(ANS – Rome) – In order to readily realize the theme and achieve the objective of GC27 – Witnesses  to the radical approach of the Gospel – in his latest circular letter (ACG 413) the Rector Major  states some conditions for starting processes, encouraging  a change of mentality and bringing about changes in some structures. 

Processes to be set in motion
The GC27 proposes the aim of helping each confrere and community to live in fidelity the apostolic project of Don Bosco, and that is to say to  continue to strengthen our charismatic identity.

This will enable us to make our Salesian consecrated vocation visible, credible and fruitful; in particular it will make it possible for us to propose Salesian life convincingly to the young as a plan of life worth taking up  and in this way giving  vocational fruitfulness to our presence.

From these objectives follow some procedures that need to be given preference, which are the basic paths to be followed to facilitate the achievement of the objectives.

The first process regards the way of living nowadays our Salesian consecrated vocation in the grace of unity and with joy, as witnesses to the radical approach of the gospel and of our particular expression of work and temperance.

The second process regards  knowledge of Don Bosco, which needs to be constantly improved so as to make it the inspirational motive of our spiritual life and of pastoral activity from both the personal and the community points of view.

The third process regards the lived, personal  community attitude towards the Constitutions, which are Don Bosco’s apostolic project and constitute our charismatic identity to be lived faithfully and with joy in our vocation.

Mindset to be changed
Here are taken up again those attitudes already described among the institutional and personal challenges, which need to be changed, both in the living out of the vocation and in the carrying out of the mission.

Above all attention needs to be given to culture and to cultures so as to create a common mindset which is able to seize the opportunities which the cultural challenges offer, in particular as regards post-modernity, inculturation, relations between cultures, secularisation.

In addition the ecclesial challenges need to be further considered so as to find ways of responding to the requirements of the new evangelisation, to the renewal of consecrated life, to overcoming relativism.

Care needs to be taken to increase the culture of the Congregation, in particular with regard to the formation demands  of a  serious vocational discernment and of a effective personal  accompaniment, to the sharing of agreed criteria in connection with our pastoral activity,  to the formation of the leaders of the confreres, the young and the lay people.

Finally there is a mindset to be changed at the personal level, so as to foster the overcoming of various forms and style of individualism, the deepening of the identity of consecrated life, the acquiring of affective, sexual and emotional maturity.

Structures to be changed
There are also some structures to be changed, which concern our way of living and of organising ourselves, in order  to achieve the fundamental objective of the GC27, in other words so that we can really live to the full Don Bosco’s apostolic project.

Above all the style and organisation of community life need to be changed; it needs to be strengthened, ensuring the right number and quality of its members, the right balance between the community and the work, a simplification of the complexities of the works, a re-definition of roles, a  redesigning of the presences.

In addition what needs to change is the form taken of the presence and the exercise of the role of the Rector of the community; the  quality of the Rectors needs to be assured, promoting for all the confreres already in initial formation preparation in “leadership”, enabling the Rectors to carry out their task of accompaniment, helping them to animate and to motivate the religious community and the educative pastoral community, making sure that they have the help necessary so that they can carry out their fundamental duties.

Finally the way of managing human resources needs to be changed; there needs to be a strengthening of the co-involvement and the charismatic use of the resources, looking for new forces, increasing a sense of the Salesian Family, fostering the co-responsibility of lay people, ensuring the charismatic development of the presence in the area.

Published 11/05/2012