…The service of authority at all levels is exercised in a synodal way: it promotes co-responsibility, fosters teamwork, respects and harmonizes differences (QC, 57b)
1. Dear brothers in our Querida Congregación and in the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We send our fraternal greetings from La Feuillette, Ngoya, Yaoundé (Cameroon), where the General Government of our Congregation had an encounter with the Major Superiors and Consultors of all the Organisms and coordinators of our missions in Africa. It is a follow-up to the Canonical visitations which the General Government carried out to most of the organisms and missions of ACLA in 2024. It took place from 04-14 December, 2024 and served as an opportunity to share the fruits of the visits and to chart the way forward for a congregation rooted and audacious in responding to the needs of the continent of Africa through our witnessing to the Word of God in all our pastoral ministries. It was also an opportunity for ACLA to celebrate, as one family, the conclusion of the 175th Anniversary of the foundation of our congregation.
2. In response to the dream of the XXVI General Chapter of a congregation that, following the example of Mary, treasures in its heart, fulfils and proclaims the Word of God (QC, 51), the encounter began with a solemn enthronement of the Bible. The Bible remained as the centre of the encounter through its auspicious presence and our reading of a portion of it before the commencement of the activities of each day.
3. In the letter of Fr General, VRF Mathew Vattamattam to the participants, which served as the framing of our conversations in the Spirit, we are reminded of the rich seeds of life in the African continent as well as the weeds that try to stifle these seeds. Therefore, the encounter is an opportunity to listen to the Spirit and envision the future that God has for us. In this letter also, we are invited to continue walking the synodal path and to continue to dream together for the good of the African continent. We are also invited to a collective visioning that would help us to move from the culture of complaint to a culture of gratitude. In this sense, the jubilee of the foundation of our Congregation as well as the upcoming Great Jubilee of the Church are beacons of light that direct our steps in anchoring us in Christ so as to be audacious in mission which is our special vocation.
4. The days that followed were days of spiritual discernment through listening and dialogues. We reflected on the current situation in Africa and worked on the observations that the General Government has perceived during the canonical visits. These observations opened the way for sincere conversations in the Spirit. We were able to highlight some of the topics which came to us as of profound importance. Some of them include our apostolic availability, the presence of many vocations, the lively celebration of the sacraments, etc. Other issues include the menace of Clericalism and lack of Fraternity, which were identified as weeds that should be removed so that the boat of the Christian faith in Africa will not sink.
5. The second half of the encounter consisted in deepening our knowledge of the three processes of transformation which the last two General Chapters have invited us to follow as our path of conformity with Christ and witnessing to the people of our time. In the first process of transformation, we see the synergy between the prefectures of Apostolate, Bible Ministry and Communications, and Youth and Vocation ministry. Our solidarity with those at the peripheries of life through SOMI, was identified as of premium importance in our apostolate. The same applies to our apostolate with the youth which requires a special attention, especially now that many of the youth are turning away from the faith. In all these, the Word of God serves as the soul (anima) of all our pastoral actions.
6. The second process of transformation led the participants into a deeper knowledge of the principles of governance and responsible care of our common patrimony. Since we are not in the business world, those in governance should realise that they are dealing with complex human beings and not with complicated machines that could be studied and manipulated. Therefore, important principles of leadership have to be mastered. Like Jesus, the servant-Leader method of leadership should be our model. A strong emphasis was led in the area of transparency and accountability as well as taking care of our common goods. We asked ourselves how we could care for common ACLA projects like INCLA in Abuja, Nigeria and the Padre Xifré Novitiate in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.
7. In the third process of transformation we learn that our communion is on several levels, namely, our communion with God, our communion with our brothers, our communion with other members of the Claretian family, and with the entire creation. Through these, our Claretian identity is expressed. However, we can only progressively realize these three steps of communion when we achieve an on-going integral formation which should be intercultural and intergenerational.
8. These days opened our eyes more to the care the Congregation has taken for the organisms and missions of ACLA. This is evident in the statistics of the sharing of the material and spiritual goods of the congregation and the fraternal care which the General Government has shown to our organisms and missions. The meetings which the members of the General Government had with each organism during these days are a concrete testimony to this fact. For all these we say muchisimas gracias.
9. The various dynamics used in facilitating the encounter made it memorable and easy to assimilate. It was also an opportunity for the participants to exchange initiatives and experiences with one another. With one voice we say merci beaucoup to the General Government.
10. We are also grateful to our host, the Independent Delegation of Cameroon, for her hospitality. Our visits to some of the houses of formation in Yaounde show clearly that we are blessed with formators and students desirous of achieving integral formation which the congregation dreams of (QC, 87). May the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary continue to keep us in her maternal care in our task of animating our organisms.
Done at Fransalians Community, 14 December, 2024.
Participants at the ACLA-General Government Encounter
