Jun 13, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
As Anna and Claudio tell the story of their life, the word passes from one to the other in such a natural way that it’s as if, after many years of marriage, they have become a single person. She begins by saying, “When we were first married, what united us was the enthusiasm and joy of seeing our family grow. I didn’t know anyone in the little town in northern Italy where we had moved for work. I took care of the house and waited for him to come home each evening. We were happy but … something was missing. One Sunday we were chatting to a priest outside the church. We invited him to the house and when he came, he brought a copy of the New City magazine. Later on, he brought us the Word of Life leaflet. We thought that we too could begin to live the words of the Gospel.” Claudio continues: “I had a good job. We made machines that developed and printed films for the cinema. However, when the owner died, there were problems amongst the people who inherited the company. Eventually, I received a really attractive offer of a very well paid job. However, I understood that the content of the films I would be helping to produce would be ethically unacceptable. My wife and I agreed that I should not accept the job. After a while, I had the offer of another job but with a much lower salary. By then, our second child had been born and the expenses were increasing. I accepted the second job, trusting that we would manage. There was a lot of work to do and I needed a helper. The human resources department suggested someone who was known to be a very difficult character. In fact, the first time I met him, he said, ‘If you think you are going to make me work, you have got it all wrong.” I realised that I was going to have to make up for his shortcomings: but in the family we had agreed that we were going to love everyone and so there was no turning back. After that, he began to really enjoy the work and I remember that at Christmas he brought me a little train wrapped up in newspaper for my son.” Anna continues, “I was expecting the third baby when Claudio had the offer of another job. We moved and the other four children were born in that town. We were a little “tribe” that was growing enjoying our way of life and the peace and harmony we tried to maintain always. I was working too. I was teaching German in a high school and this meant that I always had a lot to do. The children were very supportive: they used to help one another with their homework and prepare supper sometimes. The school was about 30 kilometres away from home and I remember coming home on the bus one very wet evening. I was expecting to get absolutely soaked on the way to our house. Mobile phones didn’t exist in those days. When I got off the bus, at the stop, I found one of the children waiting for me with a big umbrella. A few years later, when there were nine of us (plus a cat), my husband’s work meant we needed to move again. I was very hesitant at first. Then I realised how difficult it was for him to spend five nights each week in a hotel. Out of love for him, we decided to pack our bags once again. We understood how important is to always be united and we often prayed together during difficult times. I was on my own during the day but I knew he was always with me. Sometimes, after supper, we used to walk around the block together just to have a little bit of time for the two of us to be on our own.” Claudio takes up the story once again, “Our children are all married now. One of them is separated from his wife and this made us suffer a lot. Recently, when we were on pilgrimage, we entrusted this situation to Mary. At first we prayed that the family could be re united. After a while we thought it was better to ask that their hearts might be converted. Eventually, we understood that the grace we needed to pray for was our conversion. We ended the pilgrimage determined to be attentive to what God might still ask us. We don’t want to stop being instruments of his love. In a family, love is the only thing that must never move.”
Jun 12, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
Some months ago in Milan, the Youths for a United World got together to plan an initiative which would focus on Genfest 2018 in Manila, Philippines. It was then that they revived the idea of selling coffee, as was done on the occasion of the Genfest of 2012 in Budapest. After obtaining a special price from a wholesale distributor, they created the labels which featured the guidelines of the activities and logo of the event. They decided to designate the funds obtained to: support the Filipino people struck by Typhoon Vinta last December, help those arriving in Manila from the farther countries, and add to the funds for general expenses in the organisation of the Genfest. One of the youths of Milano recounted that the idea came up when “we asked ourselves how we could spread the news of the Genfest here. Being an event to promote brotherhood among people, which covers material and interpersonal relationships, it seemed that one of the most representative elements was this desire to socialize, stay together, and as in our culture, share time enjoying a beverage or some coffee: that break you take during the day, which can become the occasion to exchange and share ideas, and to go beyond…” This time it was easier than in 2012, since we already had our contacts. After deciding how to go about it, we contacted the supplier and received 4,000 packets of coffee in a month’s time in the central depot of Milan. In the meanwhile, in the various parts of the region, around 20 people volunteered to create small storage in their homes. The labeling process was done by them and “it became an occasion to get together and dine together, […]. We did this not only in Milan but also in other regions where youths and families are helping one another. Lastly, this activity created many opportunities to meet people we haven’t seen for some time, thus consolidating fraternal relationships.” For further information: caffe2018manila@gmail.com Source: United World Project
Jun 10, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
Creation is “a shared gift, not a private possession” and taking care of it “always entails the recognition and respect of the rights of every person and every people”. These the words of Pope Francis who sent a message to the international symposium on protecting the environment which took place in Athens, on the Attic peninsula, 5-8 June, convened by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, hosted by Patriarch Bartholomew. Entitled “Toward a Greener Attica. Preserving the planet and protecting its people”, the symposium comes three years after the papal Encyclical Laudato Si’ and coincided with World Environment Day. It welcomed 250 participants: theologians and scientists, political and business leaders, as well as activists and journalists from all over the world. Together they explored the pressing environmental problems of the region and its islands, examining the connections between ecology and economy, particularly in the context of pressing social and environmental challenges of our time. 
Among those invited was Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement founded by Chiara Lubich, a movement which over the years has developed its contribution to protecting the planet in many parts of the globe. “It is wonderful to see people from all over the world”, she reflected, “including religious leaders of different churches, gathering to seek solutions together in the hope that our planet can continue more serenely, if we protect and preserve it for the generations to come”. She added, “It’s very good to be looking at all aspects of ecology: the environment and its effect on people. What has come out strongly is that the whole planet is involved in ecology like this. Nature is a gift we receive from God and as such it must be welcomed with respect and gratitude. It must be passed on in the best way possible to our brothers and sisters who will come after us”. The actual programme of the symposium displayed an “ecological approach”, mused Maria Voce. “The schedule was full, but interspersed with journeys to the surrounding Saronic islands, which provided opportunities to meet and talk with one another, making it easier to establish relationships through a combination of study, relaxation and international friendship. I think this meeting offers hope for the future of the planet”. Much needed hope. Pope Francis has expressed his concerns over the risk that future generations may be condemned “to live in a common home that is reduced to ruins” or to leave their homelands because of climate change and disasters triggered by greedy exploitation of the earth’s resources. The Pope was represented at the symposium by Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. Recalling his joint message for the September 1st World Day of Prayer for Creation, written together with Patriarch Bartholomew, Pope Francis stated that “the duty to care for creation challenges all people of good will and invites Christians to recognize the spiritual roots of the ecological crisis and to cooperate in offering an unequivocal response”. The main priority, concluded the Patriarch, popularly known as “the Green Patriarch” is to rethink the current economic system which “ignores the needs of human beings and inevitably leads to the exploitation of the natural environment”. Above all, he added, real change can only be born from the human heart. “The destruction of the natural environment can only be averted through a radical change in our perspective toward nature, which comes from a radical change in our self-perception as human beings”. Claudia Di Lorenzi
Jun 6, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
Jun 6, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
In the Mexico City Focolare, Pope Francis’ invitation to “go forth” can be seen in the face and heard in the voice of Reina Cruz. Originally from El Salvador, she serves a community that shares the Word of Life in difficult situations, just a few kilometers outside the Mexican capital. In the group there are both dealers and users, and those who have decided to befriend them. The focolarine carry the pope’s voice to the periphery, as he has often invited us to, to suburbs that are difficult, poor, made up of millions who, thanks to their work, are able to hear the words of the Gospel for the first time. Reina admits it is not easy. “Going into an environment where 13- and 14-year-old kids practically live without any family, we feel that we can at least bring our presence. Their activity has even spread to more remote areas, such as visiting Xavierian missionaries in the Santa Cruz forest, a visit made even more intense because it was Holy Week and Easter. In these often-forgotten corners of the world, the young women present the Focolare spirituality. By now it has spread to 182 countries in the world, with centers in 87, including Mexico, where there are close to 110,000 members. Setting their sights on befriending their brothers and sisters, which is typical of the movement founded by Chiara Lubich, these Mexican groups have entered into various social environments. They have been encouraged by Pope Francis’ visit to Loppiano on May 10 to continue on the path started by Lubich, a Servant of God. “A dozen of us,” says Reina, “went to visit Santiago de Anaya, Actopan, in the state of Hidalgo, the heart of Mexico.” Without expecting anything in return, not even interest in their spirituality, they have begun working with the Missionaries of the Divine Word. Their one objective is to offer points for the community to reflect on daily: the word of God and its effects on our lives as committed laypeople. The phenomenon of drug dealing and abuse among teens sounded the alarm for members of the Focolare, driving them to listen to difficult experiences and share the Gospel message with kids who live on the street alone. “On May 6, for example, there were two girls aged 14 and 17 who came up to tell us tearfully about how drug use was growing among their friends.” The older one had been thrown out of her mother’s house, Reina remembers, and she was desperate after ties with her mother had been cut. What to do? How to help? For those who follow Chiara Lubich, healing issues and wounds in the family is part of the task of accompanying others. The challenges continually grow in line with a society whose values are ever more fragile, with weak family ties that at times can even be completely absent. As a result, their presence ends up being the only reference point for people who, as they grow, need a ledge to cling to and not risk drowning in drugs or despair. This is why listening is so important, they explain at the Focolare in Mexico City, as is prayer and spiritual meetings to renew lives in God. The goal remains unity, and this is an opportunity to rise from poverty and walk toward dignity. The dialogue with the local priests helps them to act together, avoid divisions, and look at development projects such as an economy of communion. It is a journey taken together with the Virgin Mary, a mother who never abandons her own children, “not even those who are most alone.”
Jun 4, 2018 | Focolare Worldwide
There is great satisfaction also in the Sophia University Institute of Loppiano. The new Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University (PLU), recently appointed by Pope Francis, is also a “visiting professor” at the University Institute. Vincenzo Buonomo, jurist and canon lawyer, from 1 July will be the first ever layperson to guide the pontifical university, and succeeds Bishop Enrico dal Covolo. Born in 1961, married and father to two children, Buonomo has a longstanding bond with the University, first as a student, with a doctorate in Utroque Iure and also a specialisation in International Law with a Preparatory Diploma for the Diplomatic Career, after which he became a full professor from 1984 to 2001. He was the Dean of the Civil Law Faculty from 2006 to 2012, and is currently the coordinator of the Doctorate studies of the same Faculty. In 2007 Buonomo covered the role of office manager of the Holy See’s permanent observer at the UN Food and Agricultural agencies (FAO, IFAD, PAM), with which he started working in 1983. From 2000 to 2005 he was moreover, consultor of the Commission for Dialogue with Muslims at the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue. Since 2014, he has been the councilor of the State of the Vatican City.
