LETTERS TO THE INSPECTORS - SIX YEAR 2008-2014

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR WORKS DON BOSCO
Via della Pisana 1111 - 00163 Rome

The General Councilor for Formation

Rome, March 15, 2013
Prot. 13/0081

To the Reverend
Provincial Formation Delegate,
Your Home

For information to the
Reverend
Mr. Inspector
His Seat

Subject: Reading of the 2012 statistics

Dear Delegates,

                               at the beginning of each year in the General Council the statistical data of the Congregation, concerning the previous year, are studied with some observations.
As every year, I think it is useful for them to be known in the Provinces; they invite us to reflect and make concrete choices in a targeted manner; I invite you to study them in the Provincial Formation Commission and, if possible, in the Provincial Council and with the Directors, with attention to your particular provincial situation.

Initial formation in the Congregation

* To read the first three columns, you need this attention. Novices entering a certain year, make their first profession the following year; therefore the novices who came out are the difference between the novices entered in a given year and those who professed the following year. Example: in 2002, 607 novices entered and in 2003 they professed 470 newly professed; therefore the difference between the novices entered in the year 2002 and the novices who professed the following year 2003 is 137 novices; this number is placed in the line "novices left" regarding the year 2002. In 2012, 480 novices entered; but we will know the number of the newly professed and therefore of the novices left, at the end of 2013.

Ongoing formation in the Congregation

* For the reading of the columns concerning the dispensations from the celibacy, the secularisations and the resignations, the numbers do not concern those for whom in a given year the request was presented, but those for whom in that particular year the practice came to conclusion.

Novices according to the Regions

Evaluations and perspectives

1. Vocations to Salesian consecrated life

Consider the number of novices in the Congregation over the past two years . In 2011 we had 414 novices, which was the lowest number in the last 11 years; while the year 2012 saw a revival of vocations with 480 novices, or 66 novices more than the previous year, but still with 52 novices less than in 2010, in which the novices were 532. It will have to be verified in the coming years if the decrease in novices below the number of 500 in 2011 and 2012 represents a trend or if it is a temporary situation.
Consider the number of novices in the long run. At the level of the Congregation it is noted that the situation of vocations remains worrying; in fact from 2002 to 2006 the novices were on average 586 a year; from 2007 to 2012 there is an annual average of 506; in the 2007-2012 period there was therefore a drop in vocations of around 80 novices per year, or 13.65% less than the average of novices in the 2002-2006 period. At the level of Regions from 2002 until 2012 there is a continuous decrease and a low number of novices, especially in the two Regions of America and in the three Regions of Europe; in the East Asia and Oceania Region there is a slight drop in vocations, while the South Asia Region keeps the number of its novices high, even if there is a slight decrease; the Africa and Madagascar Region, on the other hand, shows a clear trend towards growth.
The decrease in the number of novices, in the long term and especially in the years 2011-2012, challenges us. It is necessary to ask questions in the Salesian communities and in the educative pastoral communities, as well as in youth groups and associations, if there is and what is the commitment to vocation promotion, if there is involvement of lay people and families, if there is and what is the proposal to young people of apostolic commitment and Salesian consecrated life. For this reason the Provinces must ask themselves whether, besides provincial vocational animation, there is a model of vocational animation at the local level; at the same time they must identify concrete commitments to be made in this regard.
The Salesian charism has a unique capacity of attracting young people in all contexts, for the spirituality it proposes, for fraternal relations and the family spirit, for the mission that it carries out among the poorest young people, for the fascination that the figure of Don Bosco stirs up. However, we must ask ourselves if Salesian consecrated life is also attractive to young people. The vocational choice is closely linked to the witness of the community, as well as to the explicit proposal. Vocational fruitfulness depends on our radical and joyful witness to the gospel; the reflection of the GC27 will help us to make choices that can foster an authentic witness and therefore also, as a desired fruit, a resumption of vocations to Salesian consecrated life.

2. Initial training

The novices who came out during the novitiate from 2002 to 2011 were 1,159 out of a total of 5,491 novices entered; this means that on an annual average of 549 novices, on average 115 came out, equal to 21% of the novices entered. From 2002 to 2006, on an annual average of 586, an average of 130 novices a year came out, around 22%; from 2007 to 2011, on an average of 511 novices, an average of 101 per year came out, around 19%; Finally, there is a particular situation to be noted: in 2011, 414 novices entered and 40 came out, equal to 9.6%. Therefore during the years 2002-2011 the exits during the novitiate tend to decrease proportionally; if this decrease continues, this would be a positive indicator of a new trend.
The temporary professed exitedare the following: from 2002 to 2012 there was an annual average of 214 temporary professed who left; from 2002 to 2006 the annual average was 226; from 2007 to 2012 the annual average was 203. In the 2007-2012 period, even if the average number of temporary professed who has left has decreased, the situation of temporary professed exits has worsened, given the decrease in this period of temporary professed due to of the decrease in novices. This can be seen by comparing the number of newly professed: from 2003 to 2006 we had a total of 1,885 newly professed and in the same period a total of 900 temporary professions left, equal to 47.75%; from 2007 to 2012 we have a total of 2,475 newly professed and an output of 1,222 temporary professions, equal to 49.37%. Therefore in proportion the number of temporary professed who annually leave the Congregation continues to increase. Consider the particular situation in 2011 and 2012; in that period there was a slight decrease in the number of temporary professed who left: from an annual average of about 220 left in the years 2003-2010, the number of exits fell in 2011 to 185 and in 2012 to 174, and therefore in the 2011-2012 there is an annual average of 180 left. This drop in the temporary professed outgoing is confirmed also by comparing the annual number of temporary professed who left with the annual number of newly professed: in the years 2003-2010 1763 temporary professed came out and 3579 newly professed members entered, then the annual loss of confreres was one average of 49.2%; instead in 2011-2012 359 came out and 781 entered, reducing the average percentage of annual losses to 45.9%; it will be necessary to verify in the coming years whether what is happening in 2011 and 2012 is a reversal of the trend.
The perpetually professed offer a further consideration While the annual average of perpetually professed for the ten years from 2002 to 2011 was 241, the year 2012 registered 262 perpetual professed. From 2002 to 2006 there was an annual average of 258 and from 2007 to 2011 an annual average of 229. Although in 2010 we had 177 perpetual professed, in 2011 we had a recovery with 231 and in 2012 even more with 262 perpetual professed . Also for the number of perpetually professed, it will be necessary to wait for the next few years for confirmation or denial.
As we have seen, in general the serious problem of vocational inconsistency remains during initial formation; on the other hand, in 2011 and 2012 some positive signs are noted. It is possible that with an improvement of the aspirantate and prenovitiate and of the process of discernment, and with greater attention to the accompaniment of those in formation, especially during the internship, it will be possible to reduce the number of exits both during the novitiate and during the period of temporary profession. However, it is too early to talk about a turnaround; we will know better in the coming years, especially if we continue to customize the training processes.

3. Lifelong learning

The perpetually professed Salesian brothers from 2002 to 2006 were on average 33 per year, while from 2007 to 2012 they were an average of 18 per year; also in this case a decrease is noted. Furthermore, the perpetual Salesian brothers who left the Congregation from 2002 to 2006 averaged 13 per year, while from 2007 to 2012 they averaged 10 per year. Considering the perpetually professed who have entered, the number of Salesian brothers who are perpetually professed has come to mind, which is increasing in proportion to the revenue in the second period: from 39% to 55% of those who have left.
The Salesian priestswhich were ordered from 2002 to 2006 have been an annual average of 221 per year; from 2007 to 2012 they were an average of 198 per year. Furthermore, the picture of the priests leaving the Congregation worsened in 2012: if the number of exits for dispensation from celibacy, secularization and dismissal is added, in the last 11 years 2002-2012 there is an annual average of 70 and in the last 6 years 2007 -2012 an annual average of 77; the number of priests leaving in 2012 reached the figure of 100, of which 33 requested dispensation from celibacy, 38 entered or are entering the diocesan clergy, 29 were discharged.
These data give rise to various questions. How can we explain the so high numbers of Salesian brothers who are perpetually professed? Why do so many Salesian priests abandon Salesian consecrated life in favor of the secular life of the diocesan priest? This is not just a phenomenon this year: the annual average of secularizations for the 11 years from 2002 to 2012 is 25. And how to explain the dispensations from celibacy, for which the annual average for the same 11 years is 17 and resignations whose annual average for the same period is 28?
It is possible that in some cases of exits there has not been a good vocational discernment in the period of initial formation. It is also possible that in some cases there was a sudden crisis not overcome. It is very probable, however, that in most cases the vocational crisis has had a certain length of time, and perhaps its signals were already visible in the behavior of the confrere inside the community and outside. One wonders, then, if perhaps with a little more fraternal attention it would not have been possible to prevent or help some confreres in difficulty.
I recognize how difficult it is to give a clear answer to these and other questions because there are so many factors that come into play in the field of vocation. Probably some situations are past and only now have been regularized by the Provinces. It is important that the Provincial Commissions for formation and the Provincial Councils reflect on these outputs, since these are confreres who have lived several years in the Congregation.

4. Conclusion

God also speaks to us through the life of the Congregation: the situations (1) of vocational decline, (2) of vocational fragility in initial formation and (3) above all of vocational infidelity in ongoing formation are still open problems that need to be faced with patience , continuity and determination. Listening to the appeals of the situation, knowing how to make a "radical" reading and identifying the path to be taken, are the steps of a methodology to be applied also to the vocational and formative situation of the Provinces.
It is necessary to apply this methodology having attention to inculturation, that is taking into account the culture of the context in which we live and the culture of our own Province; without this "inculturated attention", listening, reading and walking will be incomplete and ineffective.

Trusting in your collaboration, I greet you with gratitude and cordiality.
In Don Bosco

Don Francesco Cereda