As we can all observe, notwithstanding ongoing conflicts and wars in the world, in spite of the unjust distribution of the earth’s resources and social and cultural inequalities, and despite the terroristic violence we are experiencing these days, universal fraternity and the unity of all men and women, objectives of the Movement for Unity in Politics, are today more than ever, a profound aspiration of humanity and a true necessity.

Indeed, unity is a “sign of the times” which clearly emerges, especially in the secular field, from the European States and the African and South American continents that are working in different ways and toward various goals for their unification, as well as from numerous international organizations and associations aimed at unity.

In the religious field, this sign of the times emerges from currents like ecumenism, permeating the Christian world with a spirit of reconciliation and communion, and from widespread events which promote interreligious dialogue in favor of peace.

In this context, then, to work precisely for the unity of peoples, respectful of the myriad different identities, is the best thing we can do and the very goal of politics, the greatest common good.

But what is the method, the way to reach this goal?

No better way exists to reach such a high and demanding goal than to spread throughout the world a powerful current of fraternity. It is the essential gift that Jesus gave to humanity. Shortly before dying, he prayed: “Father, may they all be one” (see John 17: 11-21), and in revealing the paternity of God, he introduced to humanity the idea of universal fraternity.

Fraternity is also a fundamental category of the great political project of the modern world, summed up in the motto of the French Revolution: “Liberty, equality, fraternity.” The ideal was identified, but not fully attained.

While numerous countries have reached the point of building democratic systems of government, and have achieved a certain degree of liberty and equality, fraternity instead has been proclaimed more than it has been lived.

And as many of you already know, the specific aim of the Movement for Unity in Politics is precisely to help others and to help one another live in a spirit of fraternity always. The politicians who adhere to it believe in the profound, eternal values of the human person, and take political action only afterwards.

This can give rise to projects and actions in the complex political, economic, cultural, and social fabric of our world. It brings people out of their isolation and opens the door of development to those who are still excluded in society. Fraternity shows the way to peacefully resolve differences and relegates war to history books. Put into practice, it allows us to dream of, and even to hope for, some kind of communion of goods between rich and poor countries, since the scandalous economic inequality in today’s world is one of the main causes of terrorism.

The profound need for peace expressed by humanity today indicates that living as one family is not only a value, not only a method, but it is also a global paradigm for political development. This is why a world that is always more interdependent needs politicians, entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and artists who put fraternity – a tool for unity – at the center of their actions and thoughts. Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed that brotherhood would become the order of the day for business people and the password for statesmen and women. The politicians of the Movement for Unity in Politics want to make this dream come true.

For them, the choice to become politically active is an act of love through which they respond to an authentic vocation, to a personal calling. Believers discern the voice of God calling them through circumstances; non-believers respond to a human requisite, to a social need, to a problem of the city, to the sufferings of their people echoing in their conscience: in both cases, they are motivated by love.

Furthermore, the politicians of unity become aware of the fact that politics is rooted in love; this leads to understanding that others, even political opponents, might have made their choices out of love and consequently must be respected. Indeed, the politicians of unity are also interested in bringing to fruition the good proposals of their adversaries. If such proposals answer a calling, an authentic need, they are an integral part of that common good that can only be built together. Thus the politicians of unity seek to practice the apparent paradox of loving the other’s country as they love their own, because the good of the country needs the contribution of all.

Another aspect of living fraternity in politics is the ability to listen to everyone, including opponents. In this way, the politicians of unity identify with everyone, they are open to everyone’s reality. This attitude helps to overcome forms of particularism, it reveals aspects of persons, of life and reality which can widen the political horizon. Politicians who learn this art of “making themselves one” with everyone become more capable of understanding and offering proposals.

Moreover, fraternity is fully expressed in mutual love, which is most necessary for a correctly understood democracy: politicians who live mutual love, politicians, and citizens who live mutual love. The politicians of unity are not satisfied with loving on their own; they seek to lead others to love, be they ally or adversary, to love, because politics is relationship, it is a shared project.

One last key point which guides the politicians of unity is that the country of others should be loved as their own. In fact, humanity’s greatest dignity would be to no longer feel that it is a collection of peoples living side by side and frequently in conflict with one another, but rather, through mutual love, a single people, enriched by one another’s diversity and safeguarding, in unity, their different identities.

All these aspects of political love, which build fraternity, require sacrifice.

So often, political activity has led to loneliness, to being misunderstood even by one’s closest collaborators!

Nevertheless, we know that nothing good, useful, or fruitful can be accomplished in the world without accepting fatigue, suffering; in a word, without the cross.

The commitment to build unity is not to be taken lightly! One must have courage, one must know how to suffer.

It is here then that the example of Christ crucified and risen can be of help also to those involved in politics. Even though he experienced the abandonment of the Father – “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46) – he re-abandoned himself to the Father: “Into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46), thus rising again, and showing that “love overcomes everything.”

Following his example, the politicians of unity are those who embrace the divisions, the rifts, the wounds of their people. This is the price of fraternity asked of politicians: a very high price, but the reward is likewise very high. Faithfulness in the moment of trial will make politicians a model, a point of reference for their co-citizens, the pride of their people.

These are the politicians who, with the help of God, the Movement for Unity in Politics wishes to generate, nurture, and support.

Chiara Lubich