The Financial Commission of the CAP Interprovincial Conference met in Bandung, Indonesia on February 27 and 28. The agenda included presentations of the 2008 financial statements of the Generalate, the Province of Indonesia, the Vice-Provinces of Japan and French Polynesia and the Region of India. Additional agenda items included: the calculation of 2009 contributions, the problems inherent in the current formula which was established by the General Chapter of 2000, strategic plans of the CAP communities, institutions and trusts related to the CAP communities, alternative funding sources, and the organization and duties of the Financial Commission of CAP, and in brief the current world financial crisis.
Issues that were raised in the discussions included: the need for capital funding in both Indonesia and India as they embark on building for their Initial Formation programs, the need restructure and centralize the financial resources of the Congregation for more solidarity, funding of deficits in communities besides Africa, and the need for a database of information on development/aid agencies at the General level.
Some suggestions for raising funds included: changing the criteria of International Solidarity to give higher priority to capital projects; fundraising in the USA through mission appeals, more salaries from Asian brothers working abroad, fund raising in the Philippines, sponsorship for individual brothers in formation, and proposing to the next General Chapter the establishment of centralized funds for more solidarity in the Congregation in mission, formation, capital projects and care of the elderly brothers.
The Commission was concerned with the lack of integration of the finances of the pastoral presence in Bagong Silang with the rest of the CAP communities, and will ask the CAP executive to clarify the relationship of this presence with CAP and with the new Province. Along this line it will ask the Executive to create statutes at the CAP Conference level that give clear guidelines for common mission projects of the Conference. The Commission also felt that its annual meetings were a financial burden and is proposing meetings every three years. Finally, it decided that the General Chapter decisions gave enough orientation for the work of the Finance Commission, and it drew up a job description of the chairman of the CAP Financial Commission to be presented to the CAP Executive. This is not a mandatory position, rather it is the discretion of the coordinator to ask for a chairman if he feels a need to have one.
03/09/2009