Salesian Cooperators Association
Salesian Cooperators Association
World Consulting Body
Via della Pisana, 1111
00163 ROMA - ITALIA
Tel: +39-06-656121 Fax: +39-06-65612556
E-mail:
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Rome, 25th March 2001
Subject: Preparation of the World Consulting Body Meeting 2001
Dear World Consulting outgoing and newly-elected Members,
Joe and… (English speaking Region)
Gisela and Thomás (Pacific North Caribe)
Maria Victoria (re-elected: Pacific South Caribbean)
Margarida and… (Brasil)
Humberto and… (America South Cone)
Désiré and Giséle (French speaking Africa)
Agnes and… (English speaking Africa)
Emilio and Antonio (West Europe)
Nino and… (Italy and Middle East)
Peter and Miriana (Central East Europe)
Paul and Cajetan (India)
Francis and… (East Asia)
Carlos (Australia)
Oliviero (Administrator),
Giving a warm Welcome to the five newly-elected Consulting Members, we express our heartfelt thanks to the old members for their great care, especially during the last moments of their service.
We are all looking forward in trepidation and with trust to the new World Consulting Body Meeting, as it will be a delicate and decisive appointment for our Association. In fact, it is a question of putting first into the hands of the new consulting members the course we have taken and afterwards deciding together the new course to follow.
To tell you the truth, there is an urgent problem: we don’t know yet how to get the funds in order to arrange the journey and stay in Rome of the thirty World Consulting Members. Therefore I ask each of you to tell me as soon as possible if this Meeting should be held with only the new consulting members or also with the outgoing ones. And if we are going to hold the Meeting all together, how can we get the necessary funds, considering that the Rector Major has already greatly helped us?
We suggest that the World Consulting Body should pay for the stay and the Consulting Members should pay for their back and forth journey, giving them the task of collecting the funds in their own region.
We talked over the matter again in the letter we enclosed regarding economic questions. Would you please take this problem into serious consideration, discuss and then decide what to do in your Provincial Council.
The World Consulting Body Meeting will be held at the “Casa Generalizia delle Figlie di Cristo Re” (General House of the Daughters of Christ the King), also on La Pisana, from Sunday 22nd July 2001 to Sunday 29th July 2001. The Rector Major himself officially calls us together and he will stay with us according to the time he will have at his disposal, but he will be represented in any case by the General Councillor for the Salesian Family and Social Communications: Father Antonio Martinelli,SDB.
The general theme of the meeting will be:
The World Consulting Body:
Autonomy in the Communion for the Mission
This theme will be divided into three sub-themes, referring to the three following objectives:
- What is the situation of the Regional and Worldwide Association?
- What lines of action should we plan for the Worldwide Association?
- What role does the Consulting Body and the Consulting Members have to play to give life to the Association?
Transversal objective:
- Clearing up the economic questions concerning the life of the Association.
First Objective.
LET’S WAKE UP TO THE REALITY OF OUR ASSOCIATION.
By the end of April 2001 every Consulting Member is invited to draw up his own report about the area of his responsibility, according to the following plan:
PRESENTATION OF THE ASSOCIATION ACTIVE IN THE REGION
- The growth of the Salesian Cooperators Association in the number of the Centres and of the Cooperators
Related to what kind of vocational animation… ?
- The educational activities we are carrying out and how they are carried on…
The initial education, the ongoing formation of the educators… ?
- The most important apostolic activities carried out in your Region
On the family, professional, social, ecclesial and Salesian level… ?
- How the members feel their sense of belonging to the association through:
- their presence and regularity at the meetings of their Centres
- the atmosphere of communion at the meetings
- the experience of special times of spirituality according to the salesian spirit
- the joint responsibility of the members in involving themselves with activities of
the Centre or the Province
- the ability to have autonomous apostolic activities as cooperators
- the carrying out of economic solidarity at different levels
- communication and communion with the World Consulting Body and the Central
Executive Secretariat.
- Communion with the other groups of the Salesian Family:
with the Delegates, the Rectors, the Provincials, the Salesians of Don Bosco, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and other groups…
- The animation of the people in charge on the different associated levels…
- How can autonomy be understood?
- Planning and assessment on time.
- Strong encouragement for team work.
- Fulfilment of the roles as provided for by the Regulations for Apostolic Life and by the Manual for the people in charge.
- The carrying out of the practical guidelines 94 – 96 – 98:
What important implementation did they have in your Region?
- The carrying out of the final Document of the Regional Congress in the years 93 or 94:
What important implementation did they have in your Region?
- The more urgent expectations, requirements, problems and suggestions in your Region.
Please think for yourself how to draw up such a report (maximum length: one page A4, front only).
In addition we ask the Consulting Members
for some essential data about their Region:
- The updated and complete CENSUS of your Provinces and of the related local Centres according to the tables of the “Registry self-updating” as the supplement to the Document “Animate financial solidarity”.
- The names and the complete addresses (with e-mail) of:
- Provincial Coordinators
- Provincial Delegates
- People in-charge of the National or Regional Conferences
- The final Document of your Regional Congress
- Voters, candidates, addresses of the candidates and the votes that each candidate got in the voting for the election of the Regional Consulting Member in your Region.
- A profile, an identikit, a “curriculum vitae” of the new Regional Consulting Member together with a photo of him and his Family.
At the same time we ask Consulting Members for their help: they could present a concrete proposal to insert into the working document for the World Consulting Body, that is the Document they are going to deal with during the Meeting in Rome.
For this first objective we are asking for Emilio Pasqual’s preliminary work:
What are your comments on the Worldwide Association as an outgoing Consulting Member?
Naturally after having received most of the regional reports of the Consulting Members.
Second objective.
LET’S ORGANIZE THE FUTURE OF OUR ASSOCIATION.
This point will probably require a whole day of discussion.
For this second objective we are asking for the preliminary work of Maria Victoria Bernal by May.
-Verify the operative lines of the previous World Consulting Body Meetings (years 1994 – 1996 – 1998).
-Read the developments in the latter years.
-Consider most of the final Documents of the Regional Congresses.
-Think of a possible opening to the future.
What Operative Guidelines do you suggest for the Final World Consulting Body Meeting in July 2001?
Third objective.
WHAT ROLE AND ORGANIZATION DO WE THINK IS NECESSARY FOR THE ANIMATION, WHICH HAS TO BE CARRIED ON BY THE WORLD CONSULTING BODY AND BY EACH CONSULTING MEMBER IN THIS ORGANIZATION AND IN HIS OWN REGION.
For this third objective we are asking for Humberto Gutierrez’preliminary work by May:
-Reading the World Consulting Body internal Regulation, especially the part which examines the animation of the individual Consuting Members, and in order to present everything which must be revised, corrected, added and updated about the real situation of the Association.
What do you suggest so that the World Consulting Body will be able to work better in the future?
For this third objective we are asking for Francis Wichai’s preliminary work by May about:
How to start the animation of the Consulting Centres in your own Region?
Fourth objective:
Trasversal in comparison with the other ones:
LET’S CLEAR UP THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION’S LIFE.
Three days work will probably be necessary to talk about this matter.
For this fourth objective we are asking for the administrator, Olivero Zoli’s preliminary work by May:
-After the presentation of the report of the financial situation of the association he will suggest how we can carry out a policy and the planning of the economy of the Association on the basis of article 21 of the Regulations of Apostolic Life?
Referring to this objective other Consulting Members can help us think about some themes related to the economic matter.
We are asking for Nino Sammartano’s preliminary work by May on the question:
How can we achieve communication through the magazine “Cooperatores” of the Association?
We are asking for Carlos Escobar’s preliminary work by May on the question:
How can we organize an efficient executive central Secretariat?
We are asking for Gisela Mejia’s preliminary work on the question:
How can we make the Association visible in society?
In this first communication we are not talking about technical-organizing aspects; we are going to consider that in the next e-mail. We particularly ask you for an effort to share all these remarks and to pass on all the materials to the new Consulting Members, who will gradually be elected in the next Regional Congresses.
Heartfelt thanks for your readiness to help and to work.
With the commitment of everyone we hope we will be able to offer our Association a qualified service so that it will have the opportunity to develop ever more according to Don Bosco’s intentions.
Let us place our efforts and our Salesian journey in the hands of Our Lady, Mary Help of Christians.
Affectionately,
Roberto Lorenzini
General Coordinator - Salesian Co-operators Association
Together with
Father Julio OlarteSister Maria Trigila
Central Delegate-SDBRepresentative-Daughters of MHC/FMA