Tuesday Conference

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Theology e-magazine To make humanity united in worshipping God

Approaching General Chapters Our Heavenly Patron

Political aspirants and analysts all over India have

identified 2017 as the semifinal to the general elections of 2019,
as 5 Indian states are going to polling booths in the coming
months. It would really a matter of tryst with destiny as Indian
political life is concerned. Similarly in the coming months many
congregations meet themselves to elect their new governments,
for instances CMI, CST, MCBS, VC etc.
Tuesday Conference finds it oppor tu ne to pr a y ,
reflect, and dialogue with all its readers about the role of General
Chapter in religious communities. We have greatly indebted to
recent General Congregation (GC) of Jesuits, which met in Rome
to elect its head, in formulating the first part of this issue. Most of
the pictures, you come across here is taken from the GC of
Jesuits. We feel to recommend all our readers to visit http://
gc36.org/ where you would see the fascinating events of GC.
Do we have great vision? Are we daring? Do our
dreams fly high? Does zeal consume us? Or are we
satisfied with our made in the lab apostolic
programs? - Pope Francis
 The outgoing Superior General, Adolfo Nicols, SJ, a native
Page - 02 of Spain, announced his intention to resign in Dece of 2014.

In the 476 What is a General Congregation (GC)?

years since its A GC is always summoned on the death or resignation of
founding, the the head of the Society to choose his successor, or when the
General decides action is needed on serious matters that he
Society of
cannot or does not want to decide alone.
Jesus has
convened only
35 GC. The
36th GC held
in Rome from Murmuratio
October 2, It is a peculiar Jesuit way of dialoguing, in the GC, having
2016. its origin from Ignatius. The election itself is preceded by four
days of information gathering, called murmuratio. Each
Pope delegate of the GC is allowed to ask any other member of the
Francis, a congregation about any particular member of the Society who
Jesuit, might be an apt Superior General.

attended two There may be no lobbying, in any way whatsoever.

congregations No Jesuit may seek the position for himself or for anyone else.
GC 32 (1974- Murmuratio came within the context
75) and GC 33 of quiet, space and prayer. Everyone
broke up into pairs. Imagine a group
(1983).
of delegates in pairs, spread over the
Hall, all in murmuratio.

The 36th GC has elected Arturo Sosa Abascal, of the Jesuit Province of
Venezuela, a Political Sociologist by profession, as Superior General. He has
dedicated his life to research and teaching in the field of political science, in
various centers and institutions.
 Page - 03
How to do Murmuratio
On the morning of the second week of GC, they enter into murmuratio. It is
simply a dialogue face to face. The questions asked by one another are for
example:
How do we do
What were other Jesuits looking for in a new General? murmuratio in our
communities??
What is being asked of him at this time of our history?
What did he need to be good at, experienced in and conversant with?
How has he managed governance, leadership and spiritual conversation?
Does he love the Society, & had experience of other cultures & religions?
What are his strengths and weaknesses?
Might he have the gifts of diplomacy and discretion necessary?

Encouraged to ask questions but;

not to offer anything without first being asked.
There were no posters put up.
No debates, lobbying or advertising.
No flyers put under our doors during the night.

A Paperless Congregation
It may quite surprise you to know that one of the most innovative aspects of this
GC, the use of tablets in the hall by the delegates. The idea came from Father
General himself who was quite committed to the environmental empowerment.
Looked at alternatives and it
became clear that the best
strategy would be the use of
electronic devices. The use of a
tablet could answer all the
challenges, thought the
organizing team.
 What are the advantages of it? Page - 04

They are,
the electronic voting brings instant results on the screen.
taking of attendance is done quickly, by the push of a button on tab.
to reduce the consumption of paper,
need less cable wiring in hall,
no microphones on desks,
no wires for the translation equipment.
Some Considerations
before General Chapter
Every General Chapter is a time to reflect and discern the most important
calls that the Lord makes to the Congregation today.
It is important to We should So we need to invest on
recall that it is the address demographic the younger generations to
pressing demand of the change in the improve the personnel of the
time on the service of Congregation. The community. A second
faith and the promotion Society of the future, generation, not made to take
of justice. and by that we mean in up serious task of the
the next ten years, will community will cause the
show a different face. entire group to degenerate.

A) Gener al Chapter is th e tim e for spiritual auditing of the

community. It includes a radical reflection and reformulation of the status, ways of
life and ways of ministering the community. If ended without discerning the signs of
time, the community would suffer heavily for the coming years.
B) Gener al Ch apter is, th e tim e for fraternal auditing of the
community. A timely repair, healing, of relationships among the members of the
community can rejuvenate the vitality among the members. Is it not a time to
start again, to grant a second chance, to begin anew!!!

About Delegates, John OMalley SJ.

You have good people there, they obey the rules, theyre honest, and
theyre straightforward and kind at the same time. There really is no
politicking, and if youre suspected of that, thats the end of you.
 Chapters in the period before Vat II were often chapters for
election. Vat II designed the general chapter as one of the principal Page - 05

means of renewal the institutes.

C) Gener al Chapter is, th e tim e for auditing the charism of the

community. Methodological changes are a way to keep us efficient, effective, and
updated for the needs of the time. Using the same tools of decades past, will
necessarily push us back. Balancing of various charisms, and not marginalizing the
less preferred ones such as,
social work,
ecumenical endeavors,
interreligious dialogue,
cultural activities,
human rights and justice activities,
sociological and political research etc are to be appreciated in the communities.
D) Gener al Chapter is, the tim e for auditing the talents of the
community. Producing
the general status and
taking a talent inventory
of its members is needed.
The latter requires our focus since a younger generation without properly
trained may not be able to row deep into the charism of the community.
E) Gener al Ch apter is, th e tim e for responding to need of
Universal Church. Pope Francis at h elm of au th or ity w e have a
different church. He needs the religious to look into issues such as;
migrants ecological dangers, daily workers
refugees separated brethren of faith, sexual minorities
Religious experts and
theologians believe a Francis-
effect is seen in the Church.
Will the coming chapters
be moved, taken up, by
this effect?
 Page - 06
Chapters & the Re-foundation of an Institute

Each religious institute lives the Gospel according to a determined charism.

First, this charism was, in general, that of a founder/foundress, and has been
received by a group of disciples who formed the first community of this institute.
1) General Chapter as an Ecclesial Event
A charism is entrusted and does not belong to the group that receives it, but
to the Church. It may be proper to a religious community, it is not, however, its
exclusive property. This charism by its very nature belongs to the whole people of
God, and not to the few hundreds or even thousands of members who form the
institute. These latter are its guardians; they are not its owners. The entire people
of God have therefore a right and a duty to watch over this part of its patrimony.
The chapter, therefore, is not a private affair of the institute. It is an ecclesial event
which is of interest to the Christian community as a whole.

2) General Chapter as a Listening Event

Listening, first of all, to the Word of God. This Word comes also through what
its members are experiencing, perceiving and saying. It is therefore important that
a general chapter find means, to allow all that is lived within the institute to find a
voice; also to listen to the people of God in general. For this, we should;
should hear the needs,
the aspirations,
the problems and the experiences of the whole People of God.
History tells us certain reforms of religious life were the response to the
aspirations of lay movements within the Church during the preceding century.

3) General Chapter as an Identity Rebuilding Event

A general chapter is the time for an institute to redefine its identity. This
definition should neither be abstract. Rather by means;
of concrete decisions for renewed significance of a vocation,
the recognition of a specific mission,
the admission of a need for conversion.
Our identity is not something we can determine for ourselves. We
realize it in responding to the appeals of the Spirit to us today.
 Qualities for the Superior General Page - 07

John OMalley, SJ, a historian and Professor at Georgetown University: You

have to realize that the field for a possible general is limited pretty fast. Ideally, a
general;
1. speaks at least three languages,
2. has to be of a certain age,
3. in good health,
4. have some administrative experience,
5. have been successful at it,
6. ideally has some international experience. So, you put all those things together,
and the pool gets very small, very fast.

To an Unknown Soldier, To our Future General (Following is a

blog by Dermot Preston, SJ, a delegate).
Dear Brother in Christ,
I do not know who you are. I write this on Thursday
and you will be elected as Father General on Friday. Whether
you are old or young, or whether I know you well, or whether
we have only exchanged a smile and a few words in these last
days, I will speak.
Firstly, th e days of m ur m ur atio w ill h ave been gr uelling for your soul:
that people have been inquiring about you and scrutinising you. For any sane
person this scrutiny will have been near-intolerable you also will have been
forced to probe deeply and explore the ambiguities of your own personality. So,
when you take your seat as General and look out over the Hall, at som e
level, you will feel yourself to be a fraud and not fit to untie the sandals of any of
the Generals who have preceded you and inspired you. Please do not ponder
unduly on these inadequacies; like the rest of us you are a broken human.
Secondly, continue to learn who you are, and then be who you are; dont brood
about what you are not. If God has designed you as a Land Rover, do not
try to persuade yourself that you are a Ferrari. If you are a Ferrari, dont
try to put on all-weather tyres and drive across country in the snow!
God has designed you in a particular way, so trust that the design is
adequate for the pilgrim road on which you now travel.

Editor: Tony Maliyekal VC Published from Vincentian Vidyabhavan, Aluva.