On the second day of the Plenary Council, the delegates discussed changes in contemporary society and the need for a more prophetic Church, drawing inspiration from the beauty of evangelization and the encounter between cultures.
The Order’s Plenary Council continues; its first week is devoted to the presentation of various reports designed to help delegates reflect on and discuss the mission, collaboration, and vision of the Fraternities of St. Lawrence. On the second day of the session, October 13, 2026, a series of distinguished speakers took the floor, offering valuable insights into the Church’s mission and the challenges of the contemporary world.
From Logistics to Mysticism: Cardinal Bustillo’s Address
Early in the morning, Cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo, OFMConv, Bishop of Ajaccio (Corsica, France), addressed the gathering and issued a powerful call for authenticity and missionary courage. In a speech rich with literary and spiritual references—ranging from Tolstoy to Voltaire to contemporary philosophers—the cardinal called on the Church to move beyond bureaucratic “management” and return to a prophetic “vision,” rediscovering a passion for the Gospel. He warned against the risk of leading “conformist and formalistic” lives, citing Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich to emphasize that pastoral success or ecclesiastical status mean nothing if they lack “shared truth, compassion, and inner strength.” Indeed, a friar must not merely play a role but live out the authenticity of the Gospel. To do so, one must guard against spiritual amnesia—that is, forgetting God’s action—as well as against lukewarmness, defined as “the peace of cemeteries” and understood as a paralysis stemming from the fear of taking risks, and against spiritual anemia, that weariness which leads to stagnation. Furthermore, in sketching a picture of the modern world, he recalled that, despite apparent secularization, contemporary man continues to seek meaning and that “the world of faith is still alive.” Christian spirituality thus becomes a response to modern anguish and to the emptiness experienced by “technical and scientific” humanity. The cardinal concluded his remarks by inviting the audience to move “from logistics to mysticism” and to explore new and creative paths, since “the mission requires the contribution of the imagination.”.
The Crisis of the Intelligence of Faith and the Anthropological Metamorphosis
In the second part of the morning, Father Fabrizio Meroni of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions delivered a forceful and critical presentation on the current state of the Church. Father Meroni described today’s crisis not as a mere decline in numbers, but as a profound crisis of the intelligence of faith, and proposed radical reforms for the future. Reflecting on current challenges, he stated that the Church must confront the “anthropological metamorphosis” caused by artificial intelligence (AI), technological virtuality, and what he termed “fluid ideologies”—such as gender theory and animal-rights environmentalism—which dematerialize reality and erase essential differences. Faced with humanized robots and abstract computerization, Christians are called to defend an “incarnate intelligence” and the ontological superiority of men and women. Father Meroni concluded his speech with a strong appeal, arguing that the Church must stop wasting time and money on “buildings for pastoral care, curias, and offices.” Instead, the Church’s financial resources should be managed by competent Christians to provide concrete support for families, healthcare, education, and employment.
Testimonies from the Missions: Challenges Turn into Hope
Following the intense presentations of the morning, the afternoon sessions focused on testimonies from friars serving in mission territories. The first to speak was Br. Odilo Mroso, from Tanzania, who shared a moving account of his missionary experience. His vocation, born of a strong childhood desire to become a priest, led him in 1998 to agree to go to South Africa, a country then known for its high crime rate. Although he faced initial difficulties related to learning a new language—Zulu—and adapting to an unfamiliar environment, his dedication and the warm welcome from the local community allowed him to integrate and carry out his ministry successfully.
In the second session, Br. Prince Mathew Valiyakunnel offered a profound reflection on the missionary vocation, presenting a documentary on the work of the Capuchins of the Nirmala (Matha) Custody in Assam-Meghalaya, India. His central message was one of great hope: by facing sacrifices with humility, prayer, and patience, “what was bitter becomes sweet again.” The missionary, in fact, learns not to impose his own culture, but to listen, thus allowing a foreign land to become home and strangers to become family.
