UISG BULLETIN 175/2021
TESTIMONIES OF CONSECRATED LIFE IN THE LIGHT OF “FRATELLI TUTTI”
The title of this issue of the Bulletin already gives a good description of its content. We are offering you testimonies of consecrated life in light of the Encyclical “Fratelli Tutti”. They are luminous examples of fraternity and sorority lived in different forms and places, each according to its context and situation, but they are united by the single desire to build a world that is more equitable, more respectful of each person’s dignity, in which we can live together as brothers and sisters.
Sr. Michelle de Silva, SMSM
Formation for Religious Life- Building on the Essentials
Gone are the days when we thought ourselves by necessity the group leaders and project initiators, our task today is be like Jesus on the road to Emmaus. We must be formed to accompany life’s complex questions, shares our lived experiences, stay and break bread with the people and then disappear so that it is Jesus who remains.
Fabio Baggio C.S.
Current challenges for ecclesial communities in light of “Fratelli tutti”
An encounter with the other puts into place an essential dimension of human existence; the quality of human relations shapes the growth and realization of happiness for every person. “To attain fulfilment in life we need others” (FT, 150). Human beings — adds the Holy Father — cannot “fully know themselves apart from an encounter with other persons” (FT, 87).
Sr. Maria Ausilia, Sr. Franca, Sr. Paola
We Are “Fratelli Tutti”. Letter from the UISG Community of Lampedusa
“We are here in the place of the relatives and friends of those who have died at sea; we are here in the place of all those who have the right to demand justice for an absurd death; we are here to denounce the lack of humanity of the laws and politics that condemn human beings to death” … This is how a member of the Forum expressed himself at the funeral of Yussuf, who was only six months old when the dinghy capsized and he escaped from the arms of his young mother.
Christophe Roucou
Dialogue in a time of violence: a reading of Human Fraternity from the ground
Amongst the barriers of dialogue among Muslims as well as Christians, there may be a view of others proposed or, sometimes, imposed on those different from me by culture, origin or religion. The adage “outside the Church there is no salvation” has led to people ignoring those of other religions or even converting them at all costs so that they can be saved. What kind of theologies of salvation and of the Church are proposed, taught and disseminated today? By both Christians and Muslims.
Sr. Hayat elkass Mussa
Life testimony in the light of the visit Pope Francis to Iraq, especially to Qaraqosh
I felt that the Spirit of the Lord once again fluttered over my suffering and torn people to be filled by a new spirit, the Spirit of Peace and solidarity and real citizenship. And I felt that its white scarf was like a dove wrapping Iraq in a full presence peace and reassurance, and his fatherly blessing granted to the people is like an ointment with which he heals our pains and wounds caused by the sons of darkness “ISIS”.
Sr. Sheila Kinsey, FCJM
The inspiration of St. Francis in the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti
We are asked to passionately reach out in an encounter and dialogue. We are to embrace the isolated and welcome them as belonging to our common home, just as St. Francis embraced the leper (2Cel 9) and realized in after thought, he had kissed the face of Christ. This was not just an event, but a process of learning how to accompany, care and support the most frail and vulnerable members. (FT 64)
Commission on Education of UISG-USG
Global Compact on Education: Final Declarations and Action Plans
We have been experiencing the great prophecy of the Global Compact on Education, inspired by universal love and fraternity, which puts people at the centre of its action. We collaborate in a network with deliberative skills and gifts that lead us in our common path. We aim at empowering people, acknowledging and enhancing “their voice”; this voice is unique and plural, always open to the diversity that enriches the spiritual and human experience.
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