CANONICAL VISITATION
TO THE REGION OF COLOMBIA
(August 4 – October 4, 2003)

October 4, 2003

My Dear Brothers in the Colombia Region,

At the end of a solemn Eucharistic concelebration on August 30, 2003 the Bishop blessed a statue of Blessed Giuseppe Allamano with a plaque in his honor. The service was attended by a large crowd of people - they filled the renovated Plaza San Francisco in Florencia. In his official address the Governor said, “There is a before and an after in the history of Caquetá: before the arrival of the Consolata missionaries and after! With no disrespect to the Franciscans who initially evangelized Caquetá, we can say that everything that exists in this territory is the work of men and women Consolata Missionaries. We owe every-thing – schools, churches, human and social development, our very faith – we owe everything to these men and women. Inspired by their founder these men and women have sacrificed so much and his statue will be a lasting memorial to what these missionaries have accomplished. They began with so little and have created so much – it is a genuine revelation!”
That evening and on subsequent days as we recounted all these encomia to those of our confrères who were absent we began to realize that each of these praises had a “but” attached. Development in the region was to a large extent our accomplishment, but … We certainly gave an impetus to education, but … The faith we shared with the people went beyond the personal and the spiritual, but … All of these “but’s” acted as a corrective to the possibly excessive praise heaped upon us. They helped create a more realistic and objective evaluation of our work. Gradually we began to discern a somewhat different picture of our missions – the splendid highlights were still there, but threatening shadows were also present. Our mission was the work of giants and dwarfs, heroes and cowards. It was both unified and fragmented, a success and a failure at the same time; it was the work of God and the work of fallible men. To create communities open to inculturation and universality rather than closed, isolated groups we must constantly review, question and renew our missions.
This is the concept of mission that guided us during the canonical visitation of this Region, the image before our eyes in our reports to the communities and the inspiration for this letter. This image includes the actual situations in which your mission is carried out and recognizes the positive and negative elements that influence your life and work. We hope you will recognizes this letter for what it is: the visitors’ sincere effort to improve the future of your Region and of all missionary work in Colombia and Ecuador.

1. The Context and Challenges of Missionary Work in the Region

Violence or Peace?
Violence and the quest for peace are everyday concerns for the whole coun-try and its political, economic, social and ecclesiastical institutions.
The election of the current president, Álvaro Uribe (May 2002) marked a turning point in the lives of Colombians. He has set himself three guidelines for carrying out his mandate: democratic security, struggle against corruption and economic-social revival.
To guarantee security, the president will use a “strong hand and a big heart” against armed subversive groups. “Either they negotiate or we will defeat them” is his motto. He has created an atmosphere of relative tranquility in the country by pushing subversive groups into the mountains and the interior. This military policy is a cause for concern among non-governmental and humanitar-ian organizations who fear peace is being achieved through injustice and the violation of human rights.
The armed struggle is accelerating. Various guerrilla groups are striving to recruit new adherents. To assure the support of the government, the USA and public opinion the army is obliged to show results. Paramilitaries disguise their activities by fitting into the normal life of society. The United States worries about the effects of the Colombian struggle on neighboring countries. Those in-volved in the conflict are becoming more and more polarized and the social situation is explosive. Guerrillas exploit the government’s unpopularity and support of the United States while inflicting terrorism and gang warfare not just in the interior but in the great urban centers. Drug dealers protect their invest-ments by financing private armies and wealthier citizens hired armed body guards to protect them from guerrillas. Defenseless country people abandon their farms. Tragically agrarian reform is being reversed. The majority of Co-lombians are exasperated and frustrated – there is no way out of this vicious cir-cle: guerrilla warfare, drug traffic, paramilitaries and an army that cannot guar-antee peace throughout the country.

Violence and Drug Traffic Growing; Number of Homeless and Poor Increasing
Surveys indicate that ordinary citizens believe the situation is improving – nonetheless Colombia is one of the most violent countries in the world: there are on average 28,000 homicides annually. Paradoxically only 20% of these killings are the result of armed confrontation between soldiers and paramilita-ries; 80% are the unfortunate result of pervasive civilian violence.
Drug traffic is so rooted and widespread in Colombia that the country is considered a source of international terrorism. All the armed groups involved in the drug traffic are considered terrorists and this causes serious complications for peace negotiations. Even though they are the weakest link in the chain of death and the most frequent victims of violence country people are considered adversaries in any strategy to eliminate the drug traffic.
The national economy shows some signs of recovery but there are doubts about the government’s priorities in this area. Since it considers Colombia an ally in the war on drugs the United States provides enormous financial assis-tance (2.3 billion dollars). Colombia, however, must spend 5.5% of its national income on the military and this takes money away from social policies that benefit the poor. Out of 40,000,000 Colombians, 27,000,000 live in poverty and some 12,000,000 are destitute.

The Church’s Presence and Role
In the midst of this armed conflict and drug trafficking the Church must mediate, establish dialogue, discourage polarization and promote mutual under-standing.
The Church in Colombia must form consciences with attitudes of recon-ciliation; it must foster a desire on all sides to achieve a peaceful and just reso-lution of the armed conflict. Reconciliation must replace the desire for revenge that has so long pervaded society; revenge begets death, destruction and an at-mosphere of terror. We must teach reconciliation with greater clarity and force. Reconciliation is spiritual – wherever the Church exists and works it promotes communion and not division among men. Reconciliation is social – the Gospel heals the wounds of violence by explaining and condemning violence’s tragic consequences. Reconciliation is political – it shows us the path of forgiveness and breaks the cycle of violence and revenge among those in power. Reconcilia-tion is cultural – it creates a new ethical conscience to replace the drug dealers’ mentality.
Commitment to the missio ad gentes will increase the Colombian Church’s credibility as a mediator between armed groups, a bridge between peoples, an aid to national reconciliation and a comforter to the wounded peoples and cul-tures of the country.
In this sort of church Consolata Missionaries can play a vital role in the spirit of Blessed Allamano and our missionary consecration.

2. Important Aspects of Your Future

During the canonical visitation we discussed local problems and situations with each of you. We prepared written reports with guidelines for your life and work. Now we would like to discuss problems common to the entire region and offer suggestions that might in their solution. We have organized our sugges-tions under these headings: the figure of the Missionary, holiness and prayer, community, apostolate, missionary-vocation promotion (MVP), basic forma-tion, restructuring and finances.

2.1 The Figure of the Missionary

We have shared your life and your prayer and have discussed your under-standing and practice of our common vocation as well as the rapid changes and challenges you face. Our encounters have taken place in a variety of milieux: in parishes and works in urban areas and in the interior; in atmospheres of violence and genuine uncertainty about your personal safety; in formation communities and MVP activities; in schools and centers serving the regional community; in houses of hospitality for our confrères. We admire your many good qualities and attitudes. Many of you feel strongly your consecration to God in the Insti-tute and live your lives with integrity. Our Founder’s spirituality exercises a strong influence and contributes to your success in the pursuit of holiness and the service of others. The characteristics Allamano gave our Institute that are consecrated by our tradition are still alive in those who adhere to them with fi-delity and serenity. To foster the interior life and make progress on the road to holiness some feel the need for greater spiritual training and ongoing formation. Zeal and enthusiasm for pastoral work are one of the Region’s treasures; o many of you are alive to the demands and challenges of the apostolate. You have launched and developed a genuine native, African and urban apostolate marked by consolation, pardon, reconciliation and efforts to update parish evan-gelization. Your work has borne fruit and you have become an example of in-novation for other missionaries. You have devoted all your talent and creativity to educating young people and making the local church aware of the missions.
Living with you however has made us aware of situations that were person-ally harmful and pastorally doomed to failure. It is always unpleasant to point out the shortcomings of our confrères – we would prefer to quote your own words in “Instrumento n. 1” – an essay on the world in which you live. “Some of our missionaries are experiencing difficulty in various areas: religious, priestly and missionary identity; the state of the world, culture and the Church; the new understanding of the missio ad gentes. Others face personal problems - they are excessively individualistic, withdrawn from the community, uncoop-erative or indecisive. Others find themselves in a rut – they place their personal concerns above those of the community and are unwilling to accept new as-signments. Still others show little inclination to reflect and have difficulty ac-knowledging certain values …” We agree fully with this list of shortcomings – it is a faithful picture of the existing situation. Sadly each of these descriptions represents a painful situation for the individuals involved, for the communities in which they live and for the whole Institute. The visitors have tried to be un-derstanding and supportive to the individuals concerned; the visitors have called upon the communities in which these individuals live to help in these efforts. Situations such as these – so far from our ideals – cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely. Those involved must either accept help, be open to specific solu-tions or consider seriously the vocational choice they have made.

2.2 Holiness and Prayer

There are in your midst confrères genuinely intent upon living a holy life of prayer and intimacy with Jesus. We urge them to persevere. Striving for holi-ness will give joy to our hearts and open our minds. It is the basis of a fruitful apostolate and a life of integrity governed by the evangelical counsels. Almost all our communities have improved their prayer practices and have grown in the spiritual life but our discussions have revealed that most of you are satisfied with a life of mediocrity – a life of very low expectations. There is at times a void to be filled with distractions: hyper-activity; questionable relationships; avoidance of spiritual and religious responsibilities; addiction to television; ex-cessive socializing; uncalled for trips … Faced with these problems we would set out the following guidelines.
 Make an effort to have at least two meaningful moments of prayer every day in accord with our Constitutions.
 Establish weekly community adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
 Recite the rosary at least on Saturdays and Marian feasts.
 In the larger or regional communities organize penance services during the appropriate periods of the liturgical year including sacramental confessions.
 Each individual must take seriously his call to holiness and a life of union with God in Christ. This is our vocation – if we are not faithful we are be-traying the promise we made at profession.
 Local or area communities must be faithful to monthly days of recollection.
 Regional leadership must do everything possible (visits from the Regional Superior or his Assistant, circular letters, etc.) to promote holiness and per-sonal/common community prayer among our missionaries.

2.3 Community

In this area too we are happy to report the improvements we witnessed dur-ing the visitation. There are only three missionaries living alone. In four par-ishes there are single confrères but they live with other religious or lay mission-aries and with whom they engage in community life and prayer (they assured us). We spoke to each of these individuals and they are almost all quite willing to live with other Consolata Missionaries. For their part the Regional Superior and his council are willing to restructure projects so that everyone can live in community.
Your community life appears rich and diverse but there are some evident limitations: frequently there is no program for common life or decision making meetings; there is no common sharing of property – or for that matter moments of celebration together. These are factors that can make fraternal life difficult or sterile. Area communities have lost something of their initial impetus – they no longer possess that enthusiasm which offered so much hope for the future. The visitors feel obliged to bring the following points to your attention.
 Local Superiors and Area Coordinators must take their leadership role se-riously and carry it out with charity, faith, effectiveness and purpose. They must make a valid contribution to the solution of these problems. In this context we would like to reaffirm the juridical status of superiors and coor-dinators. The Local Community Superior is described in the Constitutions (Const. 147). The Area Coordinator is a moral figure – he has no juridical authority. He acts as a coordinator and promoter of spiritual life for his confrères; he is responsible for permanent formation and organization in a given area.
 Each community must draw up its own Community Life Program; this pro-gram/plan should be reviewed midway through and at the end of each year. If possible a member of the Regional Council or the Area Coordinator should be present when the community draws up this program. This Com-munity Life Program was strongly recommended by the Tenth General Chapter. The previous and current General Directorate have expressed their firm support for this program. Without such a program communities wan-der aimlessly, without precise guidelines for healthy growth and a common apostolate.
 Every community should hold frequent meetings. While prayer is the life-blood of fraternal life, community meetings can contribute to our growth, mutual understanding and formation; they should be occasions for spiritual growth, study of the Institute’s documents and pastoral planning. Currently many communities hold meetings – they are for the most part devoted to pastoral planning and the practical concerns of the mission. If our commu-nity meetings are to be genuine occasions for prayer, reflection, permanent formation and planning all of the elements listed above must be included. Communities on all levels (local, area, regional) should discuss and plan permanent formation. n the words of the Tenth General Chapter, perma-nent formation “should not be limited to updating; it should revitalize indi-viduals through the study and assimilation of our charism, our founder’s spirit, and the ideals of consecration, communion and the missions.” Meet-ings and celebrations should provide missionaries with everything they need to live out our shared charism, to engage in the apostolate with the best means available and to keep abreast of developments in pastoral theol-ogy.
 The Regional Directorate and Area Coordinators should organize Perma-nent Formation Programs along with times when missionaries can take part in a review of life in the Region. The General Directorate will organize courses for individual renewal; it will moreover send out questionnaires and essays to promote study and sharing. We are well aware of the large number of meetings you hold, we realize that you are already very busy and the distances involved in travel are great – but it seems to us that the many requests and proposals sent to your Region meet with little response. Few answer our questionnaires, many arrive late at meetings or absent them-selves far too readily to attend to their own affairs – some of the reports re-quired for the Canonical Visitation were not written out. Personal plans and pastoral commitments preclude attendance (and respect) for meetings planned and announced well in advance. We remind everyone and insist that these meetings are a priority and must be attended from beginning through to end – this will benefit each of you and will contribute to the progress of the Region.
 Prudence in inter-personal relationships. We spoke about this concern clearly and in detail during the final assembly of the visitation. We feel the need to repeat our concern in writing. In today’s world we, religious and priests, are called to exercise our ministry with the greatest transparency. We must give our all to the service of life and the genuine good of the indi-viduals God and the Church entrust to our care.
 Prudence with members of armed groups. Armed conflict in Colombia grows ever more violent. The army, guerrilla forces and paramilitaries are becoming more aggressive and less tolerant. In the past the Church exer-cised a certain moral influence on these groups and could act as a mediator; now however one must exercise great caution to avoid the appearance of favoring one side or the other. Bishops, priests and religious are treated in accordance with how their words or conduct appear to the parties involved in the conflict. Many of our missions are in areas of open warfare. The missionary’s every word, action and movement outside his territory is be-ing watched. See to it that your work is evangelization and assistance to all who need your help. Do not let yourselves be manipulated by anyone. Never act on your own. Allow no one into your houses – especially at night. Do not volunteer to carry letters, packages or documents to third par-ties. In unforeseen or doubtful situations seek the advice of your confrères and follow the directives of bishops and religious superiors.
 Elections for the Regional Council. Our Constitutions provide three meth-ods for electing the Regional Council. The Colombia Region has adopted direct balloting as the best way to choose confrères for these positions. Election is done by written ballots from all the active members of the Re-gion. Using trickery to achieve a majority, exerting pressure to have one’s candidate elected or seeking to influence voting in any way undermines the purpose of elections and runs the risk of creating a Regional Directorate in-capable of effective work. We hope that the coming elections reveal a sin-cere quest for the will of God and the good of the Region through the free and personal choice of candidates without pressure or sordid election strategies.
 The Regional House plays a very important role in the life of the Region. It offers hospitality to missionaries passing through Bogota; it offers assis-tance to friends and family members visiting the missions; it procures sup-plies for our communities … It is the task of this house to provide fraternal hospitality to our confrères, prompt assistance and other services that will guarantee a peaceful and comfortable stay. At present the house is undergo-ing remodeling and will soon provide more comfortable accommodation to visiting missionaries – for this we are sincerely grateful to the superior and his community. We have been made aware of problems and misunderstand-ings arising from some individuals’ excessive demands and the lack of con-cern for the good order of the house. We ask everyone to use common sense and make a serious commitment to creating an atmosphere of peace and mutual understanding. Individuals should inform superiors of their problems and accept the set-up of the Regional House as it has been estab-lished. If necessary the Regional Directorate should assign someone (mis-sionary or layman) to act as procurator, assistant to the sick and factotum in the house.

2.4 Apostolate

In this area especially the Colombia Region has distinguished itself. It has demonstrated creativity, seriousness and courage in its structural and spiritual projects. the entire circumscription – including initial formation – has always been marked by zeal for the apostolate and the missions, an eagerness to expand and work on the cutting edge without concern for the dangers involved. Throughout the Institute you are known and admired for you perseverance and presence in areas of guerrilla warfare with scant concern for personal safety. In spite of everything you hold your position – you show calm and no thought of abandoning the mission. The more dangerous the situation becomes the more determined you are to remain at your post giving light and voice to the hopes of your people. The latest manifestation of your devotion to the apostolate involve the native and Afro-American apostolate and work in urban areas. Your pastoral activity meets the needs of your people: pardon and reconciliation – the ES-PERE (Escuela de Perdón y Reconciliación ) project; abandoned children – Ni-ños de la Guerra, Hombres de la Paz project. Your peace work (teaching and mediation between armed groups) offer alternatives to the cycle of violence and guerrilla warfare. This is especially the case in your efforts for human rights in the missions of Caquetá and Putumayo. In their ordinary pastoral work many of our missionaries take advantage of projects designed to aid total evangelization – SINE (Sistema Integral de Nueva Evangelización) or Proyecto Parroquial de Renovación y Evangelización.
Another new and hopeful development is the creation of apostolic commu-nities that follow the guidelines laid out in our most recent chapter. Besides the well-known example at Cauca we have found such communities in the parishes of Jardin, Cartagena del Chairà, Tagua and Guayaquil. These communities and work groups not only do their pastoral planning together they include times for daily prayer, reflection and permanent formation. We can only hope that this set-up will be extended to all your communities.
The first and indispensable cooperation we are called to exercise is with the Consolata Missionary Sisters. Your relations with the sisters are very positive. The mission/vocation promotion work you do together promotes friendship and unity. The atmosphere is, on the whole, good and full of respect and affection. Those missions and projects where you work together are not many – but the spirit that inspires them is the same. We hope that this same process can be shared with the Consolata Lay Missionaries – so that we can show those who choose to live our spirituality and mission one and the same spirit and charism.
In spite of all these reassuring signs there are still some clouds on the hori-zons to which we must turn our attention.
 Too much self-promotion and individualism in pastoral work. Many mis-sionaries find fulfillment in being able to say “this is my church …”, “this is my school …”, “this is my high school …” Others are reluctant to in-clude younger missionaries in their work. They are unwilling to share their experience or reveal the state of their finances … attitudes are unworthy of missionaries on the frontier. There are still missionaries caught up in “my” and unable to make the transition to “our.” This causes problems when in-dividuals in charge of communities, parishes or other institutions are trans-ferred. Some are unwilling to hand over power and responsibility to others gradually – sometimes they refuse to hand it over at all. This demonstrates a lack of seriousness and respect for others. The Regional Superior should be firm and unbending in these instances and reprimand severely those who refuse to comply.
 Following our most genuine traditions involve the people in everything you do. Exclude no one. Act as brothers; encourage, prepare and guide others. Your pastoral work will meet with lasting success to the extent that you in-volve the people in your parish plans and activities.
 - Celebrating many Masses on ferial days. You explained the importance of this practice for Colombian Catholics – it is firmly embedded in their mentality and culture. This is especially true for anniversary Masses and Masses for the dead … This may well be true but it still merits further dis-cussion. From a liturgical and theological perspective celebrating many Masses on ferial days out of respect for antiquated customs – or to earn money – does not make sense. For priests this practice can degenerate into a routine – little by little the celebrations lose their meaning. The time needed to say these many Masses might be better devoted to teaching cate-chism, preparing homilies, visiting families or outlying mission areas. You must provide Catholics with a better and deeper understanding of the Eucharist; you must expand your priestly ministry and include more lay people in the ministry.
 Forming lay ministers in the community. Theological and practical reasons require a new approach in Colombian Christian communities. While dio-ceses with more than enough priests have sent their priests throughout the country and abroad, Colombia is still short of priests. Dioceses everywhere are forced to open new parishes – particularly in urban areas – to serve the great influx of Catholics. What will happen when the ranks of the diocesan clergy do not grow at the same rate as the new parishes being opened? There are two alternatives: new parishes will not be opened or they will be entrusted to the ministry of properly trained lay people. Anyone eager to work for the future of the Colombian Church must be committed to form-ing lay people capable of meeting its pastoral needs. For some it is difficult to understand this sign of the times. You have small groups of totally de-pendent catechists and make no effort to prepare them to meet the needs of the Christian community on their own – without a priest to back them up. Open the doors to lay people and prepare them to be leaders and agents of faith, charity and unity in Christian communities.
 Evangelization, the indispensable foundation of the missions. The majority of your people are poor and you are doing an excellent work in human and social welfare, an integral part of evangelization. But we must not forget that people hunger for God. The Gospel message must be proclaimed and heard; its values – pardon and reconciliation – must be lived. The poor need evangelization to give meaning and direction to their lives. The out-cast are the Lord’s chosen ones – the recipients of the new evangelization. We recommend that you value and use the Word of God continually in your assemblies and encounters. Study the message of Jesus. Seek insights that will be life-giving to the body and spirit of the People of God in your care.
 Spiritual direction. During the canonical visitation we became aware of confrères in our missions of who devote time to spiritual direction for those eager to live a spiritual life. This qualitative leap forward is worthy of note. After years of ordinary ministry the time has come to provide spiritual di-rection to those seeking authentic, lay holiness. Spiritual direction as well as the sacrament of reconciliation should be available in all our parishes. Be ready to provide instruction in the spiritual life; do your best to promote spiritual growth among individuals and parish groups.
 Consolata Missions are always ad gentes, ad extra and ad vitam. The mis-sions are our vocation. To live this vocation we cannot become attached to a particular residence. We must be ready pilgrims both culturally and geo-graphically. The missions are not a transient experience that concludes with a return to our native country. Even if our own countries abound with prob-lems more serious than those found elsewhere we cannot stay at home and ignore the ad extra element of our missionary vocation. The most recent General Chapter tells us: “For some the missions are a transient experience instead of an essential and fundamental part of our vocation. At times our studies and specialization seem to correspond more to personal situations or preferences than the needs of the missions and the Institute.” (XCG, p. 26). Some of you asked that our Regions become Provinces but this involves this reductive idea of the missions as something ad intra. Does this sort of thinking conform to our Founder’s spirit? Is this authentic witness of a Catholic Church with no other horizon than the infinite one of the Spirit of Jesus and the universality of salvation? Why are so many Colombian mis-sionaries uninterested in the ad extra part of our vocation, unwilling to leave their country for the rest of their lives? Is this not deadly for the spirit of the Region? How can we continue to be creators and living witnesses of the universality and inter-culturalism towards which mankind is progress-ing?
 The specific parameters of the IMC apostolate. The Tenth General Chapter gave an apt description of the specific characteristics of our apostolate (XCG, pp. 26, 49-51) and we have referred to it frequently in this letter. Now we would like to say something about justice and peace (idem p. 46, 50-51) – about which much is said but little done. During the visitation we encountered two types of response. On the one hand you affirm your com-mitment to Justice and Peace with and for the people. You defend the dig-nity and rights of individuals, act as mediators with the armed groups, urge them to respect the people and not abuse the poor. This genuinely reflects the commitment of so many of you. On the other hand one must be ex-tremely cautious in Colombia – especially in the war zones. A word, an at-titude or a gesture can be misinterpreted and give rise to suspicion and threats. This too is true. How can this dilemma be resolved? Remain pas-sive? Confine ourselves to silent witness? Emphasize only spiritual means for combating injustice? This is not a valid response. We recommend that you cultivate justice and peace in all your activities; be fair with the salaries and rights of your dependents and employees; re-establish the regional Jus-tice and Peace Commission; use the Justice and Peace handbook that you yourselves adapted to local circumstances to make people aware of their rights and of the injustices that are done to them; join forces with other re-ligious institutes, with international agencies working in this area and above all with the bishops. this will enable you to work more effectively against injustice and contribute to genuine change in society. It will also protect you from problems with the authorities and the possibility of expul-sion.

2.5 Mission/Vocation Promotion (MVP)

This area has shown the greatest development in the past six years. There are five centers for Mission/Vocation Promotion in the Region. In three of these centers two missionaries work full time and in the other two a single missionary in charge is assisted by a second who works part-time. It should be noted that three of these centers are in our seminaries and a fourth is not very far from an-other formation community. This increases the effectiveness of those in charge of these centers – they can take advantage of the presence and collaboration of our young people in formation. Everyone involved displays generosity and en-thusiasm and presents an image of the missions attractive to young people. We congratulate your Region for its courage in assigning personnel and giving con-tinued support to this vital sector of our missionary work. We can only hope that Mission/Vocation Promotion will continue a priority and enjoy everyone’s support.
We have some suggestions in this area.
 Vocation Direction. Cultivate a more serious and organized process of di-rection, discernment and formation for young candidates that starts even before they enter the seminary – pay special attention to their reasons for choosing this vocation. The same sort of attention should be paid to those who want to become Consolata Lay Missionaries. For some years now your Region has trained lay people and sent groups to the missions. Even now young people interested in a lay missionary vocation and going through a process of discernment come to our communities. They are young people who want to dedicate their lives to the missions – either at home or abroad. The Regional Directorate has given one of its members the task of oversee-ing these young people. He has asked for assistance from others who live in communities near the interested young people. We are proceeding con-fidently – with lay assistance – with our study of the Consolata Lay Mis-sionaries’ Statutes (already approved by the Inter-chapter Consulta). We will be ready for the international meeting in Italy – August 2004.
 The periodical Dimensión Misionera is one of the most effective means for promoting vocations and the missions. Recognize its value, distribute it widely, use it in your projects, publicize it among young people – seek sub-scriptions among individuals and families. Remember the Institute has done all it could – including financially – to promote magazines and periodicals. Think of the sacrifice and devotion of those who do this work.
 Mission/Vocation Promotion and the IMC Apostolate. Promoters are not the only agents of MVP. All of our confrères working in parishes, schools or other areas should be involved in this area; it is so important for our life. Our apostolate will be handicapped if it does not include mission/vocation promotion. We strongly urge all our confrères and seminarians to feel they are an integral part of the missionary service we provide to the churches where we work – and especially to the young people involved in our pas-toral work.
2.6 Formation

Your Region has been blessed with three seminaries; recently there is a de-cent number of young people in the preparatory school at Bucaramanga and in philosophy at Medellin. There are several Colombians in the Buenos Aires no-vitiate every year.
The visitors were well aware of the problems that had faced Colombian formation in the past and paid special attention to analyzing the current status of our three formation communities.
On the basis of careful and documented examination we can affirm that the current status of our seminaries is encouraging. Those in charge of formation and the students too have shown serious intent and a sincere effort to apply the guidelines of the Ratio Formationis. There is little individualism. Missionaries with other responsibilities who live in the seminaries are good examples; they assist but do not interfere with the work of those responsible for formation. The approach to study is encouraging for two reasons: our students attend se-rious schools and their devotion to study reflects the spirit of our Institute.
Participation in pastoral work during the preparatory period and philosophy is balanced and does not interfere with students’ other obligations. Students en-gage in manual work – minimal – when there is time and opportunity. Commu-nity prayer flourishes in both the preparatory period and during philosophy. One thing that contributes to this is the fact that the students are at home in the semi-nary all afternoon. The situation in the theology community, however, is not so satisfactory. Different course schedules and pastoral commitments make com-mon prayer difficult. There has been some improvement over the last two years. We can only hope that schedules and pastoral commitments can be reorganized as soon as possible to provide more time for common prayer. While we made only a few suggestions to the communities of Bucaramanga and Medellín dur-ing the visitation we provided the theology community with a written report that asks both students and formation personnel to study and resolve certain prob-lematic situations. We are sure that sincerity and openness on their part will remedy these problems in due time.
We cannot conclude our comments on formation without a word about rela-tions between the theology seminary and other members of the Region. This is a problem that bothers our students and - we believe – our older confrères as well. There have been misunderstandings and disagreements about formation meth-ods in the past. Currently there are no specific areas of tension, but there is a certain coldness, immaturity and lack of the family spirit that should character-ize our relationship. Whatever the reasons for this estrangement it should be discussed in your next meeting and something done to heal this breach. Broth-ers, go and visit the seminary when you are in Bogota; celebrate Mass with the students; spend time with them; go to their perpetual professions and ordina-tions even if you have to cancel other commitments. Be present for both happy and the sad occasions in our student community. Extend hospitality to them in your houses and missions – give them a chance for pastoral experience or rest. And you, theologians, be sure to invite the missionaries of the Region to all your celebrations; insist – if need be through the Superior of the Regional House – that they come to the solemn events of your lives as religious and or-dained ministers. Make them feel at home in the seminary – don’t flee the refec-tory as soon as meals are over but spend time with them.

2.7 Restructuring

This is a subject that always meets with strong reactions. It involves deci-sions that directly affect individuals and communities. During the visitation we became aware of the need to discuss this subject openly and honestly. During the last canonical visitation (Bollettino Ufficiale, n. 6, p. 44) you were urged to confront this subject; precise criteria and deadlines were spelled out. We believe little has been done since then to engage in genuine restructuring and your prob-lems in reassigning personnel remain unresolved. Far from resolving your problems new projects and foundations have made your personnel situation even more precarious. Some missionaries were not even able to attend the re-newal courses so strongly recommended by the Tenth General Chapter.
At the end of this visitation and after discussions with the bishops involved and your own Directorate we feel bliged to reaffirm the need for restructuring and for detailed plans for carrying it out.
 The Regional Council has already approved handing over the parish of Tres Esquinas to Msgr. Francisco Munera of the San Vincente del Caguán Vi-cariate before the end of the year.
 We have reached an agreement with the Bishop and the missionaries of San Vincente del Caguán: before the end of the year the canonical house of the Spirito Santo (Barrio el Jardin) parish will be the only residence for tran-sient confrères, workers in the Curia, the parishes of El Jardin and San Juan de lo Lozada and the IMC Procuratorship.
 A serious study is needed to determine if we should continue our work in the parish and apostolate among the African-American community in Cali. If we can no longer achieve the original goals of this project (there were precise agreements and criteria established with the Archdiocese) we should seriously consider terminating it.
 We recommend immediate discussions with the Bishop of Riobamba on the possibility of handing back the parishes of Punín and Licto as soon as our contracts expire. We could then increase our efforts in Guayaquil for the next several years until our contract there expires.
 We should seriously consider giving the parish of Caldono (or some other parish) back to the Bishop of Popayan when our present contract expires. This will allow the local Church to be part of the missionary team of Toribio, Tacueyò and Jambalò.
 We suggest that you consider transferring preparatory formation to Maniza-les and then decide what to do with the Bucaramanga buildings and land.
Restructuring would make it possible to assist other communities and pro-jects that need personnel and would ensure greater security in programming for your existing commitments.

2.8 Finances

For the first time in recent years – with assistance from the General Direc-torate – the Region has closed its books in the black. Some communities have at least tentatively accepted the concept of a common fund. Those who have ac-cepted it are satisfied with its performance and wonder why they did not agree to it sooner. The fever for building seems to have abated in the Region. We hope that only absolutely necessary projects will be undertaken in the future and that they will involve at least minimal lay participation. More missionaries are submitting their plans for the approval of their respective bishops and the Re-gional superiors. This is especially true in the Vicariate. This is a promising sign of growing responsibility in the use of money.
Along with these positive signs, however, there are unfortunately still too many attitudes and practices that must be corrected.
The first priority is developing a more responsible financial mentality in everyone – a mentality that respects our vow of poverty and the family spirit of our Institute. We must put a stop to the grandstanding and individualism that cause dissension between missionaries with meager resources and others who have all the money they want.
Several types of conduct require radical correction: maintaining personal bank accounts; keeping for oneself donations from friends and benefactors even though they were given to the Institute; flaunting one’s greater access to money; not submitting plans to the proper authorities for approval. We could list many other willful violations of poverty but we will terminate this sad catalogue with a question: When will the missionaries of this Region embrace a mission with simple structures and development projects that rely on our shared resources and the contributions (however modest) of the local population. A missionary who exercises strict control over donations to the missions and uses these mon-ies as he alone sees fit does damage to the missions, creates dissension and jeopardizes the future of the very people he has been called to serve.
Here are some guidelines in this area of finances.
Only a perspective of faith and love makes it possible to understand poverty as a virtue and the sharing of possessions as a source of joy. Without this foun-dation poverty and sharing cannot become a part of our missionary life and cre-ate solidarity amongst us. Selfishness, one-man-shows and bourgeois attitudes continue to flourish in our midst and cause dissension.
 Much of the money you think of as personal actually belongs to the Institute and cannot be used at personal discretion. With the vow of poverty we can only consider our own gifts we receive from relatives within the fourth de-gree. Everything else belongs to the Institute. We must not use tricks to ap-propriate income or avoid sharing money with everyone else in the mission. The principle of a common fund is equal for all; its supervision is subject to community discernment.
 We recommend that the Regional Treasurer (bursar) periodically visit communities to oversee their finances, make technical suggestions for property upkeep and review accounts and inventories. He should clarify what belongs to the Institute and what belongs to the local Church.
 The Regional Directorate should study contracts with dioceses carefully and make clear proposals to Ordinaries. We will continue in this direction and insist that all the bishops sign these contracts.
 Our schools merit special mention – they are a significant source of income in the Region. We want to thank all those of our confrères engaged in this apostolate and ask them to continue their generous work. It is a valuable re-source that ensures the future of the missions. We ask them to deal with outside personnel in these schools according to the dictates of justice and the law. Schools are fertile ground for mission/vocation promotion. If school directors and missionaries work together the schools can be a source of vocations and assistance for the missions.
 Finally we would like to say a few words about assistance to the mission-ary’s family. Many of you have know the Institute’s sensitivity to families in need. You are aware the Institute is always willing to help in cases of ur-gent need and will share expenses with the Region but this does not mean we can incur enormous expense or help in areas that do not constitute emergencies – for example, building houses. Every missionary should un-derstand precisely what we are willing to do and should make this clear to his relatives.


Conclusion

Father Aquiléo and I are grateful to the Lord for his assistance, for the light He has shown us and for the good health with which we were blessed during the entire visitation. Our thanks go out to all the confrères in the Region who re-ceived us so kindly into their communities, and opened their hearts to us in dia-logue that was both sincere and fraternal. We would like to extend our special thanks to Father Sandro Carminati, the Regional Superior, who accompanied us on our travels; he was ever present to help and never to interfere with our work. We are certain that his presence and leadership will continue to contribute to the Region’s growth. Your heartfelt cooperation with him and his Council will guarantee your own renewal, the results and creativity of your pastoral work and your efforts to become saints.
We celebrated the final gathering of our visitation under the auspices of two saints: Francis of Assisi and Thérèse of Lisieux. Both were great saints and zealous missionaries who lived lives of poverty and sacrifice. Sacrifice will make your work fruitful and radical poverty will liberate your ministry. Strive for holiness of life and you will become authentic and guileless witnesses.
Be joyful because the Father has revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to you. Glory in the Cross of the Lord – through which you too are crucified to the world. Rejoice because through your work the hand of the Lord will be re-vealed to the people of Colombia and Ecuador.
Our hope and prayer for all of you is that in spite of difficulties you will continue to be missionaries who make a difference.

Father Antonio Bellagamba, IMC
(Vice-Superior General)

Father Aquiléo Fiorentini, IMC
(Continental Councilor for America)