A few days ago the eighty-eighth six-monthly general assembly of the Union of Superior Generals (USG), entitled ‘Go and Bear Fruit. The Fecundity of Prophecy’, came to an end. Our Superior General, Fr. Leocir PESSINI, took part in the event.

     On Friday 25 November, the 140 people taking part in this assembly met Pope Francis in the New Hall of the Synod in the Vatican.

The meeting with the Holy Father, which lasted for three hours, was characterised by a long fraternal and cordial conversation made up of questions and answers. We here offer a short summary of what was said.

“The Church was born moving outwards”: first it was closed in the Cenaculum and then it was pushed outside. The poor push the Church outside: “If the Church does not work with the poor, it is not the Church. And this is not pauperism! The Church must be poor with the poor!” Referring to the question of migration, Pope Francis added ‘The lives of those people are more important than international agreements!” It is specifically in the service of charity that it is possible to find a very good terrain for ecumenical dialogue: ‘It is the poor who unite us”.

“It is not enough to see black and white. Discernment is to go forward in the grey of life and to look for the will of God there, not in the fixism of thought”. The Pope greeted those who were present observing: “Life is full of surprises. In order to understand the surprises of God one has to understand the surprises of life”. With regard to the question of young candidates for religious life who must receive a formation that helps them to develop discernment, the Supreme Pontiff exhorted those present not to be static and to work with creativity, avoiding stopping at the usual meetings. He then asked for approaches in favour of ‘restoration’, or ones that are overly linked with attitudes involving an exaggerated sense of ‘triumph’, which can be observed in some new foundations, to be overcome.

It was important for “religious to feel fully inside the diocesan Churches”, and thus “they must be inside the structures of government of the local Churches’: governing boards, councils of presbyters…Work should be shared”. Pope Francis is convinced of this. He commented on the importance of sharing the spirituality of founders with the diocesan clergy as a source of spiritual enrichment for everyone.

After the break, during which the Pope stayed with the Superior Generals, some questions were asked about sexual abuses involving minors, financial scandals, and frailty. Francis, with careful answers that were rich in examples, spoke about the ‘presence of the devil who ruins the work of Jesus precisely amongst those who should proclaim Jesus”. He asked for vigilance in vocational discernment, and as regards financial abuses he spoke about the scandal of religious attached to money, who at times are the victims of people without scruples.

The meeting ended at 13.00. The Pope said goodbye to all those present with the following words: “Go forward with courage and without fear! He who never makes a mistake is a man who does nothing. We must go forward! Yes, we will make mistakes, but there is always the mercy of God on our side”. Before leaving the hall, Francis said goodbye personally to all those who were present.

Source: Angesir