austraLasia #2818
Team Visit EAO 2
HUA HIN: 9 March 2011 -- There's some danger of this report looking more like a page from Finnegan's Wake, given the bits and pieces I'm receiving - very hard to get an overall picture. So - 'rejoyce, rejoyce', even though the Lenten journey has begun! There is a communications team onsite, so maybe they can include some wider dissemination of their material 'at the instant' rather than some time later?
With proceedings underway, and upwards (much upwards, perhaps?) of 60 people in attendance at Hua Hin, the greetings and opening remarks are now in the past and the work begun.
Fr Andy Wong, as Regional, has given an overview of the Region, some 58 points, when it comes down to details, which pick out many of the features of the Region. He applied a comparative approach - over a short three year period since 2008. On that basis the report appears quite upbeat. The numbers are available elsewhere - but they represent the region as stable in terms of numbers (growing, slightly) and certainly in a growth phase in terms of work and mission, good at one level, but challenging, as always, at another since the growth in numbers would have to be much much more to meet this other growth. In terms of the broad Salesian setup across the Region Fr Wong also pointed to a number of features in place and helping to consolidate the region - a mobile formation team, small in numbers, but certainly at work across the region, two regional study centres, one at Clifton Hill in Melbourne, the other in Manila; a growth in missionary activity and spirit, highlighted at one level by the well-known contribution from Vietnam in terms of personnel, but not only this. Provinces have taken on a wider mission approach within - there's the case of the migrant mission in Japan, the Filipino mission in various cities dealing with the Filipino 'diaspora'; there's the opening of the New Zealand presence, which he includes under this 'missionary' aspect, and so on.
Two other presentations were given on the first day: one from Fr Cipriani on how the Region has absorbed and implemented GC26, the other from Fr Moloney on 'Starting Afresh from Don Bosco'. In this latter, mention was made of the importance of the need for critical study and the tools needed for this to keep up-to-date with a contemporary understanding of Don Bosco. Part of this too, is the ongoing challenge of translation of primary materials in various languages of the region, a challenge only partly met so far. The question of the 'real' Don Bosco surfaced more than once in this presentation on 'starting afresh from' him. He asks if 150 years of hagiography have offered a real picture or a caricature, given the still uncritical use made, at times, of the dreams, or other material.
There will be more, obviously, but let's take it in stages. Meanwhile Don Bosco is facing another critical issue. He is bi-locating again! More on that too, as news comes to hand.
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* Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce. If you want to know what I mean, go to the first page here. And yes, the novel does start (sort of) with 'riverrun'. But you'd have to go to the final sentence in the final chapter to get the rest of the sentence! See what I mean?
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Team Visit EAO 2
HUA HIN: 9 March 2011 -- There's some danger of this report looking more like a page from Finnegan's Wake, given the bits and pieces I'm receiving - very hard to get an overall picture. So - 'rejoyce, rejoyce', even though the Lenten journey has begun! There is a communications team onsite, so maybe they can include some wider dissemination of their material 'at the instant' rather than some time later?
With proceedings underway, and upwards (much upwards, perhaps?) of 60 people in attendance at Hua Hin, the greetings and opening remarks are now in the past and the work begun.
Fr Andy Wong, as Regional, has given an overview of the Region, some 58 points, when it comes down to details, which pick out many of the features of the Region. He applied a comparative approach - over a short three year period since 2008. On that basis the report appears quite upbeat. The numbers are available elsewhere - but they represent the region as stable in terms of numbers (growing, slightly) and certainly in a growth phase in terms of work and mission, good at one level, but challenging, as always, at another since the growth in numbers would have to be much much more to meet this other growth. In terms of the broad Salesian setup across the Region Fr Wong also pointed to a number of features in place and helping to consolidate the region - a mobile formation team, small in numbers, but certainly at work across the region, two regional study centres, one at Clifton Hill in Melbourne, the other in Manila; a growth in missionary activity and spirit, highlighted at one level by the well-known contribution from Vietnam in terms of personnel, but not only this. Provinces have taken on a wider mission approach within - there's the case of the migrant mission in Japan, the Filipino mission in various cities dealing with the Filipino 'diaspora'; there's the opening of the New Zealand presence, which he includes under this 'missionary' aspect, and so on.
Two other presentations were given on the first day: one from Fr Cipriani on how the Region has absorbed and implemented GC26, the other from Fr Moloney on 'Starting Afresh from Don Bosco'. In this latter, mention was made of the importance of the need for critical study and the tools needed for this to keep up-to-date with a contemporary understanding of Don Bosco. Part of this too, is the ongoing challenge of translation of primary materials in various languages of the region, a challenge only partly met so far. The question of the 'real' Don Bosco surfaced more than once in this presentation on 'starting afresh from' him. He asks if 150 years of hagiography have offered a real picture or a caricature, given the still uncritical use made, at times, of the dreams, or other material.
There will be more, obviously, but let's take it in stages. Meanwhile Don Bosco is facing another critical issue. He is bi-locating again! More on that too, as news comes to hand.
----------
* Finnegans Wake, by James Joyce. If you want to know what I mean, go to the first page here. And yes, the novel does start (sort of) with 'riverrun'. But you'd have to go to the final sentence in the final chapter to get the rest of the sentence! See what I mean?
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
