New Vatican Document on "Identity and Mission of Religious Brothers in the Church"

 Vatican City, 14 December 2015 (VIS) –                                            

This morning in the Holy See Press Office the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life presented the document “Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church” and the concluding activities of the Year of Consecrated Life. The speakers were Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, prefect of the dicastery, and Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, O.F.M., secretary of the same congregation. 
“The document emphasizes the great wealth and relevance of the vocation of brothers and its content is very valid and innovative in the light of Vatican Council II”, explained Cardinal Braz de Aviz. “The vocation of the religious brother is, first of all, a Christian vocation … and the feature of the person of Christ that the religious brother specially underlines in his way of life is that of fraternity. The religious brother reflects the face of Christ the Brother: simple, good, near to the people, welcoming, generous, and serving”.
The identity and mission of the religious brother, as the text indicates, is summarized in the concept of fraternity understood as the gift that the religious brother receives from the Triune God, a communion of persons; a gift that he shares with his brethren in fraternal life in the community and a gift he offers the world for the construction of a world of children of God and brothers.
The cardinal went on to illustrate the theme of fraternity as a gift that the religious brother receives from the Triune God. “The religious brother becomes thus because the Spirit lets him know God, Who in Jesus shows Himself to be a Father full of love, tenderness and mercy. Together with Jesus, he feels like a beloved son and with Him he offers himself so as to be in his life entirely for the Father and entirely for all His sons and daughters in this world. A characteristic of the identity of the religious brother is the need for fraternity as a confession of the Trinity: a fraternity open to all, especially the least, the humble, the oppressed, the unloved” - those who “are less likely to experience the good news of God's love in their lives”.
This fraternity is the gift that the religious brother shares with his brethren in community life. “Fraternal life in the community means harmonious relations between brethren, mutual knowledge, acceptance and love, dialogue, mutual respect, mutual support, the sharing of talents, the abnegation of the self, ecclesial mission, and openness to the needs of the Church and the world, especially those most in need. All this is beautiful, but it is not obtained spontaneously.. … The community is sustained by the gift of fraternity that religious brothers receive. The brother needs to support for these fraternal relations by developing the spiritual, mystical and theological dimension”.
Fraternity is, finally, a gift that the religious brother offers to the world and which is transformed into mission. Therefore, “brothers carry out their mission of contributing to the construction of the Kingdom of fraternity through ceaseless prayer, the witness of fraternal life and community dedication to the service of the Church and the world. … The fraternity of religious brothers is not self-referential or closed up in itself; it is … a fraternity in perfect harmony … with an outbound Church, that reaches out to the peripheries of this world; with a Church called upon to build bridges, open to contemporary man of every race, culture or creed”.
Fraternal love is made manifest in the Church and in the life of religious brothers in numerous services: “educating, healing the sick, helping the imprisoned, welcoming refugees, catechesis, manual work, and so on. Many of these services represent true ministries. In this way”, the prefect concluded, “the religious brother seeks and points to God in the secular realities of culture, science, human health, the workplace, and the care of the weak and disadvantaged. Similarly, he seeks and points to the human being, man and woman, whole and entire, body, mind and spirit, inasmuch as whatever affects the human person is part of God's saving plan”.
Archbishop Rodríguez Carballo expressed his gratitude to Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, who in 2008 was the first to encourage the preparation of the document presented today, and to Pope Francis who read the draft while he was the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires and who as Pope has supported its revision, completion and publication.
The conference concluded with an announcement of the activities marking the closure of the Year of Consecrated Life. From 28 January to 2 February 2016 an international meeting of all types of consecrated life will take place in Rome, entitled “Consecrated life and communion”, which is expected to be attended by 6,000 consecrated men and women from all over the world, and will conclude with Holy Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in St. Peter's Basilica.

Father Bill's Cause Presented by Archbishop Charles Chaput at the USCCB's General Assembly

Father Bill Atkinson's Cause was presented before the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at their General Assembly in Baltimore, on November 17, 2015, by Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, OFM, Cap.

Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, OFM Cap., presents the Cause of Fr. Bill Atkinson before the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore on November 17, 2015

Archbishop Chaput addressed the assembly:

Brothers, there is a biography of Father Bill Atkinson in your materials, I’m sure you’ve looked at already.

[Father Bill] was an Augustinian novice in Philadelphia when he was in a toboggan accident and became a quadriplegic and his story is that he requested profession in the Augustinians, ordination as a priest, received permission from the Holy See for those things. He went on to lead a very productive life as a quadriplegic priest, basically teaching in one of our Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia. I think that his cause would be a beautiful one because it would be a source of encouragement for people with this kind of accident in their lives, this kind of disability, but also it reminds us of the great generosity of his family, his religious community – they were all called to holiness by their special care for this man.  So I think he would fit very beautifully into the niche of the communion of saints as a very special patron and I would appreciate your support as we bring this cause to the Holy See.

A voice vote was taken resulting in unanimous assent.  

Inaugural Gregor Mendel Symposium at Villanova University

The Inaugural Gregor Mendel Symposium, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Gregor Mendel’s presentation of his paper, “Experiments in Plant Hybridization,” will be held at the Connelly Center on the campus of Villanova University on December 7, 2015.

The Symposium will celebrate the achievements of this 19th century Augustinian friar, teacher, biologist and mathematician, whose research and experiments have helped shape the world’s collective understanding of genes, crossbreeding, and heredity. Several of the world's leading minds are participants in the Symposium and will discuss the impact Mendel's reseach and experiments have had across many disciplines.

Attendance is complimentary and open to the public.  

For planning purposes, registration is requested by December 1, 2015. 
 
More information, including the Symposium schedule, a list of speakers and their biographies, and the registration form may be accessed by using the link:

https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/mendel_legacy/symposium.html  

North American Provincials and Provincial Councils meet in Villanova, Pa.

On October 14,  2015, the North American Provincials and their Counselors met in Villanova, Pa. to discuss common concerns on matters involving formation and studies. Pictured seated l-to-r: Michael F. Di Gregorio, O.S.A., Prior Provincial, Province of Saint Thomas of Villanova; Kevin C. Mullins, O.S.A, Prior Provincial of Province of Saint Augustine, (CA); Bernard C. Scianna, O.S.A., Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel (CG). Standing (L-to-R)::  John D. Merkelis, O.S.A. (CG); Joseph L. Narog, O.S.A, (Vil); Alvin Paligutan, O.S.A. (CA); Gary N. McCloskey, O.S.A. (Vil);  Michael H. Bielecki, O.S.A., (Vil); Robert J. Murray, O.S.A., (Vil); Luis A. Vera, O.S.A., (Vil); Arthur P. Purcaro, O.S.A., (Vil), Francis J. Horn, O.S.A., (Vil); Richard J. McGrath, O.S.A., (CG); William Sullivan, O.S.A., (CG); Thomas Taylor, O.S.A.; (CG); Michael T. Bube, O.S.A., (CA); Robert P. Hagan, O.S.A., (Vil).