Page 260 – Movimento dei Focolari

Luigino Bruni: Economy of Communion’s 25th anniversary

Jul 9, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

Chiara Lubich, Brasile 1991 -© Centro S. Chiara Audiovisi

Chiara Lubich, Brazil 1991 – © Centro S. Chiara Audiovisivi

«Twenty-five years have passed since Chiara Lubich sowed the seed of the Economy of Communion (EoC) in Brazil in May 1991. I was a new graduate in economics then and felt that the events in Sao Paolo also concerned me. Though I had no idea how, I guessed that I was part of that story which had just begun. I know now that participation in the development of that “dream” was a decisive event in my life which would have been quite different if that prophetic encounter between a woman’s foresight and the Brazilian people had not taken place. The Berlin wall had just been demolished and in that world and time, the proposal Chiara launched to the entrepreneurs to share talents, wealth and profits to address poverty directly, echoed like a great innovation which made EoC an important economic-social novelty and on the front of the social responsibility of enterprises which were in its early years (…). The DNA of that seed enclosed a different idea of the nature of profits and, therefore, of business intended as the common good, in a global and worldwide perspective (not common in those years). The businessmen were thus involved in the solution of a social issue of inequality.

Chiara Lubich and Abba School members (Luigino Bruni, third row, third from right) – © Centro S. Chiara Audiovisivi

Chiara was struck by that contrast between the favelas and skyscrapers in the city of Sao Paolo, but instead of launching a social project in the outskirts of the city or fund raising, addressed her proposal to the entrepreneurs whose first aim as we know, is not the creation of profits to be donated outside the business (…). The core of the EoC, therefore, enclosed the idea that to reduce poverty and inequality, we need to reform capitalism and its main institution: the enterprise, entrepreneurship. The language and first cultural mediation of Chiara’s project were those that were available in society, the Church, the Brazilian people and the Focolare Movement. After 25 years, however, the great collective challenge facing the EoC is to try to express the discernments and heart of the 1991 event in words and categories able to speak and make itself understood in a cultural and socio-economic world which in these 25 years has radically changed. Even on the front of social responsibilities enterprises have advanced greatly with the turn of the millennium. Social business has become a varied, dynamic movement in constant growth. The so-called “sharing economy” is giving rise worldwide to very innovative experiences. The reflection on poverty and the actions to alleviate it have been enriched, thanks to the ideas and actions of economists like Amartya Sen and Muhammad Yunus.

At the end of the second millennium, sharing the profits of enterprises with the poor and the youth, are in themselves an innovation. But if we continue in 2016 to concretise the EoC proposal with those same formulas, the proposal would not be sufficiently attractive and would be obsolete, especially for the youth. In the radically changed social and economic world, the EoC is called to renew itself, as it is doing and has always done, having reached its “silver” wedding anniversary. And it is rightly a wedding, since each time a charism manages to incarnate itself, there is an espousal encounter between heaven and earth, and between ideal and history. Such weddings would be like that at Cana when water turned into wine because a woman saw that the people had no more wine, and with faith, had asked and obtained a miracle. Economy of Communion will continue to live and reach its 50th birthday and beyond, if there will be women and men with “new eyes,” able to see what the people of one’s time need and transform profits into food for the body and heart, like the miracle that transformed water into wine. All the best EoC!» source: Città Nuova online http://www.cittanuova.it/c/455448/L_Economia_di_comunione_ha_25_anni.html

Connections, lost and found

Jul 8, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

«As my morning flight from Bologna to London, already two hours late due to earlier London storms, circled the skies for an additional 20 minutes, I realized that it would be nearly impossible to make my connecting flight. In fact, a short time later I found myself in an interminable line with hundreds of other customers who had also missed their connections. Airline phones were clogged, so even those with cell phone access were stuck. Most people could summon the patience to wait an hour — but as it become two, three and then way past dinner, the atmosphere began to grow tense. I had settled in with a good book but also began to feel anxious as I realized it would be a challenge to get in touch with the friend who was to pick me up from the airport. Especially when traveling alone, I am not usually talkative with strangers, but at that point I felt a nudge from within to look around, and to remember that the warmth and comfort of God’s presence could be with us, even in this chaotic line. I remembered I had a package of cookies in my bag, and made the first connection with the hungry college students behind me. That was enough to break the ice with everyone in our part of the line. As we began trading stories and commiserating, we also realized that we could help each other. The power from my laptop battery was just enough to charge the cell phone of the German couple who needed to call their family. And this couple was happy to watch my stuff as I scouted out a computer terminal from which I could send an email to my friend. A brief greeting in Italian to another young couple was enough to realize that they and two other couples — all on their honeymoon trips — did not understand the announcements that were being made. I translated for them so that they could navigate their options. After five and a half hours and no alternative flight arrangements yet, we received vouchers for hotel rooms and a meal, and instructions to call the airlines from the hotel. I called from an airport phone and learned that I would need to be back at the airport in just a few hours. As I curled up on an airport chair to catch a few hours of sleep, I realized that notwithstanding the external discomfort, all of these “connections” with my neighbors in the present moment had filled the evening with an unusual sense of peace. And I did make it home the next day, tired, but with a light heart». — Amy Uelmen, Bethesda, MD From Living City May 2016 – www.livingcitymagazine.com

From Nairobi (Kenya), the story of Millycent

Jul 7, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

https://vimeo.com/171535556

Great and Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church

Jul 6, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of Gonia. PHOTO: © POLISH ORTHODOX CHURCH/JAROSLAW CHARKIEWICZ.

Expectations were high for the Council that had been being prepared since 1961 when the first Pan-Orthodox conference was convened by Patriarch Athenagoras I. The title was quite meaningful: “He called all to unity” from the Pentecost Anthem of the Byzantine Rite. Driven by the need to face the challenges of the new millennium, the Orthodox Churches share a desire to move towards a more explicit collegiality and sharing, as well as to reaffirm the unity of the Orthodox Church. This Council marks a new openness: to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue; to new scientific and technological discoveries; to spending energy on the question of ecology and to the drama of immigration and the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. It opens “the horizon on the current multifaceted world”. Convoked by unanimous agreement amongst the leaders of 14 Orthodox Churches during their gathering in Chambésy, Switzerland, last January, it was marked from the start by great suffering: the physical absence of 4 of those 14 Churches. The Russian Orthodox Church has not yet made a pronouncement regarding the Council and is waiting for the reunion of the Sacred Synod in July to give an assessment of the recent event. There were also 15 observers from other Christian Churches at the Synod, who attended the opening and closing sessions. Non-Orthodox Christians from around the world were praying for this important event in the Orthodox Church: “Please pray for the Pan-Orthodox Council, I ask it of you as if it were a Council of my own Church, because it is my Church at this moment,” Maria Voce had remarked to a group of focolarini from different Churches who were gathered together in Rocca di Papa, Italy at the end of May. What many people are highlighting is not so much the final decisions – the six documents that were signed by the Patriarchs on the mission in the contemporary world, the importance of fasting, the relationship of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world, marriage, the Orthodox diaspora and the autonomy of the Churches – but the very nature of the Synod, that is, the fact that it was held and that this encounter had finally taken place. There is also hope that the Synod may not remain an isolated event, but become an ongoing practice of the Church on its journey. On the return flight from Armenia, Pope Francis responded to a journalist’s question about how the Pope would judge the Pan-Orthodox Synod that had just concluded. The Pope answered: “A positive judgement! It was a step ahead – not a hundred percent – but a step ahead. The things they had to justify (in quotation marks), the absences, are sincere for them, they’re things that will be resolved over time.” “The mere fact that these autocephalous Churches came together in the name of Orthodoxy, (…) is extremely positive. I thank the Lord. The next time, they’ll be more. Blessed be the Lord!” And speaking to the Orthodox delegation for the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis cited the Pan-Orthodox Council to invoke “abundant fruits for the good of the Church”. Encyclical of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

Message of the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church

Maria Chiara De Lorenzo

Pasquale Foresi. A Decision That Has To Be Renewed

Jul 5, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Pasquale Foresi (July, 5 1929 – June, 14 2015)

“To those who have already given themselves to God with all their mind, heart and strength – even beyond their own strength – God asks for a second decision. The first time they chose Him, they understood that they should love God beyond all things. But if we could divide this choice into parts, we’d find that in reality it contained 30% of love for God, 30% of disgust for the mediocrity and emptiness we were living in, 15% of joy and enthusiasm for having given ourselves to such a beautiful and holy cause and, for some of us, perhaps 10% of remorse for our past sins. . . (…) In fact it’s virtually impossible that the first time we chose God our love for him was not total and complete. But since perfection is only found in love, all of those secondary motives that had helped us at first because they were wrapped in our goodwill and enthusiasm to love God, little by little, the began to resurface and disturb us. It’s natural that they resurface, because already then they were like weeds that grow together with the grain as the Gospel of Matthew tells us. They’re small defects and attachments that aren’t authentic holiness, so they don’t build the Kingdom of God but disturb us and those around us. They may not even be venial sins, but nor are they authentic love. What should we do at that point? We should make a new decision for God. We should decide that love for God should become the only reason for our life – only love. (…) At that point we have to take a qualitative leap. We have to decide to love God for God, not for what we experience, not for the fruits it brings. We decide to love God for His own sake, in response to His Love for each one of us. We decide to find our reason for living in this union with God, the reason for our everyday life. When we reach this relationship with God, we become free human beings. Whatever happens, whatever calumny, difficulty, worry, bitterness – none of it alters our peace, because we’re rooted in God. And in God we find that unity, that joy, that serenity which only God’s love can give. (…) One thing is certain: deciding for God is a decision that must always be renewed. Perhaps we’ll be called to a third choice and then others, because God’s life is always new, unfailing and filled with surprises.” Pasquale Foresi, Source: Pasquale Foresi, Colloqui, (Rome: Città Nuova Editrice, 2009).

Unity is possible

Jul 5, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

«“Unity is possible”. Is this an absurd affirmation today, in a Europe marked by global terrorism, a multiplication of wars, migrations of biblical proportions and growing intolerance? Are we talking about a dream, a utopia? No. We are talking about an experience which several Movements and Christian communities in Europe have already been living for over 15 years, bearing witness that unity is possible. We have experienced that there is something indestructible and timeless which binds us: it is Love, God who is Love. This Love has opened our eyes and our heart to embrace the fears, tears and hopes of this continent. In all that is negative, which seems to overwhelm us, we perceive the pain that God who became man suffered on the cross and through which he showed his limitless love and gave us the hope of resurrection. Three key words characterise this event: meeting, reconciliation, future. We can meet one another because God came to meet us first through his incarnation. We can be reconciled with one another because on the cross Jesus reconciled us with God and amongst ourselves. We can walk securely towards the future because the One who conquered death is walking in our midst and is leading us towards European unity and the unity of the world, until his prayer “May they all be one” is fulfilled (John 17:21). It is worthwhile committing our lives for such for such a high goal. Together we want to ask forgiveness for the divisions of the past which caused wars and death in Europe. Together we want to bear witness to our unity while respecting the beauty and diversity of our Churches and communities. Together we want to be at the service of something new which is needed today so as to make progress once more on the European path. What we can offer – by committing our lives – is the newness of the Gospel. Before dying Jesus prayed: “Father, may they all be one”. He showed that we are all brothers and sisters, that one “single human family” is possible; that unity is possible; that unity is our destiny. We commit ourselves here, today, to be catalysts of this change, catalysts for a new vision for Europe, so as to speed up the journey towards unity by starting a profound dialogue with and for all the men and women on earth. Dialogue can happen because of the so-called “Golden Rule” which says “Do not do to others what you would not wish done to you” (Cf Lk 6:31). Basically it means to love. And if love becomes mutual it brings fraternity to its fullness among all. In universal fraternity Europe can rediscover its vocation. In the 1950s Chiara Lubich wrote “if one day all peoples were able to set themselves aside, setting aside the idea they have of their own homeland … for the sake of the mutual love among states which God asks of us, just as he asks mutual love among brothers and sisters, that day will be the start of a new era”. So let’s live for this new era! Unity is possible!». Maria Voce Together for Europe, Public Event Munich, 2 July 2016

Video message from Pope Francis for Together for Europe

Jul 3, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Video message from Patriarch Bartholomew for Together for Europe

Jul 3, 2016 | Non categorizzato

[:it]Insieme per l’Europa: l’unità è possibile[:de]Einheit ist möglich![:es]Juntos por Europa: la unidad es posible[:fr]Ensemble pour l’Europe : L’unité est possible[:pt]Juntos pela Europa: A unidade é possível

Jul 3, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide

20160702_144626_4692MfE_Sa_Kundgebung_FotoBrehm

«Dear friends in Together for Europe, coming from many Movements and Groups that belong to different Churches and Communities, I know that you are gathered in Munich. You are right; it is time to get together to face today’s problems with a true European spirit». Pope Francis says these words at the beginning of his video message to those gathered at Karlsplatz (Stachus) in Munich for the Together for Europe event. After speaking about the challenges Europe has to face, Pope Bergoglio encourages the participants «to promote the testimony of a civil society where people work together to foster encounter and solidarity with the weak and the disadvantaged, to build bridges, to overcome open or latent conflicts». He concludes: “Maintain the freshness of your charisms; continue to be “Together” and extend this further! Let your homes, communities and cities be workshops of communion, friendship and fraternity, that bring people together and are open to the whole world”.

Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is also present through his video message in which, among other things, he says: «Even when temptation suggests that we need not be together, Christians, especially, are called to demonstrate the fundamental principle of the Church, which is communion (koinonia). It is only when we share the gifts so generously and freely bestowed on us by God, that we can fully experience them ourselves”. Today’s outdoor rally “500 years of division are enough – unity is possible!”, concludes the 4th edition of Together for Europe. This recalls the 500 years of separation between the Catholic Church and the Churches of the protestant Reformation. In her speech about unity, Maria Voce, president of the Focolare Movement says:«It is through our commitment that we can offer the newness of the Gospel. Before his death Jesus prayed: ‘Father, may they all be one’. He showed that we are all brothers and sisters, that one ‘single human family’ is possible, that unity is possible, that unity is our destiny. We commit ourselves here, today, to be catalysts of this change, catalysts for a new vision of Europe, so as to speed up the journey towards unity by starting a profound dialogue with and for all men and women on earth».

Gerhard Pross (CVJM Esslingen) tackles the theme “Unity in reconciled diversity” while Andrea Riccardi (St. Egidio Community) speaks about “No more walls!”. Cardinal Kurt Koch (Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians), Bishop Frank Otfried July (the Lutheran World Federation), the Metropolitan Serafim Joanta (the Romanian-Orthodox Metropolitan of Germany and Central Europe) and the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches go up together on stage and speak about “Reconciliation opens us to the future – 500 years of division are enough”. An interview about “Mission and the future” leads to a very interesting dialogue between the Evangelical Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and Cardinal Reinhard Marx. The concluding message, read by members of the steering committee and distributed to thousands of people, does not only declare that “being together in Europe is stronger than fear and selfishness”, but also expresses the commitment of those who adhere to Together for Europe to “pursue the path of reconciliation”, to “live unity in diversity”, to “meet people of different beliefs and faiths with respect, seeking dialogue with them”, and to promote “humanity and peace” in the world. 1700 leaders and members from more than 300 Communities and Movements of Together for Europe took part in the Congress held at Circus-Krone-Bau on the two days before the rally. In his opening address Martin Wagner (CVJM Munich) said: “Reconciliation will be our keyword. We have already experienced it and it will be our future. We want to share unity and work together for it, but above all, we, as Christians, want to give our support towards the challenges that Europe faces today”.

The 36 forums and round table conferences held during the Congess focused on integration and reconciliation, solidarity with the weakest, sustainibilty and environmental protection, ecumenism, Christians and Muslims in dialogue, marriage and family, economy. Experiences, ideas, projects and witnesses of faith were also shared. Many participated in the forum “the price and prize of unity” where Cardinal Walter Kasper remarked that “the effort to achieve authentic reconciliation is one of the main obstacles encountered by the Ecumenical Movement. Without forgiveness we cannot proceed with our journey together”. The need to know one another, to encounter each other and to work together was highlighted during the conference “Christians and Muslims in dialogue”. Pasquale Ferrara, the new Italian Ambassador to Algiers commented:“Dialogue is not achieved by cultures or religions but by people”.Climatic changes and ecological challenges were discussed in the forum “Towards sustainbility in Europe”. Cardinal Peter Turkson, the environmental engineer Daniele Renzi and other experts led this discussion. During the conference “What soul for Europe?” Jesús Morán, the co-president of the Focolare Movement emphasized the fact that “Europe can and must, now more than ever, offer the world the prospect of forming a culture of unity in diversity at all levels, from a personal level in everyday life to an institutional one”. It was sunset when the concluding message of Together for Europe 2016 was read on stage at Karlsplatz. The programme continued with a rock concert animated by musical bands and the creative enthusiasm of youth. Press Release – Focolare Information Service, July 2, 2016

Together for Europe: Concluding Message

Jul 2, 2016 | Non categorizzato

Together for Europe Encounter, Reconciliation, Future Munich (Bavaria), 2nd July 2016 There is no alternative to being together “United in diversity”. This European hope is more than ever relevant. Europe must not become a fortress and build new frontiers. There is no alternative to being together. Being together in reconciled diversity is possible. The Gospel – a source of hope Jesus Christ prayed for unity and gave his life for it. This is stated in the Gospel, which for almost 2,000 years has played a key role in the culture of Europe. Jesus Christ teaches us boundless love for all people. He shows us the path of mercy and reconciliation. We can ask forgiveness and forgive one another. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a powerful source from which we can draw hope for the future. Europe – a culture of respect and esteem The terrible experiences of two World Wars have taught us that peace is a precious gift that we must preserve. Our future must be characterised by a culture of respect and esteem for others, even for strangers. Unity is possible – Overcoming divisions We ask all Christians, especially Church leaders, to overcome the divisions. These have caused suffering, violence and injustice, and have undermined the credibility of the Gospel. As Christians we want to live together as people who are reconciled and in full communion. Our commitment We live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bear witness to it with our words and deeds. We are pursuing the path of reconciliation and working to enable our communities, Churches, peoples and cultures to live “unity in diversity”. We meet people of different beliefs and faiths with respect, seeking dialogue with them. We are committed to building up humanity and peace in the world. We have a vision for Europe being together in a way that is stronger than fear or selfishness. We place our trust in the Holy Spirit who continually renews and gives life to the world Concluding Message – Together For Europe, Munich 2016

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