LOOKING AHEAD: WHAT WILL BE THE WAY FORWARD AFTER GC 29?

The General Chapter has entered its fourth week, which means we are now reaching the midway mark of GC 29. It is a good time to pause and ask ourselves: What are the key challenges that we need to respond to, and what are the main priorities that will direct the path of the congregation as we move forward after the Chapter?  As we well understand, a General Chapter is essentially different from a Provincial Chapter; it looks at the macro reality, rather than engaging with micro issues.  Hence, over the next few weeks, looking at the global picture, GC 29 will make strategic choices that are relevant for the entire congregation.  Allow me to present, what I believe, could be some of the directional decisions the Chapter will make.

The statistical data of the congregation, unfortunately shows a dramatic decline in the number of Salesians in several parts of the world.  Over the past ten years (2014-2024), the overall number of Salesians has declined by 10 percent.  During this ten-year period, the two regions in the Americas have witnessed a 24 percent decline, and the two regions in Europe have seen a 26 percent decline.  The two Asian regions are doing modestly well, with 08 percent growth in the last decade.  The only continent that is doing well is Africa, which has grown by 34 percent in the past ten year.  Looking at the overall picture and analysing the present trends, the significant decline in the number of Salesians over the past decade is a huge wake-up call.  Hence, Salesian Vocation Guidance is clearly a critical priority that the congregation needs to focus on. Creating a strong vocation culture in all our presences, making a vocational proposal to youngsters, and accompanying those who manifest signs of a Salesian vocation are some of the steps we need to take urgently.  Of course, living our Salesian life passionately and carrying out our mission enthusiastically is obviously the best way to attract vocations.

Another phenomenon that has impacted much of the world, particularly the West, is secularism. Consequently, many countries that were predominantly Christian, are today seeing people moving away from the faith. The sharp decrease in the number of Church-goers is obviously one of the elements affecting vocations. But beyond impacting vocations, this phenomenon has ushered in a whole loss of values in society.  As Pope Francis points out in Evangelii Gaudium: “The process of secularization tends to reduce the faith and the Church to the sphere of the private and personal. Furthermore, by completely rejecting the transcendent, it has produced a growing deterioration of ethics, a weakening of the sense of personal and collective sin, and a steady increase in relativism. These have led to a general sense of disorientation, especially in the periods of adolescence and young adulthood which are so vulnerable to change” (EG 64).  Given this sad scenario, committing ourselves to New Evangelization is definitely another important priority.  New Evangelization is about renewing the faith of Catholics, or re-evangelizing those whose faith has become lukewarm.  As the Holy Father has rightly pointed out, young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secularization, and hence, easily distance themselves from the faith.  For us Salesians, who are meant to be evangelizers of the young, committing to carry forward the New Evangelization, through a systematic process of catechesis, should naturally be a major priority.

But as we work towards building up the faith lives of Catholics, particularly the young, we first need to look at our own spiritual lives.  Secularism and other socio-cultural influences, may have also affected our spiritual lives. Setting our own house in order is pertinent, for we cannot give to others, what we ourselves do not have.  Hence, another key priority as we move forward, is reviving Salesian Spirituality across the congregation.  Rediscovering and returning to our Salesian Spirituality, which is centred on Jesus Christ and strengthened through the Eucharist, will revitalise our lives and relaunch us towards being effective evangelizers. An attractive aspect of our spirituality is that “Salesian prayer is joyful and creative, simple and profound. It lends itself to community participation, is drawn from life experience and flows back into it” (C 86). Further, our prayer life has a strong engagement with young people: “we pray for them so that the design of the Father may be fulfilled in each of them, and we pray with them that we may witness to our own faith and share the same hope of salvation’ (C 86). Thus, a strong drive towards reviving our Salesian Spirituality will not only enhance our spiritual lives, but it will also be an effective means of evangelising young people.

While our world today is making much progress, while we see affluence growing, we simultaneously see a sharp increase in poverty and hardships. The GC 29 Instrumentum Laboris presents an entire set of new forms of poverty and marginalization in our world today: “refugees, migrants, street children, youth in conflict with the law, ethnic and indigenous minorities, marginalised individuals, people with different sexual orientations, people with physical or mental disabilities”.  In this situation, assisting youngsters facing new forms of poverty or marginalization, is absolutely an essential priority for us.  Of course, addressing new forms of poverty will require us to find new ways of assisting young people who are struggling with these problems. We need to be present with them and have an in-depth understanding of their situation.  It also necessitates that we network with other organizations who are involved in addressing these issues.  Further, it requires that we engage more effectively in the field of advocacy, both at the local and global level.  While the congregation presently has a representative at the UN Headquarters in New York, it would be beneficial to also have representatives at Geneva (UN Office for Human Rights) and Nairobi (UN Environment Programme Headquarter). 

And finally, during the Chapter, we have been hearing heartrending stories from war-torn countries like Congo, Ukraine, Myanmar, and Sudan.  Many of our communities, confreres, their families, and millions of people are affected by these armed conflicts, some of which have been going on for decades.  And besides the larger wars that we are witnessing, armed conflicts, violence, and hate crimes are widespread throughout the world.  Pope Francis has often pointed out that “we are living through the third world war, one which is being fought piecemeal”. Sadly, not only do wars and conflicts destroy the future of young people, but they also draw young people into taking up arms and becoming active participants in these conflicts.  Faced with this global scenario, Peace Building needs to be a priority for the congregation today.  Through peace education, youth-led peace movements, conflict resolution training, and other effective strategies, we need to promote a culture of peace while at the same time creating a generation of peaceful citizens. 

These are the ‘Big Five’ priorities, I believe, that will probably define our way forward after GC 29: reviving Salesian Spirituality, focusing on Salesian Vocation Guidance, committing ourselves to New Evangelization, assisting youngsters facing new forms of poverty or marginalization, and engaging in peace building.  These are priorities we need to embrace to offer a relevant and effective ministry to young people in our world today.

Fr Savio Silveira SDB