100 (and more) questions about the Community of Pope John XXIII
By Giovanni Paolo Ramonda
(Taken from Il soffio, la barca, le vele, published by the Association Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII - Editore Sempre in May 2006)
1. What do you mean by vocation?
It is a call by God to live in his image and likeness, to follow his Son Jesus and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Each of us is chosen for a specific mission, so that all people may know and experience the love of God and the wonders He performs for us.
2. When is this vocation revealed?
God's call for each of us is fully given through Baptism and shown more clearly through the sacrament of Confirmation. It is then strengthened by the Eucharist and renewed by the sacrament of Reconciliation.
3. What is a charism?
It is a gift, a grace, a favour given by God to a person or community, as a specific manifestation of the Holy Spirit for the common edification of all people. St. Paul said: God 'has saved us and called us to be holy – not because of anything we ourselves had done, but for his own purpose and by his own grace'. We have the joy of working in the Lord's vineyard.
4. Why are charisms important in the life of the Church?
Saint Basil, in his treatise on the Holy Spirit, wrote, 'The Spirit is conceived of, in relation to the distribution of gifts, as a whole in parts. For we are all "members one of another, having differing gifts according to the grace that is given us". Therefore, "the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you" (1Cor 12:21), but all these things together complete the Body of Christ in the Unity of the Spirit, and render to one another the needful aid that comes of these gifts.'
5. What do you mean by the spirituality of the Community Pope John XXIII?
Our spirituality is our life in the Holy Spirit, which develops our identity as followers of the poor, servant and suffering Christ, who shares the life of the least. This specific spirituality makes us grow in our path to holiness, participate in building the Church, and take part in the realisation of the kingdom of God and His universal mission of salvation.
6. What is its function in the Church?
The charisms recognised by the Church are ways to deepen one's knowledge of Christ and to give oneself more generously to Him, whilst rooting oneself more and more deeply in communion with the entire Christian people. Through Baptism, we are 'made' in the image of Christ, poor and servant, who atones for the sin of the world.
7. What relationship should there be between charisms and the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy?
Both the hierarchical dimension and the charismatic dimension are co-essential to the divine constitution of the Church founded by Jesus. For this reason, they deserve attention from every member of the ecclesiastical community, beginning with the pastors to whom the care of the particular churches is entrusted in communion with the Vicar of Christ.
8. Are charisms a sign of the 'springtime' of the Church?
When movements are able to humbly give the fruits of their charisms to the service of the See of Peter and local churches, their presence will reveal the freshness of the Christian experience based on both personal and communitarian encounters with Christ. Through Him we are able to meet people of our generation in a loving and caring way. Cooperation among the new communities, movements and ecclesiastical associations - which reappraise Christian formation according to their own charisms - gives impulse to this new evangelisation.
9. What is the vocation of the 'Community of Pope John XXIII' Association?
The vocation of the Community consists in conforming one's life to Christ, who continuously fulfils the will of the Father, in becoming poor and servant, and, for Jesus, with Jesus and in Jesus, in sharing directly the life of the least.
10. Are there passages from the Bible which are particularly relevant to this path in the Church?
The Word of God and the sacred tradition of the Church are the 'daily bread' of Community life: 'The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures as she venerates the Lord's Body'. We can read the following passage taken from the prophet Isaiah 61:1-2, 'The spirit of Lord Yahweh is on me, for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh and a day of vengeance for our God.'
11. And from the New Testament?
One of the most meaningful passages is taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:5-11:
'Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God,
did not count equality with God
something to be grasped.
But he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
becoming as human beings are;
and being in every way like a human being,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death, death on a cross.
And for this God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names;
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acknowledge
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.'
12. Who is the founder of the Community Pope John XXIII?
Father Oreste Benzi received the gift from the Holy Spirit to found an ecclesiastical community, mostly made up of lay people, with a path of faith and Christian testimony founded on the specific charism of 'sharing life directly with the poorest in society'. This charism also forms the base of its pedagogical method.
13. What is its role in the Church?
The Association is a single spiritual family, composed of people of different ages and states of life who want to answer the universal call to holiness, to contribute to the realisation of the kingdom of God and to participate in the mission of salvation of the Church, by welcoming and sharing life directly with the poorest in society.
14. What do you mean by 'Pontifical Recognition'?
The 'Community of Pope John XXIII' is recognized by the Holy See, through the Pontifical Council for the Laity, as an International Association of the Faithful of Pontifical Right with juridical personality, according to canons no. 298 and 321-329 of the code of canon law.
15. What are, according to its charism, the aims of the Community of Pope John XXIII?
The Community aims to help its members realise their specific Christian vocation through direct sharing of life with the least, and to spare no effort to remove the causes which create injustice and marginalisation, acting in a non violent way in conformity with the Social Doctrine of the Church.
16. What are the main activities carried out by the Association?
Members of the Community: 1700
People welcomed into various types of homes in Italy: 2100
Recovering substance abusers: 615
Recovering alcoholics: 102
Women freed from prostitution: 300
Meninhos des rua (street children) helped in mission areas: 800
Minors welcomed into and helped by our families: 500
Family homes: 280
Work day centres: 12
Houses for the welcoming of former prostitutes: 8
Houses of prayer and welcoming: 8
Emergency shelters: 9
Emergency shelters for children: 6
Farms: 3
Hotels and holiday homes: 4
Schools: 2
Centres for alcoholics: 3
Fraternity houses: 9
Families open to welcoming: 110
Houses for the service of conscientious objection and peace: 2
Therapeutic communities: 36
'Bethlehem huts' (houses for the welcoming of the homeless): 7
Sports centres and gyms: 1
Centres for the collection of used clothing: 1
Soup kitchens for the homeless: 15
Cooperatives which run day centres: 61
Houses for former prisoners: 2
17. What is at the heart of your charism?
Jesus lives his relationship of Sonship with the Father totally, without conditions, and the Father makes Him His suffering servant, who atones for the sin of the world. He made himself obedient until death, death on the cross. He welcomed all the poor who came to Him and identified with the least.
18. Who is the Community made of?
The Community is made of people who ‘live on’ the Eucharist and, like the Church, it is realised in the Eucharistic celebration. The poor play a leading role in the Community since, 'it is precisely the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest which are the indispensable ones'.
19. Can the Eucharist be given to people with severe mental health problems/disabilities?
The Eucharist is the gift of Jesus and of the Church. It is the Church’s responsibility to ensure that Holy Communion is also received by baptised and confirmed people with severe mental health problems/disabilities. They receive it in the faith of the family and community who stand by them. The sacramental supports made available in the Church cannot be denied to them on the basis that it is impossible to know their real level of perception or understanding. It is important to recognise people who suffer from all kinds of disabilities as full members of the Church. It is also important to help them find their right place in the Church, and to design churches in a way which is easily accessible to them. (from the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist).
20. Who guarantees unity in the Community?
The Holy Spirit works continuously so that the brothers and sisters of the Community may be 'volcanoes of initiatives', and also be in communion with one another. The visible element who unifies their spiritual walk is the President.
21. What place is given to Mary in the Community of Pope John XXIII?
The members of the Community see Mary, who chose to be the servant of the Lord by letting it happen according to the angel's word, as their mother, and try to develop a relationship of trust and love with her. Mary is a direct way to Jesus.
22. What is 'sharing life directly'?
It is a life choice in which, moved by the Spirit to follow the poor and servant Jesus, the members of the Community put their lives together with the lives of the least, taking on their situation, putting their shoulder under their cross and accepting to be liberated by the Lord through them.
23. How is this 'sharing' put into practice?
The poor become part of your family for the time they need. Some stay for a limited period of time, until their problems are resolved; others may become members of your family for ever.
24. Are there any other ways to share life directly?
Of course. Wherever a poor person is suffering, we must share life directly: on the street with enslaved women, inside stations with the homeless, among youngsters trapped by drug abuse.
25. Why is sharing a good and effective way to evangelise?
St. Augustine says, and he is right, 'Love of God comes first in the order of enjoying; but in the order of doing, love of our neighbour comes first. Since you do not yet see God, by loving your neighbour you purify your eyes for seeing God. So, love your neighbour and, by looking inside yourself for the origin of this love, you will see, as much as is possible for you, God.' Putting life together with the life of the poor makes God's smile shine on humanity.
26. Are all members of the Community required to welcome?
Everyone in the Community must question themselves about the possibility of opening up their own family. However, if for some reason they cannot do this, they can live out their vocation by sharing in the external environment. The members decide these ways together with the Community, identifying the least whom the Lord makes them meet and how they are joined to them.
27. How does sharing liberate you from yourself?
Because it brings you back to a point of justice, in which Jesus, the master, becomes suffering, poor and weak and asks you to live with Him in unconditional love and gratitude.
28. What makes sharing 'shine'?
Your joy is the best gift you can give to those who need you. Show through your actions that, respecting each other's roles, you are happy to live together with respect, tenderness and mutual appreciation. God loves those who give joyfully.
29. How do you lead life as the poor?
The members of the Community freely choose what the least are forced to live. The poor whom the Lord makes them meet modify their lives, upset their certainties and may even ask for a place in their family. The members of the Community regard themselves as administrators of any money they come to possess, by keeping for themselves only what is strictly necessary and returning the rest to the least.
30. Why must one give back to the poor?
St. Basil used to say, 'The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry, the unused coat in your closet belongs to the naked, the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes, the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor. Therefore, you despoil as many as you might succour'. St John Chrysostom, also called 'golden mouth', used to say, 'Doctors should cure the poor for free and people who can should act as guarantors for those with debts. The rich should keep accommodation available. Only the things taken from one's own possessions will have merit and obtain forgiveness of sins.'
31. What are the four ways to administer money?
- The 'common fund': in this way you choose to have no possessions of your own and to ask for everything according to your needs, giving account of these to the Community.
- 'Common administration of goods': in this way you choose to deposit your earnings into the Community and take according to your needs, giving account of these to the Community.
- 'Personal administration', in this way you live on the money you earn, as the majority of families do, giving account of this to the Community and giving back any excess amount to the poor.
- 'Extreme poverty', in this way you choose to live on a monthly contribution but, like every poor person, you must earn 'day by day' what is necessary to live, and you give account of this to the Community.
32. What do you mean by 'giving account of this to the Community'?
In order to avoid lording it over one's or other people's lives, the members of the Community tell the Community and its leaders how they live and how their money is used and/or returned to the poor. In addition, they try not to be owners, but rather faithful administrators of the grace and gifts the Lord gives them, allowing the poor to enter their lives.
33. What place is given to work in the Community?
Everyone contributes to Community life as much as possible, according to their physical, psychological or professional skills. People with severe disabilities also help build the life of the Community through their own resources. Work is fundamental, both as participation in God's creative activity and as help given to those who otherwise would not be able to produce an income for themselves.
34. How is the Community supported?
First of all, through the work of Community members, who deposit their whole salary, or a part of it, into the Community, according to the kind of administration chosen (common fund, common administration or personal administration of goods). In this way, any extra money they earn from their job is given back to the poor. In addition, through the fees paid by public bodies for the work that the Community does (i.e. care giving and sharing of life) in favour of children and adults with mental health problems/disabilities and/or physical disabilities, and old people. Lastly, through bequests of real estate and offerings of money and work, given by many people who help the Community and concretely show God's Providence towards his children. The social cooperatives are part of the Consorzio Condividere, which is supported and promoted by the Association Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII. The Cooperatives support themselves through their work and their final balances are grouped together in the Consorzio.
35. Why doesn't the Community renounce the fees paid by public bodies and live only on Providence?
These fees are paid for the maintenance of people welcomed by the Community, who are loved and cared for by the same. This is an act of justice, a re-distribution of income in favour of the most marginalised people in society. We need to fight, in every country where the Community is present, in order to obtain government contributions for families who are looking after seriously ill children. Providence is everything God gives us as a gift, including work or other initiatives which help us find funds for the benefit of the poor.
36. How are community properties used?
They are used for the poor and the least. Every facility must be kept in good condition and used to welcome those who don't have a family, home or job; those who don’t have any dignity in their lives.
37. What are the virtues connected with life led as the poor?
They are frugality, simplicity, courage of the truth, essentiality, humility and sacrifice, in particular when it is accompanied by discomfort.
38. What is 'poverty lived in its most radical way'?
It is obedience lived out as a guarantee of freedom from oneself and as a way of conforming oneself to Christ, who made himself obedient until death, death on the cross.
39. How do you 'let yourselves be led in obedience'?
By recognising the service of confirmation and guidance exercised by the President of the Community as a gift present in the Church in order to live as a holy people of God.
40. What is the objective criterion of admission into the Community?
Obedience is the objective criterion of admission into the Community: those who want to walk this path of sanctification become members of the Community at the moment they choose to have their path in the vocation and the Community guaranteed by the person in authority.
41. How can you 'submit your life to the confirmation' of a fragile human, even if he/she is the leader of the Community?
Christ is the only real authority, but, within the earthly path, he chooses some people to whom he assigns the mandate of confirming their brothers and sisters in faith and in the vocation. Service must be their motto and love which gives life must be their testimony, reflecting the words of St. Augustine, 'For you I am Bishop, with you I am Christian. The first is the title of the office I received, the second is by grace; the first implies danger, the second salvation'.
42. What does 'participatory authority' mean?
The President of the Community leads the Community in the Lord and is helped by the Area Leaders who, in full communion with him, share in the realisation of this pastoral care. There is only one source of authority and he/she is filled with the love of Christ for his people. This authority is made present in the different Areas through the Area Leaders, who are given to us and are present in the Church, in order for us to live with one heart and one soul and not run in vain. The Leaders of the Community give account of their service to the Community.
43. What do you mean by 'making space for prayer and contemplation'?
It means living the same filial relationship with the Father as Jesus did, in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
44. Why is prayer an effective way of living with God?
Because it is the preferential way to deepen our relationship with God and to make union with God a dimension of life. We try to give space to the Lord inside ourselves and seek the time we need to spend with Him.
45. How do you sustain yourselves on your path with the Lord?
Through the daily Word of God, which becomes food, the daily Eucharist, which becomes strength, frequent recourse to the sacrament of Confession, which becomes comfort, praying the Psalms with the Liturgy of the Hours, which becomes praise.
46. What is the 'Daily Bread'?
It is the Word of God, the 'broken bread', the bread broken by the Church for us every day, with Don Oreste Benzi's commentary. Loving, reading, studying and meditating on the Word of God is a precious gift for all those who do not want to be ignorant about Christ.
47. What are the periods of desert retreat?
They are spaces and times given to the Lord in order to grow with Him. Here, God speaks to our hearts and we can understand what the Cure of Ars used to say, 'I love you, Lord, and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally'.
48. How can you be contemplative of God in the world?
You are only able to stay fully with the poor if you are able to stay fully with the Lord. There is an inner cell inside us all, which accompanies us everywhere; this is where the Holy Spirit, who inhabits us as a temple, talks.
49. Why do we have to pray?
We hold a treasure in earthen vessels. A prayer is an elevation of the soul towards God. The person who prays lives better because, as St. Gregory of Nazianzus said, 'We must remember God more often than we draw breath'.
50. Why is it important to pray as a people?
In the book of the prophet Isaiah the Lord said, 'The people I have shaped for myself will broadcast my praises'. Included in this people are the lame, women in labour, children and elderly, and they will all know God because they will love Him by loving each other, starting with the weakest ones. This people will tell of His wonders and of his works rich in mercy. It is beautiful to praise the Lord as a Community, as a Church for the benefit of all humanity.
51. Why is Eucharistic Adoration important in the Community?
Christ is truly present in the consecrated host. We are filled with wonder at this great gift; it is from here that we draw our daily strength to fully love the poor.
52. And the Sacrament of Reconciliation?
Love for the Eucharist leads us to desire the Sacrament of Reconciliation more and more. Every day, through this sacrament, the mercy and tenderness of God renew our love for our brothers and sisters in the Community. Kindness and mutual forgiveness make the Community a place of never-ending celebration.
53. What is the difference between friendship and fraternity?
Friendship is usually based on common interests, mutual affinity and common aims. Fraternity, however, is based on the fact the Lord, in his plan of love, has called us to walk the same path of sanctification.
54. What is fraternity?
Fraternity is love for God directed to one's brothers and sisters. Fraternity is proof that one loves God and the sign that the least are loved. It is love which loves first and gratuitously.
55. How do you realise fraternity?
Fraternity is realised by praying for one another, by mutual help and by fraternal correction, which eliminates the tendency to speak badly about others, the plague of every community. Participation in Community events is a gift of fraternity.
56. What damages fraternity life the most?
St. Benedict, the patron saint of Europe, used to say that gossiping can do a lot of damage in a community. Gossiping is speaking badly of a brother or sister with someone you know will agree with you.
57. What is the best way to build fraternity?
Choosing to participate in the Community Eucharistic. Fraternity, as Pope Benedict XVI says, has its definitive foundation and starting point in the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery.
58. What is the distinctive characteristic of Christian fraternity?
True Christian fraternity is characterised by real and defined love, which is addressed to a precise community and people with 'a name and a face'. It is characterised by a merciful heart rich in forgiveness for one's brothers and sisters.
59. Why do you carry out fraternal correction in the Community?
Because when fraternal correction springs from a renewed heart it is an act of love. St. Augustine said, 'Do not imagine that you love your son when you do not discipline him, or that you love your neighbour when you do not rebuke him: this is not charity, but weakness. Let charity be fervent to correct, to amend ...'
60. What is 'removal of causes'?
It is the way for the members of the Community to develop a more just world, in a non-violent way, on the side of the poor, to be the voice of the voiceless in conformity with the Social Doctrine of the Church.
61. How can this be put into practice?
Through working on behalf of the family and the process of deinstitutionalisation, through developing the society of gratuitousness and spreading direct sharing, which contains justice in itself. It can be realised by working in favour of life and against abortion, by building bridges between opposing war fronts and by suggesting initiatives of liberation, in particular to young people.
62. What are the 'Community missions'?
They are a presence of the Community near to the poorest and most abandoned people in various countries, in particular Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Central Asia, Russia, Croatia, Albania, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Australia, Palestine, Uganda, Italy, San Marino, Holland, and Caucasian Georgia. This presence is carried out through open families, family homes, therapeutic communities, social cooperatives for educational and work activities, emergency shelters, and various other activities carried out on the street, in shantytowns and ‘barrios’ (slums).
63. Who are the people who go on missions?
It is considered a gift of the Lord that members of the Community are willing to leave even their own land and, after having received the confirmation of the President, move to live out their vocation in mission lands. Some people stay in mission lands for long periods of time, and make them their new home, while others stay for shorter periods, in order to better discern God's call. A truly Eucharistic Community is missionary, and attracts young people towards the 'high peaks' of self-giving to the poor.
64. What is the role of Providence in the life of the Community?
Although we work hard to earn a living, we firmly believe that God, our Father, guides our lives. Jesus said, 'Do not worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear'. Those who take care of the weak and the poor are blessed by God and He will sustain them in times of need. Those who look for the kingdom of God and his justice are, even in hardship, in the 'palm of God’s hand'.
65. How are people educated in the Community?
Young people should meet people who preach true values through the example of their life. In this way, they see the realisation of a life of sharing and, through the enthusiasm they receive, they meet Christ in an authentic and informal way. Education based on the 'therapy' of responsibility and sacrifice for the sake of others leads to serenity in life.
66. How do young people meet Christ in the outcast?
Some kind of 'creative spiral' is inside all young people and moves them to feel compassion for suffering humanity. They are shaken by seeing people who give their lives in mission lands, family homes, social cooperatives, therapeutic communities and on the streets, and who do this not only for a few months, but for their whole life. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in young people's lives.
67. What are the 'camps outside the walls'?
Every year about two thousand young people share their life with the poor through participating in the Community's summer camps for pre-teenagers and teenagers. There are 'sharing camps' at the seaside and in the mountains, 'work camps', and camps for peace education. In Romania, Albania, and Sicily there are young people who, although in different countries and far from each other, live under the same sky and the same stars and share a piece of their lives with the outcasts of the world.
68. How is the love for the Church developed?
The Church is the mother of the different charisms it contains. It recognises and confirms the truth of the gift received for the common good. The bishops are our fathers in faith and they invite us to live with the poorest in their dioceses. At present we are in 120 dioceses around the world. The Catholic faith, passed on to us by the Church, moves us to be missionaries and proclaim the Gospel.
69. What does 'wherever we are, they will be also' mean ?
It means that, for example, we take people and children with severe disabilities to Canazei, to the 'Madonna delle Vette' house for a holiday, in the same way that we take teenagers and young people there. Real integration implies that at the seaside, in the mountains and anywhere we want to go, they also have to be. They play a leading role in history, since 'He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly'.
70. Why are family-homes the 'apple of your eye'?
Because in family homes we live together with the 'little ones', the poor and the least, and we become one family with them. In family homes, the sharing of life with the socially excluded becomes true and you can feel and breathe the society of gratuitousness. In their faces, which are sometimes disfigured, depressed, abused or approaching death, we see the icon of an Other Person, the 'God with us', Christ who is amongst us: 'I was hungry and you gave me food, lacking clothes and you clothed me, I was alone and you visited me…'
71. Can a person with physical disabilities be responsible for a family-home?
Yes, because educational ability does not depend on physical strength and efficiency, or on health, but rather on one's relational abilities and the ability to make firm and unselfish choices, with the confirmation of the Community through its leaders. If necessary, the differently able person may be helped to fulfil some practical tasks by others, in order to be a better guide to his children.
72. What do you mean by an 'educational method based on precariousness'?
An organisation is regarded as efficient when it is well organised and has a solid economic base. In general, in order to start a family home, the Community does not require a pre-planned number of people but, rather, people's availability based on the choice to follow Christ. The Community must not be reduced to an institution; its charism must be kept alive.
73. What is the role of families in the Community?
The French writer François Mauriac said, 'Conjugal love which lasts through the vicissitudes of life is the most beautiful, and common, of all miracles'. Family, as planned by God, is the natural place for welcoming. A family which opens up to welcome the poor, along with its own natural children, is a wonderful gift for humanity.
74. How does the Community view foster care and adoption?
Foster care is viewed as an act of great love, which transforms the welcoming family, supports the child's family of origin and gives the child a chance to grow up in a substitute family. Regarding adoption, the Community prefers 'open' or 'mild' adoption, because children have the right to know their origins, unless there are serious reasons for them not to. Particularly during adolescence, adopted children are likely to refuse their adoptive family. However, if they have been loved since childhood, the outcome will eventually be positive. Foster and adoptive families must both be supported right through the wonderful gratuitous choice that they make.
75. Can a person with mental health problems/disabilities live in a normal family?
A person who suffers from mental health problems/disabilities is first of all a person, and must be welcomed as such, since this comes before all other problems and limitations. It has been shown that, if the welcoming family chooses the person and he/she is aware of being part of a supporting community environment, than this person can live in a family, with children, and develop his/her specific abilities for the benefit of all society.
76. Why did the Community, a family, make the 'preferential choice for the poor'?
One day a wise man was asked, 'You have many children, which of them is your favourite?' He answered, 'My favourite is the youngest until he grows up, the one who is away until he comes back, the sick one until he recovers, the unhappy one until he is comforted.' The Community, which is a family, feels Christ's compassion for the suffering of humanity
77. What relationship is there between the Community and its deceased?
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n° 354, says, ‘The Christian who dies in Christ Jesus goes “away from the body to be at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8)’. In the Community, many have gone to Heaven after having accepted life with gratitude, even in the midst of severe disabilities. Their 'luggage' was always ready and they have gone to the Lord's joy for ever. They are a guiding light for all of us on our earthly path.
78. Why do you repeat the litany 'Mary our Mother, Mary our trust'?
We have experienced that Mary, the Mother of the poor, continually intervenes to open up paths for us which had previously seemed impassable and to save situations which had seemed hopeless. She gives us the strength to share our life with the poor, marginalised and least without growing tired.
79. What is the difference between a family home and an open family?
A family home is totally dedicated to welcoming and giving new life, through love, to people who need meaningful relationships. Parental figures of family homes make this welcoming a full-time choice and way of life. In open families, however, 'natural family bonds' are enriched by foster children but the family, in general, maintains normal dimensions and members of the family have external jobs. In general, the number of people welcomed is also different.
80. How do you welcome people who are divorced and re-married?
As the synodal fathers reaffirmed, people who are divorced and re-married belong to the Church, who welcomes and takes special care of them. They are helped to cultivate a Christian lifestyle through participation in the Mass (without receiving Holy Communion), listening to the Word of God, Eucharistic Adoration, and prayer and participation in the life of the Church. Life shared with the poor can be an effective path of on-going conversion to Christ. They remain friends of the Community although they not take part in it as members.
81. What about people who are divorced, but were not responsible for it?
They are a wonderful testimony to conjugal faithfulness and the indissolubility of marriage, which continues after being abandoned by their husband or wife. Their testimony is given by forgiveness and dedication to Christ, and by becoming a family open to the welcoming of the poor.
82. And non-Christian people?
Particularly in Asian and African countries, we work together with non-Christian people on specific projects of liberation from various forms of slavery. People who want to approach the Catholic Faith through the Community's charism are asked to follow a catechumenal path. They are accompanied on this path by sensitive and orthodox pastoral care and fraternity.
83. What is the relationship between the Community and priests?
Life shared leads the Community to be concretely present to the poor in parishes and dioceses, and to cooperate with them according to its charism. Priests who recognise in themselves the Community's spirituality remain subject to the authority of their respective bishops and may be designated to exercise their ministry for the specific aims of the Association. Their rights and duties shall be defined by an agreement between the bishops involved and the Association. In particular, they are entrusted with the task of being shepherds of Christ's love towards the poor and suffering ones.
84. How do you regard those who live out the Community's vocation in virginity and celibacy?
They are a gift to the Community, as are those who have been called to marriage. They anticipate the future age and remind us that present times are not to be regarded as absolute. They are a gift to all those who cannot have their own family, and become their new family. The testimony of consecrated people is prophetic. They follow Christ, who is poor and servant and atones for the sin of the world, in a radical way and draw the strength to do so from the Eucharistic celebration and Adoration. Here lies the light of missionary action and the ultimate meaning of one's commitment to the poor and marginalised.
85. What are the most important Community gatherings?
The 'nucleus' meetings, the monthly Community Day, the annual three-day desert retreat and the international three-day General Meeting. At the Community gatherings, people pray and participate in the Eucharistic celebration as one family; children, adults, people who are sick and families. It is a time for celebration and spending time together.
86. What are the 'nuclei'?
The nuclei can be defined as ‘workshops' to help develop inner spiritual life, in order to make vocational life more joyful. Every nucleus is formed of a specific group of people, who build close personal relationships and help each other live out Community life. Special attention is given to the development and nourishment of fraternity.
87. What is the monthly Community Day?
The monthly Community Day, in which we are all asked to take part, is a special day to be together and ‘welcome’ each other, and to grow in the awareness that we are one people walking together. At the Community Day we spend time in Eucharistic Adoration and celebrate Mass. We have lunch together and we hold a meeting on the main, vital matters which the Community has faced during the previous month. Special attention is given to the life of the poor and suffering ones.
88. And the annual ‘three-day desert retreat’?
In order to be contemplatives of God in the world and to be faithful for life to the poor, we must first be able to kneel down and pray. This is why every member of the Community is asked to participate in a three-day desert retreat every year. This is an opportunity for us to be fully immersed in God's love together with our brothers and sisters. Besides this annual retreat, in our daily life, we choose to spend the time we need with the Lord for our individual inner growth.
89. What does the international three-day general meeting consist of?
We gather together to praise the Lord and celebrate the wonders He does, in particular through the humble and the little ones. People come from all the different parts of the world in which the Community is present and shares its life with the poor. It is a 'convocation called by the Holy Spirit'. We also discuss the guidelines which are necessary to keep our charism alive and at the service of the poor.
90. What are the times of celebration and joy in the Community?
The summer and winter 'sharing camps', in which many young people make their holiday time available for those in difficulty, are times of celebration. Other causes of celebration are the joy of a birth, the beauty of a wedding or a virginal consecration, a first communion, or even the final farewell for a life which is started in Heaven. The Community is a place of celebration, in order to live out everything in the joy and enthusiasm of the vocation. Being present at all these events is the most beautiful gift that the members give to each other.
91. What are the sharing camps?
At these 'sharing camps' young people are helped to meet Christ in a positive and informal way. They stay in the mountains or at the seaside, and their meeting with Christ is favoured by the contemplation of the beauty of nature: the high peaks of the Dolomites or the wonderful infinity of the Adriatic sea. There are many young people who choose to have a different type of holiday and share it with people who may be in need, e.g. differently able people, people who suffer from mental health problems/disabilities, the elderly. They have a good time together and learn from the wonder of each other.
92. What is the aim of the Community's social cooperatives?
They provide professional training for people defined as 'disadvantaged' and give them the necessary support to be part of the work market. They also organise specific educational activities at a group level and, if necessary, on a one-to-one basis, for people with severe physical, mental or relational disabilities. These cooperatives are also an important support to the families of origin of the people who work in them. Many members of the Community have chosen the cooperatives as the main way in which they share life.
93. What kind of educational and awareness raising activities does the Community carry out?
The prophetic proclamation of the life of the Community is given, in different ways, in town squares, theatres and churches. It is also given through the mass media, mainly by Father Oreste Benzi, who works unceasingly to remove the causes of marginalisation. In some circumstances, when there has been a risk of violation of fundamental human rights, we have also presented bills of law. Other activities include the organisation of conferences, formation courses and people's assemblies, and ongoing self-formation which becomes part of one's life and is communicated to people all around.
94. What books are published by the Community?
(by Father Oreste Benzi, only in Italian)
Contro l'ovvio dei popoli (Against the 'obvious' of peoples)
Per la Famiglia (For the family) Il Meraviglioso dialogo della vita (The wonderful dialogue of life)
Dietro l’angolo Gesù (Round the corner, Jesus)
Scatechismo (De-cathechism)
Trasgredite (Transgress!)
Il Sì di Maria (The 'yes' of Mary)
Onora tuo figlio e tua figlia (Honour your son and your daughter)
Maddalena, Maddalena (Magdalene, Magdalene)
95. What is the political commitment of the Community members?
The members of the Community try to be present as citizens in the places where decisions are taken about people's lives, paying particular attention to the effect of these decisions on the least. The Association is not connected to any political ideology or organisation, and every member must try to understand human beings according to the Gospel and serve them, free from any party conditioning. In every social area we are committed to being the voice of those who have no rights.
96. Is the Community Pope John XXIII connected to a political party?
No, our choice is to fight openly to unchain the truth in political and administrative fields, which is kept hidden in injustice,. A commitment to liberating the least from injustice is proof of the credibility of those involved in politics as is defining clearly the aims to be achieved in practice.
97. What commitment do you have to peace and nonviolence?
Since it began, the Community has been chosen by many conscientious objectors because of its 'theology of sharing', which was realised through nonviolence and standing by the poor. This became a 'life choice' and a lifestyle, carried out at the pace of the least. Jesus is the true revolutionary, who pays in person for his love to the Father and therefore gives an unconditional 'yes' to his brothers and sisters, to the point of giving up his own life. Consequently, wherever someone is suffering, someone else should be fighting alongside them, in order to obtain justice for all through an equal distribution of resources. This must be realised in a nonviolent way, through the 'weapons' of prayer, dialogue, and the building of bridges across opposite war fronts.
98. Can voluntary civil service be done in the Community of Pope John XXIII?
Yes, since the Community is a body recognised by the relevant Italian Ministry as 'level 1' and civil service can be carried out in the countries where the Community is present. The areas of intervention are those of welcoming and social reinsertion of marginalised people (children and adolescents, differently able people, women on the street, people with drug and alcohol related problems, immigrants, the homeless, the elderly, nomads). Through sharing life we want to give concrete answers to situations of hardship and marginalisation and, at the same time, find ways to change and improve those situations. We do this by recognising the positive potential of people in difficulty and by transforming their limits into positive resources.
99. What is the educational method of the therapeutic communities?
The people who are in therapeutic communities follow a process of liberation from dependence on alcohol and drugs. Their personality is reconstructed through the relationships built with the people responsible for the therapeutic community, who become a safe reference for them through the example of and testimony to an upright life. Life is shared together and reachable objectives are given, which help to restore self-esteem and develop one's creative abilities. Discovering a personal and common religious dimension gives a meaning to these efforts made, and to the whole of one's life. 'Christ-therapy', together with making oneself useful to other people, especially the poor, gives hope to those who had become mere shells of men.
100. What is the 'Period of Vocational Verification'?
This is a very precious period of one's life during which, through being led by Jesus' Spirit, you express the explicit intention and commitment to know and love Christ through the spirituality of the Community of Pope John XXIII. You do this by sharing your life directly with the poor, experiencing the joy of life led as the poor, enjoying the beauty of prayer and contemplation every day, and letting your path be confirmed by the Community leaders in a style of authentic fraternity, in order to build the kingdom of God through the great family of the Church.
101. Why does the Community go onto the streets?
Because some of the poor will never come to look for you. They need someone who takes care of them, starting from the situation in which they are. The Community goes onto the streets to meet enslaved street women, the homeless, drug addicts and alcoholics, transsexual and homosexual people. A new life founded on the justice, truth and love of Christ, who sets us free, is offered to all of them. If they agree, they can spend time with the Community and experience forgiveness, celebration and responsibility taking, in order to return to society as renewed men and women.
102. What is 'emergency welcoming'?
Those who knock at your door must always be welcomed and loved. Through mutual knowledge we identify a specific path for the re-valuation of our brother or sister who was on the streets. We are the ones who have to modify according to the cry of the poor. In some Community houses it is possible to welcome people at once, without 'ifs' and 'buts'.
103. Why does the Community welcome women who prostitute themselves on the streets?
Many of them are under 18. It is enough for a father to look into his daughter's eyes to understand that we need to do everything possible to free these women from the cruelty of pimps and the perversion of clients. God is the defender of orphans and widows in his holy dwelling. We must also become liberators, go’el, of these sisters and daughters.
104. Why does a charismatic community need an administrative and economic service?
The Community’s organisational and administrative structure is needed to manage material and economic goods for the poor and, in Christ, to share life with them in ever improving ways. This is done in compliance with the laws of the countries in which the Community is present. People who work in the Community's administration offices with this spirit make their work a true sharing of life. The guarantee that money is used for the poor is given by the council of leaders, in union with the President, and by all the members who, as the years come and go, continue to be in love with the poor, servant and suffering Christ.
105. What is fund raising?
This is the raising of funds carried out by the Community for various areas of its work: anti-trafficking and child abuse, foster care and adoption, rehabilitation of drug addicts, elderly people who are alone, work in mission lands. The joy of the poor who receive help is the most beautiful 'thank you'. Fund raising is about helping our neighbour to give back their excess to those who have nothing.
106. What is the 'group of life'?
This is a mixed community where adolescents are helped to rediscover and develop their unique abilities. This is done through inner work and taking responsibility for study and daily manual work. The relationship built with the people responsible for the community gives these teenagers a quality of life which previously had been lost. The people reponsible for the community become 'teachers of life', guiding young people to discover their potential and put it at the service of all.
107. How are you nourished by the teaching of the Pope?
The teaching of Peter's successor is a secure guide which shows the Community the path to be walked, a path which is confirmed by the Church. Both the ordinary and extraordinary teachings of the Church are lights for the life of the Association's members. The social teaching of the Church gives the Community the nourishment it needs to truly be the voice of the voiceless in the countries where it is present.
108. How does the Community support prenatal life?
Every child born is God’s smile on humanity. Abortion is a crime against humanity. Every woman must be supported so that she can give birth to her child. If necessary, she must also be given the opportunity to entrust her child to someone else, as is already provided for by law. The Community welcomes many mothers with their children, sometimes with disabilities, so that they can continue to live together and, if possible, be reunited.
109. What is your opinion on artificial insemination?
A child is not something we are owed but rather a gift which should take place as an act of love between two married people, through sexual intercourse which is open to life. Even if it is homologous insemination, it still separates the sexual from the procreative act. Some couples of the Community are available to adopt frozen embryos, which were ‘over-produced’ and which would otherwise die.
110. Why does the Community run hotels?
The 'Madonna delle Vette' house in Alba di Canazei, the 'Stella Maris' house for holidays in Rimini, and the Royal Hotel in Cattolica are wonderful places where one can spend a 'sharing holiday'. Here, people with disabilities, even severe ones, can go to the same places as other people, to the seaside or the mountains, with 'normally able' people. The goods which the Community owns must be used for the least and the poor. These hotels are a way to 'give back the excess' to the poor, to meet Christ together in a positive and informal way, and to enjoy ourselves in a healthy and creative way.
111. How many 'poor' knock at the Community’s door every year?
There are thousands: orphans with severe mental health problems/disabilities, single mothers with their children, pre-teens with behavioural problems, adolescents without parents, young people dependant on substances, enslaved women, adults who suffer from mental health problems or old people who are not able to be independent. In each one of them we try to see the face of the suffering and risen Christ.
112. What kind of relationship do you have with the Government and local councils?
We cooperate with them in order to work for the weakest in society; to work in favour of the family; to promote homecare and educational support; to make jobs, houses and local services available to all, especially the poorest in society. When necessary, we are critical of them if their laws go against human dignity and respect.
113. Is the Association civilly recognised?
Yes, it is an Ecclesiastical Body of Pontifical Right civilly recognised with D.P.R. n. 596/72.
114. Why does Fr Benzi often hold conferences in Italy and Europe and why is he often on TV?
Because he is urged to proclaim the beauty of the Gospel through telling others about life shared with the poor. As a ‘useless servant’, he is always available to tell people that they can only be liberated by Christ, that the Catholic Church is the only true Church of Christ and that salvation is a gift given to the lowly and the poor.
115. Why don't you think that people who suffer from AIDS should live in hospitals which specialise in infective diseases?
They might stay in hospital for short periods, the time necessary to identify a suitable pharmacological cure. However, they must be given the chance to return to their families, a substitute family, a family home or a family-community, where they can carry out their activities in a normal way. The family is the place, as planned by God, where every person can live and grow. The government should support every economic, educational and work-related intervention aimed at realising this.
116. What work does the Community do in prisons?
The Community meets prisoners wherever they are, in their situations of suffering and sometimes loneliness, and aims to listen to them. With some of them, who meet the necessary legal requiremnents, we discuss possible alternative paths to prison, such as being welcomed into family-home communities or working in social cooperatives. The Community also works in juvenile prisons and in special adult sections, e.g. transsexual people section, where we organise counselling and recreational activities.