7 Dec 2019 | Non categorizzato
“Give yourself completely to me” – 7 December 1943 Today the Centenary Year of the birth of Chiara Lubich is being officially inaugurated. It will be celebrated wherever there are people who have made their own her “Ideal” – as she used to say –, the Ideal of unity and universal brotherhood. “Celebrate to meet” is the motto inspiring the most varied events that will take place in 2020. “Celebrate” because Chiara Lubich will be remembered, but in order to give many people the opportunity to encounter the message she lived to the full. Of particular importance is the “Chiara Lubich: world city” exhibition, created by the Trentino Historical Museum Foundation and the Chiara Lubich Centre (Rocca di Papa), which is being officially opened today at the Tunnels Gallery in Trent, her city. Why is this happening on 7th December 2019 and not 22nd January 2020, the anniversary of Chiara’s birth or indeed on 14th March, the day of her death? It is simply because on 7th December 1943, Silvia Lubich became Chiara, so to speak. A few days before, in fact, she had responded to a request from her mother to go and get milk on a nearby farm. Her two younger sisters were reluctant to leave the house because of the cold, and Chiara decided to do this act of love. On her way, she had felt a clear and strong calling: “Give yourself completely to me”. Back home, Silvia had written an ardent letter to the priest who had accompanied her spiritually and, after putting her to the test, he granted her permission to give herself to God forever. Thus, on that 7th December 1943, before dawn, during a morning mass celebrated for the occasion, Silvia, secretly “married God”, as she herself would say. Thirty years later she reflected on that day: “Imagine a young girl in love, in love with a love which is the first love, the purest one, a love which is still undeclared, but which begins to enflame her heart. But there’s one difference. Here on earth, a young girl, who is in love in this way, has the image of her beloved in front of her; instead this girl doesn’t see him, doesn’t hear him, doesn’t touch him or sense his fragrance with the senses of the body, but rather with the senses of her soul, through which Love entered in and invaded all her being. Because of this she feels a joy which is so special, difficult to experience again in life, a joy which is secret, serene, and jubilant”. The young Silvia Lubich had been fascinated by Chiara of Assisi’s answer to St. Francis when he asked her what she wanted: “God!” That eighteen-year-old girl from Assisi, who was so beautiful and full of hope, had been able to encompass all the desires of her heart in that one Being worthy of all love: “God”. With this example before her, Silvia had changed her name to Chiara, because she too had the same feelings within herself. Changing a name is like acquiring a new identity. This change, at first just a heart’s desire, actually came about on 7th December 1943. That morning Silvia married God and became Chiara. Later, the date of 7th December was chosen as the symbolic starting date of the Focolare Movement. By giving herself to God completely, the foundation stone was laid. Years later, the Catholic Church gave the ‘building’, (the Movement that developed) the name “Work of Mary”. With the name “God” Chiara’s divine adventure began and with it that of the Focolare Movement. “God” is what 7th December means to Chiara Lubich. Therefore there is no better date to inaugurate the centenary year of her birth than this.
Michel Vandeleene
4 Dec 2019 | Non categorizzato
From a talk given at a press conference on 18th November by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant’Egidio Community and personal friend of Chiara’s. A few days before the official opening of Chiara Lubich’s centenary on 7th December, we share part of a speech given at a press conference on 18 November by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. As a personal friend of Chiara’s with whom he worked to build pathways for unity among various Movements in the Church, he offered a reflection on Chiara’s humanity and historical authenticity, much of which is yet to be discovered. Time sometimes reduces great figures to “prayer cards” which gather dust and are gradually forgotten. Chiara’s heart was full of Holiness but she was much more than a prayer card. She was a real woman, a “volcanic” woman, a native of Trent who was open to the world. Starting from Trent she went all over the world; that was Chiara’s story: from Trent to Rome and the world. What is said of her is true, that if you visit some of the remotest parts of the world, even in Africa, not only do you find Chiara’s followers, you also feel her presence and her thought. A hundred years have passed since her birth. A hundred years is a long time. Chiara was born in 1920, the same year as John Paul II, and whenever he saw her he would call her “my contemporary”. Both were influenced by the tragic events of the Second World War. Chiara felt its effects deeply in Trent where her charism matured – so to speak – in the midst of the Second World War, in a world that was deeply divided and torn by the pain of war. Chiara is also, in my view, an important figure outside the Church. She was not just a figure within the Church, even though she was deeply rooted in the Church, in unity with it, but she was always projected outwards to the world. She was not merely a “Sacristy Christian”; she loved and look outwards to the whole world. Chiara was an historical figure. Twentieth-century Christianity was made up largely of men who left women to engage in a little bit of mysticism or some experience of charity. Instead, Chiara was a woman who made history in the round. Not only mysticism and charity but also politics and a passion for real change in life. This is the person I met. She had a great capacity for personal relationships and friendship: she had the charism of friendship, everyone was unique for her. She was a woman who met thousands of people, and yet, for her, no two people were the same. Then she had another great skill: that of communicating a passion. She was a passionate woman, passionate about the unity of the world. Unity is the key to understanding her existence and her quest for peace which is also ecumenism. She was deeply sensitive to ecumenism – more than many experts in ecumenism – and I would like to recall, in this regard, her relationship with Patriarch Athenagoras, about whom I have also written a book. There is also a letter that I published which stated “It is said of Miss Chiara Lubich that because she is a woman and is not a theologian she is too fervent”, but today I would like to say that, precisely because she is not a theologian and is a woman, Chiara understood more than the technicians of ecumenism. Unity also means dialogue to achieve peace. Chiara wrote, “The children of God are the children of love, they fight with a weapon that is the very life of humankind”. Life is a gift and through the gift of life we struggle to change the world and to change others and achieve this ideal. Chiara was consumed by a passion for the ideal. And this seems to me to be a fundamental point to come back to and reflect on. Maria Voce mentioned that we are in a time of division. I would add that we are also in a time of small passions. Chiara might be very unpopular today, precisely because the world believes in divisions and lives with its own small passions. But I believe that the year you are dedicating, that we are dedicating, to remembering, reviving the memory of and meeting Chiara Lubich is also a year that challenges both these little passions and being resigned to a divided world. Chiara wrote: “We hope that the Lord will bring about a new world order. He is the only one who can make humanity one family. Only He can bring out the distinctiveness of all peoples so that, in the splendour of each one being at the service of the others, the one light of life may shine forth. In this way our earthly homeland will be more beautiful and become a foretaste of the eternal homeland”. I think that celebrating this centenary is a service to humanity and to the thought of our time, which lacks vision. Her contemporary Wojtyla wrote “the world suffers, especially for lack of vision”. I believe that this world of ours can flourish again with Chiara Lubich’s vision. Just a word of warning: we need to be careful when we use the word celebration. Maria rightly prefers to speak of an encounter. It is a demanding encounter and this encounter, dear Maria, must also be history. We must have the courage to rewrite Chiara Lubich’s story in her time, to better understand how her action has changed history. I am thinking, for example, of the adventure of sending focolarini to Eastern Europe and how this contributed to the fall of the Berlin wall. Chiara did not choose to seek refuge in the West and be resigned to the wall. And so I am sure that this centenary year, which begins today, will make the person of Chiara grow in a new encounter with our times, and not diminish her.
4 Dec 2019 | Non categorizzato
The president of Azione Cattolica Italy met with the Focolare’s General Council, and what emerged was a shared commitment for Albanian earthquake victims. On the afternoon of 29 November, close to 50 people – including members of the national administration of Azione Cattolica, members of the Focolare General Council, and Focolare directors in Italy – came together at the movement’s international headquarters at Rocca di Papa. From the start there was a great, tangible harmony that, as the meeting unfolded, showed all the richness of communion. “It is an opportune time, and the Spirit urges us in this direction,” said Matteo Truffelli, president of Azione Cattolica Italiana (ACI). “By staying close to other realities in the Church, we experience an abundance of ecclesiality,” affirmed Jesús Morán, Focolare’s co-president. Following a prayer by Monsignor Gualtiero Sigismondi, the ecclesial assistant for ACI, Focolare President Maria Voce explained the movement’s specific calling to unity. Truffelli in turn presented the areas of focus for his association: the missionary activity that Pope Francis has invited Azione Cattolica to take part in – a challenge that they aim to take on enthusiastically and universally. A sharing of experiences from the two organisations in various fields followed. Those from Focolare retraced Chiara’s inspirations in ecumenical, interreligious and cultural dialogue: from Evangelicals, to Orthodox, to Anglicans, and today with movements from various Christian churches on the path of Together for Europe. The key to interreligious dialogue can be found in human fraternity. The relationships with the founders of movements in other religions have also been productive. In this age of diversity, the challenge is to manage cultural differences, rejecting others, and the risk of fundamentalism or assimilation. There is a vast range of projects in the fields of politics, economics, disarmament, environment and education, but the aim is also to show the Church as it truly is. Children and teens play a lead role in responding to the most important contemporary issues. Asking themselves how best to make their own experience of faith tangible in everyday life, ACI began the Fuori Sede (“offsite”) project for young people, students and workers, who aim to carry out their tasks wherever they find themselves. A Marian pilgrimage is aimed at adults who gravitate towards more popular religiosity. Finally, they are also collaborating with the Italian bishops conference through the Policoro project. As the afternoon of communion drew to a close, Truffelli proposed a common project to support those who had been struck days earlier by the strong earthquake in Albania. Moran spoke for many with his positive reaction. Experts from the two organisations are already developing a plan of action to achieve this collaboration.
Lina Ciampi
1 Dec 2019 | Non categorizzato
What is the vision from North Africa of the migration towards Europe phenomenon? How is it possible to make it person centred, thus moving from a purely economic to a human vision of migration? Interview with Pasquale Ferrara, Italian ambassador in Algiers. According to the UNHCR*, 75,522 migrants landed by sea on the European coasts of Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Spain and Greece from January 1st to October 21st 2019. In addition, 16,322 migrants arrived by land in Greece and Spain making a total of 91,844 people, of whom 9,270 in Italy, 2,738 in Malta, 1,183 in Cyprus, 25,191 in Spain, 53,462 in Greece. This data shows a decreasing trend (in migration) and documents the emergency phases. It is not however enough so that Europe starts a broad and constructive dialogue on the subject: the prospect of the creation of a European system of flow management remains very remote, and in general the analysis at an institutional level does not take into account the perspective of African countries. In Algiers we joined the Italian Ambassador, Pasquale Ferrara: Mr. Ambassador, what is the vision from North Africa of the migration towards Europe phenomenon? Seen from Africa, migration is a historical and structural phenomenon, especially intra-African, because the vast majority of migrant and refugee movements take place between African countries: more than 20 million people live in a country other than their country of origin. Migration to Europe is different and people fear an uncontrolled influx. To speak of migration in terms of differences in development is only part of the picture. In Europe, a distinction is often made between political refugees and economic migrants. But often African economic migrants are the result of bad political management in countries, because there is a problem of governance, of appropriation of resources by oligarchies, of social inclusion. Therefore, in some way, economic migrants too can qualify as political refugees. Over and above the issue of illegal migration, as far as North Africa is concerned, it would be necessary to restore in the Mediterranean the circular mobility of populations that has always been observed in history. It means, for example, the possibility of coming to Europe for a period of study or work, and then returning to the country of origin. At the moment, these movements are subject to the granting of a visa, but it is very difficult to obtain one because of the many and necessary controls. For many people it is challenging, so the temptation of those who receive visas, even if they are well-intentioned, is often not to return to their country of origin. The visa must be maintained, but with a view to encouraging circular mobility, it is necessary to think of a more structured system. Then there is another factor that stimulates migration, and that is the difference in the quality of services that a society offers: health services and social security services in general, whose lack of availability and quality also influences, together with other factors such as endemic violence, the sense of security, or school services, so that even those who are not in a situation of absolute poverty try to come to Europe to give a better education to their children. We should therefore invest more in the training of the ruling classes, professionals and educators. In Algiers, even though the numbers are small, we are trying to do so, increasing the scholarships for young Algerians who go to Italy to study music, art, restoration, as an investment for their professional future. Is the West responsible for the impoverishment of African countries? I would be very cautious. This is a narrative that is useful for certain Afro-African oligarchies to dismiss their responsibilities when faced with a governance that is dubious in its legitimacy and in its results. The colonial period has marked Africa a lot and the past responsibilities of the West are ascertained, but at least 50 years have passed since decolonization and it is difficult to attribute to the West the problems of today’s African societies. The quality of governance is of great importance. Rather today in Africa there is a strong presence of China with programs related to natural and mineral resources in almost all countries. China considers Africa a large market, but the exchange is asymmetrical in favour of Beijing. However, to compensate for this imbalance, China carries out infrastructural works, stadiums, theatres and cultural centres for billions of dollars at its own expense. Europe is taking uncertain steps in managing this phenomenon. There is a lack of Community policies and it seems that the principle of shared responsibility does not warm the hearts of Europe. The choice of solidarity cannot depend on the good will and changing direction of individual governments. The migration issue must be dealt with exclusively by the European Union as such, as is the case with the trade policies for which the EU states have given Brussels exclusive responsibility for negotiating agreements with non-European countries. Today, however, on the one hand, because of a matter of national sovereignty, the states want to retain control over migration and borders, and that is understandable. On the other hand, they accuse Europe of inaction, but they do not give it the mechanisms it needs to operate effectively. But it seems to me unlikely that there will be progress in this area, given the resistance that this issue encounters in relation to internal policies. * https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean End 1st Part
Edited by Claudia Di Lorenzi
29 Nov 2019 | Non categorizzato
The local Focolare community and Emergency Coordination of the Movement, together with Caritas and other religious families, are working to help those affected by the earthquake. The night between 25th and 26th November, a powerful earthquake struck the northern coast of Albania, in the city of Durazzo. To date there are at least 47 dead, 600 wounded and thousands of people displaced, but there seem to be many people still under the rubble. The earthquake produced enormous damage, buildings collapsed and hundreds of people are now homeless. The quake was felt in other areas of Albania and the Adriatic coast. The local Focolare community is working together with Caritas Albania, diocesan Caritas, many parishes and religious families in mapping the territory to survey houses, schools, churches and damaged buildings, and in planning coordinated assistance. Our people in Tirana wrote, “We are with Caritas and other groups and, as always, we work together.” Particular attention is being given to villages and areas far from the largest urban centers – unknown to the media – which have also suffered significant damage. They emphasized, “Creating bridges, fostering communication channels, networking needs and resources is a shared priority.” The Focolare Movement are helping concretely: welcoming families and people who cannot return to their damaged homes and offering accommodation in the homes of other families in areas not affected by the earthquake. They also offer the possibility of making a technical estimate of the damage suffered. Moreover, the Focolare is providing psychological assistance to the victims of the earthquake who are also affected by the state of continuous alert due to continuous tremors. Solidarity was expressed by the Focolare centers in Macedonia. The youth of the Movement are working to bring help too. There is a clear awareness that a concerted effort is the priority of these first days of the emergency, while in the coming months the need to make a reconstruction plan will follow. Pope Francis has expressed his spiritual closeness and paternal support towards the affected people and territories: “I am close to the victims, I pray for the dead, for the wounded, for the families,” he told the General Audience on Wednesday 27th November. “May the Lord bless this people that I love so much.” ________________________________________ For those who want to collaborate, the following current accounts have been activated: Azione per un Mondo Unito ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT58 S050 1803 2000 0001 1204 344 Codice SWIFT/BIC: CCRTIT2T Banca Popolare Etica Azione per Famiglie Nuove ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT11G0306909606100000001060 Codice SWIFT/BIC: BCITITMM Banca Intesa San Paolo PURPOSE: Earthquake emergency in Albania ————————————————————– The contributions paid on the two current accounts with this purpose will be managed jointly by AMU and AFN. There are tax benefits for these donations in many countries of the European Union and in other countries of the world, according to the various local regulations. Italian taxpayers will be provided deductions from taxable income, up to 10% of the income and with the limit of € 70,000.00 per year, with the exception of donations made in cash.
28 Nov 2019 | Non categorizzato
With the motto “Celebrate to meet”, the opening, next December 7th of Chiara Lubich’s centenary was announced to the press. The launching in Trento will inaugurate the international exhibition “Chiara Lubich world city “.
© CSC Audiovisivi
© CSC Audiovisivi
Claudia Di Lorenzi
