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Where your heart is, there will be your treasure
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| Redemptorist Newsletter | Number 34 |
Rome, Italy
February 16, 2008
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NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES
Poland: Radio Maryja receives award from Polish Military Ordinate
Spain & Haiti: Collaboration results in new school being built
REDEMPTORISTS IN THE NEWS
Vietnamese Redemptorists evangelize with special Christmas Mass
Property disputes between Vietnamese Church & Government
Redemptorist property part of dispute in Vietnam
Property disputes in Vietnam intensify
Redemptorist work in Canada restored Slavic faith
THE VATICAN AND REDEMPTORISTS
Redemptorist named consultor to the Congregation of Clergy
Holy Father re-organizes Slovakian Greek-Catholic Church
VITA APOSTOLICA
Father Catalá is away from Rome on assignment. His column will return next month.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Correction
REPORTS FROM THE SECRETARIATS
Brothers of South America meet in La Plata, Argentina
Statistics of Redemptorist Brothers as of September, 2007
Letter to the Congregation from the General Secretariat for Brothers
PHOTO GALLERY (on-line only)
Photos from around the Redemptorist World
FEATURED MEDIA
Video of ad limina visit of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic bishops.
TRANSITIONS
Professions, Ordinations, Anniversaries, Deaths, Electoral News
In this issue of Scala we have four articles about Redemptorists in the news in Vietnam. One is about a pastoral initiative that educates people about the Mass and the Eucharist. The other three describe the ongoing events concerning church property in Vietnam. Events are moving swiftly, but these three articles will give you the context of the situation there and the involvement of the Redemptorists.
In a recent letter to the provincial of Vietnam, Father General writes:"Redemptorists across the world have been following with concern and solidarity the struggle for justice in Hanoi. We are impressed by the generous faith of so many confreres and lay people. It is only faith that can give the courage to stand up in the face of injustice and oppression. The situation in Hanoi is present with us each day as we gather to pray in the Curia. You can be certain of our support.
...In his recent encyclical, Pope Benedict XVI assures us: 'Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so' (Spe Salvi, 44). Let us hope that the Lord will recognize the cry for justice in Hanoi and answer us with His saving help."
Let us continue to keep our confreres in Vietnam in our prayers.
Grace and Redemption for all!
Gary Ziuraitis, C.Ss.R.
Poland
Radio Maryja honored by Military Ordinate
Dariusz Drążek, C.Ss.R.
Every year the Military Ordinariate of the Polish Army grants the medal "MILITO PRO CHRISTO" to persons or institutions that, through their activity, serve the highest values of the Republic of Poland through advocacy of the truth and supporting military chaplains.
This year, Bishop Tadeus Płoski, Military Ordinary, announced on January 5th that Radio Maryja, TRWAM Televison, and the newspaper NASZ DZIENNIK would receive the award:
- for the persistent and uncompromising defense of the Truth;
- for strengthening the Polish spirit among both countrymen and Poles abroad;
- for cultivating a love of the Polish national ethos in the spirit of respect for brothers and sisters from other nations;
- for reliable religious and historical education;
- for developing a culture and spirit of prayer;
- for restoring the collective memory of forgotten great Poles; heroes, the creators of culture, clergymen;
- for portraying the beauty and goodness of the Catholic Church; its past and present;
- for creative organization of talents of Poles of all generations towards the common good;
- for developing the spiritual and intellectual potential of youth (e.g., Broadcasts: "The Time of Growing Up", "Hospitable Room", children and youth pilgrimages to Jasna Góra);
- for the creation of media programs which have become a forum of exchange on the most important topics in society;
- for restoring to the social consciousness the ethos of respect for the elderly, the ill, the suffering;
- for systematic disseminating of the teaching of John Paul II;
- for promoting the culture and tradition of the Polish Army (religious and patriotic songs, poetry, witnesses and participants of the fights for the Independence of Poland);
- for disseminating the teaching of the Field Bishop on Polish patriotic holidays (3 May and 11 November - live broadcasts of the Holy Mass on Radio Maryja and TRWAM Television);
- for reliable information to the public about the initiatives of the priest chaplains in the military serving the common good;
- for sincerity towards all people of good will,
- for promoting good spiritual reading; recalling the most important works of the spiritual culture of Christianity;
- for portraying the creative attitudes and property of the people of the Polish province, absent in the largest opinion-forming media;
- for consistent prayer for the persecutors of the Church;
- for promoting filial Love to the Mother of God's Mother, Queen of Poland.
During the ceremony at the Warsaw Cathedral, when Radio Maryja, TV TRWAM, and the newspaper "Nasz Dziennik" were bestowed the "MILITO PRO CHRISTO" medal, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, the Primate of Poland, and the Government Defense Bureau were honored with the "BENEMERENTI" diploma.
Cardinal Jozef Glemp was recognized with the "Benemerenti" diploma for his faithful defense of fundamental Catholic values in the face of relentless attacks against the Catholic Church in Poland, for his dedication to humanitarian efforts on behalf of the poor, the sick and the unemployed as well as for providing care to Poles living in various parts of the world.
The Government Defense Bureau was honored for its service to our country, its heroism and its love of country. We remember the tragic event that took place in Baghdad in October of last year when a convoy carrying the Polish ambassador in Iraq, General Edward Pietrzyk, was attacked and Lieutenant Bartosz Orzechowski lost his life. In honor of his dedicated service, he was posthumously honored with the "Milito pro Christo" medal.
Among attendees of the event were the Papal Nuncio to Poland, Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk; the Warsaw Metropolitan, Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz; the Bishop of the Warsaw-Praski, Archdiocese Slawoj Leszek Glodz as well as other high-ranking government officials, soldiers, numerous Warsaw residents, television viewers, and radio listeners.
Haiti
Haiti-Spain
The Redemptorists of Haiti and the 'Acoger y Compartir"
(Welcome and Sharing Association)
Alberto de Mingo, C.Ss.R
Editorial note: Please click on highlighted links for accompanying photos.
The year 2007 has been marked by special collaboration between the Redemptorists of Haiti and the Welcome and Sharing Association in which some Spanish Redemptorists are involved. The main project, proyecto principal, has been the construction of a primary school in Fonfrède, a small village in the south of the country. The school has already 4 classrooms, thanks to the help of the parish of the Sacred Heart in Welland, Canada and at the moment they are planning to construct a further 12 classrooms at a cost of 90.000 euro.
With the funds collected through various activities of the Association the work is going ahead at full speed and could be finished by the summer. This development owes much to the work of the Redemptorists, Frs. Jean Claudel and Gladimir Gerard. Fr. General opened and blessed the installation on August 25 during his visit to the Viceprovince.
In addition to these projects they had to sink wells. Already in 2006 the Association had financed the sinking of four wells in the areas of Fonfrède and Chateau. The sinking of a fifth well, Un quinto pozo , could not be finished as the workmen stumbled on a huge rock, but they succeeded in reaching water thanks to special machinery.
They are cooperating in maintaining the medical dispensary at Chateau, but water is the problem and this is affecting not only matters of hygiene, but also the attendance of the children at school. At the moment they are trying to solve the problem with the help of a distinguished Spanish firm. The Redemptorists, Frs. Lavaud Christophe and Pred Nixon have presented a "well" worked out plan with a team of local technicians.
Three Spanish professors, volunteers of the Association, have given a basic Course in Spanish to the young people of Fonfrède during the summer. It has proved an experiencia enriquecedora , an enriching experience of intercultural contact for the Spanish professors as much as for the Haitian students of the parish.
A very important charitable act organised and taken care of by the Association is the envío anual de un contenedor con ropas , the annual sending of a container of clothes, medicine and school equipment for the different Redemptorist parishes in Haiti. This sharing creates a brotherly feeling on both sides of the Atlantic. The Spanish Redemptorist parishes cooperating are The Most Holy Redeemer (Madrid), The Holy Apostles of Las Lomas (Madrid) and Perpetual Help (Zaragoza).
Fr. Lavaud has sent us this message for the Advent Retreat from Chateau:
'Here in Haiti in spite of the availability of goods coming mainly from the United States, the people lack many things because they do not have the money to purchase them. This is especially true of rural areas like Chateau where there is very high unemployment.
In Chateau we have arranged the distribution of material with the help of those in charge of the chapels and groups in the pastoral center such as our Technical Center of Chateau. A choirboy does a continual run on his bicycle to and from the school. The professors are pleased with the arrangement and the other boys look forward to their turn. I think your donation is most important both for the clothes and other material…'
The new Parish priest of Fonfrède, a confrere, Fr. Daniel Félix, has also sent a message during Advent in which he speaks of 'his gratitude for the material sent for the parish school. All the professors, students and priests are very pleased with it. The whole community of Fonfrède is grateful to the Association for the projects carried out in the village'. During this Course, the Association helped out with a scholarship for the young Haitians.
The Association will continue to work during 2008 with the Haitian Redemptorist confreres who by their dedication give hope to the country, the poorest in Latin America. We are anxious to be able to carry out our projects, the enlarging of the school in Port-Au-Prince and the construction of 21 cisterns to bring piped water to the small villages of the area of Chateau.
Index
Vietnam
Redemptorists celebrate Christmas mass designed for non-catholic participants
UCAN
Editor's note: Here is a creative, pastoral way to teach about, explain and demonstrate to non-Catholics the Mass and invite their interest in the Catholic faith.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN): People who are not Catholics found a warm welcome at a Redemptorist-run Christmas Mass here.
Thirty-two of them joined 80 Catholics for the special liturgy on Dec. 20 evening at the Redemptorist abbey's chapel in Ho Chi Minh City, 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi. Redemptorist Fathers Joseph Le Quang Uy and Paul Ngo Van Phi led the Mass.
Father Uy told UCA News many followers of other religious traditions go to Catholic churches on Christmas Day but are worried they will be "discovered" and not allowed to enter churches.
"We celebrate this Christmas Mass as a special Christmas gift that local Catholics offer to non-Catholics," he stated. He said he could not celebrate the special Mass for them on Dec. 25 because he would be busy with other liturgical services.
Before the Mass, Father Uy, 49, told the congregation that Catholics and other people are all "brothers and sisters in a family."
During the two-and-half-hour service, Father Uy explained the meaning of Mass, the Creed, the Gloria and the words "Amen" and "Halleluia." He also played the guitar and taught the congregation to sing the responsorial psalm.
At the end of the Mass, people sang the song Va con tim da vui tro lai (and the heart is happy again). They also brought forward gifts that Father Uy and other people took to a Church-run leprosarium in Lam Dong province on Dec. 24.
Afterwards, Father Uy offered Christmas cards to the non-Catholic participants, and they had biscuits, cake and sweets with him and the others.
My Ngoc told UCA News after the Mass that she was "very happy to officially attend a Christmas Mass at a Catholic chapel for the first time." She said she discovered that Christmas celebrations are not only for Christians but also for people like her, who do not embrace any faith.
Ngoc, 24, a college student, said, "Catholics really respect and love people who are not Catholics when they invite us to Christmas celebrations." Her Catholic friends invited her to the Mass.
In the past, she and friends went to churches for Christmas Eve Mass but "we were in a flutter and afraid of being thrown out," Ngoc recalled.
Nguyen Hiep Thuy, who is not Catholic, and her boyfriend, who is, attended the celebration. She told UCA News, "I am happy the priests and other Catholics shook my hand and exchanged signs of peace with me during the Mass." Her first Christmas Mass at a chapel impressed her, she added.
Thuy, 19, a college student, admitted she had not wanted to attend the Christmas Mass when her boyfriend invited her, since she did not know how to participate.
"I am impressed and will go to church on other occasions," she added.
Her boyfriend told UCA News he appreciated the initiative to hold the special Mass. In the past he invited his girlfriend to attend Sunday Mass, but she refused, saying those Masses were only for Catholics, he noted.
"She decided to go with me and attend this Christmas Mass today since it is for non-Catholics," he added.
Father Uy explained that the Muoi Dat (salt of the earth) group he established in 2003 initiated the special Christmas celebration. The 40 Catholic college students in the group asked him to hold a Mass for non-Catholic friends, he said.
Joseph Chu Quoc Dung, 32, head of the group, told UCA News this was the fourth Mass to which they invited non-Catholic guests. The first was held on Mission Sunday in 2003, and three Christmas Masses have followed.
Group members visit centers for elderly people, children with disabilities and street people on a weekly basis
VietnamThousands of people gathered at a church here to pray for justice and charity, and for the government to return property it took from the Church. About 4,000 people attended the candlelit prayer service and Mass that 26 Redemptorist and two Dominican priests led on January 11 at Thai Ha parish's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's commercial hub, 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi.
Adjacent to the Redemptorist-run church and a Redemptorist abbey lies a 14,000-square-meter plot of land the government "borrowed" in 1959. A state-run garment company has occupied the plot since then. Company officials started building houses on the land last year, but stopped after Catholics protested. Just a few days into 2008, however, the homebuilding resumed, and so did the protests. Catholics have been gathering to pray outside the disputed site since January 6. On that same day, hundreds of public security officers and government workers came to protect the plot in reaction to the renewed protest.
Before the January 11 events began, participants were briefed on the plot's history. They watched photos of parishioners including children praying outside the plot's barbed-wire fence, with public security officers nearby. The people applauded enthusiastically when they saw pictures of elderly people sleeping on the ground in shelters amid winter temperatures that hit 10 degrees Celsius. Photos of Catholics praying in Ha Noi, outside the confiscated former apostolic nunciature, next to the archbishop's residence there, also were displayed on a large screen.
Father Matthieu Vu Khoi Phung, 68, told the people such gatherings in the capital demonstrate "thirst for spiritual values and justice," and he asked them to pray for people who treat one another unkindly and do not respect one another because they lack spiritual values. He urged the people to pray that Church properties be returned for Church use. The Redemptorist priest maintained that if Church properties served the common good, local Catholics would not gather to pray for their return. Conversely, great injustice is done when powerful people gain control of public property, he continued. Father Phung pointed to people losing hope for justice as another societal ill. Although the country is "not at war, it is violent and under coercion," he said.
Father Thomas Pham Huy Lam, 75, the parish pastor, urged participants to pray that government leaders be wise and brave enough to do justice. After Mass, people held flickering candles in their hand, reciting prayers and singing hymns including the "Peace Prayer" of Saint Francis of Assisi as they walked to the grotto of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the church compound.
"I joined to pray in peace for the Church properties to be returned," Pierre Do Huu Loi, a wheelchair user, told UCA News. "We condemn social injustice in a friendly and cooperative way. And we also pray for people who treat us unfairly," added Pierre Le Quang Linh, 32.
Another participant, Le Ngoc Ho Diep, told UCA News: "I am not a Catholic, but I attended because I am concerned about justice." Diep said all parishes nationwide should hold such special prayers and Masses so the government would resolve the issue properly.
Nguyen Thai Dan Thanh, one of several Buddhist nuns at the service, told UCA News she learned of the ceremony at the Catholic bookstore in the church's compound. Thanh, who came from Bao Loc, 190 kilometers from the city, prayed government authorities would work for justice and the common good. "I will tell my Catholic parents about the event, and urge them to pray for Catholics' rights," she added.
Some Catholics from Thai Ha told UCA News they are determined. They said Redemptorists rightfully bought the land and still have ownership papers. People have been gathering after daily Mass to pray outside the barbed wire fence, on which they hang images of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, crosses and flowers. Many young and elderly people stay in tents all day and night to prevent company officials from building houses. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish has scheduled a justice and peace prayer service for Ha Noi archdiocese and Thai Ha parish for January 23, according to its website.
Ho Chi Minh City, prayers and protests from the Catholics, the first since 1975
by J.B. An Dang
Asia News
In the former city of Saigon, thousands of Catholics gathered yesterday evening (January 11) in a prayer vigil at the Redemptorist convent, to ask the government to give back to the Church fifteen acres of land belonging to the religious order, now occupied by government buildings. It was the largest, and probably the first, anti-government protest held in the city since the communists took power in 1975.
A Redemptorist priest says, "The protest ...is to show our solidarity with our brother Redemptorists in Hanoi, to ask the government to stop the militia's intervention in favour of new constructions, and put justice into practice."
In a message sent last January 7 to all the Redemptorists in the country, the provincial superior Fr Joseph Cao Dinh Tri says the local government has illegally confiscated land belonging to their monastery at Thai Ha, Hanoi and is supporting a construction project there. The previous day, the government had sent security forces to the spot, to allow the Chien Thang Sewing Company to build on the land in question.
The Redemptorists in Hanoi, Fr Cao continues, "have responded by gathering people to pray at the construction site, asking the government to respect fairness and put justice into practice. I would earnestly implore all of you, the whole province of Vietnam, to be in solidarity with our brother Redemptorists in Hanoi, in order to pray for our common apostolate." The priests faced a number of problems in organising the protest. Their website, which contained the details about participating, was attacked by hackers and was not available again until last January 10.
The Redemptorists arrived in Vietnam in 1925. Since then, the order has evangelized many of the northern provinces. In 1928, they bought 15 acres of land in Thai Ha to build a convent and a church. The inaugural Mass for the monastery was celebrated on May 7, 1929, while the church was inaugurated in 1935.
In 1941, there were 17 priests, 12 brothers, 26 seminarians, and 11 novices living in the convent in Thai Ha. Their numbers continued to grow until 1954, when Vietnam was divided into two distinct parts. In that year, many Redemptorists were forced to flee to South Vietnam. Fathers Joseph Vu Ngoc Bich, Denis Paquette, and Thomas Côté remained in Hanoi, together with brothers Clement Pham Van Dat and Marcel Nguyen Tan Van.
The communist government, which is officially atheist, subjected them to very harsh treatment, which soon turned into persecution. On May 7, 1955, Fr. Marcel Nguyen was arrested, and died in prison four years later. Fr. Denis Paquette was deported in 1958; a year later it was Fr. Thomas Côté's turn. On October 9, 1962, the police arrested Brother Clement Pham, who died in prison after eight years of confinement.
Since then, Fr. Joseph Vu has overseen the church alone. The government has confiscated nearly all of the 15 acres on which it stands, building a hospital on some of it and selling the rest to state-owned companies or to members of the government.
The priests, religious, and faithful of Thai Ha have repeatedly asked for the land to be given back. In support of their request, they recall that they never signed any agreement to hand the land over to the government, not even under conditions of coercion.
The Catholics recall that the constitution, which safeguards religious freedom and places of worship, and emphasize in particular that directive 379/TTG, which requires the authorities to give back the land and assets that it has confiscated, if the government does not require them for urgent purposes. Furthermore, they recall that the ordinance PL-UBTVQH11 of 2004 states that the legal property of places of religious belief and of religious organizations is protected by law, and any violation of this right is forbidden.
But in spite of all this, the authorities of the district of Dong Da insist that they want to seize even more land from the parish. Nonetheless, the protest on January 6 has forced them to withdraw their soldiers who were guarding the new construction that is underway.
Vietnam:
Catholic Bishops release strongly worded statements regarding Church property disputes
VietCatholic News
J.B. An Dang
On January 11, the local government of Hanoi issued a statement in which it accused Archbishop Joseph Ngô Quang Kiệt of"taking advantages of religious freedom to stir up protests against the government","organizing prayer protests after every Mass", and"damaging the relationship between Vietnam and Vatican".
The local government of Hanoi also laid blame on Fr. Joseph Trịnh Ngọc Hiên, vicar of Thai Ha parish, and his parishioners of disturbing public order by organizing prayer protests, and hanging religious icons and crosses on the fences standing on the land in dispute.
In Vietnam, the expression"taking advantages of religious freedom to stir up protests against the government" usually means a very strong warning from the communist government that it is ready to employ violent persecutions.
Archbishop Joseph Ngô seemed to ignore the alarming warning. He argued back point by point on a statement issued on January 14 by Fr. John Lê Trọng Cung, chancellor of Hanoi archdiocese."Hanoi Catholics", he said,"have no other choice than praying peacefully on disputed lands to attract the attention of the government on injustices they have suffered because"their petitions have gone unanswered".
He pointed out that according to Vietnam laws, no one can carry out new constructions or modifications on the land in dispute. Those who do that violate the laws. But,"The local government did not punish them. Instead, it has stood on their side", said the statement. The local government also did not keep their words."On the evening of January 7, it pledged to the parishioners of Thai Ha to stop any new constructions on parish land. The next morning, the People's Committee of Hanoi issued another ruling to allow Chien Thang sewing company to keep going with its plan"."That's why Hanoi Catholics do not trust the government any more".
The statement indicated that Archbishop Joseph Ngô will not submit to the pressure from the government and the prayer protests will continue until Hanoi Catholics win their justice.
Bishop Paul Nguyễn Vãn Hòa of Ban Mê Thuột, former president of Vietnam Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop Francis Nguyễn Vãn Sang of Thái Bình; Bishop Joseph Vũ Vãn Thiên of Hải Phòng; and newly ordained Bishop Joseph Ðặng Ðức Ngân of Lạng Sõn issued statements to show their solidarity and their full support for Archbishop Joseph Ngô, priests, religious and the faithful of Hanoi archdiocese.
In another event, the Saigon archdiocese also published a strongly worded letter from Cardinal Jean Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn, archbishop of Saigon, to the local government. On November 16, 2007, the local government sent to him an official letter to reply a request which he made more than 3 years ago.
In 2004, Cardinal Jean Baptiste Phạm demanded the requisition of a building within the premises of the Saigon Major Seminary. After more than 3 years of waiting, he was told that his request was unsuccessful.
In the letter published last week, dated December 17, 2007, Cardinal Jean Baptiste Phạm said that he"was shocked at both the reasons for the rejection of his request and the amount of time it took to receive it".
Along with the letter from Cardinal Jean Baptiste Phạm, Saigon archdiocese also published a statement in which the Cardinal stated that the building"was seized illegally by the local government". The building had been used to house foreign missionaries until it was confiscated in 1976 when all missionaries were deported.
The government argued that the building was a foreign property. But,"French missionaries were only residents", the statement of the Saigon archdiocese argued back,"they were not the owner of the building. Therefore, when they left Vietnam, the building remained a property of the archdiocese, a property of the Church in Vietnam".
Canada
Redemptorists' work restored Slavic faith
Ramon Gonzalez, Staff Writer
Western Catholic Reporter
By adopting their familiar language and rite, the Redemptorists kept immigrants Catholic.
Had it not been for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, popularly called Redemptorists, perhaps thousands of Slavic immigrants would have left the Church or would have been lost to other Christian churches during the early 20th century.
Seeing that Slovak and Ukrainian immigrants were leaving the Church in droves because they didn't have priests who could serve them in their language, the Redemptorists adopted the Byzantine rite and preached to the immigrants in their own language.
"The major contribution of the Redemptorists was that (when they saw) that the vast majority of Ukrainian and Slovaks were leaving the Catholic Church in disgust at the Catholic Church's inability to recognize their language and rites, they began to preach to them in their own language and helped them create not just religious organizations, but cultural organizations," noted Paul Laverdure.
Laverdure is the author of the recently-published Redemption and Ritual, an official history of the Eastern rite Redemptorists of North America - 1906-2006.
Cultural identity preserved
"The Redemptorists participated in the establishment of such things as schools and halls for cultural events. They were foremost in helping to establish those organizations and helped preserve their cultural identity. The Redemptorists, just by being there, maintained the membership of so many of those Catholics."
Laverdure, a father of two and currently a librarian at the University of Sudbury, wrote Redemption and Renewal (Redeemer Voice Press; 419 pages) at the request of the Yorkton, Saskatchewan-based Redemptorists.
Years of preparation
In preparation, he spent one evening a week for two years in Yorkton sitting with elementary school children in a basement learning the Ukrainian alphabet and speaking half-formed simple sentences. For four years he also established and organized the Redemptorists' Yorkton Archives.
"The Redemptorists, I am more and more convinced, amply illustrate the way Catholics have shaped Canada and how they, the Redemptorists, have shaped Catholics - French, English and Eastern European - in Canada," he says.
Illustrated with dozens of photographs, Redemption and Ritual contains the stories of many of the religious priests and brothers who worked among eastern European immigrants, including Father Achilles Delaere, a Latin-rite Redemptorist who joined the eastern rite to serve Slavic immigrants.
In the early 20th century, immigrants from Eastern Europe began to move to North America in search of a better life. Thousands settled in the boundless plains of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Spiritual orphans
Many of these immigrants were Catholic but not Roman. They were Ruthenians. Most of them were Ukrainians, some Slovaks. The life of these pioneers was difficult in the beginning. They not only had to battle adverse forces of nature but also spiritual abandonment.
In their homeland the lives of these immigrants revolved around the parish church. But in North America they felt deprived of spiritual care, as they had no priests who spoke their language or churches of their own.
The Roman Catholic bishops of Western Canada appealed to the Belgian Redemptorists, who had missions in Eastern Canada, to care for the various Slavic peoples immigrating to Canada.
The order appointed the energetic Father Achille Delaere, who had been ordained in 1896, to the task of caring for the Slavs in Western Canada.
After months of study of the Slavic languages, Delaere and Father Joseph Coppin, also a Redemptorist, left for Canada. By October 1899, Delaere had arrived in Brandon, Manitoba. He established a Redemptorist house there and without delay he put himself to work in his new field.
St. Gerard's Monastery
In 1904 he established St. Gerard's Monastery in Yorkton to care for the large Polish and Ukrainian population on the prairies of Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
It soon became obvious to him how much the Ukrainians around the Brandon area were in need of religious attention. But the job presented some difficulties, one being the fact Delaere belonged to the Latin rite. The Ukrainians were very suspicious of him and many refused his services.
"In the Yorkton area, despite Delaere's brave words, 500 Ukrainian families had refused to accept him," writes Laverdure. "The fact was Delaere spoke Polish and was correctly believed to be trying to have the Ukrainian Catholics join with the Roman Catholics."
Byzantine rite adopted
In 1906, convinced that Greek Catholics, Ruthenians and later Ukrainian Catholics required services in their own language and rite, he persuaded his superiors to allow him to adopt the Byzantine rite, to preach in Ukrainian and to use Old Slavonic instead of Latin as the liturgical language.
Having spent several months in preparatory study, Delaere celebrated Mass in the Byzantine Rite for the first time on Sept. 26, 1906.
"I think that the Redemptorists suffered, Delaere suffered, for several years before he proposed adopting the rite," Laverdure said in an interview.
"But he knew first hand that it would be much easier for a few priests to serve the immigrants in their own language and their own rite rather than demanding that a whole group of immigrants learn English or learn French and attend the Roman Catholic Church."
Over the years, the reputation of the Eastern-rite Redemptorists has grown large within the Church, to the point that their province "has been decimated by appointments to the episcopacy around the world, testifying to the confidence it commands in Roman circles," Laverdure writes.
THE VATICAN AND REDEMPTORISTS:
Vatican City
Congregation for the Clergy
On January 5, 2008, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, appointed Andrzej Wodka, C.Ss.R., as a consulant to that dicastery. He will serve as a member of a special commission that treats petitions for laicization and dispensation from the obligations of the clerical state.
Vatican City
Reorganization of the Slovak Greek-Catholic Church
The Holy Father reorganized the Greek-Catholic Slovak Church, making in a "sui iuris" Metropolitan Church and adopting the following provisions:
- Elevating the eparchy of Presov for Catholics of Byzantine rite (Catholics 137,203, priests 259, permanent deacons 1, religious 111) to the status of metropolitan see and promoting Bishop Jan Babjak S.J. of Presov to the office of metropolitan archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Hazin nad Chirochou, Slovakia in 1953, he was ordained a priest in 1978 and consecrated a bishop in 2003.
- Elevating the apostolic exarchate of Kosice for Catholics of Byzantine rite (Catholics 81,132, priests 161, permanent deacons 3, religious 65) to the status of eparchy, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Presov, and appointing the current exarch, Bishop Milan Chautur C.Ss.R., to the office of eparchal bishop.
Milan Chautur, C.Ss.R.
First Eparch of Košice for the Byzantine rite Catholics.
Milan Chautur, C.Ss.R. was born September 4, 1957 in Snina, in the Eparchy of Presov. He was professed on August 2, 1974 and after finishing his studies at Sts, Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Bratislava he was ordained a priest on June 14, 1981.
On January 11, 1992, Pope John Paul II named him auxiliary bishop of Presov, having the titular see of Cresima.
On January 27, 1996, he was named first Exarch Apostolic of Košice for Byzantine rite Catholics.
Correction:
In SCALA#33 we mistakenly reported that the main celebrant and homilist for the inaugural mass at the Alphonsianum this year (2007-2008) was Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella. Archbishop Fisichella presided at the mass in 2006. This year's main celebrant was Archbishop Gianfranco A. Gardin, the Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Archbishop Gardin is a graduate of the Academy, the former superior general of the Conventual Franciscans and former president of the Union of Superiors General. During the mass on October 8, 2007, Archbishop Gardin spoke eloquently of his esteem for the Academy, especially the late Father Bernhard Häring, C.Ss.R.
REPORTS FROM THE SECRETARIATS
VII Latin American Congress of Redemptorist Brothers.
Final Letter
La Plata, Argentina, December 15, 2007
Dear Redemptorist Missionaries,
We greet the whole Redemptorist Family and give thanks to God for these 275 years of proclaiming Plentiful Redemption in each of our Units. This commemorative year calls for renewal of our consecration and of our option for Redemptorist religious life.
Our thanks also to the General Government for motivating all of us to live more intensely our religious life, particularly to Fr. Enrique López, General Consultor for Latin America and member of the General Secretariat for the Brothers. We appreciate the letter he sent us for our Latin American Congress of Brothers (CLAHER) that met in La Plata, Argentina December 9 - 15, 2007.
The following Units took part in the Congress: Mexico, Central America, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil (Recife, Río de Janeiro, São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Campo Grande), Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (Resistencia and Buenos Aires). During these days we experienced a great spirit of brotherhood and sharing. In this Congress we endeavoured to clarify the missionary identity of the Redemptorist Brother today who shares in the charism and mission of the Congregation. We established that the Redemptorist Brother should show his competence to assume the consequences of his baptism and his religious consecration.
The following are the themes we treated:
1. The promotion of co-responsibility of all members of the Congregation, each in his own way for the good of the Congregation in which they have consecrated themselves (Const. 35).
2. To live simply and close to the people with greater awareness of the poor and abandoned so that they may experience Redemption and live co-responsibly as witnesses who seek to be imitators of Christ, the Redeemer.
3. The necessary Exodus of Redemptorist religious life, while maintaining clearly that the GREATEST URGENCY is to attain the liberty to take on responsibilities and live community life in faithful creativity. It is in this way that we arrive at that faithful creativity that helps us to avoid the spirit of individualism such as often exercising purely personal ministries that do so much damage to local communities and to the Congregation in general. This fidelity follows the line of St. Gerard's 'always ready to undertake what is demanding' in order to bring to mankind Plentiful Redemption (Const.20).
4. To give one's life for Plentiful Redemption implies entering into a process of restructuring that means renewing our love of the Congregation, being prophets who announce and denounce and disciples who communicate the call of God so that our people may find life in Him. This form of restructuring should be encouraged right from initial formation aiming at openness in solidarity, ignoring geographical frontiers and providing space for permanent formation. In this way ties of communion and sharing are strengthened between different Units of the Congregation. This will stimulate creative initiatives among the members in order to help clarify our identity 'in continual progress through constant interior renewal' as disciples and missionaries of Christ, the Redeemer (Const. 40).
5. In initial formation to foster in the young people, whether they be aspirants, postulants, novices or juniors a spirit of confidence and responsibility in their aptitudes, talents and feelings, by making them feel more secure in making decisions and carrying them out. By taking all these things into account we are called to have a new approach in order that vocations do not go on declining. We have stressed in this Congress the importance of permanent formation for the Brothers, especially the new generation joining the Congregation, with special reference to theology and religious life. We take into account that that there are elderly Brothers, with reduced physical and psychic strength, formed according to the spirit of another age and we must not forget that they also are missionaries (Const. 55).
6. When we use exclusive and clerical language in reference to our confreres we are denying our common union (cf. General Chapter 1991). We are invited to use inclusive terms. We should put an end to futile separations between us. We should all be called 'Redemptorist Missionaries' in order to foster integration not only among the members of the Congregation but also with the increasing number of lay people who actively share our charism. In addition to all this we are interested in formation, vocation ministry, the missions, being included in Provincial Chapters and involved in the formation process. We have carried out a process of permanent formation since the first Congress up to the present one and the Brothers are now opening up new paths that give hope.
We thank the members of the Vice province of Resistencia for their fraternal friendship and their readiness to work with us in this way forward. We are grateful as well to the Vice provinces who took part in this Congress. The next one will be in Chile, December 5 – 12, 2010, with the theme: 'Fraternal life: Prophecy in the Redemptorist Religious Life'.
May our waiting for the Birth of the Redeemer animate us to be 'Disciples and Missionaries who open paths of hope with the poor and in their perspective' and may Our Lady of Perpetual Help, our Mother of Advent, who gives us Jesus help us to bring him to others.
Present situation of Redemptorist Brothers
(Statistics as of September, 2007)
Enrique Lopez, C.Ss.R
1.Total number of Redemptorists in the world
Total number of confreres: 5433
Bishops: 45
Priests: 4097
Permanent Deacons: 12
Professed Clerical Students: 771 (169 perpetual and 602 temporary)
PROFESSED REDEMPORIST BROTHERS: 508 (455 perpetual and 53 temporary).
2. Evolution of the Brothers' statistics
· Total Number
1980: 1021
1985: 902
1990: 795
1995: 682
2000: 587
2005: 529
2006: 515
2007: as of September: 508
· Numbers professed
1980 – 1990: 160
1991 – 2000: 161
2001 – 2005: 82
2006 – 13
2007 – as of September: 10
· Numbers deceased
1980 – 1990: 291
1991 - 2000: 250
2001 – 2005: 92
2006: 14
2007: as of September: 11
· Numbers leaving the Congregation
1980 – 1990: 116
1991 – 2000: 114
2001 – 2005: 47
2006: 12
2007: as of September: 6
3. Age of Brothers in 2007
90 plus: 7
80 – 89: 80
70 – 79: 134
60 – 69: 100
50 – 59: 43
40 – 49: 56
30 – 39: 60
Under 30: 28
The oldest Redemptorist priest at present was born in 1904.
The oldest Redemptorist brother at present was born in 1908.
There are 321 Brothers over 60 years of age, 43 Brothers between 50 - 59 and 144 Brothers under 50.
4. Number of Brothers in the different Regions.
Europe North: 129 (123 perpetually and 6 temporary professed).
Europe South: 73 (all perpetually professed. None temporary professed).
North America: 83 (81 perpetually and two temporary professed).
Latin America: 129 (107 perpetually and 22 temporary professed).
Asia- Oceania: 72 (57 perpetually and 15 temporary professed).
Africa: 22 (14 perpetually and 8 temporary professed).
5. In the Congregation we are all Redemptorist missionaries, Fathers and Brothers together.
· The Redemptorist Brother is a religious, a missionary. He has been called to live in a community that follows Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. He has been called to a life of consecration and dedication to God, a life of chastity, poverty and obedience. Through his identity with Jesus Christ, the Redemptorist Brother is also a man for others as a missionary; he is an apostle and a prophet. He has been sent to proclaim the plentiful redemption of Christ, to serve the poor and abandoned. He does this by various types of services, ministries and apostolates, all of which contribute to the mission of the Congregation.
· His formation is like that of any other Redemptorist. He prepares by being trained in human and affective values, cultivating the spiritual life and deepening his communion with Christ and his spirituality. He lives and works as a religious, as a full member of the community. He can of course be engaged in many and different activities, services, ministries and apostolates. From this point of view 'his mission is wider and more open'. Naturally he prepares himself in a special way in order to carry out a particular service or to exercise a special ministry. The decision as to what a Redemptorist Brother will do is not the individual's decision. It has to be the fruit of profound discernment, taking into account his personal talents, the needs of the community and the requirements of the Redemptorist mission. The Redemptorist Brother is 'an apostle strong in faith, rejoicing in hope, burning with charity and zeal and persevering in prayer' (Const.20). He pays attention to and responds to the Will of God, to the needs of the poor and most abandoned, to the needs of the Church and the requirements of the mission of the Congregation.
· It is not easy to be a Redemptorist Brother. All Brothers have to face much external pressure. Within the Church itself, in view of the scarcity of priests, they are asked 'Why don't you get ordained?' Even in the Congregation the Brother has to listen to such expressions as: 'you are a good person, very capable and intelligent, why don't you finish your studies and be ordained a priest?'
· We feel that very often the profound sense of the Brothers' vocation is not understood in the Church or in the Congregation. All Brothers have to endure this pressure even to the extent of having to defend their vocation with other Redemptorists. It is essential to affirm constantly the special identity of the vocation of the Redemptorist Brother. We must help all especially the younger Brothers to be aware of their vocational identity.
6. Some anxieties and challenges:
· The diminishing number of Brothers in the Congregation is a serious and continual worry.
· The affirmation of the Redemptorist Brothers' vocation.
· Promoting the vocation of the Redemptorist Brother as a missionary. Some Units only stress the priestly vocation and do not emphasise the Brothers' vocation.
· The initial and permanent formation of the Redemptorist Brother. It is important that he be prepared for the service he is to perform or the ministry he is to exercise. Only three Provinces have special centers for the formation of the Brothers: Bogotá in Colombia, São Paulo in Brazil and Vietnam. Whether it is a coincidence or not these are the only Provinces with a good number of Brothers. In recent years other Units such as the Vice province of Manila in the Philippines, the Vice province of North Peru and the Vice province of Recife have taken steps to set up a specific program for the formation of candidates for the Brothers. We invite all to read and study with special attention the 'Ratio Formationis' for the Brothers of March 28, 1996.
· Increase the visible pastoral ministry of the Brothers. What does a Brother do? The Redemptorist Brother is a missionary and can carry out many types of activities and services. He can serve within the community helping the mission of the Congregation. He can be involved in social and charitable work responding to the needs of the poor and most abandoned. He can also carry out certain types of pastoral ministry and other services.
· The Redemptorist Brothers are also, according to Constitution 2, 'helpers, companions and ministers of Jesus Christ in the great work of redemption'. They give testimony to 'plentiful redemption'. They proclaim that in Jesus Christ there is 'plentiful redemption' and they preach the Gospel to the poor and the most abandoned by their words, the witness of their lives and their concrete actions. The Brothers are called to 'give their life for plentiful redemption'.
Index
General Secretariat for Brothers
January 14, 2008
Feast of Blessed Peter Donders, C.Ss.R
"Continual conversion, the result of their total surrender to God, increases their availability for the service of others. Indeed the very religious bonds, by which the members dedicate themselves to God, necessarily involve commitment to the apostolate and strengthen that commitment. Religious profession, therefore, becomes the definitive act of the whole missionary life of Redemptorists". (Const. 54)
Dear Confreres,
Greetings from the members of the General Secretariat for Brothers: Jeffrey Rolle C.Ss.R, Michael Duxbury C.Ss.R, Benjamin Posvo C.Ss.R, Joao Batista de Viveiros C.Ss.R, Joel de Guzman C.Ss.R, Alvaro Ribeiro C.Ss.R, Samuel Torres C.Ss.R and Enrique López C.Ss.R.
May the peace of Jesus, our Redeemer, true God and true man, renew our dedication, our spirit of self-giving and compassion. May his light enkindle our commitment to the mission and our passion for the most abandoned.
Meeting of the General Secretariat
The General Secretariat for Brothers met at "St. Alphonsus Formation Residence" in Whitestone, New York, USA, from January 8th to 12th, 2008. In a spirit of warm welcome and fraternal fellowship we shared our vision, reflected and prayed over the situation of Brothers in the Congregation. During this time we had the opportunity to listen to reports from the different Regions, we shared the Regional plans for 2008, which included information regarding projects and activities to mark the year dedicated to our consecrated life (November 9th, 2007 to November 9th ,2008).
We rejoiced in the dynamism and the vitality of the Brothers in the Regions of Latin America, Northern Europe and Asia/Oceania. We are encouraged by the enthusiasm and commitment of the young Brothers, and the meetings in these Regions. We hope that the gathering of Brothers planned for North America in May 2008 will bear many fruits and catapult that Region into greater action. We encourage the Brothers in Africa and Southern Europe to gather and reflect on their vocation, their religious commitment, their missionary spirit and the situation of Brothers in general.
We are searching for ways of a closer and better accompaniment of Brothers in the next few years. We are of the opinion that having a "permanent secretary for Brothers", in Rome, would help integrate, accompany and motivate the Brothers in the Regions, as well as assist in the different tasks of the General Secretariat during the next Sexennium. We also considered the possibility of having a Brother as one of the General Consultors. We are preparing for the next General Chapter and we invite the Brothers to submit suggestions and proposals for discussion at the XXIV General Chapter.
The"Year of intense reflection on the apostolic life of Redemptorists"
The General Council invited all the members of the Congregation to "join in a year of intense reflection on the apostolic life of Redemptorists. Constitution 1 reminds us that this life comprises at one and the same time a life specially dedicated to God and a life of missionary work".
This is an extraordinary time of grace, a jubilee year, a time to celebrate our vocation and evaluate our religious consecration. We thank the Lord for this special gift. We are living this year supported by the Word of God, our Constitutions and Statutes, fraternal community life, and a joyful expectation as we prepare to commemorate, in 2009, two other milestones: 100 years of the canonization of Saint Clement Hofbauer and 200 years of the birth of Blessed Peter Donders. These are signs of hope and expressions of the validity of the Redemptorist charism today. We try to respond to the signs of the times and we want to deepen the meaning and the living out of our consecration for mission. Father General, Rev. Joseph Tobin C.Ss.R., wrote in his letter of September 17, 2007:
“While the General Government is making this year a priority in its program of work, the success of the reflection will depend on planning and execution at the regional and (vice) provincial level. We hope that the major superiors, and their councils will accept this invitation and help the local communities examine the meaning of our religious profession today.
Some suggested activities are inter provincial or regional meetings on the meaning of Redemptorist consecrated life, including the vocation of Redemptorist Brothers, days of prayer with other religious, laity and young people, workshops on the meaning of our vows in a particular cultural context, provincial retreats and monthly days of recollection that progressively examine important aspects of our consecration, especially the theology of our Constitutions and Statutes and using the means of social communication to deepen the appreciation for consecrated life in the Church and world."
We encourage the superiors, formators, and each one of you to live this magnificent opportunity the Lord is giving us, with great missionary zeal and enthusiasm. Many Units have organized a whole program for the year and have planned different activities to help the confreres reflect on the theme. We offer some other possible activities:
- Pilgrimages to Alphonsian sites and shrines,
- Meetings of Brothers at Provincial and Regional levels,
- Monthly retreats on the virtue of the month, according to the Redemptorist tradition,
- Studies and reflection on Chapter three of the Constitutions and Statutes, and using the booklet "Charism 3",
- "Open house days": on certain days of the year we could open our Redemptorist houses and invite the laity for a time of prayer, reflections and a friendly meal,
- Organize vocation promotion workshops,
- As a possible consequence of the year, different Units, Regions and Sub regions, could start a new initiative or foundation staffed by a Redemptorist international community in an area of urgent pastoral need,
- Organize meetings of Redemptorist students at Provincial, Sub regional and Regional level,
- Celebrate all Redemptorist feast days in a special way.
Concerns of the General Secretariat
We share with you some of the concerns of our Secretariat. They affect every Redemptorist and we hope that the awareness of them will inspire us to a greater commitment in our mission as confreres and brothers:
- The diminishing number of Brothers,
- Vocation promotion as well as the initial and on going formation of Brothers,
- The care of many elderly and infirmed Brothers,
- The lack of visibility of Brothers in pastoral ministry,
- The lack of perseverance of a good number of young Brothers who, after a period of time, decide to become priests or leave the Congregation,
- The absence of Brothers in many Units,
- Some Units do not actively promote the vocation to the Redemptorist consecrated life.
Signs of hope
Finally, we also share with you these signs of hope that, like the star of Bethlehem, guide and inspire our path:
- There is a good number of young Brothers in some Units,
- New houses of formation for Brothers have been opened in the vice provinces of Recife, Peru North and Manila,
- There has been an increase in the number of meetings and gatherings of Brothers, on a provincial and regional level,
- There is a new appreciation of the Brothers' participation in the mission of the Congregation,
- In many Units, Brothers now have greater access to qualified training for ministry,
- During General Visitations, the situation of Brothers is being brought to the attention of the Units,
- There is a renewed sign of interest in the promotion of Brothers' vocation, among many Superiors and Vocation Directors.
“Through this total dedication to the mission of Christ, the members share the self-renunciation of their crucified Lord, the virginal freedom of his heart and his wholehearted offering of himself for the life of the world. They must, therefore, become signs and witnesses before people of the power of his resurrection, proclaiming the new and eternal life" (Const. 51).
We are sent to give witness to the plentiful redemption of Jesus Christ. To do so, we count on the grace of God, the intercession of our Mother of Perpetual Help, Saint Alphonsus, Saint Gerard and all Redemptorist Blessed and Saints.
Your Brothers in Christ,
The members of the General Secretariat for Brothers
1. The faithful in our Redemptorist Church in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). This is also the church where the Christmas demonstration Mass took place to welcome non-Catholics and explain the liturgy.
2. Father Pham Huy Lam and confreres celebrate Mass in our church in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).
3. Diagram of the disputed areas of Redemptorist land in Hanoi, Vietnam. The yellow area shows the original compound that was confiscated by the government in 1954. The blue area is the old monastery that was turned into a government run hospital. The orange shows the church building currently used by the Redemptorists. The green shows the areas currently under dispute.
4. The entrance to the garment factory that occupied the building being used by the parishioners of our church.
5, 6, 7, 8. Vietnamese Redemptorists and faithful pray and stand vigil for the return of their church property.
9. Brother Gerard Patin, C.Ss.R., of the Denver Province, 40 years a Redemptorist, is a beekeeper in his free time. He is stationed at the retreat house in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, USA. Brother Gerard sells the honey gathered from the bees in the retreat house book shop along with home made hand soaps. If you are interested in ordering honey ($4.00 per bottle) or soap (12 different fragrances, $3.00 per bar), please contact Brother Gerard at GerryPatin@aol.com. Shipping and handling will be additional. Brother would also like to know if there are any other Redemptorist beekeepers in the Congregation and would enjoy hearing from them.
10. Milan Chautur, C.Ss.R., first Eparch of Košice for the Byzantine rite Catholics.
A brief video of the first ad limina visit of Ukrainian Greek-Catholic bishops in 70 years, including Redemptorist Greek-Catholic bishops Ihor Voznyak; Bohdan Dziurakh; Yaroslav Pryriz; Mykhail Koltun; Stepan Meniok.
http://cssr.com/scala/video/vatican/cssr
Recent noteworthy events in the Redemptorist Family. For a complete record of Transitions visit the Officialia site
First Profession of Temporary Vows:
Rafael José Ingannamonte Sarmiento, Vice Province of Caracas, January 5, 2008
Carlos Ramón Lara Paredes, Vice Province of Caracas, January 5, 2008
Redin Rubel Meza Tocto, Vice Province of Peru-North, January 5, 2008
Rafael Arturo Sifuentes Larraondo, Vice Province of Peru-North, January 5, 2008
José Rafael Alfonso Verdugo, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Wilson Efrén Duarte Granados, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Walter Edilson Higuita Valderrama, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Juan Gabriel Jaimes Villamizar, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Juan Pablo López Urbano, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Ängel Custodio Ochoa Prada, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Ariel Páez Méndex, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
William Ramírez Ballesteros, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Luis Ariel Rincón Ochoa, Province of Bogotá, January 5, 2008
Francisco Nairton de Souza Alves, Vice Province of Fortaleza, January 7, 2008
Francisco Erivaldo Felix Araújo, Vice Province of Fortaleza, January 7, 2008
Efrén Patrício Guamán Cabrera, Province of Quito, January 12, 2008
Jorge Ramiro Quezada Reyes, Province of Quito, January 12, 2008
André Luiz Bastos, Province of Rio de Janeiro, January 13, 2008
Luiz Alexandre Larcher dos Santos, Province of Rio de Janeiro, January 13, 2008
Profession of Perpetual Vows:
Gilson da Silva, Vice Province of Bahia, December 16, 2007
Luis Armando Adorno López, Province of San Juan, December 28, 2007
Ordination to the Priesthood:
Francisco Santos Lima, Province of Campo Grande, November 3, 2007
Cláudio Corrêa de Miranda, Province of Porto Alegre, December 8, 2007
Bráulio Roger Martins Nunes Pereira, Province of Goiás, December 8, 2007
Donizete Teixeira de Araújo, Province of Campo Grande, December 15, 2007
Jobin Joseph Vanniamparambil, Vice Province of Alwaye, December 26, 2007
Jacob Parambanattu, Vice Province of Alwaye, December 28, 2007
Alonso Chérrerz Martínez, Province of Quito, January 5, 2008
Joseph Theresa Le Trong Hung, Vice Province Extra Patrium, January 5, 2008
Francis Xavier Tran Gia Dien, Vice Province Extra Patrium, January 5, 2008
Deaths:
Rev. Nobushige Paul Arima, 89, Vice Province of Kagoshima, December 19, 2007
Rev. Josef Parzer, 74, Province of Vienna, December 27, 2007
Rev. Franciszek Deluga, 73, Vice Province of Bahia, January 3, 2008
Rev. Wladyslaw Polak, 68, Province of Warsaw, January 13, 2008
Rev. Richard Shaming, 91, Province of Strasbourg, January 17, 2008
Br. John Joseph (Alphonsus) Fletcher, 97, Province of Edmonton-Toronto, Jan. 23, 2008
Rev. Juan Franciso Sánchez Mayo, 83, Vice Province of Caracas, January 28, 2008
Rev. Gérard Baud, 86, Province of Lyon-Paris, January 29, 2008
Br. Richard Costello, 85, Province of Dublin, January 30, 2008
60th Jubilee of Profession:
Kevin Carroll, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2008
Daniel Magill, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2008
Kevin O'Shea, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2008
Raymond Dobbs, Region of Aotearoa, February 2, 2008
Luis Alberto Aquirre Moreno, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2008
Manoel Pereira dos Santos, Province of São Paulo, February 2, 2008
Rómulo Cândido de Souza, Province of São Paulo, February 2, 2008
Fridolino José Strehl, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2008
Raymond Edward Temple, Province of Denver, February 2, 2008
Austin Forrie, Province of Dublin, February 11, 2008
60th Jubilee of Ordination:
Gregorio Martínez Ruiz, Province of Madrid, February 8, 2008
Esteban Martínez Marcos, Province of Madrid, February 8, 2008
José Calzada Martínez, Province of Madrid, February 8, 2008
Pedro David Suárez Villamizar, Province of Bogotá, February 8, 2008
Ramón Mantilla Duarte, Province of Bogotá, February 8, 2008
Vittorio Moretti, Province of Rome, February 21, 2008
Giovanni Battista Velocci, Proviince of Rome, February 21, 2008
Carlos Gavilanes Andrade, Province of Quito, February 21, 2008
50th Jubilee of Profession:
Teodor (Giorgio) Kaczor, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Patrick Kearney, Province of Canberra, February 2, 2008
Kevin James Gibb, Region of Aotearoa, February 2, 2008
Hélio Bosse, Province of Porto Alegre, February 2, 2008
Antônio Luís Pedrotti, Province of Goiás, February 2, 2008
James Joseph Burke, Province of Denver, February 2, 2008
Aníbal Durán Osinaga, Province of Bolivia, February 2, 2008
Brian Johnstone, Province of Canberra, February 25, 2008
Lawrence McCarthy, Province of Canberra, February 25, 2008
Philip Medlin, Province of Canberra, February 25, 2008
Vincent Doherty, Vice Province of Manila, February 25, 2008
50th Jubilee of Ordination:
Joannes (Teodoro) Trommelen, Vice Province of Recife, February 2, 2008
José Augusto da Silva, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2008
Gaspar de Almeida Pinto, Province of Rio de Janeiro, February 2, 2008
Paulino Sutil Juan, Province of Madrid, February 24, 2008
Manuel Pérez Cancela, Province of Madrid, February 24, 2008
Fabriciano Ferrero Ceneno, Province of Madrid, February 24, 2008
Alfonso Morán Fuertes, Province of Madrid, February 24, 2008
Pedro Pérez Núñez, Vice Province of Perú-North, February 24, 2008
25th Jubilee of Profession:
Mirosław Jan Chmielewski, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Antoni Hebda, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Władysław Jan Juszczak, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Henryk Kogut, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Marek Kotyński, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Zbigniew Majewski, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Marek Jan Mirus, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Krzysztof Szczygło, Province of Warsaw, February 2, 2008
Miguel Angel Maidana, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2008
Oscar Alfredo Rodríquez, Province of Buenos Aires, February 2, 2008
Alojzy Jagła, Province of Bolivia, February 2, 2008
Adonias Tavares da Silva, Vice Province of Manaus, February 4, 2008
Ademar Aguiar Costa, Vice Province of Fortaleza, February 6, 2008
25th Jubilee of Priestly Ordination:
Bishop Joércio Gonçalves Pereira, (Province of São Paulo) Prelate of Coari, Amazonas, Brazil , February 26, 2008
Electoral News:
Rev. Hermann Josef ten Winkel re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of St. Clement. Confirmed December 31, 2007.
Rev. Luis Mauricio Pizarro Bugueño, elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Santiago. Confirmed January 2, 2008.
Rev. Justo Ramón Correa elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Buenos Aires. Confirmed January 3, 2008.
Rev. Jeong Ho Raphael Lee re-elected Regional Superior of the Region of Korea. Confirmed January 3, 2008.
Rev. Oh Sang Casimiro Kwon nominated Regional Vicar of the Region of Korea. Confirmed January 3, 2008.
Rev. José Collado Luque re-elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Burkina-Niger. Confirmed January 6, 2008.
Rev. Pedro López Calvo elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Madrid. Confirmed January 8, 2008.
Rev. Jesús Hidalgo López elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Madrid. Confirmed January 8, 2008.
Rev. António Gomes Dias re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Lisbon. Confirmed January 9, 2008.
Rev. José Palos Fernandes re-elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Lisbon. Confirmed January 9, 2008.
Rev. Jaroslav Stelbasky re-elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Michalovce. Confirmed January 9, 2008.
Rev. Brian Peter Holmes re-elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Fortaleza. Confirmed January 13, 2008.
Rev. Jerome Lewis Chavarria re-elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Richmond. Confirmed January 15, 2008.
Rev. Mark Chester Miller elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Edmonton-Toronto. Confirmed January 16, 2008.
Rev. Takashi François-Clement Seto elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Tokyo. Confirmed January 16, 2008.
Rev. Argimiro Gago Vicente elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Perú-North. Confirmed January 16, 2008.
Rev. Thomas David Picton re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Denver. Confirmed January 16, 2008.
Rev. Felipe Santiago Burgos elected Provincial Superior of the Province of San Juan. Confirmed January 17, 2008.
Rev. Gerard Campbell re-elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of San Juan. Confirmed January 17, 2008.
Rev. Chrstian Frésard re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Bolivia. Confirmed January 17, 2008.
Rev. Stanislaw Ignacy Wzorek electged Vicar Provincial of the Province of Bolivia. Confirmed January 17, 2008.
Rev. Richard Mevissen elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Denver. Confirmed on January 17, 2008.
Rev. Franciso Arias Magallanes re-elected Vice Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of Perú-South. Confirmed January 19, 2008.
Rev. Paul Bird elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Canberra. Confirmed January 30, 2008.
Rev. John Hill elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Canberra. Confirmed January 30, 2008.
Suppression of Houses:
Domus"Comunidade Redentorista de Comunicações" in the city of São Paulo, Brasil suppresssed on January 19, 2008.
Domus"San Juan Neumann" in the city of Morocelí, Honduras suppressed on January 19, 2008.
Erection of Houses:
Domus"Comunidade Redentorista de Comunicações Afonso de Ligório" in the city of Aparecida, São Paulo, Brasil canonically erected on January 19, 2008.
Domus"Comunidade Redentorista Padre Gebardo" in the city of Aparecida, São Paulo, Brasil, canonically erected on January 19, 2008.
Domus"Nuestro Señora del Perpetuo Socorro" in the city of Trojes, Honduras, canonically erected on January 19, 2008.
Domus"Liguori Bhavan" in the city of Mattoor, Kerala, India, canonically erected on January 19, 2008.
Erection of Novitiate House:
Domus novitiate URSAL [for the Vice Province of Pilar; Vice Province of Asunción; Vice Province of Resistencia; Vice Province of Perú-South: Province of Santiago; Province of Bolivia] in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia erected on Janaury 19, 2008.