Chiara Lubich: The basis of universal fraternity

Sep 9, 2024 | Chiara Lubich, Spiritualità

Chiara Lubich Chiara Lubich had an intuition of this in 1977 when she received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in London. Since then, the worldwide expansion of the Focolare spirit has contributed to opening a dialogue with all the major religions of the world. A path that even Chiara had not imagined at the beginning, but that God had revealed to her over time, through events and circumstances; it was a path to pursue towards unity.
In this short excerpt, Chiara, in answering a question on the relationship with other religions, reveals the secret to building true universal fraternity: seeking what unites us in diversity.
The question put to Chiara is read by Giuseppe Maria Zanghì, one of the first focolarini. (From a reply by Chiara Lubich to a meeting of Muslim friends, Castel Gandolfo, 3 November 2002)

Giuseppe Maria Zanghì: This is the question: “We’d like to ask you, Chiara, how do you feel about the relationship with other religions. What does it make you feel within
your heart?”

Chiara Lubich: I’ve always felt very comfortable in my contacts with the faithful of other religions! Even though we are different from one another, we have a lot in common, a lot in common, and this unites us. Instead, diversity attracts us; it arouses our curiosity.
So, I like these contacts for two reasons: because I get to know new things, I enter into the culture of others, and also because I find brothers and sisters who are like me because we have many beliefs in common.
The most important of all – as I told you the last time I was here – is that famous Golden Rule, which says “Do not do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you.” This sentence can be found in all the most important religions, in their scriptures, in their sacred books. It’s also in the Gospel for Christians.
This phrase – “Do not do to others what you wouldn’t want them to do to you” – means “treat your brothers and sisters well, have great respect for them, love them.” And so, when they discover this phrase in their scriptures and I discover the same phrase in my scriptures, I love, they love, and so we love one another, and this is the basis, the first step towards universal fraternity So the first thing is to live the “Golden Rule.”
The second part of the question is about what I feel in my heart when I meet a brother or sister of another religion. I immediately feel a great desire to become friends, to build unity, to have this relationship as brothers and sisters. …