What's New?

The Justice & Peace report from the Cameroon has been added to the Justice & Peace section. It can be accessed here by linking to Cameroon.

A Postcard from Joan of Arc, Toronto has been added. On July first the parish was returned to the diocese of Toronto ending 35 years under the care of the Anglo Canadian Province (Cf. Postcards).

What's Happening?

Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva (CU) has returned to Rome. A report on his visit to Mato Grosso can be found later in this edition.

Fr. General will return to Rome next week completing his visits to South Africa and Mozambique. He plans to remain in Rome most of the remainder of the year.

Umberto Chiarello (CU) and Ryszard Mis (CU) are in Hales Corners to participate in the three month ESL (English as a Second Language) program operated by the US Province in conjunction with Sacred Heart School of Theology: a reminder the ESL program maintains a web site which can be accessed from on links page.(Cf. Links).

Commission Meeting Ends

From June 22^nd to 27^th, the Commission on Governance met in Rome in order to write its report to the General Administration, who will share it with the Provincial and Regional Superiors at their November meeting in Rome. The Commission's work was based on these principles:

1. The governmental structures are for the Mission.

2. There is a need for conversion of mentalities, in order for We, the Congregation to be concretized.

3. This conversion of mentalities calls for adequate initial and on-going formation.

4. Participation, solidarity, subsidiarity.

The Commission studied the actual situation of the Congregation and, as the XX^th General Chapter did, stated that they do not correspond to our living reality, especially regarding new foundations and declining provinces. The members tried to make proposals to give opportunities to every part of the Congregation to live out the SCJ Mission in its actual sociological and ecclesiological context.

prepared by Maurice Légaré (CGA)

Visit of Carlos Alberto da Costa Silva to Mato Gross -- May 15-28, 1998

For many ears the BM Province has been in the State of Mato Grosso. In this recently settled state the conditions for evangelization and pastoral work are difficult. There are great distances and few paved roads; traveling is often done by small planes. In the rainy season conditions become even more difficult. Another feature of the region is the presence of native [Indian] tribes.

After taking part in the festivities of the installation of the new Bishop Vital Chitolina, scj in Paranatinga, Fr. da Costa Silva attended a reunion in Lucas di Rio Verde with all the scjs working in Mato Grosso, and also visited the various communities (Paranaita, Tapurah, Porto dos Gauchos, Novo Horizonte, Juara, and Brasnorte).

Although the group is not very numerous, the normal concern of a second missionary stage is taking form: working for vocations and accompanying the young religious who come for a training period (stage) before their theological studies.

Two years ago the group developed a project called Remat 2000, i.e., The Region of Mato Grosso by the year 2000. The realization of this project will be delayed because of the present lack of personnel. Yet the desire remains to become a region in the congregation in the not too distant future. In addition to the fact that the region is more than 2000 km (1243 miles) from the headquarters of the BM Province, it has a cultural, social and ecclesial situation all its own, which will evolve naturally towards an autonomy of its own.

(translation provided by Francis Mickers (CA)

Moving Day in Toronto

During July the Anglo Canadian Province will move it's provincial residence and house of formation from Parkside Drive to High Park Blvd. The High Park house has served the province in a number of capacities, including recently as the site of a common North American Novitiate. With the close of a common novitiate the house most recently was rented out to a group of religious sisters. Not having the need to maintain two major buildings in Toronto, it was recently decided to sell Parkside in favor of the High Park -- actually the two are very near one another, a matter of a five minute walk

Priests of the Sacred Heart
Provincialate
58 High Park Blvd.
Toronto, Ontario M6R 1M8
Canada

[Editor's note: phones will be installed mid-month. Notification of new numbers will be sent to the provinces via fax/email}

A letter from Sebastiano

Ponnarimangalam, May 7, 1998.

Dear Fr. Adrian,

How are you doing? I hope well. Here we are doing well. I see every day more and more that God prepared me for this mission. I had also the spiritual support of people like you. Thank you very much!

The location of our novitiate (Island Ponnarimangalam) is near a big commercial center called Ernakulam. We can reach there in fifteen minutes by boat and we can find almost everything that we need for our house. Some food we can buy on the island too. There are around six thousand people in the island with two parishes. The majority of the people are Catholic. Our house is on the border of the two parishes, and our neighbors are very happy because they can have Mass and Adoration every day. For the Mass early in the morning the chapel is almost full of people. Several of them know English and follow the Mass with a little book. The songs are in Malaylam. The faith of these people is very simple and strong. I could see this also during Holy Week when I lived in Kumbalanghy.

The novices, Placido and Mariano, are doing well. I hope that they will have a good religious experience during this year. They don't speak Malayalam, but know English very well and other Indian languages. Maybe we will take some Malayalam classes together. Until now I know only a few words. The children sometimes come and teach me to speak Malayalam.

God continues blessing our mission with a large number of vocations. We will have in this new school year about seventy seminarians in our three houses: Kumbalanghy, Aluva and here in the second building. Fr. Andrew will be responsible for this group of ten or twelve new seminarians who will come on June 22^nd.

I'm doing well. I didn't have any problem in my adaptation with the climate and food. We are waiting for Valerio. He is supposed to arrive on June 13^th. He will be a good help in Kumbalanghi.

I wish the best to you. Greetings to my confreres and staff in Roma.

 

In Cor Jesus, Fr. Sebastian Pitz