Report to the General Chapter - Part I

Part One - The SFO at the international level and financial report

This report is divided into two parts agreed upon with the other members of the Presidency which under the norms of art. 14.15 of the Statutes FIOFS, contain respectively:

* an overview of the situation of the Order at the international level and the state of accounts;

* information on the activities of the CIOFS Presidency in the three years since its election.

Part One - The SFO at the international level and financial report

1.1 The SFO is a living part of the church and society: it absorbs positive and negative aspects from them, it filters them across its own fabric, Franciscan and secular, it reflects them across the vitality of the Fraternities at all levels.

So we see that:

* the prevailing secularism in many parts of the industrialized world prevents an expansion of the SFO. The numerical consistency of the Fraternities remains substantially unchanged in these areas, but in compensation one can say that the "quality" of the vocations has grown and the sense of belonging expresses itself with greater strength and with more lively commitment, either in the life of the Fraternity or in the apostolic work of individuals and groups.

* The regained freedom of expression (even if still conditional on many factors) is the terrain in which the Fraternities of the countries once subject to the oppression of atheistic totalitarian regimes are born or reborn. Also here one cannot speak with certainty of a numerical "explosion": rather of small nuclei of people searching, through Franciscan spirituality, the answers to the very deep needs of the spirit and the motivation to rebuild reasons for hope, be it individual or collective.

* The conditions of underdevelopment persisting in vast areas of the world often represent an obstacle to the normal functioning of the National Fraternity of the country concerned. Scarcity of economic resources, of means of transport, of means of communication: they are all heavy limits to an organizational scheme and to formative action that can penetrate deeply and contribute to human development of populations which only in their faith, deep and humble, find support and comfort in the state of abandonment and precariousness in which they find themselves. Visiting these countries one realizes the inadequacies of a model based on structures and "inculturization" of a typically western type. What alternative can we suggest? Only to leave each National Fraternity the task of adapting to its own situation an outline which must be defined only on general lines and essentials, but which remains flexible in order to be understood and concretely realized by all.

1.2 What we have said above regarding economically depressed areas brings to mind concerns regarding the statistical surveys and contributions to CIOFS.

At the General Chapter of 1996 we presented the results of the "census" made in preparation for the Chapter. If we wanted to produce up-to-date data based on the most recent reporting from National Councils, we would have to say there has been a perceptible numerical reduction, but undoubtedly this is not so. It happens that the National Councils, asked to pay a contribution to CIOFS based on the number of recorded members, are induced to reduce it, counting only "active" members, that is those who can actually contribute economically. But the SFO is not made up only of these!

The SFO is made up also of the "patient wing" of the old, the sick, the disabled, the poorest of the poor, who must be the object of our attention and our care. It is made up also of those brothers and sisters who have not yet reached a sufficient level of maturity in their sense of belonging, but who for this reason must not be automatically removed from the SFO. In fact, they may turn towards more intense involvement and formation and only when a persistent and explicit refusal to participate in the life of the Fraternity is found can the provisions for suspension provided for in the General Constitutions be adopted.

1.3 The list of International Councillors with the right to vote shows that the National Fraternities represented (individually or in groups) are 46, while the National Fraternities officially recognized are 54. Therefore, there are 8 National Fraternities missing. Out of these, seven have communicated to us that they have not elected their International Councillor, as they knew beforehand that they would not have the necessary funds for the expenses involved, or because they have a very small number of members (this is the case with Denmark), or because they are too poor (this is the case with the National Fraternities in Africa and Latin-America). This phenomenon will become more and more accentuated as more African Fraternities will obtain recognition.

A special case is represented by the Italian National Fraternity which is not represented because already in preparation of the General Elective Chapter of 1996 the obediential components did not succeed in electing an International Councillor.

1.4. Taking into consideration the total number of members of the SFO revealed in 1996, the annual contribution per person to CIOFS of US$0.20 was confirmed by the General Chapter.

In the light of the changed situation in the preceding paragraph, the criteria in force must be revised in order to take into account:

* the lesser number of those that can actually contribute

* the different capacity to contribute individually in the countries commonly classified as first, second and third world.

The General Chapter must reopen its discussion of the amount, one only or differentiated, of the annual per-capita contribution, obliging the Presidency to prepare a careful and in-depth study, with alternative hypotheses, which will guarantee to cover the functional expenses of CIOFS with a more equal sharing of the burden by all National Fraternities.

It will be necessary also to study a different system to cover the expenses of participation in the General Chapters.