SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 8 - N. 10 - 2002 - March - II
From: Koinonia, 2001, N. 4
The Rule of the SFO says: "As a concrete sign of communion and corresponsibility, the councils on various levels, in keeping with the constitutions, shall ask for suitable and well-prepared religious for spiritual assistance. They should make this request to the superiors of the four religious Franciscan families, to whom the Secular Fraternity has been united for centuries" [1 .
Based on the Rule, the General Constitutions of the SFO establish that: "By virtue of the vital reciprocity between the religious and the secular members of the Franciscan Family and in regard to the responsibilities of major superiors, spiritual assistance to the fraternities of the SFO at all levels must be assured as a fundamental element of communion" [2 .
In the letter of consignment of the renewed Rule, the Ministers General of the First Order and TOR declared: "We, the Franciscan Ministers, with all our Friars, are ever ready and open to offer you all our assistance so that we may walk together in the way of the Lord" [3 . This expression gives clear evidence of the service requested from the religious Ministers and owed by them. "This service of the religious ministers completes but does not substitute for the secular councils and ministers to whom belong the guidance, co-ordination, and animation of the fraternities at the various levels" [4 . It is a matter of obligation to walk together in the way of the Lord. "In various ways and forms but in life-giving union with each other, they intend to make present the charism of their common Seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church" [5 .
At the base of this vital reciprocal comunion there is the common Franciscan vocation, given to all the followers of Francis without distintion of language, culture, education or state within the Church. St. Francis used to say that the Holy Spirit comes down equally on the novice of one day and an elder brother of the Order. The pastoral care and assistance to the SFO in founded on the Franciscan charism and is based on the common Franciscan vocation, lived in different ways and forms, but of equal dignity and value.
The immediate consequence of this view is that "The spiritual assistant is the person designated by the competent major superior to carry out this service for a specific fraternity of the SFO" [6 . In order to carry out the service of assistant no distinction is made on the basis of ecclesiastical state (cleric or lay; religious or secular). It is necessary, however, that the Assistant be a "suitable and preparaed" person and has the capacity to "comunicate Franciscan spirituality and of cooperating in initial and on-going formation of the brothers" [7 . It is the duty of the major Superior to see "that capable and well-prepared persons are appointed for the service of spiritual assistance" [8 . The major Superior has the responsibility to judge the suitability and preparation of each Assistant nominated by him and to oversee the "quality of the pastoral service and spiritual assistance" [9 .
The general Constitutions of the SFO express, however, some preferences in function of the vital reciprocral communion between the SFO and the First Order and TOR. Preferribly, "the spiritual assistant should be a Franciscan religious, member of the First Order or the TOR", because only such an Assistant can fully "be a witness of Franciscan spirituality and of the fraternal affection of the religious towards the secular Franciscans, and be a bond of communion between his Order and the SFO" [10 . If this is not possible, a religious belonging to another Franciscan Institute would be preferred [11 because the religious way of living the Franciscan charism fits in better with the secular way of living "the gospel in the manner of St. Francis" [12 . The members of the SFO, who can be diocesan priests or other secular Franciscans specifically trained for this service, come next [13 . Finally, there are "other diocesan clerics or non-Franciscan religious" [14 .
On the 4th November 2001 the Conference met in the OFM General Curia, with the presence of three Assistants General: Br. Ivan Matic', Valentín Redondo and Ben Brevoort. It was an occasion to exchange the experiences of the preceding months and to refer to the visits made to the different countries. Together with Emanuela De Nunzio, they were brought up to date with the situation of the Italian SFO in preparation for the national Assembly.
On 26-29 November 2001 the same three General Assistants were gathered in the OFMCap convent of Aquila in Abruzzo for three days of living together and intense work. The first day they were brought up to date on the situation of the SFO and its Assistance in the different countries and on the necessary planning of visits and presence at national elective Chapters. The rest of the time was dedicated to the revision of the Statutes for the spiritual and pastoral Assistence to the SFO in order to make them suitable for the changes brought about in the General Constitutions of the SFO, especially in the field of Assistance. The text will be presented to the Conference of Ministers General of the First Order and TOR for approval.
Slovakia. The national elective Chapter of the SFO was held from the 9th to 11th November, in Kezmarok, Slovakia,. The Chapter was presided over by Tibor Kauser, the internazional Councillor for Hungary, in the presence of Br. Ivan Matic, OFM, Assistant general. The first day there was a meeting with the out-going Council in order to see the present situation of the Fraternity. On the 10th of November the Chapter was held. In the morning the reports of the Minister and of the various Councillors were presented and in the afternoon the election of the new Council was held. Juraj Mrocek was re-elected as national Minister. On Sunday 11th November, the need for Franciscan formation on all levels, but especially of youth, was spoken about in the assembly. The national Fraternity of Slovakia is divided into 6 regions and has more than 1,300 members.
Poland. The national elective Chapter of the Polish Fraternity was held on the 19-21 November 2001, in Warsaw. It was presided over by Wilhelmina Visser-Pelsma in the presence of Valentín. On the first morning of the Chapter, Valentín had a meeting with the national and regional Assistants in the OFMConv Provincial Curia on the topic of "Assistance in the renewed General Constitutions". This lecture was repeated to all the Chapter members in the evening of the 19th November. Joanna Bertouska was re-elected national Minister.
-----------------