Light and giving oneself to God
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Amami, the isle of Bonds
If you want to go to Okinawa from Kagoshima, midway along the route – after spending a night on the ship – you will come across the island of Amami. It is an enchanting place for its natural beauty, and the profound bond between the inhabitants themselves and with the environment. They say that in the rice planting season, the inhabitants had the custom of helping one another by going to each other’s homes when necessary. It was a lifestyle which the islanders still call the “bonding” spirit. Missionaries have landed on the Island ever since the 19th century, bringing the Christian message which took root among the population. With pride, the inhabitants of Amami boast of three bishops born on their island, besides a great number of priests, religious men and women. It was precisely one of these priests, who launched an idea in 1996 during a retreat held on the island: “Why don’t you look into the Focolare? It’s a place where people live evangelical love and unity.” 
Immediately some of those present contacted the centre of Nagasaki and the following year, two of them, after a night on the ship and travel of more than five hours by car, arrived at Sasebo, two hours away from Nagasaki. A Mariapolis was then underway: a happening of a few days for those who wanted to know more about the spirituality of the Focolare. These two people certainly never imagined that 19 years later a Mariapolis would be held also in Amami! 19 years in which the road has not always been easy. Joys, new spiritual energies, but also misunderstandings and all types of suffering – overcome by mutual love intensively lived – consolidated the new community in unity. And since unity is always diffusive, the community expanded with the desire to let all know what they had discovered. They spoke with friends and acquaintances. They visited seven parishes. Last May, 150 people of the island and some from outside, participated in the Amami Mariapolis. Some of these did not frequent religious groups; others were Buddhists, and still others were of diverse beliefs. There were also five priests and the Bishop of Kagoshima, Bishop Koriyama who confirmed: “The Focolare really suits the bonding spirit of Amami.” Suddenly, sometime later, he wrote a letter of thanks to the community: “…among the fruits the Focolare brings I saw a new culture of faith take root, and the possibility also for non-Christians to freely come in contact with the Church without fear.” And he hoped that the Mariapolis would not remain an isolated event, but be repeated under some other form of activity during the year. This encouragement filled all with joy. After discussing the matter, a letter was sent to all the parish priests of Amami, communicating the bishop’s augur, and the plan to hold a one-day Mariapolis, an event which took place last 25 October. The same letter also reached the Bishop who replied: “Congratulations! I am happy about this Mariapolis day, worthy to be celebrated and go down in the history of a new faith… I urge you to build, with a sole heart, the tradition of a new faith for the evangelization of the Amami Island.”
Living the Gospel: God, first of all
What pushed you to become a priest? A 13-year-old girl asked Don Marco, during an informal interview on the many “anecdotes” that have dotted his life and priesthood. «I was not counting on becoming a priest. I had only asked some advice from the people who were older and had more worldly experience than me, so as to see what humanity needs most today. I could have become a teacher or an engineer. I also liked architecture, or travelling. I liked so many things, and was doing well in school. Those were the years of the economic boom and I had all the possibilities. I was uncertain since I had received a university scholarship, but I wanted to be useful. So I booked an appointment with the Bishop. I wanted to ask him what he thought, about what humanity needs most. He was so busy that he did not have time to talk to me, and I was alone for hours, so much so that I thought: “surely humanity doesn’t need me, but perhaps not even the church needs me, and whoever said that you are so important? Perhaps I am not worth anything… but I love Jesus and will love him always, even if I turned out to be useless.” Finally, when the Bishop found time to speak with me, and asked me what I wanted, I didn’t want anything anymore! And so I told him that I could probably collaborate… He was surprised, undecided, but in the end he said: “Yesterday I laid the cornerstone of a church. When this church, will be finished six years from now, it will have no priest. Would you like to be the parish priest of that church?” But my first experience had been a choice of God, first of all, and not that of becoming a priest, but to follow God and love Jesus, even if I was useless, since Jesus in the end, will make you do something. » (Fr. Marco – Italy)
Vietnam: a suburban school
It was not at all easy to delineate a social project from the start, as it occurred for the Pho Cap School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A few days ago, this project was honoured by the private visit of Laura Mattarella, daughter of the Italian Republic’s President, who accompanied her father on an official visit to the country. Laura Mattarella who came to visit the 100 children of the school, was welcomed simply – without protocols – by some members of the Focolare Movement, the current heads and collaborators of the School. Pho Cap School was established in 1998 by a Focolare priest, with the help of some university students who were among the first to adhere to the spirituality of unity: a project inspired by love for the poor who filled the Binh Thanh district. The school facility was an abandoned house, and once cleaned from the numerous syringes, the youth rebuilt the roof, then the toilets and electric and water systems. All was done with small donations received, and a lot of sacrifice. The youth became whitewashers, labourers, plumbers and electricians… One of them, now a Focolarino, remembers those days: “It was tough work, but the spirit of the Movement pushed us to love concretely. Also some labourers gave a hand. The project was really achieved together!” In a few weeks, the facilities became liveable and so schooling activities started. It was a matter of convincing the people to send their children, and making them understand that it was better for them to study rather than work. In fact, many of those children passed their days on the street of Saigon selling lottery tickets and did not go to school. The young people had to go from house to house to look for the “students.” After the first group was formed, soon also some girls joined in, and gave their time and enthusiasm to the project. From a small group of students who were not given any meals, the school started to hand out daily snacks, and then lunch. The project continually developed, overcoming many difficulties. It was a success and became a school of “prestige” but which remained poor and for the poor just the same, though managing to give a convincing testimonial in a difficult suburban context. Most of the children come from Buddhist families but in the eyes of the children of Pho Cap, one can see trust, serenity and zest for life. Laura Mattarella noticed this and wanted to keep the photos of this “beautiful” meeting, as she said, in its simplicity, and so full of humanity, gentleness and relationships. The school directress commented: “The visit of the daughter of the Italian Republic President encouraged us to continue in the spirit that inspires us: living fraternity among us, the collaborators, and transmitting it to the students, so they in turn become messengers of this spirit in their families and in society.”
The passion to educate
The profession of educators is a poorly paid one. This speaks volumes about the regard given to education by society and by governments. From November 18th to 21st, 2500 people gathered in Rome for a convention organised by the Congregation for Catholic Education, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Council II Declaration on Christian education, and the 25th of the Apostolic Constitution on Catholic Universities. “I came here with a Jewish colleague, and from India there were Catholics and a few Hindus,” said Nieves Tapia from Argentina, director of CLAYSS (Latin American Center for Service-Learning). “I felt that this was already a fruit of the Council: the Church in dialogue. With the motto, ‘Educating today and tomorrow: a renewing passion,’ we came together from all over the world, from very different situations.” The experiences from Catholic schools in frontier locations demonstrated the challenge of dialogue in action. As in Morocco, where teachers and students are Muslims; or in the Philippines, a Catholic country by majority, where the universities, also open to Muslims, encourage students to fast during Ramadan and reserve a place of prayer not only for Christians but also for Muslims. “It was an experience in a universal context,” affirmed Nieves Tapia, “not only because of our geographical origins, but also because of the types of schools and universities represented: public, private, and many schools who also work with the poor.” Pope Francis’ passion for education shone through in his address: “The pope responded to a few questions, and he spoke off the cuff, from his heart and with passion. He highlighted the need to go to the periphery, not to do charity, but because there, a new culture will be born. There we learn what profound wisdom there is in suffering. If we think about the great educational reforms (Don Bosco, Freire) we can say that they all came from the outskirts. Francis stressed furthermore the importance of working for the unity of the person, taking into account the mind, the heart, the hands; the importance of rebuilding the educational pact, that is the unity between the school and the family, the school and the community, the relationship with real life without closing oneself in the classroom. In addition, the importance of going out, which is also a response to the culture of the elite, the great danger of many educational systems, with the risk of leaving people out.” Among the subjects discussed in the convention, the pope implicitly underlined that of service learning, an educational program which actively involves the individual in the frontline… “It is a pedagogy that we have sought to enrich with the Latin American experience and with the spirituality of unity: service learning. It is necessary to allow the student to leave the classroom and begin to serve: to learn to do, to live, to be a better citizen. Research demonstrates that the learning cycle is not completed until the individual is able to practice what he has learned.” “This is confirmed when the teens learn to use their classroom knowledge to serve others. For example, in a technical school, instead of making a robot prototype, the youth construct wheelchairs for people who need them.” Service learning has been in use for almost 50 years, and there are thousands of universities and schools throughout the world that put into practice what is learned in order to serve others.” What prospects have emerged from the Convention? “The guidelines are those which the pope gave us. Above all, the necessity to renew our passion for education came into relief. ‘We must change education in order to change the world,’ said Pope Francis. We are already on the way and this is a sign of hope.”
Silvana Veronesi: in the beginnings with Chiara Lubich
Silvana Veronesi has passed away at the age of 86. She was one of the close collaborators of the founder of the Focolare, Chiara Lubich. The news of her passing was communicated by Focolare president, Maria Voce, to the worldwide Focolare Movement: “We accompany her with the certainty that there will much rejoicing in heaven.” Her first meeting with Chiara Lubich was in 1945. She was only 16 years old and in search for something great to live for. From that moment, fascinated by the spirituality of unity, she entered the initial group that gave life to the Focolare Movement. In 1949, she moved to Florence, Italy, to attend Medical School. With great simplicity she bore witness to the novelty of her new life to young men and women, giving rise to the first Focolare community in Tuscany. She then spent some time in Turin and Milan.
Silvana Veronesi with Chiara Lubich, International Gen Centre, Rome 1987
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The Commandment of Unity
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The path to unity according to Pope Francis
According to Pope Francis, the four tenets of the ecumenical undertaking are ecumenism of charity, concreteness, truth and spirituality. In his in-depth dissertation, Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians, delineated the objective of the total unity of the churches as the perspective of ecumenical dialogue. According to Pope Francis, in line with his predecessors “divisions are a scandal, and the ecumenical endeavour should, in short, target the common celebration of the Eucharist and reach unity always through the reconciliation of our differences.” Unity is a journey, and his deep conviction is based on the fact that: “Unity will not come about as a miracle, but as a journey during which the Holy Spirit will achieve unity.” The Pope places as first and foremost, fraternal dialogue in words and actions, inspired by charity: the encounter of Christians of different churches since “the truth is an encounter between persons. The truth is not concocted in a laboratory, but in concrete life, in the search of Jesus who will help us find it.” Theological dialogue is important but is always interpreted as an “exchange of gifts”, which is just a “mere theoretical exercise” but helps us to know the basics of mutual traditions so as to understand, and at times, also learn from them.” Above all, we can cooperate concretely by praying and working together in searching for peace, protecting creation, helping the poor, and defending our religious freedom, marriage and the family. But unity “is primarily a gift of God, which we must always pray for.” Today, many Christians are persecuted. Why does the Pope stress the importance of ecumenism of blood? “We have to be aware that in the world, 80% of those persecuted in the name of faith are Christians. There are more persecutions today than in the first centuries of Christianity. This fact should stir up a great solidarity between all the churches because the martyrs are not persecuted because they are Catholics, Armenians, Orthodox, Anglicans, Pentecostals, or Lutherans, but because they are Christians. Their blood does not divide but unites. The martyrs are already celebrating the first communion in heaven, which we need to find once again on earth. They will help us on our journey towards unity.” After 50 years of preparation, in 2016 the Pan-Orthodox Synod will take place. What effects will this have on the ecumenical movement? “If the Orthodox churches will regain a slightly stronger unity among them, this will be a great help also for ecumenism and for progress toward the joint celebration of the Eucharist between Catholics and the Orthodox. I am convinced the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is working with all his heart for this Pan-Orthodox Synod. And we, as the Catholic Church, want to help as much as possible and are praying intensely for it.” The 34th Convention of the Ecumenical Bishops of the Focolare has come to an end. How will these types of meetings contribute to unity among the churches? “The ministry of the bishops is a ministry of unity in their own Churches and unity among the churches is, likewise a big obligation for all Christians because this is what the Lord wants of us. And all the bishops want to fulfill God’s will. Meetings like this can help us build that unity, about which the various churches take on different concepts. The endeavour to reach a unified idea through dialogue is very important at this stage of ecumenism. And I am really grateful to the Focolare for its commitment in the field of ecumenism.”
By our correspondent Aurelio Molè
Central African Republic: Experts in Mercy
Today Bangui becomes the spiritual capital of the world. The Holy Year of Mercy is anticipated in this land, a land that suffers from several years of hatred and war, misunderstanding and lack of peace. But there are also all the lands that are bearing the cross of war. Bangui becomes the spiritual capital of the prayer to the Father for mercy. All of us ask for peace, mercy, reconciliation, pardon and love. For Bangui, for the Central African Republic, for the whole world, for the lands that suffer from war, we ask for peace!” These were the words of Pope Francis before the opening of the Holy Door in the Cathedral of Bangui, on November 29. Then, in a gesture charged with meaning, the Pope was the first to walk alone through that Holy Door. While the Pope is still on his return flight we have telephoned Bangui Geneviève Sanzé in Bangui. She is originally from the Central African Republic and is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and lends her services to the International Centre of the Focolare in Italy. “Nobody could have imagined what happened in the people,” she told us. “He brought back joy to us, peace!” Expectations were high, both on the Christian and the Muslim side: “Now, the man of God comes,” they said. “This is the supreme opportunity that God is sending.” It was a dangerous journey for security reasons, but “even though everyone was worried and the whole world discouraged it, the Pope wished to come.” “And the people feel that he came for them, not for some task or special event, but as a father who wants to encourage,” Geneviève explained. “He went to the Christians, Catholic and Protestant, but also to the Muslims. All of us prepared for his coming with enthusiasm, Christians on one side and Muslims on the other and the Pope went to everyone. Many thought it would have been better if he cancelled the visit to the Mosque located in a quarter where no Christian can enter. But he went anyway and was outstanding.” 
At Mass in the stadium, the Pope invited the “dear Central Africans” to “look to the future and, strengthened by the distance you have already come, resolutely determine to begin a new chapter in the Christian history of your country, to set out towards new horizons and he exhorted every person to be “an artisan of human and spiritual renewal.” The day before, he recalled: “love for our enemies which guards against the temptation of revenge and against the unending spiral of reprisal,” and also that “everywhere, especially where hatred and violence reign, injustice and persecution, Christians are called to witness to the God who is Love.” With these words in her heart, Geneviève recounted an event that she witnessed with her own eyes: A Muslim man walked in during the Mass, and he was clearly visible holding a sign with the words: “God is great.” The Christians applauded him and went up to him and embraced him. They want to live what the Pope is asking, this responsibility in love and in mercy; that open door that leads us all into that grace. And they showed it with that gesture.” “When I arrived I found hardened hearts. Seeing the change that has taken place in the people in just two days has been extraordinary. The Pope’s gesture, opening the Holy Door, was not merely a gesture but a life that he himself has testified to, in the mercy with which he reached out to everyone: he brought this love from God to everyone.” The speech by the Mayor of Bangji (and president of the state of transition),” Geneviève explained “placed before the Pope all the sins of our country, and the Mayor didn’t leave out his own responsibility. He asked for God’s pardon, asking the Pope that with his blessing he would invoke pardon upon the whole nation. With all of this in mind, watching Pope Francis open the Holy Door of Mercy was truly exceptional. He didn’t say much, but he knew how to put his finger on the weak point and launch an appeal to all the nations that produce weapons of war. And he called Bangui the spiritual capital of the world. Listening to a country that has shed so much innocent blood being called spiritual capital of the world, was like seeing God coming down to meet us.
Pope Francis in Uganda
Pope Francis at Munyonyo Catholic Shrine were the first Christians were martyred.
In his sermon, the Pope, “recognized the Anglican Martyrs who gave their life’s to God’s work and the Catholic Martyrs, whose deaths for Christ testify to the ecumenism of blood. All these witnesses nurtured the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives and freely gave testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ, even at the cost of their lives, many at such a young age,” commented Simon. “The Ugandan Martyrs are the first martyrs of contemporary Africa who give a witness, as lay people, of a simple faith that is very powerful,” Fr Lombardi, Vatican spokesperson, explains. The Pope’s draws his inspiration from them in his address to the young people when he challenges them to “transform what is negative into positive in their lives”, “hatred into love”, “war into peace”. Among the impressions gathered by Simon was that of a young person called Alinda: “With Jesus we can tear down any obstacle that might stand between us and this will transform our lives. We should not be afraid to ask for help and prayers.”