Reviving Don Bosco ’s Oratory . Salesian Youth Ministry , Leadership and Innovative Project Management . Copyright © 2017 by Michal Vojtáš . All rights reserved. No part of this volume may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans- mitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author. This publication has been peer-reviewed by the Faculty members of the Salesian Pontifical University, Piazza dell’Ateneo Salesiano, 1 00139 Rome (Italy). Published by STS Publications Studium Theologicum Salesianum 26, Rehov Shmuel Hanagid P.O.B.7336 9107202 Jerusalem (Israel) Book design copyright © 2017 by Michal Vojtáš. All rights reserved. Cover illustration by Cyril Uhnák. Cover and interior design by Michal Vojtáš. ISBN:978-965-7690-3 8-3 Michal Vojtáš Reviving Don Bosco’s Oratory Salesian Youth Ministry, Leadership and Innovative Project Management Contents 1. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY ........................................................... 13 1.1 The Pastoral Echoes of Vatican II in the 19th General Chapter (1965) 14 1.2 The Post-Vatican II and the Special General Chapter (1966-72) 21 1.3 Educative and Pastoral Project Logic of Viganò and Vecchi (1978-90) 30 1.4 Collaboration Youth Ministry Department – UPS (1980-88) 45 1.5 Consolidation of the SEPP (1990-2002) 56 1.6 New Youth Ministry Challenges and Perspectives (2002-2014) 71 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS OF SALESIAN LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ............ 79 2.1 Curriculum Design Influences (Bobbitt, Tyler, Stenhouse) 82 2.2 Animation as a Theoretical Leadership Model 100 2.3 Management by Objectives and Beyond 110 3. DON BOSCO IN THE ORATORY: PERMANENT RENEWAL CRITERION .................................................. 126 3.1 Criterion for Vatican II Renewal Needed and Found 127 3.2 Consecrated Life and Organizational Research 136 3.3 Don Bosco’s Leadership and Management 144 3.4 Conclusion: Leadership – Management Synergy in Don Bosco 180 4. INNOVATION OF SALESIAN LEADERSHIP AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT ................................... 183 4.1 Dialogue with Organizational Theories 183 4.2 Integral Methodological Framework 208 4.3 Virtues of Salesian Leader-Manager 218 4.4 Process of an Integral and Transformational Project Management 258 Appendices ................................................................................. 284 Indexes ........................................................................................ 288 List Of Schemes .......................................................................... 295 Bibliography ............................................................................... 296 Abbreviations ACG Acts of the General Council of the Salesian Society ACS Acts of the Superior Council of the Salesian Society Const. Constitutions of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales EPC Educative and Pastoral Community FMA Daughters of Mary Help of Christians FSE Faculty of Sciences of Education at the Salesian Pontifical Uni- versity GC General Chapter of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales MBO Management by Objectives Reg. General Regulations of the Society of St Francis de Sales SDB Salesians of Don Bosco (also Salesian Society or Society of Saint Francis de Sales) SEPP Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project SGC Special General Chapter of the Society of Saint Francis de Sales UPS Salesian Pontifical University YM Youth Ministry The methods can become defective also through the infiltra- tion of prejudices or arbitrary theories. The temptation to mix in with them some unnecessary ideological suppositions is unfortunately a real one. The new evangelization demands a search for methods which can make an efficacious contribu- tion to education in and of the faith, following integrally the Church’s deposit of faith and ensuring the presence of well- founded certainties that are well defined, simple and solid, and stronger than the rationalistic misgivings that can arise. Fr. Egidio Viganò 9 Introduction The “Salesians of Don Bosco” (SDB) are the largest Catholic reli- gious order with a primary focus on youth ministry and education. If we observe its action in synergy with the whole Salesian Family, uniting more than 30 congregations, institutes, associations and movements, we can state that the Salesian Youth Ministry influences millions of young people worldwide through schools, youth centres, parishes, missionary centres, informal activities, volunteering, and animation. Leadership styles, governance models and project management methodologies are therefore phenomena influencing concretely a vast and diverse educa- tional and pastoral network. Here I would like to pose that were felt at the beginning of the journey which progresses with this publication: How were the main ideas of the Salesian Youth Ministry, the Leadership mod- els and the Project Management methodologies developed? What was their theoretical background? What is the central idea that organizes the whole system? And, of course, how can we offer better ministry and ed- ucation for the young of the third millennium? These fundamental questions, and the respective efforts to answer them, organize the whole publication. The first chapter outlines the development of some key ideas. During the post-Vatican II update of the Salesian mission, the Congregation had to deal with the complexity of services, the insistent need of inculturation and with the uncertainty of the future. The Salesian Educational and Pas- toral Project (SEPP) was therefore one of the central issues and instruments of Youth Ministry, decentralization, inculturation and oper- ational effectiveness. The change from a faithful and often repetitive education according to pre-Vatican II models towards a critical, culture- sensible and future-centered approach to youth ministry brought devel- opments connected with multiple risks. The second chapter analyzes the main theoretical and organizational perspectives. The particular post-Vatican II context and expectations have influenced the Salesian Youth Ministry with many fruitful concepts 10 of pastoral theology and educational sciences. It could, however, mark the design with some exaggerated tendencies of the late ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s: an anthropocentric world vision, a technically designed project management method, a weak appreciation of tradition, an accentuated socio-political dimension of youth ministry, a radical idea of decentrali- zation and inculturation, etc. After a period of initial enthusiasm about the effectiveness of the planned educational and pastoral action, how- ever, a moment of disillusion was reached. The almost impossible translation from “paper to life”, the linguistic ambiguity of the term “pro- ject”, the exaggerated multiplication of interconnected projects, a constant production of texts to be implemented, a too technical method- ology, or too short implementation times are just some of the symptoms of a general discomfort around the desired “project mentality”. The third chapter follows the path of some significant indications that connect the difficulties with the Salesian Leadership and Project Man- agement to the anthropological model and the design paradigm underlying the SEPP theories. So we turn back to the original and per- manent criterion for any renewal – the experience of Don Bosco in the first Salesian house, the Valdocco Oratory. We locate it within different organizational studies of consecrated life and, phenomenologically, read the evolution of the leadership and management qualities of “Don Bosco in the Oratory” in course of his life. Don Bosco’s experience, new and innovative leadership concepts and some solid bases of the Salesian Youth Ministry are sewn creatively to- gether in the fourth chapter. The first concepts were contemplated upon four years ago, but then we felt the need for prototyping and experimen- tation in the field. Feedbacks from the academics, practitioners, students, leadership seminars and from the process consulting at Borgo Don Bosco in Rome were useful for developing an actionable proposal. First, we created an integral anthropological and methodological framework. Then six typical virtues of a Salesian educator were developed at the level of action mentality, shared leadership and operative management qualities. 11 Finally, we proposed five steps of a project cycle that merges planning, community building and discernment. We will follow the red thread of an integral anthropology, which incorporates deeper spiritual and voca- tional dynamics into the practical planning to create a transformational path for the entire Educative and Pastoral Community. The ideas and experiments expressed in this publication have been transformative and formative for me and for those who have shared in the journey. I would like to thank the Faculty members of the Pontifical Salesian University for their fraternal support, inspiration, dialogue and research suggestions. In a special way, I would like to remember with gratitude Francesco Casella, Jerome Vallabaraj, Michele Pellerey, Aldo Giraudo and Rossano Sala. In addition, my gratitude goes to Peter Mi- chael Senge, the founder of Society for Organizational Learning, Beth Jandernoa from the Presencing Institute, Lumír Šarman from Franklin- Covey, Reiner von Leoprechting from ProAction Learning, and the members of the SOL Rome creative group. Putting into practice the shared ideas has greatly contributed to the development of this book. In particular,