Participants: Father Piero Trabucco (Superior General), Father Aquiléo Fiorentini (Continental Councilor) and all the Regional Superiors and Delegates of the Continent.

Refoundation …

The meeting began with a discussion of "Refoundation" led by the Superior General. This subject was discussed in the Assembly of Major Superiors some years ago. After opening remarks there was an exchange of ideas on this subject.
Refoundation means returning to the permanent roots of consecrated life as they are understood in the Church and the world today; going back to the spirit of Blessed Allamano.
"New wine" requires "new wineskins." Refoundation is the task of people who understand our changing world, are completely identified with our charism, have a strong sense of the Church and can discern the path of the Spirit. Those responsible for communities, provinces and the Institute play an important role in this process.
The process involves three steps:
1. Concentrate on what is fundamental and important. Determine certain precise and shared goals and focus all efforts on achieving those goals.
2. Forget self: don't be too concerned about the Institute. Once our Ad Gentes charism is clear - plunge ahead. We renew ourselves by doing what we ought to do.
3. Focus on the values of faith, of consecration and of the Gospel without losing sight of our roots. Strive to reeducate people in the values of their own vocation.

The results of this process of refoundation are:
- a personal and lively rediscovery of the Word,
- moving closer to the poor,
- return to the origins of the Institute,
- living the processes of inculturation,
- courage to make the mission a life-long commitment,
- a fraternal and inter-cultural community with many faces,
- harmony with the Church's own journey.
During our exchange of ideas we looked for efforts or evidence of this process of refoundation in our regions.
We have found signs of current efforts in this regard but these efforts often appear the work of certain charismatic individuals; everyone is not taking part.
New ideas cannot flourish in archaic or overbearing structures.

1. Status of the Regions of America in 2001

Basic Formation:
Some difficulties emerged from the various Region reports: the limited number of people working in formation makes it impossible to form teams; continual changes in personnel create a lack of continuity; many missionaries show little interest or inclination to take part in formation.
At present Colombia has several students in the propedeutic period, but this is not the case in the other regions; there are also many departures during the years of formation.
In February 2002, Venezuela will initiate a propedeutic course.
We feel the need for clearer guidelines in the next Ratio Formationis to avoid discrepancies in formation between different seminaries.
These discrepancies or differences in formation are especially apparent when a young man comes to the novitiate. This very important period - the novitiate - is not sufficiently long to make up for these differences and provide complete, in-depth formation.

Proposals:
- Prepare trained and competent teams for formation work.
- Allow more time for formation either before or after the novitiate.
- Regional Superiors should be present in theological seminaries more often during the year - especially at times of annual planning and review. The councilors too are urged to visit and get to know the seminaries.
- Regional Councils - especially at the beginning of their terms - should study how they ought to handle admissions.
- Community life must be safeguarded during the period of theological formation by carefully balancing external commitments (school, study, pastoral work) and the internal commitments of the community.

Permanent Formation:
Permanent Formation projects are usually organized in regional assemblies of zone meetings. We recognize the validity of the courses organized by the General Council but everyone does not participates; everyone does not make an effort to take time off for this sort of formation. On the local level we do take part in courses organized by the dioceses or religious conferences. We do not have the attitude that regular, weekly times devoted to relaxation, study, reflection and prayer are important. It is above all in the local communities that genuine permanent formation takes place.

Proposals:
- Accept - as a Region - the suggestions and permanent formation courses proposed by the General Council.
- Show greater appreciation for the permanent formation material sent out by the General Council and present it on the regional and local community level.
- Provide a weekly day devoted to rest, study, reflection and prayer. Permanent Formation is not just a question of attending courses - it should become an ongoing commitment supported by local communities and superiors.

Mission and Vocation Promotion
With the exception of Roraima there are missionaries assigned full-time to promotion in all the Regions. Generally promotion is a team effort. We are active in and collaborate with diocesan mission and vocation organizations.
Commitment to and concern for promotion is not always present in local communities. Very often this is left up to individuals designated for this task.
Publications are a good tool for promotion but they are difficult to distribute and they require both time and trained personnel.

Proposals:
- Study the possibility of collaboration among the Spanish language publications. Articles could be exchanged; magazine sections could be shared and printed by different Regions.
- Prepare a "Daily Missionary Minute" program for local radio; exploit the experience and material already being used in some places.
- Support and contribute to the Spanish and Portuguese translation of MISNA (Missionary Information Agency - it already exists in Italian, English and French).
- Foster the attitude that our role in America must become more and more one of promoting vocations and the missions - not just carrying out pastoral work.
- Make greater efforts to clarify motivation in vocation discernment for young people; work especially on the human dimension.
- Communicate the results of Continental Vocation/Mission Promotion Meetings to Regional Meetings.

Justice and Peace:
A Justice and Peace commission exists in all Regions. In some it is a little more organized and in others it is still in the initial difficult stages.
Continental meetings have helped create the conviction that as missionaries we cannot ignore this vital dimension of our work.
We are studying and discussing the topics found in the Justice and Peace manual.

Proposals:
- Justice and Peace concerns should be borne in mind when it comes time to draw up our Community Plan of Life; we should plan certain definite activities and gestures for the year.
- The Justice and Peace commission should show leadership to the other areas in which we work - mission/vocation promotion, pastoral work, formation.
- We must prepare for the continental Justice and Peace meeting to be held in São Paulo in July 2002.
- Following the suggestions of the Chapter during these three Jubilee years we will share Region profits with the poor through some concrete project determined on a regional or continental level.

Lay Missionaries:
There are lay missionaries currently working in Colombia, Ecuador and Roraima. We feel the need for the Institute to provide clearer guidelines for organizing this work.
We are beginning a lay formation project in the regions and are asking for information and mutual assistance. We have examined the draft Statutes for Lay Missionaries and would like to make some observations.

Proposals:
- Make the draft Statutes available to all our missionaries so they can become acquainted with its contents; one day everyone who receives lay mission collaborators will be obliged to follow its directives.
- Naturally our objective is to move towards autonomy for those lay people who will work directly with us. This concerns work done at home and abroad.
- We would request further clarification on the aggregation of lay people to the Institute.
- For a complete and final document that is genuinely useful for organizing this sector we should offer our comments and collaboration to the Mission Secretariat (Father Diego).
- We must determine the communities and places where lay assistance would be possible.

2. Pastoral Work Area Project

The Mission Secretariat proposes a study on pastoral work and the organization of regional meetings for missionaries involved in this apostolate.
Colombia and Brazil are thinking of launching this project in 2002.

3. Other Subjects Discussed

Re-structuring; the Centenary; the process of replacing missionaries; suggestions for our two-yearly study: the Mysteries of Salvation, Letter on Poverty (a questionnaire for all our communities and assemblies was proposed as a way of involving all our missionaries in preparing this letter required by the Chapter); preparation for the 2002 Consulta; Novitiate and Propedeutic Course (we believe it is worthwhile and important to examine the personality of the young people in the propedeutic course); Pastoral period for students and their admission; new openings (Mongolia, Djibouti …); the IMC website; courses for young missionaries and missionaries in the third age.

4. Continental Planning for 2002

- The Continental Councilor in 2002
December-January (2001-2002) canonical visitation of the Roraima Region
January: Local Superiors' Meeting and Regional Assembly in São Paulo
February: Local Superiors' Meeting in North America
April - May: Canonical visitation of the Brazilian Region and a study week at the Équipe Missionária of Catrimani (Yanomami)
July - August: Justice and Peace meeting in São Paulo
August - September: Visit tot he Colombian Region and Study Meetings on Pastoral Work in the Zones, accompanied by Father Okello.
December: Canonical visitation in Venezuela

- Continental Meeting on Justice and Peace:
Date: July 26 - August 2, 2002 at São Paulo (Brazil). One representative from each region will take part. Prepare for the meeting by answering the questionnaire and forwarding the answers to São Paulo. Further preparation - study the section on Religious Life in the Justice and Peace Manual.

- Centenary of the Mission
Even though there are no special celebrations - other than those in Kenya - we would ask everyone to study the subject of the Missions which may come up in our pastoral study meetings.

5. Subject for Reflection

During the last two days of the meeting in an effort to help Superiors in their work of leadership, Father Edenio Valle SVD, a priest psychologist, led us in reflecting on the following subjects:
· how to guide young missionaries in their life and in their mission,
· how to help missionaries who find themselves in difficult situations,
· how to assist superiors in facing situations of conflict which inevitably arise in their work and service,

Father Pietro Trabucco, IMC
Father Aquiléo Fiorentini, IMC