A few days after Chiara Lubich's obituary appeared in The Times in the UK, the paper published the following comment. Perhaps it demonstrates why the Focolare Movement with its insistence on the personality cult around Lubich, very blatantly expressed, hasn't been very succesful in the UK. I think those who know the movement well will find the last line particularly amusing:
Mgr Stephen Louden writes:
Even by the mid-1960s the near legendary status of the
saintly Chiara Lubich (obituary, March 15) had reached many in England. I will not
easily forget the account a fellow Catholic seminarian, Tom O’Reilly, gave of his
summer visit to the Focolare headquarters in Italy.
Uncommon at the time, an ecumenical group was being conducted round the building
and were finally informed in hushed tones that the leader, Chiara, would be in the
next room. Strict protocol and behaviour, reminiscent of rare access to an
endangered species, were insisted upon by the supervisor, who then asked if there
were any questions. An Anglican seminarian raised a hand and in quiet but reverent
tones asked, “May we feed her?”
I would like to think that the unexpected question was subsequently relayed and
enjoyed by the founder. (The Times, 18 marzo, 2008)
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