Pope Francis sent a message to cardinals and bishops who have attended “A Charism at the Service of the Church and Humanity”, an international conference of bishops held in Trent, Italy as part of the year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Focolare Movement, Servant of God Chiara Lubich.
The conference, which has the aim of exploring the significance and contribution of the charism of unity, was participated by 7 cardinals and 137 Catholic bishops, friends of the Focolare Movement, from 50 countries around the world. From the Philippines, 7 bishops took part in the meeting: Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose (Nueva Ecija), Bishop Guillermo Afable of Digos (Davao del Sur), Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos (Negros Occidental), Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan (Cotabato), Bishop Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, Bishop Emeritus Antonio Tobias of Novaliches (Metro Manila), and Bishop Emeritus Jesus Cabrera of Alaminos (Pangasinan).
Last February 8, at the opening of the meeting, the message of Pope Francis was read by the Archbishop of Bangkok, Francis Xavier Kriengsak Cardinal Kovithavanij. In his message, the Holy Father greeted the participants and told them that, “It is good then, also for the Bishops, to place themselves once again in the school of the Holy Spirit, Who brings them out of the Upper Room – where the Lord Jesus gathered them in unity with Peter and Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church – to walk in the fire of Pentecost with all the People of God along the paths of mission”.
Referring to the charism of unity which he says is “fully attuned to the Magisterium of the Vatican Ecumenical Council II”, the Bishop of Rome said that it “is one of these graces for our time, which experiences an epoch change and invokes a simple and radical spiritual and pastoral reform, to restore the Church to the ever-new and current wellspring of Jesus’ Gospel”. He also made mention of Jesus Crucified, “Chiara Lubich would add “Forsaken”, he said, as the ‘only compass’ of the ministry of bishops, “making ourselves one with all, starting with the last, the excluded, the discarded, to bring them light, joy and peace”.
Towards the end of his message, the Holy Father said, “With you, then, dear brother bishops, I express my gratitude to God for the gift of the charism of unity through the witness and teaching of the Servant of God Chiara Lubich”. Pope Francis blessed the bishops present including their communities and also asked them to pray for him.
Here is the full text of the Pope’s Message:
Here are some downloadable PDF versions:
https://www.focolare.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/UCF_00_20200208_Messaggio_Papa_Francesco__EN.pdf https://www.focolare.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/UCF_00_20200208_Messaggio_Maria_Voce_Presidente_Focolari_EN.pdf
