Athenagoras and Chiara Lubich
http://vimeo.com/95726085
Educating towards fraternity: a collective challenge
«This is not just a meeting for educators», one of the participants commented with emotion. «I am no longer the same person I was when I got here». «Fraternity, as a lifeoption is the blood that must run in my veins.» There were some impressions of the many participants from countries of the Southern Conethat gathered from 12-14 May in Rosario, Argentina. Besides these, about 500 educators took part directly via streaming during the various moments dedicated to the theme of the Meeting: “The service to learning service,” “Education for a fraternal economy,” “Inter-generational dialogue, and “Empathy and intercultural Workshop” to name a few. The first day started with the visit of the Governor of Santa Fe, Miguel Lifschitz, and authorities of the other local institutions. The Archbishop of Rosario, Bishop Martin, gave a speech the day after and started by affirming that the word,“fraternity,” says that we are not alone.«In this country God brought us together and the challenge we had before is called coexistence…You are not only diffusing theories but you start off from life, and concrete facts.» What came to light was not only the life of fraternity between the students and with their teachers but also between directors and inspectors, proposing innovations for the benefit of the entire educational community. The schools with artistic orientations and which had adhered to the objective of brotherhood gave their testimonials on how interculturality is lived through art, demonstrating new ways of interpreting life as artists. The workshop on inclusion helped to clarify the concept of how “the other, with all his differences is a gift.” 
The theme on education and training outside the school environment, which is a life-learning process focusing on brotherhood as its methodology, indicated a pathway which consists in going out towards the peripheries with a programme centered on values. The experiences on the relationship between education and technology were presented as the great opportunity to achieve fraternity, setting the relationship between students and that with the teachers on the same level, and as the possibility to bring out the best in the others, and learn from everyone. Also many educational practices that had produced excellent results were presented, and concerned the potential of body language and the golden rule in the field of sports as a way of building bridges in such important fields. All this can be summarized in Chiara Lubich’s educational proposal to be applied in many educational realities worldwide, inspired by love for the more vulnerable, “ignorant,” abandoned people who are excluded from the system. It is a path that identifies the presence of Jesus Crucified and Abandoned: an abandonment that found its answer of love in the Resurrection, which is thus a key to building fraternity right in the heart of the “divide.” «I leave with my heart full of hope knowing that this paradigm exists, knowing that there are a lot of people working to combat verticality, the lack of mutual listening, the widespread mentality for which knowledge is only in the hands of the teacher, the adult – said Enzo of Chacabuco, specialized in music therapy. – This is a different road. I hope the second edition of this Convention will be organised soon.» Source: SiteSouthern Cone
Bartholomew I Awarded Honorary Degree
On May 31, 2017, the University of Tubingen, Germany, conferred an honorary doctorate to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. The degree honours his long years of work in promoting understanding between the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Churches; his efforts for the protection of the Creation; for Europe and for dialogue among religions. The University is one of the oldest in Germany, founded in 1477 and stands among the most internationally reputable centres of study for students of Medicine, the Natural Sciences, Human Sciences. It currently serves some 28,500 students.
New Zealand: the warmth of Rotorua
Lake Rotorua is the second biggest lake of the North Island of New Zealand, in the southern Pacific Ocean. Formed from the crater of a big volcano, active up to 240 thousand years ago, today it is a splendid canoe and kayak training ground. A tourist destination since the 19th century, here, as everywhere in the area, a strong smell of sulphur recalls the intense thermal activity which pushes boiling water out of the subsoil, forming pools of hot mud of the most incredible colours from apple green to yellow, cobalt lakes and a myriad of fumaroles. Nearby, the Lady Knox geyser erupts once a day venting out sprays of water and steam 20 metres high. 
The same bubbly warmth was seen in the 170 participants of the Mariapolis hosted from 26 to 29 April 2017 in a camp situated right on the banks of the lake. Also families from the Philippines, India and Korea participated, including more than 50 teenagers and children, and some Italian visitors comprising of two married couples, Roberta & Stefano, and Beatrice & Franco. They wrote: “We departed from Sydney and after a flight of about four hours, we reached Auckland where we were joined by Yob and Bruno from Melbourne. After a journey of about four hours by car, we arrived in Rotorua. We spent three days there and we felt so enriched by the personal relationships created among all the families. 
There were many experiences on the living the Gospel, a workshop on ecology, a much felt theme here, and one on the art of loving, some reflections of Chiara Lubich, and also on communication in the family and the education of children, not to mention the enchanting walks along the lake and in the forest.” It’s no wonder the North Island was chosen as one of the locations to shoot various scenes of Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”. But the territory is particularly interesting also from an ethnological point of view. In fact the Island is inhabited by the biggest Maori communities of New Zealand. Up to 40 years ago the Maori language was spoken by a small number of people, but thanks to an integration program initiated by the government, today the culture and language of the Maori (about 20% of the population) have become an integral part of the nation. “During Mass,” Roberta and Stefano explained, “we recited some prayers in Maori, a people whose civilization and culture are well integrated.” After dinner, the Mariapolis included an evening program animated by children and young people which focused on an an interesting ecological theme regarding respect for creation and the environment. 
As in the simplicity of life in a big family, also in the Mariapolis everything was shared, like birthday celebrations and a wedding anniversary. “They were three very special days spent getting to know each other through personal chats, sharing joys and sufferings together, facing the challenges through the support of the community, and remaining faithful to the Gospel with coherence and constancy.” From here the “Mariapolis people” departed to return to their various places of origin, taking with them the energy and warmth of Rotorua.
Paraguay: Yvy Marane’y, Land without evil
Card. Bassetti, new President of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI)
Maria Voce says that it was “with great pleasure” that she learnt of Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti’s appointment as new President of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) on May 24, 2017. In a letter congratulating him, the President of the Focolare Movement expresses her “most sincere wishes for this prestigious assignment, a clear sign of trust on behalf of the Holy Father.” “His sense of collegiality and love, which are his trademarks,” continues the President, “will be a great gift for the entire ecclesial and civil community of Italy, especially for those who most resemble Jesus Crucified and Abandoned “. The Focolare Movement in Italy also congratulated the new President of the Bishops’ Conference, saying his appointment is “a source of great joy”. In a press release, it emphasizes his “particular style in always being close to the people, to workers, migrants, families, in their situations of crisis and in their search for truth.” The Movement wishes that he may “experience in this new task an ever-renewed courage to face the countless challenges, comforted by the collegiality which is a witness to the fraternal aspect of the Church.” Born in 1942 in Marradi near Florence, Gualtiero Bassetti was ordained a priest in 1966. In 1994 he was appointed Bishop of Massa Marittima, then Bishop of Arezzo (1998) and in 2009 Archbishop of Perugia. In 2014, Pope Francis welcomed him into the College of Cardinals.