Message of the CIVCSVA to the X General Chapter - Part II

Charity and the works of mercy have constituted, for the Secular Franciscan Order down through the centuries, a privileged environment where the Gospel is lived concretely. The hospitals, schools, refuges and credit unions founded by Franciscan Tertiaries and, especially, the ranks of poor that were helped, the naked clothed, the hungry nourished, the sick and imprisoned visited, the strangers welcomed by Secular Franciscans or succoured through their indispensable co-operation, give proof of this. "This dynamism must continue to be exercised with creative fidelity because it constitutes an irreplaceable resource in the Church's pastoral work. At a time when creativity in charity and an authentic proof and confirmation of the charity of word and action are called for, consecrated life admirably safeguards the apostolic creativity which has given rise to thousands of faces of charity and holiness in specific forms; therefore, it cannot help but feel the urgency to continue, with the Spirit's creativity, to surprise the world with new forms of effective evangelical love which respond to the needs of our time". (...) "This means becoming one with the poor, the aged, the addicted, those suffering with AIDS and exiled people who undergo any form of suffering because of the particular reality in which they find themselves. Attentive to the change in models, since mere assistance is no longer seen as sufficient, they seek to eradicate the causes of the needs. Poverty is caused by the ambition and indifference of many and by sinful structures which must be eliminated" (SAFC 36).

Your General Constitutions, indeed, insist that the Secular Franciscans, "in the spirit of minority, should opt for relationships which give preference to the poor and to those on the fringe of society, whether these be individuals or categories of persons or an entire people; they should collaborate in overcoming the exclusions of others and those forms of poverty that are the fruit of inefficiency and" (SFO Gen. Cons. 19.2). Today it is necessary to consider the treatment of women, traffic in child slaves, children abandoned on the streets or enrolled in armies.

Even if you are not the only ones with this commitment, your service is important and so we address to you this encouragement to collaborate together with all people of good will, with movements and institutions, in order to create "a civilisation in which the dignity of the human person, shared responsibility, and love may be living realities" (SFO Gen. Cons. 18.1).

The reflection of the General Chapter on the subject of vital and reciprocal communion in the area of the Franciscan Family will help you to better configure your relationships as an exchange of gifts in the complementary nature of Church vocations. It is in such vital communion, realised in the same spiritual Family, provoked by the Spirit in the Church, that the Secular Franciscan Order finds its precise identity "of a Franciscan evangelical Fraternity committed to service to the world, and specifically to the life of society" (SFO Gen Const.28). Together with the religious of the same Franciscan Family, you must establish "concrete pastoral plans which respond to Christ's challenges to reach out to people, to mould communities and to have a deep and incisive influence in bringing Gospel values to bear in society and culture" (SAFC 7). This commitment is activated by passing from formal relationships "to a communion lived in mutual charismatic enrichment. This effort can be helpful to all God's people, since the spirituality of communion supplies institutional reality with a soul by prompting a trust and openness wholly in accord with the dignity and responsibility of every baptised person" (ibid.).

The vital reciprocal communion, of which your Rule speaks, is not only limited to the Franciscan spiritual Family, "in various ways and forms, but in life-giving union with each other, you intend to make present the charism of your common Seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church" (SFO Rule 1). It is communion reaching out to mission. Because of your profession you "have been united more intimately" (SFO Rule 6) in "proclaiming Christ by your life and words" (ibid.). You are challenged to live "in full communion with the Pope, Bishops, and priests, fostering an open and trusting dialogue of apostolic effectiveness and creativity" (ibid.), in the common Franciscan vocation of "reconstructing the Church" (SFO Rule 6). The vital reciprocal communion, lived in openness to the creator Spirit, will lead you to "stake everything on charity, living the commandment of a practical and concrete love for every human being" (SAFC 10). The communion between secular and religious Franciscans will express "the constant search for unity in charity" (SAFC 18), becoming a school of communion for the Christian community and a proposal for fraternal living together among peoples.

Members of the Secular Franciscan Order, you who are an integral part of the Great Franciscan Family, the thought of this Congregation on internal communion, as a testimony to the command of reciprocal love, is dedicated to you in a special way. It is important to underline your role in the creation of a new climate of communion. Indeed, it must always be remembered that "in times past it was especially the task of religious men and women to create, spiritually nourish and direct aggregate forms of laity, today, thanks to an every increasing formation of the laity, there can be a mutual assistance which fosters an understanding of the specificity and beauty of each state of life. Communion and mutuality in the Church are never one way streets. In this new climate of ecclesial communion, priests, religious and laity, far from ignoring each other or coming together only for a common activity, can once again find the just relationships of communion and a renewed experience of evangelical communion and mutual charismatic esteem resulting in a complementarity which respects the differences" (SAFC 31).

The X General Chapter of the Secular Franciscan Order is also an elective Chapter for renewing the service of the International Council. The Congregation for the Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life feels the obligation, on such occasions, to address expressions of thanks and gratitude to the outgoing International Council. Our esteem is expressed in a special way to the outgoing Minister General, Mrs. Emanuela De Nunzio. Under her Presidency the world SFO has marked out stages that will pass for ever into the history of the Order and of the Church. Thanks to her competent service, carried out with gratitude and love, the international Fraternity of the SFO has notably enriched its own spiritual, institutional and legislative patrimony. The international Presidency, with untiring work and aided by all members of the Council, has made the secular Franciscans fervourously walk the paths of the universal Church.

Sisters and Brothers of the Secular Franciscan Order, with this message that also wishes to be an expression of esteem and thanks to all of you, we entrust your progress to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, so that she may always be for you the model of listening to the Word and of fidelity to your vocation. To all the Members of the Chapter and to all the Secular Franciscans that you represent, we wish that with Her, the Virgin made Church, you may receive the Spirit in order to bring about the community of love.

We wish to conclude with the words of the Holy Father, John Paul II: "A new century, a new millennium are opening in the light of Christ. But not everyone can see this light. Ours is the wonderful and demanding task of becoming its reflection (...)This is a daunting task if we consider our human weakness, which so often renders us opaque and full of shadows. But it is a task which we can accomplish if we turn to the light of Christ and open ourselves to the grace which makes us a new creation" (Nuovo millennio Ineunte 54).

To the International Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order, to its activities, to its projects and to its committed journey in following the Christ, being inspired by the example of Francis of Assisi, through His intercession, may the blessing of the Lord come upon all of you.

The Vatican, 18th November 2002.

Eduardo Card. Martínez Somalo
Prefect

Piergiorgio Silvano Nesti, C.P
Secretary