On the question of visitation

This is to respond specifically to questions we discussed about visitation during our meeting. Obviously, this response is somewhat brief and limited as I don't have much experience (yet) or many commentaries on religious life law.

The question relates to Can. 628 § 1. The superiors whom the proper law of the institute designates for this function are to visit the houses and members entrusted to them at stated times according to the norms of this same proper law.

Our proper law is contained in GD 122.2 The is to visit the houses and members of his province each year, either personally or through a delegate.

(Visitation is not treated in Province Directory.)

I am fully quoting only a single and one line from the GD above. Elsewhere, I simply quote the SCJ Rule of Life or directly in the text. These two citations were chosen because they most closely address VISITATION directly.

The CLSA commentary says that the visitation is usually a time for a one on one meeting with the major superior and each member of the house, and going house by house the whole of the province would be visited. They note that many houses have "visitation" only once per term, but again, the discretion is left to proper law (yearly in our case).

Visitation is seen as "a privileged time." It has a two fold purpose: one is to help the Provincial to see the life of the House, the second is for him to pastor and be available to the membership in a very personal way (one on one, this is "all about you" time). This allows for a great communication, and more direct communication, to occur' between the ordinary (Provincial) and the membership. It is clearly one of the most important responsibilities of the major superior - to be first in the ministry of unity and animation to the province.

This law focuses on two parts of the visitation - the houses and the members. I think that these are two related concepts. By visiting the house, the Provincial can at least see the living conditions, know the daily schedule of the community, and see the reality that particular group lives in. This could be important in a case like SD - so that the provincial understands the nature of the distances between communities and parishes. In Raymondville, it would allow him to see the number of parishes covered and the practical needs of the schedule. The same could be said of other places as well.

This same "seeing" of the house goes to things like meal and prayer schedules. It allows the provincial to challenge the community to live in a healthy way that supports the real needs of each member. This time can allow the community to re - focus itself on our primary reality - the life of SCJ religious. Everything else flows from this understanding of ourselves (cf 55 - 61). In a very real sense, our identity as SCJs is closely tied to our vision of ourselves as men who live in community. This is not only emphasized in our constitutions and letters from our General Superior, but also in our tradition', of hospitality, care and concern for others, the fact that SCJs intentionally spend time in recreation beyond their own house (for example, SCJ Days in Texas). These are concrete manifestations of this identity.

The nature of our religious life is Apostolic by nature (cost 8, 30). This visitation is part of realizing that apostolic spirit. Part of the visitation (I believe) is to increase the sensitivity of the provincial to the apostolic works we are in, and through his letter (parts of which could be public?) to make the province aware of its own reality (as the General does with his). Even though we are a small province (only 6 corporate areas), we consistently fail to comprehend the huge amount of projects we are all involved in. The letter from the provincial helps to recognize our reality -- and hopefully will be received as such by the province.

But "doing" is not what we are created or founded to do. Our primary vocation is community life (Const 60). This is truly "being" with each other, which is much more difficult for most of us than "doing" I believe. In fact, Const 63 call this lived reality of community the "fullest realization of our Christian life." I think visitation is closely linked to these concepts. The Provincial is closely tied to the province in his service of ministry to the community. Just as the Holy Father is "servant of the servants of God," the Provincial Superior is the "primary servant" of the common good (Cost 56). Through his ministry of unity and service, he "animates the religious and apostolic faithfulness of individuals and of the community" (Const 56). Out of this mentality we also can look even to the juridical nature of the Provincial Superior's ministry.

Const 109 states an expectation of collaboration not only to exist, but it is to be active and vibrant between superiors at all levels and members. We read "Willingly listening to their brothers and being informed by their opinions superiors shall also know how, with the help of their council and according to the directives of universal law to make decisions that are within their competence .... obedience and authority in co - responsibility are two complimentary aspects."

The constitutions describe the visitation of the major superior. Const 114 says "The visits of major superiors can be and ought to be occasions for a true spiritual and pastoral meeting of religious and communities, for the good of each one and the unity of the whole congregation." The focus constantly returns us to the nature of our religious life -a community, which is our highest and most important vocation. It is worth noting that this is one of the few obligations on the superior directly. While many things are his responsibility, and many things he must bring before the provincial council, this obligation is highlighted as part of building up a healthy religious community - both local and province wide.

I think that the constitutions are reflecting the Church's care for those who live the profoundly gospel call of community. It is only as a community that we can authentically live out our vocation. In fact, this judgment is the proper roll of the superior (Const 73) in that he judges their "community dimension of religious life."

Const 122 says that the task of "animating and governing the province belongs to the provincial superior and his council." Again, the focus returns us to the animation of our religious life. In the mind of the Constitutions, this is the most important task the provincial has. Canon 619 echoes this stance in saying that the major superior is to "meet the personal needs of the members appropriately, solicitously to care for and to visit the sick, to correct the restless, to console the faint of heart, and to be patient toward all."

Mac asked about the history of the canon. I didn't find anything concrete. What I tend to suspect is that the idea is the parallel of the 's visitation of his , sometimes performed by the Vicar Forane () or Episcopal Vicar when the bishop is impeded in some way(canon 396, 397). Like the provincial, the expectation is YEARLY visitation of the entire diocese.

All of this being said, I will turn now to practical considerations. First, I don't think there is a reason NOT to visit the houses/religious in law. This is a very specific expectation of the major superior. I would go so far as to say it is one of the most important actions the major superior. This does not negate his other duties, but causes them to be ;seen in a context where the province membership clearly has the privileged status. Visitation and community animation are emphasized in such a way as to give them priority over other responsibilities, no matter how good they are. In the same way as the Pastor is first to carry out the duties associated with being a pastor of a as his primary responsibility to the diocese and to the people go God, so the Provincial is first pastor to the province before he is a board member or a corporate manager. Without ongoing contact, this pastoral dimension will be neglected.

The provincial, however, fulfill visitation via a delegate. This is not a "loop hole," but rather a practical solution to a couple of problems. First, it does allow the provincial not to PERSONALLY be physically present at every visitation. It concretely foresees the very real time constraints on him. Second, it allows a practical way for the provincial to assist in animating the province. By having a councilor do the visitation, it allows the membership to see someone different - possibly allowing issues and concerns to be raised differently or discussed in a new way.

I think our members would have trouble with this practice at first. I believe that this stems from two problems: we don't have a recent history with a different praxis; and second, we don't always view the council as part of the process of animation of the province, which is clearly part of their function. I believe, however, it may do good for the council member (who I would think would be the ordinary choice of delegate, but could be any member of the province) good to do the visitation. This is only; to clear up time on the provincial's schedule, but has a practical benefit as well. It allows members of the council to concretely act in the animation of the province. It allows the council member an opportunity to better understand the concrete situations of communities they will vote on (coordinator, budget, personnel, etc). At times, this may be advantageous to the council member in question.

The concern will then arise - what if someone wants to deal with the provincial directly? I think that a multitude of responses are available. I will only name a couple of the more obvious ones here. One is the provincial is in different areas of the province. He could meet with a person a day after a board meeting in MS for example. Another option would be for the individual to come to Hales Corners. (The plane does fly both directions, after all). Some questions could be dealt with via email or telephone conversation.

Another concern Mac specifically raised was people who aren't present during the visitation. I don't think that can be controlled, and I wouldn't try. I believe that visitation should be announced several months (at least 4) prior to the EXPECTED date of visitation. Perhaps giving communities the option of one of 3 dates would allow the maximum number of people to be present. This would allow some scheduling to be re worked (hopefully). I do think the scheduling should at least in part be at the pleasure of the provincial. He could easily, then combine visitation with other out of town meetings (again, such as MS board meetings).

Another option would be to have visitation during a local community event (consultation for superior, profession of faith, installation as acolyte,), the provincial is usually present for a day or two. At times, this could be the "canonical visitation."

There are some behaviors that may need to be challenged. Mac specifically mentioned that some people avoid the provincial, and schedule themselves to be out of town during the visitation intentionally. In cases like this, I believe the individual needs to be challenged. In some unusual situation, the person could also perhaps choose visitation via a delegate or fly to Milwaukee (if outside the Chicago/Milwaukee area). This could be true of people who have permission to live outside of community for whatever reason.

At other times, there could be a conflict that was unexpected as the dates of the visitation changed/scheduled after some unexpected event in the life of the provincial or the province. At times, unexpected events simply override our planning. In this case, perhaps something could be scheduled at a different time, or a provincial councilor could replace the provincial himself.

While the provincial is not given a "mandate" at the time of election, he is being called to an office of trust. We are entrusting him with the stewardship of our religious life. We are entrusting him with the stewardship and direction of our province. He is called to be the person of unity for the province that the bishop is to be for his diocese. And to truly fulfill this function of his office, I believe regular on going contact - both formal and informal - is critical not only for the membership, but the provincial superior as well.