Italy, France

Italy: CEI, "a new culture" of workToday we need a "new culture" of work also to recover its "relational aspects". The claim is contained in the Report on the Italian situation drawn up by the Cultural Projects Commission of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, presented in Rome on May 13. "The ethics of civil society entails the lack of humiliation as well as the mutual valuing of employers and employees", state the final remarks of the Report. "When can it be said that work is for the human person? When working activity promotes relationships which develop the specifically human qualities of individuals in their living environments", is the answer contained in the volume. Traditional industrial work "often destroyed the social fabric of those areas where industries were set up, it became overbureaucratized, highlighting material production to the detriment of the relationships underlying manufacturing processes. Conversely, the "human dimension of work" assumes "social responsibilities towards the local communities, towards the workers’ families, valuing the personal aspects of production, distribution and consumption". Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former president of the Commission, pointed out that while "technological progress is increasing exponentially", it is not accompanied by "a growth in richness but rather by the overall impoverishment of our Country". Moreover, "while population is ageing, youth unemployment rates have surged". "The central role that Europe and the entire Western world used to play in world economy has rapidly become less relevant", His Eminence said, and added that the gradual "downgrading" of Europe should thus be viewed as a "thrust to adapt to changes, identifying new opportunities for exchange and development". For Card. Ruini, this is "a major challenge that calls into question economic as well as social, cultural and existential benchmarks". Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, CEI President, President of the Cultural Project Commission, said that "man, and not structures, is the centre and the objective of work". "A system that subordinates work to capital gain – His Eminence said – is more concerned about profit than investment. A society that sacrifices growth for quick profit is doomed to impoverishment and recession". Thus the "human work should be the priority" as "too often capital and finance come first and are not considered as means for growth but as an end in itself".France: 40 years of "Chemin Neuf"The "Community of the new journey" celebrates its fortieth anniversary. A prayer group set up the community, founded in the month of October 1973 by Fr. Laurent Fabre in Lyon. Its members describe it as "a Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation, deeply rooted within Ignatian spirituality and charismatic renewal (life in the Holy Spirit)". The Community today consists of 2 thousand members present across thirty world countries engaged for unity, peace and reconciliation between individuals and Countries. "I don’t know for how much longer the Chemin Neuf community will go on… Our Constitutions state that as it is ‘a small cell of large body, the Church, our Community one day will no longer be. But it looks that it will last a long time!", Fr. Fabre wrote in a letter to the Community. It will last "until there are couples that need a Cana session for their reconciliation; until Christians are divided, there will be men and women belonging to Christian confessions that will be guided by their call to devote their lives to the great cause of Unity, so precious and so necessary! If our Community is humbly faithful to its vocation, it will continue to grow in the shadow of the Spirit". Some 150 priests and 150 nuns in white blouses and beige sweaters live with the families and the consecrated couples. Couples and families are at the centre of the pastoral care, notably of the Cana sessions, ongoing since 1985 to accompany the spiritual and daily growth of families, engaged couples, divorced people and of the couples that were came together after a divorce. Major attention is devoted to the youth, with support at the time of vocational choices in formation centers as well as through hospitality in university campuses or by proposing volunteer work at international level. The "Siloe mission", recently set up, involves the presence of physicians and spiritual guides to delve into the relationship between the physical-spiritual and psychological dimensions of individuals, for their accompaniment along "avenues of inner healing". An special event to celebrate the Communities’ initiatives in the past 40 years will be broadcast in "multiplex" transmission on Saturday May 18, from 17.00 to 19.30, visible in Europe and in the United States, live or via broadcast recording the following days. The founder, superior general of the community Fr Fabre will deliver a dedicated speech, while the youth of Chemin Neuf will stage a flashmob performance with contributions from various world countries.