Expressing God in a female way: Chiara Lubich and mystical language

Nov 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

“Expressing God: Chiara Lubich and the female mystical tradition” is the title of a conference that will take place from 10^th-11^th November 2023 in Bologna (Italy). A seminar dedicated to what it means to “express God in a female way” will take place on Friday 10^th and Saturday 11^th November in the Salone Bolognini  of the San Domenico Convent in Bologna. Its title is, “Expressing God. Chiara Lubich and the female mystical tradition from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. A journey with many voices”. The organizers are the Theology Faculty of Emilia-Romagna (Fter), the Chiara Lubich Centre and the Sophia University Institute. The seminar aims to offer insights and reflections on the question of mystical language with particular attention to the mysticism of the twentieth century and with an attentive ear to the language of women. One of the organizers, Father Gianni Festa, a Dominican professor at the Fter, has said that it will be a real journey, “in a page of the history of female mysticism that has not been greatly explored”. How can language express the intimacy of an experience with God? How did the mystics, starting from the medieval tradition up to the 1900s, ensure that words could preserve such an experience and recount it to the world? These are all questions that will be examined in the context of this seminar starting from historical, literary and linguistic analyses that testify, as Father Festa told us, “that to express God in a female way means to express Him in a different way and that is why it is absolutely necessary to understand the feminine language which expresses God and which tells of mystical experience”. The speakers of the seminar will explore this theme, starting from the twentieth-century figure of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement. Father Festa said, “The experience of Lubich will be connected on a diachronic level to important figures of the medieval mystical tradition such as doctors of the Church like Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila, but above all to other experiences and mystical writings of the twentieth century, some of which are well known, such as those of Etty Hillesum and Madeleine Delbrêl while others are less so, such as Sister Maria, the great mystical friend of Don Primo Mazzolari. The question of mystical language and the theology underlying female mysticism will be explored and the individual paths of this experience will be identified”. For more information, contact the FTER secretariat or consult the Chiara Lubich Centre website. To participate in the event, you can register for the two days in the specific “Events” section on the FTER website.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Volantino_Seminario-Chiara-Lubich-e-la-mistica-femminile_web

Building a global eco-community: insights from GreenCare in Belgium 

Nov 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Together for the sake of the planet: this is the impetus behind the Green Care Programme, an event organised on the initiative of Multipolar Dialogue that took place in Belgium from 25 to 29 October 2023 Ecology, a topic of growing global interest, has increasingly attracted the interest of many. Pope Francis emphasizes the urgent need to address environmental issues through his encyclical “Laudato Si’. Despite these calls, the stark reality remains: there have been too few tangible improvements. What is missing in our collective efforts and what more can we do to protect our planet? To seek answers to these questions and find ways  to act collectively, a diverse group of 50 people from over 13 different countries convened at the Centrum Eenheid, in Rotselaar, Belgium, from October 25th to 29^th 2023 for a transformative four-day event. Their mission: to engage in dialogue, acquire knowledge, and exchange experiences in the pursuit of better care for our planet. Organized by Multipolar Dialogue, an initiative that brings together citizens from East and West Europe in a methodology based on the practice of a “pact of love” on which can be built a space of trust, the event offered a rich mixture of lectures, talks, dialogues, and best practices, creating a dynamic space for sharing experiences and knowledge. Attendees engaged in thought-provoking dialogues on a range of topics, such as, sustainable development, biodiversity, integral ecology and noise reduction. In addition to these dialogues, participants had the opportunity to share their experiences, such as initiatives like school and community gardens, “Greening Africa Together“, “Grüne Dach Impulse”, while they also took part  in workshop in workshops. Moreover, the event was graced by the presence of esteemed experts whose insights elevated the dialogues and provided attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and solutions. Dr. Helmut Maurer, an authority on environmental matters, shared invaluable perspectives during an interview focused on the implementation of the Green Deal, shedding light on the practical steps needed to address environmental issues. Lorna Gold, the Chair of the Laudato Si Movement and CEO at FaithInvest, brought her wealth of experience to the event, inspiring participants with her wisdom and vision. A multi-project endeavor This event was not just a standalone gathering but a crucial component of the broader initiative “Project DialogUE“. The overarching goal of this initiative is to actively engage with citizens, giving them a platform to voice their concerns and ideas. As part of this mission, the event had a distinct purpose: to facilitate meaningful dialogues and craft proposals that could be presented to the European Union. In pursuit of this objective, participants had the unique opportunity to visit EU institutions, gaining deeper insights into the processes and avenues through which their proposals and requests could be channeled. “Project DialogUE” aligns with the commitment of the Focolare movement to listen to the cry of the earth and respond to its needs. This commitment is encapsulated in the EcoPlan – the Focolare Movement statement for Integral Ecology – that was also presented during the event, outlining a path towards a more sustainable and integral ecological conscious future. Connecting for change Beyond the invaluable knowledge gained and the experiences shared, these four days left a profound impact on the participants. They felt more than just attendees; they became part of a global community with a shared concern for our planet’s well-being. The sense of connection, dialogue, and collective purpose was palpable, as individuals from diverse backgrounds and countries came together to answer the cry of the earth. As Anna Waibel, a driving force behind the School Gardens project in Austria, expressed, “For me it was really awesome to see that my school is not the only place that tries to change something, but that others also want to do so. I noticed that nothing works without community and acting together.” Anny Hesius, the Multipolar Dialogue coordinator from Belgium, aptly summarized the collective sentiment, saying, “The proposal was to offer each other to listen and exchange knowledge and it has made us more aware, stronger, more co-responsible and more decisive. We have become a true family. Protagonists of peace and justice, of love toward the inhabitants of the earth and our common home” In these four days, participants not only expanded their ecological knowledge but also found a sense of purpose and community, leaving with a renewed determination to collaborate and bring about meaningful change on a global scale.  

Ana Clara Giovani

Interreligious dialogue: Perspectives of fraternity

Nov 6, 2023 | Non categorizzato

A journey of knowledge and discovery to be made together on a daily basis and in a great spirit of acceptance, while coping with the many challenges that the world presents. We talked about this with Antonio Salimbeni and Rita Moussallem, the leaders of the Center for Interreligious Dialogue (CDI). In the world landscape that is undergoing a profound transformation toward an increasingly multicultural and multi-religious society, the Focolare Movement promotes dialogue among religions, so that the religious pluralism of humanity may not be the cause of divisions and wars, but contribute to fraternity and peace. Antonio Salimbeni and Rita Moussallem, leaders of the Center for Interreligious Dialogue (CDI), answer some questions. In light of what is affecting the world today, particularly the new conflicts that are being added to existing ones, what contribution can interfaith dialogue make to building one big human family? In the face of the heartbreaking and shocking events of recent weeks, we feel dismay and deep sorrow as well as a sense of bewilderment. Religion is often instrumentalized by political powers. We realize how ideologies, religious nationalism and any form of polarization always lead to conflict. Dialogue can help purify our approach, deepen our knowledge of the other, and focus our engagement on the essence of our religions, which is our relationship with God, Love and Mercy. Dialogue can raise the level of our relationships to a deep spiritual dimension and push us to live the deepest human values, to work together to spread Goodness and fraternity. How does the Focolare Movement pursue its commitment in this area? The Focolare Movement, founded on a profound spirituality centered on unity and fraternity among all, discovered its vocation to interreligious dialogue more than five decades ago. Since then, it has established – including through its Center for Interreligious Dialogue (CDI) and its centers present in various countries – intense and fraternal relationships with thousands of faithful and numerous institutions, associations, movements and organizations of the most diverse religions in the conviction that friendship among people of different faiths is a vital potential for building universal brotherhood. It is a dialogue among brothers. A dialogue sustained by listening, sharing and collaboration. It is a dialogue that makes us discover diversity, whatever it may be, as a gift. Whoever is close to me,” said Chiara Lubich, founder of the Movement, “was created as a gift for me, and I was created as a gift for whoever is close to me: her formula for a fraternal world. What are the next scheduled appointments? What are the issues to be addressed and the goals? An idea has been maturing for the past few months, which is to organize an interfaith conference for fraternity next June 2024. This becomes even more urgent and necessary in light of the growing crisis that intensifies divisions in humanity. It is an event that aims to contribute to reconciliation efforts with innovative actions at the global level and to walk the path of dialogue and fraternity by strengthening relations and cooperation among people of different faiths. The conference will kick off on May 29 and end on June 5, 2024. It will consist of several moments that will have as a common denominator the theme of peace among people and with creation. There will be two open days, one in Castel Gandolfo in collaboration with FaithInvest organization and one in Assisi together with the Laudato Si Movement, to celebrate the importance and commitment of different faiths in the custody of our common home. In this urgent endeavor we are partnering with Consulus, a global innovation consulting firm with its presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, as our global knowledge partner.

Maria Grazia Berretta 

TVLUX Slovakia interviews Jesús Morán

Oct 31, 2023 | Non categorizzato

From the spirituality of unity to the generative pastoral care of the Church; from the encounter between young people and Jesus to the leading role of the Holy Spirit in the Synod on Synodality. These are some of the themes that Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare Movement, addressed during an interview with the Slovak television station TVLUX on 6 October 2023. The images were kindly released to us by TVLUX. In recent days Jesús Morán, a Spanish priest who is the co-president of the Focolare Movement, visited Slovakia. In Nitra he met with several bishops who are formators and more than 80 seminarians. And now we want to welcome him here to our program. When we say Focolare Movement what is it? What does it mean? The Focolare Movement is a movement of the Catholic Church centred on the charism of unity. The great theologian, Von Balthasar said that every charism in the Church is like looking at the whole Gospel from one point of view. The charism of unity is the whole Gospel from the perspective of Jesus’ testament, “May they all be one.” So, the focus, everything the Movement does in the ecclesial field and also in the civil and social fields, has to do with unity. We seek unity – unity according to the Gospel – Unity, which is a communitarian way of living. In fact, the spirituality of unity can be said to be a spirituality of communion, which is why we emphasize very much mutual love and our encounter with each brother and sister. It means to overcome divisions at a broader social level. It means promoting things like universal brotherhood, but the focus is this prayer of Jesus. That’s why we always say that we want to live on earth, as much as possible, as in the Trinity, in the communion of love which is the Trinity. The founder of your movement was Chiara Lubich, who is very well known here in Slovakia. It was decided in the past that the person who is at the head, let’s say, of the movement should always be a woman, the president should always be a woman, that’s why you are the co-president. Why is this the case? It is because of the official name of the Movement in the Church, because we are the Focolare Movement or the Work of Mary. In the Statutes approved by the Church, it speaks about the Work of Mary, so we very much emphasize this Marian profile of the Church, which is a maternal profile, it’s a generative profile, which reveals a welcoming Church, and, of course, the Marian profile is best expressed by women. This is the idea. We need to think that we are speaking of a Marian Church  it is Mary who is the form of the Church. Vatican II said this very clearly: Mary is the mother of the Church. So, in that sense, we want to be a reflection of her. The presidency of a woman, in addition to valuing women, which is a sign of the times, especially wants to emphasize this Marian profile. This Marian profile that is so necessary today. It is certainly necessary because of what Pope Francis is emphasizing: a Church that is closer to the people, an outgoing Church, a Church that is less clerical, less masculine. And all of this has to do with the female presidency of the Focolare Movement. Above all, it is linked to Mary. You came to Slovakia not only to meet with Focolare members, but also with our bishops, priests, and seminarians. This meeting was in Nitra, what was your experience in meeting our priests? Actually I was with the bishop of Nitra and with a bishop from another diocese. They had both participated in the meeting with seminarians from 5 dioceses. I want to say that they were very welcoming. Then in the hall I saw people whose life was to follow Jesus, I really saw so much purity, so much purity in the seminarians, and there was also great seriousness.  Some people, after the meeting and after the dinner, wanted to know more about what I had said. They stopped to talk to me and I saw in their questions a need, an urgency  They want to be priests for the times we are living now. Being a priest today who before everything else lives the Gospel in an authentic way. I was very, very edified. You spoke especially about generative pastoral care, what is it? Generative pastoral care is a concept that is coming to light, quite prominently, in recent times. Especially in the West because we are witnessing, you could say, a numerical decline of the Church. Before, the churches were full, people were receiving the sacraments. There were many baptisms and first communions. Now this has decreased dramatically. So the question is, what is happening? It seems that the methods we have been using successfully for so many years or centuries are no longer working. Do we then need to rethink pastoral care? Generative pastoral care is not a new pastoral care, it means going to the origin of pastoral care, and the origin of pastoral care is Jesus. How did Jesus evangelize? To say thing simply… because He is the living Gospel, He did this through very deep personal encounters. In other words, if we look at the Gospels, every time Jesus encounters someone something significant happens for that person. “We see it with Nicodemus, with Zacchaeus, with Matthew, with the centurion, with the Samaritan woman, with the woman suffering from a haemorrhage, with the Canaanite woman. Something always happens, Jesus generates something in the other person. We have to change from what is known as a rule-regulated pastoral care, as we had in the past, which was of a quantitative kind: how many baptisms, how many people were baptized, how many people got married this year in this parish? We have to change to a ministry of pastoral care that focuses on quality, quality, not so much quantity. So what’s happening? Is there Christian life in our parishes? We are looking for fruitfulness rather than results, this is generative pastoral care. So there is a lot of emphasis on meeting with the other, to meet the other you don’t have to wait for them to come and ask you for a sacrament, you have to go and meet the other. So generative pastoral care changes the idea of the pastor, but it changes the idea of Christians, because at the end of the day, it’s not a matter of, … What we need are generative apostles, no doubt, but above all what’s needed is a welcoming community, so that what happened with Jesus has to happen with us too, people visit a community and something happens. They are impressed by something. In short this is what we talked about with the seminarians. Could it be that young people today are looking for life and what they need is for us to bring them this life, which is life with Jesus? Absolutely. I think that… I have always thought that Jesus never approached people with doctrine. He always sought a personal encounter first, and then he taught. However, even though we see Jesus teaching, He spent a lot of time in personal encounters. I think young people today are looking for life. Doctrine must be based on life and on this encounter with Him. In this way they can accept it. Otherwise, they are left with a Christianity that is more like a moral teaching, but that is not what Christianity is. Christianity is an encounter with Christ. These young people you met in Nitra are the future priests of our Church. How can they be the priests we need in these times, priests who do not fall into the clericalism that Pope Francis talks so much about? I think a priest in some way has to be more than just a shepherd (which is a word Pope Francis also uses when he speaks in Italian, as he uses it in Spanish too) the priest, the pastor, the shepherd, has to love. First love, then shepherd, because if you put yourself in the position of pastor, you put yourself in the position of superiority, as if you had to teach. Instead, the pastor today must love the parishioners first, must love all the faithful. Doing this makes him a pastor.  In this way he is truly a pastor, and he can have authority over others. This is fundamental. Then as I said before, he shouldn’t look so much for results but for fruitfulness. And another thing: Today the priest or pastor has to be well aware that he does not proclaim himself, but he proclaims Christ, so he has to be deeply rooted in Christ, deeply in Christ. A pastor who is alone, who does not live within a Christian community, who does not live mutual love with others, will find it difficult to communicate a love such as Jesus proclaimed in life. You said something earlier and it occurred to me that this happens not only to priests, but also to Christians who are living their faith deeply, but sometimes forget that it is not they who save people, but it is Jesus. That’s right. This is important. That’s why I give a lot of importance to community. St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, warns against personalism and says when some of you say I am of Apollos, some say I am of Paul, some say I am of Peter… No, we are all of Christ, but Christ lives in the community, in the parish community. In the community he is present in the Eucharist, which is a mystery of communion. So this is fundamental. Often we have made the mistake of proclaiming ourselves, our own ideas, instead of letting Christ speak. Slovakia is considered a conservative country, now that there is the Synod taking place in Rome, in the Vatican. There are different groups that want to move forward and others that want to stay in the past. How do we keep all that is good, but also move forward with what is new and good? I was very struck by what Pope Francis said the day before yesterday in the first session of the Synod. He was very insistent that the protagonist of the Synod is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit goes beyond these ideas that are human. A Christian as a Christian is neither conservative nor progressive, he or she is a new person, he or she is a new creature. We read this in these days in St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes us new creatures with our mentality, with our mentality, with what we are, so I think we have to overcome these dualities that are not good for the Church. The Holy Spirit is always the generator of newness. Because it is he, he who is the origin of all charisms, of all newness in the history of the Church. At the same time, everything that the Holy Spirit promotes in the Church comes from the Father. Therefore, he is also anchored in the source. That tells us that we need a greater presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, that’s the only way to overcome these dualities that are not good for us. Thank you very much. And many thanks to Fr. Jesús for participating in our program. Thank you for welcoming me. Thank you very much to you as well and see you soon, goodbye.   Watch the video (activate English subtitles) https://youtu.be/Y_t77_gM76E?si=urxlZvFkloXOBPfP

Brussels: in the spirit of solidarity

Oct 30, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The conference “European Solidarity Corps and Civil Service in Europe” which took place on 24^th October 2023 in Brussels (Belgium) expressed a commitment of politicians, institutions, ecclesial movements, organisations of civil society and, at the forefront, young people. Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare Movement, was present at the meeting and shares his impressions. On Tuesday 24th October Brussels was unexpectedly sunny, in contrast with what we experienced on the afternoon of the 23rd, when we arrived in the Belgian capital and were greeted by heavy rain. For the inhabitants of Brussels, who are citizens of several European countries, the sight of a bright sun was a surprise in the middle of autumn. For us it was a good sign of what we would live that morning in the impressive European Parliament building. The meeting held in a seminar room for 30 people began at 9.15 a.m. It was promoted by three very different associations: the European Movement, the Caterinati Association and the Focolare Movement, within the framework of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC), which is an initiative of the European Commission which brings together parliamentarians of all political sectors, thanks to its value-based and constructive background. The event was also a tribute to and in remembrance of David Sassoli – President of the European Parliament who died on 11^th January 2022. I was participating for the second time in an event like this. The first one was before the pandemic and was held at the European Parliament in Rome. Providentially just as we were starting the session, the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture approved almost unanimously the report on the activities of the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) for the period 2021-2027. The Focolare Movement was represented not only by myself, as co-president, but also by members of the Political Movement for Unity, New Humanity (represented by three young people) and the ‘Focolare for Europe’, which is based in the city of Brussels and interacts with many people from the European institutions. It also welcomes immigrants and promotes activities in favour of dialogue and the sharing of ideals. I will not speak about the details of the event, which you can read in the various press releases that have been issued in recent days. Instead, I would like to emphasize the enormous importance of these events which are seemingly minor and for few people. They can instead mark a change of direction in international relations and in the dynamics of the social structuring of nations and peoples. These events can offer Europe a different image, one that is more in line with the idea of the founding fathers of the Union than with what  we are used to seeing, especially today. They can offer Europe an image that is more consistent with its true identity, founded on values that have undoubtedly Greco-Latin and Christian roots, such as solidarity, openness, tolerance, communion, democracy, transcendency, freedom, fraternity and peace. It is also extremely significant that in initiatives like the ESC young people as are protagonists. They are the ones who will bring about the paradigm shift we are all hoping for. The more than 300,000 young people who have participated in the programme of solidarity of the Commission over the years demonstrate that these are the aims for which they are willing to use all of their intellectual and moral energies. Young people will not draw back if we offer them high goals and we make their journey easier. At this tragic time in the world, hope comes from them and from their desire for change. Young people, who have solidarity in their DNA, can stop the drift of misunderstanding, polarisation, hatred and violence that is plaguing the world. With initiatives like this, these young people create culture – high culture – because they not only work for the most worthwhile causes, but they also build new relationships, share experiences and traditions, and are enriched by their diversity. At the end of the meeting there was a special joy in all the participants, something that isn’t a foregone conclusion, especially among parliamentarians, who are used to endless confrontations and sometimes ruthless power struggles. As we left Brussels, travelling towards the airport, we felt that the sun will melt the mist in our hearts if we are a little more generous and give value to what is really worthwhile. That alone makes everything more beautiful, even this magnificent city.

Jesùs Moran

Living the Gospel: God has primacy in our lives

Oct 26, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The phrase “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mt 22:21) contains an imminent request to live out our faith radically and this is what loving really means: to do the will of God who gives us everything and to do it wholeheartedly; recognizing His voice amid the deafening noise of the world and choosing it as the best way forward in everyday life. With the poor in the peripheries Moved by the situation of squalor and poverty of many families in our area and stimulated by the Word of God, a group of us submitted a proposal to the religious and civil authorities and took action to dedicate ourselves to children in particular in the peripheries. First, some mothers who lived in huts offered to help us for families even poorer than themselves. Our service started by registering and weighing children from zero to five years old, educating mothers on alternative feeding (low cost and high nutritional value), vaccinations, breastfeeding and education. It was only a first step to dealing with more serious problems: unemployment, alcoholism, abandonment, hunger, lack of housing, drugs, poverty. Every weekend, we go with our families to help those who live in the huts to offer them, in cooperation with other Christians, better living conditions. Our communion of goods contributes to improving the quality of life of these children so that they don’t just survive but can have a dignified life. (M.N. – Brazil) An unexpected job Some time ago, a couple with five children came to live in our town. The father was out of work and had to move house for health reasons. His profession was compatible with my husband’s and we had been promised an important job, so we decided to hire him in our company. However, a few months later, the work we were expecting didn’t come through and we began to worry about the future. At that time, the Word of the Gospel that we were trying to live invited us to pray because, the commentary said, there are two temptations: “The presumption of managing on our own and the fear of not making it. Whereas Jesus assures us that the heavenly Father will ensure that we have the strength of the Spirit if we watch and ask Him with faith.” So we turned to Him with faith, entrusting him with the new situation, sure that he would look after it. The next day, my husband unexpectedly received an important job. Since then, we have always had work and the newcomer continues to work with us. (M.R. – Switzerland) The loan During the first trimester of school, I had shared my scholarship with another student who could not afford a canteen card because he came from a very poor family. At the beginning of the second trimester, he told me that his parents needed money urgently and he asked me to lend him a certain amount. I had set that sum aside for books and food, but out of friendship I decided to oblige him. Then I didn’t see him around for a few days, while previously he always came to talk to me. I started to worry and even get angry. Then, suddenly, the Gospel came to my aid with the thought that it is right to help a neighbour who is worse off than me. When I calmed down, I went to visit him at his house. As soon as we met, he told me that he hadn’t shown up again because he was ashamed of not yet having the money to pay me back and he didn’t know what to do.  I reassured him, saying that he could pay me back whenever it was possible and that otherwise it would be fine anyway: the most important thing was that we should remain friends. (J.B. – Africa)

compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from “The Gospel of the Day”, Città Nuova, year IX – no.1 September-October 2023)

“European Solidarity Corps and Civil Service in Europe”

Oct 23, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Conference in memory of David Sassoli. Brussels – 24^th October 2023 – European Parliament (Entrance Spinelli building, rue Wiertz 60) room ASP 3H1 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The event will be broadcast live in Rome, in the Open Space Experience Europe – David Sassoli (conference room on floor -1, Piazza Venezia, 6) From Brussels, beyond violence and wars, a concrete proposal of solidarity and peace starting from volunteering In memory of President David Sassoli, three important European associations, the European Movement, the Focolare Movement and the Roman Group of the International Association of the followers of St Catherine together with the former President of the European Parliament’s Culture Committee Silvia Costa, set up a joint initiative on 24^th October on the “European Solidarity Corps and Civil Service” at the European Parliament’s headquarters in Brussels, in video-link with the Space Europe David Sassoli in Rome. The link to access the live streaming will also be available on the Interactio platform and on the websites of the promoters. With the tragic reappearance of war events at the borders of Europe and terrorist actions also in Paris and these days in Brussels, building bridges of dialogue and solidarity in Europe and third countries by investing in the new generations is even more necessary and strategic. We are convinced that the practice of volunteering or civil service experiences must become a constitutive element of the European citizenship. Because taking care of the other, of creation and civil coexistence promotes fraternity and social cohesion but also makes the political project of the United States of Europe grow from below – say the promoters The European Solidarity Corps (ESC), the EU-funded volunteering programme for young Europeans between the ages of 18 and 30, is the active protagonist of this journey. These are projects of solidarity, cooperation, education for peace but also the reception and integration of refugees and migrants, assistance of disabled and elderly people, protection of the environment, safeguarding the artistic and cultural heritage, which constitute an important experience for personal growth and for the acquisition of a more convinced European identity. One example is The Room: Community Drama in Ireland, in response to the social exclusion of Newbridge asylum seekers in County Kildare. Or the project “Mare d’Inverno”, in Italy, with the aim of recovering a natural coastal area near the urban centers of Trani and Barletta, to name but a few. It can be held in Europe as in partner countries, including Israel and Palestine. The conference, hosted by Patrizia Toia and Brando Benifei together with the Socialists and Democrats Group, will also be attended by MEPs from the EPP, Renew, Green and Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and, for the European Commission, Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, Director of the Department of Youth, Education and ERASMUS+ of the Directorate General for Education and Youth (EAC), together with representatives of the European Volunteer Centre, the European Youth Forum, the Director of the Universal Civil Service Office of the Youth Department and managers of the National Youth Agency of the Italian Government. The event will be opened, representing the promoters, by Pier Virgilio DASTOLI, President of the European Movement Italy, Jesús Morán co-President of the Focolare Movement and Aldo Bernabei President of the Roman Group of the International Association of the followers of St Catherine. An intervention by the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union, Noël Treanor, is expected and the Secretary-General of COMECE, Manuel Barrios, will also be present. On behalf of the young people involved in the European Solidarity Corps, the voices of Fabiola, Alexander, Maria Stella: European citizens who live firsthand the option of peace and solidarity in their daily and professional choices. They will bring their testimonies by challenging the terrain of politics with the power of ideality. Here you find the Initiative and the Programme

Stefania Tanesini

CHIARA LUBICH: Mutual love is our uniform

Oct 20, 2023 | Non categorizzato

“In our everyday relationships, we try to live experiences of brotherhood, build unity and establish bonds of reciprocity. But what is the origin of that spark of light that pushes us to risk and reach out to others? Chiara Lubich suggests an answer through an episode from her life.” Now let’s pass on to the second aspect: outreach.  The subject is very vast. We’ll limit ourselves to certain ideas given in some of the letters of the early days of the Movement. Reading just a few of these pages about this aspect, we can understand that: “The first inspiring spark was love.” Yes, it was love. A spark was enkindled, it spread light all around and burst into flames, setting the world on fire. Love reaches out; love in and of itself bears witness.  Even when you speak  your words should be backed up by the witness of your love. First, you have to love, expressed in concrete experiences, and then share your experiences. This is how the first Christians acted. One episode has always remained deeply impressed on my heart. I think this is very beautiful. In it lies the secret of our outreach, the required point of departure. “As I was walking along the streets of Einsiedeln, I saw many people of various religious orders passing by” – because there’s a beautiful shrine there. (Among these), I was especially impressed by the little Sisters of Charles de Foucauld. They rode by on their bicycles, wearing peasant scarves and they looked so full of life. The lively expression on their faces reminded me of their founder, Foucauld, who, they say, cried out the Gospel with his whole life. In fact, those Sisters seemed to say: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are they who mourn’. Not the beatitudes that the world would like to hear, but the scandal of the Gospel. At that moment, I too felt a great desire to give my witness, also externally. But the answer didn’t come to me. At a certain point I met up with one of my companions, Natalia, and I told her: ‘You know, I saw how those Sisters had an effect on me. Their apostolate wasn’t with words, but by the way they dressed… and I wished we could do the same. But how can people know God through looking at us? Oh, yes, I know! ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (Jn 13:35).” Therefore, mutual love was our uniform.

Chiara Lubich

https://youtu.be/TPjeaq6W–w  

Laudate Deum of Pope Francis

Oct 18, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Eight years after the Encyclical “Laudato Si,” the Pontiff calls again in the Apostolic Exhortation “Laudate Deum” all people of good will to respond appropriately to the climate crisis. Still, very little has changed in the facts. The world “is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point.” [2]. Last week, it was reported by the European Union’s climate observatory (Copernicus) that “September was the warmest month ever” (since 1850). Rising temperatures are certainly one of the most conspicuous symptoms of ongoing climate change. Last July, the world’s most authoritative journal in the field, “Nature,” showed that the heat waves of summer 2022 caused nearly 63,000 deaths in Europe. Certainly, we should not fall into catastrophic considerations because the margins for changing course are still possible, but we must categorically reject all irrational and unscientific negations. After decisively responding to all the most common objections against the current climate crisis, the pontiff emphasizes: “I feel compelled to make these clarifications, which may seem obvious, because of certain derogatory and unreasonable views that I find even within the Catholic Church” [14]. He distances himself from blaming the poor. “How can we forget that Africa, where more than half of the world’s poorest people live, is responsible for only a small fraction of the emissions accumulated throughout history?” [9]. Bergoglio addresses a call to each of us “to accompany this path of reconciliation with the world that hosts us and to embellish it with our own contribution” [69]. Unfortunately, some effects of the climate crisis are already irreversible: Some species have “stopped being our travelling companions and have become our victims” [15]. Yet, we cannot but “recognize […] that human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures” [67]. All of these cannot leave us indifferent. To enable change, we need to adjust both the way we “look” at others and nature and the way we exercise power to achieve a purpose. Even small individual steps are important: they may not lead to immediate, quantifiable success, but they can act as the blueprint for cultural change and “set in motion large transformational processes that work from the depths of society.” [71]. Caring for every dimension of our planet is a collective challenge that requires a collective response. In recent years there have been many global efforts but with often disappointing results: broken promises and postponed goals. But “if we have faith in the ability of humans to transcend their small interests and think big[…], we cannot stop dreaming that COP28 will lead to a decisive acceleration of the energy transition, with effective and monitored commitments.” [54]. We also cannot give up this “dream.”  It is a bet: to win all people of good will to work for a world worth living in.

Stefania Papa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe_bd0TUjk

Syria, the hope of young people amid the waves of violence

Oct 11, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Middle East continues to suffer from violence, clashes and terrorist attacks. Joseph, a young Syrian from the Focolare is one of the many young people who nourish the hope of peace in a very tormented land.

The nightmare of mass killings recurs with all its terror. The Middle East continues to be shaken by wars, terrorist attacks, violence of all kinds with one result, death.

On 6^th October in Syria, drones loaded with explosives fell on a military academy in Homs during a festive ceremony. The death toll was about a hundred, of which about thirty were women and children. The next day there was another similar attack during the funeral celebrations, fortunately this time it was neutralized in time.

There was an immediate response from Syria, with a rain of bombs in Idlib, an area outside the control of the government. This escalation of violence caused the United Nations special envoy to Syria, Geir O. Pedersen, to respond by calling for an immediate ceasefire, protection for civilians and the instigation of peace negotiations.

In this scenario of war, as violence continues to intensify and there seems to be no hope for a future of peace, some young Syrians belonging to the Focolare Movement met for their annual congress.

Joseph Moawwad, 24, was there. He wrote to us to share his personal experience. “I’ve been living through a very difficult period lately, a sense of half-heartedness and no enthusiasm; even for this congress, perhaps because of the strong tensions that all of us young Syrians are experiencing. For over 13 years, war and all its consequences persist with the most recent attack a few days ago in Homs. We heard about it right at the beginning of the congress. Despite this, my great surprise was to meet 90 young Focolare people from all Syrian regions. It was as if a storm had removed the ashes that covered the embers of my heart and so the “fire” burst out in me. Experiences of communion, sharing, fraternity between us and that effort to live mutual love in order to have the presence of Jesus among us (cit. “Where two or more are united in my name, I am in their midst”, Mt 18:15 -20) erased everything I felt before and made that flame had been enkindled in me again, become stronger.

At the end of the day, when we were praying together, I felt that I wanted to make a decision: to protect that “flame” that had reignited, to make it grow, to give it to the weakest and most discouraged people. I discovered that unity with the other young people of the Focolare and the mutual love that binds us, are the solution to all this hatred and the evil around us. And then the presence of Jesus in us and among us: it is he who gives us strength and will give us hope for a better future”.

Lorenzo Russo

Margaret Karram: rediscovering the path of respect for human rights through dialogue and reconciliation

Oct 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The statement by the President of the Focolare Movement following the outbreak of serious violence in the Holy Land on 7 October 2023: “Justice, dialogue and reconciliation, indispensable tools for building peace”.

There are no words that can express the infinite suffering that I have in my heart for the peoples of Israel and Palestine, a suffering, brought about by this recent outburst of violence in my country. I am thinking of those who have died, the people who have been wounded, of those who are being held hostage, of those who are missing and their families. In deep faith and together with all the Focolare Movement, I am united to the appeal of Pope Francis and that of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and to the words of peace spoken both  by those who are responsible for various Christian Churches and by the leaders of the Religions -especially those from the Israeli-Palestinian region – in asking for there to be an end to arms. And as Pope Francis said at the Angelus today -that people can understand that terrorism and war don’t solve anything, but every war is a defeat. In praying to the God of Peace and of Justice, I am also united to all the people throughout the world who are offering prayers, sufferings and actions, so that peace can be victorious over hatred and terror. I want to express a special thanks to those who have written to me from places that are in conflict, like Ukraine, expressing their offerings and closeness, in spite of the tragic situation in which they themselves have been living for over a year. Let us commit ourselves to building a world of fraternity and to do all that is possible so that these peoples and all the others who are in the same conditions of instability and violence, can rediscover the pathway of respect for human rights, where justice, dialogue and reconciliation are the indispensable instruments for building peace.

8 October 2023

Margaret Karram                                     President of the Focolare Movement

Churches in prayer for the Synod

Oct 6, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops currently taking place in the Vatican opened, on 30 September 2023, with an ecumenical prayer vigil entitled “Together – Gathering of the People of God”. Promoted by the Taizé Community in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Vicariate of Rome, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the Assembly was conceived and realised by representatives of various Christian Churches. We asked to three of the Bishops present: Charles May – Anglican Church of South Africa; Bertram Meier – Catholic Bishop of Augsburg (Germany); Chrysostomos of Kyrenia, Orthodox Church of Cyprus. Activate English subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va9sdPxfovI&list=PLKhiBjTNojHqtFwgi5TYI3T7zRvAuOZiD

Synod: transforming the journey into a permanent reality

Sep 29, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Synod on Synodality will start on  October 4th in the Vatican up to the end of the month. Among the special guests is Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement. We are on the threshold of the universal stage of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality. On Saturday, September 30th 2023, St. Peter’s Square in Rome (Italy) will gather thousands of people from various Christian Churches for the Ecumenical Vigil, “Together – Gathering of the People of God”, promoted by the Taizé Community in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, the Vicariate of Rome, the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The protagonists of this event will be young people. At the end of this moment of prayer and celebration, the 464 participants in the synodal assembly will move to Sacrofano, near Rome, for a spiritual retreat until  October 3rd. They will return to the Vatican for the solemn opening of the Synod with the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Wednesday, October 4th. Immediately afterwards, the cardinals, bishops, religious and laity who will participate in the Synod will begin their work in the Paul VI Hall. For four weeks, the members will participate in plenary assemblies, minor circles, a pilgrimage and moments of prayer and liturgy until  October 29th. The President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, who is among the 9 invited guests, sent a message to all the members of the Movement in the world, expressing what she was thinking about this historic milestone in the Catholic Church: “I cannot hide my feelings from you; above all, my happiness at being able to participate in person in this moment of grace. I am aware that I am taking with me each and every one of you from the Focolare Movement and this is also a great responsibility”. “I am sure – she continues – that many of you have already participated in a stage of the synodal journey in your local churches and have already experienced some of the fruits of the journey. You will have lived them as new opportunities for a dialogue that leads to deeper and broader communion and participation. (…) In this coming session of the Synod we are called even more to ‘walk together’ as the ‘people of God’, so that this may become a permanent and daily reality in our lives for the good of the Church and of humanity”. “This has put in my heart– she says – a great desire: that we should commit ourselves – as the Focolare Movement – to improve, to go one step further, to strengthen and refine our relationships of unity, and to be builders of fraternity in every environment in which we live or work”. And she concludes by inviting everyone to accompany “this new and promising season of the Church” with prayer: “Finally, I ask you for the most important thing: to pray! ‘Without prayer there will be no Synod, said Pope Francis, as does the Secretary General, Cardinal Grech, encouraging everyone to pray with faith and seriousness. It means listeninng to God with the kind of recollection that gives space to Him and allows our hearts and minds to be illuminated by His light. (…) also as part of all the people around the world who are praying and offering , so that the Synod – whose protagonist is the Holy Spirit – may bear the greatest fruit for humanity today and in the future”.

Carlos Mana

“Recontres Méditerranéennes”: Marseille a mosaic of hope

Sep 28, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Marseille (France), a city which is a mosaic of peoples and cultures, was the backdrop to the recent “Recontres Méditerranéennes”. It was an event that, through dialogue, traced new pathways of hope for the future. At the General Audience of 27^th September 2023, Pope Francis focused his meditation on his recent Apostolic Journey to Marseille, for the conclusion of the “Rencontres Méditerranéennes” (Mediterranean Meetings) that took place from 17^th-24^th September 2023. He said:

Foto: © Chiara Barbaccia

Foto: © Chiara Barbaccia

Maria Grazia Berretta

Living the Gospel: Become contagious

Sep 25, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Looking at the gestures of love performed by others sometimes generates a pull, like magnets, attracts us, softens our hearts and awakens in us a desire to “join in,” to do the same. It is something that does not go unnoticed, capable of truly impacting many. Poems for mother With my mother, there had never been an easy relationship. She used to criticize my faith, calling me deluded. After leaving home, I maintained a relationship more with my father, who wisely knew how to balance the situation. One day he called me: my mother was in the hospital for a serious illness. As I went to visit her, I thought of what could give her joy. I knew she loved the poems of Attila József, so I got one of his audiobooks. My mother was no longer herself, transformed by her sorrow. But as soon as she began to listen to those poems, her eyes became as bright as if she was dreaming. My subsequent visits thus became a discovery or rediscovery of our national poet, but it was a great joy for me to see that she had involved other sick people in reading or listening to the poems. Because of this act of her charity toward them, I felt as if I was getting acquainted with another person: “You taught me that you have to love everyone,” she commented. And me? I was by her when she breathed her last serene and hopeful breath. (L.M.L. – Hungary) Three times a day In the usual expenditures of our family budget, we had included a sum to be made available to those in need. Only that a particular day we could not get it out because there were many expenses. It was a real disappointment for us. At this point our two little sons came with their wallets and, in front of us, poured the entire contents, all their savings, onto the table. The episode was followed up when Grandma came to visit us and the children told her what they had done. And she, looking at us puzzled, “But how, you help others when you are also in need?” Before we could react, clearing the air was the youngest who said, “But Grandma, we eat three times a day!” With that sentence, serenity returned, and a few days later Grandma also returned with an envelope in her hand: “This is my contribution that I put together with yours… After all, I too eat three times a day!” (L.R. – Italy)

Edited by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, Year IX – No. 1 September-October 2023)

Sportmeet for a United World: at the roots of authentic values

Sep 22, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The 10th International Congress of Sportmeet for a United World was recently held in São Sebastião, Brazil – 20 years after its inception.  It continues to promote a culture and practice of sport that can contribute to peace, development and universal fraternity. A worldwide network of sportspersons, sports operators and professionals, men and women of all ages, cultures, ethnicities, languages and religions who see physical and sports activities as important and positive realities for the integral growth of the human person and the community; people animated by the desire to contribute, through sport, to development, peace and building a more united world. This is the mission of Sportmeet for a United World, an expression in the world of sport of that spiritual and social renewal that the Focolare Movement wants to contribute to implementing. With a representation at the United Nations by New Humanity, an NGO accredited to UNESCO, this reality celebrated its 20th anniversary a month ago in São Sebastião, Brazil, where the 10th International Congress of Sportmeet for a United World was held. Federica Comazzi, president and international coordinator, told us all about it. Federica, who took part in this meeting and how were the activities divided out? What were the objectives and topics covered? The conference was built in collaboration with Ecoone, MPpU (the Political Movement for Unity) and the municipality of São Sebastião (Brazil) which provided the municipal theatre, accommodation and transport through its Department for Sport,. In collaborating with Ecoone and MPpU, Sportmeet felt supported by these realities that enriched the programme with their contributions, took care of relations with political and academic authorities, and offered an important contribution towards drafting the final manifesto signed at the end of the event. The objective was to initiate a process of rethinking sport with a socio-environmental perspective, starting from a reflection on the lights and shadows of contemporary sport, enlightened by a principle common to different peoples from different parts of the world, that of Well Being (Teko Porã in Guarani, the language of the indigenous peoples present in the territory of São Sebastião and other parts of South America). The congress was attended by around one hundred people from eight institutions that are active in the fields of education, recovery from addiction, and social integration in the suburbs of large metropolises and cities in Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. The programme was developed around the presentation of several papers. Each afternoon there was room for practical activities and an in-depth study of the local culture. “Can sport, which helps build fraternity between people, also contribute to improving human existence from a socio-environmental point of view?” was one of the questions at the centre of the congress. After looking at nature and the local reality in Brazil, what was the answer to this question? It became abundantly clear that the fight against poverty and a new economic paradigm not based exclusively on the quantitative parameters of growth stand out not only as a necessity, but also as an emergency. In this context it was made very clear how play and sport constitute an irreplaceable force with enormous potential in terms of human development and the spread of a culture of sharing resources, basic elements for an integral ecology that can save humanity from environmental disasters. The definition of Well-Being helps us understand how universal fraternity and respect for nature are connected. Although it is not a closed and well-defined principle, since it is enriched by the gaze of so many peoples of the earth, Well Being is defined starting from three harmonies: with oneself, with others and with nature. Sport today, the official sport promoted by the Olympic Movement, too often has an approach based on the exploitation of natural and human resources for a single purpose: money. There is an imbalance between these harmonies, and it is clear how this has led this great container to be emptied of its values. We need to return to a sense of play, as conceived prior to the Olympic Movement itself and experienced in indigenous communities. It carries with it a deeper, symbolic value that leads us to a deeper understanding of who we are. We need to rethink a game and a sport that does not have as its primary objective the interest of the individual and therefore does not exploit resources, but permits encounter between people, nature and souls. In celebrating these 20 years of Sportmeet’s journey, what are your hopes for the future? The event in Brazil was the first international meeting after the pandemic and it highlighted and confirmed two features of Sportmeet’s mission. Firstly, the academic dimension, to be carried out with a nucleus of professors from different Universities and Institutions scattered across the different continents who found resonance in the values and experiences of Sportmeet with respect to their work. Secondly, a sphere, which is not disconnected from the first, of action for socio-cultural change in sport and through sport, with the challenge of forming a network of people from the different organisations that have expressed an interest and recognise how useful it is to have a common space – also to avoid the risk of self-referential isolation. The story of Sportmeet has highlighted a fundamental element: that culture and life must go hand in hand and that they can enrich and nourish each other.

Maria Grazia Berretta

https://youtu.be/NtwiaVAYPdY

Synodality Training Course: Called to Mission

Sep 20, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The second year of the Synodal Training Course, which began in 2022, has been launched. The Course is organized by the Sophia University Institute’s Evangelii Gaudium Centre (CEG), with the collaboration of the General Secretariat of the Synod. The second year of the Synodality Training Course will focus on being “missionary disciples” at the service of universal fraternity. The 2023/2024 Course was inaugurated on 12^th September: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0set08JiKY Initiated by the “Evangelii Gaudium” Centre (CEG), a theological-pastoral training centre present within the Sophia University Institute in Loppiano (Italy), with the valuable collaboration of the General Secretariat of the Synod, the lessons will begin on 6^th November. To learn more about it, we interviewed Prof. Vincenzo Di Pilato, Professor of Fundamental Theology at the Pugliese Theological Faculty in Italy and Coordinator of the CEG. Professor Di Pilato, what was your experience last year and what were the results? The first year of the Online Course on Synodality, which ended last May, was very rich and, I would say, exciting. The 248 participants came from the English-speaking world (Canada, Ireland, UK, and USA), Latin America (Brazil and almost all Spanish-speaking countries), Asia (India, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore), Africa (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa) and almost all European countries. There were many representatives of diocesan or national churches engaged in the synodal process, including priests, religious and lay people. The majority were Catholics of all vocations: priests, nuns, consecrated persons, lay people, even a Bishop. There were also representatives of other sister Churches. Although the videos and texts of the lessons were available on a web platform (especially for those who for whom the time was inconvenient), there were students from Asia who connected live, at three in the morning (local time). It was a strong experience. Then in June, at the end of the Course, we held the fourth and final module in a face-to-face workshop, at the “Vinea mea” Spirituality Centre in Loppiano (Italy). 130 people participated. We focussed on themes such as: clericalism, participatory processes and community discernment. It is now clear that the Course, which will open for the second consecutive year, represents an attempt to respond to the call that the Holy Spirit, since the days of the first Pentecost, addresses to us to “go out”.  Among the many letters received, one was from a person in charge of the diocesan level of the synodal journey in Malaysia: “Thank you very much for the wonderful sessions. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to learn so much about the origins of the synodal Church and synodality.  It really opened my eyes to the great wisdom and suggestions offered by the Holy Spirit who guides the Church. Honestly, while listening to the sessions of the first module, I felt so poor, but at the same time enriched. And that’s why I’ll be signing up for the next year. ” What issues will be addressed in this new year? First of all, we will try to be in tune with what will emerge from the Synodal Assembly next October. When we looked at the basic text (Instrumentum laboris) on which the members of the Ordinary General Assembly of the October Synod will work and which is the outcome of the community discernment during the listening phase, we realized that some issues seemed more urgent than others, such as: ministry, places and method of participation, formation to become “missionary disciples” at the service of universal fraternity. Each 3-hour lesson will take place via internet from 6.00 to 9.00 pm (Italian time) on Mondays from November 2023 – May 2024. The course will be in Italian with translations into English, Portuguese and Spanish. This year too, we will conclude with a face-to-face residential meeting here in Italy, again using a workshop methodology. You can register for the Course at this link: https://www.sophiauniversity.org/en/centro-evangelii-gaudium/. The active support of the General Secretariat of the Synod in these two years encourages us to move forward in being builders of unity in the Church and in the world, according to that synodal form with which Jesus lived his human-divine existence with the Apostles and with all his disciples. The “going out” to which the Holy Spirit impels us, through the clear voice of Pope Francis, is not, in fact, equivalent to dispersing, to fragmenting, but is to lead our individual spiritual life to that of the Forsaken and Risen Jesus who embraces everything and everyone. As the title of the Working Document for the continental stage of the Synod stated, it is a matter of “widening the space of our tent” (cf. Is 54.2). You have just edited a book entitled, “Synodality and Participation, the ecclesial subject of mission”, (published by Città Nuova). It is a collection of interventions of experts from the ecclesiastical and theological world. What is the contribution of this text in the light of the documents which have emerged from the various stages of the Synodal Path and on the verge of the new universal stage? The book is a collection of the inputs of a research seminar organized by the CEG, on 24^th June, 2023 at the “Vinea mea” Spirituality Centre in Loppiano (Italy). The seminar was entitled: “Participate/preside/decide. Sacramental root and communal dynamic in the journey of the people of God on mission”. Over thirty scholars participated, including theologians and canon lawyers engaged in responding to the invitation expressed in the Instrumentum laboris, to rebalance the relationship between two fundamental ecclesiological principles: that of “authority”, strongly affirmed in the current Code of Canon Law, and that of “participation”, which the current Synod is relaunching as an ordinary practice of the life of the Church. We asked the experts present at the Seminar how we can effectively enable the active participation of each member of the people of God (faithful and pastors) within our communities? Will such participation remain at an advisory level or will it have authority? Will it be a matter of negotiating for a legal “concession” or rather of “recognizing” the decision-making capacity of the collective subject of ecclesial action as it emerges from the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council? And will an update of the Code of Canon Law be necessary? As Card. Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, said, the synodal journey has entered a new phase: it is called to become a generating, dynamic event and not simply to be reduced to a solemn celebratory transient moment. How can the Church listen to the Holy Spirit without listening to the entire holy people of God? As Card. Francesco Coccopalmerio, Severino Dianich, Alphonse Borras and P. Coda, in their dense interventions contained in the book say, the answer to this question has an impact on pastoral practice (think of the various parish, diocesan councils, etc.) and on formation, as well as on theology and canon law. (https://edizionicittanuova.it/prodotto/sinodalita-e-partecipazione/).

Maria Grazia Berretta

Living the Gospel: “I want to bless you every day, to praise your name forever and ever” (Ps. 145 [144], 2)

Sep 15, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Allow our lives to be a continual praise of God by acknowledging His love and the greatness of His works in our lives. This is what this Psalm invites us to do. It is the foundation of every prayer, especially when, by loving the brothers and sisters we meet, we understand the fullness of gratitude. Concrete help for far and near The war in Ukraine brought us apprehension and fear. In response to this wave of evil, when winter arrived last year, we and other friends of the parish worked to procure heavy clothing and generators and flashlights to supplement the lack of electricity, to be sent to our neighbours close to our border. But one thing led to another and looking around, we then extended this solidarity action to the poor of our town. Without realizing it, a division had arisen in our society that we hadn’t paid enough attention to before. Someone pointed out that it took the war in Ukraine to open our eyes. Today, in addition to continuing the collections for the victims of war, we also work for those closest to us who are in need. (J.M. – Hungary) Hope In the waiting room of a bus station, I noticed a young, beautiful, elegant lady. Her face displayed signs of grim suffering. We got on the same bus. Then, at the train station, we bought tickets for the same destination. I made a bit of innocent conversation as we headed to our platform. Unfortunately, our train had just left; we had two hours of waiting ahead of us. I invited the lady to sit in the waiting room. Looking at her tense face, I put aside my problems and tiredness and decided to listen to her. While she talked to me about the trauma she had been experiencing for months, I found myself reliving an awful situation. I told her about it. Later, on the journey, our conversation was so intense that we didn’t realize that we had reached our destination. I tried to say goodbye, but she wanted to accompany me to the place where I had to go, so as not to interrupt our conversation. Her face had relaxed, her burden lightened. Then the goodbyes. Maybe I won’t see her again, but I’m sure that hope was born in her heart. (RA – England) Smiles help you keep going I am a palliative care doctor. In the morning, it is nice to be greeted with a smile and the relaxed faces of those who the night before were afraid of how they would spend the night because of the pain: yes, everything went well, and I feel better too. It couldn’t be taken for granted: opiates are still feared drugs because they are little known and needed to be discussed in a transparent doctor-patient dialogue. I observed another sick woman, whose communication was limited to movements of the eyes. I asked her, “Are you in pain?” Closing her eyelids meant yes. I wondered: how did I not notice before? I proposed a treatment which she accepted. Her frown relaxed, her eyes smiled. When I find myself facing my limits every day, I stop smiling. In those moments, others (a colleague, a family member, a worker) are like my “mirror” and help me to look inside myself. I need a good dose of humility to learn to accept myself. But then I laugh at myself and, having passed through the cloud, I see the possibility of starting to love again. (Paola – Italy)

Compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from The Gospel of the Day, Città Nuova, year IX – no.1 September-October 2023)

Livia Groff Goller: meeting Jesus in the other

Sep 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

On 8 August 2023, at the age of 99, Livia Groff (widow of Olivo Goller), a married focolarina from Trent (Italy) and part of the first Focolare community formed around Chiara Lubich, returned to the house of the Father. We remember her through a short extract in which she tells us what true conversion was for her.  “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor 5:17). This is the phrase taken from the New Testament that Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement, gave Livia Groff as a motto for life who ended her journey on this earth on 8 August at the age of 99. Born on 25 May 1924, the third of 7 sisters, she began working as a shop assistant in Trent as a young girl.  At the invitation of her friend, Doriana Zamboni, one of Chiara Lubich’s first companions, she met Chiara when she was 21 and joined the group of girls around her who took the words of the Gospel literally, put them into practice and shared with each other the effects of living those words. For Livia, this encounter was like a real thunderbolt. Discovering the love of God and discovering Jesus present in every neighbour were to become the polar star of her life and the certain guide on a journey she always shared with her husband, Olivo Goller, and her children, Diego, Maria Elena and Andrea. A witness of great fortitude and closeness to her neighbour, she faced the various trials that life put before her sustained by her faith in God and His love. For 37 years she cared for her husband Olivo who, due to an inexplicable car accident, was left paralysed in his legs and unable to walk for the rest of his life. Another great trial came for her at the age of 61 when her daughter Maria Elena died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 33, in Predazzo, near Trento, where she taught. With great courage and concreteness Livia always tried to put Jesus at the centre of every relationship, and with extreme kindness she knew how to take care of anyone she met on her path, accompanying her sons, Diego and Andrea, both focolarini, in their life choices; supporting the sick, as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist as she had already done with her husband; inviting many to prayer. A beauty, which many recognised in her, incarnated, which went beyond style, but which concealed within itself a secret: the ability to look at the love of Jesus on the cross who cried out his abandonment, and recognise this in the trials of life and accept it without hesitation. We share below a short extract of an interview Livia Groff gave in Trent, dated 13 December 2011, in which she tells of her first meeting with Chiara Lubich and the beginning of a journey that changed her life. Watch the video (activate English subtitles) https://youtu.be/vmFJ5v15rLg

Season of Creation 2023: A River of Justice and Peace

Aug 31, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Season of Creation is a time during which Christians around the world unite in prayer and action to care for our common home. It’s a time of grace that the Christian Churches propose to encourage people to renew their relationship with the Creator and with creation, through meditation, conversion and community commitment. Each year, this period opens  on 1^st  September with an ecumenical celebration on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and ends on 4^th  October, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology loved by many Christian confessions. The theme chosen for this 2023 is “Let justice and peace flow“. It draws inspiration from the words of the prophet Amos, “But let justice roll on like a river,   righteousness like a never-failing stream!“ (Amos 5:24). The hope, therefore, is that like a “mighty river” these two elements, justice and peace, can invade our planet with well-being and beauty. It is a challenge that certainly mobilizes us and to which everyone, as part of the people of God, is called to respond by committing ourselves on the front line and in our own small way, to create bridges of dialogue, for climate and ecological justice, listening to the communities most affected by the loss of biodiversity. There are many activities and initiatives launched around the world in preparation for the opening day, such as the one promoted by the Laudato Sì Movement, which invites us to pray for climate justice and share this prayer with all the negotiators and political leaders of COP28 (https://laudatosimovement.org/pray-with-us-for-climate-justice/). You can register for and access the Ecumenical Prayer Meeting on 1^st September, through the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s6x-_ULjRZWRyzUYGNAhAg#/registration. Or you can watch it on the Laudato Sì YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv3kExaSMmI For more information visit https://seasonofcreation.org/en/. https://youtu.be/VTm53zJN6NA?si=gQpYtBQ2uznuPIpU  

Gen Verde in Portugal

Aug 18, 2023 | Non categorizzato

From the end of July to the beginning of August 2023, Gen Verde travelled the length and breadth of Portugal. A fortnight long tour featuring art workshops and concerts. Many young people were involved in an experience of transforming music into a means of testimony and encounter. The journey, from 23^rd July-4^th August, started in Braga (north Portugal), continued south to the Algarve and concluded in Lisbon, in the festive and intoxicating atmosphere of a World Youth Day (WYD). This was the itinerary of the Gen Verde International Performing Arts Group, an all women band which began in 1966 from an inspiration of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement. It was a demanding tour characterized by encounters and friendship. The seeds sown through words and notes yielded a rich harvest of real life experiences. One of Gen Verde’s projects is the “Start Now” workshop, a musical and artistic project which focuses on peace and dialogue education. One such workshop took place in Braga with an amazing group of young people from Spain and Portugal and included a special collaboration with Projeto Homem Braga (PHB). PHB specializes in the treatment, prevention, harm reduction and reintegration of people with addictions. After a meeting with Gen Verde, one of the PHB educators said, “We usually feel a bit anxious when we invite people from outside to get to know the users of our Centre because we don’t want to disturb their recovery process. Today we have to thank you for giving so much joy to all of us”. A Spanish boy who attended the workshop commented, “We have discovered that music, dance and art can really help us overcome many barriers, such as linguistic and cultural barriers. Sometimes it’s difficult to ‘row’ in the same direction, it takes patience because we don’t all go at the same pace, but one thing we carry with us is the joy that is transmitted, beyond the difficulties. Love makes us overcome all conflicts”. To the sound of “Girl On A Mission (Magnificat)”, the song composed by Gen Verde for the WYD, the Band moved to Faro (Algarve- Portugal) where they participated in the Dioceses’ pre-WYD preparation, concluding on 31^st July, with a concert in the Algarve Stadium. Next stop was the Portuguese capital for another “Start Now” workshop with about 100 young people. At the end, on 2^nd August, the young people performed with the Band in the jam-packed Auditório da Faculdade de Medicina Dentária. A Portuguese girl said, “It was very gratifying to take part in an activity like this because we can learn about and get to know others. We understood that it is important both to say our opinion and to know how to lose that idea in teamwork. The word that summarizes everything we have learned is humility, to give others the opportunity to express themselves”. Another girl spoke about learning to overcome challenges in the sense of “being able to listen, to understand others’ ideas, to learn how to interact, to let go of shyness and create something beautiful and do it together”. Marita Alvarez (Argentina), one of Gen Verde’s singers, told us: “Over the years, we have met many young people in our artistic workshops in many countries, from Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, to Spain, Austria, Germany and Italy, to name a few. Deep, true and lasting relationships have been formed.  We have seen how these young people become leaders of their communities, committed and ready to multiply joy through the “Magnificat anima mea” that God has brought about in their lives”. With the WYD, Lisbon gleamed with all the colours of youth. It was a unique opportunity to give witness and at the same time, experience the vivacity of a pilgrim Church which, from all parts of the globe, calls us by name. In this family spirit, Gen Verde took part in the second day of the “Rise Up” catechesis organized by the Focolare Movement. They sang and animated the Mass with over 7,000 young people. They then concluded their trip to Portugal on 4^th August, with a concert in Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, at the end of the Halleluya Festival. Jesús Morán, Co-President of the Focolare Movement was there and had this impression, “I was very struck by their unity. The young people were overjoyed. They were all taken by the rhythm and the music, but the songs include many deep moments and in those, the young people were able to pause and reflect. I thought it was like a ‘fifteenth station’ of the Via Crucis! There is no such thing and yet as everyone says and imagines, it is a sign of the Resurrection. It was a hymn to the Resurrection, to joy. I believe that this is the right way to communicate the Gospel with a musical language that young people love”.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Braga, Portugal: Bishops exploring “the mysticism of we”

Aug 15, 2023 | Non categorizzato

After World Youth Day in Lisbon, the International Meeting of Bishops Friends of the Focolare Movement was held from 8^th-10th August 2023 in Braga, northern Portugal. In the aftermath of the World Youth Day in Lisbon, 87 bishops from 42 countries stayed on in Portugal for a meeting, organised by the Bishops Friends of the Focolare Movement. They gathered to reflect on “The Mysticism of Encounter – Contemplation and Mission in a Changing Age“. En route to Braga, on 7^th August, the first stop had to be the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, as it was the feast day of the two shepherd saints, Francisco and Jacinta. Recognising that massive changes are occurring, which call for an adequate response also from the Church, from 8^th-10^th August they reflected on and put into practice the “mysticism of we”, seen as a response to the new stage of witness and proclamation of the Gospel to which the Holy Spirit is calling the Church today. They took up once more Pope Francis words to the Focolare Movement on his visit to the little town of Loppiano in 2018, when he said that the charism of unity given to Chiara Lubich “is a providential stimulus and a powerful help to live the evangelical mysticism of ‘we’”. Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement, and Jesús Morán, Co-President, attended the whole meeting and made various contributions. Margaret’s talk invited everyone to “Start from unity in order to ‘be’ and to ‘speak’ today“. Unity is the life of God, she said, and we who want to imitate that life are invited to live it and we have a duty to proclaim it courageously. The comments and sharing in plenary that followed highlighted a renewed faith in the importance of seeking unity in the Church and in the world; and language groups enabled further deepening of the subject. The various components of each day contributed to experiencing the ‘mysticism of we’, whether that was in the conversation with a group of young people who took part in WYD; in the testimonies shared by bishops on the synodal path; or insights into the daily life and suffering of particular Churches. Insights A few weeks before the Synod Assembly in October, Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary of the Synod, and Prof. Piero Coda, a member of the Synod’s theological team, contributed to the meeting by video link. The Synod aims to help us rediscover unity in the one baptism, to equip us to live together despite our differences, and to teach us how to inhabit the tensions in which we inevitably find ourselves. A panel discussion that set out to present some answers to the pressing problems in the Church and societies today, generated much interest and led to numerous questions. Father Fabio Ciardi, OMI, emphasised the treasures to be found in charisms both old and new; Francesca Di Giovanni, former undersecretary of the Vatican State, spoke of the place of women in the Church, who must not only be valued according to roles they might have but considered in view of the ‘gift’ they are for the Church. Rosinha and Amandio Cruz, a married couple working within the Archdiocese of Braga, presented aspects of the renewal of the Church and of evangelisation which are supported in particular by families. On the last day, Father Fabio Ciardi spoke on the ‘wounds’ of the Church today, and on the light Chiara Lubich had found in the discovery-revelation of Jesus Forsaken. He is the one who took upon himself every division and who generates reconciliation; he is the foundation of the ‘mysticism of we’. There were also moments of recreation and cultural enrichment, such as the visit to the nearby Bom Jesus do Monte Shrine, where Cardinal Francis Kriengsak, Archbishop of Bangkok, presided over the Eucharistic celebration. Francis Kriengsak, Then, with a glorious sunset as a backdrop, the local Focolare community offered a typical Portuguese dinner, followed by an exhibition of traditional dances. At the conclusion of the meeting, in the Mass presided over by Cardinal Lazarus You, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, the Bishops renewed their commitment to put into practice Jesus’ commandment: “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).

Carlos Mana

“Have no fear, take heart, do not be afraid!”

Aug 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

These were Pope Francis’ final words as he said goodbye to the young people and all the participants at the concluding Mass of World Youth Day 2023.

It is difficult to describe what we experienced during these unforgettable days of grace. I know it is a cliché to say that you have to experience it to understand it. But it is true! It is certainly true on this occasion. I have participated in four WYDs, the first two and the last two, and I can testify that there is something about these days that cannot be explained. A well-known Portuguese public figure, who is agnostic and a cinema lover, wrote in a newspaper article that what he contemplated on the streets of Lisbon in this scorching summer was the most beautiful film he had ever seen. It was impossible not to be uplifted by the cheerfulness and liveliness poured out in torrents by the young people who had come to the ‘city of light’ and who filled it with the other light they carried within themselves. We saw them everywhere, in the shopping malls, in the metro, on the buses, in the bars, in the parks or on the roads. They gathered in small and large groups, and were like multi-coloured, loud, talkative, multi-charismatic human rivers, with a kindliness that warmed the heart. Walking among them, I saw the inhabitants of the city; some were puzzled, some interested. If Lisbon, with its magical and indescribable beauty, was a gift for these young people, they were no less a gift for this city, which will be proud to have seen one and a half million young people come together to celebrate their faith in Christ, something previously unheard of.

The Portuguese Church and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, the organisers of the event, together with the city and its civil authorities, did an amazing job. But there is no doubt that the prize goes to the young people. Who could have imagined this happening after three years of a serious pandemic and in the midst of an institutional crisis, such as the one the Catholic Church is going through because of abuses of various kinds?! Even though today the Spanish press gave coverage to the case of a girl with 5% visual capacity who claims to have recovered her sight in the past few days, for me the real miracle was the living faith of these young people, expressed in their own words and with a multitude of bold and even disconcerting gestures.

In fact, while they showed an overflowing enthusiasm by singing and dancing, the most emblematic moment – indeed the real centrepiece of the event – was once again the Eucharistic adoration at the vigil: more than a million people knelt down without anyone telling them to do so, to adore in ‘deafening’ silence the One they consider the ‘heart of the world’! It was impossible not to be moved. And at that moment, the fado given to us by the singer Carminho gave us goosebumps: ‘You are the star that guides my heart/ You are the star that has lit my path/ You are the sign that I guide destiny/ You are the star, and I am the pilgrim’. And one wonders at the power of attraction that a small host can exert on such a large crowd of young people spread over a field over three kilometres long (100 football pitches).

You might think that the young people who gathered in Lisbon are good people, with an orderly life, polite young people, who do not get involved with other people’s problems. Nothing could be more mistaken. An international group of young people toiled for years to come up with an artistic framework of extraordinary beauty and visual effectiveness. They constructed a huge stage, a kind of giant scaffolding on which they moved around in an ethereal manner, letting themselves fall while securely tied to ropes, and carrying the cross from side to side, up and down. The feeling of vertigo was continuous, and the choice of this approach was not accidental: at each station, with a few words of reflection and a lot of visual impact, the ‘vertigo’ that imbues the lives of young people today was crudely expressed: addictions, lack of meaning, an uncertain future, contempt for life, toxic relationships. All motifs that the cross bore, or rather, that the crucified one bore on his shoulders, to be transfigured into new life.

Of course, the key moments of this WYD, as of the previous ones, were the meetings with the Pope. Another puzzling and characteristic feature of these events: why do young people love the popes so much, regardless of their (the popes) character, be it traditional, intellectual or reformist?

Apart from these highlights, the programme was filled with many other smaller events, but which were no less significant, such as concerts in key city locations, meetings in nationalities, sharing with people involved in the Church in parishes or associations and above all the various catecheses led by the young people themselves with bishops from different parts of the world as keynote speakers. These were all opportunities to deepen the WYD motto: Rise up.

 “Have no fear, take heart, do not be afraid!” Pope Francis seemed to be speaking to the whole Church with these words. For there is no doubt that courage is needed and in this, young people are called to be in the front line. They are the present and the future of a Church renewed by the Spirit.

A Church that, as Francis has repeated several times, desires to be a home for all, without excluding anyone, and to recover the prophetic drive that permeates it. This Church walks with new confidence, the confidence it finds in itself and beyond itself, in Jesus Christ. A Church that desires to give hospitality to all humanity in the resurrected humanity of Jesus of Nazareth, as a well-known theologian says.

Perhaps I am too optimistic, but in these few days I have seen a young Church that has already gone a bit beyond the time of trial or is at least confident about overcoming it. The thousands and thousands of young people I met in Lisbon taught me this.

They don’t create problems; they do not become fossilised in criticism. Far from it, something (their purity, perhaps, refined in pain and uncertainty) leads them to focus on the core of faith with simple hearts. And, as the Master says, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (cf. Mt 5:1-12).

Three images summarise everything I want to express in this article: young people on the move, all over Lisbon (a symbol of the world), sometimes exhausted by the heat and tiredness accumulated after nights of little sleep. Young people with the ‘vertigo’ of the cross on their shoulders, on which all their sufferings are written. Young people kneeling in adoration, aware that in a piece of bread there is all of life, a life that does not pass away. The living Church, the Church of always, the Church of today, the Church of the future.

Jesús Morán

Communication in times of war: at WYD a transversal dialogue for a common ethics

Aug 4, 2023 | Non categorizzato

During the World Youth Day 2023 in Portugal, DIALOP’s journey goes one step further. From 20 countries, 134 young peolpe participated in the workshop “Communication in times of war” promoted by DIALOP during the WYD to discuss how social media and digital technology may become traps of conspiracy and tendentious interests during conflicts.  The journey  Christianity and Socialism – two movements with very different characteristics – have been for long at loggerheads with each other, but have nevertheless both shaped world history in past centuries. It is based on the idea that the biggest challenges of the world today cannot be solved alone, DIALOP fosters dialogue of good willing persons, with secular and religious backgrounds, especially between Socialist/Marxists and Christians to create a transformative transversal ethic. Bringing DIALOP to the World Youth Day is part of the “DialogUE Project” which, in collaboration with the European Community involves 14 civil society organizations, explores and develops the often challenging dialogue between different groups, in order to shape a Europe that is ever more an expression of that “unity in multiplicity”. The preparation involving both Christian and Marxist-socialist experts started 6 months before the event, a committed and laborious path towards the WYD. The challenges were many, such as finding a dynamic way of mediating heavy content like conflict and communication, different languages, countries and backgrounds. “The emotion of standing before a generation that is hungry for a calming, reasoned, clear truth and hope and being able to give some of this”, Luisa Sello, one of the coordinators of the project shares her impressions. Youth in dialogue War and its destructive potential influence the structure of communication, transform the perception of facts, and instrumentalize language and mindsets. In such context, social media and digital technology may become traps of conspiracy and tendentious interests. Can we approach the truth? Can we react or are we convicted to destroy relationships with humans, countries, populations because of lies and misinformation? How can we keep making choices, build relationships, and stand with truth and justice? The workshop addressed all these challenges and engaged the youth to build on proposals for the European Union, which will be collected and presented to the EU within the European Commission funding project CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme) in March 2024. After panels and dynamics discussions, the question “what can we do?” resonated among the youth. The desire of being part of a transformation as a changemaker is at the heart of each young person present. Steven, from the USA, wants to become a priest and travel overseas to help people shared his perplexities: “I can’t even tell my parents to stop reading sources of information that are problematic. When Jesus returned from Nazareth he was rejected by his family. So many of us have lost hope. Where do we get our hope back? That’s why we’re here at the WYD.” Adriana, a journalism student from Argentina felt encouraged by the workshop “Our role as the youth is very important to fight against disinformation and it can be done also in a fun way. If we create community we can be stronger.” Towards a transversal ethics The course of history depends not only on the strength of ideas but more heavily on the evolution of political and economic interests that integrate more than once only pale reflections of these ideas. The calling of Pope Francis in 2014 that inspired DIALOP to initiate a transversal dialogue continues to unfold. When asked by a young person how to create a common ethical framework when there is so much division, Walter Baier, the President of the Party of the European Left answered: “Pope Francis said that we have to accept conflict as something natural, what we need to know is what to do with the conflict. The fact that Christians and marxists coming from very different traditions, even with very different languages, can sit together and work on a common framework is an example of dialogue.” Angelina Giannopoulou, from transform!europe and José Manuel Pureza from Bloco de Esquerda also lectured besides Michele Zanzucchi and Ana Clara Giovani from Sophia University together with Maria Chiara de Lorenzo from the Focolare Movement. In the future, as part of DialogUE Project, DIALOP will hold other symposia on ecology and social policies. For more information, access https://dialop.eu  

Ana Clara Giovani

The essence of the World Youth Day (WYD)

Aug 4, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The young people who have been getting ready for the WYD for some time are excited to meet Pope Francis. In these first few days in Lisbon (Portugal), they took part in the “Rise Up” meetings.

As the time of writing, the XXXVIII World Youth Day has just reached its halfway point. The first 4, very intense days, have permeated the life of over half a million young people who welcomed Pope Francis on 3^rd August 2023 in the heart of Lisbon (Portugal). They gathered at Parque Eduardo VII, which was renamed “Hill of Encounter”, as a sign of the profound significance of this WYD, which underlines: relationship with God, with oneself and then with others, to build a peaceful, sustainable and fraternal world.

With the cry of “God loves everyone”, in a Church where there is room for everyone, Francis officially inaugurated the Portuguese World Youth Day which the media is amply covering every day.

However, what risks being overlooked is the important work of updating that the Church, in the most universal sense of the term, has carried out, so that this World Day could be a place where young people “find themselves” in their questions, in their conscious or unconscious search for God to have him as a partner in their lives; in the creation of spaces for sharing, inspiration and mutual listening. This process has involved young people, their teachers, priests and bishops, and many ecclesial realities.

“Rise Up” Meetings: spaces to think, share and be inspired

Undoubtedly one of the biggest novelties of this WYD are the “Rise Up” meetings, the new model of catechesis which invites the young people to reflect on the major themes addressed during the pontificate of Pope Francis: integral ecology, social friendship and universal brotherhood, mercy.

There are 270 meetings held in 30 languages which are all linked to the general theme of the WYD: “”Mary arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39).

The Focolare Movement has been involved in the Rise Up meetings, offering 3 half-day appointments for English-speaking pilgrims, attended by an average of 5,000 young people a day. Eunice, a member of the organizing team told us, “I immediately felt responsible. The theme of this WYD inspires me a lot: I too feel driven to get up and go quickly, like Mary; I feel a strong motivation to give more, to overcome limits, tiredness and difficulties, as she did when she went to visit Elisabeth. She didn’t stop, but she loved”. Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare, shared the stage with Card. Patrick O’Malley from Boston (USA), Archbishop Anthony Fisher from Sydney (Australia) and Bishop Robert Barron from Winona- Rochester in Minnesota (USA).

Teenagers at the WYD in Lisbon

Experiencing God’s love and taking it wherever you are or feel called to be, was the thread running through the meetings enlivened by music, prayer and a lot of sharing. Pete, from the United States, at his first WYD, said, “I felt that after a year and a half of ‘isolation’, after Covid, something in me had changed. I decided to get involved and come with my diocese. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, meet young people from other countries, see how they deal with problems. I still have many questions, I have found some answers here”.

For the young people from Slovakia it was a big decision to come and open up to people of other cultures and ways of doing things. They are greatly looking forward to what the Pope will say in the coming days. “We are sure that his words will remain in our hearts forever and will help us in the different situations of life”.

This meeting one another, recognizing each other as brothers and sisters is perhaps the most characteristic feature of this event. This is why personal stories are central to the Rise Up meetings.

Real life at the Centre of it all

For example, Lucas, who lives in the Brazilian Amazon. At the WYD in Panama he was captivated by the person of Jesus. When he went home, with about twenty young people he got involved in a project to help the indigenous communities of his country. They spent a fortnight with a team of doctors, nurses and psychologists who bring aid, treatment and support to many people who live far from treatment centres. Lucas said, “It was an incredible experience: giving myself from morning to night, without stopping. The Amazon Project has made me grow a lot as a person. The first result of all this is me: I have changed, I am no longer the same”.

Sofia, from Argentina, talked about her existential journey of searching for meaning. At one point she heard about Blessed Chiara Luce Badano whose yes to God, even in her pain, gave her the strength to dedicate her life to God, following the spirituality of the Focolare Movement.

And we could go on and on because we heard many testimonies and also the responses of the bishops and leaders to the questions of the young people.

Pat, aged 19, from Sydney, said, “I came to this WYD with a group of friends and this is important to me because I believe that we need others in order to be able to make a difference in the world and even to make personal decisions. Loneliness is a challenge for many young people of my age and I want to do something about it by starting with loving my friends. I understood here that this is the right path”.

These young people have many questions and also fears, but there’s more: they want to open up, to learn; they come from very different backgrounds and experiences, yet they are all here to meet Pope Francis, to discover God in their lives and to meet friends with whom to share this discovery. This is the essence of the WYD in Lisbon.

Stefania Tanesini

To read the full speeches:

Margaret Karram, Catechesis of 2^nd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Jesús Morán, Catechesis of 2^nd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Margaret Karram, Catechesis of 3^rd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Jesús Morán, Catechesis of 3^rd August 2023, Rise up meeting, WYD Lisbon (Portugal)

Lisbon 2023: “Há Pressa no Ar” official WYD anthem

Jul 31, 2023 | Non categorizzato

A song for young people from all over the world to sing in unison. Father João Paulo Vaz, a priest from Coimbra (Portugal) wrote the lyrics of the WYD Lisbon 2023 anthem and the music was composed by Pedro Ferreira, a teacher and musician. Two young people from the Focolare Movement (Gen), Lourdes Catalán and Ivan Ho, interviewed him. World Youth Day (WYD) 2023 takes place very soon and in the streets of Lisbon (Portugal), the city hosting this global event, you can already hear the first young people to arrive singing “Há Pressa no Ar” (Feel the rush in the air), the official theme tune inspired by the words “Mary got up and went in haste” (Lk 1:39). Here we discover with Father João Paulo Vaz, a priest in the Coimbra diocese who wrote the lyrics, how the song came about. Lourdes: Father João Paulo, what does the WYD mean to you and why did you decide to enter the competition to select a theme tune for Lisbon 2023? Father João Paulo Vaz: I have participated in no less than six WYDs in my life (Paris, Rome, Toronto, Cologne, Sydney and Madrid), some of them as head of youth pastoral work in the diocese. Each of them has marked my journey as a man, a Christian and a priest. They have been very intense experiences of faith and communion, and some things in particular really left their mark. One of them has always been the theme tune. When I heard we could participate in the competition for the Lisbon 2023 theme tune, I was very happy, both because of my personal experience and as a composer. I had decided to submit the lyrics but, at a certain point, I realised I had forgotten to register in time because you had to declare your intention to participate before submitting the song. When I realised this I was very sad, but God never leaves me alone.  A group of participants who HAD signed up on time and only had a musical score ready asked me anyway if they could use my words and that’s how I entered the competition. Shortly afterwards, I learned with great joy that my song had been chosen. I was overjoyed because I really felt it was God’s answer to my wish. Ivan: What message did you want to convey through the song? Father João Paulo Vaz: First of all, the message I thought of addressing to each young person is “Christ is always with you, He never abandons you and with Him you will be able to love much more”. That is why, with Him, “my voice rises higher and everyone will hear it”, as the song explains, because you are no longer afraid. The whole text takes this direction and Mary, the main protagonist of this WYD, in the simplicity and humility of her figure, represents all these things: She whose voice rises first because she brings Christ with her; the first evangeliser who, with her ‘yes’ and on her way to Elizabeth, also shows us how to bring Him to others. Ivan: So many young people from all over the world are expected in Lisbon. How does it feel to think that they will all sing this song together? Father João Paulo Vaz: It’s really important to say that as soon as the song was chosen as the WYD anthem, it no longer belonged to us, it was no longer ours. It was no longer my words or Pedro Ferreira’s music. It is the theme song of WYD Lisbon 2023. I will sing it with the others: this will be the greatest joy. Lourdes: If you could sum up the theme tune in one or two words, what would they be? Father João Paulo Vaz: The first is “depth”, which means discovering who we are, discovering Christ in us and living from that discovery; the second is “courage”, to be the presence of God in the world, to announce life. It is in these two words, in my opinion, that the experience of faith flourishes. Ivan: What is your personal message for the young people of today? Father João Paulo Vaz: I would like to use the words of Pope Francis, spoken in one of the promotional videos for the WYD, in which he invites us to go ahead without fear, to build a better world and to be protagonists. We really need our young people to value the world more, to return to true values. We need to do away with fear and be aware that young people are the ones who will build a better future. So, dear young person, you can’t sit still and watch the world from your armchair.  You need to get up and go, like Mary. The WYD, and this one in particular, is an opportunity to say that you believe and that you are willing to do what God asks of you; more than anything else, it is telling you that you are not alone in this. A whole world of young people and the Pope are ready to walk with you.

Lourdes Catalán e Ivan Ho

A Church-Community: on the way to the WYD of Lisbon

Jul 26, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The 37th World Youth Day (WYD), which will be held from 31^st July to 6^th August 2023 in Lisbon (Portugal), is upon us and many young people are preparing to experience this global event with the Pope. Various initiatives have been organized and for months now, many people have been working with dedication on this moment of true family for the Church. Everything is ready. The sun is high on the seven hills of Lisbon (Portugal) and the ocean breeze brings with it an air of novelty and anticipation: the WYD is upon us and young people from all over the world are arriving. After months of preparation and having visited various stops throughout the country, last weekend the symbols of the Day, the Pilgrim’s Cross and the Icon of Our Lady “Salus Popoli Romani”, finally reached Lisbon and we are now ready to welcome the first young people arriving for the “Days in the Dioceses” which will take place from 26^th-31^st July 2023 in the 17 dioceses of mainland Portugal and the islands. A way to prepare pilgrims and host communities to get into the event and live it to the full. Father José Cardoso de Almeida, parish priest of Sátão, in the diocese of Viseu, a priest volunteer of the Focolare Movement told us, “When we were told that WYD would be held in Lisbon, we welcomed the news with immense joy. I am sure that it will be an occasion of grace for each of the participants, as well as for our country. In my case, I feel I have to be open to the surprises that the Spirit wants to communicate”. Fr. José has experienced the anticipation and enthusiasm of several WYDs first-hand. Like many other people, he immediately felt the call to get involved in organizing this Event which was taking place in his own “backyard”, by motivating young people and welcoming those who would come from various parts of the world: “This last year has been full of meetings. A lot of activities were organized to help cover the expenses of those who had greater economic challenges to get here. As a ‘little builder’ of this WYD, together with many others, I encouraged some families to open their doors to young people from other countries for the ‘Days in the Dioceses’. In our area, we will welcome about 3,000 young people, mostly French. Then we will leave for Lisbon and I will lend a hand for the sacrament of Reconciliation, during the event.” It has been a concrete experience that shows how serving others generated countless fruits in the various communities. As Fr. José said, “For example, the discovery of the beauty of working together. I think that today’s young people need to discover that the secret of happiness lies in true love, and as Pope Francis says, in the experience of “going out of oneself” and “being with and for others.” This is true unity. ” And it is in this “going out” that we find the image of the Virgin Mary, ready to “get up and go with haste”, as the motto of this WYD announces, on the way to visit Elizabeth. Ana and José Maria Raposo told us that this is an “invitation to encounter the living Jesus in the family, at work, in social and political life”. They are from the parish of Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Olivais Sul in Lisbon and are members of the Volunteers of God of the Focolare Movement. Ana and José have been married for 45 years, have five children and four grandchildren and are one of the many Portuguese families who will host the young people who will take part in the WYD in their own homes. They told us, “For young people, like Mary, to live their vocation, it is necessary to believe in them and let them lead, without forgetting the importance of inter-generationality. It is necessary to believe that the world today is already changed if hearts are changed, if the mind is free, if one leaves one’s comfort zone, if one looks around and sees Jesus in everyone; we have to believe that a united world is possible”. QQ An experience that looks at this fragile time, looks at the other and is strengthened thanks also to the concrete witness of those who, believing in love, want to put it at the service in the “welcome” that, as Ana and José say, “means to be a family for those who arrive. It was spontaneous for us to immediately join in welcoming the young pilgrims who will participate in the WYD. We have always welcomed people who needed help because they were passing through or traveling. The last few months gave us an opportunity to review things and reorganize the spaces so that the young people who arrive really feel at home.” World Youth Day continues to prove to be, even today, a great event of the Church that, around the Pope and young people from all over the world, becomes “Community”. And to be, as Father José Cardoso de Almeida stated, “a workshop of the Kingdom of God and the image of that universal fraternity that derives from the Gospel”.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Living the Gospel: The Credibility of Love

Jul 25, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Word of life for this month is, “Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you: none of these will lose their reward” (Mt 10:42). This is the mission to which each of us, just like the disciples, is called: to be credible witnesses of the Love of Christ, in the concrete gestures that are part of our daily lives; a circular Love, which you give with joy and are surprised when it returns abundantly. New Car Accident When I returned to the car park, I found that the new car that my father had lent me was scratched. What could I do? I felt bad because he would be upset and I started to think about how much it would cost to have it repaired. Then I noticed a small magnet on the dashboard holding this writing: “…cast all your worries onto Him because He cares for you”. I tried to do that. And I felt a sense of peace which is what I needed in order to try to figure out what to do. I was absorbed in these thoughts when there was a knock on the window. A lady wanted to talk to me. She was the one who had scraped the car and had left hoping to get away with it, but remorse made her come back. She gave me her phone number and agreed to look after the cost of getting the car repaired.  I was amazed and grateful. I told her how I had found peace reading that sentence on the dashboard. And she thoughtfully replied, “It was Him who brought me back.” (Z.X. – Croatia) The right place When I was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, I realized that my medical competence would be put to the test there and at the same time I felt that that was “my” place. Up until then, I had not had the opportunity to work in such a department where every day, suffering appeared in the most tragic forms: people who had serious accidents, neurological problems… and they were often young people. I wasn’t sure I was up to it. However, the idea of putting myself at the service of Jesus who was present and identified with all those people gave me strength. He said “You did it to me”. After six months, the hospital management offered me the position of head of the department. The reasons for their choice included: my ability to integrate with colleagues, my attitude of calm and peace, and my professional behaviour. The next day in the chapel, I thanked Jesus: it was his words that made me be what others needed above all there, in that place. (J.M. – Spain)

The exam I was preparing for an important exam at university when a friend who was going through a difficult time with his girlfriend came to visit me. I welcomed him and while I was preparing a meal for him, we started talking. The thought of the exam was really on my mind but I tried to set it aside to concentrate on listening to my friend, who was so upset and sad that he did not realize that time was passing and it was time to go to bed. In the end, I offered him a bed for the night. It was really late and I couldn’t even think of opening a book. The next morning the alarm woke me up and a colleague reminded me that I had to turn up for the exam. Still half asleep, I quickly got ready to go out, while my friend continued to sleep. I never dreamt I would pass that exam! I was very happy. When I went back to my room, there was a note on the table: «I don’t know how to thank you. You showed me that I mean something. You gave me new strength. Like you, I want to be “completely there for others.” (G.F. – Poland)

Curated by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from The Gospel of the Day, New Town, year IX – n.1° July-August 2023)

Jesús Morán’s new book: ‘Dynamic Fidelity’

Jul 13, 2023 | Non categorizzato

An interview with the author on his latest literary work – a book designed to give hope, to keep faith in the charism of unity. Some questions to the co-president of the Focolare Movement on his latest book, published by Citta Nuova, entitled ‘Dynamic Fidelity’. Jesús, let’s start with the title ‘Dynamic Fidelity’. I wanted to use the expression that Pope Francis used when he addressed participants at the Focolare Assembly in 2021. There he spoke of dynamic fidelity. In my opinion it is a very close thought to the concept of creative fidelity, with the advantage that ‘dynamic’ refers to the Greek concept dynamis, which means ‘force of movement’. Therefore, dynamic fidelity is fidelity in motion, which is not static, and this is very dear to Pope Francis. When he spoke to us on other occasions he emphasised that movements must be precisely ‘movement’. So it seemed to me that this title was closer to the reality that we are living today…. The book is divided into chapters. The first is ‘Taking the pulse of the times’. What perspectives does Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity have for today? How can we update the identity and history of the charism? It seems to me that Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity is always topical. Regarding synodality, Pope Francis is insisting that we rediscover how we are the people of God on a journey, where we all play a lead role. Synod means ‘walking together’. He wants a Church where everyone gives their best as an integral part of the people of God, the body of Christ. Here, I think Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity can bring a lot in this sense, with her spirituality of communion, the spirituality of unity. On the other hand, today there are so many conflicts, wars, massive polarisation everywhere – in the political, moral, social spheres – and perhaps like never before we are witnessing almost irreconcilable contrasts. I believe that here too the charism of unity can contribute a great deal with the dialogue it weaves. So today the charism of unity must be modernised, rediscover its true identity, going back to the essentials, to the founding core of the charism. This modernisation requires implementing two moments, not in a chronological sense, but in a profound sense. On the one hand is listening to the signs of the times, the questions of the world, of contemporary society. On the other, going deep, fishing out all those resources that the charism has, some of which have not even been expressed. I really like this concept of expressing the unexpressed that is within us. This is how identity is updated in a dynamic fidelity. Together with the process of purifying our memory that we are going through in this post-foundational phase, I think we are ready to take this step. Modernising a charism is achieved with everyone’s contribution and a change of mentality and mindset. Besides invoking the help of the Holy Spirit, what can we do to implement this? Without a doubt, the help of the Holy Spirit is fundamental because we are in the context of a work of God. But to modernise the charism requires intelligence – not in the academic sense, but more in the sense of wisdom. It takes talent and skill to listen to the cry of humanity. What is said in the document of the General Assembly of 2021 is important: today the demands of humanity that we must listen to are the cries of Jesus Forsaken. So in addition to the Holy Spirit, we need the intelligence of the charism and the wisdom that comes from life. This is not a desk exercise, an academic exercise. One can grasp the cry of the forsaken Jesus when one is in contact with the suffering of our contemporaries. What is the ‘theology of the ideal of unity’? Why is it important for fidelity to the charism? Chiara Lubich herself said that theology would be important for the future of the Focolare Movement and the charism. This means deepening the charism of unity in the light of revelation, from where it sprang, and of theological research. It is an exercise in the intelligence of the charism that is fundamental, otherwise it is not incarnated and above all it is not universalised. Without a theology of the ideal, the charism remains within the Movement. With a theology of the ideal of unity, the charism can also go outside, as well as finding a solid foundation. The theology of the Ideal of unity helps to understand it well so that it can be passed on to future generations. Life and witness always go first, but this work is also decisive. The theology of the ideal of unity prevents possible deviations. The original kerygma, encapsulated in the Gospels, needed the arduous work of the Church Fathers, great theologians, to be saved in its integrity. Doesn’t modernisation risk causing the charism to lose its identity? Quite the contrary. It is precisely not modernising that makes the charism lose its identity, because the identity of a charism is always dynamic and creative. It is always about being the same without ever being the same. This is what I have tried to express. Being static makes a charism lose its identity because it makes it lose its connection with reality. For me this is very clear: constant updating is needed for the charism to maintain its identity. And Chiara did this throughout her life. The second chapter, ‘The house of self-knowledge’, takes its cue from a letter by Catherine of Siena. Here we discover our limitations, failures, self-consciousness, the face of Jesus Forsaken. What can we do to pass the ‘test of self-knowledge’? The second chapter is fundamental in this phase we are living through, in which we have had to come to terms with our faults, our errors in incarnating the charism. What can we do to pass the test? We must live it to the full, because it is a matter of recognising that we are not up to the charism. None of us are up to the charism. This does not give rise to a sense of dismay, but rather a new trust in God, in the Holy Spirit, the author of the charism. So the test of self-knowledge is overcome by accepting the humiliation of not being up to it and placing all our trust in God. The third chapter is ‘Discernment in the light of the charism of unity’. The pope asks us to become artisans of community discernment. How should we proceed? And above all, is Chiara Lubich’s charism of unity a charism in discernment? For Pope Francis, discernment and synodality go hand in hand, both individual and communal.  It is a very delicate process, because it requires intelligence, but above all listening to the Holy Spirit. Discernment asks everything of us and everything of God. And this is not simple; it is not an exercise in consensus. It is going deep in seeking God’s will at all times. I believe that the typical dynamism of the charism of unity, which we call Jesus in the midst, that is to merit the presence of Jesus among us, is an exercise in discernment. Chiara Lubich explained it quite well: to merit this presence it takes complete detachment from ourselves, listening to the Holy Spirit. It takes mutual love. Chiara herself developed the idea of trinitarian relationships, which transform community discernment into ‘trinitarian discernment’. When we aim to have Jesus in our midst, we have a trinitarian experience, with all the weaknesses, the frailties of our humanity, physicality, psychology. But we do it, and that is where discernment happens. We can read this practice of trinitarian relationships in the light of Pope Francis’ great idea of discernment and synodality. In the book you talk about two deviations: ‘the seizure of the One’ and ‘the dissolution of the One’. What are they and how can we avoid them? These temptations are really two deviations from the spirituality of unity. In the first it happens that someone takes over the mission of the community and even the mission of each person. There is someone who centralises everything, who without realising it takes the place of the Holy Spirit in the dynamic of unity. In this case the ‘we’ is seized, which is necessary for each one to flourish and make their contribution. This is where abuses of authority, abuses of conscience, and spiritual abuses occur, and it is therefore a strong risk. In the dissolution of the One the opposite happens; the spirit of communion is lost. An exaggerated individualism prevails. If someone takes over the ‘we’ beforehand, it disappears and everyone’s individualism takes over. Community life becomes an organisation where everyone seeks their own space, their own personal fulfilment. Here too the Holy Spirit, who is the dynamism of Christian life, disappears. How to avoid these? We need a moment of self-awareness: understand the mistakes made. At the same time, we need to return to living the Gospel and an authentic life of unity. Above all, I think with humility, the ability to decentralise, love for each other, and continually thinking that the person is an absolute that cannot be annulled in any way. So I think the solution is more love, truth, transparency and concrete giving of ourselves in the life of unity, the life of communion. Unity is a gift of the spirit – no one can seize it with their power or dissolve it with their individualism. Unity is an experience of God that takes all of us. Let us realise this. Finally, what can we do to ensure that all these topics in the book do not remain the best of intentions? I think it would be useful to talk about it in the community, have moments when we read certain passages, retreats, and examine our lives in the light of these suggestions. The book is meant to give hope, to keep faith intact in the charism of unity, and if it has been lost, to recover it. I hope that by sharing experiences we can restore authentic life there where it no longer exists, because in so many places life flourishes, it generates, and there are so many beautiful things.

Lorenzo Russo

 Participate / Preside / Decide

Jul 12, 2023 | Non categorizzato

A theological seminar on the theme “Participate/Preside/Decide – sacramental root and communal dynamic in the journey of the people of God on mission” was held on Saturday 24^th June 2023 in Loppiano (Incisa Valdarno, Florence, Italy). Over thirty academics responded to the invitation of the Evangelii Gaudium Centre (CEG) of the Sophia University Institute, to develop a proposal to revise canon law in order to rebalance, as urged by the working document (Instrumentum laboris) of the XIV Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the “relationship between the principle of authority, which is strongly affirmed in the current legislation, and the principle of participation”. Pope Francis assures us “not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium” (Amoris Laetizia, no. 3). It is therefore crucial to listen to the sensus fidelium of the entire People of God (clergy and faithful) with all its variety of cultures. In this way, the dialogue between theology and law is motivated by a sincere process of inculturation without which there is a real risk of laying the foundations for a practical non-observance of the general principles enunciated by the Church. Prof. Vincenzo Di Pilato, academic coordinator of the CEG commented, “The point is precisely this: how to make the active participation of all the faithful within our synodal assemblies effective? Will it just be advisory? Or will it also be deliberative? Will this mean reaching a negotiation for a juridical “concession” or “recognizing” the decision-making capacity of the collective subject of ecclesial action as it emerges from the ecclesiology of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium? And therefore, will it be necessary to update the Code of Canon Law?” In his initial greeting to the participants, Card. Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, highlighted how the synodal journey is entering a new phase: it is called to become a generative dynamic and not simply one of many events. We cannot listen to the Holy Spirit without listening to the holy people of God in that “reciprocity” that constitutes it as the “Body of Christ”. In this communal bond, the particular methodology of conversation in the Spirit, well described on the occasion of the presentation of the Instrumentum laboris, takes shape. Hence the need, referred to several times by Card. Grech, to better articulate the principle of restitution. In other words, this means that the unity of the synodal process is guaranteed by the fact that it returns to where it started, to the local Churches, and this is an important moment of the “recognition” of what has matured in listening to what the Spirit is saying to the Church today. The synodal journey seems to stand, therefore, as a significant moment in ecclesial life, capable of stimulating and activating the creative impetus and evangelical proclamation that comes from the rediscovery of the relationship with God that innervates the relationship between believers, and also as a sign for a cultural context in which it houses a silent cry of fraternity in the search for the common good. If in Prof. Severino Dianich’s  report “The problems of synodality between ecclesiology and canon law” the recovery of the Pauline ecclesiology of the being-body of Christ and the enhancement of the dynamic co-essentiality of hierarchical and charismatic gifts emerged,  for Prof. Alphonse Borras, this turning point requires a canonical clarification, which outlines a flexible procedural practice, capable of accompanying decision-making and participation processes through the various bodies already envisaged (episcopal council, presbytery, diocesan and parish pastoral programmes …). Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, former president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, seemed to agree with this line in his speech, “Ecclesial Synodality: is a rapid transition from the consultative to the deliberative conceivable?”. In his opinion it is possible to find in canon law a clear definition of synodality, understood as “communion of clergy and faithful in carrying out the activity of recognizing what is the good of the Church and in the ability to decide how to implement such an identified good”. At the end of the seminar, many participants expressed the wish to see the speeches of the seminar published. The CEG is working to do this by September as a further contribution to the upcoming Synod.

Antonio Bergamo

Moved by the Spirit: interview with Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Jul 11, 2023 | Non categorizzato

On Sunday, 9 July 2023, Pope Francis appointed 21 new Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, as usual to the surprise of those concerned. Among them is Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. In congratulating His Beatitude on this appointment, we joyfully share an interview with him, taken exactly one year ago in the Holy Land. Watch the video (activate English subtitles) https://youtu.be/JFjWb1-y0ug  

Seelisberg Prize 2023 to Joseph Sievers

Jul 7, 2023 | Non categorizzato

As part of the opening event of the International Conference of the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) in Boston, USA, on Sunday 18 June, Prof. Joseph Sievers was awarded the 2023 Seelisberg Prize. Our interview on his return to Rome. The Seelisberg Prize is inspired by and intended to commemorate the ground-breaking gathering that took place in the small Swiss village of Seelisberg from 30 July to 5 August 1947 to address Christian teachings regarding discrimination against Jews and Judaism. This event is widely recognised as inaugurating the transformation in relations between Jews and Christians. The Seelisberg Prize is awarded annually (since 2022) by the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) which originated from the Seelisberg conference, and the Centre for Intercultural Theology and Religions at the University of Salzburg. It honours individuals who have played important roles through their scholarship and teaching in promoting rapprochement between Jews and Christians. Prof. Dr. Joseph Sievers (Seelisberg Prize 2023) was born and raised in Germany and began his studies at the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He holds a PhD in Ancient History from Columbia University (1981) and a Lic. Theol. from the Pontifical Gregorian University (1997). He has taught at CUNY, Seton Hall Univ., Fordham Univ. and other institutions in the US, Italy and Israel. From 1991 until 2023, he taught Jewish history and literature of the Hellenistic period at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, where he was a full professor. In addition, from 2003 to 2009 he was Director of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Jewish Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Since 1965 he has been a member of the Focolare Movement, with whose Centre for Interreligious Dialogue he has collaborated since 1996. He has published several books and numerous articles, primarily in the areas of Second Temple history (in particular Flavius Josephus) and Christian-Jewish relations. With Amy-Jill Levine, he edited The Pharisees (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2021; Italian translation Milan, San Paolo, 2021; German translation planned for 2024). Professor Sievers, what does it mean to you to receive this award? It was a great surprise and when I was asked to say something about my experience, I felt a great gratitude looking back, thinking about all the moments, all the people I met, the situations in which I was able to be there and sometimes be of help. A great gratitude and, at the same time, a responsibility for the present and the future. In his speech at the award ceremony you said: “Difficulties can help us understand one another better. Difficulties can unite us”. In your long experience of this dialogue, what have been the most difficult and also the most surprising moments where you were still able to say “Anything’s possible”? There have been various difficult moments, but one that I particularly remember is when we had to organise a meeting for dialogue in Jerusalem in 2009. It took place a few weeks after a conflict which had left many people dead or wounded. At the same time there was the situation of Bishop (Richard Nelson) Williamson denying the holocaust. There were difficulties on all sides that made open dialogue very difficult. However, we still managed to hold the meeting. We went ahead and they were very strong, spiritual moments of communion, beyond all the problems. And then you also ask me the things that were possible, despite the difficulties? It certainly was not easy to organise a conference on the Pharisees and then publish a book. There were several points where I felt the way was barred, either for financial reasons or because someone did not agree with what we wanted to do, or because it seemed impossible to have an audience with the Pope, for a conference of this type… Instead, by collaborating – and it really was a collaboration, especially with a Jewish colleague, but also with others – it was possible to solve these problems and give something that was based on serious studies but also addressed to concrete situations in churches and parishes. Certainly there was success that did not have an immediate effect everywhere, but for example one bishop wrote to me saying “now we need to change all our teaching on the Pharisees and Judaism in the seminaries”. That is already something. How has your membership of the Focolare Movement affected this experience? Without the Focolare Movement I probably would not have entered this field.  The Movement gave me the impetus to study the languages of the Bible and everything else followed from that. I entered the focolare on 28 October 1965.  It was a Thursday. I arrived in the focolare in Cologne (Germany) with my bicycle that I’d brought by train with my two suitcases on the same evening that the Council in Rome was approving Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the Relations of the Church with Non-Christian Religions). This has always meant a lot to me, linking commitment to the Movement with commitment to dialogue. You were also called to officially collaborate in the Catholic Church’s dialogue with the Jews… Yes. Since 2008 I have been a Consultant of the Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism, a commission of the Holy See. And I have participated in various meetings of the ILC in Buenos Aires, Cape Town or even Budapest, Madrid, Warsaw, Rome … And are steps forward being made? One step is already being open to meet and talk to each other and to overcome difficulties along the way. Sometimes it is better to face everything over dinner together than with fiery letters. Steps are being taken and certainly there is much more to be done, the network needs to be expanded. I mean, most Christians and most Jews are not involved. Sometimes they don’t even know that there are these relationships or that we are on this journey together. There is still a lot to be done to make this known and apply it. One thing I have learned a lot from my relationships with Jews is that the questions are sometimes more important than the answers. That is, I do not and cannot claim to have all the answers.  So I cannot approach the other person as someone who has found all the answers and approaches him or her from a position of superiority. My position is to be a seeker together. It is this – most dramatically when dealing with the subject of the Shoah, the Holocaust – that has to be faced together sooner or later. One thing that is essential is to look at, to be as sensitive as possible to each other’s commitments and needs. And then also to be open, and if you make a mistake you can always start again if the intention is right, tiptoeing into the other person’s environment, not with the attitude of someone who says “I know everything”. Lastly, in receiving this award, apart from feeling grateful, does it inspire Joseph Sievers in any other way? Yes, indeed. For example, there are some open questions and this stimulates me to tackle them more. And maybe it even gives me some authority to address them with certain people. I don’t know if this will happen, but it is also an incentive to continue this work, which is not finished, which will never be finished, but where some steps can be taken together.

Carlos Mana

Participate / Preside / Decide

Jul 5, 2023 | Non categorizzato

A theological seminar on the theme “Participate/Preside/Decide – sacramental root and communal dynamic in the journey of the people of God on mission” was held on Saturday 24^th June 2023 in Loppiano (Incisa Valdarno, Florence). Over thirty academics responded to the invitation of the Evangelii Gaudium Centre (CEG) of the Sophia University Institute, to develop a proposal to revise canon law in order to rebalance, as urged by the working document (Instrumentum laboris) of the XIV Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the “relationship between the principle of authority, which is strongly affirmed in the current legislation, and the principle of participation”. Pope Francis assures us “not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium” (Amoris Laetizia, no. 3). It is therefore crucial to listen to the sensus fidelium of the entire People of God (clergy and faithful) with all its variety of cultures. In this way, the dialogue between theology and law is motivated by a sincere process of inculturation without which there is a real risk of laying the foundations for a practical non-observance of the general principles enunciated by the Church. Prof. Vincenzo Di Pilato, academic coordinator of the CEG commented, “The point is precisely this: how to make the active participation of all the faithful within our synodal assemblies effective? Will it just be advisory? Or will it also be deliberative? Will this mean reaching a negotiation for a juridical “concession” or “recognizing” the decision-making capacity of the collective subject of ecclesial action as it emerges from the ecclesiology of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium? And therefore, will it be necessary to update the Code of Canon Law?” In his initial greeting to the participants, Card. Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, highlighted how the synodal journey is entering a new phase: it is called to become a generative dynamic and not simply one of many events. We cannot listen to the Holy Spirit without listening to the holy people of God in that “reciprocity” that constitutes it as the “Body of Christ”. In this communal bond, the particular methodology of conversation in the Spirit, well described on the occasion of the presentation of the Instrumentum laboris, takes shape. Hence the need, referred to several times by Card. Grech, to better articulate the principle of restitution. In other words, this means that the unity of the synodal process is guaranteed by the fact that it returns to where it started, to the local Churches, and this is an important moment of the “recognition” of what has matured in listening to what the Spirit is saying to the Church today. The synodal journey seems to stand, therefore, as a significant moment in ecclesial life, capable of stimulating and activating the creative impetus and evangelical proclamation that comes from the rediscovery of the relationship with God that innervates the relationship between believers, and also as a sign for a cultural context in which it houses a silent cry of fraternity in the search for the common good. If in Prof. Severino Dianich’s  report “The problems of synodality between ecclesiology and canon law” the recovery of the Pauline ecclesiology of the being-body of Christ and the enhancement of the dynamic co-essentiality of hierarchical and charismatic gifts emerged,  for Prof. Alphonse Borras, this turning point requires a canonical clarification, which outlines a flexible procedural practice, capable of accompanying decision-making and participation processes through the various bodies already envisaged (episcopal council, presbytery, diocesan and parish pastoral programmes …). Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, former president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, seemed to agree with this line in his speech, “Ecclesial Synodality: is a rapid transition from the consultative to the deliberative conceivable?”. In his opinion it is possible to find in canon law a clear definition of synodality, understood as “communion of clergy and faithful in carrying out the activity of recognizing what is the good of the Church and in the ability to decide how to implement such an identified good”. At the end of the seminar, many participants expressed the wish to see the speeches of the seminar published. The CEG is working to do this by September as a further contribution to the upcoming Synod.

Antonio Bergamo

Emilia-Romagna flood: hope that resists mud

Jul 4, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Almost a month and a half after the floods that hit the regions of the Marche and Emilia-Romagna (Italy), here is the story of the personal experience of Maria Chiara Campodoni, a married focolarina, a teacher and a former municipal councillor of the Municipality of Faenza, who was a victim of this disaster. The flood that hit the Marche and Emilia-Romagna (Italy) about a month and a half ago caused the loss of 15 lives, thousands of displaced people and the flooding of 23 rivers. To date, flooding has occurred in about 100 municipal regions. Numerous landslides have affected small producers, tens of square kilometres of agricultural land and farms have been destroyed by the power of water, along with bridges and roads. The contributions collected by the Emergency Coordination Committee of the Focolare movement, AMU and AFN have reached 182,000 euros. In collaboration with APS Emilia-Romagna, a social welfare association, a local emergency committee was set up to identify areas of priority intervention which include: Cesena, Sarsina, Faenza, Castel Bolognese and Ravenna. The needs of the affected populations were assessed, especially through personal contacts and through the compilation of forms in which each person declared the damage suffered and the request for assistance. Maria Chiara Campodoni, a married focolarina, teacher, Councillor for Sport from 2010-2015 and President of the Municipal Council of Faenza 2015-2020, was severely affected. She told us about the misfortune of this experience but also expressed her hope for the future. Maria Chiara, what happened to you and your family? There were two floods in Faenza. On 2^nd May, the water came into our house for the first time, to a depth of 30 cms. It was in the afternoon, in daylight. My son and I were in the house. At first it was like an adventure, my husband had gone to collect the other two children from sports activities. That night we decided that they should not come home because there was much more water outside than inside and we only have windows and doors on the ground floor. Getting them back into the house would have meant letting a lot more water in. So they went to sleep with their grandparents and the two of us tried to take some things upstairs, we ate something in the bedroom and went to bed. Even the firefighters who had passed by had reassured us, telling us that the situation would not get any worse. The next day the water level between inside and outside was the same and then we decided to leave the house. A fortnight later the authorities started advising people to evacuate the ground floors because it was going to happen again. The whole city went on alert and realized that it had to get organized because something even more serious was going to happen. And what happened the second time? The second flood, the one from which we had to escape, came in the evening. Around 8.30 pm, the river bank just above our house collapsed. Until that moment, since we obtained a pump for inside the house, we hadn’t gone outside convinced that we could control the flow with the pumps and keep the water level down also with the help of sandbags. But within 20 minutes the water had reached the first floor, up to 3 metres in a very short time and suddenly we found ourselves trapped. We called the rescuers who immediately responded saying that they would arrive, but in the meantime, that afternoon, the Savio River in Cesena had also flooded, so the civil protection workers and the firefighters, who until the day before were all in Faenza, were already spread out in the various areas. Moreover, in my street the current was so strong that the motor vehicles only managed to get in at 04:00 at night and we would not have been able to resist until then. The firemen told us to go to the rooftops, but we don’t have a skylight, so it meant going outside, floating. The situation was really dangerous. (In the photo, the arrow indicates the level reached by the water). At one point a cousin of my husband, who saw on social media that the river had broken through the embankment beside our house, called him and asked him if we were already out. Just from our voices he could tell that we were in danger and since he is an athlete, as a boy he was a surfer, he put on his wetsuit, took his surfboard and threw himself into the current. He swam to our house and pushing the surf board, one at a time, he loaded us on it and took us to safety, to the city walls, 500 meters from our house. What did you see outside? Immersed in the current, the whole perspective changed. The water had already surpassed the street signs, so you no longer knew if you were on the street or in the garden of a house. We passed over gates, over garages and we were so high that at one point he asked me to cling to what looked like a bush, but in reality, now that I can see it, it was a tree. I was the last one to be saved. We were welcomed into the house of a lady who knows us. We were soaking wet. She gave us clean clothes. That night was very cold, terrible conditions and it was raining. We warmed up and then we were able to go the 6 kms from the city where my mother-in-law lives. We were really lucky because we were among the first to get out. We did not experience what many told us afterwards was a night of real terror in the city. Were the children aware of the danger? Yes. I have three children aged 10, 8 and 6. At one point, the youngest kept running down the stairs because we could see the water rising step by step and he said to me: “I can only see 5 steps, 4 four steps. Let’s go to the terrace, we have to run away” and we said “we need to stay here at the window, because it’s raining outside. The police are coming.” They realized and slowly had to process what was happening, especially the oldest. We feared that in just an hour we wouldn’t make it. When we arrived at grandma’s they were calmer even though when they got there they began to realize that we had lost everything. They were saying, “Mum, we don’t have schoolbags anymore, we don’t have books, now what?” I explained to them that many would help us. And so it was. How were those first days? Where did you find shelter? We stayed with my mother-in-law for a few days because we couldn’t move around town. Then, later, we were welcomed by an aunt of a friend of my son who lives abroad and who lent us her house in the centre for a month. It was 10 minutes’ walk from where we lived so we were able to go to our house and start clearing it. It was a tight fit, but it really was a great gift which I realized even more later, when I started hearing other people’s stories. Volunteers also began to arrive throughout the city. Because of the Focolare Movement and my husband’s contacts, we always had help. People came from Parma, from Piacenza, from Veneto even including people who themselves have been through the earthquake in Emilia some years ago. There was a beautiful atmosphere of concrete help, and it was in this climate that, slowly, I began to throw everything away but I was really serene. Shovelling mud is an all-encompassing thing at the beginning, you try to do your best, with all your strength and then you realize that it’s not the things, the objects that make up your life, but everything else. Your husband has a restaurant… Yes. He could see from the cameras that fortunately the water didn’t get in but he wanted to see in person. One day he left at six in the morning thinking of taking the motorway but even that was closed. We came up with an idea: “let’s call the deputy mayor, and let’s tell him that if the civil protection can bring you to the restaurant, you could start cooking for everyone in need.” The idea was willingly accepted because there were already many displaced people., Luckily they had been able to bring many disabled and elderly  people to a hotel which is very close to my husband’s restaurant, but which does not have working kitchens. So my husband and two employees stayed the whole day at the restaurant and made 700 meals between lunch and dinner. There were 100 displaced people and then firefighters, civil protection personnel and since the restaurant is located right on Via Emilia, an access point, many of the people who had been stuck in the street, who had slept in the car without eating, came to the restaurant asking for help. The whole area of Cesena and Forlì was paralyzed. What are you going to do now? At the moment we have left that small house that we were using. We will move into a house that we have by the sea for a while and then we have rented an apartment for 18 months while we are waiting to fix up our house. The idea is to return to it in September 2024. But there are many questions, first of all to understand if there will be companies that can renovate all these houses, because there are so many of us. We’re talking about 12,000 people who are out of their houses. There are 6,000 families in our city alone and some houses, the oldest, have been declared uninhabitable. Now the houses have to dry out. We’ve already destroyed everything. We had parquet floors which we had to remove. The false ceilings on the ground floor came down on their own when the water came in. We had help to disconnect the toilets. Now every morning we go to open the windows and in the evening we go to close them and to turn on the dehumidifier. Luckily it’s summer, if this had happened in the autumn, it would have been an even greater disaster. Is help still coming? Absolutely yes and in many ways. For example, at the beginning we had thought of looking for an already furnished house so as not to have to have a double move, but we realized that people started to give everything: wardrobes, mattresses, furniture, and sofas. We decided to take an empty house so that we can begin to redecorate with this providence and then, in 18 months, bring everything back to our home, also because then there will certainly be other needs. People are really happy to help and I have to say that for me it was a lesson. I remember that one day, after the first flood, the house was upside down and the washing machine was broken. I said to myself, “I’ll prepare three bags, one of white clothes, one with coloured and one with dark ones, and then I’ll go to work. To the first colleague who asks me ‘how can I help you?’, I’ll say ‘would you be able to take all these clothes to wash’”. I was still at the door of the school and the bags were already taken. In these cases there is a stronger bond with people and above all I wasn’t too proud to ask for help. We accepted what was given to us and I feel that it is also a way to be honest about  my needs and say okay,  we love each other like this, just as we are. We also had a good relationship with our neighbours. We have lived there for four and a half years but I had never entered so many neighbour’s gardens, because life is hectic, we’re always in a rush. Whereas, now you go in, you greet each other, you help each other. What stage is it at now? The second phase has begun, that of establishing citizen committees to begin communicating with the municipal administration. I would immediately have excluded myself for various reasons, especially because in the past I held certain roles but  then I realized that without taking on too much, by listening, by staying in the chats, by helping those responsible for these committees, I can do my part. I owe it to my children who still ask me “but do we have to go back to live  there? Will we build an external staircase to the roof for the next time?” We need an active citizenship to keep an eye on the situation. I felt that I had to use my experience in the right way, building as many connections as possible, because now, as always happens with reconstruction, the greatest fear is to remain alone. Are you hopeful? Yes, absolutely. The other day we wanted to give a gift to the lady who offered us her house for the first month and, since Faenza is a city of ceramics, I bought a plaque to hang on the wall with the sentence, “The beautiful things of life are messy”. I thought, this was a huge, huge mess. We will need time to get back on track and we will make it, but I feel that I would never have had certain experiences without having gone through this difficult moment. I really feel that I have reached that point where you look at the essentials, at what really matters. It was terrible, but I can’t just think about the disaster, that the water took everything away and that was the end. There is much more to it than this.

Maria Grazia Berretta (Interview with Carlos Mana – Photo: by Maria Chiara Campodoni)

It is still possible to contribute to emergency fundraising. If you want to donate, click here

Japan: the CommuniHeart project

Jun 30, 2023 | Non categorizzato

In Japan, a group of women of different religions has set up the ‘CommuniHeart project’, a suicide prevention project that focuses on self-awareness, communication and community support. The CommuniHeart project is organised by Religions for Peace Japan (World Conference of Religions for Peace). https://youtu.be/NPs9U3pfLZs

Towards an Ethical Oath for the Digital World

Jun 27, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The level reached by artificial intelligence poses new ethical questions: how can technological development be progressed on a human scale? A Call to Action for developers and innovators in the digital world. A horizon that concerns us all. June 2023, Sophia University Institute: on the screen of the Aula Magna a digital hostess elegantly opens the seminar “Towards a Digital Oath”. We are crossing a threshold: the preparation began a long time ago, but the acceleration of recent times says something new. Promoted by a platform of protagonists: the Sophia Global Studies Research Centre, the Political Movement for Unity, NetOne, New Humanity and Digital Oath, the aim of the seminar is to address the pressing issues of the digital world according to different perspectives: philosophical, technological, ethical, social and political, leading up to a discussion about the proposal of an “oath”, that for professionals in the digital world would be equivalent to the Hippocratic Oath for doctors. Where does this idea come from? What are the goals? The technological world tends to change rapidly, faster than our ability to adapt. The complexity of the machines and systems that structure reality affects not only the way we live, but also the way we see the world and think about the future. The level reached by “AI – artificial intelligence”, alongside enthusiasm for its operational capabilities, presents a general concern about the new possibilities being opened up by these systems and the effects that can result from their malicious use. The recent spread of ChatGPT (November 2022) and all its spin-offs has brought AI massively closer to our daily lives, giving rise to new questions of meaning related to the understanding of what is human and what is not. In the world panorama, the evolution of these devices has produced a kind of disorientation, not only because their use appears within the reach of everyone, but above all because they demonstrate that they do something that was previously the prerogative of human beings, with quantitatively superior capacities. The fact that we are faced with systems that are not “intelligent” in the human sense of the term and that manage their knowledge base through statistical calculations does not change the final result: the feeling of no longer being the authors of fundamental choices, of being challenged by machines that are less like “tools” and more like “colleagues”. The “Towards a Digital Oath” seminar added an important theme to these issues which is that questioning the ethics of technologies means questioning what is human. Many people consider technological development as the human activity that characterizes us most. Digital technologies, and in particular AI, are those that most accurately reflect our way of being and of understanding our existence. The crises of the last century (of values, environmental, social and political) are closely related to them and indicate that technological development must be accompanied by an equally determined educational commitment, so that every form of progress can be guided by a deeper ethical awareness. The “oath” for the digital world goes precisely in this direction. The programme of the first days of June convened a range of experts (link to the programme). After an initial broad overview of today’s digital technologies, the discussion explored the risks and regulations related to their use in Italy, the EU, the US, Brazil and China, intertwining technological solutions with political issues, philosophical reflections and social phenomena. Fadi Chehadé, former CEO of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), promoter of the “oath” for an ethics of the digital world and visiting professor at the Sophia Institute, said, “We need to make a concrete and universally shared commitment to which developers, technicians and users of digital technologies can adhere and firmly anchor their work on a human centred approach”. Fadi Chehadé has been involved in this project since November 2019, when the first group met in Trent (Italy) to shape the project. Subsequently, the group involved scholars in various countries and participated in the UN-sponsored public consultation for the Global Digital Compact 2024. The purpose of the Digital Oath is precise: to suggest guidelines and ethically motivate developers and innovators of the digital world to put the dignity and quality of life of people and communities, the sense of human existence and respect for fundamental rights and the environment, at the centre. The proposal to “translate” the Hippocratic Oath for the digital world has already emerged in various international studies, which underline the urgency of the issue and the responsibility of those who create and manage digital services and administer data. It includes not only the new neural networks but also social networks and cryptocurrencies.  Our work adds to that of other networks: now we need to join forces to establish a coalition between universities, the private sector and organizations committed to writing a code of ethics, a self-regulatory protocol that can benefit people, society and the environment. There is an initial wording of the oath on the new Digital Oath website and it is attracting support; suggestions and changes to the text are welcome and it will be progressively developed. The recordings and documents of the Seminar will soon be available on the website. The road is certainly uphill but there are many of us on the journey: it is a horizon that concerns us all.

Andrea Galluzzi

Ecumenism: Synodality and Primacy in the Second Millennium and Today

Jun 23, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church held its fifteenth plenary session from 1^st-7^th June 2023 in Alexandria, Egypt. It was hosted by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa. Agreement was reached on a new document entitled “Synodality and Primacy in the Second Millennium and Today”. We interviewed theologian Piero Coda, who attended the meeting. Fr. Coda, can you tell us how it went, who took part and what was the main objective? It was the 15^th plenary session of the “Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church” which was held in Alexandria, Egypt, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Job of Pisidia (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople) and Cardinal Kurt Koch (Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity), with the cordial hospitality of Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria. It was a question of completing the stage of dialogue inaugurated by the document of Ravenna (2007). After developing the theological framework shared by Orthodox and Catholics about the interdependence of synodality and primacy in the life of the Church, it provided an historical examination of the situation experienced in the first millennium, proposed by the document of Chieti (2016) and reached a description of the situation experienced in the second millennium, which was the object of the document approved in Alexandria. Due to the well-known vicissitudes which torment the Orthodox world, the Patriarchate of Russia left the work of the Commission. There were no representatives of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Bulgaria and Serbia at the meeting in Alexandria, while the remaining 10 delegations of the other Patriarchates (Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Romania, Georgia) and the autocephalous Churches (Cyprus, Greece, Poland, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) were present. In what terms is it possible to speak of Synodality in the ecumenical sense and what considerations emerged also taking the past into account? The theme is illustrated in the Introduction: “The present document considers the troubled history of the second millennium (…) It strives to give as far as possible a common reading of that history, and it gives Orthodox and Roman Catholics a welcome opportunity to explain themselves to one another at various points along the way, so as to further the mutual understanding and trust that are essential prerequisites for reconciliation at the start of the third millennium.” The result is a clearer and more shared understanding of the reasons that have led, not infrequently for reasons of a historical-political rather than theological nature, to encourage a distance that has not only prevented attempts at reconciliation made over the centuries from coming to fruition, but has exacerbated the polemical interpretation of the other party and the apologetic stiffening of its position. The enhancement of openness to a new situation marked by the rapprochement that occurred in the twentieth century must be noted: it favours a more pertinent assessment of the actual meaning and theological weight of what still prevents full and visible unity. What are the future prospects? The document emphasizes that the “return to the sources” of the faith and the strategy of the dialogue of charity between the “sister Churches” promoted, in the wake of Vatican II, by Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, are significant. The Catholic Church’s commitment today, tenaciously desired by Pope Francis, to rediscover and reactivate the principle of synodality also stimulates hope. What lies ahead? The document states that, “The Church is not properly understood as a pyramid, with a primate governing from the top, but neither is it properly understood as a federation of self-sufficient Churches. Our historical study of synodality and primacy in the second millennium has shown the inadequacy of both of these views. Similarly, it is clear that for Roman Catholics synodality is not merely consultative, and for Orthodox primacy is not merely honorific”. Therefore, the interdependence between synodality and primacy, this was the firm point which was achieved, “is a fundamental principle in the life of the Church. It is intrinsically related to the service of the unity of the Church at the local, regional and universal levels. However, principles must be applied in specific historical settings (…) What is required in new circumstances is a new and proper application of the same governing principle.” This perspective paves the way for the continuation of the journey and the opening of a new phase.

Carlos Mana e Maria Grazia Berretta (photo: ©Dicastero per la promozione dell’Unità dei cristiani)

Living prayer

Jun 22, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Entering into prayer helps us connect deeply with the presence of God in our lives. Chiara Lubich, Rev. Pasquale Foresti and Igino Giordani outline a spirituality for everyone, in daily life in towns and cities all over the world.   I realized, that modern times require a rather special kind of prayer. … In the past, people thought that the world and the universe were fixed, immovable. People had to find God through the stars, through flowers, through contemplation, peace, they found union with God through moments of recollection and prayer in the church, in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  Instead, nowadays, people see that the world is in evolution – it’s constantly changing. Everything is changing and human beings also find themselves in this constant movement, they too are in race towards perfection. So, people can no longer stand still and contemplate, they have to … participate with God in this evolution, in this continuing creation.  So, everything you do in your job – at school, in the office, in the factory – is all part of building up the world together with God the Creator, of making the world develop. However, we have to take it ahead with the idea that we are participating in the creative work of God. Seen this way, our work is sacred. We are like the arms of God the Creator who keeps building up the world.

(Chiara Lubich, Castel Gandolfo, 25 February 1989 in “Il Respiro di Dio” [The Breath of God] edited by Fabio Ciardi, Città Nuova, 2022, p.122-123).

  A very important form of prayer can be experienced in work. I am thinking especially of people working in manufacturing, of all those people who during the day are overwhelmed by a workload that almost takes away their very ability to think and so, in a certain sense, also makes it almost impossible for them to pray.  If each morning, with a simple intention, we offer our daily life to God, then we will live deeply in relationship with God throughout the day.  And I think that when in the evening, these people who have worked so hard, are able to recollect themselves with God, even if only for a few moments despite their tiredness, they will find unity with him: they will find it because they have worked all day in relationship with him. And this is truly the most important thing: to be in a right relationship with him. And this, after all, is what humanity wants to hear today, that the whole universe and all that happens in it, can be understood in religious terms and can be transformed into one great prayer that rises up to God from the world.

Rev. Pasquale Foresi (in “Dio ci chiama. Conversazioni sulla vita cristiana” [God calls. Talks on Christian life] Città Nuova, 2003, p.116).

  This morning I felt as if I had come closer to God. I don’t think I had ever felt him so close to me. My joy was, and is, great. I feel that I have found access to Him, freely; and my intention is never to stray away from him again. By the grace of God, I have overcome the obstacles that kept me clinging to the earth. Now I am on earth, and I dwell in heaven (my ambition is huge, but His mercy is even greater.  I love God so much). I am no longer hindered by the impulses of vanity, of preferences in friendships. I go directly to God, discarding these wretched things. People may betray me, slander me, even kill me: but I have God; and I love these people, without being dependent on them.   I belong to God. I do not need anything else.

Igino Giordani (in “Diario di Fuoco” [Diary of Fire], Città Nuova, 1992, p.196).

Activate English subtitles https://youtu.be/nCT9WVDhcuk

SPARKS (the podcast): stories of the changemakers among us

Jun 16, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Today, the first episode of the new podcast, produced by the United World Project, has been published. The podcast tells stories of changemakers that have decided to start a new business, inspired by a spark that pushed them to act for the improvement of their society.

A spark can inspire change

Today, on 16th of June 2023, the United World Project is happy to present to you a new podcast in english: Sparks. In every new episode we will tell stories of changemakers from different parts of the world that gave life to a project, a company or an activity, after being inspired by a “spark”: a small light that has influenced many other people. Each one of them will take us to their country, where we’ll immerse ourselves in a new culture, and tell us how their project started. We do not have to be Greta Thunberg or Gandhi to initiate change. We believe that each one of us can make a difference. Maybe, all that’s needed is just a spark.

The first episode: Giving back to society one jar at a time  

Giving back to society, one jar at a time. We all have big dreams. Mabih’s was to work at the United Nations, and for years she did all she could to make it come true. But things did not go as she hoped. In 2019, she realized that what she thought was her dream to help others was maybe in fact her own personal desire for affirmation in society. So she allowed that dream to transform, and her life changed in ways she could never imagine. Today, Nji Mabih runs a small business, she is 38 years old and lives in Cameroon. To keep reading, click here. To listen to the episode immediately on Spotify, click here!  If you prefer to listen to podcasts on other platforms, you can also find “Sparks” on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Anghami and Audible. Enjoy!

Laura Salerno

Living the Gospel: “Live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11)

Jun 16, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Letting God dwell in us: this is the starting point to safeguard and give joyful witness of the inestimable value of unity and peace, in charity and truth; to enrich ourselves and be seeds of goodness and brotherhood for the world. Without measuring hatred I live in a Ukrainian town on the border with Slovakia. We are not being bombed but we experience the terrible consequences of the war: displaced people with all their needs, the demand for torches and candles, medicines, blankets… A great darkness has descended on our land. News about people who betray others, of those who get rich in these terrible situations, of those who exploit others are the order of the day: when it triumphs, evil has no rules, no limits. But in spite of everything, something else happens: the people here feel involved in the pain of others and look for solutions. The need for warmth, protection and solidarity has returned to families. I witness this paradox of a war of evil and of the triumph of good. We tell the story of Chiara Lubich and her first followers: they too began during a war and they did not measure hatred, but turned on good and then spread everywhere. The forces of evil will not prevail. Our gratitude is a true prayer that rises to heaven like a song of praise to the God who is Love. (S.P. – Ukraine) A chain of love In the waiting room of my shop, the customers usually exchange news and since I hadn’t seen Mrs. Adele, an elderly woman who sometimes came to us, for a long time, I asked one of them for her news. So I learned that Adele was seriously ill and, driven by the desire to see her again, one day I decided to visit her. I found Mrs. Adele, alone and without relatives, completely abandoned. I immediately I circulated a request for help, looking for someone who could keep her company.  Three clients responded immediately. A kind of competition started until one of their sons worked hard to get her admitted to a home that provided assistance and care. I too volunteered to give my services as a hairdresser, not only for Adele but for anyone. Adele’s story has shown me that it is enough to begin with concrete acts of charity; the chain of love then unfolds quickly and effectively. (F.D.R. – Italy) A School of Solidarity In the desert, outside the city of Egypt where I live, there are 1000 people with leprosy. Until a few years ago no one knew about this colony. We went to check the situation and found that they lacked everything. No doctors visited them.  We contacted Carita and we opened our group to other young Christians and Muslims with whom we go there on our days off work. Two of us are medical students and are in charge of medical care, so they brushed up on the methods of treatment for leprosy. Others gave their time to paint the houses and make them more comfortable. A young journalist has published some articles in various newspapers and magazines in order to inform as many people as possible and raise awareness of the problem. Above all, we realized that the patients of this colony need someone to listen to them, which for them is almost more important than medicine. This experience has become a real school for us: it has made us understand how each of us can give our contribution for others. (H.F.S.- Egypt)

compiled by Maria Grazia Berretta

(taken from The Gospel of the Day, New City, year IX – no. 1 May-June 2023)

Meeting on Human Fraternity: work in which we all share

Jun 14, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The Meeting on Human Fraternity took place in the Vatican on 10 June 2023.  The Focolare Movement together with a number of other ecclesial movements and international associations and organisations took part in this international event. It was represented by its president, Margaret Karram and a number of other  focolarini including Christian Abrahao Da Silva who spoke  about his impressions. The meeting had a number of aims: these included  promoting and developing the process of participation,  rediscovering the meaning of fraternity and building it together through dialogue, knowledge, opportunities for encounter and sharing words and actions.  The gathering was promoted by the Fratelli Tutti Foundation and St. Peter’s Papal Basilica, under the patronage of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s  Basilica in the Vatican and Vicar General of the Vatican State. It was inspired by the encyclical Fratelli Tutti and participants included several Nobel Peace Laureates and a number of well known people from the worlds of science, culture and law. They were given the task  of    creating a “Call to Commitment for Human Fraternity.” The document they produced was read by two Nobel Prize laureates, Nadia Murad and Muhammad Yunus, during the Festival held in St. Peter’s Square in the afternoon and was later signed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, on behalf of Pope Francis as well as the group that drafted the document. Christian Abrahao Da Silva, a focolarino who attended the Meeting, tells us what an extraordinary moment it was. Christian, what did taking part in this event dedicated to world fraternity mean to you? First of all, it was a great honour.  Margaret Karram, the Focolare president, another focolarina called Corres Kwak and I represented the  entire Movement during this great event.  Its goal was to  promote fraternity and social friendship among people and among peoples, as an antidote to the many forms of violence and war taking place in the world. The meeting was held in two parts: the morning session  took place in the ancient synod hall, with the presence of representatives of various church movements and associations. Instead, in the afternoon, a large Festival was held in St. Peter’s Square and this connected with events taking place in  various squares around the world. How did the Meeting begin? During the morning, we took part in two working groups where we were asked to answer two questions: “What are we doing concretely to achieve social fraternity and environmental fraternity?” and  “Is there still  an ‘us’?” These were very good sessions in which everyone was involved. People talked a lot about  the “garden” in reference to the Garden of Eden about which   Pope Francis had written in  Fratelli Tutti. The words used most often were were: compassion, responsibility (political and economic), sharing, integral promotion, recognition of every human person, care and welcome.  It was  a real ecclesial experience: there was  great hope that this can grow and  witness to the need to rediscover and strengthen human fraternity. What  impressed you the most? In addition to the group of Nobel Peace Prize winners and the group of ecclesial movements and associations, there was also a group of 30  young students from various Italian schools who were accompanied by their  religious education teachers.  They had taken part in a competition to express the theme of the Meeting in a variety of different artistic forms. Their presence was an important sign of the commitment of the new generations to learning about fraternity. Other things that struck me were  the experiences that some people shared  on Festival stage in the afternoon and the artists who shared their talents so freely and joyfully.

What does the Focolare Movement take home after this event? Pope Francis relaunches fraternity as a new anthropological paradigm on which to rebuild actions and laws because “fraternity has something positive to offer freedom and equality” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 103). This notion brought to mind a talk by Chiara Lubich entitled, “Freedom, equality…what happened to fraternity?” It was one of those events that encourages us to throw ourselves more and more into the heart of our charism of unity. Moreover, Cardinal Gambetti really touched our hearts when he explained the inspiration behind the Meeting.  He said it was both a “process and experience,  a first step in rediscovering the meaning of fraternity and building it culturally.” He continued by saying that  becausé it is not giveǹ biologically, fraternity needs encounter and dialogue, knowledge and shared words and gestures, common languages and the experience of beauty.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Prayers for Pope Francis’ health

Jun 8, 2023 | Non categorizzato

As is well known, on the 7th of June, Pope Francis underwent surgery at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The Pope is “in a generally good condition” and is peaceful. He is thankful for the messages of solidarity that are being sent to him from all over the world and asks people to continue praying for him. Margaret Karram has also sent him prayers and affection on behalf of the whole Focolare Movement.  

Rocca di Papa, 8th June 2023

Your Holiness, dear Pope Francis,

We anxiously followed the news of the surgery you underwent yesterday and are delighted with the recent comforting reports about your health. United with the whole Church, we accompany you with the prayers and spiritual offerings of the Movement’s communities around the world. We assure you that we will continue to support you, asking the Father for your full recovery, so that you may continue your invaluable ministry.

I send you my most affectionate greetings and those of the Focolare Movement!

Your daughter in Christ,

Margaret Karram

Guatemala: an ecumenical chapel at the Fiore Educational Centre

May 30, 2023 | Non categorizzato

An Ecumenical Chapel was recently inaugurated at the Fiore Educational Centre in Mixco (Guatemala). The Directors Maresa Ramírez and Luis Martinez told us how the idea came about at the same time as Pentecost, which is when the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated in the southern hemisphere. “We don’t just focus on one Christian denomination, we look for what unites us within Christianity. That’s why our chapel is ecumenical. We want everyone to feel part of the family of our Educational Centre, we want to include each other.” With these words, Maresa Ramírez explained the objective of the new ecumenical chapel built in the Fiore Educational Centre in Mixco (Guatemala), of which she is General Director and works together with Luis Martinez, who is the Administrative Director. The Centre has been welcoming children from different Christian denominations for 10 years and following the pandemic, the number has gradually increased. The chapel is part of the school’s educational plan which is based on academic, physical-emotional and spiritual processes. The chapel offers several elements to try to favour a relationship with God, while taking into account the age of the children who attend the school. Luis Martinez told us: “The project of the chapel includes ideas based on play, using games to bring children closer to God and have a relationship with Him. For example, we have installed tubes that run from the entrance of the chapel towards the Cross, so that if a child wishes, they can send a secret message to Jesus. Then, the clouds create the atmosphere of the sky, because we place God in relationship with the sky. The children are the focus and when they enter this place there is immediately a relationship which is both fun and serious at the same time”. The school offers children this space where they can go when they feel they would like to spend a moment with God. In the area of education in faith and values, the children learn how to do origami, so that they can write their acts of love, and leave them there, offering them to Jesus, “on the basis of what Chiara Lubich taught children: when you do an act of love, think of it like a little parcel and send it to Heaven”. The occasion of the inauguration was a great example of collaboration, since the dialogue between the Focolare Movement in Guatemala and the Ecumenical Christian Council of Guatemala is extensive. Luis Martinez told us, “We have built a relationship with each of the members, in particular with the Catholic Bishop, Monsignor Valenzuela. When we spoke to him, we realized how important the existence of this chapel is, because in the Guatemalan ecumenical reality, dialogue is really essential”.  Apart from these existing contacts based on fraternity,  people from 7 Christian Churches came too and about 25 people participated in the inauguration of the chapel. The inauguration was organized by the Fiore Educational Centre and Monsignor Valenzuela and included psalms, reading of the Word and several prayers of blessing and praise. The pupils said a prayer for peace. The director, Ramírez,  concluded, “It was a very good moment. Those who intervened noticed that the children are at the centre of our educational plan and that we are the first school in the country to have an ecumenical chapel“.

Diego Santizo

Indonesia – dialogue as a way of life

May 27, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The trip to Asia and Oceania by Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement, has come to an end. Here are some updates on what they experienced on the final stage: Indonesia Panongan (Indonesia), 17^th of May 2023 – It is 8 a.m. in the morning in the Catholic parish of St. Odelia, about two hours from Jakarta. Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo, Cardinal of the Indonesian capital, has arranged a meeting for representatives of the government and law enforcement agencies, the municipality, the villages, as well as Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu religious leaders. The purpose was to tell the President and Co-President of the Focolare about a pilot social project, being conducted collaboratively by all these sectors of society, in support of the city of Tangerang/Banten. With more than two million inhabitants, this is the third most populous area west of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, which with all its satellite cities has almost thirty million inhabitants. It is an area where there is great development, but also economic inequality. The people living in the villages are poor, working in the rice fields, living off the land and raising chickens, goats, and a few cows. This area, with an overwhelming Muslim majority, is within the St Odelia parish. Father Felix Supranto – known as “Romo Felix” by everyone (“romo” means “father” in Bahasa, the country’s official language) is the dynamic parish priest of St. Odelia’s. He has the gift of knowing how to bring people together. He is our host along with the many parishioners he has involved in various social projects over the years. The Cardinal explained: ‘The dialogue we have here with our brothers and sisters of different religions is something concrete,’ ‘it looks at the needs of the people. There is a need for houses, to create job opportunities, to bring water to the villages. We are working on this ‘together’ and it is important that the President and Co-President of the Focolare have come here to see what could be a model of dialogue, also outside Indonesia. Our country’s motto is ‘unity in diversity’ and it very much expresses who we are, and how we face challenges.” “We are honoured to have you with us,” said Father Felix to Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, “to share the journey we are on. So far, we have built twelve houses to help the poor and it is this working together that makes us brothers and sisters, even with our differences. The day continued with a visit to a school for children from 6 to 15 years old, to several villages where, thanks to the funds raised, it has been possible to bring water, to breed cows, goats and catfish and where the added value is the full involvement of everyone: institutions and local people. The visit to the madrassa – an Islamic school – is the last appointment of this first day of visits that shows us the supportive and communitarian character that is the real strength of this country. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – we are different, but we are one Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, ‘We are different, but we are one’ is in fact the motto of Indonesia, inscribed on the national coat of arms depicting an ancient deity, the Javanese eagle. A record breaking country With its 17,000 islands and more than three hundred ethnic groups, each with its own vibrant cultural tradition, Indonesia is a country of rich diversity. And today the population proudly presents itself to the world as an example of tolerance and coexistence between diverse cultures and religions. One example among many: the Istiqlal (Independence) Mosque in Jakarta is the largest in South-East Asia. It stands directly opposite the Catholic cathedral and during major Christian celebrations, such as Christmas, the mosque gives support by providing parking spaces for Christian worshippers; it happens the other way around on Islamic feast days. Indonesia has the highest biodiversity on the planet, but deforestation and exploitation of resources are threatening the preservation of these natural environments with serious consequences. Wealth is unevenly distributed, and it is estimated that 27,000 millionaire families (0.1% of the population) own more than half of the country’s wealth. Although it is not easy to get accurate statistics, the population is estimated at 273 million, making it the fourth most populous country in the world. Indonesia has the highest Muslim population in the world (86.1 %); Christians of various Churches make up 10.53 %, and religious affiliation is recorded on identity cards. The focolarini in Southeast Asia and Pakistan Jakarta, 19^th May 2023 – Seeing the focolarini from Southeast Asia and Pakistan who have arrived in Jakarta to meet with Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, the great potential of the Asian continent comes to light. They witness to the encounter between very different peoples and cultures: from Thailand to Myanmar, from Vietnam to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Many of them were connected online, like the focolarini in Pakistan for example, but the distance does not prevent a deep communion in which we witnessed both the challenges of inculturation in individual countries and the strength of unity, which can reach the most diverse environments. There was a very attentive atmosphere during the question-and-answer session with Margaret Karram, Jesús Morán, Rita Moussallem and Antonio Salimbeni (who are jointly responsible for the Focolare’s interreligious dialogue). The women focolarine from Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) asked how to spread the spirituality of unity in these times when it is difficult to interest people, and especially young people. “On this trip to Asia and Oceania,” Margaret explained, “I realised that the way we have been offering the spirituality of unity up to now has to change, because society has changed. We are all living so ‘connected’ to one another that we need to find a way of presenting the various vocations not each one on its own, but alongside one another. Perhaps we could do this when we meet as a community of the Movement at a local level; then it will be God who speaks to the heart of each one, calling them to the different paths. I see that what touches people’s hearts is caring for people personally, building true relationships, made of selfless love. People should find in each of us a brother, a sister, a friend. Only when we have built a relationship can, we invite them to get to know the spirituality of the Focolare”. “Sometimes we might think that we do not have the right means for interesting people in the spirituality of unity,” continued Jesús in the same vein, “but we must beware of giving in to the temptation to adapt what we say to the flow of the world in order to be accepted at all costs. We have to be in the world, because it is beautiful, God created it, but we should feel the contrast with the world; it is Christian to experience it, because we belong to a truth, the truth of Christ, which goes beyond the world’. Dialogue as a way of life Jakarta, 20th May-Yogyakarta, 21^st May 2023 – “Since February 2021, our life in Myanmar has changed completely. My region is the one where the conflict is worst. We wouldn’t want anyone to have to hear the explosions of artillery and aerial bombings, it is not human. We are rooted in God and focused on living in the present – because we do not know if we will be here tomorrow – and we continue to bring our people love and new hope. Every day I understand more Jesús’s words: ‘Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (Jn 15:13)”. The speaker was Gennie, who is Burmese and works for an aid agency that takes care of displaced persons of whom there are more than one million since the coup. Hers is one of the testimonies that recounted the life and challenges of the Focolare communities in Southeast Asia at the forum “Dialogue as a way of life”, held in partnership with the Catholic University of Jakarta “Atma Jaya”. 290 people attended from various parts of Indonesia as well as from various countries in Southeast Asia. Another three hundred were linked by streaming from Pakistan and elsewhere. At the centre of their testimonies is the culture of dialogue that is lived in these countries in everyday life, becoming a way of life, also in the world of economics, as Lawrence Chong from Singapore recounted. Since 2004 he has been running a management consultancy company with two other partners, a Methodist and a Muslim, according to the principles of the Economy of Communion. “Today we are present in 23 countries and our work is to bring about change, to have an impact on the economic system and improve it, based on the principles of interdependence and mutual love.” After the celebration, where the different peoples present shared their great cultural wealth and variety of traditions, Margaret and Jesús answered some questions and shared their initial impressions of this trip. “Asia is the continent where the sun rises, while we come from Europe, where the sun is setting,” said Jesús. “In Asia and Oceania, we found a very lively Church, as well as people of different religions, and we immersed ourselves in the light that we found in the deep humanity of people. We have received so much hope for the Church and for the Work of Mary. This hope will not meet with disappointment if these people remain true to themselves. Of course, we also saw the problems: the poverty, conflicts, and wars. So, it is true that the sun rises in these countries, but we also have before us a great challenge: our hope is that the Gospel can also bear a message of freedom for these peoples”. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Piero Pioppo, who came to celebrate Mass, expressed his wish that the message of unity and of communion may grow and spread in this world that is in dire need of it. The roots of the movement in Indonesia Also in Yogyakarta, Margaret and Jesús were welcomed by the Focolare community with the traditional dance of welcome. The meeting there was a journey into the extraordinarily rich Javanese culture and traditions, and an opportunity to learn about the roots and development of the Movement in Indonesia. After several trips were made from the Philippines from the late 1980s onwards, the focolare arrived in Medan in 2004. But no one will ever forget 2006, the year of the terrible earthquake that claimed thousands of lives. Its epicentre was on the island of Java, in the region of Yogyakarta, where the focolare is now located. Bapak Totok, one of the animators of the local community, tells how the people of the Focolare Movement, together with the local people, rolled up their sleeves to help build 22 “Pendopo” (community centres in twenty-two villages) as well as a social project. These centres have been a sign of peace and unity among people of different religions. Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University: in dialogue to promote fraternity Yogyakarta, 22^nd May 2023 – With its 20,000 students, Sunan Kalijaga University is an important national academic centre for Islamic studies and has also had a Cultural Centre for Interfaith Dialogue since 2005. Margaret Karram, together with Rita Moussallem and Antonio Salimbeni, participated in the seminar “In dialogue to promote fraternity” with 160 students, teachers, and members of the local Focolare community. It is a subject that resonates in a special way here, where dialogue “goes beyond” university lecture halls or study forums, as it is both the challenge and the foundation of Indonesian society. “The presence of the leaders of the Focolare Movement is important,” explained Prof. Inayah Rohmaniyah, “because it allows us to take an extra step, not to look only at Indonesia, but to become together builders of a world renewed by the values of the fraternity that we are living, here, today”. The students’ questions focussed on the strategy of dialogue to combine cultural and religious diversity even in situations of social conflict. “Sometimes we talk very much about the difficulties and very little about the riches that these diversities bring in themselves” Antonio Salimbeni replied. “First of all, we are human beings, brothers and sisters, which is why it is important to be open, to understand the religion of the other from his or her perspective; to try to think as a Muslim thinks, as a Hindu thinks, to see the world as the other person sees it. The journey is ending, but a world is opening up Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán first official trip to Asia and Oceania is ending after 45 days travelling, visiting five countries, and meeting several thousand people – 1,500 in Indonesia alone. They met very different peoples and cultures, they have seen the challenges at first hand, but also the vitality of the Church in countries where Christianity is a minority. They have witnessed dialogue between people of different religions taking place in everyday life, dialogue that can give concrete answers to the social and economic problems of peoples and they have shared in the life of the Focolare communities in this part of the world. It is not easy to take stock on the spur of the moment, but nonetheless the question was asked, and Margaret shared some impressions of the recent public meetings: ‘I feel strongly that God is asking the Movement, in Asia in particular, but also worldwide, to take an important step. Dialogue must become our way of life, our way of acting, at all times. We cannot continue as before, looking only at our Movement and doing our own activities. The time has come to go outside, to work with other organisations, with people of different religions, as we are already doing here. So, let’s get going, there’s no time to lose! This journey has given me, once again the confirmation that unity and peace in the world are possible. Sometimes looking at the world today, with its wars and injustices, I have had doubts. But in all the countries we visited, I met many people committed to building a different society, to building bridges, even making great sacrifices. It is they who have given me the certainty that together we can make a difference and give our contribution”.

Stefania Tanesini

The Holy Land: charisms in communion for a new time of Pentecost

May 26, 2023 | Non categorizzato

A unique opportunity to get to know each other, to share and to rediscover the beauty of being a collective  witness to the Resurrection. This is what the Ecclesial Movements and the new communities  in the Holy Land were able to experience on the journey they began together at Pentecost a year ago. Communion, participation and mission: these are the three key words related to the Synodal Pathway that was launched in October 2021. At its inauguration, Pope Francis invited followers of the Universal Church to listen and be close to others; this created the context of the local phase of the Synod.  At the invitation of Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch  of Jerusalem,  the Ecclesial Movements and the new communities present in the Holy Land were able to meet, listen to each other and work in communion in preparing the 2022 Pentecost Vigil.  This was a special occasion when many people experienced the joy of feeling they were one body in the Church, enlivened and renewed by the Holy Spirit.  Within the sociopolitical and cultural context of the Holy Land, there was possibility of generating “unity,” learning from each other’s charism and putting one’s own at the service of all. Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa said, “I think that if we are to feel that we are one body, the first thing to do is to speak, to communicate but, above all, to listen. Listening does not mean only hearing, it means expecting to receive from the other person who becomes the subject –  I am not the subject,  the other person is.” Pentecost marks the time when the Church on  its pilgrimage to meet the Lord, constantly receives  the Spirit from him. The same Spirit  gathers it in faith and charity, sanctifies it  and sends it on mission. At Pentecost 2023 we share an account of this experience of communion.

Maria Grazia Berretta

Watch the video (activate English subtitles) https://youtu.be/I8aQgmAPBOg  

Flood emergency: news from Emilia-Romagna

May 25, 2023 | Non categorizzato

The wave of bad weather that has poured over Italy in recent weeks has specifically affected the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche. To date, many people continue to work in the terrible,  muddy conditions to assist entire communities that have been displaced and have lost everything due to the flood. An appeal for funds has been launched by the Focolare Emergency Coordination Committee. It is a climate emergency that has hit Emilia-Romagna and Marche, two regions of central-northern Italy in recent weeks. A catastrophe that has claimed 15 victims so far and displaced about 23,000 people. Several cities have been completely brought to their knees, submerged by water due to the many flooded rivers. There is extensive damage to homes, furniture and cars, as well as to businesses, farms and crops. In Emilia-Romagna the most affected area so far has been that of Faenza which in one night ended up almost completely underwater due to the rupture of the banks of several rivers. The communities of the Focolare Movement in the area told us, “Many families have been evacuated, for example, a family with three children was rescued when the water had already reached the first floor of their home. Despite having lost everything, the next day this same family, helped by the local Civil Protection Organization, opened their family run restaurant and prepared hot lunches for hundreds of evacuated people.” A social worker from Faenza, a member of the Focolare, said: “A few nights ago, I was in the Town Hall, the headquarters of the Emergency Operations Center. It was a very emotional experience. If I think about it, I cry… I ask Jesus for the strength to do what is best for each person.” In another town, Cesena, the Savio River flooded and the adjoining houses were engulfed. Wherever possible, and thanks to a lull in the rain, the first volunteers started working. In the city of Cesenatico the situation is extremely difficult. The sea has invaded beaches, bathing establishments and streets. In the surroundings of Bologna, on the other hand, there are many small towns still flooded; the people have all been evacuated. A bridge has collapsed that has completely diverted the river bed inwards and the people are saying, “it will take time but help will certainly be necessary”. Reports from these areas say, “The water is not being absorbed by the ground. It continues to rain and is like a wave, which depending on the levels of the ground, behaves in an unpredictable way”. In the south of Romagna, between Ravenna and Rimini, the situation has also worsened in the towns of Russi and Lugo. Other members of the Focolare Movement told us: “In the town of Bagnara di Romagna, we have had water 20 cms deep; the ground floors, garages and basements are full of water, but we’re fine.” It’s a catastrophe that will have to be tackled but despite the enormous difficulties, many people fervently desire to take concrete action to rebuild.  One said, “The beauty is that one of the things to manage is the infinite offers of help we are receiving. Many people are offering homes and hospitality and we are setting up a team that will deal with the numerous requests and offers. The local Islamic Community, in contact with the Focolare Movement, has also expressed willingness to welcome or carry out joint actions. The extraordinary fundraising appeal initiated by the Emergency Coordination of the Focolare Movement in support of the population of Emilia-Romagna and Marche, through the ONLUS Action for a United World (AMU) and Action for New Families (AFN) is ongoing. Contributions received will be jointly managed by AMU and AFN to initiate reconstruction actions.   You can donate online on the following sites: AMU: www.amu-it.eu/dona-online-3/ AFN: www.afnonlus.org/dona/ or by transfer to the following current accounts: Action for a United World ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT 58 S 05018 03200 000011204344 at Banca Popolare Etica SWIFT/BIC code: ETICIT22XXX Action for New Families ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561 at Banca Popolare Etica SWIFT/BIC code: ETICIT22XXX Reason: Emilia-Romagna and Marche Emergency Tax benefits are provided for such donations in many countries of the European Union and in other countries of the world, according to the different local regulations. Italian taxpayers will be able to obtain deductions and deductions from income, according to the legislation provided for the NGOs

Blessed Doubts: A Podcast to Explore Our Questions

May 23, 2023 | Non categorizzato

Tommaso Bertolasi and Laura Salerno are the creators of “Benedetti dubbi” (Blessed doubts) a new podcast from the young people of the Focolare Movement. The first episode will be available on 23^rd May, 2023. We asked Tommaso and Laura to explain how doubts can really be a “blessing”, in order to get to know ourselves and others better. What is our calling? What is the best road to follow when we come to one of the many crossroads that life throws at us? Do we know ourselves and, above all, who has the antidote for fear? Questions like these, the kind that overwhelm our daily lives, are the subject matter of “Benedetti dubbi”, the new podcast designed for young people and by young people, released (in Italian) on 23^rd May. To find out more about it, we interviewed the authors of this project, long-time friends, Tommaso Bertolasi, a researcher in philosophy at the Sophia University Institute (Loppiano, Florence) and Laura Salerno, a young member of the Focolare Movement, a writer and a student of literature. Laura, how did it all start? It all started in 2018. Tommaso and I were in Argentina. We met at a conference for young people of the Focolare Movement. Since he is a philosopher, he had been invited as a speaker to talk about freedom. I listened to what he said and liked it very much. Over the years he has continued to engage in dialogue with and for young people, so much so that he has decided to compile some of the exchanges in a book, entitled “The last hour of the night”, which will be released by Città Nuova in August 2023. And then came the idea: “Well if a book is coming out, why not do a podcast that deals with the same content?” And so a few months ago I got a phone call inviting me to help him bring this project to life. Tommaso, why a podcast? Sometimes ideas are like a cocktail: they come out of the union of various things. And this is what happened with “Blessed Doubts”. At a certain point I realized that I had a lot of material for meetings, workshops and dialogues, that I had often prepared with young people. Hence the idea of not restricting important themes such as freedom, choices, fragility and vocation to just one occasion but of being able to offer them to everyone. Then I thought that other languages and themes could also be explored and so here is the podcast. I wanted to create a format more suitable for young people, who often nowadays, find reading a challenge. Or at least, they read something after you’ve convinced them it’s worth it. In all this work, an additional factor was the World Youth Day that dictated the timing of this operation a little. I thought it would be nice that the Focolare Movement could offer something to those who are preparing to go to Lisbon. It will be released on the major podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast), one episode per week for 6 weeks. Laura, what age group are you targeting? Our target age range is 18-30 years. This is why the main themes are questions about fragility, freedom, relationships, trying to find one’s place in the world. It’s all about trying to see doubt as a positive thing, as a springboard to live more deeply and more consciously what happens to us. Tommaso, how did you determine the topics to be addressed for each episode? My initial idea was to replicate the contents of the book, paraphrasing it. Working with Laura, however, I realized that her questions led the conversation to other areas, that the young people she had in mind were also her university classmates who do not necessarily recognize themselves in any religious creed. I understood that Laura had deep questions that were partly hers and partly reflected her world of relationships: it was from those questions that we had to start to weave something suitable for young adults. What was the most difficult episode for you, Laura? I think the hardest was the first one. We were both a bit nervous, and then we had to introduce the podcast, make it clear why we think it is important to ask questions, not to exist in anxiety or submerged in paranoia. A further challenge was that a few days before we recorded the first few episodes, I had a bad cold and a high temperature.  Everything always happens at the same time! But we managed to do it also thanks to the super team that supported us during the recording. Tommaso, what did you gain from this project? I learned a lot from all the people with different skills who worked on this project. Indeed, the realization of “Blessed doubts” was a collective operation. And after you listen to the podcast, we’d love to have your feedback, on Spotify, on our social networks (@Y4UW and Movimento_dei_focolari) or via email (ufficio.comunicazione@focolare.org). For further information about other projects in the pipeline, stay connected to the social channels of the Focolare Movement.  

Maria Grazia Berretta