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Insight

[top]Opinions of a guest

At one level you are right - the Focolare does not appear to be democratic. At the risk of sounding really scandalous: "Who says that is a bad thing? Is the Catholic Church democratic?" Not really. However, in case you dispare at that, then at least consider the fact that the majority of the coordinating council of the movement (including the president) is elected every seven years by the zonal delegates. This is clearly laid down in the statutes of the movement which have been approved by the Church. "So, is Focolare democratic?" Yes and No. As for how the Gen "white" for a zone is chosen, I really don't see that the system in place has any problems.

The "internal" members of the movement are not quasi trade union members, with "rights" accorded to them because of their "status". They are individuals who have voluntarily undertaken a way of life guided by a spirituality which has been closely monitored, evaluated and approved (at least by the Roman Catholic Church) as an authentic charism. I have never had any problems sharing my concerns about how things should or shouldn't be within Focolare, however I also recognise that just because I view something one way doesn't mean it should change. Change does happen in the movement. I can see that in the time I have known it and if you speak to people who have been around longer you will see that that is true, but, again a bit like the Church, I guess that the belief is that change should be directed by a slow discernment of the Spirit and not by individual or minority group pressure.

Answers of the webteam

We never said that not being democratic is a bad thing, but we believe it could be an issue to discuss, not something above discussion. Sometimes a Gen had a discussion in the Focolare and the ultimate reason for doing something was that the leader felt is was God's Will to do it. Here we see a potential danger. Focolare seems to consider itself to be a mirror of the Catholic Church (Mystical body of Mary as mirror of the Mystical body of Christ). You also seem to imply that the fact that the Catholic Church is not democratic may be enough to legitimate the focolare not being democratic.

As you might know, the election process of the president and the council is influenced heavily by talks among the participants in the days before elections. The statutes mention that the voting members have to be together in meditation for 3 days before elections. By that time everybody knows what is expected of them... "And, by the way, who has appointed the delegates that choose the new president in the first place? Wasn't that the President herself?"

Let's forget about the Gen-white for a moment and look at the leaders of New Humanity, New Parishes and other mass movements. These are grown up adults who could have a vote about their leaders but we never saw anything of the kind. Yet a lot of money and time is involved in these movements.

We appreciate your view about sharing your concerns in the focolare. What worries us is that you and many others do not know everything that is going on, you are left in the dark and told to trust the Spirit. But people, even Focolarini can make mistakes. We have been told that even if a Focolarino makes a mistake, and you do what he tells you, God will make sure it is the right thing after all. If is brings you pain, it is a chance to love Jesus Forsaken...

Then you say that the movement is closely monitored. We wonder about this a lot. By this time, a lot of important clergy in the Catholic Church participate in the Focolare. It seems not so difficult for some bishops to approve of a group that they temselves are part of.

Our appeal to Focolare is: be more transparent. Not to give in to individuals or minority groups but to ask for peoples opinions and to be open about the decision making process in all levels of the movement. God's Will should not be a secret. Let us know about what happened in 1943 and what is going on now in the countries where Focolare politicians are working.

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[top]Question from a friend

I am an outsider, with very little contact with movement. In fact I am a non believer of the Catholic Church. On your website, you said "this site is not accusing the Focolare, but we are asking ligitimate questions". I take that you have been with the Focolare House and you may also spent couple of years in Lopiano. For whatever reason(s), you left the movement.

My question to you is: "Why didn't you ask the right questions before commiting yourself? Isn't the time spent in Lopiano long enough to judge for yourself whether the life of the movement is suitable for or not?" My understanding is that when you stay in the Focolare house as a Popo or Popa you sign a covenant to donate all your possesions to the movement that includes your income. I don't see any deception.

"Why don't you give the reader some fact not accusation of the deceptions you keeping talking about. Let the reader decide whether there is any ground to believe you."

Answer to a friend

Reading your story, I see two questions:

• First: Why did I not ask questions before I got involved with the Focolare?
• Second: Can I give more facts about deception by the focolare?

To start with the first. When I got to know the Focolare I was still very young and in a vulnerable situation. I was alone and experienced some problems in my life. Focolare people were very friendly to me and has was receptive for their friendliness. The Focolare did not appear to be a threat to my personality. After some time I got more involved and it was a thrill to work with them. Every time I did something right I was rewarded and I was told if I did something wrong. Life became very simple. I remember that I tried to convince myself like this: "If Chiara has thought about the right way of living so much and she tells us how to do it, what is the use of me trying to find out all for myself what is right for me? If I live like Chiara I will be sure to go to Heaven." So I stopped asking questions to myself and to the Focolare. I now regret that Focolare people encouraged me to live like this, without any critical reflection.

I never lived in Loppiano and never made vows like you assumed, but I was involved in spreading the movement to other regions. In doing this, it became clear that this high goal justifies almost every means. Making yourself one with another person, except in sins, meant that we never revealed out true intentions (spreading the Focolare) but we were always playing theater, a so called devine comedy... In the end I lost my personality and did not know who I was anymore.

In short: Before you are in the Focolare, you do not know what questions to ask, and when you are inside, it is too late to ask questions because everything is so naturally right.

Secondly some more facts about deception. There is so much of it, I don't know where to start. Let me give you some facts.

1. Not one of the important decisions that are made by the leaders of Focolare is democratic.
2. There is no clarity about the amount of money that Focolare posses and how it is used.
3. Leaders in the co-ordinating Council have complete power over the lives of people who have given vows to the movement.
4. The co-ordinating Council controls all of the branches like Parish Movement, Gen Movement, New Humanity.
5. The prizes and honorary doctorates that Chiara received are prepared by Focolare people in the different countries and their aim is to emphasise the humanitarian side of Focolare while it actually is a deeply religious, Catholic organisation.

Now you may think these are no facts but accusations. Many people have said so before, but nobody has given any evidence to the contrary. Here is my evidence:

1. I have been a full time member for 20 years and part of the time I was in the local co-ordinating council. Never has there been any voting about any issue of policy in the movement.
2. I often asked for annual reports, other people also did but nothing was showed or given.
3. People have been sent to far away countries because they did not function right or because it was said that this country needed a popo or a Focolare.
4. Branches do not choose their own leaders but the Capo-zona talks with the leaders in Rome and then it is decided who will be leader of a branch.
5. This is tricky because it is well guarded. But if you look at all the prizes, you can recognise a pattern. Focolare people may say it is Gods Plan, but I believe that humans cannot begin to fathom Gods plans. We are convinced that the power that the Focolare represents because of their financial, political and economical influence generates the necessary opportunities that are needed to win prices for Chiara.

So my dear friend, here is your answer. If anybody like to give a reaction, please do so but preferably in a decent way. I am sure that Chiara is not at all happy with all those defenders of the true faith who show no love or respect for me or the other webmasters. Always remember your aim: "To love your enemy".

Take good care

Anastasia

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Sect

[top]Is it a sect?

We believe the Focolare has some sectarian aspects or tendences and here we will give you some proof for it.

We have studied the Focolare organization closely and compared this to a study by G.A. Galanti Ph.D. who investigated the Unification Church (Moonie-sect). Our study discovered over 10 different techniques of mind control that are being used by both organizations. These techniques have been described by Robert Jay Lifton in 1961 in his excellent book "Study of brainwashing". We are convinced that there is clear prove of the sectarian character of the Focolare organization. Let us give you a few examples:

1. Milieu control
   The environment where people have their education is a closed one. We found at least 19 so called new villages where Focolare people live and work together to get a two year education in the doctrine of the organization. In these cities the group is the only reality and members take on the beliefs, values and behaviors of the new culture of Focolare.
2. Mystical manipulation
   Members are convinced that the group is working toward a "Higher purpose", to bring the world to God and God to the world. They believe that they are different because they live their Ideal instead of only having it. People who join Focolare are convinced that they can make a difference in the world.
3. Sacred science
   An aura of sacred science surrounds the belief system. This is institutionalized in the ABBA-school. The Focolare dogma's are presented as Truth. This truth has been revealed to the leader of Focolare, Chiara Lubich, and it is not falsifiable.

Soon we will give you more examples on this page. If you have information that can either prove our point or challenge our statements, we like to hear from you.

Some information that we recieved point out the following problems:

1. First of all we see the danger to loose your personality by forgetting one's right to express his ideas and by loosing one's critical point of view. This exists in every community.
2. Secondly we see the possibillity that too much engagement can be dangerous, in the way that it can make you a "stranger" for the world. You also could speak of the danger of beginning to judge other people and the danger to get in a missionarian attitude.
3. Other kinds of danger that we see are:
   • one is to have the tendance to "flee" from the world, and to try to find a community where everything's right and nice, with the risk of loosing your personality...
   • the other one is the tendance to become some kind of God's soldier, a pharisee having God on it's side, judging everybody and everything, trying to win new people, etc.

This is not new... even in the first centuries of the Church, there were the same tendencies...

To conclude we see a tendence of some kind of cult of the person, with Chiara, and also the fact that in the movement, one often forgets to go to the souce (the Gospel) and prefers to read only the comments of Chiara. We believe that in many aspects the Focolare holds a very conservative view of things. We think that this is an interesting platform for discussing. If you have ideas about this, please let us know by emailing us or by visiting the guestbook.

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Financial

[top]What about the money?

The financial situation is a well-guarded secret. Yet we have information from reliable sources stating the following figures: The gross total income of the Focolare organization worldwide is estimated at about 3.000.000.000 USD.

The estimation is based on the fact that the avarage income of at least 10.000 people worldwide who give away all or most of their salaries would be 30.000 USD a year. Besides the income, many people give away their heritage, capital they have saved over the years and their valuable belongings.

Real estates, grounds and other assets probably value a total of 10.000.000.000 USD. This is a careful figure if you look at the map of Focolare cities in the world, which does not show all the normal houses, lauretana, focolares, zone-centers etc.

The extraordinary thing about this is the complete absence of transparency of the way this money is being put to use. We know that Chiara has a few houses to her disposal, all given to her by loyal Popi (intern members of Focolare) and their families. She has her own swimmingpool, several cars, a private driver and a covered walkway to her office. This we would call overhead of the organization. But the costs of the overhead in different countries are rather invisible.

Yet everybody in the movement is pushed to give away their money, this is called Communion of goods. It is known that people have given away all of their fortune, but it is never been known that the Focolare gives an account of what has happened to the money. Everybody is told to trust the leaders because they know what is the Will of God. We believe it is high time that those responsible for the money that is collected give a detailed account of the way this money is used.

It seems the movement has come a very long way from it's humble beginnings. We appeal to the leaders and those who left the movement to work together in restoring credibility to the claim of living in poverty.

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Lights

[top]Positive experiences, opinions and stories on Focolare

This section of the Focolare.net website is reserved for people that have a positive experience with Focolare. Please email us your contribution or visit the guestbook.

My very first contact with the Ideal was through my school's highschool religion teacher which was a focolarina. She is a very nice lady, somehow excentric but fun. I recall something very funny about her, one day when we were going to start our religion class, she in a very cheerful attitude told us:You know, I have discovered something really beautiful!! and every one looks at her startled by what she was saying , and one of us asked: And what is that?? She said ...and everyone was very expectant because she was about to say something really important ...and then in a burst of joy she said ....: God Loves You!! everyone looks even more amused at that response she has given, everyone thought what?? that was stupid ,just that hez but we all know that!!, now that I look back to that moment in my early youth I think that such a simple well known fact is taken for granted and everyone just forgets just that that God loves us!! We look for more complicated! truths and complicate our lives looking for that truth that gives meaning to our lives and often we look at the wrong places and the thing is that that truth was just in front of us!!! God loves us, and as just as God loves us we should love others!! This lesson this focolarina gave to us I keep it as a treasure. Carlos

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Shadows

[top]Negative experiences, opinions and stories on Focolare

This section of the Focolare.net website is reserved for people that have had a difficult experience with Focolare. Please email us your contribution or visit the guestbook. See the Italian section for a longer account from one of our visitors.

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Bookreviews

[top]The Popes Armada, by Gordon Urquhart

For nine years, Urquhart belonged to Focolare, whose 80,000 core members live in 1,500 dioceses around the world. He left in 1976 and has since devoted himself to exposing what he now calls the "sinister characteristics" of the three aforementioned groups. Urquhart summarizes their common features this way:

• "the personality cult of the leader;"
• "a hidden but rigid hierarchy;"
• "a highly efficient internal communications system;"
• "secret teachings revealed in stages;"
• "a vast recruitment operation using sect-like techniques;"
• "indoctrination of members;"
• "boundless ambitions for influence in church and society."

Of greatest concern to Urquhart is another goal of these groups - "ego-destruction, causing depression and mental breakdown on an alarming scale." To read more on this book and see other reviews, go to Amazon.com.

Reviewed by: a reader from New York, NY, USA

A must read book for every catholic! July 28, 2000

As Urquhart I was member of the Focolare Movement, for 11 years. The horror experiences and extreme manipulation of the focolarini and the thirst for power in Chiara is a really dangerous "carisma" inside the church, they are millions, there have money, they are all over the world (in the poor village of Brasil and Africa and inside the congress of the United Nations, Italy, Brasil, Europe Union..., they want the world to be one... but under their control... The Focolare movement is probably the most dangerous structure inside our contemporary world. As Chiara said: "One day, the church (the Catholic Church) will wake up and everything around and inside will be focolarini."