INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN FRATERNITY OF LAY THE DE CHARLES FOUCAULD Nº 91- Communication June 2014

Communication- News of the Bread of Life- Meditation Fraternities Quotations on Communication

Contents

Editorial 3

Communication – Bernard Weber 4 The power of listening without judging– Donald Miller 5 Mystery of the Visitation – Christian De Chergé 7 About Communication- Elena Gonzalez 9

News from the Fraternities 10 -Africa 10 -America 18 -Asia 31 -Europe 34 -The Arab World 42

News from the Spiritual Family 44

Practical Information 47

Building the Church of the Fraternity- Guy Deroubaix 48

Editorial

Dear brothers and sisters, here we are with you again, with a new issue and a new theme: “Communication” that we will visit in the next issue as well. In this edition we include thoughts of some writers and some members of our fraternities relating to our daily life and to our rapidly evolving world where new technologies are replacing face-to-face discussion… “Living” by messages, emails, Skype… Confronted by all these changes questions arise: What is my role, as a member of the lay fraternity? To what extent am I living this presence, with and for the other? To what extent am I ready to listen to him/her and to understand what he/she really wants to say? To what extent am I capable of expressing what I want to say? This questioning helps us go beyond the boundaries for a better communication and consequently for a better encounter. The News from the lay fraternities and from the Association are here to bind us together around the world despite the geographical distances. May you enjoy the reading and may you have a good meditation. Goodbye!

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COMMUNICATION “Between What I think What I want to say, What I believe I say, What I say, What you want to hear, What you think you heard, What you hear, What you want to understand, What you think you understand, What you understand, There is at 10 possibilities that we might have some problem communicating. But let’s try anyway…”

Communication is difficult because of our prejudices, because we don’t understand correctly what is said, because we have difficulty expressing ourselves and because we have difficulty listening. There is an enormous amount of work to be done; we are at the dawn of communication. It is strange because now we have widespread and very powerful tools, we can communicate easily but we don’t use them. The more we have tools of communication the less we communicate and the more communication loses in richness. We are in a time when communication is going to take an enormous importance and when we should reflect: What do we communicate? Which ideas? Bernard Weber

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw

The Power of Listening Without Judging

I have a friend who happens to be a rockstar— a strange and confusing word. And yet my friend is one of the more stable people I know. He doesn’t get down too much when things don’t go his way, and he doesn’t get all that excited when they do. He’s a terrific listener, too, and wants to know more about you than he wants you to know about himself. In a culture that praises fame, my friend hardly notices. He seems to see music as a service he offers, no different than a waiter bringing more water. He doesn’t think too much or too little of himself. And for the first few years I knew him, I just assumed he was one of those rare people who was given a heaping supply of wisdom and humility, and I think there might be some truth to that. But recently, I met one of the main reasons my friend is so emotionally stable and capable. I met his father. I was at a weekend retreat and my friend’s dad happened to be there, and we ended up sharing a room so I got to spend 48 hours or more with him, and engaged in more than a few great conversations. While talking about something I can’t remember, my friend made the statement that he’s made it a priority to never judge his children. I asked him what he meant by that, and he thought about it for a second and said he always wanted to be the kind of dad who would invite his children to be open and honest about whatever they were dealing with. And he said he thought he would accomplish that. He said he was often really surprised at how much his sons would tell him about their lives. They’d be out surfing and one of the kids would come over and just start talking, just thinking out loud about whatever they were struggling with.

Why do they feel safe? I asked.

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He said that he accomplished this by never judging his kids. He said when they were younger, he would discipline them, for sure, and he would serve as a teacher and guide, but he’d never allow himself to think less of them or express that they’d lost any “value” in his eyes. He also confessed there were plenty of times when he had to bite his tongue. Today his sons are adults, married and very successful, and yet they interact with the world as though they are wanted, as though the world would not think less of them because they are human. It got me wondering about whether I’m a good listener. What are my motives when I think less of people? For now, though, I’m wondering if you and I can pay attention to how often we “think less” of people. Try not to “think less” of yourself for doing it, but simply pay attention to when you are living into that mindset. And then ask yourself why… Why am I judging this person? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? If it’s a good thing, what good comes from it? If it’s a bad thing, what are my motives? Are my motives to feel better about myself in comparison?

Donald Miller

“You can change your world by changing your words... Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Joel Osteen

Mystery of the Visitation I can well imagine that we are in the situation of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth and carrying within her a living secret, which is the one that we may carry within ourselves, a living Good News. She has received it from an angel. It is her secret and it is also God’s secret. And she probably doesn’t know how to pass on this secret. Is she going to tell Elizabeth? Can she tell it? How to tell it? In which way? Should she hide it? And yet she feels like bursting but she doesn’t know it. It is first God’s secret. And, something similar is happening within Elisabeth. She also carries a child. And Mary is not quite clear about the link, the relation between this child she carries and the one Elisabeth carries. And it would be easier to express herself if she knew about this relation. But, on this particular point, she has had no revelation on the mutual relation between the two children. She only knows that there is a link as it is the sign that has been given to her: her cousin Elisabeth. And so it is with our Church which carries within itself a Good News – and our Church is everyone of us – and we have come in a way similar to Mary’s, first to help (it is her first aim)... but also to bring this Good news; how shall we say it... and we know that those we have come to meet are in a way like Elisabeth; they carry a message from God. And our Church doesn’t tell us and doesn’t know what is the link between the Good News we carry and the message which is essential to the other. Finally, my Church doesn’t tell me what is the link between Christ and Islam. And when I meet Muslims I do not know the nature of this link. And when Mary arrives, it is Elisabeth who speaks first. Not exactly as Mary has said: as-alam alaikum! May you be in peace! International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 7

And this is what we can do. This simple salutation has caused a stir within Elisabeth. And within this stir something was said... which was the Good News, not in its entirety, but what could be perceived at the moment. What caused the child within my womb to stir? And most probably the child within Mary stirred first. In fact this affair happened between the children... And Elisabeth has brought forth Mary’s Magnificat.

Finally, if we are attentive and if we place our meeting with the other at that level, with a degree of attention and a will to reach him, also with a need for what he is and what he has to tell us, it is very likely that he will tell us something that will connect with what is in us, to show his connivance... and allow us to widen our Eucharist, as the Magnificat that we can, that we are able to sing: it is the Eucharist. The first Eucharist of the Church was Mary’s Magnificat. This shows how we need the other to achieve a Eucharist: for you and for the multitude... All religions have a mission in the world and are at the service of all. How to communicate Mary’s mission? With which words? Meeting the other is at the heart of this mission. We are messengers of peace. The role of the Church is also well shown by Mary at the wedding in Cana. Mary gives the Church the way of her mission. Christian de Chergé

“Communication is a skill that you can learn. It's like riding a bicycle or typing. If you're willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” Brian Tracy

About COMMUNICATION Thank you for proposing this theme as a follow up to DARE TO MEET. Our fraternity has made the choice of not sending news for this issue, after contributing to the editions 89 and 90 of the International Bulletin to leave room for others. However I wish to share some personal thoughts as they may be of some use. On the subject of the events which happened recently in our country, which I know were reported by the international press (BBC, El Pays in Spain, Le Monde Diplomatique in , Al Jazeera in the Middle East, O Globo in Brazil, La Tercera in Chile, El Tiempo in Columbia, Clarin in Argentina, Miami Herald, CNN in the United States...) only the Argentinian fraternity contacted us to find out about what we are presently experiencing! Besides I notice that from Venezuela, we have an exactly similar attitude towards what is happening in Syria, Italy, Spain, RDC or Egypt... &,&,&...!...... But I don’t find in the previous bulletins strong arguments which would give me the means to DARE to MEET on a fraternal basis on a subject as important and pertinent as the building of citizenship. To conclude, I pass on a message given by telephone by Manuel Gomes, one of our brothers in the fraternity of Valencia (Venezuela): “ Hello to all! A personal concern: What shall be the reaction of the Fraternity and of the Family of Brother Charles to the historic moment that we are presently living? Let us not forget what fascism has done to many of us.” Elena Gonzalez – Venezuela

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NEWS FROM THE FRATERNITIES

AFRICA BURKINA FASO: 1- Life of the Fraternities: Throughout this year, the various Fraternities of Burkina gathered regularly to experience the different values of our through Prayer, Adoration, the Eucharist, the Desert day, and sharing on various issues. Members were engaged in various movements, diocesan services and also continued with their different activities. We give thanks to God for everything He has given us to live together. 2- New Fraternities: As a reminder, the lay fraternity Charles de Foulcauld of Burkina Faso has active fraternities in the dioceses of Ouagadougou, Kaya, Ouahigouya. There have been changes and we have seen the birth of two new fraternities in the Diocese of Ouagadougou: one in the parish of St. Camillus and the Saâba and one in the cathedral parish. The new diocese of Koudougou has established its Fraternity. This fraternity was founded at a meeting that was held on 23rd November, 2013. 3- Activities at the national level: Collaboration with other members of the spiritual namely the secular fraternity Jesus Caritas, the , the Priests’ fraternity Jesus Caritas. Thus, in May, a new office was established to coordinate the activities of the spiritual family including preparing for retreats, the centenary of the death of Brother Charles and other activities The bi- annual session of training was held from August 7 to 11, 2013 at the Main Seminary St Peter and St Paul in Ouagadougou. The theme focused on spirituality in general with special emphasis on how we live in the footsteps of . The members who attended came from 4 different parishes. Fathers Jean Adrien Zougouri and Fr. Ouedraogo and a sister of Jesus took part. Jeanne Loïque was the leader of this meeting. The session was characterized by teachings, prayer and testimonies of the responsibles of the fraternities. Particular emphasis was placed on the recitation of the Divine Office. The desert day and the closing Eucharist marked by the commitment of the participants to keep the flame of spirituality lit (candle in hand), were the highlights of this session.

After the closing Mass, the participants went to Warmini to plant a tree in the fraternity plot. The atmosphere was very good.

4- Events: The Archbishop of Ouagadougou Mons. Philippe Ouedraogo (member of the Jesus Caritas Priests’ Fraternity) was raised to the rank of Cardinal. It was with great joy that we welcomed his appointment on January 12, 2014. A congratulatory message was sent to him on behalf of all the members of the spiritual family, while looking forward to meeting him for a Eucharistic celebration to give thanks to the Lord for his paternal solicitude. The whole family of God International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 11 in Burkina rejoices and gave thanks to God on March 2, 2014 at the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Yagma during the national pilgrimage. 5- Plans: - Continuation of the activities in each fraternity - Annual retreats: 16 to 23 August 2014 at the Main Seminary of St. Peter and Paul in Ouagadougou - 1st December 2014 - Preparation of activities for the commemoration of the centenary of Br Charles’ birth in Paradise - To continue implementing our projects Rose Kéré

The members of the Fraternity at the owner's land, Mr. Joachim Ouedraogo who died in January 2014. DEM. REP. CONGO West Our News Between the 21st and 24th December 2013, the lay fraternity of Charles de Foucauld organized a retreat at Mount Carmel Centre. The participants came from nearby areas i.e. from St Laurent, St Martin, St Don Bosco, St John Demba and Mikalayi St Joseph. A total of 48 participants and a dozen children took part in the Mass around the theme “Enter the Ark you and your family.” The main speaker was Fr. Léon Muila, who made every effort to be with us through this very important liturgical moment. We would like to use this opportunity to express our gratitude. To begin with, he positioned Noah - because it is about him that we speak in this story - before God, his relationship with God, with his family and as a man of faith; then he explained the importance of the ark and its significance. This covenant of God through a person has saved all mankind; as a father of that family, Noah was saved and you a Noah of today, what is your attitude towards your own, your family? He emphasized on how malediction can visit us if we do not live according to our commitments A second speaker, this time a couple (I use ‘speaker’ in its single form since as a couple we are one), talked about dialogue in the family. A couple that does not communicate will disappear. The last day allowed us to assess the activities throughout the year and to make recommendations.

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Report on the visit to Demba: This is the second visit we made during this month to Demba. Indeed, we left Kananga Saturday 08/09/2013 and we arrived at Demba on the same day. The welcome given to us by our brothers and sisters in Demba was warm. THE FRATERNITY OF DEMBA When we arrived in the afternoon, Kananga’s delegation from left we attended a conference on the life of to right: Charles de Foucauld and his spirituality. Br. Stanis Manya Wenu It was presented by brother Clement Br. Clement Kabasele Kabasele. Br. Mathieu Bakatuamba

After a dinner break at 18:00 we returned to the meeting room to talk on the Directory of the Lay Fraternity of Charles de Foucauld, with brother Stanis Manya up to 22:00 hours. Afterwards we did adoration with the whole group. Here is the composition of the temporary leading team of this fraternity: Group Responsibles: Couple Constantin and Marthe Secretary: Couple Isaac Bona Treasurers: Couple Jean-Baptiste Nkongolo Prayer Leader: Couple Jean Ngalamulume Advisers: Couple Martin Mundele - Couple Floribert Muakambu Stanis

MAURITIUS ISLAND: We feel so energized! Could it be that what we did to commemorate the anniversary of Brother Charles make us feel so? Our friends heard us on the radio and read our article in the diocesan press. They encouraged us: ‘You say something meaningful. Go on’. Hence at our first meeting this year I was pleased to hear Isabelle say: ‘This year, my commitment to the group will be to arrange for a different person to take care of prayer at each meeting’. It was also great to hear Marlene say: ‘Two friends of mine will join us at our next meeting’. 2014 shall be an important year for our fraternity. We informed the Bishop of our existence. This made us realize: it is time for us to speak out our message to the church in Mauritius. Please pray for us that we may live in such a way that incites the faithful to express their love for Jesus by imitating him discreetly in their everyday lives. Nicolas Prodigson

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MADAGASCAR : The spiritual family of Brother Charles in Madagascar will hold its national meeting from 31 August to 9 September 2014. Expected are 72 people composed of a large number of lay delegates from 25 fraternities that include the Jesus Caritas Priests, the Little Sisters of the Gospel and major seminarians. The theme this year will focus on “FRATERNITY” and will be animated by André Gachet, a Swiss layman. Since January we have started developing three guide sheets on reflection and preparation for the meeting. The work will continue until July 2014 (one sheet every two months). This national meeting is a special event in that six members of the International Team of the Jesus Caritas priests’ fraternity will also be meet in Madagascar at the same time in the same city. We expect that this will be a time for sharing between the local fraternity and the members of the International Team. We strongly hope that this particular event will rekindle in each of us the spirit of belonging to a large fraternity without borders and open to all. In fact we all walk together on the same journey and contemplating the same ideal: the love of God and love of men. Dominique

“Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening.” Emma Thompson (British Actr ess)

SOUTH AFRICA : In South Africa we are hoping to establish a second Fraternity in Johannesburg and we continue to pursue the possibility of opening another in Kwazulu Natal, approximately 600km from Johannesburg. The new fraternity will be based in the south of Johannesburg in the community of Alberton. We continue to have our monthly meetings at the Fraternity of the Little Sisters in Noordgesig, close to Soweto. The past year was a good year having ended with our annual celebration of the anniversary of Blessed Brother Charles. We were also able to raise some much needed funds R750.00 ($75) by participating and completing a marathon in the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg. This year we hope to have our annual retreat after Easter towards the end of April or the beginning of May. In the past we visited the “Ha Phororo” Youth Centre which lies at the foothills of the ancient Magaliesberg mountains in the northwest province. Our focus this year is to grow the membership of the fraternity through regular visits to the various parishes in Soweto and the surrounding areas. Claude Vergie

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AMERICA ARGENTINA: The lay fraternity of Reconquista, (Santa Fe – Argentina) held its first meetings at the Barrio Fraternidad Chapel. Father Armando Yacuzzi, accompanies the group and celebrates the Eucharist to reinforce our spirit of fraternity. Little Brother of the Gospel, Mario Grippo, who lives in Fortín Olmos, often comes down to meet us to share his spiritual reflexions. At the same time, we collaborate with ‘Madeleine Tainturier La Coopératrice’, (a locally managed association), where we provide help to needy persons. Please allow us to tell you more on some of the activities of this association: 1. ‘Creative small hands workshop’: Destined since 2005 to girls and boys living in the Barrio Guadalupe neighbourhood aged 9 to 12, it aims at: developing their self-esteem, promote useful life skills and offer a sound space to play. There are currently 50 young girls and 10 young boys following various workshops, be it in using a sewing machine, hand sewing, hand knitting, machine knitting, weaving, drawing and painting on undyed cloth, handicraft, recycling, cold processing of china and computing. Since 2011, the Ministry of Education of Santa Fe province requested students at master level or at entry level for teachers diploma to have their training in a programme called ‘An itinerary in the world of culture’. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCLr5Sr-CPU 2. Madeleine House This is a house where 6 girls coming from the nearby villages and who attend university in town, reside. The girls study art, nursing and the teaching of geography and English. 3. House for boys This is a house where boys coming from the nearby villages and who attend the university in town, reside. The boys study computer science and the teaching of mathematics and geography. 4. Scholarships for secondary school students Scholarships are awarded to boys and girls coming from the suburbs of our towns to enable them to complete their studies. Over time, less of these scholarships are being awarded because donors have become rare. We believe that we shall only be able to help 10 students in the current year. As the years have passed, we have organized meetings of the fraternity where the above groups participated. We discussed themes closely related to what is ìn the news and proposed by the young. This year, our objective is to consolidate the place of the young in the fraternity by sharing with them what Brother Charles taught us. During this year, we would, finally, like to discuss themes of spirituality during our meetings. We would like all the branches of the Family of Charles de Foucauld to join us. For all those who could and would attend: we are waiting for you at Ibagué, the town where the fraternity of the Little Brothers of Jesus is found.

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BRAZIL: Our fraternities are doing pretty well. They seek to ‘Go to the Gospel so that Jesus may live within us’ (the Directory) and they imitate the life of Brother Charles in this sense very seriously. We hold desert days, meetings, celebrations and we also undertake social work. In January 2013, we had a national meeting of Nazareth where some 40 persons attended. Estevão, the National Coordinator, explained that he shall not stand as candidate for this post as he is also the Regional Coordinator for the Southern Cone of South America. About 60 persons attended our annual assembly from 15-19 January at Salvador (Bahia). We invited Little Brother Henrique, the pilgrim, to guide us through the theme: ‘Go and make disciples who are open to the world we live in’ from the book of R Voillaume , ‘At the heart of the masses’: ‘Being present to God, being present to men’. We visited the community of ‘Novosalagados’ where there is community work, which was started by brother Antoine Lazarotto. After his death the work continues today by his wife Vera. We also went to the Church of the Trinity where Little Brother Henrique, the pilgrim, lives with Little Brother João Cara. In this house they welcome the homeless who live on the streets. During this national meeting we voted for and installed the new Coordination Team as well as the Advisory Council, consisting of sisters and brothers who have been in the fraternity for a relatively longer time than others in order to: reflect, help resolve conflicts and give advice to the coordination team. Our new national coordination team has been set up as follows: a. Anilda and Edvardo – National Coordinators – they can be contacted at [email protected] b. Benedito Prezia – Treasurer c. Gislene and Roberto, Raquel and Lucas and Jose Airton – the Newsletter d. Marcia and Kaique – Web communications e. Among others Miguel Savietto, Laurenço, Renato, João et Zilda, Cutodia et Fernando, Valeria, Benedito, Airton – Advisory Council Rest assured that we all agree on one thing: The National Coordination is here to generously serve each and everyone with all our heart. Estevão Rodrigues Sanches- Regional Coordinator

CHILE: The annual meeting of the fraternities of Copiapó, Viña del Mar, Santiago Region, Chillán and Talcahuano were held in Lo Chacon in October 2013. Antonio Bentue, a lay theologian from the Catholic University of Chile helped participants reflect on ‘The participation and the vocation of lay persons in today’s society’.

On this occasion we also elected our new national team. Marco Marín Bernachea and Gerardo Caro Vergara shall lead the national team while Lina Brisso and María Isabel Reyes will manage finances. International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 21

We took a close look at the Fraternity at country level. We are 22 members belonging to 7 fraternities and six isolated members who do not belong to a specific fraternity. We see that our challenge is to provide support to existing fraternities and to help ‘isolated members’ who find it difficult to join a group because of their work or because they would have to travel a long distance to attend meetings. Together with other branches of the Charles de Foucauld Family that exist in Chile, we edit a newsletter in which we have articles to help us go further in spirituality and fraternal life. It helps us build ties among us and to care for what each of us is going through. Awareness of each other’s life situation is important for us. We can thus pray for one another. In order to avoid that our members undertake long and costly travels for us all to meet in one place, we had the celebrations of 1st December at Copiapó, Santiago and Talcahuano. The fraternity at large had both moments of joy and moments of sorrow. Just to name a few members who passed way in 2013: Little Sister Anita of Jesus from Talcahuano, Little Brother Pablo Andrés, from the of Priests Fraternity of Temuco and Galvarino Johansen, one of the founders and of the lay fraternity in Chile. Please have a look at our web page: www.fratersecularcarlosdefoucauld5.webnode.cl So that you can remain informed about what we do. Gerardo Caro Vergara

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practise your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.” Jim Rohn (American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker)

COLOMBIA: ‘There is a time for everything and a time for each thing under the sun’ (Eccl. 3, 1.SS) The Lay Fraternity in Colombia is going through a time where its members are going their own separate ways. What we experience has nothing to do with unity or moving forward together. We must admit, Colombians are very different in their approach to life. Many factors can explain this: differences in culture, age, way of life. Diversity is distinctive to our country. In the face of an objective reality each Columbian is likely to give a different reading to what is in front of him. Those who have formed part of the fraternity in the last 10 years would certainly tell you that we conceived it as being open to: Christians irrespective of the church to which they belong and to persons irrespective of their sexual orientation. That worked out well until 2011. After that we started to part. We presently have no national fraternity. Rest assured! We are still friends. We do not meet often though. Two couples from our fraternity separated. We believe that this weakened the fraternity as a whole. Last year, we called a meeting of all persons who would like to team up to make things work. This picture speaks for itself. That was on 28th of November 2013 in Medellin to commemorate, in advance, the anniversary of Blessed Brother Charles.

Participants surrounding Hortensia Tobon (middle) now aged 86. Standing on the right and left ends are two Little Brothers of Jesus who support us In spite of this, at an individual level,

International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 23 each one of us lives like Jesus at Nazareth as Brother Charles has taught us. We remain attentive and we get involved in favour of persons who are left behind in society for many reasons. This year, we would like to have open meetings for all members of the spiritual family of Brother Charles. The meetings will be held in Ibague where the Little Brothers have their fraternity. Now as a Colombian, I want to do my best to always pray for the harsh reality we live. I believe that Africans will also be sensitive to this problem: forced internal migration. This is violence committed by, or supported by, a ruling government causes much death and profoundly scars the citizens. I spent a few days in the countryside, not far from Medellin to reflect on how I can be of some help to displaced agricultural workers. I took this picture of a house abandoned by its owners. You cannot imagine the number of these houses of peasants who had to flee for their life. My friends and I feel deeply concerned by the loneliness and the fight for life that these peasants experience. The current government has recognised its responsibility in what happened. That’s a good thing. However, there is so much left to do

In 2012, at least 257,000 persons were displaced. This represents more than 65,000 families forced to flee for their life.

Please allow me to quote figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC): Colombia today has 47million inhabitants. Between 1985 and 2012, that is over 27 years, 5.7 million persons were displaced; an average of 211,000 persons per annum. Should you however compute the average over the last 15 years it would add up to 297,000 persons per annum. Hernan Ramirez- Colombia URUGUAY:

Our Fraternity in Montevideo started in the late 50’s and early 60’s spurred by the visits of René Voillaume and Guy de Riobé, followed by the fraternal visits of brothers from Argentina and Little Sister Madeleine Geneviève. Several groups of the Lay Fraternity and of the women’s Jesus Caritas Institute were formed with the support of the Priests’ Fraternity. Over the years, the women’s Jesus Caritas Institute became the Association of the Faithful. Today, after many years during which the country faced great political difficulties, we are left with two groups in Montevideo: one formed by those who originally started in the 60’s, albeit depleted by departures and infirmities, and the other which began in the early 2000’s. We started the year 2013 with a day-long meeting of the two groups wherein we prayed and reflected together. During 2013 the older group met irregularly, due to illnesses of the members or their families. The group made up of younger members continued to meet every month. The main concern of both groups, together with the sisters of the Association of the Faithful, for this year, was the participation in May in a symposium, which brought together over 200 people. This gathering was spontaneously organized by lay groups of different origin in Montevideo and in the metropolitan region. We always maintain our concern to be open to other Christians, to be a community within and outside the spiritual family to which we belong, sharing with other small communities. At the Symposium for the Laity, we presented ourselves as the Charles de Foucauld Spiritual Association together with the sisters of the Association of the Faithful,

International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 25 with whom we prepared the organization and content. Our participation generated interest, but because of organizational difficulties, we could not profit from this occasion to approach those interested to participate in the celebration of 1st December. We look forward with confidence to the interest for the formation and consolidation of small communities that is appearing in our church of Montevideo; an interest that we share with the community.

MEXICO As we reflect on the way of life of Brother Charles, what strikes us is that he often encountered difficulties. Despite this, he remained a seeker. And for us, he succeeded in using the right proportion of material and spiritual matters in order to leave a seed on earth. In Mexico, as we must have told you before, we still have a geographically dispersed Fraternity where people come and go. Why is it so? I hear you say. Well, the desire of people here is affected by a frustration that neither the State nor the Church takes care of what worries them. Some people believe that to be seen as forming part of a parish they need to be involved in church service. They would not believe us telling them that there is no obligation on their part. We are a lay fraternity of working men and women, married, unmarried, divorced, priests and religious. Ecumenism matters for us; we have meetings with other religious groups just like we relate to other groups of the Charles de Foucauld family. We also build ties with other religious and social organizations who appreciate our participation. As lay persons following the footsteps of Br Charles, we must bear witness to Jesus in our everyday life. We must commit to offer friendship to persons coming from different countries, ethnic, social, political, economic backgrounds. As the fraternity went further in its reflections, we came to ask ourselves: ‘What can a couple live within its family and with people it relates in its close neighbourhood. Can there be a project to which they commit?’ When somebody in need comes to us, this can impinge on time we had set apart for personal needs or even for prayer. We constantly need to strike a balance between our needs and those of people who come to us. That’s what we call Nazareth: the world around us to which we contribute to build everyday. We also feel that the fraternity needs to respond to the needs and expectations of the young. We define our vocation as being contemplatives in the midst of the world to become the yeast in the bread through our commitments in social and political organizations that will fight to break the unjust economic, social and political structures that oppress people and leave them disregarded. Both what we say and do matter in our mission. We have in mind to act in accordance with the three principles that Brother Charles always applied: a. Looking for the common good, b. Wanting the development of individuals and nations, c. Insisting on the effective application of human rights especially the rights of the most neglected of men. Let us highlight the life and actions of some members of our fraternity. Maria Teresa teaches working class persons in suburban areas in the north of Mexico. Carmen, a young girl from the same rural community as I, found the way to her self-realization with the support of her community through work with peasant women who grow maize which is used to cook tortilla – a staple food. Daniel, for his part, contributes greatly, in spite of a precarious economic situation and a painful illness he has had for a long time. He develops personal contacts in a variety of places such as: the small municipal market, among sellers, professionals, the peasant community and through the Internet. He is also involved in efforts to launch a project of community participation to build warehouses for the storage

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of seeds (of organic plants and decorative flowers) in winter, as well as a small carpentry and handicraft workshop. Note: All of us in the fraternity pray for Daniel and his family. May he get back his health and work so that his financial condition improves. (Adriana Cella/Luis Torres – Fernando Portillo) Mexico is affected by corruption, impunity and drug trafficking organized by strong cartels with the help of public officers working to supply drugs to the USA. All this leads to a war that is not a war of the Mexican people. We find the potential privatization of part of the energy sector and education worrying. There is a neoliberal culture prevailing in the country and this results in consumerism and the easy life for some but to poverty and neglect for the majority. Our people have a deep sense of religion which is witnessed in the devotions and celebrations brought by the Spanish colonizers. Unfortunately, these have no bearing on everyday life. There are also radical Catholics whom we call ‘Cristeros.’ This group gave rise to the ‘PAN’ a right wing political party. We feel that successive governments have used the catholic fervour and papal admiration, especially with John Paul II, to their advantage. The Father Maciel affair (founder of ), denounced in several cases of child abuse, but protected by John Paul II, is still a scandal for us. We are closely watching the revolutionary processes occurring in Latin America and especially South America with their popular movements seeking profound societal, political and developmental changes and a more equitable wealth distribution.

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” Tony Robbins (Author and motivational speaker)

We finally insist on the importance of communication. It is not only a question of feeling that we are in communion but also to share experiences which can lead us to a more universal view of reality hence we shall become more bound and impartial – this in a context of the media war. THINK GLOBALLY ACT LOCALLY AND REALISE PERSONALLY Always bear in mind the different faces of the unifying presence of Charles de Foucauld and his energy which is within each of us. May we keep on seeking to move forward wherever we are and whatever we do. Please remember that we feel in communion with each and every one of you thanks to our friendship. Big fraternal hug! Daniel Leal

NORTH AMERICA: Our Region consists of approximately 20 Fraternities based in 9 cities (Cleveland, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Boston, Brooklyn, Mount Vernon, Montreal, Long Island, and Sherbrooke) in the US and Canada, largely concentrated in the north-eastern portion of our territory. Our Region has witnessed a very engaging and fruitful year in the lives of Fraternities. In June 2013, Fraternity members in Philadelphia hosted the annual assembly for our Region, a one day event which gathered approximately 75 individuals representing most Fraternities. Activities included moments of fraternal exchanges, prayer and shared reflections on the significance of the Blessed Sacrament and writings of Brother Charles.

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In November 2013, representatives from several fraternities met at Tabor House (Tarrytown, New York) for a one-day meeting during which we exchanged on the experiences of our individual fraternities, and general life of our Region. Guided by a meditation of Brother Charles, we also took the opportunity to reflect and pray on the words of Jesus "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength" (Mark 12:30). The life of Brother Charles challenges us to make all of our work, our efforts, our lives, our relationships focus solely on "the good of our beloved”. Some questions which we meditated on included, “How does this attitude affect our practical daily interactions with our family members, co-workers and those we encounter through our work, the poor and dispossessed, the parish, the local fraternity, and the Church?” Finally, the next annual assembly will be held in Montreal, and hosted by the Quebec lay Fraternities (June 2014). This is the first meeting outside of the United States and a clear reflection of a deeply rooted willingness to bridge the experience of Nazareth between our respective countries. The theme for this 2 day meeting is “Light in the Deserts of the World”, and will focus on the calling of Brother Charles to cry the Gospel with our lives in Fraternity for the transformation of today’s society. Frank O’Sullivan (Boston, United States) Ciro Piccirillo (Montreal, Canada)

“First learn the meaning of what you say, and then speak.” Epictetus

ASIA PAKISTAN: Get together of Brother Charles’ disciples. Sadhoke October 2013. Dear Friends, Joy! Every year the followers of Brother Charles meet for a few days of prayer and reflection/sharing. This year we gathered from October 24 to 27 in Sadhoke at TIL (Institute of Contextual for the Laity). The theme was: ‘The Faith Journey of Brother Charles of Jesus’. We, Little Sisters of Jesus, arrived joyfully from Multan with young people belonging to Charles’ group. Others came from Lahore, Faisalabad, Kushpur and Sargodha. A few priests of Jesus Caritas Priests Fraternity called in to visit us. Fr Emmanuel Asi, and Fr Inayat Bernard gave the input. The Introduction was made by Saber Saroya on the Apostolate of the laity. - Nargis Heera spoke on “Brother Charles’ Search for Faith” (‘O Lord if you exist let me know it’). She started questioning the assembly: What is Faith for you? How was it strengthened? How is it now? This was followed by sharing among all participants. - L Sr Zeenat spoke on “Faithfulness and Trials of Br Charles’ Faith.” She chose two particular periods: 1897. Persecution in Syria. Being protected by his monastery, he felt called to live among ordinary people.

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1914. The choice to remain with the people of the village up to the end in a war-time situation. He died alone but many disciples came after him. - Fr Asi divided the life of Brother Charles in 3 parts: a) 1858-1886 Birth, orphan, army officer, explorer b) 1886-1901 Conversion and search for Nazareth, priestly ordination c) 1901-1916 From Nazareth to making his own Nazareth, by being a brother to all living till his death with people in a village. He was a priest, but not following the priestly pattern. God is not “normal”, he is merciful (Heb 11,6) and emotional (Is 55,13); The answer of Job, as that of Daniel had been: The God we serve will rescue us but “Whether he does it or not, He is my God” (Daniel 3,17); That of Habakkuk: “Yet in Yahweh will I rejoice” (Hab 3,17-18) - Fr Inayat Bernard shared about the Jesus Caritas Priests Fraternity and his own journey. - A Penitential service (around Lk 19 1-11) was well prepared by participants from different places. 1) Each one was invited to write her/his sin on a paper, then go and put it to burn it in an earthen jar. 2) On a paper shaped as a foot, each one wrote which step he/she is committing him/herself to for the next months. Then two by two we made a path of steps deposing our written promise toward the light. Then, we all came to receive a blessing from one of the 3 priests. It was very moving. We continued with the offertory and the Eucharist, thanking and celebrating God for his graces. We had Gospel sharing in 3 groups. One young handicapped girl of our group impressed us by her sharing: “in all situations I trust and remain happy”. With Fauzia, we had prepared a short drama on Little Sister Magdeleine who had been one of the first followers of Brother Charles: The unexpected answer from God to her longing: her going to the and the Beautiful Dream she had in receiving the Baby Jesus from Our Lady. From that day onward He became her guide and beloved Lord and never departed. She had the great desire to convey that message to the whole world. Though we were a small group, these few days were very full of brotherly and sisterly love… The fields of rice and sugar cane around, the sunrise or sunset, the flowers and the birds joined us in praising God.

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EUROPE Letter to the European fraternities on the occasion of 1st December Dear European friends of the Secular Fraternity Charles de Foucauld, 1st December is with us once again – an occasion to celebrate the donated life of our older universal little brother who wrote in his “Counsels” (Art XXVIII) “One does good not by what one says and what one does, but according to what one is, to the measure of grace that accompanies our actions, to the extent in which our actions are the actions of Jesus working in us and through us...” Everything is summed up here: somehow what is involved is to "disappear", so that the will of God, who is Love, may be accomplished. This is not immediately obvious to us, human as we are, in spite of all our good intentions! said this about his friend: “Foucauld was given to me as an elder brother; he made me discover in all other human beings, starting with the most abandoned, my brothers.” Shall we, in our turn, be able to recognize, as we follow in his footsteps in today’s reality, brothers and sisters in the men and women we meet? The relay walk in the footsteps of Saint Martin, the European saint par excellence, proposed by the European fraternity for these two years (November 2013 -November 2015) is an opportunity to arrive at a sympathetic listening and a fraternal sharing, that will be mutually enriching through the discovery of our respective values. The relay meanwhile symbolizes our solidarity, without which nothing is possible for us. This is also an opportunity to garner experiences that will make up, during the forthcoming celebration of the centenary of the death of our brother Charles, a bouquet made up of the living colours of diversity and the tenderness of God. Happy feast of the first of December and best wishes for a good journey to each and every one, even if you are only able to walk in your thoughts and in your hearts... Annie and Anna

GERMANY: February, the responsibles of the groups and regions in Germany met to exchange ideas and to plan the next meetings. The situation in the 17 groups is quite different: Some members are feeling the age and frailty, which are taking their toll and are making it difficult or even impossible to meet. In other groups, there are families with children and they are going for excursions and weekend trips. Some groups need to consider whether they can still go on, others are growing, albeit at a small level. The groups are going to contribute to the Katholikentag in Regensburg (the meeting of German Catholics): a workshop , an information booth and times of worship are organized by us . In August, we are planning a time of Nazareth: 2 weeks in Viviers / France, where CdF was ordained priest. During the annual meeting in September, we are going to talk about Madeleine Delbrel and between Christmas and New Year the big meeting of all the branches of the fraternity is again going to take place in Bonn Next year, the German lay fraternity is celebrating its 50th anniversary. We will hold our Annual Meeting in Strasbourg and therefore go on a pilgrimage from different places to Strasbourg. Taking the anniversary into consideration, the theme of our "little companion" with impulses for each week in 2015 is: "Human beings are pilgrims – experiences on the way with Charles de Foucauld ". We have enjoyed the weekend - working as well as celebrating, the movement in the circle dances we tried and the conversations until late at night!

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BELGIUM: Meeting in Brussels on November 30, 2013 The Belgian fraternities and the spiritual family, all branches together, gathered in Brussels on November 30 to commemorate the anniversary of CdF`s death and primarily the life he donated. Christof from Belgium North and Jacques from Belgium South planned the project together during the international meeting of the Lay Fraternity in Bonn in 2012. This day started with time for Adoration in the adjacent church before we went on with three reports in Dutch and French, which helped us deepen our relation with others. One cannot experience God without becoming involved in the world. However, the practice of hospitality, which was very dear to CdF, requires a leap of faith since it is not necessarily natural to welcome a stranger, whoever they may be, with their different traits that clash with ours and that can create fear. In order to become nonviolent in the way of Jesus, we have to be watchful and work towards a true change of heart. We have the mission to cultivate friendship and this becomes a sign of the presence of God and one can therefore call it the sacrament of brotherhood. Generous ideas that were shared took concrete form, firstly, through the meal that was prepared and served by people who are being reintegrated in society and secondly through the opportunity to sign a petition in favour of the admission of Afghans. Furthermore, the assembly was informed about the project of a relay journey on the European paths of St. Martin of Tours, launched in 2012 in Bonn by the European representatives of the Lay Fraternity, Annie and Bernadette. Love implies sharing in solidarity which is symbolised by St. Martin who cut his coat into two pieces in order to protect a poor man against the cold but also by meeting in real life and exchanging values that keep us alive. As disciples of Jesus, following Charles de Foucauld, our universal brother, we can neither hide from helping our brother nor remain “dumb dogs”… The day continued with activities in small groups based on the topics that had come up in the morning and ended in a service. Thank you very much to those who organised this meeting of the fraternity from which we leave happy and with newly gained strength. Annie Bijonneau- European Responsible

ITALY: The path taken by the fraternity after Bonn and future perspectives of the Italian fraternity in the coming two years. During the meetings of the different groups, the Italian fraternity chose to share personal experiences in the members` lives viewed in the light of the gospel. Contacts with “isolated” members are rarer but equally intense. We know that the real treasures lie at the heart of the fraternity, in the intimacy of one’s conscience, these give strength and keep the fraternity alive. Our inspiration comes from the image of the yeast that disappears in the bread or the salt when it melts. We believe that “being there” is more essential than the heroism of our personal actions. The things we experience facing a social and political

International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 37 crisis within our country and within the western world in general make us strive for justice, solidarity, change and hope in our everyday lives. The interest we have for each other and in current events within Europe are based on the desire to get to know the real daily life of others as opposed to the information pronounced by bold headlines and the media. In our meetings we feel that we are increasingly accepting each other more and more and not only on the intellectual level but also on the level of emotional and personal relationships. We are a community that develops on trust and hope: the current crisis can be an occasion for renewal. Our hope is strongly based on the promise of the gospel. It is highly important for us to be able to “live” as well as “give” hope. We believe that there are, in the Foucauldian spirituality, buds that bloom within the fraternity and also beyond our large family. In the near future, we are going to have a Nazareth week characterized by ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, in order to gain a greater sensitivity and openness towards those who profess a different religion and thereby help create peace and hope. We find that the presence of immigrants in our country can be an opportunity and a chance rather than a problem, which has to be solved or maybe avoided. We are also working towards more economic solidarity in our group. We are also facing our own challenges: the average age of our members, the lack of new members in the fraternity and the economic crisis in Italy are forcing us to become selective in everything and Nazareth Week 2013 in Maguzzano, strongly limit the possibility of Northern Italy activity, movement and innovation. It must also be said that only certain members feel the importance of taking responsibility to organize meetings that make a mutual exchange possible. This is certainly due to the fact that the members are aging but also to the rather individualistic concept of a personal spiritual journey. Nevertheless, we trust in our energy, creativity and flexibility and we are trying hard to give witness with our lives to the fundamental principles in which we believe in the certainty of the love of God for everyone. Aldo

THEY HAVE JOINED THE HEAVENLY FRATERNITY : Jacques Servais from Belgium died on Holy Saturday, after taking his share of the Passion of Jesus Christ. for three years he fought against cancer with strength, courage and tenacity, but the disease had the final word. His funeral took place on Thursday in the Octave of Easter in a church full of friends, colleagues, members of the fraternities and of course his family. Though suspending his professional activity because of illness, he kept working till the very end for the Lay Fraternity. In particular, he was part of the team that is preparing the 2015 European Holidays. After spending a time as a seminarian, Jacques engaged in social work. His brother told us that he worked in as many as 14 social institutions! Jacques had a strong personality: he was a leader. In this sense he was capable of bringing out the best that is latent in everyone, to turn it to the service of the common good. He knew his days were numbered and he tried as much as

International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 39 possible to prepare for his departure. Others will be able to continue what he has started. His love for life was great and he enjoyed sharing it with us. He spent a long time living in a small community near Horloge, which gathered people from the street! There the National Council of the Lay Fraternity of Belgium South often had its meetings to pray and work together. And there we met after laying him for his final rest in small countryside cemetery, not far from where he lived. The fraternity, the spirituality of Charles de Foucauld and more broadly the Gospel were undoubtedly his vision. He could accompany till the end his mother, who died aged 99 three weeks before him! He was only 59. Take your backpack… seek the horizon… and pursue the impossible… this is the message he hands over to us in his farewell card.

Luciano Tedeschi, a member of the Italian fraternity of Trieste, completed his journey on earth on May 4th 2014 to join the heavenly fraternity. For more than 20 years Luciano, together with his wife Renata, dedicated his life to leading self- help groups in their struggle with alcohol dependency and other forms of problems using his competence of professional educator in the service of the suffering and their families. For several years Luciano was a member of the Italian Lay Fraternity which, through his great capacity to enter into relationship and his availability to listen and give attention to the other, was greatly enriched by his generous and free spirit. During his illness which lasted more than a year he was an example of strength, love of life and abandon into the hands of our merciful Father While thanking the Lord for the gift that Luciano has been for the Italian and European Fraternity, we remain close to his wife Renata, who until very recently was co-Responsible for the Italian Fraternity, and to their loving daughter Sara. Giovanni Roncarolo was a free man. He had made the decision to live with and for Jesus of Nazareth and each time, in the various moments of his life, he let himself be guided only by Him. For Giovanni, Nazareth means a twofold belonging: to the Father and to men. Giovanni said in one of his speeches: “We should not seek contemplation by ‘separation’ from the world, to welcome God into our lives, but seek instead the union with the Lord through ‘bonds’. It is through bonds with others that we hope to be detached from ourselves and be tied to God. It is a journey never completed, of course, but we must walk. This is Nazareth.” Giovanni Roncarolo had indeed many true and deep ties in his life. We are really many, we who had him as a close friend, we who turned to him to listen to him, to ask his advice, to have from him an encouragement, a "green light”, a welcoming embrace. Now, along with the pain for his death, we carry in our hearts his tenderness that is the tenderness of God. We feel vaguely but with confidence that Giovanni did not leave us, but went to wait for us "elsewhere" and will welcome us one day with the same shy and joyful smile with which many times he approached us in this life.

Born in 1940 in Santa Cristina di Borgomanero, Northern Italy, Giovanni was ordained priest in 1966. He became a Little Brother of the Gospel in 1972 and a few years later joined the Fraternity of Spello, in Italy, founded by . Later he spent several years in Portici, near Naples, where he worked at the Centro Antoniano, which assists mentally handicapped children. When he reached pensionable age, he joined the community of Badia di Dulzago in Italy, close to the place of his birth. He died on 21st March 2014. International Bulletin - Nº91- June 2014 41

THE ARAB WORLD

ALGERIA: We had our gathering on Friday January 10th 2014. We were 13. We missed Jean and Thérèse who went to France for health problems concerning Jean. We worked on the canticle of Anne who was a sterile woman. This canticle led us to reflect on the Magnificat of Mary. Jean Desforges (our priest) introduced Samuel to us (The Book of Samuel) that opens a new horizon (an opening to the entire world, Jesus of Nazareth is the Lord of everyone). That is our life as Christian Algerians: open to everyone. Muslims, Christians, believers or not, we are here to live with each other in all our humanity (no matter what difficulties a Christian person might encounter in a Muslim family). Jesus, Spirit of God lives in every human being. “When a young person comes to me or knocks at my door for Maths lessons, I don’t ask if he is Muslim or Christian. Every morning I open my hands in front of you Lord… and I am ready to receive, today… every day.” (Jean Desforges) The next encounter will be entitled “The Good Samaritan”. “The main characteristics of the real disciple of Jesus Christ: this is what Jesus wants from his perfect disciples, not to have anything, not to rely on anything, neither on wealth nor on other humans and ourselves. Only God is our richness, our support and our master. It is not our talents, desires and actions that help, but it is only God with and through us. We are nothing without Him”. (A. Chevrier) Maria

LEBANON: In this period, we developed a working calendar for the year 2013-2014 entitled "Living Nazareth - this is what distinguishes us." We chose a series of sub-themes for year-long programme to deepen our formation on the essential points of our spirituality. The sub-themes will be prepared as we so along by members of our fraternity and the culmination of this cycle will be in summer when we will have a Nazareth period. The topics will be: -Being a hidden, effective, loving, freely-given and modest presence. -The simple lifestyle and evangelical poverty. -The mission of the Laity on the example of Priscilla and Aquila. -Living the gospel with Brother Charles in the heart of everyday life -The mission of Goodness (Nazareth meeting). We use as reference certain books such as: Charles de Foucauld, In the Footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth, The Little Guide, and A Man Searching for God” written in Arabic. As usual, and like every year, the fraternity has celebrated the anniversary of Brother Charles with the spiritual family in Lebanon on Sunday December 1st, 2013 at the School of Nazareth – Beirut. The meeting was entitled "Who is my neighbour?" and included a sharing from a passage of the bible and writings of Brother Charles, lunch and coffee breaks and concluded with the Divine Liturgy. The fraternity is working for recognition by the local church in Lebanon. It is seeking from the Maronite archdiocese of Beirut that the fraternity be considered as an example which exemplifies the Islamo- Christian coexistence in its territory. The fraternity in Lebanon is facing many challenges, including the nomination of an accompanying priest after the passing of our dearest Father Daoud to heaven. However, our biggest challenge is to be loyal to our vocation and faith, not to lose hope and the will to love in this difficult period of violence which has invaded our country and deeply troubles its identity which is “live together in our diversities”. We invite you our dear brothers and sisters all over the word to pray with us for peace, fraternity and accepting the other in his/her difference and richness in our Middle East, torn and divided by violence and where there is great persecution. Jack Bsaibes

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News from the Spiritual Family Central African Republic: The Central African Republic has been, since the end of 2012, in a situation of civil war following the Seleka rebellion which overthrew the government in March 2013. Seleka is a coalition of mostly Islamist militia coming from the North-East of the country. Contacts with the lay fraternity of the CAR are very difficult and we have had no news for many months. Angele is responsible for the Jesus Caritas Fraternity in CAR. Bangui, Central African Republic, January 26, 2014. On January 20, the election of the transitional President of CAR was welcomed with hope, but we know that it will take time for the situation to improve. ‘We are waiting’. At present, the shootings continue, people die from bullets or blades; looting and acts of revenge continue. Many houses have been destroyed or burnt. ‘It is possible to find potatoes or vegetables but everything has become very expensive and public servants salaries have not been paid for three months. It is very dangerous to forage for food in the bush.’ ‘People would like to send their children to school, go back to work, but what with? Everything has been pillaged, there is no raw material left.’ Angele went to her hospital: ‘We can’t do anything; services are paralysed’. Angele has not gone back to her suburb, too close to the PK5 commercial centre, a zone of Muslim majority, where acts of aggression are frequent. She now lives at her sister’s house. And above all: ‘We are afraid, we are afraid all the time!’ Today, January 29: shootings again and many dead in Bangui (near the PK5). And the situation is not better in the rest of the country... far from it, as the people are not protected.

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn't said.” Peter Drucker

Little Sisters of Jesus: Last November our Tre Fontane fraternity welcomed some fifty Little Sisters who came from all corners of the world for a ‘journey’ across ‘the Oriental Churches within the Arab world’. Here are some reports of the session: Our Constitutions remind us: “It is within a Muslim environment that Brother Charles perceived the mystery of God. This is where he gave his life. (...) Remaining faithful to their origins, the Little Sisters have a particular dedication to their Muslim brothers. Their love for the Oriental Churches is a special one because who welcomed them from their origin and who are living witnesses of Christian faith among Muslims.” Indeed, from the beginning, Little Sister Magdeleine sought Christians who spoke Arabic to learn from them how to live among Muslims. For us today it is important to know better Little Sister Magdeleine’s first intuitions and to discuss them among us, to get a better and deeper understanding of the Oriental Churches. Representatives of different countries and of the Middle Eastern Churches have helped us in our journey. Father Rafiq Khoury, a Palestinian priest from Jerusalem, ‘friend and brother’ of the Fraternity, was there to accompany us. On the first evening, he invited us to “knowing in order to love”: a kind of password to enter the session and stay on the path. Beautiful liturgies celebrated in the different rites helped us enter the Mystery through fragrances, songs, gestures.... With Father Fadi Daou, a Lebanese Maronite, we studied closely what it means to be a Church among the Muslims. What is the face, what are the faces of Islam and the Church in the Middle East, and what does ‘meeting the other’ mean today? He proposed some readings to learn not to generalise. We studied in depth the meaning of meeting the other with his/her difference and thought about the elements that lead to a fruitful meeting... Each of the other participants (from Melkite, Chaldean, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian Churches...) made a presentation of their Church within its historical context and present day situation, its relation with others, made up of great beauty or great suffering according to the country and the times!

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During the last session, Little Sister Mariam-Nour, who presently lives in Syria, brought back memories of Little Sister Magdeleine, her initial intuition and her way of getting about it. We met in small groups to discuss how the way Little Sister Magdeleine met with the Oriental Churches remains a paradigm (a model to which we can refer) for the entire Fraternity, in so far as we let this event shape our attitude to meet the other in his difference, our very particular manner to serve the Gospel, to be with the Church and within the Church. We endeavoured (and we are called to continue in this direction) to keep Little Sister Magdeleine’s intuition alive, not only in the Arab-Muslim context, but in all our different places and situations.

TSCG (Missionaries of Jesus Servant) The religious community of the Missionaries of Jesus Servant is a branch of the Spiritual Family of Charles de Foucauld. It exits in Vietnam, where it was founded. I am pleased to announce good news about our Institute: On 16th October 2013, the local government of the province of Ninh Thuan officially recognised our Institute as a religious organisation in our country (after 32 years of life in silence and anonymity). This means that, from now on, we have a legal identity. “Worship the Lord with me, honour His name all together” (Ps.33) On the occasion of the Feast of Blessed Brother Charles, on 1st December 2013, the brothers and sisters of the various groups of the CdF Spiritual Family in Vietnam met at Phan Rang to celebrate a Mass and share a meal. The Feast happened on a Sunday. The Fathers of the Priests’ Fraternity Jesus Caritas, and the brothers and sisters of the CdF Lay Fraternity were unable to attend. There were about 100 participants, without counting the brothers and sisters of our Institute and about 60 supporting members. There were some Little Sisters of Jesus, Sisters of the Jesus Caritas Institute and a Little Brother of Jesus. After the presentations of the participants, I gave some news of the meeting in Viviers and talked about a new book about Blessed Charles de Foucauld in Vietnamese. Jean-Marie Tran minh Cuong The website The site www.charlesdefoucauld.org is online in the French version, but there are a few pages in English. You are invited to supply information and announce your activities. To do so, please contact Antoinette on: [email protected] Subscriptions It is really desirable that those readers, who can afford to do so, contribute financially to the International Bulletin. The amount is € 20 every 2 years. The payment of subscription may raise problems of a financial and logistical nature (such as bank charges); therefore we recommend that you take the necessary steps to simplify the matter. For the subscribers of the English edition: You are advised to combine the subscriptions for each country so that the members pay the subscription into the account of the Fraternity in their own country. Then the national secretariat will deposit the total subscriptions into the International Account specifying “Subscriptions for the International Bulletin.” They will then send a list of the names and addresses of the persons concerned to Claudio Chiaruttini at the email address: [email protected] Here is the account for the deposit: GEMEINSCHAFT CHARLES DE FOUCAULD IBAN: DE09 5856 4788 0002 6086 85 BIC (SWIFT): GENODED1HWM These material aspects need not however be an obstacle to the dissemination of the Bulletin, which is an important link between the fraternities around the world and which allows us to become aware of their richness and vitality. The dissemination of the Bulletin therefore remains a priority for the International Team. We would like to intensify the dispatch of brochures to Africa and Latin America and it is with the help of your contributions that we can achieve this. Send articles and news for the Lay Fraternity’s Bulletin to the email: [email protected]

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To build the Church of the Fraternity We like our fraternity with its limitations and its richness. It is our Mother This is why we respect her. While we dream That it be ever more beautiful: a fraternity where it is good to live. Where we can breathe, say what we think, A fraternity of freedom.

A fraternity which listens before talking, Which welcomes instead of judging, Which forgives and doesn’t condemn, Which announce rather than denounce, A fraternity of mercy. A fraternity where the simplest of the brothers understands the other Where the most knowledgeable chief knows that he doesn’t know Where each one has his way A fraternity of wisdom

A fraternity where the Holy Spirit will be able to come Because all has not been planned, organised, decided in advance An open fraternity.

A fraternity where daring to try new ways will prevail On the old ways of habit A fraternity where each one is able to pray in his language Express his culture and live with his history A fraternity of which it will not be said: ‘See how they are organised” but “See how they love one another” From a prayer written by the once Bishop of Saint Denis, Guy Deroubaix