“Called to unity – Towards an ecology of relationships” was the title of the online workshop promoted by the Together for Europe (TFE) network. Representatives of various Churches, Movements and Communities organized the event, with the aim of highlighting one of the “7 Yeses” of the journey together: the “Yes to creation”. The challenges for the protection of creation and an integral ecology are growing exponentially throughout the world and the Together for Europe network dedicated an entire day to this theme during a recent online workshop. Professionals and Christians from various Churches belonging to different Movements, from 9 European countries, spoke at the Seminar entitled: “Called to unity – Towards an ecology of relationships”. It was an engaging “journey”, in which in an atmosphere of growing convergence, the speakers presented their research and their commitment to environmental protection, then entering into dialogue with the approximately 130 people present in the “virtual room”. The experiences already ongoing in many places and the encouraging good practices, easily imitated, highlighted the desire and commitment to respect and preserve creation for future generations. This was a bond of unity that is strengthened among Christians and connects everyone with others. The heart of this event was: to deepen one of the “7 Yeses” to which the Together for Europe network committed during the Stuttgart Congress in 2007. A “Yes to creation, defending nature and the environment, gifts of God to be protected with respectful commitment for future generations”. Prof. Nicolaos Asproulis, Deputy Director of the Academy of Theological Studies of Volos (Greece) was one of the speakers who explored the theme of an Ecology of Relations from different angles, saying, “Nothing, no creature exists outside of relationship, every being is inconceivable without communion” Stefania Papa, Professor at the University of Campania, introducing the day had highlighted the “‘logic of relational harmony‘ that frees us from selfishness by promoting the first and most essential form of ecology”.Gerhard Pross, moderator of the network, said: “For many of our movements the theme of ecology has great value and today we connect it with our charism of unity, of relationships.” It is about reaching a holistic vision of our relationship with nature, with creation and with its creator. In summary, we could also call it “ecology of the heart”, summarized Pross, citing the writer Johannes Hartl. The seminar was part of a project supported by the European Union “DialogUE” Project. Workshops provided the opportunity for an intense exchange of testimonies and experiences of people from various Churches and then the European Green Deal document was presented. This is an ambitious project, in which the European Union has developed some of the strictest environmental standards in the world. The contents of the Webinar and the responses of the participants to the questionnaires related to this event will help to develop a KIT with concrete suggestions for the European Union. On 16th October 2024 it will be presented to the European Institutions in Brussels (Belgium), together with the results of the previous workshops on communication and social policies, held in 2023 and likewise co-funded by the European Union. More information is available on the website: Together4Europe | A European Network of Christians, to Unite People and Cultures. All the speakers’ interventions can be accessed here: Our common Yes to the protection of creation | Together4Europe
Maria Wienken, International Secretariat of Together for Europe
Città Nuova publishing house, in collaboration with the Chiara Lubich Centre, recently published “Diario 1964 – 1980” by Chiara Lubich, edited by Fr. Fabio Ciardi, OMI. Fr. Fabio Ciardi introduced the content of the new book of Chiara Lubich’s Diaries saying, “The Diary is an extremely valuable resource, which allows you to cross the threshold of external events (the ‘external life’) and to penetrate the way in which they are lived (the ‘intimate life’)”. The book is part of the “Works of Chiara Lubich” series. Fr. Fabio told us that even though 5 volumes of this series have already been published and fifteen are in the pipeline, “It is not the complete works because that would require an immense amount of work. Future books include Chiara’s main written works ranging from an introductory first volume that will be a historical biography, followed by her letters, public speeches, what we call founding speeches and then her more informal talks or conversations.” Fr. Fabio added, “The letters and diaries are perhaps the most intimate part of Chiara, the aspect that reveals most about her. When you give speech, it is an elaborate, prepared and revised text. When I access her correspondence or her Diary, there are no filters there. It is a direct grafting with Chiara’s soul. Her Diary and letters are those pages that allow us to have an immediate, direct, unfiltered relationship with her.” Fr. Fabio continued, “Chiara Lubich’s diary is quite special because it didn’t start as a personal diary, but as a way to involve all the members of the Movement in her travels. (…) . At first it started with a description of what happened, so it is a descriptive diary but it soon became an intimate diary. Because what she wanted to communicate was not simply the facts she was experiencing but how she was experiencing them”. The Diaries cover sixteen years and, to help the reader better place and understand Chiara’s texts, Fr. Ciardi made a deliberate editorial choice: “First I gave a general introduction to the entire Diary, year by year. Then I offered an introduction to that year, placing and contextualizing it in the life of the Church, in the life of the world, so that we can grasp what Chiara Lubich was experiencing but with the broader horizon of the life of the Movement, of the Church and of humanity.” For those who want to know how best to read this book and where to start, Fr. Fabio replied: “The first thing I would recommend is to open it at random and read a page. It’s sure to be addictive so then it’s like an invitation to read another page and another. Don’t worry about reading it continuously. You can open randomly and read one day, then another or one year then another. And then maybe this will make you want to follow the thread. So then start again from the beginning and slowly follow this path, which is a journey… Chiara’s path is not easy. It is a troubled journey, there are moments of trial and moments of illness. These are moments when she didn’t write in her diary which begs the question – why not? Maybe because she was living in a moment of darkness. So retracing the whole path chronologically helps to understand this world. But for starters, maybe you can open it randomly and read here and there. Then you’ll want to read it continuously and completely”. Fr. Fabio concluded, “The diary is hers, it is personal, it is her life and this can be deduced above all from the constant conversations with God, with Jesus, with Mary and with the saints that exists in the Diary (…) She reveals her soul to us, she shows us what she has inside. And this resonated with me because it is like an invitation to go on a similar journey, to experience that same intimacy; so in the end by reading Chiara I also reflect myself not in what I am, unfortunately, but in what I feel I should be”.
Carlos Mana
Video: In dialogue with Fr. Fabio Ciardi (subtitles in English)
The Fazenda da Esperança is one of the 47 activities involved in the first phase of the next Genfest, in which young people will be invited to make a concrete commitment to some social organisations which are already operating in the various areas. La Fazenda is a therapeutic community, founded in 1983. It helps people who want to get out of addictions. https://youtu.be/wtzSXGOd7y4
Message of Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, to all those who are preparing for the next Genfest 2024, the event of the Movement’s young people that will take place in Aparecida, Brazil, and in different parts of the world with various local Genfests.
A song born from the concrete experience of some young people of the Focolare Movement who, by putting their talents together, were able to transform, into music and words, their desire to get stuck in, so as to make a difference. https://youtu.be/m2NXAENhgiI
Journalists, teachers, communication experts: an international workshop on the synodal path“What Communication for Synodality?” This was the title of a webinar on 7 March live on Youtube, born after a long discussion among communication experts. A synodal path started last year with monthly meetings. Thus on the initiative of NetOne, the international network of communicators of the Focolare Movement, the idea of the webinar was developed. During the first session of the Synod last October, Pope Francis had asked the participants to ‘fast from’ the word. “Real communication has a rhythm to be respected with a time to be silent and a time to speak,” said Bishop Brendan Leahy, a member of the Synod Assembly who joined the webinar from Limerick in Ireland. “Synodality involves asceticism, the ability to look inside ourselves and offer the ‘distilled wine”, using the right words not empty words that lead to gossip. I think the Pope is inviting us above all to imitate Mary, in her contemplation”. “A synodal Church is essentially a Church of communion which becomes real when there is a communication of each one’s gifts,” said Msgr. Piero Coda, secretary of the International Theological Commission, who also spoke at the event. “It’s important to focus on the quality of communication: not giving opinionated answers but discovering the real questions that dwell in society so as to be able to give prophetic answers”. Bishop Coda’s words were echoed by Thierry Bonaventura, communications manager of the General Secretariat of the Synod when he said: “Communication forms the basis of any human relationship. God is communication, He communicates Himself, He is dialogue between the Persons of the Trinity. All the issues that emerged during the first session of the Synod last October are linked to the theme of relationality. Communication permeated the Synod even if there was a preference for communicating rather than thinking about communication”. This was followed by a speech from Argentina’s Isabel Gatti, NetOne’s international coordinator: “From the theory of communication, it is possible to offer keys to interpretation so that the philosophical and theological concepts of synodality can improve our ecclesial practices on an individual level as well as on a more social level”. “Our Church can be a family if, like Jesus and Mary, we take on the pains of suffering humanity that today has so many faces connected with communication – social polarisations, wars, social inequalities”. An example of a synodal path is the reform of Vatican communication. “The Pope desires an outward looking Church where there is a place for everyone,” says Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz, secretary of the Dicastery for Communication. “This implies communication that on the one hand embraces all the new technologies and on the other hand does not forget any of the old ones because no one must remain excluded. Then there is the experience of the digital Synod, a missionary process to go and bring Jesus’ caress, his proclamation to people who do not live in the Church’s institutions”. Space was then given to artificial intelligence. How does it affect us in our profession as communicators? “The answer can be given in three words: knowledge, creativity and responsibility,” said Giovanni Tridente, Director of Communications at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross linked up from Rome. “We need to know about this technological innovation in order to understand how to use it. It must be used creatively to improve our lives and it must be used responsibility, also from an ethical point of view, to make people aware and free to form their own opinions”. Finally, the speech by Liliane Mugombozi, a journalist from the Democratic Republic of Congo: ‘When we communicate we are giving something of ourselves, our view of the world, the values we believe in, our fears, our sorrows, but also our achievements, our victories, our doubts, our hopes, our deepest questions. An act of communication can be a gift that encourages people to meet together, that creates contexts of dialogue and trust even in difficult situations, and to walk together. An Amhara (Ethiopia) proverb says that ‘when spiderwebs join together, they can even trap a lion’. Finally, space for dialogue and questions, experiences and impressions. There was a desire to convey and experience more incisive and sincere communication. This webinar is only the beginning of a journey of synodality and communication For info: net4synodcom@gmail.com
