The central committee for the General Chapter is acutely aware of the fact that we still have a lot of work to do, and there is only a finite amount of time available to do it in. Sunday will be our last day, because people's tickets are booked and they will be on planes on Monday, if not Sunday evening. If you've been following this little drama at all, you will know that there are some major "commitments" that still need to be considered (brought to the assembly, read, clarified, discussed, amended, and voted on) and some were sent back to committee and need to be brought back for consideration. Welcome to a "new" process that includes some very traditional components.
A Whatsapp message was sent out last evening that we would start our meetings today at 8:30 am, a half hour earlier than usual. I was reminded of that when I was was working in my room around that time and noticed that it was very quiet. A light bulb went on - I still have a few - and I quickly made my way to the Aula Magna by the back way so that I could slip into my place relatively unnoticed. But I needn't have worried much. Sr. Leslie was starting an hour-long review of the process that we had undergone, highlighting various points, sharing her experience of the Salesian governance structures, and urging us to continue on our journey. (She would be leaving today for another gathering of religious for which she would be a facilitator.) She urged us to retain a global view of the Institute, see difference as a richness, to let the government and the council dream and reinvent new structures and new proposals, and quoting one of the Capitulants, proceed with the conviction that "Sustainability is the name of God’s Providence."
At the end of the hour of listening, I was certainly ready to move on. It was strange to me that as an educator, her Powerpoint slides were very difficult to read because of a wide variety of color combinations - white letters on a light green background? - and an often very small text. It wouldn't have played in any high school class. But her insights were often very good, and her approach was very charitable. The extensive and complicated conceptual structure of her approach to "appreciative inquiry" was not something that captured my attention fully, but I'm sure that it did so for others. She received solid appreciative applause at the end or her presentation.
The central committee then offered a proposal whereby Regions and Districts would continue the process begun here as they addressed the implementation of the Paths of Transformation. The proposal was considered, discussed, and finally approved by the assembly. A key dimension was the inclusion of the AIMEL proposals and the intention that those associated with us would be part of the process.
After a short break, we returned to the commitments from the Paths of Transformation groups. The first one on floor was a proposal to review the way that the members of the General Chapter are chosen. Traditional representation of Brothers based on the number in a District has led to a wide disparity of age - the most numerous Districts have retired Brothers - and the differences in culture or location - some Districts in Africa and Asia cover many cultures yet have only one or two representatives at the Chapter. This commitment wanted to "guarantee a better representation in the General Chapter", giving some specific suggestions or factors to consider, such as number of Brothers, average age, number of countries, etc. In the end, with one amendment that took out the phrase "and the number of associates" as a factor of consideration in this process, an amendment that barely passed with a 33-31-1-3 vote, the entire commitment passed with 64 out of 70 votes in favor. The next commitment that was considered created flexible teams with specific expertise that would be made available to help address the needs of certain Districts. It also passed.
After the 10:30 am break, the 11:00 am session began with a planned intervention from Br. Gabriele, the Visitor of the District of Italy, who spoke about Br. Rodolfo Meoli, who has been Postulator for the Institute since 1994 and who has now retired, having shepherded many causes for Lasallian Saints and Blesseds over the years. It was appropriate that today, the celebration of St. Raphaël-Louis Rafiringa of Madagascar, the Brother who was canonized in 2009, we should honor Br. Rodolfo, who was seated at the back of the Chapter hall. Great applause with everyone turning around to the back.
Br. Rodolfo acknowledged the appreciation, walked over to one of the microphones in the back row and gave a very find response in Italian, particular thanking the "vice-Postulars" who worked in local places to gather evidence and do the heavy lifting for many of these causes. Br. Robert Schieler also walked to the back to use the same microphone to say that Br. Rodolfo, in Rome, was known as the premiere Postulator General for these many years, even helping out other congregations. But he’s also been a wonderful community man, a wonderful support, and he has accomplished with great affection and community. Br. Rodolfo gestured in acknowledgment of the further applause as he made his way down the side aisle and left the Aula Magna, visibly moved by the moment.
As it turned out, it appears that Br. Rodolfo, having sought and validated so many miracles in favor of the Blesseds and Saints whose causes he has espoused and guided to successful conclusions, had now managed to cause a miracle of his own. The next seven considerations of commitments from various groups, whether newly considered or brought back for reconsideration after some changes, were approved with absolutely no questions of clarification or discussion, with an eighth one passed after just a few positive comments. Maybe we should have a new saint, Rodolfo, as the patron of speedy meetings, something which most people would consider a miracle. The genuine concern that the central committee had that we would never have enough time to fully consider all of those commitments suddenly disappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The proposals that were left had come from the Young Brothers at the Chapter. There were four proposals that were submitted to the central committee. (According to our Manual of Procedure, anyone could submit a proposition, which would be considered as long as an additional Capitulant was in favor of it.) Of the four, two of them were approved after lengthy periods of questions, discussion, and opinion. One proposition introduced regional and international meetings of Young Brothers, and the other created an ongoing committee of Young Brothers. There were two others. One sought to establish a new community "at the peripheries" in each region in dialogue with another congregation and/or religious institution, and the other was to create three novitiates for the whole Institute as a unified initial stage of formation, etc. There was much input and concern expressed about these, both practical, financial, and organizational. In the end, they were sent back to the group for review, and the group later decided to withdraw them, pointing out later that the Institute wasn't ready for such propositions ... yet. The session ended just before lunch at 1:00 pm.
At 3:00 pm, everyone returned for the next phase of our election process, the choosing of a Vicar General. Brother Armin, the new Superior General, was invited to address the assembly on this topic. He spoke about the requirement in the Rule that he should provide three names for consideration. But what is critical in a leadership team is that the whole team works together, and it may be better to share some important factors that will help build good working relationships that benefit the whole team. He spoke about the advantage of having skills in more than one language, of being tech savvy in today's world, of being able to listen and accompany everyone in the Institute, and of being team players, without letting egos get in the way. After listing the characteristics that he was looking for - there were others - he submitted a list of six names whom he believed could work well on the General Council, and most of whom were there in the hall. He said that all six reluctantly and with much faith had given their consent to leave their names on his list.
This change in procedure required that our Manual of Procedures in this respect would have to be changed, and the assembly passed the change with 64 out of 69 in favor. The assembly then added two further names to the six that had been provided by Br. Armin, and ballots were prepared accordingly. Everyone was allowed to stay in the Aula Magna as the ballots were distributed, filled in (one name only), collected, and counted in front of the dais by the Scrutineers, each ballot being checked twice before being announced and then recorded. A number of us kept a running tally in our notebooks. With 70 Capitulants, an absolute majority of 36 was required. The room had remained silent during the voting and the counting, but this time it was a more relaxed silence than had been the case for the counting of initial ballots for Superior General. In the end, Br. Carlos Gomez from Colombia received 37 votes, far ahead of the next highest number of votes for someone else. Br. Armin walked over to where Br. Carlos was seated and asked him if he would be willing to serve as Vicar General. Br. Carlos said that he would - although those of us on the other side of the room didn't hear most of this - and the room broke out in extended applause. Another nice moment. We ended the session for a coffee break and would return at 4:30 pm. Virtually everyone stayed in the room to congratulate Carlos, who was his usual smiling, gracious self as he accepted the best wishes of so many of his Brothers, colleagues, and friends.
I told him that we had waited fifteen years for him to be on the General Council, since back in 2007, when I was at the 44th General Chapter as a staff member overseeing the Liturgies, he had been my Spanish-speaking group liaison. At that Chapter, he had been nominated as a General Councilor but begged to be allowed to take his name out. Perhaps he felt then that he wasn't ready for the role. But he was now, as was evident from both his current disposition and from the vote of those in the assembly.
Yes, I know that this is a very long entry. But then it was a very long day. When we resumed our work at 4:30 pm, the Rodolfo miracle continued and we quickly passed two commitments that had been returned to their groups and had not yet reappeared for our consideration: no clarifications and no discussion needed. All passed.
At 4:45 pm, we began our consideration of who would become the next General Councilors. Br. Armin was asked to underscore or broaden some of his key thoughts about this. Here are some of the things that he said combined with quick summary notes that I wrote down:
- The mandate of this chapter is to look at new pathways so that we can dream and actualize one global Lasallian family. One of the ways that we can do this is through the current structures that are in place, and the traditional way of accompanying the regions was through the appointment of a council with members who would take care of a Region. But if our call is to look at a global unity and a common mission, then it may be important to break siloes that have not been life-giving, so that different Regions can come together with greater collaboration and fraternity.
- The image in my mind is that of cross-polination; the idea of one District and Region working together with other Districts and Regions. If we define roles and responsibilities very rigidly, focusing on one major responsibility or regional area, we may be losing the collaboration of a system that could not work well in systematically configured boxes.
- I would like to see Councilors helping more than one Region. What prevents another Councilor from sharing his experience and expertise? We don’t have to confine ourselves to the Brothers who are responsible for a particular Region. My preference is that the central government be given some leeway, and not limit the Councilors to one portfolio or regional responsibility. I’d like to sit down with the Councilors and see what we could do together in one area, project, or Region.
We closed the session at 6:20 pm in order to prepare for the evening Eucharist, which would be presided by the Superior General of the Jesuits and be celebrated in English. Br. Benedict from Ireland sang a captivating Gaelic prayer-song during the Offertory preparations, accompanied by Br. Rodolfo on the small pipe organ in front. And I was able to capture a photo of the Superior General of the Jesuits wearing a vestment with an image of St. John Baptist de La Salle on the front.
