December 2004

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Consulta of October and November 2004
General Notes

The Consulta began late (20 October) to give time to the Vicar Gen-eral and Bro. Hernán to participate in the festivities of the province of Khartoum and to attend to concluding celebrations of the Comboni Year for the canonisation of St. Daniel Comboni. A great deal of time of this Consulta was again spent on personnel and on the emergencies espe-cially in the field of formation, which were also due to the appointments of provincial and delegate superiors.

1. Appointments
Fr. Taneburgo Giovanni (C) is appointed formator of the scholasticate of Rome as of 1 January 2005.
Fr. Madaschi Fernando (PE) is appointed formator of the scholasticate of Lima as of 1 January 2005.
Fr. Opargiw John Baptist Keraryo (MZ) is appointed novice master and superior of the novitiate of Lusaka as of 1 December 2004.
Fr. Antonio Guirao Casanova (KE) is appointed formator of the C.I.F. of Nairobi as of 1 January 2005.
Bro. Bozza Claudio (KE) is appointed superior-delegate of the Superior General of the C.I.F. of Nairobi, as of 1 December 2004, pending the permission of the Holy See.
Bro. Binaghi Marco (CO) is appointed superior-delegate of the Superior General of the CIF of Bogotá, as of 1 December 2004, pending the permission of the Holy See.

2. Appointments of provincial and delegation superiors
During the Consulta provincial and delegate superiors were appointed for the next three years. They will start their period of office as of 1 Janu-ary 2005.
The General Council (GC) thanks the provincials and delegates who end their period of office. It thanks them especially for their collaboration and perseverance in carrying "the cross of the provincialate." Our thanks, on behalf of the whole Comboni Family, go to Fr. Alberto de Oliveira Silva (A), Fr. Bascarán Collantes Carlos (BNE), Fr. Cordioli En-rico (DCA), Fr. Engl Silvester (DSP), Fr. Mauri Enea (EC), Fr. Masini Corrado (ET), Fr. Antonini Francesco (I), Fr. Pescantini Umberto (KE), Fr. Devenish Martin James (LP), Fr. Díaz Jiménez Gerardo Antonio (M), Fr. Giboli Giorgio (MO), Fr. Conway Dennis William (NAP), Fr. Franco Lorenzo Conrado (PE), Fr. Bettini Ezio (SS), Fr. Perego Saverio (T) and Fr. Oliana Guido (U).
Best wishes to the provincials and delegates who continue their service and, above all, to the confreres who start their period of office. The GC has only one desire: to walk together with them, in a spirit of communion, for the good of the mission and of the Institute.

Below are their names:
Fr. Codianni Luigi Fernando (Brasil Nordeste)
Fr. Munari Giovanni (Brasil do Sul)
Fr. Castillo Matarrita Victor Hugo (Centrafrique)
Fr. Bernasconi Fermo (Congo)
Fr. Schneider Anton (Deutschsprachige Provinz)
Fr. Bordonali Bruno (Ecuador)
Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse (Ethiopia)
Fr. Rojo Buxonat Laureano (España)
Fr. Pelucchi Alberto (Italia)
Fr. Tibaldo Mariano (Kenya)
Fr. Cignolini Luigi (Khartoum)
Fr. Felix Paul Neri Augustine (London Province)
Fr. Casagrande Luigi (Malawi-Zambia)
Fr. González Ponce Rafael (México)
Fr. Robol Massino (Moçambique)
Fr. Gasparini Luigi (North American Province)
Fr. Bustos Juárez Rogelio (Perú-Chile)
Fr. Manuel Alves Pinheiro De Carvalho (Portugal)
Fr. Singer Benno (South Africa)
Fr. Perina Luciano (South Sudan)
Fr. Ruiz Molina Jesús (Tchad)
Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia (Togo-Ghana-Benin)
Fr. Filippi Giuseppe (Uganda)

The delegates are the following (in boldface the newly elected con-freres for their first mandate):

Fr. Glenday David Kinnear (Asia)
Fr. Sánchez González Enrique (Delegación de Centro América)
Fr. Girau Pellicer José Antonio Pablo (Colombia)
Fr. Lurati Claudio (Egypte)
Fr. Sebhatleab Ayele Tesemma (Eritrea), already appointed delegate superior of Eritrea as of 1 April 2004.

By 31 December 2004 we expect the results of the elections of the councillors of the provinces and delegations. In 2005, in their first meet-ing, the new provincial and delegation councils will have to elect the vice provincial and the vice-delegate superiors.

3. General Assembly of provincials and delegates
The General Assembly of provincials and delegates will be held in Cairo (Egypt) on 13-27 February 2005.
The provincials and delegates are asked to be in Cairo by 6:00 p.m. on 13 February. The days from 14 to 23 February will be for the work of the General Assembly of provincials and delegates. The remaining days (24-26 February) will be left for continental meetings.
The theme and the program of the assembly are being prepared.

4. Ratio Missionis
From 3 to 5 November 2004, the core committee (“commissione ris-tretta”) for the Ratio Missionis gathered in Rome to discuss some guide-lines on how to animate and motivate the provinces and delegations in this work, which will involve the whole Institute for the next six years (2003-2009). The GC presented to them its vision and expectations. The Ratio Missionis, as it has been often stated, must not be one more document. There should be no preoccupation, at least for now, to set in writing and codify ideas in a set of norms. It must not be, either, a docu-ment prepared and issued by Rome. In the mind of the GC, the Ratio Missionis has to be born from the reflection and experience of all our confreres and become the guiding principle of our “being and doing mis-sion” in every province and delegation during the next six years.

5. Comboni Year of Ongoing Formation (CYOF)
It has been decided that the CYOF in English remain in South Africa. The GC, together with the team of the CYOF and the provincial council of South Africa, is finalising the venue of the CYOF to have a fixed resi-dence and to foster better serenity and brotherhood among the partici-pants. Choosing one of our houses as the residence of the CYOF will also reduce the expenses.

6. Renewal Course in Rome
Thanks to Fr. Giuseppe Franzelli and Fr. Danilo Cimitan, everything is ready for the starting of the Renewal Course in Rome. Due to the good number of participants, we can say that we now have a full house: Deo Gratias!
We believe to be able to organise also the month outside Rome (in Egypt and in the Holy Land). For the travelling expenses, we ask the provinces and delegations to cover 50% of the cost, as it has been done in the past.

7. Next Mini Consultas of the General Council
18-21 December. Meeting to prepare the final topics and agenda for the General Assembly of provincials and delegates.
29-30 December. Meeting to confirm the elections of the provincial and delegation councillors and to deal with other matters.

General Secretary

MCCJ Bulletin and In Pace Christi
Toward the end of November we mailed to provincials, delegates and to some communities copies of the MCCJ Bulletin 224 (October 2004). The supplement of the deceased confreres In Memoriam 224 has also been mailed.
Around the end of November we mailed as well the booklet of the de-ceased Comboni Missionaries, Sisters and Seculars, In Pace Christi 2005. We ask the provincials and delegates to send a copy to each con-frere.

General Secretariat of Mission Promotion (MP)

Continental Council of French-speaking Africa
The Continental Council of Mission Promotion (PM) for French-speaking Africa was held at Bacara, 10 km from N’djamena (Chad), on 13-17 September (see Familia Comboniana n. 614, page 14).
The reflection centred on the question the General Chapter had asked of Continental Councils: “What kind of Mission Promotion is needed for French-speaking Africa today?” The meeting closed with a detailed pro-gram for the upcoming course for mission promoters due to take place in Kinshasa-Kimwenza (Congo) on 8-20 August 2005. The last two days will be given to a continental assembly of MP.
Sincere thanks to the province of Chad for their hospitality.

Continental Council of America and Asia
The meeting of the Continental Council of MP for America and Asia was held at our house of Carcelén in Quito, Ecuador, on 12-16 October 2004. The following members of the Continental Council attended: Fr. Giovanni Munari, provincial in charge of MP; Fr. David Kinnear Glenday (Asia), Fr. Alcides Costa (Brazil South), Fr. Jacques Mosengo Pwobe (Colombia), Fr. Carlos Humberto Rodríguez Cascante (DCA), Fr. Gus-tavo Brito Carvajal and Fr. Gustavo Guerrero Zúñiga (Ecuador), Fr. Aarón Cendejas Ponce (México), Fr. Angelo Biancalana (NAP), Fr. Juan José Tenías Fenollé (Peru), Fr. Jaime Calvera Pi (Secretary General of MP) and Ms. Roxanne Schorbach (NAP).
The reflection, an answer to the request of the last General Chapter (CA ’03, 105.5) on the contextualisation of our activities of MP, will be published in the Acts of the Continental Council.
Particular importance was given to the preparation of the next general assembly of MP for America and Asia and of a course for mission pro-moters, aimed at giving them adequate training (CA ’03, 129.1), that will take place in Central America in 2005. The proposed date for the course is 4-16 July, and 18-19 July is the date proposed for the Continental As-sembly of MP for America and Asia.
Sincere thanks to the province of Ecuador for its hospitality.

Continental Council of English-speaking Africa and Mozambique
This Continental Council, originally scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa on 4-6 October, was cancelled, because only three out of the 10 provinces/delegations that make up this group, indicated that they would attend.
With the beginning of the mandate of the new provincials, dialogue will begin anew in order to organise, as soon as possible, this Continental Council that will carry out the activities planned by this secretariat.

General Secretariat for Evangelisation

Preparation of the Ratio Missionis
We have decided on a follow-up to the proposals of the Intercontinen-tal Assembly of 23-30 May 2004 concerning the Ratio Missionis and to the letter of the General Council of 1 July, that set the course for the work to be done and appointed the members of both the core committee and the enlarged committee. For this reason, Fr. Jeremias Dos Santos Martins, Fr. Enrique Javier Rosich Vargas, Fr. Giacomo Palagi, Fr. An-ton Schneider and Fr. Fernando Zolli, members of the core committee, met in Rome on 3-5 November 2004 together with the General Council, the General Secretaries, those in charge of the Historical Archives, the Studium Combonianum and the Renewal Course, to study some practi-cal proposals on how to animate and motivate provinces and delega-tions in this task that will involve the entire Institute over the next six years (2003-2009).
The Ratio Missionis, it has been repeated, must not be just another document. This is why, at first, we should not worry about writing and legislating the way of being and of acting of the Comboni Missionaries, but rather we should concentrate on calling on all the confreres to take time, to dialogue, to listen to one another, to share their stories and their mission experience just as each one of them and each province has lived them in time and place, open to the strength of the Spirit who comes to “renew the face of the earth” (Rev 21,5).
The Comboni Missionaries, as they commit themselves to writing the Ratio Missionis, in the light of God’s Word, the charism of St. Daniel Comboni, the journey o the Church and of humanity, want to question their role and the effectiveness of their missionary service in the context of globalisations, at the beginning of the Third Millennium.
The Ratio Missionis, therefore, does not presume to engage in theo-retical discussions on Mission, which in itself does not change, but must help Comboni’s heirs to renew their love, zeal, daring and courage in mission; to read the “signs of the times;” to face the challenges of to-day’s mission; to identify the “poorest and most abandoned; ” to accept in a positive way and to value various activities as the expressions of dif-ferent social and cultural contexts on the planet, so that the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will go beyond all borders, be they geo-graphical or social, political or religious, to make possible and credible the realisation of the universal brotherhood and sisterhood of all men and women of our time.

Perpetual Vows
Sc. Zarantonello Daniele (I) Lima (PE) 30.10.2004
Sc. Adaku Isaac Augustine (U Innsbruck (A) 31.10.2004
Sc. Kibira Anthony Kimbowa (U) Innsbruck (A) 31.10.2004


Holy Redeemer Guild

December 01 – 15 U 15 – 31 CN
January 01 – 07 A 08 – 15 C 16 – 31 BNE

Prayer Intentions

December - That through the intercession of Saint Daniel Comboni, the contemplation of the God-made-man may give us the grace to live in poverty, simplicity and hope in order to witness the Love of the Father to all, but in particular toward those who endure the hardest and most diffi-cult realities of human existence. Let us pray.

January – That, enticed by the love of Christ the Good Shepherd, and following the example of St. Daniel Comboni, we may take up the new challenges of the Mission with courage and creativeness. Let us pray.

Publications

Fr. Vittorio Moretto: "Cuando se tambalean los cimientos. Misterio y fecundidad de una inaudita tragedia", published by Misioneros Com-bonianos, Ciudad de México - México. The book is an act of love for the missionaries who were prisoners of the Mahdia, whose painful experi-ence is narrated with a positive and serene spirit. Copies may be re-quested from the C.A.M. of Mexico City: Misioneros Combonianos, Apdo. P. 32-0333, 06030 México, D.F., (Mexico). Price: US$ 5.
The Italian version ("Quando sono scosse le fondamenta. Missione e fedeltà di Dio") may be requested from Annamaria Rossi Castaldi, Via Gaudenzio Ferrari, 29 - 21047 Saronno (VA) – Italy (Tel 02-96.70.84.40; e-mail castaldi.rossi@tin.it). Those requesting copies from Annamaria, will be advised of a suggested contribution on behalf of the mission of Fr. Moretto.

DSP

Perpetual vows
On 31 October the two Ugandan scholastics, Anthony Kimbowa Kibira and Isaac Augustine Adaku, took their perpetual vows. It was a lovely day with many guests and songs. Anthony will be ordained deacon on 5 December and then return to Uganda. Isaac will carry on with his studies in this province till June next year.

20th World Youth Day 2005
The next World Youth Day will be held in Cologne, Germany, in Au-gust 2005. The program foresees a live-in period in parishes and dio-ceses of Germany (11-15 August), followed by the big event in Cologne (16-21 August). The DSP is very much ready to receive guests from our provinces who want to participate in the World Youth Day. Thus, we do invite confreres and their youth groups who wish to come to Germany for this occasion and to be accommodated at our places (mainly at Josefstal and Nürnberg) during the period of 16-21 August 2005. If any-one is interested, please contact the confreres at Nürnberg (Comboni-Missionare, Sielstr. 3, D-90429 Nürnberg - Germany; e-mail: nuren-berg@comboni.de).

ECUADOR

Consecration of the parish church of El Paraíso-La Catorce
On Saturday, 6 November, on the occasion of the celebration of the seventh anniversary of the foundation of Nuestra Madre de la Paz parish in El Paraíso-La Catorce, the new parish church was consecrated.
The consecration was preceded by a lengthy preparation: flyers; vari-ous programs; commemorations; a triduum in the central parish church and in the rural communities; retreats for groups of Catholic action, lay movements and couples; adoration and penitential rites aimed at renew-ing life in an area of conflict that has plagued this area for over 30 years, due to ever worsening border disputes between two sister provinces.
In the morning, the 60 plus communities that make up the parish had their solemn pilgrimage: about 1000 people attended. The auxiliary bishop presided over the consecration. Among those present were the provincial, the parish priest of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, the parish-ioners from Bramadora, which used to be part of La Catorce, and the community of El Carmen. The highlights of the ceremony were: the of-fertory, during which each pastoral zone brought typical gifts prepared with originality and creativity; the blessing of the altar with the relicts of St. Daniel Comboni and of the Martyrs of Uganda, placed at the centre of the altar, where they can be seen behind glass. At the end, the bishop donated a silver olive tree, a sign of peace for this community so divided for political reasons.
The parish priest, Fr. Alberto Ferri, gave a short historical background remembering the missionaries who worked in this area and presenting the expenses incurred to bring this structure to completion. The day closed with a feast at the Fr. Juan Riva’s Institute and a dinner prepared by the pastoral agents to which everyone was invited.

A monument to St. Daniel Comboni in Patate
On 10 October, Patate saw the opening of the solemn pastoral mis-sion that stretched all the way to 14 November with the slogan: “Patate misionera.” During those days all the families, schools and institutions, neighbourhoods, movements, factories were visited one by one in an at-tempt to encourage the people to face the challenge of living the mis-sionary dimension of their faith and give a missionary perspective to the entire parish.
A week was reserved specifically to train pastoral animators and agents, while others were reserved for workers, employers, teachers, drivers, government and municipal employees, including the mayor. Dur-ing these weeks, a liturgical aid was prepared for the six Sundays of the mission aimed at involving the people with material on Comboni and on the missionary life.
On Sunday, 14 November, at the closing of this solemn popular mis-sion that involved the entire parish, many of the faithful gathered at the entrance to the town to receive the image of Comboni that was set on a beautiful canopy. Then they processed through the town’s streets, sing-ing and praying. At the end, the provincial celebrated a solemn Mass, during which the image of Comboni was blessed and placed at the side entrance of the Basilica-shrine of the “Lord of the Earthquake.”

National Meeting of Afro Liturgy
The National Meeting of Afro Liturgy on the theme of “Afro-Ecuadorian Baptism,” was held in Guayaquil on 12-14 November. The objective of the meeting was to reflect on the Afro-ecuadorian baptism as a form of enculturation of the liturgy in the Black population and to propose an out-line for its celebration.
On the first day we reflected on the meaning of “agua de Socorro” in the Afro community. The participants greatly appreciated the methodol-ogy used, that gave a chance to everybody to contribute to the prepara-tion of an acculturated catechesis for the baptismal preparation of Afro boys and girls. At the end of the meeting, some proposals were made for the preparation of a ritual for an Afro-ecuadorian baptism. It is up to the participants now to spread these proposals in their own parishes and dioceses.
Twenty three people attended the meeting, including five priests (one of them Afro) and two Afro religious. They all underlined the importance of the topic and the need to continue to reflect and work on this matter. In particular, there is a lingering uneasiness over the attitude of the Church toward the “agua de Socorro” and there are questions over which concrete proposals should be presented to the families and to Church authorities.

Meeting of local superiors
The meeting of local superiors, under the guidance of the provincial, took place at the provincial house on 15 and 16 November, for the pur-pose of implementing the directives of the Chapter. The conditions of each community were presented with very creative dynamics and, af-terwards, there followed a reflection on a digest of the questionnaire that had been sent to each one of them to help them describe their concrete situation.
On the second day, with the help of Eudist Fr. Carlos, we reflected on the Word of God (Mt 18) and on our documents, to identify the needs, priorities and the pressing courses of action for the province, keeping in mind the six-year plan. The role and duties of the local superior were discussed as well. Finally time was taken to deepen, with the help of a handout prepared by the provincial, the understanding and the journey of true Ongoing Formation.

EGYPT

Feast of St. Daniel Comboni
On the evening of 9 October the 123rd anniversary of the Dies Natalis of the Saint was celebrated in the Comboni church of “Cordi Jesu,” with the participation of all the Comboni Missionaries and Comboni Sisters, sisters from other Institutes and a good number of parishioners. After a half hour vigil, with prayers and commentaries in Arabic and some read-ings in other languages, we celebrated the Latin-rite liturgy in Arabic. The presider was the national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Fr. Antonio Fayez. Some priests studying at Dar Comboni concele-brated. The songs were performed by the Sudanese choir, whose girls also performed liturgical dances, and by the Eritreans and a choir from the Coptic Catholic parish of Ghiza. A reception followed.

Youth gatherings
A youth mission gathering was held at “Cordi Jesu” on 22 October. It was organised by the Comboni Missionaries and Comboni Sisters and drew about 80 young people from the various city parishes and a dele-gation from Alexandria.
On 5 November, at the seminary of Tahta, diocese of Sohag, the same meeting was repeated for about 170 young people. The bishop of Sohag also attended.
We pray that these meetings will bear lasting fruits.

Material for Mission Sunday
Thanks to the fact that this year St. Daniel Comboni was mentioned in the Pope’s homily for World Mission Sunday, the national director of the Propagation of the Faith inserted in the envelopes that he sent to over 600 parishes the biography of Comboni by Fr. Cirillo Tescaroli, trans-lated into Arabic with some adaptations.

Mission celebration at the cathedral
World Mission Sunday was celebrated at the Coptic Catholic cathedral of Faggala, Cairo, on 24 October. The Coptic Catholic Patriarch, Card. Stéphanos II Ghattas presided over the concelebration. The celebration was enhanced by the presence of the Comboni Missionaries and Com-boni Sisters and the showing of a video about the theme of the day.

Arafat’s funeral
The Holy See sent an official delegation to the funeral ceremony held in Cairo for the deceased president of the Palestinian National Organisa-tion. It was made up of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Bishop Michel Sabbath, the chargé d’affaires of the Papal Nunciature (the Nuncio be-ing absent) and the Comboni Missionary Fr. Camillo Ballin.


LONDON PROVINCE

Comboni students at MIL
At the moment 12 Comboni students are attending courses validated by the Middlesex University at The Missionary Institute of London. Some scholastics are studying for BA (Honours) in Theology for Ministry. Oth-ers are attending courses for Diploma in Missiology. Fr. Hailu Abraham, responsible for Justice and Peace in the diocese of El Obeid (Sudan), is finishing an MA in Applied Theology (Peace and Justice) validated by Middlesex University. Fr. Amente Tafesse Melaku from Ethiopia has just started an MA in Pastoral Theology validated by the University of Leu-ven (Belgium).
The MIL informs that more and more students are applying for the MA in Justice and Peace and Mission Studies.
For information concerning the wide range of courses recently vali-dated by the Middlesex and Leuven Universities please write to: The Registrar, Missionary Institute, Holcombe House, The Ridgeway, Lon-don NW7 4HY. E-mail: mil@mdx.ac.uk.
Consult also our website: www.the-mil.org.uk


PERU-CHILE

First National Mission Exhibit
Under the banner of “Mission is alive in Peru today,” the first national mission exhibit was held from 12 to 17 October on the premises of the Jockey Plaza in Surco. The executive committee of CENAMIS (Centro National Misionero), of which the Comboni Missionary Fr. Javier Sánchez Vargas is secretary, was in charge of the event. About 60 mis-sion institutes that work in Peru accepted the invitation to publicise their charisms. It was very interesting to see the beauty and variety of ex-pressions the Church possesses. There were no rivalries, but simply one Church wanting to show the variety of aspects in the one and same body. About 12 thousand visitors graced the exhibit with their presence in the course of a week: children, young people and adults who, moved by a missionary spirit, wanted to come to know a little better the mis-sionary dimension of the Church.

First formation seminar for young people
A year ago we celebrated with great joy the canonisation of Bishop Daniel Comboni. In the province we have put together a commission for youth pastoral work in order to follow the young leaders present in our Comboni parishes. Among the first activities we decided to hold a forma-tion seminar in Lima on 23 and 24 October. About 50 enthusiastic young people attended. They came from the various parishes where Comboni Missionaries work and took part in the seminar with joy and interest. The purpose is to turn them into leaders who will continue to spread the typi-cal values of Comboni spirituality in their environment. We were thus able to experience again what was experienced last year during the Comboni Youth Congress.

Celebrations at the scholasticate of Lima
On 30 October, the community of the international scholasticate of Lima was blessed by the generous answer of a student who made his perpetual profession: Daniele Zarantonello (I). Fr. Franco Lorenzo Con-rado, the provincial, presided over the celebration that was attended also by representatives of all our communities of Lima.
Again, on 20 November, great was the joy over the ordination to the deaconate of Daniele Zarantonello and Francisco de Assis Coqueiro (BNE). The ceremony took place in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Evangelisación in Chorrillos. The presider was Bishop emeritus Luis Bambarén Gastelumendi, SJ, of Chimbote. The current provincial of BNE and his newly elected successor concelebrated. After the cere-mony, an open reception was held in the lobby of the chapel of St. Januarius.


UGANDA

First anniversary of St. Daniel Comboni’s canonisation
The first anniversary of St. Daniel Comboni’s canonisation was cele-brated in a special way with the participation of the relatives and friends of the Ugandan Comboni Family. The 3 October was the date picked for this celebration in Kampala. It was an historic occasion, because it was the first time relatives and friends of the Comboni Family met in Uganda. They wanted to start the missionary month of October with a missionary thrust. Over 120 of them attended. They introduced themselves stating the Comboni Missionary they were representing.
Fr. John Peter Alenyo presented the life and history of our Founder in a brief, but touching way. The Eucharist was presided over by Fr. Ruf-fino Ezama, and the homily was delivered by Fr. Alberto Dalfovo. Fr. Dalfovo stressed the importance of the parents and relatives being part of the extended Comboni Family. His analogy of two families coming closer in an African marriage context made them see in which way they too are close to us by the religious profession of their sons and daugh-ters, brothers and sisters.
A committee was set up to organise a similar get together for next year, so that it may become an annual traditional event. Each family re-ceived an image of St. Daniel Comboni as a sign that Comboni no longer belongs to us alone, but he is handed over to them to present him to others as a great apostle of Africa. They were also given copies of a booklet on the detailed profile of Ugandan Comboni Missionaries, indi-cating their present missions and contact addresses.

Meeting of the young Comboni Missionaries
Ten young Comboni confreres working in Uganda attended their an-nual ongoing formation session on 2-5 November in Kampala. The theme chosen was that of justice and peace, facilitated by Fr José Car-los Rodríguez Soto. His input was so enriching since it took them to have a look at the invisible root causes of such conflicts that, among others, include history, feelings, emotions, mistrust, perception and prejudice, identity. These invisible realities are essential in building rela-tionships.
Fr. Carlos’ personal experience in the peace process made the young confreres see that one needs to accept to remain close to the crucified people and accept to be crucified by others. We need to have a lot of faith as the greatest resource for fruitful work. The young confreres re-solved to take seriously what Evangelii Nuntiandi states in numbers 18 and 19 (which we report in part): “The purpose of evangelisation is therefore precisely the interior change. The Church evangelises the per-sonal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, and the lives and concrete milieu which are theirs. For the Church it is a question also of affecting and, as it were, of upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind's criteria of judgment, deter-mining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation”.
The young confreres propose to stress the topic of justice and peace during the next provincial assembly for the revision of the six-year plan.




IN PACE CHRISTI

Fr. Joaquín Martínez González (15.08.1960 – 02.11.2004)
The news that Fr. Joaquín had taken ill and had been admitted to a hospital in Mexico City came as a great surprise to all. We only knew that he was serenely working in Cuernavaca, where some confreres had visited him recently.
He was hospitalised in October, following complications apparently due to a virus or to cerebral malaria.
Fr. Joaquín was born in Huajuapan, Oaxaca, on 15 August 1960. He was a postulant in Xochimilco from 1978 to 1980 and had taken his first vows in Cuernavaca in May 1982.
He had taken his perpetual vows on 19 March 1987, towards the end of his stay in the scholasticate of Kampala, Uganda, and, having re-turned to Mexico, he was ordained priest in his native town on 21 Feb-ruary 1987.
Having been assigned to the province of Togo-Ghana-Benin, he worked there from 1987 to 1994. He had then been assigned to Mexico where he worked in various communities, including the formation house of Cuernavaca and the parish of Lourdes in Baja California.
During these last few years he had been working in the diocese of Cuernavaca and had begun the paper work to be incardinated in that diocese.
He was buried in the chapel of the postulancy and now rests in the crypt of the Comboni Missionaries in Xochimilco.


Let us pray for the deceased

THE FATHER: Juán of Fr. Rubén Padilla Rocha (M); Alfonso of Bro. Soliven Simplicio Buena (A); Rosendo of Fr. Enrique Xavier Rosich (E); Waldemiro of Fr. Vanderlei Bervian (BS).

THE SISTER: Theresia of Fr. Pedro Taschler (PE).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. M. Valeriana Grumelli; Sr. Ildebranda Bolcato; Sr. Anna Augusta Comparin.