General Chapter -- 7th English Report

The following is a summary of the activities of the 20th General Chapter on Thursday, May 22 and Friday, May 23. Those reading these summaries are reminded that the chapter also maintains a web page at: http://www.scj.org

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Thursday began with morning prayer and the approval of the minutes from the previous day's meeting. The chapter then continued its dialogue with the General Administration, which was begun during the final session of Wednesday's meetings.

A delegate reflected on globalization and the proposed Global Strategy. He is concerned that in developing a Global Strategy, the SCJs are merely responding to the world instead of actually being in dialogue with it. As the world challenges the congregation, he said, the congregation must also challenge the world.

Another delegate echoed statements made in the previous session regarding "We the Congregation." "How do we go beyond ourselves and our provinces to the 'We' of we the congregation," he said. Responding to that, another delegate spoke of the hesitation and insecurity that comes about when people speak in new terminology about new ideas. Perhaps another approach would be to simply speak of the values the congregation needs in order to move closer to the needs of the world.

"I think we easily get stuck in particulars," said Fr. Peter McKenna. "I got excited and energized when I heard the general speak about this (Global Plan) and I am beginning to see myself now not just as an SCJ who ministers in Canada, but as an SCJ who ministers in the world."

Another delegate, noting that he is very much in favor of developing a better sense of "internationality" in the congregation, questioned what the purpose of "We the Congregation" is. "We run great parishes, schools and social works but what are we doing to change social structures?" he asked. "Are we simply maintaining the church 'as usual?'"

Some thought that the term "globalization" or the concept of a "Global Strategy" was too ambiguous.

Fr. Bressanelli concluded the session with his own reflections. He said that the reason for developing a "Global Strategy" was so that the congregation could "travel the path together." How the general administration functions will be defined by the path the chapter decides to follow. How will the congregation live out the spirituality inherited from Fr. Dehon, how will it do that together and how will its general administration facilitate that path?

FINANCIAL REPORT AND DISCUSSIONS
The remainder of the sessions for Thursday and Friday focused on the Financial Report and discussion of financial procedures.

Fr. Emilio Ciarrocchi, general treasurer, presented the financial statements of the provinces and of the curia, and then spoke about and answered questions on several projects and issues concerning finances.

He discussed the investments of the General Curia, noting it has its investments split between the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Italy. The desires of the congregation regarding their investments have been shared with those who maintain them (the SCJs do not want to invest in companies such as weapons manufacturers or in organizations with unjust labor policies).

Another area which the treasurer discussed concerned real estate. Several pieces of property were sold during this administration, including Basel House in Switzerland, the Manzoni Theater in Bologna, a small piece of land adjacent to the Generalate, and the Fribourg House in Switzerland. Each piece of property was sold either within the congregation or to another church organization, as was the preference of the General Administration. All of the proceeds of these sales went toward the cost of renovating the Generalate.

Fr. Ciarrocchi then discussed the Generalate's renovation. The building was opened in 1953 and with the exception of the area occupied by the Generalate offices, no remodelling had been done to the building since its erection. In recent years, it became apparent that the building was inadequately suited for its present use. A previous General Administration devised a plan which included selling the current property and building a new Generalate that would be better suited to the congregation's needs. That plan was presented at the 1985 provincial superiors meeting but rejected. Unable to sell the property, said Fr. Ciarrocchi, the administration had no choice other than to renovate. At the 1991 General Chapter, the following proposal was passed:

"The Chapter assembly reaffirms the present purposes of the house and, by special vote, charges the General Council with the task of studying all the aspects of the question (a committee of experts, financing, renovation, building from scratch, etc.) and taking the decision it considers most suitable, keeping in mind the suggestions that have emerged at this Chapter and at other meetings."

Given this mandate, the Generalate had renovation plans drawn up on the basis of the uses to which the house was to be put: study, permanent formation, international meetings, etc. In February, 1995, the superior general and his council approved the plans for renovation and the $8.1 million (US) estimate of its cost.

Provincials at their meeting in Foligno were asked to contribute to the renovation and each province donated to the work. Now the renovation is close to completion. As do most major projects, it has taken longer than planned and gone over budget. However, the Generalate plans on covering the extra costs from its own resources. Once the renovation is completed, parts of the building will be able to be rented out, thus future income is anticipated.

Concerning the financial statements, Fr. Ciarrocchi said that "As religious working together in chapter we cannot limit ourselves to a simple reading of this statement, of these numbers. We must look toward the future. We must envision how to use these temporal goods to the benefit of the congregation and the church."

He spoke of the difficulties in comparing financial sheets from different provinces, presented in different currencies. "For the sake of convenience, all of the congregation's balance sheets are converted into U.S. dollars at the end of each year."

He also said that to interpret a financial statement, one needs background on it. "If we have no knowledge of the socio-economic-political situation in a province or the country in which it is situated (rate of inflation, activities and problems) the numbers can mean everything and nothing," he said. To help address this, Fr. Ciarrocchi, in consultation with the general administration and the General Finance Commission, had several proposals, including: 1) that the provincials or provincial delegates accompany their statements to the General Chapter with brief reports to be agreed upon (but not written) at the Provincial Chapters, 2) that the General Finance Commission give indications on formatting financial statements, 3) and that the General Chapter not approve financial statements, but use them as tools for planning because they do not offer enough information on which to formulate a judgement. "I feel that it is very difficult to assess a financial statement on the basis of a few figures," said the treasurer.

These and other proposals were discussed during the linguistic meetings on Thursday afternoon. The results of these discussions were shared after morning prayer and the approval of the minutes on Friday morning. Topics that arose in the groups were various and a general discussion on finances was continued during Friday's plenary sessions.

Issues which arose during Friday's dialogue included: audits (several provinces have outside agencies audit their books and it was suggested that the Generalate do the same), the General Aid Fund (it has been suggested that a "solidarity fund" be established to handle the needs that the GAF cannot -- all provinces would be expected to give to the fund), using the experience of established provinces in helping younger ones avoid past financial mistakes, and promoting the financial self-sufficiency of provinces.

On Friday, the chapter also took a vote to determine who the three delegates would be who would review the financial statements, as required in the chapter bylaws. The linguistic groups had each submitted a name and these names were then presented to the chapter. The three delegates who received the highest number of votes were: Br. Jorge Torres Santibañez, Fr. Jack Kurps and Fr. Wieslaw Swiech.

On Friday afternoon, the delegates had only one session -- their linguistic group meetings. Delegates were to articulate their hopes and concerns regarding the Global Strategy.

The chapter will not gather again until Monday morning. On Saturday, the delegates have a trip to Assisi planned and Sunday is a free day.

Mary Gorski
mgiornal@scj.org
Rome, Italy