Consultations with Persons Involved in Collaboration of Personnel By Bill Hugo, Steve Kropp & Gary Wegner

Transcription

1 Consultations with Persons Involved in Collaboration of Personnel By Bill Hugo, Steve Kropp & Gary Wegner As we prepare to engage in Fraternal Collaboration of Personnel, it seemed wise to consult the other provinces within the North American Pacific Capuchin Conference (NAPCC) to learn from them what they have done in this area and to gain from their experience some wisdom as we proceed. Below are the responses that we received from six of the other eight provinces in NAPCC. Also included are the thoughts of the former provincial of Tamil Nadu, a province that has provided guest friars. Nick Mormando, Provincial of the New Jersey Province Nick provided the following account of the guest friars in the Province of the Stigmata: Our province presently has 4 friars from the Andhra Pradesh - Odisha (Mary Matha) Province living and serving with us. At present, these four friars are involved in active ministry and living in our fraternities. There is also a fifth friar, here in the States, who is completing an obligation to assist in a diocesan parish for a certain period of time. When that ends we will assign him to one of our fraternities to live and serve with us. One of the four friars is a part time student and part time assistant in a parish. Two other friars are Parochial Vicars,, in full time ministry and living in their local fraternities. A fourth friar just finished as a Hospital Chaplain along with one of our other friars. This ended because the hospital was sold and our service ended. We will reassign him to another house and ministry. The first three friars who came were to serve with us for two years. Those visas are being extended at the mutual agreement of myself and the Provincial of their Province. In the case of the friar who is a part time student and part time parochial Vicar we will pay his tuition which will come out of his salary. We have an agreement to send them a sum of money each year for their service. I believe it is $10, per year per friar. I need to double check that one. We provide for their trips back to India for vacation or business. If they are asked to do any Mission Appeals, on behalf of their province, we also cover any travel costs they may incur. If someone would not be on the insurance for their local ministry we would place him on our Province's Health Insurance Coverage. Our original agreement for their length of stay was two years. But, while attending their Provincial Chapter last March, Bro. Mauro recommended any fraternal collaboration, in order to bear good fruit, should be be for a six year period. I agree with that length of time for various reasons. First, it is quite possible that this would be a first time experience away from their native land. This was the case with three of the five friars with us. A newcomer would need at least a good year to become acclimated to life here in the U.S. on every level. Our experience with the friars who are with us now has been extremely good. They have thrown themselves into being here with a lot of gusto. I think each man has to be looked at on his own merit. Some will adjust better than others and it just may not work out for an individual for various reasons. I have noticed that even with the great desire and willingness on the visiting friar's part, he still needs to be given a length of time to become acclimated. Food, culture, style of ministry, etc. I think the best thing we can give a visiting friar is to let him know that we are happy he is with us, we welcome him and we're willing to help him make any adjustments he may need to make in order to help him to have a good experience living with us. I have often asked myself, throughout this process, how would I want to be treated if I were in another province especially one that is so culturally different from my own? I think it needs to be clearly communicated to them that we understand this is all new to them and that we know they will need time to adjust to their new surroundings. I have found with our Indian brothers, they have been so eager to get into the trenches that they were sometimes impatient with themselves. They have needed to be reminded several times that you don't expect them to get it all together in a month. Let them know it is O.K. if they don't like our food. Make efforts, within reason, to accommodate any dietary wishes they may have. When they see how

2 everyone is trying to make efforts to make them feel at home, and it is from the heart, this will go a long way. Also, I have noticed they have a different outlook on money and how it is spent. It isn't that they can't "adapt" to our ways but if they are coming from a poorer country they may see our ways as too extravagant. For example, friars in other countries don't necessarily go out to restaurants when there is a full refrigerator. They can also have a hard time with waste... throwing food out when it would be a full meal for someone back home. They're also generally OK with any brand of toothpaste or shampoo. A bedroom with a private bathroom is beyond what they usually know in their native land both growing up and in the Order. These are just some little things I and other friars have observed. As far as your last question, the friars have been well received. This has been one of the blessings. All have embraced each other. But, remember, our province is smaller than your province. The need for them to be with us is more obvious. What also helped is that we were sent very good men. I would recommend that you assign them to a house and ministry where you know they will be more welcomed and embraced. If you have friars who aren't happy they are with you I would recommend that you not send them there. If you think it would help, perhaps you can address this coming reality with your men, at some type of gathering, prior to even the first new arrival. It can help if the leadership is willing to be being sensitive to where our own senior men are at with this real acknowledgment of your own poverty. We have to be patient with them throughout this process. It can be a hard pill for them to swallow. Especially, when they think back to their earlier years in the province when you were larger in number and were self sufficient. There is a type of mourning that they may be experiencing which could come out as resistance to the whole endeavor and they want no part of it. Ever since I entered the province way back when, we were used to having friars from other countries be with us for various periods of time. Our friary in the Bronx, Immaculate Conception, was known to be a place where friars from other countries who were coming for studies would stay with us because Fordham University is only a short distance away. Also, from time to time we would often have friars from our mother province in Tuscany Italy come as guests. We also still had many of our men who did their studies over there and they maintained close relationships with the friars they had studied with. When the issue of fraternal collaboration first came up I was the hold out on having them come. I hesitated because I didn't want our men to think that every time you have a personnel need you call another province up for help while ignoring the reality of what has brought us to such a place of real need. But, I'm glad I relented. It has been a positive experience for us. I'll end with this; it's all trial and error. Sometimes you make the right call and sometimes you don't. That's life. Gary, I will be praying for you guys that it will go as well for all of you as it has been for us. If there is anything else I can help you with don't hesitate to get in touch. Chris Popravak, Provincial of the Denver Province Chris communicated with me (Gary Wegner) that the Mid-America Province has two guest friars at the present time. One is studying business administration, the other is helping out at their mall ministry in Colorado Springs. They are in the process of admitting two more to the province. The two friars who are already here are from St. Francis Province, Kerala. The two who will be arriving are from St. Thomas Province, Kerala. Chris outlined the following arrangements regarding the guest friars. One friar is here for studies. We are sponsoring him. For the two friars who will be arriving, we just completed a formal contract through the General Minister that specifies the terms of our agreement. Chris offered to send us a copy of that agreement. According to Chris, the Mid-America Province provides St. Francis Province $10,000 per year for one of their projects. For St. Thomas Province no sum has yet been established. We will, after one year, support the studies of one of their men. At present it is possible for the guest friars to stay three years, plus two, plus an additional three, if agreed upon.

3 Chris noted that there is no assumption that some of the friars might join your province to stay permanently. Chris said that It s still very early. We would be most happy to welcome the friar who has been with us the longest. He is a great asset to fraternity, but I believe he eventually wants to return to Kerala. Chris mentioned that there are some things we should be particularly attentive to in order to help friars succeed in living/working in our province. According to Chris, the adjustment of one of the friars has been a challenge for him. Hygiene was a concern. The friars from Kerala like his own food. Rice is important. It has been a help that in the Denver area there is a community of Keralites with whom the friar can associate. Unfortunately, that has not been the case for the friar in Colorado Springs. Chris believes that the guest friars have been well received by members of his province. The friar who has been here the longest, has helped during the adjustment period. An important aspect is procuring a driving license. Francis Gasparik, Provincial of the New York Province Francis Gasparik of the New York Province noted that within the jurisdiction of the Province we have two Polish friars as guest members from the Warsaw Province. They are independent and do not assist in Province ministries. We have three student guest friars who assist but are not here to help in Province ministries as their goal. We have on now and another coming to minister in hospitals and live with us however these are new ministries created for those friars to help their home province fund itself. There are six in Diocesan assignments, three of whom I know and have connected with the Diocese. There are six friars in Japan who assist in the mission of the Province. The friars are from Warsaw, St. Thomas, Kerala, Holy Trinity, Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu Regarding financial arrangements and length of stay, Francis stated that Two students pays full freight and St. Mary s absorbs room and board. One student has a scholarship from the Province for tuition and room and board. Th two who are here working, we will send back to India approximately forty thousand a year from their earnings after deducting the living expenses etc. Length of stay is case by case. There is no assumption that some of the friars might join your province to stay permanently and it has not happened. Francis noted that in order to help friars succeed in living/working in our province we should be be honest and do not assume anything. They do not know our way of life: withholding, FICA, health care, transportation, insurance, liability fraternal life, fraternal authority etc. When asked how well received are these friars by members of his province Francis responded Better now than ten years ago. Francis also noted that his province provides mentors for the guest friars. There is no timeline for how long this lasts. Some friars are very good at accompaniment, public transportation, spending, prayer style, liturgical leadership, role of the guardian. Gary Devery, Provincial of the Australia Province The Province of the Assumption in Australia has 11 guest friars. Gary noted that theirs is a small province of 28 solemnly professed Australian friars. The guest friars are from the following places: 1 Sibolga, Indonesia; 1 Medan, Indonesia; 1 Pontianak, Indonesia; 1 Philippines; 1 Warsaw, Poland; 2 Goa, India; 4 Kerala, India. According to Gary, We have individual contracts with the provinces where there is 1 friar and have fraternal collaboration contracts with Goa and India; with 2 more friars expected from Goa and 2 more from Kerela. Do you send a stipend to their home province? On an Ad Hoc basis we send contributions towards their formation programs; we have never entered into a set amount nor been asked. We also send Mass stipends. There is no set formula, but it probably works out to around AUD 10,000 per annum per friar (including Mass stipends). As a policy we do not participate in projects, other than those asked of us specifically to be supported by the

4 Economic Solidarity of the General Curia. We have one of the Indonesian friars currently completing a parttime Masters in Theology, while working as the Indonesian Chaplain of Brisbane. The individual contracts of the single friars are for a triennium, with two to be renewed the third time this year. The fraternal collaboration contracts are for 12 years. Thus far there has been no assumption that some of the friars might join the Australia province and it has not happened. When asked what we need to do in order to help friars succeed in living/working in our province Gary responded that Some period of acclimatization /inculturation we do this on an individual basis with one Australian friar responsible for settling in the new friar; they need to know clearly that during this period they are not expected nor will be asked to engage in fulltime ministry, other than what is requested of them by the friar responsible for settling them in; this period can take between 8 to 18 months, depending on the individual. Friars from Kerala, although they speak English, are required to do some form of accent modification, usually be a professional person. The friars from Goa have an accent that is easily recognized by the Australian ear and so do not require accent modification. Even though the usually have a drivers license, we require them to do about six professional driving lessons before releasing them on the unsuspecting public the driving instructor usually informs us when they are ready. It is simply dangerous to let them drive without professional lessons. Time needs to be also given to helping them understand and follow the strict requirements of professional standards and child protection that exist in Australia, but can be very foreign to the arriving friars. Each friar needs to be catered for individually in regard for preparation for ministry. Some we have asked to do a special course, such as Clinical Pastoral Education, if it is obvious that his pastoral style will rub the wrong way with Australians. Gary stated that Australia is one long history of fraternal collaboration; we are probably a bit like Central Canada province. Each friar arriving is different. Some settle in quickly and very well; for others it may simply not work out. We now have two young friars from Kerala exercising the ministry of guardian after being here for 2 years, and it seems to be going okay. Finally, Gary ended on a very hopeful note, stating that While there are always difficulties, overall, it has been a rich experience for Australia. We made the decision to go big time into fraternal collaboration when we were faced with the reality of having to close more houses and decrease our footprint of presence in Australia. We somewhat based it on the Australian response to the Global Financial Crisis of 20008: while other countries, especially Europe, retreated, we spent big on infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy and consequently, we were one of the few developed economies that did not go into recession and kept our unemployment down to between 5-6% during that period. We actually opened 2 new fraternities, rather than decreasing by 2. David Connolly, Provincial of the Toronto Province David s comments in general focused on the challenges and problems that he and his province experienced around collaboration. When I reflected this to him, he insisted that the Toronto experience was overall positive and of great value. He would not discourage others from doing it as well. In my observation, David seemed a bit overly preoccupied with the problems. His main concerns seemed to be around money. Some visiting friars asked for new wardrobes upon arrival, took expensive vacations in Canada or the USA when they didn t vacation in their home province, expected their own car, and expected too much spending money. Some sending-provinces solicited money in the form of a salary or a donation from Toronto. Some guest friars did not exhibit a good work ethic. Others expected an education without providing help out service to help support the province.

5 When David focused on the positive elements of the experience, he talked of visitors who were able to sustain whole ministries and reach out to groups the province otherwise could not help. Many work very hard and have a missionary attitude. When I told David we were expecting half of the guest friars to return home early because of adjustment problems, David disagreed. He estimated that 80% of those coming to Toronto stay and work out. David opined that visitors should not have pastoral responsibilities for about 3 months after arrival. He believes the adjustment takes that long. He advised that new arrivals have orientation to civil laws, help with driving skills, orientation to the province, orientation to the local community, and orientation to the practices of the diocese. It sounded like he thought a lot could be done in a single day, but he was mostly advising that the host province needs to be attentive to the person. This often is around issues you can t predict. David thought our idea of having a single friar appointed provincial director of guest friars and a contact friar in each local community with guests was excellent. Toronto never sends money to the home province. However, his province has striven to send $5,000 from Toronto s general funds to the general curia s solidarity fund each year explicitly in the name of each guest friar s province. David knows that in some cases the money is forwarded to the guest province (for projects) because he gets thank you notes. He s unsure if all money is forwarded, especially if that guest province is already getting considerable other money. David encouraged letting guest friars return home for vacation (4 weeks) every year. He noted that at first Toronto didn t allow that and the domestic vacation bills were more than if the friar had gone home! David noted that some provincials don t want to create agreements between the participating provinces. For some, this is not fraternal. Some have a high level of trust of the host province based on the signals sent during the vetting processes. David would plan to create agreements, but not insist on them. Benny Punnaserry, Provincial Vicar of Québec Benny is from St. Francis Province in Kerala. After a relatively short time in the Québec Province, he was elected provincial vicar to his surprise. Benny surmised that as many as half of the guest friars will not be able to adjust and will like want to return to their home province. This is especially true if the friar must learn a new language, as is the case in Québec for most. Benny thought a new guest friar should not have pastoral responsibilities for about 6 months upon arrival. In Benny s experience, the shock of moving to a new culture just begins at about 3 months. If the friar is then expected to begin pastoral work, he is doing that and going through a crisis at the same time. For Benny the preparation before arrival of the guest and the orientation after arrival is paramount. Lots of communication is needed. It s very important for Benny that the guests are brought into the community in a total way. He warned against considering this inclusion simply about community activities. It s also important that the guests are included in friendships with the host friars. It s very easy for subtle differences to occur. E.g., host friars go to movies or out for dinner without inviting the guests; double standards about money, cars, vacations, freedoms; etc. Benny thought having a provincial director of collaboration and local contacts would be excellent. He emphasized that they need to be very solicitous so the guests feel totally welcomed to bring up issues as they occur.

6 Benny was very enthused about our plan to gather all the guests about once a month to process some of their experiences. He noted that many cultures will not share during such meeting easily, but must learn to do so because that s part of western culture. He believes such meetings will help guests get around our province and get to know it. He thought having more than one guest in a single house could be good, but he cautioned against having friars from the same province in the same house. Even guests from the same country in a single hostcommunity might prevent them from more fully integrating. However, Benny noted that our scheme is very ambitious. So, we might have to group guests together. Benny s strongest admonitions were: (1) be always attentive to the needs and experiences of the guest because they may not be quick to reveal them to you, and (2) work hard to make them equals in community in every way, but gradually increasing responsibility. Charles Alphonse, of the Tamilnadu Province, one-time guest student in Toronto Province, and Tamilnadu provincial who sent many friars to other countries. Charles had the most positive suggestions on how to prepare and orient new guest friars. First, he was very supportive of the idea. He thought the friars who adjust the best are those who have a missionary spirit to begin with. He believes building a relationship between the guest and host provinces is very important. To achieve that, both the provincial minister and vicar should visit the guest province, but not at the same time. One of the two should visit after the guest friar(s) is appointed but not yet arrived. He should be accompanied by a second friar (not the vicar or minister), perhaps a local contact or the Provincial Director of Collaboration. About a year after the guest arrives, the other provincial official and a 4 th (different) friar should visit again. Charles suggested the visit should be long enough that the visitors can get a sense of the culture from which the guestfriar comes. It should also communicate by its length to the guest-province that it respects it and wants to learn about it. Both visits should attempt to visit most communities in the guest-province. Charles thought the guest-provincial minister should be invited to the host province within the first three years. This could be the provincial chapter, but should include visiting the host province extensively. It need not be the chapter, in Charles opinion. Charles suggested that in this day and age, videos could be exchanged before the guest-friar arrives. The guest should be able to talk about different aspects of his home at various local chapters, not just one. This is an ongoing sharing. Charles very much liked the idea of a local contact and a provincial director of collaboration. The key to good enculturation will be simply attentiveness. The worst thing we could do is just drop a guest in some situation and let him sink or swim. Charles warns us that if the right contacts are not appointed, that can very well happen. The monthly meetings of guests are a great idea in Charles mind. He s not aware that other jurisdiction do something that organized, probably because they don t get so many guest friars at the same time. However, Charles warned that many guests might not share easily because of their own culture. Still, Charles says we should go for it, and that, with time, the best guests will adjust to it and appreciate the open listening that this structure seems to suggest.

7 Charles affirmed how important it is that money not be the corner stone of these relationships. He agreed with David Connolly that the host province should never send money directly to the guest province. He didn t know about Toronto s practice, but thought it was a very good one. Charles noted that it is important to have structures for the orientation and enculturation, but he emphasized that simply having a high degree of attentiveness and appreciation goes a long way. Most problems most easily are solved through these characteristics. While Charles understood why we might not want to list specific provinces that might collaborate with us in our petition to the General Minster, he thought it was a big mistake not to list the specific positions guests would occupy and the stills that are needed. So, for instance, he said we should say we want a Spanish-speaking friar who would staff a parish. This doesn t mean the General has to provide a Latin American, but it means he knows someone needs the ability to learn Spanish. Charles thought looking for some to be a parish priest is different from finding someone for the Solanus Center or a retreat house. He though we should specifically mention any position that does not require priesthood. If we don t say that, the assumption in most parts of the world is that you want priests. Charles recommending starting guest friars off in centers of the province; don t send them to remote or small communities to begin with. Charles was somewhere between David Connolly s 80% and Benny s 50% of the guest lasting. Though I think he leaned more toward Benny s assessment of the challenges. Preparation and expressing our needs clearly reduce the rate of returnees. Charles also had a very different approach to how long a new guest-friar should not be expected to engage in ministry. Charles though this is a very individual thing. Some might need 6 months and others only 3. Also, while a new guest might not have official responsibilities, he might want and be ready for some occasional ministry, e.g., a mass here or there, or confessions, or a talk.