Training the Seminary Educators

Aug 5, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

The course was held at the impressive Vallombrosa Abbey in Italy, during July 17-30 and it concluded the second part of the course for educators which began last year. It involved seminary educators from thirteen countries (Pakistan, India, Korea, China, Venezuela, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, and Italy). The open forum surprised the attendants with its daily motivational richness and its content. The guiding theme of the interactive course was “Prayer, Life, Thought”. Faced with the profound changes that affect a person’s life in the modern world – influenced by the digital revolution – it has become necessary to constantly update educators both on this subject and on educational approaches which can be used with candidates for the ordained ministry. In Novo millennio ineunte (n. 43), John Paul II had already invited the Church to become a “home and school of communion”, also in “places where ministers of the altar are formed”. The priests of the Focolare Movement have responded to this expectation by offering this Pastoral Theology Course for Educators in Seminaries, and the Congregation for Catholic Education (office of the Holy See which serves seminaries around the world) has expressed its support and appreciation ever since this course began. The undersecretary of the Congregation, Archbishop Vincenzo Zani, himself, launched this year’s course by attending and making a presentation entitled: “The Communitarian Dimension of Formation”. The course is structured around four residential weeks in two years. The first year presents the foundations of the paradigm of communion applied to the delicate task of training future priests. The second year moves into the practical and more complex aspects of formation, dividing it into seven main areas of concern: the gift of self and communion, dialogue and witness, prayer life and life in the “Mystical Body”, entertainment in community, study and, finally, communication at the service of communion. It is in their intertwining that these areas become a valuable approach to the formation of seminarians: one which is not fragmented but unitary, integral and harmonious. Individual participants are invited to enter into a relationship of openness; to attend group workshops exploring specific topics that relate to the main theme; to come up with concrete formation practices; and to make group presentations at a plenary session. The support from experts in the fields of theology, pedagogy and other human sciences was also  invaluable, together with the personal contributions of the educators themselves who are experts in the field of formation. The interest shown and the need to give formation to educators suggest that this course will continue to be offered in future years. Beginning this year, the course will be held at the Sophia University Institute of Loppiano. Course members will be expected to present a dissertation and will receive academic credit. Links Priests of the Focolare Movement Vallombrosa Abbey Sophia University Institute

Between Classroom and Sport Events: A Lie Left Unspoken

Aug 4, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“We were halfway through the school year, in the middle of the school’s afternoon extracurricular activities. But since I’m in athletics, it was also the middle of sport preps for the season of competitions which was about to begin. Our Italian teacher had arranged for us to meet the author of a book which we had read. A few days before my trainer suggested that I take part in some competitions that were to be held on the same day as our appointment with the author. The dilemma began as to whether I should choose what I wanted to do or choose to do what would be most correct. I tried to focus my attention not only on feelings, but also on them, on the consequences of my actions for these two people. Since I didn’t have any active role to play in the appointment with the author, except to be a listener, I decided to attend the competition. It was in telling my teacher of my absence that my ‘trying to love’ would be put to the test. I was fearful, in fact, that she would be displeased because she was so looking forward to this appointment. And so, upon the advice of some friends, I decided to invent an excuse, a doctor’s appointment or some illness that would excuse me from attending the event and avoid any such risk. But, perhaps because of the way I had set out to do things from the beginning, aside from feeling that this choice would clearly be wrong, I found the courage to face this small challenge of telling the truth. To my great surprise and that of the entire class, the teacher didn’t react negatively in the least. On the contrary, she told of how she had been involved in sport in her younger years, and she encouraged me to attend the sport event. The sport events turned out to be the best I had ever attended, because of the joy I felt and because my previous dilemma had shown how important each tiny choice of love can be, a choice that God welcomes and multiplies in the happiness He gives us. A small attention to respect a neighbour and a small lie never spoken that allowed sincerity to triumph, and fair play made me feel that on that day, I was a real Gen3!” Who are the Gen3 according to Elena? “They’re teenagers who try to live the Gospel and to bring unity through their actions. Gen3 life is normal everyday life, but and everyday life that plants each moment in eternity, a normality in which each gesture is made exceptional because it is addressed to God, and aimed at winning Heaven.”

Trip to Slovenia/2

Aug 3, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

A surprising welcome for Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti in Slovenia where a group of smiling Friulians and Slovenians waited for them with flowers. It was an unusual sight, given that these two peoples have had mutual disagreements since 1918 due to the world wars. The Focolare’s Gospel Ideal has helped them in overcoming the past, and for this reason the atmosphere is warm and festive as the Slovenian people are.

This is a community that has been strengthened by long years of fidelity even through great suffering. A community which Maria Voce noted presented itself “mature” and rooted “in mutual love, that love which links one to the other.”

It is a small people in terms of its territorial expansion, but decisive and concrete in its Gospel experience. The lively youth of this land gathered together 600 of their countrymen, and presented to them the life of Chiara Luce Badano, a Gen who was recently beatified. Another original experience has been the constructive contact with other Catholic movements without which “the Church cannot go forward,” as the recent Archbishiop of Ljubljana pointed out. And it is for the contact with the faithful of other churches and religions.

Faced with a growing secular trend, on the 20^th of June major representatives of the religions in Slovenia signed and launched a public appeal for religious freedom. Thousands of people had previously held public manifestations in defence of family values ​​and against legislation that opposed them. These were projects that involved the community of the Movement in standing up for that “quality in relationships that creates the family, to that Gospel spirit which is a family spirit,” as Maria Voce stated on the last day of her stay in Slovenia.

Skofja Loka

Another significant moment was the August 2 visit of Maria Voce and Giancarlo Faletti to a noteworthy educational project at the “Sunray” Pre-school in the historic city of Skofja Loka, twenty-five kilometres from the capital. The whole is immersed in green and overlooked by a castle – one of the two-thousands castles to be found in the whole state – the summer residence of the ancient patriarchs of Aquileia.

Twenty-eight teachers – including twenty from the Focolare – have been bringing ahead this educational project since 2003. It involves 120 children between the ages of six months and six years, and is founded upon the spirituality of communion of Chiara Lubich. It is amazing to witness how such a pilot-project, which is born from a Gospel experience, provides a life education based on relationships of mutual love and respect, and of listening and it engages teachers, parents and the children themselves.

Although they do not teach the catechism in the traditional sense, they do present Jesus to the children as someone who was born into the simplicity of a family and as someone who accompanies their growth.

The project has been a large success and more requests are arriving to open similar pre-schools based on the same pedagogical model. Few know the suffering that lies beneath it all, due to the State’s reluctance to support such projects. Maria Voce exhorted the teachers to “write of their extraordinary experience” as she continued to hold up the value of a work that strives to educate children at a relational dimension which is based on the new commandment of Jesus: “This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you.” It was an historical moment for Sunray Pre-school whose very name expresses the sensation one has while visiting there. To the joy of everyone, Maria Voce suggested two “protectors” for the project: two focolarini who showed great love for the youth: Camilla and Vincenzo Folonari.

By our correspondent Mario Dal Bello

Horn of Africa Emergency Aid

Aug 3, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

We’ve heard from the Focolare community in Kenya about their immediate commitment to respond to the appeal of Benedetto XVI to skip a meal and donate the price of that meal to help Somalia. Giovanna Vasquez and Flavio de Oliviera write: “Dear Everyone, as you will have come to know from radio and television news, the Horn of Africa is undergoing a devastating human disaster. Our brothers and sisters have come to the bottom of the well, they are dying for lack of food and water due to the drought that is affecting the region.” There are many organizations working on site while, on behalf of the Pope, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum has sent its first aid money in the amount of 50,000 euros. It arrived through the Bishop of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu, Msgr. Giorgio Bertin. In their letter Giovanna and Flavio from the Focolare Movement in Kenya continue by mentioning one of the main points of Focolare spirituality; that is, recognizing the face of the crucified Jesus in every human suffering. “Standing before the face of Jesus forsaken in this great suffering, we asked what we could do to heal at least a bit of this pain, and the idea came of launching a campaign that we’d like to call: “skip a meal”. It would involve depriving yourself of at least one meal during the month of August and, by donating the price of the meal, you could put into practice the words of Jesus: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food. . . (cf Mt 25:35). In living for universal brotherhood, we salute you!” Any sums of money which we are able to collect through your generosity will be placed at the disposal of the interested diocese which are already directly involved in providing aid to the populations affected by the drought. You can make bank transfers to one of the following accounts, specifying the reason: “Emergenza Corno d’Africa”.   Other assistance can be given through: International Secreteriat of Youth for a United World Account Name: Pia Associazione Maschile Opera di Maria Intesa San Paolo – Filiale di Grottaferrata (Roma) codice IBAN  IT04  M030  6939  1401  0000  0640  100 codice BIC  BCITITMM Cause: Emergenza Corno d’Africa AMU – Action for a United World Account Name: Associazione “Azione per un Mondo Unito – Onlus” c/c bancario n. 120434 presso Banca Popolare Etica – Filiale di Roma codice IBAN: IT16 G050 1803 2000 0000 0120 434 codice SWIFT/BIC: CCRTIT2184D Cause: Emergenza Corno d’Africa   New Families New Families Projects ONLUS Presso “Banca Prossima” IBAN: IT55K0335901600100000001060

Novi svet Magazine’s interview with Maria Voce

Aug 1, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

You have visited all the continents over the past few years, meeting with different cultures and social situations. You have had a close-up look at the Focolare communities spread throughout the world. In light of these rich experiences, could you tell us what you see as the main vocation of the Movement in the world? “It is a vocation to unity, a vocation to contribute at all latitudes, in different contexts and in different ways toward the realization of Jesus’ prayer to the Father: ut omnes unum sint (that all be one). This is the goal that each of us is called to, the imperative which is impressed upon each one of us who shares in the charism of unity (…).” Before arriving in Slovenia, you visited Russia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, three  significant countries of the “ex-Soviet-bloc”. What was it that urged you to take these trips? “It is the same thing that urged me to visit Asia, Africa, North America and other European countries: the commitment to stay focused on relationships. My travels allow me to enter into a listening attitude and to grasp the problems and the riches of the peoples I meet, to appreciate their growth and to see where there is potential for development. What are the ones I’ve found in these lands that for years have been built upon a Communist ideology? Chiara Lubich always saw a special calling to unity in this area of the world, precisely in response to the forced unity that characterized these countries. In 1989, just after the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, Chiara saw those historic events as a great step toward unity. Within the process, however, the positive values that were present in that society up until then should be safeguarded: the yearning for unity, a global vision of the world, attention for the poorest classes, exaltation of the human person’s propensity to be social. Grand ideals, but often blatantly contradicted by the facts. She seemed to understand that the charism of unity, which the Holy Spirit had given to her, had a contribution to make in returning those ideas to their original source and rooting them there: in God. (…) Unity could really become the distinguishing mark of this region in particular. For if it is lived in God, the greater the diversity, the more extraordinary the experience of unity that is derived. I had an anticipation of it last summer during my voyage in Croazia, in which I met a group of the Movement’s members who came from different geographic and cultural regions: a single people comprised of many peoples, united in the name of God and living for unity (…).” IThese years we are witnessing growing polarization in Slovene society that undermines the relationship between the Church and the secular world. It sometimes erupts in a certain intolerance. How can this wound be healed and how can we help to restore true values to the world we live in? “I think that we must above all believe and bring forth all that is good and profound in every human soul. Believers and non-believers alike, hold to certain values that are within them. It’s a matter of highlighting what is positive in each person and find ways to build bridges with everyone. The charism of unity that we strive to practice has a force and light within it that goes beyond each one of us. (…). Then I believe that these values can be offered through personal witness and the witness of the community: the value of life, of the human being, of the family. . . These are values that God places within us and which should shine forth from our life, and be quite compelling. Finally, I believe in the importance of offering your own opinion, but freely, with detachment, with respect for others. In other words, as a gift of love.” Entire interview by Irena Santoro – Source: Novi Svet

Maria Voce in Slovenia

Aug 1, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

It is a land rich in history, faith, and suffering. Therefore it is sensitive to Gospel values like those that are highlighted in Focolare spirituality. This is witnessed to by the fact that a priest who attended the Mariapolis  at Fiera di Primiero in 1958 was able, with the help of others, to silently spread its message on such a vast scale.  The Focolari in Slovenia – Small communities were begun, whose life overflowed with the opening of the first focolare in a basement in 1966. A second focolare was opened in 1974. The fervent life was teeming in families, among youths, in parishes and the Movement grew to become a “small people”. The Communist Regime, of course, controlled the activities of its citizens, including the members of the Movement, but the life was never hindered and in 1986 the first Mariapolis-holidays were held in Bohinj, a bright spot in the lives of many people. For some it was their first encounter with God, and for others it was a return to Him after many years. In the 1970’s there was an unforgettable event: Gen Rosso’s tour. They held four performances at the indoor stadium which was packed with crowds. The highlight of the evening was the Slovenian song, “Maria” to the Mother of Jesus. It was the first time since 1945 that a religious song had been sung outside of a church building and broadcasted on television. The collapse of the Berlin Wall opened a new phase. Freedom meant that you could speak of the Movement, gather for meetings, organize musical tours for Gen Verde and Gen Rosso, republish the Focolare’s Novi Svet (New City) magazine, with a new look and a circulation of 2,300 copies. Today, Maria Voce will find a very developed Movement as it collaborates more and more actively with the local Catholic Church; enters into dialogue with other Christian churches; and opens toward society thanks also to some Economy of Communion businesses. The name of the Mariapolis Centre in Planina is “Spes”, “Hope”. There couldn’t be a better word for the trip of Maria Voce to a land in which hope has been proven and lived with such intensity in the past decades. Mario Dal Bello

From Guatemala: the focolare, a school of inculturation

Jul 28, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Like all focolarine, Lina Velasquez lives in a focolare, the heart of the wider community. She lives with five others on the outskirts of Guatemala City. In her country too, people and ethnic groups have met serious conflict with much suffering, pain and, at times, discrimination. How is it living with other focolarine – a Guatemalteca ladina, which is another ethnic group, a Nicaraguan, a Mexican and a Salvadoran – a world in miniature. . . ? What helps inculturation among you? The love among us, with the measure that Jesus asks of us, that is, being to be ready to give our lives for each other, even in small everyday things. At times, out of love, it’s better to stay silent, at times it’s better to say what’s in our hearts. It helps me a lot to understand that the other person is different from me and so there is something for me to learn from everyone. I can be a person, someone who loves, not an “indigena” who wants everyone else to understand her. The inculturation among us is a witness to those who know us and a contribution to the elimination of discrimination. I feel fortunate to have a calling that unites us and that is mutually enriching.   What work do you do? I’m a teacher at a school for “ladino” and indigenous children. This helps me to love everyone without distinctions, without prejudice, without the fear of being who I am. Each morning we toss the dice of love. It’s a very original toy that we use with the children: each side of the dice has a sentence, like: “Love everyone”, “Love your enemy”, “Love each other” , “Make yourself one”, “Be the first to love” “See Jesus in your neighbour”. We all try to live the sentence that comes up each day. It also helps me, because when I don’t take part, the children ask me: “Why do you say we have to do it, but you don’t live it?” One morning, we tossed the dice and the sentence that came up was: “Love your enemy”. Precisely on that day, the father of one of the students reprimanded me saying things that simply weren’t true. As I listened to him, I asked Jesus to help me forgive him and to see this “enemy” with new eyes, even if it cost me some effort to do so. The next morning that father came up to me and I greeted him with a nice smile. He was so surprised and he came closer to me and said: “Truly, I am heartily sorry and I ask you to forgive me. Today I realized that you are a real Christian person, and capable of understanding me.” From then on his attitude changed. Some of the parents don’t know me, especially when I’m wearing my traditional dress and, mistaking me for the cleaning lady, they don’t allow the children to greet me and embrace me. But the children are learning to love, even me, and they take this discovery home with them. It’s a freedom which I wish all indigenous people could experience, those who don’t wear their native dress and try to hide their origins. I’m glad to be working in this school, because I feel that I’m helping to form new people, that I’m able to love without prejudice, because they feel that they are children of God, and that each culture has great richness to offer to others. Your language is Kaqchikel. Is it still spoken today? My parents didn’t speak Kaqchikel, but my grandparents did, because they had never learned Spanish. The majority of the people in my community speak it among themselves, but never in the city because they are ashamed. Now with the Education reforms in Guatemala, the young people have begun to appreciate the language and also the precious indigenous culture. I’m doing my Master Degree on it, so that I can know it well and help my people to understand that the values I live can be a gift. I’ve realized that the spirituality of unity must reach my people in my language, so that they can understand it better.

SSA

Argentina: 25 Years of Social Involvement

Jul 23, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“Love brought to a social level will make us credible.” Challenged by these words of Chiara Lubich in 1984, the Igino Giordani School of Social Learning (EDES) was begun in Argentina. Since then, twelve courses have been offered every two years allowing the charism of unity to enter into dialogue with various issues in the social field in the light of the Social Doctrine of the Church (SDC). Vittorio Sabbione and Lia Brunet who were pioneers of the Focolare Movement in South America, were the principle supporters of this project, guided in the beginning by Bishop Jorge Novak. This year, EDES has begun a new phase in Mariapolis Lia (O’Higgins-Argentina) where the school is located. Between the 9th and 11th of July it examined a topic entitled: “The Social Dimension of Humankind’s Yes to God”. Methodology. The coordination team which was composed of experts, used a communitarian work approach. Topics and issues were chosen together by everyone. Texts were screened and chosen by the whole group as well. Then a final version was drawn up that was presented to the School. It was constantly a matter of thinking together enlightened by the words of the Gospel: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” (cf. Mt 18:20). This same dynamic was applied by the students who participated in the seminar. Some of the topics that were discussed included: “Social life in the perspective of fraternity”, “Principles of  the Social Doctrine of the Church”, “Humankind’s yes to God in its Trinitarian structure: Jesus Forsaken, the social question and the united world”, “Tools for implementing the SDC”. The presentations given by Bishop Agustín Radrizzani (Bishop of Mercedes-Lujan and current Rector  of EDES), were much appreciated, because of how they were both deeply rooted in the teachings of the Church and steeped in the charism of unity. Experiences were important: the construction of housing in the Barrio Nueva Esperanza (Tucuman); efforts to integrate the work between the neighborhood parish of San Nicolás (Córdoba) and a community of gypsies; the preferential option for the poor of a teacher from Asunción (Paraguay), and the extensive work of “family listening groups” (San Martín, Buenos Aires); “Child Alert”, a citizen’s initiative born from the town’s painful loss of its dying children in Santa Fe, after which the provincial government enacted a law that was then adopted by other Argentine provinces; and the wonderful story of the Aurora School of Santa María of Catamarca, that with its craftsman training program has become a pioneer in the redemption of the culture of the native Calchaquí people “The training course was very important for evaluating our situation with new eyes,” says one Argentine youth. He adds: “It helped me to understand that change is within our reach and that we can accomplish it together.” The presence of the young brought a note of vivacity and hope to the EDES. The enthusiasm that was expressed at the conclusion of the seminar foretold a future that would be rich in developments and proposals. “The climate of simplicity, seriousness, research and inviting to live a new kind of society, permitted me to profit from the topics that were discussed, and instilled in me a desire to lose nothing of what I experienced here,” said a young professional career woman with a lot of experience behind her. She concluded: “It seemed beautiful to me and well done. The topics discussed were well inculturated in the Latin American reality and in tune with the DSC, especially the “Aparecida Document”. I learned so much!”

Bissau: Forgive your enemies? Can you?

Jul 22, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

I was parish priest at the Farim Mission, in Guinea Bissau, a city to the north of the capital, Bissau, on the border with Senegal. I would go to a village for catechism classes, preparing for Baptism. What was being taught was important, but I personally had the impression that it was all too theoretical. In past years, during my stay in Fonjumetaw, Cameroon, I had seen how the Word of Life helped in the work of evangelization. And so I began to take the monthly Word of Life and, following a brief explanation, I would invite everyone to put it into practice in order to then share with each other the fruits of doing so in the coming weeks. To make it easier, I handed everyone a piece of paper on which I had written the Gospel sentence and I invited them to hang it by their bed and read it in the morning when they rose from their beds, and at night, when they went to sleep. If they didn’t know how to read, I suggested that they ask their children to help them. Over the next few weeks, more and more people had something to say. One afternoon, in the village of Sandjal, some twenty km from Farim, when the time came to share experiences, a man told what happened to him during the previous week. The Word of Life was “Love your enemies” (Mt. 5:44). “One night the my neighbour’s cows entered into my bean plantation and destroyed it. This wasn’t the first time. This is why we hadn’t spoken to each other for months. But this time I was determined to make him pay. It was high time for him to see the damage he was doing. Me, my wife and children each took up a big piece of wood and set out for our neighbor’s house. But after taking only a few short steps i recalled the the Word of Life and said: ‘Stop! We can’t go. Last week I received a small paper which said to forgive our enemies, and in a few days I have to go back to the catechism class. What will I tell them if I go now to punish my neighbour? But then he will carry on doing as he has always done!’ Let’s go home and sit down. Letting it go as if nothing had happened didn’t seem correct. We decided to go to the man, not with a threatening air, but to dialogue. We explained to our enemy what had happened and we asked him to pay more attention to his cows. Our neighbour was speechless. He fell at my feet and asked me to forgive him over and over again. From that moment we began to greet each other, and I would say that we have become friends. It was months that we hadn’t spoken! And a new joy has entered my home.” In another village, Sarioba, 5 km from Farim, the same scene, a student stands up and says: “Every Monday we have to go on foot to Farim for school. There’s a seller who lives in a village not far away, who also goes to Farim with his truck. Normally, he doesn’t carry anything on the truck. Only that this time, after we had already travelled a distance of almost one kilometre, he stopped. He was having mechanical problems with the truck and he wasn’t able to move. When we reached him, we asked him if he needed a push to get the truck running. My friends said to me: ‘Let it go, let him take care of it himself. He never helped us.’ I was thinking the same thing, but then I remembered the Word of Life. And so we decided to give hi a hand to get the truck started. The engine started and the gentleman invited us to jump on, but we told him there was no need, and we continued on foot.” Fr.  Celso Corbioli,  OMI

Tanzania: Exploring Gospel Values Through the Teaching of “Us”

Jul 20, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

After a trip of nearly thrity-two hours, Franco Pizzorno and Pierangelo Tassano from the New Humanity Movement arrived in Singida, Tanzania. The object of their trip was to attend a formation course for seventy leaders of the ‘volunteers of God’ coming from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Ruanda, Congo and Tanzania, who are invovled in enlivening different sections fo society with Gospel values. The five days of meetings proved to be very fruitful, highlighting the importance giving a life witness to the efficacious words of the Gospel. The cultural and spiritual research, presented by the volunteers themselves, and the deep sharing of experiences, made some guidelines emerge for seeking peace and the common good of society and its different ethnic groups, particularly in the field of education. “The peoples of these nations,” say Franco and Pierangelo, “have in communion and creativity in their DNA, perhaps more than people of other continents.” “Ubuntu, a typical African term means “I am what I am because of what we are,” and this is the natural root of this culture of relationships that makes you see problems in a different light, opening a space for new intuitioins from which valid solutions can be found not only for African society, but beyond.” John Bosco from Uganda states: “M. lives in my city. She has AIDS and other related illnesses. She’s old and poor. I called a meeting of the executive committee from my parish to see how we could help her, and with my wife cared for her. We brought her food, medicine, we washed her clothes. . . and other friends helped us in assisting her. Now M. is a part of our community. These actions did not go unnoticed and our testimony has stimulated many others to look better upon those who are in need.” Franco e Pierangelo conclude: “We left well aware that the peoples of this continent have so much to offer to the world, and so we listened and tried to understand not so much their most compelling needs, but mostly the talents of this culture which is so different and rich. As always, we recevied much more than we gave.”

[:it]Singapore: l’amore che circola e sana

Jul 14, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Chiara Luce at WYD 2011

Jul 12, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Thousands of young people from all over the world in Madrid for the 11th WYD. The events will take place this summer on the streets, auditoriums, public squares, colleges, schools, and parks of Madrid. There will be concerts and exhibits, museum tours, theatrical performances, and a cultural program entitled: “Youth Festival”. Among all the events, there is one that is particularly special – as shown by the great interest of the organizing committee. This is the presentation of Chiara Badano, a young Italian girl, better known as Chiara Luce, who was recently beatified. She will be presented during a show that will weave together music, theatre, acting, and dance. It will be held on 17 August at 22:00 in the Pilar García Peña Auditorium, located in the Pinar del rey Park. Three-thousand persons will be able to attend this event which promises to be unforgettable. This presentation would like to manifest that “Love” with a capital “L” that gives happiness, as shown in the life of Chiara Luce who Benedict XVI called a “ray of Light” at the Angelus of 26 September 2010, the day before her beatification. It will be a feast for young people, “who can find in her an example of Christian living,” as the Pope said. Pablo Alcolea, a music professor who is actively involved in the preparation of the event, tells us that it has been an experience of God for him: “It involves a lot of work, matching the tasks to the volunteers, but it’s a beautiful opportunity to let ourselves be taken by the hand of the Father and trust in Him.” Another Spanish youth, Pablo Garrido, who is co-responsible for the music assures us: “The first word that came to my mind was “folly”. In my opinion attempting to prepare something of this caliber falls into the realm of the miraculous, but it’s very gratifying, seeing how everyone immediately got to work in building this experience of unity.” Another member of the music group shares with us how this is something very personal for him, “as if Chiara Luce herself had asked me to participate in this with my own two cents, helping to communicate her lifestyle, her ideal of living for unity even beyond time and space.” “What a fantastic opportunity,” continues Pablo Alcolea, to contemplate through music the life experience of Chiara Luce Badano.” Other events which everyone is looking to are the Gen Rosso concerts, an international musical group of the Focolare Movement whose performance “Indelible Dimension” will be held on the 16th and 18th August. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akWjPRkdgJA.

Indonesia: Focolare Centre inaugurated in Yogyakarta

Jul 7, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world, with some 240 million inhabitants, living in the 17,000 islands that comprise the Indonesian Archipelago. The house was inaugurated with a Mass and house blessing on 2 July 2011. It will be the first stable centre of the Focolare in Yogyakarta, a city on the island of Java, with some 3 million inhabitants and it is known as a centre of Javan art and culture. Why did the focolarini from nearby Singapore (one of the richest countries in the world) decide to move to a country with one of the lowest GDP index in the world, leaving behind excellent professions? In arriving at our decision, we took many things into consideration,” says Nicolas, one of the focolarini. “especially our decision to spread the charism of unity, and Indonesia, where the majority of the population is Muslim, is a land of great religious tolerance. It’s enough to recall one of the supporting columns of their Constitution which goes more or less like this: ‘We are many but one’, that is, unity in diversity. But it would be a long story to explain how God brought us to this point.” We came to know the people of the large Archipelago due to the frequent natural disasters which Indonesia has undergone in the past few years: tsunamis, earthquakes and the latest eruption of one of its volcanoes. The focolarini were generous with the local people, bringing forward a project for the victims. In this way many relationships were begun which, little by little, created a community, beginning with the youths. “Moreover,” Nicolas continues, “it’s a country that’s on the forefront, very open to interreligious dialogue, and our spirituality helps us to construct relationships of friendship and fraternity among members of the different religions who live in the country.” In fact, the population is comprised of Muslim faithful, Buddhists, Hindus and many other religions. Christians constitute 16% of the population. “It was moving, Xiong adds, “to see the joy in these people and how they prepared things, down to the smallest detail, with such a sense of hospitality which is their characteristic. More than 200 people came, many youths, with some Muslims among them.” People arrived from Sumatra (Medan), Java (Jakarta and Semarang), from Borneo (Kalimantan), Sulawesi, West Timor, and even Singapore and Malaysia (Johor and Penang). Hans Jurt, who is responsible for the focolarini worldwide, was also present together with a few other men and women focolarini from neighbouring Asian countries. Hans said: “We realized that leaving Singapore and moving to Yogyakarta was following God’s plan, a step that He made us take.” It is very nice to see how the community of Singapore feels that it has given its focolare to Indonesia. [nggallery id=65]

Bishop Friends of the Focolare Movement in Kenya, Madagascar and Cameroon

Jun 30, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“Rediscovering God’s plan for today” was the theme for the three conferences of Bishops Friends of the Focolare Movement which were held in May and June. The central topic was one which was of common interest to all: the desire to experience fraternal communion among Bishops, entering more deeply into the spirituality and life of communion. Different characteristics and nuances of each country were highlighted at each of the meetings. Sixteen Catholic bishops from South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Kenya gathered on 23-27 May at one of the Focolare’s little towns in Nairobi, Kenya, called Mariapolis Piero. They had many opportunities to share both personal and pastoral experiences, with a look at some of the challenges being faced by the African continent today. For more information about the Kenyan conference go to: Nairobi: Meeting for Bishop Friends of the Focolare. The May – June event in Moramanga, Madagascar was very well attended with nine bishops who had come from all over the island, the fourth largest island of the world. Among them were Bishop Antonio Scopelliti who had first arrived on the island as a young missionary, and Bishop Amgatondrazaka who for many years has been a promoter of communion among bishops, priests and laity. But there were also various bishops who are natives of Madagascar itself, such as Archbishop Michel Malo (Archbishop of Antsiranana) and the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent.   The final event took place in Cameroon. It began on 7 June in Bamenda and ended on 11 June in the village of Fontem. Two Chiefs of the Bangwa tribe were there to welcome the bishops. They expressed their delight at receiving these distinguished visitors to a land that bears witness to the “new evangelization” that has been launched by the experience of unity among the Bangwa people and the Focolare. During their visit to the hospital, college, and carpentry workshop, the bishops appreciated the simple daily Gospel life, and especially the “love with which the activities are carried out.” The memory of Bishop Paul Verdzekov was very alive among them. He died last year, leaving behind a powerful life witness that was rooted in focolare spirituality. “He was a father for all of us,” said Bishop Ntep, bishop of  Edéa, Cameroon. After having visited his tomb, they celebrated Mass at the cathedral in the presence of many of the faithful for whom his memory is still very much alive. The bishops used these days to discuss topics that are of great interest to them: effects of the Economy of Communion in Africa; formation of formators; and the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini. Another important topic was that of Inculturation. In this regard, Bishop Ntalou, bishop of Garoua, Cameroon said: “Just as you need the effort to know the ‘seeds of the Word’ in our cultures, you also need the effort to know the light of the Gospel, because it is in Jesus, and in Jesus alone, that we find the fullness of salvation.” During the final farewell, Bishop Bushu, bishop of Buea, Cameroon, seemed to summarize what everyone else was thinking: “I thank God for this week, for having lived in His presence. . .”. “Holiness is a gift, not an activity,” concluded Cardinal Vlk, underscoring how everything is a gift from God: “Our true identity lies in living in harmony with this gift (that we have) received.” At each of the three meetings, the culminating moment was the “Pact of Mutual Love”, which the bishops made with each other during a Eucharistic celebration.

Youth for a United World at World Youth Day, Madrid

Jun 28, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Below are listed a few open meetings, and the four events presented by youths of the Focolare, who are attending WYD with their respective diocese. WYD 2011 – Madrid

• Tuesday 16 August 20:00 Opening of WYD – Holy Mass at Cibeles Square, Madrid 22:00 Gen Rosso in Concert “INDELEBILE DIMENSION”. Pilar García Peña Auditorium (Pinar del Rey Park) – *
• Wednesday 17 August 10:00 Bishops’ Catechesis 22:00 Musical “LIFE, LOVE, LIGHT” One of us. A life fulfilled. Chiara Luce Badano, beatifiedon 25 September 2010 by Benedict XVI.Pilar García Peña Auditorium (Pinar del Rey Park) – *
• Thursday 18 August 10:00 Bishops’ Catechesis 12:00 Pope arrives at Barajas airport. Welcoming Ceremony. 12:40 Pope’s entrance into Madrid. Arrival at the Nunciature. 16:00 Welcoming Pope. Welcoming ceremony for the Holy Father. 19:30 Youths welcome Pope in Cibeles Square. 22:00 Gen Rosso in Concert “DIMENSIONE INDELEBILE”. Pilar García Peña Auditorium (Pinar del Rey Park) – *

• Friday 19 August 10:00 Bishops’ Catechesis 11:30 Meeting with young consecrated religous Pope at El Escorial Monastary. Ore 12:00 Pope Meets at El Escorial Monastarywith 1, 000 young university professorsin the Basilica. 19:30 Way of the Cross 22:00 “Adoration – Get together”, Youth for a United World of the Focolare Movement. church of the Carmelite Fathers: Via Ayala, 35 (Madrid) Metro Velázquez – line 4 (15 minutewalk from where the Way of the Cross is held)

• Saturday 20 August 16:00 Preparations at Cuatro Vientos. Youths will begin to arrive at the aerodrome and take their seats. There will be activites on stage (testimoniesby youths, music, prayer, etc.). 19:40 Visitto theSan José Institute Foundation. 20:30 Prayer vigil with the Popein the Cuatro Vientos Aerodrome. 23:00 Night at Cuatro Vientos

• Domenica 21 agosto 09:00 Pope arrives at Cuatro Vientos 09:30 Sending out mass of theWYD 17:30 Meeting of Pope with volunteers 18:30 Farewell greeting from Pope

• (*) HowtoreachAuditorium Pilar García Peña (Parque Pinar del Rey) Via: López de Hoyos c/v carretera de Canillas (Madrid) Metro: Pinar del Rey- linea 8 – Bus: 9, 72, 73

Politics for the people

Jun 28, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“Politics is made for the people – not people for politics. It is a means, not an end. First there should be morals, the person, the collective and then the party, tabling of questions and the theory of governing. Politics – in the most dignified Christian sense – is a servant, and should never become the master: it shouldn’t be the abuser, nor dominate or be dogmatic. Here lies its purpose and dignity: to be of social service, charity in action: the first form of national charity. […] Newspapers spread disrespect for politics and the political parties. We know about this from what they say and from reading what the write about us. To many it seems that politics is a base activity, confusing, leaving us to cope: and they don’t understand that if politics drifts away from honest people, it will be invaded by dishonest people: politics draws to itself all of our life, both physical and moral. Politics with dishonest leaders is drawn to war, financial instability, to the ruin of public and private wealth, to depravity, disprespect for religion, family breakdown…. If politics is dirty, then, it should be cleaned up, not deserted. […] In wheeling and dealing, a consequence of the deals made on human dignity, we cannot be free unless each one of us regains an awareness of their own self worth – their own immense value – those in politics, should decide not to allow themselves either to  be pushed or lead, but to work with their own head, with their personality, defend their moral reasoning. Defending these, then, defending also their professional reasoning, reasoning on taxation: as excessive taxation results in no longer seeing people who need help but simply milking the system. Those who are to be in politics are there for the citizens, not as slaves. From such a position democracy is born. The awareness of ones own values can turn into pride, and therefore twist into antisocial attitudes of exploitation and domination: it can turn upside down. Amongst those values, above all, there is the call to be charitable, and the desire to fulfill is in service to one’s brother. Without this, every value is worthless, every victory turns into slavery: its a waste of time.” Igino Giordani From: The Moral Revolution, 1945 www.iginogiordani.info

Genfest 2012: Building Bridges

Jun 20, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

On the weekend of 18 and 19 June almost 100 young and less young people got together in the Mariapolis Centre, Castelgandolfo (Rome) to establish the main points of the event. This planning group working came from a wide range of nations including: Brasil, the Philipinnes, China and Madagascar. The wonderful cultural mix enabled the content of the programme to have a truly ‘global’ vision, reaching beyond the boundaries of the performance arena: in fact the idea and suggestion from the youth in Hungary was to involve the whole city, having events in the streets, squares and above all, given their significance for the Hungarian capital – the bridges of Budapest. The basic plan for the remaining preparation is not just to work out the detail but to also involve other young people and get ready for an event that won’t be an end in itself but, be the culmination of a journey in mutual love that doesn’t end there: that work now needs to start in each nation. As we don’t want to spoil the surprise we won’t divulge any more details, the note to put in your diary reads: Youth for a United World hope to see you in Budapest from 31st august to 2nd September 2012. http://giovaniperunmondounito.blogspot.com/ [nggallery id=55]      

“Dialogue or Barbarism”

Jun 15, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Here is what Silvano Lancerotto said during his closing remarks at a gathering in April 2011,promoted by the Focolare’s centre for dialogue with persons of non-religious convictions. «My grandfather was with one of his small sons at a strike by agriculture workers in the countryside of Bassa Veneto, northern Italy, in the early twenties. While standing under a big oak tree that still exists, he was killed by a bullet shot by a fierce landowner. My grandmother Maria, whom they called “curly”, now found herself alone to care for seven children in extreme poverty. She went through a long period of suffering and sacrifice, but managed to never convey to her children any sentiments of revenge. At the end of the First World War, one of her sons, my uncle Libero was moved by the spirit of revenge which had built up in him during all those years of suffering. He searched for his father’s murderer and one day found him. But he took pity on the man when he saw how is family was poor and in disarray. He spared his life and went away. As I now try to imagine that decision made under such unique circumstances, and such a long time ago, I find myself transferring it from the personal choice of an individual person to the choices made by states and politics concerning certain conflict situations today: the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, etc. It would certainly be a big step forward if my uncle’s choice, a choice that grew and matured in his human conscience, were to be practiced by the collective conscience of society today.» Lancerotto goes on to say that this “small story” points in the same direction as Chiara Lubich’s message. “It’s a message,” he says, “ that acts on consciences, looks to the transformation of society, beginning with the transformation of individuals. I share the path she showed to us when she said that dialogue requires each one of us – individuals, movements and states – to give up something in order to see, to read and, above all, to listen to the complexity and the plurality of values found in the modern world, in order enter into relationship with them, to discover their merit, to work for common projects while respecting the legitimate diversity that motivates each one.”        

Igino Giordani remembered in the Italian Parliament

Jun 15, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Video recordings of the meeting  (WebTV Parliament House) – Italian only

The meeting on 14f June 1011, in memory of Igino Giordani (1884-1980), was sponsored by the President of the House. Giordani was remembered as a multi-faceted personality of the twentieth century, deputy of the Italian Parliament from 1946 to 1953, writer, journalist, ecumenist and patrologist. Igino Giordani left a deep imprint and opened prophetic perspectives at cultural, political, ecclesial, and social levels. President of the Chamber, Gianfranco Fini, presided over the proceedings. Among the presentations, Alberto Lo Presti, Director of the Igino Giordani Centre presented Giordani the politician and his actions in Parliament. Parliamentarians, young people, Italians and people from other lands spoke of how they have been influenced by Giordani’s thought and actions. Below is the full text of the speech presented by Maria Voce.

“I thank the Honourable President of the Chamber of Deputies, Gianfranco Fini, for having given me the opportunity of addressing a greeting to this gathering in honour of Igino Giordani, who is one of the founding fathers of the Republic and whom we consider one of the co-founders of the Focolare Movement which I represent before you today.

I extend personal greetings to the Honourable Senators and Deputies, to all the authorities, and to everyone present here today.

It was on 17 September of 1948 when, right here in the Chamber of Deputies, Igino Giordani met Chiara Lubich for the first time. She was a young woman of twenty-eight years, visiting from Trent, and accompanied by a group of consecrated religious.

For Giordani the meeting was as extraordinary as it was surprising. From that moment he was no longer the same. What did Chiara Lubich say, what words did she use to get so deep into the soul of the eclectic politician of those times. Something of it we know. In fact, at the end of their conversation,  the Hon. Giordani, very impressed by what he had heard, invited Chiara to write down what she said so that it could be published in a magazine that he directed. The following month the article was published, which begins with the story of how the ideal of unity was born beneath falling bombs:

‘It was wartime. Everything was crumbling before the eyes of us young women, who were attached to our future dreams: a house, an education, loved ones, a career.  […] From the complete destruction of that war, our Ideal was born.  It seemed that there was only one true ideal that was true and everlasting: God.

Surrounded by the destruction caused by so much hate, God suddenly appeared to our minds as the one who doesn’t die.

And we saw and loved him in his true essence: God is love.’

‘It was wartime. . . ‘. Igino Giordani could claim to be a true expert on the subject. He had firsthand experience, in the trenches of World War I. He saw the atrocities, the massacres, and he was also seriously wounded. He was convinced of the absurdity of armed conflict and he gained a name for himself in Italian culture as a defender of peace.

But Chiara’s words did not have the horror of the war as their theme. Chiara spoke of how, years before, in the bombed-out city of Trent, in the midst of ruin, she caught sight of an indestructible ideal: God. He revealed himself to her eyes not as a last hope, a remote desire, but as love flowing among all things, a fire to be guarded and preserved and increased by mutual love, a love capable of bringing about the promise of Jesus: “For where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

It is not difficult to understand why the Hon. Giordani was so awestruck. A living Gospel was  revealing itself to him before his very eyes. The Jesus whom Chiara was showing to him, was entering into human history as love, and was guiding the human family toward universal brotherhood, toward unity. Recalling that encounter in his autobiography, Giordani reveals what his sentiments:

When she finished talking, I was caught in an enchanting atmosphere […]; and I would have desired that voice to continue speaking. It was the voice that, without realizing it, I had always been waiting to hear.

It placed holiness within the reach of everyone: it took away the grates that separated the world of the laity from the mystical life. […]

It drew God near: it made you feel him as Father, Brother, Friend, closely present to the human family.

It was clear to Chiara and her first companions that an ideal as vast as unity would have to embrace the whole world. But how could a small group of such young women ever reach all of humankind? Perhaps Giordani asked himself the same question! Today we know for sure, because Chiara herself said that this first encounter with Igino Giordani was a first like a first contact with humanity at large.

Chiara Lubich’s ideal of unity was for everyone and every human reality, and Giordani gives witness to this.

Now the plot of that plan is more visible. The Focolare Movement is present in over 180 countries worldwide, and has more than two million members and supporters from the most diverse social and cultural backgrounds.

I have just returned from a visit to Eastern Europe where the Focolare community has been present since 1961 when the first group of members, armed only with mutual love and love for all, crossed the iron curtain.

Their silent work for so many years, has led to the overcoming of ideological barriers, and supported the effort to rebuild that oppressed society. Today it brings a soul to many social projects for the common good.

Last May in Brazil, a world Assembly of the Economy of Communion was held twenty years after that prophetic intuition that Chiara had when, arriving in San Paolo in 1991, flying over the city, she saw the skyscrapers and the ‘crown of thorns’ of the favelas that surrounded the walthy metropolis. She felt the urge to do something to change the system of development, to search for a new way that was neither capitalism nor communism.

The many projects that the Focolare Movement finds itself committed to in all corners of the world and in all fields of human activity were in a sense prophetically present in that first encounter between Chiara Lubich and Igino Giordani when they met here at Montecitorio. Since then the Movement has also placed itself at the service of politics. In those years, it attracted many deputies and senators – some of which have been mentioned in the previous video – and the choices they made were courageous.

Today this is still the proposal of the Political Movement for Unity, founded by Chiara Lubich in 1996, together with some politicians and members at various institutional levels – Korea, Argentina and in other nations – of local administrators, officials, political scholars, and many young people involved through the involvement of schools.

It is animated by a love that guides political choices, actions, laws, diplomatic moves; offering a glimpse of a new way of doing things for administrative, legislative and international bodies.

It is inspired by the principle of fraternity, a cardinal principle of modern political thought. As we know, it was the basis of some of the most important political projects in modern and contemporary history: from the French Revolution (think of the triptych liberté egalité fraternité) to the founding of Utopian socialism, from Marxism to Patriotic nationalism. However, it was interpreted not in an inclusive sense, but in an exclusive one. Fraternity was considered to be a relationship of value which regarded someone (a social class, an economic class, a people) in an antagonistic relationship with someone else.

Thus, it is a political principle still little explored in its universal dimensions, and this is what the Political Movement for Unity intends to do: to explore the principle of universal brotherhood so that politics may find in it a new basis that will raise it to the level of the modern times, capable of fulfilling its role as a builder of peace, justice, and freedom, for the entire human community. Fraternity also sheds light on the ultimate goal of politics, which is establishing peace that leads to the unity of the whole human family: unity in the smallest political community as in the entire international forum. Thus, the principle of fraternity finds its measure in “loving the homeland of others as one’s own”, an expression coined by Chiara Lubich that from the earliest times has signified universality. It is capable of expressing the vocation of politics as love toward all without distinction, because every person and every social entity is a “candidate for unity” with everyone else, and every nation is called to contribute to a more united world.

By recalling today, in this prestigious Seat of the Italian Parliament, some of the lines being taken by the Political Movement for Unity, we once again realize the great actuality of another invitation given to us by Chiara, precisely to the Italian parliamentarians in December 2000 at San Macuto. An invitation which makes a paradox seem possible: to establish a pact between parties – beyond all differences – a pact of brotherhood for Italy, because the good of the country will require the efforts of all.

“Fraternity offers amazing possibilities,” Chiara goes on to tell the MPs. “It allows one to understand and make another’s viewpoint our own, so that no interest, no human need remains foreign to us. […] It allows you to hold together and enhance human experiences that might otherwise develop into intractable conflicts, like the still-open wounds of the Southern Hemisphere and the legitimate demands of the new Northern Hemisphere; […] Moreover, it allows new principles to operate within the daily work of politics, so that no one is ever governed against, and you never act as an expression of only a part of the country.”

That encounter between Chiara Lubich and Igino Giordani led to these and many other things in the fields of society and politics. Giordani, a deputy who on that day at Montecitorio accepted the invitation to widen his soul and his field of action for the unity of our land and beyond. May this meeting today urge us on in strengthening a common desire among all to work for the unity of our land and beyond. Thank you.”

Maria Voce

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Geneva: New Humanity at the Organizations for the United Nations Palaceity

Jun 14, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Montet, in the French-speaking Switzerland, is one of the Focolare Little towns, where youth from all over the world spend a period of their life, studying and deepening their knowledge of the spirituality of unity. The symposium in Geneva represented an important step in the study of the Social Doctrine of the Church, offering to all young participants a wide perspective on the nature and role of Non-governmental Organizations. The seminar was introduced by the president of New Humanity, Franco Pizzorno, who sketched its motivations, and all the practical initiatives of the different branches of the Movement, that work for families, youth, economics, politics, and international cooperation. Mons. Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer of the Holy See at the United Nations in Geneva, presented a wide and well-documented account on the constant committment of the Catholic Church for the defense of all fundamental human rights. Dr. Ricardo Espinosa, coordinator of all the NGOs accredited at the UN, underlined the contribution in terms of critical conscience, that civil society organizations can give in the relationship with institutions, whereas Dr. Shyami Pumanasinghe, a UN official, explained the work done in order to finalize the Declaration on the Right to Development and Solidarity. Impressive the speech by Alfred Fernandez, director of OIDEL (International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education), who summarized the main features of the NGOs, pointing out how trust relations with institutions are fundamental, in order to be both recognized and listened to partners. Alessandra Aula from BICE (International Catholic Child Bureau) gave evidence of the committment of the NGOs for the defense of human rights. All the speeches took place in an atmosphere of particular harmony among speakers and audience, also thanks to the effective and all-involving coordination run by Jorge Ferreira, representative of New Humanity in Geneva. In a lively and much-appreciated dialogue, every single participant had the opportunity to open a privileged point of view on the wide themes of Human Rights, rediscovering the important contribution in terms of values and experiences, which the civil society, also through the NGOs, can bring in the international discussion on the main themes on the civil living together.  

Bruna Tomasi in Colombia, Equador and Peru

Jun 14, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

“I was five weeks in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Such marvelous people, who seem made for Chiara’s Ideal.” These are among the first things Bruna said upon her return, and she is one of the first direct witnesses of the birth of the Focolare. After her trip, we received a the following letter, filled with gratitude and recognition from the hundreds of people who had the opportunity to meet her during these five weeks: “Chiara and her first companions considered themselves a constellation of stars: One of them, Bruna Tomasi, arrived here to share her divine adventure with us.” Colombia. From 26 April to 10 May there was a succession of appointments: from the visit to the 85 priests meeting at the Mariapolis Centre in Tocancipà, to the community meetings, with the youth, with focolarini, religious, and families. . . People came in large numbers from every corner of the country, overcoming flooding, closed roads, caused by the flooding.

Marita Sartori (centre)

A bus bound for Bulgaria. Everyday stories of welcome.

Jun 11, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

Isabella Barbetta

Youth in Action: Media Education and Europa

Jun 10, 2011 | Focolare Worldwide

a href=”https://www.focolare.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/20110610-02.jpg”> “Let’s get together again please!” wrote a German girl on her Facebook account, expressing the longing of many of the fifty participants of the Media Education seminar, which was aimed at young people and their coordinators. The course, sponsered by trade associations from six countries and prepared in detail by NetOne and the Charism Community Projects (UK), received financial support from the Youth in Action programme of the European Commission.

The course provided a theoretical part – three lectures held by the Media Education Professor Luciano Mele from the International Telematic University of Rome (UNINETTUNO), who were the external project partners; evenings with professionals in the areas of communication: social networks, journalism and advertising , and four creative workshops for the remaining of the day. The quality of content was much appreciated by the young people as well as the creativity in the experimental groups on multicultural living.

Arco-Iris, the Focolare’s little town at Abrigada proved to be quite the suitable place for hosting the seminar, not only for the environment but also for the great hospitality and attentive service.