Franz Kronreif of the Focolare Movement told Vatican News that a project aimed at building peace was in the works.
Pope Francis this week called for cooperation between Christians and Marxists as a way to achieve greater “dialogue” and help in the search for the “common good.”
“I thank you for your commitment to dialogue,” the pope said in a private meeting on January 10 with 15 representatives of DIALOP (Transversal Dialogue Project), an association of left-wing European politicians and academics. which seeks to bring together Catholic social teaching and Marxist teaching. theory.
“There is always a great need for dialogue, so do not be afraid,” the Pope said during the event at the Paul VI Hall.
Highlighting the link between social, economic and ecological issues, the Pope declared that “a policy truly at the service of humanity cannot allow itself to be dictated by financial and market mechanisms.”
The Pope reinforced his call for more inclusive participation in economic and political decision-making by suggesting that “instead of rigid approaches that divide, let us cultivate open-hearted discussion and listening.”
“And exclude no one at the political, social or religious level, so that the contribution of each person can, in its concrete specificity, be welcomed positively in the processes of change to which our future is linked,” added the Holy Father.
“Don’t back down, don’t give up, and don’t stop dreaming of a better world. For it is in the imagination, the ability to dream, that intelligence, intuition, experience and historical memory come together to make us be creative, take risks and run risks.
The Pope maintained that “solidarity is not only a moral virtue but also a requirement of justice, which calls for correcting distortions and purifying the intentions of unjust systems, notably through radical changes of perspective in the sharing of challenges and resources between individuals and among peoples. »
The Pope closed his speech with a reflection on the importance of the rule of law, saying: “It is only in honesty and integrity that healthy relationships can be established and we can cooperate with confidence and efficiency to build a better future. »
Pope Francis has made criticism of the market economy one of the defining themes of his pontificate. In his apostolic exhortation of 2013 Evangelii Gaudiumthe Pope wrote: “We can no longer trust the invisible forces and the invisible hand of the market. »
“The growth of justice requires more than economic growth, while presupposing such growth: it requires decisions, programs, mechanisms and processes specifically oriented towards a better distribution of income, the creation of sources of employment and an integral promotion of the poor, which moves forward. beyond a simple welfare mentality.
Vatican News note that the January 10 hearing was “not a short greeting but an interview that lasted with spontaneous questions and answers for about 40 minutes.”
DIALOP was founded in 2014 after a meeting between Pope Francis, left-wing Viennese politician Walter Baier, former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Franz Kronreif of the Focolare Movement, a spiritual and social revival founded in 1943 and approved by the Church in 1962. — promote universal fraternity and encourage dialogue between different religious groups.
Baier and Kronreif were present at the January 10 meeting. In a interview As Vatican News followed the audience, Baier noted that during the speech the pope emphasized “the need for solidarity,” especially “toward the socially disadvantaged.”
“He called for a dialogue that goes beyond historical patterns, a dialogue that primarily addresses the excluded and the vulnerable and that respects the principles of the rule of law. »
Kronreif told Vatican News that following the Pope’s appeal during the meeting, the association “is preparing a two-year project which should start in the fall on peace, on how to build peace… a project to involve in particular young generations in the way of making peace grow. from below, so that everyone feels called to create peace around them, to help the victims of war to understand what the roots of war can be and what the tools are to prevent it.
