EcoOne: The Person and Nature
Environmental sustainability and energy. This was discussed at the EcoOne meeting, a cultural initiative born from the charism of the Focolare Movement in the world of ecology. The meeting took place at the Mariapolis Centre of Castel Gandolfo the 14th and 16th of May and was attended by fifty ecologists and professionals from Brazil, Chile, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy.
The subject was pondered by experts from various areas related to energy: from engineering to physics, from politics to sociology. University professors, industrial managers, scholars and experts discussed energy in nature, renewables, nuclear energy, climate change, political involvement and social solidarity which are all inherent to the energy issue.
A portion of the program was dedicated to examining the itinerary of EcoOne and the cultural elements that have characterized it since the first conference organized by Sergio Rondinara from Sophia University, ten years ago. “If the relationship between the human person and nature was harmonious in the past,” stated Luca Fiorani, ENEA researcher and coordinator of EcoOne, as she presented its work, “it has now led to an environmental crisis which is pointing to an even deeper anthropological and ethical crisis. Faced with this situation, the research plan of EcoOne is to uncover a new person-to-nature relationship which comes through recuperating the significance of each individual’s ties with nature. This is something that will take place on the level of our thinking in the religous sphere and in the rediscovery of pre-industrial traditions”.
“Let us pause and look at how far we’ve come on this path,” she continued: “We were joined by experts in the environmental field: professionals, academics and researchers from public institutions. This open and enriching cultural dialogue is not something decorative, but the very essence of EcoOne. We see that, over the years, a small body of ecologists with a well-defined point of view has been born within the Focolare Movement and is in dialogue with other professionals in the field. “
EcoOne has drawn up its own ecological thinking which is based on certain key elements: custodianship, which places the human person as the guardian of creation; responsibility and environmental awareness, that is, realizing that damaging nature means threatening life and this stimulates moral consciousness about environmental issues. A new person-nature relationship is needed, which can overcome anthropocentrism or physiocentric extremism. And finally the concept of sustainability, namely, the realization that “we need radical structural changes and behavioral development to be sustainable.”
“Man is not the center of the universe: God is.” These are words that Chiara Lubich wrote to the 2005 EcoOne Conference indicating that an ecological paradigm for human action would only be found in God who is Love.
Today her words have become the Magna Carta of EcoOne. “Let us not venture – Chiara continued – to go against God! We’ll find only death.if we do. If , instead, man’s goal becomes not economic interest, egoism, but love for others and the love of nature, then, with human help, the earth will be transformed and become an earthly paradise.”
An audience with the Holy Father
‘A very special and intense occasion … which has left a deep joy in our hearts’, this was Maria Voce’s comment immediately after her meeting with the Holy Father on Friday 23 April last.
Coming back from a long journey which took her to various Asian countries to meet the communities of the Movement, also in an inter-religious context, the President of the Focolare told the Pope everything that had happened in contact with these different cultures where the Gospel is becoming a hope for many.
They spoke about many subjects regarding the life of the Movement during the audience, including the forthcoming beatification of the young girl Chiara Luce.
There are 17 causes for beatification for members of the Movement underway at present, including the one for Igino Giordani who was a writer and politician.
The Pope gave his blessing at the end of the audience, with the invitation to extend it together with his greetings to the whole of the Movement.
Maria Luiza Marinho
- Data di Morte: 18/07/2009
- Branca di Appartenenza: Volunteer
- Nazione: Brazil
[:it]Natalia Dallapiccola, la prima che ha seguito Chiara Lubich, ha concluso il suo viaggio terreno
Happy Easter in the Resurrection!
At the nineth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mk 15:34) 
Jesus Forsaken! You teach us the highest, divine, heroic lesson about love. So that we might have Light, you made yourself “darkness” So that God might dwell in us, you felt him far away. So that we might possess wisdom, you made yourself “ignorance” So that we might have life, you experienced death. So that we might be clothed with innocence, you made yourself “sin”. So that we might hope, you almost felt desperation. So that Heaven might be ours, you felt forsaken. Jesus Forsaken! You give us the certainty, that, by living you again, each one of us can, in our own corner of the world, give that necessary and decisive start to the change that humanity awaits, shining the light of the resurrection there. Chiara Lubich