DELIBERATIONS AND GUIDELINES
CONCERNING THE CONSTITUTIONS AND REGULATIONS
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The GC23 made a careful study of the proposals made by the provincial chapters and confreres concerning some points of our proper law and of the operative structures of the Congregation. It approved some modifications or additions to the legislative texts, and also certain deliberations or guidelines for the practical interpretation of the texts themselves or for the animation of the structures of the Congregation.
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1. MODIFICATIONS OR ADDITIONS TO THE TEXT OF THE CONSTITUTIONS
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The GC23, with a majority of more than 2/3 of those present, in accordance with C 152, decided on the following modifications or additions to the text of the Constitutions of the Society of St Francis de Sales.
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The modifications and additions were approved by the Congregation for the Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life on 25 May 1990 (Prot.N. T.9-1/90), and therefore become part of the constitutional text.
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The following are the small modification and additions; they are of a practical character and make some juridical points more precise.
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1.1 Suppression of n.14 of $1 of art.132 of the Constitutions.
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With reference to $1 of art.132 of the Constitutions, which lists the cases in which the Rector Major must have the consent of his Council, it was decided that n.14, which says: "all other cases provided for in the universal law", be suppressed.
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The motivations for this suppression are mainly the following:
- n.14 of the article quoted is superfluous: it is clear in fact that the Rector Major must have the consent of his Council in the cases prescribed by common law;
- in addition, the fact that n.14 comes at the end of $1 of art.132 represents a generalized limitation (not specifically limited) of the power of the Council to express its consent even in those cases when the total number of Councillors is not strictly required.
By avoiding the specification of this general norm in the text of the Constitutions, the indications given in the Code of canon law itself will be followed.
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1.2 Modification of $2 of art.132 of the Constitutions.
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With reference to art.132 of the Constitutions, it was decided to modify $2 as follows:
"The Rector Major must have the consent of those councillors present at the Generalate, who must be not less than three in number, in the following cases:
1. dispensation from temporary religious profession;
2. the appointment of provincial councillors (C 167);
3. the granting of authorization for the financial operations referred to in art.188 of the Constitutions, except for what is provided for in art.132, $1,12.
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Explanation and motives:
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In this way the General Chapter accepts and approves a modification to the constitutional text which the General Council had already obtained from the Apostolic See as an exception to the Constitutions, and which the Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes had granted (16 March 1985) "until the next General Chapter".
The change was needed for practical reasons: because of the fact that the Regional Councillors, on account of their duty to provide liaison between the provinces of the Region, must be away from the centre for a considerable time, and that the other Councillors too must devote certain periods to the animation of the provinces, no small difficulty has been experienced in the past in having at least five Councillors at headquarters (in addition to the Rector Major or the Vicar General) to handle urgent matters. Hence the decision to reduce from five to three the minimum number of Councillors necessary for dealing with the above-mentioned questions without a long delay.
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1.3 Modification of art.151,8 of the Constitutions.
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With reference to art.151 of the Constitutions, concerning the election of members of the General Chapter of the Society, it was decided to make the following additions to n.8:
"8. the delegates of the juridical circumscriptions referred to in art.156 of the Constitutions, all perpetually professed, elected in accordance with art.171,5 of the Constitutions and the General Regulations".
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Explanation:
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It is not difficult to see that this is a matter of juridical precision:
- art.156 of the Constitutions is recalled, in which are described the "juridical circumscriptions" into which the Society is divided, and which send delegates to the General Chapter;
- explicit mention is also made of art.171,5 of the Constitutions, where it is stated that the delegates (one or two) to the General Chapter and their substitutes are elected by the provincial chapter. The manner of doing this are further specified in the General Regulations.
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2. MODIFICATION TO THE GENERAL REGULATIONS
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Modification to art.76,4 of the General Regulations
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It was decided that n.4 of art.76 of the Regulations should be modified as follows:
"4. - for deceased benefactors and members of the Salesian Family, a Mass will be celebrated in each community on November 5".
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The reason for this modification is linked with the fact that to 13 November, which the Regulations indicated for the suffrage for benefactors and deceased members of the Salesian Family, has now been assigned in our proper Missal the annual memorial of the Blessed Martyrs Versiglia and Caravario. For this reason the above-mentioned suffrage has now been transferred to the first liturgically free day in November, which is the 5th.
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3. PRACTICAL INTERPRETATIONS OF TEXTS OF THE CONSTITUTIONS AND REGULATIONS
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In accordance with C 192 the GC23 decided on the following "practical interpretations" to meet requirements that had arisen in connection with certain concrete problems, especially on the occasion of elections to the provincial chapter or the General Chapter.
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3.1 Practical interpretation of C 151, 7 and 8:
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"The GC23 declares that the Provincial or the Superior of a Vice-province who presides at the provincial chapter, but whose term of office will expire before the celebration of the General Chapter, will have passive voice in the election of the Delegate to the General Chapter".
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Motivation: This decision was made to remove a doubt and endorse the full right to active and passive voice, in the election of the Delegate to the GC, of the Provincial (or Superior of a Vice-province), who is still in office at the time of the election, but whose term will expire before the celebration of the General Chapter.
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3.2 With reference to art.164 of the General Regulations:
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"The GC23 declares that, in case of necessity, both the telephone and telefax are to be considered as equivalent to the letter referred to in R 164, provided that the indications transmitted are received by the scrutineers, who are obliged to secrecy".
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4. DELIBERATIONS CONCERNING GROUPS OF PROVINCES
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Concerning the grouping of provinces, the GC23 has approved two deliberations: one to decide to which group the provinces of Czechoslovakia and that of Hungary shall belong; and the other to prolong for a further six years the special Delegation for the provinces of Poland. The text of the deliberations is as follows:
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4.1 "The GC23 has decided that the provinces of Czechoslovakia and Hungary shall belong to the Region of North Europe and Central Africa".
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4.2 "The GC23, while hoping for a progressive movement towards a fuller integration of the provinces of Poland into Salesian Europe, nevertheless considers still sufficiently valid the motivations adopted by the SGC (1971) and still in force to the present day, and has decided to entrust for a period of six years the provinces of Poland to a personal Delegate of the Rector Major".
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5. PRACTICAL GUIDELINE FOR THE SALESIAN PRESENCE IN AFRICA
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In the process of the verification of the salesian presence in Africa, and with reference to structures of liaison for greater efficacy of animation, the GC23 approved the following practical guideline:
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"The GC23 entrusts to the Rector Major with his Council the task of exercising, in the ways considered most suitable, a special role of coordination, so as to help the confreres working in Africa to get to know African culture, and thus provide efficaciously for the growth of the salesian presence, pastoral activity and particularly the formation process".