SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 7 - N. 14 - 2001 - April - I
From: Koinonia, 2000, N. 4
On the 5th June the three General Assistants, Bros. Valentin Redondo OFM Conv., Ben Brevoort OFMCap. and Zvonimir Brusac’, TOR, met in the General Curia OFMCap. They spoke of the seminar in Lithuania conducted by the SFOIC, which had ended the previous week, with the participation of Bros. Valentin and Ben. The report of Jan Vleeshouwer, delegate of the Council to the elective Chapter of the SFO in Germany, was received.
On the 18th July the same three
Assistants met in the General Curia OFMConv. Emanuela De Nunzio,
Minister general SFO, also participated in the first part of the
meeting. In the month of June the news arrived that Bro. Ivan
Matic’ OFM (Croatia) had been nominated new Assistant
General.
The continuation of the meeting took place on the 18th
August in the General Curia TOR. Bros. Valentin and Ben
referred to the seminar they held in Cuba in June. Bro. Valentin
reported on his participation in the Congress of the Franciscan
Family and in the elective Chapter of the SFO in Brazil.
On the 20th September the four Assistants General met in the General Curia OFMCap. The new assistant Ivan Matic’ OFM participated for the first time. A few days earlier he had met with his co-national Bro. Zvonimir Brusac’, President of the Conference, for an introduction to the work. Bro Ben reported on his pastoral visit to the SFO in Ireland and on his presence at the elective Chapter in India and Bro. Valentin spoke of his pastoral visit to Mexico and of the elective Chapter in Denmark.
The 13th October meeting took place in the Secretariate of the SFOIC. Bro. Zvonimir, Bro. Ben and Bro. Ivan took part. Bro Zvonimir spoke of his pastoral visit to the SFO in Poland and of the meeting of the SFO in Assisi, Italy, on 22-24th September. In the afternoon the Assistants visited Emanuela De Nunzio, Minister General SFO, recovering from an operation.
The annual meeting of the Conference was held in Massa Martana (Umbria), in the convent of the TOR Franciscans on 6-9th November. All four General Assistants participated. The first part was dedicated to ordinary activity. Bro Ben reported on his presence at the elective Chapter in the United States of America, Bro Valentin reported on his participation in the National Council in Croatia and Bro Ivan on his participation in the OFM Congress on the pastoral care of vocations. In the second part the activities of 2000 were evaluated in the light of the programme for the period 2000-2002, approved by the Minister General. One day was dedicated to the drawing up of a manual with a complete course for assistants; the topics and contents that could be inserted into such a manual have been chosen and put in order. In the last part of the meeting, regarding the programme for the year 2001, the topics for Koininia, the calendar of meetings and prayer in the Secretariate of the SFOIC have been defined and the pastoral visits, presence at Chapters and other events of the next year were spoken about.
The meeting of 16th December took place in the General Curia OFMConv. Bros. Valentin, Ben and Zvonimir were present. Bro Ivan was in Ireland brushing up his English. Bro Ben reported on his visit to the SFO fraternity in Switzerland and Bro Valentin on his pastoral visit to the SFO in Portugal. A rich report has been received from Bro Augustine Kordiæ OFMConv, delegate of the Conference to the Chapter in Slovenia, on the life of the National Fraternity there.
On the 29th November the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life issued a decree with which it pronounced on the recourse pending for more than two years over the decree of the Presidency of the SFOIC dated 10th August 1998. The National Council of the SFO/OFM is, since then, opposed to the above-mentioned decree of the Presidency regarding the unification process of the SFO in Italy.
The pronouncement of the decree of the Congregation: it re-affirms that the component SFO/OFM must move sincerely towards unification, concedes a year of time, binds the OFM Ministers Provincial of Italy, all the Friars Minor interested and responsible for the SFO/OFM to collaborate in bringing about unity, requests the OFM Procurator General to present every six months a report to the Congregation on what has been done in this sphere. At the same time the Office re-affirms the obligation to seek by every means the unification prescribed by the Rule and Constitutions and praises all the components of the SFO that have already joined the structural unification.
The Presidency of the SFOIC and the component parts of the Italian SFO that accept the unification have given – to the Congregation and the Conference of Ministers General – the assurance of their disposability for the integration of the component of the SFO assisted by the Friars Minor (OFM) to be brought about in the most open and fraternal way.
On the occasion of the elective Chapter, 25th of August, the fraternal and pastoral visit was made to the National Fraternity of Ireland. Normally visits are not joined with the celebration of elective chapters. This time it was made as an exception since the previous visit to the national fraternity of Ireland had been made more than six years earlier. The fraternal visit was carried out by Marianne Powell, Councillor of the Presidency, and the pastoral visit by F. Ben Brevoort, OFMCap, in place of Fr. Nils Thompson OFM, who had to unexpectedly conclude his service. Two meetings of Spiritual Assistants were held, on the 22nd of August in Cork and the 24th of August in Dublin, with the presence of eight persons at each meeting. The fraternal and pastoral visits of the out-going National Council took place on the evening of the 25th of August followed by a short meeting on the morning of the 26th August in preparation for the elections. The Chapter began on the evening of the 26th August with a beautiful opening liturgy. The elections were held on the morning of the 27th August. Ita O’Neill was elected National Minister. During the pastoral visit the need for a renewed enthusiasm for the project of life of the SFO and its assistance was underlined.
From the 2nd to the 3rd September the national elective Chapter was held in Trisshur, Kerala, presided over by Tom Purcell, International Councillor for Ireland in the presence of Fr. Ben Brevoort, OFMCap, General Assistant. P.P. Joseph was re-elected National Minister. They were days of intense work on the national Statutes. Following a revision on the part of a small commission, authorised by the Chapter, the text was presented to the Presidency of the SFOIC, which has duly approved it.
On the 8-10th September Encarnacion del Pozo, Vicar Minister General of the SFO and Fra. Valentin Redondo, OFMConv, General Assistant, carried out the fraternal and pastoral visits of the National Fraternity of the SFO in Mexico. At the meeting with the national Council special attention was paid to the economic aspect and to the need to prepare up to date statistics. The national Fraternity has a good formation organisation, with programmes and materials, and could be of help to the SFO in Cuba. In San Juan on the 7th of September there was a meeting between Fra. Valentin and 13 assistants belonging to the OFM. The Minister Provincial of Jolisco and the Vicar Provincial of Michoacán were also present. The assistants of the other branches of the First Order and TOR were also invited but they did not come. The accompaniment of the FY, of the FC (Franciscan Children) and of FraAdo (Franciscan Adolescents) and of the need to set up regional fraternities and to organise college assistance on the national level were spoken of.
On the 15th September Wilhelmina Visser-Pelsma, Councillor of the Presidency, presided at the elective Chapter of the SFO in Denmark in the presence of Fra. Valentin Redondo, OFMConv, Assistant General. Marianne Powell was re-elected National Minister. After the Chapter, 16-17th September, Wilhelmina and Fra Valentin also carried out the fraternal and pastoral visit. The national Fraternity will intensify even more the communication between the local fraternities and will continue the preparation of formative materials in Danish. Fra. Hubert Hodzelmans OFM (The Netherlands) finished his service of National Assistant. The new assistant is Fra. Robert Showers OFMConv.