a) I am very aware of the different situations that exist throughout the Institute.

3. An Institute with communities in 75 countries has to be flexible. Necessarily so. It cannot deal with every reality using a uniform, universally valid set of solutions. Situations vary, and it must be acknowledged that they call for diverse responses.

The variety of social, cultural, and economic situations. This rules out my being able to provide simplistic solutions applicable always and everywhere.

·         The variety of responsibilities and circumstances facing the Brothers and their works. Obliga-tions and benefits vary from one country to another. For example, some governments do not pro-vide social security, medical care, or pensions for Brothers. Quite a few do not give financial support to private schools. Some Provinces have to rely very much on their own resourcefulness, and to seek aid from benefactors in caring for the needs of the sick and the elderly.
Some depend on financial assistance to start up new apostolic projects and to maintain their mis-sion commitments. Over and above that, there are countries where teaching does not provide a living wage, and the Brothers have no funds for their formation programs.

·         The differing economic and organizational capabilities of each Province. We have Provinces that are very poor with many worries, and others that are financially well-off.
In some cases, Province funds are depleted because of internal disagreements and financial mis-management, and yet some of their individual communities and apostolates are living on easy street.

·         Different ways of conceptualizing "poverty," and seeing the relationship between "quality and effectiveness in ministry and the possession of economic resources." This happens with schools and ministerial projects. We have very different ways of understanding the vow of poverty and its connection with spending measures that we believe are necessary for running a good school, youth group, or other mission. The social milieu that surrounds our communities and apostolates has a lot to do with this. And so it happens that Brothers who are working every day among the poorest of the poor become somewhat skeptical when we speak or write on this subject. I have the impression that it all sounds like empty rhetoric to them, and that our Institute is continuing to lose credibility in the area of collective and individual poverty.

I think that cultural factors have a greater influence on us in relation to the vow of poverty than to the vows of obedience and chastity. Being poor means different things in different societies, depending on family ties, the state of national economies, etc. India has its tradition of the holy mendicant; in Africa, wealth is considered as a blessing from God; in industrialized countries, con-sumer societies give a different slant to the idea of poverty. The location of our communities within countries also needs to be taken into account.

Does that mean that when we speak of poverty, everything is relative, given these variations and how rapidly the world is changing? When it comes to economic decisions, the means we use, and lifestyles-which has more of an impact, the Gospel or public opinion polls? How is it possible to train young people in the virtue of moderation when they have never been taught about sacrifice, and they live in luxurious surroundings? How is it possible to help other young people to discover the value of being poor and unselfish for Christ when they regard religious profession as a step up on the social ladder, or come from a life already marked by the scourge of extreme poverty.