pecialists
in constitutional law have often recognized the high
quality, not only in juridical expression, but also
in human value, of the constitutions in which Saint
Dominic and his first disciples expressed the originality
and the essential structures of the new Order.' As Father
M. D. Chenu so well says : "Dominic and his first
brethren were instinctively masters of the structures
of the Gospel".
The preceding
chapters of this volume have dealt with the ideas, elements
and values which enabled the Dominican charism to come
to life : the Word of God lived, celebrated and contemplated
in a common fraternal life; that same Word of God become
capable of discerning the signs of the times and of
reaching, in relevant terms, those to whom the mission
of the Order sends us. Fraternal unity and mission :
for us these two realities are permanently linked together
and define for us our way of "following Christ".
As opposed to other institutes who lay stress on one
or other of these two, the order wants to keep a perfect
balance between them, just like the Church which is
at once unity and mission. No surprise then that these
two shape our notion of authority and government.
If, in the
ups and downs of history, the Order has been able to
maintain throughout the years the propositum of Saint
Dominic, and fulfill its role in the service of the
Gospel, this is the result, in large part, of the mysterious
strength of the presence of Saint Dominic in the minds
of his brethren, but it cannot be denied that from a
more human point of view, it is also the result of the
nature of its structures which have given it, as the
fundamental Constitution puts it, "community government,
which is especially suitable to promote the Order and
to renew it frequently". (LCO n I, par 7).
One
thinks immediately of the well-known remark of Bernanos
: "If it were possible for us to look in an unsullied
way at the work of God, the Order of Preachers would
appear to us as the love of Saint Dominic made flesh
in space and time, like his prayer made visible".
(G. Bernanos, Saint Dominique, Paris, Gallimard NRF,
1939, p. 11).
A
dialectic : universal mission/fraternal communion
In
the perfectly balanced framework of Dominican institutions,
there is one thing that immediately strikes one : everything
is geared towards a complete dedication to preaching
the Gospel. After this one notices, along with a sort
of radical dedication which is demanded by the urgency
of the task, a deeply felt need to organize. Indeed,
in order to live up to its aims, and' make sure of its
survival, the Dominican charism has to take flesh and
express itself in a well-defined type of institution.
This
interaction of communion and mission - which in a certain
sense is linked to the distinction between the "religious
life" and the "apostolate" - works itself
out in "the balanced organic collaboration of all
its parts aiming at the goal of the Order". (LCO
1, par 7).
At the most
fundamental level we find brotherhood in community,
which is built, not on the juxtaposition of individuals
but on a community structure and a community ethic.
It matures not by adding together individual efforts,
but by sharing work and life and thus liberating the
grace proper to each one, within the charism of the
group. In the second place, and this is just as important,
this organic collaboration is brought about by various
groups, which develop their potential by means of the
mutual influence they have on one another : the groupings
of houses into provinces and vicariates (or embryonic
provinces), the grouping of provinces which makes up
the Order of the brothers; and lastly, in a wider sense,
the grouping of brothers, nuns, sisters, fraternities
of laypeople and even priests, all of which give the
Order its full shape, and makeup what today we like
to call the "Dominican family".
If this last
expression covers a diversity Saint Dominic never knew,
- I am thinking especially of the congregations of sisters
which did not exist in his days - the new forms added
on through the centuries have sprung from the fertile
soil of the original charism of Saint Dominic. Let us
make no mistake about it, when we speak about the "Dominican
family" we mean more than a group of people who,
conscious of sharing the same patron, are glad to meet
one another. The two words "Dominican family"
mean something deeper and more demanding than that.
They imply the conviction that our charism cannot develop
fully within our branch of the Order, and still less
in an individual. Rather it needs the help of everyone
else if it is to grow and produce fruit. The effective
collaboration of all will multiply the richness of every
branch. To speak of the Dominican Family is to become
more aware that the unity binding brothers and sisters
of Saint Dominic together must, by means of prayer,
the apostolate and the witness of our lives, go beyond
the limits of our communities, each person adding his
own talents to the whole group by a total devotion to
the charism of the branch to which he belongs.
Power
and different levels of governrnent
The power
which rules and coordinates this great gathering is
universal in its head and in its origin : the General
Chapter and the Master of the Order (LCO nn 17, 252).
Though the names vary, general chapters are common to
all religious orders. In the Order of Preachers they
are characterized by several original ideas which find
their origin in the Dominican way of looking at things,
and have a marked effect on our system of government.
First, there
is the question of who make them up. We distinguish
between general chapters of provincials and general
chapters of diffinitors. The former gather together
those responsible for each province, those, consequently,
who have to face up to the problems of organization,
of administration, of encouraging religious life and
the apostolate, etc. Chapters of diffinitors are made
up of one brother from each province, who come from
the rank and file and represent it. The fact that provincials
cannot be members of this chapter is a clear sign of
the Order's desire to give the power and the opportunity
to speak to those religious who, not being in charge
of a province, can see concrete problems in a more detached
way, and can show more imagination and a greater desire
for renewal.
These two
kinds of chapter, which have exactly the same power,
alternate every three years, in a way that at first
sight seems unexpected : two chapters of diffinitors
and one chapter of provincials. There might well be
a risk of serious inconvenience in this alternation
if every chapter had by itself the power to make laws,
while the following chapter immediately voted the opposite.
To avoid a dangerous state of instability, and to add
greater weight to our legislation, it is laid down that,
to have the force of law, a proposal must be adopted
by three successive chapters. If then our legislation
favours "imagination" be giving more importance
to chapters of diffinitors, that imagination is held
in check by the obligation of three successive chapters.
Some
people may question the wisdom of this system. The answer
is easy : it has stood the test of time since it goes
back to Saint Dominic; what is more, partly for this
reason the Order has never been split up as many others
have; and anyway the Church has never asked us to adopt
another system.
The general chapter is at the top of the pyramid of
government; and, as it has active jurisdiction, it has
the supreme power. During every chapter the Master General,
elected for nine years, gives an account of what he
has done; the way he has ruled the Order and his aims
can then be considered and questioned. Although between
two chapters he does have a certain liberty in the way
he exercises control (and all the more so, since, unlike
most institutes his assistants or councillors are not
nominated by the general chapter but by himself once
they are presented by the provinces) the frequency of
general chapters means that he remains close to the
democratically elected supreme authority of the Order.
This concentration
of power, which makes our general chapters quite different
from modern parliaments, is not to be looked on just
in institutional or juridical terms as if it were just
a "machine for making laws and ordinations".
Every chapter also has a prophetical role to play. As
it has "to discuss and to decide about everything
which concerns the good of the whole Order" (LCO
n 405), it must proceed to evaluate the organization
and the life of the Order. So it awakens the collective
conscience of all the brothers to the problems and realities
which, directly or indirectly, immediately or remotely,
affect their lives and apostolates, whether they be
religious, cultural, theological, social or even political :
On this analysis and ability to read the "signs
of the times" will depend the realization of the
authentic evangelizing mission of the Order. (LCO n
99).
I must point
out here the increasing importance given during the
last five general chapters to the "Prologues".
set at the head of each topic discussed : liturgical
life and prayer, study, ministry of the Word, Dominican
family, etc. Thus in Quezon City in 1977, in a long
and beautiful passage about "our apostolic task
in the modern world" the general chapter picked
out the essential elements of the mission of Dominicans
in our days, requiring us to pay attention to the social
and cultural changes in the world around us, to the
problem of justice and the betterment of all men, to
the mass media.
In this way
our general chapters see to the running of the Order
and to developing a global strategy which is indispensable
to the universal vocation of the Order.' in; this way
they give a lead to all who see themselves as children
of Saint Dominic, even sisters devoted to an active
life, and over whom neither the Master of the Order
nor general chapters have any juridical control.
Whether it
was a question of drawing up laws, or giving reports,
or organizing things, or dealing with lifestyle or activity,
Saint Dominic wanted every religious to have some part
in it in some way or another. This was no more than
an application of the classical saying of the middle
ages : "Whatever affects everybody should be dealt
with by everybody", and in the Dominican Order
the same principle is found at every level though the
possibility of intervention by the superior, at least
in a passing way, is allowed for, and this in order
to preserve the balance of power. The way the conventual
prior, elected for three years, takes up office is an
example of this. A community elects its prior, but before
he is appointed, the newly elected brother needs confirmation
from the provincial. In the same way, at a higher level,
a newly elected provincial must be confirmed by the
Master General. It can more easily be understood, then,
that if Saint Dominic and his successors have had to
submit themselves to their brethren their authority
was not lessened for all that.
What
binds the Dominican family together is religious profession,
which unites every brother, each nun and also each member
of lay fraternities to the Master General (but not sisters
living the active life who do not legally depend on
him). Along with general chapters, the Master of the
Order is the guarantee of faithfulness to Saint Dominic's
inspiration, the corner-stone of the unity to the Order,
and the direct point of reference for each of its members.
This shows the importance of direct relations between
him and each of his brethren, through regular visits
to houses and provinces, as well as by meeting and writing
to individuals.
We will find the same sort of government in each province
and in each house. There is the general government of
the Order, the government of the province and the government
of the house, and it would be wrong to think that each
lower level receives a delegation of power from the
higher level. That would be a monarchical and not a
community version of the Order. At their own level these
different entities have their own real autonomy. Thus
the prior of a house does not need any special permission
from the provincial to receive a novice to the habit
or to receive a brother to profession. He has this power
by right. But this does not mean that the Order is made
up of houses with no legal dependence on the province
to which they belong. We only have to remember what
I said above about the action of a provincial in the
appointment of a newly elected prior.
Although
a religious, according to the accepted expression, is
the son of a province and not of the house in which
he lives, the house is still the basic cell of the Order.
For it is in the house that religious must find all
the elements which will enable them to become authentic
friars preachers, because it is at this level that "communion
and mission" find their training ground and the
field of their apostolate.
According
to the traditional formula the prior's relationship
to the brethren in his house is that of "first
among equals" (primus inter pares), a Dominican
expression if ever there was one! It expresses very
nicely. indeed his fraternal attachment to his community
while safeguarding his authority.
The
brothers of a community assemble as a conventual chapter
when electing a prior, or organizing the life of the
house, or giving it new vitality and enthusiasm. This
is where the brethren swap ideas for the sake of the
ministry of the Word of God, and try to organize a creative
co-responsibility for the enthusiasm which each possesses.
Without this chapter there could be a "legal entity"
but there could be no "apostolic communion",
in the full sense of each word, and which is the characteristic
of the Order.
Every four
years each conventual chapter sends its prior, with
one, two or more delegates according to the number of
the brethren to the provincial chapter. This group constitutes
the "provincial chapter," whose function it
is to elect the provincial and the "diffinitors"
(between 4 and 8) of the provincial chapter. It is the
function of all the members of the provincial chapter
to analyze the situation of the province, to take note
of the wishes and criticisms of all the religious, to
study the province's problems, and to suggest decisions
to be made and aims to be followed. The provincial and
the diffinitors have to come to conclusions about all
this and send them for approval to the Master General.
Details
about the "democratic" regime of the Order
So far I
have been talking about what I might call the political
regime of the Order. We often hear that this is democratic,
and this is true in the sense that we all have a say
in how the Order is run. But to leave it at that is
to miss the most important part of our notion of government.
The Order
is something new, something in line with the Gospel,
and therefore with the Kingdom of God which makes us
all brothers. To set up this type of life, recourse
was had to certain structures which, in political science,
are called democratic, where sovereignty belongs to
the whole group of citizens. These structures were used
to give institutional shape to the brotherhood of which
Christ said : "You are not to be called Master,
because you have only Master and you are all brothers”
(Matt 23 :8). Consequently we should not be surprised
if the government of religious institutes - and especially
our own - in many important ways goes beyond the ideas
of civil government, be they democratic, monarchical
or anything else. This is not without consequence in
the working out of this "religious democracy".
The fundamental
law of democracy is majority rule, but it is not the
same with us, in spite of our frequent voting. Our law
is unanimous rule. In the conventual chapter - and it
is the same for provincial and general chapters - the
prior should not look for a quick vote, but should try
to have the question threshed out, so that everyone
has his say; and a common debate will lead to an agreement
which is as near unanimous as possible. This striving
for unanimity - even if we do not always succeed in
achieving it - is the sure guarantee of the presence
of the Lord and his spirit, and by that very fact, is
a more certain way of discovering the will of God. It
was thus that in Vatican II Paul VI held up the taking
of some votes to help people to understand the question
better and prevent decisions being taken just by a majority
vote.
There is
no need to point out how much this seeking for unanimity
demands from each religious and from the whole community.
But it is here that the precise point of what the friar
preacher is trying to live and preach finds its realization.
Lacking this, the complex life, so full - of possibilities,
which he is living, may just be an empty shell, while
religious houses, instead of being fraternities of men
who are living the faith, studying it and preaching
it, can be just places where a group of people lead
the same kind of life, a life which is vaguely religious.
A
real capacity for renewal
Another detail :
this legal system of ours which is continually evolving,
gives us a real capacity for renewal, and this all the
more so in that the self - determination which is part
and parcel of it is not the doing of some individuals
but of groups and it implies the intervention of all
who are involved. Was it not for this very reason that
our first brothers chose this type of government - To
a large extent, thanks to this, the Order has never
experienced divisions - any reform movements that sprung
up were incorporated and we can still admire today by
the whole institute - the relevance of a type of government
more than seven hundred and fifty years old.
The choice
made by Saint Dominic was not a random one. The order
originated in a confrontation between the Church and
the world, in which it found, and continues to find,
its purpose and its mission. From this springs the need
for continual renewal so that the challenge of a continually
evolving world may be met. This constant questioning
is necessary not just for individual conversions but
is a condition of life for the Order for which continual
renewal is second nature. (LCO n 1, par vii). We can
understand why the last general chapter in 1977 made
so much of "permanent formation" as an indispensable
condition of renewal through the years.
Loyalty
to the Order's charism
A
last detail : like every living thing religious life
grows according to the law inscribed in its nature and
not by reason of any props holding it up. There can
be no progress and no renewal of Dominican life without
a new application of Saint Dominic's inspiration in
its first flush. If it is true that we receive this
grace when we hear the mysterious call to follow Christ
with Dominic, it must be added that the strengthening
and blossoming of our Dominican personality presupposes
a continually renewed effort at joyful and inventive
loyalty to the Order's charism. At this level the vow
of obedience is part of a more fundamental obedience
based on the Gospel. I must live the Gospel within my
Dominican life. Father J.M.R. Tillard goes so far as
to say : "I obey the Gospel through my Constitutions".
It is important to remember this link now that some
people are tempted to look elsewhere for elements of
spirituality which they try to add on, at any cost,
to the wonderful architectural monument which our Constitutions
are.
A
life according to the Gospel so that we may preach the
Gospel : it was from the living relationship between
this preaching and our community life that the broad
lines of the government of the Order sprang. And if
I were asked : "Within this set-up how do you see
the role of the Master of the Order ?", I would
reply : "His role is one of presence". . .
This word, as we all know, comes from the Latin prae-esse
which means nearness, primary, superiority with their
many associated meanings : welcome, listening, dialogue,
understanding, help, encouragement, persuasion, expression
of authority etc. The word presence means all that.
I think that it is perfectly in accord with the analysis
which I have suggested : a type of government which
springs from fraternal communion and from the universal
mission of the Order, and completely dedicated to the
service of both.
(Article
taken from a book written by several authors : A. Quilici
(ed), Dominicains. L'Ordre des Prêcheurs présenté
par quelques-ins d'entre eux. Le Cerf, 1980.)
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