OL Meets…
A man of action and thought. Most importantly, a man who does both exceptionally well. This month, O&L meets Luigi d'Errico, a priest genuinely close to the most vulnerable and newly appointed Commendatore of the Order of Merit for Civil Service of the Italian Republic. Speaking with Cristina Tersigni, he tackles the urgent issues of our time: poverty, COVID, people with disabilities, and the responsibility of both the Church and the State. Don Luigi is a man who builds community as he speaks.
Book of the Month
On Wednesday, January 13th, news broke of the lethal injection of Lisa Montgomery, a 53-year-old killer with mental illness and the first woman executed in the United States in seventy years. "Confusing vengeance with justice once again and threatening the very essence of being community"—this tragic case raises an urgent question: the treatment of the mentally ill held in prisons as ordinary inmates. In Italy, this issue emerges in Sergio Abis's book Chi sbaglia paga (Chiarelettere 2020), presented here by Giulia Galeotti.
And Then Comes Christmas
"How long do you keep the poor you take in?" someone once asked Dorothy Day. "Forever," she replied. "They live with us, they die with us, and we pray for them after they're gone." The response of the American social activist and founder of the Catholic Worker perfectly captures what community means. As we strive to embody it, we want to remember here three people who have recently left us. After walking alongside them, after saying goodbye, comes the time for memory and prayer for Daniele Corrias, Armando Morzilli, and Gennarino Gagliotta.
Ages 0–13
Since I was born, I've always been around children with disabilities because I'm part of a Fede e Luce community.
In my class we have a boy who is autistic, and every day we all work hard to understand how we can help him. But time and again, it's he who helps us, creating a spirit of cooperation and friendship that's impossible to describe.
His gentleness and energy draw us in, and through his sensitive way of getting our attention, we all feel responsible and part of something bigger. This makes our class one of the happiest and most peaceful in the school.
For me, disability is a way to develop what I like to call artistic gifts—gifts that let these special young people live their lives with real ingenuity! Together and because of them, we can always make it through, no matter what!
(Chiara, age 11)
Benedetta's Blog
I'm on Strike. And I'm Not Alone.
I'm on strike. We held a union meeting for the whole class and decided not to do online lessons. I decided to strike too. Read more…
Post of the Month
https://twitter.com/ilasalvi/status/1349250840062734342
Fede e Luce Life
Throughout 2020, communities around the world worked to keep friendship alive even during the pandemic, launching dozens of initiatives. The International Secretariat gathered these experiences in a booklet (soon to be available in Italian as well), to "help all of us learn from one another," as Raul Izquierdo writes, "to encourage new ideas and see that caring for our communities depends on each of us, on every member of Fede e Luce."
Looking back on the past year with gratitude, we enter 2021 with the optimism and positive spirit of Flora Atlante, who wanted to share with us her wishes and hopes for the year ahead.
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