One of the themes that was chosen to be dealt with in the next general chapter is “Fraternal Collaboration.” The term refers to sending friars from provinces that have a good number of religious, many of whom are still young, to provinces that have been experiencing a decline in vocations and a sharp decrease in the number of brothers for several decades. This relatively new phenomenon is generating a great movement of friars in the Order and is certainly an indicator of the Order’s vitality. For example, there are currently more than 200 Indian friars present in other provinces with “collaboration agreements”. The same is happening with friars from other circumscriptions: Polish, African, Indonesian and Brazilian.
The good fruit from these collaborations are many and are present in various places, and for this we want to thank God, the provinces and the friars involved. However, there are some points that require further exploration, to prevent this beautiful and significant experience from falling into some deviations that could disfigure our way of life as Capuchin Friars Minor and could compromise our service to the Church. In light of the Gospel, and considering our Capuchin charism and the experiences of the Order, especially over the last two decades, we feel there is now a need to reflect and pray, in order to discern how to protect our charism and how to promote “Fraternal Collaboration” even more, securing it within the genuineness of our tradition.
This growing sensitivity falls in line with the missionary aspect of the Order. In fact, “collaboration” requires that friars be sent to other countries, with other cultures and other traditions, languages, food, customs… exactly as in the missions. However, unlike the “traditional missions” where friars take many risks and are sent to contexts that are often poor and with very few or no structures, this new way of moving friars takes them to richer countries with many structures. This specific characteristic demands special attention to ensure that the motivation for leaving continues to be solely for the love of the Gospel and in a spirit of self-giving for building up of the Kingdom of God.
Regarding missionary activity, our Order has precise indications offered by Francis of Assisi himself, and almost 500 years of experience. We’ve gained much perspective with the PCOs, the Constitutions, the General Ministers’ letters and the Ratio Formationis, which make here the many indications of the Magisterium of the Church. The Order has a theoretical/practical heritage, especially regarding the discernment of the candidates, their preparation and the preparation of the fraternities that receive them, the economic aspects, the times of service/mission, the need for openness to inculturation, to the needs of a new evangelization. Applying these criteria to “Fraternal Collaboration” is a guarantee for success, which protects against the danger of possible deviations. If we are not careful and if we do not make strong, courageous and consistent decisions, what today presents itself as a wonderful opportunity can become a great counter-witness and can ruin our Order.
Our presence in some countries where we used to have an extraordinary missionary force is now threatened. But the Lord, who raised up our charism in the Church, is giving us many vocations in other latitudes. It is time that we understood that our Order is one and universal. Even though we are divided into provinces and custodies, we cannot wash our hands and let our charism disappear completely in significant territories, as if this did not concern us all. We must find ways to form young people to be truly good friars minor, to take on our values in authentic ways, and then to allow “divine inspiration” to lead them to living out our charism where the Order needs to go.
Br. Mariosvaldo Florentino
General Secretary for Missionary Evangelization, Animation and Cooperation
Many thanks indeed.
Sometimes I find it difficult to access the English versions of various data: eg. I tried a few times t access the new On-going Formation Programmes, but without success.
John