November 9, 2004

From the Superior General

Dear Confreres,

I am happy to greet you in this, the first issue of SCALA, the electronic newsletter that is one of the new projects of the Office of Communications. This new bulletin is an exciting step forward for the Congregation, creating a forum in which Redemptorists can exchange information about our missionary life in many countries across the world. Because SCALA can be received by every confrere who has an email address, it is an easy and effective instrument of information, insight and inspiration. However, because not all Redemptorists have personal access to the Internet, we need to be alert to share its contents with confreres who could be left out of this network. Of course, the real value of SCALA will depend on the quality of information it can communicate. So the Director of Communications, Father Gary Ziuraitis, is counting on correspondents across the globe to provide fresh and interesting items for future issues.

For us Redemptorists, the word “Scala” means a new beginning. May this project offer all Redemptorists a new opportunity to globalize the sort of solidarity that should characterize our Mission in the twenty-first century.

In the Redeemer,

Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.
Superior General

From the Editor

Welcome to the first edition (Number 1) of SCALA. This e-mail newsletter is meant to provide you with information about what is happening in the Congregation around the world. It is a work in progress and please be patient with us as we perfect the procedures and formatting in this and future issues. SCALA will be published at a frequency that is necessary to provide you news in a timely fashion. The format can be expanded or contracted to fit the supply of news. Send your news to GaryZ@cssr.com.

 Browse the index. You can click on each category or only on what interests you. At the end of each section there is an easy return to the index with a simple click. Happy reading!

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: Massimo Gimigliano, Rome, September 12th, 2004

Séraphin Nismba Benibio, Benjamin Moma Mayombo; Vice-Province of Matadi (Congo), September, 29 2004

Profession of Perpetual Vows: Neilton da Mota Junqueira, Bahia, August 1st, 2004 ;

Jude Kulas,Strasbourg, October 10, 2004

Badeea N Butrus 1900 Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, 28 October 2004.

Ordination to the Diaconate: Andrezej Michon, Sylwester Pactwa, Maciej Plewka, Waldemar Sojka,
 Krzysztof Stankowski, Marcin Zubik; Warsaw, October 3, 2004

Ordination to the Priesthood: Flávio Leonardo Santos Campos, Rio de Janeiro, August 21, 2004
Juan Manuel Solórzano Bernal, C.Ss.R., México,  October, 23 2004.

Electoral News
Rev. Francisco Antonio Ceballos Escobar elected Provincial Superior, Bogotá Province. Confirmed on October 13, 2004.
Rev. Andrew Burns elected Vicar Provincial, Province of South Africa. Confirmed on October 14, 2004.
Rev. Michael Brehl re-elected Provincial Superior, Edmonton-Toronto Province.Confirmed on October 14, 2004.
Rev. Edson Luiz Ulanowicz re-elected Provincial Superior, Campo Grande Province. Confirmed on October 26, 2004.P. Rev. Pedro Alejandro Irizar elected Provincial Superior , Santiago Province . Confirmed on October, 27 2004.
Rev. Gabriel Roque Sutil elected Vicar Provincial, Campo Grande Province. Confirmed on October, 28 2004.

Deaths:

Francis da Costa (82), Bangalore, September 3, 2004 (former Consultor General)   

Douglas Thomas (Br. Barnabas) Hipkins (73) Baltimore, October 3, 2004 
(former official in General Government's communication office)

Macrino Nágera Cisneros (42), México, October 16, 2004  (victim of a shooting)

Father Edmund Thomas Dunne, (86) ,Vice-Province of  Ipoh, October 7, 2004

Rev. Estanislao Skowronek,  (79)  Vice Province of Resistencia, October 25, 3004

Edmund Quinn , (84) Province of Edmonton-Toronto, October 20, 2004.

Father Pierre Dambre, (97)  Paris, October 28, 2004

   Index

News from the Provinces

Redemptorist Chaplains of the Apostleship of the Sea(AOS)
Poland & Bangalore
Fathers Edward Pracz & Xavier Pinto serve as Port Chaplains

            An Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) Chaplain's principal duty is to visit ships, say mass on board ship when requested and assist seafarers in times of personal distress and need.

            The Chaplain also has the responsibility to develop and maintain the Stella Maris Center in his port. This Center is like a social club and support group for the sailors besides a place for Mass and rest. With the establishment of a Fishing Committee for the pastoral care of fishing communities in January, 2004 it is also the Chaplain's task to respond to the specific needs of these special parishioners.

            Two of our confreres now work as Regional Coordinators of the AOS worldwide under the purview of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.  Fr. Edward Pracz,45, from the province of Warsaw was ordained 1986. He has been a  superior, vicar and preached retreats and missions. In 1993 he became Port Chaplain in Gdynia, in northern Poland. He also offers classes at the Maritime academy school there. Every Sunday he celebrates a special mass for seafarers. Father was appointed national director of AOS in 1997. With four ports in Poland he is a good link between east and west Europe. Later he was named Regional co-ordinator for Europe, which includes Belgium, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia  Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and the Ukraine.
            He is a member of the International Committee of Seafarers Welfare (ICSW). He has had a special experience of being out to sea for four months as Chaplain on board a fishing vessel.
He has developed an AOS sports center in Gdynia that was opened two years ago. It offers accommodations , a conference room, fitness center, recreation room, and a  restaurant. These facilities underscore an old adage: " a fit seafarer; a safe ship" The facility also serves as a good meeting place between other maritime organizations and AOS work.

            Father Pracz also publishes the Polish Seafarers News. It is sent out on the internet to all parts of the world everyday. A Seafarers Bulletin comes out every three months.

            Fr. Xavier Pinto, 54 , of the Bangalore Province was ordained in 1974. After twenty five years of mission and retreat preaching he now works with the Catholic Bishops Conference of India as the Executive Secretary for the Commission for Labor. He has also served as assistant parish priest in our OLPS church Chembur, Mumbai. He is also National Director for the AOS in India,and was appointed Regional co-ordinator for South Asia in 2003. Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have one major port each with designated chaplains. India has 11, with nine Chaplains. Father Xavier is a founding member of the National Fish workers Forum (NFF, 1978) and the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP, 1996).

            Stella Maris Centers for seafarers are still needed in these developing and underdeveloped countries. Plans are being made for such centers. Much is going on for fishing communities with training programs. The struggle to secure seafarers' rights and privileges with local as well as international organizations also continues.(cf. picture gallery)

Submitted by Fr. Xavier Pinto, C.Ss.R.

Father Joseph Mühlberger
Kagoshima Japan
Thirty-five years and counting!

            Father Joseph Mühlberger from the vice province of Kagoshima, Japan visited Via Merulana in late August. Father, originally from the province of Munich, has been a missionary in Japan for 35 years. He noted the struggles of evangelizing in a land that has deep eastern religious roots and a societal structure that make traditional avenues of evangelization, taken for granted in Western countries such as social services, difficult to perform. Father demonstrated a bit of Japanese script to show how the combinations of a written character relates a story and not just the singular meaning of a word. He explained that there are 50,000 of these characters in written Japanese.

            The Mekong River is the twelfth longest river in the world. The lives of about 60 million residents in six nations center around the Mekong for food, water, transport, and many other aspects of daily existence. These countries are Cambodia, China, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Differences in political ideologies have bred distrust in the region. The end of the Vietnam War era neither guaranteed permanent peace nor eliminated conflicts. The Mekong River Basin has the potential to spawn greed, hatred, and destruction - or become a source of initiatives in which everyone has a hand in building peace and harmony in the area and provide a good example for other peace-keeping initiatives around the world.

            The "Sowing of Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin" is a joint effort between the Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and Pacific (RUSHSAP); United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultureal Organization (UNESCO), Bangkok; Assumption University, Thailand; and the Redemptorist Ruamrudee International School (RIS), Bangkok. The project aims to inculcate a spirit of peace in students in high schools, colleges and universities. By engaging youth in meaninful discussions and activities, they can be convinced that global peace might have been a dream in previous generations but can be a reality now and in the future generation. An awareness of peaceful living will foster commitment to that goal. Building an effective commitment with students should start with the means of communication that are most meaningful to them. Sports, songs, and arts are attractions to the youth. Through these mediums, awareness of the benefits of peaceful living will be developed.

            The program will include: a concert with songs that promote peace; a cultural show and multi-media presentation portraying the national spirit of peace and living in harmony with neighboring countries; an opportunity to share experiences of the victims of war and violence; recitation of the poems of peace by the National Poet-laureate; an exhibition demonstrating the malignance resulting from war and violence in contrast to the flourishing of lives and living conditions under peace and harmony.

            About 20,000 participants are expected. The hoped for results would be that participants will recognize the vitality of the spirit of living together in peace and harmony among people of the Mekong River Basin; participants will be exposed to the art and culture of peace present in neighboring countries that will eventually lead to the mutual understanding and appreciation of other nations, paving way for global peace and harmony; participants will develop an appreciation of the value of peace and harmonious co-existence and be motivated to seek peaceful ways to resolve conflicts; and participants will be lifelong advocates of peace and thus lead peaceful, exemplary lives becoming role models for the world and people around them.

Submitted by Rev. Joe Apisit, C.SS.R., Thailand

Index

News from The Alphonsianum

Eucharist: The Foundation of Moral Theology

The theme for the Alphonsian academic year 2004 – 2005 was clearly set forth by both Father Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Moderator General of the Alphonsian Academy and Father Sabatino Majorano, C.Ss.R., President:  The Centrality of the Eucharist in Moral Theology.  In his homily, Father Tobin emphasized that Moral Theology’s point of departure is the Divine love for this world and its task is to make explicit the greatness to which God calls humanity.

 On October 11, students, new and returning, filled the Church of St. Alphonsus and Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help to capacity for the Inaugural Eucharist.  Presided by the Very Reverend Father Tobin, and assisted at the altar by principal concelebrants, Fathers Sabatino Majorano, Sean Cannon, Vice-President of the Academy, Leonardo Catalano, Academy student, Sergio Campara, Superior of the Redemptorist Community, and Academy student Deacon Antonio D’Amore with Father Federico Emaldi serving as Master of Ceremonies.

 Following the proclamation of the first reading by Father Stefano Zamboni, Responsorial Psalm by Father Aurelian Baroti, and Gospel by Deacon D’Amore, Father Tobin urged both students and professors to enter more incisively into today’s moral problems and, strengthened by the Redeeming love of God, help the faithful to fulfill their duty to bear fruit in Charity for the life of the world.

 Following the Eucharist, the activities moved into the Aula Magna of the Academy.  After a greeting from Ms. Danielle Gros, Secretary General of the Academy, Father Majorano gave the President’s report on the previous academic year.  The number of students enrolled for the past academic year was 309.  Father Majorano took the opportunity to point out that they represented countries in every Continent, Lay students, Religious representing 45 different religious institutes and 187 members of the diocesan clergy. “This diversity in countries of origin and lived experiences”, he noted, “is one of the treasures of the Academy”.  He continued reporting that seven Academy Alumni had been raised to the Episcopacy during the past year and that Father Silvio Sassi, long time Academy Professor, had been elected Superior General of the Society of St. Paul.

 In the academic field, Father Majorano reported that 24 students had completed and defended their doctoral dissertations and that, in addition to these, 19 students were proclaimed Doctors in Moral Theology after publishing their theses.  50 students earned their License in Moral Theology.

 A very important section of Father Majorano’s report is his vision of the future direction of the Academy.  “It is imperative,” the President said, “that Moral Theology must be such that it makes absolutely clear that the life and source of the mission of the Church have the Eucharist as their source and culmination”.  “This is not a passing interest, but an integral faithfulness to the Second Vatican Council.  A second equally important priority is to do everything possible so that Moral Theology will be a ‘diaconia’, that is, a ‘service of hope’ in response to the current challenges to an authentic Christian moral life.  These challenges include a fear bred by a mentality that justifies everything in the name of survival, transforms an ethical minimalism into an ideal, and see the poor and the needy as enemies”.

 After the President’s Report, the program continued with the Inaugural Lecture entitled The Centrality of Jesus Christ for Moral Theology.  The Current Relevance of the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer sixty years later was delivered by Msgr. Nicola Ciola, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Pontifical Lateran University.

 The Opening ceremonies concluded with a lively and well attended gathering for some refreshments.  Students and Faculty enjoyed the opportunity to exchange greetings and renew friendships.  Happy smiling faces seemed to be everywhere as the students prepared to embark on another year of ‘academic adventure’.

For more information about the Academy and its activities go to http://www.alfonsiana.edu/english.htm

Index

Redemptorists in the News

Baltimore Province Experiences an Increase in Vocation Candidates
Baltimore Province, U.S.A.
Rev. Phil Dabney, C.SS.R.
            There is electricity in the air in the Baltimore Province. With great hope and joy, we welcomed fifteen men into formation for the priesthood and brotherhood at the end of August. Thirteen of these fifteen men are at St. Alphonsus Formation House in Whitestone, Queens, New York, studying at St. John's University. Two are living at Holy Redeemer College, Washington, D.C., studying at Catholic University.

            Yes, we have hope in our future. Suddenly, we in the Province are filled with enthusiasm for the continuation of our work , as we hope these men will someday take our places in the long and fruitful history of the Baltimore Province.

            As Vocation Director, I feel there are three reasons we have done so well. Let me elaborate on those three reasons:
            1) We have a program called Crossroads. It is a weekend of discovery and retreat, with two different levels: One is for high school students. The other is for college students and older. There are four retreats a year. Each level has two sessions, one in the spring and one in the fall.
            Separating these two age groups allows us to focus on encouraging men in high school to live the gospel and to witness to their faith by serving in some capacity in a parish community. The weekend for college age and older men has a more serious focus, concentrating on discerning one's vocation.
            Each group has its own level of life experience. Separating the groups by age allows us to be more flexible working with the men in terms of maturity and awareness.
            A Crossroads weekend is not a one-time-only retreat. Participants are encouraged to return for another weekend. All the weekends are held in one of our Redemptorist retreat houses. On the high school level, especially, the young men become very attuned to the Redemptorist way of life. It leads them to look more seriously at the choice of a vocation. With the older men, a real sense of community is created and adds to their confidence about exploring their vocation.

            2) In addition to Crossroads, we have a program in which we bring those whose interest in us is growing to St Alphonsus Formation Residence in Whitestone, NY, for a period of four days. This is the Come and See weekend, an actual experience of living in Redemptorist community and being part of every aspect - work, academics, finances, relaxation and prayer. Those who take part leave knowing what it takes to become a Redemptorist, from the academic curriculum, to being able to process the experience, and to knowing exactly what would be required should they choose to apply. Carried out over the four day period, it is a valuable tool to nurture vocations.

             3) Maintaining communication with the province about our efforts is an essential aspect of vocation work. We keep the confreres and candidates' relatives and friends informed of what is happening. Four times a year we publish The Challenge, an eight page newsletter featuring Redemptorists in their varied ministries, the student candidates themselves and articles related to vocation ministry. It is sent to confreres, patrons and students, and given out at parish missions by our confreres in that ministry.

            What makes this successful, we believe, is that it is a process that gives a gradual introduction to Redemptorist life. No one is accepted for application unless they have made both a Crossroads and Come and See weekend. A man who is interested in our life could not apply until he has been working with us for at least a year following his initial contact.

            We have also adopted a much more proactive stance. Material is sent out to a person after his first phone call. Follow up phone contact is made and a visit to his home is made where we celebrate Mass and visit with the family.

            The majority of men come from stable homes. They are already active in volunteer work at their parishes. We notice they are more devotional in their practice of faith and unafraid to express devotion to Mary and the Eucharist.

            At this year's Mass and barbecue opening the school year a good number of confreres came from local communities around New York to see for themselves this increase of enthusiastic candidates. But the realization of new life became much more apparent to confreres when, at a profession in Philadelphia, provincial superior Father Kevin Moley had all the Whitestone and Holy Redeemer students stand to be recognized. That gesture suddenly made everyone conscious of a real future. We are making a conscious effort to encourage prayer for vocations within the student community and the Province at large. We are filled with hope.(cf. picture gallery) --Rev. Philip Dabney, C.Ss.R.

Index

Vatican News as seen from Via Merulana

Redemptorist on Commission discussing fate of children who die without baptism

                  The Vatican-based International Theological Commission has resolved to find an answer to the question of what happens to children who die without being baptised.

                  According to traditional Catholic teaching, baptism is necessary for salvation. However few Catholics believe that children, who have not had the opportunity to accept or reject the sacrament of initiation into the Church, will be denied salvation by God.

                 "The Congregation [for the Doctrine of the Faith] asked us to reflect on the question of baptism, at the request of the episcopal conferences having raised many questions of that subject," said Archbishop Roland Minnerath of Dijon, France, a member of the Commission.

                  The Commission, which includes the Australian Catholic University's Fr Anthony Kelly C.Ss.R, met during the first half of October. Other topics for discussion include the relationship between natural law and moral law, and the "proper way" to conduct theological studies.

                   The International Theological Commission usually spends several years studying particular topics, finally producing reports for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It released a report on creation last month.

SOURCE: Destiny of Children dead without baptism being discussed by Theological Commission (Catholic News Agency 6/10/04)

Monthly Picture Gallery (  for online viewing only)

News from the Provinces: The Apostleship of the Sea; Picture of Fathers Pracz and Pinto

Redemptorists in the News: Whitestone, N.Y.;  Picture of The Baltimore Province Candidates

The Candidates at prayer  and   The Candidates dining.

Profiles: The Five Redemptorist Patin Brothers;

News from the Curia: Centre for Spirituality activities, Materdomini, Shrine of St. Gerard

Centre for Spirituality Retreat in South Korea

Index

Activities of Father General and the General Council

Redemptorist Youth and Vocation Ministry Meeting, Bonn, Germany

            The seventh European Meeting of the Redemptorist Youth and Vocation Ministry (RYVM) took place in the Josephine College, Bonn, Germany 14-19 August 2004. About 600 young people took part including the volunteers from the College directed by the Redemptorists.

            Almost all the European Units were represented with groups of various size from Portugal to Kazackistan, in a lively and joyful atmosphere.

            The theme of the meeting was summed up in the title "This Way" which was a response to the theme of 'building bridges' at Torun in 2001 and pointed out that it was in Jesus Christ that all countries and people of every class could come together.

            The meeting was attended by Most Rev. Fr. General and also by the Vicar General, Rev. Fr. Serafino Fiore, President of the Secretariat for RYVM. The Josephine College was particularly suited to host this huge meeting. Its main hall resounded to many speeches and discourses, including one from the Mayor of Bonn. It witnessed dance and song and heard music, prayer and poetry.

            The weather was also propitious with a few rare downpours. The catering was excellent both in quality and quantity and much appreciated by those taking part.

            The meeting followed a well tried pattern: prayer meetings by national groups, reflections in linguistic groups, workshops on many and varied themes, a full gathering for the opening ceremony, the introduction of the groups, the visits to Cologne and Bonn and the Mass in the respective cathedrals. The Redemptorists present had a special meeting with Fr. General, a very fraternal occasion during which the next meeting was discussed and planned, God willing, in Ireland in 2007.

            We have to thank the two Provincials of Cologne and Munich, the generous confreres and particularly Fr. Jurgen Langer and the young people of the Josephine College who were most helpful. Not only was the meeting most successful but also it was much less a burden on the pockets of the young people for whom participation in such an extraordinary event as Bonn 2004 is often among other problems a financial one.

Profiles

Oh Brother!
Five Professed Redemptorists from One Family
The Redemptorist Patin Brothers

            Our Redemptorist family is celebrating  the 100th year of the Canonization of St. Gerard. Throughout it's history, the Congregation has witnessed hundreds of Redemptorist Brothers dedicated to giving their lives for plentiful redemption.

            In our Redemptorist family, there is a "family of brothers" who make up a "family of Redemptorist brothers"  - and one priest. From the Denver Province, USA, the Patin brothers, Father Larry and Brothers Leo, Andrew, Eugene, and Gerard have made signficant contributions to the Church and the Congregation in their various apostolates and appointments.

            The five boys (one sister and adopted brother also)  of Andrew and Regina Patin were all baptized at St. Alphonsus Parish, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A. The neighborhood around St. Alphonsus is famous for the large quantity of Redemptorist priests and brothers it has fostered.

             It was in this neighborhood that the Patin brothers became close to the Redemptorists and one by one, entered formation and eventually ordination for Larry and profession as Brothers for Leo, Andrew, Eugene and Gerard. Larry was professed in 1957, Leo in 1961, Andrew in 1964, Eugene in 1965 and Gerard in 1968. 166 years of combined Redemptorist profession in this one family!

            Father Larry has spent his Redemptorist apostolic life in the vice province of Thailand. He is currently the Vice Provincial Vicar.

            Brother Leo, after many years of serving as mechanical engineer in our large formation houses, retreat houses and health care center, went to the Amazon River in the vice province of Manaus and has opened up a trade school to train young men for a productive future. He also enjoys researching and sharing information about the history of the American provinces.

            Brother Andrew has been involved in parochial ministry in large cities like Chicago and is currently serving as a pastoral associate in his hometown parish of St. Alphonsus in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  A lifelong sufferer from diabetes, his visits to the elderly and sick are a hallmark of compassion and sensitivity.

            Brother Eugene  was the first Brother in the newly created Denver province to serve as a local superior with the title of Administrator at our community of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Chicago, IL. He also attended the 2003 General Chapter as an invited delegate. Eugene is deeply involved with the poor in the parish's neighborhood and has championed many youth activities to provide an alternative to the poverty and drug problems that surround it.

            Brother Gerard has also served as a mechanical engineer in our large houses of formation and retreat houses as well as in our parishes. He distinguished himself at our former parish of Holy Redeemer, Detroit, Michigan for his service to the youth of the parish and starting a youth center. He currently serves as mechanical engineer at our retreat house in Crooked Lake, Wisconsin and is active in the retreat apostolate. (cf. picture gallery)

Featured Redemptorist Website

Fr. Joseph H. Maier, C.SS.R, an American Redemptorist and a member of the Vice Province of Thailand, is Director of the Human Development Foundation in Thailand. Click on the following link www.mercycentre.org to see their website and the tremendous work being done for the poor.

  Index

Reports from the Curia, Secretariats, Institutes, and Committees

The General Secretariat, besides its normal duties, has been working the past couple months to prepare the new, updated, 2004 edition of Inscriptiones C.Ss.R., the official address book of the Congregation, which is published every two years. It has been sent to Valsele Tipografica in Materdomini, the Redemptorist publishing house in the Province of Naples. There, under Fr. Antonio Pasquarelli’s responsibility, it will be printed and mailed to the major superiors of every Unit, who will then send it to each community. Hopefully it will serve as an accurate resource book for the over 800 communities of the Congregation.

The General Secretariat is very grateful to all the major superiors and others who cooperated in providing updated and accurate information for the new edition and to Fr. John Vargas, C.Ss.R. (New Orleans) who worked diligently to develop the program that houses all the data. The General Secretary asks all major superiors to send him any and all new or changed information regarding the addresses and other contact information of the communities in their Units. This way the database of the Curia Generalis can always be kept up to date.

Fr. Joseph Wimmer, C.Ss.R. (Munich), the Vice-Secretary General, continues to prepare and archive all the documentation, such as rescripts, other official decrees and letters of the Congregation and the General Government. Among many other good and important things he does, he often provides Latin translations and explanations for the Secretary General who doesn’t know any Latin! The database program he uses has become antiquated and will soon be replaced by a newer, more powerful database program that will be similar to and fully compatible with the database program now used in the General Archives.

Brother Placido (François Xavier) Nguyen văn Dien, C.Ss.R. (Vietnam), the senior member of the Curia, now in Rome for 45 years, continues to faithfully record all the important events like profession, ordination, jubilee and death and less pleasant things like absence from the community, exclaustration, secularization, laicization, incardination and dismissal. All statistical information you ever wanted to know or not know about the Congregation is with Brother Placido. He too will soon upgrade to a new and better database program, under the watchful eye of Fr. Michael Kratz, C.Ss.R. (Cologne), to whom the Secretariat is most grateful for services rendered, especially the recent publication of Analecta 2003-2003

The translators continue working to provide translations, usually in seven languages, of all the documentation of the General Government, such as: Fr. General’s Communicanda, letters, and homilies, the communications, reports and documents of the General Consultors, Secretariats and Commissions, the Secretary General and Treasurer General, all texts for the official web site of the General Government, http://www.cssr.com/, and now, all the news for SCALA.

The translators who reside in Rome are Gabriel Boudreault [Tokyo], Tony Mulvey [Dublin], Porfirio Tejera [Madrid], José Raimundo Vidigal [Rio de Janeiro], Hermann Schmid [Switzerland], Jan Cygnar [Warsaw], the General Consultor, Jacek Dembek [Warsaw], the rector of the St. Alphonsus community in Rome, Sergio Campara [Rome] and the Vicar General, Serafino Fiore [Naples]. Among many others scattered around the globe are (Heribert Koger [Vienna], Hervé Gendron [Sainte-Anne de Beaupré], J. Robert Fenili [Denver] and Vito Lombardi [Rome], to name a few. We owe a great debt of gratitude to these quiet, hard-working confreres, many over 70 years old, some over 80, if they are strong -- as the psalm says.

The General Secretariat remains committed to serving the whole Congregation in its mission to preach the Good News of plentiful redemption to the most abandoned poor around the world. Please feel free to contact us at  seg.gen@cssr.com (please note the change in this address, it is no longer  seg.gen.cssr@cssr.com)

            The first volume of the correspondence of St. Alphonsus was published last June, edited by Fr. Giuseppe Orlandi C.Ss.R. The General Government had been anxious for this publication since 1996 and entrusted the work to the Redemptorist Historical Institute. Since them much work has been done. At first the publication of only his own letters was envisaged but this developed into a more ambitious project to include the replies received by the Saint. This enlarged edition of the work enables us to understand more fully the subjects raised by the Saint in his letters when we also take into account his correspondents.

   According to some authors St. Alphonsus wrote about 5000 letters, but a list made in 1803 numbered only 2013. When Frs. Kuntz and Pitocchi finished their collection in 1887-1890, they only reached a total of 1478 though they included texts that could scarcely be described as letters. The volume edited by Fr. Orlandi numbers 106 letters written by Alphonsus and 109 by his correspondents. We see therefore that the editor has followed precise criteria in his work including only these letters that are really useful in outlining the spiritual and human itinerary followed by the Founder of the Redemptorists.

            The period covered by these letters is 1724 to 1743. Those who are familiar with the life of the Saint know how important was this particular space of time. In 1724 the saint received the tonsure and in 1743 he wrote to Pope Benedict XIV to have his Rule approved. Between these two dates he had his first experiences as a priest and missionary, the idea and troubles of the foundation, the not always peaceful confrontations with Falcoia, Crostarosa and his spiritual directors.

            Published by the prestigious Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura the volume contains 840 pages, including a comprehensive General Introduction, a glossary of obsolete words, a bibliography of works quoted as well as biographies of his correspondents and a summary of the life and times of the saint. It also has an index of both names and places. Thanks to Fr. Orlandi we now have available not only an edition of the correspondence produced in accordance with a rigorous critical, historical and philological method, but also precious pages enabling us to understand the epoch in which the saint worked and wrote.

            The price of a hardback edition of the Carteggio is 95 euros but within the Congregation
it can be purchased for 60 euros and in paperback at 50 euros For copies apply to the Redemptorist Historical Institute aowczarski@tiscali.it or direct from Fr. Fiore sfiore@cssr.com Rome.

The Centre for Redemptorist Spirituality

            The Centre for Redemptorist Spirituality in Rome continues under the direction of Fr. Felix Catalá and Fr. Joseph Ivel Mendanha. The Centre conducted a three week workshop in Italy for English-speaking formators and superiors in June 2004. The workshop included study and reflection on the major themes of Redemptorist Spirituality, Redemption as a theme for the Sexennium and a guided pilgrimage to the important Alphonsian shrines in Italy. There were a total of 25 participants from the English speaking units of the congregation.
           Retreats and workshops were also conducted by Fr. Català and Fr. Mendanha in the province of Yorkton in Canada, the v province of Richmond in the USA, the province of Canberra in Australia and the Region of South Korea (cf. photo gallery).

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