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Focolare and Sant'Egidio movements bring
much needed gifts to the Church, Pope says
Vatican City, 8th February 2007 (CNA) - The
Pope today received participants in the annual meeting of bishops, friends
of the "Focolare" movement, who are considering the theme: "Christ crucified
and abandoned, light in the cultural night," and participants in the ninth
congress of bishops, friends of the Sant'Egidio Community, who are studying
the question: "The globalization of love."
The Pope told the bishops that their closeness
to these movements "highlights the vitality of new groupings of the
faithful, and expresses the communion between charisms that constitutes a
typical 'sign of the times.'"
This "multiplicity and unity of charisms and
of ministries is inseparable from the life of the Church," said the Holy
Father. "The Holy Spirit wants the variety of the movements [to be] at the
service of the one Body which is, of course, the Church, and He brings this
about through the ministry of the people He has placed to run the Church of
God: the bishops in communion with Peter's Successor."
"In the wealthy Western world where, although
cultural relativism does exist, there is no lack of a widespread desire for
spirituality, your movements testify to the joy of the faith and the beauty
of being Christian. In the vast deprived areas of the earth, they
communicate the message of solidarity and stand alongside the poor and weak
with that love, human and divine, that I sought to bring to everyone's
attention with my Encyclical 'Deus caritas est.'"
"The Focolare movement," he continued,
"highlights the charism and service of unity, which it puts into effect in
various social and cultural fields ... and through ecumenism and
inter-religious dialogue. The Sant'Egidio Community, placing prayer and
liturgy at the core of its own existence, wishes to be close to those
suffering distress and social marginalization."
"Together we can face with greater fortitude
the pressing challenges that call our attention at the beginning of this
third millennium," such as "the search for justice and peace, and the urgent
need to construct a more fraternal and united world, starting with the
countries from which a number of you come, wracked by bloody conflicts."
Benedict XVI made particular mention of Africa
"a continent," he said, "that I carry in my heart and that I hope may
finally see a period of stable peace and real development. The forthcoming
synod of African bishops will surely be an appropriate moment to show the
great love that God reserves for the beloved people of Africa."
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