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The Minister General visits the USA 16-23 November 1997
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Calling us to be men of passion, General Minister Giacomo Bini outlined his priorities for the Order as he visited with friars in different parts of the United Stated in November.
"We are to be passionate for the poor, crucified Christ - and for men and women who, in some way, bear the stigma of suffering and injustice," Bini said during comments following a dinner in his honor.
Friars must maintain "the ability to live and serve in a communion of love with a community of brothers - this is the first condition for a truly Franciscan way of life," he said.
The General Minister visited our Province at the Curia in New York City, at St. Pamphilus Friary in Pittsburgh, PA and at Serra Friary in McKeesport, PA. Along with General Council Sean Collins, Bini was in the United States to visit with different entities of friars here. During his one-week tour through the United States, Bini visited the Lithuanian friars in Maine, the Byzantine Custody of St. Mary of the Angels in Sybertsville, PA, some friaries of the Holy Name Province, and concluded his stay with a visit to Assumption Province in Chicago, IL
According to General Council Sean Collins, the visit to the U.S. was an opportunity to be seized by the General Minister. "Because of an unexpected window in his calendar, the Minister General was able to visit some entities in the United States," Collins said in an interview with the Newsletter. Collins said that the General Minister met with the Lithuanians to discuss the re-establishment of the Order in Lithuania in the light of their recent Provincial Chapter decision to transfer the Provincial Curia to Lithuania.
The trip also provided an opportunity to meet with Romano Almagno, General Delegate for the Byzantine Custody of St Mary of the Angels regarding that custody‰s future. "We shared in a Byzantine liturgy, and discussed with the Friars and the General Delegate the progress achieved in identifying a Province with which to amalgamate," according to Collins.
While in Chicago, the Minister had a chance to meet with Sante di Angelis, who did studies with Bini. Later they prayed with the novitiate community at Cedar Lake and had a discussion with novices and formation team.
Collins said that the tour was a whirlwind. "We were fairly tired after all that, I can tell you, but it was well worth it," he said. The General Minister in his talks, made clear his own priorities as the Order and the Church approach the coming new millennium. Bini feels the friars need to emphasize that we are men of Passion, brotherhood, open to dialogue, itinerant and mobile.
He called us to be "open to the patient, serene listening to the other," and to be "witnesses to our choice of being minors and servants." He warned against the appropriation of things, places and ministries. "We must be mobile...so that services, places and projects do not become our property...and begin to serve our ambition rather than the needs of the Gospel."
In a move telling of his style of administration, Bini said, "It is the new General Administration - all of us - which counts! That is why I have not sent out photographs of the General Minister. Rather, I have distributed photographs of the new General Administration."
Tom Washburn, OFM
Editor - Newsletter of the Immaculate Conception Province
the above information was received at our office
today Thursday, January 22, 1998
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