(ANS – Rome) – A useful insight into the world-wide activities of the Salesians in the context of the “missio ad gentes” is provided by the Acts of the II Seminar on Planning and Development Offices held in Hyderabad, India between 5 and 10 November 2011. The text distributed by the Madrid Mission Office is also available in the Salesian Digital Library (SDL).

The Seminar attended by about ninety people from 35 Provinces in the five continents and the 62 countries in which there are Planning and Development Offices  at work examined the current situation of a very important and  complex operation and laid the foundations for future progress.

“By now the PDO has become an indispensable means for the coordination, consolidation and expansion of the Salesian mission. I should also like to express my appreciation to the agencies for Salesian missionary solidarity (the Mission Offices and the NGO for development) for their constant professional contribution to this whole process.” the Rector Major writes in his presentation of the Acts.

The Acts and the Practical Conclusions (Road Map 2015) show that the Seminar succeeded in identifying certain working criteria  among them the integration of the PDO within the framework Provincial Structural Plan, in such a way that it could become a key instrument in the System of  Salesian Missionary Solidarity.

Fr Chávez writes that he hopes that the Acts “which contain some clear criteria for the development of the PDO and a number of good practical suggestions, will be a great help to the Provinces which have started with their Planning and Development Office. I ask the Provincials and their Councils to integrate this instrument within the Province to the benefit of a more structured, efficient, and sustainable Salesian Mission.”

The text in Spanish and English has been distributed in Salesian houses.

Published 08/06/2012