XVth COUNCIL OF
PROVINCES
1 – 11 SEPTEMBER 2003
DAILY SUMMARIES prepared by the Secretary General
Arrival of the partecipants in Casa Beato Nuno, Fatima, Portugal.
2nd September
The first session of the 15th Council of Provinces was opened by the Prior General, Fr. Joseph Chalmers. Frs. Francisco Rodriguez, prior of the community of Fatima, and Fr. Henrique Martins, commissary general of Portugal, welcomed the delegates to Fatima and Portugal respectively.
The participants introduced themselves briefly and the Secretary General gave apologies from Frs. Fintan Burke, John Welch, James Geaney, Jean Marie D’Unji and Emmett Gavin. The assembly welcomed several guests and speakers: Mark Attard, Aureliano Pacciolla and Alban Quinn.
The Prior General gave a talk to the assembly entitled The Role of Authority in the Promotion of the Charism.
The afternoon session was dedicated to a series of presentations by the Vice General, the Procurator General and the four Councillors General on their work in the regions and in their areas of responsibility.
The assembly decided unanimously to send a message of condolence and solidarity to the family of Fr. Luciano Santos Andrade O. Carm., who had been violently killed a week previously in Brazil.
On Wednesday 3rd September, Frs. William Harry, James Des Lauriers, Josef Jančář and Kevin Alban from the General Curia explained the layout and the content of the Guidelines for Communications between Provinces, Commissariats and Delegations and the Curia. This loose-leaf procedure manual is being distributed to all provincial superiors, commissaries, provincial secretaries and treasurers.
The Instrumentum laboris for the meeting was introduced by the Vice General, Fr. Carlo Cicconetti. The document was subsequently discussed in work groups.
In the afternoon the participants gathered to report back on the morning’s discussions. Fr. Carlos Mesters then gave a talk entitled The Exercise of Authority as It Appears in the Gospels. The delegates then suspended work in the assembly to begin a half day of recollection and reflection.
Thursday 4th September The participants spent the morning in personal reflection and prayer. In the afternoon session, Vice General, Fr. Carlo Cicconetti gave a talk entitled Theological Reflections On The Power Of Governance In The Order. This was followed by a discussion in groups where time was also devoted to examining the Message from the formators, who had met in Aylesford, England in July/August, to the provincials and commissaries in Fatima.
The morning session on 5th September was dedicated to a presentation by Fr Quinn Conners on the human aspects of leadership and in particular to the various strategies for managing conflict in provincial leadership. This topic was then discussed in the work groups.
In the afternoon the participants discussed the issues that emerged from the discussion groups. For the final part of the day, the provincials, commissaries and delegates connected with the African region met to discuss their common concerns.
The participants spent the morning session working in groups on the final message from the Council of Provinces to the whole Order. In the afternoon the groups shared their ideas in a plenary session. This was followed by a meeting of all provincials, commissaries and delegates of the two European regions.
Sunday 7th September
The participants traveled to the medieval university town of Coimbra to celebrate Mass in the church which used to be part of the Carmelite studium generale in Portugal. In the afternoon the party visited the monastery of Batalha and the small seaside town of Nazaré.
The theme of the day’s work was the finances of the Order. Fr. James Des Lauriers, Bursar General, presented the financial situation with special reference to debt and the various ways of repaying it. The Most Rev. Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, bishop of Leiria-Fatíma paid a visit to Casa Beato Nuno and stayed for lunch with the delegates. Discussion of the Order’s finances continued in the afternoon. At 5 pm the participants concelebrated Mass in the chapel of the Apparition in the main shrine in Fatíma, and in the evening provincials, commissaries and delegates from the Latin American and Asian regions met in two groups to discuss points of common interest and concern.
The Council of Provinces turned its attention today to the complex and difficult problem of sexual abuse in the church and in the order. Fr. Aureliano Pacciolla gave an overview of the psychological profile of sexual abusers while Fr. Quinn Conners offered some suggestions for treatment options. Fr. Mark Attard explained the latest instructions from the Holy See on this subject and gave a reflection on various facets of the vow of chastity.
In the afternoon, the participants discussed the implications of the morning’s conferences for their regions and provinces. The day concluded with a debate in the full assembly.
Thursday 10th September 2003
In the morning session the delegates dealt with some outstanding issues. They voted to set up a Board of Management to supervise the running of the Domus Carmelitana and agreed a statement on a common policy regarding all forms of sexual misconduct. A Final Message was also debated and agreed upon.
In the afternoon the Prior General closed the meeting and wished all the delegates well in the tasks that lay ahead.
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