Letter from Coordinator 03 2011
Dear Confreres,
Best greetings to all of you and the members of your Units.
I am sending greetings from Warsaw where we have just finished the first Consulta Meeting of the Conference of Redemptorists of Europe, with Fr. Pedro Lopez and Fr. Cornelius Casey. Among other things we began to prepare our next Assembly in Dublin (Ireland). I would like to remind you that the next Assembly of our Conference will be held from 24th of October (arrival before supper at 18.0) to 27th of October (departure after lunch at 14.00). Before our Assembly a letter will be sent to you with all details, agenda, proposed topics, how to get to the place of our meeting and so on. For now please reserve your tickets for this time.
I would like to inform you that Fr. General with his Council approved the Statutes of our Conference. After consultation with the canon lawyer there are just a few small changes. We will present the final version in Dublin.
Fr. General with his Consultors invited all 5 new Coordinators to Rome (June 19-24.2011). It was a very good and constructive meeting. During those days we had the possibility to discuss the process of restructuring, the decisions and message of the last General Chapter. We presented our Conferences and we found common points among them. Fr. Sean Cannon told us what is clear about the authority of the Coordinators and their Councils and where there are still some questions to be resolved. We discussed a lot about: Apostolic Priorities, Inter-provincial Communities, Formation, Economic Solidarity, Fragile Units etc. Much time was dedicated to learn about expectations concerning our work in collaboration with General Government. Each Coordinator was asked to expand their language skills in a way appropriate to their Conference.
During a Eucharist with all the Community of St. Alphonsus House, Fr. Brehl sent and commissioned us for our mission in the Congregation, in a special ceremony and prayers.
During the last day we had also the separate meetings with the General Consultors from the respective Conferences – so I thank Fr. Jacek Dembek and Fr. Alberto Eseverri for all their help and care.
I would like to thank some of you with whom I had the possibility to meet during the last weeks: Fr Giovanni Congiu in Rome, Fr. Edmund Hipp in Lubaszowa, General Treasurer Fr. Stanisław Wróbel in Rome. Thank you also for all the invitations for future reunions, meetings and retreats.
After the discussions with Father Stanislaw Wróbel (General Treasurer) and some of the members of our Conference we have decided that the account of the Conference of Redemptorists of Europe will be established in the country where the permanent residence of the Coordinator will be.
For the time being the Bank account of the Conference of Redemptorists of Europe will be associated with the Bank account of the General Government.
During our Assembly in Cortona, Italy, we voted and accepted the budget related to the establishment of the Office of the Coordinator.
I would like to thank the Units that already have sent money and I ask the other units to please send payment to the Bank account of the European Conference, as given above. In the attachment to this letter you will find the amount to which each Unit is committed.
In the next letter, as I mentioned, I will send the agenda of the Assembly in Dublin, with other details, including the proposed topics, and practical details of arrival at our house in Maranella, Dublin.
May God bless all of you and your work and
Have a blessed vacation’s time.
In the Redeemer
Fr. Jacek Zdrzałek CSsR