From the General Bulletin, News of Hope - Some Highlights
New Country. New MSC Presence. New MSC Formation House. Kenya.
It is with great joy and hope that we announce that at the beginning of August 2023 a new MSC presence will start in Nairobi, Kenya (East Africa). It is an initiative of the Province of Ireland, through the MSC Southern Africa Section.
This mission also begins as a community with international collaboration: a confrere from UAF (Lucien Beh Evina) and one from India (Antony Peter), together with a native Kenyan MSC belonging to the South African Section (Peter Ng'ang'a). Congratulations to our confreres and courage in the new mission.
DOMINICAN PROVINCIAL CHAPTER
The XIV Dominican Provincial Chapter was held on the week of April 17-21, 2023, at Monte de Oración, San Victor, Moca, Dominican Republic.
Bernard Mongeau and Fr. Marc-André Gingras, from the community of Quebec, and Joel Dépré, from the community of La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, recalled the process that led to the merger of the Canadian Province and the Dominican Province, pointing out that it was the first time in our Congregation that a Province was dissolved so that its members could join an- other Province.
Fr. Marc-André Gingras spoke on behalf of the companions of the community of Quebec, Canada, and of their views on the consultation on the elderly to which they responded. He thanked them and emphasized the climate of welcome and fraternity experienced during the Chapter.
FRENCH AFRICAN UNION, UAF
On March 5, 2023, coming from Italy, Senegal, Congo, and Cameroon, we started the Chapter, trusting in God's Mercy and carried by his Spirit. Our interest broadened when we heard about the vision of our schools in relation to the Educational Project of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart developed by Fathers Charles Biloa and Yvon César Banackissa.
PROVINCE OF FRANCE-SWITZERLAND
Issoudun on March 27 to 31, 2023. we talked about the future of Issoudun, with our buildings now oversized in relation to our needs, in the context of the strong secularization that is invading us and forcing us to think differently about how we live out our mission. Proclaiming the Gospel is part of a new paradigm that we cannot ignore. This is bound to have an impact on the way we feel, our dreams, our expectations, our hopes, etc. We need to consider the principles of reality, without which we could become utopians and wishful thinkers. The very mystery of the Incarnation obliges us to this principle of reality: we are not above ground! But we also need to know how to trust as Father Jules Chevalier and Mother Marie-Louise Hartzer did in their day.
We are also moving towards the creation of a new community close to a major urban area, with the mission of being present on the "periphery" according to the pastoral intuition of Pope Francis. This community would be proposed to an entity of the Congregation that would come on mission to Europe. Once again, we realized that JPIC (Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation) is a concrete expression of our Spirituality of the Heart.
IRISH MSC OPEN PROVINCIAL CHAPTER
Our first Open Chapter with 40 members present from all territories of the Province. This week has been one of honest conversation, sharing, struggle, and searching. The discerning conversations began in the pre-Chapter process and will continue over the coming years. As we shared together on the Chapter Road, five areas of our MSC life emerged, calling us to deeper re- flection and consideration:
- Our MSC Mission
- Our partnership with the laity
- Healing of past and present hurts
- Mapping the future of Venezuela and South- ern Africa
- Our MSC Mission for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation
