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Paths of Light: 15 years of accompanying couples in difficulties

 
The Italian Pathways of Light team met in Sacrofano, Rome, on the 5th and 6th of October for an important moment of discussion and growth. This project, started 15 years ago as part of the New Families Movement, has as its primary purpose the accompaniment of couples in difficulty, helping them to improve communication, intimacy and to discern the best way to deal with their crisis.

The meeting in Sacrofano aimed to strengthen the sense of team within the team, improve the effectiveness of the service and plan the next appointments in 2025. The main challenge is to create a widespread and cohesive network, which is increasingly close to the needs of couples in the communities and territories in which they live. In an increasingly complex social context, couples today face difficult challenges related to developmental crises, relational tensions and personal dynamics. In many cases, these difficulties can generate dangerous isolation, which risks causing the couple to succumb under the weight of the crisis.

But the crisis, as the Greek etymology of the word krísis (from the verb krinō, which means “to evaluate” or “to discern”) teaches us, is not a point of no return. On the contrary, it can represent an opportunity for growth and change, if faced with the right resources. This is precisely where Pathways of Light intervenes, offering a space of accompaniment that strengthens the social and personal support perceived by couples in difficulty.

The project makes use of a team of about twenty “help couples”, present throughout the country and ready to provide support. Among these, there are the witness couples, who have benefited from the service and have decided to make available their experience of a crisis faced and overcome in which other couples can find themselves and regain hope. The team also includes a priest and a pair of experts with professional psychotherapy skills, who help provide specific tools to foster empowerment and a greater understanding of self, the relationship with our partner and crisis management. The accompanying couples support those in difficulty, supporting them in a path of growth fuelled by sharing and reciprocity on a path towards a horizon of greater serenity and awareness.

The meeting in Sacrofano laid the foundations for a programme that is even more functional to the needs of today’s couples, with the aim of making Pathways of Light an increasingly close and accessible resource to those in need.

Marina and Gianni Vegliach, representatives of the programme on the national territory, pulled the strings of these two days, highlighting a key aspect of Pathways of Light: “The innovative methodology, developed by a study commission on the basis of the experience gained in the early years, is based on what we metaphorically call ‘the three-legged stool’,  integrating the spirituality of unity, psychological aspects and the sharing of life testimonies. In these 15 years, the programme has really developed, bearing numerous fruits despite the difficulties encountered along the way, which have not been few. But today, we can say with confidence that our team, developed in the context of New Families, is ready to move forward to relieve the wounds of many couples and face the challenges that, in the current context, are by no means small”. Looking to the future, the next step, in addition to strengthening the accompaniment network in the territories, will be the organization of the Residential Week for couples held annually in the summer.

For those who want more information or want to get in touch with the team, you can write to the email address: fnitalia.pdl@gmail.com

Giovanna Pieroni