The Dominican Order is somewhat (in)famous for the role of some of the medieval brethren in the Inquisition (which is not to be confused with the Spanish Inquisition). In one community where I lived, the story goes that when the brothers were watching the movie based on Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, they all cheered when a Dominican inquisitor entered the scene to carry out an official investigation into the murders taking place in a Benedictine monastery. Of course, the cheering was misplaced, as it was a Franciscan friar who, in the end, solved the case. We may conclude that sending in a Dominican inquisitor does not automatically mean things will improve.
Picture: Castel del Monte in Puglia (Italy), which inspired the library in the movie The Name of the Rose. Picture: RS.
Therefore, it is not more than natural that when we heard that a canonical visitation of our community was going to take place, some of us felt a little apprehensive. However, things are less dramatic than they look. Our Constitutions say that houses of formation need to be visited every year. And with our provincial chapter coming up in 8 weeks, it was as good as ever.
And so this week, the provincial and his socius came and conversed with each brother. At the end of their visit, we convened as a community to listen to the findings of the visitators and took some decisions based on these findings. Listening to the findings, I noticed how these seemed to unite the community. It was as if, for the first time, we could see side-by-side the whole picture of what it means to be a new international community. The visitators stressed some of the strengths and some of the challenges that we are facing. After all this profound work, we ended the evening with a well-deserved glass of Dominican beer.
Regular visitations are one way by which the brothers govern themselves. It is always refreshing when friendly outsiders cast a fresh eye on a complex situation and share their observations without being judgemental.
Given the whole project's complexities that involve so many different people and organisations, I often find it difficult to take stock and celebrate what has already been achieved. And that was why the visitation was helpful to me. This is where we are. This is where I am.