XII GENERAL SYNOD OF THE PASSIONIST CONGREGATION

November 30, Rome

 

GLOSSARY OF WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS RELATED TO A RESTRUCTURING PROCESS IN THE INSTITUTE OF THE MARIST BROTHERS.

 

 

ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT COORDINATING RESTRUCTURING COMMITTEE: Within a process of global restructuring, the Administrative Coordinating Committee is the one formed by a group of members of a given Administrative Unit that receives the mandate from the legitimate authority of facilitating and accompanying a restructuring process within that Administrative Unit.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT: It is the different structured groupings of communities and ministries in a Religious Institute.  Among the Marist Brothers these groupings can form Provinces, Districts and Sectors.

 

CRITERIA OF VIABILITY: It is list of conditions that have to be present in an Administrative Unit for that Unit to have the needed factors that can sustain the vitality and mission of its members on a long-term basis.

 

CRITERIA OF VITALITY: It is the list of conditions that have to be met by a given Administrative Unit for its life and mission to grow and to make the necessary contribution to the mission of salvation of the Church in today’s society.

 

DEMARCARTIONS: Are the geographical boundaries that define an Administrative Unit in a Religious Institute.

 

DIALOGUE GROUPS: Are groups made of those Administrative Units within a Religious Institute that engage in exploring ways of moving together towards possible needed actions of restructuring.

 

DISTRICT: Is an Administrative Unit that is on its way to become a Province and depends on a Province or on the General Administration.

 

PROVINCE: It is the normal and fully constituted canonical administrative unit in the Institute of the Marist Brothers.

 

REGION COORDINATING RESTRUCTURING COMMITTEE: Within the restructuring process, the Region Coordinating Committee is the group of members appointed by the group of Administrative Units engaged in a restructuring dialogue to develop the mandate of setting in place and accompanying the different actions to implement the process.

 

REGION: It is a grouping of a number of Administrative Units that seek to collaborate together on issues and projects that have to be submitted to the approval of the Councils of the Administrative Units involved in that Region. The main body representing a Region is the so-called Conference of Provincials for that Region.

 

REGIONALISATION: It is the process and actions enhancing and implementing collaboration among a given number of Administrative Units within the so-called Region of the Institute

 

RESTRUCTURING GLOBAL PROCESS: It is a restructuring process that involves the whole of the Institute at once and it aims at providing the best possible viable structures in a reconfiguration of all the necessary Administrative Units in an effort to provide viable long-term conditions for greater vitality of the life and mission of that Institute in a new global cultural and social situation.

 

RESTRUCTURING GROUP: It is the one formed by a number of Administrative Units committed to explore together a new configuring of demarcations for the purpose of securing a new way to make their vitality viable.

 

RESTRUCTURING: It is the process that involves a number of existing Administrative Units open to a possible change of geographical demarcations that will reconfigure the existing Administrative Units engaged in the process for the purpose of securing a new way to make their vitality viable.

 

SECTOR: It is a grouping of a small number of communities and ministries within a given Administrative Unit to facilitate the animation and viability of the communities and ministries that have been grouped in that Sector. It does not have a canonical status of its own.

 

VIABILITY STUDY: It is the process by which the viability of a given Administrative Unit, seen on a long-term basis, is assessed. At the same time such a viability study considers and assesses the viability conditions of communities and ministries of this Administrative Unit were it to be restructured.

 

VIABILITY: Are the structural and resource conditions in a given Administrative Unit conducive to secure growing vitality for the life and mission of a given Administrative Unit on a long-term basis.

 

VITALITY: It is a compound of structural qualities in a given Administrative Unit that together with the attitudes and quality of its membership, of its communities and ministries make that Administrative Unit being effectively in a state of growth and development in the life and mission that has been confided to it by the Institute, Church and society. Some of the signs of that vitality are a certain number of first professions every year, functional communities that energize the spiritual and human growth of its members, effective leadership, etc.

 

CRITERIA FOR THE VIABILITY OF GREATER VITALITY

(Study of the Marist Brothers)

 

  1. PRINCIPLE OF SOLIDARITY AD INTRA.

 

  1. SIGN OF THE TIMES.

 

  1. LONG TERM                

 

  1. VICE PROVINCES DEPENDENT ON THE GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.

 

  1. NUMBERS IN MEMBERSHIP FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT.

 

  1. BALANCED AGE GROUPS

 

  1. CRITICAL AGE GROUPS

 

  1. INCULTURATION, MULTICULTURALITY AND INTERNATIONALITY

 

  1. VIABLE VITALITY FOR MISSION

 

  1. SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS IMPACT

 

  1. ANIMATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT

 

  1. THE MORALE OF MEMBERSHIP

 

  1. FINANCIAL AUTONOMY

 

Questions on Vitality/Viability

 

  • How do I see the connection between vitality and viability?
  • Can restructuring offer a “window of opportunity” to my Province/Viceprovince/Vicariate?
  • Is there a serious objection why my Province/Viceprovince/Vicariate should not consider advisable to enter into a restructuring process?

 

Questions about criteria of Vitality/Viability

 

  • What’s there that needs to be clarified?
  • What needs to be changed to apply these criteria to the Passionist situation?
  • What criteria need to be added to the list?