SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 9 - N. 14 - 2003 - April - I
From: Koinonia, 2003, n. 1
24th June 1978 - 24th June 2003
Fr. Ivan Matic', OFM
We celebrated the X General Chapter of the SFO in Rome from the 15th to 23rd November 2002. It can be said that the Chapter concluded a very important process, that of the revision of the SFO legislation, on the one hand, and opened up a new period marked by the demands and challenges of today's world to the vocation and mission of the SFO, on the other hand.
During the Chapter we had the joy and grace of meeting Pope John Paul II in private audience. With Him and all the Church, we had the opportunity to thank the Lord for the gift of the Franciscan vocation and, in a special way, for the gift of the Secular Franciscan Order, whose members, through the profession of the gospel life, try to live the Franciscan charism in a secular state in the Church and world, as laid down in their Rule.
The Pope, in his message to the Chapter Members, underlined: «In this General Chapter you have brought to a close the up-dating of your fundamental legislation. You now have in your hands the Rule, approved by my predecessor Paul VI, of happy memory, on the 24th June 1978; the Ritual, approved on the 9th March 1984; the General Constitutions definitively approved on the 8th of December 2000; and the International Statutes approved in this Chapter. It is now necessary to look to the future and to set out: Duc in altum!
The Church expects from the Secular Franciscan Order, one and only, a great service in the cause of the Kingdom of God in the world of today. The Church desires that your Order should be a model of organic, structural and charismatic unity on all levels, so as to present itself to the world as a "community of love" (Rule of SFO 26). The church expects from you, Secular Franciscans, a courageous and consistent testimony of Christian and Franciscan life, leaning towards the construction of a more fraternal and gospel world for the realisation of the Kingdom of God» [1] .
The words of John Paul II put into relief, in a prophetic and profound way, what the specific mission of the Secular Franciscans is in the Church and world of today.
In this spirit of joy and filial obedience to the Church, the General Chapter and the new Presidency of the CIOFS especially, remembering that this year is the 25th anniversary of the approval of the New Rule of the SFO by the Church, recalled the need to remember this anniversary in the Fraternities, on all levels, with opportune and involving celebrations.
The Rule, in fact, was approved on the 24th June 1978 with the Apostolic Letter "Seraphicus Patriarcha" of Paul VI. The Pope, on that occasion, wrote: «We are happy that the "Franciscan Charism" today is still a force for the good of the Church and the human community, despite the infiltration of doctrines and tendencies that alienate people from God and from the supernatural. With praiseworthy initiative and with common accord the four Franciscan families have striven for ten years to prepare a new Rule for the Franciscan Third Order Secular, or the Secular Franciscan Order, as it is now called. This was necessary because of the changed conditions of the times and because of the teaching and encouragement given them by the Second Vatican Council. Therefore, our dearly beloved Sons, the four Ministers General of the Franciscan Order, have requested that we approve the Rule presented to us. Following the example of some of our predecessors, the latest being Pope Leo XIII, we have willingly decided to grant their request. In this way, we nurture the hope that the form of life, preached by that admirable man of Assisi, will gain a new impetus and will flourish vigorously. Having consulted with the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes, which has diligently examined and carefully evaluated the text, we approve and confirm with our apostolic authority and sanction the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order » [2] .
The SFO Rule is the concrete proposal that the Church makes to the Secular Franciscans to live, in these our times, their form of life as an authentic witness to the growth of the Kingdom of God. It was necessary for the Church to approve the new Rule for the SFO because of the changes in the conditions of the times and the dispositions and encouragement, strongly underlining the vocation and mission of the laity in the Church and in the world, given in the proposals of the II Vatican Ecumenical Council.
In the Chapter recently celebrated, the need was seen for discerning that which is essential today so that the Secular Franciscans might participate efficiently and, as such, «build up the Church as the sacrament of salvation for all and, through their baptism and profession, made "witnesses and instruments of her mission", secular Franciscans proclaim Christ by their life and words. Their preferred apostolate is personal witness in the ambience in which they live and serve in building up the Kingdom of God within the situations of this world» [3] .
It is in order to respond to such demands and to identify new ways for a more active presence of Secular Franciscans in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God in the reality of today that the Chapter, after an attentive labour of reflection, chose some priorities that, according to the Chapter Members from all parts of the world, indicate the essential paths to be followed with renewed impulse at the present time and in the near future of the life of the SFO. The priorities for the SFO approved by the Chapter and which should be studied seriously are as follows: Formation, Active Presence in the world, Franciscan Youth, Finances, Spiritual Assistance and Communion in the Franciscan Family.
In accordance with the spirit of vital and reciprocal communion, which is characteristic of the reality of the Franciscan Family, the Conference of Assistants General has also thought of giving its contribution to the study of the SFO priorities during the Rule's 25th anniversary celebrations through various reflections that will appear in future numbers of Koinonia.
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