Dec 28, 2018 | Non categorizzato
A quarterly journal for those who work at all levels in the ecclesial ambit. The subheading “Pathways of Communion and Dialogue” describes the type of content that characterises it. Born in synergy between the Focolare Movement and the Città Nuova Publishing Group, this journal, in both printed and digital form, released its first issue in Italian, but articles in English are also foreseen. Other language editions are expected to be published in the near future. It is presented as an instrument of formation, as an aid for action and as a source of inspiration in the search for new ways and expressions to share the Gospel with the men and women of our time. It is aimed at pastoral workers and animators, members of religious organisations (consecrated persons and laity), people involved in parishes or dioceses, people belonging to ecclesial movements or associations, but it will also dedicate space to the relationship between different Churches and world religions, to the encounter between different beliefs and cultures, to the renewal of Church and society. Each issue will focus on a particular theme. “The Greek word ekklesía means ‘assembly’, people who know they are summoned and called together to be protagonists in the journey of a people,” reads the editorial of the first issue. “The subheading pathways refers to the experimental and in-depth nature of the publication; communion and dialogue defines the direction in which it is heading but also its style. We hope that the journal, in both printed and digital form, and in all its subsequent language editions, may express and be of service to the community.” The authors include: Piero Coda (theologian), Vincenzo Zani (Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education), Tiziana Longhitano SFP, Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi (Archbishop of Aquila), Gerard Rossé (exegete), Brendan Leahy (Bishop of Limerick, Ireland), Jesús Morán (Co-President of the Focolare Movement), Fabio Ciardi OMI (expert on consecrated life), Susana Nuin (communications expert from Columbia), Callan Slipper (Anglican theologian) and Stefan Tobler Evangelical theologian. More details and journal subscription: www.cittanuova.it Email: ekklesia(at)cittanuova.it / abbonamenti(at)cittanuova.it
Dec 27, 2018 | Non categorizzato
Twenty-five years of the Focolare in Albania “We, who have followed the developments of the Focolare Movement in the world and in Albania, have noted the Focolare’s concrete response to our need for unity.” Words pronounced by Donika Omari, an Albanian journalist and translator without any religious convictions, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the spirituality of unity in the ‘Land of Eagles’. Albania still suffers from social, regional, ideological and religious divisions. A country made up of Muslims, with the presence of the Sufi religious brotherhood of Bektashi; Christians, mostly Catholic and Orthodox; and many people who do not recognize themselves in any religious belief. “Chiara Lubich’s message of unity overcoming divisions of all kinds among people – continues Donika Omari – has been healthy for our land.” 
In 1991, the first focolarino, Gigi Franco arrived in Durazzo and was welcomed by a family. Then, the second focolarino arrived and the male Focolare centre was opened in Tirana, followed some years later by the female one. Since then a community has been forming, which includes today Christians, Muslims and people without a religious belief. “The spirit of ‘becoming one with the neighbour’, the brotherhood among people without distinction of social category, race, nationality, ideology – explains Donika Omari – are messages that have attracted me to this Movement from the beginning. We feel this need for our country where old and new upheavals have hindered the normalization of human relations.” The country has experienced very painful moments, such as the 1999 war in Kosovo, but the Focolare Movement all over the world helped us. They helped to raise funds, take in over 500,000 refugees, and also helped out in reconstructing the country after the war. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Focolare in Tirana, a public event was held in the Great Hall of the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel” where Chiara Lubich’s book in Albanian, “Una via nuova”, was presented. There were about two hundred participants, with representatives from Kosovo and Macedonia. Among them was the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Charles Brown, the Catholic Archbishop, Msgr. Frendo, the Cathedral of Tirana’s Orthodox Bishop, Asti Bakallbashi, and a Muslim Pedagogy professor from the University of Skopje, Prof. Shehu. “This anniversary is a sign of continuity and development. It gave me the joy to see that despite the invasion of consumerism and the anxiety for a precarious future, leading many to think of expatriation, the family and social values of Albanian society are still intact even among the youth,” says Livio Brianza, who has lived in the Focolare of Tirana for twelve years. The Focolare Movement’s President, Maria Voce, sent a message to the Albanian Focolare community in which she expressed: “nourished and strengthened by continuous mutual love and by an ever more intense presence of the Love of loves among you, may you contribute in making your cities ‘shine like gold’ with increased commitment.” “Twenty-five years ago I wanted to change the world – says Madi Roço, an Albanian and a legal expert in environmental legislation – I was very confident that I would see the world united with my own eyes. I still have the same dream, loud and clear. Seeing the Focolare ‘family’ grow and join me, has ‘armed’ me with the courage to move forward.”
Cristina Tomelleri
Dec 25, 2018 | Non categorizzato
On the way to sainthood: an Italian teenager who lived the Focolare spirituality. On 10 December the diocesan phase of the process of Pietrino Di Natale’s Beatification was launched at a solemn ceremony in Teramo Cathedral. In a year in which the Catholic Church has dedicated great attention to the youth, it seems fitting that Pietrino’s name was proclaimed as a model for all, in a packed Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, in the heart of ancient Teramo, in the Abuzzo region of Italy, on what would have been his birthday. In 1984, Pietrino De Natale was a 17 year-old high school student when he drowned in the waters off Silvi, a coastal town near his home. Every year since then on 20th August an increasingly large crowd gathers at the small cemetery of Colledara to pass on testimonies, remembering his example of being a “cornerstone”, a fulfilled Christian, someone whose life “has to do with holiness”. Pietrino – “little Pietro” – was named after his father who died in a work accident before Pietrino was born. He grew up in the small village of Ornano Piccolo, which offered a protective environment for the young widow, Adelina and her son. At 11 years old, Pietrino got to know the Focolare spirituality through two young parish priests, don Gianfranco De Luca, now Bishop of Termoli-Larino, and don Giovanni D’Annunzio, currently responsible for the Focolare’s Diocesan Movement. It was a crucial meeting for young Pietrino. He drew from it the gift of a luminous certainty in the love of God, which propelled him to seek Jesus in every day life. Don Giovanni recently wrote: «Pietrino’s heart was only for God. An important step ahead was his participation in the Focolare congress for young people in 1978. (…) When he came back from there, I noticed how launched he was in living every moment profoundly. His race towards holiness had begun». In the months ahead, testimonies of those who knew him will be collected. In the meantime, there is a short biography in Italian (Teresa D’Orsogna, Pietrino Di Natale. … sono scattato ad amare…, ed. Palumbi, 2018) for those who would like to get to know more about this young man who continues to inspire many young – and not so young – people to follow Jesus along the pathway to unity.
Chiara Favotti
Dec 21, 2018 | Non categorizzato
Christmas greetings from Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement. https://vimeo.com/307656906 It’s Christmas! If I look around me, in towns and cities but also in the media, I often ask myself, “What is Christmas really about?” It is as though there is a din all around me, because it seems to be made up of dinners, gifts, decorations, lights and street markets. And all this din seems to be trying to hide – without succeeding – the cry of pain and suffering on the part of so many people in the world who are calling out for solidarity, respect, welcome, peace and justice. They are really appealing for love. And human beings don’t know how to give them love, but God does. God knows how to give love and he does so. The little Child we see in the crib this Christmas, as in all the other Christmases, tells of God’s love. God so loved humankind as to become one of us, becoming small and defenceless, facing all kinds of sufferings, not only facing them but actually experiencing them, all the sufferings of humankind and death itself. Coming to live among people on earth was God’s way of saying “yes” to humankind once more, to reunite them again with him. God’s ‘yes’ to humankind is represented by that little Child in Bethlehem, by that baby whose name people don’t even want to hear mentioned any more. I visited a country where in order to keep the festive atmosphere of Christmas without referring to God, people invented a “Winter Festival” to be able to celebrate. Yet even so, God loves each person and continues to love everyone, telling us so once more. This Child not only shows us God’s love but shares this love with us. He gives us love, helping us to live it and teaching us what to do. He then wants us to do the same, to be witnesses of God’s love to other people, giving God’s love to others, a love like his. God’s love does not have preferences. It is a love that reaches everyone, that does not put up barriers; it is not prejudiced and does not discriminate between people. This love can open our hearts, our hands, our arms, our wallets and our homes. If this kind of love is alive among people, then God himself lives among them. Only God can make everyone feel at home, creating a family among everyone, all brothers and sisters, a real celebration. Christmas is like this. If we live in this way, it is a real Christmas for us. This is the Christmas I wish for all of you. Happy Christmas!
Dec 20, 2018 | Non categorizzato
An award for the body of people that perseveres in promoting initiatives that create fraternity in their area and translates this universal value into civic and political commitment. Nominations for the annual “Chiara Lubich International Award for fraternity” should be made by Jan 15 2019. This award is open to local authorities (provincial, regional or rural communities) from any part of the world, be they large or small organisations. Awards are made to projects that initiate or spread activities promoting universal fraternity usually at the local level. However, projects may also be on a national or international scale. They should reflect an understanding of the meaning of universal fraternity and encourage citizens to show commitment in working for the common good and to play an active role in the community. The projects should facilitate the growth of a culture of active and inclusive citizenship. They should also favour collaboration and synergy among areas of administration, local communities and civil society such as associations, groups and committees and they should make an impact upon these areas. The projects should be typical of a sustained way of working in that area favouring fraternity and should not be “one-off” actions. Presentations of the projects can take the form of text or text with links to audio-visual material. Nominations and supporting material should be sent to Presidenza dell’Associazione “Città per la Fraternità”, c/o Comune di Castel Gandolfo, Piazza Libertà, 7 – 00040 Castel Gandolfo – Rome (Italy). Alternatively, if electronic transfer is possible, they can be sent to associazionecittafraernita(at)gmail.com o info(at)cittaperlafraternita.org The nominations should include the following details: the name of the authority or organisation, the leader’s personal details, the full address and contact details, the name of the project or initiative and an abstract (maximum three sides of A4) that describes the project and how it functions. The award giving will take place in S. Maria Capua Vetere- Caserta (Italy) in February 2019. For further information: Associazione “Città per la Fraternità”, telephone +39 340 4182127 – +39 347 4573988; e-mail: associazionecittafraternita(at)gmail.com – info(at)cittaperlafraternita.org.
Dec 19, 2018 | Non categorizzato
The little focolare town in Argentina is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Pat Santoianni, Cecilia Gatti, Adriana Otero and Israele Coelho speak about its contribution to the formation of young people. The little town of O’Higgins in Argentina has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. It is one of the twenty-five permanent Mariapoli in the world. Considering that its purpose is the formation of young people, 1968 – a year of great protest and unrest among youth – was a perfect time to begin. The little town seemed to have had a star shining down upon it. Nowadays, O’Higgins is known as Mariapolis Lia. It is named after Lia Brunet who was one of the first people, in the 40’s, who shared Chiara Lubich’s life and ideals. She was courageous and open-minded – a real pioneer in this Focolare town in South America. To date, over 3,500 young people from all over the world have gone to Mariapolis Lia for an “experiencia”; in other words, they have chosen to spend a few months or a maximum of two years in the little town, working, studying and experiencing what it means to live in a multi- cultural environment where the spirituality of unity reigns. After this time, they return to their own homes, enriched by this human and intellectual experience that has opened their hearts and minds to other people and cultures. Pat Santoianni, anthropologist and co-responsible for the Formation at Mariapolis Lia said, “Over the years, we have developed the formation process: one of the chief elements is that the whole social body contributes to formation. Therefore, our course is anthropological and existential and impacts upon life, thought and action.” Adriana Otero, biologist and one of the formation co-ordinators said that the course has a holistic approach. She said, “We try to keep up with both the challenges and risks that young people face in today’s society – relationships, choices, freedom, social and civil commitment, dialogue among different cultures and among different generations and technology. Work is also an important element as, for many young people, this is a new experience.” Cecilia Gatti, a researcher in education, said that relationships lie at the heart of the educational process. “Education means relationship. This is a concept drawn from the Focolare spirituality of unity that is central to our formation programme. Relationships with other people enable me to build strong bonds, to see my life in a different way, to contribute to and engage with society. Our school is a little town where everything provides an opportunity to learn – every relationship, every dialogue, every meeting.” In an age of technological advances such as Web 4.0, the obvious question is how can O’Higgins, a small village in the middle of the Argentinian pampas, really work as a location for the formation of these young millennials. Israele Coelho, a Brazilian expert in education and co-responsible for the formation course said the experience itself is proof of its validity. “Although this place, in the middle of nowhere, could seem to be a contradiction in terms, it still continues to be an environment where young people can focus upon themselves, experience an interior silence and develop their relationship with God and other people. For many young people, this “experiencia” is an important time for making fundamental choices in life.”
Stefania Tanesini
