C I O F S LIST

STATUTES OF THE INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY OF THE SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER - Part III

General secretariat

Treasurer - financial commission - financing

Elections and the duration of the offices

Provisions in the case of vacancy and removal of the international councillors and of the councillors of the presidency

Fraternal and pastoral visits of the minister general and of the general assistants

Approval and modifications of the present statutes

Article 18

1. The International Council has its own Secretariat, the structure and seat of which are determined by the President, while taking the requirements of the office into account.
2. The Secretariat will be entrusted to the care of the General Secretary. The ordinary administrative functions are carried out within it under the direction of the Minister General. The Acts of the General Chapters and of the meetings of the Presidency, copies of the documents and the archives of the Secular Franciscan Order are preserved there.
3. The General Secretary:
   1. is a professed Secular Franciscan, not a member of the International Council of the SFO;
   2. is appointed by the Presidency for a period of six years;
   3. compiles the acts of the meetings of the Presidency Council and sends them to their respective recipients;
   4. keeps the archives of the Order up to date;
   5. communicates the more relevant events to the National Fraternities and to the ecclesial and/or social areas;
   6. fulfils all the other tasks that will be entrusted to him or her by the Presidency;
   7. may choose from among the members of the Secular Franciscan Order some collaborators who can help him or her in the task, after having consulted the Minister General;
   8. may ask the Presidency, when he or she considers it necessary, to take in one or more technicians for the work of the General Secretariat.

Article 19

1. The Treasurer or Bursar is a professed Secular Franciscan, not a member of the International Council of the SFO. He or she is appointed by the Presidency for a period of six years, with the following responsibilities:
   1. to administrate the general fund of the International Council of the SFO under the direction of the Presidency;
   2. to work through a bank account and to sign the cheques or orders of payment conjointly with the Minister General or another secular member of the Presidency designated for that purpose;
   3. to ask, with the collaboration of the General Secretary, for the annual contributions from any National Councils who are in arrears with their payments;
   4. to present every year, in the first meeting of the Presidency, the report of receipts and expenses of the preceding financial period;
   5. to present a complete report of the receipts and expenses to the General Chapter;
   6. to ask the Presidency to take in one or more technicians to help with accountancy when he or she considers it to be necessary.
2. The Treasurer must have the professional requirements for carrying out the activity of a qualified accountant.
3. The Presidency will take the opportune initiatives to insure the Treasurer against the risks connected with the management of the funds of the International Council of the SFO.

Article 20

1. The Presidency will constitute a Finance Commission, of which the Treasurer is a member by right, with the following responsibilities:
   1. to draw up the annual budget, that must be approved by the Presidency;
   2. to update the budget, indicating its practicability with regard to the ready flow of the necessary contributions and seeking the solutions to the lack of payments by the National Councils who find themselves in economic difficulties, and proposing, in such a case, the form of redistribution of the burden among the other Councils according to the principle of the sharing of goods;
   3. to analyse the outflow of funds with respect to the budget.
2. The Presidency may appoint one or more experts to audit the accounts in a case of necessity.

Article 21

1. In order to provide for the necessities of the International Fraternity, the National Councils and the Fraternities of the SFO will have to take into account and carry out what Art. 25 of the Rule and Art. 30 of the General Constitutions establish.
2. To cover the expenses of the functioning of the Presidency and of the Secretariat, and also of the activity proper to the members of the Presidency, a minimum annual contribution "- pro capite -" will have to be paid to the Treasurer of the International Council of the SFO within the first six months of the civil year, without excluding other contributions according to the possibilities of the National Council, in fraternal service.
3. The Presidency of the International Council of the SFO will promote the creation of a "- solidarity fund -" which it will administer to subsidise the more urgent necessities of the National Fraternities who are in obvious need.

Article 22

1. The International Councillors who represent the National Fraternities have a term of six years. They are elected by the respective National Council of which they will form a part, in conformity with the General Constitutions, the present Statutes and the Statutes of the National Fraternity which they represent.
2. At the same time, the National Councils will elect a substitute for the International Councillor. In the case that the Councillor is impeded from being present at the General Chapter, the substitute carries out the duties of the Councillor only for the duration of the Chapter. The National Council concerned will inform the Presidency of the International Council of the SFO about the impediment and the substitution.
3. For the election of the International Councillors to which Art. 4.3.b of the present Statutes refers, the procedure will be:
   1. by means of a proposal to which all the National Fraternities concerned have agreed;
   2. when the Fraternities concerned meet difficulties in arriving at an agreement, the Presidency will designate the Councillor from among the nominees proposed, and will give notice of the designation to the Councils concerned.
4. The International Councillors and the elected substitutes will have to be confirmed by the Presidency of the International Council of the SFO.

Article 23

Article 24

1. The request for resignation from the office of International Councillor must be presented in writing to the National Council which has elected him or her. The acceptance of the resignation must be confirmed by the Minister General of the SFO.
2. In the case of the acceptance of the resignation, as in the case when the International Councillor is elected Councillor of the Presidency, the person elected by the National Council as the substitute (Art. 23.2) takes up the duty until the end of the mandate of the Councillor. The National Council concerned elects a new substitute within six months.

Article 25

1. The General Chapter of the SFO elects the secular members of the Presidency of the International Council of the SFO according to the norms of the General Constitutions and of the present Statutes.
2. For their election, the following characteristics must be considered:
   1. the competency and the readiness to deal with the problems of the Order at the international level;
   2. the knowledge, if possible, of a second language among those most commonly spoken, in addition to their own.
3. For the election of the Councillor of the Presidency representing the Franciscan Youth, the requirements described in Art. 25.1,2 apply.
4. For the election of the Minister General, Vice Minister and Councillors of the Presidency, the principle of Art. 78.1 of the General Constitutions is applied: an election by absolute majority in the first two ballots and, in the eventuality of a third ballot, between the two candidates who have obtained the largest number of votes.
5. For the possible re-election of the Minister General and Vice Minister, Art. 79.1-2 of the General Constitutions is applied. For the possible re-election of the Councillors of the Presidency, Art. 79.3-4 is applied.
6. If the Minister General elected is not present at the Chapter, he or she must be called urgently to be present.
   If he or she cannot come, his or her acceptance will be requested by the most efficacious and reliable means. When the Chapter has received the acceptance, it continues under the presidency of the Vice Minister or, in his or her absence, of the Councillor of the Presidency who is older by profession in the SFO.
7. The term of the Councillors of the Presidency is six years (Const. 79.2,4).

Article 26

1. When the office of Minister General becomes vacant through an impediment of a definitive character, the Vice Minister assumes the functions:
   1. if four years have passed since the election of the Minister General, until the end of the period for which the Minister General was elected.
   2. if four years have not passed since the election, until the celebration of the General Chapter of elections, which must be convoked with the consent of the Presidency Council within six months from the date on which the office became vacant (see Const. 81.1).
2. To fill the office of Vice Minister, the Presidency Council elects a person from among its own members, with validity until the next General elective Chapter (see Const. 81.1).
3. When the office of a Councillor of the Presidency becomes vacant, the same body elects one of the International Councillors of the same area, with validity until the next General elective Chapter (see Const. 81.2).

Article 27

1. In the case where an International Councillor is negligent in his or her duties in a continual form or manner, the Minister General will establish a fraternal dialogue with the person concerned and, if necessary, promote the removal with the consent of the Presidency, expressed by a secret ballot, informing the National Council or Councils concerned of the action taken (see Const. 84.3 and 93.6).
2. In the case of grave negligence on the part of a Councillor of the Presidency, the Minister General will establish a fraternal dialogue with the person concerned and, if necessary, promote the removal with the consent of the Presidency, expressed by a secret ballot.
3. If it is a question of the Minister General, the Councillors of the Presidency will manifest their concerns in a fraternal dialogue with him or her. If no positive result comes out of it, the Councillors of the Presidency will request the intervention of the Union of Ministers General of the First Order and of the TOR, through a pastoral visit, and, if necessary, they will propose the removal of the Minister General (see 84.5).

Article 28

1. The fraternal and pastoral visits will be carried out according to the spirit of the Rule, the dispositions of the General Constitutions (Arts. 92-95), the present Statutes and the Statutes for Spiritual and Pastoral Assistance to the SFO.
2. For a better development of the visits, whether fraternal or pastoral, the Visitors will prepare them beforehand by taking care:
   1. to make enquiries about the preceding visits;
   2. to communicate to the Councils concerned the program and the purpose of the visit;
   3. to ask the Council of the National Fraternity for a background report containing the statistical and general data of the SFO within its area;
   4. to be open to the suggestions of the visited Fraternity for its better development.
3. The Visitor may not make decisions about matters that require collegial deliberations of the Presidency, according to the norm of the General Constitutions and of the present Statutes. In such a case, he or she will inform the Presidency, and the visit, if necessary, will remain open.
4. Normally within two months following the visit, the Visitor will compile a report of the visit, with his or her recommendations, addressing it to the Council concerned and to the Presidency of the International Council of the SFO. These reports must be exchanged between the fraternal and pastoral Visitors and conserved in the General Secretariat, in appropriate and reserved archives.
5. The Presidency, after an adequate lapse of time, will ask for notice of the deliberations and decisions within the competency of the Council visited and, always in accord with the Council of the Fraternity visited, will see to it that the decisions made as a consequence of the visits are carried out.

Article 29