I s s u e 1 45

J u ne 2015

The Xaverian Missionaries USA

A TIME OF KAIROS

e recognize the finger of God

in special moments, knowing
that the power of the Trinity is doing
something extraordinary. We certainly felt this to be the case recently with
the visit of the Superior General, Fr.
Luigi Menegazzo, and our opportunity to share with our sisters in the provincial retreat in
Duxbury, Massachusetts.

gion, how long can it last? How can

it be better used? What changes
should be made? Along with these
important questions, there was
also discussion about the house of
Franklin and the renewal of the
Shrine. On a larger scale, is a unification with the Mexican Region
possible? What are the pros and
cons?

In the last days

of Fr. Luigis visit
with us, he
shared with the
council questions and feedback from his
visits with the
confreres. We
share with you a
summary of
these remarks.

Fr. Luigi remarked at the

high level of
satisfaction
among the
confreres.
However,
there are still
degrees of
individualism,
poor communications, and at times a certain
lack of the spirit of poverty. The
communities, because they are far
from one another, require a better
linking through provincial gatherings and the presence of the provincial. Finally, with the possibility
of a new confrere next year, what
work would he be given?

USA Region & Restructuring

The XVI General Chapter asks us to
focus more sharply on our charism,
renew our consecration to mission,
and review and re-plan our presence
and activity. In this light he asks: Given the current structure of the US Re-

Personnel

June
23Birthday of Fr. Michael
Davitti
23Ordination anniversary
of Fr. Joe Matteucig
28Ordination anniversary
of Fr. Carl Chudy
30Ordination anniversary
of Fr. Mark Marangone

August
18Ordination anniversary of
Fr. Alex Rodriguez
23Ordination anniversary
of Fr. Rene Casillas

September
5Birthday of Fr. Francis
Signorelli
26Birthday of Fr. Tony Lalli
27Ordination anniversaries
of Frs. Michael Davitti and
Frank Grappoli
Ordination anniversary of Fr.
Tony Senno

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P age 2

Priorities of the USA Region

Is the region still in a position to
do missionary animation with a
new generation? The
GYM is trying to find
itself and needs help
to look how it can be
more effective. In
this very difficult
work in this country,
we need to be courageous and hopeful
creativity. What kind
of renewal at the
shrine needs to occur
to make our mission animation
even more effective? Dialogue
is an important activity but it is
improbable that it
could become a priority to unite the region.
It would be good if
some confreres can
get involved.
USA Region & Service to the Congregation
The USA Region pro-

vides a very valuable service to

the congregation of which we
are very grateful. Service
through the Procura,
mission appeals and
other activities are
valuable contributions. The praiseworthy fundraising activities of the Region
deserve our gratitude; this not only
helps the Region, but
the entire congregation.
Looking Toward the Provincial
Chapter
As our region prepares for our
upcoming provincial
chapter in 2016, we
need to keep these
and other matters in
mind, prayer, and
communal discernment. The Provincial will send out
discussion suggestions for chapter
concerns soon.

Saying Goodbye to our English Students

Frs. Salvador Cruz Rojo, Martin
Ali Keke Ndemsou, and Rene
Casillas joined us from Mexico,
Chad, and Brazil to study the
English language.
Salvador left us at the beginning
of May and has recently departed for his first mission assignment in Indonesia.
Martin left in late April and
joined the Region of Sierra Leone where he now works.
Rene continues his English work

in the
community
of Holliston
until the
end of
June. He will leave for Mexico in
early July to arrange his visa for
Italy and then in August fly
through the USA for his final
destination in Rome. We wish
our three young confreres all
the blessings of God.
2

Collaboration Between the

Xaverian Missionaries and the
American Humanist Association
A CONFERENCE OF
DIALOGUE BETWEEN
SECULAR HUMANISTS &
RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS
October 8, 2015
8 am to 6 pm
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ
REGISTER HERE
Commonground2015.org

C ro ssr oads

P age 3

Bulletin of the Provincial Council

The council looked over the

budgets for all of the administrations in the region.
A number of them required
some adjustments. With
those adjustments made
the budgets for FY 20152016 were approved.

Fr. Carl Chudy, SX

Office of the Provincial
12 Helene Court
Wayne, New Jersey 08046
973-942-2975
provincial@xaviermissonaries.org
Xaviermissionaries.org

Fr. Maloney is recovering

well after a fall that fractured his shoulder. He is in
rehabilitation but will return
to Methuen Village in a
week or so.
The council continued to
hone the agenda of our next
provincial council. One of
the agenda items we discussed was on the meaning
of our presence in parishes.
We decided to include this
within the work of the new
provincial directory which
will be presented to the
Chapter.
The Employees Handbook
needs some updating. Frs.
Matteucig and Lalli will go
through it and make the
necessary changes prior to

UPCOMING MEETINGS AND

IMPORTANT GATHERINGS

presenting it to the next

council meeting.

The council wishes to keep

abreast of the beginnings
of the dialogue project of
the province Fr. Davitti is
directing. We discussed a
number of issues and its
future in the region.
Fr. Chudy shared the plans
thus far for the upcoming
social media workshop,
together with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
America. We are fitting
partners as we celebrate
50 years of dialogue with
them in the USA.

Franklin FestivalJune 21-22

COSUMA, July 26August 8
in Tavernerio.
USCCB Executive Committee
of the National Advisory Council, August 20 21 in Washington. Fr. Chudy will attend.
National Advisory Council of
the USCCB, September 10
13. Fr. Chudy will attend.
Social Media and Mission
WorkshopSeptember 26 in
the North Jersey area in collaboration with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church.

The Xaverian Missionaries, in

Collaboration with the Evangelical Lutheran Church are organizing a special workshop on using
social media for evangelization.
Meredith Gould, author of the
book, The Social Media Gospel
will lead the workshop on September 26, 9 am to 3 pm.
She will also conduct a consultancy with our Communications
Board and Media Office on September 25 with the hope of improving our media platforms and
strengthening our communications. ALL CONFRERES ARE
INVITED

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P age 4

There will be no peace among nations without peace

among religions; and there will be no peace among
religions without dialogue among religions. Hans Kng 1991

fter almost two years in the

job, Id like to share some
feelings about what it entails to be
working at the Interfaith Dialogue
Commission. It can be summarize
in a nutshell: its something worth
doing, in spite of the scanty, tangible results; something very much in
line with our missionary work and
something very much needed.
The interfaith movement has, in
fact, proved that religious differences can be universally celebrated
and honored. I am of the opinion
that Inter-faith dialogue is not
based on a model of negotiation
between parties who have conflicting interests and claims. Rather I
see its role as a process of mutual
empowerment for the faiths involved. It is about engagement in
public concerns and the joint pursuit of social justice, human dignity
and constructive action on behalf
of the common good of all citizens.
I have learned how Dialogue is
about talking with, and not simply talking about, people of other
faiths, beliefs and ideas. The challenge is not the conversation of
others but, to connect with the
others in dignity and with respect.
As we proceed in the process of
Dialogue and in the pursuit of a
common ground, we, members of
the Dialogue Commission, came to
realize how Interreligious dialogue
has certain characteristics: clarity,
meekness, humility, kindness, patience, prayer and trust. In interreligious dialogue clarity is a must: we
are compelled to make our language understandable, acceptable

and well-chosen,
so that we can
be both truthful
and charitable to
one another. We
seek to understand one another, to challenge
one another to
understand each
of our beliefs
most deeply.
We are also
aware how Dialogue does not solve all problems,
or bridge all gaps. Its importance is
really in creating a space for conversation where differences can be
peacefully and respectfully confronted and understood.
As priests and missionaries, we are
aware that every opportunity of
ministry should become a good
opportunity for MissionaryAnimation and Dialogue Education. It is not an easy task because
of the local Churchs resistance to
the ad Gentes dimension of
Christianity: the local Church, in
fact, seems to have become selfreferring and has embraced the
conviction that mission is everywhere and everything.
We learned how Fr. Adolph was
working at Pamphlets/booklets:
What you should basically know
when dealing with other religions
in USA. While Fr. Rocco follows
closely the African scenario, Fr. Joe
focuses on the Taiwanese reality
and presence in Boston, Fr. Tony
doing the same with the Brazilian
Community.
4

Fr. Alex in Franklin while privileging

the Latino of the area is becoming
more familiar with Muslim and Hindu communities. The racial divisions in Milwaukee area have become more evident after the Ferguson riots of Nov 25th, 2014. Nov,
more than in the past now the
Church can become a healing
bridge.
To create a network of contacts,
the Dialogue Commission will attend the Parliament of Religions
Lake City 14th-21st Oct. 2015.
With reference to Common
Ground monthly meetings at
Wayne, it was noted how they continue to create bridges of understanding, a growing friendship between secular and religious people.
Fr. Carl is also planning a conference on October 8, 2015 at Rutgers
University in New Brunswick, NJ.
The project sees working together
the American Humanist Association, the Humanist Department of
Rutgers University, and other faith
representatives.
.Fr. Michael Davitti