468 Info E.P65

August/September 2007 468/1 Information No. 468 (English) August/September 2007 Oblate partners in mission The Acts of the 34th General Chapter of 2004 Mazenod, and to be companions on the mission included the following mandate: The General journey. Council establish a commission of Oblates and associates to explore structures that will promote Secondly, that the laity can draw great confidence the many aspects of association in its various from the fact that the Oblates have specifically forms. (par. 9.2, Witnessing to Hope) recognized the role of the laity as co-workers, proclaiming and sharing God’s Word, and bearing This new commission met at the General House in witness by their lives. This recognition has been Rome for the first time from June 25-28, 2007. reflected in a series of General Chapter decisions, General Council members, Oswald FIRTH and culminating in the 2004 Chapter’s decision to Federico LABAGLAY, along with Frank establish the Commission to explore means of SANTUCCI from the De Mazenod Center in Aix, promoting association with the laity. directed the meeting to which Oblates and laity from the various Regions of the Congregation had been In the course of the meeting, four key issues were invited. The theme that gave shape to the discussions identified: was: “Partners in mission inspired by the charism of St. Eugene.” 1. The need to clarify the identity and/or name of existing and future forms of lay association. Besides hearing major presentations from Oswald It was recognized that a range of different titles exist, and Frank, the participants also heard the Superior some of which are suitable for some regions, but General, Fr. Wilhelm STECKLING, speak on “The not for others. It was therefore decided to adopt an actual situation of laity in the family of St. Eugene.” “umbrella” term to describe the range of lay associations and the spirit in which they work: “Oblate The lay faithful who took part in the meeting were Partners in Mission.” This allows units which have Lay Veronica Ntja (Lesotho), Beltrán Acosta (Paraguay), Associates, or MAMI, or Social Action Groups, to Omar Tejera and Laura Nuin (Uruguay), Peter Liu continue using those titles locally, but within an (Hong Kong), David and Trudy Maiden (Australia), overarching concept of partnership in mission. Mark Garczynski and Denise Héon (Canada) and Vincenzo Teodori (Italy). The Oblates attending 2.The need to develop basic and advanced the meeting were Jean-Marcel GATSHUYA formation programs for Oblate Partners in (Congo), Salvatore DE GEORGE (USA) and Mission, including formation for Oblates on the role Santiago LYONS (Mexico). of the laity. Two very important messages emerged from this 3.The need to develop flexible guidelines for first meeting of the Commission. Firstly, that the structures and procedures of lay associations: e.g. Oblates of Mary Immaculate can draw great frequency of meetings. confidence from the desire and enthusiasm of the laity to follow the charism of St Eugene de 4.The need to consolidate existing forms of 468/2 August/September 2007 association where appropriate, and/or to develop take the four major issues back to their respective association with new groups, e.g. youth. Units and Regions to consult with appropriate partners in mission, and also consult with each other, To maintain the momentum gained at its first meeting, so as to develop proposals for the next meeting. Mrs. the Commission will meet again in the spring of 2008. Denise Héon (Canada) will serve as coordinator of In the interim period, the Commission members will these activities. General Administration Interchapter web site welcome the Interchapter members, has published a web page where there is information about the At the most recent plenary session of the Central Centre where the session will take place as well as Government, the program for the next Interchapter links to places of interest in the surrounding area and Meeting was finalized (see Communiqué 101). The to the other Units in the Region. Many thanks to the meeting of provincials and the Central Government will provincial, Peter GALLOWAY, and Edy MABILA, take place from October 1-12, 2007, at the Good Executive Secretary of the Africa-Madagascar Shepherd Retreat Centre, Hartbeesport, South Africa. Region, for making this information available. The site can be found at this address: http:// The Northern Province of South Africa, which will mysite.mweb.co.za/residents/oblates-bfn/. Europe FRANCE idiom of the Sino-Tibetan family; he tried to transcribe Yves Bertrais: a man with passion it on paper. It was a fascinating activity: spoken Hmong uses seven tones with different force and The following appeared on June 13 on the obitu- special modulations to express surprise or anger. ary page of Le Monde, a daily French newspa- per. It is published here with their permission. While he did not forget his mission of bringing Christianity to an animist people – the first converts, When he arrived in Laos at the beginning of 1947, in 1953, were the shaman and the chief of the village Yves BERTRAIS, priest and Oblate of Mary where he lived – he worked especially to introduce Immaculate, was 26 years old. He died on May 27 the art of writing to a people who, with the Franco- at the age of 86. What did he know then about this Vietnamese war and then with the American- world and its peoples? Not much. Vietnamese war, were going to enter the modern world through a very bloody and painful door. Three years later, he set out to encounter the ethnic minority, the Hmong, “the free men,” or, to put it He was not alone. Protestant missionaries, notably more precisely, “those who have for themselves vast the American evangelical pastor Samuel Pollard, had mountain spaces, who are independent of the already started at the beginning of the 20th century. governments of the countries where they live, and In an early experience of ecumenism – we are now who have had no other masters other than their own in 1953 – Pastor Barnay, who spoke Hmong, traditions.” They are animists and polygamists. They Professor Smalley, a specialist in linguistics and grow opium on burnt land for their own needs, as phonetics, and Father Bertrais started to work well as for medicine and for selling. together. There were months of work and a few rules, of which one would have great importance in Father Bertrais settled in a village perched high up the future: one had to be able type the words on near Luang Prabang. A man with passion, he set to either English or French typewriters. Thus, Hmong work learning a language that is an exclusively oral writing, used everywhere today, was born, for war August/September 2007 468/3 had broken out for these communities in Indochina. On July 2, the local Bishop of Fulda, Msgr. Heinz- Josef Algermissen, celebrated the pontifical requiem Yves Bertrais is the author of the first Hmong-French for Bishop Koppmann. Other German bishops and dictionary, published in Vientiane in 1964. Twelve priests and many Oblates attended the funeral; the years later, in conjunction with the School for Higher big church of Hünfeld was packed. Apart from Studies in Social Sciences, he wrote an important relatives, many people from Hünfeld and the study on the marriage rites of the Hmong in Laos surrounding villages took the opportunity to honor and Thailand. Furthermore, right after the takeover the missionary bishop for one last time. For more of the peninsula by communist regimes and the than 10 years, he had served in the confessional massive exodus of Hmong families, it would be in Hünfeld. he who would convince the French authorities to help with the construction of the Hmong village of The new Oblate Bishop of Keetmanshoop, Namibia, Cacao in Guiana. Philipp PÖLLITZER, will receive the pectoral cross and episcopal ring of Bishop Koppmann. Fathers While it is uncertain whether his proselytism did much Josef MATHUNI (mission procurator for Austria) to change the Hmong communities, thanks to his ef- and Gottfried HOFER (Vicar Provincial for the forts, their culture is now written, readable and can Oblates in Austria) will take the cross and the ring to be passed on. And all of this took place while he the new bishop’s ordination as delegates for the Central himself, inflicted with Alzheimer’s, was fading away. European Province. (Thomas KLOSTERKAMP) (Yves-Marc Ajchenbaum) POLAND CENTRAL EUROPEAN PROVINCE Closing of Jubilee of 1000 years of monastic life Bishop Rudolf Maria Koppman: 1913-2007 The conclusion of the celebration of the jubilee of Less than a month after celebrating his Golden Jubilee monastic life took place at the Oblate Convent of of episcopal ordination, Bishop Rudolf the Holy Cross on June 3, 2007. The President of KOPPMANN passed away at the Oblate the Bishops’ Conference of Poland, Archbishop community in Hünfeld on June 24, 2007. He was Józef Michalik, presided at the solemn closing nearly 95 years old. Eucharist, together with more than ten bishops from Poland and abroad: Slovakia, Ukraine, and the Having been named Vicar Apostolic of Windhoek Czech Republic. In his homily, Archbishop Michalik by Pope Pius XII in 1957, his main task was to used the Convent of the Holy Cross as an example establish ecclesiastical structures in Namibia. He of the variety and significance of consecrated life became known as the “building bishop.” At the age over the past one thousand years. He stated that a of 68, he freely resigned in order to put the leadership Christian must not hide his faith. People have the of the Namibian Church into African hands.

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