Familia Comboniana 764 – June 2018

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

General Secretariats

JPIC

Fr. Arlindo Pinto has forwarded, to all circumscription superiors and those in charge of JPIC in the Institute, a letter, written on 24 May 2018 by the Comboni Missionaries and other congregations and organisations working in Washington and New York, to the Secretary General of the UN, the Nuncio of the Holy See to the UN, to the ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and to the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, about the situation in the DRC.

In their letter, the signatories express their deep concern for the grave crisis present in the DRC, emphasising its main problems: the lack of adequate and immediate steps towards a truly democratic political process leading to a reliable form of good governance, the lack of secure frontiers and the mining of resources to the detriment of the country, the great amount of violence with the loss of human lives, noting that the violence manifests itself even in “traditional places of sanctuary such as churches and mosques”.

While emphatically reiterating that “those who suffer most, both in their persons and in loss of property, are civilians”, the signatories request that those to whom the letter is addressed do everything possible to see that the civilian population is respected in all situations and that the government be exhorted to defend the human rights of its peoples as demanded by their accredited membership of the United Nations.

Specialisations

On 24 April 2018, Fr. Joseph Ngumba Lelo was awarded a doctorate in philosophy at St Joseph’s Theological Institute which is affiliated to the University of Kwa Zulu Natal. His thesis – Undergraduate Theology students’ use of electronic resources in their learning – will certainly have practical consequences for students and teachers of Catholic theology in the digital era. On 1 May, Fr. Joseph celebrated the event together with the scholastics in Pietermaritzburg who renewed their vows on that same day. Congratulations!

First professions

Xochimilco (4) – 12 May

Bro. Monteiro de Sousa Alfredo (BR)

Sc. Uribe Mendoza Fernando (M)

Sc. Vázquez Hernández Felipe de Jésus (M)

Sarh (15) – 13 May 2018

Sc. Agbeli Koffi Crépin (TGB)

Sc. Ben-Abeyna Ebenezert (TCH)*

Sc. Bimbo Ngoabide Esdras Ulrich (RCA)

Sc. Dodor Yawovi Ametepe (Jacques) (TGB)

Bro. Duho Kossi Abel (TGB)

Sc. Houndaïgban Luc Kokou (TGB)

Bro. Kakule Wasingya Bienfait (CN)

Bro. Kambale Matwatere Ghislain CN)

Sc. Kouevi Ekoue Elom Espoir (TGB)

Sc. Lokengi Mputu Jean Marie Vianney (CN)

Sc. Lokulaba Bandone Gustave (CN)

Sc. Mbusa Mathemwero Moïse (CN)

Sc. Mikozama Bienvenu Clemy (CN)

Sc. Muke Mantenge Stephane (CN)  

Sc. Mumbere Kahongya Mapenzi (Volonté) (CN)

Manila (1) – 25 May 2018

Sc. Dapilos Raposa Benjosef Carlos (A)

Dekamere (3) – 26 May 2018

Sc. Biyanu Habtat Nuguse (ER)

Sc. Mulu Ghebremeskel Azazi (ER)

Sc. Sirak Medhanie Ghebrenigus (ER)

Nampula (5) – 26 May 2018

Sc. Celso Samuel Pedro (MO) *

Bro. José Domingos Chuva (MO)

Sc. Madalitso Castomo Supia (MO)

Sc. Sérgio Mário Vilanculo (MO)

Sc. Xavier Viegas Monteiro (MO)

Santarém (1) – 2 June

Bro. Messori Gabriele (I)

Ordinations

Fr. Gbego Gratien (T)                           14.04.2018      Adidogome (T)

Fr. Hakpa Komlatse M. Aimé (T)            14.04.2018      Adidogome (T)

Fr. Ricardo Alberto Leite Gomes (P)     12.05.2018      Trofa (P)

Holy Redeemer Guild

June                01 – 07 ER           08 – 15 LP           16 – 30 P

July                  01 – 15 KE           16 – 31 M

Prayer Intentions

June – That we too, like Comboni, carried away by the impetus of that love set alive by the divine flame on Calvary hill, may dedicate our entire lives to the service of the poorest. Lord hear us.

July – For the nations of the world, especially those of Africa, suffering due to war, hunger and injustice, that their cry may be heard and give rise to actions of solidarity working for peace. Lord hear us

Publications

Fr. Juan González Núñez “Etiopía. Entre la historia y la leyenda”, ed. Mundo Negro 2018. In this book, a revised edition of “Etiopía, hombres lugares y mitos”, the author, who spent a large portion of his missionary life in the country, respectfully covers its great historical events from its remotest origins to the present day.

Alberto J. Eisman, Paride Tabán. Constructor de paz en Sudán, ed. Mundo Negro 2018. The book presents the reader with Mons. Tabán, Bishop Emeritus of Torit, who spent his life journeying alongside the people of South Sudan and working tirelessly for a seemingly unattainable peace.

Fr. Luigi Zanotto, Keeping on growing in Faith/Kuendelea Kukua Katika Imani, Don Bosco Training School Printing Press, Makuyu 2017, pp. 671. The text, in English and Kiswahili, is intended for those taking part in formation courses for future catechists, as a basic preparation for some ministries within the Church and as a source of personal betterment.

ASIA

First Religious Profession

On 25 May, in Manila, the young Filipino Benjosef Raposa took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience in the presence of his family, some relatives and friends and all the Combonis of the Delegation who had their annual Assembly at Tagaytay. Benjosef did the postulancy in Quezon City (Philippines) and the novitiate in Mexico.

The Eucharistic celebration was held in an atmosphere of gratitude and joy and was presided over by Fr. David da Costa Domingues, Delegation Superior who, in his homily, thanked Benjosef for answering the call of God and so becoming a gift for the delegation and the Institute through the intercession of St. Daniel Comboni.

CURIA

Feast of benefactors

On Sunday, 6 May, the friends and benefactors of the Comboni Missionaries at the Curia in Rome gathered with the community of the Generalate to share and festively celebrate a half-day dedicated to the theme of mission. The more important moments were the testimony of Bro. Marco Binaghi, who spoke of his life and missionary work in Colombia and of the five years he spent among the pygmies at Mungbere (Democratic Republic of Congo), and the Eucharistic celebration at which Fr. Francesco Chemello, recently appointed to the Curia, presided.

Fr. Chemello recalled some of the events of his life in South Sudan, the life of the people and the work of the Combonis in the context of the war afflicting the country. During his homily, referring to the Sunday readings, he underlined especially that we are all called to be missionaries and to announce and witness to the Gospel before all creatures, following in the footsteps of Jesus and those of our Founder, St. Daniel Comboni.

The celebration ended with a fraternal meal in the refectory.

Meeting of the Council for Finance

For the purpose of verifying the accounts and planning the financial and administrative activities of the Institute, the meeting of the Council for Finance was held at the Rome Generalate, from 21 to 24 May. The more important themes of the agenda that were discussed during those days of work were: proposals for ethical financial investments, the internal reserve fund, the review of the provincial accounts and training courses.

The Council meets twice a year and is composed of the members of the General Economate, four continental representatives and technical advisers, auditors of the accounts. Its duties cover different areas, from checking accounts to verifying administrative and management procedures, and indicating decisions in financial planning to the study of the financial problems of the Institute and the global financial context.

The next meeting of the Council will be held from 27 – 29 November,

ECUADOR

Comboni Brothers dream of fraternity for all

Eleven Comboni Brothers representing Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil, met from 2 to 5 May at the provincial house in Quito (Ecuador), to share their own personal experiences in the different missionary situations where they are involved.

The more meaningful moments were the intervention of Fr. Rafael González Ponce, Provincial of Ecuador, the detailed presentation of the Comboni Work of Human Development in Guayaquil and the description of the activities of the Comboni Family during the recent World Social forum in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. Starting from the documents of Vatican II, Fr. Rafael referred to circular and communion ecclesiology as prerequisites for true and lasting brotherhood.

The group work assisted the confreres to identify the main challenges in each of the countries where they work and those of the different activities they carry on. With these challenges in mind, some proposals were made which Bro. Alberto Degan will present to the Intercapitular Assembly in Rome next September.

One of the major challenges, in the view of the missionaries who were present, will be that of helping to create brotherhood among all Combonis consecrated for a single mission, bearing in mind the different gifts and services. The urgent need to give greater relevance to consecration and the mission that unites us, while the process of revisiting and revising the Rule of Life is under way, was also emphasised.

The missionaries prepared an open letter that will soon be sent to the members and communities of the Institute.

EGSD

Fr. Scattolin receives and award from the University of Cairo

On 3 April, the Faculty of Letters of Cairo University awarded Fr. Giuseppe Scattolin the Crest of the Faculty as a token of appreciation for his work in contributing to the renewal of studies on Islamic Sufism: the critical edition of Diwân di Ibn al-Fârid (an Egyptian Sufi poet) and “Riflessioni sul sufismo e il dialogo interreligioso” (Ta’mmulât fî al-taṣawwuf wa-l-ḥiwâr al-dînî).

“I believe this is an important step towards a true understanding of Arab-Islamic culture – Fr. Scattolin said – and I hope that this event may encourage many others to become deeply involved in the task of ‘True Dialogue”.

ETHIOPIA

APDESAM Mission Promotion Assembly

The delegates responsible for Mission Promotion in APDESAM held their Assembly in Addis Ababa from 15 – 18 May, 2018.

Fr. Sisto Agostini, the provincial, opened the Assembly with his presentation of the Province: the personnel situation and the priorities and difficulties relative to the requalification of commitments. Fr. Juan Nunez offered a panoramic view of the history, the general ecclesial and religious situation and the socio-political context of the country. In the afternoon, a Catholic Ethiopian priest, Fr. Petros Berga, presented a picture of the situation of the Catholic Church, emphasising its need to recover its missionary drive, especially towards young people, given that 50% of the population is below 20 years of age.

During the morning of 16 May, Fr. Mariano Tibaldo, General Secretary for Mission, tackled themes concerning the future of Mission Promotion (MP) in the Institute, while the Provincial of Kenya, Fr. Austine Odhiambo – the Provincial representing Mission Promotion in APDESAM – presented the conclusions of the Cairo Assembly and the MP Charter.

Thursday 17 was dedicated to the situation of the Media Centres. These are a very important mode of presence in APDESAM with our magazines: New People (Kenya), Leadership (Uganda) and World Wide (South Africa).

Finally, the first part of the last day was a time in which some problems related to MP were discussed while the remainder saw the participants busy re-reading and reviewing the part of the Rule of Life that speaks of MP.

Two important points emerged. Whereas, in the past, it was common practice to separate the ‘Missionary Church’ from the ‘object of mission Church’, today, under the perspective of a poly-centric and global mission in a world of multi-directional flows of migration, things are different. The purpose of MP is, generally speaking, to be a stimulus to the Church and the whole of society to defend life in all its dimensions. Consequently, it is the task of MP to form, to inform (and prophetic protest is part of this) and create solidarity. The second point that emerged during the Assembly is the importance of communication: to respond to the emerging communication requirements of the Church and the Comboni Institute; the consequent need for our members to be trained in communication skills and techniques, the use of mass media and teamwork in ministry and especially in the language, grammar and logic of the culture of modern communication.

ITALIA

Brothers’ meeting in Pesaro

The meeting of the Brothers of the Province of Italy was held in Pesaro from 30 April to 3 May. Thirty Brothers from various communities in Italy and in the Curia took part. The theme chosen for this fiftieth edition was “With our eyes on the Rule of Life – Comboni Brothers for the mission today”.

Fr. Renzo Piazza presented a reflection on the Brother in the RL, concentrating on the dimensions of consecration and community life. Following group discussions of personal experiences, Bro. Luigino Salbego explained various historical elements of the life of the Brother in the Institute, dwelling upon the more important moments with their lights and shadows.

The meeting was an opportunity for sharing to which the Brothers brought a great variety of missionary experiences and increased their awareness of the situation of the Brother in a singular moment in the history of the Institute in Europe. Brother Hernán Romero, Patrick Lumami and Guerrino Baldo spoke about their recent missionary experience which proved of great benefit to all. The youngest participant was postulant Giacomo Brunelli, 28, from Pesaro, who is in the first year of postulancy in Padua.

Fr. Giovanni Munari, Provincial of Italy, presented the situation of the Italian Province as it faces the challenges of today and celebrated the closing Eucharist.

ACSE Assembly and celebrations

On 12 May 2018 the ACSE assembly took place in Rome to approve the 2017 accounts and the 2018 budget. The ACSE is running well, both economically and administratively. Besides the dental surgery, all the other sectors are also well participated. The Italian language school has 600 pupils.

The event was also an opportunity to elect a new managerial council whose members are: Fr. Venanzio Milani, President; Sr. Maria Rosa Venturelli, Vice-president; Sabino Minervini, Secretary; Maurizio Pieri, Treasurer; Fr. Lino Spezia, Managing Director; Flavien Nduwumuremyi, Councillor; Sr. Rosangela Confalonieri, Councillor.

From October 2018 until June 2019, ACSE will celebrate its first fifty years which was started ‘officially’ in 1969 by Fr. Renato Bresciani. Various civil activities are also foreseen. A booklet named after Fr. Bresciani containing some ACSE history and an account of its activities will be distributed at Christmas.

PORTUGAL

Iberian Combonis hold their retreat together

The Comboni provinces of Spain and Portugal decided to hold their annual retreat for 2018 together to deepen the communion they are already experiencing through other regular annual meetings. Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, Superior General, preached the retreat attended by 51 participants (27 from Spain and 24 from Portugal) from 29 April to 5 May, in Salamanca.

Fr. Tesfaye led the missionaries in an exercise of thanksgiving and praise for the gift of life, of faith, discipleship, encounter, community, the mission, consecration, of conversion and of Mary, our Mother. He preached in Italian while the participants prayed, sang and shared in Spanish and Portuguese.

Both Comboni provinces – which were a single circumscription from 1964 to 1969 – are making good progress in communion. Besides an annual meeting to get to know each other, the two provincial councils get together once a year and also participate in each other’s provincial assemblies. Both provinces have the same animator for the Code of Conduct and are sounding out the possibility of forming a single OGF commission and an Iberian postulancy in Granada (Spain).

Ordination

The deacon Ricardo Alberto Leite Gomes was ordained priest on 12 May, the vigil of the Ascension of Our Lord, at the parish church of São Martinho de Bougado, Trofa.

The Eucharist was presided by Mons. António Augusto Azevedo, Auxiliary Bishop of Oporto. There was a large number attending and among them were: Vicar General, Fr. Jeremias dos Santos Martins, Isabella Dalessandro, General Head of the Comboni Seculars, thirty priests (mostly Combonis), three deacons, some religious Brothers, Comboni Seculars and Lay Comboni Missionaries.

There was also one Comboni and three lay women from the mission of Acornhoek (South Africa), where Ricardo did his missionary service, as well as some friends and three Combonis from Italy.

The superior expressed his joy at the ordination, the first for almost thirteen years and praised the missionary spirit of the two parishes of Trofa which have already given three of their sons to the Comboni Institute and where there are many young people involved in Comboni youth vocations promotion.

The new Comboni priest is 29 and studied theology at the Catholic University of Oporto and at the Jesuit faculty of theology in Naples. Fr. Ricardo has been a member of the Maia community since January and is working in youth vocations promotion.

SOUTH AFRICA

We thank God for you

On 8 April 2018, Fr. Konrad Nefzger retired from active parish work after fifty-three years in the diocese of Witbank, in South Africa. The goodbyes were emotional with the parishioners of Lydenburg expressing their most heartfelt gratitude to him, imploring him to stay in the parish also to help the priest taking his place.

The economically depressed area of Lydenburg was in an even worse state when Fr. Konrad first went there more than fifty years ago. The parishioners thanked for his generosity towards the many student who, today, are now teachers, nurses, doctors and members of many other professions. To mark the occasion, T-shirts were produced bearing a profile of Fr. Konrad and the inscription, in German, “We Thank God for You”.

The fruits of Fr. Konrad’s work will be seen in future generations and his example of continuity in the mission, of faithfulness to God and the people of God together with his determination “never to give up”, will be a perennial example for all our missionaries.

SOUTH SUDAN

A new deacon in the land of the Nuer

After a long period of preparation both by the candidate and the Catholic community of Nyal, the scholastic Mario Pellegrino, was ordained deacon on 1 May 2018, by Mons. Damiano Guzzetti, Bishop of Moroto.

It was a memorable day for the parish of St. Joseph the Worker, Leer (Malakal diocese), whose members celebrated Easter with solemnity and joy in the town of Nyal.

Mons. Guzzetti had arrived in Nyal five days beforehand, accompanied by Fr. Louis Okot Ochermoi, provincial of South Sudan and two confreres, Fr. Roy Carlos and Fr. Stefano Zuin, who joined in the festivities. They came by plane from Juba to Rumbek and a WFP helicopter (UN emergency service) brought them to Nyal where they were met by an enthusiastic crowd singing and beating drums, as a sudden shower of rain, that was seen as a blessing from God, poured down.

One of the outstanding moments of the celebrations consisted in groups of young people who, singing and dancing, accompanied the bishop and the confreres during their visit to the chapel at Doung on Sunday, 29 April.

Following the Nuer tradition, the Eucharistic celebration saw the large and festive participation by the people, lasting four hours, during which the people showed all their affection for Mario Pellegrino, especially during the long procession of people bearing personal gifts and during the address of the newly-ordained deacon to all those present.

CHAD

First professions

The novices of Sainte Croix Novitiate, Sarh, made their first religious profession at the parish of Saint Kizito de Begou on 13 May 2018. They were fifteen in number: seven from the DRC, one from Congo Brazzaville, four from Togo, one from Benin, one from RCA and one from Chad. Fr. Pietro Ciuciulla, General Assistant, was the main celebrant at the Mass concelebrated by a number of diocesan and religious priests. The celebration, carried out with great joy, was attended by men and women religious and a large congregation of the faithful.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE FATHERS: José, of Fr. Francisco Munguía Granados (M); Abel, of Fr. Alfredo Rodríguez Del Toro (PCA); Nuguse, of Sc. Biyanu Habtat (ER).

THE MOTHERS: Eustoquia, of Fr. Pedro Ordóñez Espinoza (MO); Orsola, of Fr. Ruffino Ezama (NAP); Eugenia Olga, of Fr. Roy Carlos Paredes Zúñiga (SS).

THE BROTHERS: Josef, of Fr. Hans Hieber (DSP); Domenico, of Fr. Giovanni Taneburgo (A); Nicholas, of Sc. Kevin Otieno Oduor (KE); Giovanni of Bro. Alessandro Ongaro (I).

THE SISTER: Maria, of Fr. Giuseppe Brunelli (I).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. Teresita Scattolaro, Sr. M. Candida Righetti, Sr. Alejandra Lugo Carmona, Sr. M. Veronica Quattrin.