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A quarterly magazine FOI No. 40 - March-April-May 2014 - 5,50 â‚Ź

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VIE Contents

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Editorial by Father Laurent FABRE Special report 4

Sister Angelique

A Divine Smile 14

Ecumenism

20

Christian training

26

Youth pages

14 • Walter Kasper, Brotherly ecumenism 16 • Living until death, Communiqué of the FPF (French Protestant Federation) 18 • Prayer

20 • Judaism: The Jewish passover 22 • Media: Aleteia 24 • Cinema: “Running on empty”, by S. Lumet

26 • A Treasure Hunt 28 • Testimonies

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Life in the Community

35

Young Talent

30 • The Spirit’s Surprises 32 • A world tour: Canada 34 • Cana : a European meeting

35 • Benoit Coadic

FOI magazine (Fraternité Oecuménique Internationale, International Ecumenical Fraternity) is published by the Chemin Neuf Community, 10 rue Henri IV, 69287 Lyon Cedex 02, France Publication director: P. Laurent Fabre Executive director: Jean-Charles Paté, Editor in chief: Pascale Paté, Editorial committee: Franck Démaret, P. François Lestang, Marie-Farouza Maximos, Isabelle Rambert, P. Gabriel Roussineau, P. Adam Strojny. Graphic design: Annick Vermot (06 98 61 98 76), Photo credits: Master Deff, AFP, UNCR B. Sokol, flickr : KD Dijkstra , Monusco, infotresor, José Lodewick - CCN : Gilbert Soobraydoo - Flickr : mhaithaca fotolia.com : angelo.gi, Andres Rodriguez, kasiap, herreneck, Eisenhans, Jasmin Merdan Subscriptions: Nicole Zébrowski, Administration-Management: AME, Production: Sandrine Laroche, Bruna Atallah (Couverture) Printing: Saxoprint.fr , Registration of copyright: March 2014, CPPAP : 0310 G 83338, ISSN : 1770-5436

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FOI • N°40 • March – April – May 2014

Editorial Madiba and Ubuntu

It is difficult to translate “Ubuntu” into English but the practical way that “Ubuntu” was lived out in the life of Nelson Mandela should inspire anyone who wants to work for greater unity, be it unity between marriage partners, between nations, between Christians. Here are six examples: as you read them think of the radiant face of that man who spent 27 years in prison.

1/ In prison, he became the friend, confidant and master of his guard, James Gregory who spoke admiringly of him.

2/ Anyone who lives out “Ubuntu” casts out all bitterness and is able to love his enemy. When he, a black man, left prison, he stretched out his hand to the man who had imprisoned him: Frederik De Klerk, who is white. De Klerk would later speak of Mandela’s remarkable lack of bitterness.

3/ A Methodist, he had a genuinely ecumenical approach: In 1993, as part of his plan to establish unity, he did not hesitate to propose his great friend the Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the position of Chairman of the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation. The Archbishop later said of him: “Nelson Mandela is a world icon for Reconciliation”.

4/ As the famous film “Invictus” showed, Mandela’s “Ubuntu” gave him the audacity and the authority to have a black man included in the otherwise white national team, the team which, encouraged by the President, won the World Rugby Championship in Johannesburg in 1995. Prophetically, with a great sense of humour and joy, President Mandela put on the green and gold jersey. In the stadium, the chains of apartheid were shattered as the whole world looked on.

5/ Nelson Mandela was a Christian and, like Christ, he suffered much, not only physically but also morally and in his family, his marriage and his relationships with his children. He himself announced the death of his son, Makgatho, from AIDS. He never said much about his faith: unlike various others, he never made a show of it but in his lectures and speeches it was obvious that he knew how to open up to those who did not think as he did. He had no boundaries, he lived out his interfaith approach admirably and was suspicious of any form of dogmatism. In short he was a truly humble man. To live out “Ubuntu”, he certainly had to become humble. In 2005, he said that he did not think History would remember much about him; he only wanted to be remembered as one among many.

Father Laurent FaBRE Founder and leader of the Chemin Neuf Community

6/ And we must of course add that the joyous practice of “Ubuntu” generates a certain sense of humour, enabling a man or woman to take a step back from what is going on. In plain English, we could say that someone listening to the Holy Spirit often has the joy of the Spirit. Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95. In 2008, his diary had 235 meetings and appointments planned. That same year he joked about the crowds who so often surrounded him particularly at the giant concerts organised for his foundation to combat AIDS: “To see a ninety-year-old in real life must surely be an irresistible temptation!”.

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THE FILM

Sister Angelique

THE COUNTRY

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HISTORY

The D.R.C. Panorama

Some important dates

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Special report

Sister Angelique A Divine Smile

Reconstitution du village d’Ars à l’époque de J-M Vianney

In this film, we present the extraordinary testimony of Sister Angelique Namaika, a nun from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has consecrated her life to helping women who had been victims of the LRA, a rebellion that spread terror in the north-east of the country. In the past ten years, Sister Angelique has helped over 2000 women in the city of Dungu to recover from the traumas that they had endured and to rediscover their dignity and an appetite for life. It was through her faith, her compassion and her ingenuity at being able to suggest forms of training to them which allowed them to become self-supporting, that she could lead these women on a path to resurrection and to joy.

Sister Angelique was presented with the Nansen Prize by the High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on 17 September 2013.

Each month the Chemin Neuf produces a video, translates it and distributes it in 72 countries worldwide. By this means a network of prayer is created, the NET FOR GOD International Ecumenical Fraternity. The film can be found on-line at www.netforgod.tv It can also be purchased as a DVD from ame-boutique.com

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Sister Angelique A Divine Smile

The film

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Special report

Sister Angelique Namaika, a Catholic nun in the Congregation of Augustinian sisters, is a native of Orientale Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, an immense country in the centre of Africa.

Sister Angelique: “A woman has a huge responsibility for the life of mankind throughout the world; it is she who bears life, who raises this life to adulthood. If this woman, who bears life, is not at peace, if her dignity is scorned, and if she is not joyful, imagine the plight of the country where she lives; imagine the plight of the whole world! Because it is the children of this woman who will be the ones to shape the world of tomorrow.

They must be well treated, much loved, in order to transmit this love.”

NFG: Sister Angelique received a call to consecrate her life to the sick and the very poor during her childhood, thanks to the witness of two nuns: a European missionary, Sister Tone, and a Congolese sister, Anuarite, who died as a martyr in 1964 and was beatified

by Pope John Paul II in 1985.

Sister Angelique: “I wanted to serve people who are sick ever since my childhood, as a result of the witness of a German nun, Sister Tone. When I took this decision, I didn’t tell anyone because at that time I only knew European sisters; I didn’t know if there were any African sisters.

From time to time, Sister Tone came to our chapel to see to the sick. Each time that she came, we went as a family for treatment and to get some medicines for the coming days. I saw that this sister was always alone, receiving the sick and caring for them.

I told myself that she never had time to rest or to eat and that I would do everything to become like her, to help her so she could get some time to rest.

During my training, several passages from the Gospels touched me a lot.

They said that Jesus went everywhere doing good. He had no time to rest.

And he also said ‘Everything you have done to the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.’ Sister Tone had discovered this word of God and this was why she took care of the sick.

She had discovered the face of the Lord through sick people; this is why she had no time to rest... ”

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The Democratic Republic of Congo is an amazing country, whose extraordinary scale, landscapes and cultural riches make it one of the most exciting places to get to know. It has three outstanding features: a territory with the dimensions of a continent; the most abundant and varied natural resources; a large young population.

A COUNTRY... A SUB-CONTINENT. The D.R.C. Is one of the largest countries on the African continent. Its 9,165 km of borders enclose a huge area, which, from Guinea in the west to the Great Lakes in the east, from the Sudanese savannah in the north to the copper belt in the south, cover 2,345,409 sq km.

The Congo basin is one of the two largest in the world, the other being the Amazon, yet it represents only 13% of the surface area of the African continent. The River Congo is a symbol of national unity. With a length of 4,700 km, (the distance from Paris to Moscow), it can have a width of 25 km in some places.

The

D.R.C.

A Panorama A COUNTRY FILLED WITH NATURAL RICHES From a bird’s eye view, it is really a “sea of green”, a truly “virgin” forest, which spreads over thousands of square km, which shelters an extraordinarily rich flora and fauna. It remains a mystery as much as a challenge.

Within this virgin forest with its invaluable timber, the country is overflowing with natural riches. It is the land of copper, of cobalt, of diamonds. It is that of chromium, of columbite-tantalite (coltan), a rare mineral in demand in the electronics, information technology and aeronautical industries. In the Great Lakes region and also in the central basin, these are indications of a very great potential for hydrocarbons. It is these riches which explain in part the wars which the Democratic Republic of Congo has known since it freed itself from colonisation.

A NATION: A MOSAIC OF CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC COMMUNITIES. One of the great riches of the Congolese people resides, above all else, in its extreme physical, linguistic and cultural diversity. Made up of a mosaic of ethnic groups which have preserved their character, this great people is trying to maintain its unity. A unity that was cemented through the struggles and ordeals experienced under colonisation and during the first years of independence. A unity which was threatened by the most recent wars, which drew in at least eight of the countries in the region. The official language of D.R.C. is French. Along with this, the Congolese use four national languages, Kikongo, also referred to as Munukutuba, Tshiluba, Kiswahili and Lingala.

Excerpts from the book La République Democratique du Congo, Editions du Jaguar.

Photographs: below and above: the River Congo, Fishermen near to the Boyoma falls, and opposite: Kundelungu Park.

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Special report NFG: In 2003, Sister Angelique arrived at Dungu, a town not far from the borders with Central African Republic, South Sudan and Uganda. In this town of 73,000 inhabitants, one third of the women and children were displaced, victims of the LRA, the Lord’s Resistance Army. This rebellion began in Uganda in 1988 and has since moved to neighbouring countries, especially the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its leader, Joseph Kony, is wanted by the international criminal court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The LRA is infamous for its looting, rape, mutilation, murder and the forced recruitment of children who it then uses as soldiers and sex slaves.

It is estimated that over the last 25 years, it has caused the death of 100,000 people in Central Africa and the displacement of 2.5 million others. Just as Sister Angelique arrived in Dungu, the town came under attack from the rebels and she had to flee herself. And leading from this, she received a call to consecrate herself entirely to the cause of women victims of the LRA violence, to help heal them of their trauma and to rebuild their lives.

Sister Angelique: “That day, when these atrocities were committed in Dungu, close to our community, we all fled into the bush. At that moment I really experienced something very traumatic and I was afraid. I couldn’t sleep at night. It was difficult to find enough to eat for our group of postulants and the other displaced people who had come with us. There were 30 of us hiding.

With the life we were leading in the bush, I understood, without having actually met the LRA face to face myself, the suffering that these women had to endure when they were held prisoner by the LRA for three, four or five years. In these women, it was Jesus who also suffered and we had to be close to them.”

NFG: Monique Monique survived her abduction by the LRA, where she suffered unimaginable violence in recent years.

She lived a life of misery in captivity in the forest, forced to become the wife of an old soldier of the LRA; she also had to take part in the murder of other people who had been kidnapped like her and had tried to escape.

She is still very traumatised and lives today in Dungu with her six month old son.

“I understood, without having actually met the LRA face to face myself, the suffering that these women had to endure.”

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HISTOIRY

Somme important dates

30 June 1960: The proclamation of independence of the Belgian Congo as “The Republic of Congo”.

Joseph Kasa-Vubu, President; Lumumba, Prime Minister.

25 Nov 1965: Mobutu Sese-Seko overthrows Joseph Kasa-Vubu and seizes complete power.

The first Democratic Republic of Congo under Mobutu (1965-1971).

During the years that follow the takeover of power

by General Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (his childhood name), he institutes, starting in 1972, a campaign of “authenticity”, in order to maintain his popularity.

The country is renamed the Republic of Zaire in 1971, after the local name of the river, and keeps this name until 1997.

In 1996, tensions lead to civil war, and the genocide in Rwanda spreads to Zaire.

On 17 May 1997: Mobutu flees the country and Kabila enters Kinshasa, proclaims himself president and changes the name of the country to The Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 2001: Kabila is assassinated. He is succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila, who uses the occasion of taking office to to call for multilateral negotiations with the aim of ending the war. In February 2001 a peace accord is signed between Kabila, Rwanda and Uganda, and this is followed by the apparent withdrawal of foreign troops. United Nations peacekeeping troops, MONUC, arrive in April. Fighting breaks out up again in January 2002 following confrontations between tribal groups in the north east.

30 July 2006: the first multi-party elections since independence in 1960.

As the results are disputed, new elections take place on 29 October 2006.

Kabila gains 58% of the votes. He will be re-elected on 28 November 2011. The fragility of the new government leads to repeated confrontation and human rights violations. Today, the DRC has become one of the poorest countries in the world, with 87,7% of its population living below the poverty line and very visible inequalities in spite of its great and varied riches. It remains dependent on international aid.

Julie was 13 when she was abducted.

Five years later she escaped and found her way to Dungu.

Julie: “Every morning, I used to think that it would be today that I was going to die, or maybe tomorrow. If you were cooking something, and the LRA soldiers saw a strange leaf in the food, they would say that you were casting a spell on them. They would call you a witch. Sometimes, if you made a mistake, they would whip you. If they didn’t hit you, they would kill you outright. When we were kidnapped, the girls were immediately placed under the leader and we were given

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away. They didn’t give husbands to those who were only 9 or 10 years old; they waited until they were older. From 11 or 12 years old we were given to the men.”

Sister Angelique: “I met Julie when she came out of captivity with her two children. She told me, ‘I found out that it was you that was helping us here. Fortunately you came to meet me. I was trying to find you.’ I saw her children, the youngest was very sick, I gave her some money to go with the child to the hospital but she felt sick herself so I gave her some anti-malaria medicine. I told her

Special report child who will lead, who is the hope of its country or of the Church...

What will become of this child if she is not in a position to pass something on to it for its future, before it can start to do this at school?’

It is for this reason that I said that I had to help these women who had not been lucky enough to go to school, so that with some basic training they could still become something worthwhile.

Being able to read allows them to read the newspapers; they can discuss things with other people and pass that on at home, for their children.”

NFG: It’s a great day for Julie. It’s her first lesson since she was abducted so many years ago.

Human rights violations resulting from the armed conflicts – especially against children and women – have had profound repercussions in the country.

In all, some 16 million people are in need of food aid. There are many vulnerable groups; (refugees, orphans, unschooled children, child soldiers.)

‘Now I have nothing, I’m giving you this little bit of money so that you can buy something to eat for the children but tomorrow I will teach you how to prepare something to eat yourself.

Here, if you don’t do something, you can’t live properly. You have to learn, I’ll give you all you need for baking.’

A woman has a great responsibility in the world, because she is the one who bears life. This is the mission she has received from the Lord: to give, to carry life and to bring this life to adulthood.

And I’m saying, ‘If this woman does not have enough knowledge, what is she going to pass on to the child? Her

Sister Angelique: “She is with us today. It is her first day at school learning her letters. I find that she is applying herself very well. Each time she is asked a question, she has no hesitation in raising her hand.

My dream is that these women can progress in literacy until they obtain a State diploma, so that they can achieve the dreams that they had before; becoming a nurse, a midwife or a teacher so that they can also be useful and find the job they had hoped for.”

NFG: Monique and Julie are a part of the 2000 women to whom Sister Angelique has given back a taste for life over the last ten years. At the moment in Dungu, 150 of these women are attending a training course in the Centre for reintegration and development that she is running.

Sister Angelique’s method of helping them can be summed up in three steps: love and listen, deal with any emergency, train for rapid autonomy.

Sister Angelique: “At first when they came out of the bush, I went to them to listen and to understand their situation, to see how their living conditions were, the place where they were living, the number of children they had, if they were in good health, and to see which NGO I could contact to help those families who had only

just arrived. I tried to speak with them and to suggest how I could contribute to the healing of their trauma.

With a man or woman who is really being consumed by a problem, who has no money and whose child is not in good health, who has no food, I first of all give them whatever money I have, to go to the hospital. And as we also have some fields in our community, we have some stocks of food. When they said that they have not eaten, I give them something to eat to begin with. And afterwards I say to them: ‘There are a lot of us here. There are other vulnerable people who are going to arrive too. If we continue with a system of always giving, you won’t be independent. But I have courses that will help you to earn money quite quickly. So this is what helps me to have something with which to help you.

Look at the ovens that we have there, bread ovens. It only takes two days to learn the basics of bread-making and some bread recipes and on the third

day you will be able to make your own bread and go and sell it.’ There are also opportunities in dress-making but I do not encourage this when a job is needed immediately to earn money, because it requires lengthy training… there is a lot to learn to become a specialist in tailoring.

There are also openings in restaurants; you can choose what you prefer. Most of the time, they choose bread or cake making, because they can earn money every day. After a few days, even in less than a week, they can begin to look after themselves.

After these training courses, I give my perspective as a nun by telling them

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the story of Job in the Old Testament as a form of psychological therapy; he was a great man who feared the Lord, who had faith in God. He was wealthy and had many children.

Then, one day, he lost all his wealth, his children and even his health and he became downcast. Even his own wife insulted him. He had not lost faith in God. He said, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’. He realised that all his belongings had come from God, not his personal endeavours.

And afterwards, when the Lord saw that he really believed in Him, and that his trust was not founded on his belongings and because, despite of his lack of wealth, he continued to

to society and they were always selfeffacing. With the training that we gave them, the time we spent together, sharing our joy and our pain at times, I realized that they had become useful for society.”

Patricia: “Sister Angelique treats me like a mother would treat her child.

She holds the key to my survival in her hands. We really get on well; she is the one who guides the refugees here.”

Julie: “I see Sister Angelique as my mother, especially because I don’t have a mother, I’m an orphan.

Through meeting Sister Angelique, I regained my own body and mind.

Meeting her and the others working here put some joy back into my heart.

Now I can think for myself again and I can live like I was living before at home in the village.”

Sister Angelique: “Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Where does my strength come from?’ My health first and foremost, because malaria is rife here all the time. ‘Where does the energy I have come from?’ I trust a lot in God …

So each day, when I walk, when I ride on my bike, I talk to the Lord and I tell Him, ‘There is too much work to be done, but there’s no going back, I have already accepted this, yet I am all by myself. What must I do?’ Sometimes I cry. I say that I will not be able to manage. Sometimes I’m short of money. I ask myself what I can do to respond to the needs of these people.

love God, all his wealth was returned to him. And the joy, which he still had retained when he had lost his wealth, remained. By meditating on the story of Job in the Old Testament and comparing it with their own story, these women can avoid losing faith.

Today women can contribute a lot to society. I have seen with my own eyes these women when they arrived, when they came out of the bush, from the hands of the rebels of the LRA after living with them for several years. When they arrived they looked different; their faces were sad and full of humiliation at being useless

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Their children are here, the people of the community see the numbers increasing and no-one comes to help us. A voice speaks to my heart, “Even if everyone abandons you, I will never abandon you.” And every morning I go to mass. I do not start my work without going to mass because I trust in the Eucharist. When I receive communion, I see myself with the Lord who is going to be with me throughout the day. And because of this, when I do something, I always have enough money. When I sell bread, it always gets sold. When I do something, when I grow food, I get a good yield. This is the first thing that gives me the strength carry on.

Special report Secondly, I know that there are a lot of people praying for me because they tell me, ‘Sister, we would not be able to do what you do, this is your gift. We are not strong enough to follow you.

We admire you, but all we can do for you is pray for you. This is what we can contribute’.

Others encourage me, wise people.

They give me ideas, ‘You should do this, you should try that, you should ask so and so, don’t wear yourself out…’ and they encourage me to forge ahead.

And finally, it is the courage of these women that drives me further. They can already stand tall. Another thing that I often ask the Lord is to give the women the will to take the step to learn, to spend time with the others.

‘If I can help just one woman to a new life, then for me that is already a success.’

The hope I have today for the country is that if everyone could become aware of the job they have to do and if everyone does all they can to succeed in that, peace may be achieved…

All of us, everyone who has the strength to contribute something, one stone, to build peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo should do what they can. Prayer costs nothing, a Hail Mary, or whatever form of prayer your prefer, to pray for peace in Congo, it can be achieved; and for the conversion of those who have perpetrated these crimes, the atrocities; we can pray for them.

The Lord is here, he waits for us like the father of the prodigal child, he waits for everyone, he waits to grant his forgiveness. We must pray for those who commit these atrocities; that they may return to the Lord.

NFG: On 17 September 2013, the United Nations High-Commissioner for Refugees (HCR) awarded Sister Angelique the Nansen prize for her work with refugee women, along with 75,000 euros of aid for future projects.

Antonio Guterres – High Commissioner for Refugees: When you look at Sister Angelique, all of a sudden, your outlook changes. And you believe that if God has a hand, she is that hand.

Sister Angelique: “This prize, this medal is not only for me. It is also for all the women, all the young girls and children who were abducted by the LRA. I will never get discouraged. I will do all I can to rekindle the flame of hope and the chance for a new life. If I can help one woman to a new life, then for me that is already a success.” v

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VIE Ecumenism

Ecume

E

A special report: Cardinal Walter Kasper

Brotherly

ecumenism “You can’t do theology by sitting at a desk…” This quote

by Cardinal Kasper, former chairman of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, seems to indicate clearly the ecumenical and spiritual pilgrimage which we are invited to undertake in a film released to commemorate his 80th birthday.

Using both his heart and his head, Walter Kasper, a man made for meeting others, has long worked for the cause of unity; the legacy which Christ left us before his death by praying “that all of them may be one,… so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

(John 17,21).

The first scenes of the film retrace W. Kasper’s childhood. The cardinal tells of his first ‘ecumenical encounter’, with a protestant woman in a small village in southern Germany, at a time when the religious climate required a catholic to attend confession after setting foot in a protestant church.

Then, as a theology student, he became more involved with ecumenism. He tells of his joy at the proclamation in Vatican Council II which threw wide the doors to dialogue with ‘sister churches’ and to the Holy Spirit. Finally, we hear him recounting the fruits of his years in Rome in the service of unity, a way of joy and the cross.

Ruth LAGEMANN,

A German member of the Lutheran church, Chemin Neuf Community.

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The film illustrates well the Cardinal’s concern to live out ecumenism as much on the theological and spiritual level as on the fraternal. The very simple testimony of Sister Elisabeth, Sister of Mercy, underlines this. She took great care in the preparation of meals when W. Kasper invited ecumenical notables to his home in Rome. This reminds me that eating together around the same table can (as in Jesus’ time) engender

Churches in dialogue Cardinal Walter Kasper

A 52 minute film produced

by Silvère Lang ccn Available in French and German www.ame-boutique.com

profound meetings. Thus can we realise that what unites us is stronger than that which divides us and, after reaching that conclusion, we can move on to tackle the more delicate issues.

“In what way do you live out your faith?” This is a question which the German theologian loves to put to those he meets. That can be a key opening for us, each time we meet Christians from other Churches. The various official meetings are underpinned by testimony of ecumenical experiences ‘at the coal face’, such as in Berlin, in the catholic parish entrusted to the Chemin Neuf Community.

Dialogue between Churches always develops through human relationships and can bring in its wake deep friendships. Such as that we see between Walter Kasper and Christian Krause, the former chairman of the World Lutheran Federation and co-signatory of the famous common Declaration on the Justification.

A profound friendship in Christ, anchored in love, faith and charity and capable of transcending minor ecumenical cold snaps.

We then meet the ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, who testifies to what he was able to gain from his contacts, prayer and theological work with the Roman Cardinal.

According to Bartholomew I, it was the fraternal love, the understanding,

nismEcumenism Ecumenism

Ecumenism

“

When I was a child, the different Christian churches co-existed with difficulty. I had never been in a Protestant church, because I thought it was a sin and that I would need to go to confession. I therefore conducted an experiment.

One day, I had to go into the country to ask for some bread, something to eat. I landed up in a Protestant village, at the home of an old peasant woman. She knew I was a catholic, but she helped me to procure some butter, flour, eggs, everything I needed. And I said to myself, ‘These Protestants are not as awful as I thought!’

the praise, the prayer and the common commitment which allowed both the Patriarch and the Cardinal to follow up on the symbolic gesture of Pope John-Paul II, ‘to open together the Holy Door’ for the 2000 Jubilee and to make significant progress on the road to unity between east and west.

Two images in the film have lodged in my mind. The first shows the meeting between the elderly Pope John Paul II and the ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in which each offers his hand to the other. In the background Cardinal Kasper can be seen beaming with joy (…) This is the same joy as the bridegroom’s friend who rejoices in the groom’s happiness. (…) The joy bestowed by the moments of unity which

allow us to have a foresight of the light of the Kingdom and the joy of the Father.

The second image is that of the private oratory in the Cardinal’s apartment, which touched me by its sobriety (something which is very dear to us Protestants). It was simply decorated, with some ancient icons, bearing witness to the totality of his dialogue with and his love for the orthodox churches. This was therefore a genuinely ecumenical oratory, which clearly showed the source of the commitment to unity of this man, a promoter of spiritual ecumenism.

In March 2013, Cardinal Kasper celebrated his 80th birthday, just after Pope

”

Benedict had announced his renunciation and the pre-conclave was beginning; the conclave which resulted in Francis becoming the new Pope.

Personally, it seems to me that Pope Francis is living out exactly what Kasper held in his heart: going out to meet people, churches and cultures in order to proclaim together the joy of faith in Jesus Christ!

As Mgr Kurt Koch, Kasper’s successor at the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, put it so well in the film’s bonus track: “We can’t lay out a plan for ecumenism, because it’s the Holy Spirit who is in charge! We should listen in and follow it!” v

Walter Kasper, some key dates: u 5 March 1933: born in Heidenheim, Germany.

u 17 April 1989: nominated bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

u 1964 - 1970: professor of dogmatic theology, University of

u 1994 : Co-chairman of the International Commission for

Munster.

Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue.

u 1970 - 1989: Professor at the University of Tubingen. He is

u 31 October 1999: signature at Augsburg of the agreement

recognised as a significant theologian when his first book ‘Jesus, the Christ’ is published in 1974.

between Lutherans and Catholics on Justification by faith.

u 1985: Secretary of the extraordinary Synod of bishops at

Rome. u Participates, as editor in chief, in the writing of the German

catechism for adults (The faith of the Church). He also participates in the commission, ‘Theological dialogue on Faith and Constitution’ of the Churches’ Ecumenical Council. u Member of the editorial committee of two important catholic

magazines (Concilium et Communio). He attempts to reconcile the liberty of the theologian and prime example of the magisterium.

u 16 March 1999: appointed by Rome as secretary of the

Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. u February 2001: created cardinal by Pope John-Paul II. u 1 July 2010: replaced as chairman of the Pontifical Council

for unity by Mgr Kurt Koch, previously bishop of Basel. His international mission ‘leads this ecumenical trail-blazer to seek out and meet those responsible for the Churches and church communities in the protestant, orthodox and Anglican world’.1 1 - (Catholic documentation Num 2397 dated 02 03 2008)

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Text of the Protestant Federation on the question of the ending of life

“Living until death” Communiqué of the FPF (French Protestant Federation) on 16 January 2014 The spiritual, theological or fraternal dimension of ecumenism is often underlined. But it is in other areas that it is not easy for Christians to share a common language, for example in the domain of ethics. The publication by the Protestant Federation of France of a communiqué on the question of the ending of life seems propitious as a way of knowing ourselves better and perhaps of together finding a way of respecting “life given by God”.

In this text, “Living until death”, to use the phrase of P. Ricoeur, the Protestant Federation shows its concern to participate in the real debates of our society. It represents the fruit of work done together by those of different sensibilities at the very heart of the Protestant Church.

In fact, many Churches and Charities have conducted specific reflections internally and are producing texts which turn out to be “linked with” the common document. A work of consonance which could be opened up to other churches?

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“The Protestant Federation of France is aware that, in many cases, the manner in which the ending of life is experienced is not satisfactory in our country. It is most often apparent at the hospital, outside the family setting of the person, and frequently also in a kind of loneliness, which seems so painful for a number of our contemporaries.

On the other hand, many people are fearful of the loss of their autonomy and want to be able to escape what they consider to be an undignified death.

While, in accordance with our faith, we may believe that no one is entirely the master of their life and that the dignity and irreducible value of being human in no way depends on external conditions whether of our physical or mental state, we hear these fears and consider society must discover how to respond to them.

It is true, very often, that through lack of information some people do not have a very clear awareness of the actual possibilities at the medical or legislative level.

On the one hand the development of palliative care is already equal to responding to what is needed in taking care of the physical suffering of people in the last days of their life and of their psychological accompaniment, spiritually speaking.

It is necessary to develop such service further and more still, to encourage a culture of palliative care in all the services involved in accompaniment to the end of life.

On the other hand, is it well enough known what, since 2005, has evolved under the law and what possibilities are open that already largely correspond to the need and fears of people at the end of life?

So each patient has the right to reject any unreasonable persistence in treatment and even to refuse all treatment.

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In the face of insupportable pain, sedation can be proposed in the terminal phase which relieves the patient by making them unconscious, even if this treatment can sometimes also have the effect of shortening their life.

The law can certainly be improved, particularly in clarifying what is possible in terminal phase sedation, or in clarifying the necessity of a collective character to the decisions made in these extreme situations. But it seems to us that once this has been done, the law by and large corresponds to the dramatic situations which can arise.

On the other hand, if every request to end their days has to be treated as an appeal, it is extremely difficult to determine the extent to which this request is destined to last.

Numerous are the cases where loving attention and accompaniment of someone with their different needs has resulted in real relief and the end of their request.

Currently, society in general – and this is of particular concern to carers with a particular responsibility – is perceived as proactive in bringing help and support.

A change in the law, which authorises or facilitates death, could only shake the trust that patients have in those around them. It might even encourage in certain people, through a concern not to be a

Ecumenism

burden on their loved ones or even society, a kind of sense of “duty” to depart this life.

Siloé conference 2014

Moreover, the weight of economic constraints which take an ever larger place in our society – and in our health care system – leads one to fear for consequences which it is easy to imagine.

“What is man that you are mindful of him?” Ps 8

So the FPF Council considers it regrettable and dangerous for euthanasia to be decriminalised and in one way or another to become written into law.

Such an affirmation at no time stops one taking seriously the possibility of responding, in extreme cases, to a patient ’s request for medical help for the ending of life. Through this medical help, in shared discernment and reciprocal trust, is expressed, not only the recognition of the dignity and the wishes of the patient, but also and above all the full solidarity of the whole of society as it accompanies one of its members right to the end, in solidarity with the family, loved ones and the medical profession.

But one law will never be able to cover all the cases which arise and one can envisage there will still be situations where carers will be able to think in good conscience that to accede to the request of a person who wishes to die will be the only possible response. If it is important that this remains a transgression of the law, even more is it important to be attentive to the individual of each situation, and to accompany the patients, their loved ones, the doctors and the caring personnel during the final moments, where the conscience of each is involved.

The debate about anthropology

From euthanasia to work on embryonic stem cells, from economic strategy to marriage for all and gender theory from ecology to neuroscience…, the evolution of practices and of rights involve new visions about mankind which cannot be disregarded.

At the same time the new knowledge questions our traditional formulations.

For its part, the Christian faith proposes an anthropological model which is based on the Word of God, and has been worked out over the centuries in the Tradition of the Church through the confrontation with culture and philosophical and scientific thought.

Where does this confrontation stand today? What ethical markers could such an anthropology give?

With Mgr Guy de KERIMEL, Xavier LACROIX , Bernard POTTIER, sj, Yves SEMEN, Catherine DENIS, Lydia JAEGER, Pierre DAVIENNE, The Little Sisters of Catholic Motherhood

From 13-15 June 2014 At the Siloé Centre

On Line bookings: www.siloe.chemin-neuf.fr

In other words, we believe that life is given by God, that it has no inherent sanctity of itself and that it takes its full meaning from the framework of relationships to which it belongs.

It is to protect this framework that the law must be vigilant; we want to make a contribution to making it ever more alive to and respectful of each person. v

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bt e d o “Let n

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“In my culture and tradition, the highest praise that can be given to someone is ‘Yu, u nobuntu’…..Ubuntu addresses a central tenet of African philosophy: the essence of what it is to be human. The definition of this concept has two parts. The first is that the person is friendly, hospitable, generous, gentle, caring, and compassionate.

FOI • N°40 • March – April – May 2014

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In other words, someone who will use their strengths on behalf of others - the weak and the poor and the ill - and not take advantage of anyone. This person treats others as he or she would be treated. And because of this, they express the second part of the concept, which concerns openness, large-heartedness. They share their worth. In doing so, my humanity is recognized and becomes inextricably bound to theirs.

an

s1 3, 8 -1 0

Extract from the book: The words and inspirations of Desmond Tutu - Believe.

“If I diminish you, I diminish myself”

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Christian Training Judaism: Pesach

The Jewish Passover Celebrated for more than 3000 years, Pesach is the oldest and most important Jewish religious festival. This year it will be marked with the same fervour by Jews the world over from the 14th. to the 22nd. April.

“You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons for ever.”

(Ex.12 v24) With Shavu’ot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Festival of the “booths” or temporary dwellings), Pesach (Passover) is one of three great Jewish liturgical celebrations. At the time of the Temple, pilgrims in their thousands converged on Jerusalem, coming from Judea, Samaria, Galilee and lands of the Diaspora to celebrate this ordinance, known also as the Festival of Matzahs (unleavened bread) or the Spring Festival, or celebration of liberty. A festival of joy and salvation lasting seven days in Israel and eight in the Diaspora, the celebration signals both the birth of Israel as a people (Ex.12,2) and the irruption of God into human history.

The Passover meal (the seder) shared by the family on the first night of Pesach is the high point of the liturgical rite. Gathered around the table which is set in a specific arrangement, readings from the Haggadah recounting the departure from Egypt, are recited according to a precise ritual in 15 stages.

Jean-Pierre NAVE Biblical scholar, ccn

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Celebrating freedom today Pesach commemorates the departure from Egypt, but the Passover celebration goes far beyond the mere liturgical evocation of a distant, founding event in the history of the people of Israel.

It reanimates the event each year, restoring to it its full significance and spiritual force.

Rabbi Gamaliel’s words, repeated at the beginning of each seder, illustrate this conviction: “In every generation, each person should think of himself as having been delivered from capti-

vity in Egypt, for it is written ‘And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt.’”(Ex.13,8) This is the real meaning of the memorial, which the Christian liturgy will later inherit. Pesach is thus a celebration of all forms of liberation, offering to each individual the possibility of a new departure in a life of freedom.

How could joy and the offering of thanks not be part of the feast? Among the four cups of wine blessed in the course of the seder (they correspond to the four biblical terms referring to deliverance in Ex.6, 1-7), the second and the fourth cups are raised to joy and to freedom:»From the bondage of slavery he has made us free!…

This is why we wish to thank him, to praise and glorify him….,for his benevolence did not abandon us and will never forsake us», one reads from the Haggadah. And to indicate this freedom, the cups are raised from a reclining position, for in ancient Greece and Rome, meals taken reclining on a divan were considered the sign of a free man.

André Neher writes, “The Exodus opened a gate that can never be closed again. Our freedom is an eternal freedom.” (1) “Ye shall say unto your sons …”

No other celebration calls for such elaborate preparation. It is preceded by extensive cleaning operations, recipients reserved for use on this occasion are brought out, and, by the evening of the day before, the house must be swept clean of the tiniest scrap of leaven (chametz) (Ex.12: 15, 19; 13: 3, 7) that could be hiding in some crumb or food liable

an training training an training “Pesach commemorates the departure from Egypt, (….)but it also celebrates all forms of liberation”.

to ferment. The hunting out, in which the children are happy to participate, symbolises the effort to rid oneself of any seed of bondage, of any passions fermenting in the human heart and of any kind of ‘swelling’ of the ego.

The concern to involve the children in family liturgical rites has always been a central factor of Judaism. It has imbued this ancient people with invincible youth. Thus, during the paschal meal the father will endeavour to use all the pedagogical resources at his command to arouse and maintain the interest of the younger children. The youngest child will ask ritual questions beginning with the phrase:»Why is this night different from all other nights?». The response has to be adapted to a child’s understanding “In that night, ye shall eat …”

Since biblical times, the essential nature of the festival has been preserved, but the rituals have evolved. The destruction of the second Temple, in the year 70 A.D. marked a particularly important stage in the evolution of the ritual of the paschal meal. From then on, the

seder became a meal where no lamb was eaten since the sacrificial act, offering a lamb, sign of God’s goodness in sparing the children of Israel from death (Ex.12, 26,27), could only take place in the Temple.

A hard boiled egg, food for mourning, placed on the seder tray is a reminder of the catastrophe of the year 70 and a roasted bone evokes the lamb formerly sacrificed. That evening, and throughout the celebration, unleavened bread (matzahs) is eaten, “poor person’s bread” eaten in haste as they left Egypt. Bitter herbs like horse radish are consumed, recalling the suffering and bitterness of captivity, as do the cup of salted water, (salty like tears), and the charoset. This brownish coloured paste, a mixture of walnuts, apples, cinnamon and wine, symbolises the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves when making bricks.

The reminder of the suffering undergone by their forefathers in Egypt brings back the painful memory of all the sufferings, pogroms and persecutions endured in countries all over the world by the Jewish people throughout

on the left : the Seder tray above :the Pesach meal

their history, right down to the unspeakable tragedy of the Shoah where the eternal Amalek’s quintessential hatred of Israel was unleashed. “...the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread… ”(1Cor.11, 23) At the end of the meal, the children search for a piece of matzah hidden on purpose for them at the beginning of the meal. Beneath this playful aspect, the hidden morsel, known as “afikomen” (dessert) holds a more mysterious sense.

It was meant to evoke the piece of lamb which, before the destruction of the Temple, was served at the end of the meal. If Jesus celebrated the last supper without lamb (as is suggested in St. John’s gospel) perhaps it is on the unleavened bread replacing the lamb that he spoke the words of consecration, designating himself as the lamb who was to die for the redemption of a multitude. But the enigma remains complete. v 1- A. Neher, Moïse et la vocation juive, Points sagesses (Livre 191)

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Christian Training

Media news: Aleteia, a platform for Evangelisation

A “megaphone” for all An internet platform has been gradually making its mark on the Christian network over the last few months: Aleteia, which is a Greek word meaning “Truth”, is, however, not a website like the many that exist today in the galaxy of Christian sites. To your tablets computersnow!

Gabriel ROUSSINEAU

Responsible for ‘Net for God’, Chemin Neuf Community

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The objective of Aleteia is first and foremost to be a platform to relay information published by a group of partners; a relay to transmit information submitted by different media – or, to use a different language, an international “megaphone” for all, devoted to the Church network and to its best productions.

Aleteia was born out of a simple consideration: there are today 2 billion Christians in the world, of which 1,2 billion are Catholics, and there is no major media organisation to make the voice of the largest community heard on the web…

At this time of global networks such as CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, there are indeed many Christian websites and each one of them has a real missionary objective, but they are swamped by these giants.

In Rome, on 25 January this year, Olivier Bonnassies, president of the Foundation for Evangelisation through the Media underlined, at the birth of this project, that “alone and divided, we do not exist on an international level, but together we can achieve a lot”.

The aim of Aleteia is thus to create a social network which serves as a website of reference, and which shares its contents throughout the whole world: - A network: in other words, a network of friendship, a community linking individuals, media and associations,

connected because they are all “truth seekers”; - This network aims to show basic reference material on all sorts of questions concerning faith, life and society; - As such matters are gradually being worked out, its contents are being shared on the existing network of the whole of the digital continent: Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Questions and Answers websites, smart phones, Ipads, Google – in effect, every single site that people visit on every device!

The aim is to address the personal questions of all people of goodwill on the internet, in their local environment, and to have a dialogue with them based on the truth. The line of approach of the editors of Aleteia is to start from the surfers on the internet (“web listening”) with a view to finding out what are the highest numbers of searches and to understand the “trending topics” so as

an training training an training to give them a suitable answer. When a person has questions relating to the Christian faith and enters, for example, “Jesus”, “Trinity” or “Resurrection” in the search engine, the aim is well and truly to direct this person to pages which are really suitable for them in terms of content. So Aleteia’s ambition is, therefore to become the No. 1 site for religious matters on Google!

The aim of Aleteia is to evangelise by networking through partners – 1400 of them as of today – who will contribute to this goal by sharing their contents.

This is a ‘win-win’ situation as material already published on the internet is being given a “second life” (an article, a film…). The internet website already exists in five languages: French, Italian, English, Arabic and Spanish and this number should soon rise to ten. Day after day, Aleteia is covering regional and international news, with the aim of becoming a point of reference on matters concerning the Church, the family, international development, missions, bioethics, religious freedom and evangelisation.

The section entitled “Topics” offers the best multimedia pages; these are updated on a regular basis and each page is devoted to a specific subject, be it a matter referring to the teachings of the Church or a question relating to life in today’s society.

Launched officially in Rome on 29 January 2013, the website aleteia.org published its version 2.0 on 25 January last.

Growth has been spectacular: between April 2013 and January 2014, the number of individual monthly visitors has increased from 189,000 to 800,000. The goal is to reach 12 million in 2016 and 30 million in 2018! To contribute to the financing of this development, an advertising agency, AdEthic, has been set up, sharing the same ethical principles and being mutually dependent. AdEthic brings together advertisers who have also adopted as their criteria to respect true values and to share the common cause.

A network of friendship, linking individuals, media and associations, all being “truth seekers”

Aleteia is a project of the Catholic Church but with an ecumenical vocation, since evangelisation on the internet will only be possible if it is done through the unity of Christians, the “irrevocable and irreversible” way for the Catholic Church, as declared

by Pope John Paul II. The internet is a means to reinforce the ties between our Churches. “The new technologies create links of communication which, in turn, allows links of communion,” states John Colina, president and editorial director of Aleteia.

Since its beginning, the Chemin Neuf Community and Net for God have been associated with the Foundation for Evangelisation by the Media, through the Mary of Nazareth Centre, and now through Aleteia. The vision of a worldwide network which would bring together all types of media and as many tools as possible for evangelisation, does this not go in the same direction as the vision which Abbé Paul Couturier had in 1944, of an “immense network encompassing the earth, a vast invisible monastery where all would be absorbed in the prayer of Christ for unity”?

The ‘Net for God’ films and the articles in the ‘FOI’ (International Ecumenical Fraternity) magazine will serve as valuable contributions for internet users in their search for all sorts of subjects.

This invisible network has also another vocation: to make itself visible! Thus, its members are invited to meet from 3 to 10 August 2014 at Hautecombe Abbey for the Youth Festival ‘Welcome to Paradise’ which is, par excellence, the rendezvous for young “e-vangelizers”.

The digital revolution is on its way: it offers new ways of announcing the Gospel! Aleteia is today’s answer to the call for casting the nets: “I will make you fishers of men”. v To know more about “Aleteia” and to subscribe to the daily newsletter, visit the internet website www.aleteia.org

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Christian Training

Film: “Running on Empty” by Sydney Lumet

Free to Love It is rare to find a single film which brings together strands of cinematography, politics, family and music. However that is the case with this film we invite you to (re)discover.

“Running on Empty,” by Sydney Lumet, which came out in 1988. J. Aucagne and P.E. Chavelet, teachers at St Mary’s High School (Lycée Sainte Marie) in Lyon, sketch out the essential lines of this very fine film which leads to a reflection on both commitment and family relationships. We thank the magazine “Maristes” for allowing us to publish this text.

m The story.

Since the start of the 1970s, the Pope family has been on the run after an attack on a napalm factory. Tracked by the FBI, parents and children are forced to move, and change their identity and appearance.

For Danny, the eldest son, the situation becomes more and more burdensome and necessity, as much as the desire to live another way, imposes itself when he falls in love with his piano teacher’s daughter.

Directed by Sydney Lumet in 1988, this film (like his earlier films Twelve Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon) questions the connections between the individual and law or morality. (…)

Running on Empty is at the same time a road movie, a police film, a drama and a melodrama. On the intimate stage of the family, ideological conflicts are exhausted, to then plunge into the depths of the romantic and rebellious adolescent soul. m “Play it again, Sam!” Music occupies a very important place: it is what unites and separates. Thanks to music, Danny prepares for himself a future full of rich promises – it opens the doors to University for him – and thanks to music, his grandparents rediscover their grandchild. From his mother Danny inherits his passion for classical music, which is rejected by his

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father (we guess, for social and ideological reasons), as he prefers rock. Torn between these two tastes, Danny does not make a choice since he plays a piece from each when his teacher asks him to play.

The teenager makes parental opposition come together by his doing, through melody. (…) m “On the road again!”

Can we talk about a road movie for this film? The road movie genre was very much in vogue in the 1970s. It often brings into play two opposite poles which attract and repel: the fugitive and the policemen. (…) Instead of a journey, Lumet’s film looks at just one stage in it.

In contrast to an outlaw film, this film shows parents grappling with bringing up their children.

The outlaws are no longer young people leaving the world of their family to live free “in utopia,” rejecting the conformism of society - they are parents uprooted in spite of themselves and unhappily imposing this unending upheaval onto their children. m A political film?

In effect the film shows a family grappling with justice. The federal State, which is looking for the Popes, is present as a threat which hovers, but which never shows itself on the screen, except in the opening scene. Apart from this, and outside of Arthur’s fore-

an training training an training “He cannot simply be the son of his parents, he must take his place on the world’s stage.”

bodings, no agent ever appears, and the Popes live their life almost normally as normal citizens. (…) In the United States, it is possible to live almost normally on condition you live in hiding, that is, with borrowed identities. Danny can no longer cope with this constant duplicity. If he exists for his family, he is nothing outside of it (nowhere is there any trace of his school files). (…) Certainly, the family is the basic cell of every political community, and in this sense independent from the State; but, it is not self-sufficient - in order to exist it needs much vaster communities of families who can assure the necessary division of labour for daily life. And even so, this allows us to “live”, but is not enough to live well. These intermediary communities, foundational as they are, do not allow a properly political existence. Only the political community, whose object is justice, allows us to live well together. And justice is “giving to each his due”, beginning with their place in society. (…) This is why Danny experiences a profound feeling of injustice at being excluded from this sphere of existence for a crime he didn’t commit. So it is his place he is seeking. He cannot simply be the son of his parents, and wander about willy-nilly; he must take his place on the world’s stage, and can only do this by tearing himself out from the family sphere to play his own tune. This is

quite natural, for all that: if the couple is meant to last, the family is transitory, and doomed to split up. m A family film. (…) The challenge of a home is to make all the differences, which would be incompatible elsewhere, come together in love: masculinity and femininity, adult age and childhood, but also money and free gift, authority and tenderness.

Here is learnt the art of putting-thingsin-common in a context of responsibility. The family is the crucible of this education into community life in a complementary mode, and in this sense, the family model is the only sort of communism capable of triumphing. Since it is a political film, Running on Empty is therefore first and foremost a family film.

The question here is about the two generations of parents and children, as well as the difficulty of child rearing.

Two types of families are placed in opposition: that of Annie, the daughter of comfortable middle class parents, and that of Arthur, which we gather is more modest. Never is either one or the other judged or treated with contempt. (…)

Danny, notwithstanding his desire to cut the ties, his wish to be written into a genealogy, is not as such the symptom of a more conservative generation. His behaviour makes us sensitive to a mixture of attachment-detachment which, far from describing a form of marginalisation, characterises all truly political

existence: men are at the same time the fathers and the sons of their history.

They have a need at the same time to put down roots and to be free. They have simultaneously roots and wings.

You cannot cut the roots without creating free wanderers in the void. You cannot cut the wings without creating individuals unable to move, trapped in customs devoid of meaning. Danny denies nothing of his parents’ upbringing.

And his father makes no mistake when, in the last scene, he could say like the eternal Father of Charles Péguy to his child, in The Massacre of the Holy Innocents: “Ask that father if the best moment, Is not when his sons begin to love him like men, Himself like a man, Freely Without reserve, Ask that father whose children are growing up.

Ask that father if there is not a secret time, A secret moment, And if it is not When his sons begin to become men, Free men. (…)” v Julie Aucagne, Modern Literature Teacher, and P-E Chavelet, Philosophy Teacher

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The TREASURE HUNT And you thought you knew all there was to know about treasure hunts… well, think again! The Holy Spirit has just invented a new form which we’d like to share with you. No more pirates, no more wild oceans, but, in this era of role-playing games in town, God has more than one idea up his sleeve and offers the younger members of his people a game in keeping with the times: the “treasure hunt”.

So, what is it then...?

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th youth youth youth

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It’s very simple! It consists of finding “God’s treasures” in town. To do so, you have at your disposal several maps showing the clues.

Using these clues, you have to go to the presumed locations to meet the people God has arranged for you to meet and who correspond to the clues on your map. These people are “God’s treasures”!!!

As you know, this person God has arranged for you to meet is a “royal diadem in the hand of your God” Isaiah 62:3, and is a treasure in God’s sight.

This game, often played by the early Christians, is based on two specific Bible passages.

The first one is in Luke 15, verses 8 to 10, where Jesus uses the example of a woman who’s carefully searching her house for a silver coin (a didrachma) she’s lost, to show, in the form of a parable, how God too is carefully searching for his lost treasure. The second passage is about Ananias who receives some clues to help him find the treasure called “Saul of Tarsus”: Straight Street, the house of Judas, Saul of Tarsus” Acts 9:11. He was given the location and the first name, which made his treasure hunt easier.

Jesus also suggests this sort of treasure hunt to Peter to find a coin (again a didrachma). Here are the clues: at the lake, throw out your line, treasure in the mouth” (Matthew 17:27) and Peter followed the instructions in faith…

As you have understood, this game is suitable for anybody above the age of 7 ; the only skill required is a heightened ability to dare to act in faith. So, to go further, here are the rules:

1. Get together in groups of 3 or 4!

youth

“ The person God invites you to meet is “ a royal diadem in the hand of your God, ” Isaiah 62:3” 2. Prepare the treasure map:

Take a clean sheet of paper and write on it the main heading of “Treasure map”, then write the following 5 subheadings: Locations, Details about the person, First name, Illness, Other details. Below each of these subheadings, leave enough space to write 3 words. And that’s your “treasure map” ready!

3. Complete the treasure map:

Call on the Holy Spirit, contemplate the Lord with all your heart and praise him with joy. You can spend some time doing this… then fill in your map in 2 or 3 minutes.

Act in faith and reply simply to the subheadings by writing down the first three words that come spontaneously to mind (the Holy Spirit is less complicated than we are!).

4. Decipher the treasure maps: Go to the place for which you have the biggest number of clues, then look for the person who corresponds to the clues on your maps and… go up to him!

5. Meet the treasure: The suggested

approach: “Hello, I’m sorry to disturb you, but we’re doing a “Treasure hunt” and we think you might be our treasure!”

Often the person is rather surprised, but also amused and wants to know more… That’s the moment to show them your clues. “You see, we have treasure maps; here we’re in the right place”, (showing them the clues on the maps!) because here corresponds to clue 1, clue 2, clue 3…”

“And you can see how you correspond to

Fr. Arnaud BONNASSIES, International Youth Mission

all these clues (showing them the clues on the maps!): clue 1, clue 2, clue 3…

So you’re the right person, you’re one of God’s treasures!”

Now you can start talking about what you like at the same time showing interest in our treasure! If they’re not interested, wish them a pleasant day. If they want to know more, explain to them, “ We’re Christians and we had a bit of time on our hands, so we asked God who he wanted us to meet to be able to tell them about God’s infinite love for them. God led us to you, with these clues…”

You can also ask, “Are you in any pain?”

Remember your clues! “Would you like us to pray with you for something?” Also use the clues! Enjoy your game with the Holy Spirit! With a little boldness, it’s your turn to play!

More profoundly, this revamped method of street evangelism is a fine opportunity to grow in the prophetic life, as St Paul encourages us all to do: “Eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Cor 14:1). And it’s faithful to the commission repeated this year to the young people in Rio: “Go and make disciples of all nations!”

(Mt 28:19) The “Treasure hunt” has notably been used at Bethel Church in Redding, California, for twenty or so years. Like the Alpha Course, it’s the fruit of experience and adheres to rules you can find out more about in the following book: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt by Kevin Dedmon. v

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Testimonies

Youth

Healings, miracles…

God’s love for mankind “At the end of last June a few of us had the opportunity of going to Bethel Church in Redding, California and experience there a treasure hunt.

After an hour of exhortation, practical exercises and prayer, we were at last ready for the treasure hunt! Without any difficulty at all, the Lord helped us to find outside all the details we’d received in prayer: a supermarket car park, an isolated tree, a red car and an elderly lady with backache. Apart from the backache, all the details corresponded! Surprised and somewhat embarrassed, the lady allowed us to pray for her!

We’d only just finished when her husband arrived with a friend in a wheelchair. “You’re our treasures and the Lord has led us to you to heal you”, we told them, being as friendly as possible!

We prayed for the husband’s thumb which was healed instantaneously after him not being able to move it for months. But the Lord saved the most extraordinary for last; the lady in her wheelchair! She was a former dancer suffering from a degenerative illness and in great pain. We laid our hands on her lower back and we prayed urgently for her to be healed “in the name of Jesus!”

at Bethel in California

And at that I heard “crack, crack, crack” and felt her spine righting itself !

We asked her to get out of her wheelchair and stand up, which she did with our help. After years of being unable to do so, there she was, with tears of joy rolling down her transformed face, standing in front of us, in front of her friends, who couldn’t believe it. It’s the most overwhelming thing the Lord has ever given me to contemplate. The Lord is alive! His love is great and I can vouch for it!”

Fr. Stephan Lange, ccn.

“

ld take suggested I shou ea of as w it g in en ev H4 the id Last year at an hunt. I was so enthusiastic at hoever God re part in a treasu evangelism and of meeting w d listening et ce doing some stre e us to! I had never experien uc on the map n od w tr in do to te y wro pl wanted m si I s so , ay w dered how Jesu rit in this to the Holy Spi me into my head, even if I won n “bum bag” ca te dow the words that s! Notably, I wro r waists and which I ue cl e es th e us around thei was going to as we venle used to wear op pe n gs o ba y ey do! As soon e L th os , s, th e ye , ll ly e nt b re a m bags, as appa Ann y more… But, wearing one of the so-called bu as blond, an e or w dy bo a woman thought no e that she w e street, we saw given which wer ds Bellecour Square. tured out into th ing to other clues we’d been ar nd ance, going tow d toowell as correspo an underground station entr n, Myriam asked her if she ha to tio xt sa e ne er sh for her as with a dog, ng the conv to her and, duri quests). We were able to pray better, then re So we went up as e of our prayer turally that it w thache (it was on othache. She told us quite na rved God’s Kingdom! to se did, in fact, have own way, in the joy of having r ou t en we each w

“

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th youth youth youth

A treasure in God’s eyes!

“One Saturday morning in Lyon, a few of us felt a great desire to evangelise. I wanted to try the treasure hunt experience for the first time. When we compared the clues given by the Lord, I was impressed by the number of details we had in common; that made me feel very confident in God’s action.

After a few steps in the street, we came across a shop which corresponded exactly to the Lord’s clues about the location, and we saw a young man who corresponded to all the signs we’d been given: brown hair, a brown hoodie, boots, sideburns, piercings, etc.

Jackpot! It was obvious that the Lord was sending us to him! We spoke to him for a moment and prayed for him.

His stomach ache disappeared at once and he was positively delighted to be paid such attention and to hear that he was a treasure in God’s eyes! He went off full of joy, and so did we!”

Olivier de Gersigny, ccn

youth 18 to 30s

• JUST CHOOSE WEEKEND: 15 to 16 March in Tigery (Essonne), 22 to 23 March in Hautecombe (Savoy).

Is my future mapped out? What part do my own freedom and responsibility play? 2 days to learn how to make choices about your studies, relationships, calling… in the light of the Holy Spirit.

• CELEBRATE EASTER at Hautecombe Abbey, 19 to 21 April.

Celebrate together the risen Christ, experience the Easter liturgy, taste the joy of the Resurrection! A praise evening, teaching, testimonies and celebration!

• YOUNG PROFESSIONALS’ FORUM : “What sort of success should you aim at?” 8 to 11 May in Lyon. With N. de Lambet CEO of Essilor Europe, B. FaivreTavignot - Social Business, P-Y Gomez - economist, the Most Reverend Barbarin, Fr Laurent Fabre and many other speakers.

3 days to pause and become better “assistants of God”! www.forumjeunespros.com • Welcome to Paradise FESTIVAL: 3 to 10 August in Hautecombe (Savoy). A week-long holiday between lake and mountains with more than 1700 young people from the four corners of the globe. A tailor-made programme with each person able to pick and choose what they need to nourish their body, soul and mind!

•O ther suggestions on the site: Young people’s mass, Praise evenings, Young professionals’ fellowships, “Calling” group, etc.

18 to 30s secretary’s office: 01 47 74 93 73 or 06 30 14 06 96 jeunes.france@chemin-neuf.org www.jeunes.chemin-neuf.fr

14 to 18s

coming events

youth

• 16 to 18s WEEKEND: “A little, a lot, madly… not at all!” 29 to 30 March in Lyon (Pothières). You love Marie but you don’t know how to tell her? 2 months ago you only had eyes for Juliette… Are you bowled over by your emotions? 24 hours for those who want to learn how to love and be loved.

• 14 to 18s WEEKEND: “You’re the saints of the third millennium!”

18 to 19 January in Sablonceaux.

Holiness, a path to be mapped out with God on both a personal level and with others. It doesn’t necessarily mean having to hit the road and give up all your worldly goods, or having to visit the Carmelites from the age of 16; holiness has at least as many faces as the number of men and women who have chosen to follow Christ!

•R EVISION WEEK: In Chartres from 21 to 26 April, in Lyon (Dombes) from 4 to 9 May. Choose a favourable environment, calm and studious, for some flat out revision. Mornings for revision and early afternoons for sport or relaxation before getting back to the revision.

• EASTER 19 to 21 April, in Chartres for 14 to 18s: Along with 150 other young people, a weekend of celebration, testimony and evangelisation with the evangelisation choir, centred around one of the most beautiful cathedrals in France! In Hautecombe for 16 to 18s. With 600 young people, a programme midway between the 14 to 18s atmosphere and that of the18 to 30s.

Fine celebrations and powerful moments to experience together!

• 14 to 18s secretary’s office: 04 78 15 07 98 or 06 61 61 02 72 14-18ans@chemin-neuf.org www.14-18ans.chemin-neuf.fr

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Christian Unity

Spirit’s surprises The

In MARTINIQUE: Learning together

Domaine du fort

The week of prayer for Christian unity which, until now, went by almost unnoticed became in 2014 a real historic event for the Church in Martinique. Each year, the Chemin Neuf Community, seeking to be faithful to its vocation, would organise an evening of public prayer in the centre of the island with pastor friends and a few of the faithful, mainly from the Reformed church. But this year, we were asked by the Catholic parish of St Pierre near the community house (Domaine du Fort) to participate and work on developing a real training program in ecumenism.

Each evening of the week, about 300 people (from Catholic, Reformed, Adventist and Evangelical churches, including some pastors and preachers from the Full Gospel Church, Pentecostals, etc.) gathered from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at the Domaine du Fort, or in a public place on the island, to reflect, meditate and pray for unity.

At each meeting, a theme was presented by a different confession: the Word of God, church history, the Lordís prayer, Mary and ecumenism. For services, ministers from the different churches entered together, each with a sign or an object representing his tradition (for example, the Bible for the Baptists, the dove for the Pentecostalists, the Huguenot cross for the Reformed church, the Easter candle for the Catholics, and so on). The Chemin

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Neuf prayer group was transformed into a real ecumenical prayer meeting.

In Martinique, Christian unity is a painful subject, a source of a lot of tension. Although Catholics are by far the majority, many families are affected by division between Christians. For most of them, it is almost impossible to talk about this subject. But the exchanges and times of prayer between Christians from different churches during this week, were a source of calm and greater respect.

A woman told us of her distress at the conversion of her two children: one became an Adventist and the other Evangelical: I took it very badly because I thought that they were not in good standing with God; I thought you had to be Catholic to be really loved by God, I thought that by coming here I would find out how to make them come back, now I am calmer, I will not pray in the same way any more!

For the Evangelicals and the Adventists, there was a lot of curiosity mixed with a certain amount of fear to see what ecumenism is, as testified to in this remark by an Evangelical met during one of these evenings of prayer: ìI was told that ecumenism was a bad, even demonic, practice so I came to see if that was really true!

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LONDON: Chemin Neuf at Lambeth Palace In January, as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was starting, a Chemin Neuf Community fraternity moved to London, into Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of the Anglican Communion.

This decision was announced on 18th November 2013 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. He stressed that ìThe church is constantly called to realise its God-given unity. The Holy Spirit blows through our lives and our structures and impels us into new ways of learning to

The Holy Spirit guided us all in true simplicity. Many may have come along out of curiosity, but everyone went away joyfully and with the desire to renew this experience without waiting till next year?

We marvel at what the Lord has been able to stir up in such a short time. All these public events were made possible because for many years, the community has silently and discretely woven fraternal links with the pastors, who, in some cases, took the risk of participating when their own church had not made the choice to work explicitly for Christian unity.

love each other as Christ loves us.î He added, ìI am deeply moved that in Godís grace Chemin Neuf have agreed to this radical and exciting new step of coming to live as a community of prayer, hospitality and learning at Lambeth Palace. We pray that this step of obedience will bear fruit among us, and for the church.

Fr Laurent Fabre, founder and Superior General of the Chemin Neuf community, said, ìOn the long and difficult path towards unity of Christians, there have often been surprises. It is with great joy that we are responding to the amazing invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury to live and pray daily in Lambeth Palace, in the heart of the Anglican Communion.

It shows courage and wisdom; courage in inviting a Catholic Community with an ecumenical vocation to this place; and wisdom for being quite simply like the disciples ëtogether in the same placeí and for praying with Jesus, ëFather, may they be one so that the world may believe (John 17, v 21).

The Archbishop of Westminster, Me-

tropolitan of the Province of Westminster, Chief Metropolitan of England and Wales, the Most Revd Vincent Nichols said, ìI welcome the announcement by Archbishop Justin that members of the Community of Chemin Neuf will be taking up a resident role in Lambeth Palace. This is a clear and bold sign of the importance of prayer in the search for visible Christian unity.

Such unity is a gift we are most likely to receive on our knees in prayer.

To mark this event, a service of thanksgiving and welcome for the Community was celebrated at Lambeth Palace on 20th February 2014. v

We give thanks to the Lord for this sudden visibility of the ecumenical vocation of the Chemin Neuf Community and Communion. It has allowed us to share our experience and our teaching methods joyfully. But we feel that we must continue to sustain hope and vigilance for this work of dialogue and reconciliation, on an island where the word ìecumenicalî still scares people, from all backgrounds. We commend ourselves to your prayers. v Jean-David Angouroussiva, Marie-Noëlle Oger, France-Lise Prospa, ccn

Lambeth Palace

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Around the World...

destination

Canada

“Summer is a season which has been through winter”. This is the way the Haitian-born poet Danny Laferrière describes the pleasure the people of Montreal take in going outdoors to celebrate the warm weather. Canada could also be described as a country of contrasts; temperatures regularly vary between -35 degrees in winter and +35 in summer.

HISTORY The country was first settled by the French, who claimed it in 1532, then conquered by the British in 1763, except of course for the Native Americans had been there for thousands of years.

There is also a religious division. English-speakers are mainly Protestant, whereas French-speakers are Catholic. Canada as we know it was created in 1867. It is now made up of 10 provinces and 3 northern territories, and is the second-largest country in the world, after Russia, with boundaries with the USA in the South and Alaska in the North-West. It is surrounded by the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. It is estimated that

Canada: FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY, GOVERNED BY A PARLIAMENT. A FEDERATION OF 10 PROVINCES AND 3 TERRITORIES. TOTAL AREA: 9,98 MILLION SQUARE KM Capital: OttAWA Population: 35 MILLION INHABITANTS PRINCIPAL CITIES: Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary...

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: FRENCH, ENGLISH CURRENCY: CANADIAN DOLLAR (1 EURO = 1.5 CANADIAN DOLLARS) NATIONAL DAY: JULY 1ST. (ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONFEDERATION)

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there are 2 million lakes in Canada. Almost 7 % of the world’s renewable water flows in Canadian rivers. The current population is over 35 million, from various waves of immigration.

The principal cities are Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. The capital is Ottawa, in Ontario. Canada is still a monarchy, ruled over by Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Canadians are generally held to be a peaceful people. Did you know that the United Nations Blue Helmets were created in Canada in 1956? Or that the last invasion by a foreign power (the USA) was in 1812?

Canada is also noted for its wealth. It has a considerable mining industry, as well as large production of hydro-electric power and of petroleum (oil-bearing shale). This wealth also causes problems; the country’s rates of suicide, divorce and abortion are among the highest in the world.

Finding a meaning to life when confronted by the growing secularisation of the population is a challenge we have to face nowadays v Alain Gadbois, Cycle A, Saragossa

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de Lima.

Parish of St. Rosa

THE COMMUNITY IN CANADA In 1991, Fr. Michel Bouchard of the Diocese of Montreal, took a sabbatical year, during which he travelled in Europe to visit new communities. His research, and certain information he received, led him to concentrate on three of these, including the Chemin Neuf.

At the first contact, Fr,. Michel was particularly impressed by the Cana Mission.

As he had already worked with, and for, couples, this mission seemed appropriate for Quebec. He then learned that a Cana session was already envisaged in Aylmer. He attended this session as an observer, and this was the beginning.

At the end of his sabbatical, Fr. Michel was appointed priest at the Parish of St. Rosa de Lima in Laval, a suburb of Montreal. He invited Robert and Helene Guilbault, along with several other couples, to join him in experiencing a Cana session, and then to be part of the organisation.

In 1995, the Guilbaults left to do Cycle A at Les Pothières, and over the following years others have left for training, which has gradually reinforced the community. Several Cana groups have been established, which has brought about the formation of a nucleus for the Community.

In 1997, the first permanent group was set up in a house lent by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Laval, close to the Parish of St. Rosa de Lima. The Communion was also founded at this time.

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In 1999, Helene Guilbault was appointed leader of the Community. The scope of missions was widened; this was a time of growth for the Chemin Neuf in North America: retreats with the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises; Emmaus; youth groups; Jericho youth retreats; Anamnesis sessions; Cana sessions and retreats........

The Community, which had previously been fairly itinerant, now needed a permanent place to settle, so as to make itself better known, and to have a base for its missions. During this search, the Peace Valley House, owned by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, seemed ideal.

This house, in the heart of the country, at Rawdon in the Lanaudiere District, was acquired in circumstances which suggested the intervention of the Holy Spirit: the silence and the beauty of the countryside encourage communion with the Creator, and, in fact, the house could not be called by any other name than Peace Valley. The Community has been in residence there for more than 12 years.

Canada. A major expansion soon gave Martin an intensive beginning in his new position. In 2010, Mgr Emilius Goulet, of the Diocese of Manitoba, another Province in Canada, expressed the wish to see a Chemin Neuf Community established in Winnipeg, 2280 Km from Montreal. As the Spirit is all-powerful, there has been a permanent Community in the area since 2011, in a house provided by the Oblate Missionary Sisters. The Community’s missions are run from there. As Winnipeg is in Englishspeaking Canada, this new foundation is a striking illustration of the challenge Canada faces with regard to maintaining bilingualism. Thank you Lord.

On September 12th, 2004, the Parish of St. Rosa de Lima was entrusted to Chemin Neuf, in the presence of our leader, Laurent Fabre, and the Bishop of Montreal, Mgr. Jean-Claude Turcotte.

On the same day, 6 couples joined the Community, and another 4 joined the Communion. An impressive testimony to the work of the Community.

In September 2009, Martin Beaulac was appointed leader of the Community in

May the Lord bless this Community in Canada, (which may one day be extended to our American brothers and sisters, as Chemin Neuf already has close links with them), and accord them the grace they need to spread the Good News, which gives life to the hearts of all His children. v

After 10 years of prayer, a student residence is being set up; the Residence Ignace-Bourget, and this has further stimulated new growth. Mgr Christian Lepine, Archbishop of Montreal, works closely with Chemin Neuf, to ensure that God’s work can be done among the youth of Quebec, who are eagerly searching for a meaning to their lives.

Sylvianne Marchand, ccn

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CANA: a European meeting with Xavier Lacroix and Fr. Laurent Fabre The Cana mission which, for several years now has been international, considers essential the regular meetings of its leaders. Last December, 15 countries were represented at the meeting of Cana Europe in the Pothières house (Rhône).

Meeting, exchanging, following further training in one’s field of responsibility, being together to listen to the Lord, this is a program favourable to “the strengthening of your stakes” in Chemin Neuf’s mission to couples and families.

Gilles and Véronique Cormier, new leaders of Cana International, have already visited Ireland, Uganda, China and Brazil and opened the meeting with a reading of what our society is experiencing.

Xavier Lacroix, professor of philosophy and moral theology in the theology department of the Catholic University of Lyon and member of the National Consultant Committee on ethics, spoke touching on themes as important as “the lasting couple” or “fatherhood”.

Father Laurent Fabre, founder and shepherd of the Chemin Neuf Community, told again the story of Cana and shared the “Ten Pearls”.

“Union differentiates” said Teilhard de Chardin.

True unity is not uniformity.

In a couple: the more we are in unity the more we discover the mystery of the other, who is Other.

A week-end with European colours: flags, languages, traditional cuisines and ecumenical diversity, as there were present brothers and sisters from Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Catholic denominations.

Fr. Laurent Fabre and Xavier Lacroix

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Gilles and Véronique Cormier

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16 European countries were represented: Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Russia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.

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Talents

BENOIT COADIC

Young talent

“I am 19 years old and I come from Thailand. At present I am studying in Lyon. My passion for music began at a very early age (5 years), but I did not begin to play the piano until I was 9 or10. When I was 11 I decided that the Conservatory timetable (9 hours daily) was too restricting. I soon abandoned the Conservatory, then I stopped music lessons at 15. Which I regret very much today! Towards the end of secondary school I went to a boarding school with a new environment and new relationships. Mr D. (now over 90 years of age) was one of these. With his help I got rid of my fear of music and I am still thankful to him.

In my case one cannot really speak of talent but rather of a passion due to natural disposition developed from early childhood. I love music and try to share that passion with others, either through the piano or song. I had the good fortune to be able to have lessons with a lyric baritone. Sometimes I give preference to singing whether it be French “variety”, pop, rock or sometimes lyric.

In the final year of secondary school to the famous question: “And you, what are you going to do next year?” I did not know what to reply. Here I am, this year, in a catch-up course in applied art in Lyon. I believe that deep down I wanted to have a profession close to the realm of the arts. Fashion or product design appealed to me from the creative aspect.

Music is nearly always present in my life: it makes possible expression, friendship links, the discovery of hidden sides in certain people. The pieces I interpret I choose according to what I feel. That is also the way I would like to choose my future profession.”

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