Le nuove virtù del mercato, nell’era dei beni comuni
Ambasciatore tedesco in visita al Centro internazionale dei Focolari
Argentina: Annual Course For Young People at Mariapolis Lia
On this sunny afternoon in the end of the austral summer, the atmosphere at Mariapolis Lia was serenely festive. This was the fourth anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s birth to Heaven and this year the focus was on the relationship of the Movement’s founder with youth. It was also the opportune moment for the academic opening of the Gen School’s annual course on the Culture of Unity, for the youths who had arrived from seventeen different countries. Eighty young people from the American continent and a few Europeans have interrupted their studies for a year and gone to the Argentine pampa to be part of this training course in becoming builders of brotherhood in their home environments. “All the moments of the day, from workshops to sport, from moments of study to the liturgy, from welcoming visitors to the Mariapolis – all of it is part of the training,” explains Adriana Otero who specializes in microbiology and the environment and is in charge of the Gen School. “In practice,” adds Omar Diaz, Education graduate and in charge of the Gen School for the young men, “as Chiara had suggested, the daily life of this school revolves around four daily “communions” – the Eucharist, the moment by moment living of the Word, the neighbor and Jesus in the midst of the community, a presence that becomes palpable when there is mutual love.” Most of the students have just finished high school and are having their first work experience here. They live in small groups of seven to ten young people, with all that community life implies: preparing meals, caring for the house, being attentive to one another’s needs. . . all flavoured, naturally, with that typical flavour that internationality brings. “It’s beautiful to then see how each year they arrive as adolescents, but leave as adults with their minds and souls expanded toward all of humanity,” explains Silvana Verdun, a Bolivian psychologist and instructor at the school. 
What are the expectations of these young people? Luce, a seventeen year-old from Argentina, wants to grow more as a person, and he thinks that living with other guys from different places will prove to be an enriching opportunity. Andres, a nineteen year-old from Venezuela hopes to learn to grow more integrally. Thomas, a twenty one year-old is looking forward to deepening his relationship with God and with his brothers and sisters. They have a whole year to be lived. A journey filled with straight paths, curves, climbs and chasms. A path, although well defined, will still present many surprises. It is a goal they shall reach together by their daily efforts to translate into life, into concrete facts, all that they will discover day by day.
Guatemala: “A place of many trees”
The name Guatemala comes from náhuatl Quauhtemallan, ‘place of many trees’ and its location is on the extreme north-west of Central America. The indigenous culture derives from a Mayan legacy and from the Spanish influence of the colonial period. The country has tremendous natural beauty. Its official language is Spanish and there are also 23 Mayan dialects, and the languages of the xinca and the garifuna peoples. It covers an area of 108,889 square kms and it has about 14 million inhabitants, a third of whom come from indigenous peoples. We will deal here briefly also with the countries close to Guatemala that will be involved with the trip of the president and co-president of the Focolare. The idea of a united Central America has caught on in many parts of society, in the political arena, and led to an attempt to have open borders and to discover a Central American identity. Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua are the countries of this region which is rich in its ethnic diversity. Its peoples have suffered a great deal, with more than 40 years of military dictatorship resulting in the civil wars of the 70s and 80s and of ‘internal armed conflict’, which in Nicaragua began at about the same time as the cold war in Europe. There were more the 36 years of armed struggle, with thousands of victims, genocide, persecution of the Church, summary executions, assassination of priests and catechists, among them Mgr Romero and Mgr Gerardi, devastated lands and the violation of human rights. In the 80s about 90% of the populace in Guatemala was made up of indigenous people, now it is estimated at 51%. 
In the 90s peace was consolidated and a new stage began. The postwar conditions meant that this was not easy as there was an ongoing lack of security, family breakdown and emigration by many in search of work. These difficulties have since been caught up in new problems such as drug trafficking, gang warfare and extortion. These countries are among those with the world’s lowest Human Development Index (HDI) but, despite this, their peoples maintain hope born of their faith in God, are tremendously generous and they never give up. The Ideal of unity came to these lands in the 80s and, in the midst of the remaining challenges faced by all, it contributes to dialogue among cultures and different ethnic groups and encourages a deep mutual acceptance. A small Focolare community was started in Guatamala by an Italian priest, Fr Vitale Traina. Some of its members, a short while later, went to a Mariapolis in Mexico, and when they got back they were full of enthusiasm and wished to bring this life to others. In 1981 they held two Mariapolises in Guatemala. 1986 was an important year: a focolare house was opened. Valeria Ronchetti, one of Chiara Lubich’s first companions, during a visit laid the basis for the establishment of a Mariapolis Centre and two married focolarini, Paolo and Pinella Maciotta, moved from Italy. The Ideal of unity also began to spread beyond the capital to an indigenous region near Patzun. In February 1992 the Mariapolis Centre St Mary of the Focolarini was opened. It was to become a formation centre for all the different nations of the region. With the help of AMU (Azione per un Mondo Unito, meaning Action for a United World), an NGO set up by Focolare Members, there was established a ‘School for Human Development’ close to the Mariapolis Centre. The school has helped large numbers of people learn a trade to live by. Later on the Fiore Educational Centre (an early learning centre and primary school) was established. There are at present about 3,100 members of the Movement. 
El Salvador had its first Mariapolis in 1982, with about 600 people. It was a real miracle given the extremely difficult conditions caused by the country’s civil war that had broken out two years before. It could be said that that Mariapolis marked the Movement’s consolidation as it included many people who would become core members. Today in the nation’s capital, the city of San Salvador, there are centres that coordinate the Movement’s life in the five countries of Central America. 
In Honduras apparently by a luck. Someone went to Mexico to study Catholic literature and by chance met the focolare. In June of the same year, 1981, the same person went back to Mexico together with two others in order to go to the Mariapolis. In 1982 the focolarine in Mexico started going to Honduras and, in the capital city, a decisive event for the small community living the Word of Life took place with the arrival from Italy of the Turatti family, who stayed 10 years. An key moment was in 1995, when the first Mariapolis, of about 250 people, was held. The bishop Mgr Oscar Andrés Rodríguez, now a cardinal, was present and he encouraged everyone to take the spirituality of unity everywhere. He asked Chiara Lubich several times for a centre of the Movement to be opened and his dream became real in February 2010 when the focolarine set up house in Tegucigalpa. There are now about 900 members of the Movement in Honduras. In December this year Maria Voce, in conversation with the focolarini from Guatemala, during a conference in Castelgandolfo, considering the difficult situation of the peoples where they were living, encouraged them to behave as Jesus did: ‘Jesus did not despair, because he looked within himself. That is, he looked to his relationship with God and knew that God would carry out his plan even in this situation… A plan that passes, perhaps, via the cross, via persecution, that passes today via these catechists who have been killed, via these priests who have been killed, that passes via drug traffickers, but it is part of God’s story that, despite everything, builds up humanity. It is a story with pages of light, pages of pain, beautiful moments, difficult moments, but they are God’s story.’ What needs to be done then? ‘Into this story of God we too enter, as Jesus entered in his time. What do I do in Salvador with such an immense Ideal in the face of these situations? What do I do in Guatemala with this power of Jesus within me, among us, in this situation? I do what he did. I pass though the streets, I look, but my looking is full of God and of what God is doing. So, it seems to me that it is here that our strength lies.’
Prize for focolare.org
Focolare website team with Giovanni Silvestri (right), President of WeCa Association
The international web portal of the Focolare Movement received a special mention in the category of institutional websites, because of its ‘rich information, providing ample space for unity, according to the charism of Chiara Lubich, and is published in 7 languages (including Chinese)’ as the citation puts it.
The ceremony took place during the workshop entitled ‘Young People, Internet and Faith Education’ run jointly by the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s national service for the pastoral care of young people and the Italian Association of Catholic Webmasters.
‘A space where anyone can feel welcomed and at home’; ‘to show people the life born of the charism of unity spread throughout the world’; ‘to put highlight the journey to unity of the whole human family, through its various dialogues with different religions and cultures.’ These are a few of the guiding principles in place since the construction of the new version of focolare.org. Hence it was a welcome surprise to hear the citation for the prize, which has come a year after the new site went online. What was said will be a stimulus to continue faithful to the Focolare’s basic values.
There are about 15,000 Italian Catholic websites and WeCa, recognized in the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s Directory of Social Communications as ‘the first European initiative of its kind – as they themselves point out – which is intended to unite, in a living community and in continuous synergy, the knowledge and experience of Catholic Webmasters.’
WebCattolici website report (Italian): “Premiati i migliori siti cattolici italiani 2012”
Philippines: Youth URL
URL. This time it is not Unique Resource Location that allows you to locate the address of an internet site, but United in the Revolution of Love, love that is inspired by the Gospel, the love that thousands of young people throughout the world have drawn from the life and teachings of Chiara Lubich whose fourth anniversary of the departure for Heaven is being remembered during these days.
URL was the title chosen by young people from the Philippines for a gathering on 10 March, the day chosen to pay tribute to Chiara and to the impact of her charism on the young people of today and of yesterday. The venue was also symbolic. The event was held in the 400 year-old pavillion of St Thomas University, the royal pontifical university that had conferred a doctorate of Theology on Chiara in 1997.
During his welcoming remarks, Fr Rolando De La Rosa, ninety-fifth Rector of the university, shared of his personal encounter with Chiara in 1977. He described her as a person worthy of imitation, because she proposes holiness as a goal that is within the reach of everyone.
The Gen – youth people committed members of the Focolare Movement – along with adult members of the Movement witnessed to the “constellation of stars” that Chiara had once intuited would come to exist in the heart of the Movement as a “second generation” that would come after those who had begun. They would be true protagonists of the “revolution of love”.
Among the 2000 young people who filled the pavillion was a group of Buddhists who offered a song about unity. There were also many men and women religious from several congregations and some seminarians who were struck by Chiara’s message to the young. One girl writes: “This is the most beautiful moment I ever lived in my life. Knowing Chiara Lubich is the greatest chance that has ever been given to me becuase, like many others who’ve met her, she made me able to discover God . . . who is Love.”
One young man summarized the two-hour programme in this way: “Celebrating the 4th anniversary of Chiara’s birth to Heaven – the presentations and video-clips about her – evrything spoke of the possibility of giving your life for a revolution capable of changing the lives of thousands of people. The interviews with people of different ages, professional and cultural backgrounds underscored the revolutionary effects of the Gospel when it is put in practice. All the songs, the dances and expriences focused on Chiara’s impact on society, the Church and the world, they gave you an idea of the impact of her Ideal on the lives of so many people of diverse cultures, on interpersonal relationships, vocations, the arts, politics and business. . . on every aspect of life.”
The day concluded with the solemn celebration of the Mass, presided over by Bishop Gerard Alminaza and concelebrated by Bishop Antonio Tobias, in charge of ecumenical affairs at the Bishops Conference of the Philippines. In their closing remarks, the directors of the Focolare in the Philippines offered the words that Chiara used as she imagined what her encounter with God would be like: “If You asked me who I was, I wouldn’t say my name. I’d say THANK YOU for everything and forever!” It was with these words in their hearts that everyone left the pavillion that afternoon.
EleggiAmo l’Italia
L’uomo pacifico non ignora la lotta
Two adopted children at home plus one adoption at a distance
Roberto and Patrizia live in the province of Naples, Italy. Like many Italian families they have really been put to the test by the economic crisis. Ten years ago they adopted a girl and now their family has grown in size with the adoption of a Chinese boy who is in urgent need of sugery and medical care. This experience of welcoming children into their home has brought them much joy, but also sacrifice. While reviewing the family budget, the question arose whether or not to continue the distance support which they had been providing for a girl in Brazil. “Life isn’t easy,” they write to their friends at Santa Maria di Igarassu School in Recife. “We Italians are losing economic certainty and peace of mind as an advanced industrial society. Many parents are losing jobs, young people can’t find work, people of advanced age are no longer certain of their pension. Health care is no longer completely free and the cost of living has risen so much. Faced with a scenario such as this, many families have begun to reduce cut back, to shorten their holidays – and we have also had to make sacrifices.” 
As the days passed, there was a growing sense of emptiness. Their thoughts kept returning to the “Escola Santa Maria” located, since 1967, in one of the poorest regions of North East Brazil, surrounded by unemployment, alcoholism, drug abuse and violence. Many children living below the poverty line have been rescued over the years thanks to the generosity and perseverance of distance adopters, and even the entire community has benefited from their support. “We looked at each other, spoke some more, and realized that it would be a mistake to turn in on ourselves. We realized that we should rather widen our hearts and continue with the distance support (link http://www.famiglienuove.org/it/sostegnoadistanza.php) for the Brazilian child. She and everyone else at St Mary’s School were our family in Brazil. It would never be justifiable for us to just abandon them.” 
Meanwhile little A.X. will be facing his first surgery, which will last six hours. “We got through it with much serenity and courage. Those who sow love, reap love. Our hope for him, for his sister at home and for the one in Brazil is that they will have a positive future in which the love they’ve received and will one day emanate, may one day reach out to help others.
Concluding talk by Maria Voce
In these two hours we had a way to emerge ourselves, not only in “Chiara’s thought on the young people,” as the title could make us think, but to penetrate, nearly to relive, an extraordinary experience which we want to see grow. The experience that Chiara’s life passed on shone forth a particular light when it composed a second generation in the bosom of the Movement. That is, second, in relation to the first generation of people who founded the Movement with her. A new generation: it didn’t exist before, but from a certain moment onwards it came about. What have we admired today? Certainly, Chiara’s relationship with this new generation: that special relationship that she established with young people of very different formations, cultures, backgrounds, societies and historical eras. It was a relationship which, whether she was meeting small groups or stadium crowds, Chiara always extended to all young people of the world. And in a totally special way, I think, we were inwardly engaged by the reciprocity that this way she loved generated, and brought about in the young people just as much love, trust, hope and concreteness. In fact, Chiara gave them everything, all that light and those universal, concrete and demanding horizons that God opened wide to her. So, she accompanied these generations of young people closely, allowing them to live this experience directly. Hers was, or rather, is total, absolute trust. Total, as the total trust she felt God had towards her. Trust, which was also certainty that young people are made to contribute in first person to world unity: the dream of a God who makes history with us. From here came the unconditioned hope which has been deposited in them. Chiara knew how to dare; to dare to look in Heaven to know what to build on earth. From here she got the courage to place in front of our hearts, before placing in front of our eyes, the model for relationships which guarantees fruitfulness. Therefore, in order to describe the existing relationship between the first and second generation she makes us look up, to the relationship between the Father and the Son in the Trinity. This is a Paradigm which represents the maximum openness of love from both parts, the most evident demonstration of what is giving and receiving; receiving and giving. She was always inspired by this relationship and invites all of us to embody this model. Chiara did not hesitate to speak to the young people about a “revolution.” Revolution: meaning a complete change that is the effect of living with trust and without calculating Jesus’ words. From this came all objections to more reduced and impoverished ways of living. She even invented a new language which fascinates. Like when she indicates “the universal being” as the model for young people today, a Jesus who offers us the key and the capacity to transform suffering into love, and because of this, to embrace humanity with its contradictions fearlessly. Today, all of this passed through our soul, our mind and it was renewed in our heart. It was witnessed to us by pragmatic people, young people of yesterday and today, who with faithfulness, without escaping from pain, with commitment and imagination, have built and still build a new world on the rock, brick by brick. It’s a very precious inheritance that we have in our hands. It is a legacy which will continuously be enriched with the alternating of new generations. Therefore, let’s take this day as a stepping-stone. Today we have not “remembered” or “celebrated,” but, once more and all together, we let ourselves be engaged by the grace of the charism. Chiara from Heaven thinks of us as one body and, I dare say, she already sees us like this. Let us feel newly and all together invested by her trust to face the new challenges which await us and to be a current of love in humanity. In this way we can bear witness to the revolution of the Gospel lived-out; we can be a seed of Paradise spread all over the world, a multicoloured and pluralistic people which decidedly contributes to “that all may be one,” universal brotherhood, with all those who do their utmost for the common good. We owe it to Chiara and the charism that she transmitted to us. We owe it to humanity which we love.» 
With Chiara: a constellation of generations
With Chiara: a constellation of generations
Young people of today, yesterday and tomorrow, and people of every age, on 11 March were in Castel Gandolfo, for an afternoon dedicated, on the fourth anniversary of her death, to Chiara Lubich and the new generations. There were witnesses from the earliest times of the unique rapport that the founder of the Focolare built up with the generation inspired by the protests of ’68 and who had not hesitated to follow her on the path of a different revolution: that of the gospel. Together with her first companions there were those who had never met Chiara personally but who today are working throughout the world to realize the project of universal brotherhood proposed by her charism. They come from places as far apart as Vietnam and Argentina, the United States and Hungary – indeed, in Hungary from 31 August to 2 September there will be the next Genfest, a worldwide youth meeting. 
A message of revolutionary potential was proposed in six scenarios by the young people that afternoon. The first was dedicated to the theme of change, characteristic of the times both then and now. All expressed their gratitude to Chiara – from Valerio Ciprì who gave voice to the longing of the protests in the 70s that inspired the musical group Gen Rosso, to Antonios from Egypt eye-witness to a revolution under way in his country. Among them was Pasquale Ferrara, now a diplomat involved in various peace projects, and Joao Braz Avis, recently made a Cardinal, called to Rome from Brasilia to head the Vatican Congregation for Religious Life. 
Freedom and justice were made concrete by a different way of looking at material goods that, as Chiara herself recalled in one of the numerous videos that were seen (all of them still up-to-date), ‘cannot move of their own accord.’ But giving time and goods is not the only way of ‘building an earthly paradise’ as Chiara urged in the 70s. This was demonstrated by several people. Giuseppe Milan has given a ‘communitarian’ character to courses held by the Science Department of Padua University, where he is head; Emanuele Pili is a student at the Sophia University Insititute, which has set up an interesting cooperation with Emanuele’s original University of Genoa; Patience Molle, an engineer and the first woman to head the Ministry for Public Works in Cameroon, in her administrative activities has respected the law and been faithful to the values that as a young person she imbibed from the Focolare; and Maria Chiara Campodoni at thirty years of age is town councillor with special responsibility for Sport in Faenza, near Ravenna, Italy. Another milestone was Chiara’s legacy and the tremendous value of suffering – a starting point for other goals. This was expressed in a moving way by Beppe Porqueddu, who was confined to a wheelchair after a motorbike accident when he was eighteen. He has found that his disability has been a ‘spark of social transformation’ in a world that seems to reject any limitation or illness. Today he is a rehabilitation technician and an instructor for workers in the field of rehabilitation. Even though it is rooted in the vision of God as love, Chiara’s message is not addressed only to Christians. On the stage there were also Habib, a young Muslim man; Metta, a Buddhist, who observed how this vision helped her to ‘come closer to the truth’; and Andrea ‘a non-believer more than an atheist’, who laid great emphasis upon the welcome and acceptance he had found. 
The afternoon was concluded by Focolare President Maria Voce. She put into light that ‘we have not done an act of remembrance or of celebration, but we have live’ and that Chiara was handing on again ‘here and now’ her message to young people. Young people who are called to welcome it and to put themselves on the line by committing themselves: ‘We owe it to the charism and the humanity.’ 12-03-2012 by Chiara Andreola – Source: Città Nuova
Hungary: a ‘Bridge Country’
Hungary has a very clear identity and it is a centuries-old bridge between Eastern and Western Europe. After the fall of communism it now finds itself in a crucial moment of transition. The country is seeking a new equilibrium between maintaining its specific characteristics and openness to the rest of the world. Speaking to the Hungarian community, during her recent visit, Maria Voce, the current president of the Focolare, invited them to ‘be aware of the many talents you have. Give them and welcome those of other peoples, learning always more how to work together.’
As a result of its geographical location and its past history, Hungary has had an important role also for the Focolare. Already in 1965, following the tragic events of the revolution that year, Pope Pius XII launched an appeal to the faithful throughout the world to ‘bring back God into society.’ Chiara Lubich responded with an exciting initiative: she began the Volunteers of God. In 1996 Budapest hosted the celebrations of their 40th anniversary and in 2006 the city hosted the ‘Volunteerfest’ with 12,000 people who came from 92 different countries.
In 1961, Chiara Lubich, visiting Budapest, was struck by the Church’s enforced clandestine existence. That year a focolare house was opened in Vienna, and from there, in the 70s and 80s, visits to Hungary took place. Contacts were made with people previously met in Italy and Austria. The first Focolare community in Hungary goes back to the years of communism when, between 1981 and 1982, men’s and women’s focolare houses were opened in Budapest.
The Focolare Movement in that difficult moment of history had an important role in supporting relationships between Catholic individuals and organizations, and so contributing to maintaining and developing the faith. Especially important was the role of several families who, with generosity, moved house and brought the Spirituality of Unity to various towns in Hungary and beyond. Thanks also to the commitment of several priests, the spirituality of the Movement spread further afield, transmitting the freshness and genuineness of gospel life.
Their shared suffering also strengthened relationships among Christians from the historic Hungarian Churches (Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran). Today they witness together to a fruitful ecumenical dialogue. The result has been two historic youth events: in 2000 the first ecumenical meeting for young people, organized by young people’s movements, with 3000 participants, and a repeat in 2003 with 16,000 participants. The Spirituality of Unity is spreading by means of books and the magazine Új Város.
The Word Life, which has 15,000 printed copies, is published in weekly newspapers and on the internet and is transmitted by radio.
History, therefore, has prepared the Focolare in this country to do its part in promoting initiatives that witness to the effort to build up fraternity, locally and internationally, run by younger and older people together: ‘72 hours without comprise’, ‘Peace Project Network’, ‘Mission to the City’, ‘Run for Unity’, ‘United World Week’.
In 2011, fifty years on from Chiara’s visit to Hungary, Maria Voce, visited the Movement’s communities, meeting priests, families and young people. She saw the commitment of New Families to work with young couples and how they work together with other associations and with various Churches to support marriage and family life. Maria Voce met with the members of New Humanity, which brings together people active in various worlds: health, economy, politics, sport and education.
But one of the most important meetings was with young people. Indeed, the Movement in Hungary is currently preparing to welcome 12,000 young people from all over the world between 31 August and 2 September 2012 for the 10th Genfest. Budapest will become a workshop of unity for the world. The event is called Let’s bridge and it will help Eastern European countries to ‘build bridges’ by displaying their specific values and characteristics. ‘It should be a huge celebration,’ Maria Voce said to the young people when they met. ‘It should give huge joy to the young people who come… letting them see for themselves that there is nothing more beautiful than the gospel revolution. We’ve seen revolutionaries of another sort: in the fields of art, of music … but a revolution that changes our lives and that can change the lives of others … the revolution of the gospel, the only one that God has really shown us with such power … let’s give all we’ve got to show it also to others!’
Visit Hungary’s pages on Focolare Worldwide!
Websites: Focolare Movement: www.fokolare.hu
Young People for a United World: www.ujifju.hu
Genfest: www.genfest.org
Hungary, Cradle of the Volunteers of God
‘God! God! God! Ring out this ineffable name, source of all rights, justice and freedom, in Parliaments, in town squares, in houses and in offices!’ Wishing to answer this heartfelt plea contained in Pius XII’s radio message on 10 September 1956, which had been provoked by the repression in Hungary, Chiara Lubich wrote a letter that was to become the ‘founding charter’ for a new vocation in the Focolare Movement: the ‘volunteers of God’. Men and women, committed to bringing God, with their own lives, into society, into all the places where they are active. ‘There has come to be,’ Chiara wrote on 15 January 1957, ‘a society capable of excluding the name of God… taking the love of God from human hearts. There must be a society capable of putting Him back in His place. 
(…) ‘May there be those who hallow Him with all their strength and who gather together with those who feel the very same call to form a bloc under the orders of that Eternal Word which no one can ever cancel from the earth. ‘There need to be people who follow Jesus exactly as he wants to be followed: denying themselves and taking up their cross. People who believe in this weapon: the cross, more powerful than the most powerful of bombs because the cross is a breach in the soul by which God can enter into hearts … Creating a bloc of people of every age or condition, linked by the strongest bond that exists: that mutual love left to us by the dying God become human as his last will and testament … 
Mutual love that forges Christians into a divine unity … which alone can oppose the unity that comes from selfish interests, from reasons of this earth, from hatred. ‘Mutual love which means: practical action, giving all our love to our brothers and sisters out of love for God. ‘In summary, there need to be disciples of Jesus, genuine disciples in the world not just in the religious houses. Disciples who voluntarily follow Him, motivated only by an illuminated love towards Him, in this hour of darkness… ‘An army of volunteers, because love is free….‘There needs to be … the building of a new society, renewed by the Good News, where justice and virtue shine out with love….(…)‘A society that bears witness to a single name: God.’
Szeged
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Elek
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Jánoshalma
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Kecskemét
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Szekszárd
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Pécs
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Szombathely
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Mosonmagyaróvár
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Győr
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Újfehértó
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Kisvárda
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Nyíregyháza
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Eger
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Gödöllő
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Vác
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Genfest 2012: The World is Getting Ready
For some time the date has been fixed: 31 August-2 September. The countdown on the site www.genfest.org reminds us that between now and then there are 25 weeks, 1 day, and… hours, minutes, seconds rush by. The programme is taking shape, and on planet earth (aka, in various parts of the globe) people are getting ready to arrive in Budapest. Here are a few examples of what has been going on lately.
Radio Warsaw
Two hours of broadcasting dedicated to young people, during which the Y4UW from Poland have spoken on one of the main national radio stations of their experiences and their invitation to all the young people of Poland to be united in walking together towards Budapest. They write: ‘It was our first chance of announcing the Genfest and enthusing the hearts of many young people!’
Café in Milan
In Italy, ‘Coffee Bridge’ is the initiative launched by Y4UW in Lombardy. Having got good price from a wholesaler and put the Genfest logo on bags of coffee, they have begun selling them. The aim of the initiative: to promote the ideals of Y4UW and to gather funds for the journey to Budapest. Email address: coffee@genfest.tk
Partying in Nazareth
40 young people from various regions have started up a day for teaching songs, playing games and … having great fun. It was impossible not possible to talk about the Genfest and give everyone an invitation, which was immediately accepted, to be ‘bridge builders’. The next appointment is in April for another weekend together.
In Yogjakarta, the Y4UW of the second city, of Java organized a concert for 500 people to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the largest Catholic publisher of the archipelago. ‘It was a fantastic chance to present ourselves and to tell of our commitment to build a more united world,’ they write, ‘by living the present moment, loving our neighbours and so overcoming every difficult moment.’
Chinese meal
From Macao they tell us: ‘We invited our friends to eat a “hotpot”.’ They presented their experiences and then spoke about the Genfest and ‘as a sign of gratitude to those who’d come, we gave a small present to each person with best wishes for a “prosperous Chinese New Year”!’
Experiences, activities, things of interest… and a new video on the history of Genfest are available of the sites of Genfest and of Youth for a United World.
(link: http://www.genfest.org/program)
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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. |
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Meeting of Bishops Friends of the Focolare
Margarita and the Women from Tinku Kamayo
Watch the video Margarita Ramirez de Moreno is a volunteer of the Focolare Movement. She is an artisan and entrepreneur, the first to graduate from Santa Maria Aurora of Catamarca School in Argentina. After thirty-five years, the schoolwas recognized and financed by the government of Argentina because of the great educational contribution it has made in the study and recovery of symbols and techniques of Quechua cutlure. 
«I was born in Santa Maria, in a region at the foot of the Andes, rich with aboriginal culture, but very poor. I am a descendent of the “calchaquies” (calciachies) aboriginals. I’m married and have seven children. I studied for twelve years at the Aurora School. There, besides reading, writing and weaving, I learned to live the spirituality of unity. In 2003, faced with the widespread unemployment, I started a spinning mill to supply the school’s weaving workshop. It wasn’t easy to convince the women of my land, who have always been discriminated, to take up the work of weaving again. They had to cross rivers and walk many kilometers every day in order to reach the spinning mill. We had no means. Little by little each one offered what she had: a spindle, balls of wool or her ability in this traditional art. There was still the problem of expensive machinery. One day I had to ask for a ride and I confided my concern to the driver. 
He told me that he knew how to build weaving machines. “Can you make them for us?” I asked. He replied: “Yes, you can pay me when you can.” There were other obstacles as well: we lost the place where we were working and our most expert woman quit. “With all that is happening, maybe we should just give up!” said one of the girls, expressing the doubt we all had. 
While we were moving to a new location, we found an image of Our Lady. It seemed very significant to me and I proposed to the others that we make a pact: to work every day with love for one another. Shortly afterwards, we received a donation with which we were able to buy property and equipment. That was the beginning of the “TINKU KAMAYU” studio, which means “Working together.” In the beginning there were eight of us. Today, two years later, there are 18 craftswomen and a growing production. Now I feel that I am part of a large project and involved with many other calchaquies people. We have found our identity again, and with it, hope, cultural growth, the possibility of work for ourselves and for others, and all the wealth of our cultural roots and our people. Now we feel that we are useful, no longer humiliated, but appreciated and capable of expressing our thoughts».
Genfest 2012: History in a Flash
School: starting with the students
‘I came to a college of hotel management as a supply teacher after the year had begun and I was catapulted into endless meetings of the class council, without anything to help me sort out names, faces and backgrounds. What I found in the college was not very encouraging. It was difficult, my colleagues said, to motivate and teach the students, especially in the younger classes. I had to forget the rich and fascinating experience I’d had the previous year with High School students and change my whole approach and teaching methods. I began an exciting adventure that immediately forced me to put myself on the line and accept the challenge. 
‘I am a nun. This not only shocked my students, but it made them ask thousands of questions. I didn’t let tough comments or jokes put me off my stride. So, I found myself sharing with them something about my life, my vocation, my reason for going into teaching. The first step was to begin forming a relationship, to start doing things together. Bit by bit, we became more open with one another and I began to put questions to the young people. I didn’t start with philosophical issues, but with everyday things that demand some kind of meaning: why should I get up in the morning, why should I study, be realistic, love, suffer…? 
Are we aware of what we’re living? This question struck the students like lightning and made them all pull a face somewhere between laughter and pain. Having punctured a hole in their apathy, I pressed on: what is the value of the human person, individual responsibility, the search for God in people and in history? One of them, surprised that the class was listening, joked that ‘Some of us have started thinking!’ Then, with one of my colleagues, we began to build up mutual respect and she and I worked together on the basis of our subjects. We looked out bits of literature or poetry that talk about the longing for real happiness… The students responded. They felt they were being taken seriously. They got involved with the lessons. To explain the religious sense, I suggested pieces of music that express how people feel in front of the question of meaning. Following the lyrics, the young people were faced with Bob Dylan’s ‘suspension of disbelief’, Guccini’s ‘scepticism’, Bono from U2’s ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’, and I asked them: ‘Where are you in all this?’ One of them put up his hand: ‘I write poetry. Would you like to hear something I’ve written?’ A friend of his accompanied him and, doing a rap, he told the painful story of the death of a school friend. It was heartfelt: what is the human response to suffering, to finitude, to death? Recalling John Paul II, I suggested looking at his reflections during the Jubilee Celebrations for Artists. Replying to Dylan he had said that the answer was not blowing in the wind. Someone had claimed to be the answer: Jesus Christ. And this was the beginning of an understanding of Christ. We are always finding that it’s not true that young people are indifferent to beauty and to truth. Many have first hand experience of tough times and possibly for this very reason they are more sensitive to the search for truth, for what is right, for the good, and to someone who cares about what will happen to them. One thing I’ve learnt from those who have shown me their passion for education (among them is my founder, Nicola Barrè) is this: you educate to extent that you let the other educate you. But I feel it is necessary everyday to preserve one’s initial wonder, not losing a sense of curiosity and the desire for fresh adventure every morning we begin in class. Preparing my lessons I’m strive not to leave anything untried in the attempt to meet the each person as a person and to transmit this message: ‘I’m happy you exist! Thanks for joining me on the way!’ Sr Marina Motta
Verso politiche di fraternità
Cercate la pienezza della gioia
Uma ponte de unidade
Sophia University Institute: Open Day 2012
«At this time when universities are affected by an economic, social and cultural crisis, what made you start up this project and what is new about Sophia?» Giorgia, an Italian, the students’ representative, asked the theologian Piero Coda, President of Sophia. She was putting into words the questions of numerous students, interested young people and those about to enrol, all present on 1 March this year in Loppiano for an internet conference call covering the four corners of the earth during the first Sophia Open Day. So, what is new? Bringing together rigorous academic discipline and wisdom – hence the name Sophia – understood as a ‘transdisciplinary’ approach that draws from the roots Christian revelation: this is what is new. Sophia’s mission is to produce men and woman capable of revisioning human destiny, as Piero Coda pointed out in live a video interview. Up to this point 150 students have studied or are currently studying at Sophia, and about 30 of them have already achieved their degrees. «Sophia began years ago with our summer schools, Prof. Coda recalled, and the purpose of these was to relate various disciplines to the charism of Chiara Lubich so as to overcome the fragmentation that can be observed among them. Today the Institute has reached its fourth year and it offers a formation programme that aims at going beyond the ‘schizophrenia’ that can be experienced between academic development and the social, political and economic challenges of the world today». 
There are several new approaches in the educational programme, as presented by some of the Institute’s teaching staff: Judith Povilus, vice-president and provost, Antonio Maria Baggio, professor of Political Philosophy, the theologian Alessandro Clemenza and the economist Giuseppe Argiolas. From next September the master’s degree in ‘Foundations and prospects for a Cultural of Unity’ will have four specialist areas: political studies, trinitarian ontology, economy and management and, in conclusion, the ‘culture of unity’. This last is aimed at students coming from any area of specialization, open to building a new world and willing to highlight the dimension of human relationships. After this presentation several of Sophia’s students spoke. They came from various countries across the continents. Metta, a Buddhist from Thailand, grappling with studying in an environment that has a Christian inspiration, said: «For me studying here is mainly about a relationship of fraternity and these relationships are the language we all, students and teachers, have in common even in the midst of our differences. It’s a dimension I find also in my own religion». Marco, an Italian whose first degree was in Motor Sciences, attends Sophia’s first year: «Looking to the future, the choice to go to Sophia has made me feel that I don’t wish so much to deepen my understanding of a specific discipline. Rather I need a formation that, as much as possible, will open up my cultural horizons and my awareness and make me better placed to face the world of work. At the moment, it doesn’t offer much certainty and so I have to be a self-starter».
Atuação social na região da Mariápolis Ginetta
Fraternidade como categoria jurídica
Message of the president of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce
« March 14, the anniversary of Chiara Lubich’s birth to new life in Heaven is approaching. This year we would like to dedicate the celebrations in a special way to the impact of her charism on the new generations: today’s and yesterday’s youth will witness in various regions of the world what meeting Chiara stirred up in them. 
Chiara trusted the young people and each one of us. Together, all one, we would like to look at a future full of hope because God gave us a great Ideal. This will be another occasion to express our gratitude to her who, corresponding fully to the light of the charism that God put in her heart, opened up the way to many to be bearers of a new spirit. 
Let’s make this date a starting point: grateful for such a gift, let’s communicate it in turn to all those around us in order to contribute towards building universal brotherhood: the fulfilment of her dream, Jesus’ longing: “That all may be one.”» Maria Voce, 5 March 2012
Lo spartito scritto in cielo
Burundi, Small Heart of Africa
Burundi is a small country, situated between two giant nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Republic of Tanzania. It is endowed with a landscape of extraordinary richness and beauty, and yet it is one of the poorest countries on the planet. It is home to three peoples: Hutu, Tutsi and Pigmies who share the same language and culture. It’s green hills hide the suffering cries of many how came to know violence and death during long decades of conflict and dictatorship. It was only in 2002 that Burundi emerged from a political and ethnic conflict that displaced a million and brought death to 300 thousand others. 
The Ideal of the Focolare Movement has also reached this place in the heart of Africa, only a few kilometers south of the Equator. Its roots go back to 1968, when a Belgian family moved to Bujumbura to find work and through the witness of their life, shed new light on the Christian message. Almost contemporaneously, another cell was formed around Fr Alberton from the African Missionaries, at the parish church in Mubimbi. 
1979 was an important year in the history of the Focolare in this nation. At the request of the local bishops, a focolare was opened in Gitega, but following the first persecutions, the focolare made an emergency move to Bujumbura. This was the beginning of a particularly difficult period for the Movement and for the entire Church: total prohibition on holding any type of activities; churches closed during the week; the impossibility of spreading the Word of Life. 
In September 1987, with the coup, freedom was returned and it was possible to come out into the open. Little by little, people were contacted again, finding with emotion that some faraway communities, the people continued to meet regularly to share their experiences of the one copy of the Word of Life that they had preserved for years. They carried ahead for years with only one Word of the Gospel. 
Today the Movement is comprised of more than 24 thousand people in 290 groups spread throughout the country. Today the ideal of unity holds genuine hope for the people of Burundi. In a climate of tension following the war, the members of the Movement got involved in contributing along with the local Church in the process of reconciliation. There have been some interesting achievements in the economic field and some innovative things are happening in the fields of health and education. In 1999 a group of volunteers of the Focolare Movement founded the CASOBU Association (Cadre Associatif des Solidaires du Burundi), with the goal of seeking durable solutions to the problems of poverty, through the process of participation and mutual support. 
The “Chiara Luce Badano Social Center” was also begun, which cares for orphan children or children in extreme conditions of poverty in the Kinama quarter (outskirts of bujumbura), an area that was completely destroyed by the war. The words that Chiara Lubich addressed to them on 7 October 1996 remain impressed in the hearts of these Focolare members in Burundi: “Always concentrate on our “Only Treasure.” You’ll be happy and have peace, even amid the difficulties that surround you. Jesus will always be with you in your midst, to touch people’s hearts, to reawaken faith in His love, and to bring unity. I am also with you in this constantly renewed commitment, moment by moment. . .”
Burundi: CASOBU – reconstructive work and fight against poverty
CASOBU (Cadre Associatif des Solidaires du Burundi) was founded by a group of volunteers from the Focolare Movement in Burundi, one of the poorest countries on the planet. The country has emerged from a twelve-year political and ethnic conflict, with the displacement of a million people and 300,000 dead. The purpose of the Association is to seek for lasting solutions to the problems of poverty through solidarity and mutual support. Its activity cannot be assessed only in terms of infrastructure development and improved socio-economic conditions, but in the spreading of certain values: solidarity, unity and fraternity. 
CASOBU’s first focus is in rural contexts. They have taken up several projects, with the support also of AMU, the NGO inspired by the Movement for co-operation in development. For several years CASOBU has been involved with community microcredit projects. These have helped several hundred people, mostly women who are family breadwinners, achieve economy autonomy. In 2008 CASOBU’s social action concentrated upon Ruyigi. The town of Butezi has 6,700 families who live by subsistence farming. During the civil war most of the population fled to refugee camps in Tanzania and now, on returning to their own country, there are numerous problems of readjustment. This initiative takes a three-pronged approach:
- ñ nutrition and agriculture: after an initial distribution of emergency foodstuffs to 800 families, the aim is to develop independent food sources, with the distribution cassava cuttings, cows and goats to displaced people and refugees;
- ñ aid for orphans and widows;
- ñ schemes for the prevention of Aids, run in collaboration with public bodies, and schemes for the prevention malaria, which is responsible for the deaths of numerous children under 5.
The members of CASOBU are trained and skilled people, filled with the gospel spirit of service. Their main aim is to listen attentively to those they meet: ‘We often find ourselves behaving like mothers and fathers of people who more than anything have a burden of pain to share with others.’ In Butezi there is an area where nearly three thousand families live. Only about a hundred of them have clean water, the others draw water from unsafe sources or directly from streams and pools and are exposed to serious illnesses. This means there is need of a new project to bring drinking water to the area, and the first of five has already begun. The strong points of this initiative are: the involvement of local people in the work and in implementation committees to conserve springs and maintain the infrastructure already set in place. The local people accept that they must give the necessary land and accept the difficulties that arise from works being carried out in their fields. All cooperate to rebuild social bonds. The way the members of CASOBU live and how they work strike many people: ‘Often,’ said Innocent from Kayanza, ‘to have a job you have to pay, but here we have noticed a difference. They look in the register of those have already given a voluntarily contribution to the project and they enrol you without any kind of corruption…. Whether you are a simple labourer or a skilled worker, all are on the same level.’ 
Certainly, not everyone understands immediately what is being done, and patient work by CASOBU is fundamental for helping people realize that these projects are aimed at the common good. Three years after the first project, it is possible to note a significant improvement in the health of families and especially of the children. The latest initiative for access to clean water was in Kibingo (in the province of Kayanza), and it benefited 600 families and 1,200 pupils at the local primary school. Anyone who wishes to participate in the work of CASOBU on behalf of people of Burundi, even with just a one-off gift, can use the following bank details: Account name: Associazione Azione per un Mondo Unito Bank: Banca Popolare Etica, Rome branch. IBAN: IT16G0501803200000000120434 SWIFT/BIC: CCRTIT2184D Payments should be marked for: ‘Progetti in Burundi’. Burundi is a small country in Africa with enormous lakes, and it is one of the poorest places on earth. In the 2011 report by the United Nations Development Programme it was ranked in the third last place (185th) in the league table of Human development. The most vulnerable groups in the population are Aids sufferers, widows, teenage mothers, orphans and people with disabilities. There is also a need to achieve national reconciliation and to rebuild the nation’s economy and social fabric.
India: Kindergartens That Form Peacemakers
Vaikalpalayam is a small village with humble homes and asphalt roads punctuated with potholes. At the entrance to the village stands a small brick building that is bursting with the shouts of a dozen happy children. It houses one of the ten kindergartens or Bala Shanti Kendra which the Gandhian institution Shanti Ashram opened over the years in the region of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, South India, close to the borders with Kerala. 
This Bala Shanti Kendra is one of the ten kindergartens which are part of a project named Bala Shanti. When it began twenty years ago the kindergarten had a precise goal: to begin an educational process among dalit, the outcaste whom Mahatma Gandhi named Harijans, children of God, in order to give them a chance at a more dignified life. What happened then has been called by some a veritable revolution. In India, the dalit live on the edge of the towns, they may not draw water from the same well as the other villagers and, until only a few decades ago, it was unthinkable that they should enter the same temples. In Vaikalpalayam today, dalit children and those of the superior caste study, eat and pray side by side. Their mothers sit beside those of the other students at meetings for the parents of the 220 children who attend kindergartens founded and run by this Gandhian organization that was begun twenty-five years ago by Dr Aram, a nominated member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament, pacifist and top level Indian educator. The goals of the Bala Shanti project as a whole include:
- Develop a holistic development initiative in the 3-18 age group
- Provide children in the pre-school age with education, nutrition & health services through the Bala Shanti Kendras
- Create a child-centered platform for advancing Peace & Inter-religious cooperation
- Coordinate a monthly Children’s Parliament : ‘Ondru Seruvom’ for rural boys & girls who graduated from the pre-school program
- Ensure the Rights & Responsibilities of Children in partnership with children, families, communities & institutions working for children
The balashanti provide an educational experience that combines early reading and writing skills together with playing, singing, religious and human values, along with daily dietary assistance.
Today nearly 1500 children who graduated from the Bala Shanti Kendras participate in the ‘Ondru Seruvom’ or Monthly Children’s Parliament, contributing their commitment and service for the welfare of their village. A dedicated team of teachers, social workers, and child development experts have worked hard for two decades to realize the vision of the program. The local families can only afford one meal a day with a monthly salary of more or less sixty dollars. In recent years, with the great industrial development that is taking place in Coimbatore, new settlements of temporary workers have arisen. Many of the migrant workers are also economically very vulnerable and belong to all religious traditions, the Muslim, the Hindu and the Christian traditions. Many social problems including alcoholism and domestic violence affect the families, requiring thus not only education of the child, but also of the families. Bala Shanti Program serves the community in three ways, Assistance to Children, Assistance to family and Assistance to Community. A group of mothers have been integrated in a micro-credit project. But also throughout their educational experience, the children participate in lessons aimed at teaching them how to save Last year, four year-old Karuna was able to save three thousand rupees in her piggy bank, the same amount as her father’s monthly salary. In the balashanti they learn the rules of hygiene care, which helps to prevent those illnesses that are often caused by poverty. Dr Aram and his wife Minoti are clear on the fact that in order to build a lasting peace it was necessary to start with the little ones. This is where the idea of the kindergartens came from. “The children are often the ones who are able to break the mechanism of family violence and create peace,” recounts Mrs Murthy who has followed the project for more than twenty years. Recently, Divya, a kindergartner at the balashanti went to sit in her father’s arms during a family quarrel. She said to him: “Daddy, violence is like the devil!”
Moreover, the children are taught respect for each faith. The morning starts with a Hindu, Muslim and Christian prayer and so the children begin to grow without the barriers and prejudices that have separated groups and communities from this part of India for centuries, and created social tension that often erupted into violent and bloody clashes. The Focolare have been working in this project since the late nineties, when Minoti Aram felt the need to ensure food and nutritional supplements to the children of the balashanti. At that time the New Families and the Gandhian Shanti Ashram joined together on this project, and this gave birth to a brotherhood between the two movements that has opened to religious dialogue and to peace education for the new generations. Gandhi had said: “If you want to teach real peace (…) you should begin with the children.” In its 20th year, the program will deepen and expand its service to vulnerable children, train and improved capacities of community workers and document experience and findings for policy change, says Shri. A. Devaraj, the current Head of the Bala Shanti Program. Roberto Catalano (From an insert in Città Nuova (5) – 2012)
Basilicata
Please note: The geolocalisation feature on this website – which displays cities and towns where Focolare centres are present – is only meant to be a guide. The markers on the map do not necessarily point to a specific address and they must not be relied on for navigational purposes. (more…)
South Africa: With the Gospel Everything Becomes Possible
My name is Maria and I work for my country’s government in the health sector. 
Each day I experience that the words of the Gospel help me to serve my neighbor better and even to resolve the problems of society. By putting the Gospel in practice, relationships at the office have radically changed: they’ve become more familiar, open and free. I share this ideal of life with three of my colleagues, and together we try to perform our jobs as a service to people, to our city which faces many great challenges. There are two levels of government in South Africa: one is the traditional, which sees the Kgosi (chief) as the head. Each chief has specific expectations about the territory and a level of government with elected representatives who have others. Our challenge is to compose an agreement between these two levels, so that every decision can truly be for the good of the entire community, and so that it can always be more involved in the projects that are proposed. 
For example, we built six clinics in our district. All the work was done in full agreement with the two levels of government, so that each clinic was fully recognized throughout the territory. Several authorities spoke at the inauguration ceremony, also members from the executive committee of the government. A few days before the event, one of the Kgosi had called us to say that he would not be attending the ceremony because of a supposed disparity between the treatment of officials from the local government and the treatment of the traditional leaders. It was a veritable disaster, from every point of view. There was the danger that the people of the village would also refuse to attend. We tried to resolve the situation by going to visit the chief at his home. We offered him a detailed presentation of each clinic. Thanks to this gesture his attitude changed and he gave his assent to the ceremony, which then turned out to be a great success, an important moment for the entire community. 
Now we continue to perform each task that is entrusted to us as an opportunity for coming together and helping our city to grow. And, slowly, we see the bonds improving between the population and government officials. Faith and trust are growing on both sides. Moreover, traditional leaders and elected councilors are discovering their own roles in full respect of the roles of the other. And so the child care project is now in the hands of the traditional leaders, and the project for youths is in the hands of the municipal councilors. It is no longer necessary to explain our choices to the different authorities, because they trust us, and the union among all grows in service to the community. We experience that if we try to put the Gospel into practice, truly nothing is impossible!
Começam os preparativos do 40º aniversário da Mariápolis Ginetta
Animated Word of Life – March 2012
“Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Produced by Focolare Movement. Montage: Oscar Monteza (Rome). Animation and voicover: Corre Ruse (London)