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May 21, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
Focolare and Rissho Kosei Kai: a bridge happily still in place after it was put in place long ago by the founders of the two Movements, Chiara Lubich and Nikkyo Niwano. Since the early ’80s, on the basis simply of their friendship, shared initiatives have been set up by Christians of the Focolare Movement and Buddhists of the Rissho Kosei Kai (RKK).
Indeed, on 3rd and 4th May a delegation of seven Focolare young people from across the world went to Tokyo to take part in a symposium of young Buddhists and Christians run by the two Movements. The theme was: Keep our faith during daily life and spread joy.
It was a journey that lasted from 30th to 8th May and it was not just a matter of simply going to a conference. As the participants explained, ‘We worked on the contents of the meeting with both the RKK and with the Focolare in Japan who hosted us, and we lived the time of preparation together with our travel as a chance to get to know better the history of the Movement’s friendship with the RKK and, at the same time, to try to consolidate it. It was a small step in dialogue with our Buddhist friends, but even more important for the whole scene of interreligious dialogue.’
Moments of dialogue were not restricted just to the symposium itself. On 2nd May the international delegation of young people spent the day with students of the Gakurin Seminary and they met its President. On 6th May it was the Focolare community in Tokyo’s turn. The community, which also has Buddhists in it, offered moments of dialogue and stories of lived experiences.
Getting to know a country means understanding something of its history and culture. Therefore on 5th May a group visited the capital and, on the 7th, they went to the Enoshima Hase-dera shrine. At the symposium itself, the participants considered the history of the friendship between the RKK (which has six million members, and is the second largest Buddhist Movement in Japan) and the Focolare, with each Movement being presented one after the other. There were, then, comparative talks on the conference theme, which were accompanied by stories of life experiences told by young people from the Focolare and from the RKK, as well as other moments of dialogue and workshops.
On the symposium’s second day the young people greeted the current President of the RKK, Nichiko Niawano. He and his wife came for Memorial Day, when, on the 4th of each month, the death of the RKK’s founder is remembered.
There were numerous testimonies given by the young people of each Movement at the end of the symposium. A Japanese girl said, ‘We have begun working together in a new way. It is a historic day. In ten years’ time I will be proud to say: “I was there!”’ Others said, ‘We have found a family!’ And, when they returned to their various countries, the young people of the Focolare said, ‘We’ve come back massively thankful to Chiara and with a huge passion for interreligious dialogue. We’ve seen that it’s a really important path for building a united world.’
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May 20, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
“The spirituality of unity helps me to get to know myself better and to be more rooted as a Conventual Franciscan […]. I come from an order of fraternity and today I saw that ideal fulfilled here.” “The whole day reminded me to live brotherhood with commitment in my community. Living in a student house, we are often busy with all our tasks and we forget how important it is.” These are two impressions at the conclusion of the meeting for young men and women religious from different congregations, organized by the Focolare Movement on 3rd May, in Yogyakarta (Indonesia). Recently, the focolarini moved from wealthy Singaporeto assist the numerous and more modest Indonesian community .
The main theme was, “The role of the charism in consecrated life to make the Church more beautiful and the world more united”. It was introduced by Fr Piero Trabucco from the Consolata Order who came specially from the Focolare’s Centre for Religious in Rome. He facilitated an intense exchange of experiences and questions aimed primarily at clarifying the spiritual bond of members of religious orders with the Focolare Movement, which dates from the birth of the Movement. In fact, the wide diffusion of the Gospel spirit of unity contained in the charism of Chiara Lubich, is due in a large part to the work of religious men and women who, having met this spirit of communion in Italy, shared it wherever they were transferred in the world.
The positive and often enthusiastic impressions, of the 80 participants from 18 congregations, indicated the desire to rediscover the origins of the different charisms, as they were in the mind of their founders. And from this came the commitment to live these in a greater spirit of brotherhood and unity, each in their own communities.
Sary John, a Jesuit, said he was struck by the idea of “be the first to love” and highlighted the richness of the experience lived during the day, with others from the different religious congregations. Sister Valentina, said: “This meeting has prompted me to ‘go out’ from my congregation to get to know others and learn to love them as my own.” And Sister Novianti : “The example of Chiara Lubich, prophet of peace and love in the midst of the world touched me deeply.” Sister Pasifica (OFM) , wrote: “The Focolare responds to today’s challenges for consecrated life. I was very satisfied with this meeting because it has rekindled in me faith and love for the charism of my congregation.”
And other impressions: “A very nice meeting, especially when it placed importance on going back to the roots of the spirituality of one’s own congregation, the dream of the founder. This awareness leads me to want to have his very thoughts and his very feelings.” “I realized that up to now I haven’t been living in full love and I hope that this meeting will be a beginning to share love with others.” In the wake of this day dedicated to the spirituality of unity, many of the participants hope that they will have more opportunities to meet to grow together on this path of communion and brotherhood between the various charisms.
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May 16, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
© Foto: AFP
«For our small variegated community – they wrote us – made up of Christians of various Churches and Muslims, it is the moment of prayer, of solidarity, of sharing the suffering of these brothers and sisters. And of entrusting to God, once more, with faith, the future of this our Country. Pope Francis too prayed “for the mines in Turkey, and for those who are trapped in the galleries” and this was relayed to the Country, with heartfelt gratitude».
So far there are 282 victims officially accounted for, but the number may still rise (and maybe much higher). The overlapping of two shifts of workers precisely at the time of the incident has unfortunately doubled the number of men who have remained in the depths of the carbon mines of Soma, 120 km from Smirne, where the explosion took place two days ago. There are around eighty wounded, while several dozen workers are still unaccounted for. The government has declared three days of national mourning for the worst industrial tragedy that has happened on Turkey.
The images that come from the place of the disaster profoundly touch us, in particular the dignity of these people, whose men and boys, some very, very young, are used to doing extremely hard labour. A miner, just out of the tunnel is helped to climb onto a stretcher of the ambulance: “Should I remove my boots?”, he asked, afraid of dirtying the white bedsheet.
The Country is in protest: these disasters at work happen too often, and also this time the data, the outlines and the implications of what happened seem to be rather confusing, while the government is unable to convey the image of a reall preoccupation and solidarity with the people. The number of deaths at the workplace in Turkey have a sad record: according to the unions there have been 5,000 victims in the workplace in 2013, 19% of which happened in the mines. Turkey is the top country in Europe for accidents at work and the third throughout the world.
The disaster then has reached a moment that is extremely delicate in the social and political life in Turkey, after the last administrative elections wherein the party of Erdogan is once again leading and they are preparing for the presidential elections this coming August. The tension of that time in Taksim Square last June is latent and so protests have exploded once again. The labour unions have declared a day of general strike, that is quite rare in this Country, where the defense of worker’s rights still has a long way to go.
«The Bishop of the Latin-rite Catholic Church of Istambul – they concuded –, has expressed through a message sent to the authorities, the participation in the Nation’s suffering and the closeness to all the families of the victims».
Source: Focolare Movement
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May 16, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide, Senza categoria
The New Humanity Committee, the social expression of the Focolare Movement, has been active in the historic centre of Genoa for more than thirty years working with the most marginalized people, organized a series of events linked to the theme of migration. With the sponsorship of several institutions and associations in the Liguria Region a closely-knit network of relationships has been created, enriching the social fabric of the town. The chosen venue was the Galata Museo del Mare, which besides having numerous displays about seafaring life, has reconstructed historical scenes about Italian migration: for example passenger liners of times past going to the Boca neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires or Ellis Island in the USA.
This was the framework which hosted an exhibition, at the beginning of 2014, with the title “Going in-depth: a journey through memory and migration”, focusing on the theme of interior migration, that is the attitude of soul which coincides with the cultural nomadism of contemporary art. Artists from different origins exhibited their work like Ignacio Llamas from Spain and Claire Morard from France, but also Pieo Gilardi, one of the first Italian pop artists, well known at an international level.
The theme of migration was a point of convergence for multicultural, interfaith and ecumenical dialogue, for encounter and close collaboration between some Catholic movements which were involved in the past with events linked to “Together for Europe” (Cursillos, Sant’Egidio, Equipe Notre Dame, Incontri Coniugali and Charismatic Renewal), and included the participation as protagonists of the migrants themselves. The New Family Movement presented themes on support at a distance and integration at school, involving over 200 students from local High Schools.
Over a thousand people attended the event, including a workshop on creative writing and a concluding concert, organized by the Jazz class of the Paganini Conservatory of Genoa; thanks to which about twenty artists met together afterwards for three days of dialogue, which gave the possibility to each of the participants to find new energies to continue on the way of artistic communion.
<img class="alignright size-full wp-image-105791" style="margin-left: 10px;" title="Desert Refugees" src="https://www.focolare.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140515-02.jpg" alt="" width="319" height="224" /
The dignity and worth of the person were characteristic aspects of the debate, which left space also for the moving experiences of Chaia, a Sahrawian young man who told his suffered experience of how, together with a young man from Magreb, after crossing the desert, landed in Lampedusa and is now integrated in the Genoese reality.
The moments of dialogue were important and hosted well-known religious and movement leaders, like the president of Migrantes, a pastor of a South American Evangelical Church, the Imam of the Muslim community and the Abbot of a Buddhist monastery. This comment, we feel, expresses the reality lived by many: “I felt that that place assumed a sacredness and became a temple, pagoda, hall, mosque, because we were composing a single prayer to the one God of all humanity, and it was not just a question of sentimental feelings, but of intelligence and hearts that become one”.
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May 9, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
“Building bridges in Europe through gestures of reconciliation and friendship that reach beyond borders. A new wave of hope has begun, inspired by the Gospel. . . .” And this is the purpose behind the European St Ulrich Prize, which was awarded this year to the Together For Europe Orientation Committee, on May 3, 2014 in the historic city of Dillingen, Germany. Through Together For Europe 300 Christian movements and communities have joined together to work for reconciliation and friendship among the peoples of Europe. Participants include Catholics, Evangelical-Lutherans, Evangelical-Reformed, Orthodox, Anglicans and Christians of free churches.
The prize-winners represented by 50 communities and movements were welcomed by both religious and civil authorities: Mayor Kunz; Catholic Bishop Zsarda di Augusta, regional Evangelical Bishop Grabow, and leaders from the financial and cultural worlds.
The laudatory speech was given by Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for the Consecrated Life: “I look upon the ecumenical witness of Together For Europe with much gratitude. Through it more and more new spaces are created in which it is possble to come together as brothers and sisters, generating reciprocal love among the Churches and opening newer and newer ways of approaching the things that still divide us.”
Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz and Landrat Leo Schrell
The European St Ulrich Foundation began in the city of Dillingen, in 1993 on the 1000th anniversary of the canonisation of the Bishop Ulrich. Its purpose was to promote the unity of Europe according to the Western tradition. The president of the administration council, Bishop of Augsburg, Bishop Konrad Zdarsa presided at the religious ceremony together with his Evangelical-Lutheran colleague, Bishop Michael Grabow. Previous prize winners include: ex-chancellor of the German Federal Republic, Helmut Kohl; ex-president of the German Republic Roman Herzog; Polish ex-presdient and Peace Prize Winner, Lech Walesa; ex-archbishop of Prague Cardinal Miroslav Vlk; and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant’Egidio community.
President of the St Ulrich Foundation, Landrat Leo Schrell: “The striking variety of movements involved makes it obvious that the intution of Together For Europe is supported by people of different Churches and backgrounds, who have the same goal: to contribute to European unity.” According to Schrell this journey: “is capable of pointing a path for the future.”
The donation sum of 10,000 € will be used for young people from Eastern European countries to take part in Together For Europe, especially in its next convention in 2016.
Gerhard Proß from the Esslingen YMCA, and representing the Orientation Committee of Together For Europe, gave thanks for being awarded the prize. The prize is considered an encouragement to continue the good work: to uncover the rich diversity of Europe, in this historic period of rising nationalism: “The future of Europe lies in the Together.”
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May 7, 2014 | Focolare Worldwide
What are 10 good reasons for being an architect today? What living space should we take on to meet the new needs, expectations and dreams of the people of today? Planning living spaces that contribute to human wellness. These are some of the topics that were taken into consideration by the Dialogues in Architecture (DA), in one of the many workshops at the 7th World Urban Forum promoted by UN-Habitat United Nations Agency. The workshop was called Urban Equity in Development. Cities for Life.
The worldwide Forum was held in Medellin on April 3-11, 2014, and attended by 20,000 people from around the world. Six hundred parallel programmes were held in conjunction: seminars, workshops, conferences and exhibits. One interesting display offered reflections on the growing inequality in many of the world’s urban centres.
Dialogue in Architecture (DA) presents itself as a place for cultural deepening as well as a stimulus for civil and professional imagining, planning and constructing living spaces of communion and reciprocity in contemporary cities. The workshop, which was promoted by DA, was held on April 10, 2014 in one of the 16 Urban Libraries of Medellin, and it drew attention to some local experiences, such as the one in Barrio de la Merced, Bogota. Laura Sanabria from the Urban Observer of La Salle University, together with architect Mario Tancredi, showed how it works – with the help of other colleagues – trying to make connections between public institutions and local people; and the creation of a Mobile Health Clinic to serve the needy in the community. They stressed the importance of the value of universal brotherhood as the motor behind an architecture at the service of the human person.
La Merced
How does dialogue work in the context of Latin American metropolis like Bogota and Medellin? Tours of Bogota and Medellin were given by some young Columbian architects as part of the Forum. Fernando Bedoya recounts: “At Barrio de La Merced, entering into the lives and the history of the people was like being in an open classroom. The concrete interaction with the children and those who run the Social Unidad Centre, which was begun by the Focolare Movement together with people from the barrio, was the first powerful immersion in the wounds and challenges of that people who, with the power of love and faith manage, day by day, to gain their rights and live a dignified life.” Juliana continued to say: “At the Barrio de La Candelaria we were introduced into the historical and cultural heart of the city, which has drawn artists, writers and intellectuals; also foreigners who fill the theatre district, libraries and cultural centres. We saw some of Rogelio Salmona’s architecture in which the construction of the collective space is central. The last stop at the Gold Museum transported us to the origins of the rich Pre-Columbian culture.
Juliana Valencia concludes: “Today’s world is asking for a different architectural vision, the fragility of the environment is our point of action so as to stay on our feet amidst the crisis. Beauty is now relative, looking at the world from a particular perspective or academic field no longer works. For this reason our point of departure can only be the human person along with his or her needs and relationship to the environment.”
The next event will take place in June, in Spain: Barcelona ArquitecturaLimite
