General Treasury Office: EUR News n° 23

EURNews N° 23
Information Newsletter from the General Treasury Office

Dear Confreres, we meet again at an unusual date for this Newsletter. In fact, following the suggestion of the General Assembly of the Treasurers, we have decided to send it on a quarterly basis instead of every six months, in conjunction with the closing of each Consulta.

1. Approval of the General Directory for Finance

On 28 March, the General Council approved the new text of the General Directory for Finance (GDF). The latest update dates back to June 2010. The revision of the GDF ends before the General Chapter and is the result of the work of the General Assembly of the Provincial Treasurers and Procurators and of the Council for Finance. The final approval will then rest with the General Council.

The new GDF includes the regulatory developments that occurred during the last six-year period: Total Common Fund, Handing over, Audit and Verification Sheet, Plan Accounting, Financial Investments, General Funds.

The original text in Italian has already been sent to the Provinces and Delegations in digital form, while waiting for the official printing. Translations into English and Spanish will be provided.

2. Extraordinary Contributions for the GA

In March, the Superior General sent a letter to the circumscriptions, where he presented the needs for the year 2015 and, at the same time, provided a summary report on the way things were administered in 2014.

The data show that all the extraordinary contributions received by the General Administration have been redistributed among the provinces in different forms.

In this voluntary interaction of the different members that make up our Institute, the General Administration carries out an important task of coordination and balance, so that all have what they need to live and carry out their work. Obviously, the General Administration can perform this service only by virtue of the fact that the different parts of the body contribute freely and generously.

3. Interventions of extraordinary administration

In the Consulta of March 2015, the General Council authorized several administrative acts of extraordinary nature, as requested by the respective provinces:

1. Italy: authorization to sell the house in Bologna;
2. Malawi-Zambia: construction of a residence for the community at Kalakiliki-Lusaka in Zambia;
3. Uganda: construction of a wall-enclosure for the novitiate at Namugongo.

4. Council for Finance

The next meeting will be held on 26-29 May, 2015, having on the agenda the examination of the provinces’ financial reports and the financial report of the General Administration. The Council will also have to review and comment on the report of the Treasurer General for the XVIII General Chapter.

5. Appointments of Provincial Treasurers

At the beginning of April a new provincial treasurer was appointed: Fr. Medina Martínez Guillermo de Jesus – Mexico.

6. Attempted frauds

In recent months there have been several attempts of fraud against our Institute in various locations and against other Institutes. The authors of the scam were asking for money toward serious humanitarian situations (refugees in South-Sudan, Ebola, Somalia), but the alleged signatories of the requests did not know anything about it. All requests were asking to send money to the same bank account in London. The financial institution concerned was alerted. These episodes stand as a warning to use caution and to always check the identity of whoever makes a request.

7. Projects

The Consulta of June will most likely be the last of the present General Council, which has thus decided to examine all the requests for assistance that are still remaining.

8. Visits of the Treasurer General

In the last week of February, the Treasurer General visited the province of Spain, to view the current major properties and to attend the local treasurers’ assembly in Madrid. In early April, a brief but interesting visit to the DSP, allowed him to see the houses of Mellatz, Ellwangen and Nürnberg, and become acquainted with the administrative structure of the province.

9. Mccj Bulletin

In the issue 263 of Mccj Bulletin, to be published soon, two articles will appear whose content pertains to administration: “The enterprises in the context of the total common fund and beyond” by Bro. Daniele Giusti; and “Almost an orchestra” by Fr. Claudio Lurati.

While inviting you to read the two articles, I take up the conclusion of the second one and I extend to all the hope that, from the commitment to make a valuable use of the instruments of our administrative work, not always well attuned, “an orchestra may be born, capable of playing a wonderful symphony to the glory of God and his Kingdom.”

Good work!
Fr. Claudio Lurati
Treasurer General