From Viterbo to Loppiano: the progress of ecumenical dialogue

22 May 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Fr. Vasile Bobita and Fr. Gianfrancesco Bagnulo got to know each other while serving as chaplains at the Viterbo prison and bringing solace to the orthodox and catholic prisoners respectively.

Over the years this contact developed into a strong brotherly relationship, which then involved the members of their respective church communities and led them to collaborate in organising a local event of the “Together for Europe” initiative (May 2012), of which the Focolare Movement is one of the promoters.

This led to the idea among the two chaplains to visit together the small town of witness at Loppiano (Florence), inviting also Fr. Vasile’s Romanian Orthodox community and two orthodox monks from the San Giovanni Therestis monastery at Bivongi, in the Reggio Calabria province.

On the 15^th May, among the enchanting Tuscan hills, after the presentation of Chiara Lubich’s story and that of the small town, a lively dialogue was initiated within this varied group on “evangelization and dialogue”, on the Movement’s spirituality of unity, on the relationships with the Orthodox Church since the 60’s, on Jesus’ Testament: “That all may be one” (Jn 17,21). This moment facilitated the deepening of mutual understanding and the sharing of hopes, challenges, sufferings and joys, which was also enriched by the presence of a Romanian Orthodox focolarina who lives in the little town.

Fr. Vasile’s comment was brief and meaningful: “Now I know why I always felt welcome with Fr. Gianfrancesco: it’s because you live the reality of unity”.

In the end, everyone wanted to participate with the inhabitants of Loppiano in the Holy Mass at the church dedicated to Mary, Mother of God. Fr. Gianfrancesco said that it “touched us deeply because it is the place of meeting, of relationships concretely lived in the light of the gospel”.

This visit was of particular significance as it coincided with the 10^th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the Shrine (2003-2013) when, in the presence of Chiara Lubich and religious and civil authorities, representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople donated some small coloured stones, from important Marian orthodox shrines around the world, to be laid together with the foundation stone as a sign of the path of communion that unites us.

Law and society in Latin America

20 May 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Dr Gianni Caso (on the rigth) receiving the honour

Communion and Law is an attempt to discern those aspects of the spirituality of unity coming from the charism of Chiara Lubich that have significance for the world of law and let them inspire new avenues of research and new paradigms. Dr Caso, honorary Assistant President of the Italian Court of Cassation, is working at the moment in a similar field within the Focolare Movement. He has recently come back from a visit to Guatemala and Colombia where he was able to deepen his understanding of these countries. While there he was the recipient of an honour conferred by the Colombian Parliament upon the Focolare Movement. We asked his reflections.

What can the experience of Communion and Law give to societies struggling with difficult issues to do with the rule of law?

‘The role of Communion and Law in relation to what happens socially, economically and politically in such countries is twofold: it seeks to transform these areas of life and it seeks to rethink the dominant culture and its interrelationship with the society’s economic, political and legal order.

The first of these two things came into light in Guatemala. Here they asked us ideas on how to bring into effect the rule of law so that it could transform a society deeply troubled by injustice and without any guarantee of protection for citizens and for communities.

The second aspect came into light in Colombia, where there is a clear link between a society’s development of an individualistic culture and its economic, political and legal system, since individualistic culture affirms an economic order based on private profit and, at the same time, that kind of economic order promotes an individualistic culture. The consequence is a deeply divided and unequal society, with the formation of a class of rich people together with the exclusion of a large part of the population from positions of responsibility in economic, political and cultural life.’

If things are so tough and challenging, are there any positive signs or chances for change?

‘The strongest impression I had was when I compared the social and cultural situation of those Latin American countries with the current situation in Italy, and generally in Europe. In Latin America there is an extremely powerful “culture of life”. Even though socially things are very difficult because of the tremendous social inequality, leading to poverty and exclusion for a large part of the people, there is a real sense of the desire and the joy of living. This is caused by the huge numbers of children and young people generally (parents, in general, even though they are poor, have great love and care for their children). Here in Europe it looks as if we’re dominated by a “culture of death”: not many children, few young people, an ageing society, many “single” people, closed in ourselves, depressed and lack of zest for life. All of which is clear to those who visit those countries and come back here.’

The human person in Sub-Saharan Africa

16 May 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Sub-Saharan Africa united in the thought of its peoples: “A land upon which to build a better future,” affirms Gisele Moulasta from Gabon, “not to stay closed in our own small world, but in order to be more and more open to the entire human family.” A statement charged with meaning, at the conclusion of the course on May 10-13, which gathered people together from several African nations.

What is the centre for inculturation? In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii nuntiandi, Paul VI had expressed concern over the split between the Gospel and culture, seeing it as the drama of our age. He therefore hoped that this gap would be overcome by approaching the different cultures with more interest and care. The evangelization of the cultures is, as John Paul II also stressed, is the deepest and most complete for the message of Christ to enter into the consciousness and penetrate the customs of the people, the activities of the people, their institutions and structures. In line with this thinking, in May 1992, during a trip to Nairobi, Chiara Lubich founded the Centre for Inculturation inspired by the spirituality of unity,  On that occasion she identified the goal: to discover the way of dialoging with the African culture and its values in order to promote evangelization among the peoples of the continent.

This year, the focus was on the human person in Sub-Saharan Africa. It was examined from the perspective of the anthropology of the African community by geographical regions; Semitic Biblical and New Testament writings; Second Vatican Council documents and the contribution of the spirituality of unity. The participants also shared a variety of experiences that greatly enriched the academic discussion.

“Examining certain aspects of our culture in the light of the Gospel involves a confrontation of values that are divergent. Jesus is demanding,” explained Vital Muhindo who is from Congo: “The challenges are there: It’s not that the Gospel must enter into our cultures, but that our cultures that must enter into the logic of the Gospel.” In this context Victorien Kone recalled the powerful moment of his six year old daughter’s death. According to local tradition, the little one could not receive a burial because she was still in the process of becoming a person. “How could we give her a decent funeral?” her father asked. “Although still small, Joelle was spiritually a giant! She had a deep relationship with Chiara Lubich. She was loved by everyone, great and small. The funeral was held and attended by many people. It was a sign of life. This way of doing things was a surprise to many, but it also gave a testimony that had an influence on the common mentality.”

This year’s course also included a group of young people of the Focolare Movement from around the world who enthusiastically launched the Sharing with Africa Project, which is one of the many projects of United World Project. Simultaneously, United World Week 2013 was being celebrated inn Burkina Faso where a project was carried out in a pediatric ward of a hospital. In Nigeria there was a Genfest attended by 1,000 Christian and Muslim youths, and in the Ivory Coast the United World Project was presented to the UNESCO National Commission.

Philippines: Moving Toward Civil Commitment

15 May 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is a megalopolis with more than 11,000,000 inhabitants. It has been a city of enormous social upheaval, which for years has been fighting for fair and equitable democracy, following decades of dictatorship that has only increased the gap between rich and poor. Parishes are often involved in various social projects in favor of the disadvantaged. They also feel the need of training in civic involvement for people who wish to see the country reconstructed in a way that will make it more equal. The Parish Movement – whose members are animated by the spirituality of the Focolare as they serve in parishes – has been running such a social training program for some time through the pro-motion of solidarity projects, food and housing programs, as well as civic and political training programs that are open to everyone. On the occasion of the election of the Mayor and deputy mayor of Manila, St. Roque’s Parish de-cided to hold an educational training forum on citizenship, politics and democratic participation. The forum was held on April 12, 2013 and was designed together with the Vicariate. It involved 48 parishes of the diocese of Manila as well as the Minister of Public Affairs. Preparations began in the interest groups last February. There they were able to draw up a program, invitations and presentations. Two thousand people took part in the forum of which 1400 came from different parishes. And there was also the participation of non-governmental organizations like the Transportation Association, the Sellers Federation, government deputies, ecumenical leaders, teacher groups and members of the business community. The candidates for mayor, deputy mayor and councilors presented their plans for the city of Manila over the next 3 years. This was followed by questions and answers in an atmosphere of re-spect and trust. The style of attacking one’s opponent as an election campaign strategy gave way to an experience of brotherhood from which the many different political affiliations came out satisfied. One of organizer commented: “I was afraid it might be beyond our strength, but it turned out a success.” Among the final impressions one person remarked: “I understood the candidates’ plans and the values that inspire them. Thank you for what you’ve done here.”

Klaus Hemmerle: for Church and for Society

13 May 2013 | Focolare Worldwide

Klaus Hemmerle, once the bishop of Aquisgrana, was a brilliant theologian and philosopher who left a mark because of his notable contribution and deeper doctrinal understanding of the charism of unity, as well as its spreading among bishops. The visit by Focolare president Maria Voce to Aachen, Germany, on May 11^th,,2013,  was to pay homage to Bishop Hemmerle and the influence he had on the theology and life of the Church and of society: “Chiara Lubich inspired him and she allowed herself to be inspired by him,” Maria Voce affirmed as she described the relationship between the German theologian and the Focolare Movement. Chiara Lubich considered him to be one of the co-founders of the Movement.

Maria Voce had been invited to visit the current bishop of Aachen in the morning, Bishop Heinrich Mussinghoff. They then travelled together to the Cathedral where they paid a visit to Hemmerle’s tomb. In the afternoon a small group of members of the Central German Catholic Committee, who were Hemmerle’s collaborators, met in what had once been his home.

Among these were Matthias Sellmann, professor of Pastoral Theology at Bochum, and Claudia Lucking-Michael, vice president of the Central Committee and General Secretariat of the Opera di Cusanus – an association that awards scholarships to students of merit. They presented two brief talks on the figure of Bishop Hemmerle. The second part of the program included testimonies by people who knew the bishop personally.

“His theological thought and his influence on our work in the committee of German Laity have produced much fruit that has reached far beyond his earthly life,” declared Claudia Lucking-Michel who met Hemmerle only once, but had studied his thought and was deeply influenced by it. She described him as a bridge-builder at so many levels, someone who had motivated her to reflect on the meaning of life and of death.

A great master at teaching a Christianity that was convincing is the way Matthias Sellmann described Hermmerle in his presentation, underscoring Hemmerle’s plural thinking. According to Sellman he was one of those avant-garde thinkers: “He always placed himself in the position of a learner and was convinced that theology always had more than one source. Hemmerle was able to explain the Trinity to you in a way that made you want to live it!” He was a great sage –   Sellmann went on – who was able to explain great theorems in a way that was simple.

“We are thankful for having had him among us. And we’ll manage to understand the scope of his theology perhaps only in the future,” affirmed the current bishop of Aquisgrana Heinrich Mussinghoff. He continued: “We can learn from him how to think in a new way about the faith, how to live and tell it in a new way.”

During a discussion among the participants some interesting ideas highlighted what could be done to help secure that the heredity of Hemmerle would continue to bear fruit in the future: a study of the language that is “both unique and easy to understand” was suggested by Prof. Michael Albus who did his doctorate with Klaus Hemmerle; promoting an award among researchers who study the grand themes of Hemmerle’s work; Claudia Lucking-Michel suggested launching an exchange program for collaborators and leaders in ecclesial environments.

Overall, what emerged was the significance of the figure of Bishop Hemmerle for both theology and the life of the Church not only in the Germany of his time, but for ecclesiastical perspectives of today and the future.