Paola Piscitelli's guest appearances

Paola Piscitelli

Interfaith Matters

CMSOnAir

Festival della Mente

Joanna Williams

Thomas Lennon

David Fitzgerald

Donald Kerwin

Joan Rosenhauer

Michael Chertoff

Imam Khalid Latif

Amina J. Mohammed

Avinu Malkeinu

James Loughran

Ron Nixon

Kevin Appleby

Anne Klaeysen

Debbie Almontaser

Frank Fredericks

OwlTail

The Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay association, provides services to and advocates on behalf of underprivileged, disadvantaged, and low income social groups around the world. Started in Rome by Andrea Riccardi in 1968, the Community has grown to 60,000 members across more than 73 countries and four continents. In this episode, CMSOnAir speaks with Paola Piscitelli, president of the Community’s chapter in the United States, on one of the Community’s innovative programs – The Humanitarian Corridors Project.The project was launched on December 16, 2015 when the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Protestant Churches, and the Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Italy joined with the Italian Interior and Foreign Ministries to protect migrants and refugees making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. The Humanitarian Corridors Project aims to:•	Prevent deaths at sea and exploitation by human traffickers;•	Provide legal and safe entry to vulnerable people;•	Plan reception and integration processes; and•	Self-fund with no costs to the host country.Under the initiative, 1,000 of the most vulnerable refugees (e.g., women, children, the disabled, the sick, and the elderly) in Lebanon were allowed to travel to Italy over a two-year period with humanitarian visas. The success of the project has led to the opening of new humanitarian corridors agreements to allow 500 refugees from Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan in Ethiopia to resettle in Italy and 500 Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Lebanon to resettle in France.In this episode, Piscitelli describes the history of the Community of Sant-Egidio and explains its Humanitarian Corridors Project, including the process of identifying refugee beneficiaries and the communities to host them, the services and programs coordinated to welcome refugees, and the importance of ecumenical partnerships to serve people in need.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic lay association, provides services to and advocates on behalf of underprivileged, disadvantaged, and low income social groups around the world. Started in Rome by Andrea Riccardi in 1968, the Community has grown to 60,000 members across more than 73 countries and four continents. In this episode, CMSOnAir speaks with Paola Piscitelli, president of the Community’s chapter in the United States, on one of the Community’s innovative programs – The Humanitarian Corridors Project. The project was launched on December 16, 2015 when the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Protestant Churches, and the Waldensian and Methodist Churches in Italy joined with the Italian Interior and Foreign Ministries to protect migrants and refugees making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. The Humanitarian Corridors Project aims to: •	Prevent deaths at sea and exploitation by human traffickers; •	Provide legal and safe entry to vulnerable people; •	Plan reception and integration processes; and •	Self-fund with no costs to the host country. Under the initiative, 1,000 of the most vulnerable refugees (e.g., women, children, the disabled, the sick, and the elderly) in Lebanon were allowed to travel to Italy over a two-year period with humanitarian visas. The success of the project has led to the opening of new humanitarian corridors agreements to allow 500 refugees from Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan in Ethiopia to resettle in Italy and 500 Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Lebanon to resettle in France. In this episode, Piscitelli describes the history of the Community of Sant-Egidio and explains its Humanitarian Corridors Project, including the process of identifying refugee beneficiaries and the communities to host them, the services and programs coordinated to welcome refugees, and the importance of ecumenical partnerships to serve people in need.

Paola Piscitelli on the Humanitarian Corridors Project

Paola Piscitelli (left) and host Maggi Van Dorn   Our Guest:  This time on “Interfaith Matters,” Maggi talks with Paola Piscitelli, president of the Sant’Egidio Community in the United States, an international lay community in the Roman Catholic Church, with over 60 million members worldwide.   Highlights: On the beginnings of community: It was started by students who were 18 and younger, who gathered to read the scripture and try to put them into practice.  Immediately, they saw that they could not say they were Christian if there were not a component of service to the poor. On what it means to “serve”: It means to become friends with somebody.  Friendship is a commitment, it’s a ministry, it has the qualities of faithfulness, of generosity, of listening, of being present. On the hidden poverty among the elderly:  We started visiting the elderly in nursing homes – an aspect of poverty that is hidden but growing. And, as friends of the elderly, when someone requested to go home, we didn’t ignore it, to think it was irrelevant. We started to become surrogate families and facilitate the process of going back home. How can ordinary people practice peacebuilding: One of the most important things is to be open and curious about others, and not having a defensive attitude. In order to build peace, there is the need to meet “the other,” to have friends who are different from you, to know their tradition.  When you come to know people, to appreciate them, hatred is more difficult. Learn more about the Sant’Egidio Community at their website http://www.santegidiousa.org/.  Paola Piscitelli can be reached at 646-765-3899 or santegidiousa@gmail.com. ___________________________________________________ *A Special Invitation   The Community of Sant’Egidio will be the recipient of the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award at the Interfaith Center of New York’s 20th Anniversary Gala on June 12.  The Community is being recognized for their leadership and humanitarianism by helping hundreds of Syrian refuges escape conflict and settle safely in Italy. Here in New York, the Community works to galvanize faith and civic leaders to advocate for human rights and immigration reform. For tickets to the Interfaith Center Gala, go to www.interfaithcenter.org, and click on 20th Anniversary. If you are unable to make the event, please consider making a donation as an anniversary gift. Donations from ICNY supporters help to make this podcast possible.  ___________________________________________________  This episode of Interfaith Matters is underwritten by One Spirit Learning Alliance – an interfaith learning institute that trains spiritual leaders and offers workshops for the public to spark personal transformation. More information is at Onespiritinterfaith.org/Matters, where our listeners can find a free download of one their teachings, “The Life We Are Called to Live.” ___________________________________________________ Questions? Comments?  Have a question for our guests, or a comment on our podcast series?  Please feel free to leave comments on your podcast player, or send us an email at socialmedia@interfaithcenter.org.  And please be sure to rate us!

Paola Piscitelli (left) and host <a href="http://interfaithcenter.org/staff/#maggi" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maggi Van Dorn</a> Our Guest:  This time on “Interfaith Matters,” Maggi talks with Paola Piscitelli, president of the Sant’Egidio Community in the United States, an international lay community in the Roman Catholic Church, with over 60 million members worldwide. Highlights: On the beginnings of community: It was started by students who were 18 and younger, who gathered to read the scripture and try to put them into practice.  Immediately, they saw that they could not say they were Christian if there were not a component of service to the poor. On what it means to “serve”: It means to become friends with somebody.  Friendship is a commitment, it’s a ministry, it has the qualities of faithfulness, of generosity, of listening, of being present. On the hidden poverty among the elderly:  We started visiting the elderly in nursing homes – an aspect of poverty that is hidden but growing. And, as friends of the elderly, when someone requested to go home, we didn’t ignore it, to think it was irrelevant. We started to become surrogate families and facilitate the process of going back home. How can ordinary people practice peacebuilding: One of the most important things is to be open and curious about others, and not having a defensive attitude. In order to build peace, there is the need to meet “the other,” to have friends who are different from you, to know their tradition.  When you come to know people, to appreciate them, hatred is more difficult. Learn more about the Sant’Egidio Community at their website <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=&amp;msgid=0&amp;act=111111&amp;c=48147&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.santegidiousa.org%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.santegidiousa.org/</a>. Paola Piscitelli can be reached at 646-765-3899 or <a href="mailto:santegidiousa@gmail.com">santegidiousa@</a><a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=&amp;msgid=0&amp;act=111111&amp;c=48147&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fgmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">gmail.com</a>. ___________________________________________________ *A Special Invitation The Community of Sant’Egidio will be the recipient of the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award at the Interfaith Center of New York’s 20th Anniversary Gala on June 12.  The Community is being recognized for their leadership and humanitarianism by helping hundreds of Syrian refuges escape conflict and settle safely in Italy. Here in New York, the Community works to galvanize faith and civic leaders to advocate for human rights and immigration reform. For tickets to the Interfaith Center Gala, go to www.<a href="http://interfaithcenter.org/20th-anniversary-gala-dinner/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">interfaithcenter.org</a>, and click on 20th Anniversary. If you are unable to make the event, please <a href="https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/InterfaithCenterofNewYorkInc/donations.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">consider making a donation as an anniversary gift</a>. Donations from ICNY supporters help to make this podcast possible.  ___________________________________________________ <a href="https://www.onespiritinterfaith.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> This episode of Interfaith Matters is underwritten by <a href="https://www.onespiritinterfaith.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">One Spirit Learning Alliance</a> – an interfaith learning institute that trains spiritual leaders and offers workshops for the public to spark personal transformation. More information is at <a href="http://www.onespiritinterfaith.org/Matters/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Onespiritinterfaith.org/Matters</a>, where our listeners can find a free download of one their teachings, “The Life We Are Called to Live.” ___________________________________________________ Questions? Comments? Have a question for our guests, or a comment on our podcast series?  Please feel free to leave comments on your podcast player, or send us an email at <a href="mailto:socialmedia@interfaithcenter.org">socialmedia@interfaithcenter.org</a>.  And please be sure to rate us!

“To Serve Means to Become a Friend” – Talking with Paola Piscitelli, President of the Sant’Egidio Community in the U.S.*