On 30 and 31 October, at San Gioacchino, the Redemptorist’s House in Rome, the current Council of the Conference met with the new Council which will begin its work on 1 January 2018.
The present Council met On Monday, 30: Frs. Jacek Zdrzalek, Johannes Römelt and Pedro López. Among the decisions taken is the appointment of the Commission for the Apostolic Plan and the Restructuring of the Conference of Europe, which will be constituted by the Frs. Johannes Römelt, new Conference Coordinator, Alberto Eseverri and Pedro López, (General Consultors) and Brendan Callanan, Rui Santiago and Jacek Zdrzalek representing south, North and East Europe. The Commission will have the advice of an external Pastoralist and a confrere of the Eastern Rite.
The Council approved the incorporation of Fr. Manlio Cirimele, a member of the Province of Naples, to the Community of Albania from January 2018.
On October 31, Fathers Piotr Chyła and Gianni Congiu joined new members of the Council for this six-year period. Together, we are faced with the questions of interest in this transition phase.
– There was a discussion and clarification on the extraordinary visit that the General Government that will take place in the Conference as of January 2018.
– Scheduled meetings are planned at Conference level for next year and also there was a discussion about how to implement the decisions of the third phase of the XXV General Chapter held in Perth.
– The functioning of the Secretariats and Conference Committees was evaluated over the last six years and suggestions for the future have been made.
– Lastly, the preparations for the forthcoming meetings for the coming months have been completed: the Secretariat for Formation in Rome (San Gioacchino) and the Council of the Interprovincial Novitiate in Podolínec (Slovakia).
We thank the Conference Council that finishes its term and above all its Coordinator, Fr. Jacek Zdrzałek, for the great work that he has done and for his enthusiasm in the animation of the Conference of Europe. We wish all the best to the new Council that begins; and thank the Province of Rome and the San Gioacchino Community for the warm and fraternal welcome given to us.
Pedro López, CSsR
