General Chapter -- 13th English Report

The following is a summary of the activities of the 20th General Chapter on Saturday, May 31. Those reading these summaries are reminded that the chapter maintains a web page at: http://www.scj.org

Also, since this is the first time that the congregation has used the internet for communication on a General Chapter, the administration welcomes comments and opinions on both the e-mail reports and the web page. These comments should be sent to Fr. Tom Cassidy at: tomc@scj.org

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The morning began with a prayer, prepared by the North Italian Province, for the upcoming election. Following that, the minutes from Friday were read and approved.

As reported earlier, the main event of the day was the election of the superior general. However, before a vote was taken, the chapter spent about an hour discussing governmental issues.

One of the proposals made by the synthesis group for governance was: "The number of councilors will be determined by the chapter after having changed n. 130 of the Constitutions by adding the term 'saltem": 'The General Council shall be composed of *at least* four councilors..."

>From the synthesis report, the Steering Committee wrote two proposals for modifying the Rule of Life concerning the number of general councilors. Constitution No. 130a would be modified to include "at least":

"The General Council consists of *at least* four councilors elected by the General Chapter according to the norms and methods established by the General Directory of the Congregation."

This phrasing, suggests one of the delegates, allows the chapter to select more than four general councilors, but it does not bind them to a larger number for each administration. The chapter voted electronically to approve the modification of 130a.

The delegates were then presented with a proposal to add the following sentence after the first paragraph in DG 130.1 (General Directory): "Before proceeding to elect, the General Chapter shall determine the number of councilors necessary for the six-year term." It was explained that the General Directory must be changed because the Constitution was changed. It makes more clear the statement the chapter just voted on concerning Constitution No. 130a. It expresses the freedom that the chapter has to adapt the number of general councilors to the needs of the congregation.

By electronic ballot the chapter voted in favor of the addition to the General Directory.

Following the two votes, the chapter took time to discuss how many general councilors the congregation should have for the next six-year term. Comments varied widely, but the majority of delegates who spoke were in favor of increasing the number of general councilors from four to six. One delegate said that the tasks of the general councilors should be discussed before a number is set. Will the chapter be asking more of the councilors? Will they be heading commissions as was suggested earlier?

However, another delegate noted that even if the tasks of the councilors remain at their current level, more councilors are needed, especially if the congregation is asking them to be more present on the local level.

"Our numbers are smaller, but the congregation is more complex than it was years ago," said a delegate. "We have fewer people, yet we are growing geographically." Councilors are responsible for many more areas than they were in the past.

It was suggested that a straw vote be taken to determine whether the chapter was ready to make a deliberate vote on increasing the number of general councilors, for the next administration, to six. The majority was in favor of making a deliberative vote.

By electronic ballot, the chapter then voted on whether the next administration should be composed of six councilors. The proposal received the necessary votes for acceptance.

ELECTION OF SUPERIOR GENERAL

Fr. Bressanelli made a few remarks before the election took place. He again expressed his gratitude to the council and curia staff for their work and support during the past six years. And, he thanked the congregation. "I was struck by... I marveled at the support I received as superior general," he said. If the shoe were on the other foot and Fr. Bressanelli had not been superior general, he said that he was "unsure as to whether I would have been capable of showing the same sense of support as others gave to me as superior general... I always felt the Lord at my side in the people around me."

Following his comments, the chapter voted. As is required, each ballot was read before the delegates. As Fr. Bressanelli's name was repeated over and over, it soon became clear that he would be re-elected to a second, six-year term. Of the 78 ballots cast, 75 were for Fr. Virginio Bressanelli.

In accepting his re-election, Fr. Bressanelli said that being superior general is simply a "service for the congregation. It's not an honor, not an extraordinary burden -- others work harder than I do -- this is a service." He concluded the session by asking the delegates to take time to prayerfully reflect over the weekend about what type of representation they would like to have on the next council. "Rest, but prepare well for our work of the last week."

Delegates, members of the Roma I community and others joined in a special liturgy to commemorate the election of the superior general.

Mary Gorski
mgiornal@scj.org
Rome, Italy