“Embracing Hope.” With this wish, about 200 people from the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and all over Europe met at the Mariapolis Center in Castel Gandolfo (Rome) from May 16 to 19.
They are the contact persons of the Umanità Nuova, movement, the social expression of the Focolare Movement, New Humanity the NGO with consultative status in the United Nations, along with representatives of disciplines that dialogue with contemporary culture, the contact persons of Ragazzi per l’unità and of AMU (Action for a United World), the NGO that deals with special projects and development.
Also in attendance was a delegation of very young high school students who are part of Living Peace International, along with young ambassadors for peace, such as Joseph,
from Sierra Leone, who narrated how at the age of six he was recruited as a child soldier and has now become a young peace leader.
For some time now, these various social expressions -each with its own characteristics and goals- have been working together to help provide concrete responses to the burning issues and expectations of the contemporary world: “Together for Humanity” is their new name. Taking up the Pope’s invitation to the Focolare Movement during a private audience on Dec. 7, 2023, which was to “be artisans of peace in a world torn apart by conflict,” they wanted to dedicate the meeting precisely to peace.
An experience of listening, communal reflection and concrete planning, carried out in the eight communities distinguished by areas and passions. A journey that will continue with the Genfest in Brazil next July, intertwine with the United Nations Summit for Future in September 2024, and with the event in Nairobi with the youth and cities of the world, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. During the meeting, those present, with the help of experts and testimonies, professors, diplomats, social and cultural actors, and organized citizens, reflected on the issue of what is peace, if it is indeed possible to achieve it and by what means.
So many touching experiences from countries in conflict. From Syria, they recounted the brutality of the war they have been experiencing since 2011, aggravated by the embargo affecting an exhausted population. AMU projects such as RESTART, which supports micro businesses with loans and personalized mentoring, have helped slow constant migration processes. Christiane, from Lebanon, despite the situation in her country, characterized by very high inflation and high emigration rates aggravated by the impacts of the war in the Middle East, did not give up: she set up with her husband a productive enterprise for family support and to also help other artisans and rural producers sell their products. The productive initiative also extended to Egypt. From Congo, the fruits of the school for training leaders for peace were presented. A graduate of this school, Joëlle, a journalist and a presidential candidate of the Republic of Congo, launched her presidential platform with the values of peace and social justice. Youths from Ukraine greeted those present with a video, and so did some youths from Bethlehem, Pakistan, Cuba, and the Philippines. The “Together for a New Africa” (T4NA) project for African youth interested in changing the continent was presented: trained hundreds of youth and involved another 9,000 youth in an experience that reached 14 African nations. The same is being done in Mexico with the National Agenda for Peace, in the United States with courageous conversations against racism.
There is a need for true peace and human rights education as well as the need to name conflicts, exploring their reasons, trying to resolve them with a community strategy that listens to diverse and plural positions which precedes and accompanies every negotiation. It has been said that peace is not only the absence of war. Not everything that is called order is peace. It is not ideological: it is not pacifism. It is the condition in which each person can think and realize his own future. But we need to learn dialogue as a methodology, with which to be willing to lose something for the greater good. This is basically the reason for which perhaps negotiations are not progressive and even international organizations do not seem to be able to handle the crisis. Dialogue, trust, local and global networks, inter-generation, community. We start from here, from these key words, encouraged also by Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán , President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, who were present on the final day. This is the road to peace, to which we want to contribute concretely, and together.
The Inauguration ceremony of the 2023/2024 Academic Year of the Sophia University Institute (SUI) took place on Friday, 12th April 2024, in the Auditorium of the international little town of Loppiano (Figline and Incisa Valdarno – FI).On 12th April, 2024, on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the 16th Academic Year of the SUI that took place on, in the Auditorium of Loppiano (Figline and Incisa Valdarno – FI), Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, extended her best wishes to the students who, in this historical moment, have chosen “with courage and hope”, to prepare for the future by attending the Sophia University Institute. She said, “May Sophia be a place which forms women and men who are able to be bearers of peace and unity in these times”. The religious and civil authorities present included Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence and Grand Chancellor of the Sophia University Institute, Msgr.Stefano Manetti, the Bishop of Fiesole and Giulia Mugnai, Mayor of Figline and Incisa Valdarno. In his opening remarks, Card. Betori referred to times of crisis such as the one we are experiencing, saying that the event was a moment of reflection on the role of universities and of Sophia in particular. He said that Sophia has “the task of testifying to the reasonableness of the faith. And therefore educating to read and interpret reality, guiding the gaze of every young person towards that truth that maybe unconsciously, each one seeks”. Newly appointed Rector, Declan O’Byrne, an Irish theologian declared the 2023-2024 Academic Year open at the end of a speech that led participants to reflect on the social value of universities. He said. “If States invest in universities, it is because it is believed to be in the national interest to invest in young people. Investment is made because well-educated young people bring social benefits. It is believed that a nation that ensures the education of new generations will be able to adapt and bring innovation that, in turn, will guarantee the future competitiveness of the nation itself.” Regarding the particular mission of the Sophia University Institute, he reiterated: “We want to be a place where, while aware that we are experiencing a dramatic historical moment, we look at the human capacity to build lasting peace. We want to study and teach how to see those ‘seeds’ that already today express the possibility of resolving the crisis we are experiencing”. The ceremony concluded with a lecture given by Massimiliano Marianelli, Full Professor of the History of Philosophy at the University of Perugia entitled“Sophia, rediscovering the human in the ‘between’”, which focussed on the human being and the primacy of relationships. The event was streamed live and is available on Youtube in Italian and English at the links accessible from www.sophiauniversity.org
The Focolare Movement has just published its second “Communion in Action Report” or “Mission Report”. It focuses on the theme of Dialogue. To learn more about it, we interviewed Ruperto Battiston and Geneviève Sanze, Counsellors for the Economy and Work aspect of the Movement.
A year ago, in January 2023, at the “Focolare Meeting Point” in Rome, the first “Communion in Action Report” or “Mission Report” of the Focolare Movement was presented. It gave an overview of the worldwide activities and initiatives carried out by the Movement in the biennium 2020-2021. This year, the Movement is presenting a new Report for the year 2022, this time centred on the theme of dialogue. The document has emerged as a fascinating account, not only of the spontaneous sharing of goods but also of experiences and needs, inspired by a lifestyle based on evangelical love. Ruperto Battiston and Geneviève Sanze, Counsellors at the International Centre of the Movement for the aspect of Economy and Work, shared their thoughts with us.
Ruperto, what are the objectives of this document? Is there continuity with the previous one?
These mission reports exist to involve everyone and share information about the concrete achievements resulting from the communion of goods among all the members of the Focolare Movement and the contributions that we receive from individuals or institutions. It is primarily addressed to all the members of the Movement, with gratitude for the fruits that the life and work of many people around the world continue to generate; and with gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do. It is also addressed to those who would like to know more about us and actively collaborate for a more fraternal and peaceful world. This is why we chose the standard, and in this case perhaps somewhat unusual, name of ‘Communion in Action Report’ because we feel it best expresses our experience of walking together towards a united world. This is our second Mission Report’. It refers to the activities supported by the part of the communion of goods which is shared internationally and to the financial data of the Focolare Movement’s International Centre for the year 2022. This Report follows that of 2021, which highlighted the various activities that the communities of the Focolare Movement carry out worldwide in all fields and aspects. For 2022, we focused on a more thematic document, taking the specific perspective of Dialogue and trying to offer a glimpse of what we seek to bring to society on the path towards fraternity, towards that unity in which diversities can be enriched and give rise to harmonious collaborations.
Therefore, this Report serves as an open and hands-on tool of communion to which everyone can add a page, a story or a suggestion, “In Dialogue” with humanity and with our planet.
Geneviève, how does the theme of dialogue, the heart of this text, fit into this informative tool?
It is interesting to reiterate what it says in the introduction: “Being in dialogue is the characteristic of every person and every project which is under the auspices of the Focolare Movement and which is inspired by its spirituality of communion. Not just doing, therefore, but a lifestyle which is supported and substantiated by listening, welcoming, compassion, charity and mercy, as summarized in the cardinal principle of every culture and religion: the so-called Golden Rule ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'” This Mission Report aims to show how, together with many others throughout the world, we have contributed to healing the wounds of divisions and polarizations and to progressing along the path of evangelical fraternity. We express dialogue in five major areas: in the Catholic Church, among Christian Churches, in the field of interreligious dialogue, with people without a religious reference and in different cultural contexts. For us, these areas are the main ways to reach fraternity. Chiara Lubich defined dialogues as ‘highways to a united world’. It was not easy to gather and choose from the numerous initiatives, small and large but all important because they are seeds of the future and bearers of a concrete change in relationships between people, improving the atmosphere of the world. We were amazed by the quantity of initiatives and the widespread flourishing of this life, which may not make noise but which supports the world and builds new relationships between people. Being “In Dialogue” with others values diversity, highlights the characteristics of each one, requires deep mutual listening, and builds peace. Dialogue is more relevant than ever. To read the Mission Report in English, click here.
Innovation is on the horizon for focolare.org users. The Focolare website will soon appear in a restyled format and with additional navigational features. This is a project which the International Centre of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Rome) has been developing over the last two years. The project aims at integrating the communication networks, carried out up till now by four separate publishing sectors (Website, Information Service, Mariapolis Newsletter, and Collegamento CH Worldwide Linkup), thus creating a unified “Communications Office”. Already operating since last February, this Office gathers news about the life of the Movement worldwide and transmits them through various media. Among its main objectives is to promote activities of the Focolare Movement, to communicate its life to a broader audience, and to contribute to a greater sharing of news among the various Focolare communities worldwide. The development of new communication technologies and trends called for the restyling of the website which includes a new graphic layout, significantly more minimalist in structure, and an upgraded navigational logic. The use of new applications will also allow for greater integration with the social media, and will enable users to access content in different and personalized modes. The new structure will, in fact, be mobile-friendly and as such will take into account the use of smartphones and other mobile technology in our daily life. It will focus on content that is brief and varied, available in different formats (text messages, infographics, video clips, etc). The contents of the current site, however, will not be lost. The static content will be published as an e-Book and in the future the news articles will be accessible through searchable archives. Also envisaged is a space, entitled “Mariapolis”, dedicated to news regarding many aspects of the life of the Focolare Movement. It bears the same name given to the traditional summer gatherings of the Focolare held around the world. The current print edition of the journal “Mariapolis” will be discontinued after December 2018. The digital version aims to be a virtual “community” open to anyone who wants to visit. A system of notifications will allow the users to choose when, which themes and channels, and the preferred device (PC, tablet or smartphone) they would like to receive the information on. Every two months, a “Mariapolis” newsletter in pdf format will deliver a summary of the main highlights. Happy surfing! Joachim Schwind
Synopsis Jesus promised the hundredfold in this life to those who love God. This little book contains a selection from the many thousands of experiences of that hundredfold in the lives of ordinary people who live the Focolare spirituality.
What is it that Christians of many different Churches find so attractive about the young Jewish girl who gave birth to Jesus? This book does more than hint at an answer. Chiara Lubich’s gospel-based intuitions are a source of new insights for Christians of all traditions. Not only do we see the beauty of a human being who gave birth to God made flesh, not only do we taste the essential poetry of this unique event in history and enter more fully into all it implies, but we are made able to translate this vision into our daily lives. Mary becomes less a person we admire, an object of veneration, and more a source of inspiration, an example on which we can model our lives.
On 12th April, 2024, on the occasion of the inauguration ceremony of the 16th Academic Year of the SUI that took place on, in the Auditorium of Loppiano (Figline and Incisa Valdarno – FI), Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, extended her best wishes to the students who, in this historical moment, have chosen “with courage and hope”, to prepare for the future by attending the
Academic Year open at the end of a speech that led participants to reflect on the social value of universities. He said. “If States invest in universities, it is because it is believed to be in the national interest to invest in young people. Investment is made because well-educated young people bring social benefits. It is believed that a nation that ensures the education of new generations will be able to adapt and bring innovation that, in turn, will guarantee the future competitiveness of the nation itself.” Regarding the particular mission of the Sophia University Institute, he reiterated: “We want to be a place where, while aware that we are experiencing a dramatic historical moment, we look at the human capacity to build lasting peace. We want to study and teach how to see those ‘seeds’ that already today express the possibility of resolving the crisis we are experiencing”. The ceremony concluded with a lecture given by Massimiliano Marianelli, Full Professor of the History of Philosophy at the University of Perugia entitled “Sophia, rediscovering the human in the ‘between’”, which focussed on the human being and the primacy of relationships. The event was streamed live and is available on 
all the members of the Movement, with gratitude for the fruits that the life and work of many people around the world continue to generate; and with gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do. It is also addressed to those who would like to know more about us and actively collaborate for a more fraternal and peaceful world. This is why we chose the standard, and in this case perhaps somewhat unusual, name of ‘Communion in Action Report’ because we feel it best expresses our experience of walking together towards a united world. This is our second Mission Report’. It refers to the activities supported by the part of the communion of goods which is shared internationally and to the financial data of the Focolare Movement’s International Centre for the year 2022. This Report follows that of 2021, which highlighted the various activities that the communities of the Focolare Movement carry out worldwide in all fields and aspects. For 2022, we focused on a more thematic document, taking the specific perspective of Dialogue and trying to offer a glimpse of what we seek to bring to society on the path towards fraternity, towards that unity in which diversities can be enriched and give rise to harmonious collaborations.
