Snapshots from the annual meeting IDJPC
Between April 21 and 23 fr. Rui Carlos Lopes, the Promoter General for Laity, was in Malta to attend the provincial chapter of the Lay Dominicans Fraternities of Malta. A report from the Maltese Lay Dominican James Souness.
‘Various fraternities took an active part like those of Vittoriosa, Rabat, Valletta, Zabbar, Gwardamanga, Naxxar and Attard. Fr. Rui held a talk on the last day of the chapter on ‘The Relevance of the Lay Dominican today’. He explained in detail as to what was expected from the fraternities, their duties and obligations regarding the Laity. He strongly urged the councils to help the laity both spiritually and morally, to organize events for them, events that would keep their interest in the Dominican order and the preaching on the lines of our father St. Dominic.
When asked a specific question, he said that the promoters should not interfere in the way a council is run, but should only be there to guide the members of the council in spiritual matters. Fr. Rui said specifically that the lay councils and the laity were autonomous from the friars, they were not second class Dominicans and that it was their duty to lead, inform and organize their fraternities, and that it was not the duty of the promoters to do such things. The councils should meet at their own convenience and decide matters on their own without the interference of the promoters.
This talk was very well received by all present, I spoke personally with him for some time as he remembered me from the Bologna European assembly in 2014.’
Read the complete speech of fr. Rui here.
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