13 April 1996

The end of the discussions and final elaboration of the text

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We have heard expressed all that this assembly of some 220 members wanted to say and hear in a month and a half of work. This does not mean that we have exhausted every argument. It still remains for them to be put into context and given more detailed expression by individual provinces and communities. Our reflections have been as deep as we could make them. They have led us to some indispensable clarifications, e.g. on the educative community, the animating nucleus and other themes; they have brought us back to certain important points which at the beginning were to some extent neglected, like the identity and function of consecrated religious or of the priestly ministry; they have led us to rethink points we had heard but which had to be given their proper place in the economy of our theme, such as the question of the FMA, who do not live the lay condition but that of consecrated persons: to speak of them is for us a particular commitment to compare ourselves with them; another theme is that of the coadjutor brother, who has a secular dimension but lives in the condition of a consecrated religious. The text has been able to use terms which were unexpected but enriching, like icons, liturgical accent, and historical references: we have to recognize the attention given by the commissions to all the contributions.

A point already realized is the work of the commissions in drawing up their documents. This implies a further obligation for everyone, that of an attentive reading in order to assimilate the contents; there is still the possibility of sending in "modi" for the further improvement of details before the document is offered to the Congregation.

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Another point reached is the beginning of the final organization of the document.

The new arrangement followed repeated requests for the elimination of repetitions and overlapping, and meant a certain sacrifice for the commissions. There was nevertheless great collaboration between the commissions and the group with the task of giving an aspect of unity to the document

I want to dwell for a moment on the document of the General Chapter as such.

Various expectations had been expressed, e.g. that it should be easy to read, immediately understandable, and of practical application. I am sure that all these aspects will be kept in mind by the group preparing the final draft. In the meantime it may be useful to make one or two comments.

• The first is in connection with the character of this particular document.

It will be a document which will serve for the work of local and provincial communities. We may want it to have a certain elegance, a rather poetic character or one that will raise enthusiasm; we must not expect something analogous to the recent Apostolic Exhortation, which needed a year's work and five or six different drafts before its publication and is offered to all religious. Those to whom we offer our own document are communities well known to us; we know of their living and working conditions. Our document is an invitation to reflection; it is meant to be complemented by study in local and provincial communities. It should be emphasized that it is not meant simply for reading; it is a document for work.

• A second comment concerns its legibility.

The group concerned will certainly do their best to make it easy to read, but it is not a document intended to be read from beginning to end at one sitting, as for instance like spiritual reading. It is a document that needs study, in connection with the ideas it contains, the existing mentality which needs discussion, and its relationship to the life or situation in which we are placed. For this reason the document will need mediation, and the mediators will be precisely you who are members of the Chapter. The document provides a basis to enable you to pass on to others all that you have acquired through your experience of the Chapter, with the various nuances that will certainly be in no way contrary to the text or sense of the document but will serve to clarify it. For a profitable reading it will have to be split up into parts. A first reading can be a rapid one, but for a deeper understanding it will be necessary to return and dwell at length on single points and problems. It is a document that can be enriched by a creative and expansive reading which is not purely repetitive or solely for purposes of assimilation. Starting from this we have to understand what is demanded by our mentality and situation.

• A final comment on the function of this document in the Congregation's progress.

In the first place its function will be the creation of a communal mentality: the first difficulty that arises in the orientation towards pastoral objectives is precisely the diversity of sensitivities and mentalities with respect to content, objectives and methods, so that for a document it is a matter of some importance to try to form a communal mentality.

Secondly it can provide practical suggestions, arising from experiences already tried out, and here gathered together and offered to everyone.

A third function is that of providing criteria to be followed, especially in areas where exploration is just beginning, or can be suggested for future examination. To go ahead is a good thing, but not in a haphazard manner without either compass or criteria for orientation. Here those criteria can be found.

Finally a further function of the document is that of presenting goals to be achieved in the next six years.

In the light of all this, some expectations may need reshaping, but at the same time may reveal in the document certain merits which had been overlooked.