In a world marked by war, crises, and polarization, dialogue and cooperation remain the only paths to peace. With this conviction, New Humanity NGO joined the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) Global Forum that convened its Group of Friends at Cascais, Portugal, from November 25th to 27th. Under the theme “United in Peace: Restoring Trust, Reshaping the Future — Reflecting on Two Decades of Dialogue for Humanity,” the event brought together diverse stakeholders—including religious leaders, academics, youth, media, and civil society representatives. High-profile attendees included António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, the king Felipe from Spain, several current foreign ministers and previous prime ministers of European countries.
New Humanity NGO of the Focolare Movement and member of UNAOC’s Multifaith Advisory Council highlighted the organization’s commitment to fostering a just and united society, where faiths are spaces of encounter and collaboration. Rooted in decades of grassroots initiatives, New Humanity bridges local action with international diplomacy to tackle global challenges and promote peace. This participation underscored the importance of multilateral efforts to restore trust and reshape a future of harmony and collaboration among international institutions, religious organizations and the private sector.
Our commitment
During the Global Forum, Ana Clara Giovani and André Correia, youth representatives of the Focolare Movement, along with Maddalena Maltese, the main representative of the New Humanity NGO in New York, presented the document “Together to Care – For Our Human Family and Our Common Home.” This document represents a commitment by the Youth for a United World (Y4UW) to the Pact for the Future, approved by the United Nations last September.
At Genfest 2024, a gathering of 4,000 youth from around the globe held in Brazil, eight hubs of innovation were launched to foster the unity of the human family and care for our common home. These eight United World Communities have consolidated and developed proposals and projects inspired by the spirituality of unity of the Focolare Movement, in alignment with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights and the UN’s Pact for the Future. These initiatives focus on areas such as sustainable development, climate action, the promotion of peace and human rights, intercultural dialogue, social cohesion, and youth empowerment.
These projects and proposals form the core of the document presented in Cascais. It opens with a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, acknowledging his tireless efforts to champion peace and sustainable development. Among the key proposals are the establishment of a High-Level Youth Forum to integrate youth perspectives into global decision-making, and preparations for the UN’s 80th anniversary and COP 30, showcasing youth-led solutions for urban sustainability and climate justice.
Presented to Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for UNAOC, and Felipe Paullier, High Representative for Youth Affairs, the document received enthusiastic support. Both leaders recognized New Humanity’s long-standing contributions and expressed interest in further analyzing the proposals. This engagement underscored the pivotal role of youth in shaping policies for a just and sustainable future, strengthening the connection between grassroots actions and international diplomacy.
To expand the reach and effectiveness of this work, United World Ambassadors, a youth network, will play a pivotal role in connecting grassroots initiatives to international frameworks like the United Nations, ensuring that local actions resonate globally.
New Humanity remains committed to bridging grassroots initiatives with high-level organizations, advancing its mission to promote fraternity, dialogue, and sustainable development. The connections established during the UNAOC Global Forum will be instrumental in strengthening the impact of our projects and amplifying the voices of youth worldwide.
Ana Clara Giovani and Maddalena Maltese
To download the document, in English, click on the image
This morning, while shopping at the supermarket, I passed by a large trolley where a shop assistant was piling up boxes. I noticed two of them were on the ground.
Fearing that I had inadvertently dropped them, I apologised, picked up the boxes and placed them on the trolley.
The shop assistant thanked me and said not to worry, then called after me: ‘Kindness is rare!’. Another person who was passing by just at that moment confirmed: “That’s very true!” whereupon the shop assistant, by way of explanation, told her what had happened.
As for me, I was happy, not least because this little episode reminded me of a phrase I had heard some time ago which had struck me. It spoke about “sowing kindness”. It felt like a ‘caress’ from God.
G.S. – Italy (*)
Healing relationships
I have a brother, a Catholic Christian, who married a German woman from the Evangelical Church. When they settled in Italy, the relationship between my mother and sister-in-law was not easy, even though she was not against their children being educated in the Catholic Church. As for me, I tried to be a ‘mediator’ between her and my mother. My sister-in-law also suffered because of this misunderstanding, which was however healed shortly before our mother died. For some time now, I have been sharing the ‘Thought for the Day’ with her via Whatsapp which helps us to live Gospel-based love on a daily basis. One day the thought invited us to ‘be merciful’, with this short commentary sentence: “Mercy is a love that knows how to welcome every neighbour, especially the poorest and neediest. A love that does not measure, is abundant, universal, concrete”. Her response was immediate: ‘If I have made you feel bad in certain circumstances over the past years, please forgive me”. Astonished, I replied in turn: “I too apologise”. And she: “I don’t remember any incident for which need to apologise…’.
C. – Italy (*)
Called and sent
Someone very dear to me asked me to write something about my experience as a teacher for an acquaintance of hers from another country who was doing a project on values education.
I realised that it was an opportunity to transform into a testimony and ‘proclamation’ what, in some ways, has been my personal response to the ‘call’ to live according to the teachings of the Gospel as a teacher and as a mother.
The piece took many hours of writing, deleting, correcting, rewriting, remembering aspects that I could add, deleting others that seemed irrelevant and, above all, filtering each word with love. I tried to put myself in the place of the person I was writing for, because even though I did not know her, I could love Jesus in her.
I sent it to my friend, aware that it might not be exactly what she needed, and so was ready to change everything.
To my surprise, she replied: “I have already sent your letter. I really liked it”. No doubt it was not the writing itself that was liked, but the work that God had done in me which could be a little light for others by being shared.
And, of course, the other things I had to do in those days were easily taken care of, as there had been some changes in the rota that left me with more free time.
Experiencing the Church in its community dimension through the synodal method. This was one of the messages that emerged from the ecclesial convention organized by the Focolare Movement of Italy and Albania that was held in early November at the Mariapolis Center of Castel Gandolfo in Italy. An event that was attended by about a thousand people, of different ages and vocations, who adhere to the spirituality of the Focolare Movement, but also representatives of other associations.
Cristiana Formosa and Gabriele Bardo, Focolare leaders in Italy and Albania highlighted the path taken so far together with other groups of the Italian Church. It all stemmed from “a deep dialogue that grew over time, between priests and laity; a working together, people from all the branches of the Work of Mary (or. The Focolare Movement); a growing appreciation of all those who work in various capacities in the local church and in diocesan and national bodies. […] We feel that in recent years this sensitivity has grown a lot within the Movement, and both at the national and local levels there is much more collaboration with other Movements and Church Associations.”.
On the first day, Prof. Vincenzo Di Pilato, professor of Fundamental Theology and Academic Coordinator of the Centro Evangelii Gaudium emphasized (text) the figure of Mary as Mother of God and Mother of humanity, highlighting the Trinitarian root of the incarnation and Mary’s social dimension.
This was followed by Card. Giuseppe Petrocchi who deepened the reality of being church today, emphasizing how one needs to have a value compass to understand how to move, what church to be and how to be church. One must study and love the sociocultural context of the area in which one acts as well as being attentive to signs of the times: what the Lord is asking of us today.
Space then was given to various experiences on educational projects aimed at marginalized people, on the new generations, universal fraternity, the option for the “poor” for an inclusive synodality.
The second day was enriched with the presence of Dr. Linda Ghisoni, Under secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, Life, who brought greetings and encouragement from the Prefect of the Dicastery Card. Kevin Joseph Farrell. Dr. Ghisoni delivered a meditative reflection entitled “Marian dimension: a Church with a synodal face”. By retracing Mary’s life, she affirmed that we too must “trust God who is faithful. It’s up to us, far from all self-driven triumphalism, to be present in the face of the toughest situations in our society, in our family, in our movement. We should not be ashamed if we seem to belong to a group of failures, if we have people among us who are weaklings, and we should welcome the call to an ever-new generativity, proclaiming with closeness, care, listening, with intelligence, attention and dialogue, that God is faithful, is close, is merciful.”.
And she recalled the words that Cardinal Farrell addressed to the Focolare Movement on the 80th anniversary of its birth: “The ideal that Chiara (Lubich) transmitted to you remains ever relevant, even in today’s secularized world which is so different from that of when the Movement began. Your charism contains in itself a great life giving energy, but as the Holy Father often says: ‘it is not a museum piece… it needs to come into contact with reality, with people, with their anxieties and problems. And so, in this fruitful encounter with life, the charism grows, is renewed, and also reality is transformed, is transfigured through the spiritual force that such a charism brings with it.’”
With Marina Castellitto and Carlo Fusco the topic on the universal call to holiness was explored further through the figures of some Focolare members for whom the cause of beatification has been initiated.
This was followed by the experience of the Social Week of Italian Catholics held in Trent in July 2024. “Those days were an experience of listening and deepening the here and now of our time: questioning us about our being a community of believers in the larger ecclesial community and therefore politics as a history and network of human relationships,” stated Argia Albanese president of the Political Movement for Unity (Mppu) Italy.
The day continued with the experience of the National Council of Lay Aggregations (CNAL) in the presence of secretary Dr. Maddalena Pievaioli. The Council is the place where they live their relationship with the Italian Episcopate in a unified form, offering the richness of their associations and actively welcoming its programs and pastoral indications. The wish is that we can increasingly spread this reality within the Associations.
We concluded with the sharing of some best practices such as the Evangelii Gaudium Center, the experiences of the Diocesan Movement of Pesaro and Fermo, and insights on ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, dialogue with people of nonreligious beliefs, and dialogue with the world of culture.
Present on the last day were Margaret Karram and Jesús Morán, President and Co-President of the Focolare Movement. Margaret talked about her recent experience at the synod as one of nine specially invited guests. “The Synod, with its 368 participants, including bishops and laity, of whom 16 were fraternal delegates from other Christian Churches, offered us a perfect example of the universal dimension of this hope,” Margaret said. “We came from 129 nations and each of us was a bearer of our own experience of peace, of war, of poverty, of prosperity, of migration, of joys and sorrows of all kinds. So I would say that the first message, perhaps the most important, is the deeply missionary dimension of the Synod. […] And the first lesson we learned is: walk together, witness together, we need each other. The second lesson was the spiritual practice of discernment that requires: inner freedom, humility, mutual trust, openness to newness.” (…) Our responsibility is “to become bearers of synodality in every sphere: the ecclesial one in primis (first place), Just think of how many of us, and here you will be many! are engaged in our own local Church. But, we members of the Work of Mary, we cannot limit ourselves only to this sphere, we are a lay Movement and this lay characteristic is essential, it comes from the Charism and we cannot lose it. The Synod has stressed on many occasions that we must ‘widen our tent’ to include really everyone, especially those who feel outside.”
Jesús Morán gave a meditation-reflection on being a Church of Hope today. “Hope,” he said, ”makes us overcome fear. Hope must be united with faith and love, the three sisters of the theological life. Hope is a communal virtue; it frees us from the isolation of anguish and launches us toward ‘us’; an ‘us’ that becomes concrete love for our brother.”.
A few days ago, the Spanish province of Valencia experienced one of the greatest natural disasters in its history. Heavy rains, “DANA”, caused massive floods that swept through cities and towns in the region.
Currently, the toll is 214 dead and 32 people missing. An estimated 800,000 people, one-third of Valencia’s population, have been affected. Around 2,000 small businesses have been swamped with water and mud, losing everything. Cars floated through the streets, piling up like paper boats. The list of families who have lost their livelihoods has yet to be compiled. It is a major disaster made worse by the indefinite postponement of public works needed to prevent floods like these from occurring.
However, alongside this great disaster remarkable solidarity is being demonstrated. In the following days, as the waters receded, revealing a thick layer of mud covering everything, thousands of volunteers, mostly young people, began arriving in the affected area, armed with shovels and brushes, ready to help.
José Luis Guinot is a medical oncologist and president of the Viktor E. Frankl Association of Valencia, which provides emotional support for people affected by illness, suffering, death and other vital losses. The City Council asked him to help at a health and support centre set up for the occasion, where he could “listen and welcome those who need to share what they have experienced.” He said, “This has been and continues to be, an immense tragedy, far beyond anything we could have imagined. We couldn’t believe it was happening.”
He said that a few days later, while attending Sunday Mass, it saddened him to hear only prayers for the dead and those affected by the flood, without mention of any further support. He thought, “It’s not enough just to pray, even though we must pray a lot. We need to be close to people to give them hope. As Christians and as part of the Focolare Movement, we must offer that hope even in harsh experiences. Together and united, we can help each other overcome this situation.”
In one of the affected areas, a Focolare family with young children had their home flooded. Although they were unharmed, everything they owned was lost: washing machine, refrigerator, domestic appliances, furniture… Help from other families came quickly, someone washed their clothes, then another person gave them a new washing machine.
Eugenio, a member of the Focolare Movement who has a disability due to polio, was the President of the Federation of Adapted Sports in Valencia for many years. He couldn’t get around after the flood because of his mobility difficulty but by making phone calls he was able to contact local disabled associations asking for help. José Luis Guinot said, “We must offer ideas, help create solidarity and generate donations.” For example, these associations managed to obtain wheelchairs for those who had lost theirs in the flood.
“I think this is a wake-up call for all of society. Spain is going through a period of politically polarized conflict,” José Luis reflected. “But there’s another side of society, many young people who we think are always glued to social media, yet they’re out here in the mud, seeking a society of solidarity, a united world, a society where fraternity is real. Until now, politicians hadn’t taken this message seriously. But now, no one can deny it.”
Next weekend, the Focolare community will meet to think and plan together how they can continue serving after these emergency days. As José Luis said, everyone can and must be involved, because, “two or three months from now, there will be a need for emotional support, for a sense of belonging to something, to a community or a parish… It will be a challenge for us: we’ll need to be on the phone a lot, visit people, listen to them, encourage them despite their hardships, but letting them know that we are with them. Even if you can’t leave your home, if you’re elderly or have small children… you can talk to your neighbours, make phone calls or offer words of encouragement. We must transmit a sense of community… I won’t try to explain anything to those who have lost loved ones or their livelihood, I will give them a hug and say: ‘We will help you find the strength to move forward'”. .
The Focolare community and the Fundación Igino Giordani, has launched a fundraising campaign. The funds collected will be managed locally to support the victims. The material damage and losses are immense. Many survivors have lost beds, tables, refrigerators, washing machines, cars, work equipment…
Contributions can be made through: Fundación Igino Giordani CaixaBank: ES65 2100 5615 7902 0005 6937 Account Holder: Fundación Igino Giordani Purpose: Emergencia DANA España To claim a tax deduction, send your tax information toinfo@fundaciongiordani.org
Peace is the result of a project: a project of fraternity between peoples, of solidarity with the weakest, of mutual respect. This is how a fairer world is built; this is how war is set aside as a barbaric practice belonging to the dark phase of the history of humanity. Many years have passed since the first publication of this writing, which is still very relevant today, at a time when the world is torn apart by terrible conflicts. History, Giordani tells us, could teach us a lot.
War is murder on a grand scale, clothed in a kind of sacred cult, as was the sacrifice of the first-born to the god Baal: and this is because of the terror it incites, the rhetoric in which it is clothed, and the interests it implies. When humanity will have progressed spiritually, war will be catalogued alongside bloody rites, the superstitions of witchcraft and the phenomena of barbarity.
War is to humanity, like illness to health, like sin to the soul: it is destruction and devastation, it affects body and soul, individuals and the community.
According to Einstein, human beings have a need to hate and to destroy: and war would satisfy this. But it is not so: most human beings, entire peoples, do not manifest this need. At any rate they repress it. Reason and religion condemn it.
« All things crave peace, » according to St Thomas. In fact, they all crave life. Only the insane and the incurable can desire death. And death is war. It is not desired by the people; it is desired by minorities to whom physical violence serves to secure economic advantages or, even, to satisfy harmful passions. Especially today, with the cost of war, the dead and the ruins, war manifests itself as “useless slaughter”. A massacre, and a useless one at that. A victory over life, and one that is becoming a suicide of humanity.
[…] Human ingenuity, destined for quite different purposes, has today devised and introduced instruments of warfare of such power that they strike horror in the soul of any honest person, especially since they do not only affect armies, but often still overwhelm private citizens, children, women, the elderly, the sick, and at the same time, sacred buildings and the most distinguished monuments of art! Who is not horrified at the thought that from the recent conflict, new cemeteries will be added to the numerous existing ones and new smoking remains of villages and towns will accumulate more sad ruins? Who, indeed, does not tremble to think how the destruction of new riches, the inevitable consequence of war, may further aggravate that economic crisis, by which almost all peoples, and especially the humblest classes, are afflicted? » [1]. […]
The futility was reaffirmed by Pius XII in 1951: « Everyone has manifested with equal clarity their horror of war, and their conviction that it is not, and now less than ever, a proper means to settle conflicts and restore justice. This can only be achieved by freely and legally consented understandings. If it could be a question of popular wars – in the sense that such wars respond to the votes and will of the people – it would only be in the case of such a flagrant and destructive injustice of the essential goods of a people as to revolt the conscience of an entire nation. » [2].
Just as the plague serves to infect, hunger to starve, war serves to kill: moreover, it destroys the means of life. It is a funeral industry: a factory of destruction.
Only a fool can hope to derive benefit from a massacre: health from a fainting spell, energy from pneumonia. Evil produces evil, as the palm tree produces dates. And the facts show, even in this field, the practical inconsistency of the Machiavellian saying that « the end justifies the means ».
The end may be justice, freedom, honour, bread: but the means produce such destruction of bread, honour, freedom and justice, as well as of human lives, including those of women, children, the elderly, the innocent of all kinds, that they tragically annul the very end that is proposed.
In essence, war serves no purpose other than destroying lives and riches.
On October 16, 2024, the final conference of the DialogUE project, an initiative to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue in Europe, was held at the European Parliament building in Brussels, Belgium. The event was hosted by MEP Catarina Martins (GUE-NGL) and was attended by 50 representatives of the project partners, European institutions, religious leaders and members of civil society.
Focus of the event was the presentation of recommendations for the European Union from the DialogUE project – “Diverse Identities Allied, Open, to Generate a United Europe” on issues crucial to the current European and world situation, summarized in the “DialogUE Kit” brochure.
“You can see with the naked eye that something happens when people of peace talk,” said MEP Catarina Martins of the European Left, who opened the meeting in a hall of the European Parliament. “And this is just such a moment. Dialogue is a powerful tool for peace.”
The project stems from the decades-long commitment of New Humanity, an expression of the Focolare Movement, which has significantly promoted good practices in interreligious and intercultural dialogue. The approach fosters mutual respect and trust, essential elements for fruitful dialogue and collaborative efforts.
Francisco Canzani, general counselor for the Culture and Study area of the Focolare Movement emphasized in his speech that dialogue is built from three elements: attitudes, tools, and method. On the latter, the method of differentiated consensus and qualified dissent, which originated within the platform between Christians and Marxists DIALOP, is now a source of inspiration and practice for other dialogue groups.
In 2023 and 2024, the project involved 4 dialogue groups in 3 main areas: Communication, Ecology and Social Policy. The dialogue groups were:
Among Christian citizens through the Together4Europe platform.
Between Christians and Muslims through the Focolare Movement’s Center for Interreligious Dialogue.
Between Christians and people who do not identify with a religious belief, through the DIALOP platform for cross-religious dialogue
Between Western and Eastern European citizens through the Multipolar Dialogue Group.
The project mainly facilitated the dissemination of the meaning and methodologies necessary for effective dialogue. It also brought together international experts on these three key challenges, who helped participants understand the main EU documents on these topics and explore the different dimensions of each theme.
The groups worked together to identify shared principles and common proposals. Their work led to recommendations that were submitted to the European Parliament.
The DialogUE project — was promoted by a consortium of 14 civil society organizations from 9 EU member countries.
Among the main results achieved by the project: 12 international meetings and a training for facilitators and experts; the direct involvement of 1,200 citizens and more than 10,000 indirectly; and the creation of the “Dialogue Kit,” intended for educators, NGOs, and policymakers to promote dialogue and social cohesion. These meetings resulted in shared recommendations for EU decision makers to promote more inclusive and sustainable policies.
In the afternoon of October 16, a discussion group hosted by KU Leuven (University of Leuven) in Brussels was held, during which participants analyzed some good practices that emerged from the project and discussed how to further disseminate these initiatives through the ‘Dialogue Kit.
