In the Spiritual Retreat House of the friary of St. Anthony, in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, the meeting of the General Government with the Provincial Ministers of the Bolivarian Franciscan Conference (CFB) was held, with the aim of addressing aspects related to the moment that the Order is going through in the world and, in particular, in the CFB.
The generalized situation that the Franciscan Provinces of the CFB are going through, as explained by the Provincial Ministers who have presented challenges of each Provincial Entity, is linked to the decrease in the number of friars and the many works that are still preserved. However, these effects, according to the judgment of the Definitors General and of the Minister General himself, are present throughout the Order in the world.
The words of the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, in his invitation to "Open the doors" therefore acquire a transcendent meaning. It is a question of opening the doors of the Order to fraternal relations with the People of God and with the world, to a renewed quality of life based on the awareness of the condition of brothers and minors, to a lifestyle freed from the power of domination and possessions, which passes through the opening of the doors between the Provinces of the Conference, of UCLAF and the Order in the world, taking into account the evangelizing figure of Peter, one of the most important icons of the Church.
All this necessarily implies that we stop being self-referential, and instead have the courage to go out to the peripheries, to go out to meet everyone, no one excluded, to detach ourselves from ourselves, instead of defending the comforts we have, in order to renew our way of life by making evangelization an authentic form of life for the present times.
Similarly, referring to previous ideas, the Definitor General for Latin America, Br. César Külkamp, emphasized: "It is very important to grow in the awareness that we are the Order of Friars Minor in these Bolivarian realities. Although we have our presences and works that mark the history of our entities, we must take very concrete steps towards openness to collaboration, both in initial and ongoing formation, and in missionary evangelization. We must not do this only when we lack our brothers and sisters, but to strengthen ourselves as brothers of the same Order."
Similarly, the host Minister Provincial, that is, of the Missionary Province of St. Anthony in Bolivia, Br. René Bustamante, said: "This meeting between the CFB and the General Government is something historic, of great importance in the animation of our Conference, also in the context of the celebration of the different centenary of the Order, reflecting on issues that have to do with our life and mission as brothers and minors."
Thanks to the contribution of all the participants, the speakers and the moderator of each session of the meeting, (Br. José Alirio Urbina, President of the CFB, together with the Minister General), some problems that directly or indirectly affect the daily life of the friars in each of the provincial fraternities of the CFB were highlighted.
We must insist on the need to open the doors to new realities and spaces, with the aim of providing – for the Provincial and Custodial Entity itself and for the Order in general – new forms of presence, life and evangelization, starting with the condition of brothers and minors inserted into the world.
It is in this perspective that the present times and their complexities will be understood not as a catastrophic situation, but as an opportunity to renew the Order's presence in all regions of the world, especially in the Provinces of the CFB.
Provincial Secretariat of the Missionary Province of St. Anthony in Bolivia
