This morning's address was by Mr. Robert Carlier from South Belgium. The full text of his talk, Future Prospects for Creating Association, is presented in our Online Publications section. He began by pointing out some language difficulties with association. "Being associated with the Institute" implies fusion with the Institute and dependence; "associating with the Institute" implies more of a partnership. Association "for the mission" always has to be the motivation, accompanied by individual commitment and action as a group. The idea of a "contract" does not always imply a deep commitment and a sense of belonging, which ideally go together with association. Formerly, when the school staff was synonymous with the Brothers' community, it was homogeneous. Nowadays, school staffs are mostly heterogeneous, and the level of commitment to the mission varies from person to person.

These problems do not mean that the idea of association should be abandoned. John Baptist de La Salle was moved by the human and spiritual distress of the children of the artisans and the poor. Similar situations of distress involving young people and adults exist today. We need to rediscover what our distinctive roles are in the face of similar situations.

Mr. Carlier said that genuine Lasallian association fulfilled three criteria. The first is an apostolic, specific and known commitment, authenticated by the Brother Visitor, and lived out in communion with other persons. Secondly, the convictions inherited from the founding charism and shared with other Lasallian groups, are organised to pursue some common aims. It is the extension of the communion of persons and groups that constitutes association. The third criterion is a link with the District and Institute. What is central is the mission and not the Institute. It is the mission which joins the Institute, individuals and groups, and the latter associate themselves with the Institute for the accomplishment of a common mission.

He said there can be no Lasallian school without an adult Lasallian community. We have to think about how to run schools together, how to exercise responsibility without monopolising power, how to challenge one another, how to listen to one another, because the Spirit speaks and acts in each one of us. We must learn how to take diversity into account, and how to experiment, evaluate and help one another to find meaning in our lives as teachers. Our task is to define clearly specific ministries in diverse school communities, to bring communion into existence and to develop it, to create and develop a sense of belonging.

This afternoon, the General Council will respond to 17 questions that have been posed by the CELAS group.