On 19th January, 2023, the Biennial Report entitled “Communion in action; a lifestyle of sharing” published by the Focolare Movement was presented in Rome. It is an overview of the activities and initiatives promoted by the Movement during the period 2020-2021.

The first report of this kind published by the Focolare Movement was presented to an audience from the diplomatic, political and religious worlds and to journalists from the Italian media.

The document describes a lifestyle made up of spontaneous sharing, not only of goods but of experiences and needs. It is all inspired by evangelical love. Contemplating the fruits of this sharing encourages a renewed dialogue to increase communion even more. Alongside material resources, the invisible goods which have been donated, invested or gathered in this period are given equal importance.

The journalist Claudia di Lorenzi facilitated the event. It opened with a greeting from the President of the Focolare Movement, Margaret Karram, who said. “I hope that these pages mark the beginning of an ever greater sharing. We desire to be credible seeds of hope that contribute to renewing the world with love”.

Geneviève Sanze, Economist and Co-Responsible for the aspect of “Economy and Work” at the International Centre of the Focolare Movement, explained that “this Report is an instrument of dialogue, an attempt to offer a glimpse of what we try to bring into society to progress the path towards fraternity”.

Sr Marilena Argentieri, President of the CNEC (National Centre for Religious Community Economists) said that what “the Report conveys the idea that nothing belongs to us (…) because everything I have is in communion with others”. Then she added a personal note, “I think the Report makes me grow in freedom and detachment, because at its centre is love for God and love for the poor”.

Andrea Riccardi, historian and Founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio, said, “This document highlights the effects of this communion, of what we have and what we are, in a voluntary and free sharing. And to some extent the more communion there is, the less the effects can be controlled but perhaps the more the Gospel is lived. The Focolare Movement, which has spread silently in many countries of the world, is like a network in society and in the Church, that protects the earth from landslides. We are in a time of human, ecological and religious unease and then there is this network of friendship in the world and here I insist on the value of unity, but a unity that is rooted in so many places in the world, has a much greater value”.

In his turn, Luigino Bruni, Economist and Professor of Economics at the Lumsa University in Rome, said that “the Report reminds us of the importance of the relational capital, the spiritual capital and the invisible capital that make our community beautiful and rich (…). Charisms are capable of activating energies deeper than money, that is, people act for higher aims”.

The “Communion in action; a lifestyle of sharing” Report is a 112-page document, in which you can visualize the life of the Focolare Movement, from the many initiatives to the aspect of formation and study, from communication to ecology and in which it is clear that, as Geneviève Sanze said, “it is not money that changes the world but “new” women and men who bring a new culture of fraternity. This is what we want to highlight”.

Carlos Mana
Office of Communications

Source: Focolare International Website

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The Focolare Movement has published a comprehensive Annual Report for the period 2020-2021 detailing its works and activities throughout the year.

For the first time ever, the Focolare Movement is publishing a mission balance sheet and has decided to do so in the light of this period of crisis and uncertainty that bears the aftermath of the pandemic and the open wounds of the many conflicts around the world. But it is precisely when the greatest and most common problems appear that a feeling of true fraternity and solidarity seems to emerge between people.

Therefore, rather than being a simple report, this Balance Sheet of Communion aims to give the reader an explanatory narrative of the actions and interventions of the Focolare Movement, highlighting what unites and what still needs to be improved. The Balance Sheet places particular emphasis on the key element that is evident from the name itself: communion.

The lifestyle proposed by the Movement, in fact, is based on the choice of putting love into practice which is rooted in the Gospel. A love that – as the founder of the Focolare Movement Chiara Lubich (1920-2008) said – means loving everyone, being the first to love, “getting into the skin of the other”, in such a way that this love extends until it becomes reciprocal, until it reached the point of becoming communion.

In this perspective, the document aims to highlight the effects of communion itself, of what one has and is, in a voluntary and free sharing. At the same time it seeks to make of itself an instrument that opens up dialogue and communion, as President Margaret Karram said in her introductory speech:

“It is with these sentiments that I wish to offer it to you all so that it too can become an instrument of dialogue, to build bridges and spread a culture and the practice of fraternity. It is so close to my heart that we may learn to live this communion, this exchange better and better, in a relationship of reciprocity that makes us sisters and brothers and promotes an authentic family where diversity enriches us and binds us in a harmonious unity”.

See pdf of Annual Report in Italian

The text is being translated into other languages and will be published soon.