A week of on-going formation took place in the North Italian Province in Albino (Bergamo) from August 28-September 1. It was an important annual moment that was filled with ideas and reflections not just on our Dehonian life but on broader views of religious life and Christianity. Last year it was decided that we would take advantage of this 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and 50 years of ecumenism to reflect on the steps taken in this area in the Church in general and Dehonians in particular.
The illustrious names of the lecturers gives an idea of the importance of the topics dealt with, ranging from the historical to the purely theological, to the artistic and musical.
Among those who presented were Fr. Alfio Filippi and Fr. Fernando Garrapucho with interventions from Professor Daniele Menozzi, a historian of religions and a professor at Normale di Pisa; Giuseppe Bettega, director of the CEI National Office for Ecumenism and Conservatory who dealt with the theme in regards to music; and Giuliano Zanchi, director of the museum of the diocese of Bergamo for the artistic aspect.
There were also contributions by Paolo Rocca, Giovanni Ferretti and the Benedictine theologian Ghislain Lafont.
It was an interesting week that engaged our confreres in fruitful studies. The Dehonians have long demonstrated their work in favor of ecumenism through many ITS confreres. The Dehonian Center and the publishing house Edizioni Dehoniane with its publications (Il Regno, Settimana, Testimoni, Rivista di Teologia Morale) have always been recognized and appreciated, even more so now.
In short, it was an intense week with a rich and varied program that was worth exploring not only for ecumenism but also for those who want to have an ever greater and diverse vision of Christianity.
On the website of the North Italian Province (www.dehoniani.it) you can find texts of the interventions.
