NEWS FROM ROME

October 9, 1999

What's New

To close the publication of texts to prepare the General Conference, we publish, in several languages (Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and English), some items from the Encyclical "Ecclesia in America" that speaks about Ethics and Social Problems. It's a nice way to crown all the articles we have published.
From Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva (CU)
Editors Note: These are planned as the final postings in this series of documents in preparation for the General Conference.

What's Happening

The following appeared on the Vidimus Dominum website on 28 September 1999.

The Cloistered Life: From a Survey Among the Nuns, Criticisms of the Vatican Document. The results published in these days in the review "Testimoni" by Italian Dehonians.

Bologna (Italy), September 27th (VID) - The cloistered life does not exhaust the great value of the contemplative life. This is what has been affirmed by the nuns interviewed by the review "Testimoni" (Witnesses) concerning the recent Vatican document on the contemplative life.

According to the results of the survey, conducted by the review of the Italian Dehonians on the consecrated life among thirty-some cloistered nuns from 15 convents from various countries of the world, "Verbi Sponsa", the instruction on the contemplative life and the enclosed life of the nuns published last May, is fated to divide more than unite.

The criticisms are especially directed at the methodology employed by the document on the old conception of the woman which continues to exist, which considers her a minor who needs to be safeguarded, instead of someone capable of reciprocity.

On the survey, tomorrow September 28, the director of "Testimoni" will publish an exclusive comment in the "Unconformist " section of Vidimus Dominum (CF. http://www.vidimusdominum.org).

News from North Brazil (BS)

Recife 2000 - BS on the way. On 24 September, 14 members of the Northern Brazilian Province met in the Provincialate offices to plan the forthcoming general Conference. Six teams were appointed: 1) Domestic affairs; 2) Equipment; 3) Communication and Public Relations; 4) Liturgy; 5) Transportation; 6) "Dehon tour" (Tours and recreation).

The head of each team is free to invite other people to join him in order to offer the best service for the conference. Fr. Marcos Alves de Lima has been appointed the general coordinator and as the reference point for all contacts with the general administration and other Provinces/Regions.

Provincial Conference of BS. From 19 to 21 October the North Brazilian Province will hold its Conference. The purpose is to resume the debates on "Economy and the Kingdom of God", already done in community areas. The meeting will be aided by Fr. Humberto Plumen, CSSR, a sociologist, and Tânia Bacelar, an economist, who is member of the Committee for Justice & Peace of the Brazilian National Bishops' Conference.

News from North America

On September 28-29, the provincial and regional councils of North America held their seventh meeting in Toronto, Canada. The main purpose of the meeting was to study the conclusions and suggestions made at the North American SCJ Assembly, held in Hales Corners, WI, in August. The Councils received many suggestions for further collaboration between the provinces and regions of North America. They decided to begin by looking at four areas: communications and mass-media, vocation and formation ministry, developing a spirituality of globalization, and studying the possibility of establishing an international prophetic community, as asked by the XXth General Chapter. The Councils will meet again next March, in Montréal, Canada, where they will receive progress reports on these four areas.

prepared by Maurice Légaré (CGA)
regional superior
Allegra Troiano, director of the ESL (English as a Second Language) was kind enough to send a photo collage of the recent annual ESL Cultural Fair (cf. September 25, 1999 news). You may learn more about the ESL program by visiting their homepage at: http://www.execpc.com/~esl/
 

Congratulations

On the 29th of September the following novices of Madagascar made their first profession at Antsirabe:

Quinto Portraits

We present the sixth in our series of Quinto portraits. Quinto Regazzoni (AU) is a well known scj design artist working in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is currently completing a three month ESL (English as a Second Language) program at Sacred Heart Monastery/Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, WI. He was kind enough to share his cartoon drawings of teachers and fellow students. This week we present one of Slawomir Knopik, (PO).

Dehon Photo of the Week

This week Stefan Tertünte for his presentations on the Dehon Photo Album has selected a photo of Fr. Dehon during his Paris student days. His commentary focus on Dehon's summer travels at the age of 20 with his friend Leo Palustre (CF. Dehon the Student Traveler ).

Dehon in Canada and America

Paul J. McGuire (US) was kind enough to offer our website an electronic (computer) copy of his recent work In Canada and America: Selections from Father Dehon's Diary. This week Fr. Dehon journeys from Baltimore to the capital of the United States Washington DC.