Working group Partnership in Mission meets in Portugal

The Partnership in Mission (PIM) working group of the Secretariat for Evangelization of the CRE met for the first time from October 19 to 21 in Vila Nova de Gaia (Porto). The members of this working group are Mrs Susana Braguês (Portugal), Mr. Bohus Zivcak (Bratislava-Prague), Father Martin Leitgöb (Vienna-Munich) and Mr. Eric Corsius (St. Clement). In addition to these, Fr. Rui Santiago (provincial vicar of Portugal) and Fr. Johannes Römelt (coordinator CRE) attended a part of the meeting.

The working group spoke about the themes and tasks that it wants to tackle in the coming years. This will be done in dialogue and cooperation with the General secretariat PIM, with other secretariats and working groups of the CRE and with the coordinator – because in the process of apostolic and structural renewal, all areas of work are related to each other. PIM is an integral part of revitalization and restructuring. The following themes were discussed: the directory on which the General Secretariat works; the formation of Redemptorists and lay partners with regard to PIM (but also spiritual, pastoral en moral-theological formation for lay missionaries); the role of lay partners in the apostolic plan.

The working group is also in the starting blocks to organize a larger meeting for the CRE on the theme of PIM in the course of the upcoming quadrennium and explored the content, methods en logistics for such a meeting. A very important part was the meeting with the brothers, fathers and lay-redemptorists and -missionaries in Gaia and Porto. Their hospitality was unsurpassed and celebrating the liturgy together was very inspiring.

Eric Corsius