Pope Leo XIV receives in audience a group of about one hundred bishops from around the world, friends of the Focolare Movement, gathered in Rome for their congress on the theme 'Bearing witness to unity'. In his address, delivered in English, the Pope says that the theme of the congress and the spiritual heritage of Chiara Lubich are 'especially close to my heart' in 'an age sadly marked by growing polarization': 'If that was Chiara's task forty years ago, it is all the more ours today,' in the face of 'prejudice, racism, religious intolerance and even violence'. He observes that the West is 'now too marked by the effects of individualism, where once-stable networks of family, friendship and community are giving way to greater fragmentation', and that 'despite all the emphasis on individual freedom, today people often feel less free to be truly themselves' for fear of others' judgement. He recalls that the Church is a 'mystery of communion, a sign and leaven of unity for our world' and urges the bishops to nurture the interior life through prayer, the attentive celebration of Mass and the contemplation of the Trinity.
Address to a group of bishops friends of the Focolare Movement — «Bearing witness to unity» (tradotto)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you! Good morning to everyone, and welcome! I greet you warmly, friends of the Focolare Movement, gathered for your spiritual meeting. I am grateful for your visit today, which expresses your collegial affection, and I thank you for your constant prayers. It gladdens…
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Good morning to everyone, and welcome!
I greet you warmly, friends of the Focolare Movement, gathered for your spiritual meeting. I am grateful for your visit today, which expresses your collegial affection, and I thank you for your constant prayers. It gladdens me to see so many of you, coming from different countries, backgrounds and social situations, gathered in one spirit under the Work of Mary. Those reassuring words of our Lord come to mind: “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
Indeed, the theme chosen for your congress, “Bearing witness to unity”, is one of the essential elements of the movement founded by Chiara Lubich, and it is particularly dear to me. In a time sadly marked by growing polarization, our Lord granted her to bear witness both to the meaning and to the service of unity, thus becoming a sign for her generation and for those to come (cf. Pope Francis, Address to the Bishops friends of the Focolare Movement, 25 September 2021).
If that was Chiara’s task forty years ago, it is so with greater urgency for us today. I think of the difficult social situations, the circumstances, the divisions that some of you, my brothers, endure in your own countries, situations such as prejudice, racism, religious intolerance, even violence.
I think too of the situation here in the West, now all too marked by the effects of individualism, where the once stable networks of family, friendship and community are giving way to greater fragmentation, and where freedom is increasingly presented as absolute autonomy, as the ability to pursue happiness without any moral, natural or even human limit (cf. Encyclical Letter Magnifica humanitas, no. 118).
And yet we observe a paradox. Despite all the emphasis placed on individual freedom, today people often feel less free to be truly themselves or to follow their highest ideals, because of the hidden fear of being judged or of not measuring up. Moreover, this loss of openness to others, which sharpens a sense of disunity, ultimately deprives us of the happiness for which we were created, since we are made in the image of the One and Triune God, who is himself a communion of persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By revealing the heart of the Father, Christ shows us the deepest meaning of our existence, of our relationships, and the path to happiness. Through the gift of the Spirit we have become children of God, sharers in the divine life, and from this communion with God flows our communion with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what the Church is, a mystery of communion (cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Communionis notio, no. 3), a sign and leaven of unity for our world.
As sharers in the spiritual heritage of Chiara Lubich, and as ministers of the Church of Christ in a fragmented world, you are called to bear witness to this longed-for unity of the human family. The response to the sad divisions that afflict our world does not consist in forming more committees or launching more projects, but in returning to the source of our unity in the Most Holy Trinity. In fact, we must become contemplatives!
With these reflections, I encourage you to make the most of these days together in order to live that fraternity which recalls and confirms our kinship in Christ. These are days of grace, spent with your brothers in the episcopate. We know how much good it does us. I am therefore glad that in the Work of Mary you have found this spiritual support. May it help you to live communion and fraternity also in your respective Episcopal Conferences.
Above all, I hope that you take the opportunity to nourish your interior life: with generous and prolonged prayer before our Lord in the Tabernacle, with the calm and attentive celebration of the Office and of Holy Mass, and, finally, with the frequent contemplation of the presence of the Persons of the Trinity in the depths of our being. In this way you will be witnesses, for one another and for those you serve, of that unity which builds lasting peace.
In conclusion, I entrust you and the Work of Mary to the loving intercession of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, and I gladly impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in Christ our Lord. Thank you.