The Offices in the Fraternity
1. While
firmly upholding the co-responsibility of the council to animate and guide the
fraternity, the minister, as the primary person responsible for the fraternity,
is expected to make sure that the directions and the decisions of the council
are put into practice and will keep the council informed about what he or she
is doing.
2. The minister also has the following duties:
a. to call, to preside at, and to direct the meetings of the
fraternity and council; to convoke, every three years, the elective chapter of
the fraternity, having heard the council on the formalities of the convocation;
b. to prepare the annual report to be sent to the council of the
higher level after it has been approved by the council of the fraternity;
c. to represent the fraternity in all its relations with
ecclesiastical and civil authorities.
When the fraternity acquires a juridical personality in the civil order,
the minister becomes, when possible, its legal representative;
d. to request, with the consent of the council, the pastoral and
fraternal visits, at least once every three years.
e. to put into effect those acts which the Constitutions refer to his
or her competence.
1. The vice‑minister has the following
duties:
a. to collaborate in a fraternal spirit and to support the minister
in carrying out his or her specific duties;
b. to exercise the functions entrusted by the council and/or by the
assembly or chapter;
c. to take the place of the minister in both duties and
responsibilities in case of absence or temporary impediment;
d. to assume the functions of the minister when the office remains
vacant.
2. The secretary has the following duties:
a. to compile the official acts of the fraternity and of the council
and to assure that they are sent to their respective proper recipients;
b. to see to the updating and preservation of the records and the
registers, noting admissions, professions, deaths, withdrawals, and transfers
from the fraternity;
c. to provide for the communication of the more important facts to
the various levels and, if appropriate, to provide for their dissemination
through the mass media.
3. The master of formation has the following
duties:
a. to co-ordinate, with the help of the other members of the council,
the formative activities of the fraternity;
b. to instruct and enliven
the inquirers during the time of initiation, the candidates during the period
of initiation formation, and the newly professed;
c. to inform the council of the fraternity prior to profession, concerning the suitability of
the candidate for a commitment to live according to the Rule.
4. The treasurer, or bursar, has the following
duties:
a. to guard diligently the contributions received, recording each
receipt in the appropriate register, with the date on which it was given, the
name of the contributor, or the one from whom it was collected;
b. to record in the same register the items of expense, specifying
the date and the purpose, in conformity with the directions of the fraternity
council;
c. to render an account of his or her administration to the assembly
and to the council of the fraternity according to the norms of the national
statutes.