HUA HIN: 9 March 2011 -- There's some danger of
this report looking more like a page from Finnegan's
Wake, given the bits and pieces I'm receiving - very
hard to get an overall picture. So - 'rejoyce, rejoyce',
even though the Lenten journey has begun! There is a
communications team onsite, so maybe they can include some
wider dissemination of their material 'at the instant'
rather than some time later?
With proceedings underway, and upwards
(much upwards, perhaps?) of 60 people in attendance at Hua
Hin, the greetings and opening remarks are now in the past
and the work begun.
Fr Andy Wong, as Regional, has given an
overview of the Region, some 58 points, when it comes down
to details, which pick out many of the features of the
Region. He applied a comparative approach - over a short
three year period since 2008. On that basis the report
appears quite upbeat. The numbers are available elsewhere -
but they represent the region as stable in terms of numbers
(growing, slightly) and certainly in a growth phase in terms
of work and mission, good at one level, but challenging, as
always, at another since the growth in numbers would have to
be much much more to meet this other growth. In terms of the
broad Salesian setup across the Region Fr Wong also pointed
to a number of features in place and helping to consolidate
the region - a mobile formation team, small in numbers, but
certainly at work across the region, two regional study
centres, one at Clifton Hill in Melbourne, the other in
Manila; a growth in missionary activity and spirit,
highlighted at one level by the well-known contribution from
Vietnam in terms of personnel, but not only this. Provinces
have taken on a wider mission approach within - there's the
case of the migrant mission in Japan, the Filipino mission
in various cities dealing with the Filipino 'diaspora';
there's the opening of the New Zealand presence, which he
includes under this 'missionary' aspect, and so on.
Two other presentations were given on the
first day: one from Fr Cipriani on how the Region has
absorbed and implemented GC26, the other from Fr Moloney on
'Starting Afresh from Don Bosco'. In this latter,
mention was made of the importance of the need for critical
study and the tools needed for this to keep up-to-date with
a contemporary understanding of Don Bosco. Part of this too,
is the ongoing challenge of translation of primary materials
in various languages of the region, a challenge only partly
met so far. The question of the 'real' Don Bosco surfaced
more than once in this presentation on 'starting afresh
from' him. He asks if 150 years of hagiography have offered
a real picture or a caricature, given the still
uncritical use made, at times, of the dreams, or other
material.
There will be more, obviously, but let's
take it in stages. Meanwhile Don Bosco is facing another
critical issue. He is bi-locating again! More on that too,
as news comes to hand.
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* Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce. If you want to know what I
mean, go to the
first page here. And yes, the novel does start (sort
of) with 'riverrun'. But you'd have to go to the final
sentence in the final chapter to get the rest of the
sentence! See what I mean? _________________ AustraLasia
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