On Monday 9th March, Dr Lorna Gold, Executive Director of the Laudato Sì Movement offered a reflection on peace and integral ecology at the Focolare Movement’s General Assembly, in which she connected the Movement’s charism of unity with the urgent ecological and social crises facing the world today.

Lorna spoke not only from academic expertise but from personal experience. In her testimony she recalled how, during a childhood marked by family tragedy, her mother encountered the Focolare community in Scotland. That experience of lived unity, she explained, became a foundation for understanding how suffering can be transformed into solidarity and hope—an insight that continues to shape her work today.

Integral ecology and the charism of unity

In her presentation, Lorna emphasized that the ecological crisis cannot be separated from the quest for peace. Drawing inspiration from the vision of integral ecology proposed in Laudato Si’ by Pope Francis, she highlighted how environmental destruction, social inequality and armed conflict are deeply interconnected.

For the Focolare Movement, whose spirituality centres on unity and fraternity among peoples, this connection poses both a challenge and an opportunity. Working for ecological conversion, she suggested, means building relationships—between people, communities and nations—that reflect a deeper understanding of humanity’s shared home.

A growing global network of collaboration

Lorna’s participation in the Assembly also reflects the increasingly global networks shaping faith-based climate action. Alongside her leadership in the Laudato Si’ Movement, she has been closely involved with the Women, Faith and Climate Network, an international initiative bringing together women leaders from different religious traditions to respond to the climate crisis.

The network recently held a significant gathering at Wilton Park, where participants explored how faith communities can mobilize moral leadership and practical collaboration in addressing climate change. The meeting highlighted the concept of “radical kinship”—a call for deeper solidarity among people, cultures and the natural world.

Representing the Focolare perspective at the Wilton Park event was Brazilian Vaudete Bueno, who contributed insights from the Movement’s long-standing commitment to dialogue and unity. Her participation underscored how the Focolare charism continues to engage with global conversations on peace, justice and care for creation.

Building alliances for our common home

These developments are also linked with a new stage of collaboration emerging from a recent meeting at Borgo Laudato Si’. There, church leaders, environmental advocates and civil society actors gathered to explore the creation of a Global Alliance dedicated to advancing the principles of integral ecology.

The initiative seeks to strengthen cooperation among movements, institutions and communities committed to implementing the vision of Laudato Si’. In a world increasingly marked by ecological breakdown and geopolitical tension, the Alliance aims to provide a shared platform for action rooted in ethical responsibility and spiritual motivation.

A message for the Assembly—and beyond

Against this broader background, Lorna Gold’s contribution to the General Assembly highlighted the role the Focolare Movement can play in fostering a culture of peace that includes care for the Earth. The charism of unity, she suggested, offers a unique resource: the capacity to build relationships of trust across differences and to inspire collective responses to global challenges.

At a moment when climate disruption and armed conflict continue to affect millions of people, her message resonated strongly with the Assembly’s ongoing reflections on the priorities for the coming years.

The challenge, as Gold indicated, is not only to analyse the crisis but to respond with new forms of communion and cooperation. In that sense, the dialogue taking place within the Assembly—and in the wider networks linking movements, faith communities and civil society—points toward a growing recognition that peace with one another and peace with the Earth must be pursued together.