Fraternitas 28

N° 28 - January 1998 - Online N°1 - Communications Office - General Curia OFM - Rome

Meeting with the Friars in the Service of the Holy See

Meeting in Rome of General Visitators

The New Formula of Profession Enters into Effect

The Conference of Ministers General of the Franciscan First Order and the TOR, meeting at the OFM General Curia on 3 October, sent a letter to the Friars highlighting the value of new Formula of Profession, which enters into effect on 29 November, the anniversary of the approval of the Rule of the Friars Minor by Pope Honorius III (29 November 1223). Enclosed with this letter is an extensive commentary on the Formula, which justifies its creation and the modifications from the previous text and explains the theological and spiritual reasoning behind the new text. The Ministers General wrote, "The new Formula is meant to be even more faithful to the vision of religious life that emerges from the writings of Saint Francis". They hope that "the use of a single Formula of Profession can contribute to reinforcing the bonds of unity between our families professing the same Rule derived from divine inspiration of the heart of our Seraphic Father, so that we may pursue a common ideal of evangelical life in fraternity and minority and be witnesses of the poor humble Christ dedicated to the service of people and the world". The official translation of the text will be prepared by the Conference of Ministers Provincial together with other leaders of the Franciscan Family. (Frat.)

The minister general's commitments

3-5 January

6-8 January

12-14 January

16 January

Centenary of the Portuguese Franciscan Mission in Mozambique

17-24 January

News Notes

* Br. Scaria Varanath, 48 years old, member of the International OFM Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue, has been elected Minister Provincial of India's Province of Saint Thomas the Apostle.

* Br. Fedele Pradella, Minister Provincial of the Province of Piedmont (Italy), has been elected President of Italy's Conference of OFM Ministers Provincial.

* For some years now, the South Slav Conference of Ministers Provincial has been organising a month of preparation for solemn vows for candidates from all its Provinces. In 1997, thirty young friars (10 from the Province of Sarajevo, 7 from Zagreb, 6 from Split, 4 from Mostar, 1 from Zadar and 2 Conventuals) did their preparation in Samobor (Croatia).

* The Capuchins are preparing for a Plenary Council of the Order (CPO) to deal with the issue of evangelical poverty, especially in its community and institutional dimensions. The CPO will take place in Assisi, 7 September-1 October, 1998.

* The Province of St. John the Baptist (USA) is preparing a meeting of all the Province at the University of Dayton. The theme of the Assembly is: "New land...new Spirit", according to Ez 36,26. The encounter will be held 1-5 June, 1998.

* Nazareth, until last century a small mountain farming village in Galilee, has been made famous by the Friars and pilgrims. Today, it is a city of more than 60,000 inhabitants, the administrative capital of Galilee and, by a unanimous vote of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism's Commission for the Jubilee, the banner city of the Year 2000 (alongside Jerusalem).

* There are more than 400 professed OFS in Kenya: there are 30 communities in 7 dioceses. There were 30 novices in 1997. Since 1995, the tertiaries publish a newsletter entitled "Toba".

* La Personalità e la spiritualità di P. Alessio Benigar, OFM (The Personality and Spirituality of Fr. Alessio Benigar, OFM) is the title of a book published by Ed. Quasar, Rome, 210 pp. The volume contains the minutes of an encounter held at the Pontifical Athenaeum Antonianum in February, 1996. It contains articles by over twenty scholars on Fr. Benigar (1893-1988), a missionary in China (1924-1954) who went on to become the spiritual father of the Antonianum.

* Br. Nazareno Fabbretti of the Province of Genoa has passed away at the age of 77. Br. Nazareno, journalist and writer, was a friend of Papini, Ungaretti, Pasolini and many other writers and poets. Some of his books were: Nessuno (No one); Piccola Apocalisse (Little Apocalypse); Francesco, fratello of tutti (Francis, Everyone's Brother); La preghiera della Cicala (The Prayer of the Cicada), Servi inutili (Useless Servants) on priests and Caro Uomo (Dear Man), containing letters from animals.

* Br. Norman Perry of the Province of St. John the Baptist (USA) has been presented the "Astrolabe 1997" Award by the Alumni Association of Roger Bacon High School. Br. Perry is the editor of "St Anthony Messenger" magazine.

* The annual assembly of the Francophone Franciscan Family of Canada met in Drummondville from 23-25 September on the theme: "Religious Pluralism: Getting Used to Our Differences". At the meeting, Br. Michel Boyer of the Province of St. Joseph was elected President of the Francophone Franciscan Family of Canada.

* On the invitation of Cardinal Arinze, Br. François Paquette presented the conclusions of the International OFM Commission for Relations with Islam's last meeting (held in Sarajevo) at the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

Youth Suicide Prevention
The Office for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation of the Province of St. John the Baptist (USA) has sponsored a seminar on the serious problem of suicide among children aged 10-14 organised by the Women and Children's Commission of the Community of Cincinnati. In the past 15 years, suicide among youth has risen 120% in the United States. This seminar saw the participation of parents of children who have committed suicide, who gave their real life experiences, and experts, who gave an overview of the situation from a health and educational perspective. The seminar stressed the need to highlight this problem and develop strategies for prevention and education. (Frat.)

Course on Justice & Peace
The Conference of Friars Minor of Brazil (CFMB, composed of 11 entities) organised its first course of formation in the area of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. The course, held in Belo Horizonte from 14-29 August 1997, aimed at deepening awareness of this sector of work through the documents of the Order, the Bible, Franciscanism, the post-modern vision of the world and the experience of participants. The CFMB has decided to continue this line of formation in the near future in the hope of forming and creating the basis for a "culture of hope and solidarity" spoken of in the concluding document of General Chapter of 1997. The second edition of this course has already been planned for 1998. (Frat.)

Defender of Society's Excluded Ones
Br. Anastacio Ribeiro of the Province of Saint Anthony (Brazil) and co-ordinator of the Archdiocese of Paraíba's Pastoral Land Commission, was arrested in November 1995 charged with being a subversive and was sentenced to six years in prison. In October 1996, the sentence was annulled. Now, Br. Anastacio has been arrested once again along with members of his pastoral team. His Archbishop, Msgr. Marcelo Pinto Carvalheira, has written a letter to the General Curia: "I am writing to the General Curia of the Franciscan Friars in Rome to affirm that I am in complete agreement with what was stated last 25 September by Msgr. Tomás Balduíno, Bishop of Goiás and President of the Pastoral Land Commission - an institution associated with Brazil's National Conference of Bishops (CNBB). It is obvious that the current attempt to criminalize Br. Anastacio Ribeiro is an attack on the Pastoral Land Commission's activities in defence and support of the struggle of workers to enjoy their right to land, which provides them with work and the essentials they need to lead a life of dignity with their families." "The Archdiocese of Paraíba holds Br. Anastacio to be a bastion defending those who live and work in the fields, the most excluded in our society. We have always supported and given our constant solidarity at every moment in his struggle with his co-workers, either in the fields or in the courts. His life witness, faithful to his religious vows and completely committed to those who are suffering, is an example for all our Church's clergy, religious and lay people." (Frat.)

HOLY LAND - The Great Jubilee in the Diocese of Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Msgr. Michel Sabbah, has written a Pastoral Letter on the spiritual itinerary of his Diocese as it nears the Great Jubilee. "The Church of Jerusalem, with its four families, Catholic, Greek-Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox (Armenian, Coptic and Syrian) and Protestant, is preparing for this great event. The municipal authorities of Bethlehem and Nazareth are also taking initiatives in this context. The governments of our countries, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Cyprus, have created structures to assess the progress of preparations and to which they can channel their contributions".
Franciscan Activity
After stressing that "the Jubilee is above all a religious and Church event with universal human significance", the Patriarch, speaking of Jubilee preparations, referred to the work of the Franciscans: "In the Diocese, the Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land have already begun a range of activities to prepare for the expereince of this event and allow the Diocese to welcome the Churches of the world on their pilgrimage to the holy places".
The communion of all Churches
The Pastoral Letter emphasises that the Church of Jerusalem, our Mother Church, has the special duty to work towards the communion of all the Churches, and even more so on this great occasion, the Great Jubilee. Praying for the communion among the different Churches here in Jerusalem is one way of preparing for this. If a formal union still seems far-off, the union of hearts and prayer supported by Jesus' own grace are most definitely in the realm of the possible."
Peace and human dignity
A large section of the Letter deals with the problem of peace in the Holy Land: "Let us remind our leaders that peace can only be the fruit of the respect for human dignity. As long as human dignity is ignored or trampled underfoot, peace will move further out of our reach. It will not be achieved as long as this occurs. Civil authorities are preparing to welcome pilgrims from all over the world. We thank them for their efforts, but remind them that it is also necessary to embrace the sons and daughters of this land, during the Jubilee as well as every day, and lift political and military blockade of the Territories, which has become an obstacle to their freedom of religious worship and of access to the holy places and to the expression of their faith and their communion with the other local Christian communities". (Frat.)

ECUADOR - The Franciscans and the Galapagos Archipelago
The Apostolic Prefecture of the Galapagos has been under the care of the Province of Saint Francis of Quito (Ecuador) since 1950. This Prefecture extends over the entire group of volcanic islands that have a surface area of 8,010 km², (13 large islands, 17 smaller ones and 47 islets). Since 1978, this archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean (1,500 km from the South American continent) has been one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. There are 11,000 inhabitants (98% from continental Ecuador and 2% foreigners, mostly German). The islands' principal resource is tourism. The Apostolic Prefecture is formed by the Apostolic Prefect, Msgr. Br. Manuel Valarezo Luzuriaga, (Prefect since June 1990 and Bishop since April 1996), and by three Franciscan priests, two brothers, 6 sisters and 4 lay missionaries. The Prefect's seat is on the island of San Cristobal, which is one of the group's most populous (4,100 inhabitants). There the Franciscans run a Catholic school, a radio station and a small television network that broadcasts programmes from continental channels, Biblical transmissions, religious music, Mass, the Rosary and popular novenas. Franciscans are the parish priests on the island of Santa Cruz (pop. 5,900) and on Isabella Island, one of the largest in terms of area but also one of the most sparsely populated (pop. 950). The other islands are visited by the Friars at least twice a year. On the islands of Santa Cruz and Isabella, the Friars have a school and small radio station. The islands were visited by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1835 and it was here that he took the inspiration for his theory on the evolution of the species. (Frat.)

ITALY - Regional Inter-Franciscan Study
After years of research on the need to set up a regional Inter-Franciscan study programme, the six Provinces of the Franciscan Family of Campania & Lucania (Italy) of the three branches of the First Order (OFM: Sacred Heart of Naples, Immaculate Conception of Salerno, Saint Mary of the Graces of Benevento; OFMcap: Prov. of Naples and Prov. of Salerno-Basilicata; OFMconv: Prov. of Naples), have created the "Studio Franciscano Interfamiliare Campano-lucano" to guarantee their candidates for religious life adequate opportunities for growth within their charism and mission. The philosophical-theological programme offered at the Monastery of Sant'Angelo in Palco di Nola, was inaugurated on 13 November with the participation of the OFM Minister General, Br. Giacomo Bini. (Frat)

EASTERN EUROPE - Franciscanism in slavic countries
From 6-8 October 1997, the Minister Provincials of the South Slavic and West Slavic Conferences celebrated their second Assembly in Zakopane and Krakow, Poland. The themes dealt with at the encounter were: evangelization in Post-Communist Countries; the role of the Slav Provinces in the 'implantatio Ordinis' of eastern Europe and northern Asia; the collaboration between the two Conferences, in particular in the area of formation; the implementation of the General Chapter document in Slavic countries. This meeting had among its participants Br. Kapistran Martzall, General Definitor and Br. Emanuel Hosko, the former General Definitor.

GENERAL GURIA - General Visitators
* Br. Onofre Nuñez Azpilicueta
(Province of Granada) - for the Province of Portugal and for the Foundation of Guinea-Bissau.
* Br. Silvester Neichel
(Province of Thuringia) - for the Province of Innsbruck (Austria)
* Br. Anselmo Díaz Rodríguez
(Province of the 12 Apostles - Perù) - for the Custody of Venezuela
* Br. Emanuel Hosko
(Province of S. Cyril and Methodius Croatia) - for the Province of Slovenia
* Br. Slavko Soldo
(Assumption Province Bosnia-Herzegovina) - for the Slovenian Friars in the USA
* Br. Steven Bliss
(Holy Spirit Province - Australia) - for the Slovenian Friars in Australia
* Br. Marek Wach
(Province of S. M. of the Angels - Poland) - for the Assumption Province - Poland
* Br. Nicolas Zumalde
(of the General Curia) - for the Vice-Province of the Holy Family (Egypt)

GENERAL GURIA - Changes
* Br. Luigi Perugini of the Province of the Marches (Italy), Director of the Communications Office, has been named Vicarius Domus of the Curia by the General Definitorium.
* Br. Jimmy Zammit, of the Province of Malta, has been nominated General Economo of the Order as from January 1st 1998.

We would like to welcome
* Br. Alfredo Vega of the Province of Saints Peter and Paul (Mexico), who will be assistant Archivist and Librarian.
* Br. Juan R. Rovegno of the Province of the Holy Trinity (Chile), who will serve as Vice Postulator General.

4th Centenary of the Georgian Martyrs
The Franciscans of United States have celebrated the fourth centenary of the martyrs of the state of Georgia. The five Spanish Friars -- Pedro de Corpa, Blas de Rodríguez, Miguel de Añon, Antonio de Badajoz and Francisco de Berascola -- were killed in southern Georgia between 13-17 September 1597 for defending the Church's teaching on the sanctity of matrimony. The Bishop of Savannah, Msgr. Raymond Lessard, opened the cause for their canonisation on 22 February 1984. Br. Conrad Harkins of Holy Name Province, Vice-Postulator of the cause, during the commemoration of the friars' martyrdom, said: "By honouring them, we would like to honour the Guale Indians, who gave a burial to the remains of Br. Miguel de Añon and Br. Antonio de Badajoz, and the thousands of Indians of Florida and Georgia who, after the deaths of the Franciscans, were baptised, confirmed, married, given tha last rites and buried in the first Catholic parishes of Georgia and Florida". The five Friars were killed by the Guale Indians. (Frat.)

The Minister general's reflection
"The contemplative dimension is the foundation and the "raison d'être" of our Franciscan life. It is not a choice among so many others, but is a case of responding "yes" or "no" to the Lord who is calling us. It is a response of faith that must be deepened on a daily basis; it is a freely chosen reply ("if you wish"), that is at once demanding ("leave everything behind") and specific ("they left everything behind and followed him"). It means continuing to witness the memory of our initial generosity, accepting Saint Clare's invitation to overcome our apathy and the false certainties that block our path of conversion, to re-discover the joy of the gift of belonging to Christ with our brothers and sisters in the service of the Kingdom of God. Without this determined individual and group response to Christ, talk of fraternity, evangelization and formation remains a discourse without foundation, and without heart -- We will have great difficulty in changing our future. A life of faith, like our vocation, is a daily search and union that must be constantly renewed and not a definitive conquest."
Letter to a Provincial Chapter

ROMAN CURIA
* The Holy Father has nominated Br. Guido Zegarra, President of Latin America's Conference of Religious (CLAR) and President of the "Bolivariana" Franciscan Conference as a guest listener at the Synod of Bishops' Special Assembly for America.
* The Holy Father appointed as Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Maputo, Mozambique, Fr. Adriano Langa, the Order's Definitor General for Africa.

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