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Chapter Communication – 31st May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 31 May 2022

The first activity of the day was a lecture on the Initial Proclamation by Fr Albert Maravilla (SDB). Fr. Maravilla began by stating that the Church has a desire to foster Christian faith within herself and among the nations. The Christian life is a way of life that encompasses all our lives and activities. He also showed how Jesus himself practiced the initial proclamation, with Nicodemus in need of a greater openness, the Samaritan woman at the well from a human need. The apostles followed Jesus’ example and Fr Maravilla mentioned St Paul who spoke of universal values in Corinth. He also referred to papal documents.

The initial proclamation consists in arousing in the hearts and minds of those around us the desire to hear about Jesus, an interest, a curiosity to know Him more. This interest will lead to an encounter with the Lord who will himself lead to faith through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The initial proclamation is addressed not only to non-Christians, but also to Christians, Catholics, who have abandoned the faith or are living it out of habit, without being fully aware of it. The initial proclamation is lived out at various levels, for example in the family, where the children receive the initial proclamation. It does not replace catechesis or other teachings to nourish the Christian faith in the hearts of people.

The initial proclamation is carried out through everyday encounters and is not concerned with conversion. It is carried out through our activities done with love for Jesus Christ, no matter what kind of activities they are. It wants to bring about a spiritual experience of an encounter with God. Fr Maravilla used the image of the spark that lights a flame. 

A time for questions followed.

The capitulants then entered into the plenary session where they discussed the themes already worked on in the teams, such as the charism, the prophetic mission, the evangelical counsels and collaboration with the laity. This work will continue tomorrow and will be submitted to the drafting committee.

Finally, the election of an Assistant General, Father Francis Bomansaan, took place. Father Bomansaan was born in Ghana. He was working in Kenya. We congratulate him and wish him a fruitful ministry in his new responsibilities. We also assure him of our prayers and support.

While we are on the subject of praying for the Chapter, let us not forget that the election of the Assistants General will continue over the next few days. May the Holy Spirit inspire the members of the Chapter in their choices. A prayer to this effect will certainly be a leaven of unity for our whole missionary Society.

Fr. Alfred Maravilla is a Salesian Missionary, a member of the General Council in charge of the Missions. You can listen to the conference – in English – that he gave to the Capitulants on this Tuesday 31st May 2022. 

Francis Bomansaan elected assistant

Posted on by Philippe Docq

Francis Bomansaan elected assistant

Today, Tuesday, 31st May 2022, Father Francis BOMANSAAN was elected Assistant General of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa by the General Chapter here in Rome.

Our heartfelt congratulations and our best wishes to Francis for his new service of the Mission, the Society and of his confreres.   

Rome, le 31 mai 2022.
André-L. SIMONART,
Secrétaire général.

Chapter Communication – 30th May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 30 May 2022

The third week of the Chapter brings us into the second phase, which is that of discernment. The moderators provided practical guidelines for quality work and discernment. For a good discernment, we need to take into account the ecclesial context and our own missionary history, to have good criteria, to remain open to today’s reality and to be clear and precise in our sharing. Prayer is essential to receive the light of the Spirit.

They reminded the Chapter members that they had been selected several topics and gathered them under broader themes, such as mission, charisma, formation, governance. Today the charism is the first to be addressed. Our Superior General stressed that mission is a prophetic witness in which interculturality plays a great prophetic role.

Father Dave Sullivan introduced the theme by talking about mission as prophetic witness, using the meaning of the two words, witness and prophet. To be witness requires that our lives reveal something of the Gospel. He strongly emphasised that a prophet is one who lives what he says and says what he lives. This attitude makes him an authentic prophetic witness. It is crucial that the prophet be able to transmit a message that is relevant to the people who hear him. In concluding, he invited the capitulants to find concrete ways to remain faithful to our mission and charism. We do not become prophetic witnesses with beautiful ideas, but rather by living the components of our missionary oath in a way that is relevant to today’s world.

Among the practical indications, the moderators explained that the chapter will move forward with alternating team and plenary work.  There will also be a drafting committee that will write documents to be presented in plenaries for discussion and improvement. At this point, there is no decision being taken.

During this period, orientation voting will be held to elect future members of the General Council.

The moderators left two questions to start today’s team reflection:

    • What are the hindrances – obstacles – shadows that prevent us from living our mission as prophetic witnesses?
    • What do we need to reaffirm in our charism for our witness to be prophetic?

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

Posted on by Philippe Docq

Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr created Cardinal

Pope Francis announced today, Sunday, 29th May, feast of the Ascension, that he will create 21 new Cardinals at a special Consistory on Saturday, 27th August 2022. Among the 21 new Cardinals is our confrere, Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr, Bishop of Wa (Ghana). Pope Francis added: “Let us pray that they will help me in my mission as Bishop of Rome for the good of all God’s people”.

Together with our prayer, the Superior General, Father Stanley Lubungo and his Council, the 40 capitulants gathered here and all the confreres at the Generalate send Bishop Richard Baawobr our fraternal congratulations and best wishes.

Rome, 29th May 2022
Fr. André-L. Simonart, M.Afr.
Secretary General.

Chapter Communication – 28th May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 28 May 2022

As part of the Chapter, we had the joy of welcoming Cardinal Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, to greet and address us. Fr Stanley Lubungo introduced him at the beginning of the meeting and described the capitulants, their composition, countries of origin, etc.

From the beginning, Cardinal Tagle put us at ease and began by describing the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, which is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. He also announced that the new dicastery for evangelisation will be officially in operation on Pentecost 5 June. The second section of the new dicastery will correspond very much to the present Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

He then gave an overview of the many works of the Congregation throughout the world and its different types of interventions. The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples is responsible for almost two thousand ecclesial jurisdictions. It deals with the appointment of bishops, missionary institutes, catechists, formation of seminarians, religious, scholarships, etc.

I share you some points from his speech:

    • It is not only the world that is changing, but also the missionary world. Now almost every country sends and receives missionaries. We are in the presence of a migrating Church, with many Christians in non-Christian countries (Filipinos in Bahrain) and non-Christians in countries with a Christian majority (Muslims in Europe). There are many African and Asian priests in France. All these realities disturb our fixed concepts of the world, the Church and the mission.
    • He also alluded to the various conflictual movements, such as some aspects of globalisation, tribalism and excessive nationalism. He recalled that the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples continues its work taking into account these difficulties.
    • The importance of evangelisation for the Church itself and the mission.

Some questions followed Cardinal Tagle’s intervention:

    • On the meeting of the bishops of West Africa grappling with extremism sometimes within the Church and Christian communities. The violence has caused a great migratory movement within West Africa. There was a lot of talk about Fratelli Tutti and the importance of the Church’s social doctrine.
    • The image of the Church is suffering a lot because of the abuse of power and sexual abuse. We are in a period where we are invited to humility. The Cardinal also insisted on the importance of the formation of priests and a change in the mentality of seminaries and houses of formation, not forgetting clericalism.
    • Tribalism complicates the appointment of bishops.
    • How to make the Church prophetic in West Africa?  One of the most important elements is inter-religious dialogue, when people of different religious and political confessions collaborate for integral development or the solution of concrete problems for the common good.

After the conference, Cardinal Tagle presided the Eucharist. From the readings, he described how important and vital for missionary witness were the friendship and collaboration between missionaries. He invited us to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Chapter Communication – 26th May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 26 May 2022

Well, yesterday… …it did not rain. Today the sun has returned to us, this time with a humid heat, which invites us to be patient and reminds us that the Lord is preparing something, or rather someone, for us.

It is difficult to bring news today because everything is happening behind closed doors. I think that the confreres among you who have already participated in a chapter will be able to tell you more than I can on the subject. However, I will venture to give you a detail or two.

During the Eucharist at noon, the main celebrant and preacher opened a small opening for us. He spoke briefly about the preparation for the election of the Superior General, in particular about the words of the Chapter’s spiritual animator, Fr David Sullivan, concerning the qualities of a Superior General. May he be a man of vision, a man of understanding of the realities of today’s world, a person who listens, a leader who is able to put his vision into practice and motivate us in the pursuit of mission today and in living our own missionary charism. Let him also be a man of the Word of God, of prayer, of faith, a man of God.

We observed that the capitulants were more serious and that they took time to share with each other, either in a separate room or somewhere in the garden. The Chapter schedule indicates four ‘election’ times during the day. We have no news about the voting ballots. Yet there is a kind of connivance, a unity between us all in the house.

NOW, AS I WRITE THE INFORMATIONS OF THE DAY, THE NEWS OF THE ELECTION OF THE SUPERIOR GENERAL REACHES ME. THE CAPITULANTS HAVE ELECTED FATHER STANLEY LUBUNGO FOR A SECOND TERM.

STANLEY LUBUNGO IS RE-ELECTED SUPERIOR GENERAL
OF THE MISSIONARIES OF AFRICA
TODAY, AROUND 5PM

WE CONGRATULATE HIM AND ASSURE HIM OF OUR SUPPORT.

Let us offer our prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit for the election of the Superior General. May our Superior General remain the person the mission needs, the person the Church of Africa needs, the person the universal Church needs and finally the confrere the Society of the Missionaries of Africa needs.

Let us welcome him with joy as a gift from the Lord to us. May the Lord sustain him in the accomplishment of his mission.

Stan, all of us, your confreres, thank you for accepting the responsibility of leading the Missionaries of Africa for a second term. We assure you of our friendship, support and prayer for you. May the Lord accompany you, share his wisdom with you, and guide you in the exercise of your responsibilities. May God Bless you always and grant you peace and joy in your ministry.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour…

On friday, the day after the election of the Superior General, is a day of relaxation for the capitulants. Work will resume on Monday. I wish you a good weekend.

Chapter Communication – New Superior General

Posted on by Philippe Docq

Chapter Communication - 26 May 2022 - New Superior General

On Thursday, 26th May 2022, the 29th General Chapter of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa re-elected Father Stanley LUBUNGO Superior General.  Our fraternal and heartfelt congratulations and thanks to Stan for accepting to continue to serve the Society and the Church as Superior General for Africa and the African World.

Rome, 26th May 2022
André-L. Simonart,
Secretary General.

Chapter Communication – 25th May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 25 May 2022

The weather in Rome has become damp and heavy. It is as if creation, preparing a rain, wants to join the members of the Chapter entering in the process of the election of the Superior General. The atmosphere is serious and dense. It invites to reflection and prayer, listening and welcoming.

The readings from the liturgy of Easter time make us pray more intensely for the good of our chapter. They describe to us founding events of the Church, of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and have been called to witness to his love and his Resurrection. I refer to the election of Matthias, to the institution of deacons because of the complaint of the widows of the Hellenistic Christian community, and to the council of Jerusalem, which took place at the discovery of a vast field of apostolate outside the Jewish world. They shape our Church, our faith and our relationship with the Lord. They are much more than a matter of organisation; they are moments of communion when the coming of the Holy Spirit was implored.

We too await the coming of the Spirit upon us at a key moment in our history. We feel the need for his love, his presence and his work in us, as persons and as a missionary society. The election of the Superior General and his Council will certainly shape our lives, our prayers and our commitments over the next six years. That is why our prayer plays an important role of communion and support.

May the Holy Spirit guide our confreres in the election of our leaders. Let us pray with humility, perseverance and confidence. Let us pray with our missionary experiences and the needs of Africa, of the mission and of the African Church in our hearts. Let us be like the apostles in the cenacle waiting for the Spirit. For it is He who gives us the vision, the courage, the audacity and the wisdom to discern well and to make the right decisions for the good of the Church and the mission… and of the Missionaries of Africa today.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Come Holy Spirit…

 

Chapter Communication – 24th May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 24 May 2022

MINISTRY INTEGRITY

Stéphane Joulain gave an overview of the initiatives of the last six years in the field of ministry integrity, both at the level of society as a whole and at the level of the provinces. He assisted the provincials and provincial delegates in their work of animating the confreres in this area. He has organised training sessions on the integrity of the ministry for our Society, in our houses of formation, for episcopal conferences and religious communities. He teaches in universities and is a member of some consultation committees. He pointed out that confreres trained by him have organised sessions in their respective provinces and sectors and for Christian communities. Little by little, the work of awareness is bearing fruit. He insisted on the need to create a board of advisors to follow up cases, on the usefulness of a canonist for our Society, the obligation to denounce cases of abuse and to collaborate with the civil authorities, and of course the responsibility to help the victims. Prevention is a crucial element of the ministry integrity.

The role of the delegate for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons is advisory to the general council in the management of cases of abuse. He keeps up to date with the evolution of official documents of the Church and other institutions.

In the second part of his intervention, Father Joulain shared the results of the online audit conducted last year at the request of the General Council. The purpose of the exercise was to evaluate the implementation of the policy of protection of minors and vulnerable persons throughout the Missionaries of Africa Society and assess the elements listed above. As a Society, where are we in our commitment to protect victims and combat this scourge?

SECOND PLENARY

The six teams shared the themes that they felt were essential to them. Here are some of them: sharing our charism with the laity, formation, Justice and Peace, Integrity of Creation, Encounter and Dialogue, the brothers, our commitment today as missionaries of Africa. All these topics are placed under a larger banner: prophetic mission today. Then there was the gathering of topics related to each other.

At the end of the session, Sr Begoña addressed the capitulants, expressing her joy for the collaboration between our two missionary congregations and for being an observer at the Chapter.

Chapter communication – 23rd May 2022

Posted on by Jean Lamonde

Chapter Communication - 23 May 2022

The dynamic of listening continues at the beginning of the second week of the Chapter, this time with the different secretariats: Justice and Peace, Integrity of Creation, Initial Formation, the Brothers’ Forum, the sharing of our charism with the laity and tomorrow the integrity of the ministry. I remind you that the capitulants are still in the process of “seeing” and sharing both in groups and in plenary. No decision is taken at this stage.

JUSTICE AND PEACE / INTEGRITY OF CREATION / DIALOGUE

Justice and Peace, Inter-religious Dialogue, Integrity of Creation and Ecumenism have always been essential elements of our charism, and sometimes of course with other names. It is good to consider the current trend inspired by the spirituality of Pope Francis with Fratelli Tutti, Laudato si. Fraternity and care for creation (ecology) are realities that are addressed to all humanity today. The efforts made for dialogue are due to bear fruits of peace for us all.

Religious institutes and congregations are now collaborating with each other and with many civil organisations in a daily life dialogue in order to create bridges between people. It is no longer a question of working alone, each on his own. The platform “Laudato si”, requested by the Pope and encouraged by our Superior General, invites all persons, groups and congregations to unite around the Pope’s initiative for the good of creation.

INITIAL AND SPECIALISED TRAINING

In recent years, the number of entries has been relatively constant, with perhaps a slight decrease due to insecurity and covid. The figures show that the perseverance rate is holding. The challenge of creating a good core group of formaters, while preparing them in advance for formation, remains a priority. Spiritual care remains a major formation theme. We also note that the first cycles are collaborating with each other better than before.

Specialised formation is in view of the mission and the needs of society.

THE BROTHERS’ FORUM

For a long time now, our Society has felt the need for a deeper reflection on the brothers. To this end, the General Council asked the brothers to meet, which they did at the end of last year. The Chapter was able to hear the result and I share with you some of the main ideas.

In our missionary Society, the common missionary vocation unites us all and there are two ways of living this missionary vocation, as a brother and as a priest. The two ways are meant to be complementary and not in competition. The vocation of a missionary brother teaches us that all the people of God are missionaries and that mission is not only a matter for priests. We see the need to explain the vocation of brothers to candidates who want to join us, to their families and to the Catholic Christian community. The place of the brother in our Society is not limited to the material aspect of the mission. At times, the brothers did not receive all the respect they deserve.

Much attention has been given to the formation of the brothers. Today it requires a “case by case” approach, because the gifts and backgrounds of the candidate brothers are very varied. The elaboration of formation programmes must keep a balance between the gifts and interests of the candidate and the needs of the mission and Society. There is a need to review and harmonise the formation of the brothers and come up with better formation programmes for them, while ensuring some common formation for brother and priest candidates. Such an exercise would greatly help the formators in accompanying the brothers.

It is very relevant to note that the majority of brother candidates have discerned their vocation as a brother from the life witness received from a brother.

ONGOING FORMATION

In this area, the capitulants have not remained with the sessions in Jerusalem and Rome, sessions which are always very much appreciated by all those who participate.

Ongoing formation is intended to make us love our vocation and lifestyle, to nourish it and to cultivate it. It must respond to the needs of the missionaries to be truly relevant. It also takes place in collaboration with other missionary religious congregations.

Because of the growing insecurity in Africa, ICOF (Inter-congregational Ongoing Formation) has prepared sessions on the theme of resilience. What does a missionary need to live mission in insecure conditions? How to accompany him/her? Our Society is involved in this.

These sessions will be held at the end of 2022 in Tanzania and Ivory Coast.

SHARING OUR CHARISM WITH THE LAITY

Does the future of our missionary charism depend on the laity? Many religious and missionary congregations today notice that many lay people approach them, to live their charism and dedicate themselves to it. These lay people are attracted by the charism of a congregation without feeling a call to join that congregation, without becoming a religious sister, brother or priest. They wish to form a spiritual family receiving an appropriate formation to live the charism in depth and to collaborate in the apostolate of the congregation whose charism motivates them.

We, the missionaries of Africa, are no strangers to this reality of collaboration with the laity. We have the experience of catechist doctors and catechists. Would it be possible to do something in this direction today? How can we do it? Could we come to see the emergence of a lay Lavigerian family?

The exchange that followed showed the inspiring successes of some religious and missionary congregations in this field.