Acer Movement: a rich encounter
Gabri Fallacara and Severin Schmid are welcomed at the headquarters of ACER-MJO Movment by the president
Cyrille Sollogoub.
“Friends of together for Europe!” in Paris
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One hundred and twenty five leaders of 46 movements and communities of different Churches and 13 European countries – from Russia to Portugal , Denmark to Slovenia, were present at the meeting which took place in the historic setting of Montmartre.
The theme that had been chosen was: “Yes” to the poor and marginalized, as was expressed in the message of Stuttgart 2007. The many contributions revealed how much the Communities and Movements are linked to the commitment to and with the most needy. It is not just acts of solidarity, but of friendship and brotherhood.
An intense moment was spent with Jean Vanier, founder of L‘Arche Community. He opened the gift of his experience with these words: “Jesus says: “The kingdom of God is like a wedding feast” – but everyone is too busy – and the king who had issued the invitations sends his servants to seek the crippled and the lame in the hedgerows and at the crossroads – this is what I have tried to live in my life.” Jean Vanier is dedicated in particular to the mentally handicapped “the people most oppressed.” “They have changed me, I have seen that the Kingdom of God is theirs.” There are now 140 communities, ecumenical and interreligious, in which “fragile and strong” live together.
The prayers of Catholics and Evangelicals, which introduced the work of the first two days, were followed by that of the Russian Orthodox with its choir .
In the days of lively exchange on the path taken so far by Together for Europe, with the big events in Stuttgart 2004 and 2007 and in Brussels in 2012, thought was given to what could be the next step to take. Recalling the expression of Chiara Lubich, “the score is written in heaven” you could sense in the reciprocal listening to one another that the most valuable experience of this journey together is the deep communion that has developed between Movements of different churches. And it is precisely this “common witness of Christians” which has led to initiatives that Europe needs today, in the political and social fields, “so that the world may believe.”
At the same time, a further contribution is foreseen for 2016, in the form of a congress, which will probably take place in a city in Germany, in order to make visible the path of communion so far.
There was an solemn atmosphere when the new stage was entrusted to God in prayer and the commitment of mutual love renewed.
In May 2014, the Steering Committee will meet again in Dillingen in Germany to receive the prestigious “St. Ulrich European Award” which is 2014 has been awarded to “Together for Europe”.
In Paris there was also a chance to live the “culture of visiting each other”: we went to the Chapel of the metro station in Montparnasse, which is entrusted to the Community of Sant’Egidio , to pray together and learn about their work in the heart of Paris.
And even before the beginning of the meeting, there were those who went to meet the Emmanuel Community, and those who visited the headquarters of Acer-Mjo (Russian Students’ Christian Action – Orthodox Youth Movement).
Gabri Fallacara
Austria: Religions For Peace
Ninth General Assembly of Religions for Peace (RFP) in Vienna Austria (November 20-22, 2013). Approximately 600 delegates from around the world, representing religious cultures who express the desire for the Absolute in different ways: Baha’is, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Jains, Hindus, Aboriginal and traditional religions, Muslims, Sikhs, Shintoists and Zoroastrians. The Assembly was preceded by a conference promoted by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID ). This is an international Centre for interreligious and cultural dialogue founded through the initiative of Saudi Arabia, Spain and Austria, which also recognizes the important role of the Holy See as a a founder, although participating only as an observer. “Welcoming the other” was the motto of the Ninth Assembly, and this is the challenge of today in a world where the encounter between diverse peoples and cultures, belief systems and social customs is so common. The assembly proposes to contrast the growing tendency to consider those who are different with hostility, by promoting tolerance and acceptance of the other for the progress of human dignity. Maria Voce, currently the president of the Focolare Movement is as of this year, Co-President of the World Council of (RfP), along with 49 representatives from several religions and cultures including Rev. Nichiko Niwano (Buddhist President of the Rissho Kosei-kai in Japan), Rabbi David Rosen (Jewish President of the International Jewish Committee of Interreligious Consultation), Madam Cisse Hadja Mariama Sow (Muslim President of the Muslim Women of Guinea), Dr. Agnes R. Abuom (Anglican Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches in Kenya). 
“Welcoming the other – a multi-religious vision of peace . . . is such a timely idea in today’s world,” Maria Voce stated in her presentation. But she also emphasized that “there is need for a conversion of the heart . . . and this is where the crucial role of religion comes in. Religions need to offer from their innermost depths the spiritual strength to lead humankind toward solidarity and peace. They need to bring about projects that are capable of renewing relations not only at the individual level but also among people of different races, nationalities and cultures.” Chiara Lubich, whom I am representing today, and who strongly supported Religions for Peace, had spent her entire life for the building up of unity in the human family. She was inspired to this by the prayer of Jesus: “That all may be one” (Jn 17:21). Based on Chiara’s example, ever since the beginning of the Movement, we have looked upon every person, that other one who is different from us, as a companion on the journey, a brother or sister without whom we cannot go and present ourselves before God. Today Chiara invites us to: ‘Keep our gaze fixed on the one Father of many children. Then see all creatures as children of this one Father (. . .) To constantly strive (. . .) for universal brotherhood in one only Father: God.” She concluded before offering two helpful witnesses which confirm what Chiara Lubich believed: “Therefore, love of neighbor spreads its roots not just because of some philanthropy but because of the fact that we are all children of one Father. And if we are children of the same Father, we are brothers and sisters to each other.” Chiara Lubich and the Religions will be the theme of a meeting scheduled for March 2014 at the Urbaniana University of Rome on the 6th anniversary of her death. Religions for Peace, begun as a World Conference of the Religions For Peace, has been in operation since 1970 promoting peace processes and finding answers to the issues that challenge the human family today. _____________________________________________________________________________ Press Area: Focus: “Welcoming the other” to build peace _____________________________________________________________________________
Developing the Relationship in Italian Prisons
“I would share one particular incident. The guys were walking around the corridors. One of us noticed a new arrival. His eyes were weary and still. One of us went up to him and asked: ‘What is it?’ and the guy was speechless. He understood him perfectly: he had had the same experience. He said: ‘Go on, come to my cell and I’ll offer you a good cup of coffee!’ As he prepared the coffee, he continued: ‘Look! You’re doing okay here. Today the sun is shining, and you’ve made a friend. What more do you want from life?’ On visiting day they both happened to be in the same room. The wife and son of the new arrival stood up and went over to thank him for the goodness he had shown their relative.” This was recounted by P.B. a volunteer worker in Padua Prison, Italy. It testifies to the dignity expressed in several stories that are born from small everyday gestures. It was collected during a workshop, the first such workshop for prison workers in Italy, organized by the Focolare’s New Humanity Movement along with the international Comunione e Diritto (CeD)[Communion and Law] network. The workshop was held in Castel Gandolfo, Italy on November 9-10, 2013. Fifty people including prison volunteers, teachers, social workers, ex-inmates, court supervisors and retired ex-court-presidents attended the workshop. There was also an Anglican priest and his wife who along with several others were interested in the topic. These were the main protagonists of this first seminar, a very timely workshop given the current state of prisons in Italy, which was recently denounced by President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano. There are currently 65, 831 inmates in prisons with places for 45,647 inmates. An excess of more than 20,000 people living in inhuman conditions due to the lack of space and basic hygiene: not to mention the violence and abuse. “We have tried to enter into their suffering and oftentimes the human helplessness in these situations,” says social worker Francesco Giubilato. “We focused on the essentials: the human person and relationship. We considered the individual and his suffering, his needs and also the expectations of the inmates, the prison guards, the prison workers, their families and the community. We sought to create authentic relationships that alleviate loneliness and suffering, as well as bring healing. This meant being attentive to needs and creative in finding solutions that were in line with rules and regulations.” The workshop highlighted different experiences that are underway in Italy in response to this situation. One such experience was that of G.D. who has spent a year in civil service with the La fraternita Association [the Brotherhood Association] inside the Montorso Prison in Verona, Italy. Now he serves the Association at the Listening Centre for families of inmates and ex-inmates. Alfonso Di Nicola works in Roman prisons. Their experiences have highlighted the critical issues related to the difficulty in relating among the people involved. It has likewise shown how internment, when there is the dimension of brotherhood can radically change people and their environment for the better. Gianni Caso, Honorary Adjunct Chairman Emeritus of the Supreme Court has opened another front which is that of the information sector. Here honest information is made available to citizens, which moves them to work for the promotion and changes of laws and their application within a framework of justice, equity and respect for human dignity.
Rod Gorton: Loving one another is the culmination of charity
Rod Gorton, married focolarino, left this world on November 14, 2013 following an accident while carrying out an act of love. He was born in Boston, USA in 1933 and became acquainted with the ideal of unity in the 1960’s. His childhood was marked by the separation of his parents: “At six I found myself without a Dad and, because of the family environment, without God.” During this period he was helped by his passion for music. At twenty years of age he joined the Naval Academy and became an officer of the United States Navy. Navy regulations required him to attend a church on Sundays and this is where Rod first heard about God. He began to have questions: “Are these people all crazy? Or am I the crazy one?” Following a long search and still plagued by doubts, he realized something had changed within him: “I believed!” But he soon discovered many contradictions in the new life, because he didn’t find anyone who took the Gospel seriously. He became a Navy officer and began to travel around the world. He was attracted by the missionaries that he met in several countries and after four years joined a seminary to become a missionary priest. But he was still searching . . .
Rod with Chiara Lubich in Loppiano at 1971
The Gorton family
Perù: a school in the Andes
“Upon my departure from Lima, I had in hand only a piece of paper where a friend had written down the principal stages of the journey: Trujillo, Cajamarca, Celendin and finally Bolívar. A total of 31 hours of travel, the last 12 along an excavated road. The bus, filled with people crowded together amidst sacks of rice and other things, reached its destination at 10:30 in the evening. While we disembarked, a group of people started to sing; it seemed like a welcoming committee and with great surprise I realized that it was for me! The final hours of the trip was made in total darkness, I couldn’t make out where I was. The next day, when I woke up, I found myself in front of a marvelous panorama. I told myself: I am in Paradise!”
It is Walter Cerchiaro, an Italian, who has been in Perù for 6 years who related this. After this first trip, he went to Bolivar several times to meet the community of the Focolare Movement. Now that some of the roads have been fixed the trip only takes 25 hours!
In this little city at 3,200 meters above sea level, a new project of the AMU (Action for a United World Onlus) is being launched. The inhabitants of Bolívar are around 2,500 , who are spread out in 30 communities throughout a very vast territory. The parish priest of Bolívar, Fr. Emeterio, a priest “of the frontier” and the originator of the project, goes to visit them 1-2 times a year. Sometimes it takes him 2 days of travel by donkey, which is their equivalent of a car (in Bolívar you can count the cars with the fingers of one hand).
“Some people live by agriculture, Walter relates. They grow potatoes, hay for the animals; there are also some dairy cows. Some of them also find jobs in public places (school, town hall) but the majority of the adults look for work along the coast: the men as farmers and the women as domestic helpers in some families. The consequences of this situation is immediately apparent: in Bolivar there are only children and the elderly”.
«Fr. Emeterio knows everyone and he realized that many of the children did not attend the public school. The reason is evident: their parents live in chacras (small pieces of land) and they need strong hands to work the land, even the arms of the children are needed. Two years ago the parish priest began a school in the area of the parish. He started the detailed task of going from family to family, assuring them that he would also provide one meal for each child. Then he rented a house because the space that he had was not big enough; and in a short time there were 80 children who came! Some of them have to walk for hours and hours everyday just to reach the school.
In Perù the government assures the payment of the salaries of the teachers even in the private schools, if they can give sufficient guaranties; the school already receives this subsidy. But there is the need to stabilize and secure the carrying-out of the scholastic activities, and the fact that the premises being used is rented does not help matters. After the first 3 months of activities, for example, they had to move out because the owner needed the premises. The AMU project aims at guaranteeing the continuity of the scholastic activities; for this reason a new school will be built, made up of 11 classrooms and a room for the secretary. It will be able to accomodate around 250 children and teens and will include the elementary and highschool levels. There is already the land that belongs to the parish, for the building. It is quite vast and is very suitable”.
“There is no competition with the public school because they are aware of not being able to reach everyone. They do not have the staff available to go from family to family to raise public awareness the way Fr. Emeterio did”.
«Then – Walter concluded – we can already foresee another objective. There is a strip of territory that is bigger and further away, wherein the children are not able to reach the school even after walking for long hours. What is needed for them is a protected environment, a home-family that can house them, with qualified personnel to take care of them. A dream? Maybe, or, simply the second phase of the project, We’ll see!”.
Source: AMU News n. 4/2013
Info: www.amu-it.eu
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