Fr Butera-As you know the other day Fr Van Looy had an accident while on one of his bicycle rides. Now he is in the Pio XI Clinic in Rome. 

Today we managed to steal a moment of his time, time confined to bed, to ask him how he was, what he was feeling about his absence  just now from the Chapter, and especially we asked him to speak to us again about the Report he gave a few days ago on the state of the Congregation during the six year period 1996-2002. This is the interview we managed to record and now we want to offer it to you.  

Q. Fr Luc, how are you feeling?

A. Good to see you, welcome. I’m glad that you’ve come to see this…this Chapter bed.

Q. Can you tell us something about what happened last Saturday?

A. Well, briefly. There were two of us cycling on the via Selva Nera, which is a road with many twists and turns, and at a certain point we came to one of these and as we were going round the corner there was a car in the middle of the road sideways on. We saw it about three metres away, and I braked, trying to avoid it by going round it, skidded and fell. I lay there a moment before trying to get up and…: oh, there’s something wrong 

Then after Cesare arrived with Ferdinando, they took me to the casualty department, and then from there to a room. The Rector arrived with Fr Mazzali and Fr Van Hecke and they said: well now (let’s see) to Pio XI, because we were at the Aurelia hospital, let’s see if there’s a place at  the Pio XI; and so I came here.   

Q. (Fr Butera) – What did the doctors have to say, what’s the problem?

A. Well, it’s a fracture of the femur, the head of the femur, and so they say the simplest thing is to take off the top..so they are taking my head off …

Q. (Butera) of the femur.

A. of the femur, and they’ll put in an artifical one.

Q. And the time, have they said anything about the time? Have they said how long all this will take?

A. The operation – they haven’t told me how long it will last, but they said that it’s an operation they carry out quite regularly, it’s a routine matter, and after a couple of days you learn how to walk..

Q. (Fr B). I see, so you’ll soon return to take you place..

A. (Fr Luc) I think that within ten days I shall back at home.

Q. (Fr Butera) And you’ll change your bed?

A.( Fr L) – I’ll change it or I’ll take it home.

Q. (Fr Butera)- Well now, what according to you has been the novelty, what has been the most interesting thing that has happened in this six year period, in the Congregation  ?

A. (Fr L) – The state of the Congregation.. there have been some interesting things, interesting and also causing concern. The thing that stands out most perhaps is that there are always proportionately  fewer Salesians in a work and more lay people, and that’s quite a good thing, only that the time for the formation of these lay people.. to make them real Salesian lay people …we need that time… and perhaps this Chapter has a very special role in this, to tell the Salesian community what their task is when faced with this situation. Consequently, the community of Salesians has a different role, it’s no longer 20 Salesians, 19 in the playground and the Rector on the phone; but there will be a different task. What it is and how to do it? Then there are other things, for example…Fr Vecchi brought about changes in recent years, not only as Rector Major, but also before, that is, for example, the model for pastoral ministry. The model we have today is a very different one from that of thirty years ago. And on that Fr Vecchi certainly did a lot of work. Also in this, Salesians still need to get into it. A very big machine only moves a little at a time.  

Q. (Fr B) One of the things that kept coming back was the works; the direction the Congregation is taking regarding youngsters at risk.

A. (Fr Luc) The question of youngsters at risk I mentioned in the last part of my report at the beginning of the Chapter, and that conference that I gave, it all depends whether we really have the capacity to accept poverty as it is. It’s not a question therefore of us having to do something for the poor, but we ourselves need to live as poor people in order to do something for them. And this really is a dimension that has always been present, but perhaps one we need to give greater emphasis to now.

Latin America with liberation theology was a challenge that became a way of life. Asia with inculturation was a challenge that is becomg a way of life. Africa was a challenge, and poverty is a challenge, and it will become a way of life, you’ll see! This then is a world wide movement, we can say, whereas Europe is the old continent, and when one is old one goes more slowly. So the pressure, the energy, the dynamism for the Church’s activities will come rather from Asia, from Africa probably in the future, as you can see from history.

Q (Fr Butera).In all this you also launched a kind of slogan with which you ended your message. Either we shall be mystics or we won’t be at all. What does it mean?

A. (Fr Luc) We shall be mystics or we won’t be at all. Well this isn’t a phrase of mine! Either we base everything on faith, all our mission is founded on God, not only in history but also today and tomorrow. It’s everything depending on God. God gives the orders and we are only administrators, and then if we are deeply rooted in faith…we shall be!  

(Fr B).Thank you Fr Luc. We look forward to seeing you soon.

(Fr Luc).Yes, thanks, thank you.

(Fr B)- We found Fr Luc in good spirits. I think the images and the words that he left us confirm that. We don’t really know how long his convalescence will last but we saw how the bed of the Chapter as he jokingly called it is rather narrow for him and he wants to return to his normal work. 

Production: ANS – Salesian International Information Agency