For a greater vitality of Marist presence in Asia

From the 3rd to the 5th October, a group of fifteen brothers met at the Tudella (Sri Lanka) novitiate. These brothers were representatives of Marist life in Asia (two members of the Provincial Council of China; four from the Philippines; four from Sri Lanka and Pakistan; two members of the District Council of Korea; three members from the Sector of India). Also participating in this meeting were Brother Seán Sammon, Superior General, and Brothers Peter Rodney and Emili Turú, General Councillors.
This meeting was held in a context of a process that had it origins in the Extended General Council meeting at the end of the visit of the General Council to the Provinces of Asia (2003) and that had developed through different activities throughout these last two years.
During the meeting, information on the vitality of the region was studied, through data from each Administrative Unit, as well as possible models of restructuring. Finally, in an ambience of discernment, the group dared to select, by order of preference, those models that, in their opinion, could contribute to realising a greater vitality in Marist life and mission in Asia.
In the following months, the Superior General will write a letter to the brothers of this Marist Region, communicating the result of the meeting and inviting them to contribute their own reflections. In this way, it is hoped that the General Council, in its next plenary session of January-February 2006, can have sufficient elements to make a decision concerning the future configuration of the Administrative Units in Asia.