[:it]Globalizzazione. Una sfida non solo per i G8

Jun 29, 2001 | Non categorizzato

The Movements, a gift for the Proclamation of the Gospel

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

Their prophetic role in the face of the challenges of Christian unity and globalisation. Chiara Lubich: We are at the service of the new evangelization. Piero Coda: With the movements, the Church of the future. Andrea Riccardi: Diversity is enriching Lorenzo Rosoli The ecclesial movements? “They represent a true gift from God for the new evangelization and for missionary activity.” In her address, Chiara Lubich, founder and guide of the Focolare Movement, drew on Redemptoris missio and other key documents of John Paul II’s magisterium to profile the movements and ecclesial communities in the face of the challenges posed by Christian unity and globalisation. These historic challenges have been brought to people’s attention in recent weeks by the mass media because of two events: Pope John Paul II’s visit to the Ukraine and his urgent ecumenical appeal, and the imminent G8 Summit Meeting in Genoa of the eight most industrialized nations. Against this backdrop, the 10th International Theological and Pastoral Congress organised by the Focolare Movement on the theme, “The Ecclesial Movements for a New Evangelization” brought together in Castelgandolfo 1300 clerics – Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants from 44 different countries – along with Cardinals Dario Castrillon Hoyos and James Francis Stafford (to whom the Pope’s Message concerning the Congress, which we referred to yesterday, was addressed). Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Saint Egidio Community described the present as an “historic anthropological turning-point” which places the new evangelization “between a global world and many identities closed in upon themselves”. The Symposium asserted that evangelization can only take place if there is openness and communion; and this must exist first of all within the Church itself, between its institutional and charismatic dimensions, and among the movements and new communities. In her address, delivered at the Focolare Movement’s international Mariapolis Centre, Chiara Lubich interpreted the experience of her movement in the light of the requisites for a new evangelization: “Its ardour is new if those who proclaim the Gospel simultaneously grow in their union with God. Its methods are new if it is carried out by the whole People of God. Its expressions are new if it is in keeping with what the Spirit suggests”: to proclaim God’s love for every person; to form mature ecclesial communities; to re-evangelise oneself through the Word and a life of love; to proclaim the Word and to share the fruits of living it… Quoting John Paul II again, she continued, “a Christian society no longer exists, what does exist is globalisation with an interweaving of peoples and cultures.” In this context, she said, evangelization must follow the path of the dialogues indicated by the Second Vatican Council: dialogue within the Catholic Church, among Christians, with members of other religions and with persons of good will. “For 40 years the Focolare Movement has been engaged in all four dialogues.” Present in 182 countries, “it involves people of all walks of life, from children to bishops.” However, “it is especially our lay people that the Lord uses as instruments for the new evangelization.” In the words of the theologian Piero Coda, the new ecclesial movements “constitute both a preparation for, and a reception – at once charismatic and dynamic, and in some cases even surpassing and prophetic – of the ecclesiological model proposed and broadly outlined by the Council, but which in reality has yet to be defined from the theological and pastoral standpoints.” The new movements and ecclesial communities are implementing this ecclesiology of communion “by living it.” This is one of the key passages in his address, “Hierarchical and Charismatic Gifts for the Building up of the Church and for its Mission.” This communion, which was evident in a surprising way during the Jubilee year, is “the way the Spirit rejuvenates the Church and guides it in its mission.” What we have before us, he said, is a roughly-outlined ‘icon’ of the future of the Church”, one of whose characteristic and decisive features is its lay countenance: not only within the Church, but also as it relates to the world, to society and to contemporary culture. As Andrea Riccardi explained, the responsibility of the movements in evangelization is thus twofold: communion within the Church and communication of the Gospel in the contemporary world. “These recent years have increased the awareness that diversity lived out in love is enriching for the Church and for each charism… The movements are not little churches whose ambition is to spread to the entire Church. They are gifts which the Lord has given to his Church throughout the course of the twentieth century. Each movement has interpreted a particular aspect of the Church’s vocation in an original way. But each of these aspects, by its very nature, turns one’s attention back to the Church. The numerous vocations to the priesthood that continue to emerge in the movements are a gift to the Church. The witness of Christian love for all, especially the poorest, is a gift to the Church for the whole world. The communication of the Gospel, which lies at the basis of the missionary ‘structure’ of the charisms of the movements is a gift to the Church”.

[:it]Intervento di Andrea Riccardi

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

The Movements, a gift for the proclamation of the Gospel

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

  The title of this article comes from John Paul II. He views the movements in the context of the Second Vatican Council. The teaching of that Council contains “that which the Spirit is saying to the Churches” (Rev 2:29) at this time in history. Piero Coda, professor of theology at the Lateran University, reflects on the new ecclesial movements that are emerging in the phase of the history of salvation in which we are now living. Ecclesial movements within the horizon of the history of salvation    In his encyclical on the Holy Spirit, Dominum et Vivificantem, John Paul II comments that while it is an historical fact that the Church came forth from the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost, in a certain sense it can also be said that “the Church is always in the Upper Room that she bears in her heart” (n. 66). Pentecost continues in the life of the Church. One of the texts in Vatican Council’s documents that speaks of how the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit is Lumen Gentium n.4. It says that the Holy Spirit guides “the Church in the way of all truth (cf. Jn 16:13) and unifying her in communion and in the works of ministry, he bestows upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her; and he adorns her with his fruits (cf. Eph 4:11-12; 1 Cor 12:4; Gal 5;22). By the power of the Gospel he permits the Church to keep the freshness of youth. Constantly he renews her and leads her to perfect union with her Spouse…Hence the universal Church is seen to be ‘a people brought into unity from the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’” (LG, 4). This is a very full text that would require much commentary. It highlights the pneumatological origins of the Church’s nature and activity in the Risen Christ. Referring to Scriptural themes, it recalls the plurality and diversity of the hierarchical and charismatic gifts in the Church. All of this is presented in the historical and dynamic context of a continuous rejuvenation and renewal by which the Church constantly grows and matures, yearning for perfect union with her Spouse. The final citation in the section just quoted refers to our being gathered into unity from the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This citation comes from St. Cyprian. It isn’t just a summary statement of the plan of salvation. What it tells us is that through the gift and action of the Spirit, trinitarian love is rendered objective and concrete in the relationships of complementarity and reciprocity between the various gifts that build up the Church. In line with the teaching of the Council, one contemporary writer has commented that the Holy Spirit is given and gives himself as “a powerful force of renewal and unity. Where He is present, communion arises, humanity is gathered into the unity of the Father, of the Son and of the Spirit, the Church is present: ubi Spiritus Dei, illic Ecclesia. On the other hand, the Spirit is also present in the Church as fruit. Where the ecclesial praxis is lived in charity (en agápe), there he becomes (in a certain sense) something he was not before: the in-the-midst-person of the ecclesial communion, the realm of action shared and so unifying. Where believers live in communion, there ecclesial life gets transmitted: ubi Ecclesia, ibi est Spiritus Dei”. By focusing our attention on the “charismatic gifts”, the well-known text of Lumen Gentium 12 brings us a step further. On more than one occasion John Paul II links LG 4 and LG 12 to the ecclesial movements. Von Balthasar comments that since the ordained ministry too is born and nurtured from a gift of the Spirit, it can be said that through the work of the Holy Spirit the whole Church is founded “on objective and subjective charism”. On the one hand, the ministerial and sacramental gifts communicate the objectivity of Christ’s ministry to the People of God. But in a more specific and restricted sense, the charismatic gifts too are directed towards bringing to maturity in ever new ways reception of the mystery of Christ in the subjectivity of individual believers and of the Church herself. This reception is expressed in three attitudes that define the relationship of the Church to her Lord: virginal openness to the gift that comes to her from God in Christ; spousal communion with Him and, in him, among her members; maternal fruitfulness in generating new disciples and bringing believers to the full maturity of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13). The novelty of the “charismatic gifts” In reading John Paul II’s writings, there is frequent mention of “novelty” in reference to the charismatic gifts. “They can take a great variety of forms, both as a manifestation of the absolute freedom of the Spirit who abundantly supplies them, and a response to the varied needs of the Church in history” (Christifideles Laici, 24). Even though absolutely unforeseeable and free, the action of the Spirit in history points in fact to the progressive realisation of the mystery of salvation: “Christ in you, hope of glory” (cf. Col 1:27). There is a history of charisms that is interwoven inseparably with the very history of the Church. Each of these charism – writes von Balthasar – is like a strike of lightning destined to light up a unique and original point of the will of God for the Church in a given time, manifesting “a new type of conformity to Christ inspired by the Holy Spirit, and therefore a new illustration of how the Gospel is to be lived… a new interpretation of revelation”. And this is where we see the characteristic novelty of charismatic gifts. It is not a question of absolute novelty. God the Father, in giving us his Son made flesh, has said and given us everything in him. The novelty lies rather in the fact that the Holy Spirit from time to time highlights, enlightens and puts into operation a particular aspect of the inexhaustible mystery of Christ. Within the providential plan of God who guides history, the aspect that gets highlighted is a powerful response to the issues of a particular era. It actuates, as it were, a new kairós of the coming of God among us.       And all of this is line with the promise Jesus himself made: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:13-15). The fullness of truth and grace has been given in Christ Jesus (cf. 1:17). All charismatic gifts are relative to that. Charisms are dispensed by the Spirit throughout the history of the Church. The novelty of these gifts and of the proclamation of Christ that comes to the Church from them cannot but represent a new increase in the Church’s self-understanding and self-configuration. All of this, of course, takes place within the substantial continuity of the “deposit of faith”. The Ecclesial movements and the mission of the Church today   In view of the previous consideration, we can ask ourselves: what word, what gift does the Holy Spirit want to say and share with the Church today through the Movements? In order to offer a response, I think we would have to look briefly at something of the novelty of our times and then also how the Second Vatican Council responds so much to that novelty. With regard to the discernment of our times, I will limit myself to just two points worth noting. The first – and this applies particularly to the Western world, but it has a universal dimension – has to do with the end of modernity. In other words, for better or for worse, we are living at a time considered to be the conclusion of an era in which a model of humanism (both individually and collectively) centred on the affirmation of the subject-man. This affirmation of subjectivity was set against positions of otherness, be this otherness God or other people. The great “ideological narratives” of modernity have dissolved tragically and we are now in a large new realm, waiting for something new. The second element has to do with humanity’s irreversible journey towards acquiring a planetary consciousness of the human family. This requires understanding and working out differences (of culture, traditions, religions etc.) in a context of openness to the other and mutual relationship at all levels (political, economic, cultural and spiritual). In this case too, humanity is being prompted to cross the threshold of a difficult and risky novelty. Against this background the self-understanding of the Church expressed in Vatican II becomes surprisingly relevant right from the first number of Lumen Gentium “the Church, in Christ, is the sacrament of union with God and unity of the whole humankind”. This means that God and human beings, or me and others, are not to be considered in terms of some dialectic competition as you find in the dualistic logic of the servant/master relationship. In Christ, the relationship between God and humankind, and intersubjective relationships among people, have been taken into, revealed and redeemed in the realm of trinitarian reciprocity. In other words, they participate in the divine life which subsists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As Vatican II’s document on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes 24, teaches, this reciprocity is realised “through the sincere gift of self” (cf. Lk 17:33) that Christ Jesus revealed and realised in fullness in the kenosis of abandonment and death on the cross. This is the context in which the identity and mission of the charismatic gifts of the Spirit are to be considered. We shall do so under headings that John Paul II offers us as the way to read the Second Vatican Council – in terms of mystery, communion and mission. Before doing so, it is worth recalling how charisms and Magisterial teaching have worked together in history. The Magisterium of the Church manifests the apostolic continuity and catholic unity of the Church’s mystery and institution. It discerns if a charism is in accordance with the Gospel, and it also discerns a charism’s timeliness in terms of the needs of the church and the world. And charisms give life to teachings of the Church. The Second Vatican Council is the Magisterial teaching for our era. The charisms have to do with its reception in the life of the Church. Historical parallels come to mind.    Take, for instance, the Council of Trent. It would never have become part of the lived reality of the Catholic Church were it not that, alongside exceptional pastors like Charles Borromeo, there were also charisms – like Ignatius of Loyola, to take but one example – capable of taking up in an exemplary and energetic manner the reforming drive of the Council. In a similar fashion today, the people of God is called to both a faithful and creative reception of the teaching of Vatican II. And today too, alongside marvellous pastors, there are all kinds of initiatives in particular churches that have facilitated an encounter for many with the letter and spirit of the Council. But it is also quite possible that today too the Spirit wants to give his contribution not only through more widespread charisms, but also through special charisms. At this point, we want now to pursue some elements of how the Movements play their part in helping us hear what the Holy Spirit is saying and sharing with the Church today in this period following Vatican II. The Movements and Mystery of the Church   Frstly, the discovery of the Church-mystery. To rediscover (and live) the Church as mystery means highlighting the Church as the sacrament of Christ. The Church is the presence of Christ, indeed “the Christ present” (as Bonhoeffer put it). And this not only in the sense that the Church is generated, nourished and guided by the Word, by the sacraments and by the ordained ministry, but – as a consequence – in the sense that as a community of disciples, she is the sign and instrument of encounter with the risen Christ. And this is precisely – it seems to me – a specific feature of the ecclesial movements. As communities living as a communion of disciples, they make the presence of Christ, the Emmanuel, become an event. A second aspect of the rediscovery of the Church as mystery has to do with her spousal nature. She is not only (in the already/but not yet of the Christian eschatology) one with Christ, but she is also in front of him as the Spouse who is called to be clothed in the Spirit with the nuptial garment of holiness. The ecclesial movements trace a way of holiness that’s not elite but rather open to all. As von Balthasar commented, it is precisely to them that Providence has entrusted concretely, although obviously not exclusively, the animation and putting into practice of the conciliar programme of the universal call to holiness (LG, 5) and the decisive presence of the laity in the Church and in the Church’s apostolate in the world (LG 4 and AA). The Movements and the Church as Communion   A second point that can be noted is the emergence of the movements at a time when ecclesiology is focusing on the Church as people of God and a communion. Charisms have always been recognised throughout the history of the Church. But today they are beginning to be recognised as important in a structural manner for the shaping of the Church-communion. More than in the past, what has been highlighted today is the fact that a group of Christians can share in a charism and that this helps share the building up of the Church body and its evangelising mission (cf. Christifideles Laici, 24,29). A constitutive characteristic of the movements is their ecclesial nature. They are open to all the vocations and to all the states of life present in the people of God. J. Beyer has pointed out that “the very notion of communion is not understandable unless it is made visible in the living Church. It seems that it is precisely to make this communion understood and experienced that the new forms” of Christian life were born.    The Ecclesial movements as well as other forms and experiences can satisfy the need today for “schools of the ecclesiology of communion” that are so necessary to translate the teachings of the Council into action. The emphasis on Church communion today demands a conversion to a communional spirituality. The relationship of complementary reciprocity among the various ecclesial vocations must also be operative in relations between the movements and the (universal and particular) Church and in relations between the movements within the Church. In speaking of his order and of the relationship with other orders, St. Bernard of Clareville said: “I admire them all. I belong to one of them through observance, but to all of them in charity. We all need each other. The spiritual good that I lack I receive from others. In this exile, the Church is still on a journey and, if I can put it like this, the Church is plural. It is one plurality and a plural unity. And all our differences that manifest the wealth of God’s gifts will subsist in the one home of the Father that has many mansions. Now there is division of grace, then there will be distinction of glories. Unity, be it here or there, consists in charity”. The Church and the Church as Mission   A similar point can be made with regard to the aspect of mission. It is immediately evident that the movements are in tune with the call to a “new evangelisation”. They have shown a new capacity to become instruments of openness and transmission of faith in Jesus Christ. Not least because they provide a possibility for giving Gospel witness – “Come and see” (cf. Jn 1:39). Faced with the challenge of postmodernity and global planning, it has become urgent today to return to an original experience of the Gospel. Such an experience has to be one that is able to render present the leaven of the Kingdom of God in those areas of life so crucial for the future. This is possible where the form of evangelisation is “new” in that it is capable of showing the novelty of Jesus Christ today in the life of believers and in their mutual relationships. In this light, the cultural aspect of evangelisation and commitment in the world take on their importance. Perhaps it will only be in the future that it will be fully realised that implications flow from these charisms to do with the understanding and very realisation of revelation as viewed from a particular angle. Such understandings of revelation from particular perspectives is in line with that “concentration of faith” that is spoken of today, namely that concentration on the essential for a more incisive proclamation, existential assimilation and socio-cultural fruitfulness. It would be worth reflecting further upon the meaning of the ecclesial movements also in the areas of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. Members of other Church, and indeed, believers of other religions and people of good will, share in the spirit and life of some of these movements. And that has an ecclesiological significance as Christifideles Laici points out (n.33). From an ecumenical point of view, this points us in the direction of a spiritual and practical realisation of that real, albeit imperfect, communion that all the baptised in Christ share (cf. UR, 3). If this is true then – as S. Bulgakow wrote back in 1933 – “it is the duty of ecclesial love, to perceive and render manifest the spiritual basis of Christian ecumenism, not only as an idea, but also as something that exists, a gift of grace. We have been given the experience of it as the breath of the grace of the Holy Spirit, as a manifestation of Pentecost, when people begin to understand one another in the diversity of languages”. With regard to inter-religious dialogue, it does seem that we are dealing with providential signs of the possibility opening up today for the Church to enter “a new stage of history in her missionary dynamism” (n. 35). Some initiatives have shown ways through which the great cultural and religious traditions, without renouncing their own richness, can be transfigured in the meeting with the Crucified and Risen Christ. The Ecclesial Movements and the Marian Principle   I would like by way of conclusion to refer to the Marian principle of the Church about which Hans Urs von Balthasar has written so much. The primary and ultimate meaning of the Church is to generate Christ as “all in everyone” (Col 3:11). If this is so, we need to reflect further on De Montfort’s comment to the effect that there are two who work together in synergy both in generating the Son of God in the flesh and, in him, all of us as children of the Father. These two are the Holy Spirit and Mary. Since the movements are a gift of the Spirit, they cannot but have something to do with Mary. In a memorable address given by John Paul II to the Roman Curia, he spoke of the Marian principle as being as fundamental (if not more so) as the apostolic-Petrine profile of the Church. Von Balthasar has emphasised the need to revive in the whole people of God – hierarchy, laity, consecrated – the Marian form of being Church. And he recognises in the movements a stimulus and providential opportunity for this. The Marian character of the movements’ identity and mission can be seen in a number of ways – their charismatic origin and the primacy of spirituality that characterises them; their predominantly lay and ecclesial profile, their communal and ecumenical dimension; the authentically dialogical openness towards other Churches and followers of other religions. The life of Mary, shaped and guided by the Spirit is a “letting it happen” of the event of the God’s coming among us in the history of humanity. And this is echoed in the relationships between members of the Church and the social forms in which they are organised. Von Balthasar invites us to look at Mary as “the archetypal Church, upon whose form we should form ourselves. We: that means every single Christian and it means perhaps even more, our image of what the Church is. We are for ever concerned with reshaping and improving the Church in accordance with the demands of the time, following the criticisms of opponents and our own models. But do we not thereby lose sight of the one fulfilled standard, indeed the Model? Should we not constantly keep our eyes fixed on Mary … simply to know what Church, what ecclesial Spirit, and what ecclesial behaviour really is?”. Piero Coda

[:it]L’Opera di Schoenstatt e il Cammino neocatecumenale

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

“ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS FOR A NEW EVANGELIZATION”

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

  “ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS FOR A NEW EVANGELIZATION” Programme  28/06/2001 June 26 Introduction and presentation of participants Chiara Lubich: “The Focolare Movement’s Evangelization” Eucharistic concelebration presided by Cardinal Darío Castrillon-Hoyos, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy “In the Spirit of Communion”: a look at the history of charisms in the Church (video) Prof. Andrea Riccardi: “Development of communion among the ecclesial Movements and with the Pastors of the Church, from ’98 to today” Natalia Dallapiccola, focolarina: “The God of today: Jesus crucified and forsaken, key to ecclesial communion” Group Meetings according to the different regions 27 June Prof. Piero Coda, professor at the Pontifical Lateran University: “Hierarchical and charismatic gifts working together in communion for the building up and mission of the Church” Cardinal James Francis Stafford, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity: “The contribution of the ecclesial Movements to evangelization in a secularized world” Eucharistic concelebration Fr. Michael Marmann of Schönstatt: “The Work of Schönstatt and Evangelization” – Dialogue Dr. Stefano Gennarini: “The Evangelization of the Neo-Catechumenate Way” – Dialogue Dr. Salvatore Martinez, national co-ordinator of the Renewal in the Spirit: “Evangelization and the Renewal in the Spirit” Group Meetings according to the different regions 28 June Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni: “The experience of the Community of Sant’Egidio” – Dialogue Dr. J. Carrascosa and Fr. Gerolamo Castiglioni: “The experience of Communion and Liberation” – Dialogue Graziella De Luca, focolarina: Presentation of the video documentary “Miracle in the Forest” Eucharistic concelebration presided by Cardinal F.X. Nguyên Van Thuân Conclusion  

“ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS FOR A NEW EVANGELIZATION”

Jun 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

  June 26 Introduction and presentation of participants Chiara Lubich: “The Focolare Movement’s Evangelization” Eucharistic concelebration presided by Cardinal Darío Castrillon-Hoyos, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy “In the Spirit of Communion”: a look at the history of charisms in the Church (video) Prof. Andrea Riccardi: “Development of communion among the ecclesial Movements and with the Pastors of the Church, from ’98 to today” Natalia Dallapiccola, focolarina: “The God of today: Jesus crucified and forsaken, key to ecclesial communion” Group Meetings according to the different regions 27 June Prof. Piero Coda, professor at the Pontifical Lateran University: “Hierarchical and charismatic gifts working together in communion for the building up and mission of the Church” Cardinal James Francis Stafford, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity: “The contribution of the ecclesial Movements to evangelization in a secularized world” Eucharistic concelebration Fr. Michael Marmann of Schönstatt: “The Work of Schönstatt and Evangelization” – Dialogue Dr. Stefano Gennarini: “The Evangelization of the Neo-Catechumenate Way” – Dialogue Dr. Salvatore Martinez, national co-ordinator of the Renewal in the Spirit: “Evangelization and the Renewal in the Spirit” Group Meetings according to the different regions 28 June Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni: “The experience of the Community of Sant’Egidio” – Dialogue Dr. J. Carrascosa and Fr. Gerolamo Castiglioni: “The experience of Communion and Liberation” – Dialogue Graziella De Luca, focolarina: Presentation of the video documentary “Miracle in the Forest” Eucharistic concelebration presided by Cardinal F.X. Nguyên Van Thuân Conclusion

[:it]I movimenti ecclesiali per la nuova evangelizazzione

Jun 5, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]I Movimenti ecclesiali e la nuova evangelizzazione

Jun 5, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]«Ti dono la croce che il Papa ha dato a me»

May 6, 2001 | Non categorizzato

Chiara Lubich in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

May 4, 2001 | Non categorizzato

Engagements at an ecclesial and civic level. Meetings with members of the Focolare Movement in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Ukraine. Prominence given by to this visit by the media in the Czech Republic. The expansion of the Focolare Movement in Eastern Europe during the 1960s . Program – The spread of the Focolare Movement First visit to the Czech Republic On 27 April, a press conference was held with Chiara Lubich. It was attended by journalists from leading national television networks and radio stations, from independent newspapers as well as from the Christian press. On 28 April, Chiara gave a talk on “The New Evangelisation” to the 2nd National Gathering of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in Prague. On 30 April she spoke to around 2,000 members of the Focolare Movement who had come together for a three-day meeting in Prague from the Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Lucia Fronza e Antoni Baggio, representatives of the international secretariat of the Movement for Unity in Politics, met with a group of about 60 adherents of the Focolare Movement who work in the field of politics. They presented the birth of this new initiative, its developments and current actions. On 3 May, Chiara was invited by the Episcopal Conference of the Czech Republic to speak on “The Charismatic Dimensions of the Church and the New Evangelisation”. Giuseppe Zanghì, editor of the Focolare’s cultural journal “New Humanity”, spoke on the theme “Jesus Crucified and Forsaken, Key to the Spirituality of Communion” drawing parallels between it and the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, “Novo Millennio Ineunte”. Fr Silvano Cola, delegate for the Dialogue among Movements and New Communities, spoke on the topic “Dialogue and Communion among the New Charisms”. Chiara Lubich concluded her visit in the Czech Republic with a visit to the newborn little town of the Focolare Movement in Vinor, in the vicinity of the Prague.   From the 6th of May, visit to Slovakia 7-8 May – Meeting with the men and women focolarini of the Czech Republic and Slovakia 9 May – Chiara Lubich has been invited to give her personal experience, and the experience of the Focolare Movement, to the Episcopal Conference. 10 May – Chiara has been received by the President of the Parliament, Josef Migas, and by the Vice President, Pavol Hrusovsky. This has been followed by a meeting with a delegation of MPs and representatives of various political groups. Chiara will speak on “Fraternity in Politics”. On 12 May, at the Sports Stadium in Bratislava, more than 5,000 people will gather for a meeting which will include experiences from the beginnings of the Focolare Movement, local experiences and artistic contributions. There will be a presentation on the spirituality of the Movement with its impact on youth, on the family, on the economy, in politics and within the Church.   In the afternoon, Chiara Lubich will illustrate one of the cardinal points of the spirituality, “Unity and Jesus Crucified and Abandoned”, with the growth and development of various dialogues, including ecumenism and interreligious dialogue.

[:it]Esperienza del Movimento “Luce – Vita” (Oasi)

Apr 27, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]"Spiritualità di comunione per l’ecumenismo del Terzo Millennio"

Apr 21, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]"Mi era sempre mancata una famiglia più grande…"

Apr 13, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Chiara Lubich alla 1a Scuola Internazionale per imprenditori 5 aprile 2001

Apr 8, 2001 | Non categorizzato

Relaunch of the ECONOMY OF COMMUNION PROJECT

Apr 8, 2001 | Non categorizzato

   9 April 2001 Q – What are the innovations, ten years on, which have emerged at the conclusion of this school for entrepreneurs who adhere to the Economy Communion project? After ten years following the birth of the Economy of Communion project we felt the need everywhere to take stock of the situation, to see what new horizons were opening up in front of us. This line of action was indicated to us by Chiara Lubich, in her keynote speech, in which she expressed the desire to emphasise and to relaunch the original inspiration underlying the project. The theme focussed on four fundamental points: The original intention of the project which is to give help to the needy through the sharing of business profits. The “culture of giving” seen as the cultural humus which lies at the basis of business activity. “New people”, that is, lay people who wish to consecrate human realities. As a consequence of this, the development of schools of formation for entrepreneurs. By launching these four points, Chiara Lubich indicated the paths to follow, paths which the business men and women present undertook to pursue with great seriousness and commitment. In the three-day program, the first day was dedicated to the life and the reality of the businesses. The second day was dedicated to the ideas and the economic theories which underlie the Economy of Communion and which could illuminate the life and action of the businesses. A great contribution was also given by experts who gave entrepreneurs the impetus to launch this idea. Business men and women of the same industry sector got together in workshops, according to language groups. This gave the opportunity for dialogue, for in-depth discussions and for the gathering of ideas. Another important point was the launching of Chiara’s idea to create industrial parks within the little towns of the Focolare Movement. Q – Have new initiatives emerged from this school? The new initiative was precisely that of creating industrial parks within the little towns of the Movement. Already ten years ago, an industrial complex was developed adjacent to Araceli, the little town of the Movement near San Paolo in Brazil. The complex now includes 6 businesses and is a credible witness to the Economy of Communion. This year Chiara launched the idea that a similar industrial park be constructed in Loppiano, the little town of the Focolare Movement near Florence. Chiara repeated what she had said in Brazil “We are poor but we are many”, and so it’s a matter of raising funds, not only through the contributions of business owners, but through contributions given by all those – within the Focolare Movement and outside it – who love the idea of the Economy of Communion. Q – Do you mean shareholders? Yes, a sort of share-holding system which came into effect during the meeting itself. A significant sum of money has already been raised to start off this activity. Q – What would the significance be of these little towns with an industrial park? The identity of the little town of the Focolare Movement is that of shouting out the Gospel through its way of life. It is a witness of evangelical life in a normal context, with relationships of charity, of unity, of solidarity among people and ethnic groups. The industrial park would endow the town with another dimension: to give witness to that evangelical life which is capable of penetrating all aspects of human life, spiritual aspects as well as earthly aspects. Q – Through the dialogue that emerged during these days, what will the Economy of Communion bring to the current world economic crisis which is creating an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor? In this sense Professor Stefano Zamagni gave a specific contribution during the panel discussion which was composed of four experts of different nationalities. He said that one of the essential contributions of the Economy of Communion was that of injecting a new paradigm into this climate of competition – which is typical not only of economic activity but which is invading all dimensions of life, from the family unit to the political arena, causing grave repercussions for human life – a paradigm which is not one of competition, but a paradigm of love, of unity. He considers this to be one of the greatest contributions the Economy of Communion can give. Another expert, Professor Emanuela Silva, from Portugal, affirmed that the Economy of Communion gives a theoretical contribution to the importance of solidarity and sharing in a world, such as that pertaining to economics, in which individualism reigns, in which scientific rationality and the affirmation of self are the fundamental paradigms. With the Economy of Communion what is introduced into this fabric is the sense of solidarity and the sense of sharing. Q – In view of the current research in the field of economy, would you say that the values of Economy of Communion businesses constitute a response or do they contradict what is maturing in the theoretical elaboration of economics? It is in contrast with the dominant trends of globalisation. In the world of economy there exists a sector which we could call an alternative economy or third sector or economy for solidarity, or civil economy. There are a whole series of proposals which are in direct contrast with the rational and individualistic economy, the neo-liberal and market economy. The Economy of Communion aligns itself with these forms of alternative economies giving, however, its own specific contribution. Q – What sort of contribution? Precisely that of permeating the economy of profit with those values of solidarity and sharing which are normally inherent in a non-profit economy, that is, an economy which is not after the accumulation of wealth. The Economy of Communion operates within the market economy, that is within a profit-making economy, which does seek to produce profits but which volunteers to share these profits with the disadvantaged members of our society. Q – Can we envisage then, since we’re in the new millennium, that this new economic trend will have an impact on the great economic currents of the world? We certainly hope so because, as Chiara affirmed very strongly, this is not purely the work of human beings but the work of God. We are believers; we are convinced that the paternity of God, that His presence operates also in our earthly affairs and therefore this project is not only dependent on our efforts but that there is a powerful impetus by the Holy Spirit who responds to the needs of humanity. This is where our wisdom, hope and certainty lies: that the Economy of Communion will have a future, a powerful future for the development of the economic world and the economic ideas of this third millennium.  

Relaunch of the ECONOMY OF COMMUNION PROJECT

Apr 8, 2001 | Non categorizzato

“The Economy of communion was born to rekindle the spirit and the way of life of the first Christians: ‘They were one heart and one soul and no-one among them was in need’. Nowadays a little bit of charity is not sufficient. We need entire businesses to freely put their profits in common. Used in this way, our capital will yield immeasurable returns because our giving will open God’s hands”.  (Chiara Lubich) In relaunching the Economy of Communion ten years after its birth, Chiara Lubich, at the opening of the School for Entrepreneurs, spoke in depth about the spiritual foundations on which the Economy of Communion has been based since its debut at San Paolo in Brazil. These spiritual roots “must always sustain it as a guarantee of its authenticity”, Chiara said. The Economy of Communion (EOC) is certainly an audacious project. It concerns business proprietors willing to donate a part of their profits to those in need instead of getting rich themselves. And while part of the profits are used to develop the business itself, another part is allocated for the formation of “new people”. But how can such businesses survive within the rigid confines of the market economy? From the beginning of her talk, and using no half measures, Chiara Lubich affirmed that the EOC is not only an activity that is the fruit of projects and ideas of talented people. It is a reality present in one of the modern day Movements inspired by the Holy Spirit, and thus the work of God. Everything started 10 years ago during one of Chiara’s trips to Brazil where she saw the drama of the poverty in the favelas (shanty towns) that surround the big cities. With great passion, Chiara focussed on the intention for which this project had arisen: to fulfil those words from the Acts of the Apostles which refer to the early Church: “They were one heart and one soul; everything among them was in common. No one was in need”. Her appeal to keep at the forefront of our minds “our fellow brothers and sisters burdened by their daily struggle for survival” was a strong reminder. “Nowadays a little bit of charity is not enough,” she continued, “We need entire businesses and companies to freely put their profits in common.” She spoke with just as much passion of the “culture of giving” that has its roots entirely in that promise: “Give and you will be given, with a measure pressed down and overflowing”, a promise which can be verified even in the running of the business. “Using our capital in this manner,” she said, “yields immeasurable returns, because our giving opens God’s hands”. Of course we must form “new people”, those lay people of this new millennium who become saints not “in spite of” economics or politics, but even when fully immersed in politics and economics. At this point Chiara launched the idea of repeating this first school of formation all over the world. 750 businesses in 5 continents draw their inspiration from the Economy of Communion which is attracting increasing interest on the part of economists and sociologists, in universities and other educational institutions. Innumerable meetings have addressed this topic in varying degrees, and over one hundred academic theses on this subject have been completed. The history and developments that have occurred during these 10 years were outlined by the sociologist Vera Araujo and by entrepreneur Alberto Ferrucci. In their talks, they touched on the following two aspects: the distribution of profits to more than 10,000 families in need, and the guidelines for running the businesses which emerge from the experience of the businesses themselves. Many entrepreneurs present then gave their experience. Among the businesses presented were: “Solidar Capital” (Germany) and the businesses it finances in Lebanon and Israel, Unilab – Information Technology (Italy). Then followed a video presentation of the ‘Spartaco Industrial Complex’, the pilot industrial structure built in the Focolare Movement’s little town Mariapolis Araceli (now known as Mariapolis Ginetta), near San Paolo, Brazil. Other businesses presented were from Goa (India), from Italy, from Cameroon, as well as the Asia Management Training Centre Project in the Philippines which is collaborating with Italian entrepreneurs who want to adopt this project in Europe. During the interval, various workshops were held according to the type of business activity: information technology, manufacturing, commerce, academic studies, consultancy services, tourism and human services. These were important moments of dialogue among businesses from all over the world who had gathered together for the first time since the birth of the Economy of Communion. “Challenges and prospects of the Economy of Communion today” was at the centre of a lively debate between the participants and a panel made up of the Brazilian sociologist Vera Araujo, Professor Luigino Bruni, lecturer in History of Economics in the State University of Milan (Italy) and Alberto Ferrucci entrepreneur. Professor Bruni outlined the first ideas of a new economic theory in his talk: “Economy of Communion: Facts and Ideas for a New Humanism”. Sociologist Vera Araujo presented a broad study of “The Culture of Giving”. Professor Benedetto Gui, lecturer in Economics at the University of Padova, Italy, gave his talk: “Towards an economic conduct based on communion”. “The challenges of the Economy of Communion in present day economics” was debated by a panel of experts composed of university lecturers Manuela Silva (Portugal), Cristina Calvo (Argentina), Rocio Marques (Malaga, Spain), and Stefano Zamagni (Bologna, Italy) who concluded the meeting with a presentation welcomed with great enthusiasm by all the participants. Professor Zamagni indicated the Economy of Communion, and its culture of love, as an antidote to the culture of “competition” that invades all the spheres in human relations (politics, family etc). This Economy of Communion, according to the economist from Bologna, will increasingly become a ground breaking experience in this delicate phase when new avenues for a truly just and promising economy are being researched.

[:it]Il polo imprenditoriale laboratorio di una nuova economia

Apr 4, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]"Bisognava far festa e rallegrarsi …" perché era alcoolizzato ed ora è risanato

Mar 14, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Cronaca del Convegno

Feb 16, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]«Allora, vogliamo prenderlo questo caffè?»

Feb 14, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Lettera del Santo Padre G.P. II

Feb 14, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Discorso di Chiara Lubich agli indù e membri di altre religioni a Coimbatore

Jan 6, 2001 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Conferito a Chiara Lubich il premio Difensore della Pace 2001

Jan 6, 2001 | Non categorizzato

CHIARA LUBICH IN INDIA

Jan 6, 2001 | Non categorizzato

  Chiara Lubich, using the most powerful human force of love and a strong faith in the unity of all humankind as espoused in the teachings of Jesus Christ, you have been chosen to play a tireless role in sowing the seeds of peace and love among all peoples. Starting during the dark days of the Second World War in Italy and thereafter all over the world, in the last six decades you have worked ceaselessly to help people discover love for and understanding of each other. This has allowed you to continuously strengthen the fragile framework of peace on which much of world’s prosperity, health, culture and spirituality is developing. In particular, you have built the lay Christian Movement of Focolare serving the people of the world through prayer and action and in promoting better dialogue, tolerance and purposeful cooperation among people of various religions. Importantly the empathy that you and the Focolare movement enjoy with young people and the deep understanding of evolving changes in this world displayed by yourself have ensured that the message of Jesus Christ stays relevant, fresh and healing in solving contemporary issues. In honour of your achievements, the peace loving people from the ancient country of India and in particular the Sarvodaya Movement and Shanti Ashram, present you with the eighth Defender of peace Award on the fifth day of January, two thousand and one. Shanti Ashram                                            Sarvodaya Movement Minoti Aram, President                                Dr. N. Markandan, President

[:it]Un patto di fraternità per l’Italia

Dec 14, 2000 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Ecumenismo: segni di speranza

Dec 9, 2000 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Simposio sulla Dottrina Sociale di Igino Giordani nel ventennale della sua scomparsa

Nov 29, 2000 | Non categorizzato

A New Pedagogy

Nov 14, 2000 | Non categorizzato

An important meeting took place on Friday, 10 November, in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in the U.S. Capital. It was the ceremony for the conferral of an honorary Degree in Education awarded to Chiara Lubich by the Catholic University of America. Three thousand people filled the basilica. Among those present were Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim African-American delegations.
Cardinal Hickey of Washington spoke of the signs of a new “springtime in the Church”.
In the laudatio he emphasised the prayer of Jesus – “That all may be one” – which lies at the heart of the spirituality of the Focolare Movement and which continues to inspire great numbers of people of every religious tradition to endeavour to reach this goal. In her address, Chiara Lubich traced a new pedagogy: the spirituality of unity, which has its source in the Gospel.
“It is a pedagogy which moves the world away from being a soulless Babel to being an experience of God in our midst, who is capable of embracing the whole of humanity.”
Professor David Schindler, a theologian from Washington, in an interview spoke of a “timely response” in view of the current situation in America, and of the shattered hopes and the cynism that is so widespread today. “It’s enough to see what’s happened in this election,” he commented.

The last leg of the intense schedule in Washington was Chiara Lubich’s meeting with students and academic staff at the Catholic University of America on Tuesday, november 14th.
Before responding to their questions, Chiara wanted to give a strong witness to the action of the Holy Spirit who had brought to life her movement. She said the reason why she has accepted all these awards – this was her 12th honoris causa degree – was for the glory of God, “so that they may see the good works of the Father” not only in the spiritual sense, but also “to demonstrate that God, and his Spirit, had brought about a renewal also in the human field”.
Through the dialogue that ensued, what emerged was truly this renewal in the field of study, of the economy, of pedagogy, of theology in their relationship with other religions.
Professor Schindler highlighted the source underlying everything Chiara had achieved: “No economic, social or political activity can do without the realism of innocence through which love transpires”.