THE MINISTER PROVINCIAL: AUTHORITY AND LEADERSHIP


General Curia- Rome - 24.01.2001
Br Seán Collins, ofm General Definitor

 

1- LEADERSHIP IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
All Christian discipleship is an "obedience of faith" (Rom 1:5) - this signifies the commitment of all Christians to pattern their lives after the Gospel. Fidelity to this commitment is promoted, sustained and made communal by the ministry of Word and Sacrament, whose continuity in the community is ensured by the ministry of the ordained. To this "ministerial authority" entrusted to the ordained for the service of the baptized, we can add the "authority of example" wielded by baptized Christians whose lives "endorse the Gospel" (ARCIC I on Authority). Christians in face "upbuild" [oikodoméo] each other through their faithful discipleship.

2 - LEADERSHIP IN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS
The function of the leader in any human community is to unify the members in pursuit of their common goal. A religious community is a volunteer group of adults who have freely chosen to strive together for a religious goal. They make corporate commitments which bind them together, and hold themselves accountable to the group for delivering on these commitments.


A study on the future of religious life (Nygren-Ukaritis) profiles four types of leader:

  1. The value-based leader, who has a strong sense of the core values of the institute, but hasn't the ability to translate this intuition into strategies for renewal;

  2. The visionary leader, who is also imbued with the charismatic values of the institute, but in addition has the ability to project them into the future and to articulate and 'sell' strategies for their enhanced incorporation into the life of the members;

  3. The conflicted leader, who loves his institute but cannot deal with (much less manage) change: he tends to lament the glories of the past and bemoan the present laxness, worldliness and laziness of the members - but has no idea how that could change;

  4. The incognizant leader, living in cloud-cuckoo land, who sees no problems at all and thinks everything is just fine. He has no idea of the grave challenges facing his institute.

While these categories were designed chiefly for "apostolic religious" they can be useful for us also. Type 1 is quite frequent: he knows the Sources and is eloquent on Francis - but can't translate this into a project for his province. Type 3 is less frequent, but not unknown - e.g. wringing his hands over the lack of poverty in the province, but incapable of tackling the problem. I don't think we have Type 4 - one would need to be quite spectacularly obtuse not to see that we've got problems! Type 2 is an ideal leader, who "knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way". To paraphrase Francis on Juniper, "would that we had a whole forest of Type 2s"!

3 - LEADERSHIP IN OUR BROTHERHOOD
Francis was convinced that "the Most High himself revealed to me that I should live according to the form of the holy Gospel" (Test 14). As a group we don't have a specific diakonia in the Church: our identity, role and contribution to the ecclesial community is simply living the forma sancti evangelii. Authority among us is a service which animates and enhances this Gospel life, discerning concrete forms which it may take today. This "enhancing authority" has, on balance, been exercised more frequently in our history by holy brothers whose lives challenged and energized the Order than by those elected or appointed to positions of authority. When sanctity and office coincide there is of course an immense benefit to the Order.

The Minister General has spoken of the spiritual profile of the minister. I want to focus on some key areas where the leadership of the minister is vital. They are areas regarding which the Rule entrusts the minister with special responsibility; if he provides good leadership in these areas, the Province can be renewed.

It is of course crucial that the minister accept that his responsibility is to the forma sancti evangelii, the Gospel project to which we committed ourselves at profession. He is not primarily a manager or an administrator.

4 - KEY AREAS OF LEADERSHIP

Candidates and Formation
The Rule is explicit about the responsibility of the Minister for verifying the suitability of candidates to our brotherhood (Reg 2:2-3). The earlier Rule stresses that the minister must "diligently set forth for [the candidate] the tenor of our life" - tenor vitae nostrae (RegNB 2:3) - our charismatic identity. This is supremely important. If candidates with a "religious vocation" see us as interchangeable with the Redemptorists or the Salesians, then our identity is compromised. Only those passionate about our Gospel life should be accepted - which isn't easy when numbers are dwindling. But ten friars fired with Francis' vision are worth more than a hundred who just drift along.

  • Genuine candidates must be accompanied by mature friars who love our life - the leader must see to it that there are sufficient formators and that they are free for the task.

  • Ultimate responsibility for formation falls to the minister (GgCc 138): the future of our forma vitae is at stake here.

Being with the Friars
The chief duty of the minister is "to visit and counsel his brothers, and correct them humbly and lovingly" (Reg 10:1). His chief concern is with their Gospel project. The minister's service is not so much "epi-skopé" ("super-vision") as "washing feet" - which is done by one to one. The instance of this fraternal ministry mentioned in the Rule, the case of the brother who finds himself in circumstances where he can't live the Rule spiritually, makes clear that the integrity and quality of living the Gospel is paramount (Reg 10:4-5; cf. RegNB 6:2). .

  • Obedience to the way of life to which God has called us makes us all responsible for each other - see RegNB 5:3-6, where all strive together for "rectitudo vitae nostrae".

  • The minister must know the brothers well. He should share prayer, work, recreation, chapters, etc. with the fraternities. His example will speak louder than his exhortations.

  • He must be impartial, and never become the pawn - worse still, the leader - of a faction.

  • His availability needs to be planned. If he hasn't time for his own prayer and Lectio Divina, and adequate relaxation, he will be useless to the brothers. Francis advised a systematic allotment of time for himself and for the brothers (cf. 2Cel 185.187). This will ensure that the brothers will find him serene and cheerful, and not liable to irritation or outbursts. He will be able to act in the spirit of the Letter to a Minister (not always easy!).


Collaborative animation of the Province
Our system gives no say to the minister in choosing his Vicar and Definitory, so it is vital that he make it his first task to build fraternity within the leadership team. They need to spend quality time together, to get to know each other, to engage in faith-sharing and scripture-sharing together, to find a common vision of our life and ministries. Time spend on this will pay dividends in practical ways later.

  • The Guardians are the Definitory's co-workers, and "it is on their shoulders that the greatest amount of concrete responsibility rests for what happens or does not happen in the Order" (Constantine Koser, As I see the Order [1973], no. 84). They should meet with the Definitory regularly so that a unified thrust of animation pervades the Province.

  • Σ The ongoing formation team has an essential role to play in renewing the friars, and it must have the unconditional support and involvement of the minister.

  • Σ The minister should be aware of trends in the Church and in the world. He should read widely and discriminatingly (since there is an information glut nowadays, and if you allow yourself to be bombarded with too much information - which is not the same as knowledge - action can be inhibited), and process information in a reflective and critical way. He should be in touch with resource people.

Encouragement of itinerancy and mission
The minister is allowed no discretion in the case of those called to leave home and country to spread the Gospel, beyond establishing their suitability (Reg 12:1-2; cf. RegNB 16:1-4). He can't plead the "needs of the Province" as a reason for stifling the Spirit. He should have a similar openness towards brothers who are called to new forms of living the Gospel and being present in the world (cf. Giacomo Bini, The Order Today [2000] passim). There must of course be discernment, accompaniment and evaluation - in an encouraging manner.

Responsibility for the Order worldwide Collaboration with neighboring Provinces should be normal and constant. Our particular history (Leonine Union, etc.) has made us jealous of our provincial identity and quasi-autonomy, and we need to correct this imbalance. The minister is the key person here. The ministers are, together, responsible for the Order, especially through the General Chapter. They must work, together with the Minister General and Definitory, to animate the worldwide fraternity. It is important that they have a knowledge of the whole Order. We feel that the annual gathering of Ministers and Custodes which we have initiated can help this sharing of animation and revitalization. We hope that at the end of the week you will agree!


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