a press conference, Margaret Karram confided to us the pain and anguish she feels for her people on both sides: ‘I asked myself what am I doing here? Should I not be doing something else right now to promote peace? But then I said to myself: here too I can join Pope Francis’ invitation and pray with everyone. With these brothers and sisters from all over the world, we can ask God for the gift of peace. I believe in the power of prayer’. Margaret went on to speak about the action ‘NO MORE WAR!!! BUILD PEACE!” that the children and young people of the Focolare Movement launched together with the association “Living Peace”. They are summoning their peers to pray for peace at 12 noon, every day and in every time zone. They are also proposing to fill the day with actions that build peace in the hearts of each person and wherever they are. They are inviting them to send messages of support to children and young people in the Holy Land and are encouraging them to ask the leaders of their countries to do all they can to achieve peace. The Focolare Movement is also joining the appeal of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on 17th October: ” We could organize moments of prayer with Eucharistic adoration and the rosary to the Blessed Virgin. Probably in many parts of our dioceses, circumstances will not allow for large gatherings. However In parishes, in religious communities, in families, it will be possible to organise simple moments of prayer together”.
Stefania Tanesini
Oct 11, 2023 | Non categorizzato
The Middle East continues to suffer from violence, clashes and terrorist attacks. Joseph, a young Syrian from the Focolare is one of the many young people who nourish the hope of peace in a very tormented land.
The nightmare of mass killings recurs with all its terror. The Middle East continues to be shaken by wars, terrorist attacks, violence of all kinds with one result, death.
On 6th October in Syria, drones loaded with explosives fell on a military academy in Homs during a festive ceremony. The death toll was about a hundred, of which about thirty were women and children. The next day there was another similar attack during the funeral celebrations, fortunately this time it was neutralized in time.
There was an immediate response from Syria, with a rain of bombs in Idlib, an area outside the control of the government. This escalation of violence caused the United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, to respond by calling for an immediate ceasefire, protection for civilians and the instigation of peace negotiations.
In this scenario of war, as violence continues to intensify and there seems to be no hope for a future of peace, some young Syrians belonging to the Focolare Movement met for their annual congress.
Joseph Moawwad, 24, was there. He wrote to us to share his personal experience. “I’ve been living through a very difficult period lately, a sense of half-heartedness and no enthusiasm; even for this congress, perhaps because of the strong tensions that all of us young Syrians are experiencing. For over 13 years, war and all its consequences persist with the most recent attack a few days ago in Homs. We heard about it right at the beginning of the congress. Despite this, my great surprise was to meet 90 young Focolare people from all Syrian regions. It was as if a storm had removed the ashes that covered the embers of my heart and so the “fire” burst out in me. Experiences of communion, sharing, fraternity between us and that effort to live mutual love in order to have the presence of Jesus among us (cit. “Where two or more are united in my name, I am in their midst”, Mt 18:15 -20) erased everything I felt before and made that flame had been enkindled in me again, become stronger.
At the end of the day, when we were praying together, I felt that I wanted to make a decision: to protect that “flame” that had reignited, to make it grow, to give it to the weakest and most discouraged people. I discovered that unity with the other young people of the Focolare and the mutual love that binds us, are the solution to all this hatred and the evil around us. And then the presence of Jesus in us and among us: it is he who gives us strength and will give us hope for a better future”.
Lorenzo Russo
Jan 1, 2022 | Non categorizzato
In his message for the World Day of Peace on 1 January Pope Francis issues a strong warning to politicians who invest in armaments rather than education. What can be done to give young people hope and reverse this trend? We asked Prof. Buonomo, Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. Today, according to the World Bank, there are almost 100 million more people living in a state of impoverishment because of the Covid-19 pandemic and world military expenditure in 2020 has risen, despite Covid, to almost 2 trillion dollars (in 2019 it was 1650 billion) according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). Data that prompted Pope Francis to issue a tough yet hopeful message for the 55th World Day of Peace, which falls today, 1 January 2022. The Pope proposes three elements – dialogue between generations, education and work – as tools for building lasting peace. How can this message be contextualised amid the challenges facing society today? We asked Prof. Vincenzo Buonomo, Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. How can dialogue between the generations be initiated to build peace? On what trust is it based today, given that both the pandemic and the development of technology have created so much loneliness and indifference? “First of all, the Pope’s message presents dialogue not only as a goal for building relations between the generations but as a method. This, I believe, is the most important aspect to be grasped, and it is the aspect that also enables us to make dialogue an effective instrument for peace because very often we only link the element of dialogue to the possibility of communicating. In reality, dialogue presupposes something more. There is a pact between generations, a pact in which the given word has its own meaning. Very often we have made of dialogue nothing more than a technical tool rather than something we share which therefore becomes a method or a daily action’. In recent years, education and training have been regarded as expenditures rather than investments, and military expenditures have increased. What steps should politicians take to promote a culture of ‘care’ rather than ‘war’? “The relationship between the educator and the one being educated is one that has to be built every day on the basis of renunciation of both parties. This type of educational methodology should also serve the great issues facing humanity. The problem of the arms race and the consequential diversion of resources for other areas, is that armaments are linked above all to a concept of power. So it is by means of education that we have to try to promote shared values. This is the aspect the Pope’s message is highlighting because if there are shared values – peace for example – this becomes a way to overcome conflict. Conflict is overcome by eliminating armaments, so it’s a concept that has a chain reaction”. Work is the place where we learn to make our contribution towards a more liveable and beautiful world and is an indispensable factor to preserve peace but job insecurity and exploitation have increased because of the pandemic. So what can be done to give hope to young people to combat insecurity and exploitation? “Work is not simply something that guarantees peace in society as is traditionally said. Work is something that guarantees peace. Without the prerequisite of work, there is no education, no intergenerational relationship, no dialogue because the person is not only sustained by work, but also expresses their dignity. We find this in the Magisterium of the Church and from Pope Francis who has stressed this on several occasions. Consequently, today politicians, or rather those with responsibilities, the so-called ‘decision-makers’, need to make work a priority and not just one of the many items on the political agenda. I believe that the younger generations don’t just need a job but a job that manages to express their qualifications and, above all, makes them feel that they are protagonists in the decision-making process at work. The element that links the three headings – dialogue, education and work – is therefore the word pact. The pact between generations, the educational pact, the work pact – this is the key word putting them in the function of peace. Otherwise they would simply be three scattered elements not linked together”. Clicca qui to read the Pope’s message for the 55th World Day of Peace.
Lorenzo Russo
