TALK BY DAVID WILLIAMS AT THE CANADA AGA, JUNE 2007

 To fit in with the time available at Kelowna, some aspects of this talk were abbreviated. This transcript omits two of the stories.

 Introduction

I feel very honoured to be asked to speak about the Rule & Statutes at this meeting and I thank Michael Burke most sincerely for the invitation.

 I hope Michael will forgive me if I tell you that he has made a big impact on the international scene. Not only was he asked to stand as President General, but he received a lot of votes. I can guess why. For the most constructive reasons, Michael asks awkward questions on matters that really need to be probed! He is particularly good at highlighting the problems with the financing of the Society, insisting that Council General should balance its budget and have a viable plan to meet a major problem it has, which is this:

Only about 20 countries are able to donate funds to Council General and 120 other countries are so poor that they can only receive – yet they have massive needs that cry out to us all. They ask Council General to fund many projects that will make a difference to the lives of 100’s of thousands of people, projects that are not within the Twinning scheme.

Michael has also raised some issues about Council General’s Africa Commission, stressing the extreme urgency of the problem and the need to get the fullest possible input from Africans themselves.

 Michaels’ predecessor, Ellen Schryburt was also very well regarded when she was National President of Canada. and she was the best translator into English of the President General’s Circular Letters. I hope she may be asked by him to resume that role. I am sure that Penny Craig, as the new National President, will worthily follow in their footsteps.

 WHY DO WE HAVE A RULE & STATUTES?

 There are two main reasons:

 To maintain the worldwide Society as 'one heart and one mind'

We have a Rule & Statutes firstly, to bind together the whole Society in its 142 countries, with a common spirit. In that way we can be, as the first Rule of 1835 advocated, of one mind and one heart. What was once called the General Principles is now called the Rule (pages 113 to 131 of your new book). It enshrines our spirituality, rather as the Rule of St. Benedict contains the spirit of his Order. The detailed administrative structures and operation are kept separate and are now called the Statutes.

 To serve the poor most effectively with necessary supportive structures

Secondly, the Statutes are there to ensure that we work for the poor within our Conferences in the most effective way. This means ensuring that the essential discoveries of the last 170 years are not lost sight of  - about how the Conferences and Councils can work best to help the members to serve the poor and to foster the spiritual development of the members. Why re-invent the wheel? Why not take the best practice from around the world and put it into practice everywhere where it is appropriate. That is true Vincentian sharing. 

 New definitions

In addition to the new Rule and the International Statutes, some Basic Requirements for drafting the Internal Statutes of each country were also agreed at the October 2003 International General Assembly by all the National Presidents of the world. As long as these points are included, every country has total freedom to organise itself how it wants.

Every country that is fully part of the Confederation agrees to abide by all these Parts,

 WHY A NEW RULE?

 Renewal of the Society according to our charism

The Church stressed at Vatican II that every organisation in the Church should renew itself. The normal human temptation is to simply change the structures, but Jesus said that renewal must come from the heart. And Vatican II reminded us that the heart of any organisation was revealed in its original charism. So the first task of the Rule Commission was to re-examine the charism of Blessed Frederic Ozanam and St. Vincent. It was clear from the original General Principles that we were inspired by the spirituality of Frederic and Vincent, so one of our first tasks was to define precisely what their spirituality was. See paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 for the fruit of this work.

 To respond to the Holy Spirit and developments within the Church

The second question was - to what is Christ our Lord calling us in the 21st century, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Whatever it is must be consistent with our original charism. All four living Presidents General were members of the Commission and with prayerful reflection turned their minds to this task i.e. Joe Rouast, Ami de Tarrazi, Ceasr Nunes-Viana and Jose Ramon Diaz-Torremocha.. Later in this talk I will draw attention to some of the fruits of this work.

We have reflected further on the Second Vatican Council and there has been a rich theological development since then in the understanding of the role of the laity, Ecumenism, the social teaching of the Church and the theology of the Kingdom. All these have had an impact on the new Rule (i.e. the new General Principles).

 To internationalise the Society

Also, the Fatima General Assembly in 1999, requested a complete re-examination of the structures of the Society, with a view to internationalising them.

Imagine, if you will, that the Society started in Vancouver in 1833. The Society spread throughout  Canada, and the local members from Vancouver met monthly to decide all important matters affecting all parts of Canada. Then it in spread to USA, Latin America, Euope and Asia and still the local members from Vancouver, met to decide all important matters. Eventually it had 700,000 members in 143 countries and still the Vancouver members made the key decisions. Whilst that is a considerable exaggeration, it does bear comparison with what happened within the Society, with the Parisian members mainly running the Permanent Section for 170 years until the October 2003 General Assembly. However good the Vancouver members, however good the Parisian members, it is obvious that better decisions will be made if we call on the wisdom of many nations than if we rely on only one.

Having said all that, it is intended that Paris will always be the main centre of pilgrimage, with its many Vincentian sites and the Ozanam museum. The French language remains the official language and the Society has been established legally under French law.

 To include resolutions from all General Assemblies

The International Rule Commission was also aware that it should respect the resolutions of previous international General Assemblies. There were many which had never been included in the Rule, but are now there.

 To overcome some serious problems

The four Presidents General identified 31 problems which had hampered the work of the Society, and therefore the work of Christ, in one or more countries. It was their hope that the new Rule would overcome many of these problems. Most of them are dealt with in the Basic Requirements, but a few are dealt with in the Rule, for example:

* Meetings being held monthly or even less frequently, therefore changing the nature of the Society by undermining the spiritual dimension and the communal dimension

* Undue influence of appointed officers in consensus decision-making, so democracy needed enhancing

* Dominating leaders who rode roughshod over the views of their members.

According to 3.11, Presidents "provide an encouraging atmosphere in which the talents, capacities and spiritual charisms of the members are identified, developed and put to the service of the poor and the Society" Any President who does that consistently will certainly not be a dominating President.

* Over-centralised control of local decision-making in the work for the poor - this is countered by the principle of Subsidiarity - making decisions as close to the point of action as possible, (but centralised control is regarded as beneficial for issues of legal compliance, accounting standards, health and safety issues and employee terms and conditions)

* Occasional attempts by Bishops to appoint Presidents or control the funds

 To share good practice from around the world

Another reason for having a new Rule and Statutes is to share good practice from around the world. This will be dealt with when we come to the Basic Requirements.

 To provide an adequate legal status

We have a new Rule also to provide an adequate legal status for the Society. The requirements for full legal status under French Law are three:

* A Confederation of St. Vincent de Paul Societies legally constituted in their countries (1.1)

* A Governing body (the Permanent section has this role) (5.1.2)

* An annual assembly (the General Assembly and the IEC have this role) (4.1.1)

 This gives the Society the necessary credentials to liaise officially with various organisations within the United Nations or the European Union and to begin to tap some of the funds available from various sources for approved projects for the poor and deprived.

  HOW WAS THE NEW RULE DEVELOPED?

Process of consultation

How did the International Rule Commission for the Renewal of the Rule proceed with its work? The President General, Jose Ramon gave a clear directive that there was to be a massive amount of consultation. One innovation in the first few rounds of consultation was to appoint about 50 Consultors - Vincentians of great experience, well-respected in their various countries, all of whom had served in high Office in the past - usually as a National Council President - or who were currently in Office. The last two rounds of consultation were exclusively with all the National Council Presidents, who were encouraged to consult within their country in whatever way they considered appropriate. In most cases, this meant that a sub-committee was set up to consider the draft Rule and Statutes and then all members of the National Council were consulted to produce the final response.

 This process itself has implications for those with ears to hear. Some of you here have vast experience but may soon be out of Office. The Commentary to the International Statutes (1.10.3) challenges National Councils to consider the best way to use the wisdom and experience of just a few past Officers, to keep them on board in some way, in the best interests of the Society, whilst asserting firmly the primacy of the democratic process which ensures that currently elected Officers make the decisions.

 Contribution of Canada

* Michael Burke arranged for members of the USA Statute drafting team to meet his own drafting team. and produced a great number of amendments to the draft of all three Parts of the Rule and Statutes. Among them were some very important ones intended to secure the democracy of the Society. For instance, in the various new international structures, it was not clear who could vote, what kind of majority was needed, or the level of any quorum which was required.

 But there was a very large number of lesser amendments. This resulted in a crisis, because it was clear that the October 2003 General Assembly would not have the time to debate them all. The crisis produced an ingenious solution. All the amendments which changed the meaning would be fully debated, but minor amendments could be dealt with in blocks. For instance, all the amendments which altered the sequence of items, which made the wording clearer or improved the grammar without changing the meaning, were voted on in blocks.

 * Along with about 150 minor amendments, the October 2003 General Assembly of National Presidents debated many substantial amendments. In the end it accepted 39 and rejected 38. This was the end of a 4-year process of consultation and prayer, which I believe has given us a Rule of great depth and Statutes which provide a structure able to respond quickly and effectively to whatever new forms of poverty the 21st century may bring.

 * The Rule and its Commentary now has a careful balance between asserting the autonomy of the Society as a lay Society and its desire for a close relationship with the Bishops.

 THE NEW STRUCTURES

The General Assembly (meeting every six years) and

The International Executive Committee – the IEC (meeting twice every year) are above the President General who gives them an account of his or her service and the General Assembly and the IEC determine the strategy and priorities of the Society. It is necessary, for expense reasons, to keep the membership of the IEC compact, but the Presidents of the National Councils with 1000 Conferences or more are included, with five Presidents from other countries with a smaller membership, and of course, the key International Officers. Because it represents over 80% of all Vincentians, it is a genuinely democratic body. For the members to be able to adjust strategy each year instead of every six years is a major improvement, enabling the Society to be much more responsive to changing needs.

 The Board of Council General (meeting quarterly) advises the President General on strategic matters

 The Permanent Section (meeting at least twice a year) advises him/her, and decides on matters of day-to-day management of the Society, such as:

·         Funding of various projects in developing countries

·         Accepting Aggregations of Conferences & Institution of Councils

·         Acceptance of Internal Statutes

 Other changes are that the President General is elected at age 65 or below for 6 years, renewable once. The election will be at an Assembly, as the first item on the Agenda, rather than being carried out by post as in the past.

There is a new provision for termination of his/her Office as a result of incapacity - which could be for reasons of physical or mental health etc., in which the IEC plays a key role.

The President General appoints his International Territorial vice-Presidents and Coordinators who advise groups of nations, but only after consultation with the countries concerned.

Work Centres may be established anywhere in the world

Chinese is added to French (the official language), with English, Spanish and Portuguese as other co-official languages,

and Technical Liaison Officers from a variety of countries can be employed.

 THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW RULE

It may help if the structure of the new Rule is explained. It begins with the three essential dimensions of the Society, which are a matter of emphasis, as all 3 are constantly inter-related:

Chapter 1 - The horizontal dimension – towards the poor

Chapter 2 - The vertical dimension – towards God

Chapter 3 - The supporting communal dimension - warm friendship and a spiritual bond – represented by a circle

So these three dimensions can be remembered by thinking of a cross in a circle.

 All three dimensions are so essential to the nature of our Society that it is very clear that only a Conference that meets weekly can develop all three dimensions constantly. One that meets every two weeks is at a disadvantage. Conferences that meet less every two weeks, cannot be aggregated, according to the Rule agreed by all National Presidents in the 2003 General Assembly. Such groups may be very worthy, but they have concentrated on the dimension of visiting the poor and simply not understood the essential nature of the other two dimensions of love for God and love for one another within the Vincentian community.

 Then RELATIONSHIPS are described in widening concentric circles:

Chapter 4 -  With the Society in other countries (Twinning),

                   and other branches of the Vincentian family,

 Chapter 5  With the Catholic hierarchy & other Catholic Charities

Chapter 6. Ecumenical & Inter-faith relationships

                 and with State Agencies or other charities

 Chapter 7  With Civil Society – work for Social Justice

 As you can see, the whole Rule can be remembered as a cross with a series of concentric circles reflecting the relationships of the Society with the whole world..

 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW RULE

 The Rule itself is contained in Section 4 of the new “Rule and Statutes of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Canada” pages 113 to 131. It contains the full depth and breadth of the Society’s spirituality.

Unfolding the flower

In total, the Rule contains 39 small or great developments in our thinking.

We call it 'unfolding the flower’ of our original charism..

For example:

1) In its spirituality  (the vertical dimension), whereas before, the General Principles indicated that we were inspired by the spirituality of Blessed Frederic Ozanam and St. Vincent de Paul, the new Rule explains in some detail what this means, what the key aspects of their spirituality are. It also makes clear that we journey towards holiness together and the fact that our Vincentian vocation affects every aspect of our lives.

 2) In explaining its service to the poor, (the horozontal dimesion), for the first time it expresses in detail the nature of our relationship with the poor (1.7-1.12).

It emphasises the importance of self-sufficiency and empowerment, (which can be illustrated by the story of the eaglet and the chickens!). We really care about the spirituality of those we visit, because it is going to have the greatest impact on their happiness.

  There is also, in this section a new insight and what will become a new custom - looking for signs of the presence of the Risen Christ in those we visit.

A story will illustrate what is intended. Some members visited Maria, an Italian lady of about 40, who could not cope with her children because she had a very low IQ, so they were placed into care. She used to grumble about the woman who lived next door, whom she hated. On one visit she told the members that she had hit the lady over the head with a milk bottle. Unfortunately, it was full at the time! Over a period of weeks the members tried to get her to think of the neighbour a little more benevolently, and they prayed about the situation in the Conference. Then one day Maria reported that she had 'made it up' with Doris next door. She simply told Doris that her garden was really well-kept and lovely and she smiled at her. The members were conscious that this went beyond what they could reasonably have expected, that somehow, grace was involved, that the Spirit of the Risen Christ dwelling within Maria had inspired her to reconcile. This is what is meant by seeing 'signs of the presence of the Risen Christ', signs of grace which we are privileged to encourage in those we visit and, let us not forget, in one another. The signs of his Presence, mentioned in the Rule are love, generosity, reconciliation, inner peace and the spirit of prayer, but, of course, there may be others. When you see these signs, please mention them in your report to the Conference, as it will be an inspiration to all the members, so that the poor will evangelise us.

 3) Openness to the Holy Spirit

There is also quite a lot in the Rule about the need to be open to the Holy Spirit, and in time, this could become a very important aspect of our spirituality (1.1, 1.7, 2.5, 3.9, 3.11). It is quite certain that the renewal of the Society will not come primarily from new structures but from a renewal of the heart, of the spirit of the Society – ultimately, renewal comes from the Holy Spirit.

The Rule also mentions, twice, charisms, which are gratuitous Gifts of the Holy Spirit which we in no way deserve, but which can become evident in Vincentians .As we have seen, the Rule challenges Presidents to "provide an encouraging atmosphere in which the talents, . and spiritual charisms of the members are identified, developed and put to the service of the poor and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (3.11)."  To identify the charisms, we have to know what they are. For instance, there are some quite humble gifts mentioned by St. Paul, such as

 the charism of service (an example would be Jesus washing the feet of the disciples), the charism of works of mercy, of giving,

of speaking out prophetically about situations of social injustice,

charisms of wisdom,

and then for our trainers, the gifts of teaching or exhortation. Whilst these charisms may well build on our natural talents, they are actually supernatural.

(Paul’s lists of charisms are in 1 Cor 12:8-10; and 12:28 ; Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11).

 As a Society, we seek to open ourselves to these gifts but do not aspire to the ‘spectacular’ charisms of the “gift of tongues” or of physical healing etc, although some individual members may feel called to these personally. No, our spirituality is beautifully balanced between:

1) openness to the humble spiritual gifts (charisms) above,

2) action - person-to-person service of the poor and

3) the encouragement of some time in each day for silent prayer (meditation of contemplation).

A spirituality focussed only on praise and seeking all the charisms is incomplete unless it is balanced by love-in-action i.e. service, especially to those who are suffering or deprived and by silent contemplation.

 The fact is that at Baptism, every Vincentian received the Holy Spirit, but there is a big difference between knowing this as a fact and experiencing it as a reality. We are called to "fan into flame the gift of God" (2 Tm 1:6), so that what Our Lord intended, is fulfilled: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10). We will not experience this ‘more abundant life’ unless we are open to the release of the Holy Spirit. "Without this .. we are abnormal Christians, handicapped children of God, because we have not allowed the Holy Spirit to do his full work in us. We put our Baptism and all it means, in the freezer. .. (but) the power we have received at Baptism has to come out of the freezer!" (Cardinal Suenens, 3/'73).

 4) Christ in the midst: the spirituality of Communion

The concept of Christ in the midst during a meeting is familiar to you because it is in your prayers. We will certainly not have "Christ in the midst" (3.3) if there is bad feeling between the members. And it is precisely "Christ in the midst" who can greatly amplify the goodness and love that flows through the Conference into the community, far beyond the goodness and love that derives from the sum of the individual members. Ozanam said: "God who draws the clouds together to scatter the lightening, also draws souls together .. to radiate love", implying an immense amplification of love. 

 The Rule speaks most eloquently about our relationship with those we visit, with the poor (1.7 to 1.12). It is describing the charity of Christ. But it also says that "Vincentians are aware of their own brokenness " (2.2). We are all poor in some way ourselves. Therefore, we should treat one another with the same empathy and understanding etc. as we do those we visit. But do we? We can sometimes have nasty conflicts. St. Vincent warns us that a group - in our terms, a Conference or Council - would be dead, no longer recognisable as Christian or Vincentian, if  'love, simplicity and humility' were ever absent. John Paul II regarded this unity between members as the very first thing we should attend to, even before going to the poor. He said: "Our thoughts could run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would not be the right impulse to follow. Before we make practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the guiding principal wherever Christians are formed" (End of quote) (Novo Millennio Ineunte 46).

 The Rule includes in its communal dimension,

5) The definition of Presidents as Servant Leaders.(see 3.11 above) 

6) The functions of a Council, - although the Canadian Statutes include an even fuller description

7) Youth development programmes are also stressed, attracting them not so much to help the Society to survive, but through Vincentian work, to strengthen their faith. Ozanam himself discovered the truth of this.

 8) It also presents an ideal of what a Conference should be, and challenges all ‘comfortable Conferences’. A comfortable Conference is one

* that is content with the members it has,

* with the current list of people it visits,

* which is unwilling to seek challenging work

*and is half-hearted about its spirituality.

* Quite often it takes little interest in the wider Society.

We can all think of Conferences like that! But if all Conferences followed the inspiration of the new Rule (pages 113 to 131), there would only be revitalised Conferences, none which are simply 'comfortable'.

 9) Cooperating with other branches of the Vincentian Family whilst preserving our identity. One we have just re-discovered is the Religious of St. Vincent, whose founder (Jean-Leon LePrevost) was a member of the first Conference

 10) A close relationship with the Hierarchy but we maintain our lay status. We are now developing a kind of protocol that explains exactly how we relate to the Hierarchy and the clergy, to overcome some difficulties.

 11) Ecumenism – some further precisions.

 In its social justice chapter, the Rule:

12) opens up the possibilities of working with not just families but to facilitate the empowerment of local communities (7.9), and where appropriate, to get involved in issues of the environment and sustainable development (insofar as they affect the poor we visit anywhere in the world) (7.3), which especially appeal to younger members.

 BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR DRAFTING THE INTERNAL STATUTES

 Was Dublin 1967 a mistake?

There was another crisis in developing the Statutes, of which you may not be aware.  Remember that the living President Generals had identified 31 different problems within the Society internationally (not, I hasten to add, in Canada). Jose Ramon Diaz-Torremocha, our current President General, was so concerned that he had reached the view that the Society must have made a bad mistake in the 1967 General Assembly in Dublin. That Assembly voted that every country could develop its own Internal Satutes. Although the Statutes would be subject to agreement by Council General, in practice, there was only a cursory glance and many Statutes had major weaknesses. Why, otherwise, would it be possible for a National President to stay in Office for 25 years?

Jose Ramon was, therefore, of the opinion that the Dublin decision should, perhaps, be reversed and that the October 2003 Assembly should be asked to approve a complete set of Internal Statutes in which every fine detail would apply to every single country - back to the pre-1967 situation.

Well, a strong man can also be a humble man, and it was greatly to the credit of the President General that he eventually accepted not only a much simpler international structure than he had originally envisaged, but a neat alternative solution to this particular dilemna. The solution, which the 2003 General Assembly approved, was that every country would retain a great deal of individuality in its Internal Statutes, to reflect its own unique social, legal and cultural situation, but that certain Basic Requirements would be included in all Internal Statutes to avoid the most serious problems which the Presidents General had identified. I can testify that it was a great relief, and an answer to prayer, when this solution emerged.

 What do the Basic Requirements achieve?

Firstly, some refer to traditions which must be retained because they have proved themselves over the last 170 years, and will be equally helpful for the future. In some countries, these will be restored, as they had moved away from some of our fundamental traditions.

Examples are the Conference as the basic unit of the Society (BR1), with

1) the ideal of a weekly meeting emphasised and the gathering of Conferences into Councils (BR2).

2) The key elements of a Conference meeting are stressed, including the prayers, spiritual reading and sharing of views, the secret collection and so on (BR5).

3) 'Festival meetings' of members in an area, and Conference Masses are to be maintained (BR14), as their lack undermines the communal dimension and mutual support and sharing within the Society.

4) Presidents and Vice-Presidents of Councils are expected also to belong to a Conference and visit the suffering and deprived (BR11). It is a great example of humility that even the President General belongs to a Conference and carries out the visits allocated to him by a young Conference President. We may be the only Society that has this characteristic.

5) Streamlining the Council structure is encouraged and some countries have decided to cut out one level. You decided that your current Council structure was OK.

 Secondly, some Basic Requirements refer to innovations by some countries which, having proved helpful, could with benefit be shared as 'good practice' with the whole Society.

Examples are:

* A 'Commissioning ceremony' at which a Vincentian promise is renewed annually, with an emphasis on the spiritual dimension (BR8).

* A Conference Annual review during which members discuss every aspect of the Conference's practice, to see if this can be improved and  to ensure that any frustrations are removed. Members also review the way people in need are found. Councils are also expected to review their operation annually. (BR7)

* Publicity for a summary of the annual finance and activity reports of Councils and Conferences is encouraged, both within the Society and to the public, civil authorities and the Bishops, whenever circumstances permit. (BR18)

* Another item is added to a Conference meeting - a short period for training or information about the Society (perhaps only 5 minutes), although this is optional. (BR5). The Canadian Statutes include “Reading of an article of the Rule” and “Information from Higher Councils”.

 Thirdly, the Basic Requirements should overcome problems, for example:

* National President in office for far too long, causing the Society in the area to become fossilised (BR11). This has already been resolved in Canada, with the maximum term as six years for the National President.

* Special Works going out of the control of their Councils (BR21)

* Youth Committees which become autonomous and result in a parallel Society, not properly united, going off in a different direction.(BR2)

* Hoarding of considerable Funds in Conferences instead of sharing them with more needy Conferences or Councils at home or overseas (BR19)

* Nepotism (BR11)

* Abandonment of Festival Meetings in some countries etc

* Undermining of the voluntary nature of the Society as certain employees assumed more and more power (BR12)

* Lack of authority in the Rule for National Council Presidents to suspend or exclude members, Conferences and Councils or to annul the election of a President, on the rare occasions when this was essential for serious reasons: - but must allow for appeal against the decision. (BR15,16)

* Conflicts which are unresolved: encouragement for establishing a Conciliation Committee at National Council level (BR17)

* Real estate assets out of control, with deeds missing and the terms of leases sometimes punitive and unwise - the need to bring purchase, disposal, lease or rent under the control of National Council directly or in a delegated way (BR19)

* Lack or proper audits or cheque-signing disciplines (BR21)

* Offensive letters written to public authorities e.g. from Conference level (BR21)

* Inadequate funding for the administrative structure at national or international level (BR20)

 HOW THE SOCIETY NEARLY LOST ITS SOUL

There was a final crisis in the development of the Rule which could have caused the Society to lose its soul. It that sense, it was the most serious of all and happened in the weeks before the October 2003 General Assembly.

 What happened was this. A Belgium member, an eloquent lawyer, for what he considered to be good reasons, wanted to remove from the Rule all mention of progress towards holiness.  Not only that, but he proposed numerous other similar changes throughout the Rule, with the same intent. He did retain the thought that we would still be following the teaching of Christ, but the trouble is that many secular humanists can agree with some of the ethics of Christ. This member convinced an entire National Council that his changed text would be an improvement. At stake was the nature of Christianity itself. Is it basically an ethic, a way of behaving? Article 1.2 of the Rule stresses that we are to follow Christ, meaning to be committed to him as a person, not merely to his teaching. The Rule then says "Vincentians seek to draw closer to Christ" (2.1). Your core values echo the new Rule in this aspect.

 All this was seriously worrying, and caused a torrent of prayer to St. Vincent and Blessed Frederic Ozanam – one imagined them turning over in their graves. There is a concern in the Church that some Catholic Societies have become more and more secular. Was this going to happen to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul? Were we going to lose our soul?

 In the end, good came out of this attack. At the end of a deep study of the Church's teaching on the subject, the Rule finally defines true holiness as "perfect union with Christ and the perfection of love". What on earth is supposed to be wrong with seeking to become more perfect in the way we love those we visit and one another - the Rule rightly affirms that it is central to our vocation (2.2). And what is wrong with seeking holiness in the sense of closer union with Christ? We know that cut off from Christ the vine, we cannot bear fruit (Jn 15). The Rule mentions that "We can achieve nothing of eternal value without His grace" (2.5.1) He is the source of our fruitfulness (2.2), and the Rule goes further to say, "Vincentians, hope that someday it will be no longer they who love, but Christ who loves through them". If we feel inadequate now for all that, is it not right to be on the journey together, helping one another along?

This crisis seemed like an attack by the forces of darkness disguised as an angel of light, but out of it came a stronger text than before. When the Rule Commission, in the presence of the antagonist, reached the final proposed text, no one could speak. The previous President General Cesar Nunes-Viana was in tears. So was Walter Schappi of Switzerland. I had filled up completely. It took Michael Thio of Singapore to say, "The Holy Spirit has been present here", and Jose Ramon, the President-General agreed. We had to take a break. The crisis was over. The soul of the Society, far from being lost, was not only preserved but deepened.

 CONCLUSION

The new Rule and Statutes have adapted the Society to the needs of the 21st Century. The flower of our spirituality has been unfolded. It may take 10 years more to fully unfold all the riches of the Rule (pages 113 to 131), but it is a fully-fledged lay spirituality of such depth that we can be justly proud of it.

Thanks, I am sure, to the intercession of Blessed Frederic Ozanam and St. Vincent, we are, more than ever, a spiritual Society dedicated to following Christ, making the love of God in some way tangible for the poor we are privileged to call our friends, as the Rule says, "Vincentians, hope that ... even now, in their caring, the poor may catch a glimpse of God's great love for them" (2.1). We also promote the kingdom of God in today’s world, helping in a small way to bring about a civilisation of love and a culture of life.

 I have already mentioned the contribution Michael Burke and Ellen Schryburt have  made in the international structure.

I would like to finish by thanking you for your financial generosity, without which Council General would be in a desperate state,  but most of all I want to thank all of you, the leaders of the Society in Canada,  for the great contribution you made in the consultative process that led up to the new international Rule and Statutes,  and therefore to renewal of our worldwide Society.

Let us, then, strive with all our might not just to maintain, but to deepen and renew the spiritual vitality of our Conferences. If we do that, the new inspirational Rule and the new Statutes you have so wisely formulated may well mark the beginning of a new springtime for the Society in Canada.

 David Williams, Commission for the Rule, Council General,

Delegate for Implementation of the Rule and Statutes

and for Aggregations of Conferences and Institution of Councils.

Email address: da.w@ntlworld.com
 

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