The Lay Camillian Family Central Commission held their annual meeting in Rome from 20 to 22 May 2016

The CC prepared their agenda using the priorities from the Emerging Themes from the General Assembley in Mottinello.

The emerging themes were

• Communication
• Formation
• Finance
• Statutes
• General Assembly
• Spirituality
• Evangelisation

It was agreed that priority would be given to

• Communication
• Formation
• Finance

As well as reviewing and progressing our work in these areas, time was given for prayer and formation for the group.

Meeting Summary.

Finance.

The CC are happy with progress made in relation to Finance. The CC now have their own bank account which is a sub account of the Order. The CC can access the account electronically. The treasurer presented a full financial report to the meeting. Account analysis gave rise to good discussion. Transparency is of paramount importance to the CC. There were donations from some countries, which have been acknowledged.  A hard copy of accounts was prepared for our archives and a copy of accounts will also be maintained on a pen drive.

Communication.

The CC use IT  as their mode of communication.

The CC is in regular contact with each other via email and for some WHATSAP and Skype.

The CC send regular communications to LCF’s worldwide, and also to the Consulta, Provincials and Spiritual Assistants.

The CC liaises with the Camilliani Communications Office on a regular basis. The Communications Office is very supportive of our work and provides a Link for LCF’s on their site.

The CC has developed a template for Annual Reports and this has been sent electronically to each President for a 2015 report. This will enable us to provide an analysis of LCF’s  and their work, worldwide. 27 template annual reports were circulated. 5 reports were received at the time of the meeting.

It is suggested that we ask LCF’s to consider capturing their work through photography which can be placed on the LCF link.

The CC will seek support from provincials to connect with LCF’s who are not known to the CC  and any new groups that have been formed.

The CC are in regular contact with CTF now known as CADIS. Anita attended the CTF Conference in Bangkok in October 2015. This presented an opportunity to meet Thai LCF representative also in attendance and Spiritual assistants from Kenya and Tanzania who are in the early stages of forming LCF’s. Anita also attended a meeting in Vienna (Austria) in January to reflect on the Camillian response to the Migrant / Refugee crisis.

Formation.

The Second Manual on Formation remains unpublished due to difficulties with translation to different languages.The CC is committed to reading one article per month as an exercise in personal formation. They will share their reflection on the nominated chapter with each other, before the end of each month.

The CC used one article as a Formation exercise for their morning prayer and this was very meaningful for all. It is hoped that this will assist the CC to discern the way forward and progress the completion of the Second Formation Manual.

The CC appreciated the generosity of those who wrote articles and those who translated them. There are still translations outstanding but it is difficult to find volunteers to translate.

The Lay Camillian Family Formation Manual (First) is now available, in Italian, English, French and Spanish on line http://www.camilliani.org/fcl-manuale-di-formazione-i/

Visitation.

Visitation is integral to work of our Lay Camillian Families and  it is important not to overlook or under value the impact our visits have for those who are sick or suffering in any way. It is important to include members of our Camillian Family who are sick, or are caring for a family member who is sick. CC Visitation to LCF’s was discussed and is a matter of priority for the year ahead. The CC regretted they were unable to respond to an invitation from Haiti LCF due to short notice.

Collaboration between Lay Camillian Family and Camillian religious.

Collaboration between LCF’s and Camillian religious varies from country to country, and province to province. Due to human frailty there will be episodes of conflict but it is important to remember our Shared Charism and also, what unites us is more than what divides us.

Request.

We would greatly appreciate the cooperation of all Lay Camillian Family Presidents in completing and returning the 2015 Annual Report using the new report template, as soon as possible.