From November 20 to 23, the first conference of friars (brothers) responsible for Missions and Evangelization, Formation and Studies, and Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Conference of Ministers Province of Italy and Albania (COMPI) was held at Sacrofano (Rome). More than 80 friars participated, to which were joined the Provincial Ministers responsible for the various sectors.
The conference began with the Lectio offered by Bishop Benoni Ambarus, auxiliary bishop of Rome, who proposed a reading of the sending of the 70 disciples from the Gospel of Luke, underlining the importance of the style, rather than of content.
The second day of the Congress was dedicated to the immersion in some realities of “periferia” of the city of Rome. The participants, divided into seven groups, visited different parts of Rome, where they met persons involved in the activities targeted to the periferia of different types, always guided by an expert witness.
The third day began with the return to the groups, in which the brothers had the opportunity to talk about their experiences, and continued with the report of Professor Stella Morra, theologian of the Gregorian University, on the theme “The signs of the times for a conversion of the pastoral care and of formation”. Work in the groups followed.
In the afternoon of the same day, during the meeting with the Minister General, br. Massimo Fusarelli, and the Secretary generals for the Missions and Evangelization, Formation and Studies, as well as with the Director of the General Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, the secretaries of the individual groups reported the summary of their discussions, posing also specific questions to the Minister and the three officials of the General Curia. The Minister General, answering questions, encouraged the participants at the conference to dare, to think about changes, giving concrete impulses for group work the following day.
The day ended with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by the Minister General.
The fourth day began with group work, in which concrete proposals for the future were formulated.
At the end, in the assembly, it was decided to continue with this type of joint conferences that involve all three major sectors of animation in the Order.