VATICAN Audience of the Pope to Communion and Liberation. Don Giussani is a teacher for the whole Church

Audience in the square of San Pedro to the movement of Communion and Liberation on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the founder. He invited us to make his charism of educator and son of the Church bear fruit today: “I expect a lot from you, do not waste his valuable time in discussions, distrust and confrontations”.

Vatican City () – Thanks, even personal, to Fr Luigi Giusani “father and teacher of the whole Church”. Invitation to keep his charisma alive without wasting time on “discussions, distrust and confrontations”. And a specific request: “accompany me in the prophecy of peace” -in an “increasingly violent and aggressive world that really scares me”- and “in the prophecy that announces the presence of God in the poor”.

These were the main points of the long message that Pope Francis addressed today to the members of the Communion and Liberation movement, who with many delegations from Italy and from all over the world filled Saint Peter’s Square this morning for a special audience on the centenary of the birth of their founder, Fr. Luigi Giussani. “The movement does not lose its ability to convene and mobilize,” observed the Pope, who openly expressed his gratitude to Don Giussani. “As a priest,” he said, “it did me good to meditate on some of his books.” But gratitude is also due to “all that he knew how to sow and radiate everywhere for the good of the Church. Don Giussani was a father and a teacher, he was a servant of all the concerns and human situations that he was encountering with his educational and missionary passion. The Church recognizes his pedagogical and theological genius.”

Francisco referred to the delicate transition that CL has experienced in recent years: “There have been serious problems -he said-, divisions, and without a doubt also a certain impoverishment of the presence of an ecclesial movement as important as Communion and Liberation, of which the Church, and myself, expect more, much more. Times of crisis are times of recapitulation of the extraordinary history of charity, culture and mission in which you participate; these are times of critical discernment of what has limited the fruitful potential of Don Giussani’s charism; These are times of renewal and missionary re-launch in light of the current ecclesial moment and the needs, sufferings and hopes of contemporary humanity”. “The crisis makes it grow”, he said, on the condition that “the unity is stronger than the dispersive forces or the prolongation of old confrontations. Unity with whom and with all those who guide the movement, unity with the pastors, unity in attentively following the instructions of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, and unity with the Pope, who is a servant of communion in truth and charity. Don’t waste your valuable time on arguments, mistrust and confrontation.”

The Pope then recalled three aspects of Don Giussani’s rich personality: his condition as a charismatic man, his vocation as an educator and his love for the Church. “Don Giussani was undoubtedly a man with great personal charisma, capable of attracting thousands of young people and moving their hearts.” But that charisma came from having been himself “impressed by the discovery of the mystery of Christ.” “Don Giussani attracted, convinced, converted hearts because he transmitted to others what he had inside after that fundamental experience that he had: the passion for man and the passion for Christ as the fulfillment of what is human. Many young people followed him because young people have a great nose.”

And how to make that charism continue to bear fruit today? “First of all, it is important to remember that it is not the charisma that needs to change. It is the ways of living it that can be an obstacle, or even a betrayal, with respect to the end for which the charism was inspired by the Holy Spirit”. And “it is only possible to recognize it with a humble attitude and under the wise guidance of the Church”. “I encourage you to find the appropriate ways and languages ​​- Francis added – so that the charism that Don Giussani has given you reaches new people and new environments, so that it knows how to speak to the world of today, which has changed compared to the beginning of the movement There are many men and women who have not yet had that encounter with the Lord that changed and made the life of each one of you more beautiful”.

Don Giussani also “taught respect and filial love for the Church and, with great balance, he always knew how to keep charism and authority together, which are complementary, both necessary. Without authority there is a risk of taking the wrong path, but without charisma the path can become boring, cease to be attractive to people of a particular historical moment”.

Finally, Pope Francis asked CL for “concrete help for this time”: “I invite you to accompany me in the prophecy of peace, in the prophecy that points to the presence of God in the poor, in those who are abandoned and vulnerable, condemned or left aside in social construction; in the prophecy that announces the presence of God in each nation and in each culture, that responds to the aspirations of love and truth, of justice and happiness that belong to the human heart and that they throb in the life of the peoples. May this holy prophetic and missionary restlessness burn in your hearts. Do not stay still”.

“The difficult moments – he concluded – can also be moments of grace and they can be moments of rebirth. Communion and Liberation was born precisely at a time of crisis, which was the year 1968. And afterwards Don Giussani was not afraid of the moments of transition and growth of the Fraternity, but rather faced them with evangelical courage, entrusting himself to Christ and in communion with the mother church. Together let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of Fr. Giussani. Let us invoke the Holy Spirit and the intercession of the Virgin Mary, so that all of you can continue, united and joyful, the path that he showed you with freedom, creativity and courage.