Rector Major’s Good Night after his visits to “East Africa”

I want to tell you about my recent travels and visits.

I shall begin with the visit to the “East Africa” Province where they are celebrating – as you know – the first 25 years of the Salesians being present there. In three of the four countries which make up this Province, Kenya, Sudan and Tanzania, we have been present for a quarter of a century; in Uganda we came later.

We have experienced there -as in fact throughout all the African circumscriptions – a magnificent expansion which 25 years ago perhaps, no one would ever have imagined. Today, in fact, the Province has 9 foundations in Kenya, 9 in Tanzania, 2 in Uganda and 5 in Sudan, a total of 25. Vocations too have been numerous: out of 163 confreres, over 70 are local vocations; this means that the Province is becoming constantly more “African”. And in spite of some difficulties there has also been quite a good development of the main groups of the Salesian Family. To tell the truth, especially in Kenya, the Salesians were preceeded by the Past Pupils who came from India. There are also small groups of Cooperators.

The charism has spread very well: we have some good schools and vocational training centres, a considerable number of parishes and two very important formation houses, the theologate in Utume, near Nairobi, and the post-novitiate at Moshi, in Tanzania. In Nairobi, with other religious orders, the Salesians have set up a big Theological Study Centre “Tangaza College”, which has become a term of reference for other studentates in the world. A good 27 Congregations have come together to make it possible –putting in common even their well-established precious libraries. In this big theological institute there are various departments of youth ministry, theology and spirituality. In addition the Salesians have a house for “street children” and a centre for video production. Among the more significant works are those for refugees at Korr and, especially, at Kakuma on the frontier between Kenya and Sudan, where more than 100,000 refugees are living in really inhuman conditions. These foundations are helped by the fact that they are not far from an airport on the boundary with Sudan which is under the control of the United Nations, involved in providing first aid for the refugees so as to keep under control what could develop into a major international problem. So Korr and Kakuma really are two very significant works.

There are a variety of challenges in the East Africa Province. Above all the very limited presence in Uganda where there are only two Salesian communities. We have no presence in Kampala, the capital, and this makes contact with the confreres in the two communities more difficult and they are very isolated. In the Intermediate Council Meeting in October we shall be examining the future prospects for Uganda, and maybe it will be made part of another circumscription, so as to favour a more rapid development.

Other challenges are coming from Sudan. In Khartoum, where there are two foundations there ìs a “peaceful Jihad”. This may seem a contradiction in terms. There isn’t an open jihad but one that is hidden: our confreres are continually subjected to extreme pressure. Very often they are the victims of radical Muslims, who have even burned down the church, the school and the house. Southern Sudan, where Wau and Tonj are located, is completely isolated. There is also the very critical situation in Darfur, which UNO has spoken about.

This was the first visit to these countries by a Rector Major. You can imagine what it meant for the confreres and the people. Previously the presence of the Rector Major had been prevented by the difficulty in obtaining a visa.

The final challenge for these places is that of inculturation. With the exception of Sudan, where 9 missionaries are being sent in the next expedition to increase the numbers and provide some opportunities for the future, in the other countries it is not intended to send any new missionaries. This will make the local people mature more quickly and ensure their full charismatic identity so as to be able gradually to take into their own hands the direction of the works. It is not so much the idea of the inculturation or “Africanisation” of the charism, which is not difficult to understand, but rather the putting of it into practice.

After the visit to Sudan there was the Team Visit to the Provinces of Poland and the East. This is a very different situation to that of the Provinces of Germany and Austria, or that of the Provinces of Holland, Belgium, England, Ireland and Malta, and even that of the Provinces of Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The Provinces of Poland and the East share a great religious identity even with external signs such as the wearing of the Roman collar.

The development that this part of the Congregation has had since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 is quite significant. Already when the workers’ “Solidarność" movement in Poland had begun the process of re-establishing cultural identity and freedom of thought and action, the Provinces set in motion an extraordinary programme. In the last 10 years they have reduced the number of personally held parishes and opened schools and centres for vocational and technical training. And still today this part of the Congregation continues to be a rich source of vocations for the whole of Europe. If we consider the Ukraine delegation in the East circumscription we have to admit that not in the whole of Europe is there a copious source of vocations to compare with this one - with the possible exception of Slovakia.

I told the confreres in these Provinces that they have an historic responsibility, that of creating a greater solidarity, a greater sharing of their vocational wealth with others more poor.

There are two challenges which emerge. The first is that of a missionary spirit. There is a high concentration of confreres and it is for this reason that they have to acquire a very strong missionary awareness. In this last missionary expedition there are 8 confreres from Poland, 11 from Vietnam, as well as a numerous group of Indians and others from other countries. The second challenge is that of the charismatic identity of some of the presences such as parishes, the Salesian Youth Movement and others.

A situation that needs to be carefully monitored and followed up is that of the Ukraine delegation of the Ukraine-Byzantine Rite. It wasn’t easy to take the decision to set up a delegation on the basis of a rite. It is the first time that it has happened in the Congregation, even though Fr Rinaldi and Fr Ricaldone had been in negotiations about this with the Holy See. The autonomy of the delegation has been granted in the firm conviction that there will be a strong expansion in foundations, vocations and in the charism. Nonetheless developments in this situation will need to be carefully monitored. Especially as it is the first time that we are dealing with a rite different from that of the rest of the Congregation.

I end this Good Night with some information about the visit to the delegation of Papua New Guinea. Confreres from the Solomon Islands were also there as they are to form part of the same delegation. This visit too coincided with the 25th anniversary of the presence of the Salesians. If one were to compare the development of Papua New Guinea with that of the East Africa Province one would have to say that it has been minimal. There are only six local confreres (one of whom is perpetually professed). There are seven works: three large vocational training centres and some parishes located in extemely poor areas open to malaria and other kinds of diseases. If on the other hand one compares the Salesian situation with that of other institutes that have been in Papua New Guinea for between 50 and 100 years then we have to say that things are more encouraging. The Superior of a Congregation told me that they had been there for 50 years and had had only three local vocations. Another Congregation, more numerous, had been forced to set up four delegations on account of the problems of religious coming from different countries getting on among themselves and with the local people.

The economic and social conditions are really difficult even though the resources are much better than in some other places.

The great challenges for the Salesians are the usual ones: education, inculturation and stability. In these years there has been an excessive turn over of personnel. Of the first to arrive only one remains Fr Barbero Valeriano who took part in the last General Chapter. Now Fr Odorico is the Delegate. It is necessary to ensure continuity, consistency and vocational fruitfulness.

I should like to entrust to your prayers the particular situations in Sudan, Papua New Guinea and also the Solomon Islands, where the Salesians arrived scarsely 10 years ago. On the agenda for the next Intermediate Council Meeting there is a study of the African Region to look into practical proposals for the future.

Tomorrow, 22 September, we shall celebrate the memory of the Spanish martyrs. In the month of March or April 2006 the commission of cardinals will examine the cause of our confrere Fr Enrico Saiz Aparicio and the other 62 Spanish martyrs. Their beatification could perhaps take place in October 2006. To those already beatified and to those whose cause is in progress, I should like to entrust the Congregation, its vocational fruitfulness and the maintenance of its numbers.

Good night.