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A foot soldier hardly ever gets to meet his General and a blue collar worker has no idea who his C.E.O. is. This is more or less how I perceive our General Council. They live far away somewhere in Rome and always seem to be on the road like fire-men trying to solve burning questions. They are definitely needed and useful to maintain some coherence in our worldwide activities. They probably also exercise some influence on my way of life and work, although I am not aware of it. Therefore, a clear answer to the question of my perception of the General Council is difficult to give.

That is why I addressed my 35 confreres here in the house with a poster, asking for their enlightenment. After three weeks, not a single reaction was registered. So there seems to be a problem of communication or information. Of course, the official documents give a rather detailed description of their role, but the question raised was one of perception. Where do I see the Council at work? Where do I receive information about the evaluation of their journeys, the problems they encounter and the solutions they found? Where do I experience their teamwork and their impact on the progress of the implementation of the Chapter Documents? My perception remains rather vague!

During 2017 most members of the General Council introduced a topic for information or discussion in the Petit Echo. There I saw them at work, not as a team but expressing their personal thoughts or knowledge on a given subject. Unfortunately, we never read much about the outcomes of these reflections. The key words of the Chapter were Justice and Peace, the Integrity of Creation, Dialogue and Encounter. I rarely discover explicit references to these subjects. In my own missionary experience, I discovered that our impact did not depend on the number of schools, churches or hospitals built, nor on the amount of money invested or the development of projects. Our simple presence in love and dedication was the decisive factor that made people discover that the Gospel revealed a totally new vision on life that freed them from fear and death. It is a physical, daily presence that is not transmitted by Internet or social media, disillusionment with which becomes obvious every day. A more critical approach to our missionary practice that, in my view, should be perceived through the journeys of the members of the General Council does not appear very clearly in the few contacts available to me for the moment.

Living in a rest-home in Europe I would like to hear or read about the obstacles in the implementation of our vision. How do we live out our spirituality in the field? Is the rule of three in communities a dream or a reality? Is Internet and the social media a blessing or a curse? How much time do we devote, spend or waste every day in front of the screen? Is it still meaningful to discuss authority and obedience ? Is the missionary task still a community exercise or a private undertaking? These are some of the questions I put to myself and to which I would love to get some answers from the Council.

The Strategic Plan in the Chapter papers devotes a special column to evaluation. The foot soldiers would love to receive some more detailed information about the successes but also about the failures of what is happening in the Society today. The successes make us grateful, but the failures make us pray and meditate on our shortcomings. They help us reflect on our own way of doing or give us inspiration to adjust our approach. Don’t call the positive developments a trend and the failures, individual exceptions. The personal letters sent to Rome are  also a possibility to gauge the atmosphere and to inform us all about what seems to be happening. Don’t keep too many skeletons in the cupboards or sweep dirt under the carpets, if there are any left in your offices.

Geert Groenewegen, M.Afr.

“Please, could you write something how you, as Secretary General , perceive the relationships between the General Council and the confreres.” This was the request made to me by the editor of the Petit Echo. When I began to reflect about it, two main objections came to mind: How could such a question be answered by someone who has passed the last six years behind a desk, looking at a screen and dealing with documents, bits of paper etc.? Indeed, contrary to the other members of the GC, I have never embarked on long journeys to the Provinces, Sections or Sectors listening to and sharing with the confreres. Then another thought came to my mind: are there not written words, in no matter what form , which are often more reliable than spoken words often used to flatter the listener especially when such a person is a Provincial or a member of the General Council? Then, I had to face up to another objection: how could someone who is bound by a strict rule of confidentiality reply to this question? Maybe I was trying to dodge and escape the question! Certainly, it was out of the question to go into the details of individual cases, but one could always give some general impressions. And that is what I am going to try to do in what follows.

A well-known saying among some old people is that time seems to fly as one gets older. The clocks seem to defy any “ speed limit ” and clock hands always seem to be going around at full speed. In fact, when you read this article sometime after the 1st July, my six years as Secretary General will be in the past tense and “good material” for the Archives of the Society. If you pass and knock at the door of the Secretary General in Rome, another André, not me, will welcome you.

These last six years, four with Richard Baawobr and his team, and two with the present team seem to have been shorter than the one year I spent at the novitiate in the middle of the sixties, which, to put it mildly, was not the happiest year of my life!

I look back with gratitude at the last six years which have helped me to appreciate my missionary vocation more and the marvellous services that our Society and its members give to Africa and “wherever our charism is needed” (CA, 2016, p. 17). One part of my work consists of dealing with all the incoming and outgoing documents such as letters addressed to the General Council (from confreres, Bishops, the Vatican and others), the minutes of the Provincial Council meetings, reports from the institutions etc. In doing so, I realized that our Society is very much like our Founder, Cardinal Lavigerie, very heroic and generous, but also frail and human. I have been very impressed by the devotion of the confreres to the ministries entrusted to them either in leadership roles, formation, pastoral work or in services rendered to the local church. Most of the confreres who write to the General Council share their joys and sorrows often in a very positive way by proposing solutions to existing problems or suggesting ways of dealing with sometimes very thorny questions. However, they also readily accept that at the end of the dialogue the “last word” rests with the General Council. However not all the confreres follow the appropriate procedures and do not pass through the local leadership. I was much taken by the way this General Council respects the local leadership and gently invites the confrere to discuss the matter first with his Provincial! There is no doubt that there is a great deal of mutual trust.

However, it is not surprising that sometimes confreres complain that decisions are not taken as quickly as they would like. On occasion, they have a valid point but I can assure you (the reader) that the General Council takes very seriously every matter presented to them and they do their best to deal with it without delay. Nevertheless, some essential information is often missing or the agenda is so full that some delay is inevitable. Moreover, not all the confreres know about the timetable of meetings of the GC in Rome: they meet for two months, three times a year in January-February, May-June and September-October. The other months are principally devoted to visiting Provinces, Sections, or Sectors.

André Schaminée with Pello Sala, former Administrative Secretary

As I have already said above, our Society is also fragile and human. The GC has to deal also with painful even disconcerting problems. Some questions, which go beyond the authority of the local leadership team, are referred to the General Council, which must find time to deal with them, whether it likes it or not! When confreres go astray and become victims of the many temptations that life throws at them, the GC, with the collaboration of the local leadership, do all they can to help them  confront their situation, which often seem hopeless, with honesty, courage and determination. Some do not want to admit that ‘they have a problem’ others, thanks to the softly softly and compassionate approach of the local leadership and of the GC, get back on the right track.

André Schaminée assurant le secrétariat au Conseil général.

It is not a secret that the Society is diminishing in numbers, although recently, there has been a significant increase in new members, for which we thank God. The average age of the confreres is 67 years. I mention this in order to underline the fact that request for workers in the vineyard is still greater than those available. Such a situation can easily provoke tensions between the GC and local leadership. At the time of appointments, for example, a Province can ask for 15 stagiaires and eight young confreres but they will only receive seven and four respectively because “nobody can give what he does not have.” I am often surprised and impressed that, in the end, everybody seems to be happy with what they received even if they have only got half of what they asked for. This shows that there is high degree of pragmatism and a good sense of co-responsibility at all levels.

André Schaminée with Odon Kipili, the new Administrative Secretary

An overall view allows me to conclude that the relations between the GC and the confreres are generally healthy and happy. The key to this success lies in this formula: “Show the greatest respect for others as much as possible.”

André Schaminée,
ex-Secretary General

I still recall that when I was elected by the confreres of France to participate in the General Chapter as their Delegate, I thought to myself that there was no danger. I had “escaped” during the 1998 General Chapter and was now finishing my thesis and preparing to open the francophone Theology house in Abidjan and to teach in the newly created Institute Catholic Missionaries d’Abidjan. The candidates in the Fraternité Lavigerie (Toulouse) teased me by asking me where they should put my photo if I were elected Superior General, I said “you can put it in the toilet; I am sure that you will see me every day!” We all laughed about it and I went off to Rome. That was 2004. Little did I know that their prophecy would come true in 2010 but as the formation centre had moved in the meantime to Ivory Coast, I am sure they found a different place for my photo!

When I was elected Assistant General and then a couple of days later as First Assistant General, it came as a shock to me.  My experience in leadership had been mainly in formation and I was the second youngest of the General Council team. Knowing that it was not due to any special talent of mine in the animation of confreres but an invitation by the confreres that I be at the service of the whole Society in a leadership role, I accepted it in faith.

It is true that the Constitutions and Laws foresee a role for the 1st Assistant, but in reality as the General Council works as a team, I did not feel that I was more special than anybody else. I played my part in the team, following the different areas of Mission and Provinces that the Superior General, Fr. Gérard Chabanon, had given me and to my fellow Assistants (Frs. Raphaël Deillon, Georges Jacques and Jim Greene). I reported to him and to the Team and, together, we sought a way forward. I learnt that it was important to play my role in the team and to really be a team person rather than trying to show off and to take credit for one thing or another even if I had been convinced about it or had developed the idea and presented it.

I felt it was important to be as open as possible with the Superior General and my fellow Assistants during the discussions about different matters and at the end to tow the common line and pay the price for it. Some matters troubled me but when at the end of the day, I prayed the Rosary and put them in my Mother’s hands, I found the quiet of heart that I needed for sleep.

Going around the communities and the formation centres, I realised that what was important was to be a symbol of the oneness of the Society and to facilitate the building of bridges through sharing information and insights. When I / we saw that something was good in one part of the Society and could benefit another part, I/ we shared it through conferences or articles.

It was during the years as Assistant General (2004-2010) that the awareness grew that the Mission of God that we have received as a Society belongs to all, irrespective of where we are. Consequently, we all have a duty to support it even and especially, when the members of the Sector in question do not have members capable of carrying it out. I felt that the appointment of confreres to Europe and the Americas, to India and the Philippines, was a good thing in order to participate in the mission in those places as Missionaries of Africa with a specific charism, to promote vocations and to foster interculturality in our communities. Such appointments were still seen as special and needing attention and were to be made after years of missionary experience in Africa, the real place of mission (as some thought of it and limited it geographically). This had to evolve in our missiological praxis.  The openings that were made here and there were, in my opinion, important and needed to become a policy for the appointment of stagiaires and young confreres. They were not at the detriment of the African Provinces but rather an awakening to our common responsibility and taking charge of it.

Serving as Superior General (2010-2016)

The biggest surprise came when I was elected Superior General during the 2010 General Chapter. I had, apparently miraculously, survived a Deep Vein Thrombosis in 2007 and I was now ready to pick up the challenge of going back to formation should the new Council want me to go to Abidjan.  This new invitation to continue serving as head of the Leadership Team meant that I had to shelve my personal plans! Not always easy but when done in faith it is rewarding. As the saying has it, God writes straight on crooked lines.

Representing the Society, animating and leading a Team, being the guardian of a common vision and mission as spelt out by the General Chapter and in fidelity to the vision of our Father, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, these were some of the things that I had to do as Superior General for 6 years. The General Team that was given to me by the General Chapter in the persons of Frs. Jos Van Boxel, 1st Assistant, Emmanuel Ngona, Sergio Villaseñor and Peter Welsh was very helpful.  Given our different missionary experiences and talents, we could carry out the mandate given to us from the Chapter.

It was, for me, a time of ripening of the conviction that the Mission Outside of Africa should not be just Mission in Europe or Mission in the Americas, or Mission in Asia, etc. The words “outside of Africa” would have to be dropped. My missiological reading and dialogue with other Missionary Societies made me realise the importance of de-territorialising the Mission and seeing the Mission beyond geographical terms. Even though the expression Africa and Beyond was not retained in the final formulation in the 2016 Chapter documents, it is reflected in the appointment policies that were accepted and that are currently in place. We have come from far and I am happy to have witnessed part of this journey as a member of the Society in a leadership role at the time it was taking shape.

After having been exposed to the different Provinces, the different expressions of the same Mission as Society, I felt I had grown and could bring that to bear in a different area of service to the Society. Pope Francis decided otherwise. That is why, since February 2016, I accepted the new Mission to be a Servus Misericordiae Dei among the People of God in Wa.

Thanks to all for forming me and supporting me still in my learning to serve. May God bless you! Pray for me!

+ Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr.,
    Bishop of Wa (Ghana)

I was attending a meeting of Superiors General recently, when one of the participants asked me how many White Fathers are there. Remembering the statistics published by our Administrative Secretariat at the beginning of the year, I replied that we were about 1,200 confreres. Looking at me, he blurted out “and you know all your guys? Before I replied, I felt that there was something important underling in his

question. A General Council or any leadership team for that matter is expected to go out  and meet confreres on the ground in order to get a feel of how they live their vocation as Missionaries of Africa. Leadership demands, in one way or another, that one keeps in contact with those confreres he is supposed to guide. It also made me think of the many occasions in my life as a Missionary of Africa when I heard confreres complain that they never see their Provincial!

Regular visits to confreres are a priority for the General Council. In Rome, we can consult various lists and the personnel book but this only gives us a ‘virtual’ acquaintance with the confreres and the places where they live. We hope to go beyond this and get to know them a bit more and create closer ties with them.  As you would expect, and this is no secret, we are often obliged to be on the road despite modern means of communications

According to what a confrere recently wrote on his Facebook page: “when everything is running normally, the Generalate is the place of absence of the Superior General.” Commenting on that, another confrere added: “Yes, may they continue (the Superior General and his Council) to be there at the grassroots” When everything is running normally, the General Council is resident in Rome every September-October, January-February, and May-June. The other months of the year are spent visiting the Provinces and for holidays.

For the last two years, being out in the field has brought us to all our Provinces and Sections even if we still have to visit some communities. Everywhere we go, we can get a sense of our unity as Missionaries of Africa. We do not go to give orders but to listen and encourage. It is an opportunity to become acquainted with what the confreres experience in a very concrete way. The information we gather helps our reflection in Council on the decisions we must take regarding the situations we encounter. It is also the occasion to share news of the Society, to explain certain choices that we make and to reply to questions posed by the confreres.

For the most part, these visits are uplifting and encouraging.  They are also good, hopefully, for most of the confreres that we meet. Even if we do not always bring them something novel, the visits are real moments of communion with the Society. In the last two years since I have been in Rome, I have managed to visit 452 confreres out of the 1,210 on our books,

Outside of the four months that the members of the Council spend visiting the confreres, the rest of the time they are at the Generalate in ordinary session. It is during these sessions, particularly, that we discern what choices we should take. Then, we jointly make the decisions.

We deliberate on different situations that the Provinces and confreres submit to us for consideration and we try to give them some guidelines on the matter. In this sense, we could say that our ordinary councils are the real places where we exercise our authority. We try to live this in the spirit indicated by our Laws and Constitutions. Thus, we are becoming more aware that our ministry as a General Council consists, above all, in fostering the missionary dynamism among our confreres and building up the unity of the Society (see CL 149).

At the General Council, our main concern is to make sure that, as a Society, we remain as close as possible to our identity and to our charism as understood by the last Chapter: “we are an intercultural missionary Society with a family spirit. Sent out to the African world and wherever our charism is needed.” (CA 2016, p.17)

On a general basis, the General Council only intervenes and enters into discussion with a Province or an individual confrere when, in its judgement,  it perceives that certain commitments and some types of behaviour are moving away from the spirit and the essential features of the Society in particular its apostolic character and community life (see CL 150). Otherwise, the running and the monitoring of the apostolic and community activities are assured by the Provincials and their councils. They are the closest collaborators of the General Council, so it is perfectly normal that they often seek our help in cases and situations that are particularly difficult.

To promote communion within the Society and to offer an overall vision of the mission, the General Council organizes an annual meeting with the Provincials. This meeting allows us to work together on appointments. It is also an opportunity for sharing together on the numerous subjects that touch on the life of the Society.

Stanley Lubungo,
Superior General