Franciscans International - April 2016
- Published in Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation
The International Board of Directors of Franciscans International (IBD) held its semi-annual meeting at the Geneva office of FI from April 22-25, 2016. Ruth Marcus, a lawyer from Malaysia and the newly appointed representative of the OFS, was welcomed to the Board. Doug Clorey, the previous representative of the OFS on the Board, completed his four year term as President. Joe Rozansky, OFM, was elected as the new President and Sr. Carla Casadei was voted to continue her service as Treasurer. Br. Benedict Ayodi, OFM Cap and Br. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. retained their positions as vice president and secretary respectively. In September, Joe Rozansky finished ten years in Rome as the director of the OFM Office of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation; while there he also worked closely with the Roman VI, the JPIC group of the Franciscan Family. He has now returned to work in the formation program of his province, to which he has dedicated many years of his ministry.
The Board bid farewell to two staff members: Francesca Restifo who was the Director of Advocacy (stationed in Geneva) and Amanda Lyons who was the Director of the Americas Program (stationed in New York). The new Director of Advocacy is Sandra Ratjen who recently began her responsibilities.
The President’s report spoke of the evaluation process underway to establish a sense of the current status of the organization in view of planning for the future. The present financial stability of Franciscans International allows for the possibility of taking a long term view of its activities and the possibilities for the coming years. Two areas discussed were the possible redefinition of the presence of Franciscans International in New York and the establishment of an Advisory Group of Franciscans interested in the promotion of JPIC issues at the UN.