XV CIDALC ASSEMBLY
Lima, January 31- Frebuary 7, 2007
PROGRAMME OF THE XV ASSEMBLY OF CIDALC
REPORT OF THE PROMOTER OF THE DOMINICAN FAMILY
CIDALC JUSTICE AND PEACE PROMOTER REPORT
REPORT OF THE PROMOTER FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA
MEETING OF DOMINICAN FORMATORSOF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
“DOMINICAN VOLUNTEERS INTERNACIONAL” – DVI
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF LAY DOMINICAN FRATERNITIES
IX INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF DOMINICAN HISTORIANS
THE CAUSE FOR THE BEATIFICATION OF GOD´S SERVANT, FRAY BARTOLOMÉ DE LAS CASAS
2. Proposals from each zone for the General Chapter of Bogotá
3. Proposals and agreements of each zone for the coming years
4. Proposals for the CIDALC team
1.Dialogue among cultures: Theological input
2.The Gospel, the urgency and the quality of
interreligious dialogue
4. Dialogue between theologies
6. Challenges of present commitment for Justice and Peace in
Training of trainers and in institucional training
8. Economic policy for the CIDALC Assemblies
2. Participating in the XV CIDALC Assembly
Dear brothers,
I am very happy to present these Acts to you: they are the diary of a shared Utopia!
There are two phrases I remember which for me describe the assembly, defining what inspired us.
In one of the homilies, after the conclusion of the meeting, br. Agripino said we had lived God’s joy: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gn. 2, 18).
We were not alone, we lived in a community of brethren together with members of the other branches of our Dominican Family, specially during the retreat which provided the tone, the mystic that inspired the whole meeting.
The retreat was preached together by sister Gabriela Zengarini and br. Timothy Radcliffe: this in itself is full of significance and relevant symbology, realizes God’s dream… Our brother was right when he said: “It is not good that a Dominican preaches alone”!
At another time br. Luis Marcos said we were living in an oasis; this could be particularly noted in the workshop on the dialogue between cultures, religions, ideologies, theologies.
In this oasis we were able to dialogue, exchange, live in a totally free manner in a world and Church marked by the temptation of a single way of thinking.
We arrived at the end of this assembly full of hope!
May we all together now put to practice all we have lived. The great challenge we now face is to avoid that all this becomes only a nostalgia.
The very fact that together we were able to prepare and implement the assembly proves we have already a shared journey, the experience of working together. What was achieved was not the result of the labor of a few nor of a team, but of all of us together.
This is why I am sure that together we will be able to do significant things, so that the dream, the utopia shared produces abundant and lasting fruit: “Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty… I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last” (John 15, 5b, 16).
Because of the richness of the texts gathered here these Acts are more than a mere report; they will be a reference book for us, a true oasis were we will find a source, a fertile land to which we can resort…
God - our Father and Mother - by the intercession of Rosa, Juan Macias and Martin; Catherine, Bartolomé de Las Casas and Dominic bless us all.
Br. João Xerri,op
Rome, 28 February 2007
Rome, 6th of June 2006
TO THE PROVINCIAL PRIORS, VICARS GENERAL, PRIORS OF REGIONAL VICARIATES.
TO THE SISTERS OF THE DIRECTORY OF CODALC.
I send fraternal greetings to you, my brothers and sisters, and I trust that you are living with joy and hope in the presence of the Holy Spirit that was given to us as a Gift, just a few days ago at Pentecost. May He lead you to the “fullness of Truth” of which we are witnesses and preachers.
According to the Statutes of CIDALC, it is my task to convoke our next General Assembly, which will be held from Friday the 2nd to Wednesday the 7th of February 2007, in the city of Lima at the Casa Espiritualidad Santa Rosa, of the Regional Vicariate of Saint Rose of Lima (Jirón Chancay 237).
On this occasion, our CIDALC Assembly will begin with a two day retreat (31st of January and the 1st of February), directed by fr Timothy Radcliffe OP and by Sr. Gabriela Zengarini OP, in coordination with fr. Brian Pierce. At the end of the retreat, the Assembly itself begins.
The XIV General Assembly of CIDALC decided that the forthcoming Assembly would be held in Venezuela (14 votes), in Uruguay (9 votes) or in Argentina (5 votes) [Cf. Acts, page 164]. However, after hearing from the Major Superiors of these countries, we became aware of the different difficulties that each would have in hosting the Assembly in their country. So the CIDALC Team decided el select Lima as the place of the celebration. We consulted, beforehand, with the Provincial Prior of the Province of Saint John the Baptist in Perú and the Regional Prior of the Vicariate of Saint Rose of Lima, and both were in agreement with our request. We thank them, once again, for their willingness and welcome.
In accordance with the Statutes of CIDALC, the following have a right to participate, with voice and vote, in this XV Assembly:
· The Major Superiors or their representatives [2.2.1];
· The members of the CIDALC Team [2.2.2 al 5]
· The Religious who are on the Directory of CODALC [2.2.8]
The Master of the Order, fr. Carlos A. Azpiroz, Costa has confirmed his participation in the Assembly.
The CIDALC Team is preparing the XV Assembly with the collaboration of fr Benigno Gamarra, Provincial of the Province of Saint John the Baptist in Perú, and of fr Miguel Zabalza, Regional Prior of the Vicariate of Saint Rose of Lima. I am exceedingly grateful for their collaboration. We have asked fr Márcio A. Couto, Socius of the Master of the Order for the Intellectual Life, and fr Rafael Colomé of the Vicariate of América del Sur (Province of Aragón) to be the moderators of our Assembly. We thank them for their willingness to help us.
We are at the moment finalizing the details of our working agenda, and we are open to your suggestions. These can be sent to fr Luis Carlos Bernal, Secretary General of CIDALC.
We will share, as is customary at these Assemblies, the reports of their work presented by the CIDALC Team, by its Accountancy and by the Zones of CIDALC. We will study the changes to our Statutes that might be necessary, and we will make our proposals for the General Chapter to be held in Bogotá. We will also have workshops – directed by Sr. Antonieta Pottente, by fr. Carlos J. Pinto de Oliveira, fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez and fr. Jesús Espeja – on Dialogue between cultures, Interreligious Dialogue and Dialogue between theologies.
We also have to elect at the coming Assembly the next Secretary General of CIDALC and propose names to the Master of the Order for the next Socius for Latin America and for the Promoters of CIDALC for the Dominican Family and for Justice and Peace.
Shortly we will have the detailed work agenda for the XV Assembly finalized, which we will then forward to you.
Please acknowledge that you have received this Letter of Convocation, by writing to me (s.alc@curia.op.org) and also by sending a copy to fr. Luis Carlos Bernal, Secretary General (secretario@cidalc.op.org).
I send you fraternal greetings, along with those of the CIDALC Team. United in the charism of Saint Dominic.
Fray Joao Xerri, op
President of CIDALC
São Paulo, Brazil, 28 December 2006
Memory of the saint martyred children
My dear brothers and sisters,
Priors Provincial,
Vicars General,
Regional Priors,
Invited Guests.
I write this second convocatory in times of Christmas and New Year: significant times in which we dedicate ourselves to rekindle the flame of hope in ourselves and in our brothers and sisters.
We are also living our jubilee, celebrating the 800 years of the Order. This XV assembly is for us a privileged sign of our firm wish and intention of also “catching the fire of Dominic’s vision”, motto of the meeting in Prouille.
In this significant experience, in Prouille in April of this year, for the first time we had the participation of the representatives from the highest organs of the five branches of our Dominican Family, together with the International Justice and Peace Commission and the Dominican Volunteers International (DVI). This was for me one of the most hope giving experiences I have ever enjoyed…
Another sign that the flame of hope continues is undoubtedly the visit of the Pope to Turkey and in particular his prayer at the mosque and his statement that Muslims and Christians, we pray to the same God.
I was blessed with one other moment full of hope this year: the celebration in Santa Sabina of the Eucharist on the feast of Christ the King, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowen Williams, who presides the Anglican Church.
Hope was also at the core of two meetings the CIDALC team had in 2005, in El Salvador, inspired by our martyrs: CIDALC and CODALC, celebrating Bishop Oscar Romero, and Dominican brothers and sisters from North and South America, celebrating the four women from the United States, two of which: Ita Ford and Maura Clarke, are Dominicans.
In line with this spirituality, that our meetings cannot be “only” a good and efficient working session, this time we propose to begin the assembly with two days retreat for the delegates from CIDALC and CODALC. To rekindle the “fire” that inspires us, we seek the roots of our Order, inviting sister Gabriela Zengarini and brother Timothy Radcliffe, who will help us reflect on:
“Listening to the Word of God: Mary of Nazareth, Mary of Guadalupe. Doing theology in Latin America: Bartolomé de Las Casas and Rosa de Lima. Dominican brothers and sisters doing theology today”.
Obviously, the decision to invite both: woman and man, Latin American and European, from different generations, is full of symbolism for us, not least because our history cannot be restricted only to Latin America.
In this retreat we will have the participation of the Master of the Order, br. Carlos Azpiroz, and of the Coordinator of Dominican Sisters International (DSI), sr. Margaret Ormond.
A second moment will include the presentation of reports, in order to perceive realistically where we stand, and then begin to plan the next three years.
CIDALC’s greatest strength lies in the concrete projects of collaboration we have. For me, personally, the greatest sign of hope are the experiences of collaboration between Provinces, even if fragile. Hopefully we will be able to increase and strengthen this collaboration during the assembly.
Another important item will be the preparation of our General Chapter in Bogotá, recalling that the Chapters are our supreme authority, whom we obey and in whom we put all our trust.
Other important themes we will be sharing are: formation for formators, including the decision of electing or not a promoter, for Latin America and the Caribbean, for intellectual life and formation.
One other subject is the Dominican Volunteers as part of our charism, to rekindle the flame… and not merely as assistance, even though this is necessary.
With the presence and participation of the syndic of the Order, br. Bernardo Vallejos, we will have a fraternal exchange about our administration: which are the advances and difficulties for a management that is rational, transparent, efficient, at the service of our mission, especially of the poor, since in the end what we have belongs to the poor…
Sunday (February 4) will be dedicated to a theological meditation on “Dialogue in it’s various dimensions: inter-religious, between cultures, between theologies, between ideologies”.
The Master of the Order will be with us from January 31 to February 3.
Sisters and brothers, I send you this program with joyful hope, convoking all of us to pray, celebrate and plan together, thus strengthening our commitment and hope in Dominic’s charism, one of the signs of the New World for which humanity yearns…
Your brother in Dominic and Rosa,
João Xerri,op
President of CIDALC
PS:
1. Please confirm reception of this convocatory to:
fr. Luis Carlos Bernal < secretario@cidalc.op.org >
2. Venue of the Assembly:
Casa de Espiritualidad Santa Rosa
Jirón Chancay, 237
Lima, Perú
Tel: 0051 – 1 – 330.6049
3. Please inform as soon as possible, the details of your arrival:
day, air company, flight number, city of origin and time of arrival – to those in charge of the reception:
fr. Dennis < cidalc2007@yahoo.com >
4. To comply with the decision of the last assembly to reduce costs, please remember that all the special guests will be responsible for their own ticket and hosting costs: bishops, provincials coming from out of Latin America and the Caribbean, members of the OP Curia and from the other branches of the Dominican Family.
5. For the same reason, remember to bring your own stoles.
Thank you very much and see you soon!
PROGRAMME OF THE XV ASSEMBLY OF CIDALC
WEDNESDAY, 31 JANUARY
7:30 Retreat
13:00 Lunch
20:00 Dinner
THURSDAY, 1 FEBURARY
7:30 Retreat
13:00 Lunch
19:00 Eucharist presided by fray Carlos A. Azpiroz y Solemn Profession of fray Hegel Simon, in the Santuary Saint Rose of Lima.
20:00 Cocktail with the Delegates of CIDALC y CODALC.
20:30 Visit (optional) of the Saint Rose Sanctury.
20:30 Dinner CIDALC.
FRIDAY, 2 FEBURARY
Morning
7:30 Celebration of Lauds [ CIDALC]
8:45 Greetings of the Provincial of Peru, of the Regional Prior of the Saint Rose and of
fray Joao Xerri, President of CIDALC
9:00 Presentation of the Moderators and Participants (in twos)
9:45 Information for the Assembly and Presentation of the Economic Commission
10:30 Break
11:00 Report from CIDALC
11.30 Report from the Course for Formators [Fray Rafael Colomé]
11:40 Reports from the Zones: Cono Sur, Bolivarianos, América Central y México, El Caribe
12:30 Report from the North - South Encounter [Fray Miguel Concha y Hna. Noemí Zambrano]
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon
15:00 Echoes on the Reports given in the morning, in groups, questions and acclarations
16: 30 Break
17:00 Plenary – directed by the Moderators, dealing with the Reports presented in the morning.
18:45 End of work
19:00 Vespers and Eucharist
20:00 Dinner
21:00 Invitation to "The Dominican Year" [ Peruvian Students]
21:15 Report from fray Herminio de Paz re: The Cause of fray Bartolomé de las Casas
SATURDAY, 3 FEBURARY
Morning
7:30 Lauds and Eucharist [América Central-México]
8:45 Presentation of the reforms of the Statutes of CIDALC [fray Joao]
9:15 Group work on the Reforms of the Statutes
10:30 Break
11:00 Voting in plenary session
11:45 Work according to Zones to present possible proposals for the General Chapter in Bogotá
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon
15:00 Plenary on the group work of the zones re the proposals for the General Chapter
16:30 Break
17:00 Dialogue with the Master of the Order
18:45 End of work
19:00 Vespers
20:00 Dinner
21:00 Free
SUNDAY, 4 FEBURARY
Morning
7:30 Celebration of Lauds [Bolivarianos]
8:45 Presentation of "Dialogue between cultures", by Sister Antonieta Potente, op
9:30 Presentation of "Inter-religious Dialogue ", by fray Carlos Josaphat P. De Oliveira, op.
10:15 Break
10:45 Work in groups
11:45 Presentation of "Dialogue between ideologies", by fray Jesús Espeja, op.
12:30 - 13:00 Plenary
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon
15:00 Presentation of "Dialogue between theologies", by fray Gustavo Gutiérrez, op.
15:45 Work in groups
16:30 Break
17:00 Plenary - Panel with the four Speakers, directed by the Moderators.
19:00 Celebration of the Eucharist
20:00 Dinner
21:00 Coloquio on the actual political and ecclesial situation of América Latina.
MONDAY, 5 FEBURARY
Morning
7:00 Lauds y Eucharist [Cono Sur]
8:45 Work according to zones, on the proposals and zonal agreements, the proposed names for the ALC Socio and CIDAL team; proposals to be sent to the new CIDALC team. Suggestions for the date and place of the next CIDALC Assembly.
10:30 Break
11:00 Plenary: proposals and zonal agreements of each Zone
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon
Tour and a Cultural evening.
TUESDAY, 6 FEBURARY
Morning
7:30 Celebration of Lauds [El Caribe]
8:45 "Dominican Volunteers" [Hna. Rose Anne Schlitt]
9:45 "Successes and Difficulties in the Economic Administration" [fray Bernardo Vallejo]
10:30 Break
11:00 "Challenges of the actual commitment of Justice and Peace in the formation of formators and institutional formation." [Fray Prakash Lohale]
11:40 Group work
12:30 Plenary
13:00 Lunch
Afternoon
15:00 Proposed “triplets” for the Socio of ALC, for the Promoters of CIDALC
and the election of the General Secretary.
16.00 Report on the International Congress of the Lay Dominican Fraternaties by Teresita de Tenti, op.
16:30 Break
17:00 Proposals about the IPC [Fray Javier Pose]
17:30 Group work according to Zones
18:00 Plenary
19:00 Vespers and Eucharist
20:00 Dinner
21:00 Preparation of the General Chapter in Bogotá and the film: "Baptism by blood".
WEDNESDAY, 7 FEBURARY
Morning
6:15 Rise
7:00: Departure in Bus for the monastery of Santa Rosa
7:30: Eucharist and visit to the chapel, the place where Santa Rosa died.
Breakfast in the monastery.
10:00 Economic Commission
10:30 Break
11:00 Presentation of agreements.
12:30 Evaluation in writing, and conclusion of the XV Assembly.
13:00 Lunch.
[Translated by fr. Martin Hunter,op]
feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone
who asks you for a reason for your hope.”
(1 Pt. 3, 15)
Encouraged by hope, the certainty that the New World we long for will come, in Latin America we live in a clearly very promising time…
Encouraged by the warmth – new or many years old – of our fraternity and our common search, visible in your presence, I welcome you to the 15th Assembly of CIDALC.
I extend a very special welcome to the newest (2006) province of the Order, the Province of St. Vincent Ferrer of Central America.
(1) Since the 14th Assembly in Chile, 2004, I participated in:
(1.2) CANONICAL VISITATIONS:
Colombia; Mexico; Central America; Ecuador; the Vicariate of South America (Aragon); Bolivia.
I also participated in the Canonical Visitation of the Province of Betica in Spain.
As in the Order the only relationship that exists between the friars is that based on fraternity, and not on hierarchy, the Master, Bro Carlos, who insists on this, does not invite only members of the General Council of the Order for the canonical visitations. For this reason, Bro Fernando Solá and Bro Alexis Páes participated.
Neither are visitations made only by members from the same region. Because of this I took part in the canonical visitation of the Province of Betica, and would have participated in others in Asia, were it not for health problems that made it impossible for me to travel.
In the same way, Bro Pedro Luis González, Bro Dominique Renouard, Bro Jerry Stookey, Bro Chrys McVey made canonical visitations in our region…
(1.2) OTHER VISITS:
I visited Ecuador, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Bolivia on several occasions.
(1.3) MEETINGS:
I participated in the regional meetings of CIDALC in Guatemala and Mexico; Assunción, Paraguay and Santiago, Chile; Cochabamba, Bolivia – though I could not be in that of Guayaquil, Ecuador; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
(1.4) REUNIONS:
2004 – the annual meeting of DLC (Dominican Leadership Conference) in the USA.
During this same year, another Congress of Dominican Historians was held in Managua, Nicaragua. Unfortunately, I was unable to participate. The Acts of this meeting have already been published in a beautiful and useful book by the Editorial San Esteban, Spain: an example of North/South collaboration …
2005 – DLC meeting in the USA.
Meeting/course for the formation of formators in Lima.
CIDALC and CODALC meeting in El Salvador.
Mesoamerican Regional meeting of Justice and Peace in El Salvador.
Similar meetings were held in Paraguay and Ecuador in which, unfortunately, I was unable to participate.
2006 – meeting for the formation of superiors from the Southern Cone in Chile.
I took part in another one of the Philosophical Seminars organized by the Pedro de Córdoba Institute in Chile. I heartily thank Bro Paco Quijano and Bro Guillermo Beret for their dedication!
I also thank the commission charged with studying the IPC, presided by Bro Javier Pose, for its careful analysis and the down to earth proposals.
I was unable to participate in the meeting of the promoters of vocations of the Bolivarian Zone in Medellin.
I participated in Prouilhe, France, in the first meeting of the “highest organs” of the five branches of the Dominican Family together with the International Commissions of Justice and Peace and of the Dominican Volunteers International (DVI). It was a new experience and a bearer of much hope!
Together with some Dominican sisters I took part in a pilgrimage to the lands of Dominic and Catherine.
In Avila, Spain, I took part in the Congress “From Avila to La Hispaniola”.
Also in the Theological Meeting of Espaces Europe in Pistoia, Italy.
I deeply lament that the meeting of Regents of Study for Latin America and the Caribbean, for which the Regents of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico were in charge, could not be held.
(1.5) VISITS TO BRAZIL: I visited Brazil at least once a year, with the aim of keeping my contacts with the popular movement MST (movement of landless farmers) alive; the Latin American Agenda; the Social Network of justice and human rights… These contacts were/are vital nourishment for me, for my spirituality, in order to keep myself motivated and hopeful…
Allow me to recall one of these moments:
In October 2006, I was invited to give a talk and to receive homage in the Florestan Fernandes National School, near Sao Paulo, run by the MST. I addressed a group of about 100 young persons who are poor, from five different grass root entities and who were studying there: about 60 of them would be chosen to frequent the New School of Medicine in Venezuela, similar to the Latin American School of Medicine – ELAM – in Cuba. This was, for me, like a dream come true…
In 2001, I had already addressed the students of the Paulist School of Medicine, one of the biggest and most important on the continent, so much so that I made use of that same text. However, this time these young people were totally poor, and you could see it in their faces and the colour of their skin… You can imagine my joy and how proud I felt when, on coming to know that I am a Dominican, some of them told me: “We know Bro Henri des Roziers and Sr. Madá (Madalena Santos). They are our lawyers. We know Bro Xavier Plassat who struggles together with us against slave labour. We know Bro José Fernandes: they all help us always!”
For this same reason, when I am in Rome and as far as I can, I always participate in the group “Friends of the MST”, people who nourish their enthusiasm in favour of life through their solidarity with the Latin American popular movements.
(2) This three-year period was also marked by two events:
(2.1) Transition: The General Chapter of Krakow, Poland (2004), decided that we should have a full-time Promoter of Justice and Peace. You remember that I carried this responsibility together with that of Socius of the Master. The transition was completed by the end of 2005, when Bro Prakash Lohale was named promoter. It was very difficult for me personally, because it meant that I had to leave “my first love”. However, it was certainly necessary.
I am glad with the fact that, with my successor, we changed continents for the first time: all the former General Promoters of Justice and Peace came from Europe, North or South America. The Master, Bro Carlos, this time chose one from Asia, from India. It seems to me that this is very meaningful!
Another joy is that I was the first promoter to work with a co-promoter, Sr. Marie Thérèse Perdriault. This was possible thanks to the support and collaboration of Bro Carlos and the DSI (Dominican Sisters International).
I thank Marie Thérèse very much and now also her successor, Sr. Toni Harris from the USA for her collaboration and sisterhood.
I am delighted that Toni, realizing that she needed to learn Spanish, decided to do so in Bolivia, in Cochabamba!