By Mary Kroner
LINCOLN (SNR/CNA) - Communion and Liberation (CL) is a movement in the Church started in 1954 in Italy which aims to form its members as adults in the Christian faith who seek Christ in each moment of daily life.
Founder Msgr. Luigi Guissani (1922-2005), once said, “Therefore we were moved by the desire for faith to be pertinent to life, because it was reasonable, free, and creative, and we were characterized by an awareness that faith is the announcement of a present fact, an event here and now that has a physiognomy that you can perceive with your senses, a sign in which it exists, and is called the ‘Christian community.”
The name, Communion and Liberation, refers to the conviction that Christianity, lived in communion, is the foundation of authentic human freedom.
Members meet weekly for what is called School of Community, a small-group style meeting where the members reflect on a reading, discuss questions, and strive to find out how Christ is active in their lives in a concrete way. The meeting concludes with singing and prayer.
Kelly Koranda, a member of St. Mary Parish in David City and the responsible of the David City community, explained: “The idea is not so much for it to be a book club or to analyze the text, but rather to compare the text to our lives, and allow it to speak into our lives to help us see how Christ is at work.”
The CL community in David City is currently meeting in a hybrid manner alternating between online and in-person gatherings.
In Lincoln, the CL community goes through ebbs and flows, but it is generally a smaller group. Due to various circumstances, the group has not met for a while in Lincoln.
On the international level, CL is currently experiencing significant changes in leadership. Father Julián Carrón, president of CL for 16 years, announced his resignation in November 2021.
In a Nov. 15 letter to members of the Catholic movement, the Spanish priest said he was stepping down “to favor that the change of leadership to which we are called by the Holy Father ... takes place with the freedom that this process requires.”
He was referring to a decree issued by the Vatican in June which set limits on the terms of leaders of international associations of the faithful and new communities.
The 71-year-old had served as president of Communion and Liberation since 2005, the year of Giussani’s death.
In his letter to members in more than 90 countries, Carrón said he hoped his resignation would “lead each person to take personal responsibility for the charism” of Communion and Liberation.
The Vatican decree issued in June limits terms of office in a movement’s central governing body to a maximum of five years, with one person being able to hold positions at the international governing level for no more than 10 years consecutively. Re-election is then possible after a vacancy of one term.
The new regulations state that where leaders have already exceeded the term limits, groups must provide for new elections “no later than 24 months from the coming into force of this decree,” or before Sept. 11, 2023.
Regarding the change, Koranda said, “Father Carrón has really been a father to us… I’m very grateful for his leadership and the way he has accompanied us and challenges us always to seek Christ in the circumstances we’ve been given. At the same time, I trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in the movement through whoever is elected!”
Matt Soltys, the responsible for the Lincoln community, remarked, “I’m excited to see the changes, but I think most of the day-to-day meetings of movement communities will be largely unaffected. CL is largely centered on local groups—the school of community—and as these will undergo little change, most of CL’s day-to-day will remain the same.”
CL offers a community where each person is challenged and supported in their walk with Christ. Soltys explained CL in the following way: “CL provides a way to look at how Jesus is working in your life in a very concrete way—a conversation you had with a friend, an experience you had on a walk, an encounter with a coworker which challenged you to look at how you live your faith each day—that is often overlooked in Catholic circles.”
Reflecting on her experience in the movement, Koranda shared similar thoughts.
“CL doesn’t just help us understand our Faith in an abstract or intellectual way, but helps me pay attention to what Christ is doing in my life through the concrete circumstances He places in front of me each day.... I’ve experienced Christ’s love and care for me through the faces of people in the movement and they have walked with me through life in a way that doesn’t let me remain at the surface level.”
Koranda also pointed out that as a result of her involvement in CL, she has gained a deeper appreciation of the sacraments, praying with the psalms, tithing, and belonging to a particular parish community.
On the CL movement, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said, “[Communion and Liberation] offers a profound way of life and actualizes the Christian faith, both in a total fidelity and communion with the Successor of Peter and with the Pastors who assure the governing of the Church, and through spontaneity and freedom that permit new and prophetic, apostolic and missionary achievements.”
If anyone is interested in learning more or in joining the David City community, they may email Koranda at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
“If a person should feel inclined and attracted to the movement, I would be happy to share any experience or wisdom I may be able to provide,” Soltys said. He may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
