We cannot separate respect for the earth from the quality of human life. A “zoom in” on the relational aspect of nature in various religious traditions was the theme of a round table during the interreligious conference organized by the Focolare Movement (June 2024)
Stefania Papa, from the University of Campania and active in “Eco-one” (Focolare ecological initiative), highlights the importance of this relational aspect of nature. Putting yourself in this logic offers an invaluable resource for change.
She wonders how come two trees can live next to each other. And why do smaller trees, with less light, continue to live? The answer is that there is close cooperation between them. But, through their activities, humans have modified more than half of the functioning of the ecosystem. It has created impacts with global consequences.
Harmony, essence of nature
For her, the true essence of nature is not exploitation but harmony. “We are nature, but we have placed ourselves outside of it, without sensitivity. However, the value of a human being does not come from what he knows or what he has, but from his ability to go beyond himself,” she says.
Europe is a melting pot of immense variety. Diverse religions offer wisdom resources to promote sustainability. Many initiatives have emerged in recent years in the Focolare Movement. S. Papa gives some examples: in Sicily, a pact of collective responsibility was drawn up; more than 600 trees were planted. In Switzerland, a significant reduction in electricity consumption was made in a meeting center thanks to solar panels. In Hungary, a bicycle collection was carried out for people in need. “These are small actions, but they have a significant impact and color the sky with rainbows,” she concludes.
The sacred forest
Charles Fobellah, director of three schools in Cameroon, is a traditional leader of the Bangwa people, where Focolare spirituality flourishes. He explains that, in his culture, the sacred forest is at the center of spiritual life. It is reserved for worship and must not be inhabited or cultivated. A place of palaver, meetings and burials of princes, it is also a place of communion with God, where we ask him for protection and blessing. For its people, peace is a community affair. A person is at peace when he or she is in right relationship with God, nature and others.
The “Dice of Love”
Stella John, a member of the Focolare Movement in Pakistan,shares an experience of putting the Golden Rule into practice with children from very modest backgrounds, using the “love dice”. Each week a different motto is lived from this dice. Parents are surprised to see their children doing good deeds at home and with their friends. Praying for peace has also become a daily gesture to open oneself to the suffering of humanity. Just as respect for creation is infused in a concrete way, for example by avoiding the use of plastic. Just as the practice of forgiveness restores harmony to our relationships, we must seek harmony with creation.
Together for a greener Africa
The “Together for a Greener Africa” project brings together Lilly Seidler on stageand Samer Fasheko, from Germany, with Valentine Agbo-Panzo , from Benin . In the spirit of universal fraternity, this association wants to bring positive changes to nature. It is an interfaith project bringing together people from various countries. Some examples are given: installation of solar panels in hospitals and schools, construction of wells, installation of refrigeration systems, among others.
Nature and monastic life
Chintana Greger, a Buddhist nun from Thailand, began a path to inner peace while she was a student. She fought for peace and fraternity with anger and frustration. Discouraged, she decided to give up this fight. But, a monk guided her, and after the death of her father, she withdrew into solitude and practiced Vipasana meditation. She then decided to become a nun. Monastic life allowed her to lead a life closer to nature, in a monastery of 500 people.
“Without meditation, our lives are disordered. Eating little, talking little, sleeping little, using only what is essential for life, practicing meditation diligently and mindfulness bring flavor to life,” she says. She notes that living to the rhythm of nature promotes meditation. “Nature is our life. When peace comes, wisdom follows. Renouncing self-centeredness is the greatest happiness.”
A path of harmony
An interfaith group from Argentina, led by Silvina Chemen, a rabbi in Buenos Aires, presents its activities. “We can no longer live without each other,” she said happily. “Days of peace” were organized, as well as pilgrimages to Israel, Shabbats experienced together, as well as shared readings of the Gospel, the Pentateuch and the Koran. Its members invite each other to Christian Easter and Jewish Passover, as well as to the fast-breaking meal during Ramadan.
A woman experiencing this for the first time said “here there is God”. The group also engages in charitable activities distributing food, blankets and clothing. After the tragedy of October 7, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived Shabbat together so as not to allow this situation to divide them. “The path of faith is a path of harmony until we truly feel brothers and sisters ,” concludes S. Chemen.
By Martin Hoegger, pastor of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Vaud, www.hoegger.org
“Synaxe” brought together around forty members of various Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant religious communities for its 39th meeting from July 3 to 9, 2024. An intense week of sharing, reflection and prayer experienced in the Brâncoveanu monastery, near Sibiu, at the foot of the Carpathians.
This is the fifth meeting in which I participate. Finding friends in Christ, brothers and sisters in him, children of the same Father is a joy! Here are some highlights.
Bishop Athenagoras, Orthodox Metropolitan of the Benelux and President of Synaxe, explains this year’s theme: “Blessed are the peacemakers”. How to become a peacemaker? “The peace blessed by Christ,” he says, “is the result and fruit of the purification of the heart and union with God.” It begins by meeting others and listening to them: “we need hospitality of the face and the ear.”
Peace, fruit of the Holy Spirit.
For Brother Guillaume, from the Taizé community, peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). We must fight against our own nature to find peace. This is the essential thing and the first Christians did it. They thus became free people filled with the gifts of the Spirit.
We must build peace above all by becoming reconciled people, by welcoming the gifts of others. It is linked to the simplicity of life which leads to openness to others.
Pastor Jean-Philippe Calame, chaplain of the Grandchamp community in Switzerland, believes that peace is essentially a gift that comes from God. It is in history, but not of history. Jesus alone is the accomplished peace of God. Politics is not enough to create it. He alone can give it.
Claretian and specialist in consecrated life (Rome), Maurizio Bevilacqua gives a reflection on forgiveness and peace in the light of the famous “sun brother canticle” of Francis of Assisi: “Praised be you, my Lord, for those who forgive for your love and endure sickness and tribulation”. Francis is convinced that any reconciliation requires above all the capacity to forgive.
Bela Visky, Protestant pastor and professor of theology in Cluj, cites a commentary by Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the Beatitude of the peacemakers. He affirms that the Christian must provide peace actively, not just live it passively. The Christian welcomes others by wishing them peace and prefers to suffer than to make a person suffer. The various religious communities should connect with each other in this way.
How can we be more of a peacemaker? This question will accompany us for a long time, especially in contexts in which it is difficult to live the love of enemies. A participant from Ukraine testified to this difficulty.
Peace of the heart in the Christian tradition
Dom Johan Geysens, from the Benedictine monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium, spoke about peace of the heart in the Christian tradition, with some important spiritual figures. He begins with the “life of Saint Benedict”, of whom Gregory the Great said that he “dwelt with himself”. That is why he feared no one. In the “Imitation of Jesus Christ”, T. A Kempis emphasizes inner peace in response to external solicitations: the necessary condition for finding peace is inner conversion: “Leave yourself and you will enjoy great inner peace”!
Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan Serafim recalled that the hesychast tradition emphasizes interiorization. Every prayer must be a prayer of the heart, not just the one we call the “Jesus Prayer”. Meditation must descend into our heart, through asceticism and prayer. Without them, we cannot acquire peace of heart.
Professor Pierre-Yves Brandt, from the Faculty of Theology in Lausanne, sees in Abraham the example of the meek who lives the beatitude of meekness. He calms a conflict between his shepherds and those of Lot. The meek is also a peacemaker. Between Christian confessions, we also need these peacemakers, namely men and women who do not occupy all the space, but leave others the possibility of responding to the call they have received.
Sister Magdalen, from the Monastery of Saint John the Baptist (Essex, England), introduced us to the spirituality of Saint Silouan, a monk from Mount Athos who died in 1938, who lived the beatitude of peace by teaching and living the love of enemies. He sees a link between peace, love of enemies and humility. “The soul of the humble man is like the sea; if you throw a stone into the sea, it troubles the surface of the waters for a moment, then sinks into the depths”.
Peace, the fruit of prayer
Many have (re)discovered the beauty of the Orthodox services and liturgy in the old church in the centre of the monastery with its frescoes which evoke those who loved the Lord before us. We are surrounded by “this cloud of witnesses” that encourages us (Heb 12:1). The other places also spoke to us, such as the Orthodox Cathedral of Sibiu and the Catholic Church on its Great Square, where we experienced the Eucharist.
The Protestant liturgy lived in the open air in the clearing of the monastery touched us by the spiritual quality that was expressed there. It is fortunate that an Orthodox brother underlined the beauty of this liturgy.
The moments of celebration were rich in diversity. They brought us together in the unity of faith in Christ confessed in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, whose 1700th anniversary of its promulgation we will commemorate in 2025. Similarly, the times of Lectio divina on the first letter of John gave flavor to our meetings by making the link between our faith and our paths of life. I was one of the animators.
The reference to the Word of God is central, because through it Christ speaks to us. The purpose of the lectio is to encounter him and to say “you” to him in prayer. And it is he who unites us. In these moments, we were also able to “speak in I” and encourage each other with spontaneous prayers.
Certainly, we felt the pain of an imperfect Eucharistic communion, but we remembered that the walls do not reach to heaven. Despite this, we were able to share so many beautiful things and were encouraged to take steps forward.
We were also happy with the participation of several young people, but we are aware of the need to expand the meeting even more to a new generation.
After these blessed days, we left with hearts filled with peace, joy and gratitude for belonging to the same Body of Christ. We hope that this beautiful story of Synaxis continues, as God wants.
Read the full report of this meeting here: https://www.hoegger.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Article-Brancoveanu-long.pdf
Article on the 50th anniversary meeting of Synaxe in 2022: https://www.cath.ch/newsf/depuis-50-ans-la-vie-consacree-au-service-de-lunite-des-chretiens/
By St. Antony the Great (c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356)
LETTER TEN
1. My blessed children, I am writing this letter to you so that you may know that those who love God seek Him with all their hearts and He responds to them and grants them what they ask for.
As for those who do not approach God with all their heart, but do all their works out of a desire for boasting in order to gain human glory, He does not hear their prayers. Rather, He is angry with them because their deeds are done in hypocrisy. That is why the words of the psalmist are fulfilled in relation to them, who says: “God will scatter the bones of those who rebel against You…” (Ps. 52:6).
2. Verily the Most High God is angry with their works, is not pleased with their prayers, and opposes them very strongly, because they do their works without faithfulness and perform them hypocritically before men. Therefore the power of God does not work in them, because they are weak in heart in all the works they undertake. Therefore such men have not known the goodness of God with its inherent bliss and joy, and their souls grow weary of their works as under a heavy burden.
Some of your brothers are like that. Because they had not acquired that power which brings sweetness to the soul, fills it with joy and gladness day after day, and kindles in it the desire for God, they were seduced by the spirit of corruption, and hypocritically performed their works before men.
3. And you, my beloved and so dear to my heart, when you present to God the fruits of your labor, try to distance yourself from the spirit of vain glory and conquer it at all times, so that the Lord will accept these fruits of yours and receive from Him the power that He gives to His elect.
My heart is at peace with you, my beloved, because I know that you do not approve of the spirit of vainglory, and are constantly opposed to it. Because of this, your fetus is holy and alive. So keep resisting this evil spirit. When a man has actually begun righteous deeds and has harnessed himself to a strenuous struggle, then this same spirit rushes in and tries to join him to restrain him in what he has begun, so that he may not do something fair. He is an evil spirit and therefore opposes all who want to be faithful.
Many are those for whom we rejoice that they are faithful and are ready to give out of mercy to the poor. This very spirit is fighting against them. With others he joins their works, destroys their fruits, and hinders their course, because both the virtues and the good works which men undertake are mingled with human glory. It seems that such people bear fruit before men, but in fact it is not so. They are like a fig tree, which from a distance appears to be laden with good fruit, but when one approaches it, one finds only bitter fruit without any sweetness. Such is the state of all those who receive glory from men. People think they have too much fruit pleasing to God, when in reality they have none at all. Moreover, God has left them to wither because He has found no fruit in them. That is why He has deprived them of the supreme sweetness of His divinity.
4. As for you, my dear and industrious children, make an effort to resist the spirit of vainglory. Resist him and defeat him. And the power of God will come to your aid; she will stay with you and give you strength and warmth forever. And as for me, I will pray that this warmth will remain in you for eternity, because it is real and there is nothing more beautiful than it.
Therefore, if any of you finds that this warmth is not in him, let him earnestly ask for it, and it will come to him. It is similar to a fire, on which people blow to kindle, wishing to cook a meal with a vegetable. When this fire is lit, the water acquires the burning property of the fire, it begins to boil, its heat rises and cooks the vegetables. In the same way, my brethren, if you find your soul chilled by carelessness and indolence, endeavor to raise it up by mourning its condition, and the warmth will not fail to come and unite with it, giving it its burning property. And the soul that begins to boil will abound in good deeds.
When King David found his soul stiff and cold, he said thus: “Unto Thee I lift up my soul” (Ps. 142:8); “I remember the days of old and meditate on all Your works…” (Ps. 142:5); and more: “I stretch out my hands to You; my soul to Thee is like a thirsty land” (Ps. 142:6). Moreover, understand, my beloved, what David did when his heart was hardened: he exerted himself until the heat rekindled his heart, so that he could say: “My heart is ready, O God…” (Ps. 107 :2). And he regained the ease of his round-the-clock ministry.
And you act in this way, that you may be united by the arrangement of your heart in the brightness and warmth of the Godhead, so that God may reveal to you the great and inexpressible mysteries.
And I ask you to keep your body, soul and spirit intact until He takes you to the abode of His goodness – to the place where our holy fathers reached.
Be in the joy of our Lord, Whom befits glory now and forever, Amen!
Photo: Orthodox icon of the Ascension of the Lord.
A spiritual leader in Nepal known as “Buddha Boy” was sentenced on the 1st of July to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor, the Associated Press reported, citing a court statement.
The Sarlahi District Court ordered convicted Ram Bahdur Bamjan, considered by some to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism, also pay $3,700 to the victim.
The man has 70 days to appeal the court’s decision, court spokesman Sadan Adhikari said for AP.
In January, police arrested Bamjan in a suburb of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, on charges of sexual assault and suspected complicity in the disappearance of at least four of his followers. During the arrest, Nepalese rupee notes worth $227,000 and other foreign currencies worth a total of $23,000 were seized from him, police said.
A number of Nepalese believe that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, born in southwestern Nepal about 2,600 years ago and revered as the Buddha. Scholars involved in the study of Buddhism, however, are skeptical of the claims.
An Italian teenager who loved video games will become the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. The move was approved by the pope and cardinals, and Pope Francis said he would be canonized in Jubilee 2025 (special years of remission of sins among Catholics).
Carlo Acutis, who died at the age of 15 from leukemia, had created a website cataloging miracles in different parts of the world. This earned him the nickname “God’s Influencer”. Born in London in 1991, moved with his parents to Milan, he grew up in a non-religious family, but his nanny from Poland nurtured his faith.
After his death, the body was moved to Assisi. Acutis was beatified after the church confirmed that he had performed a miracle on 10 October 2020. His remains are on display alongside relics associated with him.
Two miracles
However, one miracle is not enough for canonization – two are needed. The claims for each are thoroughly and individually investigated.
The first led to beatification – the declaration of a blessed, or a person who, having performed a proven miracle, has not yet been canonized, but is about to. In the case of Acutis, he is said to have cured a six-year-old boy from Brazil who was born with a pancreatic defect and was unable to eat normally without surgical intervention, which was not performed.
In May of this year, Pope Francis also recognized the second miracle: Acutis healed a girl from Costa Rica who suffered a severe head injury when she fell from a bicycle in Florence. Her mother claims that she prayed at the tomb of Acutis in Assisi.
The remaining step was for the Vatican to confirm that it was proceeding with the canonization. After the ceremony, which is expected to be in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, the church will be able to give his name to parishes and schools and will honor him on a feast day.
An image the church needs
The teenager, who died in 2006, is often pictured in jeans and sneakers, and his story is seen as useful for the Catholic Church’s attempts to reach younger generations in the digital age. His canonization was approved along with that of 14 others.
Acutis’ mother says he used to limit himself in playing the PlayStation game because he was afraid of becoming addicted. From the age of nine he helped the homeless in Milan, gave his pocket money to those sleeping on the street, insisted on having only one pair of shoes to help the poor. The Vatican’s official news site quoted a cardinal as saying that he requested first communion earlier than the usual age and that he always helped those in need, in addition to maintaining the sites of his school and parish.
However, he also had worldly pleasures: he played the saxophone, he liked football, he loved animals, he made humorous films about his dogs.
Photo: Ordinary Public Consistory for some causes of Canonization, 01.07. 2024. Source: Vatican News.
EIB // The fight against climate change requires collective action — from governments, institutions, businesses and individuals. A good understanding of the climate challenge is essential for people to make informed choices. To assess the public’s understanding of climate change, the sixth edition of the EIB Climate Survey focuses on people’s knowledge of climate change in three key areas: definitions and causes, consequences, and solutions. Participants answered 12 questions and were ranked on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 indicating the highest level of knowledge. With over 30 000 respondents across 35 countries, including the EU Member States, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Japan, India and Canada, the EIB Climate Survey provides valuable insights into people’s overall understanding of climate change.
Key findings
Scores: The European Union (score: 6.37/10) has come ahead of the United States (score: 5.38/10) in the latest EIB survey on knowledge about the causes and consequences of climate change and solutions to address it.
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Generational gap: Respondents over 30 in the European Union demonstrated greater knowledge of the causes and consequences of climate change compared to younger generations.
Overall knowledge gaps: Respondents generally demonstrated a solid understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change. Meanwhile, awareness of solutions often lags behind. A significant share of respondents in the European Union (74%) and the United States (77%) were unaware of the benefits of reducing speed limits on roads. Additionally, 56% of European respondents and 60% of American respondents did not know that better insulating buildings can help combat climate change.
Generational divide in the European Union
Climate change knowledge varies by age. Respondents over 30 in the European Union scored higher overall (6.47/10) than those under 30 (5.99/10).
For example, 74% of respondents over 30 recognise the importance of recycling products, compared to 66% of younger respondents. There is a notable disparity in knowledge about the benefits of insulating buildings to combat climate change, with 48% of over 30s being aware of this, compared to only 30% of under 30s. 27% of those over 30 understand the climate benefits of reducing speed limits on roads, compared to just 20% of their younger counterparts.
Definitions and causes of climate change
On the definition and causes of climate change, respondents in the European Union (7.21/10) scored well above people in the United States (5.95/10).
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Most respondents (EU27: 71%; United States: 58%) correctly defined climate change as a long-term shift in global climate patterns, although Europeans displayed a 13-point advantage over Americans.
Most respondents (EU27: 74%; United States: 64%) recognise human activities such as deforestation, agriculture, industry and transport as the primary drivers of climate change. The rest attribute it to natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and heatwaves (25%), or to the ozone hole (11%).
Most respondents (EU27: 72%; United States: 58%) correctly identified the United States, China and India as the top greenhouse gas emitters worldwide, with European respondents leading by a 14-point margin over Americans. However, four in ten Americans excluded China from their answers, indicating a lack of awareness about its position as one of the top three emitters worldwide and the primary contributor to global CO2 emissions.
Consequences of climate change
When asked about the consequences of climate change, respondents in the European Union scored 7.65/10. This is significantly higher than the score of Americans, which averaged 6.13/10.
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The most widely recognised consequence of climate change across all surveyed countries is its impact on world hunger. 85% of Europeans and 68% of Americans correctly associated climate change with worsening world hunger due to the impact of extreme weather on crops.
82% of Europeans and 71% of Americans understand the negative impacts on human health, including that climate change can lead to an increase in air pollutants.
When it comes to understanding the effects of climate change on sea levels, a significant share of American respondents (45%, compared to 29% of Europeans) have misconceptions. While sea level rise is recognised by most Europeans (71%), nearly half of Americans (45%) believe either that sea levels are falling (22%) or that climate change does not have a specific impact on sea levels (23%).
69% of respondents in the European Union and 52% in the United States are aware that climate change fuels global migration due to forced displacement.
Solutions to climate change
Respondents scored lower on their awareness of climate change solutions (4.25/10 in the European Union; 4.07/10 in the United States) than in the other two areas (causes and consequences of climate change).
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While most respondents are aware of solutions such as recycling (EU27: 72%; United States: 63%), knowledge gaps remain, with over a third of Americans (37%) unaware that recycling can help.
Only four in ten European and American respondents (44% and 40%, respectively) are aware of the positive impact of building insulation.
There is also limited knowledge among respondents of the benefits of reducing speed limits (EU27: 26%; United States: 23%)
The European Investment Bank plays a key role in financing solutions for climate change and in raising awareness of this critical issue. As the financing arm of the European Union, the EIB invests in major projects globally, such as climate adaptation in Jordan, sustainable transport in India, small-scale solar energy in Brazil, green steel production in Sweden and Europe’s biggest solar gigafactory in Italy. Projects like these highlight our commitment to sustainable development and lower carbon emissions. The European Investment Bank also supports educational and academic climate programmes, such as the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition at Sciences Po, Paris. These programmes equip younger generations with the knowledge to address climate change. The EIB’s educational work is an investment in the human capital essential to long-term environmental sustainability.
President of the European Investment Bank Nadia Calviño said: “Climate action is the defining challenge of our generation. As the financial arm of the European Union, the EIB Group is committed to financing effective projects that tackle climate change and to raising awareness about this pressing issue. We are working closely with public institutions, cities, the private sector and civil society to support climate solutions and to ensure that the green transition is affordable and that it offers new opportunities.”
KingNewsWire // The year 2024 marked a memorable moment for the International Day Against Drugs as it celebrated a noteworthy achievement on June 25th. A day before the UN’s Day Against Drug Abuse, the Foundation for a Drug Free World was officially recognized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in granting the foundation with the NGO Special Consultative Status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) marking a new chapter in the battle against drug abuse.
“The importance of this milestone cannot be emphasized enough” said Ivan Arjona, President of the Foundation MEJORA and Scientology representative to the EU and United Nations. “With years of experience and expertise in drug prevention the Foundation for a Drug Free World is now ready to share its wealth of knowledge on drug education and prevention” he continued. This newfound status allows the foundation to actively engage in events and conferences at UN offices in Geneva, Vienna and New York, while empowering them to host conferences at UN premises focused on sharing their expertise gained through drug education and prevention efforts across various nations for decades.
Olivia McDuff, from the Church of Scientology International Public Affairs Office extended congratulations to the Foundation for a Drug Free World International recognizing the role played by volunteers, partners and supporters worldwide. McDuff highlighted the achievements while also acknowledging ongoing challenges, in addressing the global drug epidemic. She encouraged people who want to make a difference in this cause to check out the resources on the Foundation for a Drug Free World website or reach out for help at their local Church of Scientology, where people can find these materials for free.
It is at least since 30 years that members of the Scientology community have been actively involved in educating and preventing drug abuse in their neighborhoods. Their passion for this mission stems from the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, humanitarian and the founder of Scientology, who understood the negative impact of drugs on society. Mr. Hubbard’s statement that “Research has demonstrated that the single most destructive element present in our current culture is drugs” strongly aligns with the goals of the Foundation for a Drug Free World.
Attaining this Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC signifies a impinging advancement in combating drug abuse worldwide. “With their knowledge and experience the Foundation for a Drug Free World is well positioned to have an impact on global initiatives for drug prevention and education” stated Ivan Arjona-Pelado.
This acknowledgment not only confirms the foundation’s dedication to creating a world free from drugs but also emphasizes the importance of collaborative endeavors, in addressing the complex issues surrounding drug abuse globally. “Every effort to end with the drug epidemic, regardless of which religion supports it, is necessary and well received by those who want a Drug Free World, where children’s rights to live in drug free environments is actually produced” concluded Arjona-Pelado.
One of the strengths of the Focolare Movement is to combine the theoretical aspect of the themes addressed with practical testimonies. As part of the recent interreligious conference organized by this Movement with vast horizons, six actors from different religions testified to their commitments, after five economists presented their thoughts. (see https://europeantimes.news/2024/06/an-economy-for-peace/ )
The Indonesian Lawrence Chong, from Singapore, member of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue of the Vatican, testifies to his journey in this dialogue and with the Focolare movement. He also had the opportunity to participate in “Religions for Peace” meetings, of which he was the moderator for Asia, as a young leader.
The encounter with the Shanti Ashram changed his life, as well as with the Japanese Risshō Buddhist movement. Kosei Kai. According to him, young people will not advance if we do not give them the opportunity to become leaders. Chiara Lubich inspired him by creating new structures for dialogue. Words are in vain if they do not lead to action and to considering others on an equal level. Fraternity will not happen if we do not change the economy, Pope Francis told him. To do this, we must combat the selfishness that is structural in the current economic system.
He founded a company with a Protestant and a Muslim. What he experienced in Singapore, he also did in other countries. It is possible to carry out projects in other contexts, such as the construction of a new village in Malaysia, called “paradise” (Sarawak), where the economy of communion is practiced.
Live friendship with everyone
Hayat Zitouni recalls the history of the Focolare movement in Algeria, from 1964. A small group of four people started a community with a single goal: to live friendship with everyone, in a country that is more than 99% Muslim. The experience becomes popular among Muslims. The summer meetings (called “Mariapoli ”) even have to refuse people because they are so many. The Imam of Tlemcen then became a great friend of Chiara Lubich and the Focolare.
For her, the dialogue of life is a daily experience that pushes us towards others. During the beatification ceremony of the monks of Thibirine, the Focolare contributed to the smooth running of this important event for the Church of Algeria. But it is above all through charitable actions that the movement works. Through the Focolare, she also had a more positive perception of the Jewish people.
“The Dice of Love”
Santi Wongyai , from Thailand, is a musician and teaches art to very poor Burmese migrant children. He also gives them Thai lessons so that they can integrate. But their parents preferred to make them work in the sugar cane fields.
In the province of Chiangmai, he teaches children who come to the Buddhist temple the “Dice of love”. This charismatic figure takes his guitar and sings a song he composed on this theme.
Empowering children
Vijay Gopal, from India, belongs to Shanti Ashram, and is committed to underprivileged children. Ending child poverty builds a peaceful world. For this, we must give them priority for their well-being. More than 140 thousand young volunteers are involved and come from various social strata and religious traditions.
The approach focuses on children’s leadership. Children play a key role from the start. We respect them, include them and make them responsible. The Focolare collaborated on this programme and made it more operational. In 2024, this programme carried out in sixteen states of India will be replicated in ten others.
A young member of this great movement then testifies that he started working on this project at the age of 15, taking care of a very poor family. “It had a huge impact on my career and helped me understand myself better,” he says. Volunteering plays a key role in fostering inclusion and social resilience. We can overcome poverty…but together.”
Alongside the homeless
Harvey Livschitz is from New Zealand and is involved in the Wellington Interfaith Council. He discovered Focolare during confinement at the time of covid-19. In collaboration with a pastor, he took care of the homeless, through sales of food, belts and jewelry, as well as objects made from recycled objects. “The goal of this action is not only to generate profit, but above all to bring a smile to the faces of people who regain dignity,” he said.
“Dare to care”
Indonesian Sri Safitri Oktaviyanti is involved in “Dare to Care”, a Focolare diaconal programme. Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands with more than 200 million people, predominantly Muslim. The country’s motto is “unity in diversity”.
This programme wants to take care of the poor, through the distribution of meals and other charitable actions, especially for the homeless and children from disadvantaged families. In a context where ecology is only in its infancy, Dare to Care also takes care of the environment, in order to put into practice the indications of the encyclical “Laudato Si ” on integral ecology, with actions such as cleaning beaches or planting trees.
The third point of attention is the care of the marginalized, such as the elderly, orphans and the disabled. Another point is meeting religious minorities, inviting them to common meals.
18:28. They led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was dawn; and they did not enter into the praetorium, lest they should defile themselves, that they might eat the passover.
Evangelist John does not write anything about the trial of Christ in the house of Caiaphas, since the synoptic accounts of this event were sufficiently familiar to the readers. He goes directly to a description of the trial of Christ under Pilate.
“It was morning.” It was morning, that is. it was already day (cf. Luke 22:66), about 6 o’clock in the morning.
“in the praetorium.” Christ was taken to the Praetorium, i.e. in the former palace of Herod the Great, where the Roman procurators usually stayed when they came to Jerusalem. From this palace, which was located in the western part of the city, the so-called David’s Tower is still preserved.
The Evangelist notes that the Jews did not enter the Praetorium in order not to defile themselves and to keep themselves clean for the tasting of the Passover. In the home of the pagan Pilate there was leavened bread, and the Jews on the eve of the Passover, on Nisan 13, were obliged to remove from their homes everything that was leavened (Bazhenov, p. 127), as not corresponding to the purity that the Jews were obliged to keep during the Passover.
“so that they may eat the passover” What does this expression mean? Has not the Passover been accomplished yet? It is clear from the Synoptic Gospels that Christ and His disciples had already celebrated the Passover (cf. Matt. 26:17 et seq.) How could it happen that the Jews who brought Christ to Pilate had not yet did the passover? Interpreters give different answers to this question.
Some (e.g. Lambert, The Passover. Journal of Theological Studies, 1903) maintain that among the Jews there was no fixed time for the observance of the Passover, and that Christ observed the Passover at the usual time, while the Jews in question, guided by according to their more accurate calendar calculations, they celebrated Passover a day later than the common people in that year.
Prof. Hvolson (The Last Passover Supper of Jesus Christ. – Christ’s Reading, 1875 and 1878) adds that Christ did perfectly right to celebrate the Passover on Nisan 13, because in the year of Jesus Christ’s death Nisan 14 coincided with Friday, on which it was forbidden to slay the Passover lamb. Therefore, the slaughter of the Passover lamb was postponed for all Jews for 13, i.e. for Thursday night. But the law said that the paschal lamb was to be eaten until morning, and nothing else; the number of that morning was not specified, and Christ, like many other Jews, ate the lamb on the same day it was slain, namely the 13th, while the representatives of the Jews thought it more appropriate to eat the lamb the next day , i.e. at 14 in the evening.
Others (most notably Tsang) try to prove that the verse in question does not refer to the eating of the Passover lamb. The expression “to eat the Passover” means the tasting of the sacrifice which was offered on the morrow of the Passover, the 15th of Nisan (this is the so-called “Haggigah”), and the tasting of the unleavened bread (Kommentar 3. Evangelium des Johannes, S. 621 ff.).
Finally, many of the more recent interpreters (e.g., Loisy, Julicher, etc.) believe that John deliberately deviates here from the correct chronology of the Synoptics in order to convey the idea that our Passover lamb is Christ. According to the description of his Gospel, Christ died on the day and hour when according to the law the Passover lamb was slain.
Of the mentioned explanations, the first seems the most plausible, according to which in the year of Christ’s death, some Jews celebrated Passover on the 13th and others on the 14th of Nisan. Accepting this explanation, confirmed by the calculations of such a connoisseur of Jewish archeology as Prof. Hvolson, we can understand why, on the day after Christ’s tasting of the Passover, the members of the Sanhedrin found it possible to organize the trial and execution of Christ, why Simon of Cyrene only now he returns from work (Mark 15:21) and the women prepare incense (Luke 23:56) and why Joseph of Arimathea finds where to buy a shroud (Mark 15:46). For many, the holiday had not yet begun, and the various shops with goods were still open.
The tradition of the Christian Church also confirms the plausibility of such an explanation. For example, St. Clement of Alexandria directly says that God performed the Passover on Nisan 13 – a day earlier than the legal term (at Bazhenov p. 126). And in the Christian churches of the East in ancient times, until the end of the second century, they celebrated the Passover on the 14th of Nisan, dedicating it to the commemoration of the day of Christ’s death, and therefore they assumed that Christ performed the Passover on the 13th of Nisan.
Finally, Jewish tradition also reports that Jesus was crucified on the eve of the Passover (ibid., p. 135).
Therefore, we have sufficient reason to assert that the evangelist John more accurately determines the chronological sequence here than the synoptics, where things are presented as if Christ ate the passover on the same day as all the Jews.
18:29. Then Pilate came out to them and said: What do you accuse this Man of?
Condescending to the prejudices of the Jews, Pilate went out to them from the palace and stopped on the landing of the stairs that led to the palace. Although he was already known about Christ when the members of the Sanhedrin asked him for a military force to capture Christ in the garden (that Pilate knew about Christ, the account of Pilate’s wife’s dream, Matt. 27:19, testifies), regardless of this, according to the custom of Roman judicial proceedings, Pilate turned to the Jews with a demand that they should accurately formulate their accusation.
18:30. They answered him and said: if He had not been an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.
However, the Jews did not want Pilate to judge a case that they had already decided. According to them, it should be enough for him that they condemned Christ as a villain. All that remained for Pilate to do was to pronounce upon Him the sentence whereby He should be executed.
18:31. Pilate said to them: you take Him and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said to him: it is not lawful for us to kill anyone;
“take Him ye.” Pilate first kept his judicial dignity and refused to do what the Jews asked of him, i.e. to pass judgment on the basis of a wrongful conviction. If the Jews – he thinks – do not recognize his right to judge, let them judge Christ themselves.
“we’re not allowed.” Then the Jews admitted that they had come to Pilate to obtain a sentence of death for Christ, since they themselves had no right to pass such sentences. If they did subsequently execute Archdeacon Stephen under Pontius Pilate (Acts 7), it was done illegally, during a time of popular unrest.
18:32. that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he had spoken when he made it clear what kind of death he would die.
The insistence of the Jews that Pilate should pronounce judgment on Christ, and on the other hand the weakness that Pilate later shows towards them, were to serve to fulfill Christ’s prediction about what kind of death he would die (John 7:32ff. ). If Pilate had resolutely refused to judge Christ and had insisted on his first decision (verse 31), the angry Jews would have executed Christ themselves, but they would have simply stoned Him to death as a blasphemer from their point of view, and thus the prophecy would not have been fulfilled of Christ, that they will raise Him from the earth – that is, on the cross (see the interpretation of John 3:14 and 12:32). Only with the condemnation of Christ by a Roman court was He to be crucified.
18:33. Then Pilate again entered the praetorium and called Jesus and said to him: Are you the King of the Jews?
From the evangelist John it is not clear why Pilate, having called Jesus into the praetorium, asked him: “Are you the King of the Jews?” But from the Gospel of Luke we learn that this question was preceded by an accusation against Christ by the Jews that stirs up the people, calling himself the King of the Jews (Luke 23:2). Pilate, of course, cannot help but remember that he himself gave soldiers to arrest Jesus. Under the influence of the Jewish accusations, he could come to the idea that under the mask of a teacher of religion in the person of Jesus hides a rebel of the people against the Roman rule.
18:34. Jesus answered him: are you speaking this from yourself, or did others tell you about me?
Christ does not directly answer Pilate’s question, but Sam asks him. Let Pilate say what prompted him to ask Christ if he was the king of the Jews? The answer that Christ will give him will also depend on the clarification of Pilate’s motive. It must be answered in one way if the question is asked from the point of view of a Roman, in another way if Pilate repeats the opinion of the Jews.
18:35. Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and the high priests betrayed You to me; what have you done
Pilate denies any connection to his question with the Jewish opinion of Christ as king. For him personally, there can be no question whether the man in front of him is a king or not. This wretched Jesus, a man without any outward signs of royal majesty, is certainly no king! The thought of the royal dignity of such a wretched man could only occur to a Jew carried away by his religious dreams. “Am I a Jew?” asks Pilate. So, if he put this question to Christ, it was not of himself; he only repeated what he had heard from the Jews. As a prosecutor, he is obliged to investigate the complaint against Christ. “What hast thou done?” That is, by what acts havest thou given occasion to the Jews to accuse thee of plotting to acquire kingly power?
18:36. Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world: if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight that I should not be handed over to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.
Christ answers Pilate that for him, as a representative of the Roman authority, the authority to which Christ asserts His rights poses no danger. Christ’s kingdom or power is not of this world. It is of heavenly origin (cf. John 3:5) and must be established on earth by means different from those by which earthly kingdoms are usually founded and established: Christ has no strong supporters who could carry out a political coup in His benefit. The very delivery of Christ to the Jews could not have been effected without strong opposition on the part of His adherents, if He had had enough of them.
18:37. And Pilate said to Him: so, are You a king? Jesus answered: you say that I am a king. This is why I was born, and this is why I came into the world to testify to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.
“So, are you a king?” Pilate realized that Christ had no intention of behaving as a pretender to the Jewish throne. But at the same time he heard that Christ did not give up the idea that he was King. That is why he asks Him: “So, are You a king?” (better translated: “yet you are king”). Perhaps by this question Pilate wanted to make Christ realize that he had better not press his claim to some unknown kingdom that did not belong to this world.
“you say”. Christ answers in the affirmative: “You say” (cf. Christ’s answer to Judas at the Last Supper: “You said” in Matt. 26:25. The expression “you said” as an affirmation is used except in the above verse of chapter 26 of Matthew, also in verse 64 of the same chapter.).
“that”. At the same time, Christ substantiates His affirmative answer with an expression of His self-awareness: “because” (this is how it is more correct to translate the particle ὅτι standing here, translated in the Russian text with the conjunction “che”).
“I am king”. But to make the character of His kingdom better clear to Pilate, Christ now gives a positive description of the Kingdom (previously, in verse 36, only a negative definition of Christ’s kingdom was given). Christ was born, i.e. “proceeded from the Father” (cf. John 16:28) and came into the world, i.e. he appeared in the world not to gain power over people by ordinary earthly means, but to bear witness to the truth, and by preaching the truth to gain subjects for it. The truth that Christ has in mind here is the divine, spiritual, saving truth (cf. John 1:17, 3:11, 32), the true knowledge and revelation of God, which is given by God to men in Christ Himself (cf. John 14:6). Such subjects are to be found not only among the Jews, but also among all nations: anyone who has not lost his desire for the truth, therefore even the heathen Pilate, can understand Christ, the preacher of truth. In this way, Christ extends a hand to Pilate to guide him to the true path, inviting him to familiarize himself with His teaching.
18:38. Pilate said to Him: what is truth? And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them: I find no fault in Him.
Pilate obviously belonged to those Romans who had already lost faith in the existence of truth. He was a skeptical clerk, indifferent to the truth, who was used to seeing only lies, insincerity, and utter contempt for the demands of justice. In his time, bribery and venality reigned in Rome, everyone tried to get rich, and did not consider the means. Philosophy justified this course of action by asserting that there is nothing true in the world: “only this is true – said Pliny – that there is nothing true”. That is why Pilate does not want to hear anything about the truth. “What is truth?”, i.e. truth is only a dream. Is it worth fighting for, going to death for? And Pilate, not expecting an answer (for what could this, in his opinion, an enthusiastic dreamer, answer him?), went out to the Jews and told them that he had found no reason to punish Jesus.
18:39. But you have a custom, that I let you one for Passover; do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?
What should Pilate do now? Or to demand a more detailed description of the crimes of Christ, or else to take Jesus under his protection. But both the one and the other seemed to him inappropriate: the first, because the Jews had evidently already said all they had to say against Jesus, and the second, because of the danger that the irritated Jews would rebel. That’s why Pilate chose the middle way: let the Jews keep their opinion that Jesus is a criminal, but let them also fulfill the procurator’s wish – that the criminal be pardoned for the holiday. According to their custom, every year at the feast of the Passover they asked for the release of one of those condemned by the Roman authorities. Now Pilate agreed to pardon Jesus, whom he ironically calls the King of the Jews.
18:40. Then they all shouted again, saying: not Him, but Vara’va. Vara’va was a robber.
But the Jews did not accept such a compromise: they asked Pilate to release another criminal for the holiday – the robber Barabbas. John gives the events very briefly. He says that the request for the release of Barabbas was repeated (“again”), and earlier he himself did not mention such a request. It is obvious that he did not wish to convey in detail what had already been described in the synoptics (see Mark 15:6-15; Matt. 27: 15-26), but he could not help but mention the request to release Barabbas : this is necessary to explain Pilate’s further conduct.
Source in Russian: Explanatory Bible, or Commentaries on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments: In 7 volumes / Ed. prof. A. P. Lopukhin. – Ed. 4th. – Moscow: Dar, 2009, 1232 pp.
Briefing the Security Council in New York, UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya urged the international community to work to end the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year.
Ms. Msuya said the civilian toll has continued to mount since her last briefing to the Council three weeks ago.
While few areas have been spared from the hostilities, the Kharkiv region has suffered the heaviest impact after Russia stepped up attacks there on 10 May.
UN human rights monitors in Ukraine reported on Friday that at least 174 people were killed and 690 injured nationwide in May, marking the highest number of civilian casualties in nearly a year.
More than half of them were in Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country.
“Shopping centres, homes, educational establishments, shops, office buildings, parks and public transport have all been struck in recent weeks,” she said.
An aid worker registers an evacuated woman for multi-purpose cash assistance at the transit centre.
Supporting displaced people
At least 18,000 people in the Kharkiv region have been newly displaced, she added, citing estimates from UN migration agency IOM.
Some 50 humanitarian organizations have been providing food, water, clothes, cash, psychological support and other assistance to more than 12,000 people at a transit centre in Kharkiv city.
Meanwhile, civilians who remain in frontline and border areas with Russia face dire conditions, as many are cut off from access to food, medical care, electricity and gas. Elderly people have been disproportionately affected as they often are unable or reluctant to leave their homes.
“In northern Kharkiv – where the fighting is heaviest – more than half of those killed or injured have been over the age of 60,” she said.
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has verified that at least 11,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, and more than 21,000 injured, since the conflict began on 24 February 2022, although actual figures are likely much higher.
Infrastructure attacks continue
Ms. Msuya noted that a year has passed since the Kakhova Dam disaster, “one of the most significant incidents affecting civilian infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion.”
The major dam was destroyed on 6 June 2023, resulting in monumental flooding that left large swathes of the surrounding area under water, destroying homes, displacing thousands of families, and disrupting water supplies for millions.
“It showed just how extensive and long-lasting the humanitarian impacts of a single incident affecting critical infrastructure can be,” she said. “That is why it is deeply concerning that systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure – a feature of this war since February 2022 – continue.”
Since 22 March, the UN and partners have identified six waves of attacks across 15 regions which have impacted healthcare and other social, financial and transport services, and disrupted electricity, gas and water supply for millions.
Energy affected, global food supply threatened
Ms. Msuya said Ukraine’s energy system is now down over 60 per cent of its pre-war generation capacity, according to preliminary estimates from the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
“We note that strikes inside the Russian Federation in recent months, including in the Belgorod region, have also resulted in civilian casualties and damage to residential homes and other civilian infrastructure,” she said.
She also voiced deep concern over the impact of attacks on Ukraine’s transportation and port infrastructure on global food security. Recent weeks have seen “worrying indications of renewed upwards pressure on global grain prices, linked to this damage to infrastructure in Ukraine, among other factors.”
She stressed the need for safe navigation throughout the Black Sea, and the protection of ports and related civilian infrastructure, so that food exports can reach global markets.
A Ukrainian teenager stands in the rubble of her destroyed school in Zhytomyr (file).
‘Vast’ humanitarian needs
Turning to the humanitarian front, Ms. Msuya reported that needs remain “vast” as more than 14.6 million Ukrainians, roughly 40 per cent of the population, require some form of assistance. More than half are women and girls.
A $3.1 billion funding appeal for 2024 has so far netted $856 million, allowing humanitarians to provide assistance to more than four million people during the first quarter of the year.
She pointed to the “many challenges” humanitarians continues to face, chiefly lack of access to some 1.5 million civilians in Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
“And as the conflict continues to escalate, and we look to kickstart preparations for another winter dominated by war, full funding of the humanitarian response plan is urgently needed to sustain operations,” she stressed.
End the suffering
Ms. Msuya said that fighting continues to rip apart lives, homes and futures in Ukraine more than three years since the escalation of the war, and the UN and partners remain committed to support affected civilians.
She warned, however, that “the longer the violence and destruction continue, the greater the suffering will become, and the bigger the task to rebuild shattered lives and communities.”
Concluding her remarks, she welcomed the Ukraine Recovery Conference that will be held in Berlin next week, calling it a key opportunity to advance the Government’s recovery priorities and leverage financing for critical development in affected areas.
“And we continue to urge the Security Council and all Member States to do everything within their power to ensure respect for the rules of war, pursue peace and bring the suffering of the Ukrainian people to an end.”
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