C I O F S LIST

Report of the Conference of General Assistants to the General Chapter of the SFO

1. Meetings

2. Pastoral Visits, Congresses, National Chapters

3. Evaluation

4. Plans

Sisters and Brothers,

We present, as requested, the report of the Conference of General Assistants for the last three years: from October 1993 to July 1996. From January 1993 to December 1995 Fr. Carl Schäfer OFM was President and Fr. Ben Brevoort OFMCap, secretary. But for the year 1996, Fr. Ben Brevoort OFMCap. is President and Fr. Carl Schafer OFM, secretary.

The composition of the Conference changed following the General Chapters of the OFM Conventual and the TOR. Fr. Kevin Schindler McGraw OFMConv. has been replaced by Fr.Valentin Redondo OFMConv. for the six years 1995 - 2001. Fr. Antonio Morichetti TOR has been replaced by Fr. Zvonimir Brusa_ TOR for the six years 1995 - 2001. Fr. Ben Brevoort OFM Cap. has been reconfirmed for a second six year term from 1 November 1996 to 31 October 2002.

1. Meetings

We met 28 times for a half-day, once for four days (Assisi 1994) and once for three consecutive days (Rome 1995).

Principal matters dealt with:
-- reports, pastoral visits and chapters; life and problems of the SFO; relations with the Presidency; various topical matters;
-- Statutes for Spiritual and Pastoral Assistance to the Secular Franciscan Order.
In view of the expiry of the Statutes' approval ad experimentum on 17 September 1995, we requested comments from National Assistants. Very few comments were received, and after having changed only the numbering system, we have provided an extension of the Statutes' approval until the definitive approval of the General Constitutions of the SFO ;
-- Directions to the friars on the Secular Franciscan Order .
We have tried, with little success, to attract the attention of the friars to this instrument for their formation regarding the SFO. We must insist on the necessity of an adequate formation of all the friars regarding the SFO;
-- Koinonia, the three-monthly publication of the Conference began in January 1994. The articles have been prepared together and translated into English, Spanish, French and Italian. Koinonia has proved to be a sound tool for the work of the Conference, in spite of the difficulties of providing translations on time;
-- we have discussed the use of modern means of communication, the Internet, e-mail and the electronic diffusion of documents. On 1 May 1995 we began an electronic magazine CIOFS-L, which carries, in an electronic form, all the material of Koinonia , the Letter to the Assistants and the CIOFS Bulletin in the four official languages of CIOFS, that is: Italian, English, Spanish and French. This is made possible by courtesy of Listserv@american.edu. As well, we have made various SFO documents available on the Internet. For reasons of convenience we are using the E-mail address ofm.cap@agora.stm.it ;
-- the preparation of the spiritual and liturgical parts of the meetings of the Presidency and the General Chapter have kept us busy in more than one meeting;
-- together with the Presidency of CIOFS we have prepared and carried out a week long seminar for around 20 Assistants and animators of the SFO in the countries of Eastern Europe and North Asia. The seminar was held at Cracow from 11 - 17 July 1994, with the participation of three General Assistants and the International President of the SFO in person. Our presence in the countries of Eastern Europe has continued through the organization of visits and seminars in individual countries and in individual cities (Riga-Latvia; St. Petersburg; Ukraine);
-- the Assistants have participated in all the meetings of the Presidency of CIOFS of which they are a part. They have been responsible for the spiritual and liturgical parts of the meetings, and been involved in the preparation and in the carrying out of the decisions of the Presidency;
-- the Assistants have also worked in the Commissions of the international Presidency (iuridic: Fr. Kevin; formation: Fr. Antonio; pastoral: Fr. Carl; Franciscan Youth: Fr. Ben). It is of note that this collaboration takes up an increasingly large part of the time of the individual assistants;
-- a not unimportant part of the work of the Assistants has been the translation and correction of texts in different languages. This work has been carried out not only for the texts of the Conference, but also for those of the Presidency of CIOFS. We have had the help of various translators, but feel the necessity of enlarging the group of translators.

2. Pastoral Visits, Congresses, National Chapters

The General Assistants have participated on behalf of the Conference and of CIOFS at national chapters and congresses and made pastoral visits: in all, saving omissions, totalling 63 in number: 13 from October - December 1993, 18 in 1994, 25 in 1995 and 7 up to July 1996.

It has not been possible for us to be present in person at all the national chapters and we have delegated a provincial Minister of the country or a National Assistant of a country nearby.

Experience teaches us that pastoral visits made outside of national chapters are more fruitful. A pastoral visit made to a national council that has been in office for about one year helps the council in the evaluation of progress already made and gives the opportunity to adjust the programme for the remainder of the three year term. A visit made on the occasion of an elective chapter risks being engulfed in the preparation and direction of the chapter, and gives few opportunities for an evaluation with the outgoing council and serious planning with the incoming council. Also the combined visit, that is pastoral and fraternal visitation at the same time, is more productive if made outside of elective chapters.

Awareness is growing on the part of countries visited to contribute to the travel and accommodation expenses. However, more than half of the expenses incurred in the service of the SFO are still a burden on the office of general assistance of the four Orders.

3. Evaluation

Of the projects proposed at the Chapter of Mexico we have achieved:
-- a deepening of the meaning of spiritual and pastoral assistance through the help of religious and secular experts invited to share their vision on the subject with the Conference;
-- an intensification and modification of relations with the International President, the secretariate and the Presidency of CIOFS;
-- the seminar for the spiritual assistants and animators of the countries of Eastern Europe and North Asia.

On the subject of the formation of our confreres, we have made a little progress, and we are glad that in some countries the directions for the formation of the friars regarding the SFO have been used in the programmes of formation of the brothers.

We have not been able to carry out the meetings planned at Mexico to bring national and provincial Assistants up to date.

4. Plans

For the next three years we propose:
-- to form our brothers and other Franciscan religious in living more deeply in vital reciprocal communion with the SFO;
-- to promote meetings for Ministers provincial and for national and provincial Assistants for a more competent assistance to the SFO.
-- to support the expansion of Franciscan Youth through a better organized collegial general assistance at the international level;
-- to make the publication and translation of Koinonia more timely and to enlarge its distribution especially through the Internet and other means of modern communication;
-- to intensify our presence in the countries of Eastern Europe and North Asia through local and regional visits and seminars;
-- to draw up a revision of the Directions for the formation of the friars ;
-- in collaboration with the Presidency of CIOFS, to publish a manual for the leaders of local fraternities.

In order to achieve all this we want:
-- to continue the regular meetings of the Conference and the days of fraternity and reflection;
-- to delegate more often to the National Asssistants or Ministers provincial, the attendance at national elective Chapters;
-- to plan pastoral visits, preferably, outside of elective Chapters, co-ordinating them with meetings of Ministers provincial, and national, regional and provincial Assistants present in a nation.

This, in summary, is the report of the Conference of General Assistants: certainly much has already been done, much more one would like to do. The excellent spirit of fraternal collaboration in the bosom of the Conference and with the Presidency of CIOFS is of great help. We remember that the individual General Assistants have carried out many other activities for the benefit of the SFO other than those mentioned in this report. We hope, with the grace of God and with your counsel, to be able to realize our plans for the good of the SFO and a more competent service to the Church.

Fr. Ben Brevoort OFMCap
President Conference of General Assistants