Commissio Constitutionum OFMCap.
DRAFT OUTLINE OF OUR CONSTITUTIONS FOR THE LXXXIV GENERAL CHAPTER
Chapter IV: Our life in poverty
Second Proposed Revision (PdR2)
Rome — General Curia — 2012
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- Article I: Our Commitment to Poverty
- Article II: Poverty in Goods and Money
- Article III: Poverty in Our Buildings
- Article IV: The Administration of Goods
The Schema for the revision for the revision of Chapter IV of the Constitutions was prepared by the sub-commission in its meeting at the General Curia, 23-28 February 2009. Two brothers from the Commission made personal contributions prior to this work. The Schema was then further studied and revised via ongoing correspondence between the members of the Commission during March and April. The Schema was distributed to all the members of the Commission on 3 May 2009.
During its full meeting (29 June – 11 July 2009) the whole Commission studied and revised the Schema twice, and then approved it on 10 July. When the Explanatory Notes and the Introduction had been completed (15 July 2009), the PdR1 for chapter IV was sent out to the Order, accompanied as usual by the General’s letter dated 29 August 2009 (Prot N. 00610/09).
The Commission resumed work on chapter IV in its XI plenary session from January 31 – February 10 2011, following the feedback received from the Order, which was carefully studied.
There was relatively little feedback on the proposed texts, but on that basis the Commission proceeded to modify 21 out of the 103 paragraphs that made up the text of PdR1. Many of the proposals concerned language or style, so the Commission paid attention not only to the content but also to the formulation of the texts, so as to avoid misunderstandings and mistakes in translation in the various languages. A few repetitions were eliminated, and sometimes the current text was restored when it proved to be simpler and more direct than the proposed revision.
Some feedback on the PdR1 maintained that the Commission’s propsals for chapter IV were marginal, fragmentary, haphazard and merely formal. The critical observations can be grouiped into four basic points:
1) For some, PdR1 did not reflect the new thinking on the topic arising from PCOs VI and VII. It would have been better, some thought, to present the brothers with the text of chapter IV as proposed by Project 2006, which was thought to be more homogeneous and to reflect the recent plenary councils on this fundamentally important topic;
2) Chapter 4 of Project 2006 faithfully expressed this change of direction introduced by PCOs VI and VII. PCO VI, 3 states that “without minority, our poverty would be meaningless, and would turn to pride; just as without poverty, minority would be a sham”. PCO VII, 4 states that poverty and minority, “as well as being elements of Christian discipleship, bring Franciscan freedom”. Finally, in the letter presenting the conclusions of PCO VII, the General Definitory, headed by General Minjister John Corriveau, wrote: “…we would like to remind you that PCO VII should be seen as completing the Sixth, because without minority and itinerancy, poverty lived in brotherhood would have little social impact. Its spirit would be missing”.
3) Others asked that chapter IV on poverty be replaced by the text of Project 2006. In the PdR, minority as the foundation of poverty has disappeared;
4) Chapter. II of the current Constitutions did incorporate many important changes arising out of PCO IV on Formation, just as chapter XII did from Mattli. Many brothers asked that the current chapter IV should accommodate the proposals of Project 2006.
These general observations, spread over many pages, had to do with the choice of content and also of sources, but in fact no alternative texts to PdR1 were proposed.
Neither did the criticisms take into account that many of the sources they had indicated had actually been incorporated into the proposed text. Members of the Commission had the impression that brothers had paid insufficient attention to what was said in the Introduction to PdR1 about the fundamental principles that had guided the work of enriching the Constitutions. Our Commission did not ignore either PCO VI or PCO VII, or Project 2006, but kept them in mind, and in fact enriched them further and asked that they be studied even more carefully in view of the work being done on the Constitutions. All of this was made clear in the Introduction to PdR1, as we will report later in this one (cf. I. Fundamental principles). Moreover, we must once again recall the fact that the mandate this Commssion received from the General Chapter in 2006 did not call for new Constitutions, nor for the replacement of entire chapters. This did not happen in 1982 either: the General Chapter of that year accepted the main concerns of PCO III on missionary activity, and those of PCO IV on Formation, but it steered well clear of completely replacing in chapters II and XII the text of the Constitutions drafted in 1968. Neither did it incorporate everything that PCOs III and IV had said. A careful comparison of the texts of PCOs III and IV on the one hand, and that of the 1982 (current) Constitutions on the other, cannot fail to confirm that this is the case.
Hence our Commission’s intention, in trying to keep faith with the mandate of the 2006 General Chapter, was to incorporate into the Constitutions or into the Complementary Code whatever was effectively new, or any elements which were totally absent from the Constitutions. Moreover it was found that some elements, stressed by PCOs VI and VII, are already abdundantly present in the Constitutions as from 1968, even if expressed differently from the style used by the plenary councils.
Let us first repeat what was said in the Introduction to PdR1 about the fundamental criteria which guided the Commission’s work on chapter IV. We then list the main areas in which we tried to enrich the current text, respecgting it as regards its content and particolar form; finally we mention those texts that have passed to the Complementary Code. Subsequently, as usual, the Explanatory Notes provide justification for each intervention or change in the text, either of PdR1 or in PdR2.
I. Basic Principles
As always, the fundamental principle that guided the work of the sub-commission first, and then of the Commission, is the one established by the General Chapter of 2006: “In the revision of the Constitutions their doctrinal and spiritual content is to be respected as much as possible, and then be further enriched by drawing from recent documents of the Church and of the Order.”[1] Therefore the Commission has carried out its work with the conviction that the current Constitutions must be neither substituted nor contradicted, but be expanded – and if necessary made clearer or more precise. Then in his Circular Letter of 27 May 2007 the Minister General set the guiding principle: (the revision) “is about an enrichment that is more qualitative than quantitative (non multa, sed multum!), the result of the journey of the Church and the Order as expressed in the more recent documents” (n.4,2)[2].
Certainly Chapter IV of the Constitutions is the one that lends itself most to an expansion with the contributions made by the more recent Plenary Councils of the Order: Living Poverty in Fraternity (PCO VI) and Our Fraternal Life in Minority (PCO VII). Therefore the 2006 Project, beginning with these Plenary Councils, produced a radical revision of Chapter IV of the Constitutions. The 2006 Project replaced most of Chapter IV and included in the new draft some of the statements from the current Constitutions and transferred many others to the General Statutes.
Faithful to the mandate received from the General Chapter our Commission realised the urgent need for a further study, and obtained from the General Minister and his Definitory a more detailed study comparing the current Constitutions and the recent PCOs to identify development in the outlook (mens) of the Order: Do PCO VI and VII actually say anything new in regard to the Consitutions? What do they contain that comes from the Constitutions themselves? Is there a consistent development between the Constitutions and the PCOs? From what the PCOs say, what is already found in the Constitutions? What elements should then be included in the Constitutions?
Therefore the Commission has been able to make use of three full comparative studies (one of which is not yet finished). Regarding PCO VI these studies show that while the PCO does not say anything new in regard to the Constitutions, it does offer a contemporary way of interpreting (hermeneutical key) the reading and understanding of our Constitutions within a globalised context.[3]
In particular, it is noted that:
– the Constitutions (cf nn. 59,9; 60,1-6) already show a wealth of insights and responses concerning new themes 8e.g. greed and ambition, avarice and competitiveness, service and solidarity; sharing and involvement in the condition of the poor; a simple and sober life-style, the renunciation of power, etc.).
– PCO VI bases its own statements on the Constitutions,
– PCO VI systematically organises some of the themes already in the Constitutions and sometimes focuses on them in a new perspective so as to identify new ways today to reword truthfully and powerfully the lasting values that identify our charism.[4]
As for PCO VII the comparative study points out that this was not the only Council to reflect and focus on minority. PCO I (Quito 1971) also did this, adopting as its theme for reflection: Fraternal Life, Poverty and Minority. In the concluding document of PCO I one can see how minority is in the background and inspires many of its statements. However the theme is hardly ever treated explicitly.[5] While signs of its presence and consequences can be discerned, there is a discreet silence about the theme of minority as such.[6] So then, should it not be asked: isn’t minority a concept that describes an essence rather than a thing, an agent rather than an action, a spirit rather than some thing?[7]
If such is the case, strictly speaking ‘minority’ is not a theme in itself, but an aspect that qualifies all the particular themes possible concerning our life: fraternal life, poverty, chastity, obedience, prayer, apostolic life, work, itinerancy, our life in common. Therefore, when comparing the Constitutions and PCO VII, attention should not be given so much to the frequency of the appearance of such terms as minority and minor[8] but rather to verify whether minority, or any aspect of it, may have been considered in a better way in PCO VII than in the Constitutions. Or perhaps the PCO discovered an aspect that was not only new, but which may be perennially valid for the whole Order.
Therefore we arrive at these important conclusions:
– regarding minority, the Propositions of PCO VII are more expressions that enhance an awareness or articulate that awareness already present in germ, whether implicitly or generally, in the Constitutions. Rather than introduce something new, probably one worthwhile contribution of PCO VII was that of giving greater clarity to the Order’s awareness that minority is more than an isolated theme in itself. Rather, minority is a spirit that should characterise all the dimensions and aspects of our life, including those that have not always been associated with minority in our tradition.
– The theological foundations for minority and its expressions in the Propositions of PCO VII certainly go beyond what is found in the current Constitutions, even if those Propositions are not fully elaborated and are only listed together. Minority has its foundations within the Trinity itself. It pervades the kenosis of the Son of God (Phil 2,5-11) and the Francis of Assisi’s spiritual outlook. As such it broadens the horizon of the understanding of our charismatic identity and life, lending a special quality to the relationships of Francis’ brothers in all the contexts and aspects of their life.[9]
Bearing in mind the contributions received by the Commission and what the Commission has studied itself, we believe that the last two PCOs have served to make the Constitutions more actual and up-to-date, thus prompting the Order to a more dynamic faithfulness to our charism. From this we can see the specific character of the PCO documents as means to put the Constitutions into practice. In themselves they do not need to be included in the Constitutions. Regarding Chapter IV then the Commission developed this approach:
– to closely follow the present text;
– seeking to respect it as much as possible;
– while working to add the contributions of PCO VI and VII into the current text.
II. Enriching the Text
The structure of chapter IV, both in PdR1 and in this PdR2, is organised in 4 articles, just like the present Constitutions. The text in each article has been enhanced with a number of modifications and inclusions drawn especially from PCO VI and VII and the Circular Letters of John Corriveau. Reference is also made to documents of the Church Magisterium, e.g. Pope John Paul II’s post-Synod Exhortation Vita Consecrata and the Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis; the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Church’s Social Teaching; and lastly, Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Caritas in veritate.
The explanatory notes indicate the references to documents of the Church and of the Order.
Article I – Our Commitment to Poverty – has been enriched with references to:
-
-
- fundamental Trinitarian and Christological models, as well as inspirational models (Saint Francis) for our life in poverty (cfr. PdR2, n. 61);
- the Capuchin tradition (cf. PdR2, n. 62).
- Other clarifications and inclusions concern:
- sobriety-austerity and minority (cf. PdR2, n. 63);
- Solidarity with the poor (cf. PdR2, n. 64; Complementary Code 4/1);
- Observance of common life and the sharing of goods(cf. PdR2, n. 65; 68,4);
- The principles of equity, pluriformity and inculturation (cf. PdR2, n. 66,1; 72,3; 74,2);
- scrutinium paupertatis (cf. PdR2, n. 66; Complementary Code 4/2).
-
Article II – Poverty Concerning Goods and Money has some clarifications about:
personal management of money (cf. PdR2, n. 70,2; Complementary Code 4/4);
-
- la eccedenza del denaro a livello di fraternità locale e di circoscrizione (cf. PdR2, n. 72,4; Complementary Code 4/5);
The criterion the minimum necessary and not the maximum allowed is clarified. It is to be put into practice in the differing contexts in which we live. In the light of PCO IV this requirement is connected to the criteria of equity, pluriformity and enculturation (cf. PdR2, n. 72,3).
Given the relevance that the topic of economic solidarity has gained within the Order, the topic will be treated in a special number at the end of the Article II where the matter is already considered (cf. PdR2, n. 73).
Article III – Poverty in Our Buildings has inclusions concerning:
the relationship between our dwellings and the dwellings of the poor in the region (cf. PdR2, n. 74,3);
the correspondence between our dwellings and our lifestyle of poverty and minority (cf. PdR2, n. 74,4; Complementary Code 4/9);
the need to avoid the accumulation of property and consequently the need to restructure property assets (cf. PdR2, Complementary Code 4/9).
Article IV – The Administration of Goods highlights the criteria of transparency and participation, as well as the need for formation in the spirit of the fraternal economy (cf. PdR2, n. 76; Complementary Code 4/13).
Other inclusions concern the texts that refer to bursars and administrators, as well as the need for a more detailed regulation for the administration of goods in the Codices additicii (cf. PdR2, n. 77,7; Complementary Code 4/17).
In all, Chapter IV has 18 numbers, two more than the current text of the Constitutions. This is due to the introduction of a number on economic solidarity and another in Article IV on the administration of goods (cf. PdR2, nn. 73 e 76). Article I has six numbers ((cf. PdR2, 61-66)), three more than the current Constitutions. This is due to the introduction of some matters, the division of some numbers of the text, and the transfer of some paragraphs. Article II has seven numbers (cf. PdR2, nn. 67-73): 1\ more than in the current text, as a specific number has been introduced concerning economic solidarity. Article III has two numbers (cf. PdR2, nn. 74-75):1 less than the current text, because the current n. 69 has been transferred to the Complementary Code. Article IV has 3 numbers (cf. PdR2, nn. 76-78): 1 less than the current text, because a new numbr has been introduced (76) aat the beginning of the Article, while numbers 72 and 73 have been teransferred to the Complementary Code.
III. The Complementary Code (CC)
Altogether the CC of chapter IV consists of 19 numbers; some of these have more thaan one paragraph.
There are 9 new texts (cf. PdR2, CC 4/1; 4/2; 4/4; 4/5; 4/8; 4/9; 4/9; 4/13; 4/17).
The following numbers of trhe Constitutions are transferred to the Complementary Code, either as they stand, or with changes and additions:
| 62,4-5 | (= PdR, CC 4/3) |
| 67,7 | (= PdR, CC 4/6) |
| 69 | (= PdR, CC 4/10) |
| 71,2 [part] | (= PdR, CC 4/11) |
| 71,4-7 | (= PdR, CC 4/14) |
| 72 | (= PdR, CC 4/18) |
| 73 | (= PdR, CC 4/19 |
The following current Ordinances are also placed in the Complementary Code:
| 4/1 | (= PdR, CC 4/15) |
| 4/2 | (= PdR, CC 4/16 with modification to the current text) |
| 4/3 | (= PdR, CC 4/17) |
Chapter IV: [10] Our life of poverty[11]
Article I: Our Commitment to Poverty
N. 61 (59,1-3)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| New text (1)
1. God the Most High, perfect Trinity and simple Unity, is a mystery of humility. The pure relationship of love between the divine Persons, which overflows into creation and into salvation history, is the model of all human relationships and the foundation of our life in poverty and humility. |
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| 59,1. Iesus Christus, Filius Dei, omnia recipiens a Patre et cum Patre omnia communicans in Spiritu, evangelizare pauperibus missus est. Propter nos egenus et in similitudinem hominum factus est, cum esset dives, ut illius inopia divites essemus. | 59,1. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who receives everything from the Father and, with the Father, communicates everything in the Spirit, was sent to evangelize the poor. Although He was rich, for our sake He was made poor and in our likeness that by His poverty we might become rich. | Current text (59,1) with addition
2. The greatest manifestation of the humility of God is Jesus Christ, the Son(2) who receives everything from the Father and shares all things with the Father in the Spirit, and who was sent to proclaim the Good News to the poor. Although he was rich He became poor for our sake, and came in the likeness of men, so that we might be enriched by His poverty. |
| 59,2. A nativitate in praesepio usque ad mortem in cruce amavit pauperes, et amorem Patris eos quaerentis testificabatur in discipulorum exemplum. | 59,2. From His birth in a manger until His death on a cross He loved the poor and, as an example for His disciples, bore witness to the love of the Father Who seeks them. | Current text (59,2)
3. From his birth in the manger until His death on the cross He loved the poor and, as an example for His disciples, bore witness(3) to the love of the Father who seeks them. |
| 59,3. Ecclesia paupertatem voluntariam qua signum sequelae Christi intellegit, speciatim in religiosis, et sanctum Franciscum proponit tanquam imaginem propheticam paupertatis evangelicae. | 59,3. The Church recognizes voluntary poverty, especially in religious, as a sign of the following of Christ and proposes Saint Francis as a prophetic image of evangelical poverty. | Current text (59,3)
4. The Church recognizes voluntary poverty, especially in religious, as a sign of the following of Christ, and proposes Saint Francis as a prophetic image of gospel poverty. |
| New text (4)
5. Filled with amazement at the beauty of God, who is humility, patience and meekness (5), he was led to the choice of poverty, which he experienced in the humility of the Incarnation and the charity of the Passion (6), so that, naked himself, he could follow the crucified Lord in His nakedness (7). |
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| New text
6. The gospel ideal of poverty led Francis to humility of heart and to radical self dispossession, bringing him to experience compassion for the poor and the weak and to share in their life (8). |
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(1) The proposed formula introduces the Chapter by bringing out the Trinitarian foundation of poverty. The text is inspired by some expressions of St Francis (cf. LOrd 52:) and is intended to show that God is humility precisely because He is Trinity, because of the relationship of love flowing among the three Persons. The text is also inspired by Vita Consecrata (n. 21), to underline the reciprocal total self-giving of the Persons of the Trinity as the model of all human relationships and the foundation of our poverty and humility. Cf. also Caritas in veritate n. 54.
(2) The new opening phrase added to the current text establishes the link with the preceding §. The formulation of the text therefore requires: “and who was sent to preach good news to the poor”.
(3) In the Latin text the first verb is in the perfect tense (amavit – loved), and the second in the imperfect (testificabatur – gave witness). The text of 1968 said : “A nativitate in praesepio usque ad mortem in cruce amorem Dei quaerentis pauperes testificabatur in discipulorum exemplum”[12] (From his birth in the manger to his death on the cross he gave witness to the love of God seeking out the poor as an example for his disciples). In 1982 the text was modified by inserting amavit pauperes, changing Dei into Patris and inserting the pronoun eos (= pauperes)[13]. We believe that in doing this the revisers neglected to modify the verbs to make the tenses agree, and it seems more appropriate that both verbs should be in the perfect.
(4) To make the definition in the preceding § more explicit (Saint Francis is a prophetic image of gospel poverty), it was thought appropriate to recall the personal example of St Francis. We therefore propose to insert two paragraphs into the current text: the first explains how Francis was led to choose poverty; the second expresses what the choice of poverty actually meant for Francis.
(5) The proposed text has a strongly Christological connotation. It begins with a reference to LodAl, in which Francis, among the many divine attributes, mentions four which are a kind of watermark of the attributes of Jesus: the Son of God who “did not cling avidly to his equality with God” (Phil 2,6), but humbled himself to the point of annihilation (You are humility!); the Christus patiens, (suffering Christ) who gave himself up to suffer on the cross (You are patient!); thus became “the fairest of the sons of men” (Ps 44,3; [You are beauty!]), the “meek king” with a heart full of gentleness (You are meekness!)[14]. In v.6 of LodAl Francis repeats and joins together “You are beauty!” and “You are meekness!”, as if to underline that the beauty of the Son of God is identical to meekness and manifests itself in meekness, or that conversely beauty is the external reflection of that inner attractiveness which is imparted by meekness[15]. The association of beauty and meekness (cf. the meek lamb of Jer 11,19) is perhaps a hint of the “unimaginable beauty” and the suffering of the crucified man-seraph contemplated in the vision of the stigmata (cf 1Cel 94)»[16]. The biblical text by which Francis was most likely inspired, is 2Cor 10,1[17]; and from this we can deduce that he made reference to the praytēs (sweetness, gentleness, humility, kindness, meekness)[18] and to the epieikēs (meekness, kindness, amiability)[19], attitudes which are characteristic of Jesus in his relationships with people during his life on earth and are typical features of the lordship of Christ. He is the saviour-king who on entering Jerusalem[20] fulfils the prophecy of Zachariah[21], after having proclaimed himself prays, or of lowly condition[22], and tapeinòs of heart. From this experiential concept of God Francis derives his choice of a life in poverty-humility. But the biblical hinterland of vv. 4 and 6 of LodAl clarifies their underlying meaning and aesthetic dimensions, which have recently found an echo in the teaching of Vita consecrata: “The One who in death appears to human eyes as disfigured and without beauty, so much so that the bystanders cover their faces (cf. Is. 53:2-3), fully reveals the beauty and power of God’s love” (n. 24).
(6) The inserted phrase experienced in the humility and charity of the Incarnation and in the charity of the Passion, is a literal reference to 1Cel 84, and brings out the foundation and origin of the choice of radical poverty which Francis made. He arrives at poverty after having listened, on February 24, 1209 in the Portiuncula, to the words of the gospel (Mt 10,7-9; Mc 6,7-12; Lk 9,1-6; 10,1-16) about the sending of the disciples (cf. 1Cel 22; 3Comp 25), but also – according to the account of 3Comp (29) – after having consulted the book of the gospels: the first time Mt 19,21; the second time Lk 9,3ff.; and the third time Lk 9,23ff. Francis encountered poverty because he had heard the Lord’s words, not because he had seen it in others. He himself makes this clear in his Testament. (cf. Test 16). Through the sacramentum of the word he discovered the reality (res) of Christ’s poverty, which particularly impressed him and gripped him totally, to the point of provoking in him a profound sense of emotional participation and an intense desire to conform his life to Christ in His poverty. In the light of the Sacrum Commercium, we can say that the poverty of Christ is the genetic cause of Francis’ poverty[23]. He discovered poverty in the Incarnation of the Son of God and in the Paschal Mystery. He came to know the historical reality of Jesus “not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (cf. 2Cor 5,16). Contemplation of the poor and crucified Christ put the seal on his vision of the Christian life. He was the lover whose only wealth is his Beloved, and in this way he was able to see the cross as glory and the historical form of the poverty of the crucified one as his absolute and permanent norm of life, the spiritual expression of the covenant.[24] The Capuchin Constitutions have constantly stressed the fact that Francis contemplates poverty in the mysteries of Christ: “Our Seraphic Father Saint Francis pondered the most high poverty of Christ, King of heaven and earth: When he was born he did not have even a small place in the inn for his dwelling, and he lived as a pilgrim, staying in the houses of others. And when he was dying he had no place to rest his head. Reflecting moreover that He was most poor in everything else, and wishing to imitate Him, Francis commanded the friars in the Rule not to possess anything of their own, so that unencumbered, like pilgrims on earth and citizens of Heaven, they might run with alacrity of spirit in the way of God.” (Const 1536, n. 69)[25].
(7) The final phrase in the text: so that, naked himself, he could follow the crucified Lord in His nakedness, is an almost literal reference to LegM (II,4). The sources particularly stress the theme of Francis’s nakedness: from the moment when he undresses and gives his clothes back to his father (cf. LMj, II,4; LMj VII; L3C IV,19; AP I,8) to the moment when he dies naked on the earth (c. 2Cel CLXII, 214; 2Cel CLXIII,217; LMj, XIV,3; LMj VII,3; 2319), through a whole journey of discipleship “in nakedness” (i.e. in the most extreme poverty), from start to finish (Cf. LMj XIV,4) following the Crucified One in his nakedness (cf. LMj, II,4). The hagiographical sources also recount that Francis stripped or had himself stripped as a sign of a penitential attitude (cf. LMj VI,2; LegP, 60; 2MP, 61), and that he ordered Brother Rufino (cf. Fioretti XXX) and another brother (cf. LMj VIII, 5 ) to strip as a penance. Nudity, as a spiritual attitude of radical expropriation, is required by Francis of those who wish to enter the Order (cf. 2Cel 194; (LMj VII,2). Spiritual “nudity” therefore appears as an essential characteristic of the forma vitae of the lesser brothers. This is underlined by Jacques de Vitry: “They renounce all ownership, deny themselves and, taking up their cross, they strip themselves of everything in order to follow Christ in his nakedness” (Historia Occidentalis, 1, II, c. 32, 5). In the Capuchin Constitutions we find the expression the Crucified One, naked and humble[26] and in Proposal n. 11 of PCO VI we read: “Francis embodied gospel radicalness and, in his unmistakable style, stressed the fact that to live and proclaim the Gospel means nudus nudum Christum sequi.”
(8) The proposed text is intended to highlight the choices made by Francis: poverty as expropriation (living with nothing of one’s own) and minority, above all as a spiritual attitude (poverty of spirit or humility of heart) and then as a sharing of life with the poor.
N. 62 (59,4-8)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| New text (1)
1. Holding fast to the gospel insights of Saint Francis and to the tradition of the Order, we take on as a special task to follow the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ in simplicity of life and joyful austerity, in hard work and trust in Providence, and in charity towards all. |
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| 59,4. Paupertate nostra propter Regnum Dei participamus habitudinem Christi filialem erga Patrem et eius condicionem fratris et servi inter homines. | 59,4. Through our poverty for the sake of the Kingdom of God we participate in the filial attitude of Christ toward the Father and in His condition of being a brother and servant among people. | Current text (59,4) with additions and changes
2. Poverty (2), chosen in order to follow Christ (3), makes us sharers in the filial attitude of Christ (4) toward the Father and in His condition of being a brother and servant among people, and inclines us to live in solidarity with the little ones of this world (5). |
| 59,5. Evangelica paupertas complectitur disponibilitatem in amore, conformitatem cum Christo paupere et crucifixo qui venit ministrare, et inducit ad solidarietatem cum parvulis huius mundi. | 59,5. Evangelical poverty embraces availability in love, conformity with the poor and crucified Christ Who came to serve, and leads to solidarity with the little ones of this world. | Current text (59,5), expanded and modified
3. Commitment to the gospel ideal of the highest poverty, which makes us heirs and kings in the kingdom of heaven (6), calls for (7) availability in love and conformity with the poor and crucified Christ Who came to serve. |
| 59,6. Naturae et gratiae dona velut nobismetipsis data non nobis appropriemus, sed conemur ea in profectum populi Dei plane conferre. | 59,6. Let us not make the gifts of nature and grace our own as if they were given only for ourselves, but let us strive to use them entirely for the benefit of the People of God. | Current text (59,6), with one change
4. Let us not claim the gifts of nature and grace as our own as if they were given only for ourselves(8), but let us strive to make them entirely available for the benefit of the People of God. |
| 59,7. Bonis temporalibus cum gratitudine utamur, ea cum indigentibus participantes, simulque testimonium perhibentes recti usus rerum hominibus eas cupide appetentibus. | 59,7. Let us use temporal things with gratitude by sharing them with the indigent and, at the same time, by giving an example of the proper use of things to people who desire them excessively. | Current text (59,7)
5. Let us use temporal things gratefully and share them with those in need, at the same time giving an example of the right use of things to people who desire them excessively. |
| 59,8. Pauperibus revera annuntiabimus Deum ipsum esse cum eis, quatenus erimus eorum sortis participes. | 59,8. We will truly proclaim to the poor that God Himself is with them in so far as we share in their lot. | Current text (59,8), expanded and modified
6. We will truly proclaim to the poor that God is with them to the degree that we are available to them and really share in their condition (9). |
Explanatory Notes
(1) After the reference to the example of Saint Francis, the new text has been introduced to provide a link with Capuchin tradition. The text as formulated is inspired by the Constitutions of 1968, 1970, 1974, which said: “Speciale munus Ordinis nostri est, ut freti providentia Dei et fideliter laborantes, praeceptum paupertatis revera servemus” (“It is a special task of our Order that we should truly observe the precept of poverty, relying on God’s providence and working faithfully”). The new formulation maintains the content of that text, underlining the idea of the speciale munus: to live in poverty is a special mission of the Order. At the same time it maintains the reference to hard work and trust in Providence, as essential components of a truly poor life. The aspect of sharing in the lot of ordinary people also appears essential for us, called as we are by vocation to be part of the company of the poor. From this point of view the text is inspired by the teaching of Paul VI: “We have often wondered how it is that the sons of St Francis are less present among the masses of working people than they fittingly should be, with their words full of popular appeal, their vocation to share the bread of ordinary people earned by the sweat of their brow, and with their ability to sow joy and hope among the thorns of this life!” (A hard and perfect road. Address to participants at the General Chapter of 21 October 1968). The text, as formulated, also reflects PCO VI: “Within the Franciscan movement the Capuchins have placed particular emphasis on austere simplicity in their manner of living poverty and closeness to the people in practising minority (preaching to the people, serving the sick and plague victims, questing…). These values, when they are lived in brotherhood, renewed and encultured, are a powerful witness to the gospel and a stimulus for the advancement of the weakest people”. (Proposal n. 5).
(2) According to some opinions raised in the Commission, the change of subject, from (we) participate (current text) to Poverty… gives us a share (proposed text), was intended to make the text more concrete: it is not poverty in the abstract, but our life of poverty that makes us sharers…. .
(3) The phrase for the kingdom or for the Kingdom of heaven in Matthew’s gospel (19,12), and subsequently in the patristic and liturgical sources and in the documents of the Magisterium, is more properly used in reference to virginity and celibacy. For this reason the Commission proposes to replace the current formulation, poverty for the sake of the kingdom of God, by poverty, chosen in order to follow Christ..
(4) The Latin text reads: habitudinem Christi filialem erga Patrem, with the preposition erga, which has a local meaning (in the direction of, towards, opposite)[27], corresponding to the Greek pròs (in front of, directly ahead, preceding). The text approximates to the Johannine vision lógos – pròs (towards) tòn theón (Jn 1,1). Translators should take this feature of the Latin text into account.
(5) This paragraph anticipates the final expression of the current n. 59,5 and it leads to solidarity with the little ones of this world. In this way the text (Proposed revision n. 63,2 – Current text n. 59,4) suffers no alteration and enables a fuller development of the concepts contained in the following paragraph.
(6) The proposed formulation returns to the poverty-Kingdom link in the light of the gospel beatitude (cf. Mt 5,3; Lk 6,20) and of Francis’ hymn to poverty: “This is that sublime height of most exalted poverty which has made you, my beloved brothers, heirs and kings in the kingdom of heaven, poor in temporal things but rich in virtue” (Rb 6,4). What the Saint has in mind is not only the reward of glory in heaven…but also the fact that, here and now, we belong, by right, to the Kingdom and have a “royal dignity”. (LPer 61)[28].
(7) In the Commission’s judgement, availability in love and conformity to the poor and crucified Christ are basic requirements and essential conditions in order to live in poverty. We therefore prefer to say that commitment to the gospel ideal of highest poverty “calls for” availability in love and conformity to the poor and crucified Christ. This is why we believe the Latin verb complectitur should be replaced by another that is more appropriate to the concept.
(8) Aiming to simplify the text and so avoid the risk of inexact translations, PdR1 (n. 63,4) said as if they were our own. On further eflection, the Commission has gone back to the current text, translating it literally.
(9) PdR1 (n. 63,5) had highlighted the apostolic dimension of poverty, but the proposed formulation, according to the feedback we received, [Prot. N.: IV-00126); IV-00127; IV-00090; IV-00118], was laboured and repetitive. We therefore preferred to return to the current text, whiile maintaining the slight expansion inspired by n. 45 of the 1968 Constitutions del 1968: quatenus simus eorum adiutores et sortis participes[29].
N. 63 (60,3-4)
Explanatory Notes
(1) §§ 1-2 of the currect n. 60 have not been deleted, but transferred later (cf. nn. 67,1; 75,4).
(2) Because of the transfer of the first §§ of the current text, the conjunction in fact is no longer required.
(3) This is not a textual deletion, because the current formulation, which has two parts, is amplified and part two is transferred to paragraph 4. This has been done in order to highlight two aspects of poverty: austerity and minority. Some details from the first part (clothing, food, houses) are brought out later (cf. Proposed revision, n. 72,6).
(4) The new text which completes the current one is inspired by Proposal 26 of PCO VI and by Proposal 26 of PCO VII. Here we propose to underline further the meaning of austerity. Austerity is not just a matter of an external attribute found in the lives of saints, although as such it does have some value. Rather, it refers above all to the quality of moderation that should be evident in our lives, whatever our needs and however they may manifest themselves. The final part of the § merits particular emphasis, with its reference to the consumer mentality: we too are subject to its influence and should keep it at bay.
(5) § 3 expounds on the meaning of the previous text. In an assertive sentence, similar to so many others in the Constitutions currently in force, the effects of austerity are underlined. Thus it links up with PCO VII, which among other things relates austerity with solidarity (cf. Proposal n. 26). In Circular Letter n. 24 (Courageous choices for a more fraternal world) (22 May 2005), Br. John Corriveau broadens the relationship still further: austerity “mediates between solidarity and equity. The use of modern tools of technology varies greatly throughout the world. Think of the tools which have become ordinary and necessary to our lives in the past 10 years: cell-phones, internet access, computers, and a host of other electronic devices. Access to the modern tools of technology is a major source of inequality in our world. Equity demands that the fraternal economy make available all that which is necessary, according to the diverse needs of each brother. Solidarity demands that the fraternal economy share resources between brothers and fraternities. In a world increasingly controlled by the ‘proliferation of desire,’ an economy without austerity leaves nothing for solidarity: ‘Marketing and advertising collapse the distinction between necessity and superfluity. The reach of need and want run to infinity. The consumer is ‘trained’ to exceed his/her satisfaction and to desire an infinite array of goods, products and services.’ Equity without austerity leaves nothing for solidarity! Austerity is a constitutive element of a truly ‘fraternal’ economy (n. 6.2)”.
The position of the text also reminds us of the ascetical value of austerity. Reducing our own material needs or depriving ourselves of something that may well be useful or necessary is not something that we do spontaneously. It takes effort and sacrifice, both as individuals and communities, but such a process is liberating because it enables us to concentrate on the essentials (God, the values of the spirit, the brothers): “Poverty, minority and itinerancy, as well as being constituent elements of the following of Christ, bring Franciscan freedom. They are means to our end, i.e., to building the kingdom of God or, in Franciscan language, building brotherhood wherever and whenever we can. Fraternally-structured poverty, minority and itinerancy, according to the situation in each place, help Capuchins to free themselves from the effects of structural sin, inconsistent inner drives, manipulation by other power interests, lack of skills for crossing boundaries, and anachronistic traditions that enslave us, in order to build a viable fraternity in the 21st century” (VII PCO, n. 4). So, paragraphs 2 and 3 complete one another: § 2 stresses the radical quality of austerity, namely the privations it involves, and therefore the effort and struggle required to practise it; while § 3 aims to describe the result of this ascetical process. . The formulation used in PdR1 (n. 64,3): makes us concentrate on spiritual values has been slightly changed to makes us more open to spiritual values.
(6) The text of § 4 underlines a second aspect of poverty, more directly connected to minority. In fact, it is also part of our choice of poverty to renounce “all forms of social, political or ecclesiastical power”. The Commission reflected at length on this expression in the current text (n. 60,4) in the light of elements emerging from PCO VII, with particular reference to Proposal 18: “The word of God enlightens and inspires the decision of a Capuchin brother who wishes to live in minority. From it he learns the need to abandon every form of dominant power (cf Mk 9,33-37; Rnb V,12-15) and the fact that service is the correct attitude of him who understands Jesus as servant (cf Lk 22,24-27). In the same way, the Gospel teaches him to identify with the excluded (cf Mt 25, 31-46) and to share all good things with them (cf Rm 15,27). A good use of power is the “genuine sacrifice” characteristic of one who has had a profound experience of Jesus (cf. Rm 12,1). The modern social sciences make it clear that, because all social relationships are asymmetrical, it is impossible to live without exercising power. Jesus taught his followers not to “lord it over” one another as nonbelievers do (cf. Mt 20:25;Mk 10:42-45; Lk 22:24-27; 1 Pt 5:3). Francis wrote that the brothers should not exercise power or dominion (RnB V 12-15)”. Bearing in mind also that the connotations of the noun “power” are not the same in all cultures, we preferred to adopt a wider formulation which prescribes that we are to avoid seeking for ourselves forms of prestige, power or dominion.
(7) In the second part of § 4 the text describes in a positive sense the choices that flow from our profession of a life in poverty and minority. It does this by reference to an expression of 2Lf IX,45 and to another from PCO VII (Proposal 3). This gives greater prominence to the aspect of minority.
(8) § 5 serves as a concluding summary of n. 65 and is intended to underline the unbreakable connection between poverty and minority. The proposed text was formulated on the basis of the statement of PCO VI: “Without minority, our poverty would have no meaning and would become a source of pride, just as without material poverty, interior poverty would be unreal” (Proposal n. 3; cf. also Project 2006 n. 42,4). The Commission’s formulation contextualises poverty and minority within the category of a life sine proprio, in which a much broader horizon is visible than the one offered by the generally accepted meaning of the word poverty. Living sine proprio refers to the attitude of someone who does not appropriate anything to himself; it is the fundamental quality of the way of life of the friars, so that almost nothing else is needed to define how a friar lives. Also, this “life without anything of one’s own” is defined not just in relation to ownership of things, but also and above all as the attitude of someone who has renounced even his own legitimate rights and who therefore truly lives without anything of his own. This attitude should permeate every relationship, not just to things but also and above all with God and the brothers[30].
N. 64 (60,5-6)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 60,5. Conscia solidarietate vivamus cum innumerabilibus pauperibus orbis terrae, et labore nostro apostolico inducamus populum praesertim christianum ad opera iustititae et caritatis ad populorum progressionem promovendam. | 60,5. Let us live in conscious solidarity with the countless poor of the world and, through our apostolic labor, lead Christian people especially to works of justice and charity that further the development of peoples. | Current text (60,5), with one addition
1. We should live in conscious solidarity with the countless poor of the world and, through our apostolic work, encourage the people, especially Christians, to undertake works of justice and charity to promote the common good (1). |
|
| 60,6. Laude digni sunt, qui in peculiaribus regionis adiunctis vivendo cum pauperibus, eorum condiciones et aspirationes participantes, eos ad evolutionem socialem et culturalem atque spem eschatologicam impellunt. | 60,6. Those who, in the particular circumstances of a region, urge the poor to social and cultural development and to an eschatological hope by living with them, sharing their lot and their aspirations are worthy of praise. | Current text (60,6), with one change
2. Special tribute is due to those brothers (2) who, in the particular circumstances of a region, live with the poor, sharing their conditions and aspirations, thereby encouraging social and cultural change and eschatological hope in the world to come. |
|
| New text
3. Nevertheless, the preferential option for the poor challenges us as a fraternity and calls for concrete action arising from joint decisions (3). |
4/1
New text Each circumscription or group of circumscriptions should devise and implement particular ways of being present among the poor (4). |
||
Explanatory Notes
(1) The problems associated with the use of the expression progress or development of peoples have already been faced in chapter I (n. 13, note 4). For the reasons given on that occasion, here too we prefer to change the expression in the present text to the common good.
(2) It is certainly better to use the noun brothers, rather than the pronoun those.
(3) The idea of PCO VI (Cf. Proposal n. 9) had already been accepted by Project 2006 (cf n. 49,1). In our view it is appropriate to insert this into the text of the Constitutions to strengthen the two previous paragraphs and to make them more concrete. The formulation of the text does not ignore nor undervalue personal initiatives, but these cannot be individualistic – they must express a commitment of the community and be carried out as a missio fraternitatis (“mission of the fraternity”) and in obedience to the ministers. The text therefore states that the Order as such is bound to a preferential option for the poor which has to be translated into particular choices, and these must be assumed and shared at community level.
(4) The text proposed for the complementary code is derived from Proposal n. 10 of PCO VI. The intention here is to encourage communal applications of what is said in the Constitutions. The formulation of the proposal takes account of the fact that it is not always possible for individual jurisdictions to implement particular ways of being present among the poor. This is one area where inter-provincial collaboration may be called for.
N. 65 (61)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 61,1. Vitam communem servemus, et ea, quae singulis conferuntur, libenter inter nos communicemus. | 61,1. Let us preserve a common life and willingly share among ourselves whatever we receive as individuals. | Current text (61,1)
1. Let us practise common life and gladly share with one another whatever we individually receive. |
| 61,2. Bona omnia, etiam salaria et pensiones, subventiones et assecurationes, quae quovis modo nobis obveniunt, in usum fraternitatis conferantur, […] | 61,2. All [those] goods that in any way come to us, including salaries and pensions, insurance policies and grants, should be handed over for the use of the fraternity, […] | Current text (61,2), expanded and modified
2. In virtue of the promise we have made to the Lord before the Church, by professing to “live without anything of our own”, we are obliged to hand over to the fraternity all goods, including salaries and pensions, grants and insurance policies, which come to us in any way (1). |
| 61, 2. […] ita ut singuli ab ea eundem victum, vestitum aliaque necessaria accipiant. | 61,2. […] so that individuals may receive from the fraternity the same food, clothing and other necessities. | New text
3. The fraternity must provide each brother with food, clothing and everything necessary for the exercise of his office. Out of respect for the same dignity enjoyed by all the brothers, all forms of privilege and egalitarianism should be avoided. In addition, we should always keep in mind that our lifestyle should be a witness of gospel poverty and brotherhood in the diverse social and cultural contexts (2). |
| 61,3. Superiores in paupertate servanda fratribus exemplo praeluceant atque eiusdem observantiam apud eos promoveant. | 61,3. Let superiors give the other brothers an outstanding example of the observance of poverty and promote its observance among them. | Current text (61,3), with one change
4. The ministers and guardians should give outstanding example to the brothers in the practice of poverty, and should promote its observance among them. |
Explanatory Notes
(1) The current text has been expanded and modified to expound the foundation (the vow of poverty) which binds us to practice common life and to share all goods. The majority of the Commission considers the expression “we are obliged to hand over to the fraternity” more concrete and more realistic than the current: “should be handed over for the use of the fraternity”.
(2) The new text of § 3 amplifies and sharpens the current text: “individuals receive from the fraternity the same food, clothing and other necessities”. At the same time it is intended to codify the criterion or principle of “equity” arising out of the Proposals of PCO VI, whose value lies in the development of fraternal relationships and in the observance of poverty in the different contexts and cultures. The application of different forms of observing poverty is closely bound up with a sense of equity, which protects us from egalitarianism. At the same time PCO VII exhorts us: “We should divest ourselves of any privilege that might arise from office, education received, presbyteral ministry or from any other service we render for the common good or for the benefit of the people of God (n. 9). “Equity does not require a universal and identical Capuchin model. It seeks to ensure that the varying and differing needs of each brother and of each fraternity will be met with equal concern. Communion cannot survive where there is privilege. [31]
N. 66 (60,1)
Explanatory Notes
(1) N. 68 re-proposes the text of the current n. 60,1, which already commits us to verify how we observe poverty. The Commission thought it appropriate to make this aspect more explicit: we wish to propose and to instil the practice of scrutinium paupertatis (poverty-check). This aspect is particularly relevant to the ongoing formation of the brothers.
(2) To define poverty as “an essential commitment” of our life is more appropriate than “a very important commitment”. PCO VI defines poverty as “an essential element of our life” (Proposal n. 12)
(3) The addition of and to the diversity of places is called for by the principle of pluriformity and conforms to the words of Rb 4,2 .
(4) § 2 outlines the scope of the verification (personal and communal) that has to be undertaken and the conditions required for its conduct: mutual charity and docility to the Spirit.
(5) The text proposed for the Constitutions invites us to evaluate often our way of observing poverty. This principle needs to be implemented in practice, particularly in the periodical community meetings (local chapters). Next, the text of the complementary code calls on the ministers to issue guidelines on the frequency of the scrutinium paupertatis, its content and methods. While the expression scrutinium paupertatis is not being inserted into the text of the Constitutions, similar expressions are used to indicate ways of ensuring fidelity to a well-defined religious profession which we have made freely and in a public, ecclesial form. The result should be that we are enlightened and purified in our way of thinking, planning and working, in trustful dependence upon God and in joyful solidarity. The aim of the scrutinium paupertatis, which is more than a simple examination of conscience, is to lead each individual brother, each fraternity and each friar who exercises the ministry of authority to an experience of the Spirit that will revive our fidelity to a life with nothing of our own.
Article ii: Poverty in Goods and Money
N. 67 (62)
Explanatory Notes
(1) Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the current text have been reversed. In this way the instruction concerning the use of temporal goods is immediately linked to the recommendation of Saint Francis, referred to in paragraph 1, and it is possible to expound the contents of paragraph 3 (= n. 62,2 of the current text) regarding itinerancy.
(2) The expansion of the current text is intended to underline the aspect of itinerancy. It is based on Proposals n. 5 and n. 24 of PCO VII.
(3) We see no need for n. 62,4-5 to remain in the Constitutions. We agree with the proposal of Project 2006 to transfer them to the complementary code.
(4) The addition of the phrase within the limits of their own competence and in obedience to universal law is justified for obvious reasons.
N. 68 (63)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 63,1. Ut aeterni Patris filii, anxia sollicitudine seposita, confidentiam in divinam providentiam ponamus, nosque bonitati eius infinitae concredamus. | 63,1. As children of the eternal Father, putting aside anxious care, let us place our confidence in divine providence and entrust ourselves to His infinite goodness. | Current text (63,1)
1. As children of the eternal Father, putting aside anxious care, we should rely on God’s providence and entrust ourselves to His infinite goodness. |
| 63,2. Ideo bonis, etiam ad victum necessariis, ne immoderate provideamus. | 63,2. Therefore we should not be immoderately preoccupied about goods, even about what is necessary for food. | Current text (63,2)
2. Therefore we should not accumulate material things extravagantly, even those necessary for sustenance. |
| 63,3. Media et subsidia ad necessitates vitae et apostolatus, praesertim nostrum ipsorum labore, acquiramus. | 63,3. Let us acquire the means and resources for the necessities of our life and apostolate, especially by our own labor. | Current text (63,3)
3. We should acquire the means and resources for the necessities of life and the apostolate, chiefly by our own work. |
| 63,4. His deficientibus, iuxta leges Ecclesiae universalis et particularis, confidenter ad mensam Domini recurramus; ita tamen, ut dum stipem ab hominibus quaerimus, illis testimonium paupertatis, fraternitatis et franciscanae laetitiae praebeamus. | 63,4. When these are inadequate, let us confidently have recourse to “the table of the Lord” according to the laws of the universal and particular Church. Let this be done in such a way that, while we seek donations from people, we give them a witness of poverty, fraternity and franciscan joy. | Current text (63,4), with addition
4. Should these be lacking, we may have recourse to the table of the Lord with confidence, according to the laws of the universal and particular Church. This should be done in such a way that, while we seek donations from the people, we give them a witness of poverty, brotherhood and Franciscan joy, ready to share the gifts of providence with the poor (1), in accordance with our tradition. |
Explanatory Notes
(1) The final addition is intended to highlight a very important feature of Capuchin tradition and spirituality: “We are like the sea, which receives water from everywhere, and in turn distributes it to every river” (A. Manzoni, The Betrothed, chap. III). The text expresses a finding of PCO VI: “The values underlying questing need to be reinstated, namely trust in Divine Providence and a sense of dependence and reciprocity between us and the people. People give to us because we give to the poor, and in order to give alms, we must welcome alms” (Proposal n. 20).
N. 69 (64)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 64,1. Sanctus Franciscus, pro suo proprio charismate paupertatis et minoritatis in Ecclesia, praecepit suis, ne ullo modo pecuniam reciperent, utpote signum divitiarum, periculum avaritiae et instrumentum potentiae ac dominationis in mundo. | 64,1. Saint Francis, according to his own charism of poverty and minority in the Church, commanded his sons not to accept money in any way in as much as it is a sign of riches, a danger of greed, and an instrument of power and domination in the world. | Current text (64,1)
1. Saint Francis, true to his own charism of poverty and minority in the Church, commanded his sons not to accept money in any way in as much as it is a sign of riches, a temptation to greed, and an instrument of power and domination in the world. |
| 64,2. Cum vero, ob mutata tempora, usus pecuniae necessarius sit, fratres, volentes Patris intentionem adimplere, pecunia utantur tantum ut instrumento ordinario commutationis et vitae socialis etiam pauperibus necessario, et ad normam Constitutionum. | 64,2. But since the use of money is necessary because times have changed, the brothers, wishing to fulfill the intention of their Father, may use money only as an ordinary means of exchange and social life, necessary even for the poor, and according to the norms of the Constitutions. | Current text (64,2), with changes
2. But since in today’s conditions (1) the use of money is necessary, the brothers, in order to remain faithful to the profound intention of the Seraphic (2) Father, shall use money only as an ordinary means of exchange and social life, necessary even for the poor, and according to the prescriptions of our particular law (3). |
Explanatory Notes
(1) The proposed change (in today’s conditions) does not alter the content of the current text.
(2) To avoid possible ambiguities in the translation of the Latin text, and referring to n. 6 of PCO VI, PdR1 (n. 70,2) had translated the Latin volentes Patris intentionem adimplere as in order to remain faithful to the profound intention of the Seraphic Father. We accept the suggestions received [Prot. N.: IV-00048; IV-00150.], and return to the current text, while making it clear that the meaning is the Seraphic Father.
(3) We propose according to the prescriptions of our particular law instead of according to the Constitutions. The current text was drafted at the General Chapter of 1968, when the Ordinances were abrogated and everything was put into the Constitutions. This was the intention of the Order until the General Chapter of 1982, but the Chapter of 1988 decided to reinstate the Ordinances and today, by the express will of two General Chapters (2000 and 2006), we are drafting a Complementary Code (Ordinances or General Statutes) alongside the Constitutions. This complementary code is also an integral part of our particular law. It therefore seems more appropriate to say according to the prescriptions of our particular law. However we believe that the use of money in the Order needs to be regulated with greater precision and timely intervention.
N. 70 (65)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 65,1. Superiores, quibus competit vi muneris sollicitam gerere curam de necessitatibus fratrum, utantur pecunia ad necessaria vitae, atque ad opera apostolatus et caritatis. | 65,1. Superiors, who by office have the responsibility of caring for the needs of the brothers, may use money for the necessities of life as well as for works of the apostolate and charity. | Current text (65,1), with one change
1. The ministers and guardians, whose duty it is in virtue of their office to care for the needs of the brothers, may use money for the necessities of life and for works of the apostolate and charity. |
|
| 65,2. Ob easdem rationes alii quoque fratres, cum licentia superioris, pecunia uti possunt cum obligatione rationem reddendi. | 65,2. For the same reasons the other brothers, with the permission of the superior, can use money with the obligation of accounting for it. | Current text (65,2), with one change
2. For the same reasons the other brothers can also use money with the permission of the guardian or the minister, with the obligation of accounting for it. |
4/4
New text In particular cases, the Ministers may give permission for individuals to administer money, but only for a limited time. The permission must be given in writing, and must indicate for how long it is given, and the manner of accounting for the administration(1). |
| 65,3. Omnibus autem, sive superioribus, sive fratribus, usus pecuniae semper talis esse debet ut modum vere pauperibus congruentem non excedat. | 65,3. But for everyone, whether superiors or not, the use of money must be such that it does not exceed the degree appropriate to those who are truly poor. | Current text (65,3), with one change
3. But everyone, whether ministers or guardians or not, must always use money in a way that does not go beyond what is appropriate to those who are truly poor. |
|
| 65,4. Ad paupertatem servandam fratres absque licentia ne adeant amicos, parentes, propinquos, pecuniam aliasque res petituri. | 65,4. To safeguard poverty, the brothers should not have recourse to their friends, relatives or neighbors for money or other things without permission. | Current text (65,4), with changes and additions
4. To safeguard poverty, the brothers shall not ask their friends or relatives for money or other things without permission, nor receive gifts for their exclusive use without the permission of the guardian or minister(2). |
|
Explanatory Notes
(1) The text proposed for the complementary code is intended as an application of the constitutional text. The prescription seems to be necessary because of a widespread practice, which is not always legitimate or legitimised. On the other hand there are cases and situations where individual brothers, other than those exercising the office of bursar or a similar administrative service (Mission secretaries, vice-postulators, etc) need to administer money.
(2) In light of the feedback received, the current text is modified to or relatives and adding nor receive gifts for their exclusive use without the permission of the guardian or minister.
N. 71 (66)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 66,1. Superioribus, secundum normas a ministro provinciali de consensu definitorii editas, licet ad cautiones seu, uti aiunt, assecurationes aut alias formas praevidentiae socialis recurrere, ubi eiusmodi institutum sociale a publica auctoritate, sive ecclesiastica sive civili, omnibus aut alicui professionis generi praescribatur, vel a pauperibus illius regionis communiter usurpetur | 66,1. In compliance with the norms promulgated by the provincial minister with the consent of the definitory, it is lawful for superiors to use insurance policies and other forms of social security where this is prescribed by ecclesiastical or civil authority for everyone or for those of certain professions or where such things are commonly used by the poor of the area. | Current text (66,1), with one change
1. The ministers, with the consent of their council (1), may make use of insurance policies and other forms of social security where these are prescribed by ecclesiastical or civil authority for everyone or for members of certain professions, or where such things are commonly used by the poor of the area. |
| 66,2. Studiose vero evitent omnia cautionum genera, quae in aliqua regione ubi morantur speciem luxus aut lucri praeseferunt. | 66,2. But let them diligently avoid all those forms of security which have the appearance of affluence or profit-making in the area in which they live. | Current text (66,2)
2. But let them diligently avoid all those forms of security which have the appearance of affluence or profit-making in the area in which they live. |
| 66,3. Attamen opportunum est ut ipsi pecuniam vere necessariam, more hominum modestae condicionis, collocent apud mensas argentarias aut alia instituta eiusdem generis, etiam cum moderato foenore. | 66,3. It is appropriate, however, that they, like people of modest means, invest whatever money is really necessary for them in banks and similar institutions, even at a moderate rate of interest. | Current text (66,3), with additions and changes
3. It is appropriate, however, that the ministers and guardians (2), like people of modest means, invest whatever money is really necessary in banks and similar institutions, even in the form of investments, but always at a moderate rate of interest (3), observing the precepts of our proper law (4). |
| 66,4. Fundationes autem, legata perpetua, hereditatesques cum iuribus et oneribus perpetuis ne accipiant. | 66,4. But they may not accept foundations, perpetual legacies or inheritances that have perpetual rights and obligations attached to them. | Current text (66,4)
4. But they may not accept foundations, perpetual legacies or inheritances that have perpetual rights and obligations attached to them. |
Explanatory Notes
(1) The proposed change is substantial. In the current text superiors clearly refers to local superiors or guardians, who must act according to norms issued by the provincial minister with the consent of the definitory. However, the Commission now proposes that the legal competence indicated in the text should be reserved to the ministers, with the consent of their Council. The reason for this is clear enough, since we are dealing with a very important and sensitive issue. But there is nothing to prevent the prescription of the Constitutions, as proposed by the Commission, being further specified in the particular Statutes of the circumscriptions.
(2) The statement needs an explicit subject, to replace the pronoun they.
(3) The Draft composed by the C.C.L. and presented to the General Chapter of 1968 said: Non eis tamen prohibetur, quominus pecunia necessaria, more hominum modestae condicionis, in tuto, etiam cum moderato fenore, collocetur.[32] (However, it is not forbidden for them to safely deposit necessary funds, even at a moderate rate of interest, as is done by people of lowly condition). In this text the emphasis was clearly placed on “safely depositing”(in tuto) the necessary funds”, according to the custom of ordinary people. For this purpose – i.e. to safeguard the money – even a modest rate of interest is allowed. The 1968 Chapter deleted the words in tuto, because they were materially contained in the following words, i.e. they said that money that was clearly necessary can be deposited in banks and other similar institutions, even at a moderate rate of interest[33]. The text, in the formulation approved in 1968[34] and maintained in successive Chapters[35],may have lost some of its clarity but the intention underlying even at moderate interest seems to have been preserved. The Commission has deleted even in the form of investments, which had been inserted in PdR1 (n. 72,3). We believe it is more appropriate for this subject to be dealt with, if necessary, in a special economic Statute, and that one must always stop at limited interest, avoiding any form of speculation and taking as the norm people of lowly condition, as is said elsewhere in the current Constitutions (nos. 66,2; 67,2) and in the Proposed revision (Cf. nos. 71,2; 72,2).
(4) The proposed revision adds the phrase observing the precepts of our own law, because we are convinced that this subject needs to be carefully regulated at Order level and in the circumscriptions.
N. 72 (67)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 67,1. Fratres hominibus vita sua ostendant se voluntaria paupertate a cupiditate, omnium malorum radice, et anxia sollicitudine de crastino liberari. | 67,1. Let the brothers show people by their life that voluntary poverty liberates them from greed, the root of all evil, and from anxious concern for tomorrow. | Current text (67,1)
1. The brothers should show people by their life that voluntary poverty liberates them from greed, the root of all evil, and from anxious concern for the future. |
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| 67,2. Idcirco superiores in usu pecuniae, servata modica securitate, quamlibet coacervationem ac negotiationem studiose evitent. | 67,2. Therefore, superiors should carefully avoid every accumulation or speculation in the use of money, although modest financial security may be maintained. | Current text (67,2), with one change
2. Therefore, the ministers and guardians should carefully avoid any accumulation or profiteering in the use of money, although modest financial security may be maintained. |
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| 67,3. Pro omni usu bonorum, etiam pecuniae, provinciae, fraternitates et fratres adhibeant uti criterium accuratum et practicum: minimum necessarium, non autem summum permissum. | 67,3. For every use of goods, including money, the provinces, fraternities and brothers should use as a precise and practical criterion: the minimum necessary, not the maximum allowed. | Current text (67,3), with one change and addition
3. For every use of goods, including money, the circumscriptions, fraternities and brothers should apply a precise and practical principle: the minimum necessary, not the maximum allowed. It should be applied in accordance with the different social conditions in which they live (1). |
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| 67,4. Ne res iniuste retinendo sancti Francisci degeneres filii fiamus, bona quae uni fraternitati necessaria non sunt, tradantur sive superioribus maioribus pro necessitatis circumscriptionis, sive pauperibus sive pro populorum progressione, iuxta normas a Capitulo provinciali datas; de illis omnibus reflexio communis saepius fiat in Capitulo locali. | 67,4. That we may not become degenerate sons of Saint Francis by keeping things unjustly, the goods not needed by a fraternity should be handed over either to the major superiors for the needs of the jurisdiction, or to the poor, or for the development of peoples, according to the norms established by the provincial chapter. Let the local chapter frequent make a common reflection on these matters. | Current text (67,4), with additions
4. So that we do not become degenerate sons of Saint Francis by keeping things unjustly, goods not needed by a fraternity should be handed over either to the major superiors for the needs of the circumscription and of the Order (2), or should be distributed to the poor, or earmarked (3)for social development, according to the norms established by the provincial chapter. The brothers should frequently reflect together on all these matters in the local chapter. |
4/5
New text (4) 1. The minister, with his council, having consulted the local chapter, determines the maximum sum that each fraternity can manage and makes appropriate arrangements concerning money that is not necessary for the needs of the local fraternity. It is appropriate that the economic administration in each circumscription be centralized. For this purpose it is useful that there be a system of budgets at each level (5). |
| New text
2. In each circumscription the chapter is to decide how much is necessary for the ordinary management of the circumscription, and the total amount held in reserve for internal extraordinary expenditure (maintenance of buildings, the sick, employees insurance, formation)) and for external solidarity (missions and charity). Monies exceeding the ordinary and extraordinary needs of a circumscription should be generously made available to the Order, the Church and the poor, in ways determined by the general chapter or by the general minister and his definitory (6). |
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| 67,7. Ministri generalis de consensu definitorii est de superfluis provinciarum disponere. | 67,7. It is the responsibility of the general minister with the consent of the definitory to dispose of the surplus goods of the provinces. | 4/6
Current text (67,7) It is the responsibility of the general minister, with the consent of the definitory, to decide what is to be done with the surplus goods of the provinces (7). |
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| 4/7
Current text (Ordinances 4/3) It pertains to the Provincial Chapter to lay down norms for the use of the goods of suppressed fraternities, maintaining the wishes of the founders and donors and their legitimately acquired rights. If the goods of a suppressed circumscription are involved, the competent authority is the general minister, who must proceed collegially with his definitory, having consulted the relevant conference and the major superiors concerned, together with their councils. |
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| 60,4. Paupertas sobriam et simplicem vitae rationem exigit, utputa in vestitu, in cibu, in habitaculis (…).
67,5. Fratres in Capitulo locali ad mentem Constitutionum reflexionem de recto usu bonorum instituant circa recreationes, accumulationem vestium, dona personalia, itinera et similia. |
60,4. Poverty demands a frugal and simple way of life in clothing, food, dwellings (…)
67,5. Let the brothers initiate in the local chapter a reflection on the correct use of goods, recreation, the accumulation of clothes, personal gifts, travelling, and similar things according to the mind of the Constitutions. |
Current texts (60,4 and 67,5) merged, with additions
6. The brothers in the local chapter, according to the intention of the Constitutions, should reflect on the correct use of goods in terms of recreation, clothing, gifts made to individuals and to the community, use of the media and technology, travel, and similar matters (8). |
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| New text
7. We should also reflect on what means to adopt in carrying out our tasks and ministries, always choosing those that are suited to our condition as lesser brothers (9). |
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Explanatory Notes
(1) Cf. PCO VI, Proposal n. 13: “The Constitutional norm : “The minimum necessary, not the maximum allowed” ( 67,3) can only be meaningfully applied in the context of the societies in which our friars live. We therefore propose that the Brothers in each circumscription apply this norm to their own specific circumstances”. This norm is connected to the other principle stressed by PCO VI, that of equity, and reminds us of the need for pluriformity, which has to be adapted to different cultures: “This Plenary Council of the Order reaffirms that poverty, too, as an essential element of our life, must be lived in the light of what the Constitutions say about the unity and pluriformity of our Franciscan vocation. On the one hand, unity refers to brotherhood and to the principle that “because of the same vocation, the friars are all equal” (Const. 84,3). But situations differ, so that without sound inculturation, no true pluriformity or evangelization will ever be possible. Inculturation of poverty must go as far as our dwellings, buildings, lifestyle, the poor means we use in the apostolate, and our external appearance” ( PCO VI n. 12). In PdR1(n. 73,4), the last sentence had been suggested as a separate pragraph: This principle needs to be applied in the different social contexts in which we live.
(2) The insertion of and of the Order seems timely, to widen horizons and develop the sense of solidarity.
(3) The changes clarify the three alternatives proposed in the current text.
(4) The material proposed in § 4 of the constitutional text requires regulation. The two new texts drafted for the complementary code correspond to the constant teaching of the General Ministers in recent decades, to the Plenary Councils, especially PCO VI (nos. 33 and 36), and to a growing awareness that has been developing in the Order.
(5) The proposed text is derived from PCO VI: “Local chapters are the ideal occasion for preparing the fraternity budget and monitoring how money is spent. Our administration of money is one of the ways in which brotherhood is expressed, and the local chapter is the proper place to examine whether it conforms to gospel values, minority, etc.” (Proposal n. 31). “The local fraternity can have only short-term capital investments (cash in bank). The capital at its disposal represents only what is necessary for the ordinary running of the community. The Major Superior and his council should establish the upper limit that each fraternity may manage (cf. Const.67,4). For this purpose the circumscription should produce appropriate forms or models, and assess whether a centralized economic administration at provincial level is advisable”. (Proposal n. 33). The text formulated by the Commission does not speak of “the ordinary running of the community” since our legislation provides the possibility even for guardians to incur “extraordinary expenditure” within the limits of their competence (Cf. Const n. 72,2-3). Neither do we think it appropriate to add any further explicit details – either in the Constitutions or in the complementary code – about budgets. Further specifications on these matters can be put into an additional statute or in the particular Statutes of the circumscriptions.
(6) The text of the complementary code reproduces almost literally Proposal n. 36 of PCO VI: “Each circumscription, bearing in mind the principles of solidarity established by this Plenary Council and the provisions of our Constitutions (cf. 67,7; 73,1), and after consulting its own Conference, should determine, at the level of the definitory or of the chapter if necessary, what is required for its ordinary administration. It should decide the amount to be held in reserve/investments for internal extraordinary expenditure (maintenance of buildings, the sick, employee insurance, formation) and for external solidarity (missions and charity)”.
The Commission thought it right to leave it to the Chapter of each jurisdiction to set the maximum limit of the sum it would manage for its own administration, both ordinary and extraordinary.
The meaning of the clause found in PCO VI (after consulting its own Conference) does not appear easy to implement at the present time, so it has been moved to the complementary code. Further consideration of this question at Order level may bring us to a more precise formulation.
At the end the proposed text speaks of ways determined by the general chapter or by the general minister and his definitory. Such “ways” have clearly become more and more necessary for the implementation of what is prescribed by the Constitutions (n. 67, 4 = Proposed revision n. 73,5).
(7) According to Project 2006, norm n. 67,7 should be transferred to the complementary code, immediately followed by the prescription in the current Ordinances, 4/3.
(8) The text has been compiled from elements of the current n. 60,4 and 67,5. The details listed are examples, intended to refer to a much wider field which would be the subject of the scrutinium paupertatis to be conducted in the local chapter. The particolar mention of tecnological instruments (cell phones, internet, computers and many other electronic gadgets) seems timely in an age in which we are literally invaded by them and when their use is universally widespread, even indiscriminate.[36]
(9) The Commission thinks that the insistence on poor means should be brought out in the text of the Constitutions. “We must seek to implement models of evangelization that are less bound up with the power and security that derives from having many expensive resources. We should be more ready to learn from the poor and to place our trust in God alone” (PCO VI, Proposal n. 11). “Inculturation of poverty must go as far as our dwellings, buildings, lifestyle, the poor means we use in the apostolate, and our external appearance” (VI PCO, Proposal n. 12).
N. 73 (cfr. 67,6)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| New text
1. Following the teaching of Saint Francis, in a spirit of minority, we should trustfully make known to one another our every need, recognizing in our mutual dependence an essential component of fraternal communion and a source of mutual support (1). |
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| New text (2)
2. We should practise solidarity, a privileged expression of brotherly love, and resolutely commit ourselves to the good of each and every person, because all of us are responsible for everyone (3). |
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| 67,6. The individual fraternities of the same area and even the provinces of the Order should be ready to share their goods or necessities among themselves and with others in cases of necessity. | Current text (67,6), with changes
3. When the need arises individual fraternities of the same area and even circumscriptions of the Order should promptly and in a spirit of sacrifice (4) share even their necessities among themselves. |
4/8
New text, modified Economic solidarity in the Order shall be regulated by an appropriate statute, which defines the relationships between the circumscriptions and the conferences, among themselves and with our entire Fraternity. This statute is to be approved by the general chapter (5). |
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| New text (6)
4. Broadening the ambit of our charity we should express our solidarity with all the brothers and sisters of the Franciscan Family, and, in collaboration with them, share with all people of good will the commitment to promote justice and a fair distribution of resources. |
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| New text
5. We should promote a sharing culture, raising people’s awareness of the universal destination of resources, which must be used with a sense of responsibility for future generations. In this way we foster genuine economic and social development (7) based on ethical and religious foundations, rooted in a heightened sense of God and of the dignity of the human person. |
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| New text
6. By our very life in poverty and minority, voluntarily chosen and lived with joy in a spirit of sharing, we play our part in building a society founded on justice and peace among peoples. |
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Explanatory Notes
(1) § 1 is proposed in order to highlight the aspect of mutual dependence, which is a very important component of our form of life and spirituality, found in Rnb: “Let each one confidently make known his need to another so that the other might discover what is needed and minister to him. Let each one love and care for his brother a s a mother cares for her son, in those matters in which God has given him the grace” (9,10-11). The context is what the Rule was speaking of before: questing, and the difficulties that can arise in the exercise of this office (shame, the affront of the people etc.). In the midst of life’s difficulties brotherhood and mutual love should be a material and moral support for the brothers. In order for this to happen certain conditions are necessary, both on the part of the person in need and of the one who helps. No-one may enclose himself in his own discomfort in a vain attempt to bear everything and resolve everything by himself. There is no room in the Franciscan life for self-sufficiency. Francis has given us the golden rule of inter-dependence. Therefore each one must allow his brother to know that he needs something, especially that he needs help, so that he can be loved and cherished. In the Italian text of the Rule (and in the one proposed for the Constitutions) the attitude of the person in need is described by the noun fiducia (trust). The Latin text of the Rule says secure manifestet, (let him confidently make known), which highlights even more the correct psychological attitude Francis wishes to see in the relationships of his brothers with one another. The adverb secure (etimologically derived from sine cura) corresponds to “unworried, without fear, without anxiety or trouble, with no hesitation at all”[37], but rather with confidence, i.e. with that psychological certainty that in some way one can rely on one’s brother in time of need. The passage from Rnb is also found, with some variations, in Rb 6,7-8: “Wherever the brothers may be and meet one another, let them show that they are members of the same family. Let each one confidently make known his need to the other, for if a mother loves and cares for her son according to the flesh, how much more diligently must someone love and care for his brother according to the Spirit?”. The context is still that of poverty and of the most absolute material insecurity. “The sublime height of most exalted poverty” is not risk-free. But it is precisely the lack of human support that should bind the brothers all the more closely in the bond of brotherly love. The only life-insurance policy Francis is able to offer his brothers is the genuinely Christian and evangelical one of brotherhood, understood as a perfect communion of life in which every poor person can and should find refuge and support[38]. Here we see clearly the relationship of inter-dependence that exists between poverty and brotherhood. There is no brotherhood without poverty. Brotherhood is not the cause, but in so far as it is a gift of God it is the effect of our meeting with Him, the effect of prayer. At the same time it is the effect of a life without anything of one’s own, where by denying ourselves material goods and every form of pride we are rendered capable of accepting our brothers and of entrusting ourselves to them. This is the lot we choose, and it leads to the land of the living. The text on austerity should be read in this light (see above at n. 64,2-3), in the light of PCO’s VI and VII and of the Circular Letter n. 24 (Courageous choices for a more fraternal world) of Br. John Corriveau (22 May 2005).
§ 1 on reciprocal dependence introduces the consequences of solidarity, which were drafted on the basis of Proposal n. 21 of PCO VI: “Indeed, Francis states clearly that dependence on others is a consequence of being created and redeemed, and is therefore a right (Rnb 9, 8). Furthermore, interdependence requires the theological gift of love, which enriches giver and receiver alike (Rnb 9, 9). Fraternal communion and interdependence should inspire and determine our structures of solidarity within the local, provincial and international fraternities, as well as our interaction with the world, particularly the world of the poor”[39].
(2) The current Constitutions, at n. 67,6, present a text on economic solidarity within the Order. In the light of PCO VI it seems appropriate to develop this aspect, outlining the need for solidarity both within and outside the Order.
(3) The proposed text is inspired by the Order’s experience in the field of economic solidarity in the last decades and refers immediately to Proposal n. 21 and to the Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis (n. 38) of John Paul II, quoted by the same PCO[40].
(4) The exhortation to share promptly seems more incisive than the present “they should be ready to share”. The Commission also thought it right to add in a spirit of sacrifice, intending to suggest that solidarity among ourselves should be practised even when it requires sacrifice.
(5) It is sufficient to provide a Statute for Economic Solidarity in our fundamental law, without specifying any further details. The requirements of the PCO’s can be accommodated in the Statute itself which, once it is approved by the General Chapter, becomes a part of the Order’s particular law. The phrase When necessary, which began this text in PdR1, has been deleted
(6) The texts proposed in paragraphs 4, 5, 6 were drafted in the light of Proposals (nos. 21-28) of PCO VI, but their spirit is found in the text of the current Constitutions. In particular, Proposal n. 36 is echoed in Const 60,4-5; 97,2; 99,1-3; Proposal n. 27 intends to update the prescriptions of Const 11,4-5; 94-95; 97; 100,1-4; 147,4, by promoting the culture of participation. Therefore, solidarity is not absent from the current Constitutions. However, given the importance of the subject at PCO VI, it seems appropriate to make it even more explicit here.[41].
(7) In PdR1 (n. 74,5): genuine economic and social development.
Article iii: Poverty in Our Buildings
N. 74 (68+60,2)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 68,1. In humilibus et pauperibus domibus vitam nostram ducere debemus, semper ibi hospitantes sicut advenae et peregrini. | 68,1. We must spend our lives in humble and poor dwellings, always living there as pilgrims and strangers. | Current text (68,1)
1. We must spend our lives in humble and poor houses, always living there as pilgrims and strangers. |
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| 68,2. In seligendo situ novae domus, vita nostra paupertatis, bonum spirituale fratrum et diversa ministeria exercenda prae oculis habeantur; et sic disponantur habitationes, ut nemini, praesertim humilioribus, imperviae appareant. | 68,2. In choosing the site of a new house, we should keep before our eyes our life of poverty, the spiritual good of the brothers, and the various ministries that must be exercised. Let the dwellings be arranged in such a way that they do not appear inaccessible to anyone, especially to the lowly. | Current text (68,2), with additions and changes
2. In choosing the site of a new house, we should not lose sight of our life of poverty, the living conditions of the poor of the region (1), the spiritual good of the brothers, and the various ministries that must be exercised. Houses should be so arranged that they are accessible to all (2), especially to those from the lower strata of society. |
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| 68,3. Attamen domus ad fraternitatis necessitates et ministeria sint aptae, orationi et labori et vitae fraternae faventes. | 68,3. Nevertheless, let houses be suited to the needs and ministries of the fraternity, and conducive to prayer, work and fraternal life. | Current text (68,3), with changes
3. Houses should be suitably proportioned to the real needs (3) of the fraternity and its ministries, and be conducive to prayer, work and fraternal life. |
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| 60,2. Peculiari modo tractetur in Capitulis de usu sociali bonorum fraternitatibus creditorum, sive pecuniarum sive domorum sive praediorum, quae libenter ad commodum hominum impendamus. | 60,2. Chapters should consider in a special way the social use of the goods entrusted to [our] fraternities, whether money, houses or lands, that we might willingly commit ourselves to use them for the advantage of others. | Current text (60,2), expanded
4. In particular, chapters should frequently assess how far our houses correspond to a life that is truly poor and lowly (4), and should discuss the social use of goods entrusted to the fraternities, whether money, houses or lands. We should gladly use them in the service of people, taking care not to accumulate either money or real estate (5). |
4/9
New text Each circumscription should periodically assess the buildings it has available, and proceed to sell those that are unnecessary or to allow others to use them, observing the norms of common and particular law. Where possible, this should be done in dialogue with the neighbouring circumscriptions and with the conference. For this purpose the General Minister with his definitory should issue appropriate guidelines. |
Explanatory Notes
(1) The proposed addition (the living conditions of the poor of the region) is made to encourage us to implement our commitment to poverty and apply the principle of pluriform ways and sound inculturation. This is not simply a response to PCO VI (Cf. Proposals nos. 12-13) and of PCO VII (Cf. Proposals nos. 27b ; 49), but also to the constant legislative tradition of the Order, according to which the brothers: “Should take as their model the small dwellings of the poor, not modern houses”[42] .
(2) The majority of the Commission agreed that the concept should be expressed positively ((so) that they are accessible to all) rather than negatively (“in such a way that they do not appear inaccessible to anyone”).
(3) The current text has been slightly recast to reflect the criterium veritatis, (principle of truth) which should always inspire and guide us in identifying real needs, and only what is truly necessary.
(4) The additions at the beginning and end of the text are intended to underline in a striking way the meaning of the scrutinium paupertatis (poverty-check) which challenges the conscience of any Capuchin fraternity: the fraternity is obliged to see how it measures up to the fundamental requirements of our charism. For this reason the text speaks of conformity to a life that is truly poor and lowly. The stress should be placed on the word truly. Indeed, we are to examine our life to see whether it corresponds with the truth of our charism. In the scrutinium paupertatis or in reviewing one’s life one must always reaffirm the contents or values which are or should be the foundation of everything we do. In this sense PCO VI reminds us that “with respect to houses, the guidelines given in the Constitutions and previous Plenary Councils are more than sufficient to provide solutions in particular cases (cf. I PCO, 53)”, and it goes on to say: “The Brothers are to live in this world as pilgrims and strangers. We therefore encourage them to re-examine whether their present dwellings make it sufficiently obvious that we are called to rely on divine providence. They should assess whether their residences are in proportion to the number of Brothers and to the work carried out there” (Proposal n. 38).
(5) The final insert of § 4 and the text proposed for the complementary code are once again dependent on PCO VI (nos. 38 and 40) and should be considered together. Individual circumscriptions, too, are obliged to conduct assessments periodically to avoid all forms of accumulation either of money or real estate. In particular, the complementary code intends to encourage a resizing of our structures and works. This is urgent in some areas of the Order and permanently relevant to all of us if we wish to be faithful to our fundamental charism as a “Reform”. If our life is in need of constant renewal in order to be open to the voice of the Spirit and to interpret correctly the signs of the times, then the work of “resizing” becomes an ongoing commitment aimed at continuously renewing ourselves, our fraternities and our circumscriptions. This process of constantly adjusting the dimensions of who we are is much more than a merely contingent need, it is a requirement of our charism. The principal subjects of this continuous process of verification and resizing are the individual circumscriptions as such. We need to stop thinking of “resizing” in this sense as a bureaucratic operation conducted from the top downwards by an elite. Everything will need to be done to involve the largest possible number of brothers. But it also requires a patient, firm authority that produces unity and is capable of ensuring the execution of the task.[43] The proposed text also suggests that the process of “resizing” is not a private matter for each circumscription. It is a problem that involves the entire Order and requires broader planning to guarantee the vitality of our charism and so that we choose presences that have real significant in the different ecclesial contexts and geographical and cultural areas. For this purpose we suggest that circumscriptions enter into dialogue with their neighbours and with the Conference, and also that it would be appropriate to issue guidelines at Order level. On the question of the disposal of buildings we no longer need, PCO VI presents some very clear guidelines: renting is not the first or the only recourse to solve the problem of superfluous or unused buildings, but it “(is) acceptable in the context in which we live and according to norms to be determined by the General Minister and his definitory. We highly recommend the sale of goods and land which we no longer use. If this is not possible they should be used for social purposes at non-speculative rents” (VI PCO, Proposal n. 40).
[Complementary Code] (1)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 69, 1. Ministro provinciali de consensu definitorii, servatis de iure servandis, competit constructio, acquisitio et alienatio domorum nostrarum. | 69,1. The construction, acquisition and alienation of our houses pertains to the provincial minister with the consent of the definitory, while observing the prescriptions of the law. | 4/10
Current text (69,1) with changes 1. The construction, acquisition and alienation of our houses is the responsibility of the provincial minister (2) with the consent of his council, the prescriptions of law being observed. |
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| 69, 2. Absolutis domibus, superior localis sine consultatione Capitulis localis, consensu consiliariorum et licentia superioris maioris nihil aedificet vel diruat neque aedificia ad ampliorem formam ducat. | 69,2. When the construction of houses has been completed, a local superior may not construct or demolish anything or enlarge a building without consulting the local chapter and obtaining the consent of the councilors and the permission of the major superior. | Current text (69,2) with changes
2. When construction is finished, a guardian may not build or demolish anything or enlarge a building without consulting the local chapter, and obtaining the consent of the counselors and the permission of the minister. |
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| 69, 3. De conservatione domorum et custodia rerum superior localis, obtento in rebus maioris momenti consensu consiliariorum, accurate determinet. | 69,3. The local superior should carefully provide for the maintenance of the house and the care of the property obtaining the consent of the councilors in matters of greater importance. | Current text (69,3) with one change
3. The guardian must carefully provide for the maintenance of the house and the care of the property, obtaining the consent of the counselors in matters of greater importance. |
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(1) Following the choice made by Project 2006, we propose to transfer to the complementary code n. 69 of the current text, as we do not consider that it must necessarily be in the Constitutions.
2) PdR1 said simply minister. By specifying that the provincial minister is meant, the current text is therefore restored.
N. 75 (70) (1)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 70,1. Ecclesia sint simplices, dignae et mundae.
70,2. Diligenter curetur ut ad liturgicas actiones exsequendas et ad fidelium actuosam participationem obtinendam idoneae sint. |
70,1. Churches should be simple, becoming and clean.
70,2. Let great care be taken to see that they are appropriate for celebrating liturgical functions and eliciting the active participation of the faithful. |
Current text (70,1-2), expanded
1. Churches should be simple, dignified and clean. Great care should be taken to see that they foster a life of prayer and fraternity (2), are appropriate for celebrating liturgical functions and for ensuring the active participation of the faithful. |
| 70,3. Sacristiae aptae et sufficienter sacra suppellectili provisae esse debent.
70,4. Omnia quae ad cultum inserviunt, sint decora et legibus liturgicis accommodata, quin paupertas et simplicitas laedantur. |
70,3. Sacristies must be suitable and sufficiently provided with sacred furnishings.
70,4. Everything that is used for divine worship should be becoming and in conformity with liturgical norms without offending poverty and simplicity. |
Current text (70,3-4)
2. Sacristies too should be suitable and sufficiently provided with the requirements for worship. Everything used for divine worship must be becoming and must conform with liturgical norms without offending poverty and simplicity. |
Explanatory Notes
(1) According to can. 608, “A religious community is to live in a lawfully constituted house, under the authority of a Superior designated according to the norms of law. Each house is to have at least an oratory, in which the Eucharist is celebrated and reserved, so that it may truly be the centre of the community”. The church, therefore, or at least an oratory, is one of the constitutive elements of a religious community. For this reason we do not think it is appropriate to transfer to the complementary code the prescription found in n. 70,1-4. However the current text has been contracted into two paragraphs, leaving its content intact.
(2) The addition to the text comes from can. 608 mentioned above. Our churches must be above all functional in relation to a life of prayer and brotherhood.
Article IV: The Administration of Goods
N. 76 (new) (1)
| Current text | Proposed revised Text | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| New text
1 Aiming to guarantee the observance of poverty, which is the option we have taken as a family, we should also ensure that our administration of the goods entrusted to us is responsible, precise and careful(2) |
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| New text
2. Transparency is an obvious quality in our individual and fraternal life, and makes trust, sincerity and communion grow among us. It should also be a feature of our administration of goods at every level, and commit us to account for everything we receive and use (3). |
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| New text
3. Since we share responsibility for the life of the brotherhood, we should foster the active participation of all the brothers, so that decision-making, even in the area of administration, may be the fruit of joint reflection and shared as widely as possible, while respecting the roles and competence proper to each person (4). |
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| New text
4. And let us always remember that witnessing effectively to our life must always prevail over efficiency and productivity (5). |
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| New text
5. During formation, starting from the time of initiation (6), due care should be taken to ensure that the brothers acquire a correct understanding of the spirit of the fraternal economy (7), according to the requirements of our life in poverty and minority. |
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Explanatory Notes
(1) The text of this number is totally new. Taking account of PCO VI and VII and of the animation that has followed from it in the last decade (cf. in particular the Circular Letters of Br. John Corriveau) one cannot fail to insert those elements now proposed for the Constitutions.
(2) Living Poverty in Brotherhood: this was the title of PCO VI, which intended to encourage the Order to reconsider and study more deeply the meaning of our poverty at the communal, instutitional and structural levels. Consequently, § 1, which introduces this proposed new text for the Constitutions, intends to highlight the relationship between the administration of goods and fraternity. Therefore, following one of the propsals we received, [cf. Prot. N.: IV-00076], we have now added the phrase poverty, which is an option we have taken as a family (cf. VI CPO, 7). The previous version of PdR1 (n. 77,1) has therefore been modified, to bring out the fact that for us, administration of goods is not a vlue in itself, but is one way to observe poverty.
(3) The principle of transparency was particularly highlighted in PCO VI: “Fraternal life also requires transparency in local, provincial and general administration. Such transparency begins with the individual friar, continues in the local fraternity and finds its completion in the circumscription to which the fraternity belongs. Transparency expresses and facilitates brotherhood and solidarity among all the constituent parts of the Order” (Proposal n. 30). In the precise context of transparency it is not out of place to mention the need for accountability in all that we receive and use at every level, individual and communal. The wording of PdR1 (n. 77,2) is maintained, but with the first sentence in the form of a statement rather than an exhortation.
(4) The text presents participation, – together with trasparency, equity, solidarity and austerity – as criteria or principles of the fraternal economy, based on the particular accentuation placed on them at PCO VI (Cf. n. 29 e 45) and in Circular Letters n. 17 e 24 of Br. John Corriveau. Active participation and sharing must characterise our mutual fraternal relations even when the administration of goods is at issue, because we all share responsibility for fraternal life in each of its aspects.
(5) While the text of § 4, as formulated here, is not found literally in PCO VI and VII it does suitably interpret the mind of both plenary councils. In particular, Proposals 29 and 37 of PCO VI can be seen in the background of this number. In fact, accuracy and precision, transparency and sharing can and should be features of any administration, but they do not ipso facto express the inner quality of the administration of goods by religious. Our administration of money and other assets must be conducted with full respect for our state of life and of our vocation. Therefore it develops along different parameters from that of efficiency, by which persons and things are normally measured. The Order and its Provinces are not companies, nor should they become such.
(6) The concern expressed in this § corresponds to the decision of the General Chapter of 2006[44].
(7) The expression fraternal economy does not appear in the Proposals of PCO VI. It arose out of the later reflections, after the plenary council itself[45], and reappears several times in the Proposals of PCO VII. (Cf. n. 6. 40. 51).
N. 77 (71)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 71,1. Ad pecuniam aliaque bona administranda in curiis cum generali tum provincialibus sint oeconomi, a proprio superiore maiore de consensu definitorii nominati. | 71,1. For the administration of money and other goods, treasurers should be appointed in the general and provincial curias by the respective major superior with the consent of the definitory. | Current text (71,1),
1. For the administration of money and other goods, there should be bursars in the general and provincial curias, appointed by the respective minister with the consent of his council(1). |
|
| 71,2. In singulis etiam domibus sint oeconomi locales, a ministro provinciali de consensu definitorii nominati, quorum officium ordinarie in maioribus domibus a munere superioris sit distinctum. | 71,2. Individual houses may also have local treasurers, appointed by the provincial ministers with the consent of the definitory. The office of treasurer in larger houses should ordinarily be distinct from that of the superior. | Current text (71,2), with changes
2. Individual houses may also have local bursars, appointed by the minister with the consent of his council. |
4/11
Current text (71,2) In the larger houses their office [the office of the bursar] should ordinarily be separate from that of the guardian(2). |
| 71,3. Oeconomi sint veri periti, et munus gerant sub directione et vigilantia sui superioris, ad normam iuris et iuxta praescripta definitorii. | 71,3. Treasurers should be truly qualified and fulfill their office under the direction and vigilance of the respective superior according to the norms of law and to prescriptions of the definitory. | Current text (71,3), with additions and changes
3. Bursars should be well qualified and fulfil their office in harmony with our style of life (3) under the direction and supervision of their minister or guardian, following the norms of universal and proper law(4). |
4/12
New text In each circumscription, or if appropriate also at other levels, formation and in-service training of brothers in economic administration should be provided (4). |
| New text
4. Because of the importance and sensitivity of their task, administrators and bursars should be appropriately assisted, and should not ordinarily remain in the same job for too many years (6). |
4/13
New text It is the responsibility of the chapters in each circumscription to determine the length of office for brothers in the service of the economy and administration (5). |
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| 71,4. Omnes oeconomi, administratores et superiores locales, tempore et modo a superioribus maioribus statutis, de administratione accuratam rationem reddant eisdem superioribus, consiliariis localibus et Capitulo locali. | 71,4. All treasurers, administrators and local superiors should give an exact account of their administration to their respective superiors, local councilors and local chapter at a time and in a manner determined by the major superiors. | 4/14
Current text (71,4), with changes (8) 1. All bursars, administrators and guardians, at a time and in a manner determined by the ministers, are to give an exact account of their administration to their superiors, and to the fraternity (9). |
|
| 71,5. Occasione relationis triennalis, ministri provinciales, documento a definitorio subsignato, ministro generali fidelem reddant rationem de oeconomica condicione provinciae, ut possit necessitatibus rite prospici atque paupertatis observantiae efficaciter invigilari. | 71,5. When they make their triennial report, the provincial ministers shall draw up a document signed by the definitory and present it to the general minister. This should contain an accounting of the financial situation of the province so that its needs may be appropriately provided for and the observance of poverty effectively supervised. | Current text (71,5)
2. On the occasion of the triennial report, the provincial ministers, in a document signed by the definitory, shall present to the general minister a true account of the financial situation of the province, so that its needs may be appropriately provided for and the observance of poverty effectively supervised. |
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| 71,6. Talem relationem de re oeconomica etiam viceprovincialis et superior regularis reddant proprio superiori maiori, subsignatam, si commode fieri potest, a consiliariis. | 71,6. Vice provincials and superiors regular should also provide a financial statement for their respective major superiors, signed by the councilors if this can be conveniently arranged. | Current text (71,6), with changes
3. The vice-provincial and custos also provide a financial statement for their minister, signed by the councillors if this can be conveniently arranged. |
|
| 71,7. Minister generalis de statu oeconomico Ordinis, modo a Capitulo generali statuendo, in eodem Capitulo referat. 8. Idem faciant superiores maiores in suis quisque Capitulis. | 71,7. The general minister should provide a statement on the financial condition of the Order at the general chapter in a manner deterrnined by the chapter itself.
8. Major superiors shall do the same at their respective chapters. |
Current text (71,7-8), with one change
4. The general minister shall report on the financial situation of the Order at the general chapter in the manner determined by the chapter itself. The other ministers shall do the same at their respective chapters. |
|
| 71,9.Administratio bonorum, quantum fieri potest, committatur laicis, praesertim cum de operibus socialibus et caritativis agitur, in quibus fratres solummodo directionem spiritualem habeant. | 71,9. As far as possible, let the administration of goods be entrusted to lay people, especially when it pertains to social or charitable works in which the brothers are only spiritual directors. | Current text (71,9), with changes
5. In the administration of goods it is appropriate to avail of the services of competent lay people, whose work should be carefully supervised (10). In the case of social or charitable works, the administration should be entrusted to lay people, the limits of their competence being determined and ensuring that the nature and aims of the work are respected, and leaving the pastoral management in our hands (11). |
|
| 67, 8. Cetera iuris universalis praescripta circa contractus et alienationes ad amussim serventur.
71,10. In administratione bonorum praescripta iuris universalis adamussim serventur. |
67,8. The other prescriptions of the universal law concerning should be exactly observed.
71,10. The prescriptions of the universal law should be scrupulously observed |
Current texts (67,8 and 71,10) merged and expanded
6. In the administration of goods. contracts and alienation [of property], the norms of canon and civil law are to be scrupulously observed, while keeping rigorously to ethical principles in conformity with the social teaching of the Church (12). |
4/15
Current text (Ordinances 4/1) (13) To change regulations regarding temporal goods or to take any action involving them, the permission of the immediate major superior is required. |
| 4/16
Current text (Ordinances 4/2), with deletion In the circumscriptions of the Order(14) the finance committee mentioned in CIC can. 1280 must be set up. |
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| New text
7. The Order should periodically review the principles and practical guidelines it follows for sound and just administration and in the management of financial resources. As appropriate, it may collect directives in special Statutes. The same should be done in each circumscription (15). |
4/17
New text 1. The Order should prepsre a Statute for the Administration of assets, which must be approved by the General Chapter (16). |
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| New text
2. Circumscriptions or groups of circumscriptions, or even Conferences as appropriate, should have similar statutes, which must be approved by the General Minister and his Council (17). |
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Explanatory Notes
(1) The current text has been kept, but adapting – here and in the following § – the terminology (minister and Council), instead of major superior and definitory). PdR1 (n. 78,1) also mentioned vice-prvinces and custodies.
(2) The second part of the § in the current text (n. 71,2) is a specific instance of the preceding statement. As such it can be transferred to the complementary code, leaving in the Constitutions the statement of principle that in each of our houses there should be a bursar. In the text, superior is replaced by guardian.
(3) The expression in harmony with our style of life comes from Proposal n. 41 of PCO VI. This is the first and most fundamental requirement when discerning the suitability of brothers called to serve in economic administration. The expression is ideally connected to what is stated above in n. 76, 4.
(4) Apart from the opening phrase in harmony with our style of life, highlighted above (cf. note 3), this § keeps to the current text, except for the final phrase (according to the prescriptions of the definitory), which was unclear and has been changed to following the norms of universal and proper law.
(5) The text proposed for the complementary code repeats Proposal n. 41 of PCO VI. It refers to initiatives geared to formation and updating in the circumscriptions or at other levels, meaning by the latter any joint ventures undertaken by two or more jurisdictions at Conference level.
(6) Wording of PdR1 (n. 78,4) revised to make it more fluid. The text speaks of administrators and bursars, referring not only to brothers in charge of the administration of the local fraternities, the provincial curia and the general curia, but also to those entrusted by their ministers with the care of particular structures such as missions, the office of the postulator or vice-postulator, pastoral activities (parishes) social works, various funds, etc.
This § was drafted out of an awareness of how sensitive the task entrusted to bursars and administrators is. Theirs is a ministry which is becoming more and more complex and problematic. This makes it necessary to provide real communal support to these brothers. The proposed text is also based on a reference to our specific charism and to the spirit of minority, which requires that there be a turnover of brothers who occupy the various offices, jobs and services. Even the service of administration depends on the same charismatic reference. In this connection the words of PCO VII, referring to the management of works of social development, must be kept in mind: “Because these works often involve the exercise of great power, no brother should stay in a position of leadership or control for too long. To do otherwise risks abusing power and developing habits inconsistent with our life of minority. The norm of tenure for a brother in such a position might be similar to that of a provincial minister, i.e., no more than six consecutive years in leadership” (n. 51).
(7) The proposed constitutional text enshrines a principle of flexibility which attempts to take account of particular situations in the various circumscriptions of the Order. Hence it says: and should not ordinarily remain in the same job for too many years. In the Complementary code, the faculty is given to the chapters in each circumscription to determine the length of office for brothers in the service of the economy and administration.
(8) Following Project 2006, we propose to transfer to the complementary code all the norms currently contained in nos. 71,4-8 concerning economic reports.
(9) The current text has been slightly modified for greater clarity and simplicity.
(10) The proposed formulation is not intended to nullify the concerns underlying the current text (n. 71,9), which, however, could appear contradictory in certain aspects to the previous prescriptions concerning bursars and the administration of goods.
(11) The Commission tried to make the current text more precise by adding some elements based on experience. However the subject needs further reflection and study in the light of PCO VI and VII.
(12) To avoid useless repetitions the prescriptions of nos. 67,8 and 71,10 have been merged. But we think it fitting that this paragraph should remain in the text of the Constitutions and enriched by references to ethical principles, as suggested by PCO VI (Proposal n. 37) and decided by the General Chapter of 2000[46]. Also, for reasons that are more than obvious to us religious, there should be a reference to the social teaching of the Church. In fact the two elements should be understood as being closely connected: it is a matter of keeping to ethical principles according to the teaching of the Church. “ […]Today we hear much talk of ethics in the world of economy, finance and business. […]It would be advisable, however, to develop a sound criterion of discernment, since the adjective “ethical” can be abused. When the word is used generically, it can lend itself to any number of interpretations, even to the point where it includes decisions and choices contrary to justice and authentic human welfare. Much in fact depends on the underlying system of morality. On this subject the Church’s social doctrine can make a specific contribution, since it is based on man’s creation ‘in the image of God’ (Gen 1:27), a datum which gives rise to the inviolable dignity of the human person and the transcendent value of natural moral norms. When business ethics prescinds from these two pillars, it inevitably risks losing its distinctive nature and it falls prey to forms of exploitation; more specifically, it risks becoming subservient to existing economic and financial systems rather than correcting their dysfunctional aspects. Among other things, it risks being used to justify the financing of projects that are in reality unethical. […]” (Caritas in veritate n. 45). With renard to the text, note that the expression universal law (as in nn. 67,8; 71,10 of the current Constitutions and of n. 78,5 of PdR1) has been changed to canon and civil law.
(13) In the context of the administration of goods, the two current Ordinances (4/1 and 4/2) go to the complementary code.
(14) The addition and in all the houses has been deleted
(15) The text we propose to insert in § 7 seems important and urgent. It is obvious that not everything that concerns the correct administration of goods can find a place either in the Constitutions or in the complementary code (General Statutes or Ordinances). Neither is it opportune that the Constitutions or the complementary code should mention everything, including investments, budgets, etc. This is a subject that requires more detailed regulation. For this reason, as already anticipated in the Introduction, we propose the creation of a special Codex additicius, (additional code) at Order level. In the light of a number of suggestions [Prot.N.: IV-00163; IV-00101; IV-00051], the previous wording (cf. PdR1, n. 78,7) as been recise, and the reference to an economic statute has been transferre to the Complementary Code.
(16) This text, suggested for the Complementary Code, was not present in PdR1. As mentioned in the previous note, it is derived friom the reformulation of § 7.
(17) Many circumscriptions have already drafted this kind of Statute. It is not at present explicitly envisaged in the Constitutions, but it can be indirectly derived from n. 72, which speaks of economic commissions, whose competence is to be determined by the Chapter (72,2). The clause in the proposed text calling for these economic Statutes to be approved by the General Minister with his definitory should come as no surprise. In reality, the purpose of these documents is to apply the Constitutions, and as such they come under the principle enunciated by the Constitutions themselves in n. 184,5: “Provincial chapters or Conferences of Major Superiors may enact particular statutes so that the regulations of the Constitutions may be properly applied to the situations of provinces and regions. Such statutes need the approval of the General Minister with the consent of the definitory”. The text which PdR1 (n. 78,8) proposed for the Constitutions, is now reformulated and tranmsferred to the Complementary Code
[Complementary Code] (1)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 72,1. Commendatur constitutio in provinciis et viceprovinciis unius vel plurium commissionum de rebus oeconomicis, quarum erit consilium praebere in administrandis bonis, in aedificandis, conservandis et alienandis domibus. | 72,1. It is recommended that one or more committees on financial matters be established in the provinces and vice provinces. Their function will be to offer advice concerning the administration of goods, and the construction, maintenance and alienation of houses. | 4/18
Current text (72,1) 1. The establishment of one or more committees on financial matters is recommended in the provinces and vice-provinces. Their function would be to offer advice about the administration of goods, and on the building, maintenance and alienation of houses. |
|
| 72,2. Quae commissiones statuuntur a Capitulo, quod etiam earum competentiam determinat. Membra autem, quae ex parte laici esse possunt, a superiore maiore de consensu Consilii nominantur. | 72,2. The chapter establishes these commissions and also determines their competence. However, the major superior with the consent of the council appoints their members, some of whom may be lay people. | Current text (72,2), with one change
2. These commissions are established by the Chapter, which also determines their competence. However their members, some of whom may be lay people, are appointed by the minister with the consent of the council. |
|
Explanatory Notes
(1) In n. 72 the current Constitutions make a recommendation; the text is not strictly binding. For this reason we propose to transfer it to the complementary code.
[Complementary Code] (1)
| Current text | PROPOSED REVISED TEXT | ||
| CONSTITUTIONES (2002) | CONSTITUTIONS (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS | Complementary
CODE |
| 73,1. A ministro generali de consensu definitorii statuantur, iuxta diversam nummorum vim, et praevie consultis superioribus maioribus aut, si casus ferat, Conferentiis superiorum maiorum, limites, ultra quos superiores maiores consensum Consilii vel licentiam superioris, scripto dandam, expetere tenentur ad valide obligationes contrahendas, bona alienanda et expensas extraordinarias faciendas. | 73,1. After consulting the major superiors or, if necessary, the Conference of Major Superiors, the general minister with the consent of the definitory is to establish limits, according to the differing values of currencies, beyond which major superiors are bound to ask either the consent of the council or the permission of the superior given in writing before contracting obligations, alienating goods or making extraordinary expenses. | 4/19
Current text (73,1), with changes 1. After consulting the ministers or, if necessary, the Conference of ministers, the general minister with the consent of the definitory, should establish limits, according to the differing values of currencies, beyond which ministers are bound to ask either the consent of the council or the permission of the minister given in writing in order validly to contract obligations, alienate goods or incur extraordinary expenses. |
|
| 73,2. Superior maior de consensu Consilii idem faciat, mutatis mutandis, pro superioribus localibus propriae circumscriptionis. | 73, 2. The major superior, with the consent of the Council, shall do the same with appropriate adaptations for the local superiors of his territory. | Current text (73,2), with changes
2. The minister, with the consent of the Council, will do the same with appropriate adaptations for the guardians of his circumscription. |
|
| 73,3. Extraordinariae autem censentur expensae, quae non sint necessariae sive superiori maiori ad suum munus exercendum aut ordinarium fratrum servitium, sive superiori locali ad eas res, quae ad ordinariam curam fraternitatis sibi commissae non pertinent. | 73,3. The expenses are considered extraordinary, however, that are unnecessary either for the major superior to exercise his office or for the ordinary service of the brothers or for the local superior in those matters that do not pertain to the ordinary care of the fraternity entrusted to him. | Current text (73,3), with changes
3. Expenses are considered extraordinary, however, that are unnecessary either for the minister in the exercise of his office or in the ordinary service of the brothers, or for the guardian in those matters that do not pertain to the ordinary care of the fraternity entrusted to him. |
|
Explanatory Notes
(1) We propose to transfer to the complementary code the current n. 73 regarding the limit sums for extraordinary expenditure.
N. 78 (74)
| Current text | Proposed revised Text | |
| Constitutiones (2002) | Constitutions (1990) | CONSTITUTIONS |
| 74,1. In evangelicam paupertatis viam vocati, assuescamus penuriam pati, ad exemplum Christi, memoresque sancti Francisci, qui ita voluit esse pauper ut, omnibus rebus et vinculis cordis exutus, totum se traderet Patri curam de nobis habenti. | 74,1. Called to the gospel way of poverty, let us accustom ourselves to being in need after the example of Christ and mindful of Saint Francis who wished to be poor in such a way that, liberated from all things and from the chains of the heart, he might give himself completely to the Father Who cares for us all. | Current text (74,1)
1. Since we have been called to the gospel way of poverty, we should accustom ourselves to being in want, after the example of Christ; we should also remember Saint Francis, who wished to be so poor that, laying aside all things and attachments, he could entrust his whole self to the Father Who cares for us. |
| 74,2. Neque de falsi nominis pauperum numero esse velimus, qui pauperes esse amant, eo tamen pacto, ut nihil eis desit. | 74,2. Let us not wish to be numbered among those who go by the ficticious name of “poor” who love to be poor in such a way as to lack nothing. | Current text (74,2)
2. Nor should we wish to be numbered among those who are wrongly called poor, who love to be poor as long as they lack nothing. |
| 74,3. Recogitemus evangelicam paupertatem eiusque perfectionem in plena disponibilitate erga Deum et homines praecipue consistere. | 74,3. Let us acknowledge that Gospel poverty and its perfection consist principally in being totally available to God and people.
4. Let us therefore long for perfect charity, loving with all our hearts God who is all goodness, and spreading his kindness to all people and all creatures (1). |
Current text (74,3)
3. We should remember that Gospel poverty and its perfection consist principally in being totally available for God and for people. |
| 74,4. Quapropter nullo terrenis bonis inhaereamus inordinato affectu,
ita ut hoc mundo utamur tamquam non utentes, ad Patris gloriam eiusque filiorum emolumentum. |
74,4. Therefore, let us not cling to earthly goods with an inordinate affection
so that we may use this world as though not using it for the glory of the Father and the good of His children. |
Current text (74,4), expanded
4. Therefore, let us not be inordinately attached to earthly goods, but let us long for perfect charity, loving God, the fullness of Good, with all our strength, and spreading his goodness among all peoples and creatures(1). Let us use this world as though not using it, for the glory of the Father and the benefit of His children, and with praise and thanksgiving render all that is good to the Lord our God, Most High and All-Powerful, Who is all our wealth and sufficiency (2). |
Explanatory Notes
1) We thought it right to add to this final text of chapter IV, to give it a richer teological and spiritual content. The first addition is suggested by Proposal 3 of PCO VI: “Conversely, for Francis poverty and minority are not ends in themselves, but help us to put into practice “the highest gift” (cf. 1Cor 12, 31) which is love, expressed for people and for all creation in Franciscan brotherhood”. In a text such as chapter IV, which frequently speaks of earthly and material goods, it is more than appropriate at the end to turn one’s eyes towards “the Good”. The additional text, inspired by the words of St Francis, (cf. Rnb 23,8-9), in PdR1 (n. 79,4) came immediately after § 3 as a new exhoration: Therefore, let us liong for perfect charity… The feedback from the Order in general suggested that we avoid repetitions and an excessively elaborate style [Prot. N.: IV-00164; IV-00164; IV-00087]. This suggested a rewording, but in the new formulation of PdR2 the phrase for the glory of the Father and the good of His children. present in the current text (n. 74,4), was lost.
(2) This second insertion is derived from Rnb 17,17 and LodAl 5 and is based on an attitude that was typical of St Francis. Precisely because he did not want to appropriate any good thing he had received from the Lord, he knew that everything had to be given back to Him. The word “render” is typical of Francis’ vocabulary, and he uses it in the context of praise and thanksgiving. It also seems quite fitting, at the conclusion of the chapter on poverty, to affirm that the poor possess the greatest of treasures: God is all our wealth and sufficiency.
- Cf. Atti dell’83° Capitolo Generale. Official version edited by Br. Carlo Calloni, Rome, Capuchin General Curia, 2006. vol.II, 833. ↑
- Cf. Analecta OFMCap 123(2007) 55. ↑
- Agapit Mroso, Living Poverty in Fraternity. A Comparative Study of the Constitutions and the Propositions of the Sixth Plenay Council of the Order, in www.ofmcap.org Commission for the Constitutions. ↑
- Cf. Luciano Pastorello, The Constitutions and the PCO VI. A Rich Comparison, in www.ofmcap.org Commission for the Constitutions. ↑
- In this sense the General Minister and his Definitory believed it sufficient to note in summary form: “Likewise, it became more vividly evident to the brothers of the Plenary Council of the Order how dynamic and full of feeling our Franciscan way of life is if we sincerely strive to live in real fraternity the “minority” in poverty that we have vowed, in that unity of mind and heart that makes Christ really present among us, so that each and every fraternity of ours, whether local or provincial, becomes a kind of expression of the presence of the poor and humble Christ, the Servant of God and man in charity.” In the letter from Quito, 23 October 1971 in Renewing the Capuchins. The Plenary Councils of the Order 1971-1992, Gowland & Co, Merseyside, 1993, p.7. ↑
- Nevertheless it is useful to consult “Minority, Friars Minor” in the index to Renewing the Capuchins. The Plenary Councils of the Order 1971-1992, p. 243-244. ↑
- Ci si chiede allora: non è forse la minorità un concetto che descrive non tanto un quid, quanto piuttosto una quidditas, non tanto un factum, quanto un factor, non tanto qualche cosa, ma piuttosto uno spirito? ↑
- minorità, minore, minoritico. ↑
- Cf. Prudente L. Nery, Our Fraternal Life In Minority. A systematic comparison between the Constitutions of the Capuchin Friars Minor and the Propositions of PCO VII in www.orfmcap.org Commission for the Constitutions. ↑
- The Italian text of the Commission’s “Proposed revision” differs in many places from that of the Italian edition of the Constitutions published in 2002. The translation has been revised to make it more faithful to the Latin original. This work was done by constantly comparing the Italian versions of 1971, 1978, 1983, 1990 and 2002. ↑
- The Commission thinks it right to keep the present title of Chapter IV without further specification or additions. It did not seem appropriate to say: Our life in poverty and minority. As already noted, minority is a dimension that involves and permeates not just a single aspect of our life but the whole of it. One could perhaps add the phrase in minority to the headings of all the chapters of the Constitutions, but it is not necessary; it is sufficient to understand that the Constitutions are the “life of the Capuchin Lesser Brothers”, and in that “life” the two components of the phrase – lesser-brothers – constitute a single substantive (from substantia) which indicates our specific charismatic identity. One also has to keep in mind that the material in chapter IV is in part the object of the “vow” to which we oblige ourselves by profession; but we take a vow of poverty (having nothing of our own), not of minority. ↑
- Cf. Acta Capituli generalis specialis Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum Romae a die 19 Augusti ad 25 Octobris 1968 celebrati. Romae, Curia generalis OFMCap., 1969; II, 428. ↑
- Cf. Acta Capituli Generalis LXXIX Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum. Romae a die 1 iunii ad 11 iulii 1982 in Collegio S. Laurentii a Brundisio celebrati. Roma, Curia Generalis OFMCap., 1983; 232; Cf. Fr. Iglesias (a cura di), Constitutiones Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum post Concilium Vaticanum II retractatae (a.1968-1988). I. Textus. Romae, Curia generalis OFMCap., 1988; 60, note 7. ↑
- Cf. J.-C. Cominardi, Quand la louange prend toute la place. Prier avec saint François (Presence de saint François, 36). Paris, Les Editions Franciscaines, 1994; 164-180. ↑
- Cf. I. Rodriguez Herrera – A. Ortega Carmona, Los Escritos de San Francisco de Asis… (Publicaciones del Instituto Teológico Franciscano). Murcia, Editorial Espigas, 22003; 88-89. ↑
- Scritti di san Francesco d’Assisi. Translated by F. Olgiati and C. Paolazzi. Introduction and notes by C. Paolazzi in FF 2 2004 p. 175, nota 8. ↑
- Cf. I. Rodriguez Herrera – A. Ortega Carmona, Los Escritos… 89. ↑
- Cf. 1Cor 4,21; Eph 4,2 ↑
- Cf. Phil 4,5. ↑
- Cf. Mt 21,4-5. ↑
- Zac 9,9 expresses the post-exilic expectation of a non-Zealot messiah who renounces violence and who in that sense is meek. In Mt the meaning of praytēs and prays derives from a Christology structured in OT terms: Jesus is the “peacemaker king” riding on a donkey and a colt (Mt 21,5), he is wise, meek and humble for those who are “weary and oppressed”, who are consoled by the light and easy yoke of the wisdom of Jesus, and to whom he addresses the words: “learn from me” (Mt 11,29), which is the same thing as discipleship. Cf. H. Frankemölle, praytēs, prays in Dizionario esegetico del Nuovo Testamento II, 1087-1088. ↑
- Cf. Mt 11,29. A typically Semitic thought pattern: the Hebrew concept of ‘āni, which underlies the Matthean text, leads us to conclude that by prays (meek) we are also to understand the humble condition of the Messiah. Cf. W. Bauder – H.-H. Esser, Umiltà, mansuetudine in Dizionario dei concetti biblici del Nuovo Testamento… 1890. ↑
- Cf. L. Hardick, Povertà in Dizionario Francescano 1553-1559. ↑
- Cf. J. Garrido, La forma di vita di santa Chiara (Presenza di S. Francesco 35). Milano, Edizioni Biblioteca Francescana, 1989; 287. ↑
- Cf. Constitutiones Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Capuccinorum saeculorum decursu promulgatae. Vol. I. Constitutiones Antiquae (1529-1643). Anastatic edition. Vol. II. Constitutiones Recensiores (1909-1925). Anastatic edition. Accedunt Constitutiones an. 1896 Bibliographia et Indices. Roma, Curia generalis OFMCap., 1980-1986. For a specific reference to what is said above, modified vol. I, 53; 105-106; 172-173; 248; 360; 485; 596; vol. II, 89; 242; 396); 504. ↑
- Cf. Constitutiones … saeculorum decursu promulgatae vol. I, 63; 122; 189; 266; 398; 527; 617; vol. II, 129; 276; 428; 541. ↑
- Cf. A. Ernout – A. Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine. Histoire des mots. Paris 41959; 201; Ae. Forcellini, Lexicon totius latinitatis. Secunda impressio anastatice confecta quartae editionis aa. 1864-1926. Patavii 1965II, 292. ↑
- Cf. L. Iriarte, Vocazione francescana. Sintesi degli ideali di san Francesco e di santa Chiara. Quarta edizione italiana… Bologna, Centro Editoriale Dehoniano, 2006; 189. ↑
- Acta Capituli generalis specialis… 1968; II vol., 429. ↑
- Cf. C. Vaiani, La via di Francesco (Presenza di San Francesco 41). Milano, Ed. Biblioteca Francescana, 1993; 38-69. ↑
- J. Corriveau, Circular Letter n. 17: 7.4; cf. also Circular Letter n. 20: 5.3. ↑
- Schema Constitutionum nostrarum. Textus continuus quinquies emendatus cum indice alphabetico (Pro manuscripto ad usum PP. Capitularium). Romae, Officium Scretariatus C.C.L., 1968; n. 93,3 (p. 59). ↑
- Cf. Acta Capituli generalis specialis… 1968; I, 425. ↑
- Cfr. Acta Capituli generalis specialis… 1968;, II, 430. ↑
- Cf. Fr. Iglesias (a cura di), Constitutiones… I. 66. ↑
- Cf. Br. John Corriveau, Circular Letter n. 24 (22 May 2005) n. 6.2; VII PCO, n. 26. ↑
- Cf. A. Ernout – A. Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique…; sub voce: cura; Ae. Forcellini, Lexicon totius latinitatis… IV, sub vocibus: secure, securus. ↑
- Cf. F. Iozzelli, La vita fraterna nell’Ordine Francescano primitivo in C. Di Nardo – G. Salonia (a cura), La “Fraternitas” di Francesco d’Assisi. Novità e attualità. Giulianova, Edizioni Italia Francescana, 2003; 88-90. ↑
- Cf. Circular Letter n. 15 (Solidarity and interdipendence) of Br. John Corriveau (1 November 1999). ↑
- Cf. also Caritas in veritate n. 38-39; Pontifical council for justice and peace, Compendium of the social teaching of the Church; br. John Corriveau, Circular Letter n. 15 (1 November 1999). ↑
- Cf. also Project 2006, 43,4; 45,3-4. ↑
- Cf. Constitutiones … saeculorum decursu promulgatae. vol. I, 55; 108; 174; 252; 599; vol. II, 94; 246; 400; 511. ↑
- Cf. CICLSAL, Fraternal Life in Community n. 50; 67; Vita consecrata 63. ↑
- Cf. Atti dell’83° Capitolo generale…. vol. II; 834. ↑
- Cf. Fr. John Corriveau, Scelte coraggiose per un mondo più fraterno. Lettera circolare n. 24 (22 maggio 2005), n. 6.1. ↑
- Cf. Atti del Capitolo generale LXXXII celebrato in Roma… dal 25 giugno al 16 luglio dell’Anno Santo 2000. Edizione ufficiale a cura di Fr. Felice Cangelosi… Roma, Curia Generale OFMCap, 2001; 713. ↑