ICCRS Council met in Rome in March 1997

Reflections by Oreste Pesare, the New Director of ICCRS

I was certainly excited to participate m my first ICCRS Council meeting, which took place in Rome from March 13 to 18, 1997. Before that (March 10 to 12) some of the Councilors met in Jerusalem, where CCR will be holding a very special event, a spiritual highlight to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CCR and to solemnize the year 1997 dedicated by the Holy Father to Jesus Christ.

About twenty Councilors gathered from all over the world, including three new members: Mrs. Cathy Brenti, from France (representative for Communities); Mr. Telésforo "Chiquito" Villalba (representative for Latin America); and Fr. Rufus Pereira, from India (representative for the -Healing Ministry).

Many topics were discussed during the meetings. Here is a brief survey of them.

1998 Conference, Fiuggi:

The CCR leaders' program for 1998 was officially launched. The general objective is to experience and witness a New Pentecost in the CCR for the 3rd Millennium, while the specific objectives are: to gather youth and adult leaders of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal worldwide for an intense prayer experience and fellowship in the Spirit for a New Pentecost; to forge a unity of mind and heart among the CCR leaders according to the Word of God; to exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit in actual ministry to one another; to witness to the power of the Holy Spirit in testimonies and the sharing of experiences.

Theme: "Let the Fire Fall again."

Date: October 25 to November 1, 1998.

Venue: Fiuggi (Italy).

During the first three days (Oct 25-28), meetings will be reserved for 150 youth leaders and 450 representatives of National Service Committees (NSCs) or National Head Contacts worldwide. From Oct 28 onwards, the event will be opened to another 2000 leaders from all over the world.

Jesus in Jerusalem 1997:

A positive reaction of many NSCs was noted towards the pilgrimage initiative since numerous participation requests were sent to our Secretariat in Ottawa. The Retreat's program was further developed, with a few details yet to be finalized. [See box on page 4 for contact addresses.]

Appointment of Charles Whitehead:

Charles was re-elected as President for a further term of three years.

Project Fund:

Eight specific projects aimed at the promotion of CCR will receive assistance from ICCRS for a total of $27,400, for 1997. All the projects have the backing of regional/national service committees/offices of the CCR.

Schools of Evangelization:

By now over 40 countries have replied to the survey mailed to the NSCs in August 1996 regarding this topic. This positive result shows the interest that CCR has in Schools of Evangelization. ICCRS will continue to work in this field.

ICCRS Newsletter:

Considering that the aim of the ICCRS Newsletter is to be a bulletin addressed to the leaders within CCR, ICCRS Councilors will promote--in the areas they represent--new subscriptions to this important means of networking.

Teaching Ministry:

Sr. Nancy Kellar was confirmed in her mandate as Service Coordinator of this ICCRS ministry until the 1998 Council meeting.

Relationship with Pontifical Council for the Laity:

Besides the private audience with the Holy Father, during our council meeting Archbishop James Francis Stafford and Bishop Stanislaw Rylko came to visit us and invited ICCRS Councilors to attend the 1998 event for Church Movement Leaders' and Pentecost celebrations. On Pentecost day several thousand people from all the Church movements will gather in St. Peter's square for a historical meeting.

ICCRS Finances:

This is quite a difficult issue. ICCRS is currently unable to cover many of the costs involved in publishing/mailing the ICCRS Newsletter and running the office. Income from ICCRS' international events for CCR barely covers part of our expenses. An international service like ours needs much more financial support than one would imagine. Each expenditure--think of telephone, fax and postage bills, travel fares, etc.--exceeds by far what a similar organization would need in working at a national/regional level. We need help. Therefore the Council decided to urge all national service teams to make a special effort and to invite any generous benefactors to support this valuable service to the broader CCR and the Church.

Rome Office:

New goals have been set for the office, which will be able to offer improved services thanks to a greater and more constant presence of its Director. One new goal should be particularly noted: an ICCRS Home page on the Internet which will allow people to access as much information on the CCR as possible, including the ICCRS Newsletter in five languages, Vatican and bishops' statements on CCR, ICCRS events, a bibliography on CCR, and many other things.

Conclusion:

As you can easily gather from the above, God's blessing on CCR is abundant. And ICCRS is called to play an increasingly leading role not only within CCR, but also vis-a-vis the institutional Church and particularly through its relationships with the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the other Vatican Dicasteries.

The Lord's will seems to be clear--to enable ICCRS to continue to work better and better following the Holy Spirit's guidance. Therefore not only do I wish to call for everyone's help, but I also think such help is necessary for ICCRS to successfully meet all the needs stemming from the mission it has received from God.

Oreste Pesare, from Italy, is the Director of the ICCRS Office. This article was taken from the May-June, 1997, issue of the (ICCRS) Newsletter, Palazzo della Cancelleria, 00120 Vatican City, Europe.