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The Assumption and Sant'Egidio |
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Written by André Brombart
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Monday, 14 December 2009 |
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Last 10 December, the General Council received the visit of Gianni La Bella, a person responsible for the Community Sant’Egidio in Rome. He teaches in several Italian universities and has published several books, among which is a biography of Pedro Arrupe, the former General of the Jesuits.
The goal of this visit was to revive links that existed since several years between the Assumption (in particular on the level of the General Curia) and Sant’Egidio. This was held, on the level of personal and friendly relationships, as well as of a collaboration among us on different fields of common interest.
Gianni feels in fact that we share very close viewpoints concerning the
major challenges of the Church today, in particular concerning that
which is happening at its « borders », and that we can, without
difficulty, find ourselves in a real communion through concrete
solidarities.
He evoked especially two domains in which a collaboration could exist
between the Assumption and Sant’Egidio. First, in the field of
ecumenism, especially in the relationships with the Oriental world and
Orthodoxy. Then, concerning the African continent. Today, Gianni told
us, half of the members of Sant’Egidio (more than 40,000 in the world)
live in Africa. On this continent, the Community is on the first rank
concerning help to people having AIDS.
At the end of a warm and very rich exchange, it was agreed to stay in
contact, but also to get in touch with one another, here in Rome but
also in other parts of the Congregation, when projects or events of
common interest could permit us to collaborate in some form or other,
even if it is only on the level of information.
A conviction is common to us today in the Church and in the world. We
must seek to gather together and unite all those who work toward the
same objective. This objective is it not, very simply, the Kingdom of
God?
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 February 2010 )
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