 | CONGRESS ON CONSECRATED LIFE: PASSION FOR CHRIST, PASSION FOR HUMANITY |
The Congress on Consecrated Life was an unprecedented event that brought 847 women and men to Rome November 23-27, 2004, to dialogue on their experience of and hopes for religious life from a rich diversity of cultural perspectives: - 95 came from Africa
- 250 from North, Central and South America
- 92 from South and East Asia and the Middle East
- 16 from Oceania, and
- 394 from Europe.
 | Congress Synthesis Committee, L-R
Márcio Fabri Dos Anjos, Judette Gallares, Karen Kennelly, Anneliese Herzig, Monique Colrat |
It was the first time a mixed group of women and men religious drawn from every continent had met to reflect on the meaning and future of religious life. The majority of invited participants were from congregational leadership, including Karen Kennelly from the CSJ-Carondelet Team, but also represented were the presidents of most of the national conferences of religious from every part of the world, theologians, directors of reviews and publications on religious life, and a representative group of young religious. Communion
It was a wonderful experience of communion with religious worldwide and especially with the Sisters of St. Joseph and their associates. Ten Sisters were present at the Congress.  Karen M. Kennelly, CSJ | In addition to Karen were Janet Gagnon, leadership, Lyon; Barbara Bozak, theologian, Chambéry (U.S.); Lorraine Marie Delaney, leadership, Chambéry (now general government, but from India); Gloria Philip, leadership, Argentina; Mariaelena Aceti, liturgical committee, Chambéry (Italy); Janet Mock, publication editor, Baden; Lucille Germain, leadership, Pembroke; Maria Christina Gavazzi, young religious, Chambéry (Italy); and Madina Morona Suarez, young religious, Chambéry (Bolivia). |
They took advantage of their time at the Congress to compose a letter to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Latin America, to share something of the spirit of communion experienced at the Congress and to assure them of support and prayers when they gather in Lima this January for the fourth assembly of Sisters of St. Joseph in Latin America. It was exciting to hear echoes of our Carondelet acts of Chapter 2001 in the Argentina charism statement, “To live and to animate Communion, with God, with every ‘dear neighbor,’ and with all of Creation, in order to bring about the Reign of God.” Although space limitations precluded participation of associates in the Congress, there was frequent acknowledgment of them in Congress conversation. The Argentine CSJs, for example, have what they call the Familia Josefina, described as “women and men, young people and adults, who desire to live their baptismal consecration drawing from the fountain of spirituality of the Sisters of St. Joseph and sharing their charism and mission.” Congress Dialogue
Simultaneous translation in English, Spanish, French and Italian helped facilitate an exchange of views stimulated by speakers such as: - Dolores Aleixandre, RSCJ, whose paper on “Seekers of Wells and Paths: Two Icons for a Samaritan Consecrated Life” initiated our week-long discernment on what the two icons, that of the Samaritan woman at the well at Sychar and the Samaritan man on the road to Jericho, have to teach us about religious life as a “passion for Christ and a passion for humanity.”
- João Batista Libânio, SJ, who challenged our thinking with his presentation, “The Impact of Socio-Cultural and Religious Reality on Consecrated Life from a Latin-American Perspective: A Search for Answers.”
- Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who invited us to take yet another look at the signs of our times with his analysis, “Religious Life after 11th September: What Signs Do We Offer?” and
- Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, who developed a compelling analysis entitled “Religious Life in the Future,” concluding with a vision of the two Gospel icons or vignettes as a prophetic call to cross artificial boundaries, break down walls of separation, subvert power structures, and dismantle privilege, thereby setting aside the private and exclusive and working together “to build community in this world.”
Participants left with the words of the conference synthesis ringing in their ears: - “The way of understanding and living religious life that bore fruit so abundantly in the past is yielding to another way more in accord with what the Spirit is asking of us.”
- “Like Mary and Joseph, her spouse, we have understood that to follow Jesus we must live open to God and near to the needs of our neighbor, always with a readiness to respond to the God of surprises whose ways and thoughts are not ours.”
Karen’s participation in the Congress included being a member of the nine-person group of “listeners” responsible for synthesizing the content of papers and the reports of Continental and Topical groups, as well as table reflections and spontaneous open mike contributions. She says this really sharpened her listening skills and opened her to appreciate different views, as well as bringing her into close contact with a wonderful group of people. Congress Outcomes
Some thoughts from the Congress Karen says particularly struck her are: - regarding obsolete structures and ways of doing things, “Can we create a sacramental model of religious life,” characterized by externals that clearly reveal the inner reality of our life?
- “Our founders were held together by ideals, not structures.” “Community is formed not by living under the same roof but by sharing the same ideals.”
- “We need a new spirituality that integrates the spiritual and the corporal, the feminine and the masculine, the personal and the communal, the natural and the cultural, the temporal and the eschatological, and that is with us in all our living and our doing.”
- “We should no longer call ourselves Orders or Congregations, but Family.”
- A sentence from the papal exhortation, Vita Consecrata, “We have a glorious history to remember and recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished!” enthusiastically endorsed by a young religious who stepped up to the mike and drew an analogy between toddlers hoisted up on parents’ shoulders and young religious riding on the shoulders of the older—we should be aware that as with little ones, this vantage point enables the young to see further into the distance than their carriers!
- And from the working group on partnership with the laity: “We are invited to a process of transformation: to make our communities more open and welcoming; to change a mentality of working for the laity to working with them, and to keep clearly in mind what Christ calls us all to, which is deeper than our works and institutions. To include an ecclesiology of communion in our formation programs. To include the laity in our planning and reflection, and to respect their rightful autonomy and initiative.”
Suggested Reading - Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity (Pauline Books and Media, 2005), contains papers given at the Congress.
- "The 2004 Consecrated-Life Congress: A Retrospective," Review for Religious, vol. 65:3 (Summer 2006), pp. 230-243, Karen's reflections on the Congress and its implications for congregational chapters.
Work Continues
The Union of Superiors General (USG - men's congregations) and International Union of Superiors General (UISG -Women's Congregations) contiue their collaborative efforts today. The Justice and Peace Intercongregational Committee sent a delegation to the Southern Sudan. Another group is working on surveying religious congregations in their efforts of support to those with HIV/AIDS to assess the various ways that the Congregations are responding to the pandemic. The Next meeting of the UISG will be in Rome, May 6 - 10, 2007. For more information on the USG/UISG please visit the website Vidimus Dominum
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