Morning Session

This morning Nestor Schwertz, the Secretary for Evangelization, and Massimo Fusarelli, Secretary for Formation and Studies, talked with the participants about Evangelization and Formation with respect to JPIC. 

Nestor’s talk was entitled “Evangelization and JPIC in the Perspective of the Excluded.” He said the vocation of the friars is to announce the Gospel. He said embracing the leper wasn’t as determining for Francis, but instead it was his meeting of the gospel. Our commitment for the excluded is not a new activity, but is part of our form of life.

The Church – at least in its documents – says that it called to announce the good news to the poor. In the poor, it recognizes its founder. The Church has the duty of announcing the liberation of millions of people. In the Latin American church, an option has been made to the poor and to the promotion of justice. Those who wish to follow Jesus Christ must also take this option. The friars have own way of giving witness to the poor, however we wish to do this in communion with the Church. 

He said that we are called to go towards the excluded: to seek them out, to be among them, to listen to them and to serve them. This is part of our missionary vocation, and can be the grace of a new conversion. Not all friars are called to live like the poor, but some are. It is important that there be the possibility to do this in the name of the entire fraternity. All are called to take up the option for the poor in their own way. 

He ended with three challenges: Can we create new forms of evangelization and new evangelizing fraternity in the perspective of this Congress and the 800th Anniversary of the Order? How can we qualify our commitment for JPIC through on-going and intellectual formation? How can we integrate the different services of animation in the areas of JPIC, evangelization and formation?

Massimo said in formation we have been focusing on human maturity, but this is only part of formation. The 1973 document from Madrid tells us the experience of faith is most important, and that JPIC and the other elements of our charism invite us to live as brothers in this dimension of faith. 

The poor and their life are the theological milieu in which we can find new ways to express our charism. The poor are our teachers.

Our spirituality should be rooted in JPIC in order to avoid the risk of a intimate spirituality. Our formation must be practical, inculturated and open to new forms of service in order to overcome the gap between what we teach in formation and the reality in which we live. [ paper (in Italian)]

After these presentations, the participants met in language groups to discuss the questions: “What are the most important highlights which have come out of the Congress thus far for our Franciscan life? And for the work of JPIC?”

After lunch, the participants left for an overnight experience of living and celebrating with the landless people of Uberlandia.