SUPERIORE GENERALE

 
CONGREGAZIONE DEI SACERDOTI

         DEL SACRO CUORE DI GESÙ

                            ________

 

Rome, 2 June 2004

 

Prot. N. 190/2004

 

 

Communique No. 1

 

 News on the Activities of the General Administration

 

 

Dear brothers,

A year has past since the last General Chapter, during which the Superior General has already completed a number of visits to various parts of the Congregation:

- The District of India during the month of September 2003,

- The Province of the Congo during the months of December 2003 through January 2004,

- The District of the Philippines during the month of February 2004,

- The Province of Indonesia during the month of March 2004.
 

The Councilors as well have made visits to various provinces, regions and districts in the geographic zones committed to their care to make their first contacts with the entities that they are expected to accompany.
 

According to what has already been established in the planning letter for the six-year term 2003-2009, the General Administration will come together in Rome for two periods during the course of the year (April-May and October-November).
 

Now before the departure of the Superior General for his visits to the provinces of South Africa, Mozambique and the British-Irish Province, and of the General Councilors to their respective zones, we want to give you some news and make you aware of decisions taken by the Superior General and his Council during the last two months of their stay in Rome.
 

 

1. Nomination of Collaborators of the General Curia and the International College
 

The Superior General after consultation with the interested parties and after having sought the views of his Council has made the following nominations:
 

   Fr. André Perroux:  re-nominated as a member of the Centro Studi for another three years;

   Fr. Evaristo Martinez de Alegría:  re-nominated as Postulator General for the next three years;

   Father Gonzalo Arnáiz Álvarez:  nominated for three years as the person in charge of the Sector of Formation and Communication;

   Fr. Giuseppe Tenaglia:  nominated as an Assistant to the General Treasurer for the period of one year;

   Fr. Luigi Mostarda:  nominated as Local Superior of the Community of Rome II for a first three-year term beginning on the 8th of May 2004.

   Br. Abbondio Riva:  re-nominated to carry on services in the Generalate for a three-year term;

    Br. Antonius Sudarono:  re-nominated to fulfill certain services in the Generalate for a three-year term;

    Br. Marek Skorski:  his mandate as Local Treasurer of the Community of Rome II is prolonged to the 30th of June 2005.

 

2. The Question of the 5th General Councilor

 
A consultation for the nomination of the 5th General Councilor has been completed.  Nineteen responses were returned.  Given the persons most frequently suggested for that task   have difficulty in accepting and given the suggestion not to have any person named made by several provinces, we have decided to deal with this problem during the next meeting of the major superiors which will take place this coming October 2004, and afterwards we will make a decision on the matter.

 
 

3. The Project of the Confederation Between Holland and Flanders

 
The two provinces of
Holland and Flanders have begun a project that should result in the creation of a confederation of the two provinces; a project which has been supported by the General Administration and which anticipates among other things the following elements established for this confederation:
 

   one provincial superior, a provincial council and a provincial treasurer for the two entities,

   a single provincial chapter,

   delegates in common for the General Chapter .
 

This confederation between the two provinces should begin in the month of January 2006.  The project has been well prepared for and its realization is underway.

 

4. Canonical Erection of the URU District

 The Superior General, with the consent of his Council, has canonically established the District of Uruguay (URU), as a district dependent on the Argentine Province.  The date for the new district to begin is August 12, 2004.

 
 

5. Nomination of Provincial Superiors

 

   Fr. August Hülsmann:  Provincial of the GE Province for a third term, beginning August 1, 2004;

   Aleksander Sapta Dwi Handoko:  Provincial of Indonesia and his Council for their first term, beginning on July 15, 2004;

   Fr. Elio Greselin:  Provincial of the Mozambique Province, and his Council for their first term, beginning on June 19, 2004;

   Fr. Juan Carlos Cerin:  Provincial of the Argentine-Uruguay Province for a second term, beginning November 1, 2003.

 

 
6. Provincial Directories

The General Administration has approved “ad experimentum” the first provincial directories of the following provinces:  Mozambique, Cameroon and Euro-French province and approved modifications to the provincial directories of the following provinces:  United States, North Italy, British-Irish provinces.

 

 
7. Communities

 
The Superior General, with the consent of his Council:

   has established the new SCJ Community of Eluru, in India, in the house which is owned by the Diocese of Eluru, but rented to us for the time being so that the SCJ religious can take courses of theology in the Diocesan seminary;

   has proceeded to the canonical suppression of the community of Padua III, of the North Italian Province.

 

 
8. Financial Matters

    The General Council has approved the financial statement of the General Curia of the year 2003 presented by the General Treasurer. 

   After an analysis of the opinions expressed by the General Finance Commission, the General Administration has made the grants made by the General Aid Fund.  The complete list of the distribution of these grants will be published in the next number of Informationum Nuntius of 2004.

 

 
9. Extraordinary Provincial Chapters

The General Council has confirmed the decisions of several provincial superiors and their councils of convoking extraordinary provincial chapters in the following provinces:  Holland, Flanders, Argentina-Uruguay, Brazil Central, Brazil South.

 

 
10. Next Tasks of the Congregation

The General Administration has set up the next meeting of the major superiors which will take place this coming October 2004 and has reviewed the work of the General Commission for the Beatification of Fr. Leo Dehon.

 
Two different letters will publish more detailed information on these topics..

 
 

11. Planning of the Work of the General Administration

During the meetings of the General Council of this most recent period, the work done up to this point was examined and a set was prepared for the next five years that will be finalized together with the major superiors during the meeting to take place this coming October.

 

 
12. An SCJ Memorial Day

Following up on a recommendation of the XXI General Chapter, the General Administration has established an SCJ Memorial Day to recall the important personages of the history of our Congregation (pioneers, martyrs, and other important persons).

This day will be celebrated on November 26 of every year, the actual anniversary of the death of Bishop Wittebols, and in homage as well to all the martyrs of the Congo.

 

13. The Nomination of a Theological Committee for the Congregation

In the synthesis of the XXI General Chapter entitled Dehonians on Missions, the following was written:  “furthermore the General Chapter makes the following recommendation:  the establishment of a committee of SCJ theologians which Father General or the Major Superiors could possibly nominate and consult.”  (cf Dehonians on Missions, a synthesis of the XXI General Chapter, no. 22).  In response to this suggestion, the Superior General with his Council has  named a committee of theologians who will have the task of organizing reflection on our spirituality, by engaging confreres specialized in the various areas of theology.

The persons who make up this committee are the following:  Frs. Gonzalo Arnáiz (from the Region of Venezuela-president) André Perroux (EF), Joseph Famerée (EF), Stefan Tentünte (GE), Marcial Maçaneiro (BC), Marcello Neri (IS).

The committee will get together to begin their work after the meeting of the major superiors to begin their work.

We conclude this letter with a warm greeting on the approach of the Feast of the Sacred Heart with its promise that beatification of Father Dehon, which is close, can serve as an important moment in our life as SCJ religious and for the entire Congregation for a renewal of our charism.


Fraternally in the Sacred Heart,

 

 

                                                                                          Fr. José Ornelas Carvalho, scj

                                                                                         Superior General & his Council