International Solidarity Office Publishes Annual Projects and Reports Book

The principle of solidarity is about our mutual interdependence and fraternal communion as Capuchin brothers. Based on this principle, economic solidarity is the sharing of our economic resources among all our circumscriptions to help sustain the mission of the Capuchin Order in all parts of the world. This is particularly important with respect to our newer and economically weaker circumscriptions, as their efforts to implant the Order in new parts of the world and to spread the gospel through their lives in our charism are aided greatly by those circumscriptions which are able to receive more financial resources from their various benefactors.

The oldest form of this international sharing has been in the support that the provinces have given to their own missions. Over time, these missions have often become provinces themselves, leading them to send missionaries of their own. But at the same time, these new provinces have not necessarily had access to a base of benefactors to assist the brothers in supporting the activities of those missions. It is for this reason that the Office of Economic Solidarity was created as a part of the Capuchin General Curia, to be a focal point for sharing our resources to support the activities of all our friars, wherever they may be.

Each year, the Solidarity Office publishes the Projects and Reports book, in order to document the results of this fraternal sharing. The first part of the book contains a description of each of the requests that were submitted to the Office of Economic Solidarity last year, along with the decision made by the General Minister and Council for each request. As such, this section serves as a record of all projects that have received financial support from the funds that have been received by all our circumscriptions throughout the world.

The second part of the book is a report of the support that was given to the Solidarity funds last year by each of the circumscriptions, as well as a statement of the current situation of each of those funds. At the very end of the book, there is a report of direct contributions among the circumscriptions and between some of our provinces and other entities throughout the world (dioceses, other religious communities, etc.)

All the brother are invited to read the Solidarity Projects and Reports book, and to familiarize themselves with its contents. Hard copies have been sent to each circumscription, and a PDF version can be found at Project_2016.pdf. Questions regarding the Solidarity Office can be directed to Br. Jim Donegan, Secretary of Economic Solidarity, at [email protected] or Br. Aklilu Petros, Solidarity Promoter, at [email protected].

download: Projects 2016/Reports 2015