General Chapter -- 12th English Report

The following is a summary of the activities of the 20th General Chapter on Friday, May 30 Those reading these summaries are reminded that the chapter also maintains a web page at: http://www.scj.org

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Following morning prayer, led by the South Italian Province, the minutes from Thursday were read and approved. Then Fr. Peter Sanders, moderator for the day, explained the work which had been done by the Steering Committee and the committee's hopes for Friday's activities.

In their final meeting on Thursday, delegates in linguistic groups reviewed the previous work that had been done and developed a single proposal for each of the four topics under discussion: The Mission and the Missions, Sharing and Communion, Social Commitment, and Formation. The Steering Committee took these proposals and synthesized them into two proposals for each topic. The first (A) was a detailed response to the topic, while the second (B) was a more general proposal. The proposals were distributed to and read by the delegates.

Fr. Sanders asked the delegates for their comments. The Steering Committee had tried to include the main elements from the linguistic groups' proposals and hoped that the chapter could vote to accept the basic concept of the synthesized proposals. The wording itself was not important, he said, for if the essence of the proposals was accepted, a drafting committee could later create the appropriate phrasing of each one.

The first proposals concerned the topic of "The Mission and Missions." The committee's two proposals ("A" was the detailed response and "B" the more general) were as follows:

A) Within the framework of our vocation to be servants of reconciliation in the world today, the 20th General Chapter calls upon the general administration to open over the next six year period new prophetic, international communities in collaboration with provinces and regions both in the secularized world as well as in the lands of Missio ad Gentes.

B) To open over the next six year period new prophetic, international communities in collaboration with provinces and regions both in the secularized world as well as in the lands of Missio ad Gentes.

The delegates discussed the proposals briefly. Refinements were suggested, but basically, the chapter was very pleased with the work of the Steering Committee. By a show of hands, the majority of delegates voted in favor of the basic orientation of the proposals.

The second set of proposals dealt with "Sharing and Communion." They were:

A) To give some substance to international collaboration and to allow for the necessary exchange of personnel, the 20th General Chapter calls upon the provinces/regions to permit an exchange of persons, projects and goods throughout the congregation. The sharing of goods should occur by means of a "General Fund" in which all provinces and regions should participate.

B) -make available and possible an exchange of persons, projects and goods throughout the congregation. -create a "General Fund" with the participation of all provinces and regions.

Delegates asked for a few clarifications, but basically were in support of the proposals. By a show of hands, the majority voted in favor of the proposals regarding "Sharing and Collaboration."

The two proposals on "Social Commitment" were then presented:

A) Because social commitment is one of the constitutive elements of our Dehonian mission, the 20th General Chapter calls upon all provinces and regions to examine the sociocultural reality in the situations where they live with particular attention to the phenomenon of neo-liberalism, to promote the social teaching of the Church, to side and to support those actively working for justice and solidarity. As means, a General Conference and a course of on-going formation on the topic "Economy and the Kingdom of God" are proposed.

B) -examine in the provinces and regions the sociocultural reality in the situations where SCJs live, paying particular attention to the phenomenon of neo-liberalism and to the dissemination of the social teaching of the Church; -effectuate a General Conference and a course of ongoing formation on the topic: "The Economy and the Kingdom of God."

Again, there was a general consensus among the delegates. In an open vote, the majority voiced its approval of what was suggested by the proposals.

The final topic was "Formation." The two proposals concerning it were as follows:

A) With appreciation for the instruments already available to the congregation (Ratio Formationis), the 20th General Chapter calls upon the General Administration to promote the experience of ongoing interprovincial formation and to work out a plan of international formation for candidates for perpetual vows, thus advancing the principle "We, the Congregation."

B) -to promote the experience of interprovince ongoing formation; -to work out a plan of international formation for candidates for perpetual vows, thus advancing the idea "We, the Congregation."

Delegates had a few suggestions concerning these proposals. One SCJ said that the General Plan and the internationality of the congregation should be shared at all levels of formation, not just from the point of final vow preparation and beyond. Even when those in initial vocation discernment come to the SCJs, the international nature of the congregation should be shared. Also, the cultural realities of formation in Third World countries needs to be realized. At times it is not appropriate to do formation outside of the country of origin. However, in response to this, another delegate said that a person does not have to leave his country to receive formation that is international in nature.

Again, the chapter was basically in approval with the proposals and voiced its affirmation by a show of hands.

The moderator then asked the delegates which of the two sets of the proposals they preferred: "A" or "B"? By electronic ballot the majority of delegates voted in favor of the more detailed proposals listed as "A."

DISCUSSION OF MOTIONS

Before completing their morning session, the delegates were asked to vote on the various motions which had been presented to the chapter. This was not a vote for or against the motions, but a vote to decide whether the motions would be brought to the floor for discussion.

Topics of the accepted motions included (the numbers do not pertain to the actual number assigned to the motions in the chapter documents): 1) Lay Dehonians, 2) the General Aid Fund, 3) the number of delegates which should represent a small province at a chapter, 4) safeguarding historical sites of the congregation in Northern Europe, 5) petitioning the Holy See to make it possible for either cleric or lay members of the congregation to serve as local coordinators, 6) having the next General Conference focus on "Economics and the Kingdom of God," and 7) the development of a legal status for regions which do not fit current definitions.

The topics of motions which were not accepted for discussion included: 1) enhancement of Clairefontaine, 2) audits of the general administration and of provinces/regions one year prior to the General Chapter, 3) membership of provincial chapters, 4) the creation of a universal logo for the congregation, 5) fuller use of the internet, 6) petitioning the Holy See to make it possible for a province to open the position of provincial superior to all province members (cleric and lay), 7) review of the Constitutions, and 8) moving up the election of the superior general (this motion had been voted down several days earlier).

The chapter concluded its morning session early because the delegates had an audience with the Holy Father at 12:15.

AFTERNOON SESSION

The first session of the afternoon was spent in linguistic groups. Delegates discussed the upcoming straw vote for the superior general, the report of the chapter finance committee and the propositions on governmental issues.

At the start of the final plenary session of the day, Fr. Bressanelli noted that he and the general council had just held the last meeting of the administration. He thanked the council for their work, as well as the support staff, and the councilors thanked him for his leadership.

The delegates then took their first straw vote for the superior general. The votes were counted by the tellers while the linguistic groups shared their discussions on the report of the General Chapter Finance Committee.

The groups commended the committee for its work, as well as Fr. Emilio Ciarrocchi for his service as treasurer. Delegates were satisfied with the report of the committee and agreed with its recommendations. Recommendations specifically cited by the delegates included: the establishment of a solidarity fund (or a restructuring of the General Aid Fund to meet such a role); that a pre-chapter finance committee, composed of experts in the field, do the review currently done by the ad hoc financial committee of the chapter; that financial reports be simplified and standardized; and that an annual audit be done of the congregational finances.

After further comments by delegates, as well as Fr. Ciarrocchi, the chapter voted by electronic ballot to accept the financial report of the congregation as prepared by the general treasurer.

The results of the straw vote were then shared. Fr. Virginio Bressanelli received 71 of the 78 votes. In his concluding comments of the day he said that he was honored to be considered once again for the position but that the delegates should also keep in mind the skills of other SCJs.

Finally, the small groups reported very briefly on their discussions concerning governmental proposals. In particular, there were several opinions concerning the number of general councilors to be elected. It has been suggested that the number be increased to six, while many others believe that an ad hoc committee should take time to study the issue before any changes are made.

No conclusions were drawn. The topic was to be taken up again in a later session.

Mary Gorski
mgiornal@scj.org
Rome, Italy