Beyond Polarization | Ekklesia Online

Beyond Polarization

January - March 2023 - no 18 2023/1

Issue 18 top

Not infrequently,

diversity bewilders

and disturbs us,

and sometimes hurts us.

If we embrace it

with humility, however,

it can be of enormous service to us:

it breaks the sense of self-absorption and opens us up

to what lies

beyond ourselves.

Three excerpts taken from various interventions by Pope Francis on the necessity of dealing with diversity and opposing positions.

CHIARA LUBICH

Creating space for diversity

This commentary was written by the author in December 1986 and still resonates powerfully today. It offers us a key for addressing the multiple polarizations in our world and our communities.

GÉRARD ROSSÉ

The 'weak' power of agape

The young community of Corinth was in conflict due to factions, opposing viewpoints and a diversity of tasks and charisms that clashed with one another. Scripture scholar, Gérard Rossé, discusses the challenges faced by the early community. Rather than imposing his authority, the apostle Paul guided the community toward responsibility as modeled by the Crucified and Risen One, and thus towards love-agape.

SAMEIRO FREITAS

Vietnam: Learning to have

harmony in relationships

The author recounts the impact on her of more than twelve years of life in Vietnam and the challenges to her European way of thinking and relating to the people helped her to see cultural diversity as a means of enrichment.

JENS-MARTIN KRUSE

How to live diversity

among Christians of different confessions

The author, a former pastor of the Lutheran church in Rome, writes about how his experience became an opportunity to grow into a passion for ecumenism and to establishing mature relationships in which differences were transformed into moments of mutual enrichment.

PAT SANTOIANNI

Forming Community Leaders

The Diploma in Community Leadership is sponsored by the branch of the Sophia University in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

Pat Santoianni, the coordinator of the project, speaks to us about it.

ADRIANA MASOTTI

The digital '6th Continent'

and the Synod

The digital '6th continent' is a term used to describe the online world where, like other 'influencers', young evangelisers are active. Their role has been acknowledged and their unique contribution is being included in the current synodal process.

MARINA (ELSE) CASTELLITTO

30 years of life and 'learning' in Africa

Else Castellitto, focolarina, lived and worked in Africa for 30 years. She gives her experience of trying to relate to others with a culture different from her own and how she came to love and understand the people of Africa.

IRENE RAOELISON

#Together2023

The author reports on how the prayer vigil scheduled to take place in St Peter's Square on the 30 September 2023 came about and how it hopes to be an ecumenical, inter-generational and inter-cultural event.

When Charisms Meet - spiritual exercises together

MATTEO REBECCHI - GIUSEPPINA SIGNORINI

MARIO SUERTE

When charisms meet

The Xaverian International Theologate School of Manila (Philippines) tried a new way of conducting their annual spiritual exercises in the light of communion among charisms. They chose the permanent Mariapolis of the Focolare Movement in Tagaytay, Cittadella Pace, for their retreat. Xaverian Father Matteo Rebecchi, Giuseppina Signorini, and Mario Suerte (two focolarini) speak about the experience.

VINCENT LOCKHART

Everything passes away,

only love remains

The author spent many years in a rural parish in south west Cameroon, an area which is currently experiencing civil war.

He writes about reconnecting with people affected by the conflict and his relationship with them.

He is one of the editors of Ekklesía Online, the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Scotland and a parish priest.

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