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2 Oct 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
Reconcilement Years ago my mother and her siblings sold a property, One of my uncles, dissatisfied with his share, opposed the sale of a remaining building in ruins, cutting of relationships with everyone. I thought that this quarrel for four stones was absurd, so my mother and I went to pay him a visit, bringing as a gift a book on the family history with positive experiences. With this quarrelsome uncle, it was just a matter of listening to his side of things, and understanding the reasons for his bitterness. To my surprise, he offered to accompany us by car to the bus station, and on saying goodbye, embraced me and his sister whom he had not greeted earlier on. M. F. L. – Italy She wouldn’t have been born Her parents and friends were pushing for an abortion. But she, an unwed mother, relying on the fact that she could count on us, stood her ground and gave birth to Maria, a sweet but fragile baby. For five months she entrusted the baby to us in order to complete her studies abroad. At times we asked ourselves if we had done the right thing: with none of our children had we ever woken up so many times in the night, and none of them had ever gotten sick like Maria. But then, a thought crossed our minds: without our help Maria would not even have been born, and who knows where her mother would have ended up. When she returned, her family took her in. A year later she got married and now has three children. F. Z.- Czech Republic Solidarity For about ten years now I have been living with my dad and the development of his illness. In place of a shopkeeper, his sharp remarks with everyone and the proud grandpa of his children, there was now a person who depended on others for all his needs. After the initial rebellion on my part, and my negative view of the situation, I realised that this illness had started up a solidarity campaign among many people. In fact people came to keep my mother company, and our relatives were more attentive and willing to help. And then, the Filipino caregiver who had good relations with everyone and was considered one of the family, once separated from her husband, came to assist dad and which gave her the means to support her three kids. N. B.- Italy A golden thread Our children had just finished high school when my husband fell gravely ill, despite the fact that he was as strong as a rock. The Calvary began, with hospital stays and many weakening operations. Since God was our only means of support, Michele and I prepared ourselves for our final separation which was imminent. In a very special moment between us, while his disease tormented him, he would encourage me: «You are a wonderful woman. Our children are lucky to have a mother like you.» And on giving me back his wedding ring, added: «I love you, I will always love you. I will help you more when I shall no longer be on earth.» When Michele died it was as if he had taken us along with him, and at the same time we feel his presence here as never before. A golden thread unites heaven and earth. L. S.- Italy
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22 Sep 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“In face of such extreme specialization and advancement in technology which have reduced medicine to the mere biophysical dimension of man, we evidenced the precedence of the spiritual dimension and the stringent correlation between environment, socioeconomic conditions and health. Reducing the gap between rich and poor, and giving incentives to solidarity, also mean reducing diseases and costs of healthcare.” This was the conviction of Dr Flavia Caretta, President of the International Medicine Dialogue Communion Association, who illustrated the general health project for the integral health of the human person at the Symposium, “Integral health – challenges and priorities in Latin America,” promoted by Associação Paulista de Medicina (APM) and the Brazilian Association, “Saude, Dialogo, Comunhão”, a network of Healthcare operators who draw inspiration from the Focolari Movement’s spirituality of unity. It is a burning issue, as seen in the recent Brazilian protests against the cuts in healthcare and use of public funds for the soccer world championships of April 2014, part of the long wave of protests last year where thousands took the streets to denounce the alarming state of the malfunctions of the country’s healthcare system. Doctors, university professors, students and various healthcare operators from all over Brazil took part in this event held in Sao Paolo (Brazil), with participants also coming from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile, who all discussed this great issue of the integral health of the person. Another strategic point highlighted was the so-called “revolution” of patients who, from passive entities, are called to become active players of care, in partnership with the doctors. In addition, the congress stressed the responsibility of citizens, called to become associate members of the Brazilian Healthcare System (SUS) itself. 
This lively debate led to the creation of an extensive project that may help to outline a healthcare policy model as a concrete answer to the expectations not only in Brazil but also in other Latin American Countries. A model of integrated health – according to Dr. Ruy Tanigawa, member of the Regional Council of Medicine of the State of Sao Paolo – “because of its social importance, is destined to spread.” This was the commitment undertaken by the participants at the closing of the event, who consolidated and widened the network of cooperation at regional and national levels, opening out also to Latin American and international entities.
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4 Sep 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
The idea that young people are “citizens of the world”, or at least that they should be, given that today no nation can live alone, has become almost a cliché; and exactly because of this it is important that children receive the right formation, so as to be “capable of a look, a feeling or an action that embraces whoever passes us by or is unknown to us because far away, but never anonymous. Therefore, citizens of their own city, their own country and at the same time citizens of the world, capable of “Loving the homeland of others as their own.'” This is how AMU – Action for a United World – defines being “citizens of the world”, which again this year, for the sixth time, offers 1st and 2nd year students of Italian secondary schools the opportunity to participate in the Campus of global citizenship. 
The initiative will take place in the international town of Loppiano, Incisa Valdarno (Florence – Italy), over the course of a day between April and May 2015, and is addressed to all students accompanied by their teachers. The goal is to give young people an awareness of the meaning and importance of active citizenship, of being builders of a civil society, and to contribute to a multi-ethnic and intercultural educational experience, thanks also to the context in which the campus takes place: Loppiano, in fact, hosts people of all ages and from every continent, who have come to Tuscany to live out in every day life – it is in fact a city like any other, with schools, offices, businesses, and so on – that ideal of universal brotherhood proposed by the Focolare Movement. Therefore a place in which to experience diversity as richness, and the encounter with what is ‘different’, not as a threat but as an opportunity for exchange and sharing. The underlying theme of the day will be globalization: through simulation games, workshops and opportunities for dialogue the students will get to know the ups and downs of this process, the dynamics of the relationships between the various countries of the world, best practices for supportive and sustainable lifestyles, and experiences taken directly from those who have lived in this way. From there they will start to develop and propose practical projects to be carried out in the day-to-day life of their own cities. Interested schools are requested to contact the Education for Development (EAS) office of AMU by 31 December to agree on the didactic programme, so as to make it as consistent as possible with the course followed during the school year. Organizing Secretariat: Via Frascati, 342 – Rocca di Papa (RM) Tel. 06-94792170 Email: eas@amu-it.eu
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29 Aug 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“Last year I was once again undergoing oncological treatment due to cancer; the second time round was even worst than the first. It was hard to accept this relapse after five years. The eight sessions of chemotherapy went on for six months, followed by a period of rest so as to be able to continue with the 25 sessions of radiotherapy in a hospital that was around 30 km from my house. Sometimes my friends accompanied me, but often I went alone, bringing with me something to read or any other thing that could take my mind off the the treatment. The second week of treatment I became aware of a Muslim lady who was always seated alone in the waiting room with an expression of infinite sadness on her face. That day I was there for quite a long time and I saw them bring a little five-year old girl on a stretcher which they placed near her. I heard the nurses talking about that child: she was operated on for a brain tumour and now they were treating her with a special type of radiotherapy that obliged her to remain immobile and that is why they had to sedate her. The next day the same scene repeated itself. I observed what was happening and I said to myself that I had to do something. I was embarrassed to approach the mother because she didn’t speak my language well and I was afraid to embarrass her, so I asked the nurse to ask her if she needed anything. I came to know that the child needed a coat and also a stroller would be quite useful for her. I had an almost brand-new stroller which I had set aside for my sister and several coats of my daughter that I was sure would have fitted her! When I arrived home, I prepared everything and I even took some toys. I knew that I was doing all this for Jesus because He himself said: “Every time that you do these things to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me” (Mt 25, 40). I brought everything to the nurse. The next day the little girl arrived very happy with her little bag and a doll: it was a great joy to see her show off her “new” things! The mother wanted to get to know me, despite the fact that I wanted to remain anonymous: “Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Mt 6,3), but, since she was quite insistent, I went over to greet her. It was a very moving moment. She embraced me and thanked me with tears in her eyes. During the five days of my radiotherapy, I sat beside her and we talked a lot. I had embarked on my cancer treatment with anguish and apprehension knowing that after a month and a half my daughter would be having her first communion and I would not have been very presentable. My greatest worry was my hair. Today I thank God for having learned how to forget myself in order to take on the suffering of others, putting aside my own worries.” S.G. (Murcia – Spain)
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28 Aug 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“Networking – The Church’s Touchbase”: a four-day event together, with meetings, debates, workshops for young priests and seminarians who want to be at God’s service, active in facing the challenges put to them by people and society today. Fr Justin Nary is 42 and comes from the Central African Republic. He talks so calmly, as if he were referring to someone else, and narrates of those over 2,000 Muslims he had taken in, risking his own life to save them from the deadly violence that has recently bloodied his country. Just before this, Fr. Josef Pal, a Romanian, had recounted his own efforts to set up a number of ecumenical and social events in his city, where people of non-religious beliefs, were able to dialogue with civil institutions and also in the parishes. These fragments of true life, the stories of priests “passionately dedicated to humanity,” were shared with the 268 participants of the “Net-working – The Church’s Touchbase” meeting for priests, seminarians and individuals oriented towards priesthood and held in Loppiano from 19 to 22 August. “We wished to address the new generation of priests – Fr Alexander Duno of the Focolare’s Center for Priests, explained – and there was a massive response: the participants spoke 12 different languages and came from 38 countries, mostly Europe, with representatives from Africa, Asia and the Americas. There were great expectations for these four days, focused on the image of the “network” and all were eager to learn, participate and share the lives and dramatic experiences lived by their own people. 
Also the International Centre of Loppiano gave its support for the dual theme of dialogue-communion and welcomed the participants with that typical warmth which has become the distinctive mark of its 50 years of existence. This was an open workshop where experts, teachers and participants formed an only working team, and who not only attended the plenary sessions but also the 27 thematic workshops emceed by international professionals. The themes focused on the family, economy, politics, cultural and religious pluralism, dialogue with Islam and the great religions. Open debates were held on the Church’s going out towards the existential outskirts and the present-day profile of the parish as a “community network.” Great attention was paid to the crucial issues in the lives of priests today: their life balance, the gift and challenge of celibacy, solitude and ways of living a community life, capacity to dialogue in the midst of conflicts and social challenges. A first series of these workshops centred on the modern-day scenarios and unveiled the fact that beyond the crises, there are realities that give concrete examples of brotherhood, and communities that give their response full of hope. Also the workshops on the current realities of the Church today were fully booked. All resulted in drawing the profile of the Church as a lively body, open to dialogue, and which does not retreat in face of contemporary novelties, but pushes itself deeply into the crossroads of history, to enlighten it with the perspective given by the evangelical Word of Unity, lived through relationships and groups that make of communion and sharing, their very strong point. 
“During these days,”remarked Fr Stefano Isolan, a young priest of Fiesole, in Florence, “we experienced the beauty of our being priests and not isolated individuals, full of commitments and meetings; we really lived the experience of being the knots of a net, important for one another.” “I experienced the joy of having so many brothers,” an evangelical pastor from Serbia commented, “It made me feel that love which unites us, even if we belong to different Churches.” A young seminarian declared: “The idea of communion is not just a notion in my head, it penetrates into my life.” Another said: “Though we are so different from one another, we were able to confide in each other. The workshops were really a great help.” The atmosphere that reigned was joy and new hope in having experienced what Pope Francis said before all the Asian Bishops in his recent trip to Korea, when he wished “authentic dialogue” would rise from “a capacity to empathize with others (…) which is the fruit of our spiritual outlook and personal experience which brings us to consider each other as brothers and sisters.” Now that the meeting has ended, the challenge continues on a national, European and worldwide level: in the parishes, communities, side by side with the people, and in the cities where the priests and seminarians returned to, with the desire to continue putting into practice the phrase of St. Paul which was chosen as the meeting’s motto: “Receive one another the way Christ has received you». Visit website: networking2014.focolare.org Fotogallery: Loppiano
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26 Aug 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
While calls for peace are resounding all over the world, and as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue requests all to take a stand, we received a letter from the Focolare’s Moslem members in Maghreb, supporting the declarations of the Focolare in Jordan, and released in the name of the entire Movement. «We, the Moslem members of the Focolare in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) wish to testify to our total and full support of the declarations of the Focolare in Jordan. Our religions are a treasure at humanity’s disposition, and exist to uphold the supreme values inherent to all human beings, but which are today being manipulated for other purposes, in the quest for power and supremacy, instead of justice and peace. Religions are ”innocent”. The victims belong to all religions, but, sad to say, so do the manipulators. The latest deceit of date, took place as we helplessly watched the events perpetrated by the ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Whether it be a Caliphate, Emirate or Sultanate, nothing would change its violence, savagery and inhumanness. The fact that it takes inspiration from Islam is but a usurpation, and even worse, falsifies the tenets of Islam, as is obvious in the fact that its first and foremost victims are Moslems. These players and their schemers have steered political considerations and geo-strategies to suit their own ends. We join our voices with those who, throughout the world, call out for peace and dialogue between all cultures and religions. We want to shout it out loud because silence is deadly. The fact that we are far from the places of the military operations does not impede us from deeply sharing all the suffering which is always foremost in our hearts. Just a few months ago, people of all religions gathered to declare together, mutual love for every brother, each in their own faith [Chiara and religions. Together towards unity of the human family – Rome, 20 March 2014 – Ed.]. Our exchange of ideas has demonstrated that there are more things that unite rather than divide us. We wish to express our willingness to participate in any type of action towards a just solution of the conflicts underway, with a reminder that it is only in doing to others what we wish others to do to us, can we trace the path towards brotherhood. »
