OCDS PROVINCIAL COUNCIL UPDATE

The question is coming more frequently; “When will the new Provincial Statutes be ready?”

The short answer to the question is that there simply is no way to give a date for the final completion of the Provincial Statutes at this time. Having said that, I would like to share some background information regarding our Provincial Council as well as a basic outline of the process involved in developing the statutes.

The Provincial Council of the Eastern Province was the last of the U. S. Councils to be appointed and has actually been in existence for about 16 months. We spent a good part of the first six months of our time pre-occupied with pulling the Holy Hill “mini-congress’ and National Council meeting together. It was at that meeting last November that we first met face to face as Council to continue the work we had begun on the Statutes via email and conference calls. We met for a second time in Brighton last April. Our province is very large and very diverse which means Council members bring some unique experiences and perspectives in regard to our Carmelite Secular vocation. This diversity continues to enrich our discussions. We have accomplished much but still have much to do. We truly need everyone’s prayers to ensure that our work is fruitful and reflects the will of the Holy Spirit as well as the spirit and traditions of Carmel.

The process for arriving at the statutes is pretty straightforward. Provincial Council, in collaboration with the Provincial Delegates, develop a draft of the statutes. Upon approval by the Provincial, the draft will be submitted to the communities in the Province for comment. Provincial Council will then consider any input received, edit as necessary and submit the final version to Rome for approval. Once approved by Rome, the statutes take effect and will be posted and distributed to the communities.

This process is full of variables and very difficult to predict. Even after the statutes are submitted for final approval, one cannot really predict when they will be approved.

In the meantime, the current National Statutes will continue to be observed. If any questions arise that are outside the scope of the current statutes, they should be directed to the appropriate Provincial Delegate.


Fraternally in Carmel,

Thomas J. McCabe, OCDS
President
OCDS Provincial Council
Washington Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary