Fr EGIDIO VIGANÒ:
pREADING THE FOUNDER'S CHARISM AGAIN AT THE PRESENT DAY
In our foundational reinterpretation an important role of practical
guidance was played by the effort to produce a fundamental redrafting
of the text of the Constitutions. At the outset this was resisted for
various reasons; and even at a later stage, when the work had already
been started, there were some who still thought that it would have been
sufficient to touch up the previous Constitutions here and there. The
result was a wise and bold decision to embark on a complete rethinking
and redrafting of the whole text in fidelity to the original.
This delicate work was, of course, put in hand in line with the new
conciliar guidelines. The objective was to produce a "Basic Code"
with an authentic description of the identity, evangelical values, specific
characteristics, ecclesial dimension, healthy traditions, and also the
indispensable juridical norms for ensuring the character, ends and means
of the Institute.
A change from the previous norm desired by Ecclesiae Sanctae was that
the renewed Constitutions should be rich in evangelical, theological
and ecclesial principles, not indeed as an artificial conglomeration
introduced from outside and at a theoretical level, but rather as perceptions
and declarations emanating from the life lived by the Founder and from
within his plan of life. They had to contain an integral synthesis of
an original plan of consecrated life and indicate the substantial principles
with which the Founder wanted his followers to be disciples of Christ
with a specific ecclesial sense.
In them a harmonious integration had to be achieved between gospel inspiration,
apostolic criteriology and structural practicality, going beyond the
institutional requirements to make clear the historical experience of
the Holy Spirit lived by the Founder and by him passed on to the Institute.
Don Bosco, our Founder, did his utmost to instill his own personal experience
into the Constitutions (as far as was possible at the time) so as to
leave a 'living testament' which would be like a mirror reflecting the
characteristic features of his spiritual and apostolic countenance.
Rightly was he able to declare that "to love Don Bosco is to love
the Constitutions"; and when he handed a copy to Don Cagliero,
who was leaving for Patagonia at the head of the first missionary expedition,
he said with winning emotion: "Here is Don Bosco going with you".
Naturally, in the redrafting of the Constitutions the effort was made
to refer back as much as possible to the spirituality of the Founder,
to his more charismatic writings, to his well proven experience, as
a model from which to derive the genuine aspect and indispensable key
for the foundational reinterpretation.
The work was not easy; it went on for more than ten years, but it constitutes
in fact the clearest and most authoritative synthesis of the enterprise.
It was subsequently enriched by an official commentary, article by article,
as a valid help for the correct interpretation of the Constitutions.
In addition a manual of government was prepared in two volumes - one
for Provincials and the other for local Superiors - in view of the renewal
of the exercise of authority. It was also possible to draw up an appropriate"
Ratio institutionis" for the initial and ongoing formation of the
confreres.
The spirit of the Founder
In the redrafting of the Constitutions particular importance was given
to their organic structure in a global and unified presentation. A plan
of life cannot tolerate a fragmentation which conceals or does harm
to the implications of a scheme which is in itself vitally organic.
But to be able to do this we had first to be clear about two concepts
which lie at the basis of everything: that of 'consecration' and that
of 'mission' and their mutual relationships. We may say in fact that
on this point there developed a veritable battle in the Chapter; it
was not easily resolved, as we shall see, but in its solution we finally
found the key to the organic unity.
Meanwhile, as a separate and basic element (at least for the work we
had in hand), we wanted to be sure that we had the correct description
of the most significant traits of the Founder's spiritual countenance.
Within the great gospel values common to all the Institutes of consecrated
life we had to single out the daily style of life, the personal and
communal attitudes, and the manner of living and working, or in other
words the climate and atmosphere of life which constitutes our particular
physiognomy; certainly in this too it was necessary to establish a hierarchy
among the components, because it was a matter of a deep reinterpretation
with a central motive force, which could not be allowed to become a
mere logical theory but had to remain a typological description.
In the important first part of the new text of the Constitutions there
is a completely new chapter of 12 articles (from 10 to 21), which are
a condensation of what is considered to be the substance of the 'spirit
of Don Bosco'.
Vatican II, as we have already said, had asked religious to concentrate
their attention on the figure of the Founder as an original expression
of the many forms of holiness and evangelical life in the Church. Every
Founder is born of the Church and lives for the Church.
Paul VI reminded everyone: "The Council rightly insists on the
obligation of religious to be faithful to the spirit of their Founders,
to their evangelical intentions and to the example of their sanctity.
In this it finds one of the principles for the present renewal and one
of the most secure criteria for judging what each Institute should undertake.
For while the call of God renews itself and expresses itself in different
ways according to changing circumstances of place and time, it nevertheless
requires a certain constancy of orientation".
We have spoken of 'spirit' rather than of 'spirituality' so as to remain
more faithful to the facts of history and to the life of the Founder
as a 'kairos' become model; 'spirituality', on the other hand, customarily
refers to more abstract concepts.
The work that was done certainly constitutes today one of the meritorious
elements of our foundational reinterpretation; we are convinced that
it would have pleased Don Bosco himself who, speaking with humility
of the constitutional text he had drawn up according to the norms then
prevailing, said that it could be considered a 'rough copy' of what
he really desired, but that the 'fair copy' would be written later by
his sons.
Concentrating attention on the spirit of the Founder meant giving priority
to interior matters and attitudes of the heart, having the same sentiments
with which he copied those of Christ.
This enables us also to understand the qualitative leap forward desired
by the Council as regards the concept of the Constitutions: from a text
that was rather normative and juridical, to a pleasing and stimulating
synthesis of the evangelical experience of the leader of a new movement
in holiness and the apostolate.
The spirit of the Founder is certainly bound up also with the culture
of his time; it is manifested in it but transcends it, so that it is
able to constitute an ensemble of spiritual traits that can be embodied
in other cultures. This, therefore, is due to the transcendence and
adaptability of the charism, though its transmission is not brought
about by words alone but by a continuous tradition of life linked, in
fact, with a long and delicate process of sound inculturation.
From the 'mission' to the rediscovery of the 'charism'
I have already referred to the capitular discussion on the fundamental
notions of 'consecration' and 'mission'. A deeper understanding of the
mutual relationship between these two vital aspects was central to our
reinterpretation and at the foundation of the final synthesis. A sound
interpretation of the Council led us to a convinced and dynamic convergence.
When the Special General Chapter began its work, among the commissions
set up was one dedicated specifically to the charism of the Founder.
It ran into great difficulties, and after a certain space of time was
dissolved. Why?
The basic reasons were of two kinds, at odds with each other. Some did
not want a study of the charism to be made at all, because it would
have left the future open to arbitrary experiments; others did not want
it because it would have rendered sacred what were only fleeting cultural
elements of the last century. Both groups were eventually able to agree
on one thing only: there was not yet a sufficiently enlightened mentality
on the point.
It is useful also to recall that in the documents of the Council the
expression "charism" of the Founder is never used, even though
characteristic elements of its specific nature are indicated. The first
official use of the expression "charism" of the Founder is
found in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelica testificatio of Paul VI
in 1971. An authoritative and more specific clarification, and a more
detailed description is found in the document Mutuae relationes of 1978.
On the other hand there was a general conviction that, in a period of
rapid change, the aspect felt to be the more challenging was that of
the 'mission'. And so the mission became the central point in the concerns
of reinterpretation.
But in what did the mission consist. It was all too easy to forget its
theological nature and restrict it to the practical theatre of activities.
And so an 'essentialist' kind of mentality maintained the ontological
primacy of the kind of 'consecration' which many thought must precede
and guide the whole project.
A far from easy problem, and one rendered still more difficult among
the capitulars by reductive and imprecise ideas of the concept of 'consecration'
and of 'mission'.
The path which opened up to us the authentic sense of the reinterpretation
of the charism was the realization of the meaning attached by the Fathers
of the Council to the famous verb" consecratur" in Lumen gentium
n. 44. A long work of discussion was needed to change the mentality
concerning the concept of religious 'consecration'.
First it was being identified with the more typical interior human aspects
(prayer, vows), and with the individual religious as its agent ("I
consecrate myself'). This led to a prescinding from the true concept
of charism and gave a secondary place to the 'mission' with its requirements,
as if it pertained only to activity and works and was not theologically
inherent in the consecration itself. All this evidently had an influence
on the structuring of the Constitutions. A deeply felt discussion was
necessary to overcome the dualism between' consecration' and 'mission'
which went to the very root of the identity of our apostolic vocation.
We were greatly helped by what the Council asserts in n. 8 of the Decree
Perfectae caritatis, and especially by the consideration that God is
the active agent in both consecration and mission. This led to a rethinking
of the significance of Profession, and the formula was redrafted.
In particular the inseparable theological nexus between 'consecration'
and 'mission' was examined at greater depth, and this gave a renewed
sense to the whole project of the specific character, and opened up
the possibility of rethinking the constitutional structure. This vision
of our apostolic consecration is summed up in an article of the Constitutions
which says: "We live as disciples of the Lord by the grace of the
Father, who consecrates us through the gift of his Spirit and sends
us out to be apostles of the young. Through our religious profession
we offer ourselves to God in order to follow Christ and work with him
in building up the Kingdom. Our apostolic mission, our fraternal community
and the practice of the evangelical counsels are the inseparable elements
of our consecration which we live in a single movement of love towards
God and towards our brothers.
Our mission sets the tenor of our whole life; it specifies the task
we have in the Church and our place among other religious families".
It is a matter, therefore, of living a Christian existence which is
simultaneously consecrated and apostolic, rather than being apostolic
because it is consecrated. The gift of the Spirit to the professed religious
involves in him a 'grace of unity' which makes him capable of a vital
synthesis between the fullness of consecration and the authenticity
of apostolic labor. "This type of life - declared the Special General
Chapter - is not something fixed and prefabricated, but is a project
in permanent construction. Its unity is not static, but is a unity in
tension and in continual need of balance or revision, of conversion
and adaptation".
This grace of unity, the result of pastoral charity, has recently been
described also by the Holy Father in the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores
do vobis. And the same John Paul II in an address to the members of
our 23rd General Chapter on 1 May 1990 said: "First of all I want
to emphasize as a fundamental point the strength of a unifying synthesis
that stems from pastoral charity. It is the fruit of the power of the
Holy Spirit which ensures the vital inseparability between union with
God and dedication to one's neighbor, between depth of interior evangelical
meditation and apostolic activity, between a praying heart and busy
hands. Those two great Saints, Francis de Sales and John Bosco, have
borne witness to this wonderful 'grace of unity' and brought it to fruition
in the Church. Any deterioration on this point opens up a dangerous
path to activism or intimism, both of which are insidious temptations
for Institutes of Apostolic Life".
In this vision of vital synthesis we found the spark of our identity,
the one that flashes at zero hour where everything begins, where friendship
explodes and the covenant is ratified, where pulsates the grace of unity.
It is the meeting of two loves, of two freedoms which fuse together:
that of the "Father who consecrates us" and "sends us
out", and that of ourselves who "offer ourselves" totally
to him in accepting to be "sent". In this mutual fusion of
friendship the initiative and very possibility of the apostolic covenant
come from God, but are confirmed by our free response: he it is who
has called us, who has sent us and has helped us to respond, but we
are the ones who give ourselves and become 'missionaries.'
For us the term 'consecration' emphasized especially the initiative
on God's part: He is the one who consecrates! We were well aware too
that the same term 'consecration' - with respect to its contents - is
not in itself free from ambiguity; in fact it changes its meaning in
line with various levels of ecclesial life. We did not enter immediately
into a consideration of such differences, leaving to the elaboration
of the Constitutions what the concrete significance was for ourselves.
What we were concerned about in the first place was highlighting the
qualitative leap stemming from the recognition of God's initiative:
"consecratur a Deo"! This it was that opened up horizons for
us.
From this standpoint of apostolic consecration we were led also to contemplate
the Founder: God, who chose him and guided him, made of his existence
in mission an experience of the Holy Spirit, to be continued and fostered
in the Church in the future.
And so in this way we reach a theological vision of the "charism
of the Founder": "an experience of the Spirit transmitted
to their followers to be lived by them, to be preserved, deepened and
constantly developed in harmony with the Body of Christ continually
in a process of growth... with a distinctive character which also involves
a particular style of sanctification and apostolate".
The dynamic element which has brought about the maturing of this theological
category of charism has been precisely the recognition of the divine
initiative in the consecration as a specification by God. This, in fact,
was a true conciliar reversion which brought about a rethinking of the
significance of the Profession and the specific work of the Founder.
It also served to give the name of consecrated life to Institutes which
had been previously known as "states of perfection".
'Apostolic consecration' and 'charism' have become for us two theological
categories which are superimposed on each other and mutually interchange.
We are dealing, in fact, with an exclusive initiative of God, which
does not lose its force in a faceless genericism but consists in an
original intervention which establishes a particular mission and a gospel
plan of life to give to the Institute a concrete physiognomy ("style
of sanctification and apostolate").
We may say that the conciliar vision of 'consecration' implies a viewpoint
of an initiative of the Holy Spirit which, when applied to the painful
historical work of foundation, manifests the substance of the charism
given to both the Founder and the Institute, which has as the permanent
source of its continuity the religious profession of the individual
members.
And so in our foundational reinterpretation, although we began by temporarily
excluding the category of 'charism' we have been forcibly led back to
it through the providential deeper analysis of the event of 'consecration'
as envisaged by the Council.
The duration of the reinterpretation and those involved
We can consider in general terms four stages through which our work
of reinterpretation passed: the Special General Chapter and the three
General Chapters that followed it; in practice they were two decades
of intense work, from 1970 to beyond 1990.
- The GC20 (from 10 June 1971 to 5 January 1972: seven months, no less!)
was the "special" Chapter desired by the Motu proprio Ecclesiae
sanctae. It was the longest and most laborious stage of rethinking and
reelaboration of the elements of our identity; it remains the fundamental
Chapter of all the work done.
- The GC21 (from 31 October 1977 to 12 February 1978) was a further
period of revision and consolidation. It completed some particular aspects
of our identity (e.g. the Preventive System, the role of the Rector,
the figure of the Salesian Brother) in harmony with the doctrine and
guidelines of Vatican II, and prolonged for a further six years the
experiment of the renewed Constitutions.
- The GC22 (from 14 January to 12 May 1984) represents the final contribution and the goal which concluded the experimental period of the previous twelve years, and gave to the Congregation the Constitutions and Regulations in a renewed and organic form.
- The GC23 (from 4 March to 5 May 1990) differed from the three previous
General Chapters precisely because it was an 'ordinary' Chapter. The
previous three Chapters belong in a certain sense to the category of
the 'Special' General Chapter, because of their overall concern with
the identity of the. charism and the consideration of various related
matters. The GC23 , on the other hand, dealt with a single concrete
argument, chosen to intensify the process of renewal. It is interesting
to note that whereas the three 'Special' Chapters led to an identity
now clearly described in the Constitutions, the GC23 applied the charismatic
identity in a sector of accelerated evolution for a practical application
in the mission; and this reminds us that the reinterpretation of the
identity does not close the door on the search for fresh commitments
in the new evangelization, but rather opens us to them with greater
courage. Hence, the reinterpretation serves also for a more fruitful
research for the benefit of the mission.
It is interesting also to observe that the four stages constitute, we
may say, a single continuous and complementary process. This means that
the redrafted text transcends not only the labors of the restricted
groups of particular confreres but also the four individual General
Chapters. In each of them, with a distance of six years between one
and the next, there was a turnover of a good part of the members, with
new lived experiences and reflections each time, and in each subsequent
Chapter it was possible to reduce the possible influence of earlier
elements resulting from circumstantial considerations of the moment;
a deeper and more prolonged reflection enabled ambiguities and lack
of precision to be corrected. Time allowed the deeper understanding
of delicate aspects to mature, while the accelerated rate of change
enabled clearer distinctions to be made between permanent and transient
values, between what pertained to the identity and what was linked only
with culture, thus increasing the awareness of the ecclesial and worldwide
dimension of the evangelical project of Don Bosco.
Sensitive points in the process of discernment
In the conciliar view of Ecclesiae sanctae the Constitutions had to
provide an authoritative presentation of an evangelical plan of life;
they had to indicate the fundamental principles of the following of
Christ, the ecclesial dimension, the charismatic originality, the healthy
traditions and adequate service structures.
They present, in fact, a harmonic integration between gospel inspiration
and a concrete structural nature. They are the fundamental document
of the Congregation's particular law. More than laying down a priori
detailed norms to be followed, they describe mainly a spiritual and
apostolic manner of bearing witness according to the spirit of the Beatitudes.
They help in rereading the mystery of Christ from the standpoint of
the Founder, which is for us the salesian standpoint of Don Bosco. Their
general structure has been rethought with a style and arrangement which
induce a prayerful reading and prompt a commitment of life. A person
meditating on them in faith, i.e. with 'new eyes', will draw from them
both life and strength.
Guiding criteria, shared by all (sometimes indeed after long and deeply-felt
discussions), were followed and can be considered sensitive points in
the process of discernment. In addition to the living sense of the Founder,
of which I have already spoken, I would list the following;
- The significance of the religious profession
The reinterpretation of the charism has reawakened especially the awareness
of a new starting point for consecrated life with an overall commitment
to a new beginning to really relaunch the Founder's plan. This sensitivity
as regards a relaunching has brought with it the rediscovery of the
vital significance of religious profession.
We have come to realize that religious profession cannot be reduced
to the simple making of the three vows, as though they were identical
in all Institutes of consecration. It was not a matter of writing into
the Constitutions a kind of general treatise on consecrated life, but
of providing a description of what the Council called the "particular
character" of the evangelical project that was being professed.
We needed to describe the spiritual traits and existential attitudes
which would distinguish and characterize us among the People of God.
These aspects, of course, presuppose and require the constitutive elements
of all Christian and consecrated life, which we necessarily have in
common with other religious and members of the faithful.
The particular character is brought about by existential aspects and
nuances described and specified in the text of the Constitutions and
explicitly assumed in the act of profession as practices for the following
of Christ: something, in fact, which is by no means insignificant and
which cannot be set aside by the professed. For us the manner of being
disciples and living our Baptism is that of practizing our "Rule
of life". To become true Christians we must live as good Salesians.
"There are not two levels", our Special General Chapter told
us: "that of religious life which is a little higher, and that
of Christian life which is a little lower.. For the religious, testifying
to the spirit of the Beatitudes with the profession of the vows is his
only manner of living out baptism and of being a disciple of the Lord."
In religious profession we discover the full living and overall significance of our special Covenant with God.
- The oratory criterion
This refers to the question of what groups we work for: a 'crucial
point in the Special General Chapter. In Don Bosco's heart the priority
was for the work of the Oratories for those to whom he felt he had been
specially sent. In our reinterpretation of the charism the first Oratory
at Valdocco was taken as an apostolic point of reference. As a model
this is not identified with a particular structure or institution, but
rather with a specific pastoral standpoint for assessing our present
works or those to be taken up in future.
At the centre of this 'oratorian heart' there is a predilection for
the young, especially those who are poorer, and for the working classes;
before and above the works themselves there are the people, the young
people; the disciple of Don Bosco must feel himself a missionary of
the young.
The inspiration of this criterion throws light on the ecclesial commitments
Don Bosco wanted for the Congregation. They are: the evangelization
of the young, especially poor youngsters and young workers; the fostering
of vocations; apostolic initiative in densely populated working-class
areas, especially through the means of social communication; and the
missions.
For a faithful understanding of the reach of this criterion it is well
to have in mind some constitutional requirements at three different
and complementary levels:
- the preferential choice of those for whom we work: poor youth and,
at the same time, those who show signs of a vocation;
- the spiritual and educative experience of the preventive system;
- the ability to recruit numerous collaborators, chosen from among the
laity and the youngsters themselves, to share with us responsibility
for the work.
It is a question, therefore, of a complex but concrete criterion which
leads us to transcend the material character of the works and enter
into Don Bosco's heart to make judgments and plans in line with the
specific style of his pastoral charity.
In point of fact, this criterion has led among other things to a courageous
Project Africa which, after 15 years, now sees more than 800 salesian
missionaries working in 36 countries of that continent.
- The community dimension
Another sensitive point in the reinterpretation was that of the community
dimension, which is intrinsic to the religious life, albeit - in our
own case - with a particular style all its own.
It was not, however, just a matter of intensifying a genuine 'family
spirit' among the confreres something that had been emphasized from
the origins, but of insisting on the special communion or sharing of
responsibility in the mission: this is entrusted in the first place
to the community, which is the subject responsible.
Hence the particular manner of exercising authority; hence the community
aspect of the educative and pastoral plan; hence the commitment to formulate
it, realize it, and revise it together; hence _he stimulus to offer
personal contributions to the exclusion of all individualism and arbitrary
independence. The community is called to a continual pastoral discernment
so as to remain united and faithful in the apostolic realization of
the charism.
This sensitive point has had a great influence throughout the long process
of renewal.
- The "form" of the Institute
The form of the Institute (i.e. whether it is "clerical",
"lay", "mixed", "indifferent", etc.) implies
constitutive traits which express and ensure, even from a juridical
point of view, the particular character and characteristics of the charism.
It has, in fact, a theological and spiritual importance in the growth
and vitality of the charism: "According to our tradition,"
reads the text of the Constitutions, "communities are guided by
a member who is a priest, and who by the grace of his priestly ministry
and pastoral experience sustains and directs the spirit and activity
of his brothers".
The mission, which determines the tenor of the whole life of the Institute,
is pastoral of its nature and the whole spirit of the Founder emanates
from the pastoral charity of his priestly heart.
Our Institute is not strictly 'priestly', nor is it simply 'lay', and
neither is it 'indifferent' properly so-called. The members are clerical
and lay. "Our Society is made up of clerics and laymen who complement
each other as brothers living out the same vocation"; each one
is aware that he shares responsibility for the whole before considering
himself cleric or lay. "The priestly and lay components of the
Society do not imply the extrinsic summation of two dimensions, each
belonging to groups of confreres, distinct from each other, running
on parallel lines and eventually putting together the efforts of each
group, but rather a single community which is the true recipient of
the one salesian mission. This requires a particular formation of the
personality of each member, so that in the heart of each clerical Salesian
there is an intimate feeling of being linked to and involved with the
lay dimension of the community, and in the heart of each lay Salesian
in turn, there is the same feeling in respect of the community's priestly
dimension." This is a single characteristic bound up with the specific
'secular dimension' of the Institute. For this reason it is of the greatest
importance for us to promote simultaneously an awareness and harmonious
growth of clerical and lay members in the spirit of the salesian tradition.
And so the service of authority in the Congregation is linked with this
originality of 'form'. It exerts a delicate function of identity in
the spirit and unity of apostolic action. Its specific role is that
of promoting and giving direction to the 'pastoral charity' which is
the centre and synthesis of the salesian spirit and the soul of all
our activity. The grace of priestly ordination (which is the sacrament
of pastoral charity) enriches and confirms the potential for service,
and ensures that a genuine pastoral criterion lies behind all our participation
in the evangelizing mission of the Church, including also human advancement
and an incisive effect on culture.
It is a contribution useful to all members because it is intimately
connected with the oratorian criterion.
- Decentralization
We were convinced of the urgent need to indicate and embody through
flexible methods the common identity in different local cultures. This
is an arduous task; it demands a clear idea of the identity in the process
of formation, and an acute sensitivity and intelligent discernment in
respect of cultural differences.
We felt ourselves in full agreement with Fr Voillaume: "There is
a tendency nowadays to place in doubt the unity of a Congregation on
the pretext of developing the regional or national characteristics of
the foundations. Such a tendency is ambiguous. It is lawful to the extent
that it is a reaction against a uniform commitment to a univocal expression
of religious life too much dependent on a single mentality, but nonetheless
it throws doubt on one of the characteristics of the Kingdom of God
which is above every culture, in the fraternal unity of the People of
God which should know neither race nor culture."
A charism which is not open and adaptable to cultural values becomes
institutionalized and cuts itself off from the future; but a culture
which is closed to the signs of the times, to mutual exchange with other
cultures and to the transcendence of the mystery of Christ and his Spirit,
risks becoming a museum piece from the past or a reductive interpretation.
of universality.
From this one can see how delicate and crucial formation has become
in the Institute at the present day, and at the same time one comes
to realize the importance of an adequately decentralized authority to
ensure in the Provinces and groups of homogeneous Provinces a practical
possibility of inculturation.
- The Salesian Family
Convinced that the Founder has launched his spirit and mission over
a wider range than our own
.Institute, and that he has bequeathed to us special responsibilities
for the animation and coordination of many apostolic forces, we considered
anew one of the great paths of our renewal to be the development of
what is called the "Salesian Family".
It is made up of various groups (both Institutes of consecrated life
and lay Associations and movements), which share - in different ways
- Don Bosco'_ spirit and mission. This has become a vast and fertile
field which provides at the present day special possibilities for the
committed laity. We are al_ ready following this line in a decisive
fashion, following in the footsteps of the Founder, and we intend to
intensify and perfect this option in the coming 24th General Chapter
of 1996, with its theme: "Salesians and Lay people: communion and
sharing in the spirit and mission of Don Bosco".
Urgent need of a practical methodology
The process of functional reinterpretation has been in itself an intensive
and far from easy research into our charismatic identity. We are satisfied
with what has been done, and we thank the Lord for it. But we must add
that the lengthy process has not ended the period of research; quite
the opposite. It has, indeed, opened up a kind of exploration still
more accelerated and intense. It is as though the foundational reinterpretation
has loosed all available energy in view of a greater significance and
apostolic creativity.
It is not, therefore, a matter of a work already concluded, but a kind
of prophecy which relaunches the process of renewal starting off on
a double new track: that of the assimilation by all the confreres of
a personal renewal of individuals and communities, and that of practical
involvement in facing the challenges of the new evangelization.
Knowing more clearly who we are in the Church (through our foundational
reinterpretation), we feel ourselves challenged as bearers of a charism
relevant to the present day. And this requires a special methodological
capacity in planning and action. The process from the charismatic identity
to the actualization of the mission at the present day (from orthodoxy
to orthopraxis) is quite complex. Here is concentrated all the great
pastoral problem of the Church, "a new enthusiasm, a new methodology,
new expressions", the capacity for planning, the serious element
of revision.
The clearer our identity as consecrated persons, the more demanding
is the search for a dynamic updating of the charism.
This is why our first 'ordinary' General Chapter of 1990 (GC23) after
the reinterpretation of our identity, was concerned to give new life
to Don Bosco's mission today for the "education of young people
to the faith".
We know that the road ahead is a long one with innumerable unknown elements,
and constant progress along this pastoral path will be the best proof
of the authenticity of our foundational reinterpretation.
We feel the urgent need to promote a whole sector of theological reflection
which will go. beyond the fundamental and classical disciplines of the
faith. It is a question of a kind of pastoral theology which is in contact
with real life and enters also into dialogue with the human sciences
(history, anthropology, philosophy, sociology, pedagogy, politics, etc.),
keeping firmly in mind the official guidelines of the Church's magisterium
which accompany an ecclesial praxis animated by the Lord's Spirit; such
a practice essentially precedes scientific reflection. A pastoral mentality
needs many contributions: together with theological reflection of a
biblical, historical, dogmatic and liturgical character, it must be
disposed to develop an appropriate manner of intervention. This in turn
will be the result of a pedagogical and methodological reflection which
involves strategy in activity, the study and the planning of times,
modes, processes and means - in other words the elaboration of projects
for passing from a challenging situation to a positive solution as the
sought-for goal.
Anyone living in apostolic mission always feels the urgent need to improve
his pastoral mentality; he keeps an attentive eye on the rise of centers
of serious pastoral theology: a particular theology which does not pretend
to set up a unique interpretation of everything but throws light on
praxis. It "is inserted in the vast area of theology as a vital
and important part, but not one that covers everything or is a unique
criterion valid for everything. Pastoral applications do not seek to
change the formal nature of theology; especially must they not change
it when it turns its attention and reflection to something concrete
and urgently vital. If the urgent aspect of reflection is precisely
theological, i.e. polarized by the light and revelation of the mystery
of Christ through the guidance of the Magisterium, it would be a serious
mistake to deprive it (as unfortunately has sometimes happened) of this
natural polarization, and replace it by a horizontalistic approach which
would pretend to manipulate the interpretation of Christianity to suit
itself."
And so our foundational reinterpretation has brought us to revise and
renew the academic structure of our Pontifical University as well, so
that it may have a greater pastoral influence and effect, while always
ensuring a serious theological reflection, because it is precisely in
an ambit of a certain so-called pastoral enthusiasm which also runs
the risk of setting out on mistaken paths and so disjoining itself little
by little from the authenticity of the charism.
Animation and government
A concrete methodology in view of updated and more incisive apostolic
activity has brought to the fore the indispensability of a commitment
to ongoing formation for all confreres: to take up clearly the foundational
reinterpretation and to stimulate every community to the ability to
make practical plans for the new evangelization.
Such a wide-ranging commitment has changed the style of the exercise
of authority in government, and the secret underlying this exercise
is competence in animation. How many initiatives have been launched
in this connection! It is neither a simple nor a short-term work, but
is nonetheless indispensable; without it the foundational reinterpretation
will end up only on library shelves.
It has been found that in a period of deep change the concept of formation
has its fundamental and primary significance ("princeps analogatum")
in ongoing formation, in which every religious house becomes a centre
of formation, and initial formation is directed to ongoing formation
to prepare the 'formandi' to be capable subjects committed to facing
the pressing and widely varying challenges of the ecclesial and cultural
future.
The epoch-making changes call on all religious to feel themselves undergoing
in a certain sense a second novitiate in order to renew their own religious
profession in line with the postconciliar reinterpretation.
Together with fidelity in the spirit, stimulation is also given to creativity
in the mission with sensitivity as regards the variety of situations
which prompt government to adopt a kind of structure and mode of action
in view of pluralism in unity and unity in pluralism.
A visit of the Holy Spirit
We were and remain convinced - as I have already said - that Vatican
II was a visit of the Lord's Spirit to his Church; it produced a qualitative
leap in the whole of the pastoral area, starting from the identity of
the Church's mystery, its relationships with the world, and its presence
as leaven in history.
We set about making our foundational reinterpretation in this climate
of Pentecost. There were certainly periods when things moved slowly,
when preconciliar residues were evident; there were fears and instances
of shortsightedness which prolonged our work; here and there may still
be found some obscure areas still be clarified in harmony with the whole;
but with simple faith we think that all the work that has been done
cannot be explained without the light, the creativity, and the intuition
about the future, which can have come only from a special presence of
the Holy Spirit. When we look back and read over the new Constitutions
once again, when we note the development of the life of the Institute,
its transformations and its vitality in every continent, we believe
that the Holy Spirit, through the motherly intervention of Mary, has
given us appropriate and clear lenses to enable us to read our origins
once again and make a decisive leap forward.
In this way we feel ourselves called by the Spirit to collaborate in
the People of God, through our specific mission, in the laborious ecclesial
pilgrimage towards the third millennium.
We have a valid and updated 'identity card'
Dear confreres, let us be grateful and rejoice. The Holy Spirit has enlightened and accompanied us; he has shown us the highway we must follow; he has enriched us with a treasure of life; he has taken from us the distress of insecurity and deviations, and has ensured our identity among the People of God; but on this very account he has opened for us an immense field of work, where we have to search and labor, create and predict that spirit of initiative and originality which characterized the apostolic origins of our mission. May Mary be our guide through all our foundational reinterpretation, that we may be able to relaunch Don Bosco's charism towards the immense hopes and possibilities of the third millennium.
With Mamma Margaret let us look to the future with intuition and maternal
fertility.
With every blessing on your work,
Cordially in Don Bosco,
Don E. Viganò
