Our values
The values that animate us come from the Gospel and from the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Our life is inspired in particular by the value of fraternity , which we try to make concrete in all social relationships : in economic relations, in work, towards minors. An idea of fraternity that puts man and his needs at the center, because there is no justice where human needs are not respected.
Our commitment projects us towards the dream of a different world. We cannot change the world overnight, but we can start by changing our work, family and social relationships with our neighbours.
Man and His Needs
The Church teaches us that man is one "incarnate spirit destined for Eternal Life" : everyone is destined for salvation So what able to follow the Gospel as a rule of life . The Gospel is not only practicable, but represents the privileged path to full realization.
Man has Needs Type material , spiritual, affective, social and educational : studying and working, growing up within a family, receiving an adequate education, the search for God.
Social justice consists in respecting these needs . Each of us carries within us the aspiration to love and fraternity ; and it is the task of society to promote its realization .
Over the years, the Church has provided us with important confirmations of this vision. For example, in the encyclical Populorum Progressio of March 26, 1967, Paul VI affirms that human nature contains within itself an aspiration to higher values such as love, friendship, prayer and contemplation. In his Message to the Peoples of Asia, delivered by Paul VI himself in Manila on 29 November 1970, he spoke of an "integral humanism", inviting us to look at man not as a purely material being, but as a complex being, who aspires to the realization of higher values.
From that moment on, the expression "integral humanism" has been widely accepted and used in the magisterium of the Church.
The Fraternity
If it is true that we are all children of the same Father, we cannot remain indifferent to the demands of our brothers and sisters: their destiny depends on each one of us. Fraternity is the mutual will to love one another, sharing the same fate. Seen in this way, fraternity becomes the most lasting and effective remedy for poverty.
Fraternity in economic relations
We believe that in economic and productive relations it is necessary to putting man at the center . Material goods are a tool for life, but the dignity of the person it must always be in first place. The property it is not an exclusive and arbitrary right; it is Responsible administration : what we have is a gift from God and it is to God that we will give an account of its use.
We cannot remain indifferent to the needs of our brothers and sisters: we are all Joint Responsibility of what is happening around us, individually and socially. For this reason, Nomadelfia has embraced the idea of evangelical poverty in the sense of sobriety , that is, to possess only what is necessary for a dignified life.
These principles are in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in particular with the principle of universal destination of goods .
Fraternity at work
Work is a fundamental dimension of human existence. It is a means of sustenance and fulfilment, but it is first and foremost collaboration with God and with our brothers and sisters to protect Creation, to build the common good .
Nomadelfia wants to live the work What one Act of love towards the brother , a continuation of God's love.
Working is not only cultivating a field or building a chair, but also feeding a child or keeping an elderly person company.
Every job has absolute dignity , whose value cannot be quantified , because it is infinite.
Fraternity towards the little ones
Every child has the right to live in a society that allows him or her to fully develop his or her personality. For this to be possible, it needs first of all love, warmth, affection, certain points of reference.
For this reason, taking care of children without families It is an act of justice and true fraternity : every child is a child of God, and the responsibility for his or her future rests with all . Every child has the right to receive the same love , with the same importance and urgency.
Education is everyone's responsibility . It is proven that the environment and the living context are key factors in the Formation of a personality . Children learn what they experience and see: adults are their role models.
The Dream of a Different World
"I change civilization, starting with myself". Although it has been a long time since Don Zeno addressed these words to us, even today our society is unable to achieve the Values of justice and fraternity in which we believe.
Work is a concern for young people, not only because the lack of opportunities effectively denies the livelihood of themselves and their families, but also because work, understood as personal fulfillment, has become a privilege of the few, which moreover is to the detriment of other spheres of life, in particular the care of children and the elderly.
The gap in life chances between countries and between social classes continues to increase, while, paradoxically, the individualistic search for material well-being is the most accepted, shared and encouraged value in society.
The isolation and frustration that derives from it are inevitably reflected in family and social relationships.
In recent years, there has been a flourishing of associations and voluntary organizations that try to "plug the holes" in the world in which we live, but it is not enough: the problems of our society must be solved at the root.
We can't change the world overnight, but we can start by changing work, family, and social relationships with our neighbors.