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Towards the year of charity 1999 CCFMC international board meeting

Letter of the Pontificium Consilium "Cor Unum" dated 14th March 1996

With the agreement of the Central Organizing Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" has invited the Episcopal Commissions for Pastoral-Social Care, of all the Conferences of Bishops, to join in a special initiative. The organizations, institutions, and movements with which the said Commissions are in contact, are also called to partake in the spiritual and practical preparations of a World Congress on Charity, to underline the "greater emphasis on the Church's preferential option for the poor and the outcast" as was called for by the Holy Father in his Apostolic Letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" (n. 51).

The idea to launch this Congress has been endorsed by the 21st Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" in October 1995. For us Christians, such an event represents the opportunity to undertake a major effort against ever increasing poverty and to encourage everyone "to raise their voices on behalf of all the poor of the world" (ibid.). In this way, it will be shown to the world, in an ever more visible way, that "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:16), as announced and rooted in the Gospel of love, the central force for the third millennium.

Therefore, we kindly request that this letter be disseminated to all appropriate parties, most of all to your members and associates, so that the greatest number possible can be involved in this initiative. Of course, particular responsibility rests with the Bishops and the respective Pastoral Commissions for Social and Charitable Work. All must join efforts in making society more attentive to the problems of injustice and poverty and to re-awaken the great sensitivity of love for one's neighbour.

In the hope that the preparation for the Easter Triduum may be a time of grace for all of us to more fully understand the redemptive work of God and its concrete realization in our daily lives, I am

Fraternally Yours in Christ,

Paul Joseph Cordes
Archbishop President

Mons. Iván Marin
Secretary

The board of the CCFMC met in Dulliken, Switzerland 15-17 December 1995. This was the first meeting since the Assisi Congress in September 1994. According to the decision of that Congress, the Board has been extended to include the continental coordinators, and the Board now numbers fourteen people.

Reports from the continents have already been published in the CCFMC News, so we could concentrate on business.

The present stage of the revision of the CCFMC

A large number of revised units have already been handed in by the authors. Unfortunately many have not followed the guidelines worked out by the Board at the end of "Assisi 1994", and this makes the work of the redaction team very difficult. It is planned that by the end of March the first ten units will be ready for translation into the various languages.

While the revision is taking place, the original text is still being used, and continues to inspire Franciscans of all branches to a renewed commitment to their Franciscan calling. A French translation is ready at last, and there are versions in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and a few more languages.

Statutes

The Board discussed, corrected and approved Statutes for the Board, and the Chairman and General Manager were confirmed in their office. It was decided to set up an Executive Committee which shall meet every year, while the full Board will meet every three years. The undersigned was voted on to the Executive.

Manual

A simpler manual will be prepared by Sr.Dorothy Ortega, Manilla.

New name - same abbreviation

CCFMC, which originally stood for Correspondence Course on Franciscan Missionary Charism, in the Statutes and the new version will stand for a new title: Comprehensive Course...This was decided since the book is nowhere used as a correspondence course.

The next meeting of the CCFMC Board will be in January 1997.