newsletter crosier general chapter september 2021 • no. 3

Chapter Draft Proper Law RevisionsIN THIS ISSUE

Proper Law Chapter Draft

· 2,6,11 ·

Meet the DelegatesMeet the Facilitator

· 4,8 ·

Delegate Online Prep

· 10,12 ·

Bring • Break • ShareNewsletter Crosier General Chapter September 2021 • No. 3

--Editor

Send newsletter comments, ideas, articles to [email protected]

The “chapter drafts” made available this past summer (see unityincharity.info to download) contain the latest and final pre-chapter revisions which the delegates will consider for incorporation into our proper law at the general chapter. The Canonical Committee reviewed the input from the Order consultation and made several revisions (highlighted in bold Red) to the previous draft (earlier proposed revisions in bold Black). In addition to articles about the experience of being a c o n v e n t u a l priory and the approach to issues of general governance, this edition

of the Newsletter outlines with brief descriptions three areas revised as a result of the consultation: transfer/appointment/assignment, fraternal economy. Please consult the chapter drafts (revisions alone and in comparison format) for the full proposed revisions and the Consultation Workbook for additional context and background. Delegates in particular are encouraged

and expected to become familiar with the full extent of the proposed revisions, including the most recent ones included in the chapter drafts.

The next (final?) issue of the newsletter is scheduled for November, with a focus on the discernment and election of leadership and updates on pre-chapter gatherings and other logistical arrangements. Submissions to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is Friday, October 29.

Pre-election Discernment Underway! At the end of June, the materials for pre-chapter election discernment were posted on the general chapter website and a notice was sent to all via osc.news.

The materials included the proposed process to conduct the discernment and the timeline for providing to the election discernment committee the results of communal discernment work.

Report forms are due to Peter Snijkers, the chair of the pre-chapter election discernment committee, on 10 October. Please email Peter at [email protected]

mailto:news%40unityincharity.info?subject=Newsletter

http://unityincharity.info


mailto:news%40unityincharity.info?subject=Newsletter%20Submission

mailto:peter.snijkers%40yahoo.fr%20?subject=Election%20Discernment

2Bring • Break • Share | September 2021 | Issue 3

In light of the proposed revisions to Crosier proper law introducing the conventual priory as one of two structures for organizing Crosier religious life, which our area has been

using ad experimentum, I wish to share some reflections on the benefits and challenges we have experienced since its U.S. establishment in August 2018.1

The 2015 General Chapter allowed for this mixed model of governance with the understanding that the initial period would provide lived experience before making permanent changes. I hope that the wisdom and insight we’ve gained informs General Chapter decisions about legislation incorporating this structure. It is my hope that these reflections will help delegates understand what has worked well and what improvements and adaptations would enable the Order to better continue with this governance structure.

Benefits/What has WorkedOne of the most significant aspects of this form of governance is that all members of the conventual priory are active members of the chapter. This allows all to participate through idea and initiative in fostering and realizing in our life the charism of the Order. We no longer have delegates elected to attend a chapter every three years but have monthly chapters in which each confrere has the opportunity and responsibility to insure “the continual realization of our particular religious fellowship” (Const. 8.2).

A second benefit is the conventual prior is a member of a Crosier community, thereby enabling him to live his vocation in actual fraternity as a fraternal superior, rather than in a largely administrative role. Previously, I did not belong to either of our communities or local chapters. Being a conventual prior allows me to be truly one of the Brethren of the Holy Cross. My election as conventual prior did not change this fundamental identity and reality. A corollary benefit is the more immediate relationship that I have with the confreres even as their major superior.

The use of Zoom for monthly chapters has allowed us to gather as one body consistently throughout the year. Though we missed very much not being able to gather

1 Consultation Workbook, #’s 12-32, on Conventual Priory and Chapter Draft Constitutions and General Statutes Chapter 9 and GS9.

in person in 2020 for our annual in-person chapter, we scheduled a face-to-face chapter this year because we know that praying and socializing together is a religiously significant part of chapter experiences.

Being a conventual priory has allowed us to more strongly foster one unified development program. Development staff increasingly collaborate between sites to raise funds for the priory and in support of Order initiatives, largely through the growing Crosier Global Development Office. Finances, too, have been dramatically simplified. One consolidated financial report is shared with all members for transparency and mutual responsibility for the common good.

We hope that the conventual nature of our Crosier common life is highlighted in

chapter deliberations.

One goal of our changing structure was to simplify governance, something that may be helpful in Europe and Brazil, other areas with less available personnel for office and leadership. Our use of this configuration reflects the Order’s plan for sustaining Crosier presence in the U.S., and we continue to see it as a necessary change in light of our own demographics, membership and personnel resources for leadership, finance and formation.

Finally, we have been able to open the door to the beginnings of an international formation program in English and remain actively committed to fostering the good of the Order and its hope for future mutuality and connection across all areas.

Challenges/ImprovementsWhile there is a more immediate relationship between the confreres and the conventual prior, it is a challenge for some to experience the conventual prior as their prior due to the distance between two locations. I have worked to mitigate this sense of separation through monthly visits and having an established room and office in both locations. Nonetheless, some confreres experience the present day-to-day Crosier religious life mostly like it was when we were a province. They may say, “What really has changed?” Leadership recognizes, however, that this will be changing soon. We are anticipating personnel moves

continued, page 3...

The Ad Experience of Being a Conventual Priory By Tom Enneking, osc, Conventual Prior

3 Bring • Break • Share | September 2021 | Issue 3

Conventual Priory Experience...

once the new priory in Phoenix is completed. Both sites are attending to facility needs and changes already in preparation for this inevitability.

Members of the chapter sense that it would be a positive practice to have confreres visit between the two locations. Though some members are limited in their ability to travel, those who can travel are encouraged to spend time in the location where they do not live both to foster fraternal bonds and to gain a broader sense of the Crosier religious life.

A particular challenge we note is that there is no convenient site for Crosier initial formation. Those in formation in Onamia need to travel some distance for theological study, and Phoenix does not yet have a Catholic university with graduate theological studies. We note, though, that the Crosiers are currently the only religious institute whose major superior lives in Phoenix and who can contribute toward building up a higher level of intellectual Catholic culture. We consistently note that formation away from a normative community leaves significant gaps in formandi growth, accountability and understanding.

In a related vein, we are aware of our limits toward providing formation personnel and so ask the worldwide Order to make personnel plans and decisions to ensure the Order’s ability to provide, in the English language, international religious formation and cooperative initial formation programs for our shared future. The conventual

priory remains resolved to collaborate globally for a future Order that is connected fraternally and bonded in its communication. We do recognize the Order-wide challenge of staying interested and invested in one another. We confirm that such formative connection in the immediate future has to be prioritized and programmed, most effectively, we think, through shared initial formation.

Final RetrospectiveOur conventual priory plan anticipates shifts in our vitality through 2029 between Onamia, which is expected to have fewer members living and serving according to their gifts and energies, and Phoenix, where a more dynamic and intentional vitality will be built up. Numbers (i.e., critical mass) matter in spiritual architecture for sustaining and strengthening Crosier life. So, too, do leadership and vision. Realizing “our particular religious fellowship” (Const. 8.2) requires time, energy and creativity on the part of chapters and leaders to foster and deepen our charism.

The challenging nature of our vocation calls on the best energies of members and those who lead.

Experience can look to the past and to the present—as outlined above. Experience also keeps the horizon of the future (both near and farther) in view. This forward-looking horizon occurs mostly in planning and priority vision setting. At the level of spiritual architecture, constitutions of religious institutes supply long-lasting norms to support a spiritual vision. In this case, that spiritual vision consists of life together, actually lived and built up by daily interaction.


Left: Phoenix Priory Church & Hall.

Right:Priory

Administration and Office Building

New Priory under

construction will provide

common spaces and residence for

more Crosiers. (Photo:

August 2021)


Meet the DelegatesOnce every six years, the occasional Crosier community of a general chapter comes together and is formed in fraternity through a rhythm of prayer, social interaction, deliberation on the direction of the worldwide Order for the next six years, and the election of general leadership.

Building fraternity across the global community of the Brethren of the Holy Cross may be more easily accomplished with the advent of technology and social media, but the real work of fostering interpersonal bonds amid differing cultural norms and expectations is an ongoing task.

Building fraternity across the global community of the Brethren of the Holy Cross.

As we enter into the final months of preparation for the general chapter, the newsletter will be highlighting some of the delegates, particularly those who are general chapter delegates for the first time.

The foundation for fashioning the evangelical community of the 2022 (2021) General Chapter is coming to know one another as fellow brothers on the journey, striving to manifest unity in charity through the ways we bring, break, and share our lives as Crosier religious.

2022 (2021) General Chapter Delegates › Laurentius Tarpin, OSC (2009, 2010, 2015) (master general) › Y.B. Rosaryanto, OSC (2015) (general councilor) › Pierre-Paul Walraet, OSC (1997, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2015) › (general councilor) › Henri Paluku Muhumira, OSC (2009, 2010, 2015) › (general councilor) › › Muhindo Byanjiya Benjamin, OSC* (prior-provincial) › Tom Enneking, OSC (2010, 2015) (conventual prior) › Agustinus Agung Rianto, OSC (2010) (prior-provincial) › Peter Snijkers, OSC (2009, 2010, 2015) (prior-provincial) › › Raphael Priyo Handiyanto, OSC* › Julio César Evangelista Resende, OSC (2009, 2010) › › Roger Janssen, OSC (2015) › Joe Op de Kamp, OSC (1997, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2015) › › Dave Donnay, OSC (2015) › Alex Juguilon, OSC* › › Hadrianus Tedjoworo, OSC (2010, 2015) › Martua Leonardus Samosir, OSC (2009, 2010, 2015) › Ignatius Eddy Putranto, OSC (2015) › Basilius Hendra Kimawan, OSC (2010, 2015) › Fransiskus Samong, OSC (2015) › Riston Parlindungan Situmorang, OSC* › › Kasereka Pataya Charles, OSC (2003, 2010, 2015) › Kahindo Kighoma Jean-Marie, OSC* › Paluku Tsongo Anselme, OSC (2015) › Baloki Wata Olivier, OSC* * First time Delegate

Muhindo Byanjiya Benjamin, OSC

[Benjamin was elected in February 2021 for service as the first prior provincial of the Province of Maryrs de Bondo. He will be 49 years old this month. He made his profession of vows in 1999 and was ordained in 2007. He served as novice director and formation director, on the proprovincial council, as prior in Mulo and Kinshasa before election to his current office.]

It is difficult to talk about yourself and to choose what to say when considering one’s lifetime of experiences. Coming from a practicing Christian family, my father, Muhindo Katembo Willem, was a soldier and my mother, Masika Kimuha Beatrice, a housewife. My maternal grandfather was an agent of the National Army, and as such he



had fought in the World War II in the troops of the Congo-Rwanda-Burundi colony alongside Belgium. This service eventually led him to Israel in its many wars, where he occasionally had to visit symbolic places of Christendom. And thanks to the Christian guidance given by the Belgian army during their stay in Israel, he received baptism and became a Christian. At the end of the war, he returned to his village, which was already Christian. He was very happy to find his wife and two daughters, whom he encouraged to be catechumens to receive baptism. This happened and it was his joy. My paternal grandparents also followed the Christian faith. My father had attended missionary school and through this passage, he was catechized to receive the sacraments. I consider this to be among the distant roots of my Christian faith.

My family has nine children, six boys and three girls. I am the eighth of nine. As the military camp was about ten kilometers from the hospital, a distance that my mother would have to walk for the prenatal check-up and for the maternity ward, the day she went there, halfway, she gave birth assisted by a wise woman who had accompanied her. This child is me. That’s why my parents gave me the name Byanjiya Kazingufu which means, “something on the road, through hard work.”

I have thoughts to contribute for the enrichment of the whole. I have with me the richness that an African Crosier would like

to offer to confreres elsewhere.

I was born in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I attended the primary school in the parish. I was baptized as a child. The rest of the initiation sacraments I received by following the school catechesis. From an early age I joined the group of children and young people for Eucharistic devotion. My family had moved from the camp shortly before I reached school age. We settled not far from Saint Aloysius parish in Rutshuru. As a result, my two older brothers and I spent more of our time in the parish enjoying a Christian environment.

In the last part of secondary school, I began to feel the desire to consecrate myself to God in order to continue the work of the missionaries who edified me a lot. My parish was run first by the missionaries from Africa and then by the Palottin missionaries. It was in my final year that I made contact with the Crosiers. The story of the Bondo Martyrs was instrumental in my choice for the Crosiers. My correspondence and contacts with Father Hubert

Wagemans, OSC, in charge of recruiting at the time, very quickly encouraged me to pursue my goal of one day being a religious, now a religious Crosier.

I started my religious training in 1997 in a class of eight. Our formators and our elders in formation were very devoted and very committed to the witness of life as religious. It has always encouraged us. Right after my theological training, I was asked to help in the novitiate and postulancy as a socius. Afterwards, I served as master of novices in Mulo and then master of scholastics in Kinshasa. Since my first steps in formation, the experience of self-giving of the missionaries Crosiers in Bondo, has always motivated me to give my part for the cause that had led them to death: fidelity to the gospel and a high vision of brotherhood. As prior of the priory Holy Cross of Mulo and, later, of the priory ‘Mboka Emmaüs’ of Kinshasa, I discovered that each new mission that God gives to me is an expression of his confidence and an invitation to more humility. I was led to integrate the spirituality of the useless servant who only does his duty (Luke 17:10): a lesson often difficult to understand and live in the management of these responsibilities. On this journey, I have experienced human limitations and weaknesses and the love of God. The love of the Church, which I received from a young age from my parents, has helped me to give the best of myself when the challenges of life demanded it. The support and confidence of the confreres has been an invaluable comfort.

On this journey, I have experienced moments of loneliness and abandonment too. I have gotten discouraged and questioned myself. At the end of the road, these experiences, lived in faith, bear the fruits of perseverance and sacrifice. Responsibility comes with the cross.

The first provincial chapter held from February 16 to 20 of this year gave me a new responsibility, that is to say a new mission and a new cross. At the same time, it is the expression of the confidence of the confreres that I receive with gratitude. This mission is huge. It is only by uniting our strengths and skills that we will be able to realize the contributions that the African Crosiers have to make in concert with other parts of the Order throughout the world.

We have the challenges of continuing to take root in our spirituality and our charism, and to find our identity as true African Crosiers. For this, we need to improve the quality of recruitment and training of formandi. We have to work hard and, in the sense of the pooling of goods, to meet the challenge of “autofinancement.” It is then that gradually we


Meet the Delegates: Benjamin...


Material and Human Resources for Good (General) GovernanceBy Dave Donnay, OSC General Econome

The 2015 General Chapter adopted an ad experimentum configuration of general governance with three elected general councilors and an extended council consisting of the elected councilors and ex-officio major superiors. The State of the Order report describes the experience and evaluation of this configuration from the master general’s perspective. The proposed proper law revisions (chapter draft) incorporate the ad experimentum configuration as the norm going forward.

General governance and its effective operation on behalf of the Order will be a topic of needed deliberation and decision making at the upcoming chapter before the election of new leadership takes place. It is important to identify what “good governance” at the general level entails and what resources, material and human, are necessary to maintain it. We want to assure that the services of the master general, his general and extended council, the general administration, and the commissions and committees, which constitute the international level of the Order, are sufficient for our needs and provide what the Church requires of us as an Order.

Our Constitutions emphasize that everyone has personal responsibility in their own specific roles and circumstances to contribute to shaping and sustaining the life and mission of the Order, most immediately in the context of our local communities and their chapters. This includes financial matters where, in appropriate ways, everyone shares responsibility for the financial decisions of the Order and its parts. Such decisions need to be shaped by looking at the charism, the management, the aims, the meaning, and the social and ecclesial implications of the economic choices before us. When the Order deliberates critical questions about the configuration of general governance, the Church expects that we are taking our charismatic patrimony and the implications of the choices before us into account.

On the general level, it is the primary responsibility of the master general to vitalize the unity of the Order and its charismatic gifts, promoting a fruitful religious life among the members (Cont. 36.1). In order to accomplish this, he


appoints and oversees Crosier and other administrative personnel, and through his own work and that of the staff, provides services that enable the realization of our religious life and implement the decisions and directions of the general chapter. The State of the Order report outlines the ordinary general administration work of the past six years, with the various initiatives, projects and programs that have served to foster the vitality of our religious life in all the areas and implemented the directives from 2015.

In at least the past two decades, with the growing knowledge and realization of the changes in demographics and financial resources that we are experiencing, Crosier leadership has considered different configurations of general governance, both in terms of personnel (for example, having full time elected councilors who also serve in administrative roles, in conjunction with major superiors who serve in consultative roles) and location (the long term financial and personnel consequences in Rome and what would be the financial and other implications of moving the Generalate out of Rome). [See Consultation Workbook on General Governance, #’s 33-51.]

The underlying conviction for these discussions is that to remain vital as an international Order (as opposed to a confederation of related but ultimately autonomous areas), we need good general governance and we need to find a way to pay for it. The question to ask ourselves is what services the Order needs at this level in order to sustain its life, mission


and charismatic unity and what will it cost? We then can find a way to provide for the general level governance that we need as an Order. What does the Order need to grow in unity and its charismatic gifts in the years ahead? What would be an unacceptable reduction in the work of the Generalate or a minimization of general administration?

What services does the Order need at the general level to grow in unity and its charismatic gifts? What does the Church

expect of the Order in its structures of general governance?

In addition to considerations of the financial and administrative scope of the Generalate, a discussion about general level service and leadership also will need to include strategies to strengthen the work of Commissions and calling forth leaders from all areas with the competencies to fulfill the need for general governance. Personnel planning and capacity-building continue to be of critical importance for assuring our future as an international Order.

If the 2022 (2021) General Chapter, like all our local, convnetual, and provincial chapters, is to achieve its intended purpose, its deliberations on the different aspects of general governance and everything related to our patrimony, must take place in a spirit of candor and mutual trust, rooted in authentic faith, where we are able to hear the voice of the Lord in our brothers (Const. 9.1).

Dave Donnay, OSC, began service as general econome in 2018, succeeding Steve Henrich, OSC, who served from 2010-2018.

The whole patrimony of an institute must be faithfully preserved by all. This patrimony is comprised of the intentions of the founders, of all that the competent ecclesiastical authority has approved concerning the nature, purpose, spirit and character of the institute, and of its sound traditions (Can. 578).

A true autonomy of life, especially of governance, is recognised for each institute. This autonomy means that each institute has its own discipline in the Church and can preserve whole and entire the patrimony described in can. 578 (Can. 586 §1).

Code of Canon Law on Patrimony and Governance

CHAPTER PRAYER

God of unity and charity, You sent your Son

into the world as a sign of your love for all humanity. We ask that Jesus continue to show us how to be brother to

one another.

May we imitate him in bringing, breaking and sharing

the bread of life.

God of unity and charity, Your Son sent your Spirit of

love and wisdom into the world.We ask that this same Spirit guide our Order, especially the members of the General Chapter.

May we be wise and courageous in bringing a clear vision of a robust brotherhood

and steadfast ministry.

God of unity and charity, You send Crosiers into

the world to be witnesses of community life and service.

May the fruits of the General Chapter be enriched through the diversity of our cultures, that all may experience that unity and charity to which

you have called us.

We pray this in Jesus Christ, Amen.


Meet the Delegates Facilitator: Priyono Marwan, SJ

Meet the Delegates: Benjamin...

will be able to open new missions. Already, such missions require us to prepare by learning other languages such as English. And I personally find myself faced with this language challenge. With my new responsibility, I will be taking part in international meetings and the General Chapter which are held in English. However, I do not know how to express myself well in English. Yet I have thoughts to contribute for the enrichment of the whole. I have with me the richness that an African Crosier would like to offer to confreres elsewhere. But also I have to listen carefully to what colleagues from elsewhere communicate and offer! Language is a challenge I face!

Seeking to respond to this challenge, I responded positively to the invitation of the Prior of the Conventual Priory Holy Cross of USA, Thomas Enneking, OSC, to visit the confreres of the USA, to encourage the confreres who are members of our province on mission there, and to practice my English to improve my skills over the course of two months. Funding for the trip is available. I hope that the current administrative procedures for the visa will be

successful. I thank the confreres of the Conventual Priory for this opportunity but above all for the level of fraternal economy that we experience between the Conventual Priory and the Martyrs Province of Bondo. History reminds us that the U.S. province sent three missionaries to the Congo to support the formation of the Congolese Crosiers. These are Robert Rossi, OSC, Ernest Martello, OSC, and Robert Mandernach, OSC, who recently left us and whom we salute. The African Crosiers remain grateful for the contribution made by fellow missionaries to the building of the “Martyrs of Bondo” province.

The motto of the first provincial chapter of the Congo says this: “There is therefore hope for your future” (Jeremiah 31:17). We seek to keep hope alive for the fruitful future of the charism and spirituality of the Order of the Holy Cross on African soil. With the help of God and the contribution of the entire Order, but in the first place from the African confreres, we will get there. This implies for us African Crosiers, being able to sacrifice the best of ourselves for this much-desired advent.


[Fr. Agustinus Priyono Marwan, SJ, will serve as facilitator for the 2022 (2021) General Chapter. In this article, he shares his background, current life and work, his approach to facilitating the General Chapter and what he envisions for the General Chapter.]

Personal background

I was born at Solo City, Indonesia, 24 July 1952. My parents were high school teachers. The small city (522,000 people in 2020), also called Surakarta, has been a Javanese cultural hub (along with Yogyakarta). There I finished both my elementary and junior secondary school education under the Immaculate Conception Brothers (FIC; 1959-1968). Afterward I attended St. Peter Canisius Minor Seminary at Magelang, 102 kms from Solo City, run by the Archdiocese of Semarang and the Jesuits (1969-1971).

I joined the Society of Jesus in 1972 at Girisonta-Ungaran. I finished my basic priestly formation of Philosophy, Pastoral Ministry, and Theology at Jakarta, Surakarta, and

Yogyakarta respectively; and was ordained priest on 30 December 1980 at Yogyakarta.

The Jesuits then sent me to Manila for some (Asia-Pacific) international formation and to finish a Master of Arts in Social Psychology (1985) and Cognitive Psychology (1988). Both were at the state University of the Philippines.

Returning to Indonesia, I made the tertianship (Jesuit final formal formation) in 1988-1989. The next years included assignments at the Jesuit university (Yogyakarta: 1989-2000 and 2009-2019), in Jesuit formation (Indonesia, 1989-1992: Indonesian Jesuit seminarians; Manila, 2000-2002: Asia-Pacific Jesuit seminarians; and Manila, 2010-2019: international Jesuit priests and brothers), in Jesuit governance (Yogyakarta,1992-1998: superior of university Jesuit community; and Semarang, 2000-2008: superior of Indonesian Jesuis province), pastoral ministries (Ambarawa, 1988-1989; and Yogyakarta, 2010-2019), and spiritual accompaniment (Manila and Yogyakarta, 2010-2021).

Current life and work

Officially speaking I am still in the team responsible for the Jesuit Asia-Pacific Tertianship program at Manila.


Meet the Facilitator: Priyono, SJ...


Regretfully, due to the Covid-19, we could not run the regular program yet. As an additional piece of information, in the last ten years (2010-2019) this annual September-March program served seventy-five Jesuits from twenty-nine countries in five continents.

Staying back in Indonesia and keeping the national health protocol, from the beginning of the pandemic time I have been doing my ministries of online spiritual exercises for religious (both in groups and individually) and of pastoral accompaniments for priests, religious, and lay persons. The accompaniment has mainly been done through the Jesuit Pastoral Center at Yogyakarta. The ministry of spiritual exercises was organized through Christ the King Spirituality Center at Girisonta, Ungaran.

The members are the responsible representatives of the whole membership of the Order.

The approach to the role of facilitator

Organizationally, the General Chapter has goals to achieve or fruits to bear that we might find in the official documents.

Furthermore the proceedings of the General Chapter are to be found in the guidelines for how to conduct a chapter.

The facilitator directly or indirectly helps the members attending the chapter to prepare and participate in the chapter accordingly. In a direct way the facilitator may run the chapter upon the delegation he receives for this authority. He does it with no right to vote nor make any decision. In the indirect way the facilitator may be consulted on the way to facilitate the chapter proceeding according to the guidelines.

Vision for the Crosier General Chapter

It is a common understanding that the general chapter will decide the main ways of caring for and of developing the whole Order. The decision is based on the present global situation (both internal and external) as factually perceived by the capitulars (the members). This decision is made, hence agreed upon, by the whole membership of the chapter. The levels of agreement (consensus, absolute majority, or majority) for a certain decision are based on the matter’s importance. This level of agreement needs to be described in the guidelines for running the chapter. The way to draft the proposals leading to decisions involves the whole membership of the chapter. The members are the responsible representatives of the whole membership of the Order.

Ad Experimentum: What the Order has been doing the past 6 years

[Answers: 1.-B., 2.-C., 3.-C., 4.-B., 5.-C.]

1. Many of the authorized actions mandated by the 2015 General Chapter were undertaken "ad experimentum." What does this refer to?

A. A Vatican trial study of new forms of religious lifeB. A canonical principle: better to experiment with

new structures and norms before enshrining in proper law

C. The freedom given to the master general to try new things for renewing Crosier religious life

D. The scientific method for writing new Constitutional norms in the post-Vatican II era

2. In regard to Governance and Structure, the ad experimentum authorization allowed for the adoption of:

A. Autonomous Priory as only structureB. Shared governance with lay associationsC. Mixed GovernanceD. General Delegation in Constitutions

3. The Order has been working with with these two primary, normative governance structures since 2015:

A. Proprovince and General DelegationB. Rectory and PrioryC. Conventual Priory and ProvinceD. Generalate and Provincialate

4. What new general governance body was established as a result of the 2015 General Chapter ad experimentum directives?

A. General Board B. Extended CouncilC. Master General and Major SuperiorsD. General Formation Commission

5. In formation, the ad experimentum adjustment of our proper law provided for greater involvement of this person in initial formation:

A. Local bishopB. Consulting psychologistC. Master generalD. Prior of a formation community


Conventual Priory Experience...

Based on our ad experimentum evaluation, we pray that future leaders will focus on conventual living and set forth directives and norms to press us all, including formandi, in that direction (anima una in Deum). Our home environment must be communal, actually living together. Our conventual priory structure has benefited our work in this direction.

Conventual living, however, is not really just an issue for U.S. Crosiers. For this reason, we hope to hear from all areas about their Crosier religious life discussions, as well as the current and planned improvements and strategic decision-making to sustain the Order’s conventual Crosier religious life in priories and in province structures.

We do not want to focus exclusively or too predominantly on the adoption of the conventual priory structure in the U.S. as the only such experiment undertaken during this ad experimentum period. Rather, we hope that the conventual nature of our Crosier common life is highlighted. A helpful assessment of province-versus-autonomous priory structure will occur if all areas and leaders have worked in their particular context toward our great common ideal that sustains and challenges us all—Crosier conventual life throughout the world.

Tom Enneking, OSC, was elected for service as conventual prior in 2018. He previously served as prior provincial from 2011-2018.

Desired outcomes of pre-chapter gathering

1) Share with one another our hopes, fears, expectations as delegates to the chapter at this time (guiding reflection question will be provided).

2) Hear from the planning committee the current status of possible scenarios for where/how to have the chapter and ask clarifying questions to gain a shared understanding of the context and options (document outlining scenarios sent ahead of time).

3) Provide the planning committee with reactions/feedback to the presentation of scenarios and offer input on plans and content for eventual future online sessions.

Thursday, October 07, 2021 Online Pre-Chapter Delegate Preparation Session

The Chapter Drafts of the Constitutions and the General Statutes, the Consultation Workbook and other resources for the proposed Proper Law Revisions are available on the General Chapter website:

See further details about the Preparation Session on page 12...

To encourage, promote and assure transparency and accountability, each area of the Order is expected to submit an annual budget, audit report, and temporal wellbeing report, which form the basis for determining what stimulus, support, or correction may be necessary.

In addition, the descriptive category “suitability” is employed in the revised general statute. The confirmation of suitability can be combined in one general-level process (in contrast to the three general-level processes--solemn vows, diaconate and priesthood ordinations--that has been the practice and experience since the 2015 General Chapter for both solemn vows and ordination in order to alleviate the administrative burdens of multiple general-level dossiers.

Continued from page 11: INITIAL FORMATION

Continued from page 11: CROSIER FRATERNAL ECONOMY

Continued from page 11: TRANSFERS, ASSIGNMENTS, & APPOINTMENTS

The Glossary will provide a proper description of the terms transfer, appointment, and assignment.Also included (GS7-1.5 and 1.5.1) are new and revised norms on absence and dismissal to align with canonical norms, particularly related to documentation and communication with the master general.

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In the Consultation Workbook, it states that “there is generally agreement that the master general does have responsibility and needs to play a critical role in assuring quality initial formation in the Order and its areas, faithful to the Order’s living heritage and the present ideal of its life and work (Const 23.4)” (Section on Formation Governance, #’s 33-51).

The major superior approves the candidate

and the master general confirms the decision.

Considering feedback from the consultation, the chapter draft proposes that the best canonical framework for the involvement of the master general in the acceptance of candidates for solemn profession and ordination is to “confirm” rather than “approve.” The major superior with his council approves the candidate and the master general with his council confirms the decision (ergo, there is the possibility of not confirming). The language and process are akin to the election processes already familiar to chapters and superiors.

INITIAL FORMATION

TRANSFERS, ASSIGNMENTS, & APPOINTMENTS

The chapter draft of proposed norms includes new or expanded items related to membership and movement between areas of the Order. With the implementation of the 2015 General Chapter directives for enhanced international collaboration, including programs like the CGDO and post-novitiate formation in English (IPNE), the master general called for personnel to serve in these endeavors. He followed procedural norms assuring appropriate consultation and interaction with the major superiors and members involved.

The master general calls for personnel to serve the Order’s life and mission,

following proper procedures.

The Constitutional norms in the membership section of chapter 7 and in the master general section of chapter 8 articulate the possibility and competence for the master general to make, at his own initiative, transfers between conventual priories and provinces. The General Statutes provide the parameters and conditions for making these personnel moves. Previously, such transfers required the approval of the master general but were not made at his initiative (see current Const. 30.3).

FRATERNAL ECONOMY

Several revisions have been incorporated into the CFE norms. In the Constitutional norm (8-3.2), the addition of “contribution to” accompanies the distribution of assets to fully articulate the equitable movement of assets, which requires both giving and receiving. The language referencing ‘canonical assets’ and ‘civil entities with separate assets’ provides a legal barrier (protection of assets) between areas and Crosier-related civil entities against possible external liability claims.

Budgets, audits, & temporal wellbeing reports...

determine the stimulus, support, or correction that

may be necessary.

The revisions in the General Statutes identify the International Finance Manual for compiling ways the fraternal economy is implemented in concrete practices. There is a description of the consultation and recommendation process for temporal matters at the general level. In addition to the canonically required Vatican approvals for certain transactions (CIC 638,§3), the revision proposes establishing additional internal thresholds (limits or boundaries) requiring the approval of the master general (GS2-13.3.1) and provides for administrative norms and policies for the master general to address financial difficulties (GS8-7.6).

[See Chapter Draft 6-23.3 (Const.) & GS6-1.1]

[See Chapter Draft 7-1.4, 8-3.1a (Const.) & GS7-1.2, GS8-3.1, GS7-1.5, GS1.5.1]

[See Chapter Draft 8-3.2 (Const.) &

GS2-13.3.1, GS8-7.2, GS8-7.6]

See further details about the Preparation Session on page 12...

continued, page 10 (previous page)...




Meet the Delegates: Continuing our series of features on chapter delegates, read about our brothers chosen for service as delegates to the general chapter. Online Preparation for Delegates: Following the first session of online preparation described this month, look for further information on the next sessions scheduled for Nov 4 and Dec 2.

Logistical Updates for the Chapter: Hopefully a determination on the location of an in-person chapter will be made soon. There will be critical practical information for delegates making their plans for travel.

Pre-Chapter Election Discernment: The process of preparing to elect new general leadership is available on the website. Look for further information and reflections on transition in leadership.

IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF BRING • BREAK • SHARE

Bring • Break • Share IS PUBLISHED BYMaster GeneralCrosier GeneralateVia del Velabro 1900186 Rome, [email protected] EDITOR: Dave Donnay, OSCEDITORIAL BOARD:

General Chapter Planning Committee

Laurentius Tarpin, OSC Pierre-Paul Walraet, OSC Henri Paluku Muhumira, OSCY.B. Rosaryanto, OSC Onesius Otenieli Daeli, OSC Dave Donnay, OSCPhoto Credits: Phoenix Priory Evo Lembaga, OSC

The next issue of Bring • Break • Share

is scheduled for November.

Send submissions to [email protected].

Deadline for November issue is Oct 29

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The GENERAL CHAPTER WEBSITE is the best place to find the LATEST DOCUMENTS and INFORMATION about the General Chapter!

Thursday, October 07, 2021 Online Pre-Chapter Delegate Preparation Session

Future Scheduled Online Sessions: Thursday, November 04, 2021 Thursday, December 02, 2021

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!Further information on how to join the

meeting will be sent to the delegates

The online (via Zoom) pre-chapter preparation session is the first opportunity for the delegates to see and hear from one another as a group. In order to embody among ourselves the theme of unity in charity, we seek to engage one another as brothers in the common journey of Crosier life across the diverse areas of the Order. We will do this when we (hopefully) gather in-person, but we can begin to

foster that spirit through preparatory online sessions. In the current context of pandemic uncertainty and without a final plan on the location or timeline for conducting the chapter, our fraternity supports and challenges us to bring, break, and share our individual and communal experience and wisdom to build up our life and service in all the areas of the Order.

7:30PM - 9:30PM8:30AM - 10:30AM2:30PM - 4:30PM

IndonesiaBrazilCongo (east)

U.S. (MN)U.S. (AZ)Europe

7:30AM - 9:30AM5:30AM - 7:30AM2:30PM - 4:30PM

See the Desired Outcomes drafted for the Preparation Session on page 10...




newsletter crosier general chapter september 2021 • no. 3

Documents