On Oct. 4, 2022, the docufilm “The Letter,” created by the Laudato Si’ Movement, was presented at the Vatican. It offers a perspective of how to act for the good of our “common home” and is now available for free on Youtube Originals in 12 languages. Arouna Kandé is a young Senegalese student born in a small village who used to work on a farm with goats and chickens but because of the gradual destruction of the environment the young Muslim was forced to leave the village. The young man explains how rising sea levels in the coastal town of Saint-Louis have already forced thousands of people to leave their homes. “My family in Senegal,” he says, “has done nothing to cause the drought in our village or the flooding in the city. We are being affected by the choices made by other people. However, the future is coming, it is mine, and I will make good use of it.” In the docufilm “The Letter,” presented by the Laudato Si’ Movement, of which the Focolare Movement is a partner, Arouna Kandé’s story is intertwined with the stories of Brazilian indigenous chief Cacique Odair Dadá Borari, 14-year-old Indian activist Ridhima Pandey, the Asners – an American couple, both marine biologists, and Irish woman Lorna Gold, all of whom are extremely active in safeguarding the environment. With a personalised letter leaving the Vatican and being delivered to each of them, a journey begins through their own lives until they return to the Vatican where Pope Francis engages in a dialogue with them in an atmosphere of intimate confidence and deep listening. Finally, the action moves to Assisi, to places made famous by St. Francis. There, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa offers a unique perspective for understanding the Franciscan roots of the message behind the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, dedicated by Pope Francis to care of the common home. The film was presented at the Vatican on 4 October, on the feast of the saint of Assisi, in the presence of its protagonists, director Nicolas Brown and his team along with the producers. In the Synod Hall, Arouna Kandé explained the importance of raising awareness of these issues. He spoke of schools being washed away by the waters and hundreds of boys having nowhere dry to rest, forced to sleep on their feet for days. The boy told of moving to a coastal town where the sea level is rising. He has not given up: he is now a university student and is setting up a new NGO to lead the next era of sustainable development in his country. Arouna is thus witnessing to the thousands of people who have firsthand experience of the climate crisis and have the knowledge to solve it. Ridhima Pandey, a 14-year-old Indian high school student, who has also participated in demonstrations to hold governments accountable for their climate action. She founded an NGO to help young women become climate activists. Ridhima said that future generations of young people will be the ones who suffer from global land abuse and neglect. “Our generation – the young people – is and will be the most vulnerable.” “The Letter” is a film to be watched in families, communities and schools because the message each of the protagonists receives is directed to every person on the planet enabling us to realise that we can all do our small or large part to care for “our common home” as Pope Francis calls it in Laudato Si’. The film will be available on Youtube Originals on 2 November 2022 in 12 different languages.
The Second Vatican Council opened on 11th October, 1962.Sixty years later, we reflect on this historic and exceptional event in the life of the Church. “The Council now beginning rises in the Church like daybreak, a forerunner of the most splendid light. It is now only dawn. And already at the first announcement of the rising day, how much sweetness fills out heart.” These are the words spoken by Pope John XXIII on 11th October, 1962 at the conclusion of the solemn celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica, which ushered in a new era. Sixty years have passed since the opening of the Second Vatican Council, an ecumenical Council, that was universal, and a moment of great communion to face, in the light of the Gospel, the new questions posed by history and to respond to the needs of the world. The work of the Council, subsequently continued by Paul VI, lasted until December 1965. Just a month before the closure of this conciliar event Chiara Lubich, Founder of the Focolare Movement, wrote: “Oh! Holy Spirit, through what you have already suggested in the Council, make us become, a living Church: this is our only desire and everything else serves for this”[1]. These words are the fruit of the growing fervour that already animated the Movements and the new pre-conciliar Ecclesial Communities; an indelible sign of that “hermeneutical circularity which, by virtue of the action of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the Church, is established between the magisterium of a Council like Vatican II and the inspiration of a charism, like that of unity”[2]. But today, how should we view this anniversary? Vincenzo Di Pilato, Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Faculty of Theology of Puglia (Italy), tells us about it. Professor Di Pilato, what dreams inspired the desire to hold this Council? On 25th January, 1959, the last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, starting from the firm decision to convene a universal Council, Pope John XXIII tried to explain his intentions using terms that have become highly significant today, such as: updating, signs of the times, reform, mercy, unity. In the months before the opening of the Council, the Pope expected it to be an epiphany of the Lord (cf. Ex. ap. Sacrae Laudis, 6th January, 1962), which would lead Rome to become a new Bethlehem. As the Magi once did, the Bishops of the whole world would come to worship Jesus in the midst of his Church. Roncalli dreamed of a synodal Church, a Church leaving “the closed enclosure of its Upper Room” (10th June, 1962); a “Church of all, especially of the poor” (11th September, 1962) because the “purpose” of the Council coincided with that of the Incarnation and Redemption, or “the union of heaven and earth… in all forms of social life” (4th October, 1962). Why pause to reflect on this recurrence today? It is not an event like any other, but an indispensable occasion for a renewed awareness before a time of special graces. The Church, perhaps a little overburdened by her two thousand years, is encouraged to return to “dreaming”, that is, to relive that event again today, in the Spirit of the Risen One, with the certainty that He is here and will be “until the end of the world” (Mt 28: 20). What could the synodal process undertaken by Pope Francis mean other than to perpetuate Pentecost at all times and in all places? Moreover, in the period before and, above all, after the Council, the growing vitality of new Movements, such as the Focolare Movement and other aggregations of the faithful and Ecclesial Communities, have fostered a greater understanding of the principle of co-essentiality between the institutional dimension and the charismatic dimension of the Church. It is important to remember this synergy of the Spirit which ensures that the Church is never left alone in the face of the immense challenges that arise from time to time on the journey of history. In a word: the Church is the place of fraternity where the Kingdom of God begins, whose boundaries go far beyond those of the Church herself. Is the “co-responsibility” of the laity in the Church, a word attributable to the Council, still an open path… Yes, it is certainly a discourse in the making and is equivalent to recognizing the fundamental equality of all the baptized; to reviewing the relationship between priests and laity; to appreciating the circularity of vocations; to putting in place all the structures of communion and forms of synodality that are already possible; to focusing on episcopal collegiality and in the presbytery itself (between the clergy and the bishop); to discovering the co-essentiality of ministries and charisms; to promoting full reciprocity between men and women in the Church; to engaging in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue; to opening up an authentic relationship of dialogue with the surrounding world, with culture and cultures, to valuing capacity and willingness to listen, that familiarity with Christ gives us and refines in us; to promoting new attempts to give life to small lively local communities. In a word: to allowing Christ to emerge not only in what we say, but in the relationships we build with each other and at all levels.
Maria Grazia Berretta
[1][1] C. Lubich, Una nuova Pentecoste, from her diary, 11 November 1965, in La Chiesa, edited by B. Leahy and H. Blaumeiser, Città Nuova, Rome 2018, p. 69.[2]Piero Coda, on the occasion of the Convention “The Second Vatican Council and the Charism of Unity of Chiara Lubich”, Florence, 11-12th March 2022.
The experience of Jenny López, director of the Chiara Lubich Centre for the Elderly, in Lámud in the Peruvian Amazon. The story of her meeting with L. One morning, I was working in my office in the Council Buildings when I received a file asking for help in authorising the admission of an elderly woman to our centre. The file only carried the name of the person, L., and the document number. I asked for a more complete report and an updated diagnosis of the person’s state of health. I was told that that the elderly woman had been a victim of domestic violence and physical abuse caused by members of her family. She, a vulnerable person, had bruised arms, was unable to move and was in a state of total abandonment. It was prudent that she be removed from her home and country. I was the person in charge of Casa Hogar, that is the ‘Chiara Lubich’ Centre, and I asked the local authorities to speed up the paperwork for this case because I felt it was urgent. The court needed to make a ruling to permit the elderly lady to leave her home but the judge was on holiday. At that point, I decided to assume all reponsibility for the case and to offer to admit the lady immediately. It took us seven hours to reach her on the bumpy roads. We found her alone in her little house, asleep, almost dying. I approached her and called her name but she did not answer. I immediately signed the document that allowed us to move her from her home. We spent that night in a hostel. I could not sleep, my mind and soul were focused on what might happen. I got up early and offered all my fears to God in prayer. The next day I asked for the assistance of a social worker to take over from me so that I could return home to my husband, my children and my elderly parents, but no one was available at that time. It was difficult to decide what to do but I felt inside that I should not give up. L.’s life, hanging by a thread, depended entirely upon our little efforts.. And so another day passed. I whispered to L.: ‘You are suffering like Jesus on the cross and I am here with you. If you have to go to heaven, you will not be alone, I will accompany you’. I spent the night with her, then, the next morning, the doctors arrived. They took care of her and gave her fluids: only then could we transfer her to the Hogar where everyone welcomed her with great affection. However, 23 doses of a very strong medicine were needed. I made the rounds of many pharmacies and, finally, one seemed to have some but the assistant doubted that they had sufficient. However, when he looked in the box, there were indeed 23. He was very surprised: ‘That’s how it is when you walk with God,’ I told him happily. After that long journey, L. was able to rest. A few days ago God called her to himself, surrounded by the love and prayers of us all, and having received the anointing of the sick. Inspite of the sadness we feel, everyone is left with a sense of joy because they have loved this dear old lady who suffered so much, but who leaves a trail of love and prayers from people all over the world. Her brief presence among us came as a gift that we felt we needed to approach “on tiptoe” but also with a renewed trust in God. Jenny López Arévalo (Lámud, Amazon, Perù)
The Focolare Movement has published a Mission Report of ‘Communion in action’ for the period 2020-2021, an information tool to communicate the main actions and interventions of this reality around the world. It is a detailed document that is useful for everyone to live and walk together towards unity and fraternity becoming a reality.For the first time ever, the Focolare Movement is publishing a Mission Report and has decided to do so in the light of this period of crisis and uncertainty that bears the aftermath of the pandemic and the open wounds of the many conflicts around the world. But it is precisely when the greatest and most common problems appear that a feeling of true fraternity and solidarity seems to emerge between people.Therefore, rather than being a simple report, this Mission Report aims to give the reader an explanatory narrative of the actions and interventions of the Focolare Movement, highlighting what unites and what still needs to be improved. The Mission Report places particular emphasis on the key element that is evident from the name itself: communion.The lifestyle proposed by the Movement, in fact, is based on the choice of putting love into practice which is rooted in the Gospel. A love that – as the founder of the Focolare Movement Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) said – means loving everyone, being the first to love, “getting into the skin of the other”, in such a way that this love extends until it becomes reciprocal, until it reached the point of becoming communion.In this perspective, the document aims to highlight the effects of communion itself, of what one has and is, in a voluntary and free sharing. At the same time it seeks to make of itself an instrument that opens up dialogue and communion, as President Margaret Karram said in her introductory speech:“It is with these sentiments that I wish to offer it to you all so that it too can become an instrument of dialogue, to build bridges and spread a culture and the practice of fraternity. It is so close to my heart that we may learn to live this communion, this exchange better and better, in a relationship of reciprocity that makes us sisters and brothers and promotes an authentic family where diversity enriches us and binds us in a harmonious unity”.
Stefania Tanesini
To read the Mission Report of Communion in action click here
Drawing closer to another person means diminishing the distance between us and them: it means losing that space that is ours alone. It means putting aside what we have to do and embracing the other person’s life. It also means choosing the last place in order to serve.A demanding patient On the ward where I was working as a nurse, there was a lady in a single room who constantly demanded attention for every every little need. I could see that she was suffering: perhaps she felt the end was approaching. One day, after rudely sending away the priest who, as a chaplain, was visiting the patients, she had a notice written on the door: she did not want visitors, especially priests. Every morning, as I started my shift, I felt I wanted to love Jesus who was suffering in that lady and so I tried to satisfy all her wishes: I straightened her pillows, I brought her glasses of water, I opened the window more and then I closed it, etc. One day she asked me: ‘How can you be so patient with me?’ I pointed to the crucifix hanging on the wall: ‘He is the one I follow: he sets the example’. From then onwards, the relationship between us grew. One night, she was very unwell, she insisted that the nurse on duty should phone the parish and ask a priest to come immediately. Shortly afterwards she went to confession and received Communion. When I arrived at work, she was quiet. At ten o’clock she passed away. (Vreni – Switzerland) Making the world smile Mohammed is not yet 22 years old. He is Kurdish from Iraq and has already lived in Sweden for a few years. Now he has come to Italy because he needs to attend to his documents. His eyes are clear and bright. I ask him to sit down in the office and begin to explain how the Caritas dormitory where he will be staying temporarily works. Thanks to English, we manage to understand each other. I try to take an interest in him and his family, in his reasons for leaving his homeland and his short but already intense past. I forget about the painful situations that I had encountered before his arrival. When he came in, he seemed tired and tense, now I see him slowly relax. He often smiles. At the end he tells me: “In six years, I have never met a person who welcomed me like you did this morning. You made my stress go away.” And he thanks me. He asked me to write my name on a piece of paper, but at the end of the interview, he greets me and calls me ‘Dad’. (S.U. – Italy)
Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta
(from Il Vangelo del Giorno, Città Nuova, VIII, no.2, Sept-Oct 2022)
