Feb 3, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Despite restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the Focolare community in Toronto remains close to a sick mother and her family “I don’t feel alone on this journey, and it’s thanks to all of you who are my family!”. Susan lives in Toronto, Canada. She has five children and was diagnosed with advanced cancer about a year ago. Her journey has been a rocky one, with moments of progress and feelings of hope alternating with moments of trial when her health deteriorated. But sharing her experience with the Focolare community, of which she has been a member for a long time, has helped to relieve the burden of her suffering and echo her joy. Not even the restrictions imposed by the pandemic can stop them sharing this suffering. It must be because love can overcome the most difficult obstacles. The same is true for the fraternal relationships linking members of the community together. From the Focolare in Toronto they said: “When Susan shared the situation with all of us, she told us she felt at peace and wanted to offer her suffering for everyone affected by the pandemic. We assured her of our personal prayers, and one of our families had the idea of meeting together on Zoom to pray the Rosary for her healing”. So since last March, members of the Toronto Focolare community have been meeting on Zoom every Sunday at 4pm: “We take turns praying one decade of the Rosary, and leave Susan and her family to pray the fifth decade”. It is such a strong moment of prayer that they feel the spiritual presence of Jesus among them, according to the Gospel which says “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:15-20). And through the intercession of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, they are asking for Susan to be healed. “When we finish praying,” they continue, “Susan gives us an update on the treatment, and we all rejoice with her and Nino, her husband, if there has been progress and suffer with them in the difficult moments. She continues to tell us that she feels stronger spiritually and emotionally thanks to the spiritual presence of Jesus among us and that we are all carrying this suffering together!” Love for this mother and her family is also being expressed in very concrete gestures. If the doctors prescribe rest and advise against cooking, then the community takes it in turns to prepare a meals for the family which is different every time. “It’s incredible”, they say, “with love, you can overcome every difficulty, even those caused by the virus with the lockdown. For Susan’s family, especially the young children, it is always a great joy to see what has arrived for dinner because every time, from our multicultural community, there is a dish from a different world cuisine. This experience with its many acts of love has made us grow as a community”. It is this feeling of family that is giving Susan courage, and it is from this love for Susan that the community is rediscovering itself as a family every day.
Claudia Di Lorenzi
Feb 2, 2021 | Non categorizzato
General Assembly Diary 9/ 2 February 2021 After the first ten days, the Focolare General Assembly has reached a turning point. The election of the new President Margaret Karram, and the Holy See’s confirmation today of the re-election of Co-President Jesús Morán, completes the first phase. Tomorrow, in her first official duty, the new President will establish the number of General Counsellors to be elected by the Assembly. These cannot be less than 20, in line with a recent modification to the General Statutes of the Movement. Today, as the Assembly continued working on the direction and lines of action for the next six years, greetings and congratulations to the newly elected president have been pouring in from around the world. Here are a few highlights: “With great pleasure we heard of your election as new president of the Focolare Movement. […] Being so expert in dialogue between cultures […] your nomination will strengthen the witness of unity among cultures and religions. […] In the cooperation of ‘Together for Europe’ we wish to be a trustworthy partner in contributing to a new culture of unity”. P. Heinrich Walter, Schoenstatt Movement “Dear Margaret, […] I wish to congratulate you, on behalf, also, of Andrea [Riccardi] and all the Community of Sant’Egidio on this important role. […] We’ve met on various occasions already […] particularly in our shared commitment for unity among movements and ‘Together for Europe’. […] Building bridges and links of fraternity is a real necessity for our world and a ‘vocation’ for which your own personal story, your provenance from a land of suffering and conflict, makes you partcularly sensitive. […] In this spirit of fraternity, we’ll continue our friendship between the Focolare Movement and the Community of Sant’Egidio”.
Marco Impagliazzo, President of the Community of Sant’Egidio
“The Federation of the Fellowship of Christians and Jews in Italy expresses our sincere best wishes for your new role. […] We call to mind the light and colours of your cities: Haifa, Los Angeles and Jerusalem, and we hope to collaborate for the promotion of Jewish-Christian and inter-religious dialogue”. “With great pleasure, on behalf of the Union of Islamic Communities in Italy, I extend our hearty congratulations on your nomination as President of the Focolare Movement. On behalf of the communities I represent, I renew our wish to collaborate always on the way of dialogue, of sharing, of encounter, in the hope of gathering fruits of peace.” Yassine Lafram, presidenteUCOII “The Order of the Holy Sepulchre sends our best wishes to the newly-elected President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram. […] As a Catholic Arab of Haifa, you have always been intensely involved in the activities of inter-religious dialogue working for the culture of encounter in the Holy Land.” Before concluding this diary, we ask you, our dear readers, for your collaboration. Disappointingly, documents, photos and recordings of the General Assembly are already being shared on various platforms. Let us not forget that this Assembly is not a public event. Please help us to protect the reserved nature of our Assembly. Please don’t join in the improper sharing of any content which has not been authorized by this office. Grazie! Thank you!
Focolare Communications Office
Text in PDF
Feb 2, 2021 | Non categorizzato
This is the second mandate for Jesús Morán, whose primary task is to fully support and collaborate with Margaret Karram, the newly elected president of the Focolare Movement. The election of the co-president was also welcomed by the Focolare Assembly with worldwide applause and today, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life confirmed his appointment: Jesús Morán has been re-elected co-president of the Focolare. This is his second term of office after the one just concluded alongside Maria Voce. Jesús Morán is 63 years old and was born in Navalperales de Pinares, Avila (Spain). He first came across the Gospel message proposed by the Focolare Movement during his university studies, through the witness of some of his fellow students. He graduated in Philosophy from the Autonomous University of Madrid and obtained a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Santiago de Chile and a Doctorate in Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. From 1996 to 2004 he was Focolare delegate for Chile and Bolivia, where he was ordained a priest on 21 December 2002. From 2004 to 2008 he was co-responsible for the Movement in Mexico and Cuba. At the 2008 Focolare General Assembly he was elected General Councillor and responsible for the cultural formation of the Movement’s members. In 2009 he became a member of the “Abba School”, an interdisciplinary study centre of the Focolare Movement, due to his expertise in theological anthropology and moral theology. Since 2014 he has been co-president of the Focolare Movement. The duties of the Co-President The first duty of the Co-President is full support and collaboration with the President. The Statutes of the Focolare speak of “the fullest unity with the President” in order to offer her the possibility of examining ideas and decisions, listening and searching together for the will of God. He is responsible for the priests who adhere to the Focolare and ensures that the internal life and activities of the movement are in conformity with the faith and morals of the Church.
Stefania Tanesini
Feb 1, 2021 | Non categorizzato
How to watch English subtitles, click here https://youtu.be/QW3HIijcpqY
Feb 1, 2021 | Non categorizzato
Elected on 31 January, she is the third President to lead the Movement after the founder, Chiara Lubich, and after Maria Voce who has just completed two terms. PRESS RELEASE – 1st February 2021 Yesterday, Margaret Karram, was elected President of the Focolare Movement with more than two thirds of the votes cast among the participants in the General Assembly of the Movement, composed of 359 representatives from all over the world. She succeeds the founder Chiara Lubich and Maria Voce who was in office for 12 years (two terms). Margaret Karram was born in Haifa, Israel in 1962 into a Palestinian Catholic family. She holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies from the American Jewish University in the United States. She has held various positions for the Focolare in Los Angeles and in Jerusalem. Her past experience includes membership of various commissions and organizations for the promotion of dialogue between the three monotheistic religions, such as the Episcopal Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and the ICCI (Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel). She worked for 14 years at the Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem. Since 2014, she has been at the International Centre of the Focolare as councillor for Italy and Albania and co-responsible for Dialogue between Ecclesial Movements and New Catholic Communities. She speaks Arabic, Hebrew, Italian and English. In 2013 she received the Mount Zion Award for Reconciliation, together with the scholar and researcher Yisca Harani, for their commitment to developing dialogue between different cultures and religions. In 2016 she received the St Rita International Award for having promoted dialogue between Christians, Jews, Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians, starting from people’s everyday life. The election took place yesterday, 31 January 2021, but her appointment only became effective today, following confirmation by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, as envisaged by the General Statutes of the Focolare Movement. The document expresses the hope that the new president will be able to carry out her task “with faithfulness, in a spirit of service and ecclesial sensitivity, for the good of the members of the Movement and of the universal Church.” Duties of the Focolare President According to the Movement’s General Statutes, the President is chosen from among the focolarine (consecrated women with perpetual vows) and will always be a woman. In the Statutes we read, she “is the sign of the unity of the Movement”. This means that she represents the great religious, cultural, social and geographical variety of those who adhere to the spirituality of the Focolare in the 182 countries where the Movement is present and who identify with the message of fraternity that the founder, Chiara Lubich, drew from the Gospel: “Father, that they may all be one” (Jn 17:20-26). There are many commitments and challenges awaiting Margaret Karram in the coming years: the tasks of governing and directing a worldwide Movement like the Focolare, which is deeply immersed in local and global realities and the challenges of humanity, starting from this time of pandemic. The Statutes also indicate the “style” that should distinguish the work of the President: “Hers is to be, above all, a presidency of love – they state – because she must be the first in loving and, therefore, in serving her own brothers and sisters, remembering the words of Jesus: “Whoever wishes to be first among you must be the servant of all” (Mk 10:44). The primary commitment of the President, therefore, is to be a builder of bridges and a spokesperson for the central message of the spirituality of the Focolare, ready to practise and spread it, as we read further on, even at the cost of her own life. The next steps of the General Assembly of the Focolare are the election of the Co-President this afternoon and of the councillors on 4th February. Stefania Tanesini -Cell. +39 338 5658244 Text in PDF
Feb 1, 2021 | Non categorizzato
The new president of the Focolare Movement for the next six years is Margaret Karram, born 1962 in Haifa (Israel). The election, which required a two-thirds majority of those present, took place on Sunday 31 January, and has been approved by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, in accordance with the Movement’s Statutes. The new President – who by Statute will always be a woman – is to guide the Movement through the next six years. The current General Assembly of the Focolare Movement, which elected the new President, is being conducted entirely online due to the pandemic. It began on January 24 and will conclude on February 7, 2021. It’s the third General Assembly since the death of founder Chiara Lubich. 359 people are taking part around the world. They represent some of the different cultures, generations, vocations, members of different churches and religous faiths who are part of the Focolare Movement. With the election of the President, on February 1 the Co-President will be elected, who according to the Statutes must be a Focolarino priest, then the counsellors who will collaborate in the central governance of the Movement. Press statement to follow.
Lorenzo Russo – Focolare Communications Office
