The strength of human relationships

In the last two years the world has changed radically. From full classrooms, concerts, events that bring together thousands of people, family reunions, etc. They began to look for a way to distance us all, in order to protect what was most affected at that moment, health. We began to communicate through digital channels and try to adapt as best as possible to this so-called "new normal".

Time passed and little by little this separation led us to notice that something was not right, that we wanted to be able to hug our families, sharesome time with friends face to face, go for a walk or even come to Rome to participate in the Univ Forum. We naturally begin to need our human relationships as they were before. Although it is important to highlight that the fact of feeling its absence led us to ask ourselves deep questions: Why do I need human relationships? How do human relationships influence our happiness and that of others? How do these contribute to our overall health?

Don Giulio Maspero, professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, shares the following reflection on this matter:

"The pandemic that has gripped the world in its grip can be compared precisely to a "desert", a global "Lent", which paradoxically united us all by isolating us. But when you are on the edge, when you experience risk, poverty and precariousness, you can understand what truly counts in life. Thus, this time has left us as a legacy, the experience of the fundamental importance of personal relationships, the awareness that they cannot be taken for granted and that not all of them have the same strength.

From a religious and spiritual point of view, the desert has always been a place of encounter with God and with what is essential, precisely because it makes us encounter our own limits, it shows us how illusory self-sufficiency is and reveals the falsehood of idols. Thus, during this period, some populations have become stronger, while others have weakened. Some of the activities that we considered essential and absolutely necessary turned out to be superfluous, while others that we did not consider so important were decisive and fundamental to our lives in this turbulent time.

In rebuilding relationships, it becomes essential to lean on this lesson, investing our energies and efforts in what is truly worthwhile. This is particularly important for university students, who know as they embark on their journey around the world that they must be the protagonists of the future. How can the new awareness of the importance of personal relationships be reflected in the way we study and read reality after the pandemic?"

In this edition of UnivForum 2022, we will seek to delve into the importance of human relationships of friendship, work, family and, through the keynote conferences and other activities of this day in the Eternal City, give reasons and tools to live them better, rediscovering his strength and great courage.