Communion and Liberation?

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Is there anyone here that is part of that or know about the group?

If yes, may people please elaborate with their personal knowledge/experience about the organization.

How is it similar and/or different to the Opus Dei or other lay organizations?
 
RCIAGraduate said:
Is there anyone here that is part of that or know about the group?

If yes, may people please elaborate with their personal knowledge/experience about the organization.

How is it similar and/or different to the Opus Dei or other lay organizations?
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The title suggests “liberation theology”, which has been rejected by the Church.
 
correct the title is a tad misleading and could be retitled as to not start a bloody debate that was not intended,

The School of Communion and Liberation and or Community and Liberation which ever name one prefers,

clonline.org/

Is a wonderful group to be apart of, I participate in it plenty of times through out the year and it is very informative, to risk under explaining it, it is sort of like a book club, or similar to a bible study, I have learned a lot by participating in the group, and find it a very relaxing atmosphere, and one can join for free any time through out the year with out having to be an expert in anything or have any knowledge on anything of the founder who I think is in the works to being canonized. It is an all levels participation society. From atheists ( one I know of in my group ) to clergy an everyone in between in the faith.

It is for ones own maturity in life an in the faith along with of course building a better relationship with Christ as is the focus from the start.

I will add at first when I realized of the other group with a similar name I was at first worried that is what I joined, it is not in any way shape or form the same or even similar.
 
Solid…both focused on spiritual growth in the world we live in…making sense of our spirituality in our daily lives…but C&L is more a community oriented daily spiritual growth than Opus Dei’s more personal daily spiritual growth. Sanctioned by all the popes…especially…Pope (Blessed) JP-II and Pope Emeritus B-XVI. Pope Francis is also a real supporter of this ministry/apostolate. they are spread throughout the World…most all of Europe less the Communist dominated countries…they are in all of the Americas…and now in East Asia…the do not have a real presence in Sub-Saharan Africa yet…nor obviously in the Muslim controlled North Africa nations.
Below C&L USA website. Founder Msgr. Luigi Giussani (2005+)

Pax Christi
What is CLA – Movement in the Church
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The Movement of Communion and Liberation
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Communion and Liberation is a movement in the Church which has the purpose of forming its members in Christianity in order to make them coworkers in the Church’s mission in all areas of society.
CL began in 1954 in Italy, at the Berchet classical high school in Milan, when Father Luigi Giussani (1922-2005) started an initiative of Christian presence which uses the pre-existent name Gioventù Studentesca (GS; English: Student Youth).
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Its current name, Communion and Liberation (CL), appeared for the first time in 1969. This name brings together the conviction that the Christian event, lived in communion, is the foundation of man’s authentic liberation. As Benedict XVI declared, Communion and Liberation “today … offers a profound way of life and actualizes the Christian faith, both in a total fidelity and communion with the Successor of Peter and with the Pastors who assure the governing of the Church, and through spontaneity and freedom that permit new and prophetic, apostolic and missionary achievements” (Address to CL, March 24, 2007).
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Giussani summed up the content and purpose of his effort in these words: “From my very first day as a teacher, I’ve always offered these words of warning to my class: ‘I’m not here so that you can take my ideas as your own; I’m here to teach you a true method that you can use to judge the things I will tell you. And what I have to tell you is the result of a long experience, of a past that is two thousand years old.’ From the beginning, our educational efforts have always stood by this method, clearly pointing out that it was intended to show how faith could be relevant to life’s needs.
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As a result of the education I received at home, my seminary training, and my reflections later in life, I came to believe deeply that only a faith arising from life experience and confirmed by it (and, therefore, relevant to life’s needs) could be sufficiently strong to survive in a world where everything pointed in the opposite direction, so much so that even theology for a long time had given in to a faith separated from life. Showing the relevance of faith to life’s needs, and therefore – and this ‘therefore’ is important –showing that faith is rational, implies a specific concept of rationality. When we say that faith exalts rationality, we mean that faith corresponds to some fundamental, original need that all men and women feel in their hearts.” (**Luigi Giussani, **The Risk of Education, New York 2001, pp. 11-12).
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us.clonline.org/
 
po18guy said:
The title suggests “liberation theology”, which has been rejected by the Church.
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Liberation theology per se hasn’t been rejected by the church.

Marxist analysis as a basis for theology has been rejected by the church.
 
Good! Very comforting to know.

Actually, I had it backward. Sadly, liberation, which Christ delivered to us, has been co-opted as a catch-term by a number of less than obedient groups. Like so many other words whose meaning has been altered in recent times. 😦
 
po18guy said:
Good! Very comforting to know.

Actually, I had it backward. Sadly, liberation, which Christ delivered to us, has been co-opted as a catch-term by a number of less than obedient groups. Like so many other words whose meaning has been altered in recent times. 😦
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I agree.

I have never heard of this group before, but on going to the site they look really interesting.

I teach religion in High School and maybe I could start a group there.

Does anyone have any experience?
 
triumphguy said:
Liberation theology per se hasn’t been rejected by the church.

Marxist analysis as a basis for theology has been rejected by the church.
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I should have been more clear. In the Latin American world in particular, “liberation theology” has sprung from Marxist ideology, developed beside it, or has adopted it, depending on the local circumstances.
 
po18guy said:
The title suggests “liberation theology”, which has been rejected by the Church.
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I assure you they are very different. They don’t even address the same areas. Liberation theology emphasizes social justice to the point that it blurs the lines between politics, sociology, and theology. Communion and Liberation is an approved movement in the Church (and has been for years) that focuses on a personal encounter and Friendship with Christ. This encounter is experienced through community interaction and by experiencing and appreciating the beauty of creation (especially the beauty of the human mind). The only similarity between Communion and Liberation and Liberation theology is that their names happen to share a word.
 
john78 said:
it is sort of like a book club, or similar to a bible study,
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Yes, but it’s more than that. They do have weekly book discussions, but there are also vacations and other events if it is run properly. It is about experiencing community with others, appreciating the beauty of creation, and of appreciating the beauty of friendship. (I’m really not doing this justice either- it took me a really long time to “get it,” but once I did I found that explaining it is like trying to someone who doesn’t like pizza why it tastes really good to me).
 
m134e5 said:
I’m really not doing this justice either- it took me a really long time to “get it,” but once I did I found that explaining it is like trying to someone who doesn’t like pizza why it tastes really good to me.
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This is exactly right, speaking as someone who doesn’t quite get it yet. The best thing (one of them, anyway) I’ve gleaned is to stop treating Christ as an abstraction and instead as a Someone, a whole and real person. That requires us to listen to and live by those parts of Christ’s message that are difficult for us. Sounds easy? Hasn’t been for me!

I’ve also been most impressed about how friendly everyone is and how familial a worldwide organization can be.
triumphguy said:
I agree.

I have never heard of this group before, but on going to the site they look really interesting.

I teach religion in High School and maybe I could start a group there.

Does anyone have any experience?
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It might be worth your time to inquire but given that there does seem to be some time needed to “get it,” my uninformed guess is that they will want you to take some time being involved in a School of Community first (that’s where you discuss readings as described above in this thread). I hope you will.

Billy
 
If you are looking for a simple way to define CL you are going to have a tough time. The best way to get to know us, is to “come and see”.

We meet all over the country in many different cities at least once a week for what is called the “School of Community” (us.clonline.org/default.asp?id=747).

You can find them here: us.clonline.org/default.asp?id=821

A forum or Wikipedia entry aren’t going to do the job.
 
Nice to see a couple of members here. 🙂 Good for perspective-thanks for chiming in and others to for responding to this thread. Have a wonderful day everyone and remember today’s Gospel-try to being the Good Samaritan in your life/

Blessings,Love,Hope,Peace in your lives through him.
 
BillyB said:
This is exactly right, speaking as someone who doesn’t quite get it yet. The best thing (one of them, anyway) I’ve gleaned is to stop treating Christ as an abstraction and instead as a Someone, a whole and real person. That requires us to listen to and live by those parts of Christ’s message that are difficult for us. Sounds easy? Hasn’t been for me!

I’ve also been most impressed about how friendly everyone is and how familial a worldwide organization can be.

It might be worth your time to inquire but given that there does seem to be some time needed to “get it,” my uninformed guess is that they will want you to take some time being involved in a School of Community first (that’s where you discuss readings as described above in this thread). I hope you will.

Billy
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I’ve been looking through the website.👍
 
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