They came from all over Europe and gathered at Mainz, Germany for their annual Inter-European Order of Preachers (IEOP) meeting. They are the Prior Provincials and Vicars of the Provinces and Vicariates of Europe. They were about 33 of them and they were hosted by the German Province of Teutonia. Their gathering is reminiscence of a mini World Summit with the major languages of the world fully represented.
They were joined by the team from Santa Sabina led by the Master of the Order himself, fr Bruno Cadoré. Included in that team were; fr Vivan Boland (Vicar to the Master and Socius for Northwestern Europe and Canada), Wojciech Delik (Socius of Central and Eastern Europe), Bernardino Prella (Socius for the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Malta), Michael Mascari (Socius for Intellectual Life), Dominic Izzo (Director of the Solidarity Fund) and Prakash Lohale (Socius for Apostolic Life).
In their meetings and discussions, the brothers reflected on the Second Vatican Council and the challenges it possess for the Order today, especially in Europe. They were honoured with the presence of Cardinal Karl Lehmann, Archbishop of Mainz who shared with them on the new approach to the relationship between the Church and the World. The French Dominican, fr. Hervé Legrand of the Catholic Institute of Paris spoke on evangelization as promoted by Vatican II and how the Order can face its challenges today. The German Dominican fr Ulrich Engel of M-Dominique Chenu Institute, Berlin also spoke on the inspiration of Vatican II for the Dominicans in Europe.
The provincials of Poland, Portugal and England then presented the experiences of their respective provinces on the reception of Vatican II and how it has helped them in the areas of evangelization and dialogue. Fr Bruno Cadoré presented some of the features of the European society as; the wounds of its recent history, the predicament of the excluded and victims of economic crisis and the immigrant tensions of religious pluralism and emphasized on communion and the mission of reconciliation to which we are called.
In his homily, fr Bruno reminded the brothers that preaching is the primary task of the Order and it is not just about imparting the knowledge about Jesus but allowing Jesus himself to encounter the church as a friend. We must leave the comforts of our vestries and move into the world. The church is like a house and the walls are not the most important part, rather the windows and doors because they grant access to friends. Evangelism is the love of the world as it is. That was what Jesus did, he came into the world to meet the people; to those who called him, he responded, those who were hiding, he sought for, he talked and ate with the people. The approach now is to turn to the people, not with a sense of superiority but with a conviction that we need them and we are bothered when one is missing, he concluded. Fr Christophe Holzer, the Provincial of Southern Germany and Austria assisted the Master with the simultaneous translation.
Apart from the meetings and discussions, the brothers also had the opportunity to visit interesting locations in the area. They visited the Cathedral of Mainz, the Novitiate and St Paul Monastery at Worms, and also took a boat trip to the Loreley to visit the Jewish cemetery of Worms.
(April 9, 2013)
