October 30, 2012: Superiors should ensure innovations in mission, decision making
and lifestyle so as to be faithful to their Religious calling, was the main theme
of talks during the first day of the Conference of Religious India (CRI) national
meeting.
About 550 Superiors General and provincials of various congregations
are meeting Oct 28-31 in the South Indian city of Hyderabad for their triennial assembly.
The delegates are deliberating on innovations to give consecrated life greater effectiveness.
Approximately 80 percent of those attending are women.
“Mission ought to shape
Religious life and not the other way around,” said Montfort Brother Varghese Thechanath
during his talk on innovation in mission. Move away from Religious-shaped mission
life to a mission-shaped Religious life, he told the superiors present.
Brother
Thechanath also called on them to dictate the shape of the Church and Religious life
by bringing about a “refounding of Religious life as mission.” He pointed out that
it becomes necessary to “move from evolutionary innovations to revolutionary innovations”
since innovation is the process by which an idea is translated into a service.
On
the other hand, Holy Spirit Sister Elsie urged Religious superiors present to opt
for “communal discernment and consensus building in decision making” so as to bring
about a more authentic life worthy of their calling. In order that this is done she
provided the gathering with a strategy where faith sharing by individuals was the
basis for all proper decisions so that those in leadership might arrive at the truth
without blame or regret.
This must also take into consideration individual
preferences so that Religious superiors in particular would be open to the outcome
of arrived decisions” Sister Elsie said.
She pointed out that respecting differences,
equal access to information and integrity of dialogue must not be the prerogative
of only Religious superiors and must be the means for all major concerns to be communicated.
Do
away with the tyranny of the majority or minority and listen to everyone she said.
This might very well give way to a new way of religious life that is both theoretically
sound and practical was her opinion.
Claritian Father Xavier Manavath in his
talk about innovations in lifestyle of Religious, called on the superiors to re-mission
things so as to be visionaries.
He pointed out that historically speaking innovations
is not new to Religious life and that innovations was continual as seen through various
periods and situations were Religious brought about change in the way “we live our
lives and organize ourselves.”
He however warned that innovations should be
a process in creative fidelity and not be only for newness in lifestyle. This said,
there should be a need to revision current ways and traditions by opening up new horizons,
he added.