Salesian
Youth Ministry Department, Rome
English
2nd
edition 2001.
This first chapter describes the fundamental characteristics of
Salesian Youth
Work in the context of Salesian spirituality and
mission. God
called Don Bosco to a life dedicated to saving young people, especially
the
least fortunate; this call is a spiritual rallying point for
many people
and groups who share a common educational and pastoral
approach, Don
Bosco’s Preventive System. It is the
source and inspiration for a
specific and original way of living and carrying out the Salesian
mission:
Salesian Pastoral Youth Work.
1.
DON BOSCO AND THE SALESIAN MISSION: AN HISTORICAL AND
CHARISMATIC POINT
OF REFERENCE
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Don Bosco was acutely
aware that he was
called by God for a singular mission on behalf of
poor young people.
Signs from on high, natural aptitude, the
advice of prudent
people, personal discernment, the providential
events of his life –
all these things convinced him that God had bestowed singular gifts
upon him
and was asking him to dedicate himself entirely to the young:
“I have
promised God that I would give of myself to my last breath for my poor
boys.”
(Const. 1).
The characteristic trait of this mission to which the Lord called Don
Bosco was
dedication to young people, especially poor young people.
(Const.
26). Without these poor young people Don Bosco would be
unrecognizable. “For you I
study, for you I work, for you I
live, for you I am ready even to give my
life.” (Const. 14).
Don Bosco saw beyond his daily work to its original and final
goal: to
reveal to poor young people the love of God. He understood
the sort of inspiration
and pastoral approach such a goal required: the approach of the Good
Shepherd.
Don Bosco gave his whole life for young people. His life’s
work
had a single purpose: his priestly life, his work as a
teacher, his many
relations and deep interior life were all directed to the service of
the
young. “He took no step, he said no word, he took
up no task that was not
directed to the saving of the young.” (Const. 21).
God continues to call many other faithful souls
to carry on Don
Bosco’s work for the young. Among those called to
this work are Salesian
religious (SDB). God has consecrated, gathered and sent them
into the
Church as signs and bearers of His love for the young, especially the
poor.
Other groups in the Salesian Family share Don
Bosco’s mission according
to their specific vocations and life-styles; together
with a vast
movement of people and groups, men and women from all walks of life
they
constitute the Salesian Movement.
Although the Salesian mission started with Don Bosco and his experience
at
Valdocco, it now knows no boundaries. It involves a
multitude of
people and groups who work together spiritually and share in his
educational
and pastoral mission: the all-around well-being of young
people,
especially poor young people.
2.
THE PREVENTIVE SYSTEM OF DON BOSCO: OUR ORIGIN AND OUR
INSPIRATION
The Salesian Family shares the mission and life-work of Don
Bosco.
This mission finds its expression in a specific style of life and
action,
the Salesian spirit. It is centered in pastoral charity and
characterized
by that youthful dynamism which was revealed so strongly in Don Bosco
and at
the beginnings of our Family (Cf. Const. 10).
This Salesian spirit could be observed in Don Bosco’s
spiritual and educational
experience in his first Oratory at Valdocco. He called it the
Preventive
System. This is part of the very essence of our
mission. It is
our expression of pastoral charity; it is almost the sum
total of what
Don Bosco was trying to do. It is the heart of that
educational and
pastoral plan and program that he developed and entrusted to the
Salesian
Family.
It is a rich synthesis of:
2.1.
Spiritual Experience
The Preventive System finds its source and center in the experience of
God’s
love that provides in advance for all his creatures, is ever present at
their
side, and freely gives his life to save them (Const. 20).
This experience allows
us to see God in the young; we are
convinced that through them God
grants us the grace of encountering Him. He calls us to serve
Him through
young people by recognizing their dignity, renewing confidence in their
capacity for good and leading them to the fullness of life
(Cf. CG23,
95).
This pastoral charity creates a teaching relationship
appropriate for an
adolescent and a poor young boy that is born of our conviction that
every life,
even the poorest, most complicated and at risk bears within itself the
power of
redemption and the seeds of happiness through the mysterious presence
of the
Spirit (Cf. CG23, 92).
2.2.
A Program for Evangelizing Young
People
Our program for evangelizing young people starts with accepting them as
they
are. In the framework of an educational environment
charged with
life and rich in possibilities we respects the natural and
supernatural
heritage of each individual. Our educational program involves
a preference
for the disadvantaged and the poor. It promotes
developing the
gifts they possess and offers them a special form of
Christian life and
holiness for the young (Cf. CG23, 97-115).
Our program for Christian life revolves around certain faith
experiences, value
choices and Gospel attitudes that constitute Salesian Youth
Spirituality
(SYS). It is a style of educational holiness that allows
every young
person to grow in Christ, the perfect man, and to direct his
internal
impulses towards a maturity of faith (Cf. CG23, 158-180).
2.3
Pedagogical Method
The Preventive System is a pedagogical method characterized by:
the willingness to
live with young people and share their life;
to look at the world through their eyes and to be aware of their real
needs and
values;
unconditional belief in
the benefit and tireless nature of dialogue;
the preventive
criterion that believes goodness can be found in
every young person – even the most needy; an effort
to cultivate this
goodness through positive experiences;
central importance of reason,
rules and requests must be
reasonable; proposals should be persuasive and flexible; the
central
importance of religion - cultivating that sense of
God found in every
person and evangelizing every person; the central importance
of a loving
kindness expressed in a loving mentoring that allows one to
grow and
creates a relationship;
a positive environment
in which personal relations
flourish; teachers display love, solidarity, leadership and
creativity
and young people are encouraged to show initiative.
3.
SPIRITUALITY AT THE ROOT OF SALESIAN PASTORAL YOUTH WORK
The
secret of Don Bosco’s success
as an educator was his intense pastoral charity; that internal energy
created
an inseparable bond between his love of God and of his neighbor and
allowed him
to create a synthesis of his work of evangelization and
education.
Salesian spirituality is a concrete expression of this pastoral charity
and
constitutes a fundamental element of the Salesian apostolate.
It is a
source of evangelical vitality, a principle of inspiration
and
identity, a guiding orientation.
It is a spirituality
appropriate for young people, especially the poor,
that is able to uncover the workings of the Spirit in their hearts and
help
them develop (Cf. CG23, 159; CG24,89).
It is a spirituality of
every day, that sees daily life as the place
where we encounter God (Cf. CG23, 162-164; CG24,
97).
It is a paschal
spirituality that delights in work and cultivates a
positive attitude; it is optimistic about the natural and supernatural
resources people possess and presents Christian life as a joyous
journey
(Cf. CG23, 165-166).
It is a spirituality of
friendship and personal relationship with the
Lord Jesus whom we come to know through prayer, the Eucharist and the
Word (Cf.
CG23, 167-168).
It is a spirituality of
communion with the Church; it is lived in
groups and above all in teaching communities where young people and
teachers
meet in a family atmosphere with a common purpose: the all-around
education of
the young (Cf. CG23, 169-170; CG24, 91-93).
It is a spirituality of
responsible service that moves young people and
adults to a renewed apostolic commitment to the Christian
transformation of the
environment; it can be a vocational commitment (Cf. CG23, 178-180;
CG24, 96).
It is a Marian
spirituality: with simplicity and confidence it trusts in
the maternal help of Our Lady (Cf. CG23, 177).
This
spirituality helps us discern and face the challenges of pastoral
work.
It gives us the necessary energy to progress towards our
goal; it
is the source of our enthusiasm, depth and power to
evangelize. It
creates harmony among all those who share and work together in this
mission (Cf.
CG24, 87-88).
4.
SALESIAN PASTORAL YOUTH WORK,
CARRYING OUT A MISSION
Pastoral work is the activity of an ecclesial community that makes
Jesus Christ
and His salvation present to a human group in a specific time
and place.
It has two essential components: Jesus Christ, alive and
present in the
Church and a specific human group with its social and cultural reality.
The Salesian Youth Apostolate is a part of this ecclesial action;
through the
gift of the Salesian charism it enriches and brings this action to the
world
of young people. Our form of living and carrying
out the Salesian
mission with Don Bosco’s Spirituality and
Preventive System serves the
Church’s mission of evangelization.
Certain elements characterize our youth work.
4.1. A
Determining Choice: Young
People, Above All, Poor Young People
Don Bosco aimed his work decisively at the young. Among the
young he
consciously chose the poorest, those at risk, those who lived on the
margins of
the Church.
He proclaimed the
Gospel – he sought out those who were far away; he
turned the streets,
squares, workplaces, schoolyards into places of encounter –
places where he
could proclaim the Gospel. He accepted young people without
exception and
without prejudice. He recognized and respected what they had
within. He journeyed together with them and adapted his pace
to theirs.
He developed his
program to fit young people, especially the weak and those at risk. It
was
aimed at helping them to perceive life’s promise
and its values; at
preparing them for life in this world and making them aware of their
eternal
destiny (Const. 26).
This preferential option for the young and especially the poor
drew his attention to the world in which they
lived. We too must
give our attention to the lay people responsible for evangelization in
their
local area, and to the family where different generations come together
and
build the future of mankind (Cf. Const. 29).
The Salesian apostolate is a youth apostolate – not just
because it is
primarily aimed at young people – but also because its style
and perspective
display a youthful quality. Starting with
the “pastoral charity,
characterized by that youthful dynamism which was revealed so strongly
in our
Founder and at the beginnings of our Society …”
(Const. 10) our work in every
pastoral field is marked by our predilection for the young (Const.
14).
Our chosen field of endeavor provides us with a specific way
of looking at
an actual situation and of reacting to it. We look
at things from the
point of view of the young:
we are sensitive to
those things that promote the education and
evangelization of the young or that endanger their welfare;
we are attentive to
positive things, new values, possible recovery;
we are possessed of an
attitude of sensitivity, sympathy, dialogue.
In looking at an
actual situation
we must bear in mind
that poverty and social exclusion can
seriously compromise the education of the young;
we must understand
teaching institutions and how they relate to young
people; we must be aware of individual family situations and of their
ability
to raise children; we must know the educational system, its quality and
the
all-around formation it provides; we must be familiar with the local
media and
the mentality and culture they promote, etc. …
we must know other
factors that influence young people: are there
jobs? what sort of work is available? what sort of free-time activity
can they
find? clubs, teams etc. …
we must be aware of
what religion means in their world; how is the
Church present and active? what does it offer young people?
what feelings
do they have about the Church? are there other religions or
forms of
religiosity present?
we must understand
local culture: that complex of values,
boundaries, experiences, languages and symbols that make up its
mentality and
sensitivity;
we must be familiar
with young people and their needs.
4.2.
The Task: To Educate by
Evangelizing and to Evangelize by Educating
Don Bosco’s pastoral concern found expression in a process of
humanization that
sought to develop a boy’s full personality and create a
society that was more
just and human. “We educate and evangelize
according to a plan for the
total well-being of man directed to Christ, the perfect Man.
Faithful to
the intentions of our Founder, our purpose is to form
‘upright citizens and
good Christians’” (Const. 31).
Salesian pastoral youth work emphasizes the profound relationship that
exists
between the work of educating and the work of
evangelizing. The
goal of our youth work is to build a personality that has Christ as its
principal frame of reference. As this frame of
reference becomes gradually
more explicit and is internalized, the young person will see history
as
Christ sees it; he will judge life as Christ judges
it; he will
choose and love as Christ does; he will hope as Christ
teaches him;
in Christ he will live in communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit
(Cf. CG23, 112-115).
This
choice is based on the faith
experience of the incarnation of Christ. Human life even at
its poorest
and basest is the place where God makes Himself present.
Human life is
called to evolve into full communion with God.
This involves certain specific priorities:
The entirety of the
program:
We
must
direct our whole program of education for young people
towards openness
to God and conformity to Christ, the perfect Man.
We
must contribute
Gospel values and Christian inspiration to their growth in freedom and
responsibility; we must help form their consciences and give them
guidelines
for evaluation and judgement; we must foster the social
development of
their personality with a readiness to serve.
The
central
importance of education and cultural sensitivity
We
must
proclaim the Gospel in a way that makes educational and pedagogical
sense; we
must be aware of actual human and cultural values, and those elements
that make
a free response possible; we must take into account the
methodological
processes …
We
must
cultivate an active faith, characterized by social responsibility
and
charity that will work towards a culture of solidarity.
We
must be
committed to dialogue with the various cultural milieux in which young
people
live; we must strive to implant and cultivate fundamental
values,
criteria of judgement, models of life that conform to the
Gospel.
Unity
of
the internal dynamic of the Salesian pastoral program
We
must
define the Salesian program of Christian education as an organic
process.
Our encounter with young people begins at the point in which they find
themselves. We must be attentive to their demands
and aspirations
and respect the background of every young person.
We must provide a
lively educational environment that is rich in possibilities.
In this environment
the
Salesian program encourages and fosters the human talents of the
young;
draws out their deepest aspirations; cultivates a desire for
the
transcendent (educational-cultural dimension),
it
directs
them towards an encounter with Jesus Christ, the perfect Man
(evangelization
and catechetical dimension),
it
brings
to maturity their sense of belonging to society and the Church (group
experience dimension),
it
leads
them to a discovery of their own vocation in a commitment to
transforming the
world (vocational dimension) in conformity with God’s plan
(Cf. Const.
32-37; CG23, 116-157).
We
will
discuss these four dimensions in the second chapter. They are
an
expression of the four major aspects of Salesian pastoral
youth work.
4.3
A Community Experience
Community experience is a characteristic of our apostolic work and
educational
style.
the
community is the subject and agent of our pastoral mission (Const. 44);
we
lead
young people to an experience of the Church by having them share in the
life of
a community (Const. 35);
family
spirit, personal relationships, mutual trust between teachers and young
people,
fostering communal life and youth leadership – these elements
are
characteristic of our style of education and evangelization
(Const. 16,
35)
This
community, the subject of the Salesian pastoral mission, is composed of
various
elements: it begins with the Salesian community and extends
to other
forms – like a series of concentric circles with young people
always at the
center (Const. 5):
The
Salesian Community carries out the Salesian mission through
its religious
life.
The
Salesian Family is a collection of groups in the Church who identify
with
and carry out the Salesian vocation; they share Salesian
spirit and
spirituality as well as responsibility for the Salesian
mission; each
group contributes the variety and riches of its own vocation.
Many
other
lay people share the spirit and mission of Don Bosco and work with us
in
various capacities in our educational and pastoral mission.
The
Salesian Movement is made up of people who admire Don
Bosco’s
person, spirit and mission; in a variety of ways
they assist us in
our good works and share in the Salesian mission.
The
Salesian mission is not limited to nor only identified with the
Salesian
religious community and its work. That community,
however, is the
necessary point of encounter and training for a vast movement inside
and
outside Salesian structures, that works for young people in the Church
and in
civil society (CG24, 4). This communion with and sharing of
lay people
and Salesians in the spirit and mission of Don Bosco finds visible and
intense
expression in the Educational and Pastoral
Community (EPC).
This Community “involves young people and adults,
parents and educators,
in a family atmosphere, so that it can become a living experience of
Church” (Const. 47; cf. Reg 5).
4.4
A Specific Style: Animation
Salesian Youth Ministry in the field of education emphasizes a style of
animation that leads people to hearing and accepting the Gospel.
This style of animation involves:
emphasis
on
the individual’s process of personalization; on
developing his conscience
and the motivations which guide his choices; on fostering his critical
judgement and active involvement; on making him responsible
and an active
participant in his own educational and pastoral process;
building
a
community based on the values, criteria, objectives and processes of
Salesian
Youth Ministry; learning more about the educators’
vocational
identity; fostering a Salesian pastoral mentality;
encouraging
communication and sharing; promoting shared responsibility;
fostering
collaboration, complementarity and coordination of all in a shared
project.
This
original educational style is based on certain fundamental convictions
which
constitute specific priorities:
trust
in
the individual and his inclination to good; for this reason
the
individual must be the protagonist and principal agent in all those
processes
that involve him;
the
liberating power of educative love: if young people are to
develop the
energies they possess they must have teachers who cultivate a profound
educational affection; for this reason animation demands a
respect for
interpersonal relations marked by trust, sharing, mutual openness and
the
courage to make suggestions;
openness
to
each and every young person; not by lowering educational
expectations but
rather by providing each student with what he needs here and
now; this
implies accepting a young person as he is, with that amount of maturity
and
freedom he possesses and gradually making him aware of his potential
and
opening up his life to new possibilities through various religious and
educational experiences;
the
active
presence of teachers in the midst of young people; establishing a
personal
relationship which is both encouraging and liberating;
creating a human
environment of high quality with a variety of significant educational
possibilities that meet the needs of young people.
4.5
Organic Pastoral Work: Unity in Diversity
The various activities and projects of our youth apostolate are
inspired by an
organic pastoral program with a single goal: the all-around
welfare of
young people and the world in which they live. We must get
beyond a
fragmented apostolate composed of competing activities; we can do this
by
organizing all our ministry around the same ultimate goals, criteria
and
priorities. In this way we can coordinate and inter-relate
our many
activities.
This sort of convergence is required by: the subject of our
program – the
young person; the Educative and Pastoral Community that
shares our goals
and guidelines; and the need for all our projects,
experiences and
pastoral models to be complementary.
Salesian youth work can be made organic through:
The
Salesian Educational and Pastoral Plan (SEPP) which at different levels
defines
the goals and processes which direct and foster convergence and
cooperation
among the many activities, projects and people involved in the
Educative and
Pastoral Community.
The
organization of animation and pastoral government in the province and
in the
community to guarantee communication and coordination of all aspects of
life
(formation, finances, the Salesian Family …) around the
objectives of educating
and evangelizing young people . Cf. CG23, 240-242.
4.6
A Significant Presence in the Church and in the World
The broad community which is the subject of our ministry lives and
works in the
Church and in the world as a meaningful presence.
As a
cell of the ecclesial community
-
it receives its life and mission from the ecclesial community,
-
it works to make the Church present and alive for young people,
-
it enriches the ecclesial community with the gift of Salesian Youth
Spirituality, the Educational System of Don Bosco and the
vitality of the
Salesian Family and the Salesian Youth Movement.
For this reason the Educative and Pastoral Community cultivates a
renewed
ecclesial awareness (Const. 13) and takes its
appropriate place in
the pastoral work of the local Church. It follows
the guidelines of
the local Church with conviction and works in those organizations which
animate
it; it establishes links with all its various educational
projects.
As a
significant example of the saving action of God in the socially and
politically
organized human community
-
it shares in the Church’s commitment to peace and justice
(Const. 33),
-
it promotes change in those situations which are contrary to the values
of the
Gospel (Const. 7, 33).
For
this
reason, the Educative and Pastoral Community
-
is
present in all those human situations in which young people can be
found
especially on the margins of society and among the excluded (Salesian
presence
in civil society). The community is especially attentive to
all those
factors which influence the education and evangelization of
youth; it
seeks to discern the signs of God’s saving presence;
-
it plays a decisive role in the cultural debate and educational
processes
through various associations, volunteer work and social
cooperation; it
makes an original educational contribution towards the creation of a
mentality
and social conscience marked by solidarity and Christian
values; it
contributes to the evangelization of culture;
it
makes
the Salesian presence meaningful. Salesian educative and
pastoral
identity can become a center of hospitality and solidarity, a
sign of
sharing and working together with the potential to transform the
environment
(Cf. CG23, 225-229; CG24, 173-174).
As an
ecclesial presence in religiously and culturally diverse
environments
Salesian
Youth Ministry is carried out in environments marked by cultural and
religious
pluralism. Many of the lay people who share in our mission
come
from different cultures and beliefs.
For this reason we must be open to dialogue and collaboration with a
variety of
religious traditions. We must work together to promote the
all-round
development of the individual and his openness to the transcendent.
The
Preventive System is our basic guideline in this collaborative
effort:
“with those who do not accept God we can journey together,
basing ourselves on
the human and lay values present in the preventive system;
with those who
do accept God and the transcendent we can go further, even to welcoming
their
religious values; and finally, with those who share our faith in Christ
but not
our membership of the Church, we can walk still more closely on the
path of the
Gospel” (CG 24, 185).
For this reason it is important that within the Educative and Pastoral
Community
Christians live faithful to their vocation and to the evangelizing
mission of
the Church in conformity with the Salesian charism (cf. CG24,
183-185).
Suggested
bibliography for further study
ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA PASTORALE
- UPS, Dizionario di Pastorale Giovanile, LDC, Leumann (Torino), 1989.
This dictionary offers a rich
selection of thematic articles; we would suggest:
POLLO M., (ed.), Animazione,
o.c., pp.54-64. TONELLI R., Pastorale giovanile, o.c., pp. 668-679.
TONELLI R. (ed.), Spiritualità
giovanile, o.c., pp.909-919.
TONELLI R., Il modello di
Pastorale Giovanile, in DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Il
cammino e la
prospettiva 2000 (o.c.), pp.107-121.
VECCHI J., Pastorale,
Educazione, Pedagogia nella prassi salesiana, in DICASTERO PER LA
PASTORALE
GIOVANILE, Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000. Documenti PG 13, Roma
1991,
pp.7-38.
VECCHI J., Pastorale
giovanile una sfida per la comunità ecclesiale, LDC Leumann,
(Torino) 1992.
We suggest in particular:
Parte Prima: La Chiesa di fronte
alla Pastorale Giovanile: quale pastorale?, cap. 3: Pastorale, Punti
Fermi e
Prospettive, o.c., pp. 38-56.
Parte Seconda: Un'esperienza
originale ed emblematica di Pastorale Giovanile a servizio della
Chiesa, o.c.,
pp.59-118.
VECCHI J. - PRELLEZO J.M.
(a cura di), Prassi educativa pastorale e scienze
dell’educazione (1988).
We suggest in particular:
Parte Seconda:
Cap. 1: VECCHI J. (ed.),
Pastorale, Educazione, Pedagogia nella prassi salesiana, o.c.,
pp.123-150.
Cap. 2: GROPPO G.(ed),
Educazione e Pastorale: rapporti - tensioni - distanze - convergenze,
o.c.,
pp.151-195.
Cap. 3: ALBERICH E. (ed.),
Evangelizzazkione - Catechesi - Pastorale - Educazione: per un
chiarimento dei
termini e dei loro reciproci rapporti, o.c., pp.197-208.
Cap. 4: TONELLI R. (ed.),
Pastorale Giovanile - Educazione - Animazione, o.c., pp. 209-223.
The follow text is a
collection of the principal articles on the Salesian Youth Apostolate
in the
form of a dictionary:
VECCHI J.- PRELLEZO J.M.
(a cura di), Progetto educativo pastorale. Elementi modulari,
LAS, Roma
1984.
° Studied by theme:
- Animation
TONELLI R.,
Pastorale Giovanile e animazione. Una
collaborazione per la vita e la speranza. LDC, Leumann (Torino) 1986.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE E CENTRO INTERNAZIONALE DI PG - FMA,
L'animatore
salesiano nel gruppo giovanile. Una proposta salesiana. Documento PG
12. LDC,
Leumann (Torino) 1988.
-
Education and Evangelization
To understand the process of
education and evangelization today the following text might be useful:
TONELLI R., Per raccogliere la
sfida della nuova situazione giovanile e culturale: criteri e
prospettive
d'intervento, in DPGS, L'Europa interpella il carisma salesiano.
L'esperienza
religiosa in una situazione pluriculturale. Atti Convegno Europeo in
Polonia ,
Roma 1994, pp.55-84.
Preventive System
BRAIDO
P.,
L'esperienza pedagogica di Don Bosco, LAS, Roma 1988.
BRAIDO
P.,
Don Bosco educatore. Scritti e testimonianze, LAS, Roma 1997.
BRAIDO
P.,
Prevenire non reprimere. Il Sistema educativo di Don Bosco. LAS, Roma
1999.
DICASTERO
PER LA FAMIGLIA SALESIANA, Il Sistema preventivo verso il Terzo
Millennio. Atti
della XVIII Settimana di Spiritualità della Famiglia
Salesiana. A cura di A.
MARTINELLI - G. CHERUBIN, Ed. SDB, Roma 1995.
- Salesian Youth Spirituality
DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE
GIOVANILE SALESIANA, La proposta associativa salesiana. Sintesi d'una
esperienza in cammino. Documenti PG 9. Roma 1985
DICASTERI PER LA PASTORALE
GIOVANILE FMA - SDB. Spiritualità Giovanile Salesiana. Un
dono dello Spirito
alla Famiglia Salesiana per la vita e la speranza di tutti. Roma. 1996
VAN LOOY L., La Spiritualità
Giovanile Salesiana, in Il modello di Pastorale Giovanile, in DICASTERO
PER LA
PASTORALE GIOVANILE - SDB, Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000 (o.c.),
pp.149-164.
Chapter 2
THE
SALESIAN EDUCATIONAL AND PASTORAL PLAN
The Salesian Educative and
Pastoral Plan (SEPP) is our guide for adapting the Salesian Youth
Apostolate to
the various situations and environments in which young people live; through it every project
and resource is
directed towards evangelization (Cf.
Reg. 4). [1]
2. QUALIFYING
ASPECTS OF THE SEPP
1.1 Purpose of the
SEPP
The SEPP is the historical
interpretation and operational guide for the same mission in all areas
and
cultures of the world; it
is the
inculturation of our charism (CG24,
5).
The
SEPP is
an example of the sort of planning that should
guide our mission in all
provinces and projects.
The
SEPP is
the result of common reflection on the great
doctrinal principals that
identify the Salesian mission (frame of reference);
it is an interpretation of the real situation; it is a plan of action
(educational and
pastoral priorities, goals, strategies and criteria for judgement, project planning
…) and it is a guide for
reviewing results.
The
SEPP is
a guide to the how the
provincial and educational pastoral community should evolved in their
efforts
to adapt the Salesian mission to a specific context.
The
primary
aim of the SEPP is to assist provinces and communities to work with the
same
mentality, goals and criteria that make shared responsibility for
pastoral work
possible. The end
result of this
process should be a text that can be understood and carried out.
1.2 Characteristics
of the SEPP
Since the SEPP is the
operational guide for Salesian Youth Ministry it should possess the
same
fundamental characteristics described in the previous chapter. These characteristics
should color every
aspect and element of the SEPP. They
are the essential features that mark a project as Salesian.
The central focus of
the SEPP is the young person – especially the
disadvantaged young person
The
young
person is the very center and heart of Salesian Youth Ministry.
He
must be
seen in his totality: body, intelligence, feelings, will; in all his relationships:
with himself, with
others, with the world at large, with
God; he must be
considered as an
individual and at the same time as part of an environment (collective
welfare
and commitment to transforming society).
He
must be
seen in the whole existential process of growing as a human being to
the point
that he encounters Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, and discovers in Him
the
ultimate meaning of his existence.
For
this
reason
the
SEPP
directs and guides an educational process in which a variety of
experiences,
resources and activities are woven together to foster the gradual and
all-round
development of the young personality;
the
SEPP
indicates the goals, strategies
and
guidelines that give life to those Christian values and attitudes which
constitute Salesian Youth Spirituality (SYS) and the methodology of
Salesian
education (the Preventive System).
In all
of
these activities young people who are poor or who are in difficulty
should be
our priority. This
commitment is the
hallmark of all aspects and dimensions of SEPP pastoral work.
The
real
situation of the community
Before
it
was a written document the SEPP was an exercise of community thinking
and
engagement; it
involved clarification
and identification aimed at
creating
cooperation in the EPC (Educative and Pastoral Community) with common
criteria,
goals and guidelines that eliminated wasted efforts and built a
synthesis, a
common educational project;
creating
an
awareness of our common mission and mentality in the EPC;
becoming
a
shared frame of reference for our educative ministry that could be used
to
examine and verify its effectiveness.
The
SEPP
identifies the EPC and
provides it with
an instrument for planning; it is at the same time the subject of our
educative
ministry (Cf. R. 5).
Openness
to
the world of communications
Nowadays
we
cannot think of the SEPP only in reference to internal Salesian work; every institution and
especially every
educational institution is part of a vast network of communications
with which
it must interact and to which it must measure up.
One must be conscious of
image, of the impression one’s work creates
outside the institution,
etc. … Publicity
can have a positive or
a negative effect on educational accomplishments.
For
this
reason we must develop the SEPP with an awareness of the geographical
territory
in which a Salesian foundation serves as a point of convergence and an
agent of
educational transformation; it
is
equally important that the SEPP take into consideration a
non-geographical, but
no less real, territory:
the world of
social communications.
- The SEPP is more
than a simple and
efficient agenda for internal use;
it communicates
our mission and
spirituality, it involves others in our work;
- The
SEPP initiates a dialogue with all the educational, social and
religious
institutions in the same area;
- The SEPP must
make us aware of modern
technology as a means to establish relationships,
present our message and engage in constructive dialogue
with
those we cannot see but who are nonetheless very real.
We must think of the Salesian
community and apostolate as a network.
All of this is a challenge to
educators and to their ability to teach and evangelize in a world
dominated by
the media:
- they must be
trained to use the media;
- they must use
the new technologies in their
teaching;
- they must
develop communication skills;
- they must help
the “newly impoverished” –
those who are excluded from access to on-line information –
to gain access to
these resources;
They must do all of these things
while developing their own skills in using the media for education (Cf. Letter of the Rector Major, La comunicazione
nella missione salesiana,
in ACG 370).
Communications, and especially
social communications, should characterize all the aspects and
dimensions of a
provincial SEPP.
1.3 Organic Unity
The
SEPP
represents the planning aspect of
Salesian Youth Ministry.
It
should be a clear expression of the organic unity of that work. It should unite all the
aspects and elements
of the Salesian apostolate in a single process with a single goal.
This
process consists of four fundamental, mutually related and
complementary
aspects. We call
these aspects the four
dimensions of the SEPP. (Cf.
Const.
32-37; Reg. 6-9).
The educational-cultural
dimension (Reg. 6) and the evangelization-catechesis dimension (Reg. 7)
develop
the two fundamental aspects of a person:
his status as a human being and his vocation to be a son
of God (citizen
and Christian; educate
by evangelizing
and evangelize by educating).
The vocational dimension looks
to the ultimate goal of the educational and evangelizing process: responding to
God’s plan with a responsible
choice of life (Reg. 9).
The group/communitarian
dimension: this is
a characteristic of
our style of educating and evangelizing.
We work through groups, through involvement in a local
area, through
promotion and transformation of the
world in which we find ourselves, through leadership and animation
(Reg. 8).
2. THE DIMENSIONS
OF THE SALESIAN
EDUCATIONAL-PASTORAL PLAN (SEPP)
These dimensions are the vital
content and dynamic of Salesian Youth Ministry;
they indicate the ultimate goal towards which we are
working. They
cannot be absent from any
of the activities, works or services in which we are engaged. Their presence must be
felt in every facet
of the SEPP.
We would like to describe
exactly what each of these dimensions involve,
what challenges they face, and what choices they oblige us
to make to
carry out the SEPP effectively.
Although we will describe these
dimensions separately, it is important to remember that they form a
unity. Each one
makes a specific contribution to
the whole – and at the same time each one is influenced and
nuanced by the
others. This
organic synthesis is a
characteristic of Salesian Youth Ministry.
2.1 The
Educational-Cultural Dimension
2.1.1 Specifically
The educational-cultural
dimension, integrated with the dimension of evangelization and
catechesis, is
the very heart of the SEPP.
This dimension is concerned with
the all-round educational growth of those we serve;
it exemplifies the central importance of the personal
development
of the young people in a specific human community, in a specific
geographical
area; this human
community is both the
subject and the object (agent and the recipient) of a socio-cultural
process.
The educational dimension is a
characteristic trait of our pastoral youth work.
This is true because:
it
involves
those we serve; we
work with those who
need support in their human development;
it
concerns
the content of our work: we
take
responsibility for education, culture,
job training and free time – all of this as part
of the faith journey;
as far
as
our method is concerned: we
evangelize
by educating.
In
conjunction with this educational aspect we devote special attention to
the
world of culture and communications with its new forms of expression,
and the
challenges we face at this point in history.
2.1.2 Ultimate Goal
Our educational work is directed
to developing a person who can accept life as it is and live it well. We seek to develop a
person who can face
himself, others and society at large with a wealth of values and
meaning. He will
possess convictions and the ability
to judge and
interpret events, to make
choices and accept responsible commitments (Cf. Const. 32).
This process of personal growth
takes place in a specific social and cultural context.
Within a given type of
cultural heritage, we are not confined to
the physical, intellectual or moral education of young people, nor are
we
limited to helping them acquire jobs and technical skills. We are concerned with
instilling a vision
of the world and developing a way
for them to live as persons. We seek to act as cultural
mediators, to
help them discern and find their place in their own culture. At the same time we
endeavor to promote a
positive evolution of human culture towards a synthesis of faith and
life.
2.1.3 Challenges We
Hope to Meet
Society is becoming ever more
complex and at the same time ever more universal.
A mass, world-wide, pluralist culture is evolving. Through the mass media
values, words and points
of view spread with amazing speed.
Not
infrequently this results in a clash of ideals, values and life-styles.
In this society young people can
find themselves isolated in their search for meaning.
They can be intimidated by an uncertain future; they try to hold on to the
present, to survive,
unwilling to make clear long-term commitments.
They seem uncertain of themselves, they seem to suffer from low self-esteem. They face the problems of
daily life with enormous
difficulty; they
are pressured to
conform, to seek immediate gratification.
The absolute importance and
priority of economic concerns causes different forms of poverty. These diverse forms of
poverty can assume
alarming dimensions and threaten or block human development. Entire human communities
suffer forms of
anthropological impoverishment.
We are witnessing widespread
phenomena such as resignation in the face of seemingly unchangeable
situations;
withdrawal into a personal and private world – consumerism,
indifference,
superficiality, drugs – or mindless and sometimes violent
rebellion.
But at the same time, we can see
new and genuine social forces at work on all sides.
There is a search for meaning and identity, a desire for a
better
quality of life. New
values are coming
to the fore: the
rediscovery of the
equal dignity and reciprocity of men and women;
solidarity, peace,
development, etc.; there
is a
demand for stable and fruitful inter-personal relationships and mutual
respect.
Families and traditional
educational institutions are losing the privileged position they once
held in helping
people grow. The
educational
shortcomings of institutions (family,
school, Church,
etc.) increase the
sense of uneasiness. The
inability of these traditional
institutions to speak meaningfully to the young
makes them unable to help young people mature, acquire
values and
overcome superficiality.
2.1.4 Specific Choices
to Develop
Promoting
the educational-cultural dimension of pastoral work in these
circumstances
requires emphasis on certain specific tasks.
Foster
the
process of personal and social growth in each young person. This will lead him to full
human
maturity, make him
the protagonist of
his own life capable of perceiving the mystery that surrounds him and
of
seeking out its meaning.
The
following are aspects of this process that must find a place in our
pastoral
and educational projects.
- The young person
will come to recognize the
positive worth of his person and his life through the experience of teachers
who accept him freely and unconditionally; he will learn to
see and appreciate
his values and his talents.
- The young person
should cultivate the
different talents and gifts he possesses (physical, athletic,
intellectual,
cognitive, affective, sexual, social, …).
- The young person
should gradually open
himself to relationships, to genuine inter-personal
communication through
growth in the area of affection and sexuality;
he should accept the diversity of others, the experience
of being part
of a community, of friendship in a climate of cheerfulness and
collaboration.
- The young person
should form his
conscience, develop ethical judgement and discernment through
serious and
critical study of the cultural examples and norms of society, and
through
developing a Gospel-oriented understanding of life, experience,
responsible
freedom, commitment and solidarity.
- The young person
should search for the
meaning of life –
he should be open
to and long for the transcendent;
he
should come to see his life in the context of God’s plan. This can be achieved
through rich experiences
of fullness and of limitation that are shared and internalized. It can be achieved through
professional and
vocational assistance that will help the young person to plan his life
responsibly as a gift and a service to others.
Helping
young people to accept their culture with criticism and creativity
involves the
following tasks.
- Help them
evaluate the level of culture
offered in educational programs and institutions. Its should place greater
emphasis on being rather than on having;
on people rather than possessions;
on
ethics rather than technique, economic or political skill; on the
community rather than the individual;
on the defending life and being open to the transcendent.
- Prepare them to interpret
their social
and cultural world critically: using as a criterion the
central importance
of the person in this world.
- Develop communication
in all its forms: inter-personal
and group communication; the
study of languages, the production of
messages, the critical and educational use of the media.
- Initiate them
into the practice of ethical
discernment marked by a Christian vision of the dignity of
the human
person, of his rights, duties and of the common good.
- Develop the ability
to create culture; to
play a responsible role in the collective
process of transforming reality along the lines of Gospel values.
Develop
a
pedagogy of values that will lead to the personalization of these
values. This can be
done with the following
four-step process.
- Experience
a value in a way that
makes the young person perceive its value and benefit.
- Understanding
and awareness that
will make it a part of his existence.
- Repeated exercise
that will help to
internalize the value.
- Profound
motivation that will lead a
person to take a chance on this value against all other advantages.
Grow
in our
commitment to justice and peace (Const. 33) and assure an educational
process
that counteracts the widespread phenomenon of youthful unease; this can be done through
systematic
involvement with individuals, society, institutions, processes, and
human
interaction – these are often the causes of this uneasiness. We must pay special
attention to the
following important elements.
- Our educational
environment should
provide a family atmosphere of
acceptance in which one’s sense of
self-esteem can grow and one can
overcome attitudes of dependence.
- We must examine
the frequently unspoken
assumptions that exist in
institutions
and the educational environment which influence our
judgements and decisions.
- We must foster
the cultural and technical preparation
of the neediest young people in a way that suits their abilities
and will
allow them to take their normal place in society and work.
- We must pay
close attention to individuals
and to their diversity;
we must
assist and direct their professional training and education.
- We
must establish regular and frequent
contact with parents, with the local area and its
institutions, and with
those who work in the field of troubled youth.
- We
must be committed to the transformation of society
– and especially to justice
and peace – struggling against everything that
promotes or allows poverty,
injustice and violence.
We
must
develop a methodology marked by the following elements.
- Our programs
must be tailored to fit the
personal individuality and background of
each young person; we
should
concentrate more on the young person’s internal resources
than on his external
conditioning.
- We should favor
educational experiences
that involve direct and active contact with the real world, research
skills and
methods, and the ability to see reality from different points of view
and
different perspectives.
- We should
educate by socializing – that is
we should see education as a process of relating and communicating; a
collaborative and social experience that creates the attitudes and
skills
necessary for living together and sharing.
- We should take care that
all these
educational activities come together to
form an integrated personality in which all these elements
merge and
strengthen each other, a harmonious personality in which aspects and
aspirations are prioritized according to their importance.
2.2. The Dimension of
Evangelization and
Catechesis
2.2.1 Specifically
To evangelize young people is
the fundamental goal of our mission.
Our program is radically open;
it’s purpose is to help young people achieve
full maturity in Christ
(Cf. Const. 31) and grow in the Church.
Spiritual formation is the very heart of personal
development (CG23,
160). We assist and
foster human growth
by providing an itinerary of evangelization and education in the faith
(CG23,
102-111).
To evangelize is to proclaim the
Good News of Christ in every area of society, so that we might
transform society
from within (Cf. EN
18).
Evangelization is a complex
process involving diverse elements (renewal
of interior life, witness, explicit proclamation and
catechesis,
adherence of the heart, entrance into the community,
apostolate initiatives …);
but the central element of evangelization is the explicit
proclamation
of Jesus Christ as our only Savior (Cf.
EN 24 and
Ecclesia in Asia
19).
2.2.2 Ultimate Goal
An education which evangelizes
and an evangelization which educates,
this is the characteristic of the Salesian youth
apostolate. Its
ultimate goal is a synthesis of faith
and culture in life. This
implies
Faith
must
become the central value of the individual and of his world-view;
Faith
must
be critical, open to new educational demands and cultural challenges;
Faith
must
be committed, ready to translate values into practice;
Faith
must
stimulate and deepen the process of humanization;
it must nurture individuals and human groups in conformity
with
the model of Jesus Christ.
To
accomplish this, evangelization must do the following:
promote
and
defend openness to religion on the part of individuals, cultures and
societies;
take
the initiative
in proclaiming the Good News with words and methods that suit
the
situation;
assist
in
creating the experience of the faith through an
encounter with the Word
of God and the celebration of the Sacraments;
educate
habits of thought and attitudes
towards a life plan inspired by faith;
our
evangelization must be a proclamation of the Good News of
Salvation that
corresponds to the hopes and problems of young people and to social and
collective situations in which they find themselves;
establish
an appropriate rhythm to our various interventions,
without losing sight
of our final goal; help
focus the
attention of the world in which we work by forming groups and leaders.
2.2.3 Challenges We
Hope to Meet
Secularization is widespread and
it invests fundamental aspects of our life.
Religion is gradually becoming something entirely private
and
subjective; indifference
to religion,
especially to its institutions, is
commonplace. At the
same time we are
witnessing a new sensitivity to spiritual values and a new search for
relationship
with the transcendent. This
is
particularly true among young people.
Unfortunately this interest is often little more than
subjectivism,
syncretism and superstition.
Diverse religious traditions are
often found living side by side, and the
number of multi-cultural and multi-religious situations is
on the
increase. On the
one hand, this
pluralism can lead to sincere, practical dialogue,
careful and profound inculturation of the Christian faith
and a
courageous evangelization of culture;
on the other hand it could give rise to a facile
syncretism or the
tensions and hostility that make evangelization impossible.
Through prayer meetings and a
commitment to peace and justice we can cultivate the demand for an
interior
life, the thirst for spirituality and the desire for dialogue and
collaboration
in other religious communities
Young people entertain a variety
of expectations. Through
no conscious
choice many find themselves far removed from their faith; their goals and guidelines
have little to do
with religious values. Others
live
with a sort of weak religiosity; their
religious
practices are more or less occasional and dictated by social convention
or the
desire and need for inner peace and assurance.
Their life and faith are not coherent, they have made no
personal and
mature choices. At
the same time there
are other groups of committed young people who live their faith in
depth.
In each and every one of these
young people one can perceive a need for truth, liberation, human
growth and
the desire, sometimes unconscious, for a deeper understanding of the
mystery of
God.
How can we cultivate and deepen
this desire for God; how
can we prepare
them for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus and reawaken in them
the
desire to know and be with Jesus Christ?
How can we teach them to construct a new Christian
identity at the same
time they are developing human values?
How can we be a community whose own faith is believable; how can we communicate
this faith in
meaningful language within the framework of a new culture?
2.2.4 Specific Choices
We
must see
to it that all the educational elements of our environment, methods and
structures are coherent with and open to the Gospel.
We must avoid certain tendencies inherent in secular
society:
- Only what can be
proven rationally is true;
- Only what can be
perceived actually exists;
- The ethical is
that which is useful;
- The meaning of
life depends on the
efficiency and functionality of our actions and convictions.
We
must
promote the development of a person’s religious dimension
– whether he is
Christian or belongs to another religion.
We do this by understanding this dimension; purifying it and opening
it up to the desire for faith. To
accomplish this we must:
- foster those dispositions
that are the
basis of openness
to God (to know
how to retreat within oneself; to
be
silent and listen to one’s inner voices;
to be conscious of one’s abilities and
limitations; to
have a sense of wonder, to appreciate all
that is good, great and beautiful within and around oneself; to be open to others and
to their diversity,
etc. …);
- provide
systematic and critical
religious education that will enlighten the mind and
strengthen the heart ;
- encourage openness, respect and dialogue
vis-à-vis other
religions (ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue);
- be
close to our students and teach
them to share and work together,
unselfish service and solidarity – these are
indispensable
pre-conditions for an authentic and liberating religious experience.
We
must
offer the first evangelization that will enable one to live a true,
personal
faith experience through:
- a meaningful
presentation of the person of
Jesus;
- direct contact
with the Word of God;
- intense
experiences of celebration,
personal and community prayer;
- encounter and
meaningful communication with
believers and Christian communities of the past and of the present.
We
must
develop systematic guidelines for education in faith inspired by the
values of
Salesian Youth Spirituality; the
guidelines should lead to a choice of life in the church that reflects
these
great aspects of Christian maturity:
- human
growth that leads to an
understanding of life as a religious experience;
- an encounter
with Jesus Christ
through Word and Sacrament; discovering
in Him the meaning of individual and collective human existence;
- gradual entry
into the community of
believers, the sign and an instrument of human salvation;
- commitment
and vocation to the
transformation of the world (CG23, 116-157).
We
must
introduce young people into a conscious and active participation in the
liturgy
– especially celebration of the sacraments of Reconciliation
and the Eucharist.
- we should foster
their preparation in an
atmosphere of hospitality and friendship that encourages them to open
their
hearts;
- we should
celebrate liturgies of quality
that lead to a true personal relationship with Christ;
- we should
encourage a personal commitment
to translate into daily life what one has celebrated;
- we should
strengthen closeness to the Lord
through personal meetings with teachers and spiritual directors (Cf. CG23, 173-175).
We
must
cultivate a missionary awareness that makes young people:
- believable
witnesses and heralds of the
faith in their own world;
- active
missionaries among their peers –
especially those who are distant or indifferent;
this can be done through volunteer work, youth movements,
mission
groups, participation in evangelization projects, etc.
- effective
co-workers in the mission “ad
gentes” (foreign missions) through correspondence
with missionaries, collaboration
with concrete mission
projects, and possible volunteer work in the missions,
- responsive to a
possible missionary
vocation in the Church.
2.3 The Vocational
Dimension
2.3.1 Specifically
The individual, in the singularity
of his existence, is at the center of our program of education and
evangelization. It
is aimed at helping
him carry out his own life’s work in conformity with
God’s call (vocation). For
this reason the vocation apostolate is
always present in every stage, activity and phase of our educational
and
pastoral work; it
is its natural and
concrete outlet (Cf. Const. 28; 37).
In our vocation apostolate we
should emphasize three aspects:
- guidance
for all young people involved in our educational
activities;
- constant
effort through appropriate activities to discover and
foster vocations
that show a commitment
to society and the Church;
- a
particular responsibility to the Salesian Charism in its many
forms, displayed in our zeal to discern and foster in young people the
seeds of
a consecrated or lay Salesian vocation.
These three concerns support and
complement each other. They
constitute
the domain of the Salesian vocation apostolate
(Cf. CG21,
110).
2.3.2 Ultimate Goal
Through this dimension of the
Salesian Youth Apostolate we
intend
to
help
young people face their future with an attitude of availability and
generosity,
to
pre-dispose them to hear the voice of God,
to
guide
them in making their own life plans.
This
contribution can be understood in two complementary ways:
- it is an
attitude on the part of the
subject who takes responsibility for his own existence;
- it is an
assistance from an adult
who offers the results of his own discernment and experience.
2.3.3 Challenges We
Hope to Meet
In making Christian plans for
their future young people encounter certain important phenomena.
Traditional
religious manifestations, values, symbols and practices have undergone social and cultural
changes.
- A multi-cultural
society with a variety of
conflicting messages and examples makes choice and direction in
one’s life
difficult;
- Secularization
and materialism dominate our
culture and create a critical mentality more concerned with immediate
and
utilitarian values than transcendent or altruistic ones; relativism diminishes our
sense of morality
and weakens our experience of a life of faith.
- Social commitment exists outside the
framework of religious motivation.
- Adolescence is
prolonged; adult responsibilities
are accepted later in life.
Other
factors influence the psychological and religious attitudes of young
people
faced with choices:
- the individual
considered as an absolute
value; the search for meaning in daily life;
- the need for
personal experimentation; the
desire to share responsibility and
work, the need for
instant
gratification;
- a strong sense
of community manifested in
the search for communal living and communication;
an acute sensitivity to justice, solidarity and service of
the
most vulnerable;
- a widespread
longing for depth, silence,
prayer and different forms of religiosity – frequently
subjective and
fragmentary;
- a psychological
tendency to change one’s
opinions and judgements, something that makes long term commitment
difficult.
The
lack of
meaning or definition displayed by certain vocations in the Church: priesthood and religious
life.
- their identity
is not clear; their
contributions to the human community
are not apparent;
- the way these
vocations are lived here and
now (their human realization, the sort of relationships they impose and
exemplify, serenity
and certainty in
times of trial …) these
things don’t enjoy
much credibility; they
are not the sort of lives that attract
others.
Faced with a world of young
people that is both complex and contradictory,
the vocation apostolate frequently veers back and forth
between two
extremes. Either it
ignores the
dynamics of psychology and offers prospects that neither challenge nor
interest, or it is too timid offering
no serious challenge or possibility for
advancing one’s vocation;
it limits
itself to short-term experiences and avoids life-long decisions.
2.3.4 Specific Choices
In
these
circumstances:
Our
vocational apostolate must be founded on the vocational quality of our
community in its entirety and of our teachers.
The witness of their life and the spirit with which they
live their own
vocation will be
the most effective
means for helping young people to make generous and conscious plans for
the
future.
- Our community
must cultivate an attitude
of confidence and openness to God’s gift;
it must pray assiduously for vocations.
- There must be a
profound renewal of the Christian
life of our communities and of their hospitality and
readiness for
dialogue; they must
be present among
young people so that their vocational choice becomes a valid example
with which
the young can identify;
- We must increase
the sensitivity of first our
confreres and then all our communities,
the Salesian Family, our Teaching Communities so that the
direction and
cultivation of vocations becomes the ministry and responsibility of the
whole
community and not just the work of those who are appointed as local or
provincial vocation directors;
- We must take
advantage of those of our
confreres or lay associates who are especially gifted in
guiding and
attracting possible vocations.
Our
vocational apostolate must be part of our process of education in the
faith. It is the
point where all our
educational and evangelical efforts come together.
We
should
offer Vocation guidance through
- professional and
educational guidance
adjusted to age and circumstance that will help a young person to
discover his
own talents and to use the gifts he has been given;
- an educational
atmosphere where there is
meaningful witness of people living their lives as a vocation;
- information
about possible careers in the
world and in the Church (meetings, talks, experiences, etc.,
…);
- the chance to do
volunteer work among the
needy – a way of fostering generosity and the willingness to
help;
- personal
direction and contact for all the
young people who express a desire for it.
We
should
present clear and explicit examples though
- contact with
meaningful personal and community
witness from the present and the
past as well;
- intense
spiritual formation through
training in prayer, hearing the Word of God, and taking part in the
sacraments,
the liturgy and Marian devotions;
- taking active
part in the life of the
Church community through apostolic groups and movements, areas considered
especially favorable to the
growth of Christian life and vocation;
- study of the
theme of vocations at the
various stages of religious education, especially during adolescence
and youth;
- a personal
invitation to follow one’s
vocation;
- direct contact
with a community involved in
vocations.
We
should
practice progressive and accurate discernment in the community
following
specific guidelines: direct
contact, dialogue,
visits, prayer and
mediation for awareness of God’s call,
willingness to share the community’s apostolic
commitment.
Our
vocational apostolate must be personalized.
It must try to reach each individual in a way that
corresponds to his
own experience, to
the world in which
he lives and the just needs of his community:
- We must offer
concrete educational and
pastoral guidance animated by the Educative and Pastoral Community
(EPC) within
the framework of the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Plan (SEPP);
- We must provide
possibilities for dialogue
and encounter with individuals, groups and families;
- We must provide
occasions for deeper
spiritual experience and personalization (retreats, days of
recollection,
etc.);
- We must provide
systematic spiritual
direction.
Our
vocational apostolate must be coordinated especially with the family,
the local
Church and other groups in the Salesian Family.
- We should share
common theoretical and
practical guidelines;
- Our concern
should be the general good of
the Church and not our particular objectives;
- We should offer
our experience and specific
charism in guiding and promoting vocations;
- We should
animate and sensitize families to
vocations.
2.4 The
Group/Community Dimension
2.4.1 Specifically
The experience of
group/community is one of the most important insights in the Salesian
youth
apostolate process of education and evangelization.
The Preventive System requires
an intense and open atmosphere characterized by fraternal and friendly
relationships in which all are engaged.
It is a communal form
of human
and Christian growth. The
affectionate
presence, solidarity, leadership and stimulus of educators constitute
its
life-blood. It
promotes every
constructive form of work and collaboration with others; it is a concrete
initiation into civil and
ecclesial community
commitment (Const.
35, Reg. 8).
The group/community dimension is
an expression of a person’s own social dimension and is a
fundamental
characteristic of Salesian education and evangelization. The youth group is not
just a means to reach
the mass of young people, it is the locus of the
educational and
pastoral relationship where teachers
and students live together like a family in mutual trust and open their
hearts
to each other. It
provides an
atmosphere in which one can experience Salesian values and in which
education
and evangelization can take place.
It
is a place where the young people themselves can be encouraged to
become the
principal agents of their own formation.
2.4.2. Ultimate Goal
Through our group/communitarian
program we hope to achieve the following results.
Develop the ability to perceive
and live in depth the value of other people and of community
as a
network of interpersonal relationships;
Grow in the readiness to
share and play an active role in one’s environment;
Direct one towards social
commitment; teaching
responsibility
for the common good;
Deepen the experience and
understanding of Church as communion and service;
Discover and bring to maturity
one’s vocation decision in the context of
society and the Church.
2.4.3 Challenges We
Hope to Meet
Young people look for groups in
which they can satisfy their desire for personal communication and
their need
for independence and belonging.
Sociology has shown the importance of this factor
– peer group
membership – to an understanding of the behavior and choices
of young
people.
Relationship and belonging are a
complex affair in our society. Our
views and life-choices are pluralist.
The messages and values society conveys are often
fragmentary. These
are but some of the elements which
effect the phenomenon of community in our times.
There are many forms of joining and belonging; the plurality of sometimes
mutually contradictory
ideas and values can lead to breakdown and fragmentation. Nonetheless the need to
create a living
space for young people persists. A
space where young people can grow
and
develop their own identity; a
place
where they can experience Christianity
and the Church in a meaningful way.
2.4.4 Specific Choices
If we are to cultivate this
dimension we must make certain specific choices.
Group
Option
The
group
is the hallmark feature of our associative/community program. We see the group as the
most effective place
in which to build character; it
is the
place in which one can search for answers about the meaning and reason
of
life; it is the
place in which one can
exercise creativity and learn to be open to society and to the world
that
surrounds one; it
is the ideal place to
experience the Church.
In practical terms the group
option implies the following.
- We
must look upon the group in which a young person lives as his
most important experience of belonging;
being a part of larger groups supports this experience;
- Groups
must be allowed to chart their own course;
they do this by taking into consideration
the members of the group, as
well as the
society and local Church in which they live;
- Respect
the qualities and contributions of leaders who arise in
the group;
- Pay
particular attention to new forms of youthful association,
especially volunteer work and groups of conscientious objectors; these are valuable options
for peace and the
service of others.
Open
to all
young people – they are the real protagonists of this work
We must
- create a wide
variety of programs and
environments that extend a broad welcome to young people of different
ages and
interests;
- start from the
point in which young people
find themselves and the expectations which they express and move at a
rate that
respects their abilities;
- offer to the
more sensitive and
committed, serious
programs that will
help them grow in faith and in their social and apostolic commitment.
For
the
purpose of educating
Education
is not just one among many basic dimensions in this program it is the
inspiration that guides and embraces all the other dimensions.
In practical terms this
education option involves:
- providing different
level groups
based on age and particular needs;
all
of these groups are linked by progressive and ongoing programs (boys,
adolescents, young men);
- paying special
attention to vocation and
Christian commitment groups; they
are
the cream of our group work;
- providing
constant training and formation
for teachers and leaders;
- providing
special occasions for intense
communal living (retreats, camping, all –day get-togethers); these occasions reinforce
and give renewed
impetus to a group’s Christian
and
community commitment;
- making
performance, teaching efficacy and
youth activities the object of reflection and review in the Educational
community.
Style
of
Animation
Within
the
framework of our particular educational goals we should opt for a style
of
animation that involves the following elements.
- We must consider
the human person relying
on his own internal resources as capable of
commitment and responsibility in those processes which
concern
him;
- Our methods must
emphasize the positive:
the riches and potential each young person has within himself; we must find a way to
cultivate these gifts;
- We must adopt a
style in daily life that assists
young people – suggesting, motivating, helping to
grow; our relationships
must be liberating, beneficial and strong;
- Our ultimate and
universal goal must be restoring
to each person the joy of living fully and the courage to
hope.
Animation has a human face, that
of the animator. He
plays a specific
and indispensable role. This
role may
differ in particular situations and groups, but displays certain constant features.
- He
will encourage the formation of groups and their
progress in carrying out their search, performing their activities and
realizing their ideals;
- Through
his skill and experience, he will help the group
overcome its crises and establish personal relationships among group
members;
- At
opportune moments he will join the young people in
their search for new perspectives in thought and action;
- He
will promote communication between groups; encourage the groups to be
open with each
other;
- He
will assist individual group members in the process
of
reaching human and Christian maturity;
- He
will introduce the perspective of Christ in
discussions of plans and problems within the group.
Linked
to
the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM)
Individual
young people, groups,
youth
associations that share the Salesian spirituality and methods but
maintain
their organizational autonomy are
implicitly or explicitly part of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM).
Groups
work
together and are linked to each other in the local
Educational community. Through
this local community they interact
and enrich each other; together
they
create a culturally vibrant climate that is marked by Christian
commitment. This
interaction will be more widespread on
a provincial and inter-provincial level.
Groups will be encouraged to communicate and exchange
ideas; this will
assure their impact in the local
area and their involvement in the local Church
(CG23, 275-277).
Involvement
in Society and in the Church
The youth group is one way of
opening up and building an Educational and/or Christian
community that
is actively engaged in the world around it.
For this reason we would encourage the following.
- Within
the Salesian Youth Movement, groups and group leaders
should communicate and establish contact with each other;
- They
should take an active part in the educational community;
- Adults
should become involved – especially parents who can make
valid contributions to an enriching exchange of ideas.
Youth groups should find an
outlet in society and in the Church that is consistent with their
vocational
purpose. Salesian
group work should
promote:
- the
preparation and assistance that enables a young person to
take part in the life of society, to assume moral, professional and
social
responsibility, and to cooperate with all those who are trying to build
a more
worthy society for mankind;
- active
involvement in civil society through groups that promote
the common weal in a democratic society;
- involvement
in the Church, living that vocation which formation
has led on to discern and embrace;
- a definitive choice of Salesian spirituality open to the possibility of a “lay, consecrated or priestly vocation for the benefit of the whole Church and of the Salesian Family” (Const. 28).
3. CONCLUSION
Together these four dimensions
constitute the internal dynamic of Salesian Youth Ministry.
- The
educator encounters young people at the point in which he
finds them; he
encourages and assists
them to develop all their human resources to the point that they are
open to
the meaning of life and the search for God;
- He
directs them towards an encounter with Jesus Christ and the
transformation of their life according to the Gospel;
- He
brings their experience of the group to maturity,
to the point that they can see in the Church
the communion of believers in Christ,
and become themselves fervent members of the Church;
- He
helps them discover their own vocation in the over-all
commitment to transforming the world in the light of God’s
plan.
For
these
reasons:
these
four
dimensions are inseparable; each
one
conditions the other to the extent that one cannot develop one without
explicit
reference to the other three;
the
unity
and inter-related nature of these dimensions must be apparent in the
goals and
strategies of the SEPP of every province activity to the extent that
each
activity becomes a part of a common process of human and Christian
growth;
an individual work, because of its nature or the needs of those it serves, may have a SEPP that emphasizes one particular dimension - dimension of education for schools, evangelization for parishes … but it must never lose sight of the essential elements in the other dimensions.
Suggested
bibliography for
further study
VECCHI
J., Pastorale
giovanile una sfida per la comunità ecclesiale,
LDC Leumann, (Torino) 1992,
Parte quarta: Le dimensioni fondamentali del Progetto
educativo, capp.
1-7, pp. 201-314.
VECCHI
J.,
- PRELLEZO J.M. (a cura di), Progetto educativo pastorale. Elementi modulari,
LAS, ROMA 1984. In particolare, si suggerisce:
Parte
Prima:
Cap.2:
NANNI C. (ed.), Educazione, o.c., pp.26-37.
Cap.3:
GROPPO G. (ed.), Evangelizzazione e educazione,
o.c., pp.38-49.
Parte
Terza:
Cap.20:
VECCHI J., (ed.), Orientamento e pastorale vocazionale,
o.c.,
pp.242-256.
ISTITUTO
DI
TEOLOGIA PASTORALE - UPS, Dizionario di Pastorale Giovanile,
LDC,
Leumann (Torino) 1989. Tra le voci tematiche, si suggerisce:
TONELLI
R.
(ed.), Associazionismo, o.c., pp.79-87.
TONELLI
R.
(ed.), Educazione/Pastorale, o.c., pp. 290-297.
TONELLI
R.
(ed.), Gruppo, o.c., pp. 415-418.
DE
PIERI
S., (ed.), Vocazione, o.c., pp. 1132-1144.
DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA,
Il progetto educativo-pastorale delle ispettorie salesiane. Raccolta
antologica
di testi. Dossier PG. Esperienze a confronto 9, Roma 1995,
pp. 11-158.
Chapter
3
The fundamental requirement for carrying
out the Salesian Youth Apostolate is the community.
A community which involves young people and adults, parents and educators, in
a family
atmosphere … that can become a living experience of Church
and a revelation of
God’s plan (Const. 47).
The SEPP requires the
convergence of the intentions and convictions of all those who are
involved in
preparing it and carrying it out.
This community – simultaneously
the agent , the recipient and the locus of our
educational and pastoral
work – is called the “Educative and Pastoral
Community” (EPC).
In this chapter we will discuss
this community’s identity,
the dynamics
of its growth and the channels through which one can direct and foster
its
growth.
1.
THE
IDENTITY OF
THE EPC
1.1 Foundations
From
the
very beginnings of the Oratory, a
family-like community began to gather around Don Bosco.
Young people were an active part of this
community. They
lived in a youthful
atmosphere impregnated with the values of the Preventive System, with
very
distinct spiritual and pastoral characteristics,
with clear goals and with all roles conceived in the light
of
serving young people.
This
community gave birth to the Salesian Congregation and Family. According to Don Bosco, Salesians with their
community life are
centers of communion and sharing for other educators who make their
contribution to the project and who spread the charism
(Cf.
CG24, 71-72,
75).
This
charismatic reality is something the Church demands; real communion which
manifests the gift of
Trinitarian communion and is sent out into the world to promote
communion as
the starting point of God’s Kingdom.
This organic communion
thrives
in the diversity of gifts and services – which it sees as
complementary. It
is lived in mutual reciprocity and in
service of the same mission (Cf. CG24,
61-67);
This
charismatic reality is a decisive factor in evangelization; this is the task of the
whole people of God
who through their community witness and service carry out the first
proclamation
of the Gospel; this
is a community in
which everyone – especially lay people – are active
participants, protagonists
in the evangelization of
individuals and cultures (Cf. ChFL,
55-56; CG24,
96);
This
charismatic reality is a necessary pre-condition of our
educational work,
based on the unity and unique nature of the subject, that is, the young
person
we are educating. This
pre-condition
exists in an extraordinarily complex world,
in a culture of sharing and active participation; to educate is a social
fact, it is the
result of a convergence of people,
work and preparation in a program shared and carried out with mutual
responsibility (Cf. Const. 34;
CG21, 63, 67; CG24,
99);
This
charismatic reality is a characteristic of the Preventive System and
Salesian
Spirituality. It
requires an intense
and open atmosphere characterized by sharing and sincere, friendly and
fraternal relations; it
brings together
educators (individuals and communities) and students in a single,
dynamic
experience; it
makes the values of
Salesian Spirituality the source of its communion and participation in
the
mission (Cf. CG21, 96, 102; CG24,
91-93). Since the
EPC is not just the
subject but also the object of our Youth Apostolate,
all its members must be committed to constant formation.
1.2 The Salesian Way
of Being Present Among
Young People
The
EPC is
the Salesian way of animating every possible educational situation and
of
carrying out Don Bosco’s mission.
It is
not some new structure to be superimposed on those organs of
administration and
work that already exist in our various fields of apostolic endeavor. We see the EPC in everyone
of our activities
as a community of persons dedicated to educating young people, that can become for them
an experience of
Church that will pre-dispose them for an encounter with Jesus Christ.
The
EPC is
a community; it
involves young people
and adults, parents and educators, in a family atmosphere so that it
can become
a living experience of Church (Cf. Const. 47).
it is not just a work organization or a technique for
sharing work; the
fundamental unifying factor is not work
or efficiency – rather it is the combination of those vital
values
(educational, spiritual, Salesian …) which create a shared,
heart-felt
identity.
The
EPC is
educational; the
heart of all its
projects, reports and organization is a concern for the all-round
welfare of
young people, that they should realize their potential in every
possible way: physical,
psychological, cultural, professional, social and
transcendent.
The EPC is pastoral; it prepares the ground for
evangelization, it
assists young people in their encounter
with Christ; it
provides an experience
of Church where young people can perceive the values of human and
Christian
communion with God and with others
(Cf.
CG24, 156).
1.3 Many people
involved in the Salesian
Pastoral Educational Program
All
those
in any way involved in carrying out the Salesian mission in a
particular field
constitute the EPC. This
includes:
the Salesian Community: a guarantee of Salesian
identity and a
center of communion and participation;
young people:
the fundamental point of reference for the
community’s work; the
community not
only works among and for them – but with and through them;
parents:
those principally and primarily responsible
for education; the
family must be seen
as the fundamental and primary locus of education
and evangelization;
lay people: who in various
capacities (responsible, collaborators) work in the Salesian apostolate
–
especially members of the Salesian Family.
All
these
people on different levels collaborate in drawing up the SEPP
– the point at
which all our work comes together.
They
are our co-workers in the educational process described in the SEPP. They enrich and inspire
each other and share
in the common formation process (Cf.
CG24, 157).
The
EPC,
thus defined, works together and is open to:
all
who
work for the welfare and formation of young people in a given area,
former
students who still feel a strong attachment to us,
young
people and adults in the area to whom we offer education.
1.4 Experience of
communion and sharing the
spirit and mission of Don Bosco
The
Salesian presence becomes a genuine experience of communion and place
for
evangelization in which the SEPP serves to create a harmonious
synthesis of the
Gospel and culture, of
faith and life
(CG24, 96) when
these four objectives
are kept in mind:
involve
everyone’s efforts in the animation of the process
of education; encourage
the specific contributions of the different
vocations; make
certain that all
share a common direction in line with the
educational and pastoral
program.
create
an
educational environment marked by communication and personal
relationships
among teachers and students that allows all to experience the
educational and
evangelical values of the Salesian program in a significant and
positive
fashion.
promote
an
experience of Christian life that reflects the Salesian style and
encourages
openness to God, the
proclamation of
the Gospel and progress in faith education.
collaborate
in the promotion and evangelization of a society and culture through an
educational and ecclesial presence of high quality in a given territory.
1.5 The Local Church
and the Local Area
1.5.1 The
Educative-Pastoral Community as a
Meaningful Experience of Church
(Cf. Const.
47) should:
integrate
itself into the ministry of
the local
church
The
EPC
should make the Salesian Educative-Pastoral
Plan (SEPP) a part of the diocesan or regional pastoral
plan.
It
should
coordinate its efforts with all the other Christian bodies working for
the
education of young people (religious
congregations, Christian
Teacher
movements, etc.).
It
should
express, as a community, allegiance
to
the local Church through actions appropriate for the level of faith the
EPC has
reached.
the
EPC
should make a
specific contribution to
the local ecclesial community
by
taking
an active part in the work of parish or regional pastoral councils;
by
offering
professional service as teachers of the young;
by
contributing proposals and projects to serve the educational and
pastoral
mission of the local church.
1.5.2 As a meaningful
presence in a given
territory
The
EPC
should serve as a
point of contact
The
community ought to involve all the social forces in the area or local
Church in
its educative ministry. The
EPC should
strive to integrate itself into local society and the Christian
community in
which it is operating. It
should engage
in dialogue and a mutually beneficial encounter with local groups. It should take an active
part in promoting
the human and Christian welfare of young people by working closely with
all
those bodies that share this goal
(Cf. CG21
17,132; CG23,
229-230; CG24, 115).
To achieve these goals, the EPC
must
become
a center
of hospitality and encounter for the greatest possible number
of people
(young people, lay
co-workers, parents,
members of the Salesian
Family, all those
who work for human
and religious welfare in the area).
The
whole family should be involved in this process.
The EPC should be especially committed to raising the
consciousness of parents, so that they recognize their responsibility
as
educators vis-à-vis new and emerging paradigms. The EPC should guide and
assist their formation and involve them
actively in the EPC itself.
The
EPC
should become a source and agent of transformation for the world around
it
Through
its
members the EPC is present in the life of a territory.
There may be calls upon its educational and
pastoral expertise to help to solve the problems of young people (Cf.
CG24,
235). This
situation would lead the EPC
to
make a critical evaluation of
what is going on in a given area;
take an active role in local
cultural and educational projects;
organize civic groups to
influence current political policy regarding young people;
make the local area the object
of youth group commitment (Cf. CG23,
210-212; CG 24, 53);
create new possibilities for
collaboration (volunteer work);
support and encourage committed
Christians in the local area.
2.
EPC
ANIMATION
2.1 The EPC is a
growing organism
More
than a
pre-existing structure or institution,
the EPC is a living organism whose life can be measured by
the extent to
which it grows and develops. For
this
reason one’s primary concern
ought not
to be maintaining its organization but rather developing its life. The following elements can
be used to
measure the vitality of an EPC; they
are also indications of how one can stimulate positive growth.
The
quality of human relations that exist within the EPC
Inter-personal
relations within the EPC should go beyond the purely functional
–
collaboration, responsibility; they
should evolve into fraternal relations – respect and interest
in each other’s
welfare.
Inter-personal
relations within the EPC should go beyond mere friendship or meeting of
like
minds, they should embody the shared, fundamental values of the
Salesian
mission and way of life.
Inter-personal
relations within the EPC should go beyond simple collaboration out of
good
will; they should
establish clearly
degrees of responsibility and shared functions.
A
growing sense of belonging
is
apparent
from an ever more conscious and clear agreement on the goals and
guidelines of
the SEPP;
is
apparent
from the willingness to make a more generous and appropriate
contribution to
the EPC’s educational
and pastoral
responsibilities – to the extent that one sees this as a
vocation;
is apparent from the
improved quality of
information and communication both within the EPC and outside of it as
well.
Developing
the educational-pastoral identity in
each teacher and throughout the whole community:
sharing
everything from our own personal values and particular interests and
activities
to those central values of the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Plan.
This
evolving identity can be seen in:
- commitment to
one’s own ongoing formation;
- personal and
collective effort to achieve
greater professional competence
as a
teacher and as a Christian;
- commitment
to renewing and updating institutions and structures in
line with the SEPP;
- an effort to be
present to young people,
and to create harmony and dialogue.
2.2 The central
importance of animation in the
EPC
Clearly
the
EPC’s fundamental
task is
animation: one must
strive to create a
genuine family in which young people and adults,
parents and teachers,
professionals and volunteers, all share the same
educational and
pastoral program. Each
one makes that
contribution which he alone can make;
each one enjoys the mutual assistance of the others in
their growth as
people and as Christians. They
become
for each other a genuine experience of Church
(Cf. Const.
47).
Everyone
is
involved in this process of animation. Through his behavior or
relationships
with others everyone either promotes or harms this process of animation. It is impossible to be
neutral. Everything
that happens in daily life either
advances, retards or blocks the EPC’s
growth and development.
2.3 Important
aspects of EPC animation
Animating
and fostering the life of the EPC involves a variety of tasks which
ought to be
prioritized.
Certain
tasks concern the external and operational aspects of the EPC:
Promoting
EPC organization and coordinating the various teams that carry out its
work and
make it effective. This
involves
good
communications, inter-personal relations,
information, dialogue;
drawing
up, carrying out
and verifying the SEPP
together;
seeing
that
the various structures, teams and channels of participation are working
effectively and in conformity with the SEPP;
respect
for
roles and responsibilities that conform to the principles of social
justice.
Other
tasks
regard education:
Paying
particular attention to the educational quality of our goals,
contributions and
undertakings
directing
all our plans and projects in line with the SEPP with special attention
to
education among the very poor;
developing
an educational methodology that represents reflection-action; placing the SEPP in its
cultural, social and
ecclesial milieu.
Other
tasks
are primarily concerned with Salesian identity:
Pursuing
high quality educational,
spiritual, Christian
and
Salesian formation on all levels:
by
encouraging and organizing a systematic process of ongoing formation;
by
assisting people in their educational and Christian growth and in
fostering
their vocations;
by
promoting the experience of Salesian Youth Spirituality.
Assuring
Salesian originality
by
establishing an approachable, friendly and significant presence of
devoted
Christians and Salesians as examples for young people;
by
creating
a high quality educational and Christian atmosphere with specific
programs for
the more motivated;
by
providing clear and appropriate vocational possibilities.
2.4 Specific Service
of Animation: the
Animation Nucleus
All
the
members of the EPC, Salesians
(SDB) as
well as lay people, take an active part in animation, but some have
very
specific responsibilities: encouraging
everyone to contribute; involving
the
largest number of EPC members possible in responsible participation in
all its
animation projects; paying
special
attention to the quality and coordination of animation;
following closely animation in its more
important stages – those related to Salesian identity, and
quality of education
and evangelization. The
people with
these special responsibilities make up the “Animation
Nucleus” – the inner
cabinet of the EPC.
In his
letter Esperti, testimoni e artefici di
comunione, the
Rector Major defines the animation
nucleus this way: “It
is the group of
persons identified with the Salesian mission, educational system and
spirituality who in solidarity take on the responsibility of bringing
together,
motivating and involving all those who are interested in a given
project; with these
interested people they will
create an educational community to carry out a program of
evangelization and
education for young people”
(ACG 363,
8-9).
2.5 The
Contributions of Salesian Religious and
Lay People to EPC
Animation
2.5.1 The SDB Community
The
SDB
community, as a religious community that lives, preserves, studies and
constantly develops the charism of Don Bosco, has a specific task in
animating
the EPC. The Rector
Major’s letter
cited above goes on to say: “The
reference point for this group is the salesian community … its spiritual heritage,
its educational
method, its brotherly relationships, and co-responsibility for the
mission,
provide in each case the
guiding model
for the pastoral identity of the animating
nucleus’” (ACG 363, 9).
The Salesian community has been called:
to
give
witness to religious life, by showing the primacy of God in
one’s life along
with total dedication to the mission of education and evangelization;
to
guarantee the identity of the Salesian charism;
to be
a
center of encounter and sharing where lay people are invited to
participate in
the spirit and mission of Don Bosco;
to be
primarily responsible for spiritual,
Salesian and vocational formation (Cf. CG24, 159).
To
take on
this responsibility for animation, the Salesian community must re-think
its
position and function as a religious community in the EPC and in the
educational and pastoral process.
In
the past the Salesian community assumed almost exclusive responsibility
for the
work and environment of education – helped by lay people when
necessary. Today we
must ask lay people to share this
responsibility and to perform their specific tasks in the EPC.
2.5.2 Responsible Lay
People
Conscious
of its specific responsibilities, the SDB community invites lay people
to join
the EPC and share responsibility
for
its animation.
Lay
people
make a specific contribution to the EPC and to its educational mission. They provide concrete
examples of secular
lives lived in families, in professions, in particular social and
political
milieux. They
contribute their own
particular professional,
educational
and pastoral expertise, their own way of living out the religious
dimension of
life and the Christian vocation in the world.
The
reciprocal
contributions of SDB religious and lay people provide the EPC with an
educational presence; they
constitute a
genuine experience of Church – a witness and a meaningful
example for young
people. Consequently
it is important
that each of us develop his maximum potential in everything we do.
3. STRUCTURES
AND
MODELS OF ANIMATION FOR THE
EPC
3.1 A Shared
Operational Model
“The type we are
dealing with here, which
ought to lead to the implementation of provincial plans for relocation
and
redimensioning, is
one in which the
salesian community is present in sufficient numbers and in quality to
animate,
together with some lay people, an educative community and
project” (ACG 363,9).
The effective role Salesians play in this
model will depend on their number and function.
It is
up to
the provincial and his council to determine which precise model of the
EPC
should be implemented (CG24,
169).
The
following are some of the essential elements of animation.
3.1.1 The Salesian
Community
must
be conscious
of this new operational model and accept its own specific
responsibility as the
animation nucleus of the EPC.
This
presupposes a re-thinking of the place and function of a religious
community
within the EPC and the educational and pastoral process.
Awareness
of this new situation gives rise to specific, important attitudes and
behavior. e.g.
each
member
must be a joyful
example of religious
and community life within the educational and pastoral mission;
each
and
every member must be committed to living the fundamental values of the
Salesian
identity: to be a
close and meaningful
presence among the young; to
be open to
personal contact; to implement fully the SEPP in every single activity. All Salesians must share a
collective vision
to promote solidarity and collaboration in every facet of their mission;
each
member
must work loyally with all the many participatory institutions already
in
existence;
each
member
must actively participate in the formation processes already going on
in the
EPC;
each
member
must be concerned with developing Salesian vocations among the young
and among
our co-workers.
It
would be
appropriate at this point to recall what the Rector Major wrote: animation “
raises questions, gives motives
for hope, brings
people together,
prompts collaboration, and gives rise to an ever more fruitful
communion for
the realization together of a plan of life and action in line with the
Gospel”
(ACG 363, 22).
3.1.2 The SDB Director
Has Primary Responsibility
for the EPC
He animates the animators and is
at the service of the over-all unity of a project;
In dialogue with the provincial
and in agreement with the provincial program he protects the
charismatic
identity of the SEPP;
He promotes the formation and
reporting processes;
He carries out provincial
directives for bringing together and training lay people; he acts as a liaison
between the Salesian
community and the EPC (Cf. CG24,
172).
3.1.3 The Community
Council
will
assist
and work with the SDB Director in his role as the person primarily
responsible
for the EPC.
In determining the necessary
links between the Community Council and other bodies taking part in the
EPC
certain priorities should be borne in mind:
The Community Council should
participate as members of the EPC council playing a direct and active
role in
discussion and decision making;
The Community Council should
make decisions in those matters which directly involve Salesian
identity, and
the training and recruiting of lay people;
The Community Council should
promote communication between the communities and the EPC bodies; it should foster easy
communication,
dialogue and respect for the responsibilities of individual EPC members.
3.1.4 The EPC and/or Project Council
is the
organism that animates and coordinates the whole Salesian apostolate
through
discussion, dialogue, planning and review of
educative ministry (Cf.
CG24,
160-161; 171).
This
council is a coordinating body that guarantees the unity of the
Salesian
program in the territory where the EPC is operating – or
several EPC’s are
working together in more complex projects (Cf.
CG24, 161). This
council does
not replace or take precedence over the various EPC bodies by making
decisions
for them, rather it
should help them
to:
preserve the integrity of a
project;
feel co-responsible for setting
up, carrying out and reviewing projects;
be aware of the over-all needs
and demands of young people;
encourage cooperation and
collaboration – particularly in those services which affect
everyone – the
formation of teachers, for example.
Members
of
this council should be aware that the SEPP is the framework for all planning and activity in
the various
sectors. They
should be willing to
cooperate and work with all the elements of the Salesian Family in
their
area; they should
have a sense of
Church along with a determination to meet common needs and better serve
young
people and their world.
It is
up to
the Provincial and his Council to establish guidelines for the make-up
of this
council, its
competence, levels of
responsibility and liaison with the Council of the local Salesian
community (Cf. CG24, 171).
3.1.5 Other Organisms
and Functions of Animation
and Government in the EPC
For
all to
participate and share in responsibility the EPC is made up of various
bodies
concerned with animation and administration;
it is through these bodies
that
participation is possible.
Certain
factors must be present in our description of the various roles Salesians and lay people
will play in the
EPC.
The roles and functions of
everyone involved in the EPC must be complementary.
Everyone must have the SEPP as
their frame of reference; they
should
share its anthropological and religious assumptions,
its educational perspective and interpretation of events, its way of being present
to young
people, its goals
and the methods and
strategies it will use to reach these goals;
Everyone must grow as Salesian
educators (human maturity, teaching
competence, Salesian
identity, Christian
witness). This
growth will be achieved through a
process of ongoing personal and community formation.
Everyone must be actively
present to young people; they
should
share their milieu, help them to come together as a group, help them to grow as human
beings and as
Christians, help
them to be open to the
educational, cultural and ecclesial world in which they live.
In
accord
with the Provincial and his council,
areas of lay responsibility should be defined: what decisions they can
make, what their relationship with other
bodies should be, and what responsibilities they will share with the
local
Salesian community and the Province (CG24, 125 and 169).
3.2 Other Models of
EPC Animation in Salesian
Projects
- Salesian projects in which
the community’s
presence is very much reduced and the principal responsibilities have
been
entrusted to lay people.
With
the
help of the Province
the
Salesian community should continue to act as the Director of the EPC as
a
guarantee of Salesian identity and cooperation with the Province;
the
Salesian community should involve Salesians above all in ministry and
in the
formation and guidance of teachers;
the
Salesian community should strive to bring together and train lay
co-workers
according to the norms found in CG24,
164 and involving as many members of the Salesian Family as possible.
- Projects administered by
lay people within
the Salesian Provincial Plan
As
long as
an activity or project can be considered a part of the Provincial Plan
it
should display the criteria of identity, cooperation and significance
proper to
a Salesian work and should be carried out under the responsibility of
the
Provincial and his Council (CG24, 180).
Since
it is
responsible for the animation of these projects and their EPC:
the
province should assist in both animation and administration just as it
does in
those EPC’s where the Salesian community is present: provincial visitation,
review of local programs,
liaison between the lay director of a project and the
Provincial, periodic
participation of a representative
of the Provincial in the EPC council;
the
province should promote the constitution of the EPC Council;
together
with the laity the province should devise a serious program of
formation in
Salesian identity;
the province should
establish a stable link between this project and a
nearby Salesian community – or the provincial center of
animation; this is
especially important for matters
Chapter
4
SALESIAN
YOUTH PASTORAL MINISTRY WORKS AND SERVICES IN DIFFERENT YOUTH CONTEXTS
Introduction
The
SEPP operates in a particular area “in a variety of ways,
which depend in the
first place upon the actual needs of those for whom we are
working” (C 41), in
the contexts in which we are living, above all in areas of poverty
economic,
political and cultural.
For
this reason, “we carry out our mission chiefly in such works
and activities as
make possible the human and Christian education of the young, such as
oratories
and youth centres, schools and technical institutes, boarding
establishments
and houses for young people in difficulty”, parishes and
mission residences,
specialized centres of pedagogical and catechetical expertise, retreat
houses.
We work in the social communication sector and in every other kind of
work
which has as its scope the salvation of the young. (cf. C. 42-43)
Through
this plurality of works and services the unity, and at the same time,
the
richness of the salesian project are evident. Each work and structure
makes its
own specific contribution to the whole and helps to realize the oratorian criterion of
article 40 of the
Constitutions, namely: “for the youngsters a home that
welcomed, a parish that
evangelized, a school that prepared them for life, and a playground
where
friends could meet and enjoy themselves”.
To
express this unity of the Salesian Youth Ministry Project in an area
and in the
local church with clarity, the different works and services which make
up the
salesian presence in a specific area need to organize themselves with a
shared
and complementary vision, based on:
the
local or provincial salesian community which animates the presence,
safeguarding its salesian identity;
the
council of the work as the central animating body which brings together
SDB and
lay people (GC24, 160-161; 171) .
This
demands that between the different works and services there are:
some
shared educational and pastoral “lines” and
criteria of action,
some
structures of coordination and collaboration,
a
spirit of communion and sharing of resources.
It
is
the responsibility of the Provincial with his council - bearing in mind
the
situation of the province and of the harmony of the different
educational
contexts, in dialogue with the local salesian community - to decide on
the
concrete manner to bring about this relationship and the practical ways
that
the EPC can function (cf. GC24, 169).
In
this chapter the most important characteristics of these works and
services
in which salesian
youth pastoral
ministry as expressed in the SEPP is carried out, are presented.
Above
all, the more organized and traditional works and structures are
presented,
such as the Oratory-Youth Centre, the school, the technical institute
and the
parish.
Afterwards,
other works and services which are an attempt to contact young people
and meet
the new challenges that they present. Among these we pay special
attention to
services for young people in difficulty.
Many
of these new educational and pastoral presences and young people are
also found
in traditional works, and represent a sign of their powers of renewal
and
pastoral preparation.
I .
THE ORATORY-YOUTH CENTRE
1.The
originality of the
Salesian Oratory.
We
are considering the Oratory
as a work
in its own right which these days carries out the salesian mission in
the area
of informal education, that is with greater freedom and more
spontaneity than
in a formal educational institution.
Historically
the Oratory was the first work set up by Don Bosco which then gave rise
to all
the others.
The
fundamental aspects of the salesian Oratory-Youth Centre are found in
Don
Bosco’s activity and its evolution with regard to other
models and institutes.
The
original inspiration.
Don
Bosco’s Oratory, which took its name from an already existing
‘institution’,
was different from those which had gone before or those contemporaneous
with
it.
It
is
the changes brought about by Don Bosco himself which still demonstrate
even
today the special features of oratorian pastoral ministry. These
changes are
basically six in number.
*From
providing a
“service” of catechism to a
presence, participation in the life of the young person with his needs
and
problems.
*From
“part time” to “full time”
filling the whole of Sunday and extending into the
week days through personal contacts and activities.
*From
a catechetical limited programme to a potentially integrated educational and pastoral
programme of games,
other forms of youthful expression such as theatre, music and song,
school
groups…are some of the elements of these programmes.
*From
an institution based on adults to a community of boys centred on
participation
of youth, being together, open to all.
*From
the centrality of the programme to the centrality of the individuals
and
inter-personal relationships.
*From
a parochial character to a missionary outlook, open to young people who
did not
even know what parish they belonged to, and who did not see in the
parish a
reference point either for their religious life or for their human
problems.
1.2
The new current situation
With
the evolution and extension of Don Bosco’s activities, the
‘inspirational’
principles are not changed, nor are the characteristic features, but
the social
and educative situations and the phenomena which have changed the youth
condition require their updating.
Some
manifestations are:
The
‘birth’ of a new concept of free time which is
taking centre stage in young
peoples’ lives, in quantity, in pluriformity of possibilities
and resources,
with new educative possibilities or the emptying of the person
(consumerism)
has now become a cultural phenomenon.
New
places for education and agencies have arisen: the growth of sport, of
youth
tourism, of music, means of social communication, increase in belonging
to
cultural, social, recreational, religious groups…offer new
possibilities for
the involvement of young people.
Even
in schools there are concerns about many extra-curricular activities
which are
outside the strictly academic topics, with greater involvement in the
locality
and with a variety of free time activities.
The
gap between young people and the church has increased, as between the
life of
young people and educational and pastoral institutions which have
difficulty in
providing adolescents and young people with a significant gospel
message.
1.3
Towards a new synthesis.
The
reflections made at the General Chapters XX, XXI, and XXIII offer
agreed
principles that the Congregation has arrived at. According to these,
the
Oratory-Youth Centre should be understood as a reality expressed in
practice in
a variety of ways, but with some essential characteristics.
° A totally
welcoming place open to a
great variety of young people, above all those on the margins, in a
wide area,
with a great variety of opportunities and degrees of belonging,
characterized
by the involvement of young people and personal relationships of such
‘significance’ that make it a place of reference
and of outreach for the
youngsters inside.
°
A
programme of missionary evangelization aimed
primarily at young people
on the margins to offer them, through the awakening and deepening of
their
questions about life and companionship, a way of education to the faith
adapted
to their situation and sensitive to the ecumenical and inter-religious
climate
in which they are living.
°
A Christian
presence in the world of youth and in civil society (frontier
work between
the religious and the civil, the secular and the ecclesial) capable of
supplying significant educational and evangelical answers to the
challenges and
the most felt needs, especially those which apply to those on the
margins, and
also capable of promoting a context of openness –
inter-cultural, inter-racial,
ecumenical and inter-religious.
2.
THE EDUCATIVE PASTORAL
COMMUNITY OF THE ORATORY-YOUTH CENTRE.
2.1
Characteristics of the EPC of the Oratory-Youth Centre
The
educative pastoral community (EPC) of the Oratory-Youth Centre has its
own
particular characteristics which arise from its own nature which places
it in a
atmosphere of freedom, characterized by a welcoming approach, friendly
relationships and the active participation of the young people
themselves.
2.1.1
An incisive presence in the world of youth
The
EPC of the Oratory-Youth Centre, as the animating subject of this
community
dynamic, has these characteristics:
a
great capacity for approaching and sharing the
world of young people,
open to their questions and needs;
flexibility
and creativity to
adapt more and more to the variety and spontaneity of the oratorian
environment;
but
at the same time with a clear and agreed knowledge of its aims
and the
ideals which foster unity of criteria and the convergence of action,
avoiding individualism;
a
welcome for and attention to the individual, going
beyond merely formal
relationships;
plenty
of opportunity for involvement and the exercise of responsibility by
the young
people themselves;
sensitivity
to a presence in the local area, open to positive
collaboration with
educative and pastoral activities present there.
2.1.2.
The active presence of young people in the EPC of the Salesian
Oratory-Youth
Centre
The
Oratory is an educative pastoral structure ideally suited to promoting
an ever
more intensive participation in the life of young people. We open a
dialogue
with the boys from the first meeting, to encourage them, involve them
ever more
and gradually make them co-responsible
for the activities and the groups which they choose.
The
EPC of the Oratory-Youth Centre ought in a particular way to ensure
structures
for participation capable of offering to young people the widest
possible
responsibilities alongside the adult educators.
2.1.3
The EPC inserted in the Church and open to the locality.
°
The
Oratory and the Youth Centre are particularly important occasions and
places,
even though not unique, to approach and to evangelize young
people in a
collective pastoral ministry.
Many
Oratories-Youth Centres belong to a parish or constitute the presence
of the
Church in a pastoral area.
Their
active role in the Church will show itself in mutual recognition. For
this it
is important:
To ensure that the salesian
educative pastoral ministry project of the Oratory is in agreement with
diocesan pastoral policies in order for it to be an important programme
of
Youth Pastoral Ministry.
To have its own place of
responsibility in
the organizational
structures (Pastoral Council of the parish, and/or the area), bringing
its own
awareness and concerns about youth.
To share in initiatives,
discussions, educative and pastoral projects with the parochial
communities of
the area, fostering mutual enrichment.
° The Oratory-Youth Centre
is a also a missionary
presence directed
towards the world of
youth; for this reason an oratorian community ought to be in
dialogue with
the social and educational institutions
of the zone or city.
Here
are some significant activities in this regard:
being familiar with the area;
contacts and agreements with
regard to collaboration with other social and ecclesial
bodies working in the area;
occasions of
open doors and availability for
activities in the area, which are in
harmony with the aims of the centre;
creative
efforts of planning and programming and of projects on behalf of the
locality;
joining
together with other organizations which collaborate in youth pastoral
work.
2.2
Animation of the EPC in the Oratory-Youth Centre.
Since
the EPC of the Oratory-Youth centre is a very open body in which many
participate it needs a systematic direction which guarantees a clear
and secure
salesian identity in the continuing adaptation
necessary to the changing requirements of young people,
and a systematic
educative process which gives a unified structure to the multiplicity
of
programmess and experiences.
2.2.1
Some fundamental features of this animation:
Organize the large number of
young people in different smaller groups
of activities and formation
according to their interests; promote the widest possible exercise of
responsibility by the young people in the context and the life of the
Oratory;
encourage participation in the youth
associations around the SYM.
Extend the co-responsibility
of adults who know how to share with young people in a
context of
friendship, educative projects and an experience of family and
community. Their
presence is an important stabilizing
and mature element in the shared
life of the Oratory. Among the adults, whose presence we consider
important in
the Oratory-Youth Centre, we list the adults who have special
leadership roles,
the parents of the boys, especially those who want to collaborate in
the
educative process, and the members of the Salesian Family.
Cultivate the formation of
lay educators and young leaders, investing people and
resources in a
continuous effort at the christian and salesian educational formation of the educators and above
all of the more
mature young people who are capable of carrying responsibility as
school
animators, leaders, through courses, retreats, meetings, etc…
Encourage
the presence and the significant involvement of the
Oratory-Youth Centre in
the local area and in the local church, giving special
attention to those
on the margins and young people at risk The EPC should be aware of the
situations of disadvantage in the locality, and also of the social and
church
networks operating in the area; promoting practical initiatives for
youngsters
where they are to be found, especially in areas
deprived of services and educational facilities which
respond to
their needs and interests, in this way becoming more involved with
others in
promoting and providing initiatives and services, also through
volunteers, in a
generous spirit.
2.2.2 Structures of Animation
and government
Although everyone may be
involved in the process of animation, there are some particular tasks
which it
would be well to mention.
a) The
Salesian Community
The animating centre of the
Oratory-Youth is the entire salesian community. All the confreres in
the house,
not only those in charge, are responsible for the salesian identity,
for
bringing together adults and young leaders in the EPC, for their
ongoing
formation, to be open to and involved
in the local area and the local church.
This animation comprises:
The example of
fraternal communion and friendly welcome to young people.
The provision of
faith and prayer experiences shared with them.
Active
involvement in setting up and periodically assessing the local SEPP.
The sensitive
openness of the community to the local social situation.
b) The
Director of the Oratory-Youth Centre
He should model himself on Don
Bosco at the Oratory: vocation, affability, competence in working with
young
people, apostolic spirit, capacity for sincere direct relationships
with the
helpers, and an encouraging presence among the young, creativity and
boldness
in planning new initiatives and
communicating enthusiasm, concerned about
the united activities of the team and its growth in Christ.
In profound harmony with the
salesian community he:
promotes
the SEPP –formulated, put into operation and assessed
together with the entire
EPC,
coordinates all
those who are working in the Oratory, the different groups and
committees,
fosters their
links and collaboration with other bodies working in education and in
the world
of youth in the area and in the local church,
ensures the
involvement of the Oratory-Youth Centre in the Christian parish
community.
c) The
leaders, adults and young people
The role of the
leaders as an integral part of the EPC consists in:
being
a reference point for the boys and young people, living the values they
propose, accepting a vision of man and woman according to the gospel
and
committing themselves to realizing it progrssively in their lives;
living
the youth situation, from the inside, devoting time to being with them,
sharing
and appreciating what they like and encouraging their growth to full
maturity;
leading
the Oratory-Youth Centre project through their exercise of
responsibility and
coordination of the different groups and planned activities, in such a
way that
the young people themselves take the lead;
fostering
relationships between individuals and between groups, in a listening
atmosphere
and showing respect for all;
working in
teams, and remaining open to a continuous process of formation.
This
leadership takes place in the context of a voluntary and freely given
service.
If for some more onerous or professional work, especially in connection
with
group activities legally recognized in the Oratory, a suitable fee or a
work
contract is appropriate, it should always be arranged according to the
law, and
with total honesty. One should try to carry it out according to the
spirit of
voluntary service, which goes beyond the agreed terms, in order to be
always
available for the young people and their needs.
d) The
Oratory Council
The
roles of leadership thus described are combined in organizations. Among
these
we consider the Council of the Oratory-Youth Centre or the Council of
the EPC
of the Oratory (cf. GC24, 161). important
Its composition and functioning
are according to schemes and criteria which are flexible but also
stable,
according to the directives of the Provincial and his council (GC24,
171).
Its responsibilities therefore
are:
to promote and
assess the annual pastoral plan according to the various requirements
which
arise from the youth situation and the guidelines of the SEPP;
to coordinate
the various educational programmes of the associations and groups, and
ensure
the coordination and integration at appropriate times of human
development,
evangelization, catechesis, liturgical celebrations and charity and
missionary
commitments;
to foster
associations of salesian groups, the exchange of information and
coordination
between the different groups and associations;
to maintain
close links with the local area and with all those who are working in
youth
education, encouraging schemes and projects adapted to situations of
marginalization,
young people at risk and religious indifferentism;
to help with the
religious and ‘professional’ development of all the
members of the EPC though a
systematic formation plan.
Within
and dependent upon the Council, groups and committees with particular
tasks
with regard to the major sectors of activities can be set up. Among
these it is
important to have a pastoral committee and a finance committee.
3.
THE EDUCATIVE PASTORAL PLAN
The plan which the young
people are offered
in the Oratory-Youth Centre provides them with the possibility of
having a
genuine Christian youth experience which helps them to understand and
to enjoy
the world and to judge it in the light of the gospel;
to become ever more aware of themselves, of others, of
being
adults among adults in society and in the church; to live their own
youth with
enthusiasm and to construct a programme of life inspired by the gospel.
This
kind of plan comes into being with a central programme and with
particular
opportunities according to the particular interests of the young
people.So,
through the different opportunities for joining in that arise, each
young
person can find a place for himself in the project depending on his own
level
of growth.
3.1
The contents of this project
This
project evolves in three complementary stages.
3.1.1
Gathering young people together
The
first element of the salesian Oratory-Youth Centre project is its
capacity to
involve young people so as to arouse in them a sense of the meaning of
life, to
elicit questions, to bring out whatever the young person has within him
that is
religious, by tradition, environment or family.
This
gathering together occurs through:
° An open environment with
planty of projects and activities suited to the varied interests of the
young,
°
The
efforts of the leaders to get to know them and invite them in,
° A personal welcome and
belonging to a group that actively involves them,
° Looking out for opportunities
for meeting and personal dialogue.
3.1.2
An educational experience
This bringing together of young
people leads on to a project of personal and free creativity and of
socialization which develops the positive resources of individuals and
groups,
promotes a process of growth in different personal dimensions according
to the
values of Salesian
Spirituality.
This
experience presupposes:
A
multiple and varied project (sporting, recreational, cultural, social)
which
covers the more significant aspects of the life and the development
process of
young people;
Participation
in the planning, realization and revision of the activities of the
oratory
community through different groups and committees;
Gradually
getting to know each other, mutual esteem, a capacity for cooperation
and
sharing;
The
experience of solidarity, and of generous service to others, according
to age
and development;
Times
of formation through the experiences of the daily life, on educative,
cultural
and social. Topics.
3.1.3
A process of evangelization
The
development of this experience opens the way to a faith project which
leads to
a personal meeting with Christ and expands into a journey of growth in
the
faith, towards a search for Christian identity according to salesian
youth
spirituality and a vocational choice.
This
gospel project ought to be:
Missionary,
according to the level of those furthest away, which awakens interest
and the
wish to begin the journey,
Positive, starting from life,
according to the hopes and needs of young people,
Rich and varied in proportion to
the possibilities and the rhythms of the maturing process,
Consistent
and demanding, towards a systematic and progressive growth, as far as a
Christian vocational option.
3.2
Fundamental channels
°
The
group
The
Salesian Oratory-Youth Centre chooses the life of groups and
salesian-style
associations as a basic educational experience.
It
offers a structured plan of different groups and associations according
to the
interests of the young people around whom it is organized: spontaneous
groups
that bring out the born leaders and immediate interests, and groups
with their
own structures and formation programmess (sports groups, cultural and social
groups, religious
formation and development groups, missionary interest groups, internal
training
groups, etc……)
In
these groups we encourage:
The development of a sense of
belonging to the combined environment of the EPC of the
Oratory and the
SYM,
Openness to the more immediate
and superficial interests leading to more serious interests
and even to
taking on a commitment of service to others both inside and outside.
The acceptance and appreciation
of life experiences of the group itself and the surroundings, leading
to the
awakening of a search for new experiences which
help to deepen the
religious questions and questions about the meaning of life.
A process of formation ever
more systematic and explicitly Christian,
An association of the
groups to increase
the capacity to
create communion, create solidarity, produce and
spread a culture of dialogue and comparison with other
cultures
present in the area, to participate in civil life and in the service of
youth.
°
Activities
Activity
is the special opportunity in the Oratory-Youth Centre just as lessons
are in a
school.
Activity
is also the channel of communication between the group and the greatest
number. It
prepares, proposes, ensures
continuity and progress; the large group takes part, is enriched,
matures.
In
every activity we seek to:
Respond to a need in the
life of young people, discovering and developing their intrinsic
educational
possibilities,
Establish formation aims
according to the SEPP of the Oratory-Youth Centre emphasizing those of
more
importance
Coordinating and opening up
to other places and organizations in the area so as not to lose sight
of the
overall picture.
The
most frequently found activities in the Oratory-Youth Centre are games
and
sports, both the spontaneous and the organized,
music and the theatre, camping and youth travel, study or
work
camps etc…
It
is
important that all these activities are brought together within the
life of the
Oratory-Youth Centre, that they are coordinated and that common times
together
are encouraged.
°
Experiences
of service and solidarity
We
think that the opportunities of the Oratory-Youth Centre are expanding
by providing services that the maturing process of young people
require, and
that the local areas ask for: help with school or study; vocational and
professional guidance, evening courses, advice centres, social
initiatives on
behalf of the area etc…
These
services respond to:
the requirements of those most
in need;
the inspiration of the gospel
and the particular salesian content and way of getting involved;
the actual possibilities of the
personnel.
Bibliographical
sources for
further reading.
FLORIS
F. - DELPIANO M., L'Oratorio
dei giovani. Una proposta di animazione, LDC, Leumann
(Torino), 1992.
VECCHI
J., (a cura di) voce Oratorio in
ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA PASTORALE, Dizionario di Pastorale Giovanile, LDC,
Roma
1989, pp.615-621.
II.
SALESIAN SCHOOLS AND
PROFESSIONAL CENTRES
1.
The ‘originality’ of Salesian
schools and professional centres.
1.1
Salesians in schools
The
salesian school originated in the Valdocco Oratory in
response to the needs of the young people of that time and
became
part of an overall plan for the education and evangelization of youth
especially those most in need.
The
school field has developed greatly in the Congregation in response to
the needs
of the young people themselves, of society and of the church until it
has become
a movement of well qualified educators on the educational front.
We
consider the school as the preferred cultural medium of education in
which one
can give a systematic response to the needs of those growing up; as a
determining institution in the formation of personality, because it
transmits a
view of the world, of mankind and of history (cf. CS 8); and as one of
the most
important ways of fostering human development and the prevention of
marginalization.
We
recognize the fundamental value of the school as a setting where the
gospel
throws light on culture and provides an effective integration
of the
educational process and the process of evangelization. This
integration
makes it an important educative alternative in today’s
pluralistic society.
We
involve ourselves in education and evangelize through the school,
bringing the
pedagogical patrimony handed on by Don Bosco and developed by
subsequent
tradition. (cf. GC21, 130)
In
this task, the current social, political and cultural situation, the
new
directives regarding scholastic reform in different countries and the
current
situation within the schools themselves, with the interaction of many
and
sometimes opposing legal, financial, working and didactic aspects, present new
complex difficulties and
challenges to which we try to respond with a higher quality of
educational,
professional and specific expertise, faithful to our charismatic
identity.
1.2
Salesians in Professional Centres.
In
a
way similar to the school, the Professional Centre has its origins in
Valdocco:
in his pastoral and educational choice for needy boys Don Bosco was
very
concerned about the world of work and its more urgent problems (the
transfer of
young people to the city, their lack of preparation for industrial
work, exploitation,
abandonment). Very
quickly he organized
small work shops in the Oratory which then became the schools of
‘arts and
trades’, and in Don Rua’s time, the professional
schools. At the same time he
helped the young people to find work, and to prevent them being
exploited
obtained work contracts for them. This service and training was to bear
fruit
in the vocation and presence of the Salesian Brother.
Profession/Technical
training became the hall mark of the Salesian Congregation and one of
the most frequently
sought in society. At
present we have a great variety of Schools and Centres for
professional/technical training both formal and informal.
Like
Don Bosco, the Salesians are convinced that with this kind of work they
help
working class youth not only to prepare themselves to join the work
force in a
creative manner, but also in their total development. In this way they
foster a
human and gospel view of the world of work.
Our
constantly developing technological society and the situations within
these
centres present some problems and challenges in the fields of
technology,
finance, law and education, to which we need to respond courageously
with higher
educational standards, faithful to
our identity and charism.
1.3
Some fundamental aspects of salesian schools and professional centres.
Salesian
schools and professional centres are two formal formation structures
which have
their own distinct characteristics but are also closely connected.
There is no
real salesian school which does not prepare for work, nor is there a
genuine
salesian professional centre which does not
also take account of the steady acquisition of culture.
The
main features of the salesian schools and professional centres could be
described as follows:
1.3.1
It is an efficient and professional
education centre.
It
provides a high quality educational and cultural programme,
emphasizing the educational
aspect rather than the merely instructional;
giving continuous and critical
attention to cultural concerns;
with
an educational structure which encourages educative interaction rather
than
being limited to a repetitive teaching method;
where
the young people are at the centre, and their needs the focal point;
supporting
and guiding them individually towards their life’s plan;
offering a human and gospel
vision of work;
with continually updated
professional competence.
1.3.2.
An educational centre inspired by gospel values, which provides a programme for growth in
the faith
It
has a marked Catholic identity expressed above all through the witness
of the
teachers, in the programme, in its internal organization and in
comparison with
other educational programmes and institutions (cf. CS. 66)
It provides a programme of
pastoral
education, open to the values of multireligious and multicultural
environments,
which
organizes all its activities in
the light of a Christian view of reality, in which Christ is the centre
(cf. CS
33);
directs its cultural and
methodological programmes according to a vision of man, of the world
and of
history inspired by the gospel (cf. CS 34);
promotes openness to and
reflection on religious
and transcendent experience;
rethinks the gospel message,
accepting the impact of the language and the questions posed by culture.
It
assists the building up of a faith community, which can be the
inspiration of
the process of evangelization (cf. CS 53).
It
is
in communion with the Church and creatively implements its guidelines.
1.3.3.
It is an educational centre which has the salesian spirit and
educational
method:
The
salesian school and professional centre achieve the final objective in
the
style, the spirit and the method of Don Bosco (GC21 131).
Animated,
directed and coordinated in the oratorian manner;
Seeking to create an educating
family, putting at the centre the young people who feel
themselves at home
there (C. 40);
Emphasizing the personal
approach in relationships, founded on trust, dialogue, joy
and
responsibility;
Concerned with the whole life
of the young people, the educators taking part in what
interests the
youngsters, promoting free time activities such as theatre, sport,
music, art;
Educating through
evangelization and evangelizing through education, that is
harmonizing in a
single entity human development and the Christian ideal;
Preparing them to face up
creditably to family life, to work, to
social commitments, to church
life.
1.3.4.
It is an educational centre with a conscious social dimension:
Our
schools and technical institutes aim to contribute to the building up
of a more
just society, one worthy of man:
Promoting a systematic social
education of their students;
Concentrating on the professional
training of the young people and guiding them as they enter
the world of
work;
Becoming centres of animation
and cultural and educational services for the improvement of the
environment;
emphasizing those subjects, courses, and programmes which reflect the
needs of
the young people of the locality (cf. GC21, 129,131);
Adopting a close and
supportive approach by being available, and making the place
available, and
offering opportunities open to all, and by collaborating with other
educational
and social institutions;
Promoting alternative
cultural models: a culture based on life, open to generosity
and
cooperation; a culture which encourages openness to God.
1.3.5.
It is an educational centre for the people open to those most in need.
“A
salesian school should be for poorer people: this should be reflected
in its
siting, its culture, its curriculum and its choice of students.
Services to
meet local needs should be provided, such as courses for cultural and
professional training, literacy and remedial programmes, scholarships
and other
initiatives.” (R. 14)
For
this reason our schools and professional centres:
Are located by choice in working
class districts and give preference to the most needy;
They are open to all social
classes of people (GC21 131);
Avoid every kind of
discrimination and only look for acceptance of those values which the
SEPP
proposes;
Emphasize the criterion of
catering for all rather than selecting the best;
Seek to create the “economic”
conditions which make for equal opportunities.
2.
THE EPC IN SALESIAN SCHOOLS
AND PROFESSIONAL CENTRES
The
establishment of the EPC in the school and in the professional centre
requires
agreement on aims and ideals on the part of all those involved (cf. CS
59).
They direct their energies to setting up the EPC, which is at the same
time the
subject and the context of education.
2.1
Tasks of the EPC in the school and in the professional centre.
In
recent years there has been an attempt to move from the institutional
to the
community model of the school; from the responsibility for education in
the
hands of a few specialists dedicated to it (religious,
teachers…) to the active
involvement of all those who have an interest in the educational
process. The
EPC is the new subject of educational responsibility.
In
the chapter devoted to the EPC its characteristics and basic
functioning are
proposed; now we will develop the specific characteristics of the EPC
of
salesian schools and technical institutes.
Cultivate
educational professionalism through well prepared ongoing formation:
The
EPC of the school and the professional institute need to harmonize the
necessary
professional competence and formal scholastic structures with the
typically
salesian family atmosphere.
This
implies:
fostering among all those
involved a sharing of the educational values
expressed in the SEPP; by
means of discussion and reflection moving from agreement on fundamental
human
values to explicit Christian values and objectives;
achieving a planning
programme formulated, shared and evaluated with the
involvement of
everyone;
ensuring a systematic process
of ongoing formation for all the members of the EPC to update
their
educational, teaching and salesian skills, and develop their
educational and
Christian vocation;
obtaining the good functioning
of different bodies, fixing their particular tasks and the
areas for
decision making of the different elements of the educative community,
ensuring
the appreciation of and respect for the different roles and
responsibilities.
animate
systematic educational procedures through:
an
appropriate educational method and planned educational procedures;
a
close connection between the pastoral, educational, and
teaching aims;
a
constant review of the educational value of the
programmes in the
individual subjects and cultural areas ;
good quality in teaching methods
and educational activities;
providing quality professional
and personal guidance;
systematic
assessment of the educational results obtained in
the light of the
objectives set out in the SEPP;
encourage
relationships in the style of the preventive system, which foster:
the regular and adequate exchange
of information between the different departments and levels
of the EPC;
the helpful presence of
the educators among the young people encouraging the involvement of the
adults
in the activities of the young people;
relationships based on trust
and dialogue between the teacher and the young person,
between the
management and departments, between the staff and the students in
teaching and
educational activities;
a just, efficient, and effective
management, always attentive to the needs of
individuals.
Develop
a special relationship with the parents and families of the young
people:
encouraging
their collaboration in establishing the overall
educational objectives,
in economic and material support for the school and in the evaluation
of its
effectiveness;
fostering a systematic
programme of formation and educational qualification;
ensuring times for dialogue
and meetings between them and other members of the EPC.
Establish
criteria and strategies to deal with the complexities of legal, and
economic
situations
and relationships with the government, etc., which can influence the
achievement of the salesian educational and pastoral objectives.
Become
actively involved in the cultural, educational and professional
dialogue which
is taking place in the locality and the local Church.
Trying
to offer positive suggestions;
Setting up regular contacts with
the business world to help with the just insertion of the young people
in the
world of work and with their ongoing education.
2.2 Structure of involvement
and responsibility
These
structures are aimed at providing the conditions for an ever greater
communion,
sharing and collaboration between the different elements of the EPC at
the
service of the cultural and professional, the human and Christian
formation of
the young people.
These
structures vary in different countries according to their scholastic
legislation, and so each Province should identify the appropriate
practical
arrangements, and most suitable ordering of responsibilities, but
always
bearing in mind:
° The Rector of the Salesian
community, who according to our charismatic identity, in
the EPC, is the promoter of unity and guarantor of
salesian identity.
(GC24, 172);
° The Pastoral Coordinator
who together with his team animates evangelizing activity, ensuring its
serious
integration in the teaching and educational process;
The role of the Council of the
EPC, - as indicated
by GC24 171 – can
be filled by one of the already existing bodies according to the
guidelines of
the province
3.
THE EDUCATIVE PASTORAL
PROGRAMME IN SALESIAN SCHOOLS AND PROFESSIONAL CENTRES.
3.1
The educative and cultural
dimension as the focal point
The
cultural and educative aspect determined by the evangelization project
is at
the centre of the pastoral education programme of schools and
professional
centres. This requires that:
° a person is formed from
within, freeing him from influences which could prevent him from living
his
vocation to the full, and enabling him to expand his creative
capabilities;
° their teaching
programmes are based on a particular
understanding of the human person, who
forms
his conscience through the search for truth and the
interior acceptance
of it;
develops a responsible and
creative freedom
through the knowledge and choice of good;
grows
in the capacity for relationships, solidarity and
communion with people
based on the recognition of the
dignity of the individual;
qualifies
himself for historical responsibilities, based on a
meaning of justice
and peace.
° the ethical and religious
aspect of man is emphasized and developed, accepting in this way the
transcendent, and being open to accept the special message of Christ.
° a cultural role is achieved
capable of facing up to the aspirations and living situations of young
people
today, with the experiences of mankind, expressed in a cultural
tradition.
° a journey of education to the
faith is fostered through the example of the community and a variety of
projects.
3.2
The priority of the educative and cultural role.
The
salesian school and professional centre base their educational and
cultural
role on these priorities:
*
Providing an integrated education rather than merely instructing or
imparting
knowledge
*
offering a vision (values, meaning, needs expressed through the
curriculum)
which makes the
young people:
-
aware of the problems of today’s world, in the first place
those of their own
environment; conscious of what is involved;
- constructively critical
regarding the
explanations and solutions proposed;
-
and
capable of arriving at an understanding of humanity, the world and
history.
*
helping the young people to acquire the technical and professional
skills which
will make them competent and efficient especially
in their work
*
forming attitudes or relatively stable structures in the personalities
of the
young (self esteem, sociability, involvement, self confidence,
solidarity, a
sense of responsibility, openness…) which allows them to act
with freedom and
guides them towards the critical understanding of reality and
supportive
attitude towards people, and towards an openness to the transcendent;
*
enabling the young people to understand the different languages, and
the means
and forms of expression on which communication is based, as well as the
possibility of enriching themselves culturally and thereby contributing
to
their development.
3.3
The evangelizing perspective of the Salesian School and Professional
centres
The educational and cultural
commitment of the schools and centres is inspired by the Gospel and
directed
towards evangelization; this aim is expressed in various priorities:
The salesian school and
professional centre try to help the young person to make a synthesis of
faith
and culture.
To achieve this they offer a
programme of openness to the transcendent and of education to the faith
which:
takes
young people where they are and is committed to support and guide them
to take
the necessary steps towards the fullness of humanity they are capable
of ;
gives
special attention to those at the bottom of the pile and to the
poorest, using
simple and easily understood language in a welcoming environment, and
in a
family atmosphere;
adapting
themselves to the pace of each, giving particular attention to the
first steps
of the different
stages of
development (cf. GC23 102-111).
To
those already open to the Christian faith, they plan a programme of
progressive
growth towards Christ, the perfect man, according to the four areas
proposed by
GC23, that is
-
human maturity;
- a
genuine encounter with Jesus Christ;
- a
deep sense of belonging to the Church;
- a
commitment to building the Kingdom (cf. GC23 112-116).
For
those from other religions, they offer a programme of support in the
growth in
religious sense and in their openness to the transcendent
3.4
The principal aspects of the project:
a) The educative
environment
We intend to create
a community and scholastic environment
filled with the spirit of the gospel of brotherly love and
freedom in
which , even before having any really clear ideas, the young person
will be
able to have an experience of his own dignity, and will be enabled to
speak
with God (cf SC 55) because aware of His presence and His activity
through
Christian witness and examples
For
this to happen it is necessary
-
to
establish educational relationships and create a favourable climate
based on
the reasonableness of the requirements, on the appreciation of the
value of
daily life and of charity as an educational method of guidance and
growth;.
-
to
foster experiences which draw together the daily experiences of school
life:
the duties of study, research
and work;
meeting other people and joining
in common activities;
personal discipline and that
required by the school arrangements;
respect and care for the
equipment, furnishings and buildings in the school;
the consciousness of belonging
to a EPC;
some
experiences of solidarity and collaboration in the case of hardship,
marginalization and injustice.
b) Teaching and
technical instruction
The
structured programmes of the different subjects are provided as
knowledge to be
acquired, truths to discover, techniques to master, questions and
values to
assimilate; this is
helped by clarity
in the curriculum, teaching methods, and above all in the cultural
concept on
offer.
This
implies:
reorganizing the wealth of
details around certain key concepts, so that
the fundamental questions which science and culture are
proposing to
answer become clear;
continually
comparing the knowledge acquired by the young people
with their understanding of their personal and social experience:
emphasizing the kind of human
experience that underlies the different disciplines helping the young
people to
accept, appreciate and assimilate the human values involved in the
facts
presented and reflected on;
accepting and encouraging
questions about meaning, and taking them as far as
it is possible to go;
opening them up to a universal
culture, putting them in contact with the experiences of different
people and
the heritage of values shared
by the
human race.
c) Teaching-educational
method
We
select as a method the personalization of the projects and mutual
collaboration. Therefore:
.We adopt an active teaching
style, which develops in the pupils the ability to discover
and develop
habits of creativity and autonomous cultural growth;
.We foster an appropriate combination
of individual and group work;
.We favour inter-disciplinary
activities through which the different subjects provide links
with each
other;
.We value not only the final
results but especially the human development process
which takes place,
the ability to learn and through study to arrive at self-sufficiency in
cultural growth;
.We use as much as possible a total
communication method (words, images, sounds, audiovisual
aids, body
language, etc…) within the process of interactive
communication.
d) Orientation towards a
professional approach
We
consider it important to plant in the school, and even more in the
professional
centre, the roots from which professionalism will grow.
Everything must lead to the development of
one’s own work with growing competence and with real
satisfaction, with an
understanding of one’s limits and with respect for the work
of others, well
aware of the complementary nature of the work done together and of its
importance for social growth.
e) The evangelization of
knowledge, technology and education:
The
salesian school and professional centre strive to establish a lively
dialogue
and integration between knowledge, education and the Gospel. In the
varieties
of understandings and view points, in the different religions, it
presents a
reference to Christ and his Gospel as the criterion for discovering and establishing the
values which direct a
person towards the fullness of life.
For
this:
.They help in discovering the
deep coherence between the faith and the values which culture follows;
.They point out the role of the
Gospel in culture (highlighting the genuine expressions, regenerating
and
transforming those aspects less human) and the value of culture with
regard to
the Gospel (incarnating the gospel message, and helping in a deeper
understanding of it);
.They help to understand the
reality of work and of technology according to gospel values;
.They seek to develop culture as
capable of communion, of service and of responsibility towards others,
and not
as a means of self-assertion and self-enrichment (cf. CS 56);
.They foster the attitudes which
predispose the young people to a vital understanding and a response in
harmony
with the Gospel.
f) Religious teaching:
Religious
teaching normally forms part of the teaching programme, considered as a
basic
element in education;
.It helps the young people to
discover the religious dimension of human life, and to seek the
ultimate
meaning of life and to direct themselves towards a conscious and free choice of living with
commitment and
integrity;
.It offers a positive and open
vision of Christian doctrine and assists the explicit proclamation of
the
Gospel;
.It promotes a critical and
positive dialogue with other areas of knowledge and with other
religions;
.It awakens the desire for
further education to the faith within the bosom of the Christian
community.
g) Complementary activities and
freetime projects:
An integral education needs to
complete the scholastic programme with other activities. The salesian
school
and technical institute provide plenty of opportunities for free time
and
playground activities (artistic, recreational, sporting,
cultural….) tending to
become full-time schools.
Among these freetime activities
there are some more directly related to evangelization such as:
°
activities offered to all; activities including instruction, guidance
and
practical exercises which seek to sow gospel
values in all the young people;
.brief daily meetings suitable
for everyone or for groups (“good mornings” etc.)
.activities at special times of
the liturgical year and in preparation for the sacraments (e.g.
celebrations,);
.meetings and days of
recollection
°
Projects for those who want to go further:
.sacramental preparation;
.days of recollection;
.liturgical celebrations with
special groups…
*
Group activities:
The salesian school and
professional centre provide the opportunity for the guidance of
different
groups (study, cultural, recreational, artistic, community service,
volunteering, Christian knowledge, vocational guidance, Christian
commitment…)
finding in them special
occasions for
education and evangelization
h) Educational and vocational
guidance
In
all the educative activities we aim to develop and bring alive a plan
which is
realistic, directed towards others, which overcomes everything which
alienates
man from his vocation and reduces his stature:
with regard to his
affective-sexual life (state of life);
in his place in society (work);
in his social and political
choices;
in the final and total meaning
of his existence.
The
psychological, pedagogical and professional guidance department assists
in
this.
According to the level of faith
and to age the school helps to discern the signs of the call of God to
a
special state of Christian life. It is important to look after the
young
leaders and volunteers.
Even
though all the educators are available for personal chats, there should
be some
people more available for this; those
who provide psychological guidance will assist in this too.
i)
The educative project
All
the preceding elements and aspects referred to should be translated
into a
project (EPC of the school or Centre) realized and animated according
to a
“professional” educational project –
basically didactic, to achieve an
integrated and organic programme.
Bibliographical sources for
further reading
CENTRO
SALESIANO REGIONAL (a cura) Proceso educativo salesiano y culturas
emergentes. Actas encuentro latiniamericano de estudio.
Cumbaya – Ecuador
15-25 mayo 1994. Grafias
modelo, Cayambe 1994
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA- NANNI C. (ed.),
Scuola salesiana e profezia in Europa.. Atti del Convegno
Europeo della
Scuola salesiana, Editrice SDB, Roma 1996. L’opera
scolastica salesiana,
pp. 7-14. . Documenti conclusivi, pp. 163-170.
VAN
LOOY L. – MALIZIA G., Formazione professionale
salesiana: Memoria e attualità per un confronto. Indagine di
campo, Roma,
LAS, 1997.
In
particolare si segnala:
Parte
Prima:
Cap.
1: PRELLEZO J.M. (ed.), Dai Laboratori di Valdocco alle
Scuole Tecnico-Professionali Salesiane. Un impegno educativo verso la
gioventù
operaia, o.c., pp.19-51.
Cap.2:
MALIZIA G. - SARTI S. - PIERONI V., Il quadro teorico
e l'indagine sul campo, o.c., pp. 53-92.
Parte
Terza:
Cap.7:
SARTI S., Il Sondaggio in Africa e Madagascar,
o.c., pp.195-215.
Cap.8:
CALIMAN G., Il Sondaggio sull'America, o.c.,
pp.217-236.
Cap.9:
PURAYIDATHIL T., Il Sondaggio sull'Asia/Australia,
o.c., pp. 237-259.
Cap.10:
MALIZIA G. - PIERONI V., Il Sondaggio sull'Europa,
o.c., pp. 261-279.
Parte
quarta:
Cap11:
VAN LOOY L., Un bilancio in prospettiva di futuro,
o.c., pp.283-340.
VAN
LOOY L. – MALIZIA G. – Formazione professionale
salesiana.
Proposte in una prospettiva multidisciplinare,
Roma, LAS, 1998
DOMENECH
A. La Pastorale Giovanile Salesiana e il mondo del
lavoro. ACG 368 settembre 1999
ZANNI
N., Educazione tecnica.. Formazione professionale,
In FSE/UPS, Dizionario di Scienze dell’Educazione,
LDC/LAS/SEI, Torino 1996,
pp. 368-369; 438-440.
THE
PARISH ENTRUSTED TO THE SALESIANS
1. THE
ORIGINALITY OF THE SALESIAN PARISH
Don
Bosco’s apostolic
concern, which is always alive in salesian hearts, the renewed idea of
the
parish as the presence of the Church in a particular territory, and the
pastoral needs of local Churches, have led the Congregation to a much
greater
involvement in parish ministry. In
the
Regulations the parish is explicitly included among the works in which
our mission
is realized, “responding to the pastoral needs of the
particular Churches in
those areas which offer us adequate scope for service to the young and
to the
poor” (R 25; cf. C 42).
The salesian
commitment in the parish sector is expressed through the parishes
entrusted to
the Congregation and through the missionary parishes.
1.1 The parish, the presence
of the Church in a
specific territory
The
Second Vatican Council
presents the Church as:
- the sign
and instrument of communion of a group of people brought
together and
united by the initiative of the Spirit; united through faith in Christ
and
through the sacraments; it
shares in
the gift of Trinitarian life in love, and in service in the communty.
-
service,
the leaven of the Kingdom in human history; it is
sent to the world to proclaim Jesus Christ as its salvation, and to
make him
present by words and work;
- enriched by the
Spirit’s gifts, in so far as its members,
individuals and groups, have been enriched by the Holy Spirit with
different vocations,
charisms and ministries, all at the service of the growth of the Body
of Christ
in history and for
its mission in the
world (cf. GC24, 61-68).
The
parish, as a visible
expression of this Church, has the following characteristics:
- a community of the faithful animated
by a
single Spirit, capable of bringing together all the many different
human
characteristics found in the universal nature of the Church: a
community of the
faithful who live the diversity which is open to various charisms,
respecting
the different stages of development and the various phases in the
journey of
growth in the faith; which expresses and realizes itself in a special
way
through the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist
- in
a diocese:
a cell of the local Church, presided over by priests in the name of the
Bishop,
in communion with the other parishes of the diocese;
- in
a particular place: making
the Church present in a specifically
defined territory;
- with
a global
mission: it
accompanies the
faithful in the education and growth of their faith throughout their
lives;
- communal
character: it
is a communion of different communities,
expressed and realized in a special way in the Sunday Eucharist;
- missionary: it is open to the
evangelization of those
who are lapsed, and collaborates in the proclamation of the Gospel "ad
gentes".
- open
to the local
community: it
welcomes everyone for
the simple reason that they have all been created by God in His image
and are
children of God.
1.2 The salesian parish, the
presence of the
Church in a territory with the salesian charisma.
The
Congregation with its
charism for the young and the poor brings to the local Church its own
charismatic style for the direction and animation of a parish. Our Constitution and
Regulations and the
documents of the GC20 and the GC21 concentrate this contribution in
some
specific traits which distinguish a parish entrusted to the
Congregation:
- for the attention it gives to young people,
especially the poorest. This preferential choice is linked with an
attitude
rather than a project, and is
a dynamic
option in all expressions of the parish community;
-
it is sited in a
working-class area with an adequate field of service (R 25;
GC21,141. 407);
- it
is animated
by a religious community committed to the building of a
Christian community
which is closely united, welcoming, available, and open to human and
Christian
growth;
-
it has a pastoral project
with the characteristic style of evangelizing by
educating and educating
by evangelizing, in line with a particular spirituality and pedagogical
method
(the preventive system) and
hence works at
integrating evangelization and
human development;
-with
a pastoral commitment
which considers the
Oratory and Youth
Centre as an essential part of the pastoral plan;
-with
emphasis on
systematic catechesis for all;
-
with a concentration on
the development of each one’s vocation;
-
with a missionary
outreach towards
those lapsed,
especially the most needy young people in their own environment and in
places
where they gather. (cf
Reg. 26)
2. THE PARISH
AS A COMMUNITY (THE
EPC OF THE PARISH).
What
characterizes the
parish is that it is a part of the universal Church in a particular
place, and
the face of the Church that people see close to their own homes where
they
live: it is the community of the faithful.
“When
Salesians are called
by the Bishop to the pastoral care of a particular zone (…),
they take on
before the Church the responsibility of sharing with the laity the
creation of
a community of brethren, united in love, to listen to the Word,
celebrate the
Lord’s Supper, and proclaim the message of
salvation” (SGC 416).
This
is also one of the
fundamental characteristics of salesian pastoral work, shared communal
responsibility and the building of the community (cf. C 35. 44. 47).
2.1 Some criteria
°
Living as a parish
like a community of communities
presupposes a network of genuine and open human relationships: more a
centre
for meeting and dialogue than a structure for religious services.
*
Living as a parish
implies being in communion with Christ; it is the place where a faith
that is
lived and shared is celebrated.
*
Living as a parish means
being in communion with many people both within and outside the parish.
This means:
-giving
effect to the
various initiatives by aiming at communion among persons in order to
build the
kingdom.
-
living this communion
while living in the world, as signs and leaven for the human community
and the
transformation of the kingdom;
-
planning its organization
by promoting a shared responsibility among all who have accepted the
faith, for
the service of those to whom the ministry is directed.
- linking up with other social and
educational “agencies” present in the locality
2.2 Aspects of this community
option
°
The experience and
testimony of the fraternal life of the salesian religious community as
a
expressive sign of the Gospel is extraordinarily effective for the
building of
parochial communion.
°
The salesian community as
the animating nucleus of the parochial Christian community commits
itself to
building, encouraging, and making
visible the community of the faithful in the proclamation of the word,
in the
celebration of the sacraments, and in service to the parish community. In this effort of
animation of the Christian
community the formation of the laity is fundamental, even to the extent
of the
parish becoming a
centre of Christian
formation for lay people.
°
The organization of the
parish community in groups and subgroups in which there can be greater
communication, more intense commitment, more realistic participation,
and a
visible relationship between all the groups and the community: for
promoting
ecclesial brotherhood, with special attention to the Salesian Family
and the
Salesian Youth Movement.
°
A communal programming
and realization of the mission, through:
a
unified and organic pastoral project (the “parish
project”);
drawn
up, realized and verified with the active participation
of all, through councils and assemblies.
°
Openness to all and a
presence in the locality to strengthen communion in the human community
of the
area.
2.3 Responsibilities and
structures
2.3.1 Some Criteria
°
Organic unity of parish
ministry
The parish gathers together the
People of God with its rich variety of vocations, charisms and
ministries. It
promotes the development and communion of
all these in the service of the mission.
The salesian parish enriches this
communion with its own charisma. The
Salesian Youth Spirituality and Don Bosco’s preventive system
must orientate
and characterize the convergence of the various charisms and services
present
in it.
°
A community sharing
responsibility
The structures must facilitate and
advance the shared responsibility of all the faithful in the common
mission
expressed in the pastoral project;
They must also strengthen the
practical communion of all concerned, and the convergence and
complementary
nature of the individuals, activities and structures around this same
pastoral
project.
°
Unity of the salesian
project in the area and in the local Church
When the salesian parish is in an
area with other salesian works (oratory or youth centre, school,
hostel, etc.),
it promotes with them a special kind of sharing, collaboration and
dialogue,
for the realization together of a unified pastoral work in the area
developing
the one salesian mission.
°
Openness to the local
Church and to the Province
The salesian parish lives its
pastoral activity in the Church on the basis of its own charisma. The service offered by the
parish helps the
Salesians to experience with greater intensity their membership of the
local
Church and their links with it; but
at
the same time it offers a specific collaboration enriched by the
salesian
charism and by a special love for the young.
For this reason the salesian parish
must have as its terms of reference the pastoral directives of the
diocese and
the SEPP of the Province.
2.3.2 Main responsibilities and
structures
a.
“The responsible agent of the salesian
parish, that which gives it life, is the religious community”
(GC21, 138). The
parish is entrusted in the first place to the salesian
religious community,
The latter, therefore, recognizing the responsibility which the Code of
Canon
Law places on the parish priest:
- follows the pastoral
directives of the diocese, adding to them
the rich characteristics of our own pastoral charism;
- promotes the formulation
of the SEPP in the parish and gives
effect to it;
- accepts responsibility,
with the parish priest, for the formation
and spiritual animation of the faithful and of the laity as a pastoral
mission;
- guides members of the
Salesian Family, and in particular the
Cooperators, in being the first collaborators of the parish priest.
b. The Rector of the
salesian community
has a specific obligation as the one bearing the first responsibility
for the
apostolic activities of the community;
he fosters the unity and salesian identity of the
community and
encourages the confreres to share the responsibility for giving effect
to the
parochial pastoral project (R 29).
For
this reason he is a member of the pastoral council of the parish.
c. The Parish Priest
is the one
immediately responsible for the parochial mission entrusted by the
Bishop to
the Salesian Congregation. For
his
people he represents the Bishop, but at the same time represents the
Congregation.
He fosters the formation of the
parish community, presides over it and has direct responsibility for it.
In collaboration with his salesian
community he promotes the salesian characteristics in the pastoral
project of
the parish.
d. The Parish Council,
the expressive
sign of communion and participation in the parish, in accordance with
the
prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law and the guidelines of the local
Church,
takes up the functions assigned by the GC24 to the Council of the EPC
or of
the work (GC24,
160. 171).
e. Various committees
and consultation
groups which animate the different areas of activity in line
with the
parochial SEPP; among
these, special
importance attaches to the team or committee for the animation of youth
ministry, which is usually coordinated by the assistant priest who
directs the
oratory or youth centre (SGC 432).
f. The parish
assembly, the expression
of the meaning of Christian community and shared responsibility; it
realizes
the EPC in the parochial environment.
3. THE
EDUCATIVE AND PASTORAL PROJECT OF THE SALESIAN PARISH
3.1 The Salesian Parish:
centre of
evangelization and of education to the faith
To
develop a pastoral work
of evangelization means giving the parish a missionary slant, not being
satisfied with simple welcoming and celebration of the sacraments but
making it
a centre for the spreading of the Gospel.
3.1.1 Its significance
In
the effort to evangelize
an area, the salesian parish follows a criterion and takes its
inspiration from
a fundamental option: the practical combination
of evangelization, development and education; it proclaims the Gospel
and presents the
person of Jesus from within man and human problems, as an element of
transformation and change of less human situations into the fullness of
man in
God. This
fundamental choice operates
through the project (SEPP) which becomes the working instrument of the
parish.
3.1.2 Characteristic traits of
the evangelizing
work of the salesian parish:
°
It fosters the process
of the humanizing and development of individuals and the
environment:
- it shares the
preoccupations and concerns of the parishioners and
throws a Christian light on the daily life and temporal affairs of the
community and the area;
- it establishes a close
dialogue and collaboration with the
educative institutions present in the area;
- it promotes the Christian
formation of conscience and develops in
the Christian community an attitude of solidarity and commitment in the
face of
situations of poverty and emargination;
°
It offers a method of
evangelization, aimed especially at the lapsed, and of catechesis
which
is:
- continuous and systematic,
with a process of education to the
faith at different levels, but pays particular attention to
post-adolescents
and adults (cf. GC23, 116-157);
- embodied in daily life: it
enlightens with the Gospel the various
situations of life (profession, family, social life, political, etc.);
- it initiates
families to the Christian education of children,
beginning with baptismal catechesis.
°
It promotes a
liturgical and sacramental life which leads to and deepens a
personal and
communal contact with Jesus Christ:
- by fostering a process of
education to prayer and Christian
celebration;
- with special attention to
the elements which favour a true
experience of God;
- centered on the sacraments
of the Eucharist and Reconciliation;
- encouraging the full
participation of the faithful;
- tailored to the life of
the community and to youthful
sensitivities;
°
It demonstrates the
values of Salesian Spirituality, emphasizing its
lay and youthful
dimension (GC23, 158-161; GC24, 89-100).
°
It fosters the
vocation of the faithful, and especially of the young, by:
- directing and accompanying
the development of Christian life,
with special attention to the preparation of parents as educators of
their
children;
- presenting to everyone the
various vocations in the Church, with
special reference to the salesian vocation;
- taking special care of
animators and those responsible for
associations and movements, young adults and engaged couples, in the
process of
the maturing of their vocations;
- suggesting a specific
vocation to those young people who seem
more disposed to the religious and priestly life and to the lay
ministry.
°
It promotes the formation
of the Christian community:
- by offering group
activities to all the faithful and especially to the young adults,
- with many different
possibilities,
- facilitating their taking
the lead,
- and fostering the quality
of the group-life and openness to the locality.
3.2 The Parish with a priority
option for the
young
The
parish embraces the sum
total of the people of God who live in a specific territory.
While
keeping in mind that
it is a whole community of persons interdependent in their human and
Christian
growth, the salesian parish opts primarily for the young, and
especially the
poorest of them.
3.2.1 Its significance
The
partiality for the
young is in the first place an feature and centre of interest to the
whole
parish community and its pastoral work;
it is expressed in a variety of different initiatives. It is a pastoral work
which:
°
chooses the area of
education, keeping in mind in all its activities and
programmes the total
maturing of the person;
°
promotes an attitude of
close attention to the world of youth, and mixes
with it;
°
provides the opportunity
for the active participation of the young people themselves,
and
promotes their contact and dialogue with adults.
3.2.2 Perspectives
°
To develop in the
parochial Christian community a special attention to the
world of the young,
a positive attitude and interest and a better knowledge of their
concrete
problems in life.
°
To make the parish a meeting-place
for dialogue between the different generations and a focus
for religious
questions and the search for meaning.
°
To offer the young the
possibility of education to a truly missionary faith:
- which gives pride of place
to the poor and those on the margins;
- matches the rate of
progress of the young;
- is realized in community;
- towards the discovery of a
personal vocation and Christian
maturity (cf. GC23, 102-111).
3.2.3 Courses of action
What
resources can be made
available in a salesian parish to reach these objectives? In what direction should
efforts be
made? What elements
should be promoted
and developed?
°
A salesian community
with a youthful vocational outlook:
a salesian parish is not a place of retirement from the
world of the
young, but another form of being present among young people. To live this kind of life
supposes in the
SDBs of the parochial community:
- a positive and cordial
presence in the world of youth;
- a systematic and deep
understanding and pastoral concern for the
youth of today, with;
- the will and stamina to be
present and engage in dialogue in
occasional or regular meetings.
°
A parish community
with the ability to be open to the young and to educate them. This implies:
- fostering a climate of joy
and optimism;
- developing a systematic
Christian formation of adults so that
they can become models for
the young;
- providing places,
occasions and initiatives for meetings and
dialogue between young and older adults;
- giving special attention
to young adults and promoting their
formation and sharing of responsibility in parish life;
- motivating, supporting and
helping parents and other educators in
the community to be competent in their educative mission.
°
A youthful environment
of education and evangelization: the Oratory or Youth Centre
(cf. R 26):
- as a place of meeting with
a concrete formation programme (cf.
Oratory and Youth Centre environment);
- as a centre of fostering
in the locality missionary initiatives
of enquiries, meetings and dialogue with those far from the faith;
- organically linked with
the parish pastoral programme.
°
Ecclesial groups and
movements and youth communities, especially those suggested
by the SYM:
- plurality of possibilities
within the SEPP;
- formative concern for
evangelization;
- special attention to the
animators.
°
Openness to the
locality and its various possibilities for education and
evangelization
(schools, large youth gatherings, social projects etc.), and to the new
places
for youthful social gatherings, through collaboration with other
educative and
social institutions.
Suggestions
for further reading:
SCABINI
P. (ed.), Parrocchia,
in ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA PASTORALE - UPS, Dizionario di
Pastorale
Giovanile, o.c., pp. 654-667.
VIGANO
E., La Parrocchia Salesiana come collaborazione alla
pastorale della Chiesa particolare con la ricchezza di una vocazione
specifica,
in: La Parrocchia Salesiana come collaborazione alla
pastorale della Chiesa
particolare con la ricchezza di una vocazione specifica. Atti
Convegno
dei Parroci (Rome-Pisana 14-18 October 1991; Como-Salesianum
20-24 October
1991), Rome 1992, pp. 119-296.
WORKS
– SOCIAL SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN DIFFICULTY
The
option for poor
youngsters, abandoned and at risk, has always been at the heart and
life of Don
Bosco’s Salesian Family from the beginning right down to the
present day. It has
occasioned responses everywhere in a
great variety of structures and services according to the educational
choices
inspired by the preventive sysetm.
The
new situation of
today’s society challenges us to find new responses. Poverty has become ever
more prevalent to an extent which makes
it a tragic dimension of the lives of many individuals and communities,
a large
proportion of them youngsters, until it is now a global social reality. We may also refer to new
kinds of poverty
and hence to new kinds of emargination – social exclusion; among these we are
particularly concerned
about those which compromise the possibility of the growth of young
persons,
and which lead many of them to distress and in some cases to deviancy.
Our
vocation as Salesians
will not allow us to remain at ease in the face of a situation like
this, which
we find today not only in the Third World but indeed everywhere. It prompts us to commit
ourselves to
providing some response to the more urgent situations of youngsters in
difficulty (GC21, 158; GC22, 6. 72; GC23, 203-214).
Within
the context of the
Provincial SEPP we respond in different places to this commitment:
in
all our works and
foundations,
through a new style of
presence and acceptance of everyone, an integrated educational service
centred
on the individual, especially those most in need, on social formation
and the
promoting of a culture of solidarity, and on a commitment for justice and the transformation of
society (cf. C
33).
In
spite of these efforts,
many of those for whom we aim to work by preference (the poorest and
most
needy) find themselves in situations of fierce social exclusion and
disadvantage which require on our part a more particular presence in
response
to their needs (works – social services on behalf of young
people at risk); in these
particular works aimed at providing educational openings,
acceptance , and
support towards a cure, we offer them practical help, in a process of
integrated growth. Everywhere
creative
solutions are being provided according to the situation: with various works for
children living on
the streets, abandoned, orphaned, youngsters with family problems,
young
prisoners or those in trouble with the law, or with drug-addiction, for
young
school dropouts, for young people from dangerous areas, for immigrants,
refugees, displaced ethnic minorities.
1. THE
ORIGINALITY OF THESE WORKS - SOCIAL SERVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN
DIFFICULTY
Many
of these works and
services present new models from a pedagogical and salesian
standpoint
and require professional training, specialized programmes, and
collaboration
with other civil institutions. In
these
works too the better forms of lay participation and of volunteer work
are being
developed.
This
reality demands of us
that we make the salesian identity explicit in our efforts to meet and
prevent
the various forms of distress, and to share this specific element with
the
laity so as to build with them a salesian educative project.
The
following are the
fundamental elements of this identity:
1.1 A family environment
animated by a community
Young people at risk, the majority of
them with family problems, need a family environment where they can
find a
favourable atmosphere and conditions for the rebuilding and
reorientation of
their lives, where they can live in a spontaneous and educational
relationship,
and dialogue in freedom and inter-dependence, so as to grow together in
solidarity, shared relationships and mutual service.
This environment needs community
animation, in which the SDB community together with lay educators has
an
indispensable role as the animating nucleus.
1.2. The choice of education
Poverty and emargination are not
merely a purely economic phenomenon, but “a reality which
touches individual
consciences and challenges the mentality of society.
Education is therefore a fundamental element for their
prevention
and suppression, and is also a more specific and original contribution
which
we, as Salesians, can provide” (Letter of Rector Major, Fr
J.E. Vecchi, ‘He
had compassion on them’, AGC 359).
We educate starting from personal
convictions and motivations, with affability and a personal rapport of
cordiality and dialogue, an unconditional acceptance which awakens
self-esteem
and the awareness of personal dignity and worth.
1.3 The preventive criterion
A very important aspect in these
works and services is the preventive criterion which tries to avoid
making
negative or deviant situations any worse, to make people capable of
autonomy
and of the responsible management of their own lives, and to change
social and
cultural situations which are at the root of emargination.
Depending on the kind of youngsters
these works cater for, some of them provide direct activities for their
rescue
or re-education. We
know that rescue
interventions are not our specific field of work, but “the
educative strength
of the preventive system becomes evident also in its capacity for
rescuing boys
who have been abandoned but who still preserve some seeds of
goodness” (GC22,
72). Don Bosco
presents his system as
the most suitable for the re-education of boys who have already been
delinquents
or otherwise seriously emarginated.
1.4 A
social – political dimension
The salesian response to marginalization
– the
exclusion of young people necessarily has a social and political
dimension; in
this sense, these works and salesian services promote a culture of
concern for
others, of sobriety, of availability and readiness to share selflessly,
in a
work which is very open,
of acceptance
and support for whoever has need; and they collaborate in the
transformation of
the very real situation of social exclusion, and the building up of
justice,
peace and protection of the environment
1.5 A gospel inspiration and
deliberate
evangelization.
The whole of our educational commitment is inspired
by the gospel and aimed at opening young people up to Christ.
In these works and services the aim
is not only to meet the problems and primary needs of those to whom the
work is
directed, but to help them to develop all their personal resources
towards
their human and social development, open to religious and gospel values.
With this educational action,
salvation is proclaimed and brought about by including a gospel image
in every
element of the work, and by sharing with the youngsters a project and
journey
of faith as far as they are capable of such things.
1.6
Professionalism and a
sense of vocation.
Educational activity of high quality
requires a professional approach linked with a deep sense of vocation
as much
in the individual educator as in the whole community.
This sense of vocation makes the educators
sensitive to the individuality of each young
person,
especially the
poorest, and inspires them with greater motivation to a systematic and
appropriate training to confront with expertise the complexity of the
situations of disadvantage, to manage effectively the long and complex
educative procedures of recovery, and to work in close collaboration
with
professionals.
2. THE
EDUCATIVE AND PASTORAL COMMUNITY IN THESE WORKS - SERVICES
Through
the Oratory Don
Bosco wanted to offer abandoned youngsters a true family where they
could
develop and prepare themselves for life; this is why he considered the
community so important.
In
all our works, but
especially in this kind, we
must
overcome “the excessive individualism which led to some of
these works being
considered the private concern of individual confreres who were
responsible for
their foundation”, and move towards “a greater
integration of initiatives and
of confreres working together in the provincial project”
(VECCHI J., o.c.).
2.1 Characteristics of the EPC
in works-services
in the sector of youthful distress
In
the organization and
growth of these works,-services the EPC fosters family life through:
A familiar style of life and
organization, in which everyone
(starting with the educators themselves) shows human qualities, i.e.
contact
with and closeness to the youngsters, familiarity, availability,
assistance,
kindness, etc Not only does one work for the poor young people but one
does so
in union and solidarity with them.
A
clear knowledge of the
characteristics of our particular approach on the part of all the
animators,
especially the lay ones, lived with professionalism and a sense of
vocation
. This demands on their part:
- a continual deepening of
the motivations underlying the
options made , and a renewing of the values of the preventive system
which
inspire them;
- the preparation
necessary for applying the project in a
professional manner, in the complex situations of need, working as a
team and
in close collaboration with other professionals, such as social
workers,
psychologists, doctors, lawyers;
- acquiring a more accurate knowledge
of the youth situation
in the
world of social
exclusion- emargination, and of the prevailing
culture in the given
area, and managing efficiently the long and complex educational
recovery
processes;
- an ongoing study of the preventive
system, so as to
practise it in daily life;
continued
formation in
the social dimension of charity and how to realize
it in this kind of work (GC23, 209-214), and in the spirituality of
poverty.
The
active involvement of
all, especially the youngsters themselves.
This experience will be a school for them as regards both
the process
and its outcome, in the sense that they themselves become educators of
the young
in either the present work or in another of the same kind.
A
clear definition of the
tasks and responsibilities of the different organisms and functions
within the
work, encouraging their complementary collaboration.
Clarity is needed also in the definition and management of
programmes and financial arrangements with regard to other civil or
ecclesial
institutions to which reference must be made
Structures
and methods
adapted to the situation of young people and their social and family
involvement; with trust in Providence, ensuring that the young people
and their
education are the primary consideration; open to collaboration and to
links
with other similar works and institutions.
Some
practical criteria to
be kept in mind with respect to the EPC in works of this kind:
Above
all the setting up
and the experience of the EPC itself, even though it may be small and
flexible,
according to the criteria approved by the Provincial and his Council;
The elaboration and
realization of the SEPP with the participation
of all, following the guidelines of the SEPP of the Province;
A
rapport of communication
and help with the other works of the Province, by developing a series
of
complementary projects and network of activities;
A
systematic linkage and
interrelationship with families, with the local area and its
institutions, with
specialists (on a professional or voluntary basis), and with other
institutions
or associations working in the same field, promoting at the same time
both
autonomy and interdependence.
3. THE
EDUCATIVE AND PASTORAL PROJECT IN THESE
WORKS-SERVICES
3.1
The purpose of our project
3.2 Important aspects of our
project
▪ To offer “young
people in special
difficulty” a process of integral growth in which they can
confront distress,
develop their positive resources and become good Christians and upright
citizens; in more concrete terms:
- to offer them solutions
to their primary needs, especially
for survival and safety, so that they can get back to normality with
self-esteem and overcome attitudes of dependence;
- to promote their cultural
and technical qualification for
normal insertion into family life, work, and the social and political
arena;
- to help them to experience
and personally assimilate the educative
and evangelical values of autonomy, freedom, responsibility,
love, service,
self-control, tolerance, etc.;
- to help them to discover
and experience the loving and
fatherly presence of God in their lives, and to accompany
them with
patience and confidence in their progressive opening to the Christian
faith.
▪ To help them to create a
new mentality and
culture “which will give rise to changes of vision and
criteria through
gestures and actions… It
is a matter of
promoting a culture of one's neighbour, of sobriety…, of
availability and free
sharing, of justice understood as attention to everyone's right to a
dignified
life and, more directly, to the involvement of persons and institutions
in a
work of broad prevention, and of acceptance and support for those who
have need
of it” (VECCHI J., He had compassion on them AGC 359 p. 33.).
▪ To make concrete their
sharing in a
liberating commitment for justice and peace, by helping to build a
society more
worthy of man (C 33):
committing
ourselves to
combating the social, political and cultural exploitation of young
people
(children – teenagers – youths) and of the weakest;
-
speaking out,
prophetically, on their behalf;
-
helping in the
transformation of the present society which is structurally unjust
(‘structural
sin’);
-
training young people to
“the social dimension of charity”
3.2
Characteristics of our
educative and pastoral project in these works:
3.2.1 It is integral and organic:
The
project starts from an
attitude of welcoming and keeping close to these youngsters in
difficulties so
as to initiate an educative process for the development of the innate
good
within them, namely their intensely human resources which coincide with
evangelical values, helping them to become positively integrated into
their own
social environment and preparing them for a meeting with Jesus Christ
(GC23,
291-292).
This project, realized in many ways and at different
times according to the needs of the individual youngster, offers
specific and
often rapid responses to their needs and problems.
The witness of the educators and of the educative
community, the welcoming family atmosphere, the defence and advancement
of
personal dignity, become a proclamation of Christ and his saving
design, and an
offering of freedom and fullness of life.
3.2.2 With an educative and
preventive slant:
Our educative project, though providing assistance
and social protection, does not consist only in the material help which
is
offered (meeting an emergency or solving a passing problem), but goes
to the
root of the situation to discover the real causes, so that action can
be aimed
at the transformation of these roots.
Prevention, therefore, is not only a means of
alleviating distress, or preventing its effects. It is rather
systematic
activity in the social network: on
behalf of young people who live in situations of disadvantage of any
sort (in
at risk situations, victims of such situations, or in those which are
described
as “deviant”) on behalf of society itself or its
institutions, or procedures.
Its influence can be felt at a strictly educational level (individual
persons),
at a cultural level (the maturing of a new social mentality), and at a
political level (the exercise of power for the common good).
3.2.3 With patient animation, of
a gradual and
professional kind:
The situation of youngsters arriving at these works,
and our preventive style ensure that on the part of the educators the
development of the project proceeds:
- with realistic hope and
optimism, deriving from the loving
kindness of the educators, which manifests our faith in education and
our
conviction concerning the humanizing force of Christ’s grace;
- at a gradual pace
consistent with the educative process, which
can meet each individual where he happens to be, and stimulate his
personal and
community growth in line with a process suggested by the SEPP of the
work;
- and in a professional
manner, i.e. with educators who possess not
only the salesian identity but also the
preparation necessary for this service.
3.2.4 Which becomes also a
process of
transformation for the area and the social here and now:
At the same time that it prepares and helps
youngsters to become conscientiously inserted into the locality, the
educative
work of these foundations must promote a transformation of the
mentality of the
neighbourhood itself and collaborate in the enhancement of the social
here and
now. As we continue
to reflect on the
reality of poverty and emargination which surrounds us on all sides, it
must
exert an influence on the environment in which the young people live,
and
especially on families, and give rise to a systematic collaboration
between the
various institutions and educators working there.
3.3 Courses of action:
Although
every work will
tailor its own activities according
to
its particular circumstances and possibilities, here we can suggest
some
progressive courses of action which need continual attention:
Regarding the area:
-
ongoing analysis of the
situation identifying the challenges this presents;
-
propose or initiate
specific interventions,
-
collaborate with other
institutions in the formulation of educational, family, youth and urban
policies, capable of preventing or overcoming the structural causes of
disadvantage;
-
make the deliberate
choice to concentrate on the weakest - especially young people.
With regard to the young people present in the
work-service:
● Get closer,
be interested in finding
out more about the situation of the youngsters, and share their
interests in
their world;
● Offer them a
family welcome in the
salesian house; this breaks down barriers of diffidence and awakens the
desire
to begin an educative process.
● Propose practical
courses of actions
in line with needs and availability, e.g.:
- answers to the need for
survival: food, home, bed, health care
etc.;
- answers to the need for
security: a home
that welcomes them, keeping close to them, loving
kindness, etc.;
- interventions of a
restructuring or salvaging kind (if needed);
- answers to the need for
growth relationships: helping the
youngsters to develop a normal rapport with themselves and with others
(a
healthy common life with their companions and all the members of the
EPC, and
with the various elements that are at their service
-- sense
of belonging).
● Begin more
systematic and demanding
courses of action towards a process of integral growth:
-
study and school (sometimes informal): initiation into
knowledge and
culture;
-
technical formation:
training
for work at some trade;
- free-time activities,
accompanied by the educators (sport, music,
theatre, art, reading, etc.);
- possibility of guidance
towards a trade or profession, and
educative pastoral dialogue with educators;
and the possibility of talking - for their Christian and
vocational guidance
-
participation in local events and celebrations.
- experiences which lead from small
to greater tasks;
- the possibility of joining in group
activity – belonging to movements;
- getting to know their
religious world and offer them experiences
to stimulate the growth of their religious dimension;
-
religious teaching;
-
first Christian thought: good morning, good night, days of
reflection,
etc.;
-
catechesis: for first Communion, for Confirmation, etc.;
-
celebrations in the house or participation in those in the
parish or
other places;
-
possibility of joining in group activities and movements;
-
formation of Christian animators.
Guide
them in the development
of the social dimension of charity
● Help them to
become normally inserted
with independence - freedom and responsibility into social life, their
family
of origin, the family of which they now form a part, work, social
commitment,
etc.
● Accompany them in the
development of their
family, social and Christian life, and in their experience of
employment.
● Offer a specific formation
to make them
capable of being educators in their turn of other youngsters in
difficulty.
Suggestions
for further reading
FERRAROLI
L., Disagio, Emarginazione, In
FSE/UPS,
Dizionario di Scienze dell’Educazione, LDC/LAS/SEI, Turin 1996, pp.304-305;
371-372.
MASINI
V., Emarginazione, In FSE/UPS, Dizionario di
Scienze dell’Educazione, LDC/LAS/SEI,
Turin 1996, pp. 371-372 .
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA – UPS/FSE, Emarginazione
giovanile e pedagogia salesiana, LDC, Turin 1987. The
whole volume is useful, but especially:
VECCHI
J., Salesiani ed emarginazione giovanile in Europa,
pp. 78-96, and the conclusions of the three seminars in 1996:
Europa
e Nordamerica. Le conclusioni, pp.142-145;
America Latina.. Le conclusioni, pp. 290-293; Asia
e Pacifico. Le
conclusioni, pp.400-401.
VECCHI J., Si
commosse per loro. Nuove povertà, missione salesiana e
significatività. In
AGC 359, pp. 3-36.
VECCHI
J., Il nostro impegno per ragazzi e giovani a rischio.
In Dossier PG Esperienze a confronto., N. 2, 1987,
pp.63-70.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA – VIS Ragazzi di strada.
Meeting
internazionale, Roma, 7-11 dicenbre 1998, Roma, SDB, 1999.
SEPSUR,
La familia salesiana y la evangelizacion de los mas
pobres. Curso regional de Pastoral juvenil, Resistencia – 26
al 30 de julio de
1999. CUADERNOS
DE PASTORAL JUVENIL – 37
DBYA
– INDIA (a cura di M.
C. George) Don Bosco national Forum for street and working
children/youth
(DBNF-SWC/Y), New Delhi DBYA, 1998
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA – DBI, Don
Bosco 2000. Lotta alle nuove
povertà e all’esclusione sociale dei giovani in
Europa. Atti del
Seminario di cooperazione europea dei responsabili nazionali del
Movimento Don
Bosco, Benediktbeuern, 04-08 gennaio 2000, Roma, SDB, 2000.
DBYA
- India (a cura di M.C. George), The Young at
Risk, New Delhi, DBYA, 2000.
DBYA
- India (a cura di M.C. George), Consultation
on The Young at Risk, New Delhi, DBYA, 2000.
NEW
OPENINGS FOR PASTORAL WORK AMONG THE YOUNG
In
the face of the new
needs of youth, the shortcomings of the present type of
institutions for
providing an adequate response become clear.
There is a growing gap between the adult world and that of
the young; a
human, cultural and religious partition, which renders difficult any
real
dialogue and communication between their fundamental terms of reference
and
those of adults. Despite
the substantial
organizational efficiency of structures and the practical commitment of
educators, there is a certain inability to cope with this new situation.
In
our present complex and
pluralist society we are witnessing the advent of new sites
for the
education of the young, of new models and
life-styles which attract
young people in general: one may think of the parallel school of the
mass-media, the large numbers that gather in the interests of music and
sport,
tourism, the new forms of social and ecclesial commitment, the vital
area of
free time, and new opportunities for personal identification.
One
of the more extensive and all-embracing ways of
being present among the young is the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM)
1.
THE SALESIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT
1.1
The Salesian Youth Movement – a special expression
of Don Bosco’s pedagogy.
The
desire to get together, to form groups, the attraction of communities
was an
experience in Don Bosco’s life that seemed to arise
spontaneously, an
expression of his temperament which was naturally inclined towards
being open
to people and making friends. Bringing young people together in groups
is an
indispensable factor in the kind of preventive and popular project that
Don
Bosco wanted to establish (cf AGC 294, 17)
Through
a number and variety of youth groups and associations we want to ensure
a high
quality of educational presence in the situations where young people
want to
get together, and to guide them towards a meaningful experience of the
life of
the Church.
1.2
The Salesian Youth Movement among Movements
in the Church
Among
the fruits of the renewal which the Holy Spirit has inspired following
Vatican
Council II are the Movements in the Church, which are
“providential expressions
of the new springtime brought about by the Spirit” (John Paul
II, 31.5.98)
“The
term (Movements) is often used about realities which are different
among
themselves and sometimes for a canonically recognised grouping. If on
the one
hand this certainly
cannot exhaust or
limit the rich variety of these bodies raised up by the lifegiving
creativity
of the Spirit of Christ, on the other hand, however, it does give some
indication of a concrete ecclesial reality, to the participation
– mainly by
lay people – in a journey of faith and Christian witness
which bases its own
pedagogical method on a specific charism given to the person of the
founder in
a particular way and in particular circumstances. (John Paul II,
Congress 4)
Among
these new forms of the life of the Church, the
Spirit has raised up in the Salesian context the Salesian Youth
Movement.
1.3
Characteristics of the SYM.
The
Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) is one of the more extensive and
all-embracing
ways of being present among the young.
It is a movement with an
educational character
offered to all
youngsters, to enable them to be subjects and protagonists of their own
human
and Christian growth with a missionary slant, open also to non-members,
willing
to play an effective part in the local area and to be positively
involved in
the local Church.
The
youth groups and
associations which, while maintaining their organizational autonomy,
identify
themselves with
salesian spirituality
and pedagogy form implicitly or
explicitly the Salesian Youth Movement..
1.3.1. Elements of
identity of the SYM
The identity of the SYM is characterized
by two elements:
reference
to salesian youth
spirituality (SYS) and salesian pedagogy:
the
person of Don Bosco,
initiator in the Church of a practical way of Christian life (the SYS)
and of
an educative praxis (the preventive system), is the unifying focal
point for
all the groups and associations;
linkage
between the groups:
this
is expressed in the
sharing of certain values and basic ideas through the coordination of
shared
initiatives, which become effective occasions for dialogue, comparison,
Christian formation and youthful self-expression (cf. GC23, 275-277).
1.3.2. Fundamental options of the
SYM
The following elements are made
concrete through certain important choices:
The
educative option,
which puts the emphasis on the process of growth of
each individual, a process it offers to all youngsters, especially the
poor and
those who remain on the margins, with the intention of accompanying
them to the
fullness of Christian life (holiness).
The attention of the educators is directed to the person
of the
youngster rather than to the structures of the group.
The
ecclesial and group
option,
which opens the way to group
experience and the wider experience of communication, sharing and
collaboration, and transforming them into an experience of Church.
The
formative option,
which always gives priority to the process of
integral and ongoing growth of those to whose service the various
initiatives
and activities are directed.
The
apostolic option,
which commits the young people to form themselves
for the selfless service of others, by sharing, deeper friendship, and
celebration together.
The
civil option,
so becoming an instrument of social experience and
formation, and an effective presence in society at the level at which
youth
policies are decided.
These
choices become translated into some practical elements which guide the
lives of
the groups forming the movement:
the
variety of
groups and associations in accordance with the interests of the young,
with
particular attention to those more suited to poorer youngsters; without
basic
groups there can be no SYM;
a process
of community
experience around the person of Don Bosco and the values of
the SYM; this
reference to Don Bosco and to the values of his spirituality are the
point of
convergence and source of inspiration characterising all the groups and
associations which have the SYM as their focal point;
the
apostolic commitment of
young people among the youngsters themselves; SDB,
FMA and the youngsters together, in the service of the Church and of
society;
the
animators,
who live and make their own the salesian commitment
in groups and associations;
meetings
and festivities,
as moments of communication, formation and life
experience.
1.3.3 Elements for the animation
of the SYM
Although specific circumstances may
differ widely, some aspects of animation are fundamental:
Promote
a provincial and
interprovincial coordinating organisation
with the participation of the young;
Plan
a formation project
offered to the different groups and associations as a focus for their
own
formation plans;
Consider
the formation of
animators and educators the key issue of the movement;
Create
a network of
information and linkage between the different groups and associations,
and also
between them and other groups and associations in the Church and in the
locality (meetings, news-sheets, combined initiatives, etc.);
Consider
Salesian centres
as places for spiritual and Christian enperience and projects;
Consider
the delegate for
youth ministry with his team as the overall promoter of the SYM;
1.4
The areas of
involvement and commitment of the SYM
The characteristic features of the SYM are manifold
and express the variety of the salesian project for groups. Thesy are
to be
found in different ways in various kinds of groups that we shall
briefly
describe.
*The
aspect of acceptance
and welcome: this is a matter of loving the things that interest the
young
people (sports,
recreational activities
etc.) in order to involve them in a life project, to educate them not
individually, but within a group, in relationships, in discussion,
collaboration and sharing with families and with society;
*
The aspect of human
formation which develops their creativity, their ability to plan, their
capacity to achieve results, to dream and create, to communicate
through the
mass media, etc
*
The aspect of cultural
social and political formation, which focuses especially on
understanding the
situation in the local area, on social and political involvement based
on
values of solidarity: development, peace, justice, globalization,
ecology etc.
*
The aspect of religious
and Christian formation which commits the groups and associations to
give
particular attention to the religious and Christian message which is
their
specific purpose and priority, to accompany the young people in their
religious
development and in the process of education to the faith.
1.5 The great youth gatherings
Youth encounters are an important
element of the SYM, as being effective occasions for communication
between
different groups, and the exchange of the ideas and values of salesian
youth
spirituality.
In
recent years these large
gatherings have been increasing in number.
Over the period of a year many provinces have days in
which dialogue
between all the youthful components of the SYM is intensified.
A festive atmosphere is a
characteristic of these meetings, but the educator must pay attention
also to
their content; overall
they should be a
proclamation and powerful relaunching of the educative and pastoral
project.
For this reason it is
necessary:
- to see to it that in the
variety of items and expressions there
is a real convergence of the contents on what
concerns the quality and
effectiveness of the educative and evangelizing project;
- to make the encounter part
of the overall educative process
of the groups, with suitable
preparation and subsequent follow-up which relates this experience to
everyday
life;
-
to ensure the preparation
and participation of a proportionate number of animators, especially
young
ones, who are aware of the objectives being aimed at.
2.
NEW EDUCATIONAL
EXPRESSIONS AND SERVICES
Throughout
the salesian
world new environments, services and works have
been developed to meet
the requirements and the need for contact and presence in the world of
youth. This need
includes the
following, though the list is not exhaustive:
- associations and services
in the field of free time, e.g.: sport,
tourism, music, theatre, etc.;
- the volunteer movement in
its various forms;
- specialized services in
the area of Christian formation and
spiritual animation (retreat houses and centres of spirituality);
- programmes for vocational
animation (guidance communities and
programmes, vocational camps, etc.);
- work among university
students (university hostels, pastoral care
of students, etc.)
-
other forms of presence
in the mass media, and in the specifically missionary pastoral
ministry, which
are fostered by the Departments of Social Communication and of the
Missions
2.1
Characteristics of the
new kinds of presence.
.
All these new forms of
presence are flexible works and services, capable
of adaptation to
changing needs with greater freedom of action and initiative; they make
greater
use of the possibility of communication with the natural
environment of the
young, rather than the stability of a fixed setting; they
give priority to
spontaneity and freedom of participation, to the centrality
of the person
rather than to structures and projects;
it is relatively easier to involve young people in them,
because they
know that what they are doing is in their own hands; they develop a
bond
between various realities and work in cooperation with other
institutions
and services in the local area, trying to offer a global response to
situations. They
are, therefore, expressions of a new
kind of effective presence in the world of youth, and efficacious
instruments
of response to the new educative and evangelizing needs.
2.2
Criteria for a salesian
identity
But at the same time these
new educative opportunities are exposed
to certain dangers, which can lessen their
educative and evangelizing
efficacy as, for example, a certain individualism in their management,
a weak
and ill-defined identity, a vagueness about relationships and projects
which
makes continuity of the educative process difficult to maintain over a
long
period.
It
is desirable, therefore,
to present some
elements and criteria
which can help in the orientation of these new forms of work and to
link them
positively with traditional forms within the provincial project. Here
are some
of them:
clarity
about the salesian educative
and pastoral objectives;
openness
to the permanent
criterion of discernment and renewal: every activity and work is “for
the
youngsters a home that welcomes, a parish that evangelizes, a school
that
prepares them for life, and a playground where friends can meet and
enjoy
themselves” (C 40);
realization
by the
community,
to whom the mission is
entrusted (C 44);
integration
in the
provincial project
through ongoing
cooperation and collaboration between the different educative and
pastoral
works and services of the Province (C 58).
3 SERVICES FOR
ANIMATION IN
THE FIELD OF FREE TIME
3.1 The salesian educative and
pastoral value of
free time
The free-time activities of sport,
tourism, culture, music, theatre, etc. are realities which bring
together many
youngsters, even those normally aloof, who want to satisfy their
typical
interests; they are to be found in all our works.
This kind of educative activity is
considered nowadays of great social value and preventive importance; it
is a
new way of recreating the oratorian environment brought about by Don
Bosco at
Valdocco: for him the playground was the place he liked most for
educative and
pastoral activity.
3.2
Characteristics of the
animation of free time activity
In the salesian world there is a
great variety of initiatives, groups and associations which develop the
salesian educative and pastoral plans in these settings with a
plurality of
styles of action, forms of organization, and numbers of participants. But in all of them there
are some common
elements which characterize their identity:
the
central place of the
young person in the work of education and in all the
activities and
projects;
group
experience as
a primary educative option essential for integral
human development;
free
time as a period
unhindered by the conditioning of consumerism and available for the
expression,
pursuit and development of youthful interests;
integral
personal and social formation of boys and
young people, using the development of their interests as a means to
fulfilling
their educative requirements;
educative
style of animation;
participation
and leadership
role of the laity, especially of the youngsters themselves;
active
presence in the
locality,
to offer a project for
individuals and for society inspired explicitly by the Christian vision
and
educative system of Don Bosco.
3.3
Criteria and practical
guidelines
Integrate
all these groups
and associations for free-time activity (sport, tourism, etc.) into the
educative and pastoral process which fosters:
. the discovery and development of
the positive forces, values and resources which the youngster has
within him;
. the provision of positive educative
experiences, e.g. friendly meeting, joy of sharing, effort to attain an
objective, self-discipline, ability to be creative, etc.;
. deeper demand for and interest in a
greater human and Christian experience, with involvement eventually in
an
explicit process of human and Christian growth.
Link the active role of the
youngsters (which always remains
central) with the active and effective presence of the educators in
their
midst, so as to create together a family atmosphere which will produce
personal
relationships, in themselves a sign of the Gospel and a witness to it.
Develop the organization
needed for the educative and pastoral
process and for an effective presence in social life.
These activities need structures and organization which
are
efficacious and challenging, and also an important source of funding; this gives them a certain
influence and
power, but is also a temptation. For
this reason great attention must be given to:
. the selection of those responsible
and their formation, making sure they share the criteria and objectives
of the
SEPP which are integrated in the EPC;
. the criteria for the distribution
of money, with priority to the more educative aspects at the service of
youngsters in most need;
. the choice of projects for
collaboration and of partners.
Facilitate in the various
groups and associations the sense of
belonging to a broader and more integral project and educative
environment, to
overcome the danger of narrow-mindedness.
This presupposes:
. getting the animators and those in
charge of the various groups and associations which form part of a
salesian
work to become members of a single EPC, and to feel responsible as a
group for
the educative environment;
. promoting experiences of sharing,
collaboration and openness to other groups through mutual exchange of
information, occasional meetings and celebrations together,
collaboration in
common initiatives and activities, shared formation, etc.;
. fostering a certain exchange and
sharing of goods for the benefit of the whole.
4.
THE SALESIAN VOLUNTEER
MOVEMENT
4.1
A developing experience
In carrying out the salesian mission through the
Salesian Youth Pastoral Ministry we are encouraging both the spirit of
the
volunteer movement (service, solidarity – the social
dimension of charity,
selflessness, availability in the face of people in
difficulty…) and the
volunteer movement itself (all the particular forms of organized
educative
volunteering) so that it might be experienced in each of our educative
pastoral
communities (EPC).
In
recent years a
multiplicity of volunteer groups and associations has developed in the
Provinces, and especially of volunteer youth groups in the SYM. The GC24 recognized the
reality of the
volunteer movement as a new style of
openness to one’s neighbour,
especially in the fields of poverty and emargination, as a challenge to
injustice and rampant selfishness, a significant vocational option and
a valid
confirmation of the educative process of the young with the SDBs (cf.
GC24,
26).
The
salesian volunteer
movement of the young is also an important indication of the richness
and
prodigious expansion of Don Bosco’s charism and youthful
leadership in the
dedication and commitment to pastoral work and human advancement.
There
exists a great plurality
of ways of working as a salesian volunteer:
in the province or in mission territories;
voluntary social work among the poor;
educative work as animators, or by direct evangelization; long-term (a
year or
more) or short-term; social service in place of military service (for
conscientious objectors, where the law permits), etc.
Many
Provinces are studying
the volunteer movement, with a view to adopting a plan for including it
in the
organic pastoral plan of the province.
Through the Departments for Youth Ministry, the Salesian
Family, and the
Missions, the Congregation has prepared a general code of practice for
the
animation of this experience.
4.2
Identity of the
salesian volunteer movement:
In
the light of this
document and of recent experiences, we can refer to the following
characteristics:
The
lay and youth
characteristic: the salesian volunteer is
a lay person, man or woman of legal
age, who after adequate preparation places himself/herself at the
disinterested
service of the young and the working classes, giving prior attention to
the
very poor in line with the salesian mission, and for a specified time.
The
educative
characteristic:
it promotes a competent,
creative and ongoing response to emerging needs, with initiatives of
education
and human advancement.
The
social and political
characteristic:
in collaboration with
civil and ecclesial institutions, it proposes an action with a view to
the
transformation of society and the removal of the causes of injustice.
The
gospel characteristic:
it involves commitment to a life-style inspired by
the Gospel; it
accepts the Christian
option of educating by evangelizing and evangelizing by educating, and
fosters
the missionary dimension.
The
salesian community
characteristic: it involves team work in
community within an organized structure,
practising Don Bosco’s preventive system with an oratorian
heart, and drawing
inspiration from salesian youth spirituality.
4.3
The salesian volunteer movement in pastoral work for the
young
The
volunteer movement
provides youth ministry with a
way for
rediscovering the values of the salesian origins, for starting up new
pastoral
activities, and for giving specialized attention to young adults open
to
solidarity, even though their motivations of faith may still be weak. It offers the possibility
of dialogue and
collaboration with other educative agencies with a view to the social
advancement of the very poor.
Youth
ministry provides the
volunteer movement with an
overall maturing
process and specific formation programmes.
It offers the possibility of living salesian youth
spirituality and
criteria for an effective apostolic activity.
It
puts the volunteer in
contact with a rich educative and preventive tradition (the oratorian
heart)
and in communication with other youth experiences - ecclesial and civil. In this way it helps the
volunteers to live
their baptismal vocation and accompanies them in their discernment and
specific
vocational option in the Church or in the Salesian Family.
4.4. Animation of the salesian
volunteer movement
For
its direction the
movement needs a concrete and systematic animation process, which in
turn
requires:
Promoting
the sensitization
of the SDBs and community:
- knowledge of and openness
to the values of the volunteer movement
and its importance in the salesian mission;
- cordial acceptance of the
volunteers in their own project,
respecting their lay identity;
- collaboration for the
drawing up and practice of the provincial
plan of promotion and animation of the movement inserted in the
educative and
pastoral project (cf. GC24, 126).
Fostering
the community
experience of the volunteers:
- by promoting their
experience of the salesian family spirit with
the SDBs and other collaborators;
- through the daily
education to the acceptance of other people, of
working together, of the communication of life and the sharing of faith;
- by offering daily moments
of communication, of prayer, of
relaxation, and also opportunities
for
participation in areas of responsibility within the educative and
pastoral
community or the salesian community;
in
different ways in line
with the kind of volunteer work, its duration, the state of life of the
volunteers, their number, and the presence or otherwise of a Salesian
or other
member of the Salesian Family.
Caring for their formation
through:
- systematic contact with a
salesian community learning
to live and act in line with the
criteria of the salesian educative system;
- direct knowledge of the
reality, sharing and reflection with regard
to situations, deepening of motivations, and programming and
realization in
common;
- personal follow-up which
guides each volunteer in the maturing
process;
- the group to which they
belong, with a concrete programme of
general and specific formation;
- some specialized formative
experiences (work camps, committed
vacation periods, brief foreign experiences, etc.);
- a clear vocational
perspective, either as a committed lay person
in the Church or the Salesian Family, or in the religious or priestly
life.
Developing
some instruments
of animation in the local and provincial community.
The responsibility for animation and coordination at
provincial level lies with the Provincial Delegate for Youth
Ministry and
his team, through a person in charge of this particular sector. This person:
- promotes the volunteer
movement, sensitizing the confreres and
laity in its regard;
- sees to the formation of
the volunteers according to a provincial
plan;
- coordinates, in agreement
with the delegate, the different
initiatives of the volunteer movement in the province;
- maintains communication
with the provincial delegates for the
missions and for the salesian family;
- preserves links with other
Provinces , and with civil and
ecclesiastical bodies;
- supports those who come
back to the province after experience of
volunteer work abroad.
The
person responsible for
the volunteer movement at local level, in agreement
with his counterpart
for pastoral work, animates and coordinates the promotion and formation
of
volunteers in every salesian work.
Promoting
also a form of
coordination at interprovincial, national or regional level
by
organizing (if possible) Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) which,
in
collaboration with other institutions of the Church and society,
support the
formation of volunteers, the development of projects of human
development by
the placement of volunteers, and the search for public or private
funding.
5.
SPECIALIZED
SERVICES OF CHRISTIAN FORMATION AND OF VOCATIONAL MINISTRY
The
young are looking for
spirituality, especially the older ones and the animators. In the SYM an effort has
been made to deepen
and share the values of salesian youth spirituality to the extent
explicitly
called for by the GC23.
The
GC24 endorsed the conviction
that spirituality is the source of communion between SDBs and laity and
has
proposed salesian spirituality as the central element of the process of
formation.
In
the light of these
expectations, the last ten years have seen the rise in the Congregation
of
various initiatives of services of Christian formation and of education
to
spirituality, such as retreat experiences, schools of prayer, houses of
spirituality, centres of pastoral and catechetical formation,
Sanctuaries, etc. These
initiatives have also a strong
influence on vocations; nowadays a vocation can come to maturity in a
young
person only if he lives a deeply embodied spirituality.
These
services constitute a
new form of salesian work among the young, which is becoming ever more
necessary
and urgent.
5.1 Services of Christian
experience and
formation (retreat houses, spirituality centres, schools of prayer,
centres of
pastoral and catechetical formation, etc.)
To give greater quality and
consistency to these initiatives it is desirable that they be set up in
line
with certain criteria:
Ensure
the presence of a
team of SDBs and other members of the Salesian Family;
organize the house
or centre not just as a place of hospitality but as a community or team
of
persons who welcome, accompany and share with the young people one and
the same
spiritual experience.
Provide
a precise
programme of deepening spiritual pedagogy, with various
projects and levels
according to the needs of the different groups who use the house;
overcome the
simple offering of isolated initiatives so as to present a specific
process of
spiritual initiation and greater depth.
Give
special importance to
the pedagogy of prayer and listening to the word of
God; offer
experiences of prayer, of listening to
the word, and of participation in the sacraments in line with the
values of
salesian youth spirituality; attend
particularly to the aspect of initiation and accompaniment, to help the
young
participants gain a
true lived
experience in a personal form.
Offer
all the young people
the possibility of a personal dialogue with a
Salesian or animator
during their presence, and of a systematic follow-up if they so wish.
Always
develop the
vocational theme, helping the youngsters to live their lives
in the
presence of the Lord and his plan of salvation.
There exist also other pastoral
services, less directly connected with a specific salesian
work or
institute, either in the local Church (e.g. SDBs working in the
pastoral
vocation work of the diocese, or following non-salesian movements) or
in
non-salesian places (e.g. in charge of the formation of the educators
of a
particular area). Pastoral
services of
this kind should be taken up in agreement with the Provincial and
should be consistent
with the provincial SEPP.
5.2 Vocational services and
communities
In an effort to find new ways of
pastoral work for vocations, some experiences of animation and
vocational
guidance have been started and consolidated (“come and
see” communities,
centres for vocational guidance, etc.), which in general offer young
people the
opportunity of gaining concrete experience of the salesian life and
mission, of
systematically sharing and acquiring a deeper knowledge of the
vocational theme
and a more detailed follow-up.
It is important to ensure in these
services:
the
presence of a salesian
community
which is open and
welcoming, and which provides an effective vocational witness for the
young, an
experience of fraternal life and salesian mission, and a systematic
accompaniment to the vocational maturing process of those involved;
a
close relationship and collaboration
with the other communities of the Province in their
responsibility for
vocational animation in line with the provincial plan;
specialized
participation
in initiatives of pastoral animation, with special attention to the
vocational
dimension;
collaboration
with the
vocational pastoral centres of the local Church and
of other religious
institutes.
5.3 Sanctuaries
A Sanctuary is a centre of popular
spirituality which can be of considerable importance in evangelization
and in
the process of education to the faith of the people and also of the
young.
Many of the Sanctuaries in our care
are significant centres for the development and experience of salesian
spirituality: centres for the spreading of Marian devotion, like the
Sanctuary
of Mary Help of Christians at Turin and very many others all over the
world;
places of communication and sharing of the salesian spirit through the
figure
of Don Bosco; centres of revitalization of Christian life through the
liturgy,
the Eucharist, the sacrament of Reconciliation, and prayer; reference
points
and places of pilgrimage for individuals and groups, large and small.
This means that we must see to it
that the work of the Sanctuaries is of high quality
and based on a
pastoral project which is strongly motivated and effective for the
evangelization of people in general and of youth groups in particular. In any renewal the
following aspects should
be kept especially in mind:
the
quality of the
welcome given, which gives to those who are estranged from
religion the
possibility that they will be listened to, understood, and encouraged
to
develop the seed of faith which has led them to the Sanctuary;
a strong
proposal of
evangelization, which opens visitors to a meeting with Jesus
Christ and his
Gospel through an experience of conversion; for this, time and
possibility for
prayer and the sacraments, especially reconciliation, must be provided;
opportunity
for dialogue
and serious spiritual follow-up; the Sanctuary can become an
important
means for the Christian maturing of many youngsters in their vocational
search;
A dynamic
and creative
synthesis between evangelical quality and the language and sensitivity
of
popular devotion; between religious practice and the
preoccupations, hopes
and needs of the family and of the communal and social lives of the
people.
6. PASTORAL WORK IN THE
UNIVERSITY WORLD
The new demands of Youth Pastoral
Ministry lead us to be ever more open to the needs of young people,
among whom
university students form a considerable part as animators, volunteers,
catechists, collaborators, etc. But
youth ministry among them and, still more, pastoral work in the
university
world and that of culture offers new possibilities for the
development
of our mission to the young:
- The period of youth has
become longer, and university studies are
now accessible to young people from working-class families; the entire
category
of university students is now in a situation which makes students more
abandoned and at risk.
- Our presence is called for
by the principle of educative
continuity, which requires educative follow-up to be prolonged beyond
the years
of adolescence.
- It facilitates the care
and formation of vocations in both a wide
and more specific sense, and for this the university world is a
privileged
place.
- University campuses are
also places of pastoral importance which enable us to offer a valid
contribution to the world of culture, of education and of work, and to
provide
a synthesis between faith and culture.
6.1 Different levels and kinds
of work
Pastoral work in a university setting
develops at three closely related levels:
- as pastoral care
of university culture, i.e. attending to
the evangelization and Christian animation of university culture on its
own
account, and also with a view to a personal and communal synthesis of
faith and
culture, and of culture and life;
- as pastoral care
of the students themselves and the rest of
the university personnel, fostering their Christian formation
and human
development;
- as a dimension of
youth ministry and overall pastoral work,
which makes us aware of the fact that a consistent group of young
people, to
whom our pastoral activity is directed, are actually still in this
condition
even when we meet them in other contexts.
These educative and pastoral
perspectives shape the different practical expressions of salesian work
in the
university field. They
can be placed in
three groups:
- university institutions
managed by the Congregation;
- hostels or other places of
residence for university students;
- various services of
pastoral animation, e.g. university
chaplaincies and similar parish or diocesan structures specifically
directed to
university students.
6.2 Frame of reference
Pedagogy
of the communal
environment
It is one of the deep convictions of
the salesian spirit that formation takes place primarily through the
environment and the atmosphere prevailing in it.
In work of this kind the environment must have certain
specific
characteristics:
- an environment
of quality, from a human, cultural and
evangelical standpoint, capable of arousing and promoting in young
people
interests and experiences of high calibre;
- which call for responsibility
and common participation,
and the personal commitment of the students themselves;
with
a plurality of
different projects (recreational, cultural and
religious) suited to
their real personal needs.
Pedagogy
of cultural
mediation
Our educative and pastoral work in
the university context should train the students:
- to integrate knowledge
with the overall formation of the
person;
- to be open to
multiple levels and forms of approach to reality,
that of scientific and technical rationality or of economic efficiency
and
productivity, and those of analogical and symbolic reasoning;
- to engage in intercultural
dialogue;
- to develop the ethical
dimension of knowledge and profession,
through a critical assessment of the pursuit of knowledge, and the
search for
the fundamental elements of culture as the particular field for
dialogue
between faith and culture and for a synthesis between culture and life;
- to a systematic
and interdisciplinary dialogue with the faith,
through a Christian mentality.
Pedagogy
of commitment and
confrontation with the particular cultural, social and ecclesial reality
It is important to avoid a separation
between the search for meaning in the intellectual and subjective
sector, and
the social and communal practice, to avoid the risk of falling into
individualism and the obsessive search for a success disconnected from
personal
and communal life. This
is particularly
serious when it is a matter of young people with particular personal
abilities
and with special tasks in society and in the Church.
For this reason we have to foster:
- an education to
ethical and civil responsibility and to
social and political formation;
- the provision of experiences
of the volunteer movement and of
selfless service to the
community and the local area;
- active
participation in initiatives or projects of a
cultural, social or religious kind;
- insertion in and
collaboration with other organizations and
with civil and ecclesial structures operating in the
neighbourhood and the
local Church.
Pedagogy
of personal
accompaniment and follow-up
At this period of life
the young university student needs help
to be clear in getting Christian and human values more deeply rooted in
life,
and in seeking in the right direction for adult values.
This means that we must:
- offer the possibility
of accompaniment through friendly
availability, interpersonal rapport, gradual approach, and discernment
of
concrete situations and their possible improvement;
- point out
different
vocational paths in life, to help him/her
to become aware of his/her
vocation and mission in society and in the Church.
Suggestions
for further reading
On
the Salesian Youth
Movement
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE DELLA CONGREGAZIONE
SALESIANA, Il Movimento Giovanile Salesiano come espressione
della
Spiritualità Giovanile Salesiana. Atti del Convegno Europeo
di Sanlucar la
Mayor 1992. Rome 1993.
BOSCO
G.B., Il Movimento Giovanile Salesiano. In
DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE
GIOVANILE,
Il cammino e la prospettiva 2000. Documenti PG 13. Rome 1991,
pp.123-147.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA, Gruppi
giovanili salesiani. Dossier PG Esperienze a confronto 6.
Rome 1990.
Volunteer
Movement
DICASTERI
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, PER LE MISSIONI E PER LA
FAMIGLIA SALESIANA,
Volontariato
e maissione salesiana, Roma 1985.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Esperienze di
volontariato salesiano. Dossier PG 10. Rome 1995.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Formazione al
volontariato salesiano. Dossier PG 11. Rome 1996.
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Giovani come tutti,
ma… Testimonianze di volontari. Dossier
12. Rome
1996.
The
three dossiers present
interesting experiences and material.
SEPSUR,
Voluntariado
juvenil, En “Cuadernos de pastoral juvenil –
36” mayo 1998
Centres
for vocational
animation
DICASTERO
PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Pastorale vocazionale
salesiana. “vieni e vedi”. Dossier PG
Esperienze a confronto 4. Rome 1989.
PER LA
PASTORALE GIOVANILE, Salesiani…Come…
Perché?…
Dossier. Esperienze a confronto 5. Rome
1989.
With
some enlightening
experiences and some indications and criteria for activities..
Work
in the university
field
NANNI
C., (a cura) Salesiani e pastorale tra gli
universitari. Rome
1988.
Chapter
5
YOUTH
PASTORAL MINISTRY
ANIMATION STRUCTURES
1.
PASTORAL ANIMATION
One
of the characteristics of Salesian Youth Ministry is the style of
animation. To
animate is “to give a soul to” that is:
-
to motivate people deepening their sense of identity
concerning the values, criteria and aims of the salesian pastoral
project, promoting
the unity and the worldwide
character of the pastoral plan, guiding the choices and activities;
-
to create a sense of communion and unity around a
shared plan, to bring together and foster a spirit of cooperation and
communication, promoting collaboration and helping the growth of a
sense of
belonging.
1.1.
The importance of animation structures
The
way animation is carried out is not a trivial matter, it reflects a way
of
thinking which either encourages or
hinders
a style of animation. The SEPP can become a real stimulus and force of
pastoral
animation and of guidance, if the organization of pastoral animation is
appropriate.
These
days the structures of animation need to respond to two great
challenges:
-
the growth of a multiplicity of fronts and places in
which to operate, and the tendency for these to organize themselves in
ways and
with a dynamism and with their own resources which do not help in
overcoming an
inward-lookng approach;
- the change
in ways of thinking and acting regarding pastoral animation that needs
to be
fostered in salesian communities and among lay collaborators.
To
respond to these challenges animation structures need above all:
-
to look after the organic unity of Salesian Youth Pastoral
Ministry, continually encouraging interaction between the four
dimensions which
characterize it and fostering a close collaboration between the
different works
and services in view of this unity:
-
to support each local community in the daily realization
of the unity and totality of the salesian pastoral process.
1.2
Some characteristics of pastoral animation
*
Animation is linked to the service of government.
To
animate as we have said above, is more than
governing, managing and organizing: for this reason, those people who
do not
have direct responsibility for government, can carry out an important
role of
animation in the EPC and in the Province.
But
the style of salesian government is steeped in the
spirit of animation: governing by animating, that is keeping informed,
communicating, motivating, involving, making co-responsible,
continually
discovering spiritual energies, forming people…
*Salesian
animation is spiritual and apostolic.
Salesian
animation is not merely a mechanism, it is a
spiritual animation which brings
to
educational activity that breath of the Spirit capable of giving
meaning to the
development of people and to the efforts to change society. The
educational
system matured and transmitted by Don Bosco is at the same time a
process of
youth spirituality.
*Pastoral
animation needs to be closely connected with the animation of other
aspects and
sectors of the province, in a mutually beneficial collaboration.
This
can be promoted through a Structured Provincial
Plan, which helps to direct all the aspects of the life and action of
the
communities and the works towards the unified and significant
realization of
the salesian mission. This Structured Provincial Plan should indicate
the
priority areas for action to be developed, the more important working
criteria
in order to make the action and life of the communities and works
significant,
the general aims which should guide all the plans and projects of the
different
sections of the life and action of the Province, the lines of policy
regarding
the formation of personnel and the economic and structural resources
etc. The
SEPP of the province should be drawn up along these lines, in the same
way as
the projects of the other sectors of the life and action of the
Province.
*Animation
that is undertaken in connection and collaboration with other provinces
and
with the local Church.
The
necessary exchange of experiences and of styles of
pastoral ministry makes it essential that there is agreement regarding
aims,
objectives and strategies among the different provinces in the same
region, the
various local Churches and other social and educational institutions in
the
area.
2.
PROVINCIAL
ANIMATION
It
is through the
Province that the
Congregation "organizes"
and animates a life of
communion and the
implementation of the
mission in a certain territory.
The
provincial community is
the unifying element - for the local communities themselves, with other
provinces, with the world community and with the local Church.
The
provincial community is
the pivot for ongoing renewal.
2.1 Recommended
forms of provincial pastoral animation
The
effort to energize the
pastoral activity of a province can be uselessly dissipated in one-off
and
infrequent activities or focused on unimportant issues, if particular
areas for
activities are not clearly established. In fact it is not a matter of
“getting
things done” nor of giving the impression that
“everyone is doing a lot of
work,” but rather of constantly uniting the communities and
enabling them to
respond effectively to the youth situation.
In
the pastoral animation
of the province preference should be given to these approaches:
2.1.1
The actual assumption
of joint animation and pastoral government of the Province by the
Provincial
Council under the direction of the Provincial.
The
Provincial with his
council has the primary responsibility for the animation and pastoral
government of the province. (C. 161)
He
is responsible for formulating and putting into practice the SEPP (R
155).
A
fundamental role in
directing the life and pastoral activity of the province falls to the
Provincial and his council: to provide direction, according to the
situation
and resources available, for the objectives to be achieved, the
priorities to
be observed, the strategies to be adopted, the resources to be
developed etc…
This means that the provincial council is a pastorally reflective and
decision
making body, with the primary responsibility for unifying pastoral
practice in
the province, as expressed in the provincial SEPP.
This
presupposes:
- going beyond
purely administrative roles and especially taking on all the tasks of
discernment, reflection and planning;
- studying carefully the situation of the communities
and above all the youth situation in order to understand the urgent
pastoral
needs;
- deciding on criteria and formulating priorities for
action, promoting in the confreres and communities a unified pastoral
mentality
and a combination of forces and activities in the service of the young;
- assisting in the setting up of the provincial SEPP
and periodically assessing the results;
- using the time available and specific resources for
this animation and coordination of
provincial and local youth ministry.
2.1.2
Continuous formation
of the workers.
It
is useless to
propose some kind of activity when the
one who is supposed to carry it out has not been prepared. It is also
useless
to prepare plans or to encourage people in a general sort of way for a
project
when they lack the basis needed to put the plans into operation.
This
pastoral formation
means providing the confreres with guidance to reflect on their
experience of
the grace of unity, to renew their pastoral approach and to update
their
working skills.
Three
important phases in
this pastoral formation are:
Initial
formation
through the study of Salesian Youth Pastoral Ministry
and the exercise of the ministry which helps the young confrere to:
Assume
a unified pastoral
mentality, a style of animation and a planning method;
Combine
reflection and
pastoral activity, overcoming any temptation to improvisation and
superficiality;
Overcome
any temptation to
compartmentalisation or a too generalized approach in the pastoral
ministry.
Specialized
formation for
workers to help them become better as educators and pastors
° the provision of personnel specifically prepared
in
various areas of Salesian Youth Ministry, and therefore in the life of
the
province (the provincial plan for the formation of personnel):
- to deal especially
with the area of pastoral and educational science;
- with a theoretical,
practical and experiential specialization.
° ongoing pastoral formation:
-
developing the cultural
and pastoral role of SDBs through a renewed commitment to culture,
study and
professionalism;
-
deepening of Salesian
spirituality in order to live it and to be in the position to propose
and share
it (GC24 239-241; 257);
-
giving importance to the
main occasions of community life, and making daily life the ordinary
means for
ongoing formation;
- promoting a formation process with lay people
(GC24, 138-146).
2.1.3
The involvement of
communities, confreres and the EPC.
The
object of animation is
to encourage co-responsibility and make it function all the time. All
the
confreres together with the lay people in the EPC are involved not only
in
implementing, but also in studying and formulating pastoral criteria
and aims.
For
this reason, animators
and animating
bodies, rather than
undertaking a large number of activities, ought to be guides, promoters
and
sources of information who facilitate and support the communities in
undertaking and fulfilling their responsibilities.
Points
of strategy for
this:
° ensure the quantitative and qualitative
consistency of the local communities (GC24, 173-174);
° closely and systematically support
the
communities, especially those which have most difficulty in carrying
out their
mission of pastoral animation, and those responsible for the different
pastoral
sectors;
° promote frequent pastoral communication
and
exchanges between the communities and the workers to
encourage a sense of
belonging, the assimilation of common criteria and aims, collaboration
and
mutual enrichment;
° follow with special care certain
occasions of
particular significance in pastoral animation, such as the
process of
formulation and assessment of the local PEPS, the definition of
pastoral roles
and the responsibilities of the educative and pastoral animation teams,
the
programming of formation for pastoral workers etc.
2.2
Criteria, aims, and
requirements in the organization of services and of provincial
structures for
pastoral animation.
The
institutional and
organizational elements can greatly facilitate the realization of the
aims
proposed in the SEPP; concentrating forces, favouring areas, promoting
a
specific style and methodology of working, ensuring the necessary and
the appropriate
means (of personnel,
organizational and financial etc.)
a)
The creation of
structures and organizations of pastoral animation in the province
follows the
following criteria (cf. GC23, 240; 244-246):
° unity: promoting unifying
structures rather
than structures for separate sectors;
°
organic:
responding to the large areas - works, according to the nature of the
educative
and pastoral plan, integrated and complementary;
°
direction:
supporting the activity of the salesian religious communities and of
the EPC
rather than directly organizing many initiatives;
°
homogeneity:
acting in such a way that in provinces in similar circumstances, the
organizations
are homogeneous in order to facilitate coordination and collaboration;
°
net-working: with
provinces close by and with civil or
ecclesiastical organizations or associations that are
concerned with
Youth Ministry or have some connection with our target groups.
b)
According to these
criteria the provincial organizations of animation have these aims:
°
to train
workers;
°
to create a theoretical
and operative consensus;
°
to indirectly
coordinate the community's activities;
°
to stimulate creativity;
°
to support activity with
doctrinal and practical reflection material;
°
to be significantly and
pro-actively present in the area (civil and
ecclesial).
c)
The organization of the
province is at the service of the realization of the salesian mission
expressed
in concrete terms in the provincial SEPP (cf. C. 121; 157), and this
requires:
° a clear understanding of the overall
nature of salesian
pastoral activity in the SEPP;
° types of coordination and
collaboration
between the different sectors of provincial animation
(Formation, Salesian Family, Economy, the Youth Pastoral
areas)
to ensure unity of pastoral action according to the aims of the SEPP;
°
systematic reflection
and comparison between the reality and the aims set: a continuous
process of
study, reflection, setting of priorities, planning,
assessment…;
°
wide-spread participation
and co-responsibility: sense of community, team-work, appropriate and
sufficient sharing of information.
2.3. Provincial
services of pastoral
animation.
2.3.1 Different levels of
provincial animation
It is possible to identify three levels of
responsibility in the provincial service of pastoral animation: they
are three
different but inseparable levels:
*
the level of government
(the Provincial and his Council) who needs to make the fundamental
decisions as
the one primarily responsible for the animation and pastoral government
of the
province (C. 161)
*
the level of unity and
pastoral direction (the provincial Delegate with his team) who needs to
ensure
the organic unity
of the pastoral
activity carried out in the province and its direction according to the
provincial SEPP.
*
the level of practical
coordination of the work (the commissions or advisory bodies in the
different
sectors) who ensure the coordination of the various pastoral activities
carried
out in the different sectors
These three levels interact and complement each
other, while it is the second which in a particular way ensures the
salesian
identity of the pastoral activity decided upon and coordinated by the
others.
2.3.2
The Provincial
Delegate for Youth Ministry and his team.
The
Provincial “will
appoint a delegate for the youth pastoral sector, who will coordinate
the work
of a team which will ensure the convergence of all activities on the
objective
of education to the faith, and render possible practical communication
between
the provinces.” (GC23, 244).
The
Youth Ministry Delegate
He
is the Provincial’s
delegate and works in agreement with him and with the provincial
council. His
first subjects are the confreres, the salesian communities and the EPC.
He is
not the one in charge of the initiatives nor of a single area, but the
one who
ensures a structured pastoral operation in the province and pays
attention to
all aspects.
Normally
he dedicates
himself full-time to provincial pastoral animation. It is convenient
for him to
be a member of the provincial council, where he normally represents
pastoral
issues and concerns.
Job
Description:
° he helps the Provincial and his council in
the
formulation of the SEPP and of common pastoral directives and
guidelines;
° he coordinates in collaborative fashion the functioning
of the provincial youth ministry team and
helps each member to carry
out his task;
° he supports the local communities
in their
pastoral planning, implementation and assessment, attending to the
development
of the four dimensions of the SEPP in their various settings;
°
he keeps in contact with
the workers to guide their activities according to
the unified plan of
the SEPP;
°
he directs the joint
community projects proposed in the SEPP;
°
he sees to the
realization of a structured educative-pastoral
formation plan for
the confreres, the lay collaborators and the young animators;
°
he keeps in close contact
with members of the Salesian Family who are working in the
province, with
the local church, and with the Department.
The provincial Youth
Ministry Team.
The
provincial youth
ministry team collaborates directly with the delegate in his tasks:
i.e.
reflection, planning, coordination, evaluation of youth ministry in the
province, according to the directives of the Provincial and his council
and the
provincial SEPP.
Its
main purpose is to
ensure the integrity of the pastoral activity (the coordinated presence
of the
four dimensions) and the convergence
of
the various activities. For this reason it is important that in the
team there
are people with special competence in the four dimensions of the plan,
so that
between them they can guarantee their balanced and unified development
in the
various programmes and pastoral processes developed in the province and
in the
communities.
It
is important that those
responsible in the province for the Missions and for Social
Communications also
take part in the work of the team.
Job
Description:
°
to collaborate with the
Delegate in his responsibilities;
°
to guide the communities
towards an interdisciplinary view of problems and a combined effort to
resolve
them;
°
to foster the presence
and the interconnection of the different aspects of the SEPP in the
different
works and sectors of the province.
This
requires:
-
specific theoretical and
practical training for the members;
-
time for reflection and
discussion;
-
competence in making
contacts and coordination, with realism and with the ability to
motivate;
- a
specific plan of work
(e.g. for the year) based on the SEPP, following the priorities laid
down by
the Provincial and his council.
2.3.3 Provincial appointees for
works and areas
and their teams.
For
the guidance and
animation of the different sectors of Youth Pastoral
Ministry in the province (Oratories-Youth Centres,
Schools,
Parishes, the marginalized, Volunteers, SYM, etc) the Provincial
appoints a
representative usually assisted by a group.
Job
Description of those
responsible for a sector:
° to help the EPC of these works and sectors to
customize the provincial guidelines for youth ministry in line with the
SEPP
and the working plan of the delegate and his team,
° to study and reflect on the educational and
pastoral
aims, the real situation, the problems, the scope of the works;
° to animate, direct, help each work to achieve
its
specific aims.
It
is important that those
in charge of the pastoral works or sectors of the province work
together
systematically under the guidance of
the provincial delegate and his team to:
° foster a sharing of information and projects;
°
coordinate the different
activities in line with the SEPP and provincial planning;
° preserve the structural unity of youth ministry
in
the whole province.
3.
INTERPROVINCIAL ANIMATION AND COORDINATION.
At
the service of the
pastoral planning and animation of a group of provinces there are
organizations
for contacts and for coordination: interprovincial teams for Youth
Ministry,
national or regional youth ministry delegations, national centres for
Y.M
etc. These
organizations or teams are
set up and directed by the respective Provincials in a group of
provinces or a
region, counting on the collaboration of the Youth Pastoral Department.
The
actual situations vary
but the following criteria should be taken into account:
the
importance of
coordination at this level: to respond to a youth problem and situation
which
is much broader and complex, in order to develop
a more open and universal mentality in the provinces; to
foster
solidarity and an exchange of gifts in the context of Youth Ministry;
to
further facilitate the circulation of pastoral experiences and models,
etc.;
being a
service of support, animation and subsidiary coordination, it should
not take
on tasks which others in the planning process can and should undertake;
the priority
of education to the faith which applies to educational programmes and
activities, also applies to the organization of structures of animation
(cf.
GC23, 245);
all
the coordination bodies ought to be structured in
a convergent, integrated and organic manner, avoiding coordination in
watertight compartments, sectorialism, and a bureaucratic
centralization.
It
is part of the
coordinating role the provincial Delegates for Youth Pastoral Ministry
in the
various provinces of a region or group of provinces (National or
Regional
Delegation or interprovincial team of Youth Pastoral Ministry) who meet
regularly
-
to reflect together on
the youth situation and the challenges present in the context of the
provinces
with a view to formulating joint
criteria and guidelines for the pastoral animation of the
country or
region;
-
to coordinate joint
collaboration between the provinces, on common issues, such
as the
formation of educators and animators etc.;
-
to foster the sharing of
experiences, aids, initiatives and projects;
-
to provide a type of combined
and unified presence and action in the Church and in the
national and
regional territory.
Alongside
the National or
Regional Delegations or teams for Youth Pastoral Ministry there can be
set up
National or Regional Centres for YM, that is bodies for reflection and
animation created by a provincial conference or group of provinces at
the
service of YM in the Region or Nation in order to:
-
foster and develop studies
and research on current YM problems;
-
collect and compare the
more important salesian and church experiences in
the area of YM;
-
publish and distribute
these reflections and experiences;
-
put itself at the service
of the provinces and the local church to animate the process
of planning
and programming, especially for the training of YM workers.
4.
ANIMATION AND COORDINATION AT WORLD LEVEL.
The
services, the
activities, the initiatives and the works which are aimed at the
education and
evangelization of youth find a unifying focal point in the Department
for Youth
Pastoral Ministry, with the General Councillor and his team.
According
to the
Constitutions (C. 136), his role is to animate and give direction to
salesian
educative and apostolic activity and to assist the provinces.
In
practice:
° He offers encouragement in taking things
forward,
provides motivation, presents an overall view, pays attention to
cultural
awareness and a spiritual depth, fosters an educational dimension in
the aims
and programmes and technical support, promotes reflection on the
criteria and
pressing issues, and an exchange of experiences.
° He also tries to encourage the active presence
of
salesian pastoral ministry in the Church, following up its proposals
and
directives and offering our specific contribution;
° Within the General Council he provides a
pastoral
and youth viewpoint following up and determining the guidelines of the
general
programming of the Rector Major and his Council: maintaining working
relationships of support and cooperation with the other sectors
especially
Formation, the Missions and the Salesian Family.
° He collaborates with the Regionals, in unifying
and
organizing the activities in the different provinces according to their
situations and needs.
The
priority subjects of
his role of animation are:
- the Provincials and their councils;
- the provincial delegates for YM, their teams and
those responsible for particular sectors;
- other animation groups at regional level.
5.
LOCAL ANIMATION AND COORDINATION
The
pastoral animation of
the works and activities through which the mission is carried out in a
particular place is the responsibility above all of
the local salesian
community, especially the Rector and the house council.
As
the animating nucleus of
the EPC it will make sure that in every activity and work the integrity
and the
unity of salesian pastoral ministry is achieved.
In
the pastoral animation
of a work, the salesian community gathers together the lay people and
involves
in a co-responsible way especially the council of the EPC and/or of the
work
which is “the central organism which animates and coordinates the whole salesian
enterprise, through reflection,
dialogue, and the programming and revision of the educative and
pastoral
activity.” (cf. GC24, 161 and 171)
To
take this pastoral
animation forward, in each EPC there is a YM coordinator with a team.
This
coordinator with the team plans, organizes, coordinates and stimulates
the
pastoral activity of the work according to the objectives proposed in
the local
SEPP and the guidelines and criteria of the council of the EPC or of
the work
in close contact with the Rector.
In
practice it carries out
the following functions:
- fosters and directs the participation of all
the
EPC in the formulation, implementation and assessment of the
local SEPP;
- develops the local SEPP through
specific
programmes according to the different types of pastoral activity in the
work,
and sees to their implementation;
- fosters the coordination and integration
of
the different pastoral activities, ensuring their complementarity and
their
orientation towards education to the faith;
- promotes and develops initiatives for the formation
of pastoral workers in accordance with
the guidelines of the
provincial plan;
-
ensures the connection
and the collaboration of the EPC with the pastoral strategy
of the local
church and with other educational bodies in the area.
Chapter 6
GUIDELINES FOR SETTING
UP OR ASSESSING THE SEPP
The
SEPP, rather than a
document, to be a community way of thinking about involvement,
clarification
and identification which aims at:
- generating within the EPC a working arrangement
based on criteria, aims and common plans for activities, in this way
avoiding
the fragmentation of our activities, and building up a synthesis and
unity in
our educational activity;
- creating and deepening in the EPC an understanding
of the common mission and shared vision;
- so that it becomes a shared reference point with
regard to the quality of the educative pastoral work which is
constantly
checked.
This
process ought also to
aim at creating in the educators and evangelizers a real planning and
group-work mentality, which makes them capable of animating long and
complex
processes and constantly checking themselves against the real situation
to
assess the effectiveness of their own efforts.
For
this reason the
procedure that is followed together, and the working methods employed
are much
more important than the written document produced.
The steps taken by Provinces and communities in
formulating the SEPP has shown the need to have some practical
guidelines in
order to:
-
facilitate the involvement of the members of the EPC in its
formulation, implementation and verification;
-
ensure the consistency of the aims of the SEPP with the needs
and situation of the young;
- help
the SEPP to become a genuine focus for everyday pastoral
activity in the EPC.
1. Different levels of
planning
Pastoral
planning involves
different levels of realization which give rise to different kinds of
procedures and documents which need to be clarified together and
integrated
1.1
Frame of reference
(in
Italian "quadro di
riferimento", in Spanish "ideario", in French "points de
référence”).
This constitutes the sum of the characteristics which identify salesian
pastoral action in the Congregation and in the province and indicates
the
direction in which one wishes to move in order to realize the mission.
It
responds to the question. Who are we and what are we doing? What do we
want to
achieve and where do we want to get to?
In
this sense, it defines
the basis elements of the institute vis-à-vis society and
the Church. It should
be agreed by everyone in the EPC and provides the basic reference to
solicit a
sense of belonging, to create a common commitment, to draw out the best in people, to promote a
climate of
collaboration and co-responsibility.
In
this frame of reference
are to be found:
-
those aimed at – the
target group and their needs;
-
the convictions and the
values which guide and animate the province in specifying and realizing
the
mission (an understanding of man and of society, of the Church and of
the
pastoral ministry, the guiding principles of salesian pedagogy
– the Preventive
System-, the values of Salesian Spirituality);
-
the presentation of the
specific mission in response to the needs of the chosen target group;
-
the fundamental criteria
for the development of the educative and pastoral process;
-
the final aim that it is
intended to reach.
1.2
The educative pastoral
plan
This is the general scheme of the things to be done
which the frame of reference specifies in a given context. It responds
to the
question: What is to be done and how is it to be done in order to reach
the
target that has been set?
The plan:
-
indicates the working
objectives in response to the challenges of a given place or situation;
- it
proposes practical ways and means for achieving these
aims;
- it
establishes roles and functions to ensure the
effectiveness of the means and the achievement of the aims;
- it
provides the criteria and contents of an assessment
An
educative pastoral plan is more specific than a
frame of reference. It is “medium term” in
duration, and applicable in the local
situation in which a Province or a community is operating. The aim or
objective
that is set, the area of work selected, the working methods chosen,
indicate
the way ahead.
There
is a provincial SEPP and the SEPP of a work.
1.3
Different ways of developing the educative
pastoral plan.
°
The Timetable or
Calendar
This
is the ordered
arrangement of the different stages or educational opportunities (with
the
methods and the timing of their fulfillment and the means and those
involved)
by which an attempt
is made to move
towards the achievement of the
aims set
out in the SEPP.
The timetable
or calendar helps to get the
plan
working, develops it, as time passes, and adapts it to the different
target
groups; in the agenda the aims become successive stages; the method
becomes
a set of activities
and experiences
arranged in order.
The
GC23 suggested that in
its revision of the SEPP, among other things, each Province should
translate
the faith journey proposal into concrete agendas, suited to their own
target
groups and to the contexts in which they were working. (GC 23 230)
°
The annual pastoral
plan
This
is the yearly
application of the SEPP: the selection of some specific aims to follow
up with
particular attention during the year.
Through
these yearly plans
a programmme is gradually built up which makes the SEPP effective
according to
the regular assessment carried out by the EPC.
°
Planning programme
This
is the distribution of
the tasks with regard to personnel, time-tabling, places, as required
by the
project and the annual plan, and the on-the-spot decisions regarding
things to
be done. This is carried out every year.
|
PROCESSES |
DOCUMENTS |
||
|
OVERALL
DEVELOPMENT OF
THE PROVINCE |
BASIC
PROVINCIAL PLAN General
frame of reference Fundamental
choices which guide development
of the province |
||
|
OPERATIONAL AND SUPPORTIVE PROCESSES IN
THE PROVINCE |
Formation Plan
Provincial SEPP
Plan
of Action for the
Economic/Administ
Operational pastoral plan
Salesian Family
Plan Lay
Project Plan for Social
Communication Vocational Plan |
||
|
OVERALL
LOCAL PLAN With
guidelines for its
life and activities AT
LOCAL LEVEL |
Local Community
Plan
Ongoing
LOCAL
SEPP
Plan for the
Economic
Formation
(or an annual Pastoral
Salesian Family
administrative
Plan
plan)
Plan |
Some
notes of explanation:
Overall
development of the province refers to
permanent aspects which are terms of reference for all the proposals
and
planning that takes place:
The
basic elements of the Preventive System and of
Salesian Spirituality
which the
province wants to emphasise in a particular way bearing in mind the
situation
and the setting in which it is working (the basic frame of reference)
The
core options that ought to guide the development
of the province; these include; priority areas of activity for the next
few
years, operational criteria which ought to guide the various plans and
projects, general proposals for the preparation of personnel and for
economic
and structural development.
These
basic elements (permanent or long term) ought to
be make concrete in various plans and practical projects, according to
the
different important sectors within the life of the province. Among
these
projects the one most developed is the PEPS, which refers to the sector
for
educative and pastoral action.
In
addition there are other plans and projects which
are transversal because they concern and influence the projects in the
different sectors, such as the project for lay people, the social
communication
plan, which has many elements of formation and pastoral animation, or
the
vocational plan, which makes explicit one aspect of the PEPS, or the
community
plan itself, in which in addition to aspects of community life and
prayer also
includes elements which are important for the local PEPS. For this
reason they
are indicated by transversal arrows: they are not projects to be added
to the
PEPS, but they give a certain emphasis to and develop some of its more
important aspects
One
could use the same scheme at the local level; the
community should identify some basic themes for the whole salesian
work, which
would draw together the different sectors or aspects of the salesian
life and
pastoral activity; it would be similar to a “Basic local
plan”, that is some
fundamental options which the salesian community would take as the
guidelines
for all its work of animation, in the light of what is suggested for
the
province that year.. It would not be a project properly so called, but
only
some points on which to concentrate their attention and their efforts.
For each
of them there then ought to be concrete plans and proposals
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
DIFFERENT LEVELS AND DOCUMENTS
|
LEVEL |
RELATIONSHIP |
|
PROVINCIAL SEPP Past.
Guidelines.
Past. Guidelines.
Past. Guidelines.
Past. Guidelines for the
school
for the parish
for the oratory
for the social work sector
sector
sector
sector SCHOOL SEPP
PARISH SEPP
ORATORY SEPP
Social Work SEPP OPERATIIONAL
PROCEDURES FOR A COMPLEX SALESIAN PRESENCE |
Provincial
programme for the next few
years Application
of the Provincial
SEPP in every situation as the guideline for the different EPC Plan
currently in action in each work or sector Common
elements in the dfferent works that constitute a Salesian presence in a
particular place: Analysis
of the situation Causes
and their priority General
objectives |
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|
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2.
THE GENERAL STRUCTURE OF
THE SEPP
A
project or plan in order
to be realistic and effective needs to be seen as an ongoing process,
as a
journey which, setting out from a starting point, moves towards the
objectives
determined by aims and activities which continually modify it; for this
reason
it should be drawn up in set of stages. The three phases mentioned
below are to
be taken up, expanded, further developed, and this several times over
so as to
adapt the educational plan to the changing circumstances in which we
are
working.
In
this process the EPC
ought to be constantly checking with the agreed “terms of
reference” so as to
both throw light on the analysis of the situation in order to identify
the main
challenges, and above all to highlight the objectives that ought to
guide the
pastoral action towards its aims as indicated in the “terms
of reference “
themselves.
2.1
The phase of the
analysis of the situation
·
Knowledge of the situation
where we are and of the youth situation
in our own context: people, circumstances, resources, problems,
tendencies,
possibilities.
·
An
educational and pastoral
interpretation of this situation in order to evaluate the facts
according to
their potential for making things easier or more difficult for young
people and
their human development in the faith, to discover the gospel values of
which
the young people could be bearers, and their expectations. This
interpretation
is carried out in the light of the fundamental points of the salesian
mission
and of the preventive system.
·
Identifying
the more
important challenges and the urgent educative and pastoral issues which
arise
from the analysis of the situation.
2.2
The planning phase
·
Decide
on the general
objectives, that is the educative-pastoral choices that are considered
the most
important,, urgent and feasible in order to move towards the final
proposals.(Terms of reference)
·
Formulate
for each choice
or area for action concrete, clear and verifiable objectives.
·
Select
the strategies or
action plans, i.e. the paths, ways of acting or the methods which seen
appropriate in order to achieve the objectives set.
·
Set
out practical courses
of action or involvement, for which the target groups, the aims to be
achieved,
the ‘contents’ to be communicated or achieved will
be decided.
·
Determine
the
responsibilities of the different people or of the team and the functions of the
organizations.
2.3
The phase of assessing
the project
This
allows for objectively measuring the impact of the project on the
situation, evaluating the results in the light of the proposed aims,
discovering new possibilities or clearly urgent issues, and deciding on
the new
steps to be taken.
This
assessment carried out during the process also makes it possible to
support and guide the people and groups responsible, in carrying out
their
responsibilities and roles, to motivate them more and to adjust their
own
progress.
The
assessment ought to include the different people, groups and teams
involved; it ought to be positive, that is directed towards providing
help and
motivation to obtain better results, and even if it concentrates on a
particular issue, it ought not to lose sight of the whole of the SEPP
of which
this particular feature is part.
In
an overall assessment of the SEPP there are some aspects that should
not be forgotten:
-whether
a genuine educative process has evolved through the different
activities (continuity, interaction, new possibilities and resources,
the
involvement of people concerned)
-
the degree of achievement of the objectives set: for this it is
essential to decide on some specific and measurable criteria in the
light of
which the results obtained can be assessed;
analysis
of the causes,
personal, structural, organizational
etc which may have helped or hindered the process, in
order to be able
to adapt the objectives to the new situations and possibilities.
POSSIBLE SCHEME FOR THE
SEPP
Fundamental terms of reference to be agreed
with the
whole EPC which ought to provide it
in
the whole process of realizing
the
SEPP.
For example:
Fundamental values of salesian pedagogy that
the EPC
judges to be the most important
in its
own situation
Some methodological aspects and the style of relationships to be
fostered
in educative and pastoral action
Features
of the organization and
the criteria that guide the activity and structures.
|
Analysis
of the situation |
Vision
for the future |
General
Objectives |
Strategies
and specific objectives |
Courses
of action or interventions |
Programme |
Appraisal |
|
From an Educative and Salesian point Of view examine the youth situation in the
local area. It
would be best to choose some of the more pressing challenges for our
educative and pastoral mission |
In the light of the central elements of Salesian Youth Ministry, what would you like
the youth situation to be in the future? What can my commitment involve? This
vision for the future ought to be clear,
inspiring, detailed
and positive. |
Select the target that we want to arrive at through our educative
activities They
should not be many; two or three at the most |
Indicate the process that we believe would be
best suited to reach each target and the practical steps to be taken:;
design a gradual process. These
steps should be practical, gradual and Verifiable. |
Identify concrete actions or specific
procedures. Ensure
a progressive and interconnected relationship between the different
actions planned. |
Specify for each
procedure: The people concerned The resources: Collaborators Means Timetable The team and structures. |
Propose methods of appraisal: (indicators): Continuous throughout the process At the end of the
process and at each stage |
3.
THE PROCESS OF FORMULATION OR RE-FORMULATION OF THE
SEPP
As
has already been said, the aim of the plan is not
so much to put in the hands of the workers a new document to get to
know and
put into action, but rather to help the EPC to work with a
collaborative
approach and with a clarity of aims and criteria which make real
co-responsibility possible.
3.1
Fundamental criteria for a work of planning
The
involvement of all the members of the EPC:
-
ensuring motivation
presenting
the aims and the process with clarity.
The
participation of everyone in the different phases:
-
fostering an appropriate, prompt and as
wide as possible consultation
-
promoting a calm and ongoing dialogue in the study of
problems and
situations;
-
always appreciating the involvement of
everyone.
The
effort to maintain clearly and to propose
continually the focus and the lines for reflection:
-
the centrality of the young person and
the youth situation;
-
attention to the overall vision of the salesian
educational
and pastoral project (the
four
dimensions or areas);
-
the ever valid aspects of our educational-pastoral
approach (the preventive system).
Clarity
from the outset regarding the different levels
of participation (discussion, decision, implementation) and those
responsible.
Continual
evaluation of the process, to provide
encouragement and to improve it.
3.2
The EPC,
the subject of the process.
Every
valid educational project is always a joint and
collaborative effort. The provincial SEPP involves all the communities
and
works of the province, while the local SEPP involves the EPC as the
subject of
its formulation, implementation and verification.
In
this process, SDBs and lay people together
experience communion and a sharing in the spirit and mission of Don
Bosco. All
the members of the EPC follow the path of discernment, actively
participating
in the search for the aims and the courses of
action of the SEPP (GC24, 119-120)
The
SEPP, formulated, implemented and verified together
bolsters the EPC, creates a common way of thinking, makes the
educational-pastoral action more effective, becomes a special occasion
for
ongoing formation for SDBs and lay people.
How
do we involve and engage all the EPC in this
process?
°
Set up and put into action an animating group which:
-
stimulates and motivates, helping to overcome any obstacles;
-
points to the working methods;
-
provides helps and aids for reflection and study;
-
sums up and formulates the conclusions to propose to the group.
This
group at provincial level can be the provincial
Youth Pastoral Team supplemented with other competent and qualified
people; at
local level the council of the EPC.
°
Involve and motivate in a special way the Salesians
and the SDB communities in this task of animation of the process of
reflection
and setting up the sepp; consider action
across the province to:
-
clarify
the role of the salesian community as the animating nucleus of the EPC;
-
examine
together further the elements of salesian identity: the preventive
system as a
spirituality, pastoral method, educational methodology, the synthesis
of
education and evangelization
etc.
°
Prepare a doctrinal and methodological frame of
reference to present to the EPC as an aspect of sharing and as a guide
to the
process;
°
Think up a method to encourage the participation of
all the groups and organizations of the EPC according to their
responsibilities
and possibilities.
°
Involve in a special way the members of the Salesian
Family who work in the same area. (cf. GC24, 125):
-
across
the province, through meetings of provincial organizations (provincial youth pastoral
team and/or the
provincial council with representatives of the different groups in the
Salesian
Family present in the Province;
- at local level: through dialogue between the different committees of the Salesian Family and the SDB community and the Council of the EPC.
