The Visitor of a Province in the Congregation of the Mission today requires a great deal of leadership to carry out the mission entrusted to him. According to the Practical Guide for the Visitor, he “must be a leader, animator and servant of his brothers, which obligates the Visitor to cultivate human qualities of singular valor.” For this reason, the third day of the meeting was dedicated to the theme of leadership and authority in the Church and in the Congregation of the Mission.
For the first part of the morning, Sr. Antonella Ponte, DC, a biblical scholar, was invited, and she reflected on leadership from a theological-biblical perspective. Starting with a definition of leadership and placing it in the context of consecrated life, she affirmed that the Visitor is called to live his leadership as a mediation and an updating of the charism. From the biblical point of view, Sr. Antonella proposed some biblical models: Jesus Christ as the model of leadership and service; the Petrine model that emerges from the recognition of the merciful gaze of Jesus, and finally the Pauline model affirming that “Paul lives a paschal leadership, and from this perspective he faces the difficulties related to his role, not as problems to be solved or difficulties to be borne heroically, but as participation in the paschal mystery of Christ”.
Assistant General Fr. Matthew Kallamakal, CM, then spoke about the service of authority in the Church and in the Congregation of the Mission, recalling four points highlighted in the Practical Guide for the Visitor: The principle of subsidiarity, which takes into account the dignity of each confrere and his personal initiatives, as well as seeking to involve the people he serves. Creativity and permanent renewal according to the spirit of the Company and the signs of the times, based on the evaluation of present works and the discernment for the opening of new works. The promotion of co-responsibility, which takes into account the delegation of decisions and the need to avoid “micromanagement”. In addition to this, he emphasized openness to listening and dialogue with the members of the Province, which will help the Visitor to have new ideas for his management and for opening up new paths in evangelization and service to the poor. Fr. Matthew, in concluding his talk, offered some recommendations to the Visitors which could help to improve their listening skills.
In the afternoon, Fr. Giuseppe Guerra, CM, Procurator General, spoke about the juridical aspects of being a Visitor, including his rights, duties and powers. In his talk, he recalled the norms corresponding to Canon Law and the Constitutions of the Congregation, devoting time to the concerns, procedures and specific cases based on the experiences of Visitors in their provinces.
Despite of the intensity of the work, on the fourth day, an appropriate atmosphere of reflection was generated, which made it possible to deal in depth with two very current topics: the cases and procedures to be followed with confreres in difficulty and the protection of minors and vulnerable persons in the Church.
The first topic was discussed by the Secretary General, Fr. Giuseppe Turati, CM. Starting with the principles, he explained the canonical norms that the Visitors and their Councils must know and apply according to the cases that are presented. Fr. Giuseppe Guerra, CM, also offered some additional clarifications on the subject, with specific examples of missionaries. Then there was time for dialogue and questions. At the end of this discussion, the need to adopt a pastoral approach, where all means are offered to help confreres, was brought up.
Fr. Stefano Bittani, a Jesuit priest and Executive Secretary of the Centre for the Protection of Minors in Rome, was responsible for deepening on this topic. With a profound reflection on this scourge that saddens humanity and the Church, he recalled the responsibility of the whole of society and, in particular, the members of the Church, to tackle the problem of these abuses and to become aware of this reality. Deepening on the thought of Pope Francis and the latest documents and letters on the subject, he recalled the words of the Pope: “A change of mentality is needed to combat a defensive and reactive approach to protecting the institution and to pursue, wholeheartedly and decisively, the good of the community by giving priority to the victims of abuse in every sense”. (24 February 2019). In conclusion, he reaffirmed the need to increase awareness in the Church and society as a whole about the risk of abuse.
These intense days of work were concluded with the celebration of Vespers and supper.
