"When the brothers go thorugh the world, let them take nothing for the journey, neither knapsack, nor purse, nor bread nor money, nor staff. Whatever house they enter, let them first say: Peace to this house. Let them not resist anyone evil, but whoever strikes them on the cheeck, let them offer him the other as well. Whoever takes their cloak, let them not withhold their tunic. Let them give to all who ask of them and whoever takes what is theirs, let them not seek to take it back." 

Following the oath of the Vicar General, the two new General Definitors who were not present when the election took place on Saturday were formally confirmed in their election.

Participating in a General Chapter is a wonderful and engaging opportunity.  For most of us, it is a unique and once in a life time experience of our Franciscan life.  We have had great moments of prayer, fraternity, and discussion.  The opportunity to participate in the elections on this level is an awesome privilege as well.  But without wanting to be negative, it is only fair to say that there has been some trying moments here as well.  Internationality and interculturality are educational, exciting, and broadening, but at the same time, challenging.  Things are not always done in ways as we are used to!   We are stretched!  And while that is a very good experience, it is, well, sometimes frustrating as well.  I thought I might share some of the conversation about this that I have experienced so far.   There was a fair amount of consensus among friars I talked with that what we have experienced of the Chapter so far probably could have been done differently.  While here we learn how to do some things in a new way, we also feel we have something to offer about how things could be done differently.

During the first week of the General Chapter, the 152 delegates listened to and discussed General Minister Jose Carballo's assessment of the state of the Order today.  He presented his views using  the filter of the 5 priorities and his sense of our weaknesses ("calls to conversation"), our strengths ("signs of hope"), and his sense of where we need to go from here ("with a view to the future").  From his visits to the various entities, Jose does have a rather comprehensive view of Franciscan life today throughout the world, probably a view that no one else has.    We felt less time could have been spent on this, and Jose could have presumed that his report was read.  The delegates could have come prepared to respond to what he wrote and to share what Franciscan life is like in their entities and cultural reality, what issues we face.  This could have been done, perhaps, in creative ways.  It might have been beneficial, for example, to have video (or even live) reports on the various important projects of the Order. Some of the staff offices will be giving reports (e.g., procuration and economo), but not all the various staff offices will do so (e.g., formation, evangelization, JPIC, etc.). That information comes through the Minister General's report.   Some of us think more specific office reports would be helpful, and to have them given to us before we come to Chapter.  Be that as it may, it has been beneficial to get the "bigger picture" of what Franciscan life is like around the globe. 

The second week of Chapter has focused primarily on elections, the makeup of the General Definitory, and changes in the general statutes.  While some proposals were given before hand, others were not.  Some of us found this challenging, and wished we had more time to reflect on and find information about some of the issues that have been raised, e.g., the number of General Definitors needed and how they should relate to the various conferences.  Also, the discernment process for elections may need some work.  Sometimes we do not know very much at all about people who have been nominated for various roles.   Each conference was able to nominate candidates for General Minister and General Definitor.  All we know about some candidates is their brief curriculum vitae.  I had to have someone point out to me a candidate who received a fair number of votes in the straw ballot for General Minister, because I had not ever heard of him.  And not all the candidates are here.    I pick up a sense that we need to know more about the friars who have been nominated for various offices.  There might be some fine candidates that a delegate does not seriously consider because he knows nothing about him!  

Though in a spirit of cooperation we approved the agenda and schedule and rules of procedure at the beginning of the chapter, as we have gone along, some of us have thought that it might be possible to do things in a different order.  Perhaps it would be wise to identify the challenges we will face in the next the next six years and identify our Franciscan response before we elect people to carry out that vision. One member said he thought it would have been helpful to have a complete report on the past six years, before we move into setting the agenda and doing elections for the next six years.  There has been some discussion of offering proposals regarding ways to improve the process for the next Chapter before we leave here.

I think one of the issues is that many, probably most of us, have never been to a general chapter and are not used to some of the usual procedures.   We have "commissions" coming next week, but not much explanation has been given yet about what they do or how they function.  Someone suggested that it might be helpful to have an orientation day before the chapter begins (next time!) to help delegates fully understand and even shape the process.
Having said all this, we all recognize that running a meeting for 152 friars from many countries and cultures, all with different expectations and experiences, and 800 years of tradition, must be a bit like herding cats, though in the end we are pretty cooperative!  All in all, this experience is a wonderful opportunity to come to know the worldwide fraternity and to set the direction for the next six years.  I think we all still continue to trust that the Spirit of God continues to work through us weak human beings and our attempts to seek to follow in the footsteps of the Lord in the spirit of his servant Francis of Assisi in our day.

Please continue to keep us in prayer during these days, as we do for you!
 
Jeff Scheeler, OFM, Provincial Minister, SJB