Final message – Bonn 2012
Approximately 60
delegates assembled in Bonn,
Germany (August
3-13th 2012) for the 9th International Assembly of the
Lay Fraternity Charles de Foucauld. The Fraternity is found in 45 countries
from 5 continents. Thirty countries were represented at the Assembly.
Through moments of prayer, celebration,
reports and sharing of life, the Assembly evaluated the condition of the
Fraternities from around the world in order to reach conclusions on its current
state.
(1) The reports permitted a better
understanding of the social contexts in which Fraternities live.
(2) The current global crisis which the
world and Fraternities are experiencing has severely increased the gap between
the rich and the poor in our society. This situation has become a source of
physical and economic hardship in our society, thus contributing to a climate
of social instability and insecurity.
(3) It is from this background that the
Fraternities, despite their strengths and limitations, would like to pursue the
prophetic call of Brother Charles’ message.
(4) The contributions and deliberations of
the delegates yielded several compelling revelations such as:
- The birth of new
Fraternities and the aging of established ones.
- The concern to deepen the
charisma and message of Brother Charles and to develop fraternal relations.
- An important
interrogation: does our experience of the message of Brother Charles meet the
desires, aspirations and needs of the people of our times?
- The ethical crisis and
neoliberalism reinforce each other.
-
(5) Our theme for the International
Assembly, ‘Daring to Encounter’ emerged from our daily lives: joyful
encounters, failed encounters, and missed encounters. This theme was first and
foremost the fruit of reflexion of all the Fraternities during the past two
years. The contributions of other resource individuals, witnesses and visits to
various social projects added enrichment to the theme.
(6) The biblical perspective of our
reflexion enabled us to rediscover, on one hand, the experience of an oppressed
people, and on the other, how to convert a relationship based on domination to
one based on reciprocity.
(7) The various encounters of Brother
Charles de Foucauld were marked by the culture of his times, and reveal the
different aspects of his character. His abundant correspondence testifies to
the fact that his relations were marked by faithfulness, kindness and love of
God and humanity.
(8) A description of the state of ecumenism
in Germany
indicated a possible road to travel in order to live in "unity despite
fraternal differences”. On the other hand the testimony of a working priest
brought to light that his daily encounters were characterized by his capacity
to live in solidarity with others. This example of encounter is the very essence
of that proposed by our spirituality. Lastly, visits to a local parish and
mosque were the illustration of the desire to create a social link through
different activities.
(9) Aspiring to live the love and
gentleness of God for all humanity, as Brother Charles did, the continents
would like to take up the following challenges:
- To give ourselves the
time and means to revisit and live our spirituality. As laity in the world, we
wish to confront it with the signs and events of our times.
- To deepen the relations
between Fraternities of each country within each continent, and respond to the
aspirations of today’s youth.
- To surpass our fears and
doubts in the face of extremism and foster relations based on mutual
reciprocity, respect and solidarity.
- The use of modern
communication means (Facebook, Twitter etc) will help us achieve these goals.
-
We thank the German Fraternities for their
hospitality during this Assembly.
