![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2010.focolare.org\/img\/hr.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus crucified and forsaken is the model priest!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a022\/04\/2006<\/p>\n
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The conference started with an in-depth reflection on \u201cThe portrait of the priest and the deacon today: actual experience and challenges.\u201d<\/strong> Experiences from different parts of the world and the talks offered by experts during this first part of the conference highlighted the challenges faced by the Church today and, consequently, by priests as well \u2013 such as the credibility crisis and lack of impact, social and cultural fragmentation, individualism and overwork. Furthermore, there is also the struggle against poverty, conflicts and injustice. However, it was observed that right in the midst of these difficulties, signs of hope can be gleaned, such as a widespread \u201cthirst for God\u201d which must be responded to with adequate preparation, the flourishing of small ecclesial communities and the contribution of the new charisms.<\/p>\n The key idea of the Conference was put into light by Chiara Lubich\u2019s message:<\/strong> \u201cJesus crucified and forsaken is the One who opened up the way for humanity towards universal brotherhood\u2026 And since men and women, because of Jesus crucified and forsaken, were able to establish their rapport with God again, He is the bond of unity also among people\u2026 This is why we speak of him: he is the model priest! My wish, accompanied with my prayers, is that each of you may find your model in him, so that the Church today may be enriched by priests-Christ, priests-victims for humanity; authentically Christ, ready to give their lives for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n The second part of the conference dealt with the theme on the Church as communion and the absolute need for a spirituality of communion<\/strong>. Giuseppe Maria Zangh\u00ec, co-director of the Focolare Movement\u2019s Center of Studies spoke about the \u201cepochal transition from a prevalently individual vision of the human person to one which opens up the individual\u2019s interior life towards communion with every person.\u201d Fr. Silvano Cola, director of the Focolare\u2019s Priests Movement, recounted his meeting with the spirituality of unity, underscoring three fundamental dimensions for the life of Christians and priests today: \u201cdiscovering that God is Love means \u2018everything\u2019 to the Christian experience; being able to see all men and women as children of God; putting at the center of one\u2019s life Jesus Crucified, who, even at the moment when he felt himself separated from the Father, entrusted himself to the Father out of love.\u201d<\/p>\n The evening prayer of the first day was accompanied by the hymn Akathistos dedicated to Our Lady, offered by a choir of Orthodox priests and seminarians.<\/p>\n The concelebrated Mass was presided over by Bishop Gian Carlo Bregantini of Locri (region of Calabria, Italy), who is a living witness of evangelical courage in the struggle against organized crime. In the afternoon, Msgr. Aldo Giordano, Secretary-General of the Council of European Bishops\u2019 Conferences, proposed stimulating points for reflection with his theme: \u201cFor a pastoral work characterized by communion.\u201d<\/p>\n Some experiences shared offered examples of pastoral work animated by the missionary spirit<\/strong>. Included among these experiences was that of priests and lay people from the St. John of the Cross Parish in Rome, where the vitality and methods used by the new ecclesial Movements harmoniously blend with parish structures. Another experience was that of aid work in favor of Bosnia, being carried out by a youth center in Germany \u2013 an endeavour which has turned out to be an experience of evangelization, with positive effects felt in 45 countries. Lastly, there was also the experience of a young Brasilian priest who was able to develop over 2,000 small communities which have revitalized Church and social life in Ponta Grossa with the evangelical art of loving.<\/p>\n The morning session of April 21 was dedicated to the theme of culture and dialogue<\/strong>, with the reflection offered by Fr. Pasquale Foresi, first priest focolarino on \u201cA new school of thinking,\u201d followed by Vera Ara\u00f9jo and Carlos Clari\u00e0, members of the Focolare Movement\u2019s General Council, on \u201cSoul of the world: new horizons for mission today.\u201d<\/p>\n The culminating point of the Conference was an intense moment of prayer<\/strong>, during which the participants took upon themselves the commitment (as re-proposed on behalf of Chiara Lubich by Natalia Dallapiccola, her first companion) \u2013 to conform their lives to Jesus crucified to be able to face the many \u2018countenances\u2019 of suffering in the world today and \u201cdrink deep of the waters of tribulation from many hearts that are nearby and \u2026 from many far away.\u201d Giving the final greeting, Fr. Silvano Cola \u2013 one of the promoters of the conference \u2013 said: \u201cAs Jesus did 2000 years ago, he seems to be telling us today, \u201cGo out into the whole world and preach the Gospel put into life\u201d!<\/p>\n For further information: chiesaoggi.focolare.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Concluso il Convegno \u2018Chiesa oggi\u2019 con la consegna: \u201cAndate in tutto il mondo e annunziate il Vangelo vissuto!\u201d![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2010.focolare.org\/layout\/foto2006\/060429-02.jpg\")
Joy for having \u201cexperienced the family spirit,\u201d \u201cshared even our difficulties,\u201d \u201cprayed in profound unity\u201d and \u201cfor having participated in a great moment of Church life\u201d:<\/strong> these were some of the impressions gathered there and then, from priests, permanent deacons and seminarians as their conference entitled \u201cThe Church today: the spirituality of communion and dialogue,\u201d ended. It was held at Castel Gandolfo (Rome) from April 19 to 21, attended by 1,000 participants coming from 52 different countries. Among the participants were also members of other Churches.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/2010.focolare.org\/layout\/foto2006\/060429-01.jpg\")
The morning session of the second day, April 20, constituted the nucleus of the conference<\/strong>. Unity, communion and reciprocity \u2013 it was said \u2013 are but a utopia if they are not rooted in a love whose measure is Jesus\u2019 radical giving of Himself on the cross. Among the speakers were two parish priests whose efforts proved to be very fruitful in environments that were not very open to church life, and an Italian priest who has dedicated his life to the \u201cmeninos da rua\u201d (streetchildren).<\/p>\n
\nCastel Gandolfo, 19-21 aprile 2006<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-291284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-categorizzato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}