The obstacles people living in extreme poverty face in accessing justice
DMA Magazine - Poverty and Justice (N. 5/6 May-June 2010)
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Transcript of DMA Magazine - Poverty and Justice (N. 5/6 May-June 2010)
2
Contents
Editorial
The House of Communications
By Giuseppina Teruggi
Encounters
Poverty and Justice
Why Teresa
The Grace of Unity
Roots of the Future
Fr. Michael Rua and the
FMA Institute
For a relationship of Justice
and Charity
Love and Truth
Arianna‟s Line
Relationships,Identity, Sanctity
Culture
The Myth: in search of the Land
Without Evil
Pastoral-ly
Learning Together
Women in the Context
Hands kneaded with justice
Key Words
The Ecumenical Vocation
Face to Face
Communicating in Community
Communicating the Faith
Communications Pastoral
Book
The Wings of Freedom
Camilla
www.heavenhelp us. Com
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The House of Communication
Giuseppina Teruggi The International Commission on
Communication was established in Rome last
March. It has the aim of creating a process for
research and confrontation with the culture of
communication. The group reaffirmed the
awareness that life is saturated with
communication; we have become an
environment made up not only of means and
instruments, but also with a new sensitivity, a
different mentality in which young people
especially can be found. They are the so-called
“digital natives.”
The virtual and the real are not two opposing
or separate concepts; we live in a virtual
reality, in a reality constructed of digital media,
by which we surpass time and space. Social
networks have become living spaces inhabited
by a growing number of young and not so
young people.
As Salesian educators we cannot stand idly by,
looking at this culture that is becoming more
and more known as a networking culture, in a
generic way. It is important to be able to move
from the ' network ' to a deeper ' being '
network to accompany young people in the
transition from virtual to real, from connection
to relationship.
“The development of new technologies and, in
its overall dimension, the whole digital world
of media, represents a great resource for
humanity as a whole and for the person in the
singularity of his/her being. It is a stimulus for
meeting and dialogue” said Benedict XVI in
the message for the 2010 World Day of Social
Communications
In this issue, DMA proposes a reflection on
poverty and justice. It is a theme that
shakes us up and cannot leave us
indifferent.
Even the field of communications is
marked by the unfair idea called the
“digital divide. A poor experience, the
impossibility of being able to use the new
technologies, are a source of
discrimination by those who enjoy media
resources. Despite various statements by
the United Nations, not only does the
problem exist on the operative level, but it
is far from being resolved, and the gap is
widening.
One phenomenon could exist even on the
local level where at times new “powers”
are created to the greater or lesser use of
the most recent discoveries of technology.
Olivier Turquet tells us that “There can be
no progress unless it is by all and for all.”
The house of communications-as each
educating community should be known-is
called to become an ever-greater open
space of life and expression for each
person who lives there. No one must be
considered to be a stranger, a foreigner, or
someone who is excluded.
4
Poverty and Justice
Julia Arciniegas, Maria Antonia Chinello
We do speak of justice, but on different levels and
in different forms. It is a primary problem for all
that has already reached global proportions. We
are facing such a stark reality that it has been even
condemned in Caritas in Veritate: “ Global
wealth grows in absolute terms, but the
disparity continues.” In wealthy nations social
categories take on new poverties.
In poorer areas, some groups enjoy a type of
dissipating, consumer based overdevelopment
that contrasts in unacceptable ways with
continuing dehumanizing. situations (CIV 22).
It is not so much the inefficiency of the
phenomenon of globalization but rather the
ineffective, unjust distribution of wealth, of
“economic, social and political systems that have
bound the freedom of persons of economic, social
systems, and politicians who have violated the
freedom of persons and social bodies, and
precisely for this reason they have not been able
to ensure the promised justice. (CIV) Since the
Great Jubilee, some countries have undertaken to
give a response to the question of international
debt. This is an essential tool in the fight against
poverty but it is not enough.
It is ever more necessary that there be an
efficacious, rapid mobilization of financial
resources toward impoverished countries that
gives preference to the social interventions
sector. These solutions are being more
frequently underwritten by prestigious
international groups and rebounding to the
drumbeat of the media world, seem until now
to have had only a semblance of promises.
John Paul II outlines the necessity and urgency
of a widespread educational work to modify the
habits and lifestyles both of consumers and
producers.
“ If economic, social and political development
is to be authentically human”, he said,” it needs
to have a place for the principle of gratuity and
an expression of fraternity.” (n. 34). The basic
question, therefore is that of structural and
social change. It is a complex issue that
requires long times and, last but not least, a
certain boldness even in the decisions of
politicians, in particular „the great ones of the
world‟, for justice in the present and hope for
the future.
The Christian difference
According to a traditional definition, justice is
the moral virtue that consists in the constant,
firm will to give to God and neighbor what is
due to them. Growing globalization has
increased the social value of the virtue of
justice that calls for global solutions on the
social, political and economic levels.
Efforts to build justice on earth must begin with the examination and transformation of unjust structures projected in a more universal dimension. It is a commitment that appeals to the responsible freedom of people in the awareness that structures and institutions are means of human freedom . (Cf. CIV 17, 42, 78). Paraphrasing the classical definition of “justice” we could say that social justice is the constant and firm
5
will to favor the common good as a social condition for authentic, integral human development. Justice cannot remain in the purely legal-positive sector; it is necessary that it sinks its roots into anthropology, so that the value of the person, of dignity and rights are not understood merely in terms of usefulness and of possessing. In Christian anthropology, justice assumes a full, meaningful significance.
It is not, in fact a simple human convention, because that which is just is not originally determined by law, but by the profound identity of the person, of the transcendent vocation. In this sense, and taking into account the role of love in human development, it is necessary that justice be accompanied and enlivened by charity. Justice is the first, absolutely indispensible step, however, it is insufficient to build society in the measure of the person.
6
The Feminine Voice o f Just ice
A n i n t e r v i ew w i t h F l a m i n i a G i o v a n e l l i ,
U n d e r s e c r e t a r y o f t h e P o n t i f i c a l C o u n c i l
f o r J u s t i c e a n d P ea c e
Flaminia Giovanelli is the first woman to fill
the post of Undersecretary of the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace. She was born in
Rome on May 24, 1948 and is a past pupil of the
Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. She
graduated from the l‟Ecole Européenne de
Bruxelles, has a degree in Political Science from
the University of Studies in Rome and graduated
from the Gregorian Pontifical University. She has
been working on the Pontifical Council of Justice
and Peace especially with regard to topics
relative to development, poverty, and labor in
view of the social doctrine of the Church.
In accepting the nomination as undersecretary she
said that her work, more than a job, is a vocation
“because it is at the service of humankind and of
the person. It is at the service of the Church and
working relationships.”
Your experience on the Pontifical Council
allowed you to come into contact with many
realities.
What do you see is the crucial problem that
must be faced to escape the present financial-
economic crisis?
The world of work is the main victim in the
financial and economic crisis which, in the long
run, impacts workers in a persistent way.
What is most serious in the case of the crisis
that exploded in 2008 which originated in
developed countries, beyond having heavy
consequences on the working world in these
same countries, it had even more on the
workers of the poorer countries, those whose
economies and institutions more fragile and
are less able to handle them.
For this reason, along with the provisions
taken by individual governments to re-launch
occupations such as the undertaking of public
works with a wider employment of work at
hand, improving services or favoring the
professional retraining of workers, even the
international community promoted some
important initiatives.
International Organization for Work (ILO)
adopted the Global Pact for Occupation in the
perspective of the “decent work” strategy also
encouraged by John Paul II as he reminded us in
Caritas in Veritate n. 63. Still further, it
supported the credit of small and mid-size
enterprises, supporting cooperatives, increasing
further investment in infrastructures of research
and development, and even in ”green production”
as important means of creating jobs, favoring
the passage of informal work to formal
economy. Together with all of this, however,
one must not neglect the need, especially of
poor countries, to build a system of social
protection that is effectively capable of
assisting the weakest.
Can we speak of the poorest among the poor?
It is a given fact that during the last decades,
from more areas and even on the international
level, there has been a restored centrality on
7
the question of poverty and the poor.
It is necessary to identify the poorest, but more
than doing so with regard to categories-
women, children, elderly, invalids, etc- we
must insist on the idea of “moral poverty” that
we need to see as being connected to those
commonly used: poverty as privation and
vulnerability, poverty as lack of the resources
necessary to satisfy basic needs and as a lack
of basic human capacity, reduced hope in life,
the poor health of mothers, etc. By “moral
poverty” we mean the absence of moral
reference and the generalized degradation of
values that are translated into behavior and the
mentality contrary to good, particularly
corruption, the exploitation of minors, the
political manipulation of ethnic groups,
bad governance.
Which are the main obstacles to development in
Third World Nations?
The situation is complex and variegated because
there are more than a few nations that just a few
years ago were considered to be part of the so-
called Third World , and today are emerging,
even though, sad to say, their “emerging” is
manifested in lack of equality. There are many
fundamental obstacles, such as the scarcity of
educational opportunities (the number of illiterate
persons is still about 700-800 million), the
difficulty of access to some benefits without
which health deteriorates, for example, from
clean water to medicine. However, there could
be an impediment also in the area of
inadequate sanitary systems, unfair distribution
of land and also the inadequate infrastructures,
transportation, or public administration which,
more often than not is still at the initial stages,
transportation, electrical and telephone
networks that are completely insufficient,
especially in the outskirts or countryside or
public administration that is still at the initial
stage.
Another set of problems, then, is bound to the
choices of political economy, at times imposed
from the external and not responding to real
exigencies or their correct application. All of
this goes without saying that many poor
countries do not yet have any system of social
protection. Finally, in this list which is by no
means exhaustive, there are serious obstacles
that make it difficult, if not impossible, to
carry out normal social and economic activity.
There are wars and the corruption of those
responsible on various levels. However, along
with the obstacles we must keep in mind the
extraordinary possibilities that our times offer.
One among many is that of the new
technologies that could allow for giant steps in
various sectors.
T h e yo u n g , i n w h i c h t h e p o o r c o u n t r i e s
a r e f o r t u n a t e l y r i c h , a s s u m e t h em
q u i c k l y . F r o m t h i s w e s e e t h e
i m p o r t a n c e o f f o r m a t i o n a s a s t r a t e g i c
w a y .
W h a t c a n t h e m o r e i n d u s t r i a l i z e d
c o u n t r i e s d o t h a t t h e y a r e n o t d o i n g ?
E v e n h e r e w e h a v e a v e r y c o m p l e x
p r o b l e m . U n d o u b t e d l y , t h e w e a l t h y
n a t i o n i o n s m u s t f i n d w a ys t o d e d i c a t e
g r e a t e r q u o t a s o f t h e i r G D P ( g r o s s
d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t ) t o t h e a i d f o r
d e v e l o p m e n t - a s u g g e s t i o n t h a t h a s a l s o
c o m e f r o m C IV , # 6 0 , a n d w h i c h , t o m e ,
s e e m s t o b e t h e m o s t e f f i c a c i o u s
b e c a u s e i t i s t h e m o s t h u m a n , a n d i s
o f t e n c a p a b l e o f c r e a t i n g “ f r a t e r n a l ”
r e l a t i o n s h i p s , t h e c o u n t i n g o n an d
e m p o w e r i n g t h e s o - c a l l e d “ f i s c a l
s o l i d a r i t y” t a k i n g t h e i n c e n t i v e o f
f o r m s o f s o c i a l s o l i d a r i t y f r o m t h e
b o t t o m u p , a s h a s a l w a ys b e e n
s u g g e s t e d b y P o p e B e n e d i c t X V I .
H o w m a n y o f u s , i n f a c t , a d o p t
c h i l d r e n f r o m a d i s t a n c e , o r a r e
m e m b e r s o f a n N G O f o r d e v e l o p m en t
e n j o yi n g t h e r e l a t i v e t ax ex e m p t
b e n e f i t s .
W h i c h s o l u t i o n s d o e s t h e C h u r c h
8
f o r e s e e f o r a s o l i d a r i t y d e v e l o p m en t
o n t h e l e v e l o f a g l o b a l s o c i e t y ?
T h e p r o b l em c o n s i s t s i n a n u n f a i r an d
i n e f f i c a c i o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e s o u r ce s
d u e , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s t o g o v e r n a n ce
t h a t i s i n a d e q u a t e , a n d a l s o b e c a u s e i t
i s i n c a p a b l e o f a d a p t i n g a t t h e s a m e
s p e e d t o t h e r a p i d l y c h a n g i n g r h y t h m s
o f t o d a y‟ s s o c i e t y . A l r e a d y f o r t y
ye a r s a g o t h e C h u r c h h a d i n d i c a t e d
t h i s w e a k n e s s i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l
s ys t e m . F r o m t h i s p o i n t o f v i e w , t h e
s i t u a t i o n i s s o g r a v e a s t o b e
c o n s i d e r e d o n e o f t h e c a u s e s o f t h e s o
c a l l e d s yn d r o m e o f t h e “ t i r e d g i v e r ” .
F o r t h e r e s t , t h e r e c a n n o t b e
d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h o u t g o o d g o v e r n m e n t ,
i . e . , a S t a t e t h a t f u n c t i o n s w e l l , b o t h
o n t h e c e n t r a l l ev e l a n d o n t h e l o ca l
( r e g i o n s , m u n i c i p a l i t i e s … ) o r s e c t o r s
( p o l i c y , j u s t i c e , h e a l t h ,
e d u c a t i o n … ) ; t h a t f u n c t i o n w e l l i n t h e
s e n s e o f e f f i c i e n c y a n d e s p e c i a l l y w e l l
i n t h e s e n s e o f h o n e s t y .
I n t h e w o r d s o f G a l b r a i t h : “ N o t h i n g i s
m o r e i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e e c o n o m i c
d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h e h u m a n c o n d i t i o n
o f a s t a b l e , t r u s t w o r t h y , c o m p e t en t
t h a n a n h o n es t g o v e r n m e n t . ”
W h i c h c o n c r e t e i n i t i a t i v e i s i t p o s s i b l e
t o o f f e r t o g i v e s h a p e t o g l o b a l
s o l i d a r i t y ?
R e s t o r e e q u i t y i n i n t e r n a t i o n a l t r ad e
b y b r e a k i n g d o w n b a r r i e r s o f
p r o t e c t i o n i s m . It is necessary that there
be greater efforts to assure all trade
partners the opportunity to draw greater
benefit from the open market and from the
free circulation of goods, services and
capital. Furthermore, today it is
universally recognized that the key to
development in general , and that of
sustainable development in particular ,
resides in science and technology and in
this sector the principle problems are the
obstacles relevant to the “know how”
connected to the technological progress
connected to the wealthy countries who
have them to the poor nations (Cf. CA, n. 32).
If we think that the greater part of the
latter are found in tropical areas in which
the median age is approximately 50 years
and if we keep present that in the world
more than 861 million, of which 2/3 are
women, there is no access to literacy and
more than 113 million children do not go to
school we understand that education and
health measures are an absolute priority.
The 2009 Report of the United Nations
Development Program cites the following
as negative factors in the worldwide crisis:
Finance and Economy
Reduces Growth Stocks
Increased Unemployment
Decreased investment assistance €
Food and Oil
Possible widespread malnutrition
Possible civil disruption and instability
Increased prices, which hinders living
standards
Children leaving school to go to work
Climate Change
Decrease in agricultural production
Increase the risk of disruption of natural
caused by climatic conditions
Increase in tropical diseases
9
The Grace of UnityGraziella Curti
In front of the monastery of the Incarnation in Avila, there is a beautiful statue of Teresa in a dynamic pose, as though she was walking. She holds a pilgrim staff in her left hand and her gaze is fixed on distant horizons. The statue is a reproduction of the terms attributed to Teresa throughout her history:
In fact, this woman called to the cloister, knew how to join contemplation and action, resting place and activity, with exquisite balance, always with one sole aim: God.
Like Martha and Mary
In entrusting the renewed Constitutions
(1982) Mother Rosetta Marchese wrote
that the presentation made by don Bosco
on the virtues proper to the FMA,
culminates in what we today would call the
grace of unity: “In the Daughters of Mary
Help of Christians this must be in step with
active and contemplative life, move
together, portraying Martha and Mary, the
life of the Apostles and that of the angels.
In the same way, the paradigm chosen
by St. Teresa to describe this dialogue of
operative love is that of Martha and Mary,
symbolizing the harmony between action
and contemplation. “Believe me, to give
hospitality to the Lord, to have Him with us
always”, she writes, “treating Him well and
offering Him food it is necessary that Martha
and Mary get along. In what way could
Mary, remaining seated at his feet, feed Him
if her sister did not help? We feed the Lord
when we do all possible to help Him gain
many souls, who, by saving themselves,
praise Him eternally.”
And she adds:
Let us desire and practice prayer not to
rejoice in but to have the strength to serve
the Lord.”
For, Teresa different from the traditional
exegesis, even when Martha comes after
Mary,she expresses her appreciation for the
sister who sets to welcome Jesus in a good
way, and brings out her virtues (humility,
hospitality, availability) indicating her as an
example of attention to the Divine Guest.
Another element that links our founder to
Teresa is the sense of profound freedom and
simplicity that is attributed to her person-the
inner journey. The Carmelite saint says that
the road to interiority cannot be forced,
because the energies of the soul are to be
gently directed
Contemplative in Action
Teresa‟s writing frequently sends us back
to the inner journey. The Saint places
much attention to have her daughters
consider Jesus as the center of their life and
predisposes where it could become His
stable dwelling place. The conditions to
realize the intimate union with the spouse
are the seeking of silence and fidelity to the
time established for the direct appointments
with heaven. This, however, also brings
10
with it the need for much attention and
responsibility
The concrete reality of daily life is
integrated in the inner journey of each
person and creates that unity, of the ora et
labora, that is at the base of Christian
spirituality.
In her book the Interior Castle when Saint
Teresa speaks of the Seventh Mansion, the
final phase, the summit of baptismal grace
there, where one lives the most intense
clarity of the Holy Spirit, she describes the
activity:
-as full unity of contemplation and action,
-as the maximum interior life linked to the
maximum height. The conquest of
interiority, notes Teresa, brings with it the
the greatest openness to one‟s neighbor
Friend God
In her autobiography Teresa says: “For me,
prayer is nothing more than a relationship of
friendship, a finding oneself frequently
alone with the One who we know loves us.”
In a letter to the Jesuit Father Avila, she
emphasizes: “When I think of the grace that
the Lord gives me by keeping me always in
His presence, notwithstanding the great
number of things that pass through my
hands I am more and more convinced that
not even the crosses and most serious
persecutions can disturb me…” (Letter 235)
Through the various phases of her prayer,
Teresa had reached “not allowing the soul to
have any other occupation than to entertain
Him who is present …”
And then, many words are not needed.
“God and the soul understand one another
like two friends, without need for words or
any other external sign, manifesting
reciprocal affection. It is a little like here on
earth, when two persons love each other
very much…they succeed in understanding
one another without need to exchange signs,
but only by looking at one another.” What
is important in prayer is being present to
God in profound attention
Educator and Mother?
In the presentation of her doctoral thesis on
Teresa the educator” Sr. Sylwia
Ciezkowska, a Polish FMA, concludes by
saying: The vertical relationship of Teresa
with God (prayer) and the horizontal
relationship with the community
(exhortation) suggest that she has every right
to the title of mother because she coherently
educated to prayer, by praying. She taught
to love by loving and showed how to serve
by serving. These words recall the
observation of Cardinal Gabriel-Marie
Garrone about the letters of Mary
Domenica Mazzarello, who also had the
characteristics of educator and mother:
“These letters”, he said, help us to clearly
understand the temperament of her spiritual
maternity, inspired by God She did not
discuss, did not reason about it, but lived
and communicated life.”
11
Fr. Michael Rua and the
FMA Institute
Piera Cavaglia’
We have just begun the historical research
on the relationship of Don Bosco‟s first
successor with the FMA Institute.
The recent publication of letters and
circulars of Fr. Rua to the FMA and the
International Congress that took place on
October 2009 in Turin offer precious
contributions on the specific and original
contribution given by him to the Institute.
The FMA of the early generations listened
to expressions such as this: “The Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians, no matter where
they are, merit and have all of my solicitude.
How great a part they have in Don Bosco‟s
inspired works!” (Letter 4-11-1890). These
works were not mere rhetoric, the reality is
evident to their eyes. Fr.Rua, in fact, had
followed the early steps of the Institute from
the time of the establishment of the first
community at Mornese. In November 1875,
at the departure of Fr. John Cagliero for
Argentina, he had been named as Director
General of the FMA Institute and the
following year Spiritual Director of the
Feminine Oratory at Torino, Valdocco.
When in 1888 he was called to direct the
Salesian Congregation, Fr. Rua already had
sufficient knowledge of the Institute of the
FMA from the time of its genesis. He devoted himself with his typical wisdom and
acumen to promote the spiritual cultural,
missionary development and to revive the
spirit of Don Bosco in relationship with the
Sisters and the girls whom they educated in their
oratories and schools.
He was solicitous in caring for the
organizational structure of the Institute, he
accompanied the process of juridical autonomy
with prudence and discretion, promoted the
establishment of provinces and the formation of
educators, preparing them to assume the
historical- cultural challenges of the times.
This was shown, in addition, by the attention
with which he accompanied the Superiors of the
General Council and the individual Sisters, in
his circular letters, the introduction to the
Deliberations of the General Chapter, the
presentation of the Prayer book, and of the first
General Directories of the Institute.
After what biographers called a year of
mourning at the death of Don Bosco, it is
interesting to note that Fr. Rua made his first trip
out of Turin going to the Motherhouse of the
FMA at Nizza Monferrato where he remained
from May 31 to June 5, 1888.€
In the 22 years during which he governed the
12
Salesian Congregation (1888-1910), Fr. Rua
made countless visits to the FMA communities
both in Italy and abroad. His last visit to the
house of Nizza is dated March, 1909. Every
encounter was an opportunity for awareness and
animation that strengthened the bonds of the
religious family animated by the same spirit.
In his visits to the FMA houses, Fr. Rua met not
only with the community but with individuals.
He knew the link to find the depth of the soul,
and his simple, familiar, discreet relational style,
his capacity for listening was appreciated by all.
The respect and veneration for the Superior did
not impede confidence. The many testimonies of
FMA about Don Rua, of which we have the
documentation, attest to how profound was the
esteem and affection that they had for Don
Bosco‟s successor. He, too, cultivated a sincere
affection for them and, in every intervention,
oral or written, he was moved by the explicit
intention of seeking their good on the
institutional and individual level.
Fr. Rua allowed himself to be challenged by the
incipient industrialization that also involved
women and he promoted the opening of
boarding schools for workers. He recommended
to Mother Catherine Daghero not to refuse offers
to direct boarding establishments for young
workers, rather, he held it to be a new mission
that the Lord deigned to entrust to the FMA at
the beginning of the new century.
Reading Fr. Rua‟s letters we are struck by the
fact that in addressing himself to the FMA, he
always kept present the educational mission that
they carry out. He rejoices for the fruitful
apostolic work that they carry out in various
countries; sends greetings and feast day wishes
to the girls. He always shows himself interested
in the growth of the educational works, rather he
stimulates superiors and sisters to empower
enterprise and creativity. He encouraged the
FMA to provide the students and oratorians with
all the help they needed for their human and
Christian formation and invited them to cultivate
religious vocations in all the environments.
He was convinced that even while the
communities could have different
physiognomies, they had to have “the same
imprint” that he identified as “charity and
cheerfulness” (Circular 12-31-1901).
Referring to the practice of the Preventive
System, Fr. Rua recommended that a climate of
charity should be created in the educational
environments: “Charity in words, work and
affections”.
It was a climate characterized by patience and
gentleness of manner, of overcoming every form
of repression or permissiveness.
For the opening of new communities or for the
growth of the mission, Fr. Rua generally did not
give directions, but he discreetly indicated the
criteria to be followed.
He recommended fidelity to Don Bosco‟s spirit
and invited all to prefer the areas most in need or
at risk, to promote works among the people in
need so as to counter the advance of secularism
and to increase the social openness of the
Institute.
In the works of animation and government, Fr.
Rua promoted fidelity to the spirit of Don
Bosco, unity in the Institute and the sense of
belonging to a large family during a time when
there was a strong urge for expansion in various
countries and continents.
As Fr. Pascual Chavez wrote: “He who had
seen the birth of the Institute and had followed
the gradual development, took care of it as a
sacred inheritance left by Don Bosco and was
profuse in lavishing upon it the richness of his
own thought and heart.”
13
For a Relationship
of Justice and Charity
Julia Arciniegas, Martha Séïde
The love of God took on face and word in
Jesus of Nazareth, He, the Son given to
humanity, became for us wisdom, justice,
sanctification and redemption (1 Cor 1,30).
The answer to this love of God, which saves
us by means of Christ, is expressed in giving
our lives to Him in love and service to
others. However, love implies an absolute
need for justice in the recognition of the
dignity and rights of one‟s neighbor, while
justice finds its fullness only in charity, in
love. The encyclical Caritas in Veritate
again proposes this inseparable relationship
as a principle that must illumine the life of
the community and every person.
Let us Re-Read the Encyclical
Love, caritas, an extraordinary force,
urges us to commit ourselves with
courage and generosity in the field of
justice and peace(n.1).
Charity surpasses justice and completes
it in the logic of gift and forgiveness
(n.6).
Desiring the common good and working
for it, is a requirement of justice and
charity( n.7).
The importance of the Gospel for the
building up of society according to
freedom and justice (n.13).
The dignity of the person and the
requirements of justice require
economic choices (n.32).
We ask ourselves
Postmodern culture gives great
importance to self-realization according
to the imperative to be one’s self always
and everywhere, without being
preoccupied with the meaning. Has the
educating community noted the
commitment to overcome individualism
and give primacy to the love that seeks
justice and peace for all ?
Consumer pressure, in the broadest sense,
consumption of things, time, opportunities,
tends to separate the public and private
sphere, the collective sector and individual
life. In what measure is this gap present in
our Institution?
Dom Helder Camara, Brazilian bishop,
witness to justice and charity, received
thirty degrees “honoris causae”, from
the Sorbonne and Harvard and forty
international awards; he was also
recognized “ as an Artisan of Peace” €
His last dream was “Jubilee 2000”, a
world without misery .And yet he was
sadly called “the red bishop” by some.
But he himself said: “When I give food
to the poor they call me a saint. When I
ask why the poor do not have food, they
say that I am a revolutionary.”
“I do not need Marxism; I believe in the
Gospel. Are people heavy on you at
time? Carry them in your heart!”
14
Consumer pressure, in the broadest
sense, consumption of things, time,
opportunities, tends to separate the
public and private sphere, the collective
sector and individual life. In what
measure is this gap present in our
Institution?
Is there a reciprocal appeal between the
Gospel and real life, personal and social,
of individuals and community. Which
signs of this profound unity, of this
commitment to conversion do we find in
our educational environment ?
In Action
A few steps to make the study done
operational:
Charity lived and witnessed to,
permeates the building of community
from within according to rights and
justice. Let us seek some ways to
deepen the rapport between justice-
charity in our interpersonal,
community, institutional …
Alongside individual good, there is a
good bound to the social living of
persons: the common good. It is the
good of that we-all, a good sought
for the persons who are part of the
social community.
Let us review our daily life from this
perspective and propose some initiatives
to reinforce the commitment of all in
seeking the common good.
The realty of today‟s world requires
that we go back to the causes of
injustice, those that generate poverty
and violence, to commit ourselves to
Eradicating them. Let us plan some
spaces for a reading that believes in
facts and situations in which God
calls us either personally or as a
community.
15
Relationships, Identity, Sanctity Maria Rossi
The process of developing personal identity
is marked especially by the quality of the
interpersonal relationships that an individual
forms in the course of her existence. Studies
and psychological theories show how
relationships experienced with parents are of
primary importance, however, a popular
saying says us Tell me who you go with and
I will tell you who you are. No less
important are those whom a person chooses
to be a part of their life in youth and in
mature age.
A study of St. Teresa of Avila from this
point of view was enlightening for me and
made me want to share it with others. Now I
will attempt to do so in the hope of not
betraying such a versatile figure.
I met Teresa during the „60‟s when, for a
mystical examination, I chose to read The
Teresian Letters. While reading them , I
remained happily surprised in seeing how,
in the dynamic of her relationships with her
confessors, the spiritual direction was more
on her part than on theirs. Up until then I
thought that confession and spiritual
direction was an exclusive prerogative of
priests and consecrated, i.e., males. Twenty
years later, I rediscovered Theresa where I
had never expected to do so. In order to
study the problem of feminine identity
during this time of profound cultural change,
I began to frequent the Seminars of Diotima
1 at the University of Verona . In the
seminars, to my surprise, I was able to
follow reflections and original studies on the
Saint. The philosophy of Diotima, in
particular one of the founders, Luisa
Murano, holds Teresa of Avila to be a strong
reference point. They present her as a
woman who, through relationships and in
particular through the friendship relationship
with Jesus, succeeds in being fully herself,
developing a personal identity that allowed
her to overcome the heavy cultural
conditioning of her times, of
not allowing herself to be intimidated and
blocked by the Spanish Inquisition and by
evil tongues, and by establishing with
learned ecclesiastics and with others, not
relationships of dependence as was the
usage and obligation for the woman, but
rather reciprocal interpersonal relationships
and at times, also that of superiority.
In the family
Interpersonal relationships with parents and
family members can be glimpsed especially
in the Book of her Life. In telling the story,
the figure of her father predominates. Her
mother, Beatriz de Ahumada, from a very
well- to- do family, was married at 16 and
then bore 10 children. Teresa recalls her as
being very beautiful, but suffering and
frequently ill. She died at 33 years of age
when Teresa was 12 and, from the
educational point of view, she appeared to
be almost absent. Her father, Alonso
Sanchez de Cepeda had a preferential
relationship with her. She attributes this to
the fact of having a character that was
different from that of her brothers. She
describes him as a man of great virtue,
honest, generous, non- authoritarian, but
preoccupied more with honra, i.e.,
preserving reputation and with the judgment
of people than with the substance of virtue.
Only once did he react firmly in dealing
with his daughter, when a relationship with
16
a cousin threatened to compromise the
family reputation, the father decisively sent
her to the cloister for a while.
Books were not lacking in the home and she
had a passion for reading. Her father
wanted her to read devotional and formative
books, while her mother, to survive the
illnesses and suffering of her short life,
preferred to read adventures of chivalry, and
also allowed Teresa to do so, but hidden
from her father. Her relationship with her
father was constant, incisive in her
formation and interesting in her evolution.
Teresa learned much from him and reacted
positively to being the favorite, but also
criticized him for his excessive
preoccupation with honra. When her father,
already at an advanced age, was reduced to
being debt-ridden, the relationship was
reversed. She followed him with love, did
not speak of his ineptitude in business, but
introduced him to mental prayer, gave him
the necessary books and was pleased with
the progress he made in this direction. She
protected him.
Her relationship with her father seems, in
some way, to be characterized by the type of
relationship that she established with men,
especially with relatives and religious. The
friendship relationship with Jesus, unifying
it and giving it the capacity of grasping the
true values of life, gave her the strength and
authority
to reverse or at least question in discussion,
among other things, even the role of social
and cultural subordination that the society of
her time had assigned to her because she
was a woman. Interesting in this respect is
the relationship that she was gradually
establishing with her confessors. She seeks
them out, and needs them to discern how
much the grace of God was working in her
and not allowing her to be deceived by the
devil, as people then tended to believe. She
obeyed them even when they ordered the
contrary to what Jesus asked in prayer. But
after having experienced the suffering and
anguish of being guided by confessors who
were learned but without the experience of
mental prayer understood as a relationship
of “friendship, of finding herself frequently
alone and alone with One who we know
loves us”, gradually she chose from among
those who had “common sense and
experience and” perhaps, even learning.
Before entrusting her soul to them, she met
with them for a conversation. She suggested
to her Sisters that they do the same.
Teresa was always aware of the importance
of confrontation and obedience and obeyed
even in situations in which she was not in
complete agreement. But from a certain
time on, her obedience would be given not
only to those who had a certain capacity to
understand her, but who, after having
understood, in a certain sense would have
also considered her as mother. This is what
happened in the encounter with St. Peter of
Alcantara‟, Garcia de Toledo, Father
Gracian, and John of the Cross. It was the
reciprocal interdependence which is
indicated as an exemplary rapport between
man and woman in Mulieris Dignitatem.
And this was in 1500 when the culture went
in the opposite direction. Teresa realized it
and differently from today, experienced fear,
anguish, and pleaded proclaiming herself
obedient in meeting with confessors.
Process of conversion
The process of reaching this point was long
and perhaps it coincided with that which we
call a period of conversion. The period of
conversion could, in part, be seen as the
arduous journey of development and a
woman‟s unsatisfied personal identity due to
the conditioning and constraints that the
culture of the time imposed. In Chapter IX
of her Book of Life Dedicated almost
entirely to conversion, she describes how
her decisive spiritual turn came through an
17
encounter with the wounded Christ at the
feet of the Magdalene and in the reading of
St. Augustine‟s Confessions. In the
encounter with the image of the wounded
Christ, Teresa broke out into flowing tears.
She felt that she was the cause of so much
suffering. Prostrate at his feet and
conquered by the shocking and unifying
love, she succeeded in accepting in herself
the limitations and impotence of a creature..
She freed herself from the pretenses of the
titanic “I” and gave up the tension of not
succeeding in perfection. Like Mary
Magdalene, she gave herself up to Love and
remained in expectation. She yielded to the
Love that unifies, liberates and allows one to
enter into an intimate rapport with God,
open self to others, to be fruitful.
After having established a rapport of
friendship with God that not lonely made
her feel that she was favored and liberated
her from fear, but pushed her toward others.
From her contact with the Source of joy and
love there was born in her the decision for
the Reform, so that others could reach it. It
was a decision that would create for her
tensions, problems of every kind,
misunderstandings. But her rapport with
God, allowed her to reach the highest
dimension of human fullness, placed the
persons in an irrepressible movement of
love. Those who experienced it could not
contain themselves and did everything so
that others could enjoy it.
After her conversion, Teresa set aside the
burden of her keeping an account of sins,
good actions and holy proposals. The
contact with the very Source of love and
with joy, unified her and also put her into
contact with her own capacity for the
infinite, expanded her and pushed her in a
spontaneous movement toward others.
The message that Teresa gave to the Sisters
and also to us is that even between the four
walls of the convent or in school or on the
playground wherever we seem to spend days
that are apparently the same, one can live
the spiritual adventure of a fruitful love.
Teresa places herself somewhat in
continuity with the Magdalene both as a
penitent sinner, but especially by her
friendship with Jesus and her capacity of
placing “everything under her feet”. Urged
on by love, the Magdalene dared to
break the law that forbade her to enter where
she had not been invited and to touch and
dry the feet of Jesus with her hair (with what
it was believed to be the most impure), not
to fear the criticism of those who believed
that they were pure because they were
observant. Reaching Jesus, becoming his
friend, meant for her not only turning her
back on sin, but especially on that world that
wanted to nail her to an inferior image of
herself. In reversed terms, the same was
also true of Teresa. When she became
aware that some socially accepted behavior
made her a successful nun in the convent but
was an obstacle to a true , deep relationship
with the Divine and with the reality of her
being, she turned her back on this perception
of herself.
For both, the encounter and the relationship
with Jesus became possible in the moment
in which, autonomously presenting self to
the presence of the Eternal, recognizing in
Him alone there was the right of building
their new, full identity. May it also be so for
us, but perhaps it already is.
1 Diotima is a philosophical community of
women formed at the University of Verona.
It is made up of university professors, many
laywomen, some who are believers, but not
practicing .
They explore the problem of identity and gender
difference from the philosophical point of view,
and then during annual seminars, offer the fruit
of their reflections to an interested public. Part
of my reflection is based on what I was able to
gather in these studies.
18
A story on the struggle to grow.
Asja and Maria, two fourteen year olds
as different as day and night
each seeking her own identity
19
Asja
On rainy days as a child she
played at inventing a father for
herself…
At home there were no happy
voices to welcome her, no snack
waiting for her on the table.
There was only silence, and in
the winter, darkness. Fear kept
her company, was seated
alongside her…finally, there was
the noise of the door and her
heart leapt. At least for today
her mother had come home to
her…
Maria
Closed in her room Maria
opened the door of the closet and
looked in the mirror.
She looked at that image as
though it were an unknown
enemy
Her body had changed so quickly
during these past months that she
almost did not recognize herself.
A whale !
Asja and the others were
right;she looked like a whale…
she really looked like a whale…
20
Theme: How I see myself in
twenty years…
Maria
I would like to open a flower
shop. I have always loved flowers
because they accompany people
in the important times of life, they
make them happy in beautiful
times and console them in sad
times.
Then, too, I can take into my
shop plants that are suffering,
because plants are like people,
they need to be loved and cared
for.In twenty years I see myself
free, driving a convertible…
Asja
In twenty years I will be thirty five
years old like my mother and I
don’t want to become like her.
She is still young, but seems so
old . My mother suffers from a
horrible illness called depression.
Depression takes away your
desire to live…what I want to say
is that at thirty-five I will be like I
am now…I will not lose my love
of life…
Text taken from Camminare,
correre, volare by Sabrina
Rondinelli
21
22
Myth: Seeking a Land Without
Evil Edited by Mara Borsi The Guaranì are a great people who have
developed around the Aquifer Guaranì
(Guarani Aquifer , a great underground reservoir
of sweet water) and spread throughout all of
South America and the Caribbean. When the
Spanish landed in the Antilles, they spoke of
having met a people called Carios, the same
people who would later be found in Asuncion,
Paraguay. The historical narration of these
ancient people tells us that Guaranì and Tupi
were two brothers and that their families were
growing rapidly, so much so that the place
where they lived was becoming ever smaller and
for this reason, the two brothers decided to
separate . Tupi went with his family to the
North and Guarani went to the South.
From Generation to generation they also told
the founding myth of these people that explains
their profound soul. The myth tells of twin
brothers who were orphaned when their mother
was killed. The two brothers, stolen from their
mother by the evil ones, served them for a long
time until they found the body of their true
mother. That discovery and the attendant
sorrow made the two brothers remember where
they came from and they began to look for their
true home the land without evil.
On the return trip to the house of the Father, they
sought in every way to overcome evil; on their
never-ending journey they ate the food they
could get, but they thought that even on their
way, there would be others who would come
after them and they always left something for
the successive wayfarers. This founding myth
explains the continual pilgrimage of the Guaranì
throughout South America “seeking the land
without evil.”
Interview with Blanca Selva Ruiz Diaz
Gamba.
I am an FMA from Paraguay, from the
Province of St. Raphael Archangel. For
nine years I worked in the missions with the
Aborigines and the Paraguayans in the
section of Upper Paraguay-Chaco, in the
boarding school Bishop Alejo Obelar of ñu
Apu‟a
Before coming to Rome, I was in the House
of St.Joseph for a year as infirmarian among
the elderly Sisters and at the same time I
was working in Youth Ministry.
Which values of your culture do you love
the most?
First of all, the Guaranì language. It puts us
into a relationship with our ancestors, gives
us a sense of our being because every
language expresses one‟s vision of the
cosmos. The Paraguayans feel, imagine,
reflect, and express themselves better in
Guaranì. It is, therefore, the official
language of Paraguay along with Spanish.
Another value is the love of nature. My
people fight for the land so that it will not be
exploited and polluted; they feel that they
23
are part of the land, and defend it against the
companies that strip the forests and buy it
for very little money, leaving so many
farmers without land.
The Paraguayans frequently find God in
nature and even the meaning of life at the
service of others. The sense of We “ñande”
and of the Other “Ore” are values that are
always cultivated in the Paraguayan culture.
The help to unite us as “jopoi”, people,
living the sadness and joy, moving ahead
together, opening new ways. The
“ñande”,We, signifies feeling that we have
the same root that invites us to go along
together, listening attentively to pronounce
the better word and to choose the way to be
followed Another value that attracts me very
much is “seeking the land without evil” the
millenary heritage that the Guaranì left us
and that we remember with celebrations
each year during which we walk with the
desire to reach the house of the Father. We
are accompanied on our journey by the
Virgin of Caacupe “ñande sy marane’y”
i.e., “Our Mother without evil”.
While living in an international culture
what do you appreciate most in other
cultures ?
I am having a very rich experience on the
personal level. Relationships with persons
of other cultures stimulates me to grow in
openness to others so very different from
myself, to discover a different world, to
learn exercises of respect and listening.
All of the beauty that each person expresses
is a gift for others, and for this reason I like
to dialogue, to know, admire and learn about
the different ways of being. I find it very
interesting to see similarities and differences
among cultures and to understand the
meaning of their origins, All this helps me to
know more in depth and to put into practice
the wisdom of my people, the Guaranì, and
to be open to the meaning of their origins,
where we can always catch a glimpse of
God through the most beautiful expressions
that one can imagine. All this helps me to
know more in depth and to put into practice
the wisdom of my people, the Guaranì, and
to be open to the wisdom of other peoples.
Every culture is a world of surprises and has
ways of weaving knowing and feeling, but
the most beautiful thing is that there is
always a thread that unites us.
Which difficulties did you experience in
meeting people from other countries and
cultures ?
I believe that the difficulties I found can be
found also in other contexts: cultural
prejudices, i.e. the exaggerated and
erroneous ideas that we form about others.
There are also the labels that we place on all
other cultures before, during and after
relationships. It seems to me that there is a
long way to go especially for what regards
dialogue and reciprocal understanding
between East and West, between North and
South of the whole World.
We need to be open continually and to unite
mind and heart to walk together. Thank you
so much for this space, not only for me, but
for “We”, “ñande”, i.e., for the Paraguayan
people.
24
Learning Together
Mara Borsi The demand for training continues
to be alive and urgent. Those who plan
formation for educators are aware that it is not
enough to propose content on present themes:
anthropological crisis, culture and languages,
science and faith…
One feels the necessity to use methods that
involve the subjects to whom the formative
proposal is addressed, to avoid boredom,
tiredness, and lack of efficacy.
Educating implies the readiness to care for
another and requires particular ethical
dispositions such as knowing how to see in the
face of another person and in their words the
need for help and to be ready to respond to this
appeal, putting into play one‟s own spiritual,
cultural, and professional resources .In every
challenging human practice, such as that of
education, there emerge two basic conditions to
be able to be faced in a valid, productive
manner: a clear vision of the goal to be reached
and an attentive, punctual perception of the
concrete situation to be faced. If the first
condition implies a conscious vision of the
educational goal to be preferred, the second
brings with it an attentive recognition of the life
conditions of the new generations and of their
most urgent needs. At the basis of this
competence, so that there does not remain only a
potential not effectively exercised, there must be
strongly rooted the desire to respond to the
appeal for help that comes from children, pre-
adolescents, adolescents, and young people. In a
recent study Michael Pellerey said that in order
to promote educational competence, in the first
place it is necessary to nourish love for the
young generations, loving them not in a generic,
sentimental sense, but rather in one that is
concrete and active. For this reason educators
are called to acquire a basic knowledge and the
ability for an explorative and interpretive ability,
with the aim of responding to the educational
requests that individuals and groups carry deep
within themselves.
Reflecting
In the context of a culture that is fragmented,
individualistic, and plural, it becomes decisive
that those who occupy themselves with
education favor reflection. Reflection is a
central need in the educational action and in
every formative method of educators. It is
linked to the capacity of modifying an action to
adapt it to the specific circumstances and
individual person. We deal with working
through formation to promote and support a
reflective individual and group conversation on
the experience in act, a conversation
characterized by an interpretive and problematic
reading of the actual data, which puts into a
relationship experience and previous knowledge
and the emerging situation to reach a prospected
action that responds to the present appeal. In the
contemporary context we are seeing as a
formative modality the practical community, a
formative experience centered on reflection,
involvement and participation.
New Ways
Practical communities are groups being
constituted to respond to find shared
responses to problems inherent to the
exercise of their own work. They appear to
be characterized by being spontaneous, able
to generate organized learning and to favor
processes of identification. The members of
25
a practical community share ways of acting
and interpreting reality, and are, together, an
informal organization within a broader
formal organization, that is articulated and
complex. By their support and contribution
the participants in the activities of this
community increase their professional
identity and create a network that could lead
to real processes of renewal. The practical
communities are, in fact, an efficacious
resource for updating professional
competence. The efficacy comes from the
fact that the content discussed in the
community satisfies the needs for action,
timeliness and contextualizing learning.
Through the activities conducted in the
environment of the practical community in
time they will build a shared repertory of
resources, developing a common language,
styles of convergent actions, and model
themselves on the common recurrent
modalities (routine) of thinking and acting.
Sharing thought and action in the
community, they assume new models for
interpretation of the reality and the
structuring of unexpected , new practices,
that live the contribution of individual
creativity, but in such a way as to modify
the thought and action of the entire
community and they have, therefore, a
strong potential for innovation.
Each member, utilizing what is placed at the
disposition by other participants, can
develop personal journeys for research and
study and processes of “self-learning”, can
ask help from the other members of the
community to reach some objectives.
The person who manages a practical
community is called to facilitate and
articulate the activities of communication,
negotiation, and documentation with means
that promote relational systems of a reticular
type. In this way the processes of
collaborative learning reduce, on the
formative level, the continual recourse to the
expert.
Don Bosco efficaciously faced the
pedagogical thought of his time and in the
same way today, the educating communities
are called to use different models and
proposals to make the formative activity
efficacious. The practical communities are,
without doubt, an excellent stimulus to a
progressive improvement of the action
26
Hands Kneaded with Justice
Paola Pignatelli,
Bernadette Sangma
We often see the icon of a blindfolded
woman holding a scale in one hand and
sword in the other to symbolize justice.
It leads us to question ourselves on the fact
that the figures representing justice are
always feminine even though , in the reality
of life, the administration of this Virtue has
been for centuries and continues to this day,
a masculine dominion.
Seeking to find the relationship between the
binomial women and justice from daily
experience, we could consider how, often in
all cultures and world contexts, women are
denied justice and yet, women are ever more
involved in the struggle for justice, not only
for themselves, but for the whole of society.
In her book Women and Justice. The Family
as a Political Problem,Susan Moller Okin
states that ít does not mean creating ghettos
of protection for women, or attributing to
them undeserved advantages in public life,
but only eliminating the injustice of the
private world, i.e., making of it a question to
be resolved politically, that there will be a
possible realization of a just that is neither
male, nor female, but human.”
Sr. Estrella Castalone, an FMA in the
Philippines, has worked for six years as the
executive secretary of the Association of
Major Superiors of the Philippines
(AMRSP). In this responsibility she has
been the daring protagonist in the defense of
justice, denouncing corruption and injustice
in government institutions. The executive
Council of AMRSP stated: “Thanks to the
capacity of Sr. Estrella responding
courageously to the situation as never
before, the prophetic role of AMRSP was
brought out and was effective in the
promotion of the moral conscience of
people” The Association supported the
cause of farmers who had been denied
justice by an agrarian reform that had never
been concluded; she was at the side of the
indigenous people who had been evacuated
and distanced from their own land by the
government that had made a contract with
the international mineral companies and
with the migrants who were victims of
irregular and illegal migration.
Among the activities it is important to recall
the AMRSP Sanctuary Program for which
Sr.Estrella was responsible. It is a program
for the protection of the lives of witnesses
who fight against injustice and corruption.
There was a case in which, because of
security reasons, four brothers had to be
moved every two week and there were about
twenty Congregations that offered them
refuge, among which were also FMA
houses.
In another case of threatened life, eleven
Sisters from three female congregations
offered accompaniment and protection with
a condemnation through the media and
Senate testimony. The protection of the life
of this person saw two religious who
remained with her in jail for a good 10 days,
taking turns to protect her!
27
In a 2009 press release, in the AMRSP
said: "We feel the hand of God
in the struggles of our people… With
renewed courage we confirm our
commitment to continue to be the voice of
those who have none, companions of those
who have been abused, to become living
witnesses of truth, justice and peace. "
Marila Nsunda Nimi, a young lawyer
from Turin is another “working person” in
whom we rejoice! She is a witness to the
richness of mixed race, the child of an
Italian mother and a Congolese father, she
herself probably lived the exhausting road to
earn respect and integration, and the
recognition of her own worth on the part of
a society that was shortsighted and
mistrusting of every form of diversity, to the
point of choosing the law as her mission.
Though she had a complete formation, from
Civil Rights to Criminal Law, her origins led
her to become passionate about immigration
rights and, more in particular, to the
problems relative to integration of foreigners
into the Italian reality.
We asked her about this : “My experience
on the topic and “women and justice” led me
often to assist at very grave injustices,
especially with regard to the burden borne
by the woman migrant. Frequently, in fact,
the immigrant women enters Italy to re-join
her family, so it is, in effect, that her
condition and status depend on her husband
who maintains her and provides for her. The
situation of subjugation of the woman to the €
man, typical in many ethnic groups, together
with the lack of legislation,
or that which is rarely acknowledged,
for example, the abused woman is rejected, to be
allowed to remain “autonomously” there, where
her sojourn would be linked to that of the
husband, this brings great harm to this figure
who, precisely for this reason, frequently does
not hold her own rights and/or condemns the
violence to which she is subjected, even on a
daily basis.
For this reason I hold that she, the immigrant
woman, must be integrated seeking work and
learning the language, without being, -as
frequently happens-being deprived of her own
identity and being content with whatever her
husband offers her.”
How do the FMA mould justice in everyday life?
Paola [email protected]
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The Ecumenical
Vocation
Bruna Grassini
“Your Holiness, the days we spent together
raised in our hearts sentiments of profound
spiritual joy…
We felt that we were in a communion of
love and hope, united in the same charity.
Your presence and words, Holiness,
enriched us and consoled us much.
For us it is a duty of the heart
to express the immense gratitude for the
time that God has given us to share in
prayer, in praise to the Holy Trinity, in
fraternal dialogue and the bonds of
affection that we strongly hope will grow.”
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini
To His Holiness Bartholomew I
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
(Milan June 9, 1997)
The Holy Spirit that descended on the
Apostles gathered in the Cenacle has called
us all to unity “opening the hearts of all to
love, to truth, He has placed the cornerstone
of the Church.”
But the ecumenical commitment requires
prayer, hope, and realism before the
difficulties and obstacle that will inevitably
be encountered on the way of reconciliation.
“Religious pluralism”, said Cardinal Martini
“is today a challenge for all religions, if we
do not want to repeat old and new clashes…
But the question of unity must disturb us,
must burn within us.”
Pope John Paul II committed the Catholic
Church in an “irreversible” manner to
undertake the way of ecumenism, faithful to
listening to the Holy Spirit. Jesus‟ prayer
reaches us all, in the East as well as the
West. It is an imperative that imposes upon
us the obligation to overcome divisions.
Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us to realize
spaces of encounter, of fraternity in a
climate of reciprocal trust. Trust surpasses
our divisions, “aware that shared roots can
be found at a much deeper level than those
of our divisions.”
It is certain that ecumenism does not divide,
but on the contrary, unites us in the common
faith of the one God, the one Baptism and
the one Church.
29
30
Communicating in
Community
Lucy Roces
At the sign of peace, Sr. Tesa closes her
eyes and joins her hands “in profound
prayer”.
The evening before, however, she fought
with Sr.Contraria, her neighbor in chapel.
Sr. Devota is always punctual in chapel, she
is more precise than any cloistered nun.
However, as soon as she is outside she
grumbles because that Sister reads too loud,
the other has a habit that is too short…
Sr. Angelica smiles gently all the time and
has a good word for each student and Sister.
She communicates a great love for God and
some girls are now interested in becoming
Sisters.
The word “Communication” comes from the
Latin communicare, and through the ending
–atio- the word communication literally
means placed in common. The ancient
Greek term koinonia designated the concept
of community and was absorbed into the
Latin through the word communion and
therefore, we have society/community. The
fundamental value of the Latin adjective
communis that is at the base of the verb
comunicare, is reciprocity. These three
words, sharing the same root, are
interwoven: communication, communion,
community. For us as consecrated women if
one is missing the other two are also gone.
In community, communicating well is a
powerful means for a psychologically
healthy life, mutual support, personal
growth, and vocational witness.
The lack of true communication in the
community impedes good relationships.
God is not limited to giving man
information on self, nor norms of behavior,
but he has established a relationship which,
through communication, generates
communion
From the beginning
For Mother Mazzarello communication
could not be separated from relationships.
Her way of communicating created a climate
of serene familiar rapport. Mother Antonia
Colombo reiterated this when she wrote of
the first house of the FMA: “It was where
that spirit of Mornese was born and what we
want to characterize, even today, the face of
our community ((with her) with its style of
simple, profound relationships-rooted in the
love of Jesus-that Maria Domenica knew
how to promote and animate among the
persons who lived there: Sisters and
laypersons, girls and young people in
formation, Salesians and family members.”
By our attitude we continually communicate
something of ourselves to others and we
create a climate.
Words are irreversible
Mother Teresa said: “Kind words are brief
and easy to say, but they have an eternal
echo.”
We know that our words can heal and make
unity grow, or they can be cutting. Even
Don Bosco was very clear about good
conversation in community. In his letter of
1884 he wrote: “The thing that harms
31
religious community very much is
murmuring directly contrary to charity…Be
wary of telling a companion anything bad
that someone has said of him, because at
times there can come about disturbances and
rancor that last for months and years…If
you hear something that someone has said
about a person, practice what the Holy Spirit
has advised: „Have you heard a word
against your neighbor? Let it die within
you.‟”
Actions speak
We know that actions, facial expressions our
eyes, express our sentiments more than our
words. In the film “The Island-Ostrov” the
monk Anatoly asks his confrere Father Lov:
“When I die, will you cry for me?” Father
Love gave him a dark look and left the
room, slamming the door. There was no
need for words.
Motivational incentives, a relationship of
respect and sympathy sensitize people and
may have more force than a million dollar
advertising campaign.
Do you hear me?
A good communicator must be, first of all, a
good listener. “A heart that listens”
summarizes “the whole Christian vision of
the person”, emphasized Benedict XVI at
the conclusion of the Spiritual Exercises this
year. “The person is not perfect in self, man
needs relationships, , he is a being in
relation…He needs to listen, listen to
another, especially the Other with a capital
letter, God.
Listening , emphasized the Holy Father,
cannot leave aside the community
dimension. “Not in the isolated „I‟ can we
really listen to the Word: only in the „we‟ of
the Church, in the „we‟of the communion of
saints.” In a letter to Sr. Angela Vallese,
animator of the house of Villa Colón,
Mother Mazzarello wrote: “Speak little,
very little with creatures, but instead, speak
much with the Lord; He will make you truly
wise.” This is the secret of listening: form
to silence, the great ally of speech and
dialogue
We have in our communities healthy
traditions that favor a communicative
climate: the “Good Night”, the monthly
private talk, personal fraternal encounters,
conferences, outings, recreation. However,
to face to face communication frequently
there is an overlapping of communication
through technology. It would be a good
practice to examine our community
communication: is it excellent. passable,
routine, superficial or mediocre? How well
do we know our Sisters? Are there times of
relaxation, dialogue, recreation in
community? Do we have face to face and
heart to heart conversations in community?
Smartphone
Take your old cell phone, your address
book, your notebook, your digital camera,
your video camera, your MP3 player, your
GPS, hundreds of apps, e-mail, a touch
display, wireless internet access, and a
keyboard. Now try to mash them together
and you will have a Smartphone, one of the
latest technological gadgets. In effect, your
cell phone already has these characteristics,
what distinguishes the Smartphone from
ordinary cell phones is that it has an
operative mobile system, and the possibility
to synchronize your e-mail and documents
with the computer making it a mobile
workplace. One could think of the
Smartphone as a miniature computer where
you can send and receive phone calls. It is
interesting, however, that while the market
is flooded with the new Smartphone, many
people still prefer the cell phone.
32
Pas Com: Pastoral
of Communication
Claudio Pighin
“Communication among persons comes
about in a relationship of dialogue. For this
reason it is much more than a passing on of
information . This presupposes production,
transmission and reception of messages. It
also requires a shared awareness of a social
situation and the understanding of the
language and message among those who are
involved. When two persons meet for the
first time, in fact, they use different codes
and channels , proper to each one. For this
reason they do not really interact and, there
cannot be an efficient exchange of
messages, and therefore there cannot be a
true communication.” This is how the
Brazilian Episcopal Conference expressed
itself on the occasion of the Fraternity
Campaign in 1989, the theme of which was
“Communication and Fraternity”.
Without doubt, communication is so
important in the life of persons that it
becomes an essential part, promoting the
relational processes insofar as they are social
and ecclesial. Those who succeed in
communicating well are happier, in that
they succeed in having a true life experience
and learn from those who are before them.
No one, in fact, succeeds in being happy
alone. For this reason the act of
communicating is fundamental to life and
deserves all our commitment to make it
efficacious.
Every day we are literally bombarded by
hundreds or even thousands of pieces of
information; we are the object of disputes
among the countless means of
communications that seek to guarantee a
certain audience, without which this river of
data would not succeed in giving meaning to
our life. Only a true communication that
goes well beyond the simple means that
involve a formative and reflective process is
capable of avoiding “non communication”.
The duty of all those who communicate
would be that of simply speaking the truth,
notwithstanding the fact that it could be
harsh and could provoke unfavorable
reactions. This is the reality that will help to
change the world, freeing it from every
slavery: we are all called to assume the
vocation of the prophet.
How are we to organize PasCom?
I believe that the first step is the
identification of persons who are
impassioned in wanting to increase the value
of communication and who have the talents
to be able to dedicate themselves in this
sector. Then, to constitute the PasCom group
it is necessary to have a place set up with a
minimum of equipment so as to be able to
gather and codify and decodify information
and messages. It then becomes fundamental
to meet with a certain constancy to be able
to plan the activities of the Pastoral itself,
that must always be synchronized with
ecclesial activities. What is important is that
each member of the team is able to integrate
perfectly with the others and give the best of
self, avoiding attitudes that are
individualistic or to “be onstage” to stand
out.
The components of the group, respecting
33
and appreciating the capacity of each
person, must distribute the roles in such a
way as to make PasCom more agile and
efficacious.
Some examples of this task could be the
function of coordinator, spokesperson,
responsible for the area of information and
informatics, audiovisual production, the
celebration of events or liturgical times (to
value the communications dimension in the
area of the particular and worldwide
Church), responsible for religious
marketing, and many other tasks.
So that every role can be assumed with full
responsibility, each participant cannot
consider her task as a simple service,
because it is vested with a certain
professionalism. She must always nourish
herself with the Word of God and the
Magisterium of the Church to respond to
and ethic that distinguishes the true
communicator. It is therefore fundamental
to be in harmony with all the other pastoral
activities, with the bishops, priests and
leaders so as to be able to guarantee and
support the true vocation of the Church.
Not to be excluded from this ecclesial
journey is also an updated technical
formation so that the Pastoral activity may
be penetrating and incisive and could face
today‟s communications challenges.
PasCom must be attentive to the signs of the
times and to the events that mark the story
of humanity, thus helping the Church to be
ever more present and to be a life teacher.
Finally, I would like to insist on how
fundamental the PasCom vocation is in
helping people, and especially the young
people to acquire a critical capacity
regarding the messages they receive through
the great means of communication. Today,
more than ever, we are aware of this
urgency in redeeming the freedom of the
children of God from media manipulation. I
remember a few years ago when, during a
course with the young people of the State of
Amapà (Brazil), at the conclusion of an
analysis of an installment of a TV program
transmitted by Brazilian TV, a girl stood and
said “It seems that the scales have fallen
from my eyes because I can begin to see and
understand what this really is trying tell us.
I would not have been able to do this before
because I would never have caught certain
details as I have now done. I would only
have limited myself to watching.”
All of this in reality does not happen by
chance. There is need for time, study and
dedication. PasCom can help us.
34
The Wings of Freedom
Adriana Nepi
A Spiritual retreat for priests, with the
presentment that this will be the last. It is
this, perhaps, that confers a tone of very
human familiarity to the simple reflections
of this elderly, ill man who feels that he is
“actually at the point of arrival”, but has lost
nothing of his authority and his inner clarity.
The introduction follows a bit along the line
of a traditional retreat, But it immediately
leaves the plan, saying that there are five
actors in the retreat…The listeners perk up
their ears…”If we ask ourselves “, he
continued, “what it would be good to speak
of as a last argument, a last remembrance, I
believe it would be beautiful to speak of
eternal life. It is the great victory of Good,
definitive, irrevocable, that has as its root
the death and resurrection of Jesus…
What strikes me during this last part of my
life, following my frequent hospital stays, is
that the Father almost took Jesus by the hand
and faithfully accompanied him: „This is
my Son, whom I have chosen…‟ then,
gradually, it seems that this Son was
abandoned by the Father…Abandoned to the
depths, to the point of surrendering as pure
loss…Jesus, as a model of total
abandonment…this is a theme that I would
willingly deal with…”
After having introduced himself in this
colloquial manner that would continued to
the end, the cardinal developed his reflection
along the lines of a few letters addresses to
the Romans. He starts with Paul‟s premise:
“I have desired to see you to communicate
to you what a spiritual gift it is for me, to
hearten myself with you and among you
through the faith that we share you and me”.
He cited these words often, he recalls, in
many spiritual retreats, to bring out the
fruitful tension that exists between one who
gives and one who receives the Word. He
would return continually to this reference
during a long experience of pastoral activity,
and all if pervaded by a long breath of faith
and optimism.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Milan recalls
the encounters with Pastoral Council of the
Milan Diocese. It usually began like this:
“We are few, we are always the same, we
don‟t have the young people…etc.” And he
answered: “But don‟t you have anything for
which to thank God? Don‟t you understand
that the mere fact of living the faith in such a
pagan context is an immense gift of God?”
And he then cited the words of Paul “Above
all, I give thanks to my God by means of
Jesus Christ for all of you…” He notes that
the Apostle attests to praying unceasingly
for all the Christian communities, and then
he pauses to speak of intercessory prayer, of
the beauty of this in embracing all of
humanity, all those who suffer any kind of
affliction.
If our intercession is poor and distracted, let
us not forget, he exhorts all, which it is but a
little stream that enters into the great river of
the intercession of the Church, which, in
turn, enters into the immense ocean of the
intercession of Christ, who is always alive
and intercedes for us.
35
Following then the dictate of Paul who
offers an impressive list of all the forms of
human wickedness concluding that it is
impossible to save one‟s self without grace,
the affectionate and confidential tone of the
father assumes the harshness of a real
indictment.
Let no one think “This does not regard me.”
All of these enormous sins have been
committed in the history, not only of the
world, but also in the Church the laity,
priest, Sisters, religious, bishops,
popes…and he opens this point to develop a
merciless examination of the sins of the
world and of the Church, to the point of
touching with lucid penetration certain dark
recesses of the soul: Why should he have
that position, that promotion, and not me?
And certain conformity, certain reticence
dictated by unacknowledged ambition: If I
speak, as I should, won‟t I lose esteem and
prestige? Won‟t I put my career in
jeopardy? Then the squalid use of the
anonymous letter, and a pretended
religiosity, that shows a purely external
observance and the vanity of seeing success,
and the ostentation of fasting…
This meditation is entitled “The wrath of
God and it compares the passing of an
electrical charge through a dark cloud, with
hail, thunder and lightning. It is for us an
undecipherable mystery of evil against
which there is only one salvation: The grace
of Christ, accepted in faith. The negative
forces of evil and the positive forces of good
are in a perennial struggle within us, as they
are in everyone, even in
children…However, we must not be afraid.
This does not even deal with demonizing the
attraction which, at times, the evil one
exercises over us…The Spirit is given to
sustain our weakness and to accept, if we so
desire, the gift of freedom, knowing that
there is no human condition that could
create permanent bitterness, that every
situation could open itself to the joy of the
Lord.
It is precisely on joy, on inner peace that we
measure our belonging to Christ, the
efficacy of our presence among people, our
brothers and sisters. And one last agreeable
personal remembrance …”You” he told his
pastors, “could make your community happy
or sad…If you have a happy face, all with be
infected by your joy” and he concludes: “A
smile is the first duty of a bishop…”
It was not easy to present this book, modest
in size, yet very rich in content. I tried to
give, rather, some little taste, to attract at
least someone to read it. There is a sense of
serenity of a truly personal, authentic,
encounter with the Word, almost as a
confirmation of Paul‟s noted declaration:
“The Kingdom o heaven is justice, peace,
and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15, 17).
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www.heavenhelpus!
The new illiteracy? That of the elderly !
Yes, because notwithstanding the wisdom
and experience, today being today, they are
not in condition to use the new technologies
(especially the computer )it is as though they
no longer know how to read and write. Cut
off from life !
This is not a problem only for us “poor”
elderly Sisters. I documented it: between
the elderly and technology there is a
difficult rapport everywhere, in general and
many are mobilizing to begin a dialogue
between these two worlds.
For example it began in England with the
invention of Simplicity –a computer for the
elderly-the first project to approach 200,000
elderly people in the world of informatics.
In Italy there is the Internet Salon an
initiative for informatics literacy, dedicated
to those over 60 to fill the digital gap that
separates the elderly person from the young.
And at Cagliari an 80 year old grandmother
won the Woman of the Year award because
to conquer depression she started a blog, an
Internet diary. So it was that they held her
to be an exemplary feminine figure because
of her capacity to solve problems (what a
discovery! For us, once upon a time, to
conquer depression it was enough to go to
church with faith and to entrust ourselves to
God in a heart to heart conversation. It was
He who gave us the award!)
Finally, I recently read that they have
invented the Silver Cellphone for those of
the third age! It has a keypad to connect
automatically with those closest to the
person (in our case it would have to be the
animator or the nurse, or perhaps Jesus
Himself!), another button to be informed
about topics of general interest: indications
for vaccination, on how to prevent an
illness, or on ways to deal with pension
matters, etc. (for us it might be the schedule
of the practices of piety, the arrival of
Mother General‟s circular, the
announcement of the deceased Sisters, or the
change of houses.. ) But let‟s be serious.
All of this anxiety for technological literacy
of the elderly is useless. This is not how
you fill the gap of existential solitude, that is
not only the way how we train memory, at
our age it is not necessary to follow the
style. We are in the world, but not of the
world! Certainly, if God would accept
registration for Paradise via the web,we
might take a little thought about learning
how to use it! However, I believe that God
is still a good father who still uses the ways
of the heart and not those of telematics! And
then, for us elderly it is enough to go to
church, place ourselves in silence and key in
on the keyboard of the heart: www.you
thinkabout it and www.heaven help us! And
it is done!
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In the next issue…
ENCOUNTERS Poverty and safeguarding the created
CLOSE UP Why Francis The man of the serene glance
IN SDEARCH OF Pastoral-ly Relationships with young people
FACE TO FACE Communicating in educational environments
The most important thing is not
to think too much but rather to love much.
For this reason, do all that urges you to love… (Teresa of Avila)
38
Only in God does my soul rest
My hope lies in Him alone…
(Psalm 61,6)
HYMN TO LIFE