Around sixty delegates and guests took part in the first phase of the Fondacio Congress in Europe
, from Tuesday evening, May 24 to Friday, May 27, 2022, in Versailles. A forum on the theme "Youth, ecology and Fondacio: issues and perspectives" took place on Wednesday, May 25. Then the delegates took stock of the last four years, with the aim of defining new directions for the next mandate.
Day 1: The cry of youth
After Togo and Colombia, it was France's turn to host the first phase of the Fondacio Congress, for the European continent, from Tuesday evening 24 to Friday 27 May. Around sixty European delegates, members of the Council and guests met at the third place of the Hermitage, in Versailles.
A forum on youth and ecology was held on Wednesday, May 25. "We chose to invite young people and partners to let themselves be moved and listen to what disconcerts us," explains François Prouteau, president of Fondacio.
"We are four years after the last Congress. We have one year left before the new one: the path is not completely finished and we are preparing for the future. What are our priorities? In the Philippines, we have reiterated that our goal is to build a more humane, more just and more fraternal world with the other inhabitants of the earth, human and non-human. This is the whole meaning of the ecological approach in which we are engaged.
God calls us to stand. He commands us to safeguard our common home, to lead a path of transformation and service."
Five external witnesses
Delegates and guests first shared "burning" questions on the theme of ecology and youth. Then four personalities from outside Fondacio took the floor:
- Sixte Morat, general delegate of Misericordia. This association develops social and pastoral projects in the peripheral districts of Santiago, Buenos Aires, Aubervilliers and New York (Bronx).
- Tanguy Descamps, who collected, in his book Basculons dans un monde vi(v)able, 30 testimonies from young people happily committed to serving the planet.
- Adrien Louandre, diocesan delegate in charge of integral ecology in Angers, who testified to his double conversion. He challenged: "Realize the strength of Fondacio whose charism is based on the four pillars of the encyclical Laudato Si, by Pope Francis: the relationship with oneself, with others, with God and with nature. Live your charism to the fullest!"
- Pierre Thomas, from the Le Rocher association. This association works to build a more just and fraternal society in French neighborhoods, around three axes: education, assistance to parents and social and professional integration.
In the evening, the Jesuit and author Xavier de Bénazé presented his work on the transition campus, in eastern Paris: "Being consistent is essential to make people want to join us and to contribute to larger issues in society. Engaging in a relationship with oneself, with others, with God, with nature. Finally, to dare to honor the spiritual dimension. The important thing is: take root, no matter your religion! If, for you, taking root involves nature, permaculture, seek, find and take root."
Day 2: Fondacio's cry
On Thursday and Friday, delegates worked in small groups to update Fondacio's charism for the next term in 2023. Nicolas Cordier of the Council stressed the need for Fondacio to update its charism: "The charism is a gift from God to humanity of His love, of His grace, for the good of the Church and the salvation of the world. From the beginning, Fondacio has been driven by this seizure of Christ's love. This transforms us and leads us to act in the world."
The challenge, Nicolas Cordier continues, is to "present Christianity in a way that is soothing to the modern world, so that it can be tasty for our contemporaries. It is also to rethink the proclamation of the Good News. To be the leaven in the dough that can widen the circle. We are all jointly responsible for the actualization of this charism."
Four internal witnesses
On Thursday morning, four members of Fondacio spoke. Gabrielle Ethève, from Ermitage, spoke on the theme of young people taking responsibility at Fondacio.
Then Thierry Lechat, head of Fondacio in Grenoble, spoke about homo-sensitivity. He shared his experience of difference within our movement:
By choosing to get married, I hoped to be healed by God. I began a long journey. Three things marked me: everything that happened around marriage for all. I suffered a lot from it. I also suffered from the position of the Church. Then, the refusal of permanence to a young person who had officially displayed her homosexuality. Finally, the abuse in the Church. For me it was incomprehensible, I did not live it easily and I was unable to talk about it for fear of being revealed for what I was. Today, sexuality is much less taboo in France. What words of life can Fondacio bring to young people? What place for different people within Fondacio?
Benoît Vignon, a permanent employee for ten years, spoke about the realities and experiences of the permanent office. Finally, Laurence Guérid, head of the social pole at the Ermitage, shared her experience of the reception reserved for the poorest.
"I fed on your cries"
At the end of these testimonies, François Prouteau bounced back: "There is a lot of energy, enthusiasm, joy and seriousness too. I remember attitudes. Everything starts from a way of living the Gospel, as a foundation for moving forward. This reality calls us deeply into the synodal process. It makes me happy. I am concerned that we be concrete."
Catherine, a participant in the Congress, added: "I am leaving with a lot of energy and the conviction that Fondacio is on the move, is questioning itself. Thank you! I wish you the best and, in this best, I will be!" "The testimonies touched me a lot," shared Daniel. "I was nourished by your cries. It continues to set me in motion."
Day 3: Nicusor's cry
The program of the third morning of the Congress was shaken up by the testimony, or rather the cry from the heart, of Nicusor Golisteanu, head of Fondacio in Romania: "I realized that the realities are not the same for everyone." Romania shares "about 40% of its borders" with Ukraine. "There was a lot of fighting and bombing 15km from the border and 30km from one of our projects," said Nicusor, who also realized that he could be called to fight "because I am under 40. I am not prepared for that. People in our community also ask themselves questions, they are all under 40..."
For a month at the beginning of the war, "it was very difficult," he continued. "We wondered if we should go and hide in the mountains. We found ourselves with people at our doors who came begging. They didn't speak the same language as us but were Orthodox, like us. This is the context we have been in since the beginning of the war. That's why it annoyed me that we were not in the "doing", in the action. Maybe it will be difficult for us to travel in the future. I don't want to end up with the regret of not having done anything here."
Fondacio News in Romania
"Our community is very active and changes every year," Nicusor reported. "We don't have a permanent staff. We are all volunteers. That's why we have to be very precise. We stopped activities that we had been doing for a long time and that had no future."
Currently, Fondacio is carrying out two projects in Romania:
- Just near the border with Ukraine and Moldova lies a poor and less developed region, where the rate of domestic violence is high, as is the number of abandoned children. "We bought a 6,000 m2 plot of land six years ago, where we built an activity center." The latter benefits about 1,500 people. It includes: a medical center, a place for abandoned children and a playground.
- There are still small isolated villages in the mountains in Romania, not connected to roads, water, electricity. "A journalist from national television made a report on these villages. We started a project together so that the local populations do not leave their villages." With the help of students from IFF Europe, "we renovated a school, created an activity center and two social economy projects." A report was made for national television on these students and Fondacio.
"We must realize that the world is changing. We cannot wait another five years to complete the projects," urged the head of Fondacio in Romania. For François Prouteau, "we are all invited to let ourselves be challenged, to be closer to our brothers, concretely. Let us be attentive to the momentum that Nicusor's testimony will provoke in us. We will seek to make present these realities that he evokes."
Fondacio UK News
Maddy Edwards, head of Fondacio across the Channel, presents the activities carried out by her (small) community:
In progress
Conclusion: let’s act, let’s change!
Cécile Villegas, from the organizing team of the Congress, shared her feelings at the end of these four days at the Hermitage: "We had a very powerful experience. We let the Spirit speak. It was very dense, with a lot of testimonies and listening. The idea was also to hear people from outside Fondacio about youth. Nicusor's cry shook us out of our comfort zone. It transcended us. Nicusor transported us into his reality. He led us to move. I experienced it as a symbolic stone on the path. This will mark one more point in this synodal process, after Africa and Latin America. It also highlights the importance of phases 1. "
Vasile Gradjian, from Fondacio in Romania, remembers: "I am delighted with this return to face-to-face meetings, after two years of distance learning." As for Marc Fornari, president of Gad (Discernment Assistance Group): "Young people made themselves heard and took their place. It really moved me. We heard young witnesses who are very committed. There really is a future for Fondacio, in this intergenerational alliance. We must move forward together. Nicusor's cry really moved me. For me, a new stage must open today."
Finally, Yvonne Altorfer, member of the Council and responsible for the preparation and animation of the Congress, underlines: "After two years of Covid, it was vital to recreate links. This is why we listened to the Spirit and organized these phases 1."
4th part in Asia
After Togo, Colombia and France, the 4th part of the pre-Congress will take place in August in Asia. A forum on "Vulnerability Movements, Exploring Livelihoods, Development and Migration in a Battered Asia", post-Covid, will be held on Saturdays 13 and 20 August 2022. Delegates will then meet in working groups on 26, 27 and 28 August.
To register for the two-day forum and attend online, simply scan the code below with your smartphone camera:
"We will then have time to mature all these first phases and move towards the election, in March 2023, during the 3rd and final phase of the Congress," Yvonne said. "It will be held in Togo, where we laid the first stones during phase 1, in February."
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