From Friday the 14th to Sunday the 16th June 2024 the Chapter of the Mats was held in Taranto, entitled “A sea of fraternity. The Franciscans for a new humanism of the Mediterranean“, in which friars, Poor Clares and lay people belonging to the Franciscan family participated.
After the introduction and welcome by Prof. Laura Tafaro, the Provincial Minister of the Friars Minor of Lecce, Paolo Quaranta, led the first moment of prayer, officially inaugurating the work of the Chapter.
Br Alessandro Mastromatteo, Provincial Minister of the Friars Minor of Puglia and Molise, subsequently presented a summary of the preparatory work for the Chapter of the Mats, carried out by the individual Franciscan fraternities.
The central moment of the chapter’s opening day was the stimulating round table, moderated by experts from various sectors who addressed highly relevant and topical issues. Among these, the complexity of the Mediterranean as a global entity and the need to review the geopolitical parameters, the state of health of the Mediterranean, the selfishness of profit, the historical rereading of the Mediterranean.
The first day ended with a moment of prayer for peace, presided over by Br Cesare Vaiani, OFM General Definitor, at the Madonna della Salute church in Taranto, a symbol of union and hope for a future of greater brotherhood and solidarity in the Mediterranean.
Second day
The second day of the Chapter of the Mats opened with a round table which saw the participation of important figures in the international religious and social panorama.
Br Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land, provided a detailed overview of the political context in which the Custody operates. He highlighted how media attention is currently focused on Gaza, without forgetting the persistent conflict in Syria and instability in Lebanon, with Cyprus as the only relatively calm area. These conflicts generate significant migratory flows, with many people forced to abandon their lands. Patton recalled Pope Francis’ words regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: “You cannot respond to a massacre with another massacre.”
Sr Miriam Oyazo, a Franciscan missionary in Turkey for nine years, shared her life experience as a foreigner and a consecrated woman in a context that often does not include this role. Coming from Chile, Sr Miriam described the difficulties and ruptures with her original context, which can only be overcome through a perspective of faith. She also shared the work of her community with foreign women in prison.
Luca Casarini, Head of Mediterranean fbvSaving Humans, talked about the birth of the association and its meaning. He emphasized that “welcome does not mean waiting for the refugees to arrive at customs but going to meet them”. He denounced the 40,000 deaths at sea since the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate, 20% of which were children, who died not because they were shipwrecked but because they were not rescued. He concluded by stating: “From all this experience we are left with suffering as wealth. It’s a process of meeting them not to change them, but to change us.”
Br Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, opened the afternoon session by stating that in today’s world, as consecrated persons, we are no longer able to be the centtr of attention. Therefore, it is necessary to rethink our presence, the conventual structures we inhabit and also the related geography.
To do this it is necessary to create places and workshops from which, guided by the paradigm of otherness, the way of being Franciscan is revised, to overcome the lack of correspondence with the needs of a world that has profoundly changed. The main obstacle in activating these processes is represented by the fact that we struggle to see first-hand the changes taking place in the world.
Br Massimo underlined that responding to the challenges of the Mediterranean means responding to the change taking place in the local realities inhabited by the Franciscans. This answer will be adequate if we are guided by the following question: “How does reality challenge us in our way of believing?”. Giving life to a new humanism means taking care of our vulnerabilities and those of others.
Having concluded the speech by Br Massimo Fusarelli, thanks to the testimonies of Br Daniel Blanco Rodriguez, Director of the Office for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation, and Br Francesco Zecca, this was followed by the presentation of the Franciscan Network of the Mediterranean and the OIKOS project, Centre for integral ecology of the Mediterranean.
The day ended in the Cathedral of Taranto with a concert by the Italian singer Giovani Caccamo, known not only for his music but also for his social and cultural commitment.
Third day
With the presentation of the final document, the Eucharistic celebration presided over by Br Massimo Fusarelli and the march for peace through the streets of the historic centre of Taranto, organized by the Franciscan Youth, the Chapter of the Mats concluded.
In his homily, Br Massimo Fusarelli underlined the importance of knowing how to grasp “shoots of innovation” in our communities. Br Massimo, referring to the parable of the mustard seed presented in today’s Gospel, highlighted that, within us, there are seeds of good that we do not see but which are growing through the work of God. As a Church, and not a closed community, we are called not to make this good our own, but to make it grow and share it through hospitality and openness to others.
With information and photos from Azione Francescana news:
https://www.azionefrancescana.news
