Aug 28, 2019 | Non categorizzato
A “campus” on law was set up in Bologna, Italy, promoted by Focolare’s Youth for a United World. It was a place to get educated and participate in social action to affect change and re-weave the social fabric. 
From July 20–28, close to 40 young people from most regions in Italy came together in Bologna to create a campus where they could concretely dedicate themselves to others. They got to know and work with associations and groups who are committed in the social sphere, such as integrating immigrants and combatting problem gambling. They collaborated with youth summer camps and cafeterias, finding different and original ways together to do things. “The campus,” explains Francesco Palmieri, one of its organisers, “began after an earlier experience in Syracuse some years ago that was successful and then repeated in Rome and Turin. This year in Bologna, the young people singled out the neighbourhood of Cirenaica, a multicultural area where the social situation is complicated. “Campus is an experience of civic engagement that young people start for other youth like them, to answer a single question: can we do something?” This is about personal commitment, therefore, including during training sessions with various experts, from judges to university professors, from volunteers to priests and laypeople who are committed on the front lines of civil society. The theme of law and order emerges, overlooked in a number of cases, such as in taking in migrants, fighting the mafia and problem gambling. “The campus experience enriches us,” adds Francesco, “and we return home with many answers to questions that we hadn’t ever asked.” Among the experts present was Professor Adriana Cosseddu, who heads the Communion and Law international network. We asked her a couple of questions. Focolare’s young people launched “Pathways for a United World” in 2018 – six paths towards a united world, with activities and ways to go deeper into the six overarching themes. After the first, which was dedicated to economy, communion and work, the second this year is aimed at exploring human rights, justice, legality and peace. What are its objectives? “These are courses that, together with the Focolare community worldwide, youth and teens engage with and take a lead role, in order to contribute to making humanity one family. “There are many ways to do this, and this year we chose four.First was opening the doors to dialogue and hospitality so that human rights are recognised and implemented. Then we began working with all our might for peace, so that we can overcome the logic of conflict with true exchange, and so that peace is pursued universally as a human right. To reach true peace you need to practice justice, which safeguards the relationshipsthat are the foundations of our coexistence. This is the importance of law and order, which requires, through rules and behaviour, that we enable processes that can cut through the logic of profit and privilege, of widespread corruption, to promote neutrality and fairness.” What more can the Focolare’s charism of unity bring to law? “The charism of unity portrays others in a new light: not the stranger or an enemy to defend myself from, but a gift for me because of the richness of their diversity. Reciprocity, which in law is translated into legal requirements, becomes a call to responsibility towards others, who I need to take care of, because of reciprocal love. “As a result, while today law tends to protect the rights of individuals, Chiara Lubich opened up horizons that showed law as an instrument of communion. And communion has a goal: to work so that concrete human relations, even those that are carried out under the sign of law, may help those involved to look beyond themselves and recognise each other, in their respective dignity and according to a responsible freedom, in order to open up to collaboration. In this way small pieces of brotherhood are generated”. The next step for this pathway is “From Human Rights to the Right to Peace: Walking with Humanity,” an international seminar sponsored by the Communion and Law international network. It will be held at Loppiano, Italy, from September 19–21.
Aug 25, 2019 | Non categorizzato
September 1st World Day of Prayer for the care of Creation, will kick start a month full of initiatives for the protection of the environment and much more. Interview with Cecilia Dall’Oglio from the Global Catholic Climate Movement. What do environmental issues and Ecumenism have in common? A lot, indeed an awful lot. It is enough to recall that in 1989 it was the patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, Dimitrios who gave the decisive impetus to the various Christian Churches to jointly declare September 1stWorld Day of Prayer for the protection of Creation. This year the anniversary is part of a year full of global actions for the climate, thanks also to the fast-movingaction of millions of young people who, with Greta Thunberg, have gotten organised, raising awareness and knockingon Parliament doors. “Not only individuals but also our communities should ask themselves about the environmental sustainability of their activities,” says Luca Fiorani, physicist and international coordinator of EcoOne, a cultural movement inspired by the spirituality of the Focolare in dealing with environment issues. “And in order to begin to change mentality and adopt an ecological lifestyle, it is first necessary to be informed. I’m doing some of my own advertising I’ve just published a small book of less than 80 pages: “The (crazy) dream of Francis. A small (scientific) manual on integral ecology”. I take the reader by the hand through the key concepts of the encyclical Laudato Si’, the recent results of international negotiations on climate change and the most up-to-date scientific data on the state of the health of our planet”. Luca Fiorani also explains that EcoOne has been collaborating with the Global Catholic Climate Movement for about ten years. Cecilia Dall’Oglio is responsible for the organization’s programs and we asked her some questions. – What motivatesyou personally, to be committed to the environment? The desire not to abandon my brothers and sisters in the world who suffer for the same reasons as our Mother Earth suffers. The desire to give my contribution so that others can have the direct experience, which I was able to have, of meeting with witnesses of hope, of a living Church committed to social justice. In the Laudato Si’ Pope Francis reminds us that “there are not two different crises, environmental and social, but a single socio-environmental crisis to be faced with “an integral approach to combat poverty, to restore dignity to the excluded and at the same time to care for nature” (LS 139). For more than twenty years I have been working with the FOCSIV to coordinate campaigns for social justice together with the offices of the CEI (Italian Episcopal Conference) and lay Catholic groups and I would like to recall in a special way our beloved MarcoAquini of the Focolare Movement. This announcement, this active resistance, must be truly effective and free the poor who cry out and for this reason I am happy now to take up the current challenge in the service of the Global Catholic Climate Movement of which the Focolare Movement is an active member. – What is the “something more” that faith can bring to the environmental movement? Faith is fundamental in bringing an integral ecological approach to environmentalissues. Ecological conversion and the adoption of new lifestyles are proposed for the fullness of joy, that “happy sobriety” of which the Instrumentum laboris of the Special Synod of the Amazon also speaks, the fullness of life, true freedom. All Christians are called to be custodians of God’s creation because “Living the vocation of being custodians of God’s work is an essential part of a virtuous existence, it is not something optional or even a secondary aspect of the Christian experience” (LS 217). The Global Catholic Climate Movement was established in 2015 to support Catholic communities around the world in responding to Pope Francis’ urgent appeal in the Laudato Si: to promote an ecological conversion at a spiritual level that leads to renewed lifestyles and the participation, alsoof Catholics, ingetting people involved in actions for climate justice. – What is “Time of Creation” and what can each of us do to adhere to it? The Time of Creation is a “favourable time”, a Kairos, during which we pray and act for the care of our common home. It occurs every year from September 1st, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to October 4th, the feast of St. Francis, and is celebrated by thousands of Christians around the world. This year’s theme, “The Network of Life: Biodiversity as a Gift from God.” is closely linked to the Synod of Bishops for the PanAmazonia Region to be held next October. Thousands of Christians all over the world celebrate the time of creation by organizing events. The celebration guide and other tools in various languages are available on the Time of Creation website. Thanks to the theme chosen for the celebrations, the events will permit our brothers and sisters in the Amazon to feel our closeness to them and to all those who suffer from the “extractive mentality” that is destroying not only the Amazon but all of Creation. They are therefore a clear sign of ecclesial communion and support in the Church’s journey towards the Synod.
Stefania Tanesini
Aug 23, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Antonio De Sanctis left us on June 21. He personified someone who, within the Focolare Movement, is known as a “volunteer of God” – someone who is committed to social and communitarian action. Tonino, as everyone called him, left us on June 21 this year. He lived in Frascati, a beautiful town in theCastelli Romani area just outside Rome, Italy. He personified someone who, within the Focolare Movement, is known as a “volunteer of God” – someone who is committed to social and communitarian action and promotes activities that benefit others. He worked sometimes alone and sometimes as part of a team in numerous projects many of which he initiated. He was a faithful and caring husband to his wife, Mary; an attentive father; a tireless worker and a committed member of the communitywhere he lived and was capable of creating truly fraternal relationships. Tonino regarded the community as a place where the presence of God and the Church could be made visible:he was not worried about what other people thought and often broke through social convention. His life is best described by the words from scripture that refer to the corporal works of mercy: these words are precepts for all Christians. “Because I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; sick and you visited me, imprisoned and you came to visit me…”This last phrase is particularly characteristic of Tonino because throughout his life he was dedicated to supporting prisoners and their families. This began thanks to a chance comment made by a friend. Tonino used to visit a lot of young people in prison. One day, he realised that a nun who was also a volunteer visitor was upset because of the “mountains of pornographic literature” that used to arrive. He was thinking about this on his way home when, in the main square of his town, he met a priest friend from a nearby village. He shared his concerns straightaway. The priest replied, “Next Sunday, come and tell my parishioners what you have just told me so you can collect donations to send “New City” magazines to prisoners.” This was how it began. For many years, on Sundays, at the various Masses in theCastelli Romani and southern Rome areas, Tonino’s unmistakable voice could be heard. In a shy, modest way, he used to talk about his commitment to prisoners and ask for donations to subscribe them to the Focolare magazine. He sent dozens of copies to the various prisons he visited. In February 2012, “Città Nuova”, published “The Rainbow Behind Bars” recounting, in four instalments,Tonino and his family’s many experiences. These stories are like the “little flowers” of Gospel life to which Saint Francis” often referred. Sometimes Tonino’s behaviour could seem daring – he did not mind running risks. For example, he did not hesitate to welcome prisoners into his home. He became a second father to many of them even after they were released. The excerpt from a letter written by one of the former prisoners expresses this very clearly: “In your house, I finally felt ‘at home’. I have never had this sense of belonging to a place and to people before. You were the means through which I felt Jesus’ mercytouch my heart and I understood the place God occupies in my life. He is my first thought in the morning and my last thought before I go to sleep. I am happy because God has entered my life like a great hurricane sweeping away everything else. Antonio, you and your whole family are a living witness to the Gospel, you are a work of God.” Many people attended his funeral on 22 June in the cathedral of Frascati. The Mass was concelebrated by his brother-in-law, Don Enrico Pepe, and Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz. In their eulogy his three children, Miriam, Gabriele and Stefano, said: “You were a safe harbour at the end of a sunny day or after a storm: you were always there, ready to listen, to welcome us and to encourage us to return to the sea without fear.”
Lina Ciampi
Aug 22, 2019 | Non categorizzato
Since 2012, theworld-famous Salzburg Festival, the most important event dedicated to classical music, starts with an overture spirituelle:anumberof sacred music concerts and performances dedicated to dialoguebetween religions. Many famous international artists take part in this festival, andthis year, for the first time, the Archdiocese of Salzburg participated with an exhibition of works by the French artist Michel Pochet. 
On July 20, 2019 the entrance hall of the Archbishop’s Palace in the city of Salzburg was packed with people.At five o’clock on that Saturday afternoon, Helga Rabl-Stadler, the president of the Festival and Archbishop Franz Lackner inaugurated the exhibition entitled “Lacrimae”(tears), worksof the French artist Michel Pochet. Mgr. Matthäus Appesbacher, the Bishop’s vicar said: “It is the first time that the Salzburg Catholic Church is participating in the so-called ouverture spirituelle of the music festival”. He recountedall about the genesis of this exhibition, andsharedthat when he came to know that Pochet presented his work of art, the weeping face of God-Mercy, as a gift to Pope Francis, he decided to invite the artist to this year’s ouverture spirituelle, the central theme of which was “tears”. In his brief speech Michel Pochet insisted that “beauty is a primary need for man”. He emphasized that artists need to be freed from social uselessness complex, and he related the story of a young man in the Amazon region who managed to support hishungry family by playing his flute. The works chosen for this exhibition, which lasted till July 30, stimulated dialogue. The majestic setting for it was the city of Salsburg, where the legacy of this past Church state stands outeverywhere. Here, the encounter between Church and art speaks with a strong celebratory tone, while Pochet’s works are decidedly anti-triumphalistic in matter, form and content. 
His canvases, as the one which “speaks” about God’s presence in Auschwitz, demonstrate this. Pochet uses alightstroke on a white cloth almost reduced to shreds. This piece of art depicts God’s crying face-heart looking at the outrageous horror of a mountain of corpses. One detail surprises and almost irritates: each corpse has an identification card, something thatdid not exist in extermination camps. However, we see itin TV detective films: it is only a bureaucratic procedure that draws dead people in morgues out of anonymity. On canvas it is a timid reminder of God’s memory: He does not forget, although an attempt has been made to erase countless names from the face of the earth. Next to this scene, almost as a contrast, there appears a large face of Mary whose linear features, present an almost virile aspect. This cloth soaked in tender colours is full of poetry: Mary’s tears are like pearls of dew and speak of the dawn of a new creation. This exhibition was set up in the entrance hall and an adjacent room. It included a series of graphics in black and white: a “Via Crucis” with scenes from Christ’s passion and others that show today’s sufferings. It also included a series of meditations on other “faces of God”, that show closeness tohis people through his archangels. One can define this as “sacred art”, although it differs a lotfrom works known by this name. It does not depict scenes from the Holy Scripture or – as in the Baroque and Rococo art- the concepts of theologians, but it depicts the audacity of personal reflection. The focus on the face brings to mind the words of the philosopher Giuseppe M. Zanghì, according to whom “the emerging Sacred” in the twenty-first century is “One without a face”, a “Power without a face”.[1]
Peter Seifert , art historian
[1]Giuseppe Maria Zanghí, Notte della cultura europea, Rome 2007, pp. 46-47
Aug 20, 2019 | Non categorizzato
In international jargon they are called “expats”: they are the young expatriates who have found work and have decided to live abroad. Each one has his or her own reasons for making this move, each one has their own story. Mitty is an expat: she is Italian and does research on glucose biosensors at a Japanese university and lives in the Focolare community in Tokyo. “Today, technology has enormous influence in all fields, including health care. I feel called to work in this area because I want to help direct technical research according to ethical and non-business choices. Sometimes we biomedical engineers invent things that reduce human beings to robots but do nothing to improve health. There is no doubt that Mitty whose real name is Maria Antonietta Casulli has clear ideas. She studied biomedical engineering in Italy, but moved to Switzerland to complete her thesis at the prestigious Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL – Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne) and was awarded a research post to prepare for a doctorate. The prerequisites for a marvellous career were all there: a substantial salary, a beautiful house with a view of Lake Geneva, good friends. What more could she have wanted? “And yet – says Mitty – something was not working: it was 2013; we were in the midst of an economic crisis and I had a perfect life. But beyond the Alps, in Italy, many of my friends were running the risk of becoming depressed because they couldn’t find work. In addition, I didn’t want my life to consist only of a career and money. But the “coup d’état” was a trip to the Philippines where I found myself in the middle of one of the most powerful and devastating typhoons in the world: Typhoon Yolanda. The contrast I experienced was enormous: this people had nothing of what my friends and I had, but they lived life with a capital “L”; their life was full, rich in relationships and great dignity. Paradoxically, this seemed to me to be the medicine for the crisis that my continent, Europe, was going through: it was not just an economic crisis; it was much more: a void in the fundamental values of life”. After that trip Mitty decided not to return to Switzerland because she felt she wanted give back to God all the life that he had given to her. And so, following a period of formation for focolarini, she moved to Japan two years ago and now lives in the Focolare community in Tokyo. Upon arriving, her first task was to study the language. This challenge plus the time taken for formation has meant she has been out of the world of work for five years. Could she go back to doing research, especially in a society like Japan? “Just as I was asking myself these questions, a friend who was passing by told me about a Japanese Catholic professor from a university in Tokyo who does research on glucose biosensors – the very subject I had studied for my degree! Since the chances of finding someone in Japan who had completed the same studies are almost nil, Mitty understood that God was at work in her life and she has since seen he continues to do so. The professor gave her the opportunity to complete her doctorate, but there was still a problem: “In Japan I wouldn’t have had a salary as I would have done in Switzerland. In fact, I would have had to pay for my doctorate”. Here too, God’s answer was surprising. Almost by chance, Mitty found herself being interviewed by six managers from different Japanese companies: a difficult situation for a young foreign woman. “I felt that God was with me and that, in the end, they were all just people to love. This changed the way I presented the project and listened to them when they spoke. For an hour I told them about my project, but for the next hour I answered their questions about my choice of life as a focolarina and why I was in Japan. I received 100% of the funding for the project and I must say that I saw the power of God making its way into this culture and these environments in a world I had never imagined. Just two months after beginning my doctorate, my former Swiss professor came to Tokyo and we were able to organize a seminar at my new university. At dinner, watching the two professors speak together, it seemed to me that I understood what God wants from me now. Not only to do research, but to build bridges: between universities and companies, between East and West. All I have to do is continue to give myself totally to God”.
Stefania Tanesini
Aug 18, 2019 | Non categorizzato
The Emilia Romagna Teens4Unity, who chose the Holy Land as their site for this year’s “workshop”, shared a very profound spiritual and human experience with peers who live in that country. Their enriching experience ranged from visiting the Grotto of the Nativity to trekking in the Judaean Desert, from visting the Holy Sepulchre to bathing in the Dead Sea, from the renewal of their baptismal promises in the River Jordan to a boat trip on Lake Tiberias. If one stops at this itinerary, it would have been only a trip or, as many would call it, a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the footsteps of Jesus to retrace the life of Him who gives meaning to our life as Christians. 
But if to this itinerary, one adds an afternoon visit to the Creche Orphanage in Bethlehem, a meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop Kamal Batish of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the exchange of experiences with youth and other local Focolare members, then one would be able to talk about the Emilia Romagna Teens4Unity Workshop that took place in the Holy Land from 23 to 30 July. The protagonists were 45 young people and animators, keen to become more familiar with places that are at the centre of their Christian faith. These young people have already participated in many other experiences: they took part in World Youth Day held in Poland three years ago; they visited Amatrice in the Abruzzo region, where they offered a donation of money to support the youth of this Italian city devastated by a powerful earthquake in 2016; they took part in two workshops organized by the international music groups Gen Verde and Gen Rosso; they organized ecological and non-ecological activities, promoted initiatives in favour of the Zero Hunger project and collected money to provide for hearing-aid batteries needed for deaf and dumb children in Belarus. These activities led to the desire for a deeper spiritual experience, and these young people went for it. James related: “I had a very strong experience while we were walking in the desert. The animators suggested silence to help us live a moment of personal dialogue with Jesus. I must admit that after a while that silence frightened me because in our society we are not used to it”. Life in common and sharing are typical characteristics of these experiences, where one feels comfortable to share everything, from tiredness to deep spiritual thoughts, and where the group becomes very sensitive to the difficulties of the individual. Chiara commented: “In a few days, I will forget all about the hot weather, the effort to climb Mount Tabor on foot, running a temperature on the day we had to visit the orphanage, something I was really looking foward to… but I will always remember this trip because I have lived it with my family par excellence. Yes, I travel even with my natural family, but it’s not the same. My Focolare friends are real family to me and a very special one”. 
As expected, moments of tension and fatigue were also part of the journey, yet as Joshua said: “When we listened to the experiences of the Palestinian youth, our perspective changed. We have no idea what it means to be a minority because of religious belief. We have never experienced the presence of a wall in our everyday life like the one that separates Israel and Palestine. These things became food for my thoughts”. Annamaria said: “When we met the children at the Creche, my eyes opened. I have discovered that all my life is a great gift”. The seven days in the Holy Land flew by and it was soon time for the group to return to Italy, but this experience, which summarises the great mystery of pain-love that finds fulfilment in the Resurrection, remains imprinted on the heart of each one. That empty sepulchre still cries out loudly Alleluia.
Tiziana Nicastro
Aug 16, 2019 | Non categorizzato
#intimeforpeace is the hashtag that expresses the Focolare youth’s commitment for the coming year. Programmes for campuses, workshops and courses in different parts of the world, starting from Loppiano (Italy), are already focusing on it. During the past year, until May 2019, the Focolare youth concentrated on promoting and contributing towards a more humane economy, one of communion that pledges attention to people in need. During the last couple of months they have also started to focus on various fields of justice, because Economy and Justice are the first two steps in Pathways for a United World: a global strategy proposed by Youth for a United World (Y4UW) as a commitment to address the challenges our world has to face. In this project there are six different pathways, one for each year, and as one of the organizers explained: “Each year we focus on a different challenge without neglecting our previous commitments. Our commitment ranges from economy to politics, from justice to art, from dialogue between cultures to sport, and we promote actions, collaborations and projects based on fraternity and geared towards a local impact that aims at a global change”. The motto “In time for peace” marks the commitment for the coming year, which ends at Korea during the first week of May 2020. During the coming months, the Gen and Y4UW will be offered opportunities where they can train, study in depth and exchange ideas on themes that deal with justice, peace, legality and rights. The Summer School, held in Loppiano from 7 to 22 July, proved to be a very significant opportunity. The 40 young participants came from various countries, that included Korea, Hong Kong, Malta, Scotland, Italy, Brazil, Cuba, Myanmar, Poland and Colombia. Maria Giovanna Rigatelli, a lawyer involved in “Communion and Law”, who participated as an expert, highlighted the importance of similar experiences, opportunities for young people to immerse themselves both in the cultural heritage and in the historical wounds of the different peoples they come into contact with. “The world’s situation reveals lack of knowledge about the values of human rights. The school made us become more aware of the importance of personal commitment to contribute, for example, in dramatic situations like that of the two Koreas or Hong Kong. Through our commitment, we can be a light that shines in many parts of the world”. Y, a young girl from Korea said: “Our nation is divided into two and there are many wounds that do not justify this division. To have peace we must learn to dialogue. During this school I thought: if we continue to love, to love, to love, maybe at the end we will be able to reunite the two Koreas”. D. explained: “Before I came here, so many things were happening in Hong Kong, and I started to think that, maybe, at times the use of violence is necessary and that peace might not be the only remedy to solve the problems. I felt very frustrated. But after the experience I have lived here and all that I have heard about peace, I now feel so happy. During this year, as young people, we will go deeper and live in the “pathway” dedicated to human rights, justice and peace. So I question myself: how can I say that it is good to use violence, when so many people are wounded and killed? Here, I have learned how to love others and how to focus on love among us. I know it’s difficult to walk in the path of peace, but I think we should try to achieve it without using violence. When I return home, I want to make use of what I’ve learned and experienced in Loppiano so that I can love people in Hong Kong, even the ones I hate”.
Stefania Tanesini
Aug 14, 2019 | Non categorizzato
At times, material wealth fills our ‘heart’ and creates an anxiety to always have more, a real and true dependence. Instead sharing spiritual and material goods with those who are in need allows one to experience true freedom: this style of Christian living gives witness to trust in God the Father and puts down a solid foundation for the civilisation of love. A gift from God Our fifth child David, seemed a normal child at birth. However, after some time the doctors explained to us that he had Down Syndrome. In that moment my husband and I remembered that we had accepted David, from the moment of his conception, as a gift from God. His older sister, when she learnt about him, wrote in her diary: ‘I don’t just want to be a sister to David, I want to be his mother’. Surrounded by a great love David continues to make progress. He goes to school regularly and is very affectionate. He is full of joy. His joy is contagious. He truly showed he was a real gift from God. (Jacqueline – Scotland) In prison There was a boy in my cell who had no money to eat. He took a box from another inmate who threatened him making him pay three Naira. Then he began to ask other inmates for money. I had only five Naira which I needed to buy food. But I remembered the gospel and I understood that to love God I had to love my neighbour. So, I gave him my money. Later on, someone came to my cell and brought me food. (Sylvester – Nigeria) Supper This evening when I got back from the university I sat down in front of the television as usual expecting that my mother, who was watching her favourite programme, should get up and prepare my supper. Then a thought: a few days ago, I heard three medical students talking about the gospel and they emphasised the importance of doing the will of God during the day. So, I got up and went to the kitchen and prepared supper. It was my first conscious act of love. (T.C. – Italy) The foundation of our marriage After we married, despite the fact that we loved one another, each of us remained ‘as we were’, each of us with our own particular habits. One day there was a great difference of opinion on how to cook a particular Czech meal. The difference in opinion was so great that we took a decision: we would always accept one another as we were without wanting to change the other. Perhaps that was when we laid the foundation of our marriage. Now that we are grandparents, we try to share this experience with our grandchildren grateful to God for having opened our eyes. (J. e T. – Bohemia)
Edited by Chiara Favotti
Aug 13, 2019 | Non categorizzato
At the European Mariapolis the story of a possible friendship that sows seeds of peace Open up and “choose an inclusive lifestyle”. Open up to reconcile with each other and discover the pearl that is inside each person. Open up like Jesus, who met everyone, and let the Holy Spirit act “who rejoices in diversity but pursues unity”. This is the way pursued by Rev Ken Newell, Presbyterian minister in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. A land that still suffers today from the wounds left by the conflict that for 30 years, since the end of the 1960s, has seen unionists and separatists opposing each other: the first, Protestants, who support belonging to the United Kingdom; the second, Catholics, who support the reunification of Northern and Southern Ireland. A political conflict that has poisoned the social fabric, turning cities into battlefields and leading to “religious segregation”: Protestants and Catholics live in different neighbourhoods, communities do not meet, there is mistrust and prejudice. It was not easy for Reverend Ken to try to build bridges. He had to begin with himself. “ I grew up in Belfast in a Protestant and Unionist community” – he tells the European Mariapolis – “ in my early years I was shaped by the culture of my community (..); many things were healthy, good and serene; other aspects influenced me with negative attitudes towards the Catholic, Irish and Nationalist community, which took me years to overcome”. A path that helped him gradually to open up and discover the beauty of diversity. While in Holland the meeting with a priest convinced him to attend a Mass. Or again in Indonesia, where, as a teacher in a seminary in Timor, he was able to immerse himself in a different country, with its own language, food and culture. “I began to realize that, just as there are different colours in the rainbow, so too God created the human race with incredible diversity; valuing the cultures of Timor taught me to value the good within my own culture. In contact with the priest Noel Carrel, the discovery of a possible friendship: “we realized that we were in Timor to serve the one Christ, that we had the same Heavenly Father and we were brothers. I asked myself if it would be possible to have such a friend in Northern Ireland. Hence a clear awareness: “The Holy Spirit made me open up to “diversity” at the other end of the world and prompted me to seek the best in Irish Catholic culture and spirituality. Returning to Belfast in 1976, he was called to lead the Presbyterian Church of Fitzroy: his inclusive lifestyle was against the tide. In one of the toughest moments of the conflict, his invitation to build new relationships was taken up by the members of a Redemptorist monastery in Clonard: and so, began the Association of Clonard – Fitzroy. The human and spiritual friendship with Father Gerry Reynolds, leader of the Community of Clonard, “companion in the building of peace”, gave rise to many experiences of sharing: “We begin to go together to the funerals of policemen killed by terrorists and of innocent civilians killed by loyalist paramilitary groups; it is rare to see Protestant ministers and Catholic priests together at funerals to comfort the families of the deceased”. It then happens that they participate in each other’s celebrations and that Fr. Gerry and Rev. Ken participate together in marriages between people from different Churches. Another unthought of step is made possible: the priest and the minister are invited to meetings with political leaders of the opposing parties, to reach a ceasefire and adopt policies of peace. Slowly, politicians from the main parties in Northern Ireland, the pro-British DUP and the pro-Irish Sinn Fein, recognise the Clonard – Fitzroy Association as a “safe space” for discussion. The desire for reconciliation grows that will lead, in 2007, to the “miracle of Belfast”: “in Stormont, the government building of Northern Ireland” – says Rev. Newell – “Rev. Ian Paisley, Prime Minister of the shared executive power, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Martin McGuinness, former commander of the IRA, descend the marble staircase, sit side by side in front of the world press and address the people of Northern Ireland; they speak of their determination to lead the country towards a better and more reconciled future”. It is the dawn of a new day. The Clonard-Fitzroy Association, which has been operating for 38 years and has inspired thousands of similar initiatives, received the 1999 Pax Christi International Peace Prize.
Claudia di Lorenzi
Aug 12, 2019 | Non categorizzato
This country has all it takes to be a model for the world of shared life in society and among religions. Yet the longstanding political and economic crises undermine this careful balance. For 50 years the Focolare has been seeking to make its own contribution. https://vimeo.com/343239477
