It was with deep sorrow that I learned of the return to the house of the Father of our beloved Pope Francis. Together with the whole Church, we give him back to God, filled with gratitude for the extraordinary example and gift of love that he has been for every person and every people.
There have been many moments, throughout his entire pontificate, in which the Holy Father has been a close and loving shepherd also for the Focolare Movement. He has always welcomed us and has guided us to witness to the Gospel with courage and in a radical way.
We have lived many moments with him, which we will never forget In one of them we remember his words to the General Assembly of the Focolare, when he received us in audience in 2021:
‘Always listen to Christ’s cry of abandonment on the cross, which manifests the highest measure of love. The grace that comes from this, is capable of inspiring in us, who are weak and sinners, generous and sometimes heroic responses. It is capable of transforming suffering and even tragedy into a source of light and hope for humanity’.
Finally, I cannot fail to testify also to the Pope’s love and personal concern for me, for the sufferings of my people in the Holy Land, and my immense gratitude for having invited me to participate in the Synod on Synodality, where he himself opened the doors of the Synodal Church that is now starting to take its steps throughout the world.
Together with the entire Focolare Movement in the world, I unite myself to the prayer of the universal Church and of all men and women of good will, certain that Our Lady ‘Salus Populi Romani’, (Mary, Health of the Roman People) to whom he was so devoted, will welcome him into heaven with open arms.
Margaret, why did you choose “closeness” as the theme of the year for the Focolare Movement in 2025?
I asked myself what kind of world are we living in? And it seems to me that at this moment in time there is so much loneliness and so much indifference. And there is an escalation of violence, of wars that bring so much pain all over the world. Also, I’ve been thinking about the technology that has connected us in ways we never knew before, but at the same time it makes us more and more individualistic. In a world like this, I think closeness can be an antidote; an aid to overcoming these obstacles and curing these “ills” that make us distant from one another.
Where can we start?
I have been asking myself this question for months. It seems to me that we need to re-learn how to approach people, re-learn how to look at and treat everyone as brothers and sisters. I felt that first of all, I had to examine my own attitude. Are the people I approach everyday brothers, are they sisters to me? Or am I indifferent towards them or even consider them enemies? I asked myself many questions. I have found that sometimes I want to avoid a person, because maybe they will bother me or annoy me or want to say difficult things to me. Because of all this, my reflection on closeness that I presented to those responsible for the Focolare Movement in mid-November was entitled, “Who are you for me?”
Could you tell us some of the main ideas you developed under this title?
Gladly. I’ll mention four thoughts. The first closeness that our soul experiences is its contact with God. He himself connects with our neighbours also through us. The desire to love the other person is like a movement from God in me directed to God in the other.
A second thought: Closeness is dynamic. It requires that we be completely open, that is, welcoming people without reservation, entering into their way of seeing things. We are not mass-produced! Each of us is unique, with a different character, mindset, culture, life and history. Recognizing and respecting this, calls for stepping outside of our mental and personal patterns.
You were talking about a third aspect …
Yes. The third aspect I want to emphasize is that closeness does not necessarily coincide with being near, with being similar, with belonging to the same culture. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) expresses this very well. I was struck by the attitude of the Samaritan: The man who had fallen among the robbers was a person unknown to him, he was even from another people. He was a person who was distant both in culture and tradition. However, the Samaritan made himself a neighbour. This is the key point for me. Everyone has their own dignity, above and beyond the people and culture they come from, or their character. The Samaritan did not approach just to see if this person was hurt and then turn away or, at the most call for help. He made himself a neighbour and took care of the person. The fourth aspect …
… would be …
… is to let ourselves be wounded. If closeness is to bear fruit, each of us must not be afraid and must allow ourselves to be wounded by the other.
And that means, allowing ourselves to be challenged, being open to questions to which we have no answers; being willing to show that we are vulnerable; presenting ourselves as perhaps weak and incapable. The effect of an attitude like this can be surprising. Just think that a nine-year-old boy wrote to me that for him, closeness means “lifting up the other person’s heart.” Is this not a wonderful effect of closeness? Lifting up the heart of the other.
What would change within the Focolare Movement if we live closeness well?
If we really live it well so many things will change. I wish, hope, and pray that they will. But I also want to point out that many people in the Focolare Movement are already living closeness. There are so many initiatives, many projects for peace and for helping the poor. We have even opened focolares to give assistance and welcome to immigrants or to care for the environment.
And what should change?
The quality of relationships between people. Sometimes it is easier to treat people outside the Movement well and it is more difficult among us who are part of the same family. We are in danger of living relationships of “good manners” with each other: We do not hurt each other; however, I wonder, is this an authentic relationship?
So, I hope that, beyond the projects, closeness becomes a daily way of life; that we ask ourselves several times during the day: Am I living this closeness? How am I living it? An important expression of closeness is forgiveness. To be merciful to others—and to ourselves.
What message does it contain for society?
Closeness is not only a religious or spiritual attitude, but also a civil and social one. It is possible to live it in any environment. In education for example or medicine, even in politics, where it is perhaps more difficult. If we live it well, we can have a positive influence on relationships wherever we are.
What about the Church?
The church exists because, with the coming of Jesus, God became close. So, the Church, the Churches are called to witness a lived closeness. Recently we had the Synod in the Catholic Church. I was able to attend the two sessions at the Vatican. There we were more than 300 people, each from a different culture. What did we do? An exercise in synodality, an exercise in listening, in getting to know one another deeply, in welcoming the other’s thinking, their challenges and pains. These are all characteristics of closeness.
The title of the Synod was “Walking Together.” This walking involved so many people all over the world. The logo of the Synod expressed the desire to broaden the tent of the Church so that no one feels excluded. It seems to me that this is the true sense of closeness, that no one is excluded; that everyone feels welcomed, whether it is those who attend the church, those who do not feel that they belong to it or those who have even drifted away for various reasons.
I would like to mention for a moment the limits of closeness. How can we live it well?
This is an important question. Are there limits to closeness? As a first answer I would say there should be no limits.
However?
We cannot be sure that what is closeness and solidarity for us or for me, is necessarily closeness and solidarity for the other person. And in a relationship, we can never lack respect for each other’s freedom and conscience. These two things are essential in every relationship. That is why it is important that when we approach a person, we will always do it in a delicate way, and not as something imposed. It is the other person who decides how much and what kind of closeness he or she wants.
We have a lot to learn, don’t we?
Absolutely. We have made quite a few mistakes. In thinking we are loving the other person, instead we have hurt them. In the rush to communicate our spirituality, we have built relationships in which the other person has not always felt free. Sometimes it seems to me that with the good intention of loving a person, we crushed them. We did not have enough delicacy and respect for the other’s conscience, the other’s freedom, the other’s time. And this has led to certain forms of paternalism and even abuse.
Certainly, this is a very painful situation that we are facing, and where the people we have hurt have a unique, a really unique importance. Because on our own we cannot fully understand what has happened. It is the one who has been hurt who helps us understand the mistakes we have made and to take the necessary steps so that these things don’t happen again.
A final wish?
I hope that this theme can bring us back to the essence of what Jesus himself gave us in the Gospel. He gave us so many examples of what it means to live closeness.
There is a thought of Chiara Lubich that resonated very strongly with me in thinking about this theme. She says, “There are those who do things ‘out of love,’ there are those who do things trying to ‘be Love.’ Love places us in God, and God is Love. But the Love that is God, is light, and with light we can see whether our way of approaching and serving our neighbour is in line with the Heart of God, as our neighbour would desire it, as they would dream it to be, if it wasn’t us next to them, but Jesus.”
Thank you, Margaret, from the bottom of my heart, for your passion for a closeness that is lived with decision and respect.
‘It has been an immense grace for me, a gift from God that is not only a personal gift, but i consider it a gift for the whole Focolare Movement’ with these words President Margaret Karram opens some reflections on the Synod experience and the final document of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (2-27 October 2024) “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, mission”.
Video in Italian. Activate subtitles for other languages
The whole Genfest experience – from ‘Phase 1’ to ‘Phase 3’ – is a tangible witness that you young people believe in, and indeed you are already working, to build a united world. These were days of extraordinary graces for all of us; we put ”care” into practice in various ways: – in Phase 1, through service to the poor, the marginalised, those who suffer most, and we have done this by living reciprocity, the typical way of living communion of the charism of the Focolare Movement; – in Phase 2, in sharing life, experiences and cultural riches; – and then, in Phase 3, we have experienced the extraordinary generativity of communities, which are also an intergenerational space for formation and projects.
Someone told me about the creativity that each community has developed and the interesting workshops in which you have participated (which you just told me about).
“From Genfest I take my community home with me,” one of you said, “it is something practical that continues. A chance to live the Genfest experience on a daily basis’.
You felt that you were protagonists in the construction of these communities, and you want to continue to “generate” ideas and projects. It has given me joy to know that some of you have said that you have rediscovered the meaning of your profession, and that you now want to live it in the name of a united world.
We have walked together during these days, with a style that Pope Francis would call ‘synodal’ and not only among you, young people, but with adults; with people from other movements and communities; with people from different Churches and Religions and people who do not identify with a religious belief. This network greatly enriched the Genfest!
The presence of some bishops who experienced Genfest together with us was also very beautiful.
Now Genfest does not end! But it continues in the United World Communities where we will remain connected both globally and locally
I am sure that when you arrive in your countries and cities, you will understand where you would like to get involved, according to your interests and your studies or your professions: in economics, intercultural dialogue, peace, health, in politics etc.
In these days you have had the experience of living these “communities” in “unity”; a reality that will continue. This will be your training ground in which you will learn and you will train to live fraternity.
When I was your age, I was very struck by an invitation Chiara Lubich made to everyone:
“If we are one, many will be one and the world will one day be able to see unity. And so? Establish cells of unity everywhere” (1) – perhaps Chiara, if she were alive today, would call these cells of unity, “United world communities” – she invited us to concentrate all our efforts in this.
That is why now, I would like to ask you something important: please, please do not miss this unique opportunity, it’s a unique opportunity that we have lived here. God has knocked on the door of the heart of each one of us, and is now calling you all to be protagonists and bearers of unity in the various spheres in which you are engaged.
Yesterday as I was leaving, someone stopped me, one of you who was here in the hall, and said I have to tell you something, please can I tell you something important. She said it was the first time she had participated in a Genfest and she didn’t know the Focolare Movement, and she said: “I want to tell you, you should do much more because this movement isn’t well known, you should do more but not as you have been doing up to now, you need to do more because this Movement, this idea of fraternity, needs to be known by many more young people.” So I asked her if she could help us and she wants to commit herself. But now I hope that all of us are committing ourselves to doing this.
Of course, as you heard before, it will not all be easy and we cannot deceive ourselves that difficulties will not come… but in this Genfest you yourselves have announced: ‘a God who is different, abandoned on the cross, you have said abandoned on the cross, all divine and all human, asking questions without answers’ and for this, a God who is close to all of us. It will be by embracing every suffering, our own or that of others, that we will find the strength to continue on this path.
So let us go forward together with a new hope, convinced more than ever that a path has now been mapped out.
And, something beautiful that the Chinese writer, Yutang Lin, says: “Hope is like a road through a field; there has never been a road, but when many people walk there, the road comes into existence”. I think that in this Genfest, this road has begun to exist, So, let’s walk, and this road will be there in front of us.
So I greet everyone, have a wonderful time to those of you who will be attending the post-Genfest and safe travels to those returning home!
Ciao to everyone.
Margaret Karram
(1) Chiara Lubich, Conversazioni in collegamento telefonico, Città Nuova, 2019, p. 64.
We have just heard stories of peace that were expressed in the most varied forms: songs, prayers, experiences, real projects.
All this strengthens in us the confidence and hope that it is possible to be peacemakers. Pope Francis says that we must be ‘artisans of peace’ every day. And to do this we need perseverance and patience to be able to look with love at all the brothers and sisters we meet on our path.
From this Genfest we have learnt that peace begins with me, with small gestures of care for others, for our peoples and for creation.
So where can we start?
We have said it several times in these days: by breaking down all the barriers that divide us, so as to live for fraternity. And this we can do:
by discovering that our common humanity is more important than all our differences;
then by being ready to forgive and to make gestures of reconciliation. Because to forgive means to say to the other: ‘You are worth much more than your actions’.
And as we did in the first phase of Genfest, let us continue, even when we return home, to be artisans of peace in our relationships, taking the first step towards others. Love will inspire us what to do, and to whom we should go.
Let us forgive without waiting for the other person to ask for forgiveness.
May this Genfest be the moment of our YES TO PEACE.
We must never feel alone again. In these days we have seen and certainly we have experienced the power of ‘togetherness’, Juntos.
Let us be united with all those who are living and working for peace. The communities we are going to build in Phase Three are already a possible way forward.
Open your eyes to visions of peace! Speak a language of peace! Make gestures of peace! For the practice of peace leads to peace. Peace reveals itself and offers itself to those who achieve, day after day, all the forms of peace of which they are capable.(*)
Open, speak and act.
So: let us not be at peace until we bring about peace!
