Familia Comboniana 715 - January 2014

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Meeting of Circumscription Superiors

The meeting between the General Administration and the Circumscription Superiors at the commencement of their mandates will take place in Rome at the Generalate.

Arrival date: 8 February 2014, in time for supper.

Departure date: 23 February 2014, Sunday morning, after Mass.

Members of Provincial and Delegation Councils – 2014

Two Comboni provinces in dire straits

On Christmas day, Pope Francis asked for prayers for peace in certain countries, two of which are Central Africa and South Sudan

Central Africa

Central Africa is now completely and pervasively taken over by a rebellion, ninety percent of which is being carried out by mercenaries from Chad and Sudan. It is they, the warlords, who dictate the law: they have become the administrators, the police, the civil guards and the judges. They govern by violence (Vatican Radio – 26 Dec. 2013).

South Sudan

The possibility of civil war in South Sudan seems to be ever more likely. The situation counts an estimated one thousand deaths and sixty thousand homeless as a result of the violence that exploded a week ago between sections of rival armies. Some of them are backing the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit while others are considered close to the former Vice-President Riek Machar.

L’Osservatore Romano – 23-24 December, 2013).

Bible Course at Bethany House

The Comboni Missionary Sisters are to hold a Biblical Course at their house in Bethany, Jerusalem during Holy Week and up to Pentecost, 2014. Comboni priests and Brothers, Comboni seculars and Comboni Lay Missionaries may take part. Those interested should contact the person in charge by email: Sr. Fulgida Gasparini, e-mail: fulgidacms@gmail.com

MISNA – National UCSI Prize for Journalism 2013

On 13 December, 2013, MISNA was awarded the special prize conferred by UCSI – the Catholic Union of the Italian Press “Journalists and Society: the profession of journalism at the service of humanity”. Other awards were made to other news organisations which, as we can read from the motivations of the judges, “instead of superficial reporting, they have been able to bring to light hidden but not sensational experiences of solidarity, welcoming and the defence of human dignity, carried out in the silence of the geographic and spiritual outskirts”.

“Directed by Comboni Father Carmine Curci – the organisations affirmed – MISNA is an international press agency which, since 1997, has provided a voice for the South of the World, reporting facts, eyewitness accounts and conflicts, the fringes forgotten by the great mass media with editorial work that does not limit itself to reporting but contributes to building up dialogue and bridges.”

Priestly ordinations

Holy redeemer Guild

January              01 – 15 A                16 – 31 BR

February            01 – 15 C               16 – 28 EGSD

Prayer Intentions

January – That the Holy Spirit may enlighten the circumscription superiors and their councils in discerning what is required by mission today and give them the hope they need to confirm their confreres in missionary zeal. Lord, hear us.

February – That all consecrated persons may succeed in arousing in the hearts of the men and women of today a longing for God and the desire to communicate his love to all. Lord, hear us.

ASIA

Fiesta of the Friends of the Missions

The yearly gathering of the Comboni friends and benefactors, that is usually celebrated on the first Sunday of December, this year had a special flavour because it was the crowning of the Silver Jubilee of the arrival of the Comboni Missionaries in Asia.

The actual 25^th anniversary of the arrival occurred in January, but the whole year, starting from the Friends of the Missions’ Fiesta 2012, was marked by several celebrations: on March 15, at Roosevelt, there was the solemn opening of the Photo Exhibit of the “25 years of the Comboni Missionaries, journeying together on Asian Roads”, as the logo states; on the occasion of the Delegation Assembly, with the presence of all the confreres, also from China, at Sucat, there was the launching of the coffee-table book marking the Silver Jubilee of our magazine World Mission; in October, there was a successful Medical and Dental Mission in our Roosevelt community.

The special feature of the concluding celebration was the unveiling and blessing of a big statue of Saint Daniel Comboni, situated besides the multi-purpose hall in the compound of our Roosevelt community. A large crowd in festive mood gathered in the afternoon of Sunday, December 1, to participate in the missionary witness program given by Fr. Raul Baluma Tabaranza about Malawi-Zambia and Fr. Moises Estacio Dela Cruz about Taiwan. Then followed the solemn Mass presided over by the Delegate Superior, Fr. P. Miguel Ángel Llamazares González, who then proceeded to bless the statue that was unveiled by some benefactors. Finally, the joy of the crowd was enhanced by the sharing of food and the artistic presentations which concluded this very successful occasion.

DSP

Meeting of the European Group for Theological Reflection

The European Group for Theological reflection (GERT) met from 3 to 5 December at Nuremberg, the seat of the Province, to share views on the progress made in 2013 and to plan some initiatives for 2014.

Having spent some time sharing the experiences of the individual members of the group, time was devoted to discussing how to manage the next Limone symposium (22-25 April 2014) which will have as its theme “What sort of mission are we communicating?" Among other things, the decision to publish volume II of Being Mission Today was confirmed.

Other themes reflected upon were: the next general Chapter, possible development modalities of the GERT and the work done during the Limone symposiums, a theological-pastoral reading of some paragraphs of the Council decree Ad Gentes, presented by Fr. Franz Weber, and the relationship between finance-economy and the Gospel, presented by Fr. Alessandro Zanotelli.

Time was made available to visit the Documentation Centre on Nazism, a Centre that is very well organised and is visited by many school children and explains how Germany fell into the trap of absolutism and the dictatorship of Hitler.

ESPAÑA

Meeting of the Provincials of Europe

The meeting of the Provincials of Europe took place in Barcelona from 16 to 20 December. It was a special meeting in that it marked the consignment of responsibilities to the “new”, recently elected Provincials such as the Provincials of Portugal, Fr. José da Silva Vieira, of the DSP, Fr. Karl Peinhopf, and of Italy, Fr. Giovanni Munari.

To this end, the “old” Provincials, during their last meeting at Nuremberg, had prepared a memorandum of the progress made during the past three years at the European level, stressing that which remained to be done in the immediate future, such as the three common projects at the European level, in the fields of mass media, work among immigrants and Limone House as a centre for Comboni spirituality.

ITALIA

Limone: Spiritual exercises in 2014

For the 150th anniversary of the drafting of the “Plan”, two retreats will be held at Limone in 2014, open only to Comboni confreres and Sisters.

13-19 July: Fr. Joaquim Valente – Theme: From the “Plan” of Comboni to the Plan of the regeneration of one’s own mission.

14-20 September: Fr. Carmelo Casile – Theme: The spirituality of the Heart of Jesus as lived by Saint Daniele Comboni: a spirituality for us Comboni Missionaries of today.

To enrol, contact Fr. Danilo Castello, at his e-mail address:

danycastello@hotmail.com

Since rooms at Limone are limited, it is best to enrol without delay. The courses begin in the evenings and end on the mornings of the dates indicated.

SOUTH SUDAN

The tragic situation of the country

Christmas 2013 in South Sudan was marred by conflict that carries with it the danger of full civil war. On 15 December, the long-standing feud within the SPLM party turned into armed conflict in the military barracks between the two factions: that of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and that of the former Vice President, Riek Machar, with a further ten former ministers and governors who had been deposed by the President in recent months. The conflict lasted for two days and claimed 500 deaths in Juba.

The President had all eleven opponents of his arrested, accusing them of an attempted coup, but Riek Machar, who represents the Nuer community, fled Juba and organised his army first at Mongalla (40 Km north of the capital) and then at Bor.

About 20,000 displaced people from Bor, mostly Dinkas, crossed the Nile and sought refuge in Lakes State. At Juba, there are more than 25,000 Nuer in two UN camps, living in very precarious conditions. In the city, mass graves were found with hundreds of dead bodies, not only of soldiers, but also of women and children. There are already 120,000 displaced people in the country and almost 50,000 of these are in the UN camps spread throughout the area where the rebels and the army are fighting.

The capital, Juba, seems quiet at the moment. The UN Security Council has doubled its contingent from 6,000 to 12,000 soldiers. There are also soldiers sent by Kenya and Uganda to back President Salva Kiir.

International mediators are trying to persuade the two groups to find a concrete solution for the good of the people. The Churches have written an open letter and have made themselves available to act as mediators between the two sides.

Formation of new catechists

The Comboni parish of St. Joseph the Worker, Leer, has conferred a certificate on thirteen new catechists. The ceremony took place on Sunday, 8 December during the Mass of thanksgiving for this great achievement.

The new catechists took part in an intensive course at the parish catechetical centre “James Duol Kai”. The course was conducted entirely in Nuer and was directed by a team of four local qualified catechists.

At the end of the Mass, the thirteen neo-evangelisers received their certificates and were mandated to collaborate in the work of evangelisation among the Nuer.

Seminar on traditional reconciliation among the Nuer

In the same parish of St Joseph the Worker, in Leer, a seminar was held on 8 and 9 November, 2013, on the theme: “Traditional experiences of reconciliation among the Nuer – the reconciliation practices of the Nuer”. The seminar, promoted by Fr. Raimundo Nonato Rocha dos Santos, was attended by around sixty people from the catholic and Presbyterian Churches, coming from the four southern counties of Unity State. Also present were two elders and three chiefs from the counties of Panyijiar, Leer e Mayiendit.

The aim was to draw out the teachings from the traditional reconciliation ceremonies in use among the Nuer - without any reference to magical or malevolent practices – to carry out better initiatives at the basic level capable of promoting peace and reconciliation between individuals and communities.

TCHAD

Comboni bishop ordains a Comboni student to the diaconate

It was a moment of great joy for the Comboni community in Chad, the family of the new deacon, the diocese of Laï and for the faithful of the parish of Saint Michel Donomanga, where Alfred Mbaïdjide was ordained deacon. The Combonis first came to this parish in 2002.

Alfred was ordained deacon on Saturday, 21 December, 2013, by Mgr. Miguel Angel Sebastián Martínez, Bishop of Laï, one of the first Combonis who arrived in Chad in 1977 and the second Comboni bishop in the country.

The ceremony was attended by many priests, religious men and women from other dioceses of the country. Alfred had taken perpetual vows in the presence of Father General, Fr. Enrique Sánchez González, on 11 November last.

God willing, on 28 June, 2014, he will become the third Chadian Comboni missionary to be ordained in Moundou.

TOGO-GHANA-BENIN

Spiritual exercises

After the opening of the Golden Jubilee on 19 October last, the journey of the Province continued during the months of November and December with spiritual exercises on the Rule of Life. The first group met with Fr. Ramon Eguíluz, Provincial of Spain, at the Benedictine monastery of Dzogbegan where, in an atmosphere of silence and prayer, the Rule of Life and the fundamental lines of the last General Chapter accompanied the reflection and the encounter with the Lord.

In Ghana, at Cape Coast, a second group met during the first week of September, accompanied by Fr. David Glenday who chose the main themes of the Rule of Life in order to give the confreres the possibility of experiencing a week of intense Comboni spirituality.

Ordination

On Saturday, 14 December, at the cathedral of Aného, Pierre Latevi was ordained priest by the diocesan bishop Mgr. Isaac Gaglo, together with six diocesan deacons. Pierre is the sixth Comboni priest of the year. He celebrated his first Mass at Vogan, his home town. In this Jubilee year, the Comboni presence in Aného assumes a particular significance: it comprises the deanery of the south-east, entrusted, for the most part, to the pastoral and missionary care of the Combonis who first came to Togo in 1964. Fr. Pierre Latevi will exercise his priestly ministry in Congo.

UGANDA

Priestly ordination of Archangelo Ayebare

November 23rd and 24th were extraordinarily sunny days, not only because it stopped raining in Kigezi, a rare change in the month of November which is wet, foggy, cold and rainy, but because the hills were covered by a multitude of faithful treading their way to witness and celebrate the ordination of a Comboni missionary. On 23 November, in fact, Fr. Archangelo Ayebare, born on June 13, 1980, at Mishundo village in Maziba parish, was ordained by Mgr. Callist Rubaramira of Kabale diocese.

It was a joyful celebration for Maziba parish, after ten full years since the last priestly ordination, graced by a multitude of Christians, twenty eight priests and many religious sisters.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE FATHERS: Giuseppe, of Fr. Rinaldo Ronzani (I); Giuseppe, of Fr. Paolo Consonni (A); Orlando, of the novice Quisito Orlando Veloso (P).

THE MOTHERS: Hoindémé, of Fr. Abel Gueli Komi (T); Michela, of Fr. Francesco Pierli (KE).

THE BROTHERS: Deus Kamugisha, of Bro. Bruno Kanyomozi (U); Dermot, of Fr. Robert D. Hicks (LP); Mgr. António Lino, of Fr. Armindo da Silva Dinis (BR); Angelo, of Bro. Tiziani Luigi (I); Paul, of Fr. Josef Heer (DSP); Francis Kuol, of Fr. Mayik Nyok Jervas Mawut (SS).

THE SISTERS: Agnes Diapim, of Fr. Boadi John Bliss A. K. (KE); Giovannina, of Fr. Salvatore Calvia (†).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. M. Ezia Butti; Sr. Annancilla Baldissera; Sr. Mansueta Tsegay Fetele.