The Brother Superior and his Councillors met in General Assembly with the members of the Chapter to answer questions that had been submitted concerning the Report of the Brother Superior General to the 43rd General Chapter. The Report was issued in November 1999 and was commented on by Brother John Johnston on May 3, 2000 during a general assembly as previously reported.


The questions submitted to the Councillors were surfaced in the regional meetings held on May 3. The Councillors and the Superior responded to these questions following the order of the Report which is in 8 parts: Mission, Missionary Activities, Formation, Government of the Institute, Community, Lasallian Studies, Ecumenical and Interreligious affairs, and Statistics of the Institute. There were questions from 6 of the 8 parts of the Report. What follows is a summary of the responses by the General Council which lasted for more than 3 hours.

The questions about the mission of the Institute focused on 3 areas: The Institute and its response to the needs of the poor, our sharing of the Lasallian mission with our partners, and the future of the Lasallian mission. In responding to these questions, the Superior and his Councillors were very positive about the work that has been done since the Chapter of 1993, citing the many publications which document our work with the poor. Making the educational service of the poor a permanent priority will take ongoing recommitment on the part of the Districts, the Brothers and our partners. This needs to be done both at the level of local policies that speak to the primacy of an option for the poor and at the personal level where individuals challenge themselves to maintain this priority.

More and more, the mission of the Institute is being accomplished by a variety of different persons who participate at different levels. Among those who are involved in Lasallian education, 6% are Brothers. While we continue to creatively open new works for the poor, we must make sure that the Institute itself is not overwhelmed by works it cannot support. The quality of the life of the Brothers and of initial and continuing formation must be maintained. This calls for daring and wise planning.

As we look to the future of the Lasallian mission, we must set up structures and formation programs. We must consider which schools we can continue to maintain and be sure that the lay people can ensure the future of this network. All of this is linked to the question of vocations.

The questions about the missionary activities of the Institute dealt primarily with personnel, finance and the promotion of social justice. The 42nd General Chapter challenged the Districts of the Institute to send 100 Brothers and lay colleagues to those sectors of the Institute which had the most need of them. Suggestions for projects were submitted and ultimately 16 projects were completed, involving 33 Brothers and one lay person. Though the final figure was short of the goal of the100 plus program, the number of those who took part in this project is still high and a sign of the Institute's commitment. There continue to be volunteers, both Brothers and partners, who go to "developing" countries and offer their services. Some go for a very short time while others volunteer for a year or more. To avoid confusion, we must set up clear contracts between those going, those who are sending them, and those who are hosting them.

As the number of Brothers in the economically strong countries declines and the number in the developing countries increases, we need a responsible plan for the future which will aid us in determining how best to allocate our resources.

The educational service of the poor is one of the most effective means of promoting justice and peace. This needs to be accompanied by a process to make Brothers, lay people and our students sensitive to questions of justice and peace in the world.

The questions about formation in the Institute  
 dealt mostly with the topics of vocations and initial formation. The Chapter will have to address itself to the lack of vocations, especially in certain countries. The Report of the Superior General refers to this question at length. There are many issues that have contributed to the lack of vocations at this time. We must pursue vocation ministry energetically, a possible priority for the next 7 years.

With regard to continuing formation, there were several questions about the programs themselves, both about content and duration. For some Districts, the postulancy and novitiate are part of a four-year program. This is partly a response to the need to give young people a good psychological and religious preparation. Formation programs must allow for the integration of the constitutive elements of our life. We need qualified formators, and this sometimes means that the Institute encourages inter-District or international formation centres.

The questions about the Government of the Institute focused primarily on the General Council, the Regions and the Districts. The members of the Chapter were reminded about the simplicity of the structure of our Institute which has 3 levels: the Brother Superior (assisted by a permanent Council known as the General Council), the Visitors and the Directors. The structure of the General Council is imposed by the Rule. Currently, the Councillors are elected by the General Chapter. There has been some discussion about the possibility of asking the Superior General to appoint his Council. Responding to a question about the diversity of the Regions, it was pointed out that this flexibility is a response to the varying needs of the Regions. The objectives established for the Regions in the Rule provide for their "interdependence that promotes greater vitality."

The fifth set of questions was about Community and the Identity of the Brother. The challenges that face the Brothers are many, but the Report mentions particularly the challenge of individualism among the Brothers and the challenge to live a simple lifestyle. Each Brother could ask himself what kind of priority he gives to his personal interests versus availability for the service of the District in general. It is certainly a challenge for us to live a simple lifestyle in the midst of a consumerist world that distances us from the poor. Within our communities we must make sure that our prayer styles, meals, and balanced timetables contribute to an education in affectivity. How many are there who have spent many a weekend in solitude, abandoned or excessively protected? While there is for some confusion about the identity of the Brother, we must not compound the problem by confusing identity with role. The Brothers identity is different from that of our partners in ministry. Whatever words or expressions we use to describe this association of our colleagues, the reality is that there is an identity of the Brother tied to membership in the Institute. As the structures of association evolve for our partners, their membership will be in that structure or those structures. Our roles may be quite similar relative to education, but our identities will remain unique.

The final questions dealt with Ecumenism and multi-faith dialogue. The Brothers, in every sector in which they minister, encounter religious pluralism. We must remember that many of the values of the Kingdom of God are values commonly held by other religions, It is not a question of neutrality, but of impartialiy, of profound respect in dialogue, of helping the young to improve. The service of the poor makes a great contribution to this. Lasallians need to know that we have a remarkable record regarding work in this domain. Probably no other Order has so many Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and young and old followers of traditional religions as we do in our schools. In them, different ethnic groups live together in harmony. This is something encouraged by the Church.

Brother John ended the General Assembly by praising the competence, vision, and enormous volume of work of the council. He also remembered the much-missed Brother Dominique Samné, a member of the Council who died in 1998. "It is the best Council in Rome. You can work in 4 languages, and use 5 or 6." He expressed his great gratitude to them. The session ending was marked by prolonged applause.