The Economy of Communion At the very start of the Focolare Movement, Chiara Lubich strongly felt the need to resolve the social problems of her hometown of Trent, Italy. She had a tremendous love for the poor; in them, she saw Jesus who was suffering. In 1991, God helped Chiara with an experience that has become the foundation of a new economic theory that has witnessed great development and visibility: the Economy of Communion.
It was during a visit to São Paolo, Brazil that she saw the city’s slums or favelas surrounding the skyscrapers in the city’s center like a veritable “crown of thorns.” While the Focolare members there had been practicing a communion of goods, Chiara understood this was not enough to meet all the needs of our members who were in great economic difficulty.
A new and radical step had to be taken. Businesses that would also practice such communion should be created. Yes, it was crucial to have companies making profits in order to have something to share. Yet it was equally important that there would be entrepreneurs willing to put up businesses not just for themselves, but also for the benefit of the poor and to help promote an economy of sharing.
Here lies Chiara’s genius. She was not an economist, but from her experience in Brazil a new economic theory came forth: the Economy of Communion (EOC) in Freedom project or EOC. In fact, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI also points out the EOC is as a timely response in our day and age, where even as global wealth is increasing, so is the inequality between rich and poor. The EOC proposes an economic system where firms, employees, suppliers and even competitors can all collaborate with one another, in a spirit of mutual assistance and reciprocity.
A Culture of Sharing
At the heart of the Economy of Communion lies a culture of sharing. Through its concrete practice, Focolare members have found solutions to hurdles in their daily life that are rooted in the love of God, in His Providence. Here are some of the social projects animated by the Focolare spirit:
Social Centers
Bukas Palad (which means literally, “with open hands”) is the Focolare’s first social center which sprang up in 1983 in Pasay City. To date, there are about four Bukas Palad centers spread throughout the Philippines and they cater to the needs of thousands of underprivileged families. Inspired by its fruits, another social center, Pag-asa, then started in Tagaytay, as well as a housing project called Sulyap ng Pag-asa (Glimmer of Hope) in Bagong Silang, Quezon City. The latter later played a crucial role in helping hundreds of victims affected by Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) in 2009.
Sinag Hospital Volunteers
Another social expression of the Focolare is the Sinag Hospital Volunteers. In government hospitals, there are often too many patients with very few staff members attending to them. Even with some patients, no one keeps watch over them. Then these hospitals lack equipment due to shortage in funding. In 1986, some members of the Focolare found an opportunity to love their neighbor in this setting. The Sinag Hospital Volunteers were mobilized. They would visit government hospitals to bring the warmth of God’s love to the sick.
Focolare Carpentry Shop
To help young boys out of work, the Focolare set up too its Focolare Carpentry shop in Cainta. Floro Flores, a married Focolarino and manager of Focolare Carpentry Shop, shares how the training center has started and has helped many young boys hone their skills and find jobs: “The spirit of love and unity which is behind each and every expression of the Focolare, also motivated the beginnings of the Focolare Carpentry. In 1968, we discovered a way to help some young people who did not have the means to study and earn a living. We put up a small carpentry shop. From a small work shed with two carpenters in Bangkal Makati, we have now expanded to 80 full-time workers in a spacious and modern furniture factory, located on a 3,000- square- meter lot in Cainta. We make it a point to ensure that our products are of outstanding quality, which also helps us maintain excellent relationships with our clients, designers and carpenters.”
Bangko Kabayan
Tess and Francis Ganzon manage a rural bank in Batangas which they had named Bangko Kabayan. Back in 1991, they got to know about a new initiative which Chiara Lubich had launched among Focolare members. She was challenging them to give life to an alternative economy, where businesses place themselves at the service of others, sharing part of their profits to provide assistance to those in need and promote a new culture of sharing. Immediately, Francis and Tess responded to this call. Francis tells, “It was for us the chance we had waited for so long – to be part of something that could change society, so that society could become more just and humane.” Tess recalls, “… we needed to make our original business grow in order to reach and help many more people, by providing additional jobs and earning higher profits which could then be redistributed to the disadvantaged.
With the help of Ancilla, a management consultancy firm which also adheres to the principles of an economy of sharing or communion, we were able to establish 8 branches in 5 years; the number of our employees also increased from 20 to 120.” When the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997, the bank had to come up with a new product. It was a choice between salary loans and microfinance. Many of their colleagues in the industry advised that it would be more profitable to offer salary loans especially to government agencies, since they would only have to deal with a single party and the collection scheme could be done through an automatic salary deduction. However, while exploring this possibility, they ran into the problem of a government official asking for an “under-the-table” commission to process their business proposal.
Francis continues, “This made us consider microfinance – that is offering loans to simple micro-entrepreneurs in the barrios. Though it is a more difficult program to pursue, not only does it clearly respond to the needs of our clients, but it also contributes to rural development. The choice we had to make became clear.” Tess adds, “This way of life in a business enterprise that values relationships and every person is not always an easy one. Nonetheless, because of our belief in a “silent business partner” who is none other than God, we have witnessed resilience beyond our own capability.
At this moment, our bank has grown to have 20 branches, providing jobs for about 340 employees, and with about 11,000 micro-finance clients. Many of our collaborators have also become infected by this new culture of giving and sharing. Together, we testify to God’s love for everyone, especially for those who are in need, through the Economy of Communion.”
The Magnificat continually sung…
These are just some of the social projects started by Focolare members in the Philippines alone. There are still many initiatives inspired by the Focolare spirit – like a lawyer’s quest for justice for human trafficking victims, a banker’s clean-up along coastal areas, an engineer’s free services to preserve heritage sites; or by specific groups, like the Fazenda Rehabilitation Center in Masbate, the Focolare Volunteers’ prison apostolate, the Start Again and Noche Buena projects by the Youth for a United World; the housing and school projects for the Bohol Earthquake and Typhoon Haiyan-Yolanda victims, and that by Mary Immaculate Parish or Nature’s Church in Las Pinas.
We will be sharing more about these endeavors in future issues of the New City magazine to celebrate the Focolare’s 50th Anniversary in the Philippines in order to give glory to God, as an echo of Mary’s magnificat, which declares: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…for He has lifted up the lowly, has put down the mighty from their thrones and has sent the rich away empty…”
