Familia Comboniana 720 - June 2014

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Perpetual professions

Priestly ordinations

Holy Redeemer Guild

June                01 – 07 ER           08 – 15 LP              16 – 30 P

July                  01 – 15 KE           16 – 31 M

Prayer intentions

June – That, following the example of St Daniel Comboni, we may keep our eyes fixed on the Crucified One, in order to assimilate the sentiments of his Heart and become witnesses of them through communion among ourselves, with the local Churches and with the poorest. Lord hear us.

July – That the love of Christ The Good Shepherd and the example of St Daniel Comboni may make us ever more capable of working for peace, unity and reconciliation among all peoples. Lord hear us.

Publications

Fr. Joseph Scattolin has recently published some books in Arabic which found great acceptance in the Egyptian public. This fact clearly shows that it is possible to go deep into the cultural world of Islam and become credible part of it, to transform it (or to regenerate it, as Comboni says) from within. One only needs to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church, which has been expressed in its official documents since Vatican II.

They basically deal with Sufism, or Islamic spirituality, and interfaith dialogue. They are the following: Readings from Sufi Texts (2nd edition): 6000 copies. Spiritual Manifestations in Islam (3rd edition): 23000 copies. Reflections on Sufism and Interfaith Dialogue: 3000 copies. The critical edition of the Diwân of Ibn al- Fârid (Egyptian Sufi poet) (2nd edition): 10600 copies.

Fr. Enzo Santangelo, A alegria de profetizar, ed. Alô Mundo. This booklet, with an introduction by Mgr. Odelir José Magri, Bishop of Sobral, presents the figures of Comboni Missionaries who not only ‘dreamed’ of the Kingdom but also built it up: “by creating new openings they sought new ways of making this world more human, more fraternal and more inhabitable”.

ASIA

Retreat and Assembly

All the members of the Delegation of Asia came together from 6 to 15 of May, 2014, at Karis Retreat House in Tagaytay, Philippines, for the Annual Retreat and the Delegation Assembly. This annual gathering gives us the unique possibility to meet one other, to evaluate our work and to program the journey ahead, which is something particularly relevant in this present time when the challenges of mission continue to grow while our resources (human and otherwise) seem to dwindle.

Fr. Antonio Villarino, as the General Councillor for the Americas and Asia, was invited to preach the Annual Retreat and to visit the Delegation. During the time spent in Asia he had the possibility to meet the confreres and to visit all the communities and the different countries where the Comboni Missionaries are present at the moment: Philippines, Macau, Taiwan and Vietnam.

At the moment Asia is a continent with many missionary challenges, as many people do not know Jesus, and as many situations which call for the light of the Gospel: human trafficking, poverty, indigenous minorities, youth, corruption, etc. At the same time, Asia is a continent with a growing potential for missionary growth, as more and more missionaries from Asia leave the continent and reach out, sharing their faith and life experiences with other peoples all over the world.

In this context, the small presence of the Comboni Missionaries in Asia continues to develop in the lines of first evangelization, mission promotion and vocations and formation promotion. This is our small, and yet necessary, contribution to the people and churches in Asia and to the mission of the Institute.

CENTRAFRIQUE

Ordination to the priesthood

On Sunday, 27 April, 2014, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Bangui, the scholastic Aubert Gamende was ordained priest by Mgr. Albert Vanbuel, Bishop of the Diocese of Kaga-Bandoro (RCA). The ordination was to have taken place in his home town of N’délé, a stronghold of the Séléka rebels. Unfortunately, however, the priests of the parish had to abandon it and the parish was plundered. Other alternatives were found to be impossible – ordaining Aubert in the diocese to which he belongs, Kaga-Bandoro, where he completed his studies or at Dékoa where he did his missionary service – due to the presence of the Séléka and the anti-Balaka. It was thought that the parish of Sibut, 156 km from Bangui, might have been suitable but when Aubert went there to contact the parish priest, he was sent away by the anti-Balaka. Finally, it was decided that he would be ordained at Bangui where the situation seemed to be more favourable. Fr. Aubert is the sixth Central African Comboni priest, following Frs. Jonas Béka, Sylvain Songho, Claude Bernard Wakouzou, Médard Longba and Junior Billo. After doing his scholasticate in Kinshasa, DCR, he did his missionary service at the parish of Sant’Anna in Dékoa. He will now continue to work in his country in the field of missionary animation and vocations promotion.

The state of the nation

Fr. Aubert was ordained in a time of severe conflict that started in January and lasted up to the appointment of interim President Catherine Samba-Panza. Tension remains high at all levels with the Séléka present in most of the country and the anti-Balaka groups who commit acts which violate human rights just as hateful as those of their antagonists and which have become the major cause of violence and instability throughout the country. The former Séléka troops, even though they have been withdrawn from the large urban areas of Central Africa, still represent a threat to the small cities deprived of any protection, and for the rural areas, especially in the north-east. The situation remains uncertain; with just some small regions of the country guaranteed protection by a number of French and MISCA troops, however insufficient and ineffective. The CAR people also fear the presence of international forces that hide their heads in the sand.

State of the mission

Our missions have become centres for receiving displaced people and run the risk of becoming a target for those in uniform. The parish of Mala, 60 km from Dékoa, was systematically plundered by the Séléka. Casualties number 30 dead and dozens of wounded. There are about 2,000 refugees at Dékoa; over 7,000 at Grimari; about 6,000 at Boda; over 3,000 at Fatima and 2,600 at Bimbo. With the situation as it is, evangelisation, charitable works and the creation of justice and peace take top priority. The trouble is knowing where to start and what means to use.

CONGO

Parish itinerary to live the joy of the Golden Jubilee

The Combonis of the Province are invited to live the joy of a threefold anniversary: 150 years since the Plan of Comboni was formulated; ten years since his canonisation; fifty years of presence in the DRC.

Ever since the opening of the Jubilee Year at the parish of Mater Ecclesiae, at the Cathedral of Butembo, the Combonis have been announcing their joy in the whole of the diocese: more than twenty meetings are planned in the various parishes. The purpose of this Parish Visitation is, first of all, to make known Daniel Comboni and his Plan for the Regeneration of Africa and then to speak of the Comboni Family (Priests, Brothers, Sisters, Lay Missionaries).

We wish to keep the memory of our four martyrs, Frs. Remo Armani, Lorenzo Piazza, Evaristo Migotti and Antonio Zuccali, killed during the Simba rebellion in 1964: the blood of these courageous missionaries and that of many other victims continues to make the DRC Church bear fruit.

All the meetings will hinge upon the one broad theme: In the footsteps of St Daniel Comboni: fifty years of DRC mission.

CURIA

Festivity for friends and benefactors

On Sunday, 4 May 2014, the community of the Curia in Rome welcomed their friends and benefactors for a festive gathering. One of the more remarkable parts of the celebration was the testimony of Fr. Fermo Bernasconi.

Fr. Fermo spoke of his experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spoke of some of the events in the history of that country which, ever since independence, has been in a situation of war, violence and division.

The conference was followed by Mass and the day was concluded with a meal shared together.

First Annual Meeting of the Council for Finance

The Financial Council has finished the work of the first annual sitting, held in Rome at the Generalate from 5 to 8 May. The Council meets twice a year (in May and November) to make a close examination of the accounts, both of the circumscriptions and of the General Administration, and to indicate the basic economic decisions of the Institute, bearing in mind the global financial situation.

All the members of the Council attended: Fr. Luigi Codianni (Italy), Fr. Torquato Paolucci, member of the General Economate, Fr. Luigi Gabaglio (Uganda), Fr. Manuel Ferreira Horta (Portugal), Bro. João da Silva Ferreira, Assistant to the Treasurer General, Fr. Mario Locatelli (Italy), Bro. Raniero Iacomella, member of the General Economate, Fr. Timothée Hounake Kouassi (Togo), Bro. Daniele Giusti, Assistant General, Fr. Claudio Lurati, General Treasurer, Bro. Giuseppe Lagattolla, member of the General Economate, and Fr. Vítor Manuel Beco Anciães (Brasil).

Besides examining the accounts of the General Administration and the Circumscriptions, the Council set in motion the process of revising the General Directory for Finance which ought to be completed before the next General Chapter. Time was also spent in reflecting upon the relevance of the Plan for the Regeneration of Africa in the field of the administration of economic resources.

The next important appointment for the confreres engaged in administrative service is that of the General Assembly of Provincial Bursars to be held in Rome in November.

Nightmarish adventure

For Fr. John Baptist Keraryo Opargiw, Secretary General for Formation, the worst seems to have passed. He has just been discharged from Brescia hospital after undergoing a perfectly successful operation on his broken arm. He will stay in the Brescia community for a period of convalescence. From the letters he wrote to the Curia telling of the accident in which he was involved in the Province of Chad and expressing his thanks for the prayers and messages sent by confreres, friends and family members, which he found very comforting and helpful in those difficult days, we can now report what happened.

Fr. John Baptist was visiting Chad to preach a retreat to French-speaking novices about to take their vows at the Jesuit Centre at Sarh, Rhoniers. The week went very well with the fourteen novices due to take first vows. Once the retreat was over, on the afternoon of Saturday, 3 May, Fr John Baptist left for the Comboni-run mission of Moissala together with Congolese confrere Fr. Kokouvi Fidèle Katsan Fodagni, the Novice Master of the Comboni novitiate of Sarh. “We were travelling in a double-cabin Toyota Hilux. The dirt road was straight and we were doing 80kph (not very fast but enough to cause problems on a dirt road) when suddenly the driver lost control of the vehicle and swerved to the left, leaving the road and ending up hitting a large tree”.

After some initial help the journeys began – in a country where distances can be enormous – “first to the hospital of Moissala where we received some first aid by means of intravenous antibiotics and painkillers. With no x-ray machine, the doctors could do very little so we spent the night there anxiously waiting for the morning when we started a long journey of eight hours to the regional hospital at Moundou. It was late in the evening when the x-rays were taken and the next morning they were examined by a team of French volunteer orthopaedic surgeons. They took care of Fr. Fidèle’s broken wrist. In my case, they said I had to return to Italy for specialised treatment”. Fr. John Baptist was taken to N'Djamena from where he left the evening of the same day. After a long flight by way of Istanbul, he reached Malpensa airport, Milan, and was then taken to Brescia where, at long last, he received the medical treatment he needed.

ESPAÑA

Comboni Family at the Book Fair

From 9 to 18 May, the Book Fair was held at Granada. For the first time, the Comboni family in Granada took part in the event with a stand of their own where they displayed the more important publications of Mundo Negro Publications.

Many people approached the stand seeking information about the mission, to learn more about the African world or just surprised that the magazine Aguiluchos that they had read as children still existed. The event was a great occasion to engage in missionary animation.

ITALIA

8th Limone Symposium – What idea of mission do we transmit?

From 22 to 25 April last, thirty members of the Comboni Family from our European provinces gathered in Limone to reflect upon communication and mission.

The Symposium was enriched by three interventions by specialised speakers.

The first relator was Silvano Petrosino, Professor at the Catholic University of Milan who spoke of “Anthropological dimensions of communication”. Fr. Alberto Maggi from the Biblical study centre of Montefano presented the theme “The Word communicates itself and becomes flesh”, also referring to the process of communication of the early Christians as they announced the Risen Christ. Spanish Comboni Brother, Roberto Misas Ríos, was the third relator and spoke on the theme “How to communicate today: language, techniques, opportunities and challenges for the missio, emphasising the evolution of communication from writing to the new digital technology and social networks.

A round table was also held by representatives of Comboni missionary publications in Europe – Nigrizia, Combonifem, Mundo Negro, Audácia, the Website “giovaniemissione” and Azione Missionaria – to underline the resources and characteristics peculiar to each magazine in presenting the mission today, in Europe and in the world. As in former years, the Symposium gave the floor to the participants by means of a research and sharing workshop chaired by Comboni father Giulio Albanese and Prof. Carmelo Dotolo, lecturer in theology at the Pontifical Urban University of Rome.

The Symposium ended around mid-day on 25 April when most of the participants left for Verona to take part in the “Event for Peace and Disarmament”.

KENYA

Course in administration for scholastics

The third course organised by the General Economate for the formation of scholastics and Brothers of the IBC took place from 12 to 16 May at the International Comboni Scholasticate in Nairobi, Kenya, dealing with administrative questions, as required by the 2009 Gemeral Chapter. It was led by Fr. Claudio Lurati, Treasurer General, and Bro. Daniele Giusti, Assistant General.

Spread over five days, the course covered a variety of topics from accounting methods and the knowledge of the requirements of both civil and Canon law, to the knowledge of organisational arrangements and the dispositions of the Code of Conduct. The scholastics and Brothers took part, together with their respective formators.

Bro. Daniele Giusti will stay in Kenya until 27 May when he will go to Uganda to attend the Episcopal ordination of Mgr. Damien Giulio Guzzetti, the Comboni missionary recently appointed by Pope Francis as bishop of the diocese of Moroto, in Karamoja (Uganda).

MEXICO

First religious profession

On Saturday, 10 May, the novices Christian Luis Fuentes Valdivia (Mexico Province), Eduardo Revolledo (Perù-Chile Province), Ronaldo Ferreira (Province of Brasil), Wedipo Paixão (Province of Brasil) pronounced first religious vows. The solemn Eucharistic concelebration took place in the chapel of the novitiate and was presided over by the Provincial Fr. Erasmo Norberto Bautista Lucas. Among those who attended were various people close to the novitiate community, the seminarians from the junior seminary of Sahuayo accompanied by their formators (Fr. Rafael Güitrón Torres and Fr. Francisco Javier Ochoa Gracián, as well as Fr. Pablo Rodrigo Reveles Vázquez, vocations promoter), the postulants with their formator Fr. Antonio López, and many Combonis from the communities close to Mexico City: Fr. Giuseppe Infante and Fr. Javier Alvarado Ayala, from Cuernavaca, Fr. Jorge Donato Decelis Burguete, from the CAM community, the members of the Provincial House and a good number of Sisters.

After the Mass, a fine meal was offered to all in the open air. The presence of Fr. Saverio Paolillo who had come from Brasil a few days previously for the occasion, was much appreciated.

MOÇAMBIQUE

Ordination to the priesthood

On 10 May, 2014, José Alberto Intuela Sagras, 34, was ordained priest at the parish of Sagrada Família in his native city of Quelimane, in Mozambique. The solemn Eucharist was presided over by the Bishop of the diocese Mgr. Hilário da Cruz Massinga and was attended by a large number of Combonis, Verbites, Dehonians, Capuchins and some diocesan priests.

In his homily, Mgr. Massinga emphasised the missionary dimension of the Church while the Provincial of Mozambique, Fr. José Luis Rodríguez López, thanked everyone and invited them to pray for the youth of Quelimane “that, by means of this event, they may hear the voice of the Lord”.

The following day, surrounded by family, friends and faithful of the parish, Fr. José Alberto celebrated his first Mass. After a brief holiday, he will leave for Chad where he has been appointed.

SOUTH AFRICA

Graduation at St. Augustine’s College

At St. Augustine’s College on 9 May 2014 the degree of Master of Philosophy in Culture and Education was conferred on Fr. Melese Tumato Shulla. Fr. Melese wrote his Master’s thesis on “Principals’ understanding and practices of servant-leadership in selected Christian primary schools of South Africa”.

Fr. Melese’s research paper was acknowledged as solid work and a great contribution towards educational policy makers in the South African context by his supervisor at the College and the external examiner from Kwazulu Natal University. Fr. John Maneschg represented the Comboni missionary family at the graduation ceremony.

Celebrations

Gratitude is the feeling that was present in all the Comboni Missionaries and the priests and sisters of the diocese of Witbank gathered in Maria Trost, Lydenburg, on the 16 of May. Maria Trost is the place where the Comboni Missionaries first settled in the RSA on the 11^th of February 1924. At the end of the provincial assembly (12-16 May) the Comboni missionaries launched the Comboni Year, to celebrate the 150 years of Comboni’s Plan and 90 years of their presence in South Africa. Besides these two celebrations, we celebrated also the 50 years of priesthood of Fr. Konrad Nefzger and the perpetual vows of a South African confrere, Sch. Kgomotso Ronnie Sebopela.

Fr. Konrad is one of the oldest Comboni missionaries in South Africa, together with Fr. Anton Graf and Fr. Benno Singer. Kgomotso is the fruit of many years of hard work in formation. At present, the South African confreres are only eight. We believe that others will join our family.

The bishop of the diocese, Mgr. Joseph Sandri, presided over the Eucharist in which we remembered the first missionaries who arrived in South Africa in 1924 and all the confreres who came before us. Many of them are now buried in the graveyard of Maria Trost. Many diocesan priests and practically all the priests and brothers of the province were present at the celebration.

Sch. Kgomotso was ordained deacon on the 18^th of May in the Comboni Mission of Waterval, where he had been doing his missionary service. The celebration was very well prepared and the people taking part were filled with joy and thanksgiving. The main celebrant was again Mgr. Joseph Sandri. Deacon Kgomotso will be ordained priest on 22 November, in his home parish of Mabopane, Pretoria.

SOUTH SUDAN

A new religious institute in South Sudan

Four nuns belonging to the Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters (STFI) have arrived in South Sudan making the number of Institutes of Consecrated Life in the country to rise to 41. Altogether the members of religious communities, men and women, working in South Sudan are about 400. The four nuns arrived in Talí mission on 30 April, the Feast of Our Lady of Africa, and have set home among the Mundari people, in the Archdiocese of Juba.

In February 2014 the Catholic Bishops’ Conference made an appeal to “the various leaders of religious congregations and institutes to consider coming to the dioceses of South Sudan, particularly to the diocese of Malakal, to help building Christian communities”. Malakal is the country’s largest diocese and the less evangelized. It is very much in need of missionaries.

East Africa workshop on pastoralists

Comboni Missionaries and Comboni Sisters, engaged in evangelisation amongst the pastoralists ethnic communities of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan met in Juba for a four-day workshop (6-9 May) on the evangelisation among the pastoralists or semi-nomad peoples of East Africa. Fr. Tibaldo Mariano, General Secretary of Evangelisation, also attended the meeting together with Fr. Julio Ocaña Iglesias, provincial of Ethiopia and in charge of this section of evangelization for APDESAM. The aim of the workshop was to elaborate a common vision and approach to the evangelization of these people.

The missionaries shared some positive experiences and the lessons they learnt from them, that is, the changes they have witnessed in the culture of the pastoralists where the Gospel has already started to bring about the first fruits.

Peace agreement for South Sudan signed in Addis Ababa

A landmark peace agreement was signed in Addis Ababa on 9 May 2014 to end the five months conflict in South Sudan. The peace agreement came after the first face-to-face meeting between the two principal contenders. It was mediated by IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development).

President Salva Kiir Mayerdit, former vice president Dr. Riek Machar Teny (at the opposition), the Catholic Archbishop of Juba, Paolino Lukudu Loro, and the Episcopalian Archbishop, Daniel Deng Bul, held hands in prayer before many witnesses just before they met to discuss and sign the peace agreement. There are hopes and scepticisms about the implementation of this cease fire. On the one hand the warring parties say they are committed to peace; on the other hand, there are still tensions and accusations of fighting breakouts in some places.

Assembly of Religious Superiors’ Association

The Religious Superiors’ Association of South Sudan held a two-day workshop on Small Christian Communities as a way of being Church in South Sudan. More than 75 Religious, men and women, from different Institutes attended the workshop.

The Religious also held their 1^st General Annual Assembly at which they discussed important matters pertaining to the Association and elected a new chairperson, treasurer and a councillor. Fr. Daniele Moschetti, the Comboni Provincial Superior in South Sudan, has been confirmed as chairperson for other two years. Mons. Roko Taban, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malakal, also attended the meeting and briefed everyone about the difficult situation in his diocese.

At the end, the Religious issued a message of solidarity, peace and hope addressed to “each child, each woman, each man and each elderly person who has been affected by violence in South Sudan over the past five months”. It expresses appreciation and gratitude to the churches and humanitarian agencies present and operating in the Country. It strongly condemns all kinds of violence and atrocities. In its conclusion, it invites everyone, irrespective of ethnicity, colour and creed, to live in peace and harmony and to seek the solution to the problems through non-violent means.

TCHAD

Delegation Assembly

After almost fourteen years as a province, Chad became a delegation on 1 January, 2014. Its first Delegation Assembly took place from 5 to 9 May at the hospitality centre of the Franciscan Sisters of Donia, in the diocese of Goré.

The work began with a socio-political, social and religious analysis of Chad by Mgr. Miguel Angel Sebastián Martínez, Bishop of Laï and Administrator of the diocese of Doba. Twenty five confreres took part among which there was also the Bishop Emeritus of Doba, Mgr. Michele Russo, now appointed to the community of Bodo, Doba diocese.

The six-year plan was evaluated and reviewed and the Assembly was concluded with a Mass led by the delegation Superior, Fr. Pietro Ciuculla.

On Sunday, 11 May, at the Comboni-run parish of San Kizito, Bégou, 14 confreres of five nationalities (Ghana, Benin, Togo, DCR and Chad) took first vows. The Christian community of the parish joyfully took part in the ceremony. The novitiate of Holy Cross at Sarh was erected by the General Administration only in 2010; this is, therefore, the second group of young men to take this step: the Delegation of Chad is fully participating in the basic formation of future Comboni missionaries.

Our next appointment is for 28 June, 2014, and the priestly ordination of the third Comboni from Chad Fr. Alfred Mbaidjide, who has completed his studies at Bogotá, Colombia.

TOGO-GHANA-BENIN

Missionary Symposium

In the context of the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of the arrival of the Comboni Missionaries in Togo, a missionary symposium was organised in Lomé to offer qualified reflections on the mission to the local Churches. It took place on 16 and 17 May at the “Agora Senghor” Hall of the community of St. Jean Apôtre, on the theme: “Evangelization and the Word of God”. It was chaired by Mgr. Barthélemy Adoukounou (Benin), Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture in Rome and Fr. Paulin Poucouta (Congo Brazzaville), a Biblical scholar and [professor at the Catholic University of Yaoundé, in Cameroon.

The numerous participants – bishops, priests, men and women religious, lay people, seminarians and young people – followed with interest the two relators. Mgr. Adoukounou, beginning with the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, underlined the centrality of the encounter with Christ for the proclamation of the Good News. He referred several times to St Daniel Comboni who was able to enter into the sufferings of the Africa of his time and to launch his Plan for the regeneration of that continent.

Fr. Poucouta, speaking in simple and understandable language, examined the Word as the centre of the life of Israel, of the Church and of the Christian communities.

There was an open discussion with the relators with many interesting questions which helped to deepen the theme under consideration, in view of a renewed ecclesial and missionary commitment.

Silver Jubilee

There was a great feast at Adidogome (Lomé), on Sunday, 18 May: the parish was celebrating the Silver Jubilee of the consecration of the parish church of Our Lady, Mother of the Redeemer, which took place on 16 April, 1989. The Archbishop of Lomé, Mgr. Denis Amuzu Dzakpah, presided at the Eucharist together with Mgr. Julien Kouto, Bishop Emeritus of Atakpame, the Provincial Superior, the confreres and other priests. A very large crowd was present, filled with joy and thanking the Lord for twenty five years of history and missionary commitment.

Ever since the arrival of the Combonis in Togo (1964), the entire zone was entrusted to the pastoral care of the confreres of Kodjoviakope. With the presence of the Postulancy (1984), pastoral work intensified up to the consecration of the parish church and the erection of Adidogome as a separate parish (1989). At the moment, the parish has 24 outstations. In recent years, two new parishes were opened: Avedzi e Sanguera and two more are planned.

Adidogome is a missionary parish with many priestly, missionary and religious vocations. There are thousands of young people and many of them enthusiastically live their Christian commitment, open to the call of the Lord.

Let us pray for our beloved dead

THE SISTER: Sr. Mariantonia (Amalia), of Fr. Vittorio Barin (I).

THE COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS: Sr. Teresina Zampiva; Sr. M. Bona Mazzola.