New impetus in the journey towards communion

The Extraordinary National Assembly of Catholic Action (Italian Chapter), attended by 837 delegates representing 214 dioceses, marked a turning point towards greater communion and a renewed missionary thrust within the framework of the diocesan character of its activity and structure. These are the very points highlighted in the new Statute approved by the Assembly.

In his message to the Assembly, Pope John Paul II stressed that “the Church needs you. It needs lay people who have found in Catholic Action a school of holiness where they learn to live the radicality of the Gospel in the normality of daily life.”

National president Paola Bignardi stated in her interview with Città Nuova magazine that there is a need for renewal in relationships among Catholic Movements and ecclesial communities which should lead them not only “to live in peace with one another but also to find the way of living one for the other and one with the other.”

This was one of the reasons why Paola Bignardi and general assistant Bishop Francesco Lambiasi invited Focolare founder Chiara Lubich and Andrea Riccardi, founder of St. Egidio Community, to offer remarks to the Assembly.
“I am very familiar with Catholic Action,” said Chiara, “because I spent a good part of my youth among its ranks. They were special years for the Association, when Armida Barelli and her companions were still active in it. They were joyful years for me, since I took part in many of Catholic Action’s meetings held in my city, Trent, and in its conventions for young students, where I received a solid Christian foundation.”

Chiara then noted the progress made in the spirit of exchange among Movements and New Communities ever since the Feast of Pentecost 1998. In her conclusion Chiara posed this question: “Might this be the moment to begin to actualize what the Holy Father wants from Catholic Action, the Focolare Movement and other Movements as well? On behalf of the Focolare Movement which I represent, let me assure you that we are at your disposal. May the Holy Spirit suggest to you, dear brothers and sisters, when and in what way this might come about.”
The expression of acceptance offered by the president and the applause from the Assembly embodied the positive response to Chiara’s offer.

Andrea Riccardi then spoke of “the debt which we owe to this great Christian laboratory known as Catholic Action,” and expressed his wish for “a deeper communion, lived in the awareness of our mission today.”

“Thank you both for offering your friendship in this new season of exchange and dialogue, which does not mean suffocating our differences but rather enriching the spiritual wealth we all possess,” Paola Bignardi remarked in closing.