The document "Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis et Studiorum" collects the principles and norms of the formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The working group in charge of its revision according to the proposals of the 28th General Chapter (GC28) and is made up of 25 members: 4 from the Department of Formation - Fr Ivo Coelho, General Councilor, and his collaborators Br Raymond Callo, Fr Silvio Roggia and Fr Francisco Santos - and 21 Salesians invited from the various Salesian regions of the world.
A remarkable feature of the group is the presence of six young Salesians and one Prenovice from Korea. These were elected by young Salesians in a series of online meetings regarding the revision of the Ratio. This was a great way of putting into practice the call of GC28 to involve young Salesians in the processes of formation, including that of revising the Ratio.
In the previous stages of this revision, three types of questionnaires were sent to all the Provinces of the world, which the present team is now called to study:
- Q1 – Online questionnaires open to each and every Salesian confrere (3650 responses);
- Q2 – A shorter set of questions for the Salesian community or among groups of confreres (495 responses);
- Q3 – A set of questions for the animating nucleus of our Educative and Pastoral communities (317 responses).
Meeting the working group dedicated to this important service, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, said that the revision of the Ratio should set the right pace in Salesian formation for an effective Youth Ministry with the heart of the Good Shepherd which we find in Don Bosco. The Ratio, he said, should develop in the Salesian, a heart for the poorest young people.
Like any other meeting of this kind, the meeting will involve group work besides assembly meetings. Common meetings would serve to listen, interpret and synthesize the feedback from the three sets of questionnaires, and to work out the content to be “inserted” into the provisional “table of contents of the Ratio” (the Ratio tree). Internet tools and technologies facilitate the working together. The three linguistic groups are English, Spanish and Italian-French-Portuguese, in proportion to the varying volume of responses received.
There is a wonderful spirit of togetherness among the delegates. The self-introductions enriched this spirit of fraternity.
The whole process is being accompanied by fervent prayer from various Salesian communities, young people and members of the Salesian Family around the Salesian world.
It is important to keep in mind that Ratio was revised in 2000, with two revisions in 2009 (chapter on the pre-novitiate) and 2012 (various points dealing with the formation of the Brother Salesian). With GC28 requesting us to redefine the profile of a Salesian there is a need to undertake this revision of ratio.
