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2. Brothers among
the poor & pluriformity
9. With the whole Church we
reaffirm our preferential option for the poor. This choice is not at the
discretion of the individual Brother but challenges us as a fraternity, and
must be visibly shown: by living with the poor in order to take on what is valid
in their way of believing, loving and hoping; by serving them, preferably with
our own hands; by sharing bread with them and defending their rights. Being
poor with the poor and becoming their brothers is part and parcel of our
Franciscan charism and of our tradition as "brothers of the people".
St. Francis says
in his Testament that his conversion journey took a decisive turn when the Lord
led him among lepers. It was then that he "left the world" and
also changed his social condition and his residence, leaving the center for the
periphery of Rivo Torto and Our Lady of the Angels. Our Constitutions and the
Plenary Councils of Quito and Garibaldi encourage us to establish some of our
fraternities among the poor: "Those Brothers who, in the particular circumstances
of a region, live with the poor, sharing their lot and their aspirations, are
worthy of praise" (Const. 60,6; cf. 12, 2-4; 100, 3; 104,1; PCO
V, 25,1). We believe that solidarity with those on the edge of society is
one of the prime responses against the injustice of our times.
10. We recognize that
closeness to the culture of the poor enriches us from a human point of view and
is a necessary hermeneutical tool with which to reach the heart of our
Franciscan heritage. We therefore propose that every Province of the Order
draft and implement plans to establish and monitor our humble presence among
the poor. In this way, sharing their culture from within and being accepted as
members of their society, we will be able to promote its integral development.
Such plans should include careful selection of the insertion fraternities and
the formation of the Brothers who are members. In addition, they must ensure
the constant support of the circumscriptions, as well as ways of fraternally
sharing the experiences.
11. Francis embodied gospel
radicalness and, in his unmistakable style, stressed the fact that to live and
proclaim the Gospel means nudus nudum Christum sequi.
For him the
fundamental thing is surrender to God in total trust. Thus, he insists that his
Brothers should go about the world without taking anything, like sheep among
wolves, leaving it to their daily witness of life as lesser brothers, before
anything else, to proclaim the gospel. For Francis, this way of being and
living, powerless and totally defenseless, was not a method or condition of
evangelization, but was already in itself a proclamation of the Gospel. Our Capuchin
history encourages us to take up once more and bring up to date this direct
form of gospel presence among people of all classes, with special preference
for those who are simple and poor. Consequently, we must seek to implement
models of evangelization that are less bound up with the power and security
that derives from having many expensive resources. We should be more ready to
learn from the poor and to place our trust in God alone.
12. This Plenary Council of
the Order reaffirms that poverty, too, as an essential element of our life,
must be lived in the light of what the Constitutions say about the unity and
pluriformity of our Franciscan vocation. On the one hand, unity refers to
brotherhood and to the principle that "because of the same vocation,
the friars are all equal" (Const. 84,3). But situations differ,
so that without sound inculturation, no true pluriformity or evangelization
will ever be possible. Inculturation of poverty must go as far as our
dwellings, buildings, lifestyle, the poor means we use in the apostolate, and
our external appearance.
The principles
that should guide inculturation in pluriformity are:
13. The Constitutional norm : "The
minimum necessary, not the maximum allowed" ( 67,3) can only be
meaningfully applied in the context of the societies in which our friars live.
We therefore propose that the Brothers in each circumscription apply this norm
to their own specific circumstances. With the introduction of budgetary
controls and spending limits, the local communities and the provincial
fraternity can limit their use of resources and give an appropriate example of
moderation and even austerity.
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