Tempo Forte – March 2016

TEMPO FORTE  – March 2016, (29 February – March 2016 )

“… mercy, that beautiful virtue of which it’s said, ‘Mercy is the distinctive feature of God.’ We practice it, too, and must do so all our lives: corporal mercy, spiritual mercy, mercy in the rural areas and in the missions by hastening to meet the needs of our neighbor, mercy when we’re at home with regard to the retreatants, and with regard to the poor, by teaching them the things necessary for salvation… (CCD, XI, 328).

 Dear Confreres,

May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!

We began our Tempo Forte with a Lenten reflection on Sunday, 28 February, given by Father Mario DiCarlo. The theme was: the Year of Mercy and our Vincentian vocation. We had other guest speakers during this Tempo Forte. The first was a presentation by the Finance Commission. The final presentation was given by the President of the Franz Foundation, Father Robert Maloney.

A. In our regular matters of business we discussed the following:

1. We reviewed the evaluations from the New Visitors’ Meeting. The Superior General shared with the members of the Council the interviews that he had with the new Visitors who were present. After the evaluation, we made some recommendations: 1) have more in-depth discussion regarding the Vincentian Family, the Daughters of Charity, the question of exception, relationships with bishops, and confreres in difficult situations. For this final item, we suggest using different examples as to how Visitors might be able to handle these situations; 2) increase the time allowed for mediation in common; and 3) give confreres the opportunity to arrive earlier or depart later, so that they have an opportunity to get to know something of the Eternal City.

2. Continuing preparation for our 2016 General Assembly. Our main focus is going to be on New Evangelization and we are asking that that be guided by a member of the Congregation of the Mission, who has some expertise with regard to this subject from the Vincentian perspective, as well as the capability of communicating well that information. We also are making recommendations to the General Assembly for Moderators, selecting one from each of the three languages, English, French, and Spanish. Likewise, we are recommending to the General Assembly, three confreres for the Synthesis Committee, again from the three major languages of the Congregation. We will sit at round tables to assist at promoting conversation and dialog. All the Assistants General will be scattered among the Visitors and delegates of the General Assembly. We have prepared a letter asking the Holy Father for a message, as well as a letter to the Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, inviting him to be present with us for a Eucharist and meal

3. Reconfiguration. We discussed the process that is evolving between the US Eastern Province and the US New England Province. At this point, a new commission has been formed to help them improve ways that confreres from each province might get to know one another better.

4. New Superior General and his Council. We spent some time drawing up a list of things for them to consider with different degrees of urgency. One of these is the role of the Assistants General and the process of accompanying the various provinces, so that it might be more fruitful than it has been in the past. Special attention will be given to the International Missions regarding the selection of candidates. For the next Tempo Forte, each Assistant will prepare a reflection on a theme of his competence in order that that might be passed on to the new Superior General and his Council. The same goes for the Treasurer General and the Secretary General.

5. We considered the reflection of the Union of Superiors General regarding the next Synod of Bishops. The request is that it be in two parts, the first being more a Synod of the People of God, in which the bishops would listen, and in the second session, they would act according to what they heard from the people of God.

6. We then had a report from the special commission that was set up to accompany the Province of Congo in its growth as a province of the Congregation of the Mission.

B. The General Curia

1. We have been asked to accompany the Saint Vincent de Paul Society during its General Assembly at the beginning of June.
2. We studied a report from the Director of the Office of Communications, Father Jorge Rodríguez, with the process that will be used prior, during, and after the General Assembly, so that there might be more fluid communication of the happenings during that event with the rest of the membership of the Congregation. We have made major decision to move the publication of our magazine, Vincentiana, to the Milagrosa Publishing House in Madrid, with the hope of realizing substantial savings in the publication costs.
3. CIF We have named a new Director. Father Daniel Borlik has served faithfully for five years and will be finishing at the end of 2016. He will be transitioning, together with his assistant, Father Adam Bandura, with our confrere from the Province of Argentina, Father Andrés Motto Gaglia. We also received from the Director and Subdirector some recommendations as to how we might revitalize the CIF program in order to attract confreres so that they might participate faithfully in ongoing formation that is certainly required for all of us that our ministry in evangelization and service of the poor might be in optimum condition.
4. We reviewed the report from the Director of the Vincentian Solidarity Office (VSO). Father Miles continues to solicit funds for provinces that request assistance in finding funding for different projects. We urge confreres, especially the Visitors, to take advantage of the Vincentian Solidarity Office and the offers that it can make possible.
5. We received from Father Claudio Santangelo a report on the Working Group on Interreligious Dialog. This group hopes to promote a seminar for all those serving in situations where it is important that relationships between Muslims and Christians be developed and deepened. There is a tentative plan for this to be held in one of our missions in Africa.
6. We received an updated report from Father Claudio Santangelo on the new initiative that will be undertaken during the General Assembly of our thrust to opening Missions in the Muslim World. Father Claudio made visits to the countries of Mauritania and Tunisia. Daughters of Charity work in Mauritania and both the Daughters and the confreres work in Tunisia. At this point, we are establishing a new mission in Tunisia, in the city of Sousse, which will be manned by Father Claudio Santangelo of the Province of the Vincentian Missionaries of Italy and Father Fadi Bassil of the Province of the Orient. This mission will begin after the General Assembly, most likely during the month of August. We are grateful to both Fathers Fadi and Claudio for their availability for service in this International Mission.

C. Different Themes

We had a very long discussion on the development of a solidarity fund, especially for our developing provinces. We hope that this discussion will be deepened in the General Assembly, because it has been quite evident to all of us in past years of the difference that exists between those who have and those who have not in the Congregation of the Mission. We want to do all in our power to break that double standard and promote a sense of solidarity with one another.

D. Economic questions.

1. We approved the budgets of the International Missions of Angola, Benin, Chad, El Alto (Bolivia), Papua New Guinea, Punta Arenas (Chile), the Solomon Islands, Tunisia, and Alaska (USA), as well as the support that we will give to our CIF program and to the two vicariates of Ethiopia. Of the ten International Missions, two are self-sustaining, those which are in the extreme parts of America: Alaska and Punta Arenas. The other self-sustaining mission is Cochabamba, Bolivia. We hope to move toward all the International Missions being self-sustaining, but oftentimes that is difficult because of the poor economic conditions in the particular countries and the very little support that is received from the bishops.

2. We had a special guest, the president of the company that does the review of our accounting. Barbara Zielinski was here to give us an overall view of the administration these past 12 years, together with the coordinator of the Financial Commission, a layman, Mr. Thomas Beck. We discussed the need to look for other means of income, other than depending on the market, because the market is so unstable. We hope to be able to undertake an in-depth study of the financial situation of each of the provinces.

E. International Missions

1. In Bolivia, there is a change of mission. Father Luis Miguel Montaño, a Bolivian from the Province of Chile, has moved from the mission in Cochabamba and will now be the fourth member of the team in El Alt
2. We discussed the International Mission of Papua New Guinea. It has a good number of confreres working pastorally in three different dioceses. We are also responsible for the Interdiocesan Seminary.
3. We then discussed the Solomon Islands, which is presently made up of five confreres, but one of them, Father Gregory Cooney, will be leaving in June. He has generously served in the mission beyond the call of duty. We are most grateful for his accompaniment. We hope to receive some further support from the APVC, as well as from any other confrere who might be willing to give some time, even a semester, to teach, in order to support this mission.
4. We discussed the International Mission of Angola, which the Superior General will be visiting shortly. One of the members is ready to move on to a new assignment. Therefore, we are searching for a third member for that community.
5. With regard to the mission in Chad, we now have grown from three members to five members. The Congregation of the Mission has been given charge of the minor seminary in the diocese where our house is established. Two confreres, both from Congo, will be staffing that minor seminary.
6. With regard to Tunisia, we are waiting for a new confrere to arrive in order to substitute for the present superior of the mission, Father Firmin Mola Mbalo, who has been relieved of his responsibilities in this mission to undertake other duties.
7. We received a report from the confreres in the mission in Alaska. At this point, there are just two confreres there, one from the Province of Colombia and the superior from the Western Province USA. The archbishop is moving forward with a desire for an even greater commitment on the part of the Congregation, especially to serve those who are Latin Americans working in different parts of Alaska, as well as Filipinos.
8. Candidates. We then looked at the various candidates who have offered to go either to International Missions or missions of our different provinces. All together we discussed eight candidates, of whom we hope four will be placed in an International Mission between now and mid-year.

9. Mission Request. We then studied one new request for missionaries for Belize City. We received a letter from the bishop and auxiliary bishop, asking for confreres to serve in this mission that is both English and Spanish-speaking to work with the immigrant population in Belize and to accompany the Daughters of Charity and other branches of the Vincentian Family that are present there. The Congregation of the Mission has never served in Belize. It is located in Central America and because it is a former colony of Great Britain it is not considered to be a part of Central America.

10. We also discussed two missions that are pending. One is Beni, Bolivia. We hope to be able to place two confreres there on an ad experimentum basis from September until the end of the year, with the possibility of assuming that mission, being assisted and oriented by the Daughters of Charity, who will be withdrawing from that area. We also have a request from our confrere-bishop, Fernando Barbosa, of Tefé in Amazonia, Brazil, who has asked for the assistance of confreres. Our hope is that we might have a confrere, from the Province of Colombia, to accompany that mission, which is one of the poorest dioceses in all of Brazil. We hope too for another confrere from one of the Brazilian provinces. We encourage those in the area to take a deep interest in this mission, which is very much a part of and speaks clearly to our charism.

F. The Vincentian Family

1. The Superior General shared with us his impressions of the most recent Vincentian Family Executive Committee Meeting and the International Leaders Meeting, which were held in Rome in January. There are now seven congregations on the Vincentian Family Executive Committee; we have added three: the Brothers of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy; the Federation of the Sisters of Charity of Strasbourg; and the Federation of the Sisters of Charity of Canada and the United States. We also discussed the new theme for the coming year, especially in light of the 400^th anniversary of the birth of the charism and very much connected with the Year of Mercy. As a Vincentian Family, we want to focus on Matthew 25, particularly verse 35, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” The request is to have all the members of the Vincentian Family study in depth who are the strangers in their midst and how they might be able to serve them, responding to this most important motivation that comes from the Gospel and spoke very much to the heart of Saint Vincent de Paul.
2. We then spoke about the new Vincentian Family Office, which is now in Philadelphia. Coordinating it, under the responsibility of the Vincentian Family Executive Committee, is Father Joseph Agostino from the Eastern USA Province, together with Father Flavio Pereira from the Province of Central America and Sister Margaret Marie Clifford, a Daughter of Charity from the Province of Saint Louise, USA.

G. Updating of our calendars. To date, we only have three more canonical visitations to be undertaken: that of Rio de Janeiro will be done this month until the end of April by Father Javier Álvarez; Father Zeracristos will do that of the Province of North India from 9 April until 6 May; and Father Eli Chaves will be in the Province of Saragossa from 15 March until 28 April.

The calendar of the Superior General for the months of April, May, and June is as follows. After visiting northeast India, Singapore, Sydney, the Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea in the month of March, Father Greg will be in Paris for the renewal of the vows of the Daughters of Charity and from there he will leave immediately for Angola. Then, in the middle of April, from 15-23, he will be in Vietnam. From the 23^rd into the beginning of May, he will be in Taiwan and continental China. During the month of May, on the 2^nd and 3^rd, he will be at the CIF program, followed by a short visit to the mission in Albania. In Naples, he will participate in a Vincentian Family activity. Together with all the other members of the General Council, there will be a year-end retreat in Jerusalem, followed by an evaluation of their six years of service and a day for recreation. Immediately after this retreat, the Superior General will go to Holland in order to show his gratitude to the missionaries for their missionary thrust. At the end of May, from the 20^th to the 31^st, the Superior General will visit the Province of the Daughters of Charity in Recife and then visit the Daughters of Charity and confreres in Amazonia, in particular the mission of our confrere-bishop in Tefé. In the month of June, he will participate in the beginning of the General Assembly for the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. He will be in Tunis to see how that mission is going and how its new work will be undertaken. He has a visit to the Community in Dialog, one of the missions of the Province of the Vincentian Missionaries in Italy. He then departs for Chicago for the General Assembly, after which he will take his vacation and then participate in a program of priestly and ministerial renewal in San Antonio, Texas, from the middle of August to the middle of December. While there, he hopes to discern what God wants of him, as he begins a new phase in his life.

“Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, as we begin the fourth centenary of our Vincentian charism, help us to bring the joy of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, so that no periphery will be deprived of your light, and the poor will again be in the center of the Church and of our lives” (from the “Prayer for the Time of Assemblies”).

Your brother in Saint Vincent,

Gregory Gay, C.M.

Superior General

Tempo_Forte_Mar_2016-ENG Word

Tempo_Forte_Mar_2016-ENG PDF