In Taubaté, at our Scholasticate, a program in the Church's Social Teaching took place from January 5 to 24. Among the SCJ speakers and instructors were the following: Frs. Lotívio Finger, Paulo Hülse, Nestor Eckert, and Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva, general councilor. Besides presentations there were visits to a number of works: prison ministry at São José dos Campos, the Franciscan work of Fr. Hans for drug addicts and AIDS victims, and a "Sem Terra" encampment. The last is a Brazilian agrarian movement seeking reform for uncultivated lands.
Los Teques was the scene of the regional assembly for Venezuela at Sacred Heart House from the 12th to the 15th of January, 1998. The initial part was dedicated to study. "Modern Times and Capitalism" was the topic of Fr. Joaquín Imaz, Fr. Jesús García spoke about 'globalization', and Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva, general councilor, treated "We, the Congregation: In Service to the Mission".SCJ Regional Assembly 17/01/98 The regional superior gave his three year report which was looked at in small groups; the same procedure was repeated with the financial report for the region. It appeared that the goal of financial self-sufficiency is still some way off. On the last day, the new administration took office and the current Regional Treasurer was reconfirmed in office.
There are reasons for great hope with one novice, five philosophy and five theology students all in Caracas.
The General Councilor. Fr. Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva visited our new SCJ foundation in Ecuador. He found the area greatly devastated by the "El Niño" phenomenon. Many people have lost their homes and property; our own confreres had to move due to floods. At present they are much closer to St. George church, from which the new Sacred Heart parish confided to SCJs will take its origins.The parish currently enjoys good physical structures, with community chapels built and in good shape even if simple and poorly endowed as are the people among which they are found. What needs to be done is to build the new parish church, the rectory, and the support buildings for which land has already been purchased.
The SCJs are greatly appreciated by the native people. The local press, the "Catholic Radio of Manabí", and the newspaper "Nuevo Globo" all announced the visit of the General Councilor who was received, besides, by the Archbishop and the auxiliary bishop: their meeting dealt with certain topics of common interest.
Particularly significant in all this welcoming was an invitation from the leadership of the "Colégio Nacional Eloy Alfaro" to our SCJ confreres to participate in the concluding events of the 1997 school year. This school is the old "Liceo Mercantil" from which our SCJs were expelled one hundred years ago. This gesture was intended as a sign of reconciliation and sympathy.
Baha Carquez with p. Ramon Soriano (HI
) and the parish church of St. George in
the background.
An election assembly was held at Limache (Chile) from January 26 to 30. One day was spent in reflection on the topic "Fraternal Life in Community" followed by an explanation and analysis of the provincials' report.The assembly elected a new provincial administration: Fr. Teodoro Borst is provincial; his councilors are: Frs. Raúl Hogervorst, Leonardo Marrewijk, Jaime Sanchez, and Br. Jorge Torres. Fr. Gerardo Strijbosch was elected provincial treasurer.
The Ancud project is making progress; it is a missionary presence on the island of Chiloé in the southern part of Chile. Four men are working there at present.
Better service to the local church is the constant objective of the province which is also making great efforts at vocations ministry and in initial formation. The province has five religious at this stage of formation.
Maciel was the scene of the AU assembly between February 16 and 20, 1998. The first day was a day of retreat. Fr. Juan Domingo Griffone, missionary to the Philippines from the province. Afterwards a report on the province was given and studied. Topics dealt with by the members were: aging, need to fortify community life without weakening pastoral activity, and an examination of the works.The assembly also dealt with other topics: these included vocational ministry to be taken beyond the parishes but with clear explanations; initial formation; conducting novitiate after the philosophy courses; creation of native formation communities; how to improve the perseverance of young religious; ongoing formation and a clearer understanding of a 'sabbatical year'.
With regard to our presence in Uruguay, the process of raising it to a region is well underway even if the problem of lack of personnel persists. The assembly also treated the AU presence in the Philippines: the number of missionaries and their replacement.
It was felt important to make our presence felt in social communications, by establishing an ad hoc commission for the task. The topic of the Dehonian Family was also dealt with; what was sought was more information about its activities and the manner in which lay Dehonians live our the charism.
Fr. Carlos Alberto, General Councilor, presented the topic: "We, the Congregation: In Service to the Mission" and Fr. Leonardo Cappelluti presented the topic: "Church Communion: charisms and ministries". The Provincial Treasurer also presented the financial report.
Provincials of the three provinces, AU, BM, and BS, took advantage of the first profession of eight novices (2 AU, 2 CH, 1 BM, 3 BS) on 16 February 1998 to lay out a calendar for the current year.Among the decisions made were:
*the suspension of the Latin American provincials meeting scheduled for the coming May and rescheduling it for October on the occasion of the Provincial and Regional Superiors in Rome;
*the establishment of the steps that need to be taken in the next few months to prepare the "Seminar on Inculturation of the Dehonian Charism" planned by the AU Spirituality Commission for November, 2000, and the Young Religious Gathering scheduled by the BM Spirituality Commission for 2002;
*an evaluation at the Rome meeting of the interprovince Latin-American novitiate at Maciel in 1997 and the formation directors' meeting held in Recife this past January.
The provincials also exchanged ideas on life in their provinces and on the new SCJ presence in Ecuador; they commented on the help afforded by the presence of General Councilors at important occasions in the life of a province and on criteria for additional visits; they also spoke about the problem of lay Dehonians and the difficulty of having them fully accepted by the provinces.
