Bologna 98: Appendix 1

Appendix I

NOS
Fr. Timotheus Radcliffe OP
sacræ theologiæ professor ac
totius ordinis prædicatorum
humilis magister et servus
relatio magistri ordinis de statu ordinis
In accordance with LCO 417 II 3°, I send you my Relatio de Statu Ordinis in preparation for the General Chapter of Bologna.
1. A General Impression
Often during my travels I am asked, "How is the Order?" It is hard to give a brief account of the state of health of a community which is so diverse, so complex as the Order of Preachers, present in a hundred countries. I will share with you my general impression that at this moment we are living through a time of renewed hope and confidence. Earlier this week, at a meeting of the Plenary General Council, the socii reported upon developments in the various regions of the Order. Time and again we noticed that progress had been made in overcoming problems and developing the life and mission of the Order.
We are both strong and fragile. Of course we are profoundly touched by the social, economic and spiritual crises which touch so many countries and cultures today. In so many countries the brethren and sisters live under the threat of violence, for example in Chiapas in Mexico, Iraq, the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Above all we remember our brother fr. Pierre Claverie OP, Bishop of Oran, who was assassinated, and our brothers and sisters in Algeria who face violence every day. Often precisely where life is hardest I have been most inspired by the courage and hope of the Order. In other parts of the world, often in countries which have been strongly Catholic, we can see the Church suffering another sort of crisis, a crisis of morale when the Church finds itself under attack and the focus of much anger and rejection. This too touches the Order in some countries. Despite all this, I would say that in general my impression is of new life and hope. After difficult years we appear to be turning the corner. Much of this is the fruit of seed which was sown long ago, by our predecessors. I especially wish to give thanks for the wonderful life of dedicated service to the Order of fr Damian Byrne who died just two years ago. I miss his wise advice and his friendship.
Every year all religious Orders are asked to send statistics to the Holy See. The statistics for this year are not yet available. Anyway, the eccentric figures submitted by some Provincials suggest that many of you find the questions asked as hard to understand as I do! It could be good to have a more professional analysis made before the next General Chapter. My impression is that the numbers of brethren in the Order continue to decline, though only slowly. Yet with over a thousand brethren in initial formation we have an assured future. In Latin America approximately a quarter of the brethren are in initial formation, and in Africa over half. There are many vocations in both Eastern Europe and Asia. This pattern would be shared by most religious Orders. We are different in also having relatively good recruitment in some parts of western Europe, such as France and Germany, and also in the United States. The principal challenge for us is not so much to attract vocations, though this is vital in some Provinces, as to give a strong formation to the young people with whom we have been blessed by God.
These challenges have some consequences for the life of the Order which must be briefly noted:

a. The Order is becoming profoundly multicultural. It is a great blessing that our vocations come from all over the world. This will challenge many of our ways of thinking and acting. We must find ways of welcoming a growing diversity, encouraging the Order to become inculturated in different cultural traditions, while preserving that unity which is so central to the Dominican tradition. I reflected at greater length on this question in my relatio to the General Chapter of Caleruega.
b. There are changes in the entities of the Order. Since Caleruega there has been the establishment of the Province of India and the Vice-Province of Slovakia. The Province of Hungary has become a General Vicariate. I am about to visitate the new entity which is emerging in Venezuela, whose brethren are "sons of the Master" rather than having an affiliation to any existing entity. There have been the unification of the Provinces of France and Lyon, and the number of Provinces in Italy has been reduced from six to three. Unifications may not only be a sign of the reduction of the number of brethren in an area but also of the establishment of the Order in a region, as Vicariates cease to be attached to their mother Provinces. For example, earlier this year we had a unification of the Province of Brazil with the Vicariates which originated from Italy and Malta. In the next year we hope to see a similar process in Vietnam.
c. The Order is getting younger. If you will allow an oversimplification, one may speak of three generations in the Order. Many brethren entered the Order shortly after the Second World War, especially the Province of Europe and North America. The generation that followed them, shortly before or after the Second Vatican Council, is relatively small, having suffered from the ideological conflicts and uncertainties of the seventies. Then there is a larger generation of young Dominicans. As that older generation is called to its eternal reward we may expect both the numbers of brethren to continue to fall but also the average age to become younger. Because of the relative weakness of the middle generation then the young will be under pressure not to finish their higher studies but rapidly to assume positions of responsibility as superiors and formators. In Bologna we will see many young Provincials!

If we continue to attract young vocations in good numbers, and offer a solid formation, then I would expect the numbers of brethren to start to increase again before long.
It is necessary to study all the reports submitted to the General Chapter to gain a clear idea of the state of the Order. In my report I wish only to underline a few major challenges which I hope that the General Chapter will face.
2 The Mission of the Order
How are we to preach the gospel today? That is perhaps the most fundamental question we must face. We have the most attractive vocation that it is possible to imagine, to share the good news of God. People should be hammering on the doors, begging to be accepted into the Order, for the pure pleasure of sharing the joy of the gospel with others. We need to come to a new and shared vision of the mission of the Order today, to identify projects that will give concrete form to that mission, and to liberate ourselves from other commitments which, worthy as they may be, do not embody our Dominican vocation. If we do this, then we will have no problems about finding vocations. This is easy to say; Provincials know only too well that it can be hard to do. I hope that during this Chapter we may discuss ways forward and give each other courage.
2.1 A vision of our mission
We need to reflect upon several questions:
a. What does this good news mean for our society, so marked by violence and poverty, and yet also by new creativity and communication? What have we to say to the people of this time? What have we to hear from them?
b. What is distinctive about Dominican preaching? Today, there are many preachers. What is characteristic about Dominican preaching?
c. What new ways of preaching are there? Rather than waiting in churches for people to come to us, we must imagine new ways of going to where the people are, hungry for a word, and with much to share. How can we develop a presence in the new media?
d. In the global village that our world has become, how can the Order respond globally? We are present in a hundred countries. Do we respond as an Order to crises that touch the global community? When Iraq was being threatened with destruction just a few days ago, perhaps we should have thought of how we should have responded as an Order, which includes Iraqis, Americans and English. When I see the profound suffering in countries like Rwanda, then I am aware that the Order embraces both those who suffer, and also those countries which export the arms of death.

It was to begin to discuss such questions as these that I named the new Commission De Missione Ordinis. This brings together the Commissions on Apostolic Life and on the Intellectual Life. It held its first meeting in November, and one of its first tasks will be to offer a presentation for the General Chapter. I would stress that it is my hope that this Commission will continue its work after the Chapter, perhaps meeting in regions and using Internet as a way of enabling a continuing dialogue. The General Chapter may wish to make particular recommendations to this Commission.
2.2 New Missions
It is worth stressing that during these last years there have been many new initiatives in the mission of the Order. What can we learn from this experience?
The Order is being founded in many new countries, for example Albania, Estonia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Macao. We have the first candidates for Indonesia studying in the Philippines. We have opened novitiates in Korea and Kenya. We have a new foundation in western Canada. A major challenge remains, that of the mission of the Order in China, of which Hong Kong is now a part.
There are new projects in many places, for example we hope for an international community in Brussels; we have established the office in Geneva together with the Franciscans, so as to have a presence at the Human Rights Commission; there is a project for the renewal of the community in Istanbul for dialogue with Islam; the community in Cairo is being renewed, for the study of Arab culture and Muslim religion, among other objectives; a wide variety of ways of using Internet continue to be explored, including a project for the foundation of a French speaking Dominican Internet University.
I would conclude from this list that:
a. We are capable of new initiatives. Let us grow in our courage to try new ways of preaching the gospel.
b. Many of these projects are interprovincial and international. Recently there was a meeting of some Provincials and Superiors General of Dominican Congregations to discuss the development of our presence in the Arab world. Sometimes this collaboration is necessary because it is impossible for a single Province to sustain a new initiative by itself. It is also good in that it brings to light the fact that we all share in the single mission of the whole Order. It means that the brethren can participate in a much wider variety of apostolates than can be offered by their own Province.
c. One of the difficulties of such collaborative projects is that it can be hard to calculate the available resources beforehand. It is not easy for a Provincial Chapter to calculate whether a new project demands a courageous risk or whether it is in fact beyond the Province's resources. This is far harder when a number of Provinces are involved. It is easy to vote enthusiastically in favour, only to find later that individual Provinces do not have, or are not prepared to give, the necessary brethren.
d. One of the difficulties facing any collaborative project is identifying who has responsibility. This has been the source of much discussion, for example, in connection with the new project for an international community in Brussels or the Instituto Pedro de Cordoba. I strongly resist the tendency to propose that collaborative ventures should be under the immediate jurisdiction of the Master!

3 Intellectual Life

To sustain us in our mission we need strongly to renew the intellectual Life of the Order. The report of the Socius for Intellectual Life will offer more detailed comments. I wish to stress the following points:
a. We need to ensure that young brethren are given time and support for higher studies. My impression is that we are in urgent need for brethren trained in dogmatic theology, for biblical studies and for interreligious dialogue. The relative weakness of the middle generation in the Order means that often we look to such brethren to be superiors before they have even completed their studies. They need to be protected!
b. The Church looks to the Order to be faithful to its commitment to theology and philosophy. I am inundated by requests from bishops for the foundation of new faculties and universities. We will only be able to respond to new missions if we train brethren for more than just meeting the present needs of the Order or a Province. When discussing the further studies of a brother I remember a Provincial replying, "Why would we need two brothers studying the New Testament in the Province?" We need every well qualified brother we can find for the mission of the Order.
c. We need to develop centres of intellectual excellence in every region of the Order where there is teaching at the highest level. We have made some progress towards that. The faculty of theology at Ibadan, Nigeria, has started well; we are hopeful that soon we will be able to develop centres of study in the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which will be able to serve French speaking Africa. After a difficult beginning, it looks as if the Instituto Pedro de Cordoba in Santiago, Chile, may develop as an important centre of studies for the Order in Latin America, and several other entities in the region have good centres of study. The ecclesiastical faculties of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila are of great importance for the developing mission of the Order in Asia. In Spain we have many brethren who teach theology and philosophy but there seems to be a need for more collaboration so that we can establish some centres of the highest intellectual level. We have five faculties in the USA and Canada, and more collaboration among them is necessary.

4. Government

My experience suggests that crucial for the development of our mission, for our freedom to develop new missions, and to sustain or give up old missions, is good government. Since I have already written a letter to the Order on this topic, "Dominican Freedom and Responsibility: Towards a Spirituality of Government", then I do not need to write much. I will merely stress that this is one of the principal concerns of the visitations which are made by myself and members of the General Council. Generally the government of Provinces is excellent, and if my letter is so long then it is because I have learned so much during my visitations.
Sometimes I have come across Provinces where the principal challenge is to find ways of freely facing challenges rather than accepting paralysis. I give thanks to God that this is relatively rare, but it does raise a difficult question. How far should I directly intervene when a Province or Vicariate appears to be caught by inertia? This question is especially acute if I see that there are young brethren whose dreams for the future are frustrated.
4.1. Unifications
One of the major concerns of the last three years has been that of the unification of entities of the Order. These have occurred in Italy, France and Brazil. We are moving smoothly towards a unification of the Province and the Vicariate of the Province of France in Vietnam.
I with to stress the following points:
a. Unification is primarily concerned with the creation of Provinces which will be able to serve the mission of the Order. It is not in the first place a matter of numbers but of establishing entities which offer the brethren a fully Dominican life. It is not enough to have the number of brethren and priories demanded by the LCO. A Province should, for example, have the resources to form new vocations, sustain a diversity of apostolates and an intellectual life, and initiate new missions outside its own territory.
b. Because the entities of the Order exist to serve the Order's mission, then questions of national identity should not determine Provincial structures. That we are brothers of St. Dominic is more fundamental to our identity than that we are members of a nation or an ethnic group.
c. The unification of entities cannot simply be imposed against the will of the brethren. It takes time and accompaniment, both before and after unification. This has been a major work of the General Council during recent years.
d. Usually the best preparation for a future unification will be the establishment of a common formation so that those in formation may arrive at a common vision of the life and mission of the Order.
e. There is little in the LCO about the process of unification. I hope that the General Chapter will formulate some legislation that will be of help in the future. The Procurator General has been asked to prepare a paper based on the experience of the last three years, which should be of help to the capitulars.

What of the future? In some countries in Latin America, some unifications may be necessary one day if strong Provinces are to emerge. At some stage in the future, unless there is a considerable renewal of vocations, the structures of the Order will need to change in northern Europe, i.e. the territories of the Provinces of Holland and Flanders and the General Vicariate of Belgium? After visitating these three entities, I met the Provincial and Vicariate Councils to discuss the future. It is not yet clear what juridical structures will best serve the mission of the Order in this area. All we have been able to do is to develop structures of collaboration. If the brethren become used to working with each other, then one day it will be clearer in what direction we should move.
4.2 Regions of the Order
The Regional meetings of major superiors continue to develop as structures of collaboration and mutual support. I regret that, because of the demands of visitations, it is virtually impossible for me ever to attend them. The statues for the European Provincials (IEOP) have now been approved. The Asia Pacific region now needs elaboration of statutes.
As Some of the impetus for the development of the Order passes from Europe and the States to other regions, these are becoming increasingly important structures for our mission. One interesting evolution is the emergence of Provinces in some regions which can offer help to other weaker entities in formation, facing internal problems, developing their Dominican charism. For example, in Latin America, the provinces of Colombia, Mexico and Argentina are pillars, where there is a well-developed Dominican tradition. Colombia is playing a vital role in helping the Province of Ecuador to renew its formation programme, and in Venezuela in helping the birth of the new entity. This demands real sacrifices of these "pillars", since they have their own considerable demands to meet also. It asks of them that they enlarge their sense of mission, and accept that the invigoration of the Order in other neighbouring Provinces is the concern of all the brethren. It suggests a shift in our paradigm of the birth or renewal of the Order. Instead of this being assumed to come from the old "centre", the West, it is becoming a collaborative effort inside regions. In Asia the Philippines is playing a similar role. In Central and Eastern Europe, the Province of Poland is a "pillar", sending brethren to new missions and offering formation.
These regional structures have been particularly important in the formation of formators, especially in Latin America and Asia. I attended the meeting for formators in the Philippines in January, during my visitation of the Province. It is also encouraging to see the development of parallel structures for congregations of Dominican sisters. The first meeting of sisters from all over Africa will be held in Nairobi in September 1998.
5. Religious Life

5.1 Mobility
The vitality of the Order is profoundly related to its ability to change. We are only an old institution because our form of government has enabled us to respond with flexibility to new changes, find new ways of preaching the gospel, or adapt and renew old commitments. We would never have lasted for almost 800 years if we had been incapable of such adaptability. During Visitations we see that some Provinces suffer from immobility. This may be the difficulty of assigning brethren from one community to another. It may be a mental immobility, the reluctance to think or act differently. It may be a functional immobility, as when a brother settles in one form of ministry, whether as professor or parish priest, and cannot contemplate a change. It may be economic immobility, as when it is hard to shift the financial resources of the Province or the Order to new projects. It may be a Provincialism, which closed our eyes to anything beyond the territories of the Province.
How can we as a Chapter face this challenge? What help, advice and support can we offer each other? I mention this question here, because I believe that it is at least in part related to the quality of our religious life. To be alive is to be capable to change, and our communities are places of life in so far as they help us fruitfully to undergo transformation, to live through death and resurrection. This was the intuition that I have tried to share, even if very inadequately, in my most recent letter to the Order, "The Promise of Life". If we can form communities which sustain us in this, then I believe that we will discover a new mobility, flexibility, even spontaneity in the Order.
5.2 Individualism
A closely related topic is that of "individualism", the tendency of the brethren to carve out their own lives and missions without much concern for the plans of their Provincials! It is a frequent topic of discussion during visitations. It is both the blessing and the curse of our Dominican tradition. On the one hand it is the fruit of a real respect for the talents of the brethren and a trust that they will develop them for the mission of the Order. It is often the sign of a real freedom which is properly ours. One could not imagine a regimented Order of Preachers!
On the other hand, it can undermine our ability to respond freshly to new challenges. It can withdraw brethren from the mission of the Order and make them unresponsive to the request of their brothers, for example, to be superiors or formators. It makes it hard to assign them to new communities, and to contribute to that mobility which I have mentioned.
Perhaps it is a fine tradition which is easily corrupted by certain characteristics of contemporary culture. The history of the Order is filled with stories of brethren wandering around unlikely corners of the globe and doing great things. This freedom can become deformed, and ultimately a prison, if it is mutated into the characteristically modern conception of the person as a solitary individual, whose freedom consists precisely in his exemption from interference by others. The Dominican freedom becomes an untouchability. How can we respond?
a. Central to initial formation must surely be that we form the brethren to share a common life, and to give themselves to a common mission.
b. Time and time again recent General Chapters have talked about the "community project" or the "apostolic project" of each community. During my visitations I see that this is rarely understood. It is usually seen as implying that everyone in a community must "do the same thing". Yet when I see Provinces that attempt to implement this proposal - I think of Chicago, Teutonia and the Philippines - then it is usually fruitful. The brethren discover that their talents are needed for the common mission of the Order, and that we are able to do new things together that no signal friar could ever achieve.
c. Do we assign young brethren to communities which can offer them the possibility of working in a common mission of the Order, and which have evolved some "community project"?

5.3 Co-operator brothers
Unless we elaborate a vision of the vocation of the co-operator brother and promote it vigorously, then we may soon find that there are no more co-operator brothers in the Order. I believe that this would be an immense loss. I have seen in my own experience what an enormous contribution the presence of co-operator brothers can make to the quality of our religious life and to our preaching of the gospel. They remind us that we are all indeed brothers, and they are able to bring the good news to places that we cannot reach. Often I have been told in recent years that if there were candidates then a formation programme would be worked out for them and we could begin to discuss with them what they might do. But why should anyone present themselves for this vocation unless we make it known that we want them and show that we are prepared to welcome them? I hope that at Bologna we will reflect upon the renewal of this vocation. To help prepare for this, I have asked a number of Provinces in North America, Europe and Asia to prepare papers for the chapter, to stimulate our reflections.
5.4. Formation
As I have said earlier, we have many vocations. The greater challenge is to form them well. At every meeting of the Plenary General Council time is given for a discussion about issues raised in formation. A questionnaire sent to formators suggested that the formation of formators, which is the heart of the matter, is best done at a regional level, and so the members of the General Council have devoted especial time and energy to supporting initiatives for regional meetings of formators. These occur regularly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The region where this has been hardest to promote has been in Europe, though there are meetings of formatters in the Iberian Peninsula and from the French speaking Provinces. Considerable effort has been spent in drawing up a data base of members of the Dominican Family who can help in formation.
The Council has begun work on the preparation of material for a letter to the Order on formation, in response to many requests from formators.
5.5. Poverty
I believe that a profound renewal of Dominican life is inseparable from a rediscovery of poverty. At the Synod on Religious Life, Cardinal Etchegaray made a heartfelt plea to the religious orders to be truly poor, and underlined what an extraordinary witness this would be in our world where gold is God. A return to an evident simplicity of life would give a new authority to our words, and would bind us together in more profound community, and would even attract many and surely excellent vocations. This would surely also go with an option for the poor, which would renew our theology and open our eyes.
I also confess that I am not at all sure what this choice of poverty would imply and where it would lead us! It would bring us into profound contradiction with the dominant values of the market society. The implications might be very different in America and Africa, Western Europe and Eastern Europe. For example, during my visitations in the United States we have often discussed the enormous amount of money which has to be paid out every year on medical insurance, which in turn means that virtually every brother is faced with the necessity of earning a considerable income. Would it be an act of rash folly to drop out of that whole system, or a brave witness to the gospel? Is it even possible? In many, perhaps even most, parts of the world, entry into religious life implies that one has a better standard of living than before. The brethren will often smile tolerantly when I speak of a vow of poverty for they know that they eat better food, have better medical care, receive a better education than they could ever imagine if they had not joined the Order, and indeed any religious Order or Congregation. But how could we form people to be preachers and teachers without making available to them resources which they could never find at home? So I remain convinced that we need to renew a profound commitment to poverty, while acknowledging that it raises questions to which I have no answer. I hope that the chapter will help us to face this question.
6 Finance
If the Order is to develop new projects and form the young who are entering the Order all over the world, but especially in the poorer countries, then we must mobilise the resources of the Order to support these signs of new life. We have the financial resources. Do we make them available for the Order that is now coming into being? If it is necessary, then are we prepared to give not just from our surplus but with such a generosity that it touches our standard of living?
6.1 Solidarity Fund
The Solidarity Fund is the most important instrument for the support of formation in the Order. When I wrote my relatio for the General Chapter of Caleruega I said that it needed to be tripled in size if it were to be able to offer the necessary support for formation in the Order. We have made some progress, due to the generosity of some Provinces. Now we just have to double its size!
6.2 Fund Raising
I often receive requests from entities of the Order which are developing, asking for large sums of money so that they may, for example, build a new novitiate or a house of studies. Usually these requests are justified but I am unable to give the financial help which I know our brethren need. Sometimes institutions which are under my direct jurisdiction have the need of financial support which I cannot offer. For some time I have thought that we should consider establishing some structure for fund-raising for the Order. We also need some help in preparing projects for grants from official organisations of the Church and other grant-giving bodies. We fail to obtain considerable financial support because, unlike most religious Orders and Congregations, we have no resources systematically to review and support such applications.
During the last few years the General Council has spent much time considering how this can best be done. A commission which I named has elaborated some clear proposals for fund-raising which are now to be presented to the General Chapter, and which will be passed to its Economic Commission.
It is important that if these proposals are approved, that they receive the full support of the Order. Anyone who raises funds for projects of the Order will be doing so in territories that are part of some Province of the Order. He will need to know that he acts in the name of the Order, and in collaboration and with the support of that Province.
Will we be able to identify brethren who will undertake this task? It is easy to draw up proposals but these remain mere ideas unless we find brethren who have the necessary skills to implement them. Any brethren who are chosen will need to have not only a financial expertise but also an understanding of the mission of the Order, and receive the necessary support for their religious life.
Should this task come under the overall responsibility of the Socius for Apostolic Life? This is the proposal of the Commission, because of the close link that they see between this task and the mission of the Order. The General Council insisted that if this is the final proposal, then the everyday organisation of the work must be undertaken by the Syndic of the Order's office.
6.3 St. Dominic's Fund
One of the proposals of the Fund Raising Commission is that there be established a Fund which they suggest be called the St. Dominic's Fund - which will enable me to respond to the needs of the Order which do not come within the terms laid down by the Solidarity Fund. I am against an over-centralisation of funds under the control of the Master, but I do think that such a fund would enable the Order to offer more rapid and often urgent aid to its entities. This Fund has now been established with the aid of a grant of $1 million from a generous Province which wishes to remain anonymous.
7. The Dominican Family

In accordance with request of the General Chapter of Caleruega (no 94), I have named fr Yvon Pomeleau OP as the Promoter General of the Dominican Family. I have also named a small Commission of the Dominican Family, which includes fr Yvon, Sr. Margaret Ormond OP (delegate of Dominican Sisters international), fr Viktor Hofstetter OP, the Promoter General of the Nuns, and myself. This Commission will meet to discuss how to co-ordinate various projects of the whole Dominican Family. The Commission has been invited to give a presentation during the first days of the Chapter.
The International Commission of Nuns meets even as I write these words. Among other things they prepare an answer to Caleruega no 95 and to formulate proposals about the participation of the nuns in General Chapters, and specifically the election of the Master of the Order. This Commission is also doing a wonderful work of common reflection on the place of the nuns in the Order, on the development of the federations of monasteries, on collaboration in formation, on the meaning of the Dominican contemplative tradition, on the fostering of communication between monasteries and with the whole Order, on what the federations of monasteries can do where they exist, and how they can help those who are more isolated. A few monasteries remain fearful that this Commission represents a parallel and new level of government, intermediate between the Master and the federations, despite my repeated reassurances that this is not so and that it has no juridical powers at all (cf my letter to all the monasteries of the Order on the nomination of the Commission in 1994).
The federations of monasteries are evolving well, especially in Spain and in France, where they will unite in one federation. Through the Commission they have opened up to other regions and offered help economically and in formation. Federations have helped to face together some of the challenges which derive from he small number of vocations to the monasteries in Western Europe. In Italy, where three federations existed, but many monasteries were not federated, close collaboration between prioresses and formators is developing, so as to ensure that the new vocations receive a good formation, and that the old and sick receive the care that they need without absorbing all the time and attention of the young and fit, thus destroying the possibility of any contemplative life at all. In France several communities have come together in two monasteries and this has been a marvellous renewal for the nuns and their community life. Occasionally I hear of fears that the federations threaten the autonomy of each monastery. I have tried to show that this is not so, but that by working together, the monasteries can find the strength to face the challenges of the moment and ensure that there is a contemplative Dominican tradition in the future in their countries. At issue is a proper understanding of the implications of "autonomy". I have shared with the nuns my belief that a true autonomy is the ability of a monastery to live a full Dominican and contemplative life, to form its young and to care for its old, rather than being a wall of isolation which cuts it off from the rest of the Order. We need well-functioning federations offering mutual support, precisely so that our monasteries may enjoy a proper autonomy.
There are also signs of new life, especially in Latin America and Africa. We can see the slow renewal of monasteries in Eastern Europe and the collaboration between the monasteries has been a great encouragement to our nuns. The monastery of the Blessed Sacrament, Farmington Hills, has agreed to accept responsibility for the foundation of a monastery in English speaking Canada. We are moving slowly towards the foundations of monasteries in Iraq, India and Vietnam. Other foundations in countries where there are no nuns may follow.
The close collaboration of Sr. Margaret, fr Yvon and fr Viktor in the promotion of the Dominican Family is a wonderful sign that this ideal is beginning to become a reality. They are working together in the preparation for the General Assembly of the Dominican Family which was proposed by the last General Chapter, and which will take place in the year 2000.
During my visitations of the Order I have frequent meeting with the Dominican Family. Often I have been inspired by the way that we are growing together in a shared mission which respects each other's talents. Let me just share with you what I have seen since the beginning of December, three months ago. I started in Vietnam. No one can fail to be impressed by the vitality of the Dominican Family there, with over a 1,000 professed sisters and 50,000 members of the Dominican laity. In the novitiate house of the brethren in Ho Chi Minh City, one can see hundreds of young sisters coming for theological formation. Preaching teams of the brethren and sisters are being formed. Increasingly the Dominican laity includes young people who meet to study and who wish to work with us in the mission of preaching the gospel. Then I went to the Philippines. I met representatives of DOMNET, which brings together representatives of all the educational institutions of the Dominican Family in the Philippines, educating some 200,000 pupils in over a 100 schools, colleges and universities. Increasingly the students who graduate from these colleges are meeting together, remaining associated with the Order, and form the core of what may become a very lively Dominican Youth Movement. In one of three universities, run by the brethren, I met a group of over 600 young people who had come together for a weekend to pray and study together. I flew from there by helicopter to meet the formators, sisters and brothers, from the Asia Pacific region. From Asia, after a brief stop in Rome, I left for Istanbul, where there is a common project of the brethren and sisters from Iraq for a place of dialogue with Islam. I then went to Iraq, where I found a flourishing Dominican lay movement, as far north as the Kurdish settlements on the Turkish frontier, and the brethren and sisters working together. I could go on! I merely wish to show that the Dominican Family can flourish. In other places I find that the Dominican Family exists in little more than name and that we have no common mission.
What makes the difference? The Dominican Family seems to flourish:
a. when there are structures which enable the branches to meet together, to get to know each other, discover each other's gifts, and to plan common projects. Often the other branches wait for the brethren to take the initiative to organise such structures, although, alas, it is sometimes the brethren who least appreciate the importance of developing such collaboration. The initiative should not depend upon the brethren.
b. when we see each other as partners in mission rather than as just another obligation to be borne. This requires a good solid formation, in which we are all open to learn from each other.
c. when we give a priority to the young, both to reach out to them, to welcome them into our communities, and to ask for their help in our mission. My hope is that before the end of my mandate we shall have made further steps in the development of a movement for young lay volunteers who wish to give a year or two of their lives to work in the mission of the Order.

8. The Government of the Order

A General Chapter of Provincials is a good moment to ask a question. What do you want of the Master and the General Council? How can we best be of service to you? In this relatio I have outlined several challenges that the Order faces. What can the General Council and I do to help you respond to them? I hope that during the Chapter you will tell me what are your hopes and expectations. It may be helpful if I outline a few concerns which have surfaced in discussions with the General Council.
8.1 Newly elected Provincials
Can we be of more help to new Provincials? Would it be helpful once or twice a year to invite all new Provincials to come to Rome to meet the General Council and each other? This would give you the chance to get to know the brethren who serve you at Santa Sabina, and also to meet and share with those other brethren who have been recently elected as Provincials, and who may share much the same problems as yourselves. I was a young Provincial for quite a long time before I discovered that the Procurator General is not the brother who deals with the Order's finances!
8.2 Visitations
I would like to raise for discussion the question of Visitations, and how they can best be conducted.
According to LCO 398 II, the whole Order must be visitated twice during the mandate of the Master, either by himself or his delegate. It would be possible for the Master himself never to visitate an entity of the Order in person and always to appoint a delegate, but the custom has been for the Master to attempt to visitate the whole Order once in person. Fr Damian's advice was that I should devote the first two years of the mandate to rapid visits of most of the Order, so that I could become quickly acquainted with the brethren and that challenges that we face. Then there would be seven years left to complete a single canonical visitation of each entity, meeting just under 1000 brothers a year. I believe this to be good advice and I have attempted to follow it.
Since my election, and mostly in the last four years, I have visitated the following entities ( I do not give the formal titles, since that would not always be very enlightening, and apologise for any omissions): The Provinces of Canada, New York, Chicago, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Holland, Flanders, the former Provinces of France and Lyon, Toulouse, Betica, Poland Germany, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand; The General Vicariates of Puerto Rico, South Africa, Belgium, China; The Vicariates of Western Canada, the Dominican Republic, the previous Italian and Maltese Vicariates of Brazil, the Vicariates of the Provinces of Teutonia and Chicago in Bolivia, Western Africa, the Vicariates of the Holy Rosary in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macao, and Korea, the Canadian Vicariate in Japan, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, the Vicariates of the Spanish and New York Provinces in Peru, Turkey, most of the Vicariates of the Arab World of the French Province, The French Vicariate in Vietnam, The Vietnamese Vicariate in Calgary, the house of the Province of Toulouse in Cusco, Peru: The Convents of S Maria Maggiore, the Angelicum and UST.
Between now and July 1999, the visitation programme is virtually finalised and I hope to visitate the following entities: The Provinces of Colombia, Austria, Croatia, India, Spain, Aragon, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico; The Vice Province of Pakistan; The General Vicariates of Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo; The Vicariates of Betica and the Rosary Province in Venezuela and the new project there, Rwanda and Burundi, Paraguay and Uruguay, the Vicariate of Ireland in Argentina, Cuba; a second visitation of the Convents of the Angelicum and the convitto.
In the last two years of my mandate, I will have to visitate the following entities: The Provinces of California, Southern United States, Ireland, Switzerland, the three Provinces of Italy, Malta, the Czech Republic, the Slovakia, Nigeria; The Vice Provinces of Central America, Slovakia; The General Vicariates of Russia and the Ukraine, the Baltics, Hungary; The Vicariates of Trinidad and Tobago, Curacoa, Haiti, Scandinavia, Central Africa, Angola, Kenya; The Convents of Fribourg, Ecole Biblique, Grottaferrata.
This is a demanding programme of visitation but, provided that my health remains good, then it is possible. It demands at least six months a year on the road, if one takes the minimum time necessary for each visitation..
The advantages of the present way in which the Order is visitated are that:
a. I have a chance to meet and listen to every brother, and I consider that to be a wonderful privilege. I can say that in all honesty I have rarely met a brother without learning something from him about how to be a Dominican. So often at the end of a long day of interviews, when I feel that I can take no more, I have met a brother who has inspired me and given me more than he can ever imagine.
b. These individual meetings with the brethren are a profound symbol of the unity of the Order. We all make profession to the Master of the Order, give our lives for the Order's mission, and this finds expression in that each brother can meet and talk freely with the Master alone.
c. I have many opportunities to meet and listen to representatives of the Dominican Family.

The disadvantages are that:
a. The expectations of what a visitation may yield are higher than they used to be. The Order is in a state of profound transition. New entities are being born and other entities are shrinking. Is it possible to offer the short of analysis and support that is sometimes needed in the course of these necessarily rapid visitations?
b. The visitation programme restricts what else I am able to do. It is rarely possible to attend Commissions of the Order, Regional meetings or other occasions when we might debate and plan the mission of the Order. I have had to refuse many requests to address the General Chapters of other religious orders and congregations, and meetings of Conferences of Major Religious Superiors. There is little time to develop contacts with the Vatican.
Even letters to the Order have to be written at considerable speed. An Englishman once apologised to a friend for writing a long letter, since he had not time to write a short one. That is my excuse too!
c. Since the other members of the General Council and I are away for so much of the year, we can go for months without meeting each other. This can make it hard to work together as a team.

I would offer the following suggestions and observations about visitations:
a. It could be helpful if the Provincial Council were to plan the programme so that the visitations could respond more effectively to any particular challenges that the brethren face. In every visitation it is good to ask what one hopes will be achieved. Much time is often spent on protocol events, visits to dignitaries, feasts, etc. These may be important in some cultures, but they can take very much time.
b. It might often be useful to plan the visitations of neighbouring entities, with a view to encouraging their collaboration, development of common projects etc. We have been moving towards this way of working in recent years. I visited the Provinces of Holland, Flanders and the General vicariate of southern Belgium together, and concluded with a meeting of representatives of all their Councils. All of the six Provinces of Italy were visited informally by members of the General Council during the process of unification.
c. On such visitations of groups of Provinces, it can be helpful to involve other brethren, including members of the General Council. We are planning a visitation of the Iberian Peninsula for three months in 1999, which will involve visitation of centres of studies and formation by the Socius for the Intellectual Life. We will then meet with the Councils of the five entities, to discuss together the mission and life of the Order in the peninsula. A similar approach could be adopted in Italy.
d. When visitating Provinces with many brethren, it may be possible to be accompanied by two socii so that even if I meet each brother briefly, then every one has a chance for a longer talk with a visitator.
e. Sometimes the visitation is just the beginning of a process. At the conclusion of visitations it may be evident that an entity needs to be accompanied and encouraged over some years as it faces some significant challenge (for example, starting new projects, founding the Order in a new place, or paralysis of government, loss of morale, internal conflicts, failure of collaboration with others entities, etc). Often the hard work is done by the socius, who follows up the visitation and encourages an entity in the implementation of its conclusions.
f. How often should visitations take place? It was because it was thought that visitations every nine years were too infrequent, that the previous General Chapter of Provincials at Oakland amended LCO 398 II to introduce the present requirement, at fr Damian's suggestion.

A single visitation during a mandate is perhaps too little, especially since the planning of visitations may mean that a Province is not visitated for as much as seventeen years. But I would also underline that it is very hard to fulfil this constitution.
I have often appointed visitators when a visitation has been needed sooner than I could make it myself, but it would be very hard to implement a complete visitation of the Order every four and a half years. In the General Council we discussed the possibility of asking every regional socius to be delegated to visit every entity in his region, with another visitator, during his six year mandate. This would be perfectly possible in some regions, but very hard in others, for example Latin America or North West Europe, given the enormous demands on the socius. If we retain the present obligation, then it can only be implemented with the help of other brethren.
8.3 The General Council and Curia
The Master of the Order would be paralysed without the collaboration of a strong and active General Council. I am deeply grateful for the generosity of the Provinces who have given the members of the council, and for all these brothers with whom I live and work. Without their friendship, advice and hard work I would be completely lost.
During the last few years, the Council has evolved a good way of working together, so as to offer more mutual support. We have added a third brief Plenary General Council, to the extended plenaries of May and November. Twice a year we go away for four days, so as to reflect together upon what we have seen and done. Every week, all the members of the Council who are in Rome gather for Vespers, to reflect on the gospel together and to share a meal.
The demands upon a member of the General Council are far greater than I had every realised before I came to Rome. He is above all a member of the Council, and so is expected to take part in all the debates about the major issues that the Order must face. The demands upon members of the Council vary greatly, depending upon his role or the region for which he is responsible. There is endless correspondence, the visiting of his region, the planning, participation in and follow up of canonical visitations, the planning of regional meetings, participation in commissions, work with the Dominican Family, contribution to the life of the community of Santa Sabina, hospitality for guests, driving people to and from the airport, sometimes meeting with Vatican Congregations, and keeping the Master of the Order sane! I have seen the exhaustion that many members of the Council suffer after six years of dedicated service. I often wonder whether they receive the support which they need.
I would underline the importance of the Order offering brethren of the highest quality for membership of the Council. The mandate of a member of the General Council is for six years. At the General Chapter of Mexico I named the following socii, for Apostolic Life, for the United States (whom I have asked and who has agreed to serve until the end of my mandate), for North West Europe and Canada, for Central and Eastern Europe, for the Iberian Peninsula, for Asia. The Socius for Africa was named shortly afterwards. Please discuss in your regions which names you would like to propose for their successors.
I hope that this General Chapter the mission of the Order will be a central topic of discussion. It may therefore be a good moment to reflect upon the role of the socius for Apostolic Life. How can he best serve the development of the mission of the Order? Currently the Socius is also General Promoter of Justice and Peace. Given that this is such an important priority for the Order, and one so often neglected, should the offices be separated and a separate office for Justice and Peace established at Santa Sabina. We must be the only major religious order which does not have one. If the Chapter approves proposals for Fund Raising for the Order, should this fall under the general responsibility of the socius for Apostolic Life?
Given the growing importance of the Dominican Family, and the fact that General Promoter is in contact with the whole Order, than should he be a member of the General Council?
I would also like to thank all the members of the curia at Santa Sabina. It is both wonderfully enriching and sometimes hard to live in a community with some twenty different nationalities, with different expectations about community life, and liturgy. The fact that half of the community are usually away and the other half almost always here can create tensions. There is the strain of coping with an endless succession of guests, even though we recognise that this is an intrinsic part of the mission of the community. Despite all this I must say that during these last six years I have been very happy here, and every time that I leave for a visitation, I look forward to my return home. I thank the Provinces who have generously given brethren for the curia, but I cannot deny the fact that it is sometimes extremely hard to persuade Provincials to propose brethren for this service of the whole Order.
9. Institutions under my direct Jurisdiction

The Report of the Socius for the Intellectual Life will offer more detailed observations upon the academic institutions under my direct jurisdiction. I will offer just a few brief comments. The community of the University of Santo Tomas, in Manila, has now passed under the jurisdiction of the Province of the Philippines.
9.1 The Angelicum
Our University teaches more than 1,200 students from all over the world. This is an important part of the mission of the Order. I am deeply grateful to the brethren who give such dedicated service, often with difficult living conditions, and without the recognition that they deserve from the rest of the Order. The students who attend the University are usually highly appreciative of the quality of teaching, the love of study and the friendliness they encounter there. It does not enjoy the reputation that it deserves, either in the Order or the Church. The Directorium has composed a message to the chapter, to underline its support for the University.
Given the extraordinary opportunity that the University gives to the Order for its own mission, and to contribute to the mission of the Church, then it requires all possible support from the Order to develop as a centre of academic excellence. Much progress has been made during the last three years, especially in the Faculty of Social Science.
In accordance with the commission of the General Chapter of Caleruega (no 117), I established a Commission "for the renewal and development of the Angelicum", under the presidency of fr. Liam Walsh, of Fribourg and the Irish Province. Its members consisted of two professors from the Angelicum, two outside experts, and two members of the General Council. Two of the members were Dominican sisters. After eight extended meetings it has drawn up proposals which were submitted to the Directorium. I thank the Commission for its hard work and courageous proposals. The Directorium discussed and amended them and presents them to the General Chapter. I welcome these proposals. They underling the challenges that the University must face in assuming the consequences of being a University rather than just a Studium Generale. They underline the centrality of planning for the renewal of the faculties. They propose that the whole Dominican Family be invited to take part in this mission of the Order. They make radical proposals about the future relationship between the University and the Dominican convent of brethren who live there. They clarify the role of the Directorium, above all in its task of helping the University to assume responsibility for its own life and future, and to face the challenges with courage. I ask the Chapter to give serious consideration to these proposals.
I would add just two observations:
a. Let us cease to think of the Angelicum as a problem and begin to really reflect upon how it might contribute to the mission of the Order. Already the teaching of so many students from all over the world is in itself part of the mission of the Order, but in what other ways may we integrate the University into our mission, and use its resources for the good of the whole Order? For example, many faculties and centres of study throughout the world have formal links with the University. How might this become a more dynamic relationship, to their mutual benefit? Are there specialised institutes or professorial chairs that might be established, for the benefit of the whole Order? How might we develop the participation of the whole Dominican Family in the University?
b. The University has always suffered from acute financial problems. I would stress that almost no academic institution is able to exist without a considerable subsidy. The subsidy that the Angelicum receives form the Order is relatively small. The University has made every saving possible. The brethren in the community live in poverty. There is an urgent need for a good capital fund to support the university in its development. Through vigorous fund raising and some generous benefactions, we have been able to more than double the Angelicum Fund in the last three years. If it can be doubled yet again, then it will begin to have the degree of financial support which is necessary.

9.2 Fribourg
I regret that I have not been as present in Fribourg as I would have liked, though the presence of the Socius for Intellectual Life in the Faculty means that I am in full contact with developments there.
I am glad that we have been able to obtain approval for the new states of the Faculty from the Holy See. Now a considerable concern for the Faculty is to resist proposals of the state to reduce the number of professors.
No doubt theology and philosophy are not seen as making useful contributions to the market economy. This Faculty is important in the formation of brethren from all over the world in the Dominican theological tradition. I thank the brethren of the Albertinum for their generosity in receiving so many students and they have all my support, as Grand Chancellor of the Faculty, in their struggle to resist too drastic a reduction of the number of chairs.
I would especially wish to thank fr Jean Louis Brugués OP for accepting nomination to the Faculty. This was a great loss for his Province, which they accepted with graciousness and generosity.
9.3. The Ecole Biblique
Once again I regret that because of the pressure of the visitation programme I have to been able to visit the Ecole Biblique since the last General chapter, much as I had hoped to so. Within a few days the Socius for the Intellectual Life and fr Daniel Cadrin OP will begin a visitation.
I thank the brethren of the community for their commitment to this institution, of whose academic excellence we can all be proud, in a political situation whose tensions must be hard to endure and which are not conducive to calm scholarship. A new library is absolutely necessary for the Ecole, and I ask for the generosity of the Order. Please give every support to the fund-raising efforts that are being made.
We need to support the Ecole not only with professors but also with Dominican students. We urgently need to form more biblical scholars for the mission of the Order.
9.4 The Leonine Commission
With four brethren under the age of 40 now assigned to the Commission, there is far more confidence that the Order will be able to continue this service of the Order to the Church and that the wisdom and expertise of the older members will be shared with their successors.
I thank fr John Farren OP for his years of vigorous and effective presidency of the Commission, which were vital in bringing about this new beginning, and I thank fr Leonard Boyle OP for accepting to be his successor.
9.5 The Historical Institute
I would like to add a word of thanks to fr Simon Tugwell OP for his hard work as President of the Historical Institute. I was sorry to have to accept his resignation on the grounds of ill health. Under his leadership the Institute has enjoyed a revival from which it will give historical studies in the Order a real stimulus. I especially congratulate fr Simon on his renewed publication of Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica. I thank fr Arturo Bernal Palacios OP for accepting to be named as his successor.
9.6 Santa Maria Maggiore
The brethren of the community of Santa Maria Maggiore are dedicated to the fine and traditional Dominican apostolate of mercy. This is extremely exacting and asks of them great generosity of heart. I thank them for this service for the church. Their numbers are few, and not adequate to the demands upon them. In the year of the Jubilee, the vast number of pilgrims who will come to Rome will mean that the pressures will be increased.
The Chapter of Mexico commissioned me to renew the community by Easter 1993 or else undertake steps to relinquish our responsibility for the Penitentiary. This renewal implies not merely the assignation of new members to the community but also a renewal of its Dominican life in accordance with the Constitutions. It is hard vigorously to encourage Provincials to give brethren to the community unless there is good Dominican life there. Some progress has been made, for which I give thanks to the brethren, especially to the Prior, fr Raphaël de Brabandere OP. Part of the difficulty has been the resistance of the Penitenzieria Apostolica to accept a clarification and unambiguous affirmation of the Dominican identity of the community. Fr. Malachy O'Dwyer OP, a previous Procurator General, presented draft statutes to the Penitenzieria Apostolica, but I have been unable to receive any reactions up to the time of writing.
Conclusion

I thank all of your for all the kindness and support that I have received during the last six years.
I pray that St. Dominic will bless us during this forthcoming General Chapter, and give us a share of his courage and imagination. May we discuss the challenges that the Order faces with truthfulness, and with the freedom and mutual trust of brothers. May we dare to take decisions that will serve the life and mission of the Order.
Your brother in St Dominic
fr Timothy Radcliffe OP
Master of the Order
4 March 1998
Prot No: 50/98/317

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