ROME — The November issue of Fraternitas, the monthly newsletter of theOrder of Friars Minor, reports on several significant events.
They include:
• The celebration of the eighth centenary of the Franciscan charism concluded in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, an area with more than 1,000 friars. On Aug. 30 at the Shrine of St. John the Baptist in Bosnia, roughly 7,000 attendees thanked the Lord for the glorious Franciscan history and recommitted themselves to live the Gospel today as Francis lived it in his time. Additional celebrations were held on Sept. 17 and 19.
• The second special assembly for Africa took place in October at the Vatican. The second synod, “The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. You are the Salt of the Earth…You are the Light of the World,” is a continuation of the first synod for Africa, celebrated 15 years ago.
• Franciscans from a parish in Panama expressed concern over the exploitation of resources from the Biological Mesoamerican Belt by companies and businesses. Certain areas are being used for mineral resources, thus leading to the destruction of the forest and the “contamination of Mother Earth,” according to Fraternitas.
The November issue also notes that Nov. 9 marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin wall.