A long journey to celebrate 70 years since the creation of the General Council of Christians in Hong Kong, where just a little over 10% of the 7.5 million inhabitants profess to be Christians.
A delegation of 24 people from different Christian traditions: Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, and Pentecostal, embarked on an ecumenical pilgrimage making stops in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, visiting cities such as Wittenberg, Augsburg, Ottmaring, Geneva, Trent, and finally Rome to review the past without prejudice and establish a new relationship among all members.“An opportunity to learn more about each other’s Church. There was so much sharing, so much love for each other, and we felt like brothers and sisters in Christ, His one Church!” ”, Theresa Kung affirms.
Welcomed at the Ecumenical Citadel in Ottmaring (Germany), at the Mariapolis “Chiara Lubich” Center in Trent (Italy) and at the International Center of the Focolare Movement in Rocca di Papa (Italy), the group got to know the charism of unity that animates the Focolare Movement and appreciate the work of dialogue between various Churches that has been taking place for years within the Movement, a “dialogue of life” in the sense that, as Rev. Hoi Hung Lin of Tsung Tsin Mission had this to say:“Respect other people’s differences in values, prioritize dialogue and always seek to establish fraternal relationships among people, among ethnic groups and in different cultural situations”.
In Rome, the group was received at the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity in an exchange meeting on their work worldwide.
As their last event, they were received by Pope Francis in a private audience on May 22, 2024. After greetings and introductions by Cardinal Stephen Chow SJ, Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, and Rev. Ray Wong, President of the Hong Kong Christian Council, the Holy Father addressed those present, stressing the importance of “working together, because we all believe in Jesus Christ; praying together, praying for unity.” The Pope also recalled the Christian friendship that comes from common Baptism. “We have the same Baptism and that makes us Christians. Enemies, we have many outside. We are friends! Enemies, outside; here, friends.”[1].
The fourth international six-year meeting of the Global Christian Forum took place in April in Accra, the capital of Ghana, bringing together about 250 people from over 50 countries, representatives of various Churches and global ecclesial networks and organizations.
The event is always held in a different city and on a different continent. Four members of the Focolare Movement attended the event in Ghana.
Alongside the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Global Christian Forum is perhaps the only other platform through which unity among the Churches is promoted on a global scale. Founded in 1998, it aims to promote dialogue with the vast world of Pentecostal Churches and ‘Free Churches’, most of which are not affiliated with the WCC. The approach has been and remains a dialogue “of the heart” rather than a theological dialogue. As the current Secretary General, Casely Essamuah, of Ghanaian origin, explained in Ghana: “It is a space for a profound encounter of faith. This is how we learn to discover the richness of Christ”.
Central to these meetings is the exchange of personal ’faith stories’ in small groups which was a significant feature in Accra. Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, representative of the Methodist Church at the WCC explained, “Seeing Christ in others is the goal of this exercise. Letting the Holy Spirit guide our words and listening carefully to the stories of others.” This truly gives rise to a spiritual friendship and a fraternal unity that generates great joy among all”.
The theme chosen for the meeting was “That they may all be one, so that the world may believe” (Jn. 17:20). Billy Wilson, president of the Pentecostal World Fellowship, highlighted three aspects of this unity: it is above all relational; it is realized in the mission: “so that the world may know and believe” and it is spiritual, like the relationships between the persons of the Trinity.
This gathering in Ghana was an experience of great spiritual richness, reflecting an image of the Church of the future that is already being realized through such encounters.
“Dare to be one” is the title of the Conference of Bishops from various Churches, friends of the Focolare Movement, which took place from 27 February to 1 March in Augsburg. The meeting also commemorated an important anniversary in the journey of reconciliation: precisely in Augsburg 25 years ago, the signing of the historic Joint Declaration on Justification. https://youtu.be/8kBoqmRmHP4
The Focolare Movement has just published its second “Communion in Action Report” or “Mission Report”. It focuses on the theme of Dialogue. To learn more about it, we interviewed Ruperto Battiston and Geneviève Sanze, Counsellors for the Economy and Work aspect of the Movement.
A year ago, in January 2023, at the “Focolare Meeting Point” in Rome, the first “Communion in Action Report” or “Mission Report” of the Focolare Movement was presented. It gave an overview of the worldwide activities and initiatives carried out by the Movement in the biennium 2020-2021. This year, the Movement is presenting a new Report for the year 2022, this time centred on the theme of dialogue. The document has emerged as a fascinating account, not only of the spontaneous sharing of goods but also of experiences and needs, inspired by a lifestyle based on evangelical love. Ruperto Battiston and Geneviève Sanze, Counsellors at the International Centre of the Movement for the aspect of Economy and Work, shared their thoughts with us.
Ruperto, what are the objectives of this document? Is there continuity with the previous one?
These mission reports exist to involve everyone and share information about the concrete achievements resulting from the communion of goods among all the members of the Focolare Movement and the contributions that we receive from individuals or institutions. It is primarily addressed to all the members of the Movement, with gratitude for the fruits that the life and work of many people around the world continue to generate; and with gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do. It is also addressed to those who would like to know more about us and actively collaborate for a more fraternal and peaceful world. This is why we chose the standard, and in this case perhaps somewhat unusual, name of ‘Communion in Action Report’ because we feel it best expresses our experience of walking together towards a united world. This is our second Mission Report’. It refers to the activities supported by the part of the communion of goods which is shared internationally and to the financial data of the Focolare Movement’s International Centre for the year 2022. This Report follows that of 2021, which highlighted the various activities that the communities of the Focolare Movement carry out worldwide in all fields and aspects. For 2022, we focused on a more thematic document, taking the specific perspective of Dialogue and trying to offer a glimpse of what we seek to bring to society on the path towards fraternity, towards that unity in which diversities can be enriched and give rise to harmonious collaborations.
Therefore, this Report serves as an open and hands-on tool of communion to which everyone can add a page, a story or a suggestion, “In Dialogue” with humanity and with our planet.
Geneviève, how does the theme of dialogue, the heart of this text, fit into this informative tool?
It is interesting to reiterate what it says in the introduction: “Being in dialogue is the characteristic of every person and every project which is under the auspices of the Focolare Movement and which is inspired by its spirituality of communion. Not just doing, therefore, but a lifestyle which is supported and substantiated by listening, welcoming, compassion, charity and mercy, as summarized in the cardinal principle of every culture and religion: the so-called Golden Rule ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'” This Mission Report aims to show how, together with many others throughout the world, we have contributed to healing the wounds of divisions and polarizations and to progressing along the path of evangelical fraternity. We express dialogue in five major areas: in the Catholic Church, among Christian Churches, in the field of interreligious dialogue, with people without a religious reference and in different cultural contexts. For us, these areas are the main ways to reach fraternity. Chiara Lubich defined dialogues as ‘highways to a united world’. It was not easy to gather and choose from the numerous initiatives, small and large but all important because they are seeds of the future and bearers of a concrete change in relationships between people, improving the atmosphere of the world. We were amazed by the quantity of initiatives and the widespread flourishing of this life, which may not make noise but which supports the world and builds new relationships between people. Being “In Dialogue” with others values diversity, highlights the characteristics of each one, requires deep mutual listening, and builds peace. Dialogue is more relevant than ever. To read the Mission Report in English, click here.
all the members of the Movement, with gratitude for the fruits that the life and work of many people around the world continue to generate; and with gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do. It is also addressed to those who would like to know more about us and actively collaborate for a more fraternal and peaceful world. This is why we chose the standard, and in this case perhaps somewhat unusual, name of ‘Communion in Action Report’ because we feel it best expresses our experience of walking together towards a united world. This is our second Mission Report’. It refers to the activities supported by the part of the communion of goods which is shared internationally and to the financial data of the Focolare Movement’s International Centre for the year 2022. This Report follows that of 2021, which highlighted the various activities that the communities of the Focolare Movement carry out worldwide in all fields and aspects. For 2022, we focused on a more thematic document, taking the specific perspective of Dialogue and trying to offer a glimpse of what we seek to bring to society on the path towards fraternity, towards that unity in which diversities can be enriched and give rise to harmonious collaborations.