Newsletter of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
Rome, Italy
April 16, 2006

From the Editor

Happy Easter! Father General would like to point out two documents of significance to all the confreres. The first one is the letter on restructuring that went to all the units and confreres from the Restructuring committee recently. If you missed it or didn’t get your copy, you can access it on our website at: http://www.cssr.com/english/whoarewe/Docs%20and%20Comms/2006-TobinLetterRestructComm-EN.shtml

The second document you can find here in SCALA under the Peace and Justice index tab. It is a letter from both the men’s and women’s Unions of Superiors General of which Father General is Vice president of the men’s union. It concerns the efforts of religious orders to alleviate and end the AIDS crisis worldwide and to further coordinate the efforts. The letter asks that anyone, including our confreres, as a community or individually, working in any way with persons living with AIDS to download and fill out the questionnaire. Although the letter gives an e-mail to send it directly to the UISG/USG, we would ask that you also send a copy back to us at Response@cssrim.com.

Please note the workshops offered under the Announcements index tab. Incidentally, you should be receiving copies of our revived, printed ORBIS magazine/yearbook in your community by May. I wish to express my gratitude to all the contributors, translators, my collaborators at Liguori Publications,USA, and to Father Antonio Pasquarelli at Materdomini, Italy, who supervised the printing and distribution. It is meant to be a review of significant events in Redemptorist life during the past year. I hope that confreres will want to submit articles for next year’s edition. But space is limited due to publishing in seven languages. So we’ll be looking for in-depth stories and photos with a worldwide appeal. Don’t forget we also welcome your submissions for SCALA at anytime. Send your news items to garyz@cssr.com.

Grace and Redemption for All!
Gary Ziuraitis, C.SS.R.

Recent noteworthy events in the Redemptorist Family. For a complete record of transitions visit the Officialia site

First Profession of Temporary Vows:
Nicanor Fernández Fernández, Province of Madrid, June 19, 2005
Troy Dominic (Benedict Gerard) Kelley, Province of Denver, August 1, 2005
Robert Harold Lindsey, Province of Denver, August 1, 2005
Seog-Hyeon Stephen Hong, Vice province of Kagoshima, December 11, 2005
Alejandro Arciniega Muñoz, Province of México, January 14, 2006
Washington Luiz Rodriques Amaral, Vice province of Fortaleza, January 27, 2006
Emanuel Alejandro Demagistris, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2006
Germán Nicolás Lucero, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2006
Martin Alberto Nievas, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2006
Sílvio Alberto Sánchez, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2006
Valmir Busse, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
Maiko Deffaveri, Province of Porto Alegre, Feburary 2, 2006
Nei mar Lauermann, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
Matteus José Sabotti, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
José Ribamar Costa Silva, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
Geomar Tremea, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
Julio Esteban Escobar, Vice province of Resistência, February 4, 2006
Andrzej Jodkoswki, Province of Warsaw, February 25, 2006
Joseph Poowanai Tantikul, Vice province of Bangkok, March 24, 2006

Profession of Perpetual Vows:
Radamés António Centenaro, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2006
Domingos dos Sanots Barreto, Vice province of Bahia, February 19, 2006
Lécio Alexandre Silva, Vice province of Bahia, February 19, 2006
Cosme Sérgio Silva Queroz, Vice province of Bahia, February 19, 2006
Pedro de Aquiar, Province of Campo Grande, March 17, 2006
Luiz Francisco Langer, Province of Campo Grande, March 17, 2006
Riginaldo Nascimento Padilha, Province of Campo Grande, March 17, 2006

Ordination to the Priesthood:
Neilton da Mota Junqueira, Vice province of Bahia, February 5, 2006
Denis John Ryan, Province of Denver, March 18, 2006

April Anniversaries:
70th Jubilee of Profession:
Father Bernard Schölzel, Province of St. Clements/Region of Cologne, April 23, 2006

70th Jubilee of Ordination:
Father Erwin Moritz, Province of St. Clements/Region of Cologne, April 16, 2006

60th Jubilee of Profession:
Father Frans Schenk, Province of St. Clements/Region of Flanders, April 14, 2006
Brother Marcel Schenk, Province of St. Clements/Region of Flanders, April 14, 2006
Father Henryk Klimaj, Province of Warsaw, April 18, 2006

60th Jubilee of Ordination:
Father René Balluet, Vice province of Burkina-Niger, April 6, 2006
Father Henri Le Boursicaud, Province of Lyon-Paris, April 6, 2006
Father Paul Mathieu, Province of Lyon-Paris, April 6, 2006
Father John Vicent Corbett, Province of Dublin, April 7, 2006
Father Michel Demant, Province of Strasbourg, April 20, 2006
Father Marcel Glock, Province of Bolivia, April 20, 2006

50th Jubilee of Profession:
Brother Ivan Kanski, Province of Yorkton, April 7, 2006

25th Jubilee of Ordination:
Father Amardo Picardal, Province of Cebu, April 24, 2006
Father José Ántônio Dal Bó Giovanetti, Province of São Paulo, April 26, 2006
Father Claro Conde, Province of Cebu, April 28, 2006

Episcopal News & Ordination:
His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI named Father Philip Banchong Chaiyara, C.Ss.R., former vice provincial of the Vice province of Bangkok, Bishop of the diocese of Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. March 25, 2006.

Doctoral Defenses:
Father Phaiboon Udomdej, C.SS.R. of the Vice province of Bangkok, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in the field of Moral Theology on March 25, 2006 at the Alphonsianum, Rome. The title of his dissertation is: The Contemporary Thai Catholic and the Concept of Sin.

Father Gilberto Paiva, C.SS.R. of the province of São Paulo successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in the field of Church History on March 31, 2006 at the Gregorianum, Rome. The title of his dissertation is: The Redemptorist Province of São Paulo – 1894-1955: Its foundation, consolidation, canonical erection and development. A historical-pastoral study.

Deaths:
Rev. Edward Lumley-Holmes, 85, Province of South Africa, January 11, 2006
Rev. Angel Morán Cambarros, 79, Province of Madrid, March 2, 2006
Br. Jean-Claude Francoeur, 81, Province of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, March 5, 2006
Rev. Augustine Cummins, 90, Province of Canberra, March 7, 2006
Rev. Guy Rosticher, 73, Province of Lyon-Paris, March 8, 2006
Rev. Hermanus (Herman) van Nimwegen, 86, Province of St. Clement´s/Region of Nederland, March 10, 2006
Rev. Francis Mullaghy, 83, Province of Dublin, March 11, 2006
Rev/ Giuseppe Pascoli, 95, Province of Roma, March 13, 2006

Nominations:
Reverend Bruno Vissuri, of the Province of Rome, nominated to be the Church Prefect of San’Alfonso, Rome, and Director of the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. October 1, 2005

Reverend Witold Hetnar of the Province of Warsaw, nominated for the interim, for the care of the Polish speaking faithful of San’Alfonso Church in Rome. October 16, 2005

Reverend Janusz Dyrek, Province of Warsaw, nominated for the triennium, for the care of the Polish speaking faithful of St. Alfonso Church in Rome. January 12, 2006.

Reverend Dominic Nguyen Phi Long nominated Ordinary Provincial Consultor Superior of the Vice province of Extra Patriam. January 18, 2006

Supression of House:
The House in the city of Panorama, São Paulo, Brasil
March 7, 2006

   Index

News from the Provinces

The Ukraine
The Redemptorist province of Lviv

Our Province was founded by the Belgian Redemptorists and two years ago celebrated 90 years of its existence. At present we have 12 Houses and 53 priests, two of whom work in Canada, one in Belgium and one in England. We have 1 deacon, 8 brothers, 44 students, 6 novices and 6 postulants.

The majority of our Houses are in Western Ukraine, but recently we have established a foundation at Berdiansk, in Eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. In addition we have a House in Siberia where our confrere, Ivan Ziatyk was martyred. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 27 2001.

The principal activity of the Province is pastoral ministry in parishes. Our missions last generally 8 days. We also preach retreats and minister to young people, prisoners and the handicapped.

At the request of the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, a diocesan seminary has been opened on whose campus various religious orders, including our own, are building houses. Beginning this year, our students are attending this seminary. We hope that during the year the construction of our House will be completed which will help our formation process very much.

At the moment we are also examining how to organise better our pastoral ministry in Eastern Ukraine where communism and atheism have left their fruits.

Brazil
The Province of Rio de Janeiro
Padre Vicente de Paula Ferreira, C.Ss.R
Provincial Superior.

The Province of Rio de Janeiro which comprises the Brazilian States of Minas, Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo became a province on June 29 1951 and is now 54 years in existence. It was the result of the great work of Dutch missionaries who came to this land at the end of the nineteenth century.

Today the Province has 1 Bishop emeritus of the diocese of Itabria-Coronel Fabriciano, 46 priests, 10 brothers, 5 clerical students in Theology and five novices – a total of 67 members including the novices. There will be 16 junior seminarists and 8 doing philosophy by the end of 2005. We can count also on a large number of laypeople who are formed as Lay Redemptorist Units attached to each House. The age of the confreres ranges as follows: 80 to 85 ((8); 70 to 79 (15); 60 to 69 (11); 50 to 59 (2); 40 to 49(7); 30 to 39 (17); 20 to 29(2).

We are engaged in various forms of the apostolate. We have two parishes in Juiz de Fora and one in Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and Coronel Fabriciano. We are in charge of two Sanctuaries, St. Gerard in Curvelo and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Campos. We have two retreat houses, one in São José in Belo Horizonte and that of Floreste in Juiz de Fora. We run two Radio Stations in Coronel Fabriciano. Our Formation Houses are in Juiz de Flora (minor seminary and philosophy), Coronel Fabriciano (a special pre-novitiate year) and Bel Horizonte (theology). We have a missionary community inserted in Cariacica and now in 2006 we are setting up a missionary community in Aracruz, both in the State of Espirito Santo.

The province is organised according to a Provincial Plan elaborated at the beginning of each triennium. Our priorities are Formation, Missions and the daily life of our communities. In recent triennia our group has experienced moments of grace and renewal. After so many years without new members, 15 years in fact, as a result of serious efforts in Vocation Ministry we have a fine group of new confreres.

South America
A Redemptorist Novitiate, a sign of globalized solidarity
Leonel Guauque, C.Ss.R.

“The challenge is to globalize solidarity within the Congregation for our worldwide mission.” This is what Fr. Joseph W. Tobin, Superior General, wrote to all the members of the Congregation in Communicanda IV of March 31, 2002.

In addition to the sexennial theme, the communicanda has as its motto that we live with one mind and heart. The document deals with solidarity as a result of the renewal that has taken place in the Congregation in the past 40 years and which is the fruit of the globalization that is confronting our world. Faced with this reality we must ask: How should we form Redemptorists? Where must we begin?

The desire to work together more on a worldwide level in the Congregation is evident and there are many signs showing movement towards this “globalization of solidarity.”

The world is a “global village,” as McLuhan predicted, and we are all steeped in this great reality. Pope John Paul, in his Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, No. 38, said that as a Church we have the duty to contribute to the formation of “a true cultural globalization of solidarity”. In the synodal exhortation, Ecclesia in America No. 55, he declared that “globalization a priori is neither good nor bad. It is what people make of it”.

This notion of the Pope further encourages our desire to globalize solidarity in the Congregation. It is already taking place in apostolic work and initial formation. It is particularly urgent in the latter, as it will provide the foundation and basis for future solidarity in Redemptorist apostolates around the world.

There has been a good response in different units of the Congregation from simply getting to know each other to sharing concrete projects. An example of the globalization of solidarity that I would like to spotlight is the International Novitiate that is being set up this year in our house of Piedecuesta (Santander), Province of Bogotá in Colombia. Six units are taking part in it: Mexico (1 novice), San Salvador (3 novices), San Juan (2 novices), Caracas (3 novices), Peru North (4 novices) and Bogotá (15 novices).

The novitiate is aiming at a systematic formation in different areas: Alphonsus and the history of the Congregation; an analytic view of the life and work of St. Alphonsus; the Constitutions and Statutes; theology of consecrated life; liturgy; a juridical view of the novitiate and of consecrated life; quality of life; music etc.

The novices have a unique opportunity to live this experience of globalized solidarity and that certainly will open new horizons for the future.

Communicanda IV states: “As we grow in a deepening appreciation for the particular Mission that has been give to our Congregation, there is an increasing willingness on the part of many confreres to work together,” and in order that the globalization of solidarity may be more effective and concrete it must be a clear, precise solidarity such as the evangelical triptych of the Acts of the Apostles: solidarity in prayer, solidarity in mission, solidarity in what we possess.

Today the Church and especially the Congregation needs to grow in globalization of solidarity. Only in this way can we respond to the world, which is changing so rapidly. The International common novitiate in Piedecuesta is an example of an initiative in this direction.

Index

Peace and Justice

Unione Superiori Generali
Unione Internazionale Superiore Generali
Roma, Italia

26/02/2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is considered to be one of the most serious calamities and humanitarian crises of our time. According to the 2005 statistics, the number of people who are HIV positive is more than 40 million; 4.9 million people contracted the virus in 2005; in the same year 3.1 million people died of AIDS.
The situation is truly dramatic and it is important for us to face this problem not only from the medical perspective, but also from the social, ethical, theological, pastoral, economic and many other perspectives.

Many Religious Institutes have been facing up to the pandemic from its beginnings, working in prevention, care, social activity, assistance of orphans etc. It is an immense undertaking carried out with great love in every corner of the world. However, it is an undertaking which is largely unknown and, as a result, we do not have access to important funding in order to sustain and carry on our work. Even less do we have access to the forums in which important decisions are made at local, regional, national and international levels about this pandemic.

With this in mind, the Health Commission and the “AIDS Group” of the Union of Superiors General called an international meeting of religious last December. The aim of this meeting was to come to a common understanding of the problem as consecrated men and women. We hoped to draw up a “concept paper” which would state our position, and to plan a census of our activities in the fight against the pandemic, in order to map it out in a way that is serious and verifiable.

We believe that the time has come to make our work known and in particular for us to come together as Religious and to develop and networking culture. This will enable us to open up a sharing of experiences, a strengthening of collaboration, mutual support, common projects etc.

Being able to overcome our fragmentation is a prophetic sign and may well open us up to new possibilities of interaction at a higher level with organisations such as UNAIDS, WHO and others.

Another reason why it is important to document our work in the world is to offer an accurate view of what the Church is doing. It is often unjustly accused of actually spreading the disease and it is undervalued in all the work which has been carried out up to the present time, and in the furthest and most difficult outposts.

The questionnaire which we are sending is an essential tool in documenting all our work. We know that we are asking you to do yet more work and many of our brothers and sisters are already burdened with work in their ministry to the poor. All the same, we would ask you to spend the time it takes to answer the questionnaire with the same amount of love. You can be sure that this will give greater power and clarity to your ministry well beyond anything you can imagine. http://cssr.com/question/english.xls

As we have already said, the HIV/AIDS pandemic is not a problem to be relegated to the medical field alone; it goes well beyond that and is of concern to the charisms of us all. For this reason the questionnaire is being sent, through their respective superiors, to all religious communities all over the world. Obviously, each community will respond according to the implications it has for that community in its diverse ministries whether they be pastoral, educational, medical, theological etc.

We have tried to formulate the questions in the simplest way possible. Mostly they are YES or NO answers while others need to know how much or how many and may seem more complex. Do not worry about being exact to the last penny although we would ask you to be as precise as possible. The same goes for your budget; it is important for us to know how much money is involved and where it comes from. It is important to show that what we put in, the governments are not putting in. It is also important to show the difficulties we have with regard to funding in supporting our projects and in fulfilling our dreams for many poor people and for a more just and equal local distribution of international finance.

The completed questionnaires should be sent to the office of the UISG/USG starting in June and until the end of September 2006. They can be sent directly or through your religious Provinces to: cmsmartinelli@pcn.net

If you want to send them by post the address is that of UISG, Piazza Ponte S. Angelo, 28, 00186 Roma.

The more and better we manage to demonstrate the work we are doing, the more we will have access to proper funding and the more we will be heard, which means making the Gospel heard too, even at political and decision-making levels from the local to the great international forums.

I would like to thank you with all my heart for the passion with which you minister and for the time you will give to what we are asking of you now.

May the God of life bless us and show us always how to be close to suffering humanity. May he make us aware of the great gift which we have to share: “the living water (of faith) which can answer the many questions we have on the meaning of life, death and illness, and which liberates our capacity to love and forgive…” (cfr. concept paper)

For the AIDS Group
UISG/USG
Sr. Maria Martinelli

Index

Redemptorists in the News

Ireland
Fr Reid named Tipperary Person of Year
Senan Hogan

Belfast-based priest, Fr Alex Reid, who witnessed IRA arms being decommissioned last year, was named “Tipperary Person of the Year.”

Fr Reid, who played a long-time role in the Northern Ireland peace process since the 1980s, will receive the honor from the Tipperary Association in Dublin next month.

Association chairman Michael Fenton said Nenagh native Fr Reid has been acclaimed both at home and abroad for his pivotal role as a peacemaker.

“In fact many people on the inside of the discussions credit Fr Reid as being the person who started the process,” Mr Fenton said.

Fr Reid is believed to have brought former SDLP leader John Hume and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams together for dialogue in the late 1980s.

Based in Belfast’s Redemptorists’ Monastery in Clonard, Fr Reid witnessed at first hand the violence and suffering caused to both sides in the conflict.

His initiatives with the Hume/Adams talks led initially to the 1993 Downing Street Declaration and eventually to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Fr Reid worked through this period with the Irish Government’s representative Dr Martin Mansergh, now a Government senator.

Methodist Minister Rev Harold Good and Fr Reid were asked to witness the decommissioning of IRA arms in September 2005.

However, a month later he had to apologize for remarks made comparing unionists to Nazis.

He had said that unionists had politically persecuted Catholics in Northern Ireland for more than 60 years, and added that he believed they were in the same category as the Nazis.

Fr Reid has spent time in Spain in the past four years (see next news item) having been invited to lend his expertise from Northern Ireland to the problems in the Basque region.

The Basque separatist group, ETA, has urged the Spanish and French governments to respond positively to its declaration of a permanent ceasefire.

In its second statement in two days, the armed group called for a peaceful solution to the Basque conflict.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has warned that any peace talks will be 'difficult'.

ETA is blamed for killing more than 800 people in its four-decade fight for independence for the Basque region of northern Spain and southwest France.

Earlier, it was confirmed that the Belfast priest, Fr Alex Reid, was involved in efforts to persuade ETA to call a permanent ceasefire.

The ceasefire formally comes into effect at 11pm tonight (March 24) Irish time.

Speaking in Bilbao, Fr Reid said ETA had been influenced by peace efforts in Northern Ireland.

Index

Monthly Picture Gallery (  for online viewing only)

2. Meeting of Itinerant Missionaries of the Northern Sub Region of Latin America

3. The international community of San’Alfonso is a microcosm of the Congregation in many ways, including the celebration of significant anniversaries of service, of which we have over 450 such anniversaries in the worldwide Congregation this year. From left to right: we celebrated the 60th profession of Brother Gaudenzius de Jong of St. Clement’s/Region of Nederland; 50th profession of José Vidigal of Rio de Janeiro; 50th profession of Paul Sindermann of St. Clements/region of Cologne; 65th profession of Jan Piekarski of Warsaw; Non Jubilarian main celebrant and homilist Alfonso Amarante; 60th profession of Raúl Campos Sosa of Buenos Aires; 25th profession of Phaiboon Udomdej of Bangkok; 25th profession of Juventius Andrade of Bangalore; and 25th Ordination of Edmund Kowalski of Warsaw.

4. Father Phaiboon Udomdej of the Vice Province of Bangkok, celebrates the successful defense of his doctoral dissertation at the Alphonsian Academy with a festive pranzo. Pictured with him from left to right: Darci José Nicioli, Rector of San’Alfonso; Father General and Father Sean Cannon, Vice-president of the Academy.

5. Father Lorenzo Alvarez Verdes, distinguished professor at the Alphonsianum for over 30 years, recently completed his service and has returned to the Madrid Province. Thank you Father Lorenzo for your dedication and faithfulness to the Academy and for your community spirit. San Alfonso will miss you, including the gold fish in the garden!

6. Father Gilberto Paiva of the Province of São Paulo, during a festive cena, addresses the community of San’Alfonso at the celebration marking the successful defense of his doctoral dissertation earlier that day at the Gregorianum in Rome.

Index

In Spiritu Redemptionis

Father General is pleased to offer a short audio Easter reflection at our website: http://www.cssr.com/

Announcements

Sixth Redemptorist International Moral Theology Congress
Theme: Violence and Terrorism - a Moral Response
Bogotá, Colombia
July 16 to 21, 2006

Following several requests from a number of confreres, the General Government has agreed to convoke another international Moral Theology Congress. An ad hoc committee met in Madrid in late August composed of Frs. Steve Rehrauer (Denver), Luis Rojas (Bogotá), Marcio Fabri dos Anjos (São Paulo), Alberto De Mingo (Madrid), Enrique López (General Government) and Raymond Douziech (General Government).

The committee's task was to develop a proposal for the General Government. This proposal was presented to the meeting of the General Government in September, revised and accepted. The ad hoc committee was also appointed to continue the work of organizing this Congress. A more permanent commission may be formed after the Congress.

The theme for this Congress flows from an examination of violence and the threat of terrorism in our world today. What are the possible moral responses we can give from a Christian point of view and from our Redemptorist tradition?

The theme, therefore, will be: Violence and Terrorism: a Moral Response. The province of Bogotá, Colombia will host the event at their retreat center outside of Bogotá from July 16 to 21, 2006.

REGISTRATION: $400 USD per person
SOME FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAlLABLE FOR CONFRERES FROM
POORER UNITS FOR REGISTRATION ONLY

please apply to Fr. Enrique López, C.Ss.R. at the General Curia.

PLACE OF CONGRESS: Bogotá, Colombia
LANGUAGES: Spanish and English

Ukrainian Redemptorists: 100 years
Celebrating the Redemptorist Martyrs
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
June 25-29, 2006

The year 2006 marks 100 years since the Redemptorists began serving Ukrainian Catholics in the Eastem Rite. This first happened in Canada on September 26, 1906 by a Redemptorist from the Belgian Province, Fr. Achilles Delaere, C.Ss.R.. As a pioneer working with immigrants, Fr. Delaere quick1y adapted his life, language and spirituality to become an effective missionary among the Ukrainian Catho1ics.

As part of the celebrations, the Yorkton province of Redemptorists is hosting a pilgrimage to the Bishop Velychkovsky Martyr's Shrine under the auspices of the North American Spirituality Commission. The Martyr's Shrine has been and continues to be a great blessing for the Yorkton Province and for the whole Congregation. We invite all Redemptorists to come as pilgrims to the Martyr's Shrine. This occasion wi11 also give one an opportunity to come to know the Redemptorists of the Eastern Catholic Church, and to be introduced to their spirituality and prayer life.

The Redemptorist Bishop and Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky was beatified in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. In the midst of persecution, he was instrumental in keeping the Ukrainian Catholic underground Church alive. After years of imprisonment and torture in the former Soviet Union, he died in exile in Canada. His holy body is now enshrined in St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg, Canada.

Accomodations:
Villa Maria Renewal Centre
100 Place Villa Maria
Winnipeg, MB R3V 1A9
tel: 204-269-2114
Cost: $250 CDN includes single room, meals, and River Boat Cruise

Transportation: Provided from and to the airport and for all events. Please inform us as to your time of arrival.

Those wishing to come earlier or stay longer, please inform us and we will arrange accommodations. Make your reservations early as the number or participants is limited.

For your reservation contact:
Bishop Velychkovsky Martyr's Shrine
250 Jefferson Ave.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada R2VOM6
Phone: (204) 338-7321
E-mail: bvshrine@mts .net
Fax:: (204) 339-1062

Featured Redemptorist Website

Our featured website this month is from the Vice Province of Caracas. When you go to the link you will see they are eagerly anticipating their General visitation from Fathers Enrique López and Anthanase Nsiamina

http://www.redentoristasdevenezuela.org.ve/

  Index

Reports from the Curia, Secretariats, Institutes, and Committees

General Secretariat for the Brothers
Seelos House, Vieux Fort, St. Lucia
January 25, 2006

Dear Confreres:

Greetings from the members of the General Secretariate for Brothers!

Bro. João Batista de Viveiros, CSsR
Chairman
Bro. Jeffrey Rolle, CSsR
Bro. Michael Duxbury, CSsR
Bro. Benjamin Posvo, CSsR
Bro. Joel B. de Guzman, CSsR
Fr. José Samuel Torres, CSsR
Fr. Enrique Lopez, CSsR
General Consultor

The General Secretariate for Brothers held its 2nd meeting for the sexennium from January 23 to 26, 2006 here in the Island of St. Lucia. Our first meeting was in Rome, January 2005. At that meeting we drew up a General Directory for the Secretariate, which included objectives and specific tasks for this sexennium. A copy of that Directory was sent to all the units and you can also find it on the website of the Congregation.

One of the main objectives of the Secretariate was to affirm the vocation of the Redemptorist Brother and this received a boost with the celebration of the “Year of St. Gerard Majella”. This celebration truly helped make known the identity of the Redemptorist Brother. As a result of our sharing in our meeting here at St. Lucia, we were all of the opinion that the Year of St. Gerard was a successful time and well sealed with the letter from Fr. General calling us to celebrate our vocation:

“It is essential to rediscover the role and dignity of every vocation, particularly that of Brothers. Throughout our history, Brothers have been a bridge towards the world in which we live, allowing the Congregation to take flesh in the fabric of society with simplicity of language and by sharing daily in the joys and sorrows of people. Brothers have always known how to appreciate deeply the needs of the abandoned.”
(Letter from Fr. General at the conclusion of the Jubilee of St. Gerard Majella, October 16, 2005).

At this meeting, we have had the opportunity to listen and discern the situation of the Brothers and we have become aware of the progress and difficulties in each Region. Progress, in so far as arrangements are currently in place for various Brothers’ Gatherings in the different Regions of the Congregation. We have also found difficulties in the Regions of Africa and Southern Europe for various reasons.

This sexennium, we have decided to focus on a number of projects. We will keep you informed about these. You can also contact the member of the General Secretariate for Brothers responsible in your Region. We ask the support of the Superiors to encourage the Brothers to be aware and participate in the different Regional activities whenever possible.

We believe that the vocation of the Brother is very important for the Mission of our Congregation. We believe that the basis of our Redemptorist unity in Christ is in our Religious Profession. That is the reason we consider the presence of the Brothers in all units to be fundamental in the life and mission of the Congregation. We continue to pray together for our entire Congregation, so that we may remain faithful missionaries in “giving our lives for plentiful Redemption.”

Index