The 7:00 a.m. Mass for the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest, was presided over by Friar Mario CASTRO MARTÍNEZ, the Minister Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. In his homily, delivered in Spanish and English, he commented on the Gospel passage from John 17. In particular, he emphasized that the only true priesthood is in Christ, who in himself is both victim and priest. Our priesthood must always remain in Him, otherwise we get lost in our limitations and frailties. With St. Francis, we honor all priests, beyond their humanity, because through the sacraments they make Christ present, who always offers Himself for our salvation.
In the morning, the Capitulars discussed two Motions in particular that dealt with the Order’s finances. The General Exactor, Friar Leszek ŁUCZKANIN, presented Motion 15 on the taxatio ordinis: covering the monthly fee to be paid for each friar by the Jurisdictions; the friars who are exempt and those who must pay personally because they are on their way to diocesan incardination. It also included the fees for pensions and basic insurance, borne by the General Curia for friars who are in service to the General Houses; and finally, it covered special situations that need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Friar Leszek also presented Motion 18, which concerned the restructuring of the General Houses in Rome. In particular, it proposed to make the Friary of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe a filial house of the General Curia of the Twelve Holy Apostles. It also proposed that the Minister General, with his Definitory, valorize, through appropriate commercial initiatives, the part of the friary not used by the friars and which is not part of the historical Kolbean exhibit.
After the discussion in the Chapter hall, the voting began in the afternoon. Motions 15 and 18 were approved.
The General Exactor also presented Motion 16, regarding the Fraternal Solidarity Fund, which is reserved for formation and for exceptional needs in the Order. It proposed that the annual contribution of the Jurisdictions should be determined by the General Definitory. The Chapter of each Jurisdiction should choose its own strategy for raising the required funds, and any surplus from the annual contribution should go to the Formation Fund. After discussion, the Capitulars approved the Motion.
Motion 17 concerned the Formation Fund. Only the interest on this fund is used and it is used exclusively for formation. It proposed that the Jurisdictions should be required to contribute at least ten percent of their proceeds from real estate sales and donations that are accepted. This Motion was also approved.
Motion 19 concerned training for friars in charge of finances. The Federations or individual Jurisdictions themselves were asked to schedule training meetings for Economs to learn reporting and budgeting at the level of the friary, the Custody and the Province. The Motion was approved.
We concluded with Motion 20, which defined spending limits for the Minister General alone, and his Definitory. That last Motion was also approved.
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