The Commission for the Revision of the Constitutions held its final meeting from July 10 – 28 in Rome to prepare the final draft of the revision of the Constitutions and Statutes, and to write the complete draft of the ‘Rule of Life.’ 

 

It will send these two drafts to the capitulants in August for them to read ahead of the 22nd General Chapter in Colombia in September.

 

“These three weeks have been a very intense working session to fine tune the third draft of the revision of the Constitutions and to write a complete draft of the ‘Rule of Life’,” affirmed Brother Tony Clark, member of the Commission.

 

“The Rule is not mimicking the structure of the Constitutions, but it is rather based on the Vatican document ‘Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church’,” he told the general house press office on July 25. 

 

Br Tony explained that the ‘Rule of Life’ will be based on the call of being a Brother as “a gift we receive, a gift we share, and a gift we give away,” which refers to consecration, community life and mission.

 

On July 15, the Commission visited a Vatican official of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life for feedback on the wording.

 

For three weeks, the Commission looked at feedback from all provinces and districts on the second draft of all the constitutions and statutes, divided into five chapters: 1. Our Institute of Religious Brothers (identity, nature and purpose); 2. Our way of Being as Brothers (consecration and vows); 3. Our life as Brothers (fraternity, prayer and ministry); 4. Our life journey as Brothers (belonging); 5. Our organisation as Brothers (government and administration). 

 

“The feedback was really helpful,” stated Br Tony. “A criticism of the second draft is that the Institute sits in the wider Marist family and the Brothers do not need to be in control since it’s the Holy Spirit at work with lay people and Brothers together.”

“We, Brothers, are now called to a different role,” he continued. “We can step back a bit from doing and be more a witness of what it means to be a Brother.” 

 

The current commission includes Brothers Josep María Soteras (General Councillor and coordinator of the commission), Tony Clark (Australia), Eduardo Navarro de la Torre (México Occidental), Albert Nzabonaliba (East Central Africa), Antonio Peralta (Santa María de los Andes), and Sebastião Ferrarini (Brasil Sul-Amazônia).