Jun 3, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
The bi-monthly journal of the British Islamic Cultural Centre published a brief account of the recent visit to the Sophia University Institute by Dr Mohammad Ali Shomali, Director of the International Institute of Islamic Studies in Qum, Iran. Dr Shomali, who currently lives in London and directs the Islamic Centre in Great Britain, is a well-known figure in the Shia world. He is very active in the field of interreligious dialogue, and thanks to him various moments of encounter between Shi’a Muslims and Benedictine Monks have been organised organised, allowing relationships of trust to be established. The visit on 26 April to Sophia is a consequence of the long and fruitful pathway which made the shared experience and academic collaboration possible in Loppiano which has this characteristic. Islam today reported the news of this visit highlighting the importance of this extraordinary growing friendship. Here are some extracts: Sophia University Institute in Loppiano (Florence, Italy) was established in honour of Chiara Lubich (founder of the Focolare Movement) in 2008 after her death. The relationship between the university and the Shi’a Scholars started long before it became a university. Hujjatul-Islam Dr Muhammad Ali Shomali’s first visit took place back in 1999. These meeting represent the foundation of a long friendship and dialogue. Discussions varied from talking about Sophia (Latin meaning Wisdom) to the future of humanity. From the discussion between the university academics and Shi’a scholars it soon became clear that they had many common ideas about unity and inter-religious dialogue that could be developed in practical projects. Dr Shomali’s recent visit to the university took place in February 2015, where he held public as well as informal meetings with staff and students. Following that meeting Dr Shomali was invited by the president of the university Professor Msgr. Coda Piero to return to the university and teach a course to MA students which was scheduled to start in 2016. The course which is based on inter-religious dialogue was for the first time to be taught by lecturers from different religious traditions in order to share similar experiences and ideas. Dr Shomali delivered his first lecture during a four-hour morning and afternoon session in April 2016. He talked about his personal involvement in inter-religious dialogue, presenting a brief summary of his twenty-year rich experience in the field of interfaith. A part of his discussion was also about Shia Islam and the foundation for dialogue according to Shia Islam. Dr Shomali further spoke about the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the future of humanity based on unity. Following this academic engagement, the plan is to have a three-day programme in July 2016 (after the month of Ramadhan). The university president Prof. Coda Piero and Dr Shomali will be discussing subjects related to unity between different faith groups, Muslim and Christians in particular and some of the ideas can be put into action in the near future. Hujjatul-Islam Dr Shomali will be taking a group of scholars in the next encounter to present the Muslim Shia perspective while Professor Coda Piero will lead the Catholic/Focolare Movement side. “The April meeting was a fruitful meeting. After many years of friendship and talk, the two groups are now ready to move into more focused, scholarly but at the same time spiritual discussion on unity and cooperation,” said Dr Shomali.
Jun 3, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
The conferral of the Honorary Doctorate to Focolare foundress, Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) originated with Adam Biela. At that time he was the Chair of the School of Social Sciences at the Catholic University of Lublino. Following that honorary degree 15 others would be conferred to Chiara from around the world and in a variety academic fields. In his conferral speech Professor Biela spoke of a “Copernican Revolution” to introduce the idea of a new approach (paradigm) for the social sciences. We ask Biela what motivated him to promote the doctorate. “In my conferral speech I had explained the main reasons for the conferral of the Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences to the foundress of the Focolare Movement, Chiara Lubich, by the Catholic University of Lublin in June 1996. An American philosopher of science, Thomas Kun (1962) thought the Copernican Revolution was the best illustration of what took place with the scientific revolution. In its essence [the Copernican approach or paradigm] signified a change of mentality. Copernicus had to change the firmly-established geocentric system that was at work not only in the sciences of his time, but also in the culture, tradition, perception of society, even in the mentality of the religious and political authorities. And he did it in a manner that was careful, empirical, methodological and psychological. In a similar way, through her social activity, Chiara Lubich was the source of a revolutionary inspiration for the creation of an approach (paradigm) in the field of social sciences. In an extremely dangerous situation in Trent, Italy, in 1943 she decided not to escape from the threat to her own life, but to join her friends in helping other people survive who were in far more difficult situations. She decided to face the risk of the bombardments of the War, in order to stay with the children and elderly who were left all alone and in need of assistance. That type of experience made her rediscover the community as a model of life, and it allowed the charism of unity to be materialized and clarified. In any case the devolopment of this charism shows it to be a concrete and practical actualization of a new vision of social, economic, political, educational, religious and relational structures, which guides, suggests, encourages and promotes unity with other people. In my conferral speech I used the idea of a unity approach (paradigm) to stress the social activity of Chiara Lubich and the Focolare Movement for the construction of psycho-social structures for unity in different fields: for example, in the Economy of Communion in the Political Movement for Unity; in Net One and its journalists for unity; in ecumenical and interreligious friendships.” On June 3rd and June 4th an academic conference titled “Conflicts, Dialogue and the Culture of Unity” and dedicated to John Paul II will be held at the University in Lublin. What is the purpose? “In June 1966 the John Paul II Catholic University had truly found a methodological way to express the novelty, uniqueness, heuristic and applicable value of the charism of unity not only in the social sciences, but also in other academic fields. We are truly pleased that our message about the methodological validity of the charism of unity has found an understanding in so many academic centres that they have conferred honorary degrees to Chiara Lubich. The concept of a unity approach (paradigm) is a big inspiration that will lead the social sciences to come up with their own research models with a power and mental and methodological potential that will be able to offer a new social vision of the world. In the meantime, the Conflicts, Dialogue and Culture of Unity Conference will examine the extent to which the praxis of the unity approach (paradigm) that is founded on the spirituality of unity, is able to resolve conceptual problems, as well as applications for the building of social, economic and political integration in today’s Europe and in the world.”
Jun 2, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Dialogue between members of two ethnic groups in permanent conflict is what Johnson Duba, a young man from Marsabit, in northern Kenya, works hard for. He often succeeded in persuading the village elders to come together in a spirit of dialogue in order to restore peace in the community. When it came to young people, however, his attempts to unite them came about through sport. He initiated a football tournament, where nobody actually wins, in order to strengthen peaceful cohabitation. It is one of the fruits of reconciliation brought about by living the charism of unity which Johnson has always tried to live in his village. His was one of the experiences presented on May 27th to the delegates of various Churches from Eastern Africa and from Europe gathered for the International Ecumenical Movement Kenyan Chapter (IEM-K). Among the guest-speakers were Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, former General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, and former president of IEM-K, as well as Maria Voce, President of Focolare Movement who was visiting Kenya from 14 May to 1 June. 
“The Focolare Movement is ecumenical by nature,” stated Rev. Dr Kobia, emphasizing his good relationship with Chiara Lubich, whom he met in person, and with the Focolare community. In his talk he stressed the importance of forgiveness saying, “We do not want to be imprisoned by the past because you can easily remain a captive of history (…) but we should deal with the past in a way that we will not pass bitterness and anger to the next generation.” He urged the Ecumenical Movement to support projects of peace, dialogue and reconciliation promoted by their governments. Moreover, in the heart of Chiara Lubich was a burning desire “to respond to the most urgent and dramatic needs of humanity, the need for peace,” recalled Maria Voce in the preliminary part of her speech. “And so,” she continued, “we started setting up places and looking for opportunities to meet within our Churches, so that there could be more and more ‘communion’. We had the experience of being a united people made up of Christians of different denominations through the sharing of the specific gifts of each Church, in the hope, one day, of also reaching doctrinal unity.” Dialogue, therefore, is the privileged pathway to be undertaken. This has been the experience and reflection of the Focolare Movement which has matured over these 73 years: “… a dialogue of life, which does not create opposition among people, but rather brings people of different traditions or faiths together, enabling them to open up to each other, to find points in common and to live them together.” Recalling that unity (Jesus’ prayer “That all may be one’) is the specific aim of the Focolare Movement, Maria Voce confirmed that dialogue is a way of life, a new culture, which the Movement can and would like to offer to men and women of today. She concluded by saying, “The Holy Spirit, the bond of love, will help Christians understand that they are living a precious and important time: a passing from darkness into the light of the resurrection, towards a greater fullness, in which diversity means enrichment and the opportunity to create communion: where the wounds of one will be the wounds of the others; where all together, with humility and detachment, we will try to find the essence and the origins of the one faith in Jesus, by listening to His Word”.
Willy Niyonsaba
May 30, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya since January 2013, Archbishop Balvo is also the first apostolic nuncio of South Sudan, an independent state since 2011 that has been tried by war, poverty and migrations. Maria Voce and co-president Jesús Morán had met the archbishop at the Nunciature in Nairobi on May 20, 2016 during their visit to Kenya on May 14 – June 1. In a cordial and family atmosphere they shared news and also hopes and concerns over the challenges in the region, especially in South Sudan. They talked about Chiara Lubich who Archbishop Balvo had met during Chiara’s trip to the Middle East in 1999 when the archbishop was serving in Jordan. They also shared about the School of Inculturation that was being held at Mariapolis Piero during those days. He told about his adventure welcoming the Pope to Kenya, and then his visit to the Central African Republic where Christians and non-Christians said “they were struck that the Pope didn’t run away from their problems, and that despite security concerns he spent a night in their country. The archbishop was also updated on news regarding the Focolare, such as the recent surprise visit of Pope Francis to the Mariapolis in the city of Rome. “Pope Francis is the Pope of surprises,” the archbishop responded. But the focus soon shifted to the drama that is taking place in South Sudan. In speaking about the crisis in that region the Nuncio underscored the many challenges: poverty and illiteracy that are worsened because of the lack of peace. In 2007, through AMU, the Focolare had launched a project in the desert around Khartum for the construction of a school for refugees from South Sudan who were living in a camp at the parish of Omdurman. The project, which lasted for several years, was inserted into a diocesan project called “Saving those who can be saved”. The school was built, but afterwards many families returned to South Sudan before it became an independent state. “In a region so rich with resources, it’s going to be difficult to develop them until a stable peace is established,” Archbishop Balvo noted. “It’s really difficult to promote the society with generations of people who have known nothing but violence.” From there he moved on to the history of the country in which he travels so much to demonstrate his love for the people of South Sudan. The South separated from the North on July 9, 2011 following a referendum won by a Sudanese majority in January of the same year. That referendum, which was one of the key points of the peace accord that in 2005, put an end to 21 years of civil war between the government of Khartoum and the group fighting for the independence of South Sudan. The separation of South Sudan remains charged with tension and critical points. Among them are the dividing line between North and South and the status of the region of Abyei which is rich in oil and disputed by both countries. Within South Sudan there are armed groups that threaten the peace, and ethnic conflicts over land, water and livestock disputes are the order of the day. In December 2013, a conflict broke out between government forces and forces loyal to the former Vice President Rieck Machar. In January 2014, the first ceasefire was signed and, on April 26, 2016, Riek Machar returned to the capital and was sworn in as vice president. Maria Voce expressed her hope that this step would return South Sudan to the path of unity and prosperity.
May 29, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
Giving law a human face and seeking justice founded on the values of fraternity. This was Maria Voce’s strong message, as a lawyer herself and President of the Focolare Movement, addressing an audience of 300 people gathered on the 25th of May at the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi, Kenya. Her audience was composed of students studying law and social sciences, professors, members of the Faculty and staff of the University. In her talk “Law in contemporary society” Maria Voce explained how through the evolution of society, correct behaviour had become organised in systems within communities, and as states achieved political identity these systems were incorporated in their Constitutions, codes and other laws. According to the President of the Focolare, with the coming of Christianity, “a superior law come to the fore as a reference point. It is a law that comes from God, who is Just and was given to humanity through Jesus. It is the law of love.”
© CSC Audiovisivi – Verônica Farias
© CSC Audiovisivi – Verônica Farias
Willy Niyansaba
Complete text of Maria Voce’s address: Law and Contemporary Society
May 28, 2016 | Focolare Worldwide
It was precisely on 29 May 1991 that Chiara Lubich, during her visit to São Paolo, Brazil, launched the Economy of Communion project (EoC). Noting the social inequalities in the country, she gave birth to this initiative that soon involved business men and women, workers, students, academics and researchers, the rich and the poor. According to Luigino Bruni, the current international coordinator of the project, the poor are still the focus of the EoC: “It’s impossible to forget the many times that Chiara Lubich, when we worked together for this, emphasised: “Remember that I created the Economy of Communion for the poor.” Still today we have the ethical and spiritual duty to put the issue of poverty and those who are marginalised at the centre of the economic, political and social system.” The poor were the first to witness the newly-born Focolare Movement in Trent, when, during the war, Chiara and her first companions – themselves of humble means – invited the poor to join them at meal times and they shared everything they had with them. Even today that same spiritual and material communion characterises all those involved in the EoC: its main asset is a community of people united by a vision of a global economy which strives to reduce poverty and inequalities in society. The entrepreneur who adheres to sharing profits is the main protagonist for the interaction between communities and businesses. The 25 years of life of the EoC culminate in an international event being held in the Philippines, Tagaytay (Manila) entitled “Economy of Communion, an Economy for All”. From 25-29 May 25, 250 participants have gathered to reflect on the progress made so far and to discuss future global action plans which include:
- establishing an international network of “business incubators” and to create spaces and resources within the industrial parks born through the Economy of Communion and to make these available in order to support first and foremost young business men and women.
- setting up an Observatory on Poverty, to ensure that the tackling of poverty is always central and consistent with the spirit of the EoC, and to help identify the various sites.
- multiplying the Lab-Schools which are technical, professional and business training workshops aimed in particular towards young people.
Asia’s choice for this international event is not random. “Here there are the same segments of society which made an impact on Chiara while she was in Brazil in 1991. But there is also wealth, entrepreneurship, youth. There is a clear link between wealth creation and poverty. “The Economy of Communion, as long as it continues to exist, holds both together” commented Luigino Bruni. “In fifteen years’ time, the share of Asia’s GDP will double that of the United States and Western Europe. The future of the world therefore depends on the type of economy that will grow in Asia. To celebrate here the 25th anniversary of the Economy of Communion means to recognize that its future presence in the Asian continent is crucial.” In conjunction with the conference in the Philippines, there are other conferences being held contemporaneously in various other parts of the world. On Saturday, May 28, at 9.00pm, Manila time, there will be webinar which will be streamed live and which will connect up various countries: Bolivia (Inter-American School of Business), Italy (Lionello Bonfanti Industrial Park in Loppiano), Mexico (Conference of Entrepreneurs in Puebla), Slovakia (a gathering of entrepreneurs from Slovakia and Czech Republic). There will also be the participation of EoC groups from the Ivory Coast, Brazil, Guatemala, Madagascar, Panama, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Uganda. As Luigino Bruni commented, “In a world that perhaps lacks reasons for celebration, the Economy of Communion is the miracle of the bread which is multiplied for the poor, but also like the miracle of the wine at the wedding feast of Cana which is poured out for the rich and poor alike, the miracle of the celebration of universal brotherhood.” Edc-online.org/en/ Press Release – May 27, 2016: An economy for all, rich and poor Streaming playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLseXirhCvXpHfSeiIcXBqicR4Hfl4dxuB
