THE NEW INTERPROVINCIAL REALITY OF FORMATION

Structures of animation and governance

Batulao, World Formation Consultation, 19 February 2019

Ivo Coelho, SDB

The chief concern in this small paper is the animation and governance of our interprovincial houses of initial formation. The stress will be on governance. The reason is that the structures of governance enshrined in our Constitutions and Regulations are made for the world, the provincial and the local levels, but reality marches ahead, and so over the years several “interprovincial” or “supra-provincial” structures of animation and governance have, in fact, evolved. We must admit that part of this evolution has already been registered and addressed in our Ratio. However, there is still need of greater attention, and this is what I will try to focus on in this paper, with the aim of stimulating discussion and searching for suitable ways to go ahead.

Let us begin with a look at the formation section of the six-year plan of the Rector Major and his council and its implementation. The plan has been, for us in the formation department, a very important tool of animation and governance. Of course it is the plan of the Rector Major and his council, but given its nature, it filters – or should filter down – to animation and governance at regional, provincial and eventually local level.

One of the objectives of our Consultation is to evaluate the implementation of the formation section of the plan, so as to be able to offer a contribution to the report of the Rector Major to the General Chapter. We remember that GC27 94 says that the plan is drawn up in dialogue with the regions and with the world consultative bodies of the specific sectors. We could expect, therefore, that our work of these days will have an impact on the next six-year plan, through our contribution to the report of the Rector Major.

My suggestion is that we evaluate also the percolation of the plan to regional and provincial levels. We probably need to take better care of the six year planning at these levels, so as to ensure implementation of the General Chapter.

(Projection of an evaluation of the formation section of the six-year plan of the Rector Major and his council: cf. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s5jq86098a598iu/AABhLxT41NUd_KYjM2chOoGia?dl=0)