On the first stop of her Asian tour, Focolare movement international president, Maria Voce, has asked the Korean community of the lay organization to help unite a divided society. Ms Voce visited South Korea from Jan. 6 to 11, UCA News reports.
She met with some 1,500 Korean Focolare members on Jan. 9-10 at the National Youth Center of Korea in Cheonan, south of Seoul.
She said the “love and fellowship” of Focolare members shown at the meeting should be shared with the larger society. “It’s time to spread our values, not only to Korean society but to other countries,” Voce said.
Focolare means “hearth” or “family fireside” in Italian. Chiara Lubich, who died in March 2008, aged 88, founded the movement in Trent, Italy, during World War II, with the aim of fostering unity and dialogue among all people.
The Focolare movement in Korea was launched in 1969 and now counts around 22,000 members. It also has seven centers and one retreat center.
Members organize regular meetings to share their lives and a special Mariapolis (city of Mary) gathering every summer, in which some 5,000 people take part. The movement also runs a free clinic for immigrant workers and provides legal counseling.
Father Albert Kim Sok-in, the first Korean priest to serve full time with the organization, told UCA News that members “actively participate in the ecumenical movement” by joining annual prayer services for Christian unity.
On Jan. 8, Voce met four lawmakers of Focolare’s Political Movement for Unity, including Protestant lawmaker Won Hee-ryong of the ruling Grand National Party. She advised the group to make greater efforts to reach out to others, including North Koreans.
The Political Movement for Unity was organized in 2004 by politicians who support the Focolare vision of improving politics.
Voce’s visit was the second by a Focolare president. Lubich had traveled to the country in 1982.
Voce’s Asian tour will include Japan, the Philippines and Thailand.
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