Global Plan of the General Council 2019-2025

Luis José Maza Subero, O.Carm.

For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new [...] through the power of the Gospel (EN 18-19).

The geographical and political dimensions of the Ameri­can continent are very varied. This continent is the sec­ond largest of our common home, possessing a plurality of cultures and the most varied ecosystems and natural re­gions of the world. It is also the scene of enormous social inequality, of a un-even economic development, in which in some countries an adequate standard of living cannot be maintained, which means that there is a constant flow of migration from the developing countries into the de­veloped countries that in some way control the financial and political conditions of the majority of the countries of the American continent. The continent, North-South, is marked by the presence of different religions, with a sig­nificant expansion of ideology based religions.

That is the pluralistic reality in which Carmelites live today, spread out into various countries, which themselves have a variety of geographical areas and cultures: Brazil, the United States of America, Canada, Spanish speaking Latin America and the Caribbean. At the moment, we have four provinces there, 2 in the United States of America and 2 in Brazil, a General Commissariat in Brazil, three provin­cial commissariats in the Antilles (ACV), Venezuela, (Baet) and Peru (PCM), the General Delegation of Titus Brandsma in Colombia as well as a number of communities that depend directly on provinces in the U.S.A., Malta, Italy and Spain.

Despite our limitations, Carmelites in this geographi­cal area work very well. They are open to the interchange of personnel as a way of supporting weaker communities. They share the work of initial formation, and they promote the spirit of the Carmelite Family.

Plans

1. Create a secretariat for this geographical area, which will help in the organisation of events aimed at root­ing, strengthening, and consolidating Carmelite life in America.
2. Encourage meetings within countries that will help the spirit of fraternity to grow among the different Carmel­ite groups and foster the shared mission that will lead to the spreading of Carmelite spirituality.
3. Examine the possibility of organising meetings of the Carmelite Family in the different areas within the Americas, North America, South America (Brazil and the Spanish speaking countries), Central America and the Caribbean.
4. Undertake visits in order to get to know the Carmelite realities in America with the purpose of encouraging the members of the Carmelite Family in their pastoral work.
5. Programme in the six-year period, two meetings of the leaders, men and women, of the Carmelite Family, to talk about the common projects that might be devel­oped in this geographical area.
6. Programme in this six-year period two meetings of FO­CAL (Carmelite Formators of Latin America) as mo­ments of formation for Carmelites in the geographical area.
7. Foster the relationship between Carmelites, O.Carm. and O.C.D. by taking part in the ALACAR and the Car­melite Forum.
8. Raise awareness of the need for collaboration to strengthen the presence of Carmelites in this geograph­ical area.
9. Promote the conclusions of the Synod of the Amazon in our pastoral activities, focusing our thoughts and reflections as a Carmelite Family, as a Church that is going out on mission to the poorest and most margin­alised in our society.
10. Develop a formation Project (long, short, and medium term) for the members of the Carmelite Family to help them be witnesses in and respond to the demands of today’s society.
11. Draw on our history and memory in regard to our pres­ence in America. Hand on to the new generations our story and experience as Carmelites in this continent, bearing in mind that where memory is lost the direc­tion for the future of the journey is also lost.