Extraordinary contributions and Comboni accounts

Rome, 25 April 2007
St. Marc, evangelist
To Provincial and Delegation Superiors
Their places of residence

TOPIC: 1. Extraordinary contributions 2007 – Rebuilding of Sudan
2. “Private” Comboni accounts

“…at provincial and community level, we look for forms of lo-cal self-sufficiency, to reduce our dependence on help from out-side, and indeed remembering that our work and the support of Providence are still the principal sources of support for our communities and activities.” (CA ’03 n 102.4)

Dear Provincial and Delegation Superiors,

This year we are rather late in reminding you about the traditional solidarity that bonds the Institute to the Provinces and Delegations. From the other letters sent by the General Council and which you should have received by now, you may have an idea of what has been mostly on our mind.

1. – Grateful to Divine Providence
The GC has not started yet to go through the 2006 Balance Report. This will be done in June, taking into account the general secretariat for finance’s suggestions, made during their meeting in April 2007. Of course, we renew our gratitude to Divine Providence for having again bestowed its gener-ous blessings on the Comboni Missionaries’ work and life.

2. – The needs
This year the GC does not intend to present a whole list of requests and of funds that need to be re-plenished: your regular generosity is taking care of it. Our attention this year would like to focus in a special way on the effort of rebuilding the Sudan after the signing of the peace agreement.
All the confreres of the two Sudanese provinces, many organizations and NGOs are working to this end, in fact to such an extent that they even give the impression of overdoing it and at times of lack-ing the coordination that is necessary in order to reach the planned objectives that are not obtained simply by sums of money.
For this reason, the General Administration has decided to be a coordinating centre for all the dona-tions intended for Sudan: namely the donations that come from our Comboni provinces and are sent to our confreres or Comboni provinces in Sudan. This will be done in collaboration with the Com-boni Sisters.

We ask you, therefore, to respond “solely” through the GA for any and all requests that are sent to you on behalf of the Sudan.

We mention two projects, in particular, that we have already taken at heart: the installation of Radio Bakhita to serve the dioceses and the building of the Inter-diocesan Seminary in Juba.



3. – Last year’s achievements
Briefly we report what the General Administration did in the year 2006:
a)-The balance report is positive both for the ordinary and for the extraordinary accounts;
b)-A number of funds have been replenished according to your indications, but also from the balance amount of the General Administration;
c)-Subsidies were given in particular to Poland and MISNA;
d)-Of the Future Commitments Fund this year we have used USD 228.685,47 for:
+ Brazil North-East, for the project “Educando para a paz…”;
+ Casa Eur, for boiler and hydraulic system;
+ Congo, for basic formation;
+ Ecuador, for maintenance work done on the provincial house;
+ Replenishing the Assistance Fund for Sudan;
+ Replenishing the Project Fund.

4. Fixed contributions
The contributions that have by now become a rule for each province or delegation have remained the same. These are:
a) The contribution for the expenses of the General Administration: it remains fixed at USD 260.00 per year for each confrere of perpetual vow, with the exclusion of those over 65.
b) The contribution for the Medical General Fund: it is done either through the membership fee or a solidarity contribution. The requested total amount for the year 2007 is € 150.000,00, the same as last year.
c) The sharing in the financing of the Scholasticates/CIF Fund: each province and delegation has to contribute a total amount of € 750.000,00, which is less than what was in 2006.
d) The contribution for the Ongoing Formation Fund (and Comboni Year of Ongoing Formation) will be € 2.500,00 for the provinces and delegations of the South and € 5.000,00 for the prov-inces of the North.

In the appendix you will find attached a chart of the contributions requested and of the contributions received. You will be able to see what we have requested and what was received in 2006, and also the budget for 2007. Some provinces give a free contribution and leave it to the General Admini-stration to allocate the amount to the various funds and expenses as it sees fit. Some provinces (5 out of 28) have sent no contribution at all.

5. Personal accounts
The General Council is worried about the impact that some confreres’ praxis of keeping personal accounts may have on our Comboni community spirit. It may even appear that these confreres are practising the spirit of poverty, as they might live in poorer conditions than others, but this practice is nonetheless a serious misconduct in our Institute, as this kind of praxis is against the RL. By this praxis some provinces do not implement the decision decided upon together in the assembly, but rather the various individual projects. The province and the Institute become mere shells and struc-tures to support individual projects.

On behalf also of the General Council, I thank all of you and the members of your provinces and delegations. May St. Daniel Comboni assist you through his intercession and sustain you with his missionary spirit.


Fr. Teresino Serra, mccj
Superior General

Copy to: Treasurer general; Provincial and Delegation treasurers