The session took place May 16 through 26 in the house of our sisters, Cruz Pampa in Conocoto (Ecuador). There were seventeen sscc brothers from eight countries and it was coordinated by Guillermos Rosas (Chile), Hilvar Loyaga (Ecuador) and Arley Guarín (Colombia).
Those called together for this event were around the forty year mark and already had initial formation together in Latin America. For that reason, this was a reunion and this made for easy communication among them. The groups formed itself into four small communities.
The themes were basically the following:
- Adhesion to, and being of pertinence to the Congregation in the experience lived to date;
- The enriching tension of being sscc religious and priest;
- The sscc Constitutions - historical evolution and value today, accompanied by Eduardo Pérez Cotapos sscc;
- Sexual abuse, session guided by Carlos Man Ging sj, Ecuadorian Jesuit priest;
- Whole self-care, for service not personal fulfillment, likewise accompanied by Carlos Man Ging sj
- The challenges which the magisterium of Pope Francis throws down, presented by a Dominican priest
- Conversation of the sscc mission today in Latin America with the idea of inserting an international community on the margins.
Finally there was a retreat guided by Martin Königstein sscc of the German Province ( who lived however for many year in Chile). He spoke of praying from silence, attention to one’s body and breathing, recognizing the presence of the Lord, accompanied by meditations on diverse topics ( the call to go out, the horror of going empty, on being real, asceticism or the exercise of self-discipline, criteria for discernment…),
Naturally there was the opportunity - twice - to admire the beauty of Ecuador. One was a trip to the villa of Otavalo in the Andean mountains and also to the sanctuary of the popular Virgin of Quinche. There was time also to visit the tomb of Bishop Leonidas Proaño, (1910-1988) the “bishop of the Indians,” defender of the indigenous people (“one Indian is worth more than a cathedral.”)
In Quito we visited the house museum of the Ecuadorian painter, Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-99) and the jewel of Andean baroque art which is the church of the Jesuits.
A final note: the memory of our beloved brother Leon Silva sscc, belonging to this generation who died November 4, 2016, was very present to us in the Session. The times we devoted to football ended up being known as “The Leon Silva sscc Cup.”
For more information: Blog “Tierra mojada” (in Spanish):
05/26/2017