Sant'Egidio, the parish group that grew and grew

Sydney
9 February 2003

Lawyers have role to play in pursuit of peace - Nuncio

War not an option yet: Dr Pell

Cleric who gave world a Lifeline

Crash 'reminds us of fragile hold on life'

Aid to Solomons

Asbestos in archdiocese schools 'under control'

New courses planned on Scripture, Catechism

Charity founder was 'greatest beggar of the century'

Hecklers disrupt talk on help for homosexuals

First batch of 'early offer' teachers hit the blackboards

Lay theologians: Key role to play in Africa

Canada Bay names top citizen

Sant'Egidio, the parish group that grew and grew

Unexplained mysteries in our tale of two cities

Perth's 'weeping statue'

Editorial: The Medjugorje story

Letters: Footsteps of Popes

Conversation: Fr John Harvey, founder of Courage - You need friends if you want a life of chastity

Church? It's about people who care

Morality ... and a war against Iraq

Canada's bishops join anti-war chorus

Peace, peace, peace - that's the message from Medjugorje

Churches together under one roof

Sant'Egidio, the parish group that grew and grew

By Marilyn Rodrigues

If you needed any proof that the key to world peace lies in the hearts of individuals look no further than the Community of Sant'Egidio.

It began in 1968 when a high school student, Andrea Riccardi, gathered nine others from Rome's Sant'Egidio parish to pray with the Gospels and put them into practice.

Now there are more than 40,000 members throughout the world.

Claudio Betti (pictured), vice-president of the community and one of its founders, is in Melbourne from February 7-17 to speak on topics such as peace, living the beatitudes, and Christian and Muslim dialogue.

The Community of Sant'Egidio began by helping the poor families living in slums surrounding Rome, mostly southern Italy migrants looking for work, in small ways.

Members began an afternoon school for their children, called 'Scuola Popolare' (People's School), which they now call Schools of Peace.

In 1974, the lay movement opened a chapter in Naples to work towards relieving poverty following a cholera epidemic there.

It became involved in mediation in 1976, in response to an appeal by the Archbishop of Beira, Dom Jaime Goncalves, it set out to settle a dispute between the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) and the still new Frelimo-dominated Mozambique government.

In 1980, it interceded on behalf of Christian villages to lift a siege mounted by Druse militia in Lebanon's Chouf mountains.

The Community of Sant'Egidio has a UNESCO peace prize under its belt as well for its efforts to achieve religious reconciliation in Algeria, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Yugoslavia.

It was recognised by the Vatican as a public lay association of the Church in 1986.

Since 1987 it has held annual inter-religious meetings of prayer for peace.

Indeed, prayer is an essential part of the community's life.

It is modelled on the earliest Christian communities - the praying and apostolic communities of believers in Christ described in the New Testament.

Members are also committed to communication of the Gospel, solidarity with the poor as their friends, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue.

Mr Betti's visit to Australia is sponsored by a range of Catholic organisations and individuals in the Melbourne archdiocese and Sandhurst diocese.

Anthony Cappello, co-ordinator of the Thomas More Centre in Melbourne, who initiated the visit, says: "The reason I wanted to get Claudio Betti to Australia was that he goes beyond the polarisation of the Church.

"No one can say he is conservative or liberal; he brings everyone together.

"And it is a community that has runs on the board; they show what can be done when Catholic social teaching is applied."

For more information about the visit or about the Community of Sant'Egidio, call Anthony Cappello on (03) 9326 5757.