Mindful of the Admonitions of St Francis, of the Letter to a Minister and the Letter to Brother Leo, we know that the exercise of fraternal ministries is a constant call to individuals and fraternities to grow in their free commitment to follow Christ. It is the task of fraternal ministry to foster the growth of personal responsibility in fraternal life, to promote and sustain unity and communion among the brothers, to recognize the gifts that exist among us, stimulating mutual, inclusive love for all those we encounter, and to sustain the brothers on their journey of conforming themselves to the poor and humble Christ.
For this purpose, Ministers should use every means to
promote the shared discernment of the will of God,
coresponsibility, fraternal dialogue, joint planning,
subsidiarity and solidarity. A basic, indispensable tool in
this process must be, above all, the local chapter. In
addition they should cultivate an attitude of listening to
the brothers and gladly acknowledging the personal
journey of each one, remembering the words that Francis
used to describe fraternal ministries: to visit, admonish
and correct.
Those who occupy positions of authority should be in all
things ministers and servants of the brothers, without
dominating in fraternal relationships and avoiding all
partiality. Mindful of the words of St Francis they should,
in a spirit of mutual service, not appropriate any office;
they should, moreover, show in practice a healthy
detachment from their own role, which will enable them
to give disinterested service
Chapters and superiors, as expressions of the
spiritual and visible unity of the Order, nourish
the bond of communion among the brothers. In
a spirit of service and with pastoral solicitude
they exercise authority received from God
through the ministry of the Church in accordance
with universal law and the constitution
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