Direct shared life—twenty-four hours a day—exists to heal and help people in crisis grow. G. Paolo Ramonda, who for many years has run one of the residential homes of the Papa Giovanni XXIII Association alongside his wife Tiziana, uses this book to illuminate how it works and why it succeeds. He tells three stories: Lia, a child with severe autism; Vincenzo, a young man convicted of patricide, released from prison into the community on probation; and Elsa, who finds physical and psychological rehabilitation in the home that welcomes her. Three grave cases—all recognized as serious by public services—all with happy outcomes. What is the secret?
Perhaps it lies in the word "family." In the creation of a true family: a father figure and a mother figure who feel their responsibility deeply, and around them others—the residents, volunteers, conscientious objectors, care workers—forming a single, solid community. Their primary aim is to "make the Christian Mystery visible."
The author describes the concrete methods of this life, its organization, its goals and activities, with clarity and directness.
The book includes a profile of a residential home and of the Papa Giovanni XXIII Association itself.
(The Association's structure is outlined schematically on page 19)
N.L., 1996