SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 8 - N. 17 - 2002 - April - IV
From: Koinonia, 2002, N. 1
The Pope, in the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte, feels the need to reflect on the fruits of the great Jubilee. He invites the Church to set sail [1 by responding to the great challenges of our times: "to bear, often in isolated and difficult situations, stronger witness to the distinguishing elements of their own identity" [2 and "to make the Church the home and the school of communion" [3 . We cannot remain indifferent to today’s challenges: the "ecological crisis", "the problems of peace" and "contempt for the fundamental human rights". We are called "to be committed to respect for the life of every human being, from conception until natural death" and to insist that "that those using the latest advances of science, especially in the field of biotechnology, must never disregard fundamental ethical requirements". "The laity especially must be present in these areas in fulfilment of their lay vocation" [4 .
The Franciscan Secular Order has also felt the need to reflect on its identity and vocation, projecting itself towards the future. The topic "Which SFO for the third millennium?" has been present in the last four General Chapters of the SFO. The VI General Chapter (Fatima, 1990) "developed a broad in-depth reflection on the theme The Secular Franciscans in the World today" [5 . The main report to the VII Chapter (Mexico, 1993) was titled "Secularity as a characteristic element of Secular Franciscan identity" [6 . "The General Chapter, meeting in Rome, July 7-14, 1996, reflected on the topic: Which SFO for the years 2000?" [7 . Finally, the IX General Chapter (Madrid, 1999) reflected on The Secular Franciscan Order facing the challenges of 2000 [8.
It is possible, therefore, to indicate some constants and to identify how the SFO wishes to respond to the invitation of the Pope to "set out", "to profit from the grace received, by putting it into practice in resolutions and guidelines for action" [9 . It will be useful to present an analysis of the present situation of the SFO, followed by a reflection on its specific vocation within the Church and society.
In the report to the General Chapter held in Rome (1996), The Minister General indicated that "certainly the number of nations where the SFO is present has grown, at least in regard to an official, organized presence, in union with the International Fraternity". "The total number of members of the SFO has decreased. How much? It is difficult to say. In the past only unverified and probably exaggerated 'big numbers’ were mentioned. Fifty years ago, 'Franciscan Tertiaries’ were said to be three million; 1,200,000 at the moment the Pauline Rule was approved; now we have 'counted’ ourselves: we are a little over 431,000" [10 . Three years later, at Madrid (1999), the General Minister declared: "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" [11 . It happens that the National Councils only count the active members and they do not include the members who for various reasons cannot participate in the life of the Fraternity. A first simple break down of the statistics prepared for the next elective General Chapter indicate that the number of professed Secular Franciscans is only slightly diminished, still giving us about 400.000 professed members.
It is necessary, however, to interpret the numbers, "because they are symptoms of much more profound and complex phenomena" [12 . The reduction in numbers is caused by factors external and internal to the SFO. Among the external factors we can indicare the "persistent expansion of religious indifferentism and atheism in its most varied forms, particularly under the form of secularism, which is perhaps more widespread today" [13 . Another factor seems to be the development of "new forms of togetherness – associations, groups, communities, movements – often more attractive than the SFO to lay people who want to share more responsibility in the mission of the Church" [14 . The internal causes of the reduction in numbers of members are tied to the sudden profound changes in the SFO in recent times. The large "confraternities of the SFO" of the past, which counted hundreds and at times thousands of members, have disappeared. The same is true for the many "isolated tertiaries" who enjoyed all the privileges and rights due to the individual tertiaries. The Rule approved by Paul VI renewed and profoundly changed the SFO, just at the moment when the Franciscan religious and the Spiritual Assistants themselves were going through a crisis of identity. As a consequence, many brothers and sisters no longer felt themselves living members of uncertain and disoriented Fraternities; many Fraternities have become old through lack of vocations; some Fraternities lost their vitality and were closed down, often together with the Franciscan friary that had hosted them.
All this has happened because "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" [15 . The General Chapter in Fatima (1990) stated: "despite the wide and diverse range of concrete situations, the presentations confirmed the continuity of the Franciscan tradition and of our vocation in its typical and essential aspects: the primacy of the spiritual life, the spirit of peace and reconciliation, the centrality of the human person, the option for the poor and the respect of nature. (...) It is necessary to develop in Secular Franciscans their sense of belonging to the Order and the awareness that their presence in the Church and in society will be prophetic and incisive to the degree in which they act, under the power of the Spirit, in unity of purpose, with programmed orientations and lines of direction" [16 .
The General Chapter of Mexico (1993) summed up the present situation of the SFO in the following way: "For a long time, the SFO has functioned as a pious association of persons devoted to Saint Francis, in the widespread conviction that the spiritual life is distinct and separate from the needs and experiences of everyday life. Nowadays, after the Second Vatican Council and in force of the new Rule, which has restored to the Order its autonomy, its unity and its secular nature, the SFO is changing its past orientations and is becoming more conscious of its secular dimension" [17 . In fact, "To evaluate the situation of the Order at the world level, quality is much more important than quantity. The Rule, the General Constitutions, and all the renewal process of the SFO point to quality: quality of formation, of fraternal life, of Church membership, of mission..." [18 .
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