January 2012 - Familia Comboniana 693

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

13th CONSULTA – December 2011

1. The General Council (Consulta) will meet during 2012 on the following dates:

• 5-30 March
• 4-29 June
• 1-26 October
• 10-21 December

2. Appointments made during the December 2011 Consulta

Fr. Vítor Manuel Beco Anciães is appointed a member of the General Treasury Council for Finance (RV 172), substituting Fr. Martínez Vargas Jorge.

Fr. Joseph Ngumba Lelo is appointed second formator at the Pietermaritzburg scholasticate.

3. Letter of the GC on the Word of God

As already announced, the members of the Institute this year are invited to reflect upon the Word of God as one of the themes proposed for Ongoing Formation. We will start with a text prepared by the GC which will be distributed through the circumscription superiors during the month of January. Then, every two months, inserts on the same topic, prepared by various confreres, will be published in Familia Comboniana.

4. Convocation of the Intercapitular

During the month of January, all circumscriptions will receive the “Letter of Convocation of the Intercapitular Assembly” due to be held in Rome from 2 to 22 September, 2012.

General Secretariat for Finance

Meeting of the Council for Finance

The meeting of the Council for Finance was held in Rome, from 28 November to 2 December, with the aim of verifying the accounts and planning the economic and administrative activities of the Institute.

The Council meets twice a year and is composed of the members of the General Treasury Council, four continental representatives and two technical advisers who audit the accounts. Its remit covers different areas from checking the books to verifying administrative and running procedures, from suggestions regarding economic planning to the study of the financial problems of the Institute in the global financial context.

The meeting endeavoured to take up the conclusions of the Continental Assemblies and to set in motion the next stages of the post- Capitular process.

Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC)

Comboni Forum on the Integrity of Creation (CFIC)

Fr. Arlindo Pinto, one of the coordinators of CFIC and general coordinator for JPIC for the Institute, has sent a letter to all Provincials to inform them of the change of the date of the UN meeting “Rio+20”, the results of which are due out from 20 to 22 June.

As things stand, the Combonis who take part in the CFIC are invited to start the activities in Rio on the 20^th and to continue with the CFIC from 23 to 25 June. Together with the letter, a short questionnaire has been sent to which all provincials are expected to reply and which is to be sent in before 29 February, 2012.

Perpetual Profession

Priestly Ordinations

Holy Redeemer Guild

January             01 – 07 A                08 – 15 C            16 – 31 BNE

February            01 – 15 BS             16 – 28 CA

Prayer Intentions

January – That the Inter-assembly which the Secular Comboni Missionaries are holding during this month of January may be a constructive moment of revision of the journey already accomplished and an opportunity to discover new impetus in living the missionary vocation of the Secular Comboni Missionaries. Let us pray.

February – That the 140^th anniversary of the commencement of the Postulancy by the first Comboni Missionary Sisters may rekindle the fire and the passion for Christ and the ad gentes mission in all Comboni Missionary Sisters and especially in the young women who are beginning their formation in the Institute. Let us pray.

Publications

Fr. Egidio Tocalli, “L’Africa chiama ancora”, Sondrio 2011, Polaris Press, pp. 216. This is the autobiography of Fr. Egidio Tocalli who, for over thirty five years worked as a Comboni priest and medical doctor in various hospitals of the dioceses of Gulu, Lira and Kasana-Luweero. In his book, Fr. Egidio goes through his memories of his infancy, attending school in his youth from primary school to secondary school and also theology and medicine. He then goes on to describe his experience of missionary life in Uganda, a life marked by commitments, sacrifices and satisfaction. “The book helps us to understand the social and territorial aspects of that population of the African world which was for years devastated by war and the rebels”.

Martine Coletto Bugiani, “P. Vittorio Agostini. Dopo 20 anni ti ricordiamo così”, Erasmo Press, November, 2011, pp. 265, price

€20,00. The author, President of the Missionary group “Father Vittorio Agostini” of the parish of San Pietro in Casalguidi (Pistoia), wrote the book in memory of Fr. Vittorio using the testimonies of many people who have known and loved him. She limited her work to research, digging up old photographs, writings and letters and placed all this material in the publication adding almost nothing of her own.

Fr. Aurelio Boscaini, “Passiamo ai fatti, Ivo Ciccacci missionario in prima linea”, Bologna 2011, EMI, pp. 144. The book is the life story of an exceptional evangeliser who left his mark in the mission lands where he lived, i.e. Sudan, where he worked for fifteen years, mostly among the Denka, founding Christian communities and where he distinguished himself for his love for the poor. Later, after the expulsions, while he was parish priest of Santa Maria Della Consolazione, in Naples, he was a passionate missionary promoter, especially among the youth.

Fr. Enzo Santangelo, “Clara de Assis, missionária com Francisco”, São Paulo 2011, Alô Mundo ed., pp. 172. This is an imaginary interview with St. Clare of Assisi on the occasion of the eight hundreth year of religious life and aims at bringing about a reflection on the missionary spirituality of today.

CONGO

Presidential elections

The Democratic Republic of Congo has recently seen an important event: the election of the President of the Republic from among eleven candidates as well as the election of 500 members of parliament from among 18,000 candidates. It was only natural that the main point of attention was the election of the President who will govern the country up to 2016. The elections took place on 28 November. On 15 December, the Supreme Court of Justice proclaimed Joseph Kabila President of the Republic, following the provisional results provided on 9 December by the independent commission which organised the electoral process. Naturally, the Catholic Church could not ignore an event of such importance for the life of Congolese society. Therefore, it commissioned 30,000 observers throughout the country to oversee the electoral procedures and assist with actual voting. Despite obstacles, the Catholic Church did manifest its prophetic role before the Congolese people by defending the evangelical values of truth, non-violence and justice.

When the changes to the Constitution, necessary to allow the elections to take place in one poll only, were being made, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo, Archbishop of Kinshasa, expressed his disagreement stating that elections with two separate ballots were more democratic as they showed more clearly the will of the people. In fact, it emerged that in the November 28 vote, Joseph Kabila won 28% of the votes, falling far short of the 50% plus one of the 32 million voters properly enrolled. On 12 December, 2011, Cardinal Monsengwo again spoke out, reiterating the position of the Congo Conference of Bishops published on 3 December, inviting the political leaders to respect the true outcome of the polls, saying “The results declared by CENI on 9 December do not reflect either truth or justice”.

The Cardinal’s statements provoked general protests on the part of those in power and an unfair campaign, bordering on outright insults, was launched against him by the government in all the media at its disposal. Abbot François Luyeye, chaplain to Catholic politicians, spoke on the Catholic radio of Kinshasa, Radio Alikya, in defence of the Cardinal saying that, as a Congolese citizen, he had every right to express his views and, as pastor of the Church, he had the duty to speak out in defence of truth and justice. The National Office for the Apostolate of the Laity made a statement published on the same day in which it affirmed the position of the Church regarding electoral procedure. “We affirm that the irregularities observed and especially the quality of the persons involved in these acts, create a serious moral problem which cannot be resolved by the judicial system. ‘Fraus omnia corrumpit’ (fraud corrupts all things), as the Romans used to say”. It follows that the pastor of the Church of Kinshasa has a duty to speak out in defence of the evangelical values of truth, justice and non-violence. “We beg you – the communiqué continues – to put an immediate stop to the campaign being orchestrated to weaken the authority of the Church”.

ECUADOR

International Book Fair

Some Comboni Missionaries and CMS of the Province took part in the Fourth International Book Fair – Quito 2011, representing the Afro-equadoriano Cultural Centre of Quito, with a permanent stand. The Fair had one particular characteristic as shown by its name: The “Fair of Identities”. Since it was held in the context of the International Year of African Descendents, it was intended to highlight the little-known contribution of the descendents of Africans in America to building up the society of the continent. The importance of the Comboni presence – theirs was the only stand with Afro literature – was also stressed by the organisers of the Fair. Thus, besides being asked to contribute with books by Fr. Raffaello Savoia, Bro. Alberto Degan and Bro. Joel Cruz Reyes and other Afro-equadorian writers, the Combonis were asked to speak in an open debate on the theme How to reduce and combat racism based on culture.

It was noted that, even if many constitutions of Latin America are not exclusive, society itself denies the existence of the descendants of Africans who, in some countries, are not even included in either census or statistic but are relegated to a condition of inferiority and poverty.

The Comboni Missionaries, therefore, proposed some strategies to reduce racism and presented the book by Comboni Sister Daniela Maccari, “Viudas en África” (Widows in Africa), in which those interviewed speak of the struggle for freedom, convinced that a different Africa is possible but not without the African woman. The presentation also provided the opportunity to show the connection between the situation of the African woman and that of her Afro-equatorian counterpart.

Celebrating 15 Years of “America Misionera”

On 14-16 October there took place a meeting at our parish of El Carmen (Manabí) to celebrate the first fifteen years since the foundation of the “America Misionera” youth movement right there in that place.

About 300 young people from all parts of the country gathered to give thanks for this time of grace which saw the birth of this movement through Fr. Dario Pravato and Bro. José Díaz Pérez, with the purpose of keeping alive in the youth of Ecuador that same enthusiasm for the mission Comboni had.

The three days of the meeting were taken up with conferences, workshops, moments of deep prayer and group work to study the various themes. The celebration was concluded with a procession through the streets of Carmen, a city with a great affection for the Comboni Missionaries, and a solemn Eucharist at the main church. It was a fruitful moment of animation for our Comboni Family and for the other religious of the sector.

Third Theological Week

From 2 to 6 December, some members of the Province took part in the Third Theological Week organised by the Ecuador Conference of male and Female Religious (CER). The motto, Consecrated Life: sent to announce the Good news of the Kingdom, starting with the excluded, was especially motivating for us who are missionaries ad gentes. The guest theologian, Mariola López, proposed an approach to the reality of exclusion beginning with the Word of God.

The afternoons were spent coming to terms with the various non-Kingdom situations to be found in the country: refugees, prostitutes, the poverty-stricken, the people in danger of contamination. The testimonies given were integrated with biblical reflections and group work. The testimony of Fr. Aldo Pusterla, superior of the community of Borbón, about the grave problems connected with mining and the pollution of the rivers in the zone north of Esmeraldas, was much appreciated. Fr. Pusterla and Fr. Paul Idra (a Sudanese) were threatened by the mafia of Ecuador and Colombia because of their involvement with the communities of blacks in defence of life and the endangered environment.

All the participants felt reinvigorated by the experience and took on a well-defined commitment: “Our proclamation of the Good News has a place, an outlook and an orientation: towards the poor, the excluded and the endangered life. We want this to be our starting point, as the Conference of Religious and the Religious Life of Ecuador, and to accept the implications and consequences which every option brings with it”, said the president of the CER.

ESPAÑA

Spanish Television in the Central African Republic

Fr. Ramón Eguiluz, provincial superior of the Spanish province, accompanied a team from the programme “People of God”, of Spanish Radio-Television, on a two week-long visit the Central African Republic (9-24 November), to obtain audio-visual material that will be used to present the work of the Comboni Missionaries and the life of the Church in that country. The programmes will be broadcast by Spanish TV in early March, 2012, and may be followed in the website:

www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/pueblo-de-dios/.

Introduction Course for those newly appointed to the Province

The province’s OGF Commission organised an introduction course to the situation in Spain from 21 to 25 November. The purpose of the course was to assist those newly arrived to understand the changes which have taken place in the Spanish society and in the Church in recent years, as well as their causes and consequences. The morning sessions, held at the John XXIII Pastoral Institute, consisted in a series of conferences for the six Combonis who recently came to work in the province and also 20 other religious and diocesan priests. The afternoon sessions took place at the Provincial House just for the confreres who shared their experiences and were introduced to the life and challenges of the province. The Six-Year Plan was also presented to them.

Meeting of the Provincials of Europe

The Provincial Superiors of the five European provinces, the Superior of the Polish delegation and the Vicar General, Fr. Alberto Pelucchi, gathered from 29 November to 2 December to reflect upon the replies to the questionnaire presented to the Comboni confreres of the European provinces.

The questionnaire was intended to help in the application of the decisions of the last General Chapter which encouraged collaboration among the different provinces and the search for new forms of organisation and government. The meeting identified the fields of missionary action which ought to be Comboni priorities in Europe and the life-style that brings our communities closer to the people. The work carried out will be used in the preparation for the next Intercapitular Assembly.

ITALIA

The ‘Nobel Prize for Missionaries’ awarded

The ceremony of the presentation of the Cuore Amico Prize, 2011, has taken place in Brescia in the presence of the bishop of the city, Mgr. Luciano Munari. Among those who received awards were the Comboni Fathers Renato and Alberto Modonesi. Fr. Renato, at present in Brescia, spent 35 years in Africa, mostly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while his brother, Fr. Alberto, now in Egypt, worked in Sudan for around forty years.

The Prize, called the Nobel Prize for Missionaries, presented to the precious projects carried out in Africa and South America, was established 21 years ago by the Cuore Amico Association and is presented to priests and religious, Sisters and lay people, who live out their vocation at the side of the suffering and the needy.

The aim is to indicate, by means of exemplary missionaries, the great civilizing work promoted by the Church through the evangelisation of the poor of the third world.

LONDON PROVINCE

Meeting of the European Group for Theological Reflection

The European Group for Theological Reflection (EGTR) met at Dawson Place, in London, from 5 to 8 December, 2011, where they were welcomed by Fr. Martin Devenish and the local community.

The following are some of the main results which will soon be proposed to all the European communities and shared with all the Comboni Institute. A missionary reading of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, by Fr. Alex Zanotelli, which will be proposed in an extended form for lectio divina and in a shorter form for retreats, common reading of the Bible, days of spirituality at important points in the liturgical year, in our communities and in youth groups. Mission lived as hospitality, by Fr. Benito de Marchi, which will be sent out to all who are working in Evangelisation and Mission Promotion in the European context. The urgency of inculturated and missionary pastoral policy, by Fr. Franz Weber, a collection of suggestions and stimuli for our communities to promote, in communion with the local Churches and other pastoral agents, the required pastoral and ecumenical approach, increasingly challenged by the presence of immigrants who have chosen Europe as their place to live, to work and to grow. European Islam: clash of civilisations or opportunity for mutual growth? Research and proposals, by Fr. Fernando Zolli, on the need to take into consideration correct and official data on the Islamic presence in Europe and in the different countries where the Comboni Missionaries work, to assist our communities to analyse this phenomenon without fear, provocation of alarm or prejudice.

The next meeting of the Group for Theological Reflection will take place in Lisbon from 3 to 6 December, 2012.

MOÇAMBIQUE

Formation encounter for local bursars

On 1 and 2 December, the Provincial Bursar, Fr. Serafim Xavier da Costa Dias, met with the local bursars in the Beira zone and, from 6 to 8, in the Nampula zone, to assist them in keeping the accounts of the communities and in making reports and budgets, bearing in mind that we are going through a period of international economic crisis. On 15 December, the meeting of the bursars of the Maputo zone took place.

CLM arrivals and departures

The Comboni lay women Maria Lourdes Vieira and Vanessa Pereira de Carvalho completed their period of work in Mozambique where they leave the good seed of their Christian witness. We hope that the missionary spirit which characterised their life in Mozambique may not be extinguished but may be an instrument to animate other young people, in Brasil, to take up their missionary commitments. We are waiting for another Brasilian CLM, Flávio Francesco Soares Schmidt. The three CLM Carlos Barros, Liliana Ferreira and Flávio will continue to work at Carapira during 2012.

From 2 to 9 December, 2011, the first CLM Assembly at the African continental level took place in Uganda. The Provincial and the CLM Carlos Barros, coordinator of the CLM in the Province, took part representing Mozambique.

Scholastics have their missionary experience

Fr. Jude Eugene Burgers arrived in Mozambique on 6 December, accompanying two scholastics from the Pietermaritzburg Scholasticate (RSA), Ronnie Sebopela Kgomotso and Jean Michel Adom Essosolam. They will have their missionary experience in the parish of St. Francis de Sales in Benfica, in the care of the Comboni Missionaries, where they will have the opportunity to learn Portuguese and the local language as well as the culture of the people. We hope that, after they are ordained, they may come to work in this province.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

On 8 December, some confreres from Maputo and Matola, two scholastics and the CLM gathered at the house of the Comboni Sisters in Maputo to celebrate together the feast of the patroness of Mozambique and of the Comboni Sisters. The Sisters of both Maputo communities were present, in addition to some who had just returned from holidays and others who were just passing through. Usually we also celebrate together the feast of the Sacred Heart and that of St. Daniel Comboni to share our common enthusiasm for the same ideal transmitted by the Founder.

A new wing for the Postulancy

The work of building a new wing for the important house of formation goes on at a slow pace. Due to the high number of postulants – more than 20 – the present rather shaky structures do not help create a good formative environment. We hope that, in 2012, the postulants may start to use the new buildings. This involves a large financial investment but this will be offset by the possibility of having a house large enough, not only for the formation of the postulants but also for gatherings, assemblies, meetings and retreats. We thank the provinces which have sent, or will send, their financial contribution.

SOUTH SUDAN

Yambio launches centenary of faith

The Diocese of Tombura-Yambio launched the Centenary of Faith on Sunday, December 11, to start the celebration of 100 Years of Christianity in Zandeland. Christianity arrived among the Zande people in Western Equatoria through the Comboni Missionaries 99 years ago, when they reached Mupoi.

Some 5,000 people from thirteen parishes took part in the seven-hour long opening Mass presided by Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio. Fr. Daniel Moschetti, the provincial superior, represented the Comboni Missionaries. The Governor of Western Equatoria, state ministers, county commissioners and other authorities were also in attendance.

Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, and the guest of honour at the celebrations, blessed the Centenary Cross during the Mass of the Immaculate Conception. Three new parishes and 13 quasi parishes were erected to mark the beginning of the centenary celebrations. The Cross will spend a month in every parish until it arrives in Mupoi on December 12, 2012, the Day of the Centenary Jubilee. Cardinal Njue also ordained five priests for the diocese of Tombura-Yambio and one deacon for El Obeid, Sudan, during the same celebration.

TOGO-GHANA-BENIN

Perpetual Vows

On 3 December, 2011, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, Bro. Matthias Adossi, a Togolese Comboni missionary, took perpetual vows at Lomé Cacaveli, at the Provincial House, during a celebration that was profoundly participated, surrounded by confreres and Sisters, his family and many friends. The Provincial, Fr. Girolamo Miante, spoke in his homily of the beauty of the call of the Brother. We prayed that God may grant Bro. Matthias the gifts of faith and unselfish giving, with a yes that is simple and complete, lived out in daily life. He was presented with a relic of St. Francis Xavier so that he may live his missionary life under the protection and with the intercession of the Patron of the missions.

25 Years in the Parish of Tabligbo

On 11 December, 2011, the third Sunday of Advent, there was a festive air at the parish of Tabligbo, 80 Km from Lomé: people were celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the foundation of the Parish of Tabligbo! Everyone was there: the Christian community, the faithful from the outstations, the civil and traditional authorities, the clergy of the diocese of Aneho, religious men and women, Comboni Missionaries and the Bishop of Aneho, Mgr. Isaac Gaglo, amazed and enthusiastic at the perfect organisation of this Silver Jubilee and the number of participants and the joy they showed. The conductor of the orchestra was Fr. Gaetano Montresor, superior and parish priest of Tabligbo. Together with the confreres of the community, all the Christian communities of the Parish had prepared for this event by means of various initiatives (conferences, catechesis, prayers, sharing, choir concerts, games, etc.) in his homily, the Bishop briefly recounted the history of missionary presence in the region and in Tabligbo, due especially to the work and zeal of the Comboni Missionaries who arrived in Togo in 1964, and thanked them for their dedication.

Priestly Ordinations

On Saturday, 17 December, 2011, 8 young men, four of whom were Comboni confreres, were ordained priests by the imposition of hands by Mgr. Robert Casimir Dosseh-Anyron, Archbishop Emeritus of Lomé, already a priest for 60 years, accompanied by Mgr. Denis Amuzu-Dzakpah, the present Archbishop. The ordination Mass took place at Tsévié, 30 Km from Lomé, at the parish church of St. John the Apostle, which celebrates its centenary this year. It is good to realise that four of these young men will live their priestly ministry as diocesan priests while the other four will leave this local Church as ad gentes Comboni Missionaries. Their names are: Fr. Jacques Amlon, appointed to Egypt, Fr. Maurice Fessou, who will go to Central Africa, Fr. Augustin Soedjede, appointed to Congo, and Fr. Bernard Domara who will stay in the province for some years.

In his homily, Mgr. Dosseh, while expressing his joy at having ordained four Comboni Missionaries, mentioned how he met with Fr. Gaetano Briani, then Superior General, who agreed to send the first Comboni Missionaries to Togo (1964).

UGANDA

Meeting of the Coordinators of the CLM at Layibi

The coordinators of the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) of the 12 Comboni provinces of French-speaking and English-speaking Africa and Mozambique met for the first time in December 10-16 in Layibi, Uganda. Thirteen confreres, a Comboni Sister and nine Lay Comboni Missionaries attended the meeting. Only the representatives of Eritrea and South Africa were absent. The latter sent a written report. Present was also Fr. Arlindo Ferreira Pinto, nominated by the General Council as general coordinator of the CLM.

The main objective of the meeting was to reflect on the concrete situation of the CLM in Africa, in order to foster their growth based on the specific situation of Africa and keeping in mind the current challenges that the CLM face in that Continent. From the sharing there emerged the necessity of deepening some concepts such as the mission, the vocation and the identity of the CLM, the distinction between various types of Comboni lay people, the formation of the CLM and other topics tied to communication, organization and financial matters of the CLM. Special emphasis was given to the lifelong commitment of the CLM and on the need that they be available to go, leaving behind their geographic and cultural environment.

It was underlined also that there should be better communication between the local Lay Africans and the Laypeople coming from other countries and continents and that the CLM should live, as much as possible, in international lay communities, aiming at financial self-sufficiency.

An African Continental Commission of CLM was been established, made up of five members who must meet at least every three years: two Comboni provincials, one for French-speaking Africa (Fr. Giovanni Zaffanelli) and another for English-speaking Africa (Fr. José Luis Rodríguez López); two African Lay people, one from Congo (Dido Likambo) and the other from Uganda (Otto Bartholomeo); and one non-African lay person (Carlos Barros).

The next and more significant meeting of CLM will be the Fifth Intercontinental Assembly that will take place in Maia, Portugal, from November 2-9, 2012.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE FATHER: Leonardo, of Fr. José de Jesús García (MO).

THE MOTHER: Mercedes, of Fr. Angel Yáñez García (BNE).

THE SISTERS: Martina, of Fr. Aristide Guerra (ER); Carmen, of Fr. Vicente Clemente Rey (E).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. M. Savina Ongaro; Sr. Grazielda Spadaccino; Sr. Miranda Pellizzari, Sr. Tacita Bonomi; Sr. Luisalma Maniero.