TO PROMOTE IDEALS OF COEXISTENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
AND FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE
IN THE HERAT OF ROME
THE HOUSE OF DIALOGUE AND COLLABORATION
BETWEEN PEOPLE, CULTURES AND RELIOGIONS
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CARITA' POLITICA
At the service of unity and solidarity among peoples
It is in this frame of reference that the idea to create the Domus Carità Politica (Center for Political Charity) took shape - for those that aspire to a development which really serves humanity; which promotes ethic and spiritual values together with economic and scientific progress.
The idea was inspired by the need to initiate a systematic reflection of important matters with the advice and experience from all of the continents of the Earth - a place where an exchange of information and constructive ideas of eternal values is possible.
The "Associazione Carità Politica" (Association of Political Charity) aims directly at informing, by means of every effort, the very structures of human society of a more complete sense of justice and charity. In order for this task to bear its greatest fruits, initially the Association intends to address those responsible of the structures of society and those that have an influence on it.
The Domus Carità Politica indicates, through its very name, that its origins and goals are founded on the social dimension of love. It is the realization of a concrete project of reciprocal good will and creates space for generosity and hope. It is a significant response to the need of meeting each other and to moving forward together towards communion and solidarity in the context of globalization.
As a symbolic and true reference, this house could not have been built but in the city of Rome - beacon of civilization and faith, a city of incomparable energy of universality and homeland of the Latin and Christian civilizations.
A place for inter-personal meetings
In this period full of multimedial communication the world is struck by the need of a more profound reference ; that being existentially to the human being.
The advent of multimedial technology creates an electronic solitude. It reduces the ability to understand, to articulate clear and distinct ideas. We have an infinite and unlimited number of choices and we risk suffocating in an overflowing amount of words and images. Once immersed in virtual reality, we risk new forms of slavery. In the never-ending flow of means of the mass-media we find ourselves scattered. We see faces and read newspapers but our hearts do not quiver. The division of the relationship between truly being and the mere expression of words leads us ever more towards ignoring the reality of the individual.
Therefore the need of a place where to meet arises. In the absence of stabilizing elements we feel pushed to meet together. The task of the Domus is to help us to recreate relationships with one another - face to face.
A cenacle for forming friendships
In a world that suffers from an excess of information and that is impoverished by a practical substantial materialism, the Domus Carità Politica speaks first to the heart rather than to the mind of human beings and appears alive and up to date. Open to everyone, it is a place where each person maintains and preserves their own liberty and their own identity. Here everyone initiates a strong and steady friendship with the others.
In the economical and societal changes brought about by globalization human beings either save each other or they lose themselves.
A place for dialogue
A world that presents us with new challenges requires a place and an opportunity for the exchange of ideas, which is adapted to the needs of our time. Therefore the Domus is a place of dialogue with experts, both to compare, deepen and enrichen respective ideas and to give rise to coherent opinions and initiatives with regard to the problems most debated in our time.
Social and cultural changes, with their inevitable tensions, the increased inter-dependence of all sectors of society and human promotion and the needs for peace all require relationships and means of dialogue. This dialogue helps to overcome misunderstandings, hidden hostility and emotional contrasts. The will to understand each other is the foundation of a dialogue that presupposes love for truth, reciprocal understanding, goodness, humbleness and charity.
Basic criteria determining dialogue are those of a global vision, priorities, choices and a historical prospective.
A family of nations
In a world moving towards globalization no one can remain indifferent about the problems of their neighbors. It is an urgent task for international organizations to contribute to the promotion of a sense of responsibility for the common good.
The lack of international structures capable of carrying out these values in a unitary manner is an obstacle. The international community is without a permanent point of reference represented by a political laboratory free of practical problems and electoral conditions in order to create a serious and disinterested service towards the construction of a universal order of true solidarity.
The Domus Carità Politica happily responds to this need and at the same time offers itself as a sign of communion. It is a moral center in which all the nations of the world feel at home, developing a common sense of being like a family of nations. The concept of the family immediately evokes something that goes beyond simple functional relations.
It is a place to communicate and propose values; to work towards creating more just and fraternal conditions within society. The Domus Carità Politica fosters the encouragement to exchange ideas and cooperate with all human beings of good will in the promotion of the plan of a global construction of the city of all humanity.
Building the future
Even with limited reflection, it seems evident that the Domus Carità Politica is: an expression of a faith, of a place, of something that identifies us, a place to visit and to find others.
As far as contents are concerned, that which is proposed is a dynamic of research, a tension filled with perspective both in individualizing the principles of behaviour of the human being and in outlining scenarios in which to insert the human being's position in the world.
It is a place to build the future, and we are preparing a backpack for our journey into the Third Millennium.
The human being is always on the move - among others and with others. Today it is not simple to propose this itinerary complete in all stages. But setting off on this journey together and completing some of the speculative and practical phases, represents a giant step in itself.
Faith - Creative - Politics
At the Domus Carità Politica the journey unfolds in three stages: Faith, Creativity and Politics - which are complementary to each other. Each stage is considered in its own specificity and is revealed simultaneously in strict relation to the others. In this manner all contributions come together as one in the whole. It is a spiritual dimension - for human thoughts of the mind and the heart, a dimension for faith, hope and charity.
All three stages are open to people who are famous world-wide in the various sectors of society. Works are carried out in an atmosphere of reciprocal esteem, in an international re-organization attentive to the ethical and aesthetical dimensions, inclined toward technological modernism.
The Domus Carità Politica represents an important moment of confrontation and sharing in striving to redefine the connection between faith, creativity and politics in order to help the generations of the new Millennium to give life to a "civilization of love".
Faith
Another goal of the stage of Faith is that of increasing contacts and friendships among various religions, in order to deepen an "anthropological convergence".
The matter concerning the connection between religions becomes more important each day. Many factors contribute to this modern-day interest, above all the increasing interdependence between various parts of the world. The future of the world depends on the dialogue with the major religions. The challenges of the new Millennium once again propose the need for a common ethical responsibility. This responsibility only through religion can take on the obliging character of unconditionality and universality. Beyond all of the differences, religious heritage represents a common richness and protection of the human being as an individual and as a part of the community.
Fundamentally, it is therefore a matter of developing a dialogue based on religion, projecting it throughout the world, so as to allow religion to better come forward in the social sector.
Meetings centered on dialogue among religions are carried out by people selected by the single religions. They are all equal in the Domus Carità Poltica and make up the Commission of the Religious
Commission of the Religious
The task of the Commission of the Religious is to study a different way of interpreting the relation between religious values and history and the different ways of concretely giving witness to religion in society.
It is necessary to take into account - in the various religions- those elements which are common and those that may be aspects of convergence beyond the diverse religious tendencies. Further, there exists the necessity to outline the fundamental common principles relative to the social view in order to be near God and the human being.
Creativity
The stage reserved to creativity is based on the assumption that knowledge can not be obtained solely by following an itinerary of concepts. There are forms of knowledge that do not fall within the canons of logic, but are nonetheless not excluded from reason.
Principle tasks of the stage of Creativity are:
- to underline the creativity of culture, in other words a new mentality of a firm bond with oneself, with others, with the world and with God;
- to stimulate critical autonomy and the creativity of each single subject;
- to witness how the universal language of art represents an invitation to meeting and understanding other peoples and nations.
The stage of Creativity is subdivided into six sections: visual arts - architecture and sculpture - music - literature - human sciences - natural sciences.
Commission of Artists
The Commission of Artists is the means of contact, cooperation, and service of those who study and cultivate those disciplines that attain to the arts and creativity in general. It has the responsibility to study the problems of common interest in order to find solutions, and to support a production that is morally sound and of excellent artistic quality. The Commission of Artists promotes the increase of religious, cultural and artistic values.
Political status
The third stage, more compound, is that of politics. It includes the human sciences, from sociological research to economics and on to politics and law. A profound and continuous attempt is made to work for an ethical dimension of politics centered on the fundamental values of humanity.
Politics is a world of creativity and of initiative. In this world it is possible to find different forms of freedom for both individuals and groups of people under many of their unpredictable circumstances. This can not be achieved without respect or a creative spirit.
Faith and politics accompany, whether we are aware of it or not, each person that seeks to face life and that searches for the sense of life in the heart. Politics, which postures no conclusions, stimulates faith. In addition, there is also the possibility of a spirituality of political life. Therefore, it is possible to live politics in the form of a spiritual act.
The stage of Politics is subdivided in three sections: Politics, Economy and Juridical Sciences with three respective commissions
Political Commission
This Commission advocates the need to place the common good before personal interests. Civic authority is not given to those that govern by themselves, rather it is only "on loan" so that they may use well this authority at the service of all citizens. It assumes a program that thrives on the concept of life of the human being and of society.
Economic Commission
This Commission reflects the transformations of the economy and societies that are brought about by globalization.
The employment and professional training sectors particularly follow small and medium-sized businesses. It has the goal of promoting - through appropriate initiatives - cooperation, the exchange of information amongst businesses, the transmission of documents of common interest and courses for professional training.
This sector is made up of Executives delegated by the firms accredited by the "Associazione Carità Politica".
The Commission for Juridical Sciences
The Commission, eminently of juridical character, deals not only with matters that are connected to law, but also those that are ethical and moral with regard to social justice.
Commission for Coordination
This is a mixed Commission, made up of those responsible for the other single commissions in order to study problems which are of diverse competencies. Although from different backgrounds and convictions, they work together to solve the problems of the world.
This network of connections represents the permanent referent, the operative strategy of dialogue, of work and cooperation for the cultural, social, economic and political goals that tend towards the liberalization and the promotion of human beings. This represents a process for building a universal body of citizens based on shared foundations: freedom, democracy, human rights, solidarity among peoples, respect for all the traditions and cultures, federalism and subsidiarity.