VATICAN CITY, OCT. 18, 2012 (Zenit.org).- The following is the summary of the intervention given by Maria Voce, President of the Focolare Movement, at the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization
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The Focolari Movement – present in the 5 continents in 194 nations, in the different levels of the population, of all ages, in religious and lay environments, often in frontier areas – together with the whole Church has been involved in evangelization with new impulse and ardor.
Convinced of the importance of being evangelized to be able to evangelize, it pays attention to the formation of its members so they can be the light, the leaven, the salt. “Environmental cells”, made up of two or more in the same place, bring the living presence of the Risen One everywhere, in the housings, in the factories, in the places of public administration, in hospitals, in schools and in universities. On the territorial level, the relation of fraternity inspired by the Gospel are made visible in the areas and cities by the “local communities”.
For its own charisma, the unity invoked by Jesus in his testament (Jn 17:21), the Movement prefers forms of collective witness, such as the international days or gatherings, the Mariopolis and the Citadels, where the law of the inhabitants is the new commandment. It also uses the press, such as Citta’ Nuova, and the new media and social networks.
A privileged path is that of dialogue: ecumenical, interreligious, with those who do not recognize in themselves any sort of religious conviction or contemporary culture, where the Movement offers its contribution to enlighten with the Christian light the various cultural spheres of society.
[Original text: Italian]
