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10/02/2008 |
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A GLOBAL lay movement has been praised by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone at a Man marking its 40th anniversary. The Sant'Egidio community was "a mustard seed" way back in 1968 but today it is "a tree in full bloom," the cardinal said. The movement, which emerged in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, has now extended its branches from Rome to other cities and countries worldwide, Cardinal Bertone added, where it helped the poor and promoted peace and dialogue throughout the world. The anniversary Mass, at St John Lateran's Basilica, was attended by a huge crowd and leading Italian politicians including Romano Prodi. More than 100 bishops and 13 cardinals also took part in the joyful celebration. Cardinal Bertone began his homily with Woody Allen's famous phrase: "God is dead, Manx is dead ... and I myself am not feeling so well." He said this summed up the situation 40 years ago when people "wanted to build a world without God, or even against God". But one of the most striking responses to that moment was the birth of the Sant'Egidio community. Andrea Riccardi, who was a student in 1968, founded a group of volunteers in Rome to help children and poor people. With the help of Italian priest Don Vincenzo Paglia - now a bishop - he built a movement that today has 50,000 members in 70 countries. Cardinal Bertone said the movement arose from faith "in the miracle of the love of God that makes spring up and blossom every good seed cast on the earth". The movement has gone on to help poor, lonely and marginalised people in Italy and other countries, assisted immigrants and refugees, worked for unity between Christians, promoted dialogue between Christians and Jews, Muslims and the followers of other religions. Dialogue John Paul 11 convened the first meeting of the heads of the major world religions to pray for peace in Assisi, October 1986, and the Sant'Egidio community carried on that tradition by holding similar meetings every year in different countries. Leading representatives of the world's religions attend these annual events. Last year's meeting was held in Naples where the religious leaders were greeted by Pope Benedict. Sant'Egidio's greatest achievement on the world scene was helping end the war in Mozambique but it has also contributed to peace efforts in other countries including Algeria, Burundi, Guatemala and Sri Lanka. Italy's president Giorgio Napolitano, speaking after Mass, hailed the community as "an original reality" that blended "Christian commitment with a capacity to look far ahead" and united "a great understanding of the things of the world with a unique diplomatic capacity"
Gerry O'Connel
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