18 Oct 2023 | Non categorizzato
Eight years after the Encyclical “Laudato Si,” the Pontiff calls again in the Apostolic Exhortation “Laudate Deum” all people of good will to respond appropriately to the climate crisis. Still, very little has changed in the facts. The world “is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point.” [2]. Last week, it was reported by the European Union’s climate observatory (Copernicus) that “September was the warmest month ever” (since 1850). Rising temperatures are certainly one of the most conspicuous symptoms of ongoing climate change. Last July, the world’s most authoritative journal in the field, “Nature,” showed that the heat waves of summer 2022 caused nearly 63,000 deaths in Europe. Certainly, we should not fall into catastrophic considerations because the margins for changing course are still possible, but we must categorically reject all irrational and unscientific negations. After decisively responding to all the most common objections against the current climate crisis, the pontiff emphasizes: “I feel compelled to make these clarifications, which may seem obvious, because of certain derogatory and unreasonable views that I find even within the Catholic Church” [14]. He distances himself from blaming the poor. “How can we forget that Africa, where more than half of the world’s poorest people live, is responsible for only a small fraction of the emissions accumulated throughout history?” [9]. Bergoglio addresses a call to each of us “to accompany this path of reconciliation with the world that hosts us and to embellish it with our own contribution” [69]. Unfortunately, some effects of the climate crisis are already irreversible: Some species have “stopped being our travelling companions and have become our victims” [15]. Yet, we cannot but “recognize […] that human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures” [67]. All of these cannot leave us indifferent. To enable change, we need to adjust both the way we “look” at others and nature and the way we exercise power to achieve a purpose. Even small individual steps are important: they may not lead to immediate, quantifiable success, but they can act as the blueprint for cultural change and “set in motion large transformational processes that work from the depths of society.” [71]. Caring for every dimension of our planet is a collective challenge that requires a collective response. In recent years there have been many global efforts but with often disappointing results: broken promises and postponed goals. But “if we have faith in the ability of humans to transcend their small interests and think big[…], we cannot stop dreaming that COP28 will lead to a decisive acceleration of the energy transition, with effective and monitored commitments.” [54]. We also cannot give up this “dream.” It is a bet: to win all people of good will to work for a world worth living in.
Stefania Papa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe_bd0TUjk
13 Oct 2023 | Dialogo Interreligioso, Focolari nel Mondo, Non categorizzato
After the disastrous attack on Israel, the horrifying violence that was unleashed, the wave of fear that rocked the two peoples, the anguish for the hostages and the apprehension for the fate of the people of Gaza, we want to send you news from the Focolare communities in the Holy Land and news of a worldwide call to prayer and fasting for peace on 17th October “We have left our homes and all the Christians are taking refuge in the churches” This short message is the latest news we received this morning from some members of the Focolare community in Gaza. According to Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza, there are 1017 Christians still living in the strip and among them are several adherents of the Focolare Movement, with whom even sporadic communication is increasingly difficult. And in spite of this, a message, from one of them has been circulating over the past few days, thanking everyone for their closeness and prayers for the small community in Gaza. “You have given me the strength not to give in to evil,” he writes, “not to doubt God’s mercy and to believe that good exists. In the midst of every darkness there is a hidden light. If we are unable to pray, you pray; we offer and our work together is complete. We want the world to know that we want peace, that violence only begets violence and that our trust in God is great. But should God call us to Himself, be assured that from Heaven we will continue to pray with you and to implore Him more strongly to have compassion on His people and on you. Peace, security, unity and universal fraternity, this is what we want and this is the will of God and it’s ours too”. Margaret Karram gave us news about fraternity in the midst of hatred Saying this takes courage today when horror and violence fill the entire media coverage, but this is not the only news. There are also stories that make less noise, but which cannot be silenced, such as the worldwide network of prayer that is underway everywhere on earth, regardless of religious belief or affiliation, together with actions and words of fraternity. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement shared this at the daily briefing in the Vatican Press Office, at the ongoing Synod of the Catholic Church, in which she is participating as a special guest. She told us, ‘Jewish friends I know in Israel have called me, a Palestinian Arab, saying that they are worried about the people living in Gaza. For me, this is something very beautiful. Everyone knows the negative stories between these two peoples, but so many people, so many organisations are working to build bridges but this doesn’t make the news. They only talk about hatred, division, terrorism. We are left with images of these two peoples that do not correspond to reality. We must not forget that even today so many people are working to build bridges. It is a seed being sown, even in this difficult time’. From our Jewish friends: creating a community of prayer To confirm this, a Jewish friend wrote to us from the Tel Aviv district: “If you are in contact with the friends of the Focolare in Gaza, assure them of my love and my closeness. I hope they are all safe. These days I am at home with my family, the schools are closed and we are staying close to the shelters. The chats are filled with a constant stream of appeals and offers of help for the families who have fled, for the soldiers and their families. There are also requests for help with funerals, to honour the dead as they should be honoured. It seems that all the young men have been called up to fight and we are worried for our friends and relatives. We fear what lies ahead. I try to keep my children from being afraid, but our terror is insignificant compared to what has happened to our brothers and sisters in the South. I am thinking of my Arab friends in Israel who are running to the shelters like us. I try to pray at the same hour as my Muslim friend, so that we can be a community of prayer even though so many things divide us. Your closeness and your prayers mean so much to us, more than what I can express. What can we do? At a press conference, Margaret Karram confided to us the pain and anguish she feels for her people on both sides: ‘I asked myself what am I doing here? Should I not be doing something else right now to promote peace? But then I said to myself: here too I can join Pope Francis’ invitation and pray with everyone. With these brothers and sisters from all over the world, we can ask God for the gift of peace. I believe in the power of prayer’. Margaret went on to speak about the action ‘NO MORE WAR!!! BUILD PEACE!” that the children and young people of the Focolare Movement launched together with the association “Living Peace”. They are summoning their peers to pray for peace at 12 noon, every day and in every time zone. They are also proposing to fill the day with actions that build peace in the hearts of each person and wherever they are. They are inviting them to send messages of support to children and young people in the Holy Land and are encouraging them to ask the leaders of their countries to do all they can to achieve peace. The Focolare Movement is also joining the appeal of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, for a day of fasting and prayer for peace on 17th October: ” We could organize moments of prayer with Eucharistic adoration and the rosary to the Blessed Virgin. Probably in many parts of our dioceses, circumstances will not allow for large gatherings. However In parishes, in religious communities, in families, it will be possible to organise simple moments of prayer together”.
Stefania Tanesini
11 Oct 2023 | Non categorizzato
The Middle East continues to suffer from violence, clashes and terrorist attacks. Joseph, a young Syrian from the Focolare is one of the many young people who nourish the hope of peace in a very tormented land.
The nightmare of mass killings recurs with all its terror. The Middle East continues to be shaken by wars, terrorist attacks, violence of all kinds with one result, death.
On 6th October in Syria, drones loaded with explosives fell on a military academy in Homs during a festive ceremony. The death toll was about a hundred, of which about thirty were women and children. The next day there was another similar attack during the funeral celebrations, fortunately this time it was neutralized in time.
There was an immediate response from Syria, with a rain of bombs in Idlib, an area outside the control of the government. This escalation of violence caused the United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, to respond by calling for an immediate ceasefire, protection for civilians and the instigation of peace negotiations.
In this scenario of war, as violence continues to intensify and there seems to be no hope for a future of peace, some young Syrians belonging to the Focolare Movement met for their annual congress.
Joseph Moawwad, 24, was there. He wrote to us to share his personal experience. “I’ve been living through a very difficult period lately, a sense of half-heartedness and no enthusiasm; even for this congress, perhaps because of the strong tensions that all of us young Syrians are experiencing. For over 13 years, war and all its consequences persist with the most recent attack a few days ago in Homs. We heard about it right at the beginning of the congress. Despite this, my great surprise was to meet 90 young Focolare people from all Syrian regions. It was as if a storm had removed the ashes that covered the embers of my heart and so the “fire” burst out in me. Experiences of communion, sharing, fraternity between us and that effort to live mutual love in order to have the presence of Jesus among us (cit. “Where two or more are united in my name, I am in their midst”, Mt 18:15 -20) erased everything I felt before and made that flame had been enkindled in me again, become stronger.
At the end of the day, when we were praying together, I felt that I wanted to make a decision: to protect that “flame” that had reignited, to make it grow, to give it to the weakest and most discouraged people. I discovered that unity with the other young people of the Focolare and the mutual love that binds us, are the solution to all this hatred and the evil around us. And then the presence of Jesus in us and among us: it is he who gives us strength and will give us hope for a better future”.
Lorenzo Russo
8 Oct 2023 | Non categorizzato
The statement by the President of the Focolare Movement following the outbreak of serious violence in the Holy Land on 7 October 2023: “Justice, dialogue and reconciliation, indispensable tools for building peace”.
There are no words that can express the infinite suffering that I have in my heart for the peoples of Israel and Palestine, a suffering, brought about by this recent outburst of violence in my country. I am thinking of those who have died, the people who have been wounded, of those who are being held hostage, of those who are missing and their families. In deep faith and together with all the Focolare Movement, I am united to the appeal of Pope Francis and that of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and to the words of peace spoken both by those who are responsible for various Christian Churches and by the leaders of the Religions -especially those from the Israeli-Palestinian region – in asking for there to be an end to arms. And as Pope Francis said at the Angelus today -that people can understand that terrorism and war don’t solve anything, but every war is a defeat. In praying to the God of Peace and of Justice, I am also united to all the people throughout the world who are offering prayers, sufferings and actions, so that peace can be victorious over hatred and terror. I want to express a special thanks to those who have written to me from places that are in conflict, like Ukraine, expressing their offerings and closeness, in spite of the tragic situation in which they themselves have been living for over a year. Let us commit ourselves to building a world of fraternity and to do all that is possible so that these peoples and all the others who are in the same conditions of instability and violence, can rediscover the pathway of respect for human rights, where justice, dialogue and reconciliation are the indispensable instruments for building peace.
8 October 2023
Margaret Karram President of the Focolare Movement
6 Oct 2023 | Non categorizzato
The 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops currently taking place in the Vatican opened, on 30 September 2023, with an ecumenical prayer vigil entitled “Together – Gathering of the People of God”. Promoted by the Taizé Community in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Vicariate of Rome, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Assembly was conceived and realised by representatives of various Christian Churches. We asked to three of the Bishops present: Charles May – Anglican Church of South Africa; Bertram Meier – Catholic Bishop of Augsburg (Germany); Chrysostomos of Kyrenia, Orthodox Church of Cyprus. Activate English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va9sdPxfovI&list=PLKhiBjTNojHqtFwgi5TYI3T7zRvAuOZiD
29 Sep 2023 | Non categorizzato
The Synod on Synodality will start on October 4th in the Vatican up to the end of the month. Among the special guests is Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement. We are on the threshold of the universal stage of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality. On Saturday, September 30th 2023, St. Peter’s Square in Rome (Italy) will gather thousands of people from various Christian Churches for the Ecumenical Vigil, “Together – Gathering of the People of God”, promoted by the Taizé Community in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Vicariate of Rome, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The protagonists of this event will be young people. At the end of this moment of prayer and celebration, the 464 participants in the synodal assembly will move to Sacrofano, near Rome, for a spiritual retreat until October 3rd. They will return to the Vatican for the solemn opening of the Synod with the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Wednesday, October 4th. Immediately afterwards, the cardinals, bishops, religious and laity who will participate in the Synod will begin their work in the Paul VI Hall. For four weeks, the members will participate in plenary assemblies, minor circles, a pilgrimage and moments of prayer and liturgy until October 29th. The President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, who is among the 9 invited guests, sent a message to all the members of the Movement in the world, expressing what she was thinking about this historic milestone in the Catholic Church: “I cannot hide my feelings from you; above all, my happiness at being able to participate in person in this moment of grace. I am aware that I am taking with me each and every one of you from the Focolare Movement and this is also a great responsibility”. “I am sure – she continues – that many of you have already participated in a stage of the synodal journey in your local churches and have already experienced some of the fruits of the journey. You will have lived them as new opportunities for a dialogue that leads to deeper and broader communion and participation. (…) In this coming session of the Synod we are called even more to ‘walk together’ as the ‘people of God’, so that this may become a permanent and daily reality in our lives for the good of the Church and of humanity”. “This has put in my heart– she says – a great desire: that we should commit ourselves – as the Focolare Movement – to improve, to go one step further, to strengthen and refine our relationships of unity, and to be builders of fraternity in every environment in which we live or work”. And she concludes by inviting everyone to accompany “this new and promising season of the Church” with prayer: “Finally, I ask you for the most important thing: to pray! ‘Without prayer there will be no Synod, said Pope Francis, as does the Secretary General, Cardinal Grech, encouraging everyone to pray with faith and seriousness. It means listeninng to God with the kind of recollection that gives space to Him and allows our hearts and minds to be illuminated by His light. (…) also as part of all the people around the world who are praying and offering , so that the Synod – whose protagonist is the Holy Spirit – may bear the greatest fruit for humanity today and in the future”.
Carlos Mana
Still, very little has changed in the facts. The world “is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point.” [2]. Last week, it was reported by the European Union’s climate observatory (Copernicus) that “September was the warmest month ever” (since 1850). Rising temperatures are certainly one of the most conspicuous symptoms of ongoing climate change. Last July, the world’s most authoritative journal in the field, “Nature,” showed that the heat waves of summer 2022 caused nearly 63,000 deaths in Europe. Certainly, we should not fall into catastrophic considerations because the margins for changing course are still possible, but we must categorically reject all irrational and unscientific negations. After decisively responding to all the most common objections against the current climate crisis, the pontiff emphasizes: “I feel compelled to make these clarifications, which may seem obvious, because of certain derogatory and unreasonable views that I find even within the Catholic Church” [14]. He distances himself from blaming the poor. “How can we forget that Africa, where more than half of the world’s poorest people live, is responsible for only a small fraction of the emissions accumulated throughout history?” [9]. Bergoglio addresses a call to each of us “to accompany this path of reconciliation with the world that hosts us and to embellish it with our own contribution” [69]. Unfortunately, some effects of the climate crisis are already irreversible: Some species have “stopped being our travelling companions and have become our victims” [15]. Yet, we cannot but “recognize […] that human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures” [67]. All of these cannot leave us indifferent. To enable change, we need to adjust both the way we “look” at others and nature and the way we exercise power to achieve a purpose. Even small individual steps are important: they may not lead to immediate, quantifiable success, but they can act as the blueprint for cultural change and “set in motion large transformational processes that work from the depths of society.” [71]. Caring for every dimension of our planet is a collective challenge that requires a collective response. In recent years there have been many global efforts but with often disappointing results: broken promises and postponed goals. But “if we have faith in the ability of humans to transcend their small interests and think big[…], we cannot stop dreaming that COP28 will lead to a decisive acceleration of the energy transition, with effective and monitored commitments.” [54]. We also cannot give up this “dream.” It is a bet: to win all people of good will to work for a world worth living in. 
