PROJECT FOR EUROPE

Presentation

Attentive to the challenges and to the new frontiers identified by the GC26, the Project for Europe is meant to involve the whole Congregation in the re-enforcing of the Salesian charism in Europe, especially by means of a profound spiritual and pastoral renewal of the confreres and of the communities, so as to continue Don Bosco’s project on behalf of the young especially the poorest of them. It has been prepared by the Rector Major and the General Council, to whom the GC26 entrusted the task, after having involved the Provincials of Europe and their Provincial Councils.

The frame of reference has been the “Working Document” prepared by the Rector Major and presented by him at the Meeting of the Provincials of Europe, which has as its title “For a renewed Salesian presence in Europe.” In it are indicated the nature, the objectives and the strategies of the Project which are then to be given practical form by the Commission for the Project for Europe appointed by the Rector Major. Therefore the Project does not dwell on the objectives and strategies, but only presents the areas and the interventions; the areas indicate the priorities, while the interventions propose practical steps to be taken.

The areas of the Project were identified in the Meeting of the Provincials of Europe. They indicate the three priority choices of the Project and regard: the re-vitalisation from within of the Salesian presence, the re-location and re-structuring of the presences, the re-enforcing of the more needy Provinces with Salesian personnel. These areas are no different to the priorities of the GC26; rather they are their practical expression for Europe. In this regard, at the Meeting of the Provincials of Europe the Rector Major declared that “the total and heartfelt taking up and the generous implementation of the GC26 guidelines are the obvious and only way ahead” for the Project for Europe.

For this reason the first and fundamental priority for the Project for Europe is the strengthening of the faith experience and vocational option of the Salesian, his formation and spirituality, community life, care of vocations to consecrated Salesian life. The second priority is the re-location and re-structuring of presences on the basis of the criteria of significance, with the intention of indicating where and how the Salesian mission is to be carried forward in the future. Finally, the third priority is the creation of the necessary conditions for warmly welcoming with a careful process of inculturation Salesians from other Regions in the Congregation, who are to be engaged in the evangelisation of Europe.

The interventions of the Project refer to three different levels: the Rector Major and the General Council, the Regions, the Provinces. At each of the three levels an attempt is made to take into account the multiplicity of those involved; others already in existence will need to be better specified. For example, in addition to the Rector Major and his Council there are the Departments and the Commission for the Project for Europe. At Regional level the responsibilities of European Regions are not the same as those of other Regions in the Congregation; then there are the Provincial Conferences in the Region, the Team Visits, the Meetings of the Provincials of Europe, etc. There is a similar diversification at Province level. The Commission for the Project for Europe will subsequently be able to assess better the various people involved and the procedures of involvement.

Approval of this document on the Project for Europe was given in the session of the General Council on Tuesday 27 January 2009.

1. FIRST AREA:

RE-VITALISATION FROM WITHIN OF THE SALESIAN PRESENCE IN EUROPE

1.1. Rector Major and the General Council

1.1.1. The Commission for the PE will encourage the Regions to organise initiatives in the area of the spiritual and pastoral experience of the European Salesian confreres, in view of a real charismatic renewal and a real return among the young.

1.1.2. The Formation Department in dialogue with the Commission for the PE, will continue to foster the process of inter-province collaboration in initial formation among the European Provinces aimed at the re-location of formation communities, at the quality of the formation provided and with formative attention to the European context.

1.1.3. The Formation Department will organise a joint meeting of all the Provincial Formation Delegates of the three Regions every two years and foster the necessary forms of synergy to provide a good quality initial formation, both for the formation communities and for the study centres, with strong inter-province teams of formation personnel and of teachers.

1.1.4. The Formation Department will encourage the European Provinces to have a practical planned programme aimed at all those in formation for the study of languages, especially Italian and English, in the curricula for studies, for the summer-time and in the period of practical training and will see that it is implemented.

1.1.5. The Departments for the Salesian mission, in dialogue with the Commission for the PE, will coordinate and promote European meetings of those organisations of cooperation already established, so as to foster the growth of a European mentality, formation for evangelisation, the creation of forms of synergy.

1.1.6. The Departments for the Salesian mission will promote European meetings of Salesians and lay people on new topics and with specific objectives, as for example education and evangelisation in multi-religious and multi-cultural contexts, groups for the evangelisation of the young, schools of prayer, youth pilgrimages, European voluntary service, evangelisation through music, the theatre, radio, internet, social communication, etc.

1.1.7. The Commission for the PE will identify the more significant experiences in each European Region in the area of the three priorities of the Rector Major’s Project for the six-year period, will see that information about them is widely shared and will assess whether they could be transferred to other European Regions.

1.1.8. The Commission for the PE will send to all the Provinces of the Congregation at least twice a year a communiqué, which will keep interest in the Project for Europe alive, providing information about the progress made in the Project. The Department for Social Communication will promote the distribution of news about individual projects, with interviews, articles for reflection, video, and provide motivational material and stimuli on the wider aims of the Project.

1.2. European Regions

1.2.1. Each of the European Regions through its forms of animation, will see to the implementation of the three priorities of the Project for the six-year period, “Returning to Don Bosco to start afresh from him,” “Keeping alive the urgent need for evangelisation and the need for vocation ministry,” “Promoting simplicity of life and commitment to the new frontiers,” in order to re-vitalise from within the Salesian presence in Europe.

1.2.2. Each Region will commit itself to pursuing procedures to foster vocations to Salesian consecrated life among young Europeans, including young immigrants.

1.2.3. The Regions will together organise joint initiatives for the ongoing formation of Salesians and in particular for those in formation, and for confreres who exercise a role of animation and government.

1.3. European Provinces

1.3.1. The Province will take up the tasks proposed by the GC26 and by the Project of the Region for animation during the six-year period as a practical expression of the willingness to re-launch the Salesian charism.

1.3.2. The Province will take care of the evangelising dimension of the Provincial and local educative pastoral plan, and strengthen the structured programmes for education to the faith of the young in the various locations, groups and associations.

1.3.3. The Province will continue to develop a sense of commitment in all activities, in the educative pastoral community, in the group and association, in order to create a vocational culture, with a promotional plan which involves all the communities in prayer, in the presentation of vocations and in the accompaniment of the young.

1.3.4. The Province will appoint a Provincial Delegate as the point of reference for the Project for Europe, who will keep in close contact with the Regional Councillor and will involve in the processes of providing information and of reflection the lay people in positions of responsibility within the works.

2. SECOND AREA

RE-LOCATION AND RE-STRUCTURING OF THE PRESENCES IN EUROPE

2.1. Rector Major and the General Council

2.1.1. The Youth Ministry Department, the Regional Councillors for Europe and the Commission for the PE will help the Regions to reflect on the significant impact of the Salesian presences, in particular in the light of the GC26 criteria for significance and of the strategic choices of evangelisation and of the new frontiers in Europe.

2.12. The Commission for the PE and the Youth Ministry Department will firmly promote the priority choice of a Salesian presence in the school and in professional formation.

2.1.3. The Youth Ministry Department will foster, with the involvement of lay people, reflection, sharing of experiences, the study of proposals, the coordination of Salesian efforts in Europe in schools and in professional formation, through the European Consultative Body for Schools and that for Professional Formation, and a share the results with the Commission for the PE.

2.1.4. The Rector Major and the General Council will promote and accompany the process already begun of the re-organisation of the Provinces in the Regions of West and North Europe.

2.1.5. The Commission for the PE will reflect during the six-year period on a new design for the European Regions in order to offer their proposals to the Rector Major and the General Council in view of the GC 27.

2.1.6. The Commission for the PE will present the results of the work done in the Regions regarding re-location and re-structuring to the Meetings of the Provincial of Europe in 2010 and 2012.

2.2. European Regions

2.2.1. Each Region will coordinate, through the Regional Councillor and the Regional Provincial Conference, the processes of the re-location and re-structuring of the Salesian presences in progress in the Provinces and encourage any possible forms of synergy.

2.2.2. Each Region, in addition to promoting projects which require the contribution of Salesian personnel sent by the Rector Major, will study and propose to the Commission for the PE inter-province projects for collaboration among the European Provinces in the three areas of the Project of the Rector Major and the General Council for the six-year period 2008 - 2014.

2.3. European Provinces

2.3.1. The Province will continue the processes of the re-location and re-structuring of Salesian presences and will promote any possible forms of synergy with other European Provinces..

2.3.2. The Province will identify and inform the Commission for the PE should there be any “new presences or new forms of presence” which are of particular significance and require the collaboration of others.

3. THIRD AREA:

EUROPE MISSION TERRITORY

3.1. Rector Major and the General Council

3.1.1. The Commission for the PE will help to “rejuvenate the more needy Provinces with Salesian personnel” and therefore offer the Department for the Missions criteria for discernment regarding the candidates to be sent, the communities to welcome them, their formation in the area of the interplay of cultures, their successful integration into European communities.

3.1.2 The Department for the Missions will examine and assess the reports which each Region or Province presents to the Rector Major, requesting the sending of Salesian personnel. The Commission for the PE will assist the Department for the Missions, determining the priorities on the basis of the greater significance of the proposal and a better guarantee of the integration of the confreres.

3.2. Regions

3.2.1. Each European Regional Councillor will request those Provinces which intend to ask the Rector Major for new Salesian personnel, to draw up one or more plans for the re-launching of the Salesian charism in which the personnel sent by the Rector Major are to be engaged.

3.2.2. The Provincial Conference of each European Region will assess the soundness of these plans for the re-launching of the charism, choose those most significant and in practical terms capable of achievement and present them to the Rector Major with its own evaluation.

3.2.3. Each European Region will reflect on the need for the exchange of European Salesian personnel, on the possibility of a re-distribution of Salesian personnel and on the need for forms of inter-province collaboration, and present these reflections to the Commission for the Project for Europe.

3.2.4. The other Regions of the Congregation will be involved in reflection on the proposals, will maintain contacts with the confreres sent, will be kept informed by the Commission for the PE and through the Regional Councillors about the needs of the European Provinces.

3.3. Provinces

3.3.1. Each Province in Europe should consider the way it will be part of the Project for Europe and draw up plans to present first of all to the Regional Provincial Conference and then to the Rector Major.

3.3.2. Each Province in Europe will be engaged in the accompaniment, the formation and the fitting in of the confreres who are sent for specific projects, examined by the Commission for the PE and approved by the Rector Major.

3.3.3. Each Province in the Congregation will consider and communicate to the Department for the Missions the way it intends to take part in the Project for Europe; it will then put itself at the Rector Major’s disposal by sending confreres for that purpose.