PART ONE

THE FOUNDER AND THE INSTITUTE

Section OneTHE CHARISM OF THE FOUNDER

Identity and name

1 The Institute derives its identity and specific manner of following Christ 24 from the charism of the Founder25, lived in consecration in the light of the sign of the times. The official name of the Institute is “MISSIONARII COMBONIANI CORDIS JESU, abbreviated MCCJ.

1.1 The missionaries draw inspiration for their personal life and missionary service from the Founder's witness of life. His writings are an integral part of the programmes of formation and renewal, of missionary and vocational promotion.

1.2 The basic documents through which the missionary comes to know Comboni's charism are: the “Plan for the Regeneration of Africa” (1865), the “Letter and Petition” to the Fathers of the First Vatican Council (1870), the “Rules of the Istituto delle missioni per la Nigrizia” (1871)26.

1.3 Through their consecration the missionaries fulfil in a new way their faithfulness to the original inspiration of the Founder. Their communion with the Lord and among themselves, and their dedication to the work of evangelization are deepened and enriched by the individual and community practice of the evangelical counsels.

1.4 The spiritual heritage of the institute includes the sound traditions that have nourished the life of the members27, the history of its work of evangelization and the memory of those missionaries whose lives have best exemplified the original charism.

1.5 In addition to the official name other names may be used as required by practical reasons or local circumstances.

Total dedication

2 Daniel Comboni distinguished himself for his total dedication to the missionary cause for which he spoke, worked, lived and died 28. The source of such strength was an unshakeable faith and the certainty that his vocation was from God 29, and that God's work could not fail30.

2424 Cf PC125 Cf MR 11-12.26 Cf CEA, pp. 215 ff, 235 ff, 250 ff.27 Cf PC 2b28 Cf “I have consecrated myself totally until death” MDC p. 203 (n. 19); cf. ibid., pp. 197, 200, 383 (nn. 8, 15, 245).29 “What sustained my courage in remaining at my post until death ... was the certainty of my vocation” ibid.,

p. 205 (n. 22).30 Cf ibid., p. 204 (n. 21).

2.1 In obedience to the divine plan of salvation and in accordance with the Founder's witness of life, the Society is entirely dedicated to missionary service. This determines its activities, life-style and organization, as well as the preparation of its candidates and the renewal of its members.

2.2 Following the example of the Founder, the missionary is ready to take the initiative, constant in carrying out any undertaking, persevering in difficulties, patient and strong in bearing loneliness, exhaustion and apparently useless labour31.

Heart of Jesus

3 The Founder discovered in the mystery of the Heart of Jesus the thrust of his missionary commitment. Comboni's unconditional love for the peoples of Africa had its origin and model in the saving love of the Good Shepherd who offered his life on the Cross for humanity. “Trusting in that most Sacred Heart ... I feel more inclined to suffer... and to die for Jesus Christ and for the salvation of the unhappy peoples of Central Africa”32.

3.1 The Society preserves this relevant element of the Founder's charism as a precious inheritance. It deepens and proposes it in the light of the Word of God33 and in accordance with the characteristics of the Local Church.

In the mystery of the Heart of Christ, the missionary contemplates, in their fullest expression, Christ's innermost attitudes and makes them his own: his unconditional giving of himself to the Father 34, his all-embracing love for the world35 and his involvement in human suffering and poverty36.

3.3 The contemplation of the pierced Heart of Christ, Which gives' birth to the Church37 is a challenge to missionary action as a commitment for total human liberation38, and to that fraternal charity which must be a distinctive sign of the Comboni missionary community39.

Mystery of the Cross

4 Comboni lived out his call in the sign of the Cross, through suffering, obstacles and misunderstandings, convinced that “the works of God are born and grow at the foot of Calvary”40.

4.1 The missionary places the crucified, risen and living Lord at the centre of his life41, for he believes that the power of Christ is revealed in the weakness of the Apostle: “That is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions and the agonies I go through for Christ's sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong”42.

4.2 In the acceptance of the cross the missionary makes up “all that still has to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body the Church43”

31 Cf 2 Co 6:3-10; AG 25.32 Cf MDC, p. 66; cf ibid., p. 341-346 (nn. 193-198).33 33 Cf RH 8-9; GS 22.34 Cf Jn 14:31; Heb 10:5-10.35 Cf Jn 3:16; 2 Co 5:14-15.36 Cf Ph 2:5 ff.37 Cf Preface of Feast of Sacred Heart; Jn 19:33 ff; MDC, p. 344 (n. 196).38 Cf EN 30-38.39 Cf Jn 13:35.40 MDC, p. 376 (n. 237).41 Cf Ga 2:20-21.42 2 Co 12:10.43 Col. 1:24.

“Poorest and most abandoned”

5 God’s call to missionary service became reality for Comboni in his choice of the peoples of Africa who at that point in history appeared to him to be “the poorest and most abandoned of the universe”44, especially concerning the faith.

5.1 This unbreakable link with Africa is part of Comboni’s personal charism45, being tied too that particular moment in history. From its very foundation the Society was called to work for the evangelization of Africa. Therefore, as long as there exists in Africa the need for evangelization, the Society will continue in its commitment to that continent.

Hour of God

6 Every historical era has its hour for the call of peoples to the faith. Faithful to his vocation and docile to the Spirit, Comboni was attentive to God’s hour for Africa. He clearly perceived that “the hour of grace decreed by Providence is here calling all these peoples to take refuge in the peaceful shade of Christ’s fold” 46.

6.1 The Society must remain faithful to Comboni in its choices, preferring, “the poorest and most abandoned” with a wise interpretation of the signs of the times and openness to the guidance of the Spirit.

Save Africa with Africa

7. From his missionary experience Comboni developed his plan for the regeneration of Africa by Africa. He proposed that the Africans be missionaries to their own brothers and sisters, and he anticipated the time when they would also become promoters of the evangelization of other peoples.

7.1 By the prophetic vision of the Founder, the missionary is encouraged to respect the peoples to whom be is sent, to trust them and to foster the development of self-sufficient local Christian communities that are responsible for the spreading of the Gospel among other peoples as well.

Universal outlook

8 With his Plan Comboni sought to unify and involve all the agents of evangelization present in Africa and other available forces. He knew how to be a mission promoter of the Church and sought missionaries of different nationalities so that his work would be “neither Spanish, nor French, nor German, nor Italian but Catholic”47.

8.1 Following the example of the Founder, the missionary, wherever he acts, tries to be a ferment of unity among the various agents of evangelization.

8.2 The missionary spares no effort to raise the missionary consciousness and commitment of the Church, causing it to question itself when necessary, and he always remains open to new ways of mission promotion.

8.3 The missionary mobilizes all civil and religious resources, and cooperates with them in the total advancement of the peoples among whom he works. He remains free in front of human forces that seek to use the proclamation of the Gospel for their own purposes.

8.4 The missionary considers it a basic requirement of his vocation to overcome national prejudices.

44 CEA, p. 252.45 “Bear firmly in mind that Comboni cannot live except for Africa and for what concerns Africa” MDC, p. 198 (n. 11).46 Ibid. p. 276 (n. 111).47 MDC, p. 243 (n. 75); cf ibid., pp. 281, 300, 302 (n. 117, 138, 140).

Loyalty and challenge

9 Comboni's unfailing royalty to and love for the Church were rooted in his missionary charism. He expressed them particularly by an untiring effort to move the conscience of the Pastors of the Church concerning their missionary responsibility so that Africa's hour might not pass in vain 48. He himself wanted to perform his work for the salvation of Africa as a missionary sent by the Church 49.

9.1 The missionary maintains an attitude of sincere communion with the Pope and Hishops as a condition of faithfulness to the Gospels50. Even in particularly difficult situations he seeks a respectful and frank dialogue with the competent authorities, ready to accept their decisions51.

Section TwoTHE INSTITUTE

Community of brothers

10 The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus are a community of brothers 52

called by God and consecrated to him through the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience for missionary service in the world, according to the charism of Daniel Comboni. They share the same life with equal rights and duties except those deriving from the sacrament of Orders.

10.1 The missionary makes a life-long commitment to missionary service. His profession of the evangelical counsels offers him a more stable way of life in order to develop his missionary commitment.

10.2 Through the evangelical counsels, which lead to the perfection of charity, the missionary is united in a special way to the Church and her mystery. His life becomes a concrete witness to the unbreakable bond that unites Christ and the Church, and an expression of that love which urges the Church to spread the Kingdom of God to the farthest corners of the world53.

10.3 By his community life the missionary witnesses to that new brotherly community in the Spirit 54

which he is sent to proclaim and to make present among the peoples he evangelizes55. The presence of the different members enriches him, thus rendering his evangelizing efforts more complete and effective.

Plurality of services

11 According to the Founder's original inspiration the Institute is composed of Priests and Brothers. This fact makes the Institute's ecclesial character more

48 “lf the Pope, Propaganda and all the Bishops of the world were against me, 1 would keep my head down for a year, and then I would present a new plan; but to give up thinking of Africa, never, never”. Ibid., p. 198 (n. 10).49 “I have sold my will, my life, my very self ... to the Vicar of Christ ... even if, by the grace of God, I could convert the whole world, 1 would refuse to do so ... had I not been authorized by the Holy See and its representatives”, ibid., p. 246 (n. 81).50 Cf Lk. 10: 16; Mt. 10:14.51 Cf Ga 2.52 “Our missionaries, whether priests or laymen, live together as brothers in the same vocation… without competition or selfishness… ready to bear with and help one another”. BC (79), p. 292; cf CEA, p. 252.53 Cf LO 44, CIC 573, 574.54 Cf GS 32.55 Cf AG 15.

complete and its activity more fruitful, through the variety and complementarity of its services56, in keeping with its specific purpose.

11.1 The missionary priests are consecrated for the ministry of the Word57 and the celebration of the Eucharist, towards which all the other sacraments are ordered58. In communion with the other priests they exercise the pastoral service of unity59 and of the promotion of the other ministries, with special attention for those that concern missionary service. Moreover, in virtue of their missionary charism, they are ready for the concrete services required by the growth of the ecclesial community and the promotion of more human conditions.

11.2 The Brothers fulfil their missionary consecration to God, by taking an active part in the upbuilding and growth of the human and Christian community, through the exercise of their professional work, their cooperation in the pastoral work according to the concrete needs of the individual communities, and their evangelical witness of life. Thus they offer a particular contribution to human promotion that is an integral part of evangelization60.

Link to the Holy See

12 The Comboni missionaries are a clerical 12 religious Institute of pontifical right. Composed of Priests and Brothers, directly dependent on the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples .

12.1 The close cooperation between the Institute and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples is a sign of unity and corresponsibility for the mission of the whole Church.

Purpose of the Institute

13 The Institute bas the purpose of carrying out the evangelizing mission of the Church61 among those peoples, or groups of peoples, not yet or only inadequately evangelized62.13.1 The Institute accepts as members only those persons who intend to consecrate themselves without

reserve and until death63 to the work of evangelization in keeping with its purpose.13.2 The missionary manifests his membership in the Institute by accepting in faith the persons who

make it up and the superiors who lead it, its purpose, way of life, fields of work and all the concrete choices that it has made during its history according to the Founder's charism.

Achieving the purpose

14 The Institute achieves its purpose by sending its members to serve where there is a request for missionary activity64 in keeping with the Founder's charism; by fostering missionary awareness among the people of God at the local, national and international levels; by promoting missionary vocations and providing programmes of formation and renewal.

14.1 The Institute renews its commitment to work among the peoples of Africa and America and remains open to other fields, provided that truly missionary work is required.

14.2 Priorities in choosing fields of work are the result of dialogue with the Holy Sec and the Local Churches, of an examination of missionary situations today in the light of the Founders's

56 Cf 1 Co 12:4-11.57 Cf Ac 6:4; PO 4.58 Cf PO 5.59 Cf Ac 20:28; 1 Pt. 5: 1-4.60 Cf AA 2; MDC, p. 272-273 (n. 108).61 Cf. AG 23.62 Cf AG 6; EN 5 1; CIC 786.63 Cf CEA, p. 253.64 Cf AG 27.

charism and the historical tradition of the Institute and in keeping with the requirements of religious and community life.

14.3 Periodically and especially during the General Chapter, the Institute reviews, in the light of its purpose, its commitments and the activity of its members.

Availability

15 In virtue of his vocation the missionary is ready to go forth in faith and obedience to the peoples or groups of peoples among whom the Institute, performs the work of evangelization. The Superiors are duty bound to make this possible for each missionary according to the charism of the Institute.

15.1 Every missionary who fulfils a task assigned him by the competent authority and in keeping with the Institute's purpose, shares in its missionary character65.

15.2 Ailing and elderly missionaries contribute to the missionary service through the witness of their life, through their prayers and sufferings, as well as through their share of responsibility in the various ministries entrusted to them according to their abilities.

Signs of the times

16 The Institute on its journey of faith in the world and for the world is intimately connected with humanity and its history. Consequently, while the missionaries live and interpret events in the light of the Gospel, they remain open to new questions and situations, and revise their attitudes, institutions and methods and seek new solutions66.

16.1 The rapid changes taking place in the world and in the Church demand constant attention and readiness as well as individual and community discernment on the part of all the missionaries. To be effective, such attention and discernment may require the utilisation of the human sciences.

16.2 Through the prophetic character of the religious life, the Institute and each missionary are involved both in up-dating themselves and in being a challenge and leaven of on-going evangelical transformation, and a proclamation of the ever new demands of God's Kingdom.

16.3 Answers to local questions cannot be complete unless they are given in a wider context. Hence each missionary is concerned with the problems of the world, especially of the areas where his confreres work. This universal concern demands constant inter-communication and adequate information.

Inter-church service

17 The mystery of the Church is lived in the 17 plurality and communion of Local Churches. Each bears the responsibility for missionary service 67. The Institute is a sign of the fraternal solidarity of the Churches in the common missionary responsibility. Its members are a missionary expression of their Church of origin and active members of the inviting Church. This inter-church service is a source of mutual enrichment68.17.1 The Institute sends its members also as an expression of the missionary vitality of their

Churches of origin. The Institute remains united with these Churches and cooperates with them in those fields that are in accordance with its missionary purpose. The missionary himself establishes and maintains regular contact with his diocesan and parochial communities.

65 “Any person ... who collaborates in whatever way in the Institute in the preparatory work in Europe aimed at training missionaries for Africa, is just as really consecrated to the regeneration of Africa as the one who is dedicated directly to the conversion of the non-believers in Africa itself”. CEA, p. 253-254.

66 Cf GS 4, 11; AA 14; PO 9.67 Cf AG 20, 37; CIC 782.2.68 Cf EN 62; At. 11:22-30; 2 Co 8-9.

17.2 The Institute has a specific vocation which enables it to render effective service to the Local Church, enriching it without losing its own identity. The missionary endeavours to learn from the people among whom he lives and to share in the gifts the Spirit has given them.

International character

18 Composed of members from different countries and cultures, the Institute is an expression of brotherly friendship and solidarity, and a sign of the catholicity of the Church. It gives concrete witness to that fellowship in the Spirit which is proper to the people of God. It does not suppress diversities, but makes them factors of unity.18.1 The missionary acquires an international disposition and outlook only gradually. By personal

effort and adequate training he becomes able to compare and share views and experiences originating from the diversity of cultures and to understand and respect other people in their differences.

18.2 The Institute endeavours to facilitate the exchange of ideas, experiences and values between the Local Churches, particularly through the deployment of personnel from different nations.

Cooperation

19 Following the example of the Founder, the Institute cooperates with other evangelizing agents and organizations to ensure a more effective missionary service and to avoid duplication of efforts and personnel69.19.1 Because of the common inspiration to Comboni's charism, the Institute cooperates in a particular

way with the Comboni Missionary Sisters and the Comboni Secular Missionaries in the fields of evangelization, missionary promotion and formation.

69 “Our missionaries ... live ... with an ever respectful attitude towards the other missionaries of the place with whom they strive to be always in perfect harmony, including the exercise of the ministry"”. BC (79), p. 292. Cf MDC, pp. 266, 304, 307 (n. 100, 142, 147); AG 33.

PART TWO

THE INSTITUTE:A COMMUNITY OF BROTHERS

CONSECRATED FORMISSIONARY SERVICE

Section One

CONSECRATED LIFE

Consecrated by God

20 The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus acknowledge that their consecration is first of all an initiative of gratuitous love by which the Lord calls to himself those he wants70, he transforms and strengthens them with his Spirit and sends them to carry his name to the nations71. In freedom and in gratitude they accept God's call72, and pledge themselves to correspond to it in the concrete choices of their life.73

20.1 The missionary's consecration is rooted in his baptismal consecration and is a fuller expression of it. Choosing to live the Christian life in a radical way, he becomes a more efficacious witness of the Gospel massage he is sent to proclaim.74

Following Christ

21 The missionary is called to follow Christ: remain with Him 75, and to be sent by Him into the world to share His destiny.76

21.1 The personal encounter with Christ is the decisive moment of the missionary's vocation. Only after the discovery that he has been loved by Christ and conquered by him, is he able to leave everything and to stay with him.77 The missionary is enabled to follow Christ by continually reliving this encounter and by deepening his communion with the Lord78.

21.2 The Comboni missionary shares more closely in the destiny of Christ who humbled himself accepting even the cross.79 He journeys with him and with the people he evangelizes taking up his cross every day,80 experiencing and witnessing the presence of the risen Lord.81

70 Cf Mk 3:13; Jn 15:16; AG 23.71 Cf Jr 1:5-10; Is 49:1-5; 61:1-2; Ga 1.-15-16.72 Cf AG 24.73 “We are happy to consecrate our limited strength and our entire life so as to cooperate in the great undertaking… because we have recognized in it the supreme will of the Father” MDC, p. 197 (n.7).74 Cf LG 44; PC 575 Cf Mk 3:14; Jn 15:4-11.76 Cf Lk 9:1-6; Jn 15:20; 20:21.77 Cf Jn 15:15; Ph 3:12; Mt 19:27; Mk 3:14.78 “The missionaries strive to develop “this essential attitude by keeping their eyes always fixed on Jesus Christ, loving him tenderly... and by frequently renewing the offering of themselves to God” MDC, p. 263 (n. 97).79 Cf Ph 2:8.80 Cf Lk 9:23; “The path the Lord has marked for me is the cross” MDC, p. 382 (n. 242). “I am happy in the cross

which, carried willingly in the Lord, generates triumph and eternal life” ibid., p. 392 (n. 257).81 Cf Ac 2.32.

Evangelical counsels

22 The missionary follows Jesus Christ living his consecration by means of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience observed by public vow, according to the specific demands of the Institute's missionary service in the Church as determined by the Constitutions. Thus he is able better to conform to Christ “who, virginal and poor, redeemed and sanctified men by obedience unto death on the Cross”82.

22.1 By his profession the missionary expresses a special bond of unity with the Church and with its evangelizing mission. He knows then that by his very consecration he is bound to labour “to implant and strengthen the Kingdom of Christ in people and to spread it to every corner of the earth”83.

22.2 By his consecration the missionary pledges himself to seek the perfection of charity, imitating Christ more closely,8485 renouncing “goods that undoubtedly deserve to be highly valued”. Therefore the Lord's invitation, “set your hearts on his Kingdom first, and on his righteousness”86, becomes the reason for his existence and the programme of his every actiyity.87

Brotherly fellowship

23 By his consecration the missionary enters a community of brothers called to share the difficulties and joys of missionary service. In this way, be lives his witness to Christ, not as an individual, but in a life of fellowship with his brothers. 88

23.1 The missionary is welcomed as a brother by the community which accepts him as he is and allows him to be genuinely himself. As an active member of it, he contributes to its upbuilding by example and prayer, and in turn receives support.

23.2 To live his consecration faithfully the missionary is assisted by the community lo know himself better and to discern the Lord's will for him, in an atmosphere of faith and brotherly friendship.

Mary's example

24 In living his consecration the missionary takes Mary as model and confidently entrusts himself to her who, highly favoured by the Lord, 89 is the type of the Church in its journey towards the perfection of the Kingdom. She is the handmaid of the Lord who in faith unceasingly renews her availability; she is the Virgin who brings Christ to the world; “She stands out among the or and bumble of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from him”. 90

Celibate for the Kingdom

25 By living the gift of consecrated chastity the missionary responds with undivided heart to Christ's love. Consecrated chastity leads him to greater inner freedom and enables him to give himself wholeheartedly for the service of the

82 PC 1; cf CIC 573-575.83 Cf LG 44.84 Cf PC I.85 LG 46.86 Mt. 6:33, Cf Lk 10:42.87 " “On my part I am ready to make any sacrifice and to suffer any hardship and discomfort; indeed, it would be

very easy ... for me to sacrifice my life ... to con- tribute in the realization of this holy work” MDC, p. 196 (n. 6).

88 Cf AG 27.89 Cf Lk 1:28.90 1 LG 55; Cf ibid. 63; MDC, pp. 347-352 (n. 199-203), CT 73.

Kingdom.91 The vow of chastity “embraced for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, is a sign of the world to come, and source of a greater fruitfulness” 92 and by it with undivided heart he undertakes perfect continence in celibacy.

25.1 Through consecrated chastity for the Kingdom the missionary positively chooses a new way of loving. It goes beyond a mere renunciation of marriage and a life of perfect continence; it requires total self dedication to the people he evangelizes.93

25.2 A life of chastity develops a new openness towards all, and becomes a singular source of spiritual fruitfulness in the world.94 It does not stunt the growth of the personality nor does it inhibit the ability to love.95

25.3 By a life of consecrated chastity the missionary manifests, in an eminent manner, the power and the presence of the risen Christ. He is made a living sign of the world to come that is already present through faith and charity, and a challenge for the pilgrim people of God to move towards their final destination.96

Practice of chastity

26 The practice of the vow of chastity is made possible and meaningful through a personal relationship with the Lord and is assisted by the experience of community life in true love, by personal fulfilment in missionary activity, and by sound Christian asceticism.97

26.1 In deepening his friendship and love for Christ the missionary identifies more and more with him. He renews his acceptance of the gift of consecrated chastity especially when be encounters the Lord in prayer. He prays that both he and the people cherish the gift he has received.

26.2 In addition to living an authentic witness to chastity, the missionary makes known the evangelical motivations of his consecration as a part of his proclamation.

26.3 All the initiatives that can lead to genuine brotherhood and authentic friendship within the community are fostered for the help the missionary receives from them to live his vow of chastity.

26.4 The missionary strives to be balanced and self-controlled in his behaviour and feelings. He is conscious of bearing God's gift in a situation of constant weakness98 and relies on God's help without relying on his own strength alone. Having chosen Christ he rejects whatever endangers his choice “and he does not neglect to follow those rules of ascetical practice which are approved by the experience of the Church”.99

26.5 In a life of chastity the missionary accepts the inherent solitude.100 His witness is credible when he lives his consecration with joy and serenity without escaping into activism, doubtful friendships or sterile solitude.

26.6 Witness to the consecrated life requires that the missionary know well the customs and sensitivity of the people among whom he lives, and use the necessary prudence so that his behaviour is never a cause of scandal, nor gives occasion for unwarranted suspicion.

Poor after Christ

27 Through a life of poverty the missionary follows Jesus Christ who, in spirit of solidarity with human beings, made himself poor though he was rich so that they

91 Cf I Co 7:32-34; Cf PC 1.92 CIC 599.93 Cf Sac. Cael. 56.94 Cf LG 42; ET 13-14.95 Cf OT 10.96 Cf I Co 7:29; PC 12; Sac. Cael. 34.97 Cf ibici., 75, 79, PO 16. 98 Cf ET 15.99 Cf.PO 16; Cf CEA, p. 268-269; CIC 277, 666.100 Cf Sac. Cael. 58.

might become rich by his poverty.101 The missionary chooses voluntarily the poverty of Christ, leaving everything;102 be shares in the common law of work, places his material possessions in common, accepts limitation and dependence on the superiors in the use and disposition of goods and follows a simple life-style in orderlo be free to bring the evangelizing message to the poorest and most abandoned and to live in solidarity with them. 103

27.1 The missionary lives his poverty with trust in the Providence of the Father who knows what he needs, in order to free himself from being conditioned by material things. He accepts with equanimity, scarcity and the lack of what is necessary. Thus he becomes a joyful witness to the freedom of the children of God.104

27.2 The missionary lives his poverty also by serious and dedicated daily work.105

27.3 In the common use of goods, the missionary models his life on the ideal of the first Christian community.106 He shares with his brothers both material things and his experiences of faith. He does not seek privileges for himself107.

As a sign of his religious consecration and as a witness to poverty, the missionary wears a dignified habit. The clerics follow the norms of the Episcopal Conference and the legitimate customs of the place.108

Trusting and sharing

28 In the spirit of poverty the missionary acknowledges his own inadequacy and relies more on the Word of God and on the power of the Spirit than on human and natural resources. He accepts God's plan with regard to the outcome of his efforts even in setbacks and failure, and shares as much as possible in the conditions of the poor among whom he is working.109

28.1 Poverty, according to the Lord's example, also means the acceptance of oneself and others with the respective limitations, as well as painful situations and events, even when these seem to destroy one's own missionary work.

28.2 Although it is difficult to share the conditions of the poor, the missionary takes on himself their anxieties, problems and defence, joining them in their struggle to better their living conditions and to remove all forms of exploitation and injustice.110

Community poverty

29 The witness of poverty is more credible when the community as such lives with an evangelical life-style. Therefore the Institute at its various levels endeavours to give, as it were, a collective witness to poverty 111.29.1 The communities incarnate their poverty in the concrete situation of the people among whom

they live. The attitude of poverty is reflected in the life-style, housing, hospitality, the choice of ways and means suited to the milieu.

29.2 Concrete applications of community poverty and assistance to the poor and to needier communities are decided in the Community Council in accordance with the norms given in the Provincial Directory and indications that may be given by the Local Churches.

101 Cf 2 Co 8:9, CIC 600.102 Cf Lk 14:33; Mt. 6.'20; 19.21,103 Cf 1 Co- 9:17-23; Ph 4.12-13.104 Cf Mt. 6:25-32; Lk 12:22; MDC. p. 355-356 (n. 210-211)105 Cf 2 Th 3: 10-1 1; CIC 600.106 Cf Ac 2:42-46; 4:32-35.107 Cf ET 21; BC (79), p. 293.108 Cf CIC 669.109 Cf AG 12; MDC, pp. 235-237 (n. 65-68).110 Cf EN 30-38.111 Cf PC 13; CIC 640.

29.3 Community forms of more radical poverty are encouraged.112 Special experiments may be allowed for a stated time by the Provincial Superior with his Council after community discernment. They are to be monitored and evaluated.

Use of material goods

30 The practice of poverty in the Institute requires that whatever is acquired or donated is used for evangelization, for promotion work and for preparation and sustenance of the missionaries.30.1 In endeavours for human promotion preference is given to the poorest and most abandoned,

working in cooperation with local programmes113 and helping people to help themselves.30.2 Poverty leads the missionary to use poor means in the work of evangelization and to share his

goods ever more generously with the Local Church.

Vow of poverty

31 The vow of poverty, in imitation of Christ, “entails a life which is poor in reality and in spirit, sober and industrious, and a stranger to earthly riches”. 114 By it the missionary accepts the limitations in the possessions and use of goods and renounces his right of lawfully disposing of anything having money value, without the Superior's permission.31.1 Before the perpetual profession, every missionary makes his last will concerning his possessions

and those he may come to own in the future. No alteration of this will may be made without the consent of the Provincial Superior. In urgent cases the permission of the Local Superior is sufficient.115

31.2 The last will is drawn up according to the legal requirements of the country of which the missionary is a citizen, or of the country where his possessions are located. The original is to be retained by the treasurer of the province of origin; one copy is to be sent to the Secretary General and another to the Treasurer of the Province where the possessions are located.

31.3 The missionary is free to designate the heirs of his own choice. If he should choose the Institute, he uses its legal name recognized in the place where the property is located.

31.4 No property used by the community is considered personal, even when needed for one's personal activity. Hence the missionary feels duty bound to depend on the superior of the community in the use of goods.

31.5 For current expenses the missionary receives an amount of money determined by the Community Council, in line with norms of the Province. The amount for annual and home leave is specified in the Provincial Directory. The use of the money is reported regularity to the Superior or to the Community Council.

31.6 All that the missionary acquires with his work, receives by way of donation, or that comes to him through pension, grant or insurance is the property of the Institute. Offerings are used according to their purpose respecting the intentions of the donor.116

31.7 The missionary passes the offerings he receives for missionary activity to the Provincial Procure for transfer and administration, and he uses them in accord with the norms of the Provincial Directory.

31.8 Poverty demands that the Institute's property be administered responsibly and competently.

112 Cf PC 13.113 Cf AG 12.114 Cf cic 600.115 Cf CIC 668.1-2.116 Cf CIC 668.3.

Radical ownership

32 The missionary retains the radical ownership of his property, but gives up the right of administration, use and usufruct in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation.32.1 The novice freely designates in writing the administrator and the beneficiary of his property prior

to his profession; he will do the same for any possessions be may subsequently acquire.32.2 The document of designation must be legally valid in the country where the property is located; it

is forwarded to the administrator and to the beneficiary, with copy to the treasurer of the province of origin, and to the treasurer of the province where the property is located.

32.3 The document of designation cannot be changed without leave of the Provincial Superior. In cases of emergency or small sums, the permission of the Local Superior is sufficient.

32.4 The missionary is empowered to perform any act of ownership that may be required by civil law to come into possession of or to protect his own property.

32.5 With the permission of the Superior General and the advice of his Council, the perpetual professed missionary may renounce the radical ownership of his property.117

The will of God

33 Through obedience the missionary follows Jesus Christ who came into the world to do the will of his Father. The missionary knows the will of God by listening to his word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and through the directives of the Church and of the Institute. He also discovers it in the signs of the times and in the events of the people among whom he lives; he seeks it through community discernment and fulfils it in communion with his brothers .118

33.1 The Society shows obedience to the Spirit through its faithfulness to the missionary commitment for which it has been raised up in the Church.

33.2 God realizes his plan of salvation in the events of the world and of the life of every person. For this reason, the communities and the individual members meditate on the Word of God to discern his will in these events.119

33.3 The will of God is known also through the life, needs and authority of the Church; therefore, the missionary affirms royalty and active, intelligent obedience to the Pope and pastors of the Local Churches.120

33.4 Community discernment is seeking God's will together. It takes place in an atmosphere of prayer and a living dialogue with the Word of God, listening sincerely to all the members of the community and a search for information and an exchange of ideas; and it requires the service of authority.

Vow of obedience

34 By the vow of obedience, “undertaken in the spirit of faith and love in the following of Christ, who was obedient even unto death”, the missionary undertakes to obey the orders of the legitimate superiors, “who act in the place of God”, when they intend to command in force of the vows, according to the constitutions .121

34.1 Command in virtue of obedience may be given by the Superior General to the members of the Institute; by the Provincial Superior to the members of his province; by the Local Superior to the members of his community, informing immediately the Major Superior.

117 117 Cf CIC 668.4.118 Cf Heb 10.5-10; Jn 4:34; PC 14; AG 24. CIC 601, CEA p. 268.119 Cf GS 4,11.120 Cf MDC, pp. 247-254 (n. 80-87)121 CIC 601.

34.2 The superior who thinks it necessary to command in force of the vow of obedience is obliged to impose the formal precept in writing or before two witnesses.

Practice of obedience

35 By the practice of obedience the missionary identifies himself with the purpose of the Institute as expressed concretely in its Constitutions and in the directives of the Superiors.122 This entails faith, human maturity, creativity and responsibility.

35.1 As all have received the Spirit, all the missionaries feel co-responsible for the Institute's faithfulness to its original inspiration; they accept with active obedience123 the ministry of authority that is given by the same Spirit for the well-being of everyone.

35.2 The missionary, enlightened by faith, accepts the fact that God makes use of human and, therefore, fallible personal to indicate his will. The royalty and respect due to the superiors on account of their responsibility require everyone to be understanding and cooperative, and to refrain from misinterpretation and purely negative criticism.124

35.3 Obedience may also require the renunciation and limitation of personal initiative. The missionary accepts with faith events that are often painful, and identifies with Christ who “learned to obey through suffering”,125 and experiences in a special fashion the mystery of life that results from death.

35.4 In an attitude of obedience, the missionary keeps alive his readiness to change his position or place, in accordance with the demands of planning and in view of his own well-being and that of his missionary service. The rotation of personnel also offers the opportunity to put the talents of the different missionaries to proper use.

35.5 Those who exercise authority have the task of animating their brothers in the common search for God's will and of dialoguing with the community and individuals before giving orders and directives.126

35.6 The Institute will plan the rotation of the personnel well in advance, keeping in mind each one's talents and always in dialogue with the persons involved, allowing time and means for the required specialization and ensuring the continuity of the work.

122 Cf BC (79), p. 292.123 Cf PC 14.124 Cf ET 28; BC (79), 293.125 Ebr. 5,8126 Cf ET 25.

Section TwoCOMMUNITY LIFE

Gift of unity

36 The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus gratefully welcome the gift of community life to which the Spirit of the Lord has called them through the original inspiration of the Founder. Their fellowship of life corresponds to the social character of their nature as created by God;127 it has its beginning and model in the Trinity, and fulfils Christ's prayer “that all may be one”. 128 It is a visible sign of the new humanity born of the Spirit129 that becomes a concrete proclamation of Christ: “May they be perfect in unity so that the world may believe that you have sent me”.130

36.1 Man reaches perfection, i.e. be grows in all his natural and supernatural capacities, only by relationships with others, the fulfilment of mutual obligations, and dialogue with his brothers.131

36.2 The missionary continually asks the Father for the gift of unity, which derives from Christ through the grace of the Spirit,132 for he considers it essential to his life and activity.

36.3 The experience of difficulty and tension in living together with his brothers convince the missionary of the need to renew each day his commitment to community life. This cannot be reduced to a mere external living together, but rather is expressed in a true fellowship and brotherhood in the Lord.133

36.4 On entering the Institute, the missionary accepts in faith all its members as brothers given him by the Lord to realize the common missionary vocation together. Therefore, he commits himself to fulfil in union with them the mission entrusted to him, in faithfulness to God's plan and not simply as the accomplishment of his personal projects.

Unity and variety

37 The Holy Spirit is the bond of fellowship in the Comboni community. He distributes generously his manifold gifts and services to each member. This variety does not harm unity but becomes a source of greater fruitfulness, as it is given for the good of all.134

37.1 Every community is subject to change and development. Notwithstanding the difficulty involved, the missionary endeavours to adapt in a spirit of faith to people and to new environments and tasks. Thus he creates harmonious relations and cooperates in achieving the community programmes.

37.2 No matter how limited he may fell, every missionary can contribute from the gifts be has received. No one in the community is to consider himself greater or lesser than the others.

Based on love

38 The Community makes the commandment of the Lord, “love one another as I have loved you”,135 the basis of its living together.

127 Cf GS 24-25.128 Jn 17:21.129 Cf EN 18.130 Jn 17:23; cf CIC 602.131 Cf GS 25.132 Cf Mt 18:20; I Th 3:12.133 Cf PC 15.134 Cf 1 Co 12:4-11135 Jn 15:12.

38.1 Community life requires the conviction that every brother is loved by God, respect, mutual trust and acceptance, dialogue and frankness, and rejoicing in the others' gifts.

38.2 Common life permits the fulfilment of the human need for support and recognition, rescues the missionaries from isolation and promotes mutual enrichment.

38.3 The missionary recognizes that a sincere and open friend- ship with the brothers is a human and spiritual value which makes the vicissitudes of daily living more bear- able; therefore he seeks and accepts it as a gift from the Lord.

38.4 The recognition of one's own limitation with a certain equanimity and sense of humour makes it easier to accept the others.

38.5 Conscious of his own need for forgiveness, the missionary does not bear grudge, rather he looks for personal and community reconciliation, and practices fraternal correction with charity.136

38.6 Community life is impaired by individualism, unwarranted privileges, the evasion of personal obligations and other selfish attitudes.137

38.7 Good manners in personal contacts, speech and dress are dictated by the respect the missionary owes to himself, to the community, and to people, as well as by local customs.

Living together

39 United by a common call and purpose, the missionaries make community life consist in living together in a regular way, seeking together God's will and sharing prayer, property, planning, work and moments of relaxation .138

39.1 Community life is expressed in, and nourished by communal prayer, and especially by listening to the Word of God and by celebrating the Eucharist, the sacrament of unity. The gathering of the missionaries around the Lord in prayer is a guarantee of his guidance and blessing on the other concerns and activities of the community.

39.2 True brotherhood cannot be created without frequent encounters. Every community meets regularly for the Community Council and fosters all those initiatives which promote mutual knowledge and brotherly exchange.

39.3 Every community arranges its own timetable within the context of its missionary service, giving prominence to the Eucharistic celebration; in coordinating its activities it favours those elements which aid togetherness, such as taking meals and moments of relaxation together; in every house there is a part reserved to the religious.139

39.4 It is important for community life as well as that of the individual for each missionary to have at least a half-day each week free from work commitments.

Local community

40 Every missionary belongs to a local community. Under no circumstances may a missionary live alone on a permanent basis.

40.1 A local community is made up of at least three missionaries. Particular situation due to the demands of missionary service are evaluated and resolved by the Provincial Superior with the Consent of his Council, while safe-guarding the values of community life.

40.2 The missionaries who, by way of exception, have received permission to live for a time outside a community of the Society for reason of missionary service, study or illness are members of one of the nearest communities. This permission is granted by the competent Major Superior with the consent of his Council and after having heard the opinion of those concerned.140

40.3 The missionaries of the same area are encouraged to meet together regularly to foster a more profitable experience of community life, prayer, friendship and assistance.

136 Cf Mt. 18:15-17; Col. 3-13.137 Cf Ph 2:3-4.138 Cf ET 39; CIC 619.139 Cf CIC 667.140 Cf CIC.665.

40.4 The composition and life of the communities are a priority commitment for the Superior General, the Provincial Superiors, their respective Councils and for all the missionaries.

To serve God and man

41 Each missionary freely accepts the vocation be received from God and puts his talents and energies and his very life at the service of God and of his brothers and sisters in the community,141 according to the Constitutions.

41.1 In communion and dialogue with the community, the missionary gives preference to the development of those talents that may benefit missionary service. He exercises his abilities within the life-style and the choices of the Institute.

41.2 The Institute acknowledges that the Spirit may bestow special gifts on any of its members. Hence, exercising discernment, it accepts those gifts which contribute to the growth of charity and to the good of the community and the Church in line with its purpose.142 Any member who may feel called to a ministry not in keeping with the missionary character of the Institute will be invited to follow some other way of life.

Respect for each missionary

42 In the community the dignity, rights and value of each missionary are recognized. Efforts are made to provide everyone with the opportunities and the means needed for the development of his God-given talents and the fulfilment of his vocation according to the Society's purpose.

42.1 Each member is provided with those spiritual intellectual and material conditions of life and work, which are required for the effective fulfilment of his missionary obligations. Ways of creating such conditions, such as periods of spiritual reflection, up-dating courses, periods of holidays, as well as health insurance, are specific in the Provincial Directory.

42.2 Every missionary is entitled to equal consideration. Particular needs that may arise from conditions of health, age or work are given careful attention by the superior and the community, and appropriate arrangements are made.

42.3 Within the community every missionary treats his brothers with attention and courtesy, and he respects the privacy of the others and their personal initiatives which are not in conflict with community living.

42.4 The community is sensitive to the needs of members who may experience difficulties with their vocation. Discretely, but responsibly, it assists them through prayer, fraternal dialogue and genuine friendship.143

42.5 The life of fellowship extends also to the deceased members, who intercede to the Father. 144

Their memory is a spur to live the missionary vocation with generosity At the notification of a member's death each priest celebrates a Eucharist in suffrage, preferably in community. The deceased missionaries are remembered during the Eucharistic celebration or another community prayer on the anniversary of their death.

Open to the Institute

43 The missionary lives in union with all the communities of the Institute, and is open to cooperation with them.

43.1 All members take an interest in and are co-responsible for the life and activities of the Institute. They keep themselves informed on the other provinces, welcome their experiences with interest and are ready to offer assistance of means and ideas.

141 Cf 1 P 4:10, Rm 12.6-8; CIC 663.142 Cf MR 12.143 Cf Rm. 15:1.144 Cf LG 49.

43.2 Sharing in the Institute's welfare requires that each province or community be ready to do without all the personnel it wants, even if this means limiting its activity and planning.

43.3 All communities of the Institute welcome every member with fraternal hospitality and provide assistance. For his part the missionary who is a guest exercises discretion and participates in the life of the community.

Family ties

44 The missionary maintains bonds of affection and gratitude towards his family, through prayer and regular contacts.

44.1 The communities maintain cordial relations with the families of the missionaries of the province and show interest especially in times of trial.44.2 Guests, especially the immediate family of the members, are received and entertained cordial in

keeping with local customs and the requirements of the community.

With the people

45 The community participates in the life of the people in prayer, work and simplicity of life-style.45.1 The community is an integral part of the civil and social milieu in which it lives. It respects the

laws of the country, and in the spirit of solidarity and in communion with the Local Church it participates in those initiatives that are meant to improve the living conditions of the people.145

45.2 The initiatives of public involvement and witness are al- ways the result of community discernment and the indications of the Provincial Directory.

Section ThreePRAYER LIFE

Encounter with God

46 The missionary is called to witness and proclaim the Father's love which he experiences in personal communion with Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He, therefore, centres his entire existence on his encounter with God, forming with his brothers a praying community.

46.1 The missionary acknowledges that he can do nothing without Christ who sends him, and that the spreading of the Gospel is linked to prayer. Without it he would lack an irreplaceable inner power and soon his activity would be pervaded by a purely human outlook. Prayer is, in fact, his daily bread.146

46.2 True prayer cannot be reduced to mere practices of piety divorced from the rest of daily life,147

as if action and contemplation were two independent realities. It consists rather in remaining with God148 performing every action with the same attitude as Christ had towards his Father.

145 Cf AG 12.

146 Cf Jn 15:5. MDC, p. 338 (n.188). 147 “The missionary who does not have a strong sense of God and a living interest in his glory and the welfare of souls, lacks the attitude necessary for his ministry and ends up in emptiness and unbearable isolation”. CEA, p. 264; p. 267-268.

148 Cf jn 15:6-10; CIC 675.

Listening to the Word

47 Each missionary makes the Word of God his basic prayer. 149 Open in the Spirit, he welcomes Christ as the Father's living Word, he recognizes him in the scriptures150 and in the life of the Church,151 he seeks his presence in human event and encounters.152

47.1 The missionary reads the Word of God in the light of the Spirit and in communication with the Church. He applies it to his life in meditation and be allows himself to be judged by it and to be converted to God's way of thinking and acting.153 He transforms it into dialogue with the Father in prayer.

47.2 A missionary's existence is part of an unfinished history of salvation, where faith is never pure light, but always has in it an element of obscurity.154 Thus be never rests secure on what has been achieved, but accepts the challenge which God makes to him through events and per- sons.

47.3 The missionary learns to listen to the Word of God as Mary, figure of the Church in prayer. She is the Virgin who listens to and stores up the Word of God, meditating on it in her heart.155

Missionary prayer

48 The missionary feels and lives out his prayer as a manifestation to his missionary commitment. As a worker in the service of the Kingdom he incessantly implores “thy Kingdom come”; in solidarity with the people he takes on himself their desires and concrete needs, and prays with them and in communion with the whole Church.

48.1 Daily the missionary, with humility and trust, asks God for the strength to continue the task of proclaiming the Gospel156 and for the grace to overcome evil with good and to be kept from falling prey to the logic of the world.

48.2 By his prayer the missionary helps to build up the communion of believers and intercedes for his people157 convinced that conversion cannot come about without the intervention of the Holy Spirit: only the Spirit opens the human heart to the Word.

48.3 The missionary prays with the people, leading their prayer towards an openness for the needs of the Church and the world. He encourages them to express their faith according to their mentality and customs158 under the guidance of the Spirit, without imposing his style and personal forms of prayer.

48.4 In the encounter with God the missionary assists the people in their search of the Christian meaning of events to live the events of history in the light of the Gospel.

48.5 The missionary acknowledges the presence of the Lord's Spirit within the forms of popular piety and he assists in reformulating them in a more biblical and ecclesial manner.

48.6 While witnessing to his own Christian faith the missionary holds in high regard the prayer of the non-Christians,159 for, although they do not profess faith in Christ, they seek God with a sincere heart.

149 Cf. PC 6; DV 21.150 Cf DV 14, 16.151 Cf LG 26.152 Cf GS 45; AA 4.153 Cf Heb 4:12, CIC 276, 663.154 Cf I Co 13:12.155 Cf MC 17.156 Cf Ac 4:23-31.157 Cf Ex 32:11-14.158 Cf AG 19.159 Cf NAE 2.

Personal prayer

49 The constant practice of explicit, personal prayer leads the missionary to transform his entire life and activity into a continuous prayer. Therefore the missionary has the responsibility to organize his personal prayer, following the example of the Lord, who often withdrew in solitude to pray to the Father. 160

49.1 In the freedom of the Spirit, everyday the missionary dedicates at least one hour to personal prayer, and a convenient time to the study of Holy Scripture and to the reading of works of Christian spirituality.161

49.2 Each missionary has the right and duty to a monthly day of recollection and an annual retreat of at least five days.

49.3 The desire to remain with the Lord and not to be over- whelmed by external activity inspires the missionary to dedicate spontaneously prolonged periods to prayer. They are an excellent means of making up for the times when he has not been able to keep his daily commitment for reasons of work and the like.

Community prayer

50 After the example of the first Christian community that was united heart and soul in continuous prayer162 the missionaries form a praying community engaged in various manners of prayer. Therefore, each community plans its prayer life according to the liturgical season, establishes the daily, weekly and monthly prayer programme, and reviews it periodically.

50. I The community sets up a programme that fosters a more shared, creative and spontaneous prayer.50.2 The different situation in which the communities live and work, make it impossible to establish

detailed norms which are applicable everywhere. Therefore, each community has the responsibility of drawing up its own daily prayer timetable that fixes community encounters of prayer and leaves time for personal prayer in accordance with the norms in the Provincial Directory.

50.3 In drawing up the timetable for his activities, the missionary gives precedence to the community prayer meetings decided on by the Community Council.

50.4 To enrich the prayer life of its members, the community makes use of the Church's variety of prayer forms. It gives due consideration to such traditional prayer as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross and the like, and is open to the new forms of shared and biblical prayer.

50.5 The Rosary, which presents the mysteries of salvation in a way that is accessible to the simple and spontaneous faith of the people, is esteemed by the missionary and recommended to the faithful.163

50.6 The missionaries are aware that the daily effort to understand and cooperate with one another prepares the community for a valid and genuine encounter in prayer.

Liturgical prayer

51 The missionary, incorporated into Christ through Baptism, lives this union in its deepest expression in the liturgical celebrations, 164 He considers them a privileged instrument of communion with God and man165 and an essential means of evangelization and personal sanctification .

160 Cf Mt 6:6; Mk 6:46, Lk 6:12; CIC 276, 673, 675.161 Cf CIC 663.162 Cf Ac 1: 14; 4:24-3 1.163 MC 48; CIC 663.4.164 Cf SC l0.165 Cf SC 7.

51.1 Through the liturgical year the Church unfolds the whole mystery of Christ. The community ensures that the various seasons of the liturgical year are well planned for and celebrated in a fitting manner.

51.2 The feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated in every community with special solemnity after adequate preparation. On this occasion the missionaries renew their consecration to God for missionary service.

51.3 In the life of the missionary, Mary, Mother of the Church, has an important place. Her main feasts are prepared and celebrated with special love.166

51.4 The feasts of Saints who have a particular significance for the Local Church or for the Institute, such as St. Joseph,167 St. Francis Xavier, St. Peter Claver. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, are celebrated in a missionary and liturgical context. The commemoration of Daniel Comboni is celebrated in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving to the Father for what he has accomplished in his servant.

51.5 Indications concerning local liturgical celebrations are included in the Provincial Directory.

Laud and Vespers

52 The community unites itself to the prayer of the Church through the Liturgy of the Hours, preferably choosing Lauds as its morning prayer and Vespers as evening prayer. For the priests and deacons the Liturgy of the Hours is also a duty deriving from Holy Orders, for everyone it is a source of contemplation which nourishes personal prayer and inspires missionary activity .168

Eucharist

53 The Eucharist, source and summit of evangelization, 169 is for the missionary the centre of his life. In it be finds each day healing, enlightenment and the strength to proclaim to all Christ's death and resurrection. In the sharing of the one word, the one bread and the one cup, the community is renewed in its bonds of unity. 170

53.1 To strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and to express the joy of living together in the Lord, the celebration of the Eucharist is given special solemnity once a week, in which all members of the community participate, keeping themselves free from other occupations.

53.2 As a sign of unity with the whole Institute each missionary, as far as possible in community, celebrate the Eucharist once a month according to the intentions of the Superior General.

53.3 Every priest may celebrate the Eucharist twice a month according to his own intentions. The other missionaries may ask that two Masses be celebrated every month according to their intentions.

53.4 The worship of the Blessed Sacrament is, for the missionary and the community, a loving dialogue with the Lord. It fosters an attitude of adoration and thanksgiving to God present in the events and activities of daily life.171

Sacrament of Reconciliation

54 The daily experience of personal frailty tends to diminish the missionary charity and gives rise to the need for continual conversion to the Lord. 172 This will for conversion finds its fullest expression in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, in

166 Cf SC 103.167 Cf MDC, pp. 352-356 (n. 204- 11,5 211).168 Cf SC 83, 90; MDC, pp. 341-346 (nn. 193-198); CIC 276, 2.3, 663.3; 1174.169 Cf SC 10; CIC 897.170 Cf SC 47; CIC 608, 899.171 Cf P0 18.172 Cf EN 15; RH 20.

which the missionary experiences the Father's merciful love, is reconciled with the Church and with his brothers, and gains strength to resume his journey of faith. 173

54.1 The communal celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is especially opportune on the occasion of meetings of confreres. Such a celebration helps to stress the consequences of sin for the whole community and is an expression of common conversion.

54.2 The missionary examines his conscience every day and makes frequent use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation according to personal need, bearing in mind the directives of the Church.174

54.3 Spiritual direction is a means that should not be neglected in the missionary's journey of conversion and in his growth in Christ. By spiritual guidance he is enlightened to discern the Lord's will, in his regard, and encouraged in moments of discouragement and difficulty.175

Anointing of the Sick

55 The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick makes the healing power of the Lord presents and unites the ailing missionary more closely to the community and the Church. Through it the missionary gives witness to the Good News that sickness has a profound meaning in the light of the cross and resurrection. 176

55.1 The periodic celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for the sick missionaries is encouraged.

55.2 As a fitting expression of fraternal love, the community takes part in the celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick for one of its members.

55.3 When necessary it is a great act of charity to inform the sick missionary of the seriousness of his condition.177

PART THREE

THE INSTITUTE'S MISSIONARYSERVICE

Section OneEVANGELIZATION

Evangelization

56 The Spirit of the Lord ferments and transforms peoples 178. He leads them to an encounter with the person of Christ and his message, and to entry into the new people of God. The missionary is called by the Father and sent by the Church. Confident of the Spirit's action, be consecrates his whole existence to cooperate with this action and makes evangelization the reason of his being.173 Cf LG 11; “Ordo Paenitentiae”, 3-5, 8.174 Cf “Dum Canonicarum”, 3; CIC 664.175 Cf PO 18.176 Cf LG 11. Cf Rm 8:17; 1 P 4:13.177 Cf CIC 1001.178 Cf LG 17; for the whole of Part Three cf CIC 781-782.

56.1 The missionary joins in the Church's evangelizing activity through his adherence and faithfulness to the Institute which guarantees him authenticity and continuity.

56.2 The missionary acknowledges that the Spirit acts in each evangelizer and reveals to him Christ's mystery and teaching.179 At the same time the Spirit acts in the hearer, and predisposes him to be open and receptive to the news of the Kingdom being proclaimed.180

56.3 Evangelization is accomplished in a progressive fashion and postulates interrelated and complementary activities. The missionary respects the phases of gradual human and religious growth in the people, so as not to impoverish or distort the essential elements of the message.181

56.4 The Institute responds to the demands of evangelization with a variety of services. Therefore it bears the responsibility of discerning the members' vocation and of discovering their personal gifts in dialogue with them. It also prepares them properly for the tasks it assigns them, and supports them with on-going formation.

Plan of salvation - dialogue

57 God wills the salvation of all182 and manifests his action in the history and culture of every people. The signs of his saving work, though obscure, are present, particularly in their religions. The missionary discovers the cultural and religious values of the peoples, and respects their conscience and convictions, continuing the dialogue begun by the Word of God in the Incarnation and the Gospel. Thus, dialogue becomes the norm for all evangelizing activity. 183

57.1 The Society strives to ensure that through scholarship, dispositions and encounters, each missionary be open to a deep understanding of and esteem for the culture, language, history and tradition of the people to whom he is sent.184 In particular it Must educate its members to a deep knowledge of the religious character and religions of the world.

57.2 The missionary is led to a broader understanding of the Gospel through contact with the values be finds in the groups among whom he lives. This contact enriches his theological reflection, his very consecrated life, and enables him to be an instrument of dialogue.

57.3 As an immediate preparation for missionary work, the opportunity is given to everyone to do a language and pastoral initiation course. Everyone is also given an introduction to the socio-political situation of the country to which he is assigned.

57.4 The missionary avails himself of local study centres. Where these do not exist, the province endeavours to give specialized preparation to some of its members who may then facilitate the insertion of the missionaries in the new culture and in the process of inculturation of the Gospel.

57.5 The Provincial Directory determines specific ways and means for the study of the language and traditions, not only at the beginner's level, but also throughout the period of apostolic activity.

57.6 To ensure a better insertion into the local environment, in his community, the missionary normally uses the language of the place or the official language of the country.

Witness

58 The missionary proclaims the Gospel message first of all by the personal and community witness185 of the evangelical counsels and by the practice of charity according to the spirit of the Beatitudes.

179 Cf Jn 15:26; 17:7-15.180 Cf EN 75; Acts 16:14; DEV 25-26.181 Cf EN 17.182 Cf 1 Tim. 2:4.183 Cf ES 41.184 Cf AG 26; MDC, p. 310 (n. 151).185 Cf EN 21; CIC 673.

58.1 In the personal encounters, which take up so much of his life, the missionary evangelises above all by a simple, trusting and respectful attitude towards all.

58.2 The missionary finds strength and constancy to witness to the Good News in an ever closer relationship with Christ. Only then does he offer a credible witness, and while he evangelizes others, he is himself evangelized.186

As the missionary is aware that evangelization implies following Christ even to the greatest testimony of love, he accepts situations of persecution and is even ready to unite the sacrifice of his own life to that of Christ.187

58.4 Through his consecrated life and professional activity, the Brother has a characteristic relationship with the people, and gives a witness that has particular power in today's culture.

58.5 When the explicit preaching of the Gospel is impossible, the missionary assumes an attitude of patient and confident expectation of God's own time. He prepares for it by his search for ever new ways of proclaiming the Lord. In fact, he is conscious that the progressive penetration of evangelical values among peoples is already a spreading of God's Kingdom.

Proclamation

59 The silent proclamation of his witness is not yet enough to give rise to Christian communities. Therefore as soon as the missionary perceives that the hour of grace has come, he proclaims the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, clearly and unequivocally.188

59.1 The missionary strives to express the mystery of Christ through the values of the local culture and to make it become a communal experience, enlightened by the Word of God and nourished by liturgical celebrations.

59.2 The proclamation of the Good News and the formation of a Christian conscience are effected through a variety of complementary methods. The missionary make adequate use of preaching the Word of God and of the various forms of catechetical instruction, adapting the methods to the different situations.

59.3 In proclaiming the Gospel the missionary makes use of the different means of social communication, trying to present the message in such a way that it can touch the individual conscience and evoke personal adherence and commitment.189

59.4 The Institute gives some of its members the opportunity to receive specialist training in methods and means used in proclaiming the Gospel.

59.5 By its very nature the initiation to the faith cannot be reduced to mass communication; it requires, rather, personal adherence. Therefore the missionary fosters the encounter of individuals with the Christian community and shares his experience of faith with them.190

Solidarity

60 Following Christ the missionary becomes one with the people in their life, work and journey, sharing their lot.

60.1 The missionary becomes one with the people among whom he lives, divesting himself of every prejudice which might impede his fellowship with them and sharing in their joy and hope, grief and anguish.191

60.2 Following Comboni's example, the missionary is convinced that the peoples and Churches among whom he works will grow to self-sufficiency.

186 Cf EN 15.187 Cf AG 24.188 Cf EN 22.189 Cf EN 45.190 Cf EN 46.191 Cf GS 1.

Total liberation

61 In his evangelizing activity the missionary is committed to “liberating the human person from sin, violence, injustice, selfishness” and need and from oppressive structures.192 This liberation finds its fulfilment and consolidation in the attainment of full communion with God the Father and among all men and women. Because of the bond existing between evangelization and human promotion, the Brother is particularly called to give a special contribution to those activities that promote total human development. The fact that he shares in their competence, commitment and fatigue, makes the Brother one with the people, as a minister who reveals Jesus Christ.

61.1 The demand for complete liberation corresponds to the human need for God; it is based on the reality of creation and of the Kingdom, and on faith in Jesus Christ, the new Man; it extends to all levels of human life: religious, cultural, social, political and economic.

61.2 The Institute and each missionary strive to live the Gospel in poverty, avoiding all attitudes and actions that lead to injustice. The missionary makes an important contribution to the work of promoting justice when he educates the people to accept their political and social responsibilities

61.3 The Institute encourages and promotes initiatives that can free people from fear, ignorance, hunger and disease; it cooperates with religious and secular institutions which promote human progress.

61.4 The missionary makes a valuable contribution to the moral and spiritual formation of youth by his presence and dedication in education. He bears witness to Christ and communicates the Gospel to those who are open to receive it. For this purpose, where circumstances require it, he willingly accepts school commitments, both in a pastoral and in a teaching capacity.

61.5 In dialogue with his community and the Local Church, the missionary is ready to speak up on behalf of those who are oppressed in order to ensure that justice is rendered.193

61.6 The missionary must be aware that political choices are the prerogative of the people of the country and that it pertains primarily to the Local Church to assume responsibility in this field and to denounce any oppression.

61.7 Careful analysis of the socio-political situation is needed for the missionary in order to discover the most appropriate and concrete opportunities for evangelization even in less favourable conditions.

61.8 In proclaiming the Lordship of Christ as the only absolute, the missionary helps the people to discern what is true and liberating from what is false and oppressive in the various ideologies.

61.9 Mindful of the example of Christ and of the blessing that he pronounced on those who seek justice and are peace-makers,194 the missionary together with the Christian community, endeavours to become, in situation of conflict, an instrument of reconciliation in truth and justice, excluding violence under any form from human projects and relations.

Birth of community

62 The missionary's proclamation of the Gospel invites the hearer to adhere to Christ. The person who accepts is led to a change in his way of life, seen in his public entry into a community of believers, which is in itself, a sign of the New Life in Christ.195

62.1 When individuals are gathered together by the Spirit into the new people of God, they enter a community of brothers and sisters, and strive to love and forgive one another, and to bear one another's burdens. It is part of missionary work to open the Christian communities to people from different classes, ethnic groups and nations and to remove hostile barriers.196

192 CT 10; cf EN 30-38; CIC 287; 768.2; DEV 60.193 193 Cf MDC, pp. 227-228 (n. 51-55).194 Cf Mt. 5:6,9.195 Cf Ef. 4:24.196 Cf ibid. 2:14.

62.2 In his proclamation of the Gospel, the missionary is concerned with building up ecclesial communities which are based on the bearing of the Word of God and bear witness to Christ in family, social milieu and profession so that society may be permeated and transformed.

62.3 In order to promote a more intense Christian life and evangelizing thrust, the missionary supports the formation and growth of small ecclesial communities, in keeping with the choices of the Local Church. Such communities, in communion with the larger ecclesial community, enhance the human dimension and develop the co-responsibility of their members.197

Initiation

63 The missionary follows those who have accepted the Word on their journey which, through the different steps of initiation, leads from Baptism through the other sacraments to the Eucharist, the summit of Christian life which builds up unity and opens them up to the service of charity.198

63.1 Christian initiation is effected by the missionary through the steps of the catechumenate or other equivalent forms in line with the directives of the universal magisterium and that of the Local Churches.

63.2 Particular importance is given to liturgical celebrations for the power they have to express the community's life and to make manifest the mystery of Christ and the nature of the Church.

Ministries

64 It is of capital importance in missionary work to discover and promote the gifts and ministries, even new ones, that the Spirit stirs up in the Christian communities for their growth towards “the perfect Man fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself”.199 The promotion and formation of the local clergy are one of the most important tasks of the missionary, and require adequate means and prepared personnel.200

64.1 The missionary takes care of the preparation of the community leaders and catechists in line with local pastoral policy; where necessary he sets up and supports centres for their formation.201

64.2 Together with vocations for the ministries, the missionary promotes also the various forms of consecrated life, including that of the Society. He encourages their re-expression in the context of local cultures and values.202

Cooperation with Local Churches

65 The Society offers the Churches its service in evangelizing activities that correspond to its missionary purpose. The relationship and the modes of collaboration are governed by bilateral agreements between the Institute and the competent ecclesiastical authority.203

65.1 The missionary enters into full communion with the Local Church and considers himself a part of it. He serves it and accepts its priorities in an attitude of cooperation with all the pastoral agents present.

65.2 The bilateral agreements aim at fostering the mutual acceptance and communion between the Institute and the Local Churches: they define the rights and obligations of both parties in the pastoral and economic spheres so as to assure a continuous and fruitful collaboration. They are drawn up in accordance with ecclesiastical practice and in cooperation with the Provincial

197 Cf EN 58.198 Cf AG 14; CIC 788.2, 789; CT 18-20.199 Ef. 4,13, cfr. EN 73. 200 Cf AG 16.201 Cf AG 17.202 Cf AG 18.203 Cf MR 11,52 ff; CIC 520.2; 790.

Superior and his Council and are approved and periodically reviewed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council and by the diocesan bishop.

Ecclesial obedience

66 In communion with the local clergy, the missionary obeys those whom Christ has chosen to lead his Church;204 in communion with the whole Church, he promotes the implementation of the directives of the Holy See in all that concerns evangelization.

66.1 Because of his vocation, the missionary, in dialogue with the competent authority, tries to find new and courageous experiences in evangelization.

66.2 In his apostolic activity the missionary is committed to a common pastoral policy, avoiding individualism. When there are differences, ecclesial obedience is manifested by accepting the pastoral directives of the Local Church. If grave difficulties arise in cooperating with ecclesiastical authorities, the missionaries will not act on their own, but in solidarity with the other missionaries and the competent authority of the Institute.

Ecumenism

67 The division among Christians openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world and damages the preaching of the Gospel. 205 The missionary, in communion with the Local Church, promotes the ecumenical dialogue as the work of the Spirit that leads the pilgrim people of God to an ever fuller unity and truth.

67.1 Many Christian Churches and communities not fully in communion with the Catholic Church sincerely proclaim Christ's Good News according to their own traditions. The missionary cooperates with them in accordance with the Ecumenical Directory and other norms of the Church.

Apostolic communities

68 To render the evangelizing activity more complete and effective, the missionary fosters the establishment and development of apostolic communities of prayer and work among all those who are dedicated to evangelization in the same place.

68.1 In order to be effective, the apostolic community requires meetings for refection and prayer, corresponsibility in the planning, execution and revision of the work, a certain communion of goods, mutual trust and clear identification on the part of the individual with one's own vocation and Society.

Inculturation of the message

69 The missionary is committed to the process by which the Local Church under the guidance of the Spirit assimilates Christ's mystery and re-expresses it in its own language, culture and religious forms.

69.1 The missionary is aware that his witness is linked to his own experience of the faith within a certain culture. Therefore be must learn how to discern the essential con- tent of the message from its cultural expressions. A deep knowledge of his own culture of origin is particularly important for the missionary to do this.

204 Cf Act. 20:28; CIC 678; 681.205 Cf UR 1, EN 77; CIC 755; CT 32-33.

69.2 The missionary cooperates in the transposition of the Word of God without alteration into the language of the different local culture. This “transposition has to be done ..in the field of the liturgical expression and in the areas of catechesis, theological formulation, secondary ecclesial structures and ministries”.206

69.3 The missionary remains attentive to the different kinds of popular piety. He studies them and assists in discerning them correctly; be makes proper use of their capacity to involve the people in the process of liberation that accompanies the growth of the Kingdom of God in the different human situations.

Community as evangelizer

70 The evangelizing activity of the Society is 70 fulfilled when the Christian community becomes self-sufficient, that is, when it has its own ministries, provides for its own needs, and takes part in the spreading of the Gospel. 207

Provisional character

71 The missionary knows that missionary service has a provisional character. This derives from the growth of the Churches, from the urgent nature of work to be done in other fields and from considerations concerning his own personal welfare and that of the Institute. It can also be connected with external factors and socio-political conditions.

71.1 The provisional character of missionary service underlines the necessity of favouring the self-sufficiency of the Local Church. It does not weaken the missionary's commitment to incarnation; indeed be is stimulated by it to work with constancy.

71.2 The superiors have particular care of those confreres who, because of the provisional character of their work or for other reasons, are preparing themselves for their activities, bearing in mind the confreres' age and personal situations.

Section TwoMISSION PROMOTION

In the Founder's footsteps

72 The Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, by vocation and after the example of their Founder,208 are called to stimulate the missionary conscience of the people of God so that they recognize their missionary responsibility and commit themselves to proclaiming the Gospel to the whole world. 209

72.1 Comboni considered it an essential aspect of his vocation to arouse the missionary conscience of the whole Church. He divided his time between the work of evangelization in Africa and the work of animating the Churches in Europe. In the work of mission promotion the Society intends to remain faithful to the Founder's spirit of initiative and courage.

206 EN 63; cf CT 53-54.207 Cf AG 20; CIC 786.208 Cf MDC, pp. 276-291 (n. 111 - 130).209 Cf AG 36; CIC 781.

72.2 The missionary is an expression of the missionary character of his Church of origin. He fosters its evangelizing thrust, above all through the witness of his life, his testimony and by his departure towards the peoples to be evangelized.

72.3 Mission promotion inspires each Local Church not only to communicate its own riches, but also to receive and esteem the riches which may come to it from other Churches.

Cooperation in promotion

73 Recognizing that the responsibility for mission Promotion rests primarily with the pastors of the Church and their collaborators, the missionaries offer a specific service according to their charism. Sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel, they inspire the people of God to take an active part in the evangelization of other peoples. As an expression of the communion among the different Churches, they cooperate in the development of their mutual friendship and exchange of gifts. 210

73.1 The Institute helps the ecclesial community to carry out its missionary responsibility, inviting it to offer prayers and sufferings for the salvation of the world, to establish partnership with those communities where its missionaries work, to share material blessings with the poor, to encourage and foster missionary vocations.

73.2 The Institute performs missionary promotion also by urging the Local Churches by word and decd to assist in a concrete fashion, students and workers from the emerging countries211.

73.3 Constant and objective information about the religious and social conditions of other peoples allows Christians to recognize, in the light of the Gospel, situations of injustice and exploitation in the socio-economic relationships among the different countries, and every kind of oppression also from within.

73.4 The Institute collaborates with international missionary organizations, with those of the Episcopal Conferences, with national and diocesan mission offices and bodies, and with other missionary Institutes.212 The missionary coordinates his promotional efforts with the diocesan and provincial programmes.

Within the Institute

74 In order that his missionary promotion activity be effective, the missionary pledges himself to renew and strengthen his consecration.

74.1 In his promotion work, the missionary first of all prays the Father to remain faithful in his vocation, to send workers into his vineyard,213 and to cause Christians to feel the urgency of their missionary commitment.

74.2 Each community fosters initiatives designed to promote missionary awareness, such as mission days, liturgics with a missionary theme, and the celebration of significant dates in the history of the Institute and in the life of its Founder.

74.3 The missionaries attend mission conferences, conventions and specialized courses to update and broaden their knowledge about missionary issues.

74.4 The communities, especially those engaged in formation, invite missionaries on leave to share their mission experience, and, on their part, the missionaries make them- selves available for such tasks.

74.5 Cooperation is fostered among the missionaries working in the sector of mission promotion in the different provinces.

210 Cf AG 38; LG 13; CIC 782.2; 791.211 Cf CIC 792.212 Cf AG 33,38.213 Cf Mt. 9:37-38.

Every community a centre

75 Every community of the Institute must be a centre of mission promotion and missionary spirituality for the Local Church. Through this service the community lives its specific character and helps to enrich the people of God in their faith.

75.1 Every community may become a centre of mission pro- motion in different ways: maintaining contact with benefactors;214 making the life and work of the Institute known through the means of social communication, especially by distributing mission literature; and presenting mission activity and the missionary vocation in gatherings, liturgical celebration, study-groups, vocation days and retreats.

Promoters

76 Mission promotion requires numerous, different specialized services to be entrusted to missionaries qualified in this sector. The Superiors are responsible for the choice of capable promoters and for their preparation.

76.1 In addition to special personal talents, the mission promoter needs a clear identification with his vocation, and, preferably, mission experience.

76.2 The mission promoters regularly compare and evaluate their methods of works. Their activity is enriched by the cooperation of the community and other missionaries, especially the elderly, as authentic witnesses of the missionary apostolate

Vocational promotion

77 Vocational promotion is an integral and necessary part of missionary promotion, and it aims at assisting in the discovery, interpretation and development of the missionary vocation.

77.1 Vocational promotion is directed at individuals and groups of different age levels, giving preference to boys and young men already involved in the Local Church.

77.2 While always respecting the freedom of choice, the promoter clearly presents the missionary vocation in all its forms, with particular emphasis on the life commitment as Priests and Brothers in the Institute.

77.3 Personal contact is the most effective way of coming to know the prospective candidate, his vocational aspirations, his family and environment. In this work the missionary is aware that the witness of his life may be the determining factor for others to follow Christ in the Society.

77.4 The promoter cooperates with Church and school personnel as well as with the diocesan offices of vocational promotion. This provides an additional guarantee of success.

77.5 The close relationship between their activities necessitates that vocational promoters and educators work in close collaboration, especially in the early stare of formation.

77.6 The missionary also promotes lay missionary vocations and cooperates with existing organizations for preparing and sending them. The Provincial Directory gives more detailed norms, taking local conditions into account.

Means for promotion

78 In missionary promotion the missionary makes use of the means of social communication which experience and particular situations present as apt to attain their purpose.

214 Cf MDC, pp. 218-224 (n. 40-47).

78.1 The missionary is able to reach a large number of people on mission days. This affords him the opportunity to inspire the parish and groups within it. Therefore he organizes and carries them out according to the requirements of the Local Church and the customs of each country.

78.2 In seeking material means for the support of the Institute and its activity, the missionary in a spirit of poverty, expresses both his solidarity with the Institute and his missionary commitment. The search for means, however, should not become so overriding that the other essential elements of mission promotion are neglected.

78.3 The missionary always presents the different peoples and countries in a dignified manner convinced that such esteem and respect will help to spread a more just and universal outlook among Christians.

78.4 The Institute's publications and audio-visual aids must have satisfactory technical quality and should appeal to the public for which they are intended. They also render a service to the young Churches and their problems, and promote the ideals of brotherhood among peoples. When such information could endanger the missionaries or the work of evangelization, community discernment is adopted and the directives of the superiors are followed.

78.5 Responsibility for the area of means of social communication and in particular magazines, for the choice and preparation of qualified personnel and for the appointment of magazine editors and editorial boards pertains to the Provincial Superior, advised by his Council. Final responsibility, however, falls on the Superior General, with his Council, as the guarantor of fidelity to the aim of the Institute and the directives of the Holy Sec.

78.6 Each missionary and each community cooperate in providing useful information and articles for the Institute's publications and promote their circulation.

78.7 The missionary is convinced that God offers new opportunities in changing situations; thus he strives to find new forms of missionary and vocational promotion.

Publications and mass-media

79 Before publishing books or producing means of social communication the missionary seeks permission from his Major Superior.

79.1 According to the norms of ecclesiastical legislation, the missionary submits to the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, before publication, writings which concern faith and morals.215

79.2 The missionary sends to the General Archives three copies of any published work or mass-media produced by him.

215 Cf CIC 822-832.

Section Three

BASIC AND ON-GOING FORMATION

Chapter OneFUNDAMENTAL ORIENTATION

Call

80 The Institute welcomes with gratitude those whom the Lord of the harvest calls to be apostles and heralds of the Good News. It assumes the responsibility of providing them with the elements for basic and on-going formation in view of an effective missionary service in the consecrated life.

80.1 The Institute gives particular importance to formation in obedience to the will of the Founder who considered the choice and formation of candidates to be “the first and most important mission of the Institute”.216

Aims

81 Formation aims at helping the missionary in his journey towards such an experience of God that will permit him to give witness to Him with his life and will enable him to know the men of his time, in order to communicate to them the Good News in their own language. It is characterized by the ideal and experience of Daniel Comboni as they are lived in the Institute, 217 and by the demands of missionary service at the present time.

81.1 Through his formation the missionary prepares himself to live the values of his consecration in the concrete situations of his missionary service. The educational structures, the formative experiences, the way of living, the programmes of study and specialization are to be oriented towards this goal.218

81.2 A knowledge of the Founder's life, and of the Institute's history is a necessary means for fostering and maintaining identification with the Institute.

81.3 Communication among the various communities of the Institute is encouraged so that the activities, concerns and hopes of the missionary Church may have a determining influence on formation.

81.4 On his formation the missionary is led to take an interest in reality as manifested in the different situations of the world and be is enabled to analyze and evaluate it critically.

The missionary response

82 Throughout basic and on-going formation the missionary freely responds with personal commitment to the action of the Spirit who, as his first and irreplaceable teacher, transforms him from within, enabling him ever more to place himself at the service of the Kingdom.

82.1 As a disciple of the Lord, the missionary is called on a journey of faith and continuous conversion: thus he learns to interpret events in the light of faith as salvation history, through hearing, studying and meditating on the Scripture so that he may advance in the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ.219

216 CEA, p. 258; cf CIC 670.217 Cf MR 11.218 Cf MDC, p. 263 (n. 96-97).219 Cf Ef. 3:19.

Development of the whole person

83 The Institute assists the candidates and the missionaries in their total human-Christian growth, and provides them with a professional training that enables them to live and work as authentic missionaries .220

83.1 The programme of formation gives appropriate attention to every aspect of the personality, rendering operative the gifts which the Spirit has given the individual. They engage the whole person through an adequate plan of studies, pastoral activity and community life.

83.2 Human-Christian maturation is a continuing process that requires understanding and guidance. The Institute provides the necessary means and environment for personal growth, assisting the individual, through confrontation with the reality in which he lives, to discover and utilize his good points and to accept his limits, and to face up to life.

In and for community

84 Basic and on-going formation aims at rendering the missionaries capable of living and working together, and of fostering the growth of communities that are signs of the new humanity made possible in Christ. This capacity results from active participation in a community where the members share the experience of faith in Jesus Christ and are involved in the life of the Church and the world.

84.1 As a social being, the missionary develops and renews himself through personal relationships and the striving towards a common goal, through cooperation and service.221 He shares with his brothers the one salvation of Christ and together with them makes his journey of faith.

84.2 In community life the missionary learns to accept himself and others positively and with a realistic attitude.

84.3 The missionary is open to the various movements which the Spirit raises up in the Church. His eventual participation in these movements may be beneficial provided that it does not conflict with the Society's purpose and his community commitment.

Life-long growth

85 The missionary is involved in a life-long growth process. Basic and on-going formation assists him in continually verifying and confirming his deep-rooted disposition, and in adapting structures and programmes to the demands of history and the Church.

Chapter II.BASIC FORMATION

Role of each member

86 All the missionaries have an influence on basic formation according to the role they play in the Institute; the formators, in communion with them, are directly responsible for the work of formation.

86.1 All contribute to formation by the witness of their life, their prayers, the suggestions resulting from their missionary experience, and the support and trust they can offer to the formators and candidates.

220 Cf CEA, pp. 271-275.221 “The missionary needs to think of himself as just one unnoticed worker in a long line of missionaries, all of whom can hope for results not so much from their own personal work as from the continuous and concurrent efforts mysteriously guided and used by Providence” CEA, p. 265.

86.2 The major superiors with the consent of their councils have the task of appointing and preparing suitable formators and are ultimately responsible, cither directly or through the respective secretariates, for the programmes pursued.

86.3 It is the responsibility of the Major Superiors to ensure that candidates in the formative phases of the postulancy and the scholasticate receive spiritual direction according to the norms laid down in the Code of Canon Law.222 Specific directives in this regard are defined in the Institute’s “Ratio institutionis fundamentalis”.

The formators

87 The formators introduce the candidates to the basic values of the Comboni missionary vocation in the Institute. While making a journey of faith together, they challenge, support and evaluate each candidate and the community in formation, in their response to the action of the Spirit in concrete life situations

87.1 Those who are assigned to work in formation perform a true missionary Service.223 Hence they willingly and joyfully engage in it as befits those who are conscious of living their missionary vocation to the full.

87.2 The formators require clear vocational identification, capacity for discernment and team-work, ability to relate to young people, adequate preparation, and, if possible, valid missionary experience.

87.3 The formators cooperate in a special way with the Superior in discerning, evaluating and coordinating the various internal and external factors which may influence the community and its members.

87.4 In an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect, the formators encourage the free and complete development of the personality of each candidate in an environment that fosters personal initiative and a sense of responsibility.

87.5 The formators meet periodically at the provincial and international levels, under the direction of the respective secretariates, to compare, evaluate and update programmes and methods to ensure continuity between the periods of formation and to promote unity of approach among those working in the different provinces.

87.6 The formators participate in seminars, conferences, study groups and up-dating courses also at the level of the Local Church.

Vocational discernment

88 The missionary vocation is a gift of the Spirit which the candidate perceives in faith, freely accepts, develops during his formation in constant evaluation with his formators, and fulfils through the concrete choice of missionary service in the Institute.

88.1 Signs of the missionary vocation in the Institute are: the desire and readiness to evangelize according to the Institute's purpose; an understanding of the consecrated life and the commitment to live it; the willingness and suit- ability to belong to a community of the Institute and to live in a different cultural milieu.

88.2 The major superiors and formators, in dialogue with the community, have the task of discerning in the spirit of brotherly service, the candidate's aptitude and whether he is sufficiently prepared to be admitted to the subsequent period of formation, to religious consecration and, when necessary, to the diaconate and presbyterate.

222 Cf CIC 239.2; 246.4.223 Cf MDC, pp. 262-265; 268-269 (nn. 94-95, 103-104).

Minor seminary

89 The Institute considers formation in the minor seminary, within the context of the Local Church, a form of vocational promotion for a valid preparation to the Postulancy. The seminary functioning in a complementary role to the family and parish community, continues the process of formation and human-Christian development.224

89.1 The seminary accepts boys and young men who are open to the missionary vocation and have Christian attitudes and normal physical, intellectual and emotional dispositions.

89.2 The formation given in the minor seminaries is intended to assist the candidates to discover the vocation God has given them and to develop it according to their abilities.

89.3 The Institute encourages the establishment of promotion and formation centres for candidates for Brothers. It is appropriate for these centres to be in lively communities of Brothers.

89.4 The Sacraments of Christian initiation are presented gradually but explicitly in their missionary dimension to elicit from the candidate the desire to follow Christ in the Institute, in the variety of services that it offers.

89.5 Appropriate norms for the seminaries and for the formation of Brothers are contained in the Provincial Directory which takes into account the culture and the requirements of the country and of the Local Church.

Phases

90 The three phases of formation are the Postulancy, the Novitiate and the period of temporary vows.

90.1 The formative structures have the function of ensuring the progressive continuity of formation, taking into account the different demands of the specific vocation of Brothers and of candidates for the priesthood. They are revised and brought up to date regularly so as to meet the changing conditions of a world and Church in continuous evolution.

90.2 Throughout the period of formation the dispositions considered basic for missionary spirituality are taken into account and verified: patience and fortitude in adversity, contradictions and disillusionment, spirit of initiative, acceptance of people in diverse situations and cultures and the disposition to live and work in communion with the other missionaries and pastoral agents.225

90.3 The basic formation, up to and including the novitiate, comes within the competence of the Provincial Superior and his Council, and is governed by the Provincial Directory and by the norms laid down by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

90.4 The formation of members in temporary vows is within the competence of the Superior General with the consent of his Council and is governed by the relevant Directories.

90.5 The basic formation of missionaries in temporary vows demands the concern, involvement and cooperation of the provinces of which they are members.

90.6 Missionary formation demands special attention to those sciences that are necessary for the understanding of the socio-cultural situations of peoples, to the missionary dimension of spirituality and theology, and to the various methods of evangelization that have shown their effectiveness in the history of the Church. Cooperation with other missionary Institutes facilitates the achievement of these objectives.

90.7 The programmes of study for candidates to the priesthood and for Brothers are contained in the “Ratio institutionis fundamentalis” which bas the purpose of stressing the missionary dimensions of the studies.

90.8 Participation in mission promotion and pastoral activities is a valuable experience for those who are preparing to be missionaries, and strengthens their vocational identification. Therefore, some promotional and pastoral activities are worked into the formation programme of e ach candidate according to his age level and inclination.226

224 Cf OT 3.225 Cf AG 25.226 “Candidates are expected to give evidence in their behaviour of that inward missionary spirit which is to inspire their

90.9 The Brothers need a specific programmes of professional training of the manifold services they are called to exercise in the Church and in the Institute. Therefore, during the Postulancy and the period of temporary vows, they have the opportunity of an appropriate specialization in a trade or profession in accordance with their personal aptitude and inclination.

Postulancy

91 As the first phase of formation in the Society, the Postulancy permits the candidate to reach a level of human and spiritual maturity to enable him to make a responsible decision to enter the Novitiate.227

91.1 To be admitted to the Postulancy the candidate agrees to test his vocational aspirations with the Society; he must have substantially overcome the crisis of adolescence and have reached a measure of emotional stability; he must also have started to live a personal faith.

91.2 The Postulancy offers the candidate a period for human and Christian maturation in an environment of freedom and responsibility, adequate identification with his own culture, a deeper experience of community life, and sufficient knowledge of the Society and of himself to permit a conscious and responsible decision.

91.3 The length of the Postulancy, which ordinarily does not last longer than three years, is determined by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, bearing in mind the personal situation of each candidate.

Novitiate

92 The Novitiate constitutes the first profound experience of the Society's way of life. Its goal is to prepare the candidate for the consecration to God for missionary service. Admission to the Novitiate is granted by the Provincial Superior advised by his Council.

92.1 The candidate is admitted to the Novitiate when, in the judgement of his formators, he is able to begin it with serious commitment and responsibility, has had sufficient theological preparation to understand the meaning and practice of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, and is able to identify with the members of the Institute in their concrete life situations.

92.2 The novice is introduced to an experience of Christ's discipleship especially through the evangelical counsels as proposed and practised in the Institute.

92.3 The Novitiate programme aims to reach the following objectives: a deepening of a personal communion with Christ, a better understanding of the Word of God, the liturgy and the sacraments; a balance between action and contemplation; a deepening of the theology of the vows and of their bearing on the human-Christian growth of the personality for a greater availability for missionary service; an experience of community life; a more extensive knowledge of the life and charism of the Founder and of the Institute, and a serious study of the Constitutions.

92.4 The novice does not follow a formal programme of studies nor is he to be occupied in a steady job. He dedicates his time mainly to reflection so that he may grasp God's action in his life and develop his call to the proclamation of the Gospel. Some involvement in pastoral activities and mission promotion is advisable during this period.

Duration of the Novitiate

93 The Novitiate comprises the canonical year of twelve months, spent in the Novitiate Community itself, in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation, and a supplementary period of at least seven months during which the novices engage in

apostolic calling from the very beginning”, CEA, p. 270. 227 Cf CIC 597.2; 642.

apostolic activity, and have an experience of community life as lived outside the Novitiate Community.228

93.1 Novitiate is designed, as much as possible, to reflect life as it is really lived in the Institute. Therefore, the novice alternate periods of reflection, prayer, manual work and appropriate study with periods of apostolic experience and communal experiences in line with the Institute's purpose, and governed by the Institute's own Programme of Studies.229

93.2 At the end of the Novitiate the novice indicate his preferences for a particular Scholasticate or International Centre for Brothers. However, the candidate accepts the possibility of change caused by the demands of missionary service, of the Institute and of internationality.

Admission to the Institute

94 The novice becomes a member of the Institute through the consecration to God for missionary service by the profession of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience according to the Constitutions. The following is the basic text of profession to which the candidate may add personal introductory and concluding expressions: “For the honour of God, before the Church, ... here and now in the presence of N. N. - ... I N. N. vow for one year (or perpetual) chastity, poverty and obedience, according to the Constitutions of the Institute of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus”.

94.1 In due time the candidate makes his written application for the profession to the competent Major Superior giving reasons for it. it is accompanied by the evaluation of his Novice Master, his Local Superior and the community where he lives.

94.2 The essential elements to be expressed in the formula of Profession include: the consecration to God for missionary service; the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, expressed individually; the intention to conform to the Constitutions of the Society; the length of time for which the consecration is made; and the name and status of the person who receives the profession.

94.3 The Local Superior where the candidate resides is “ex officio” delegate of the Major Superior to receive the vows, and be may sub delegate.

94.4 The formula of profession is dated and signed in triplicate by the one taking the vows and by the person receiving the profession. The original is kept in the archives of the house, one copy is sent to the archives of the province of origin and the other to the Secretary General's Office.

Temporary vows

95 At the end of the Novitiate the candidate is admitted to the temporary profession by his Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council. The profession is renewed annually for a period of three years, up to a maximum of six years, and it is received by the Provincial Superior who admitted the candidate to the vows, or by his delegate. For just reasons and at the request of the missionary, the Provincial Superior, with the consent of his Council, may extend this period up to a maximum of nine years from the first profession.230

95.1 To be admitted to temporary vows a candidate must be at least twenty-one years of age, of normal physical and mental health as evidenced by recent medical certificates, and meet the requirements of ecclesiastical legislation and of the Constitutions and General Directory. In case of doubt as to the suitability of the candidate, the Institute may ask for an additional professional opinion even indicating an expert of its own choice.

95.2 The professed missionary renews his profession on the expiry of his vows, but it may not be postponed beyond that date.

228 Cf CIC 641-653.229 Cf CIC 648,2.230 Cf CIC 654-650.

Re-Admission to the Institute

96 By leave of the Superior General with the consent of his Council, a candidate who bas obtained permission for an experience without vows outside the religious community, or has lawfully left the Institute, may be re-admitted without the obligation of repeating the Novitiate, in accordance with the norms of ecclesiastical legislation.231

Period of temporary profession

97 The period of temporary vows gives the newly professed the opportunity to test his faithfulness to God and to the community in concrete real life situations. It prepares him for perpetual profession and missionary service.

97.1 The newly professed are assigned by the Superior General and his Council, through the General Secretariate for Formation and in consultation with the respective Major Superior, to communities where they can continue their basic formation.232 Normally, they are assigned to an International Scholasticate, or an International Centre for Brothers, or an equivalent formation community, chosen in dialogue with the newly professed. This period is regarded as a significant step on the journey of experiencing and accepting other cultures which is so important for the missionary.

97.2 The period of temporary profession aims at assisting the professed to integrate his consecration into his daily life, especially through communal discernment and spiritual direction, to broaden and deepen his knowledge of the mystery of Christ, to acquire an international outlook and dispositions, to complete his specific theoretical and practical preparation for missionary work.233

97.3 Special attention is given to the attainment of those qualifications necessary for the purpose of the Society and the demands of the Local Churches. Therefore, an academic programme is provided that is chosen in dialogue with the formators and normally followed at a university or other recognized institutions. This course usually leads to the first academic degree or professional diploma.

97.4 The formative programme which is developed within the communities of temporarily professed members follows the norms established in the respective directories. These are periodically revised by the General Secretariate for Formation, in consultation with the communities concerned, and approved by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

97.5 The formation of members who are being prepared for sacred orders, and also the formation of the Brothers, are governed by the universal law and the Institute's own Programme of Studies.234

Perpetual vows

98 A member with tempo vows is admitted to perpetual profession by the Superior General with the consent of his Council upon presentation and evaluation of his application by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council .

98.1 The candidate makes his application for perpetual profession to the Superior General in due time giving reasons for it and sends it to his Provincial Superior. It is accompanied by the evaluation of the formators, the Local Superior and the community where he lives.

98.2 To be admitted to perpetual profession the candidate must have demonstrated that he can live serenely and with determination within the Institute. The profession is preceded by an adequate period of intensive spiritual preparation, in accordance with the indications of the respective Directories.

98.3 Admission to perpetual profession cannot be denied a candidate in case of an illness contracted after the first profession and due to the negligence of the Institute, or because of work

231 Cf CIC 690.1.232 Cf CIC 659, 660.233 Cf AG 26.234 Cf CIC 659,3.

performed in the Institute, except when his remaining in community would be impossible or harmful for him or the Institute.235

Chapter ThreeON-GOING FORMATION

Necessity

99 To remain faithful to their vocation and to respond adequately to the new demands of a Church and a civil society in transformation, the missionaries are called to continuous growth in Christ and identification with the Institute's charism. Therefore they are in constant need of being evangelized, of conversion and of renewing constantly the theological, cultural and professional content and the methods of their missionary service .236

99.1 Renewal in the Spirit aims at enabling the Institute and the missionary to respond in an ever new manner to the Lord's call, to maintain their vocational identification and capability to proclaim the Gospel with credibility and originality.

99.2 Theological, cultural and professional renewal implies the need to up-date the content, methods and language of evangelization, and to adapt the missionary service to the ever-changing conditions of man.

99.3 Specialized studies are to be in harmony with the specified character of the Institute. Such studies are planned in view of the Institute's commitments.237

99.4 The time spent on on-going formation is not to be considered subtracted from missionary activity, but as a necessary part of it.

99.5 In organizing various programmes of on-going formation, the Institute follows the will and example of the Founder who demanded of his missionaries already on the field of work a commitment to continue their formation.238

Responsibility

100 The responsibility for on-going formation rests on the individual missionary, the communities and the superiors in mutual cooperation.

100.1 The individual missionary, who is the first to experience the need for on-going formation, has the primary obligation to take the initiative. He makes time for a programme of study and reading suitable for his spiritual growth and his personal and professional development. He continues to deepen his knowledge of cultures and languages and participates in those theological and pastoral programmes which are designed to make him a more effective missionary

100.2 The community becomes the most favourable environment for the process of on-going formation when it strives to renew its life and activity, making a community of work into a real communion of life that forms and supports the individual missionary. Furthermore it assures that each member bas the time and the means for his personal renewal and fosters special initiatives for the sick and elderly missionaries.

100.3 The missionary is not only a member of the community in which he lives, but also of the Institute, the Church and the world. Hence be is beneficially influenced in his renewal, if he remains open to them and takes part in them in an appropriate way.

235 Cf CIC 689; 689.3.236 Cf AG 24; EN 15; CIC 661.237 Cf MR 26.238 Cf BC (79), pp. 292-295.

100.4 The superiors have a special responsibility to encourage the missionaries in their continuous renewal, allowing them sufficient opportunity and providing the necessary structures.239

100.5 Physical exercise, sport, creative and recreational activities assist the missionary in maintaining his ability to meet his obligations serenely and effectively.

Initiatives

The Institute is committed with its own initiatives of ongoing formation, especially to increase the identification of each member with it. With regard to pastoral renewal the missionary takes part in the initiatives of the Local Church and offers his cooperation.

101.1 At the general level the Institute promotes and coordinates various initiatives, including special courses, aids and information services. At the provincial level it ensures that the missionaries have the opportunity to attend the cultural courses of introduction, organizes assemblies, days of spiritual renewal, area retreats and facilitates the exchange of information.

101.2 Not only does the Institute make use of the Local Church's initiatives of on-going formation, but it promotes them and offers its cooperation with regard to inculturation, pastoral up-dating and the renewal of local pastoral agents.

101.3 Superiors are to promote a knowledge of the documents issued by the Holy See, as well as those of the Episcopal conferences, which affect the members entrusted to them, and are to ensure that these documents are observed.240

PART FOURTHE SERVICE OF AUTHORITY

IN THE INSTITUTE

Section OneGOVERNMENT AND AUTHORITY

Service of authority

102 The Church, as the people of God, acknowledges only one authority: Christ. Authority in the Institute is a service which shares in that of Christ who came not to be served but to serve”,241 and is inspired by it. This service is rendered to the community and to each member so as to help him live according to his consecration and to develop his personal gifts and charisms in the missionary service.

102.1 The ministry of authority joins the life and activity of the Institute with the Church, 242 in which Christ is the real bead, the master and the good Shepherd.243

239 Cf MR 13.240 Cf CIC 592.2.241 Cf Mt 20:28; CIC 618.242 Cf PC 14.243 Cf Mt 23,8; Jn 10: 1-8; Ep 1:22. * The term “province” and “provincial” as used in these Constitutions and General Directory apply both to the Province

and the Delegation, unless the latter is specifically excluded by the use of an asterisk.

102.2 Authority is a service of leadership in the community; of inspiration, helping all members of the community to live their vocation; of discernment, assisting everyone to make the right choices in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God; of unity and coordination; of encouragement and fraternal correction as a support in overcoming moments of weakness, fatigue and discouragement through friendly guidance.

Organization

103 The missionaries live in local communities led by a Local Superior. These communities are grouped into provinces or delegations under the authority of a Provincial Superior or Superior of Delegation, assisted by a Council. All these communities form the Institute, which is led by the Superior General assisted by his Council.

103.* 1 A province is constituted by at least three local communities and twenty five members. Its autonomy and organization are determined by the internal law of the Institute.

103.2 The delegation is constituted by at least two local communities and ten members.103.3 The District of the Generalate includes the residence of the Superior General and his Council,

the related offices and secretariates, and such communities as are assigned to it. It is led by the Vicar General as a delegate of the Superior General.

Common and particular law

104 The Institute is governed in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation and the norms of these Constitutions and General Directory, the directives of the General Chapter and supplementary directories.244

104.1 The supplementary directories are revised periodically and submitted to the Superior General and to his Council for approval according to the norms established under each. Supplementary directories on the general level are published in the official publications of the Institute.

Exercise of authority

105 The ordinary government of the Institute is exercised by constitutionally elected or nominated superiors with their councils. The Superior General, the Provincial Superiors*, and their Vicars, are Major and Ordinary Superiors, in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation. 245 Priestly ordination is required for the offices of superiors and vice-superiors at all levels .

105.1 At the beginning of their term of office, Superiors at all levels, make a profession of faith, according to the formula approved by the Apostolic See, this normally takes place in the context of a liturgical celebration.246

105.2 The Constitutions, General and Provincial Directories list the cases in which the superior must call for a collegiate, deliberative or consultative vote.

105.3 When the deliberative vote is prescribed for the General or Provincial Councils, the superior must convene the counsellors, and formally request their agreement on the matter in band. For the validity of the act, it is required that consent be obtained of an absolute majority of those present, comprising also, according to the custom of our Institute, the superior's vote.247

105.4 The deliberative vote is secret, if this is prescribed by ecclesiastical legislation or requested by a member of the General or Provincial Councils. The superior cannot act against a deliberative vote.

244 Cf PC 2; CIC 617.245 Cf CIC 134,1; 620.246 Cf CIC 833,8.247 Cf CIC 127.

105.5 The Superior, in the spirit of co-responsibility, takes into, great consideration the opinion of the Council, and in cases foreseen by the General and Provincial Directories, or at the request of one of the members, he asks for a consultative vote. When the consultative vote is specifically prescribed, the superior is bound to obtain it, but for serious reasons he is not necessarily obliged to follow it.

105.6 In urgent cases and, according to the judgement of the superiors the consultative vote may be asked for by telephone, orally or by correspondence.

Superior

106 Ordinary authority is vested in the person of the Superior who is ultimately responsible for any decision. The exercise of authority is based on the principle of subsidiarity, requires corresponsibility, collaboration, respect for each missionary 248

and is manifested especially through dialogue. 249

106.1 Co-responsibility implies that each missionary is given the opportunity to participate effectively in the planning, carrying out and evaluation of the community's work. Collaboration is the willingness on the part of the member to put his suggestions and resources at the disposal of the community.

106.2 By the Principle of subsidiarity the higher authority does not intervene or interfere in the area of competence of the lower authority, unless the well-being of the communities or of the missionaries requires it.

106.3 In the choice of the persons for the various services of authority, the missionaries endeavour to guarantee the unity and the purpose of the Institute.

The Superior's ministry

107 The Superior animates the community and the individual members in the search for the will of God, in the realization of their missionary consecration and the growth of charity.250 He exercises authority through the responsibility for decision-making arid implementation al- ways in conformity with the purpose of the Society. Moreover he renders his service in arranging the various aspects of community life in harmony and in caring for the well-being of the individual missionary.251

107.1 Through tactful determination, sensitivity and initiative, the Superior strives to become a bond of unity by helping each member to overcome his individualistic tendencies and lack of concern for the others, and by encouraging everyone to consider his own talents as a good at the service of all. He respects the competence of those who have been given a specific task.

107.2 The Superior fulfils a role of leadership for the good of the community through directives within his competence, in consultation with the persons involved and, as far as possible, he communicates the reasons for his decisions.

107.3 The Superior ensures that, as far as possible, all have a specific occupation for which they feel personally responsible to him and to the community.

107.4 The Superior has the task of fostering an atmosphere of brotherhood and cooperation with the Local Church.

248 Cf BC (79), pp. 292-295.249 Cf ET 25.250 Cf PC 14; CIC 619.251 Cf 1 P 5:2-3; cf MR 13-14; “For his part (the Superior) considers himself as a father and a brother among them;

in so far as he can, he is ready to satisfy their zeal and just desires and to provide for their needs; be distributes the various tasks according to the ability, inclination and strength of each” BC (79), p. 293.

Right of appeal

108 When a missionary feels that the Constitutions or his rights have been violated, be may appeal to a higher authority. This authority is bound to render judgement, which is binding until further appeal is made and a new verdict rendered. Such appeal may be taken as far as the Holy See. Before an appeal to higher authority is made, a solution is sought through dialogue.

108.1 To facilitate the right of appeal and serve as intermediaries between a missionary and the Superior, one or more “Probi Viri” may be appointed by the Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council, after consultation with the members of the Province in accordance with the norms detailed in the Provincial Directory.

Section TwoTHE LOCAL COMMUNITY

Establishment and suppression

109 The local community or religious house is established by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, and with the prior written consent of the diocesan bishop.252 It can be suppressed only by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, and following consultation with the diocesan bishop .253

109.1 The basic criteria to establish a community are the possibility of work in keeping with the Institute's purpose, and the requirements of community life.

109.2 When the establishment of a community or religious house demands additional assistance of personnel and means from outside the province, the authorization of the Superior General with the consent of his Council is required.

Assignment lo local community

110 Every missionary is assigned to a local community by the competent authority.

110.1 The assignment of a missionary to a local community within the province pertains to the Provincial Superior, with the advice of his Council, except for the cases contemplated in the Constitutions and General Directory.

110.2 The assignment is made after dialogue with the Superior, the members of the local community and the missionary concerned, and is communicated in a letter from the competent Superior, which normally includes a description of the work to be done.

110.3 When the assignment to, or the transfer from a community affects pastoral activity, it is done in dialogue with the diocesan bishop.

252 Cf CIC 609.1.253 Cf CIC 616.1.

Community Council

111 The Community Council is the meeting of all the members to seek the common good, to promote fraternal communion, to plan and verify their activities, and to participate in all important decisions of the community. 254

111.1 The Community Council is the ordinary occasion when the community confronts itself with the Word of God, reflects on the documents of the Church and of the Institute, an seeks the will of God through communal discernment. Every missionary assigned to the community bas the right and obligation to take part in it.

111.2 The community meets regularly in council and reviews its life-style, its commitments and the manner in which they are put into practice. The Superior needs the consent of a majority of the Community Council in order to act in important matters listed in the Provincial Directory. Minutes are taken, and decisions recorded.

111.3 Decisions concerning the missionary service are made in communion with the ecclesial authority in agreement with co-workers and pastoral councils.

111.4 In addition to the regular meetings, larger communities may delegate certain tasks to a sub-Council comprising only some of the members elected by the community.

111.5 The competency, frequency and procedure of the Community Council meetings are given in the Provincial Directory.

Local Superior

112 The Local Superior is appointed by the competent Major Superior with the consent of his Council. He has authority over the members of the community, coordinates and animates it in a spirit of service.

112.1 Any priest may be named Local Superior after three years of perpetual profession. Prior to the appointment the local community is to be consulted.255

112.2 The Local Superior performs this service for a period of three years; he may be appointed superior of the same community only for a second consecutive term. However, Superiors of house of formation can be nominated for further consecutive terms.

112.3 The Superior may be removed for serious reasons before his term expires by the competent Superior with the consent of his Council.

112.4 When his term expires, the local Superior continues his service as a delegate of the competent superior until his re-appointment is confirmed or a new Superior is appointed.

112.5 Superiors, vice-superiors, formators in International Scholasticates and Centres for Brothers, as well as novice masters, are nominated by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, having ascertained the views of the General Secretariate of Formation and the relevant Provincial Superior.

112.6 The Vice-Superior of the local community is proposed by the Community Council and appointed by the Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council.

Section Three

254 Cf PC 14; CIC 627.255 Cf CIC 623-624.

THE PROVINCE

Establishment and suppression

113 A province is normally created by the General Chapter and, in exceptional cases, by the Superior General with the consent of his Council in a decree detraining its characteristic and boundaries. The General Chapter or the Superior General with the consent of his Council may modify or suppress a province when the conditions require it.113.1 Before a province is established, modified or suppressed the provincial superiors with their

councils and the members involved are consulted.

Special juridical ties

114 Always respecting the right and duty of the general administration with regard to the unity of the Institute and the supreme good of missionary activity, special juridical ties may be established between a province and another province or delegation or missionaries with a particular task, whenever grave external or internal reasons, judged so by the General Chapter, counsel it, and the majority of the members concerned request it or at least accept it. Such special juridical ties are regulated eventuality by a Special Juridical Ordinance.

Radical incorporation

115 Every member of the Institute by his first profession is radically incorporated in the province which has admitted him to the Novitiate.

115.1 A missionary may be allowed to change his radical incorporation for reasons considered valid by the Superior General with the advice of his Council after obtaining the consent of the respective provincial superiors and their councils.

Assignment to a province

116 The assignment of a missionary to a province pertains to the Superior General with the advice of his Council.

116.1 During basic formation a member belongs to the province of origin. The first, and any subsequent assignment, begin officially from the date set in the letter of assignment.

116.2 Before a missionary is assigned to or transferred from a province, the Superior General has an adequate dialogue with the member and the superiors concerned.

116.3 Absences from the province are authorized by the Provincial Superior in accordance with the norms given in the Provincial Directory. In the case of prolonged absence the Provincial Superior communicates such information to the Superior General and to the Superior of the province to which the missionary will be going.

116.4 A missionary who is staying temporarily in another province contacts its superior who, in dialogue with him and respecting the planned programme, indicates a local community to which he belongs for the duration of his stay. He observes the directives of that province.

116.5 A temporary exchange of personnel for up to one year may be made between provinces with the mutual consent of the respective provincial superiors and their councils, the General Council being informed of such an exchange.

Appointment of Provincial

117* The appointment of the Provincial Superior is made by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, after consultation with the members of the province, including those temporarily outside it.

117. 1 * The person proposed by the members in the consultation acquires the right to office when be is appointed by the Superior General, with the consent of his Council.

Requirements

118 Any priest of the Institute may become Provincial Superior. To be validly appointed the candidate must be at least thirty years of age, and perpetually professed for at least five years. lf these requirements are lacking, the postulation to the Holy See is needed.256

Consultation

119* In the consultation for the appointment of the Provincial Superior each missionary votes for one candidate. If a missionary receives an absolute majority of the valid votes cast in the first ballot, he is proposed as the Provincial Superior. lf no one receives an absolute majority, a second ballot takes place with the authorization of the Superior General with the advice of his Council, presenting the names of the three who have received the highest number of votes in the previous ballot. Whoever obtains the relative majority is proposed as Provincial Superior.

119.1 * All the members assigned to the Province have the right to active vote in the consultation.119.2* The consultation is conducted by the outgoing Provincial Superior and his Council. The

official consultation is preceded by an opinion poll conducted among all the members of the Province, in accordance with the norms stated in the Provincial Directory. The result of each ballot is communicated to the General Council and to the members of the province.

119.3* Anyone receiving votes in opinion poll and in the first ballot has the right to decline recognition as a candidate. Any withdrawal is communicated to the General Council. In exceptional cases, and for very serious reasons, the Superior General with the consent of his Council, bas the right to intervene and cause a candidate to with- draw.

119.4* lf one or more members whose total number of votes is equal to an absolute majority of the valid votes cast in the first ballot are not available or decline, the consultation is repeated. The majority of votes is calculated from the total number of ballots that have arrived in time.

Superior of Delegation

120 The Superior of Delegation is appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council after an opinion poll among the members concerned. He has delegated power of government, which is exercised in accordance with the specifications indicated in the letter of appointment. He is not by right a member of the General Chapter.

120.1 A Superior of Delegation must meet the same requirements as specified for Provincial Superiors.

120.2 The Superior General with the advice of his Council may consider the Superior of Delegation equivalent to a Major Superior for civil purposes, and to allow him to participate at national meetings of major superiors.

256 Cf CIC 623.

Provincial Council

121* The Provincial Council is composed of at least four Councillors who assist the Provincial Superior in the government of the Province. All professed members assigned to the Province have the active vote in the election of the Councillors; all perpetually professed members of the Province have the passive votes.

121.1* Norms for number, criteria and procedure for election, substitution and duration of office of Provincial Councillors are specified in the Provincial Directory.

Vice-Provincial Superior

122* The Vice-Provincial Superior is elected by secret ballot from among the Provincial Councillors who are priests, by the Provincial Councillors (and includes the vote of the Provincial Superior). The results of the election are communicated to the Superior General and his Council for confirmation.

122.1 The Vice-Provincial Superior must meet the same requirements as specified for Provincial Superiors.

122.2 When the Provincial Superior is absent or prevented from acting, the Vice-Provincial Superior has ordinary powers. In matters of great importance which do not require an urgent decisions he waits for the return of the Provincial Superior.

122.3 When both Provincial and Vice-Provincial Superiors are absent the oldest priest member of the Council takes their place.

Councils and Vice-Superior of Delegations

123 The Delegation Council is composed of two Councillors, elected according to norms given by the Superior General with the consent of his Council in the decree establishing the Delegation. Also in the selection of a Vice-Superior of a Delegation the norms given by the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, are followed.

Term of office

124* The term office of the Provincial Superior is three years, with the possibility of re-appointment for a second term; a third consecutive term is not permitted. When his term expires he remains in office as a delegate of the Superior General until re-appointed or replaced.

124.1 * If the office of the Provincial Superior becomes vacant during the first two years of his tenure, the Vice-Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, calls a new consultation. lf the office of the Provincial Superior becomes vacant during the last year, the Vice-Provincial Superior leads the Province as Vice-Provincial. In both cases the new Provincial Superior or the Vice-Provincial Superior remain in office until the end of the current term of office.

Autonomy

125 Every province enjoys adequate autonomy of government, exercised by the Provincial Superior and his Council. The Superior General with his Council intervenes when the unity, welfare or purpose of the Society or the province require it, or when the rights of the missionaries are seriously affected.

125.1 The autonomy of the province ensures that the Provincial Superior has all the ordinary powers needed to perform the acts of government necessary to attain the particular aim of the province.

125.2 In matters concerning the province, the Superior General normally deals with the Provincial Superior. The members of the province usually deal with their Provincial Superior and avoid undue recourse to the Superior General.

125.3 Provincial competence extends to such areas as internal planning and the deployment of personnel within the province; the appointment of local superiors and vice- superiors and of those in charge of the various sectors; mission and vocational promotion, and formation as specified in the Constitutions and General Directory; relations with the Local Church and civil authorities; granting permission to travel outside the province with- in the limits set by higher authority, and the temporary exchange of personnel with other provinces.

Task of Provincial and Council

126 As Leader of the province, the Provincial Superior has the task of animating it and of building up its community spirit; he, therefore, keeps himself free from other absorbing commitments that would impede his main obligation. He summons the Provincial Council with regular frequency, possibly delegating specific duties to the Councillors.

126.1 The main responsibilities of the Provincial Superior include: visiting the Communities at least once a year; seeing that the members of the province live their religious and missionary life in conformity with the relevant laws and according to the directives of the Episcopal Conferences and Local Ordinaries, granting the dimissorial letters for the diaconate and the priesthood;257

preparing, summoning and presiding over the Council meetings; lending support to the authority of the local superior and the competence of the different sectors, corresponding with the General Council and sending reports on the state of the province and its activity; maintaining relations with the religious and civil authorities, and private persons; looking after the Provincial Archives according to the norms given in the Directory of the Generalate and the Provincial Directory.

126.2 When a Councillor is absent the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council may invite another missionary and give him the right to vote for the occasion, particularly when the General or Provincial Directories require the presence of the entire Council.

126.3 The Councillors are co-responsible for the whole province and, therefore, keep themselves informed concerning it. Further specification on the role of the Councillors are found in the Provincial Directory.

126.4 The heads of secretariates may be invited to a meeting of the Provincial Council without the right to vote, when it deals with matters relating to their work. At least once a year all the secretaries take part in a consultative and planning meeting of the Provincial Council.

Consultative and deliberative vote

127 The matters to be dealt with in the Provincial Council require different procedures according to their importance. Some matters require consultative vote, while others are put to a deliberative vote. In any case, consultation is encouraged.

127.1 Matters that require the consultative vote are: the admission of candidates to the Novitiate or the delegation of such powers to others; the appointment of local vice-superiors, treasurers, editors, members of editorial boards and mission promoters; the presentation of personnel for diocesan office; the transfer of personnel within the province; change of radical incorporation; the list of members to be requested from, or to be made available to, the General Council; and the personnel to be recommended for special training, the approval of projects of the missionaries to be presented to procures and other bodies for funding; the permission for special experiments of poverty; the invitation to guests, observers and experts to participate in an Assembly; the initiation of the process leading to the dismissal of a member of the Province, authorization for a member to be a bank signatory; financial assistance to missionaries on the occasion of leave of absence, exclaustration or dismissal; permission to renounce to passive vote for the Chapter or to take part in the Chapter; all other matters indicated either in the universal law or in that of the Institute.

257 Cf CIC 1019,1.

127.2 The following matters require the deliberative vote: the establishment of communities or religious houses in accordance with the General Directory; the request to the General Council for permission to establish or suppress works of the Institute; consultation when the Office of the Provincial is vacant; the election of the Vice-Provincial Superior, the appointment and removal of local superiors, formators, and of beads of provincial offices and secretariates; invite a confrere to the Council when a Councillor is absent. The definition of the duration of the Postulancy; the admission of novices to first profession and the admission to renewal of vows; to extend the period of temporary vows up to a maximum of nine years; the presentation to the General Council of applicants for perpetual profession and or Orders; resolving particular cases concerning the minimum number of members in a Community; the granting of permission to live temporarily outside the Community; granting leave of absence, but for not longer than one year outside a house of the Institute; the convocation of the Provincial Assembly, and the approval of its Acts. Furthermore, the deliberative vote in required for the approval of the provincial action plan, as well as of programmes concerning formation; the approval of the annual budget, balance sheet and financial reports of the Provincial Treasurer; the allocation of properties for use by a community; the request to the General Council for the right of ownership for local communities; the authorization of extraordinary expenses, the assumption of debts, the selling of property, stocks and bonds within the limits set by the General Chapter; the approval of the Provincial Directories, and of any revisions, to be presented to the General Council for the “nihil obstat”, and all other cases indicated in cither the universal law or that of the Institute.

Communication

128 Decisions of the Provincial Council are communicated and explained to all members, except for matters which are of a personal or reserved nature.

128.1 A copy of the unabridged minutes is sent to the Secretary General's Office after each meeting.128.2 A newsletter is published periodically for the purpose of keeping all the members informed and

interested in the activities and developments of the province.

Provincial secretaries

129 Continuity and technical competence in the Province's administration are ensured by various secretaries and offices. The heads of those bodies, appointed “ad nutum” by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, do not end their term of office with the Provincial Council.

129.1 The provincial secretaries are technical-advisory-executive bodies which serve the Provincial Council and the province, and act in collaboration with their respective General Secretariates. Indications concerning the number, competence and bye-laws of the provincial secretariates are found in the Provincial Directories.

Provincial Assembly

130 The Provincial Assembly, consultative in nature, deals with various aspects of life and activity in the province. Since it is an expression of solidarity and community living, every missionary takes part in it, either personally or, in those cases foreseen in the Provincial Directory, through a delegate.

130.1 The Provincial Assembly is convoked at least every two years by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council and the General Council is to be informed. The details of participation and procedure are specified in the Provincial Directories.

130.2 According to needs and circumstances, the Assembly may be plenary, extended to all the members of the province, or representative, limiting the participation to delegates chosen according to norms in the Provincial Directories. In vast provinces, or Provinces with a large number of members, zonal assemblies of cither kind may be indicated.

130.3 The Assembly may review the life of the province with regard to evangelization and mission promotion, formation and community life, consecration and prayer life and the financial situation; it proposes the updating of the Provincial Directories, prepares for the General Chapter and discusses other matters concerning the province.

130.4 The motions of the Assembly to come into force need the approval of the Provincial Superior, with the advice or consent of his Council, according to the particular case.

130.5 Guests, observers and experts, may be invited to attend the Assembly without the right to vote, at the discretion of the Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council.

Provincial Directories

131 The Provincial Directory is the official codification of norms and practices in use in the province. It conies into force after it bas been approved by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, and declared to be in conformity with the Institute's Constitutions and General Directory by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

131.1 The Provincial Directories specifies the state of the province and applies the fundamental principles and directives contained in the Constitutions and General Directories or issued by the Superior General with the advice of his Council.

131.2 The Provincial Directory is revised by the Provincial Assembly and is approved by the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council. All revisions need the “nihil obstat” of the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, to become effective.

Section FourTHE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Superior General and the General Council

132 Ordinary authority over the whole Institute is vested in the Superior General, assisted by at least four Assistants, elected to this service by the General Chapter; they constitute the General Council. One of the Assistants is Vicar General.

132.1 The residence of the General Council is designated by the General Chapter and may not be transferred without permission of the Holy See.

Task of Superior General

133 The Superior General has authority over the whole Institute, the provinces, the communities and over each missionary, with the special responsibility of fostering unity and the fulfilment of the Institute's purpose, in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation, the Constitutions and General Directory.

133.1 The Superior General exercises his ministry as the visible link of union within the Institute and with the Church. As the first in a community of brothers he provides a service of leadership and inspiration in order that the Institute may remain faithful to its missionary purpose and to the requirements of consecrated life, confirming it in the service of evangelization according to the signs of the times.

133.2 It is the particular responsibility of the Superior General to maintain relations with the Holy See, to sign agreements with the Ordinaries and deal with civil authorities for the Institute as whole; to dispose of personnel; to visit the provinces at least once during his mandate, to

guarantee respect for subordinate authority and for the rights of the individual members, to address letters of a general nature to the missionaries; to represent the Institute in the Union of Superiors General.

Vicar General

134 The Vicar General closely assists the Superior General. He has ordinary vicarious power which be exercises when the Superior General is absent. When the Superior General is in residence, he acts with delegated powers .

134.1 In matters of great importance which do not require an urgent decisions the Vicar awaits the return of the Superior General.

Assistants

135 Besides their function in the General Council, the Assistants General monitor the activity of specific sectors of the Institute and of its involvement in the Church.

135.1 The allocation of both sectorial and geographic fields of interest among the Assistants is left to the judgement of the Superior General with the advice of his Council, and is made public.

135.2 Each Assistant has a special relationship and regular meetings with one or more secretariates without being the secretary.

Animation and coordination

136 The members of the General Council have the task of coordinating and animating the Institute. They need direct knowledge of the situation in which the missionaries work, through study, communication, visits and the contribution offered by the different secretariates.

136.1 The General Council arranges, in dialogue with the Provincial Superior, a programme of visits to the respective provinces in such a way that at least the minimum number of members required for the Consulta is normally in residence.

136.2 When an Assistant General visits a province in that capacity he is an “ex-officio” visitor; be acts within the limits of constitutional co-responsibility and subsidiarity, and adheres to the instructions decided upon by the General Council, which are also communicated to those concerned

136.3 For special matters or circumstances the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, may appoint an official visitor whose responsibilities are determined in the letter of appointment.

General Consulta

137 The General Consulta, which is the meeting of the Superior General and his Assistants, is competent in all the matters that must be submitted to the vote of the Council according to ecclesiastical legislation, the Constitutions and General Directory.

137.1 The minimum number required for a Consulta is three, the Superior General or his Vicar, and two Assistants.

137.2 The Secretary General is present in the Consulta, to take the minutes and to provide technical assistance, but be does not have the right to vote.

137.3 When one or two members of the Council are absent the Superior General, with the consent of those Councillors present, may invite one or two confreres to take part in the Consulta. This is

mandatory in the case of a collegial vote, which requires a plenum of the Council, or when it is necessary to ensure the presence of at least three Councillors required for a deliberative vote.

137.4 The members of the consulta are entitled to information about anything that concerns the Institute and may place items on the agenda. In matters not requiring deliberative vote, consultation becomes mandatory when requested by any member of the General Council.

137.5 The beads of the general secretariates and offices are invited to take part together in the Consulta at least once a year and may be called in whenever matters concerning their sector are being discussed.

Collegial vote

138 The collegial vote is taken by the Superior General and the plenum of his Councillors. The vote is secret, and for its decisions an absolute majority is required from among those present, which includes the vote of the Superior General. The collegial vote is mandatory in the following cases: the election of the Vicar General; the acceptance of the resignation of a General Councillor and of his substitution, the dismissal of a temporarily or perpetually professed member. 258

Deliberative vote

139 The deliberative vote is required when important matters affecting the Institute or its members are involved. The following lists the cases which require the deliberative vote, and to this number must be added those other cases established in either the universal law or that proper to the Institute.

139.1 With regard to evangelization: the acceptance or withdrawal from fields of missionary activity; the approval and revision of contracts and agreements with diocesan hishops; proposal to the Holy See regarding the appointment, removal and transfers of Ordinaries and Apostolic Administrators who are members of the Institute.

139.2 With regard to the provinces and residences: the establishment, suppression or modification of provinces; the establishment and suppression of a Scholasticate, of International Centres for Brothers, of a Novitiate and other works of the Institute; the approval of requests by provinces to accept new commitments which require additional personnel or financial means; the suppression of a community or a religious house; the approval of applications from the provinces to grant the right of ownership to local communities.

139.3 With regard to personnel: the indication of the list of candidates for the extracapitular election of the Superior General; the appointment of novice masters, superiors, vice-superiors and formators of Scholasticates and of International Centres for Brothers; the provincial superiors, and the superiors of delegation; the members of the general office and secretaries; the members of the General Council for Finance, as well as those of the Treasurer General's office, of the legal representative of the Institute, of the official visitor; the invitation to a candidate for Provincial Superior to withdraw; the invitation to one or two confreres to participate in the Consulta; permission to a member for exclaustration for three years; norms for the choice of vice-superiors and councillors of delegation.

139.4 With regard to candidates: the admission to perpetual vows and priesthood; re-admission to membership of either formerly professed, or of novices who have completed their novitiate, and lawfully departed, without repeating the Novitiate; authorization to make the Novitiate outside the Novitiate house; the dispensation from temporary vows.

139.5 With regard to the Constitutions and General Directory: requests to the Holy See to rule on the authentic interpretation of the constitutions; the authentic interpretation of the General Directories; the convocation of, and preparation for, the General Chapter and of the Intercapitular Assembly, the determination of the electoral colleges for the General Chapter, and number of Delegates to be elected; the invitation of observers, speakers and experts to the

258 Cf CIC 699,1.

General Chapter; the suspension of norms of the General Directories during their time in office as long as they are not essential to the Institute's nature and purpose; the delegation of extraordinary powers to the provincial superiors; the approval of official directories and their revision; emission of norms for the three phases of basic formation.

139.6 With regard to finance: the approval of the budget, balance sheets and financial reports of the Treasurer General's Office; the permission to exceed limits of extraordinary administration; the authorization to contract debts and to alienate property in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation, the Constitutions and General Directories; the request to the provinces for eventual contributions for particular needs of the Institute and evangelization.

Secretaries and offices

140 Besides the General Council, the General Administration is composed of various general secretaries and offices. The members of these bodies are appointed “ad nutum” by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

140.1 The general secretaries are technical-advisory-executive bodies which serve the General Council and the Institute. They are the Secretariate for Evangelization, for Formation, for missionary animation, for Finance. Within their competence, they study problems and situations, propose solutions, prepare publications and other assistance, and strive to accomplish the programmes agreed upon with the Superior General and his Council, they favour the collaboration and exchange among the respective Provincial Secretariates, they collaborate in the ongoing formation programmes, organize sectorial assemblies and meetings always in accordance with the Superior General with the advice of his council.

140.2 In addition to the secretariates, the General Administration is assisted by the general offices: the Offices of the Secretary General and the Procurator General to the Holy See, the General Postulation and the “Studium Combonianum”.

140.3 The general secretariates and offices provide the General Council with whatever data are asked for or which they consider useful, and ensure continuity and technical competence in the Institute's administration. Their heads remain in office also after the election of the new General Council.

140.4 The General Chapter may establish or suppress the general secretariates and offices according to need. Their activity is governed by the norms contained in the Directory of the Generalate.

140.5 The General Postulation for the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of the Institute's members is headed by the Postulator General.

140.6 The “Studium Combonianum” promotes the study of the history of the Society with special attention to the life, work and writings of the Founder, Daniel Comboni.

Procurator General

141 The Procurator General has care of the relations with the Holy See under the direction of the Superior General and his Council.

Secretary General's Office

142 The Office of the Secretary General is responsible for the recording, preservation and dissemination of important information at the general level.

142.1 The Office of the Secretary General comprise: the Current Affairs Section, beaded by the Secretary General; the Historical Section, directed by the General Archivist.

142.2 The Section Current Affairs, assisted by an editorial board named by the Superior General with the advice of his Council, produces the official publications of the Institute. These include decisions of the General Council as well as documentation of common interest, news, studies and other matters intended to Promote information and unity in the Institute.

142.3 Official information of the General Administration destined for the public is communicated by a press office.

Directories of the Generalate

143 The Directory of the Generalate gives norms for the activity of the Superior General, of the Assistants General, and the bodies that make up the General Administration.

143.1 The Directory of the Generalate contains: norms concerning the competence of the General Council and of its individual members; the frequency and procedural norms for the Consulta; directives for the archives; bye-laws governing the secretariates and general offices; and details for the admission and dismissal of members.

143.2 The Directory of the Generalate is revised periodically in consultation with the secretaries and offices concerned, and approved by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

Intercapitular Assembly

144 The Intercapitular Assembly is a meeting of the members of the General Council with all the provincial superiors and the heads of the general secretaries. It is held between general chapters to verify the implementation of the Chapter's decision and to study new ways for their continued realization. The assembly is convoked by the Superior General with the consent of his Council and is consultative in nature.

144.1 The Intercapitular Assembly may be complemented by other forms of consultation such as Continental Assemblies.

Intercommunication

145 Intercommunication between the General Council and the members of the Institute and among the members themselves is essential to strengthen fraternal communion, to promote corresponsibility and the exchange of ideas.

145.1 The official publications of the Institute are the normal channels of communication between the General Administration and the members of the Institute. All provinces and members contribute material to this exchange of ideas and information.

145.2 Newsletters, study projects and any pertinent material are exchanged among the provinces and with the General secretaries to share experiences.

145.3 Correspondence with the General Administration is addressed to the person to whom it is directed. Official correspondence may be addressed directly to the Secretary General's Office, or handed to it.

145.4 The General Chapter determines the languages used for official acts and communications.

Section Five

THE GENERAL CHAPTER

Supreme authority

146 The General Chapter is the supreme authority of the Institute exercised in an extraordinary and collegial way, and expresses the participation of all the missionaries in its life. The Chapter must faithfully protect the patrimony of the Institute, the charism of the Founder, the sound traditions of the Institute, as well as its purpose, spirit and character.259

Convocation

147 The General Chapter is convoked by the Superior General with the consent of his Council. It is convoked every six years in its ordinary form; extraordinary chapters may be held in particular circumstances.

147.1 The letter of convocation is sent to every missionary at least ten months prior to the opening of the Chapter, signed by the Superior General and by each Assistant.

147.2 The letter of convocation indicate the data and venue of the Chapter, as well as the date by which the capitulars must be present. It contains the list of the capitulars by right, the number of the delegates to be elected and the composition of each electorial college. It also re- quests prayers for the success of the Chapter.

147.3 The Chapter is preceded by sufficient consultation and studies, organized and evaluated by one or more special commissions appointed by the Superior General with the advice of his Council.

Composition

148 The General Chapter is composed of capitulars by right and capitulars by delegation. The capitulars by right are the Superior General, the General Councillors, and the provincial superiors*. The capitulars by delegation are those elected by the members who have the right to vote.

148.1 Observers, speakers and experts may be invited by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, or by the Chapter, to attend some or all of the sessions.

Electoral colleges

149 The capitulars by delegation must number at least one half of all the capitulars plus one.

149.1 The Superior General with the consent of his Council decides on each occasion the number of delegates to be elected in each electoral college, so as to ensure adequate representation and to facilitate the work of the Chapter.

149.2 To guarantee the effective representation of the Brothers to the Chapter, the Superior General, with the con- sent of his Council, prepares the electoral colleges of Brothers.

149.3 The Secretary General prepares the lists of those who have the right to active and passive voice and sends them to the respective provinces.

149.4 At least six months before the opening of the Chapter, the Provincial Superior sends the electoral ballots, bearing the official seal, by the quickest and safest way to the provincial electors, with an explanation setting out the number of delegates to be elected and the date by which the ballots must be returned.

259 Cf CIC 631.

149.5 A delegation that does not reach the minimum number required for the election of one delegate, may choose to join another electoral college. lf the District of the Generalate does not reach the minimum number, its members are added to the list of their province of origin.

Election of delegates

150 In the election of delegates to the General Chapter, all members in perpetual vows not already capitulars by right have the right to passive voice. All professed members have the right to active voice.

150.1 Bishops who have left office and live in a community of the Institute have the right to active and passive voice.

150.2 The election of delegates is preceded by a straw ballot.150.3 A missionary may renounce the right to passive voice for reasons judged valid by the

Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council. The member retains, however, the right to active voice.

150.4 Exclaustrated members have no right to take part in the election.150.5 Each elector receives two ballots: one for priests and the other for Brothers; everyone votes on

both.150.6 Each elector puts a mark by the name of the delegate of his choice, seals the ballot-paper in an

envelope, and then seals this in a second one, on which he writes his name; he then encloses the second envelope in a third one that bears the address of the superior who had sent the ballot-paper and returns it to him. lf a ballot-paper arrives after the counting of the votes, it is void.

150.7 On the day stated for the opening of the ballot-papers, the Provincial Superior and at least two missionaries, verify the number of the ballots received; then they open the envelopes, mix the ballot - papers and count the votes. The members who receive the relative majority of the votes are elected. When two or more members receive the same number of votes, the senior by first profession is elected; this being equal, then the senior by age.

150.8 After the counting of the ballot-papers, the Provincial Superior prepares the minutes of the election, including its date, the number of the electors, the name of those receiving votes and the number received. The minute signed by those present are to be kept in the Provincial Archives, and a copy sent to the Secretary General, the results of the elections are made known to the missionaries.

150.9 With regard to the electoral colleges of the Brothers, the Superior General with the advice of his Council, communicates the norms for returning and counting the ballots and for publishing the results.

150.10 Each delegate has a substitute who takes his place if he should be unable to attend the Chapter for reasons recognized valid by the Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council. The substitute is the one who receives the highest number of votes after the delegate. In electoral colleges with one delegate if the substitute does not receive at least one-third of the valid votes, the election for the substitute is repeated.

Representing the Institute

151 The capitulars are the representatives of the whole Institute and of each missionary. They constitute the legislative assembly that aims at meeting present needs and at planning for the future of the Institute.

151.1 The capitular has the primary responsibility of acquainting himself with all the information needed for the successful discharge of his mandate, so he shows an interest in all the problems of his electoral college, contacts his constituents and is informed about the situation of the Institute as a whole.

151.2 The Provincial Superior invites the capitulars to the Council meetings, to prepare the report to the General Chapter, making all pertinent material available.

151.3 The Superior General, with the advice of his Council, provides a proximate preparation for all the capitulars by organizing courses and conferences by experts before the opening of the Chapter.

Opening

152 The General Chapter opens on the day established in the letter of convocation with the verification of its legality and that of each capitular.

152.1 In the case that some capitulars are delayed, the Superior General, with the favourable vote of those present, may postpone the opening of the Chapter but not be- yond a week. Two thirds of the capitulars constitute the quorum.

152.2 The opening of the General Chapter is preceded by a solemn Eucharistic concelebration and by the swearing- in of each capitular.

152.3 The Superior General directs the Chapter until his successor takes his place.

Competence

153 The General Chapter has above all the responsibility of fostering the Institute's faithfulness to its specific mission in the Church and is competent therefore, to review every aspect of its life and activity. By an absolute majority vote the General Chapter may alter General Directory and any other supplementary text, and issue rules and guidelines binding all members; it may also make changes by a two-thirds majority in the Constitutions, which shall be presented to the Holy Sec for approval, as long as the nature and purpose of the Institute are safeguarded. The Chapter elects the Superior General and his Council.

153.1 When issuing its decisions the General Chapter establishes an adequate period of time between their promulgation and the date when they become binding, to allow the members to become acquainted with them.

153.2 The Chapter is conscious of the need to give to the General Council a certain degree of latitude in the exercise of the ordinary administration in accordance with the Constitutions, particularly with regard to new and unforeseen situations; it specific criteria concerning policies to be followed and outlines a plan of activity. It also reviews -the list of matters to be decided by deliberative vote, sets the limits for extraordinary financial transactions by the provinces, and determines the amount and manner of the contribution to be made for the support of the General Administration.

153.3 When faced with particularity difficult matters, the Chapter fosters periods of more intense reflection with a view to spiritual discernment.

Official reports

154 The capitulars are informed about the state of the Institute through the official reports of the Superior General and his Council, of the Secretary General, of the beads of the secretariates and general offices and of the provincial superiors.

154.1 The report of the Superior General is to be approved and signed by his Assistants.154.2 The report of the province is prepared in consultation with the missionaries on the basis of an

outline provided by the General Council, and is signed by the Provincial Superior, his Council and the delegates.

154.3 The report of the general secretaries and offices are prepared and signed by the beads and the members of their councils.

Election of Superior General

155 The General Chapter sets the day for the election of the Superior General. He is elected from among the priests with perpetual vows iii accordance with the Constitutions and General Directory. The candidate for the office of Superior General must be at least thirty five years old, and with five years of perpetual profession. When these requirements are lacking, a candidate may be postulated to the Holy Sec only if he has obtained two-thirds of the Votes. 260 To be elected on any of the first three ballots a candidate needs a two-thirds majority of the votes of the capitulars present. lf no one is elected in the third ballot, an absolute majority is sufficient in subsequent ballots. However, if a candidate is being considered for election to a second consecutive six-year term and does not reach the needed majority by the third ballot, he loses his right to be elected.

155.1 A missionary may not be elected to a third consecutive term as Superior General.155.2 In the election of the Superior General and his Assistants only three ballots a session may be

held, but there may be more than one session a day. These elections are preceded by respective straw ballots.

155.3 When the required majority is reached and the candidate accepts, be is officially declared Superior Genera] by the President of the Chapter or by the Chapter Secretary. The results of the elections are recorded, signed and sealed by the President and the Secretary.

155.4 Further Procedure norms for the election of the Superior General are found in the bye-laws of the General Chapter.

Election of the Assistants

156 The Assistants General are elected singly by an absolute majority vote of the capitulars present. A candidate for the office of Assistant General must be at least thirty years old and with at least five years of perpetual profession. When these requirements are lacking, a candidate may be postulated to the Holy See only if has obtained two-thirds of the votes. To elect an Assistant General to a second consecutive six-year term a two-thirds majority is required.

156.1 The Vicar General is appointed from among the Assistants General who are priests by the Superior General and his Council, with a collegial vote, before the closing of the Chapter.

156.2 The Chapter Secretary communicates the results of the elections of the Superior General and of his Assistants to the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and to all the communities of the Institute.

Term of office

157 The Superior General and his Council are elected to office for a period of six years, at the end of which another Chapter is convoked.

157.1 The General Council continues in office until the next Council is elected.157.2 If the office of Superior General becomes vacant during the first four years of his tenure, the

Vicar General, with the consent of the Council, calls for an extracapitular election, sending a list of five candidates - the Assistants General and others of their choice - to all the capitulars of the previous Chapter or to their substitutes or successors. The person who receives the absolute majority is elected to finish the current term. lf none receives the absolute majority in the first ballot, the election is repeated proposing the two names that received the most votes. In the case of a tic the oldest by profession and then by age is elected.

157.3 lf the office of Superior General becomes vacant during the last two years of the term, the Vicar General governs the Institute as Vicar General for the rest of the term.

260 Cf CIC 181.1.

157.4 If an Assistant General leaves office before the end of his term, the Superior General and his Councillors, by means of a collegial vote, elect another Assistant to complete the term.

Right to information

158 All the members of the Institute are entitled to be informed about the activity of the General Chapter.

158.1 During and after the Chapter the members are informed about its work in the manner considered suitable by the capitulars. Those matters which by their nature, require secrecy, however, are not made public.

158.2 The official acts are published and made available to all the members of the Institute.

Closing

159 The General Chapter is closed by a collegial vote of the capitulars, and with a formal act of the President of the Chapter.

159.1 The closing of the General Chapter is followed by a solemn Eucharistic concelebration.

Section SixABSENCE AND SEPARATION

FROM THE INSTITUTE

Absence and separation

160 In the relationship between the missionary and the Institute difficulties may arise. For reasons of his vocation the missionary may feel the need for an experience outside community, or he may reach the decision to leave the Institute. The missionary may place himself outside the Institute or oblige it to dismiss him, for particularly grave failings.

160.1 Each missionary feels committed to his vocation and consecration and prays to remain faithful to them. When a missionary realizes that a confrere is risking a particular crisis, he takes action quickly with tact, love and decisiveness. He enters into dialogue with the per- son involved, seeks the cooperation of other confreres or of the community, and finally informs the Superior.

160.2 The competent authority, in dialogue with the missionary, and if possible, with his community, makes a discernment to verify the causes of each particular situation and to find an adequate solution for the real well- being of the person and the Institute, always in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation, the Constitutions and General Directory. Detailed procedure norms for each case are contained in the Directory of the Generalate.

160.3 For just recognized reasons, the Provincial Superior, with the consent of his Council, may authorize a member to live outside a house of the Institute; such an absence is not to exceed one year, unless it be for reasons of health, studies, or an apostolate to be exercised in the name of the Institute.261

160.4 The missionary who receives the leave of absence for vocational reasons is invited to renounce his right to active and passive voice, for the duration of his absence.

261 Cf CIC 665. I.

160.5 The Superior General, with the consent of his Council, can, for serious reasons, grant an indult of exclaustration to a perpetual professed member for a period, not exceeding three years, according to the norms of Canon Law.262

160.6 Separation from the Institute may occur at the end of temporary vows; through dispensation from temporary or perpetual vows; by incardination in a diocese; by definitive transfer to another Institute of cither religious or apostolic life, or secular Institute; by laicisation and dismissal.

160.7 In all matters concerning the absence or separation of members from the Institute one observes the norms and procedures established by the Code of Canon Law and by the General Directory.263

Fraternal assistance

161 A missionary who leaves the Institute or is dismissed, or is exclaustrated, according to ecclesiastical legislation, has no right to remuneration for services rendered. The Institute, however, assists him materially in case of need during the period of transition to his new way of life, observing always the demands of equity and charity.264

161.1 Each candidate, on the occasion of his first profession, signs a document in which he declares that he has no right to remuneration for the work done in the Institute, recognizing that his relationship with it is not one of an employee.

161.2 Any financial assistance to the missionary who has obtained a leave of absence, or an indult of exclaustration, leaves the Institute or is dismissed, is determined case by case by the Provincial Superior of the province of origin with the advice of his Council, in accordance with the norms set in the Provincial Directory, taking into ac- count the needs of the individual, the social conditions of the country and the means the province has at its disposal. In particular cases the Provincial Superior acts in conjunction with the province where the missionary worked, or with the Superior General.

PART FIVE

ADMINISTRATION OF THE INSTITUTE'SGOODS

Communion of goods

162 The Institute as a community of brothers which gives witness to consecrated poverty, lives the communion of goods and uses them to attain its missionary purpose. Avoiding excessive gain and the accumulation of goods, it places its trust in Providence, recognizes the common law of work and willingly shares its goods with the Local Church and the poor.265

262 CIC 686-687.263 Cf CIC:* dispensation from temporary vows 688.2;

* dispensation from perpetual vows 691-692;* incardination in a diocese 693,* transfer to another Institute 684-685;* laicization and dismissal 694-704.

264 Cf CIC 686,3; 702.265 Cf PC 13, CIC 634-640.

162.1 In attaining its purpose the Institute is conscious that the missionaries are the greatest gifts entrusted to it and thus has the greatest care for each one. Furthermore it shows special attention towards the ill and elderly on whose behalf it willingly meets the expenses necessary for their care and assistance always, however, keeping in mind their condition as religious.

162.2 The missionary is committed to his work and makes a sincere effort to find the necessary material assistance for the Institute's existence and activity, even with personal sacrifice. He trusts in Providence, through the special intercession of Saint Joseph, following the example of the Founder.266

Single patrimony

163* Since the Institute is a community of brothers, all economic goods form a single collective patrimony which belongs to it as such, having due respect to the autonomy of the provinces. The Institute and the provinces, as juridical, canonical and public persona, alone normally have the right of ownership, i.e. the capacity to acquire possess, administer and alienate temporal goods in achieving the missionary purpose of the Institute, in accordance with ecclesiastical legislation and within the limits set by the Constitution and General Directory.267

163.1 The local communities normally do not have the right to own property, but only to administer, use and have the usufruct of the property entrusted to their care. in special cases and upon request of the Provincial Superior with the consent of his Council, the Superior General with the consent of his Council may grant the right Of ownership to local communities.

163.2 The Institute as a whole, and each single Province, appoint a person to be legally responsible for temporal goods; such an appointment is made by the Superior General, or Provincial Superior, with the consent of their Councils. The person appointed acts in accordance with the norms prescribed by the juridical person who appointed him; normally, this post is held by the Treasurer General and the Provincial Treasurers.

163.3 For particular needs of the Institute and of evangelization, the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, may dispose of part of the economic goods of a province after having consulted the Provincial Superior and his Council.

163.4 The treasurer's office at the higher level provides technical assistance to that at the lower level and audits the latter's books.

163.5 At regular intervals financial reports and the annual budget are sent by treasurer's office at the lower level to the higher one, in accordance with the norms contained in the General Directory for Finance.

Self-limiting and sharing

164 The witness of poverty of the Institute is made manifest through communion, sharing and self-limitation of economic goods, in accordance with the spirit and practice of the early Christian communities.

164.1 The local communities, the provinces and the Institute as such put at the disposal of other communities in the Institute, of the Local Church or of projects favouring evangelizing and human promotion, whatever they do not need for their own sustenance and their present or planned work.

164.2 In planning their annual budgets and their work projects, the missionaries take into account local conditions and the need to give witness of individual and community poverty.

164.3 Projects for the work of evangelization and human pro- motion are airways planned in agreement with the Local Church, approved by the Provincial Superior with the advice of his Council, and implemented together with the Christian community which is to be involved in them.

266 Cf MDC p. 356 (n. 211).267 Cf CIC,634,1.

164.4 The ways of ensuring communion, sharing and self-limitation of goods within the Institute and with the Local Church are determined by the General Directory for Finance and by the Provincial Directory.

164.5 The provinces, in proportion to the number of members with perpetual vows, contribute to the expenses of the General Administration to ensure its proper functioning in accordance with the modalities set by the General Chapter.

Financial decisions

165 Financial decisions pertain to the superiors and their councils at the various levels. Decisions on the provincial and general level require consultation with the respective secretariates for finance in accordance with the Constitutions and General and Provincial Directories.

165.1 Financial decisions and the way of putting them into practice are inspired by a witness of poverty and by a sense of community spirit and brotherly assistance. In this field the missionary acts with honesty, reciprocal royalty and confidence in the assistance of Providence.

165.2 After being approved, financial transactions are carried out, in the name of the community, by the treasurer or the missionary entrusted with such responsibility.

Co- responsibility

166 The responsibility that each member has with regard to the economic goods of the Institute requires him to use them properly and entitles him to adequate information and consultation in accordance with the modes determined in the different directories.

166.1 At the local community level everyone takes part in the discussion of financial questions and is given the pertinent information.

166.2 At the provincial level, the local treasurers are informed at least once a year about the financial situation of the province, and are consulted about the financial planning and related priorities. They then decide on the appropriate way to inform all the members.

166.3 At the general level, the financial reports of the Treasurer General's Office are distributed to the Provincial Treasurers and made available by them to all interested members. Moreover, once a year the Treasurer General makes an exhaustive report in the Institute's official publication on the programme implemented to attain the general and specific aims of the Institute.

Income

167 The Institute's income is derived from the offerings of the people of God and from the work of the missionaries268 and communities; in addition it may come from investment, al- ways safeguarding the witness of evangelical poverty.

167.1 Investments are to be considered supplementary, they are made to provide for the Institute's needs and not for capital increase; they are governed by the norms contained in the General Directory for Finance and in the Provincial Directory.

167.2 Fund-raising is undertaken only with the permission of the competent ecclesiastical authority and the Provincial Superior of the place, within the limits and the conditions set by them and by civil law.269

167.3 Goods given to the individual missionary and to the community for missionary activity are administered by the procures or treasurer's offices until they are assigned to a particular missionary work.

268 Cf Lk 10:7; Ph 4:10-20; 2 Th 3:7-12.269 Cf CIC 1265, 1.

167.4 In the local communities the goods and administration of the community are kept separate from those of the undertaking in which the members of the community work (school, parish, diocesan workshop, etc.).

Division of the patrimony

168 To avoid conflicts of interest and to determine clearly who is responsible for the administration of the patrimony of the Institute, the goods of the province are to be distinct from those of the Institute as such.

168.1 The responsibility for the administration of the goods of the whole Institute belongs to the Superior General with his Council, assisted by the Treasurer General's Office, in the provinces the responsibility belongs to the Provincial Superior with his Council, assisted by the Provincial Treasurer's Office.

168.2 A province owns the goods assigned to it in the decree of establishment and any subsequent subsidies; the goods given in use to the local communities and whatever is acquired with the money of the same; all offerings, donations, inheritances, legacies, annuities and the like, given explicitly to that province or to a local community, and whatever is acquired by a member of the province, save for special agreements.

168.3 All property not owned by the provinces belongs to the Institute as such. This includes the goods assigned in use to the delegations and to the communities which make up the District of the Generalate.

Administration

169 The Institute’s goods are administered and used in accordance with civil and ecclesiastical law and in conformity with the spirit and norms of the Constitutions and General Directory, the General Directory for Finance and the Provincial Directory.

169.1 The institute organizes and implements its financial activity with justice, responsibility, accuracy and competence.

169.2 In each country the property is registered in the manner which offers greater legal and fiscal guarantees. Details are given in the Provincial Directory.

169.3 All deposits are registered under a legally recognized name of the Institute and never in the name of an individual person; all bank accounts bear the signatures of at least two members authorized, at the various levels, by the relevant superior, with the advice of his Council.

169.4 Each province or community is responsible for the debts, liabilities and obligations it incurs, even with per- mission. If a missionary contracts debts, liabilities and obligations without permission, he is responsible.270

169.5 Due to the complexity of financial administration, the missionaries entrusted with these tasks especially at general and provincial levels, are given adequate training.

169.6 Whatever concerns the normal life of the different sectors and communities is considered ordinary administration; every other administration is extraordinary.

Limits for extraordinary administration

170 The limits of the extraordinary administration of the provinces are set by the General Chapter. Permission to exceed these limits may be granted by the Superior General with the consent of his Council after obtaining the documented opinion of the Treasurer General's Office.

270 Cf CIC 639.

170.1 The authorization of the Holy See is required to con- tract debts and to dispose of real estate with value exceeding the limits set by the Holy See for the different ecclesiastical regions; similar permission is also required to dispose of precious objects or something given by reason of a vow. lit these cases authorization is sought through the Superior General.

Agreements with Bishops

171 The relationship between the Institute and diocesan bishops with regard to financial matters is determined by written bilateral agreements. 271

171.1 The financial goods of the Institute are administered separately from those of the Local Church. The Major Superior has the obligation and the right to see that the norms of ecclesiastical legislation and of the competent authority are followed.

171.2 The bilateral agreements cover adequately the sustenance of the missionaries, travelling expenses, salaries and medical assistance.

171.3 All property given to the Institute, acquired by it with its own funds or through the initiative of its members, belongs to the Institute, unless the agreement specific otherwise, and always safeguarding the intention of the donor.

General Secretariate

172 The General Secretariate for Finance is a technical/consultative/executive body at the service of the General Council in all financial matters, and for the administration of the temporal goods of the Institute as such. 272

172.1 The General Secretariate is composed of two sections: the Council for Finance and Treasurer General's Office; both sections have distinct membership, but the Treasurer General belongs to both.

172.2 The Council for Finance consists of four councillors, chosen preferably from among the Provincial treasurers, under the chairmanship of the Treasurer General; the appointments are made by the Superior General, with the consent of his Council. It is competent to audit budgets and financial reports; to examine financial programmes and to verify the administrative procedures and organization of the Treasurer General's Office; and to study basic problems in the financial sector of the Institute. It meets at least twice a year.

172.3 The Treasurer General's Office is composed of the Treasurer General who is in charge of the Office, and of at least two members, appointed by the Superior General with the consent of his Council, chosen from the ranks of the General Administration. It exercises a supervising function, which is consultative for all financial matters dealt with by the General Council.

172.4 The Treasurer General and the members of his Office audit the books of the General secretariates and offices and of the provincial treasurers; as well as other bodies involving the Institute as such through one of its members, for reasons of mutual protection.

172.5 The Treasurer General is competent for all matters of ordinary administration of the economic goods of the Institute as such and is responsible for its management and related book-keeping. He may not be a member of the General Council, but is consulted whenever financial matters involving extraordinary administration are dealt with.

Provincial Secretariate

173 The Provincial Secretariate for Finance is a technical/consultative/executive body, which administers the temporal goods of the province and offers competent advice to the Provincial Council in all financial matters.

173.1 The Provincial Secretariate for Finance is made up of the Provincial Treasurer, who is in charge of the secretariate, and two or more counsellors, in accordance with the norms of the

271 CIC 681.2;790.272 Cf CIC 1280.

Provincial Directory. The Provincial Treasurer is not to be a member of the Provincial Council, but is consulted whenever financial matters involving extraordinary administration are dealt with.

173.2 The Provincial Treasurer, with the members of his secretariate, audit the books of the provincial secretariates, offices, of procures and the administration of publications, of communities, as well as other bodies involving the province through one of its members, for reasons of mutual protection.

173.3 The Provincial Secretariate for Finance is governed by the norms contained in the Provincial Directory.

Local administration

174 Financial decisions in the local community are made by the Local Superior in the Community Council and are carried out by the Local Treasurer in accordance with the Constitutions and the General and Provincial Directories.

174.1 The Local Treasurer is appointed for a renewable period of three years by the Provincial Superior, with the ad- vice of his Council, and after having ascertained the views of the Community. The local Treasurer is not normally the Superior, even in small communities.273

General Directory for Finance

175 The General Directory for Finance gives norms for a responsible financial administration valid for the whole Institute.

175.1 The General Directory for Finance contains further Principe adopted by the Institute, and the norms is- sued by the Superior General, with the consent of his Council, in the financial sector, and directives for the financial section of the Provincial Directory.

175.2 The General Directory for Finance is revised by the General Secretariate for Finance in consultation with the provincial superiors and their councils, and approved by the Superior General with the consent of his Council.

273 213 Cf CIC 636.