Focolare Movement

[IrishAm]

Does anyone have any information on the Focolare movement? Sanctioned, off the wall, or somewhere in between? I recently ran across some 25-year-old articles and wondered about this group and its focus on “the word.”

 

[maggieodae]

Does anyone have any information on the Focolare movement? Sanctioned, off the wall, or somewhere in between? I recently ran across some 25-year-old articles and wondered about this group and its focus on “the word.”

Not familiar with them, but from this website they sound pretty cultist.

Focolar Information

 

[IndianaCatholic]

I’m disappointed to hear that the Focolare “sounds pretty cultist”. I think that idea stems from its focus on community but without making a big deal out of hierarchy–the idea is to not let structure detract from building unity, but it seems to often be interpreted as intentional opacity.

To answer the question, though, the Focolare is something pretty novel (founded in the 40s) and progressive (huge involvement in interreligious dialogue), but operating safely within the blessing of the Church. For what it’s worth, its official relationship with the Vatican is as an “ecclesial movement”.

I’m not sure what the articles could have been dealing with when they discussed “the word”, I don’t think that is any kind of go-to phrase in the Focolare–maybe they were talking about the Word of Life? That’s the name of a monthly gospel-study type Focolare publication.

 

[tomarin]

i wouldn’t go entirely by what that website says. whoever authored it seems to have a personal ax to grind.

 

[jimcav]

From www.religion-info.com/focalare

It’s quite a large movement, that has come to include all faiths, and even those with no religons, which seems rather odd to say the least -

Focalare (an Italian word meaning hearth or family fireside) is a religious movement that was founded by Chiara Lubich (born on January 22, 1920) and her friends in Trent, Italy in 1943 (during World War II). In the beginning, it involved only members of the Catholic Church. In 1958, it included all Christians and later, also included members of all religions and those with no religion. The Focalare Movement was approved by Pope John XXIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1962. The Focalare movement has an estimated 70,000 members and 1,200,000 friends.

A passage from the Gospels is chosen each month and used as a guideline for living. Participating in the Focalare movement is to live the Gospel on a daily basis.

There are “mini-cities” or communities inhabited by core members throughout the world. Over 100 meetings called “Mariapolises” are held during the summer at these “mini-cities”.

The first permanent Mariapolis was established at Loppiano, Italy in 1964 and now has about 500 inhabitants. In the North America, the Mariapolis is held at Hyde Park, New York and named “Mariapolis Luminosa”.

 

[dac_toan]

Does anyone have any information on the Focolare movement? Sanctioned, off the wall, or somewhere in between? I recently ran across some 25-year-old articles and wondered about this group and its focus on “the word.”

Hi! I'm Toan! I'm a member of focolare Movement in Vietnam. You said you want to know more information about movement. You can check this website: [www.focolare.org](www.focolare.org). Or contact with Helen Chan: [email]meeling_chan@yahoo.com[/email] or my e-mail: [email]dactoan246@gmail.com[/email].

 

[dskysmine]

Hello everyone.

I am a member of the Focolare Movement, actually the Gen Movement, which is directed at the younger “segment”.

The Focolare Movement is directed at just following the words from the Gospels in your everyday life. Because it follows the words of the Gospels it is directed at every person from every religion. It usually focuses on what people from different religions have to bring to the table to achieve a “united world”.

If you have any questions regarding the particulars of the mouvement you can address them here in the Forum. I can give you a lot of information. Although I would have to slowly give it to you because there are a lot of informations and it is hard to grasp the whole concept.

Take care,
Daniel

 

[JCProject]

It’s more down to earth than “cultist”. The only thing that might sound in a way mystic is that we don’t just talk about Jesus living amidst us, but experience it. Which should be possible anywhere in the Church, so shouldn’t sound strange to someone who aims to do what Jesus asks us to.
It’s about living the Gospel in everyday life. Love everyone. Being one in Christ. Doing God’s will. Believing that God is love and giving him the first place in life.

What could seem a bit intransparent in the beginning is

1. that there are so many branches and initiatives, because a lot of people started something right where they are and networked.
2. that it is more important to do things in unity than to exert one’s authority. So if you want to know who is responsible you sometimes have to ask, you won’t see it from the way one behaves to the others.

Ilka

 

[SedesDomi]

Your statutes require the president to be a woman. Why is that?

The logic comes from the inspiration of Chiara. Remember that she gave Focolare the name ‘The Work of Mary.’ It’s the work of Mary not in the sense of a devotion to Mary, but in the sense of bringing Jesus to the world, and Chiara wanted the Focolare to have the same objective – to carry, through the experience of reciprocal love, the living presence of Jesus. It’s an essentially Marian work. As such, Chiara felt the president should be a woman, even if she didn’t always feel that so clearly. It was an idea that grew within her, based on the Marian function of the work. It was John Paul II who confirmed it.

When Lubich asked John Paul about it, didn’t he say, ‘Why not?’

He also said magari! [an Italian expression roughly meaning, “And how”!] That’s more than, ‘Why not?’ It expressed his desire to approve it. I believe it’s essentially a way of expressing this Marian character of the work. But, the woman who acts as the sign of unity in the Focolare is assisted by a council which is made up of equal numbers of men and women, precisely to ensure their equality.

 

[Dale_M]

The reporter John Allen wrote an interesting overview of Focolare:

The story illustrates three points about Focolare (an Italian word meaning “hearth”), a movement founded by Italian lay woman Chiara Lubich in 1943, which today has 140,000 core members and some two million affiliates in 182 nations:

* In a time of bitter divisions, Focolare is one of the few outfits with a track record of bringing people together.
* They have the trust of the bishops and of the Vatican -- no mean feat for a lay movement which includes members belonging to other Christian churches and even other religions, and whose rules require the president to be a woman.
* Focolare is little known in the United States, where the movements generally don’t command the high profile they enjoy in Europe.

None of this, of course, is to suggest that Focolare is immune to criticism. From the Catholic right, some traditionalists see Focolare as a Trojan horse for syncretism and religious relativism; from the left, some progressives regard Focolare as overly obeisant to the hierarchy and unwilling to spend its capital on church reform. Like many of the new movements, Focolare has been dogged by complaints from ex-members about excessive secrecy and control. The 1995 book The Pope’s Armada, by ex-focolarino Gordon Urquhart, details those charges.

Those topics are fair matters for debate, and no doubt Focolare will never be everybody’s cup of tea. Yet it’s hard to escape the impression that whatever its defects, Focolare remains a valuable resource for the über-challenge facing Catholicism today: Figuring out how the church can harness its resources to face the new questions of the 21st century, rather than being forever consumed by its internal battles.

ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/memo-divided-church-meet-focolare

The article includes an interview with Maria Voce, international president of Focolare.

 

[jimcav]

The Focolare Movement is directed at just following the words from the Gospels in your everyday life. Because it follows the words of the Gospels it is directed at every person from every religion. It usually focuses on what people from different religions have to bring to the table to achieve a “united world”.

I’m not sure how this could work when it seems every Christian denomination has it’s own meaning of the Gospels. Every denomination teaches and translates it’s own truth. IMHO, the world can only unite under one Christian faith, and that faith is the Catholic Church.

And the Catholic Church has more than the Gospels, it has tradition. How does this come into play in this movement? And if it doesn’t, shouldn’t it?

Not to sound harsh, and maybe I’m wrong here, but this movement sounds like a Gen X or some youth style movement, where truth is whatever you want it to be, or there really isn’t even a truth at all, no right or wrong, no black and white, just grey areas. The youth today are being brought up in a world just like this, so maybe that is why this aging baby boomer doesn’t get it…

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

Your statutes require the president to be a woman. Why is that?

The logic comes from the inspiration of Chiara. Remember that she gave Focolare the name ‘The Work of Mary.’ It’s the work of Mary not in the sense of a devotion to Mary, but in the sense of bringing Jesus to the world, and Chiara wanted the Focolare to have the same objective – to carry, through the experience of reciprocal love, the living presence of Jesus. It’s an essentially Marian work. As such, Chiara felt the president should be a woman, even if she didn’t always feel that so clearly. It was an idea that grew within her, based on the Marian function of the work. It was John Paul II who confirmed it.

When Lubich asked John Paul about it, didn’t he say, ‘Why not?’

He also said magari! [an Italian expression roughly meaning, “And how”!] That’s more than, ‘Why not?’ It expressed his desire to approve it. I believe it’s essentially a way of expressing this Marian character of the work. But, the woman who acts as the sign of unity in the Focolare is assisted by a council which is made up of equal numbers of men and women, precisely to ensure their equality.

Magari has a flavor of “I wish”/“why not”

 

[SedesDomi]

Not to sound harsh, and maybe I’m wrong here, but this movement sounds like a Gen X or some youth style movement, where truth is whatever you want it to be, or there really isn’t even a truth at all, no right or wrong, no black and white, just grey areas. The youth today are being brought up in a world just like this, so maybe that is why this aging baby boomer doesn’t get it…

There’s nothing that I see on the Focolare website where it says that truth is subjective, or there is no right or wrong. Instead, a main emphasis seems to be unity, which means (among other things) humans treating other humans as brothers, sisters, as one family. Focolare is a Catholic movement, but since it also stresses human brother/sisterhood, it also allows non-Catholics who also want to work for unity, to join. The unity spoken of is not a unity of combining all religions into one. The unity is the unity of treating all humans - whether Catholic or non-Catholic – as individuals deserving basic respect and compassion.

 

[dskysmine]

I’m not sure how this could work when it seems every Christian denomination has it’s own meaning of the Gospels. Every denomination teaches and translates it’s own truth. IMHO, the world can only unite under one Christian faith, and that faith is the Catholic Church.

And the Catholic Church has more than the Gospels, it has tradition. How does this come into play in this movement? And if it doesn’t, shouldn’t it?

Not to sound harsh, and maybe I’m wrong here, but this movement sounds like a Gen X or some youth style movement, where truth is whatever you want it to be, or there really isn’t even a truth at all, no right or wrong, no black and white, just grey areas. The youth today are being brought up in a world just like this, so maybe that is why this aging baby boomer doesn’t get it…

SedesDomi already addressed your last comment.
I will just state the obvious. The Focolare Mouvement is Catholic, and its statues were approved by the Holy See. Chiara never did anything that the Church didn’t approve. Before the Mouvement was accepted by the church she always abided by her bishop’s commands. If you would know more about the Mouvement’s Statutes you wouldn’t have to ask that.
The fact that many people from different religions can be affiliated is because the Words of Christ are not only for the Catholics, they are meant for everyone, and Truth doesn’t need to be hidden from everyone else it is supposed to be shouted from the rooftops.

 

[bart_0117]

De Maria, numquam satis.

Yes, it is all good that the movement was sanctioned by the Church and all.
And yes, I could not agree with you more that Truth MUST be shouted out from the rooftops.

However, I have seen so many of these so-called inter-faith groups who, in the name of unity and ecumenism, somewhat “moderated” things to accommodate for other faiths. One mistake many such make is to think they can appropriate Truth to themselves and sort of moderate It as deemed suitable. If protestants do not find phrases like the one above, De Maria numquam satis, they will not use them. If protestants do not want too much emphasis placed upon John Chapter 6 much less taking it seriously, then they will not touch it. But for Goodness’s sake, we will have no lace and incense. Liturgy is a complete waste of time. More communal prayer, less Liturgy is the way to go. Lex orandi lex credendi is just a pretentious medieval saying trads love to throw around. That sort of so-called ecclesiastical movements. And I am very suspicious of them as you can see.

Look, no one can appropriate Truth to himself. The Church has the unique role on Earth of interpreting the Truth but the Truth no one will even get to see until he steps into Heaven with his beatific vision. So these “movements”, if they really desire to serve the Church and evangelise others, must show people the unadulterated, no-holds-barred, no-nonsense Truth. That is the only way people can ever be evangelised. And if Focolare does not deliver it, then they certainly do not pass the smell test. And looking at how much emphasis was placed in the word “unity”, I remain yet to be convinced that they would pass it.

 

[hoipolli]

Why not consult the website focolare.org and learn some more about the movement.

 

[pnewton]

I found this from a specific diocese.

The Focolare Movement is an international presence, born from the Gospel and approved by the Church, under the name, Work of Mary. Focolare people are working for "unity in all spheres of life. This includes the workplace, the parish, meetings, marriage, the rectory, the doctor’s office, the political party, the Catholic School…They take Jesus at His word: Matt 18:20 “where two or more are united in my name there am I in their midst.” It is a grace drawing together people of all Christian traditions and from the world religions, alongside people of “other convictions”, who share the aim of building a united world - so dear to the heart of Jesus.

nelsondiocese.org/our-catholic-faith/our-prayer-life-and-spiritual-growth/focolare.html

This from EWTN

ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/zfocolare.htm

 

[dskysmine]

De Maria, numquam satis.

Yes, it is all good that the movement was sanctioned by the Church and all.
And yes, I could not agree with you more that Truth MUST be shouted out from the rooftops.

However, I have seen so many of these so-called inter-faith groups who, in the name of unity and ecumenism, somewhat “moderated” things to accommodate for other faiths. One mistake many such make is to think they can appropriate Truth to themselves and sort of moderate It as deemed suitable. If protestants do not find phrases like the one above, De Maria numquam satis, they will not use them. If protestants do not want too much emphasis placed upon John Chapter 6 much less taking it seriously, then they will not touch it. But for Goodness’s sake, we will have no lace and incense. Liturgy is a complete waste of time. More communal prayer, less Liturgy is the way to go. Lex orandi lex credendi is just a pretentious medieval saying trads love to throw around. That sort of so-called ecclesiastical movements. And I am very suspicious of them as you can see.

Look, no one can appropriate Truth to himself. The Church has the unique role on Earth of interpreting the Truth but the Truth no one will even get to see until he steps into Heaven with his beatific vision. So these “movements”, if they really desire to serve the Church and evangelise others, must show people the unadulterated, no-holds-barred, no-nonsense Truth. That is the only way people can ever be evangelised. And if Focolare does not deliver it, then they certainly do not pass the smell test. And looking at how much emphasis was placed in the word “unity”, I remain yet to be convinced that they would pass it.

Even Mary, the Mother of us knew when to keep things in her heart when she could argue about them. Knowing the Truth does not mean that we have to shove it in people’s eyes to force them to believe in something that they cannot understand. That is where the Holy Spirit works… not us.
Creating Unity starts with looking at what makes us humans, being God’s children and loving each other regardless of the sins we see. Jesus sent us to the world even though we are not of the world.This means that we are to be also in the midst of the biggest sinners and love them as we would a family member - an enemy… someone that despises what you represent. I have testified to such moments and even as my heart poured tears of grief I loved them and prayed for them. I have been called idolater, pagan, medieval, condemned to hell, and much others… and to this day I still wish that those people are ok and that they experience the love of God. What Chiara discovered is not a huge secret… it is the life of the Word. Instead of telling people to live like this or live like that actually put those words in practice in our lives and let them judge from their own eyes. No one in the Movement is there because they think the Movement is “the right place”. A lot of friends that come to meetings with us only show up when they have time from busy schedules, they do not necessarily participate in all the activities, but they continue to help us in our initiatives even if they have their own church life, other lay movement or even no belief at all because they believe in this life, which is what we call “Jesus in the midst”. It is a strange concept for a lot of people. This does not mean that the Movement is not Catholic… if you read the statutes you would see that one of the 12 fundamental points of the Movement is the Church. This does not mean that everyone in the Movement has to be Catholic, but that what we do we do it with the blessing of the Church. I still remember when I was 12 years old and I went to my bishop to ask for his blessing for a teen meeting we were going to have in my city. He actually said I had the face of a bishop (I turned pink). There are people from other churches and not believers who joined the Movement and they respect the fact that the Movement is and will always be connected to the Church but that does not mean that they are not accepted and they cannot build with us a more united world. We learn by doing. “Fede” (Italian for faith) was an atheist that became a Focolarin before even he believed in God. He believed that Chiara was onto something so he became a Focolarin in the wild years in Italy where a life similar to the early Christians seemed an appeal to Communism, but little did he know that God had something planned for him. More than 50 years down the line he is now a focolarin priest that can still teach us youngsters what an Ideal really is.
I don’t have time to share a lot more as it is almost 1AM but I hope you understand something of what I tried to share.
Have a wonderful Easter.
God bless you.
Daniel

 

[bart_0117]

De Maria numquam satis.

Thank you firstly for sharing your personal experience with the movement.
Whilst anecdotes make poor objective evidence, as a fellow Catholic, I do appreciate your sincerity. It does seem that the focolare movement takes unity as the primary goal of the movement which is all well and good.

However, having read how you consider evangelisation and speaking of Truth, it still seems rather opaque as to how much of the Church’s revealed Truth the movement reflects.

[1] If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. [2] And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [3] And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. [4] Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; [5] Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; (Corinthians I, 13:1-5)

Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth.
(Caritas in Veritate, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI)

I am sorry for “shoving” long quotes “into your eyes” but it is actually Charity that demands Truth to be told and shared. Certain teachings of the Church are indeed very difficult to absorb much less follow. Certain teachings of the Church might even seem “uncharitable” to the “untrained eye”. I can see some people saying the Church is very uncharitable to not allow the use of contraceptives for poor families. I can see people swearing at clerics when they say abortion is evil regardless of circumstances, even in cases of rape. However that is for those who have not taken the time to start to explore the Eternal Truth. Truth itself is beautiful and plentiful. Anything taken away from it or added to it in the name of unity fails to achieve unity and perverts Truth. That is why some Catholics believe Ecumenism actually means You-Come-In-Ism. Charity can only be charitable when you say the right things in the right ways or do the right things in the right way. It has nothing to do with being “nice”, “inclusive” or “unifying”.

A blessed Triduum and a glorious Easter I wish you.

 

[dskysmine]

De Maria numquam satis.

Thank you firstly for sharing your personal experience with the movement.
Whilst anecdotes make poor objective evidence, as a fellow Catholic, I do appreciate your sincerity. It does seem that the focolare movement takes unity as the primary goal of the movement which is all well and good.

However, having read how you consider evangelisation and speaking of Truth, it still seems rather opaque as to how much of the Church’s revealed Truth the movement reflects.

[1] If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. [2] And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. [3] And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. [4] Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up; [5] Is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil; (Corinthians I, 13:1-5)

Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth.
(Caritas in Veritate, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI)

I am sorry for “shoving” long quotes “into your eyes” but it is actually Charity that demands Truth to be told and shared. Certain teachings of the Church are indeed very difficult to absorb much less follow. Certain teachings of the Church might even seem “uncharitable” to the “untrained eye”. I can see some people saying the Church is very uncharitable to not allow the use of contraceptives for poor families. I can see people swearing at clerics when they say abortion is evil regardless of circumstances, even in cases of rape. However that is for those who have not taken the time to start to explore the Eternal Truth. Truth itself is beautiful and plentiful. Anything taken away from it or added to it in the name of unity fails to achieve unity and perverts Truth. That is why some Catholics believe Ecumenism actually means You-Come-In-Ism. Charity can only be charitable when you say the right things in the right ways or do the right things in the right way. It has nothing to do with being “nice”, “inclusive” or “unifying”.

A blessed Triduum and a glorious Easter I wish you.

Your idea of Unity is telling everyone:
“You are all wrong… be all like me”.
Puhlease…
I’m sure a lot of your atheist friends have been converted like that…
You can’t tell people they are wrong like that. You have to show them through your life the real Life. That’s when they want to learn and to know what moves you.
It’s ridiculous to give the whole of the Truth in one second to someone. Not even Jesus manifested Himself like that to the Apostles and you expect that to work nowadays?
Life is not a game where the fastest conversion get’s you a Jackpot… all in God’s time.
To create real Unity and show other people the Truth God has to work in them… you cannot give them the Holy Spirit… you can just enable a change in heart and I assure you that that change in heart does not happen when you shove into their faces “you are wrong”.
Even as Catholics with the whole of the Truth we are not to be the judge of others we are to love them and to show them how God loves them. They have to make the choice for God… not us. They have to make it willingly and consciously.
I could give you a lot of personal experience of how this actually works but since you don’t like anecdotal evidence keep to your guns. In the end I hope we both can give God the fruits that he has asked of us. He will have the last saying.
Holy Easter for you.
Daniel