SFO International Council - Weekly edition
Volume: 11 - N. 11 - 2005 - March - III
From: Bici 178 - OFMCap
ROME : From October 12 -15, 2004, the members of the International Commission of Economic Solidarity of the Capuchin Order met in Rome with the Solidarity Office and the Project Managers in order to discuss all the projects presented for the year 2005. The General Minister and his Definitory, seeing the resources collected in 2004, decided that 5.100.000 USD be distributed in 2005. The petitions asked for amounted to double the sum that was available.
The subsidies approved are divided into three categories: maintaining the missionaries, formation and projects. Half of the subsidies go for initial formation. These are given to assist the young circumscriptions which have many vocations to be able to give adequate formation and training starting from the postulancy to final profession; in these subsidies are included the payments for studies and professional formation. The maintenance of missionaries constitutes an important subsidy for the new presence of the Order in certain parts of Africa and in remote areas in Asia and in the Baltic. Many of the new presences have missionary personnel coming from India and Poland who recieve financial assistance from the central fund of Soliudarity. The projects include all the other requests like social works, buildings, means of transport, ongoing formation etc.
ROME : The first Congress on Consecrated Life was held in Rome between November 22-27, 2004. More than 800 religious belonging to the two International Unions of Men and Women Religious General Superiors took part. The aim of the meeting was the relaunching of consecrated life in the contemporary world. Among the main challenges stand : Evangelization, Dialogue, Social Injustices, the Defence of Life, Migrations.
The theme of the Congress was “Passion for Christ and the passion for Humanity”. Among the partecipants there were Bro General and Bro Beatus Kinyaiya, Provincial Minister of Tanzania, the newly-elected bishop Ambongo Besungu (GVP of Congo) and Michael Raymond, Provincial Delegate of Malaysia. The main points which the president of the Union of Major Superiors presented after an intense week of work and confrontation between men and women religious from different countries, can be synthesised in this way :
Christ and His Gospel as the Centre of our life : This is the basic rule of the whole life of consecrated persons. From this, he affirmed, comes along a renewed spiritual life which assumes the same spirit of Christ. If this spiritual renewal is lacking, consecrated life loses its freshness and absolutely cannot have the same compassion of the Samaritan for his neighbour.
The Mission : Another relevant point of his concluding talk cannot but emerge from a deep falling in love with God’s project for humanity. Consecrated persons will discover this project when they allow themselves to be touched by the wounds of their contemporaries, struck by the structures of exploitation and by the cry of those who call for more justice. The hour has come to put off the indifference in front of the sufferings and sorrows of so many brothers and sisters. In order to cry, however, with those who are crying, it is necessary that consecrated persons accept their humanity with its realities. It is only this that will render the gift of self more attractive for youth. The young religious have asked for it during the Congress. They want more meaningful communities, with human relationships of quality, communities open even to the outside world. Finally, expressing himself in the mind of the Congress, the president spoke of inculturation and the end of the “eurocentred” style of the Congregations of religious Orders. Consecrated life, he explained, is like a “dockyard” where each member should partecipate to the same objectives according to his own culture of origin and does not only follow the unique european model.
These points come from the self criticism that consecrated persons have made contemplating the two icons of the Samaritan Woman and that of the Good Samaritan. A woman religious stated that for the first time religious have not hidden their own vulnerability and wounds. It will be a way to allow the Lord in so that He could heal. For this reason, the final document speaks of “Hope” and of “an open dockyard”. It is true that the Congress ended; but its celebration has just started now affirmed all those present.
FRASCATI (Rome) : St Francis and St Clare of Assisi and the Franciscan Movement gave life to a religious and spiritual movement in the Church which brought about a great renewal in the Church itself and society. Even though we are conscious of this richness, oftentimes we find it difficult to transmit it to the new generations. Quite often in franciscan history the inspirational sources have not been those “franciscan”. That is why for more than twenty years in the english-speaking countries a programme was set up to discover and up-date the richness of our charism. It is called Franciscan Internship Programme. Encouraged by the General Minister, Bro John Corriveau, three members from the General office of Formation attended this programme which was held in Canada during the last two years. During November 1-4, 2004, this programme was given in Italian at Frascati and this was the first such course outside the english-speaking world.
The aim of this course is to discover the richness of our franciscan charism and form persons in order to exercise the ministry of spiritual direction in a franciscan style. This course has as its theoretical foundation the spiritual writings of St Bonaventure. Consequently an effort was made to recover the authentic and original franciscan spirituality. Without putting aside the theoretical basis, the course, above all, gave priority to an experiential orientation. Thus partecipating in such a course, is above all to live an experience of spiritual and vocational growth. Because of the practical exercise, the programme has necessarily a restricted number of partecipants. For all the time, six capuchin brothers and two franciscan sisters have taken part in this course in italian. The nature of the programme advises that it should be mixed. The partecipants were : two from Italy and two from Peru, one each from The Chech Republic, Slovakia, India and Brazil. The animators were the brothers from UGF: Brothers Patrick Crasta, Štefan Kozuh and Sergio M. Dal Moro.
ORSAY (France) : 28 young brothers and sisters in formation together with their formators from different franciscan families met between August 23 to 31, 2004 for a special meeting to study the theme : “Foundation and Refoundation. XIX to XXI century”. The meeting was held in Orsay, in the convent “La Clarté-Dieu”, and those who partecipated were 3 Friars Minor, 3 Capuchins, 16 Poor Clares and 7 other franciscan sisters.
The partecipants were helped in their reflections by competent speakers. J.M. Ploux, a priest of the Mission de France presented “The historic panorama of change in the world” while the slovac philosopher Fr. E. Kovac OFM spoke on “The Return to the Biblical, Patristic and Franciscan Sources at the end of the 19th century”. Sr Gabrielle Marguin offered the ecumenical experience of some franciscan sisters at Taizé. Fr. Serge Delsaut OFM and Fr. Pio Murat OFMCap described the return to the sources starting from the publication in various languages of the “Documents” and the adaptation of the Capuchin Constitutions after Vatican II. Franciscan iconography was also part of the programme and was explained by Fr J. Danel OFM through his study of the cycle in the stained-glass windows of the franciscan church of Paris and of the Capuchin one at Blois. Mrs Gobbé, a swiss lady, presented the “History of the SFO and present-day challenges” while Sr A.M. Cunin FMM spoke on “The new Perspectives of Mission”. The partecipants could also hear the experiences of foreign religious now residing in France : a Poor Clare from the Philippenes who has been living in France for the last 17 years and a young Capuchin student from Ethiopia. The Jesuit Fr Flipo, director of the magazine “Christus”, spoke about “spiritual research as the last frontier”.
Then the project of a new monastery of the Poor Clares joined to a pastoral centre was presented.
A day was dedicated to visit the synagogue, the cathedral and the mosque in the town of Evry. Here the group copuld meet the Dominican contemplatives who have put some questions on the catechumenate.
Fr Arnaud Corbic OFM, lecturer at the Antonianum in Rome spoke on “The lack of belief : a risk to faith”.
It was a programme so rich that it helped a lot in the reflections of the small groups and the formation of five working groups leading to the next session. In order to continue the reflection started in this Meeting within the Franciscan Family a proposal was made to hold a Chapter of the Mats for all Brothers and Sisters below the age of fifty.
LONDON : On December 1, 2004, Bro Raniero Cantalamessa was in London for the meeting of the "Parliamentary Christian Fellowship", that is a parliamentary group of christians. The meeting was held in the “House of the Speaker” at Westminster and Bro Cantalamessa spoke on the theme: “Experiencing a New Pentecost”. In fact he shared with the group the experience he had from the Holy Spirit in a certain moment of his life which then changed his life from a professor of Christian Patrology to a Preacher of the Papal Household and then on TV. He stated that at the present moment the world is experiencing deep divisions and at the same time it feels the need to spread love rather than hatred. We need to discover the power of the name of Jesus. He exhorted the MPs and their collaborators to be courageous and work with commitment in favour of all people because God is with them. After the sharing, Bro Raniero answered questions put to him for a longer time than the speech itself. On his return to Rome, Bro Raniero recieved an e-mail from one of the partecipants asserting that his message was “a prophetic word for our times” and in the name of all present expressed profound thanks.
ROME : During the meeting of the General Definitory with the Presidents of the Conferences held between November 8-12, 2004, in Rome, in a typical autumn climate, Bro John Corriveau inaugurated and blessed the Franciscan Museum, recently refurbished and updated, in the area of the Historical Institute. During the work on this restoration which had started on May 4, 2003 new rooms from the adjacent area were added to the complex. In such a way the space was enlarged and the area for exhibitions was extended. Bro Servus Gieben, Director of the Museum, assisted by Bro Johannes Teklemariam and the technicians, made the necessary renewal and adaptations especially in the exhibition areas, the services, the cases, using special structures. The result shows how all the works were organised and coordinated with proper style creating a great architechtonical environment very pleasing to visit. The two main criteria used during the works were were the typology of the works and the religious history of a fraternity like that of the Capuchin Order. Among those present, besides the Presidents of the Conferences were the Rector of the International College, Bro Mariano Di Vito together with Brothers Daniele Farnedi and Sisto Zarpellon, several members of the Historical Institute and other members from the General Curia who joined purposely for the occasion.
After the blessing by the General Minister, the new project and structures were presented by Bro Servus. Then all those presentwent round the Museum and all appreciated a lot the work done.
The Franciscan Museum is not an artistic museum even though it contains a variety of objects of great artistic value. It is more placed in the category of specialised museums especially those depicting history; in fact personalities and events of the franciscan Order are depicted by means of the objects on show in its halls. A particular characteristic of the museum consists in the fact that it documents franciscan art and culture through the centuries, that is from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries.