Much has already been said and much more will be said, about the ecumenical significance of the year 2025. The 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea is just one, albeit a fundamental one, of several important anniversaries for the whole of Christianity being marked this year. But why is it still important to remember Nicaea today? What is its relevance? To understand, we need to take a step back into the fourth century.
In 313, Emperor Constantine granted freedom of worship to Christians, ending religious persecution throughout the empire. Later, in 324, Constantine became sole ruler and absolute authority of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. He realized that a doctrinal controversy was threatening the peace of the empire. He decided to convene a council of the entire Church to settle the matter. Though he knew it was a religious issue, he also believed that religious unity was key to political stability. Between 250-318 bishops from all parts of the empire came to Nicaea. The aim was to defend and affirm the apostolic faith and doctrine about the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ, in contrast to the teachings of the priest Arius of Alexandria and his supporters, who claimed that Christ was not eternally divine, but the first and most sublime creature made by God.
Constantinople Gate (Ancient City of Nicaea)Lefke Gate (Nicaea Wall)
It is understandable that such a mystery, the nature of the person of Jesus Christ, posed a challenge to human intellect. But even more compelling was the testimony of the apostles and the many Christians willing to die for this belief. Indeed, many bishops who came to the Council still bore the physical marks of torture and suffering endured for the faith.
Thus, this Council defined the faith that underpins Christianity and is still professed by all Christian Churches: the God revealed by Jesus Christ is one but not solitary. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God in three distinct Persons who have always existed.
Remembering Nicaea today is therefore highly relevant: it was a Council that laid the foundation for the synodal structure of the Church, which we are striving to realize more fully today; it unified the date of Easter for the entire Church (although differences emerged over time due to changes in calendars); and it set out the key points of the Christian faith. In particular, this last aspect challenges us strongly today. Perhaps the tendency to deny the divinity of Christ has never completely disappeared. Today, many find it easier or more comfortable to speak of Jesus focusing on his human qualities, as a wise man, an exemplary figure, a prophet, rather than professing him as the only-begotten Son of God, of one substance with the Father.
Iznik, ancient Nicaea, today a small town in Turkey
Faced with these challenges, we might imagine Jesus asking us today the same question he once asked the apostles: “But who do you say that I am?” (Mt. 16:13–17).
To accept and profess the Nicene Creed together is thus ecumenically significant. Reconciliation among Christians means reconciliation not only with and among today’s Churches, but also with the tradition of the early and apostolic Church.
Considering today’s world, with all its anxieties, problems and hopes, we become even more aware that Christian unity is not only a Gospel imperative, it is also a historical necessity.
If we want to confess together that Jesus is God, then His words, especially what He called His “new commandment,” the very criterion by which the world would recognize us as His disciples, will take on new meaning for us. Living this commandment “will be the only way, or certainly the most effective way, to speak of God today to those who do not believe, to make the Resurrection of Christ translatable into terms that can be understood by people today.”[1]
[1] BENEDETTO XVI, Luce del mondo. Il Papa, la Chiesa e i segni dei tempi. Una conversazione con Peter Seewald, Libreria editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano 2010, p. 98.
On behalf of the Focolare Movement throughout the world, I express my great joy for the election of Pope Leo XIV as the new Pontiff of the Catholic Church. We thank God for having listened to the prayers of so many people and having, with His Spirit, guided the work of the Cardinals in identifying the successor of Peter at the present time that is posing serious challenges for humanity.
Right From now, we want to assure the Holy Father of our filial closeness, our prayers and our commitment to be peacemakers, as he repeatedly emphasised in his first blessing.
Today the world is in urgent need of peace, light and hope. That is why we promise that we will continue to commit ourselves, together with the ecclesial communities in which we are inserted, to bring God’s love to all; to be open to dialogue, to be ‘one people always at peace’, bearing witness to the fact that the unity asked for by Jesus in his Testament is stronger than any division.
Moreover, we want to commit ourselves to embodying the synodal path ever more faithfully, to be able to apply it also in the various areas of society; to give our contribution so that the Church may be an open and welcoming home for every man and woman and for the new generations, especially for those who are most fragile, those who suffer most and those who are marginalised, so as to offer to all the ever new message of Christ.
Best wishes Pope Leo XIV, with all our love!
Margaret Karram – President of the Focolare Movement
This year 2025 the feast of Easter is celebrated on the same day by all Christian Churches. Margaret Karram, the President of the Focolare sends her wishes for this feast together with those of some representatives of various Churches..
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We are publishing the report of the year 2024 on the activities of the Focolare Movement concerning the Safeguarding of the Person, starting with the words that Pope Francis addressed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and with which in fact, he updated the mandate with which he had established it 10 years ago. We feel strongly called to fulfil this ‘integral conversion’ to which the Holy Father is calling us, which is never completely accomplished, but asks us to question ourselves continuously, to have for each person a humble, always attentive, protective and welcoming attitude. He asks us to continue with perseverance on the path of formation and authentic closeness, aware of the need for change, so that each person may feel safe, loved and respected in our environments and in our various activities.
2024: listening, formation, regulations
There were three elements that characterised the past year from the point of view of safeguarding in the Focolare Movement: listening and the involvement of victims and witnesses in various capacities in the process of reparation, and the formation of the people in positions of responsibility in the movement; the expansion of courses and formation events for all participants and to continue to establish the regulations, with the updating of the document for the “Procedures for handling cases of abuse” as well as the drafting of the Guidelines for Listening and Welcoming Services.
The meeting last November of those responsible for the Movement around the world, with some people who had been affected either by sexual abuse or abuse of authority, by members of the Focolare Movement, was of fundamental importance. People told their stories of great suffering and the serious consequences on their lives and on the communities that they were or still are a part of. Also present were some family members of one of the people abused who gave their testimony of the serious impact that abuse has on all members of the family. The words of one participant expressed clearly the importance of that moment: ” Listening to these people marked a before and an after. With delicacy and clarity, they expressed to us how much the Movement has failed in what is at the heart of its charism: unity and love of neighbour, because in many cases we have not only been co-responsible in some way, for the abuse committed, but we have also left people alone to cope with their suffering ”.
In addition, the contribution of the those who have suffered abuse together with the involvement of professionals in various disciplines, from outside the Movement, have been fundamental to the work done at the International Centre and in the local areas. This included the documents that have been produced, as well as for the formation in Safeguarding of the Focolare communities around the world, together with the planning and opening of some spaces for listening and welcoming.
A Study Commission has now been set up to look at the abuses of authority and spiritual abuses that have occurred within the Movement. The aim is to investigate their causes, so as to be able to change harmful practices and implement the necessary prevention. The study, which is still ongoing, also makes use of advice from specialists from outside the movement in various fields: psychological, pedagogical and legal. This project was supported and encouraged by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life and, despite being in its early stages, its great importance is recognised. So it is clear that the creation and enacting of norms and Procedures is not enough, but the dynamics, leading to the various forms of abuse, must be investigated.
Finally, regulatory documents and guidelines have been updated, developed and produced (as illustrated below), which are also the result of a fruitful collaboration with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which has followed and promoted the new steps taken.
With what eyes do we look at the world and our fellow travellers in the adventure of life? It is a question of vital importance, in an era like ours marked by polarisation and disagreements, loneliness and distances between the haves and the have-nots, without forgetting the increasingly pervasive presence of artificial intelligence. Yet, at the same time, the thirst for harmony and truth grows.
Chiara Lubich used to say that everything depends on which “eyes” we look at people with. If we look with the eyes of the heart, which are the eyes of Love, we will not stop at appearances, we will instead grasp the deeper reality that is hidden in every human being. And from the gaze of the heart proceeds action, the quality of the relationship, becoming close, being near to the other person. (1)
In 1961 Chiara wrote:
If you enter the Gospel … you’ll immediately find yourself on the mountain ridge. Therefore, already at the top, already in God, even though looking over the side you’ll see that the mountain is not one mountain but a mountain chain and that for you, life is to walk along the crest up to the end.
Every Word of God contains both the minimum and the maximum that he can ask of you, so when you read, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mt 19:19), you have the law of fraternal love at its highest degree.
Your neighbour is another you, and you must love him or her bearing that in mind. When neighbours cry, you must cry with them, and when they laugh, laugh with them. If they lack knowledge, be ignorant with them. If they have lost a parent, make their suffering your own. …
What has value for you is God who is both their Father and yours. Don’t make excuses for love. Your neighbours are those who pass next to you, be they rich or poor, beautiful or ugly, brilliant or uneducated, holy or sinful, a fellow citizen or a foreigner, a priest or a layperson, whoever.
Try to love whoever passes next to you in the present moment of your life. You will discover within yourself a new energy and strength you did not know you had. They will add flavour to your life, and you will find answers to your thousand whys. (2)
Chiara Lubich
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Our translation of the Italian text found in: See Vicinanza, lo stile di Dio nella vita e nel pensiero di Chiara Lubich, A cura di Povilus J. e Ciccarelli L., Città Nuova Editrice, Roma 2024, p. 5.
This sentence is taken from the story of the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary of Nazareth and makes known God’s plans for her: she will conceive and give birth to a son, Jesus, who ‘will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.’ [1] The episode is in continuity with other events in the Old Testament whereby barren or very old women gave birth to children who were to play an important role in salvation history. Here, Mary, while wishing to fully and freely adhere to the call to become the mother of the Messiah, wonders how this will happen because she is a virgin. Gabriel assures her that it will not come about through the work of man: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’ [2] And he adds: ‘For nothing will be impossible with God.’ [3]
Such reassurance, which means that no declaration or promise made by God will remain unfulfilled – because nothing is impossible to him – can also be expressed in this way: nothing is impossible with God. In fact, the nuance of the Greek text ‘with, or near, or together with God’ highlights his closeness to men and women. In fact, when human beings are together with God and freely adhere to him, nothing is impossible.
«For nothing will be impossible with God».
How can we put this word of life into practice? We can do so by being confident in the belief that God can act even within and beyond our limitations and weaknesses and during the darkest periods of our lives.
This was the experience of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Whilst in prison before being tortured, he wrote: ‘We must immerse ourselves again and again in the living, speaking, acting, suffering and dying of Jesus in order to recognise what God promises and fulfils. It is certain […] that for us nothing impossible exists anymore, because nothing impossible exists for God; […] it is certain that we must not expect anything and yet we can ask everything; it is certain that in suffering our joy is hidden and in death our life… To all this God has said ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ. This ‘yes’ and this ‘amen’ are the solid ground on which we stand.’ [4].
«For nothing will be impossible with God».
In trying to overcome the apparent ‘impossibility’ of short-comings and in striving to reach the ‘possibility’ of a sound and consistent life, the community dimension plays a decisive role. This developed when, as a group, the disciples lived Jesus’ new commandment and allowed the power of the risen Lord to dwell within them, both collectively and individually. In 1948, Chiara Lubich wrote to a group of young members of religious communities: ‘Let’s go ahead, not relying on our own strength which is petty and weak but with the omnipotence of unity. I have seen and touched with my own hands that God among us does the impossible: he performs miracles! If we are faithful to our task […] the world will see unity and with it the fullness of the Kingdom of God.’[5]
Years ago, when I was in Africa, I often met young people who wanted to live as Christians and who told me of the many difficulties, they faced each day in trying to be faithful to the commitments of faith and the teachings of the Gospel. We would talk about this for hours and, in the end, we always came to the same conclusion: ‘It is impossible if we are alone but not if we are together.’ Jesus himself guarantees this when he promises: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name (in my love), there am I in the midst of them.’ [6] And with him all things are possible.
Edited by Augusto Parody Reyes & the Word of Life team
[1]Lc 1, 32. [2] Ibid, 35. [3] Ibid, 37. [4] D. Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran Pastor, protagonist in resistance against Nazism [5] C. Lubich, “Letters of the Early Times”. viCf Mt. 18:20. [6] Cf. Mt 18, 20.
