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1Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I am facing challenges in all three attitudes, but to name one, I say Trust. How to build trust with sisters with very dierent personalities, some of them hiding from others and others trying to impose their opinions...Number of years you have been in the monastery 26Number of years you have served as superior 9Number of Members in your community 26Maria del Mar AlbajarAdministrative Council MemberMonestir de Sant Benet de MontserratEuropean Benedictine Congregation of the ResurrectionSpain
2Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Trust becomes challenging when capable members take it upon themselves to make decisions without consultation with leadership. at kind of behavior impacts community relationships. A lack of open and honest conversation hampers leadership understanding of the person’s motivation. e absence of genuine communication inuences how one can respond in a compassionate manner, and, of course, when trust is lacking there is less possibility for transparency. It is hard to have any of the three without the other two. Number of years you have been in the monastery 61Number of years you have served as superior 6Number of Members in your community 26 Aileen BankemperDelegate - Region 9St. Walburg MonasteryMonastic Congregation of St. ScholasticaUSA
Pierre-Marie BonazSubstitute - Region 3Abbaye de PradinesNotre-Dame de la RencontreFrance 3Considering the three attitudes of transparency compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Yes, I think it is difcult to live transparency, because we cannot say everything and we sometimes need to be discreet. But it is a good exercice. Number of years you have been in the monastery 35Number of years you have served as superior 3Number of Members in your community 42
4Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Truth is transparency. We all want the community to be informed, to share in the trust and a sense of responsibility needed in “knowing things.” Being trusted is important for maturity to grow. But not everything a superior or the council knows can be shared; some things must remain condential. The challenge is to discern both what can and should be shared, while knowning, too, what should not be shared, and to do this in a way that sisters don’t feel excluded, diminished or conspired against. Sisters who feel this way are often insecure and vulnerable. So, an additional challenge is to build these sisters up, afrm them, value them, help them to mature, such that they can accept that they can’t be told everything. Number of years you have been in the monastery 32Number of years you have served as superior 5Number of Members in your community 21Anna BrennanAdministrative Council Member Delegate - Region 4Stanbrook AbbeyEnglish Benedictine CongregationUnited Kingdom
5Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.From my perspective of spiritual leadership, in which I have been involved for the past two years as a novice teacher, I agree with the statement of Professor Mariele Wulf that Truth is Transparency. Transparency in the actions of an individual shows the truth about them and if applied consistently is the best means of preventing various forms of abuse. Compassion is truly love. I think compassion cannot exist without love. Without love, we cannot understand well the needs, problems and troubles of others. I agree with the third thought that trust is freedom. Trust in a person is acquired over time and depends on the persons, occasions and circumstances in which trust is acquired and it is not achieved by force but from freedom.Number of years in the monastery 36Number of Members in your community 17 Marija Rafaela Dominis Delegate - Region 8 Samostan Benediktinki Sv. Marije u Zadru Federation of Benedictine Nuns in CroatiaCroatia
Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership. About transparency, I always see the necessity of the truth but also the necessity of the respect of the people! So it’s not always easy to discern how to speak, how to share, to go on with dicult situations.Number of years you have been in the monastery 43Number of years you have served as superior 24Number of Members in your community 14Two years as President of the European Benedictine Congregation of the Resurrection6 Myrèse Dupagne Delegate - Region 5Monastère Notre-Dame d’HurtebiseEuropean Benedictine Congregation of the Resurrection Belgium
Maria Madalena Ferreira de Mendonca Substitute - Region 11Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing Olinda PrioryMissionary Benedictine Sisters of TutzingBrazil7Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I myself was re-appointed for a third term of Prioress which is an exception. According to our Constitution only a second term is granted, so I’m Postulated.I think that if the sisters really feel they are loved and that what you want for them is the best... they will trust you, they will be transparent with you and they will feel free to expresses their wishes, sorrows, fears.Of course on the other hand, that is mine, transparency regarding economic situations and issues that we are facing as a whole is very important. The sisters need to know that you believe them and because of it you share with them. So, my concerns are our concern, my worries are our worries.
Maria Madalena Ferreira de Mendonca Substitute - Region 11Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing Olinda PrioryMissionary Benedictine Sisters of TutzingBrazilI always triy to make my heart and mind open, and before judging any individual action of my sisters, whether it is good or not, to think that I can do the same, or even worse. That helps me avoid pre-judgment and keep my mind open.A last remark is to do nothing without the Councils’ consent. Even when it’s not necessary, it is good to listen to the other’s opinion. Number of years you have been in the monastery 32Number of years you have served as superior 9Number of Members in your community 63 8
Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.At the moment, transparency is the most challenging.Number of years you have been in the monastery 27Number of years you have served as superior 13Number of Members in your community 79Sophia Gitahi Substitute - Region 1 Sant’ OnofrioFederazione Picena Italy
Mary Elizabeth Kloss Substitute - Region 9St. Scholastica PrioryUSAConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Truth might be the most challenging. Knowing one another well, knowing the hurts, issues, prejudices, and all that it means to live so closely together - you know what you will most likely be stirring up to mention something. To say this or that is perceived as being on one side or another. I am sure I also listen with expectation so that I don’t hear all that is said. Number of years you have been in the monastery 49Number of years you have served as superior 20Number of Members in your community 1110
Nicole Kunze Delegate - Region 9 Annunciation Monastery Monastic Congregation of Saint BenedictUSAConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I am a task-driven person and when working with people I sometimes put the task before the person. This can come across as sterile or cold, lacking in compassion. I know I have grown in the relational side of my leadership, but showing compassion to the person I’m working with is an area I could further develop. Number of years you have been in the monastery 28Number of years you have served as superior 8Number of Members in your community 2911
Cecile Lañas12Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.As a leader, I found transparency challenging due to the complex interplay between ethical integrity and practical benets. A poignant example of this struggle is my fear to confront a benefactor whose support has been crucial for our community. This benefactor, involved in environmentally destructive black sand mining, has provided signicant assistance to our community. We are faced with a moral dilemna. On the one hand, we vehemently oppose his environmentally harmful practices, exemplied by our participation in rallies against his operations. On the other hand, we continue to accept his nancial support, which directly benets our daily activities and outreach efforts. This duality creates a conict, making it difcult to maintain transparency. My fear stems from the potential loss of these vital resources which would directly impact our poor community’s ability to serve. Acknowledging his wrongdoings while still beneting from his generosity places me in a position where transparency could lead to signicant repercussions for our community. Balancing ethical leadership with practical needs creates a tension that makes transparency a challenging one.Number of years in the monastery 49Number of years you have served as superior 16Number of Members in your community 166Seven years Prioress GeneralNicole Kunze Delegate - Region 9 Annunciation Monastery Monastic Congregation of Saint BenedictUSAAdministrative Council MemberDelegate - Region 14Generalate House - Benedictine Sisters of the Eucharistic King Congregation of Benedictine Sisters of the Eucharistic KingPhilippines
Sr. Bethania Lee Delegate - Region 13 Missionary Benedictine Sisters of TutzingDaegu PriorySouth Korea13Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.The short topics provided me with a new perspective, I newly recognized that the authority of the religious superior should be exercised as a spiritual authority. The challenge I was facing was about trust or freedom. Freedom is emphasized and demanded personally in modern monasteries. There have been instances where it has been questioned whether modern individualistic tendencies have become an obstacle to spiritual growth rather than a mani-festation of the spiritual journey of each religion or a balance with spiritual growth.The Common life of the Monastery asks for a kind of control and resection. I think Living under the Rule means being under control from outside. Unless they internalize all elements of rules, they will feel like they are being controlled by people who have power. Of course, the Superior’s power can be exercised to prevent and suppress their members. Few people run in the way of commandments with a divine nature. We all are incomplete. Maintaining the balance between bonding and setting free, between controlling and giving space, is difcult and has differences among individuals. Such viewpoint, the exercise of authority by a superior, may seem appropriate to some and inappropriate to others.Number of years in the monastery 39Number of years you have served as superior 1Number of Members in your community 330
Sr. Bethania Lee Delegate - Region 13 Missionary Benedictine Sisters of TutzingDaegu PriorySouth Korea Clotilde Lesigne Delegate - Region 3Abbaye Notre Dame de Protection Valognes Fédération Notre Dame de la RencontreFranceConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.All three attitudes are important: Jesus tells us that the truth will set us free. He is the truth. But I still have reservations about the concept of transparency. Everyone’s secret garden, their conscience, must be respected and even promoted. A veil of modesty must be maintained. God “threw a tunic over Adam’s shoulders to clothe his nakedness.” (Cf. Anne Lécu “Tu as couvert ma honte”). In His mercy, He closes His eyes to our sin. Of course, we are also invited to live out this merciful love for our sisters, a love that sympathizes with their suering. But perhaps, as a superior, I’d rather insist on trust. Trust helps us to grow, both in human and spiritual maturity. Saint Benedict asks the leader to strive “to make themself loved rather than feared” (RB 64,15). Translated from French with DeepL.comNumber of years in the monastery 42Number of years you have served as superior 10Number of Members in your community 18 14
Marie Therese Long Substitute - Region 9 St. Joseph Monastery Monastic Congregation of St. ScholasticaUSAConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Trust is freedom, of controlling and giving space. e challenge of facing the future and moving the community along in discernment and decisions, as these need to be made in a timely manner, can be dicult to balance. Sometimes Sisters cannot see the reality of our current situation and resist. Sometimes the decisions need to be made, and it can be a temptation to move decisions along more quickly than the community is willing to move. How to give room for Sisters’ wisdom and help them to let go of resistance to change.Number of years in the monastery 30Number of years you have served as superior 5Number of Members in your community 1015
Franziska LukasConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership. For me, these three attitudes build on each other and join hands. ey are also the basis of our vow of obedience. In our time, the awareness of ‘spiritual autonomy’ has grown. It is a challenge to bring spiritual autonomy and obedience into a fruitful dialogue and to nd words to be able to talk about them well together.Number of years in the monastery 49Number of years you have served as superior 17Number of Members in your community 19 16 Marie Therese Long Substitute - Region 9 St. Joseph Monastery Monastic Congregation of St. ScholasticaUSAAssistant Moderator Delegate - Region 6Abtei St. ScholastikaEuropean Benedictine Congregation of the ResurrectionGermany
Alexandra Martínez PabónConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.e three attitudes (transparency, compassion and trust) are permanent challenges because they are never completely done, they cannot be taken for granted. For me it is important to understand them and live them in mutual interrelation with each other. Like everything important, they need daily care and constant commitment to remain alive and healthy. And, this is only pos-sible if we allow ourselves to be contrasted by the light of the gospel.Number of years in the monastery 18Number of years you have served as superior 2Number of Members in your community 917Substitute - Region 2 La AscensiónCongregación Monástica de Santa HildegardaSpain
Alexandra Martínez PabónCatherine McCahill Delegate - Region 15 St Scholastica’s ConventSisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St BenedictAustraliaConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.e challenge of speaking the truth about our current realities in the face of pious aspirations that are unrealistic.Number of years in the monastery 48Number of years you have served as superior 1Number of Members in your community 15718
Lynn McKenzie Moderator Sacred Heart MonasteryUSA19Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Given my position as president of my monastic congregation, I have no problem at all with trusting the prioresses of the 17 monasteries of my congregation, and I believe that trust is reciprocal. I have great compassion for the struggles of the smaller communities, especially, and I love the sisters and their eorts to live the monastic life with their whole being. I strive to be transparent in working with the monasteries of my congregation, while at the same time honoring condentiality.Number of years in the monastery 43Number of Members in your community 30Number of Members in your Monastic Congragation 415Ten years as the President of the Monastic Congregation of St. Scholastica
20 Blandyna Michniewicz Delegate - Region 7 Warsaw Monastery of Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Polish Federation of Benedictine Nuns of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed SacramentPoland Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.ere has been a lot of talk for some time about abuses of various kinds in the church. In the case of women’s religious orders - at least in Poland - there has been an ongoing media campaign against the superiors for several years. e sources of information are most oen ex-nuns, who justify their decision to leave the order by being harassed by their superiors. From books, articles, and lms on this popular topic emerges the image of the superior as a frustrated, mentally limited and power-hungry woman, oppressing her subordinates, most oen still wallowing in luxuries to which sisters have no access. is image is so pervasive that candidates who come to the convent, look at reality through the lter of the opinions promoted in the media, and oen through the lter of hurts from their parents. us, a superior is someone to be on guard against, because she can hurt. Hence arises attitudes of distrust, suspicion, sometimes aggression in the face of an expected threat. ese attitudes also spill over into relations between sisters.Trust is leaving your stronghold and exposing yourself to hurt, but it is the path to freedom and true human development.Number of years in the monastery 44Number of years you have served as superior 14Number of Members in your community 19Seventeen years as President of the Federation
21Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.One of the challenges I have had to face in these years has been to re-alize the lack of transparency in one of the nuns, a lack of transparency due more to her own difculty in facing her truth than to ill will. It took me time to learn it and to respect it, that is to say to respect her mystery and her silence that at times seemed to me that an ever greater distance was opening up between the two of us. Finding a way to make myself present or to show her an open door has not been and is not an easy task, neither nding the balance between the exigency and the respect for personal freedom. Love her in silence and pray for her is the way I found to show her compassion.Number of years in the monastery 45Number of years you have served as superior 16Number of Members in your community 33María Cristina Moroni Delegate - Region 12Abadía de Santa EscolásticaCongregación benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Cono SurArgentina
María Cristina Moroni Delegate - Region 12Abadía de Santa EscolásticaCongregación benedictina de la Santa Cruz del Cono SurArgentinaNirmala Narikunnel Delegate - Region 19Shanti Nilayam Benedictine AbbeyFounded from Solesmes CongregationIndia22Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.As a leader, I have had challenges in transparency. It is more and more difcult for members to be transparent especially due to the social media and the mobiles and Internet.Number of years in the monastery 45Number of years you have served as superior 11Number of Members in your community 24
Katarina Rask Substitute - Region 6Sacred Heart Monastery European Benedictine Congregation of the Resurrection Sweeden 23Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Truth is transparency.If you live transparently, seeking the truth, you have nothing to hide. It is a high level of trust and condence. It takes time to establish and develop such an atmosphere in a monastery. It’s about growing in generosity and respect for your own and others’ limits. A challenge, especially when a sister’s needs have not been met and she starts to create her own truth without communicating. At the same time, it is a challenge to discern the line between transparency and demanding such absolute openness that it violates the person’s right to have time to heal wounds and be safe. Number of years in the monastery 45Number of years you have served as superior 8Number of Members in your community 14
María Teresa Razo Laguna Delegate - Region 10Misioneras Guadalupanas de Cristo ReyMexico24Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.In the process of the General Pre-Chapter that we are carrying out in our Institute, it seems to me that the values mentioned of trust and freedom have been and continue to be for me an exercise of trust in the sisters who have been delegated different commissions to carry out, maintaining dialogue and timely communication with the sisters of the general council and myself. To make the sisters feel free to direct and direct the activities that are required at this time, I can see and verify that they do it freely. Translated from Spanish with DeepL.comNumber of years in the monastery 42Number of years you have served as superior 9Number of Members in your community 26 (Community) 110 (Congregation)Superior General, Missioneras Guadalupanas de Cristo Rey
25Edith Reischert Delegate- Region 18 St. Benedict’s Convent Elukwatini Benedictine Sisters of St. AlbanSouth Africa Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.One of the challenges in my leadership is to be at times confronted with dishonesty, with lies and a lack of transparency on the side of my fellow-sisters, co-workers/employees and others.In the rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4 we read: “to utter only truth from heart and mouth” and in John 8,32 we hear “... the truth will set you free.”If we all would take this to heart, transparency and speaking the truth would lead to more mutual trust. We all make mistakes but when we are honest with each other we can forgive with compassion and love.At times it helps me to remember RB 64,16 “Let him/her not be ... too suspicious, because such a one is never at rest.”Number of years in the monastery 33Number of years you have served as superior 15Number of Members in your community 8
Edith Reischert Delegate- Region 18 St. Benedict’s Convent Elukwatini Benedictine Sisters of St. AlbanSouth Africa Noemi Scarpa CIB Juridic Study Commission Delegate - Region 1Federazione Umbra Monastero S. AnnaItalyConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I believe that transparency, compassion and trust are the basis of community relationships and especially between the abbess and the nuns. Without these there are no authentic relationships or personal and spiritual growth.All three are a challenge today in our monasteries in which we live in a narcissistic age where ego prevails which is the antithesis to these. Our monasteries present a challenge in this sense as communities educating and witnessing to the Gospel.Number of years in the monastery 26Number of years you have served as superior 10Number of Members in your community 2026
27Hilda ScottAdministrative Council MemberSubstitute - Region 15Benedictine Abbey JamberooEnglish Benedictine CongregationAustraliaConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I think transparency is the main challenge. As leader I strive for transparency in my actions and therefore am as inclusive of the Council and community as I see t. However given the presence of some sisters who would be divisive, I cannot include everyone in either decision making or in actually giving them concrete tasks, so I can be judged as lacking transparency. Also I do not always have a way to tell individual sisters exactly what they need to know about their behaviour and/or their impact on the community, therefore in that sense I lack transparency. I look as though I am agreeing with their behaviour and I may well look as though I am not acting to change any of it. That said, I nd myself growing into someone who can address that issue. Also the expectation of the community is that they should have a voice in all things but that cannot be so at all times and in that sense I would be seen as lacking transparency. It is not easy to get the balance between what the community should know, what they cannot know and what they expect to know.Number of years in the monastery 34Number of years you have served as superior 5Number of Members in your community 20
Hilda ScottAdministrative Council MemberSubstitute - Region 15Benedictine Abbey JamberooEnglish Benedictine CongregationAustralia Ivana Sikirić Substitute - Region 8Samostan Svete Marije ZadarFederacija benediktinskih koludrica u HrvatskojCroatia28Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I have never been in a leadership position, except now when I am a follower of a temporarily vowed sister, so I don’t have enough experience. However, in my opinion, it is important to have patience and understanding not only for beginners but also for every person, because we are all on the path of seeking God and discovering God’s Will. erefore, it is important to nd a way to help a person to joyfully and persistently progress on the path of seeking God. And that is our goal.Number of years in the monastery 56Number of Members in your community 17
Maria Regina Silva Delegate - Region 11 Mosteiro de Maria Mãe do CristoBrazilian CongregationBrazil29Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Compassion is love.When there was some work to be done and no one in the community was able to do it, I asked myself: “do I know how to do it?” I answered: “Yes.” So, you’re the one who has to do it.And this happened many times, and I thought: “That’s exactly why I was chosen to be an abbess: to serve.” To use the gifts I received from God to serve the community, even though I was overwhelmed, this was a way of showing love. Number of years in the monastery 51Number of years you have served as superior 14Number of Members in your community 16
Maria Regina Silva Delegate - Region 11 Mosteiro de Maria Mãe do CristoBrazilian CongregationBrazil Emmanuele Sipkema Representing Region 5Monasterium Sainte LiobaE.B.C.R. European Benedictine Congregation of the ResurrectionNetherlands 30Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership. I subscribe to the importance of the values “truth, love and freedom” mentioned. That truth requires transparency as well. And ideally that works. Yet in the case of “truth and transparency,” I sometimes experience tension. (This depends on the person). The question I ask myself in such a case is, how do transparency and discretion relate in such a situation? Number of years in the monastery 37Number of years you have served as superior 20Number of Members in your community 6
Maoro Sye Delegate - Co-opt MemberGeneralate HouseMissionary Benedictine Sisters of TutzingItalyConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.Trust: e balance of bonding and setting free, of controlling and giving space is not easy for me. is freedom is based on the maturity and practice of intercultural living of the members. With dierent cultural backgrounds, expectations and personalities, it is a learning process in faith with acceptance of my own vulnerability as a spiritual authority. In spite of my fragility I make extra eort to trust again with my transparency and compassion to reach the inner freedom.Number of years in the monastery 46Number of years you have served as superior 9Number of Members in your congregation 1,264Prioress Genral, Missionary Benedictines Sisters of Tutzing31
Odette Tchewouak Delegate - Region 17 Monastère St Benoît de BabétéDependent Monastery of Swiss Monastère St Andréas de SarnemCamerounConsidering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.For me, these three themes are key to the rhythm of community life. However, I sometimes observe a lack of love and trust in some people, but it’s also an ongoing exercise to nd the right means and approach to ensure that love reigns between fellow members when there’s a crisis of trust. Saint Augustine recommends “Love and do what you will”. If we let Love reign, it’s the foundation of true Freedom. ese three dimensions - Love, Trust and Freedom - are our permanent work axes, so we need to develop ways of touching the hearts of all those we are responsible for accompanying in our communities, and outside our communities for guests who come to us. Translated with DeepL.com Number of years in the monastery 27Number of years you have served as superior 11Number of Members in your congregation 14 32
Isabelle Thouin Delegate - Region 9 Abbaye Sainte-Marie Des Deux-MontangesSolesmes Canada 33Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.A Sister that currently talks all day long, trying to get information from one and the other and then transforms what one and the other says and can easily put up one sister against the other. This only can be avoided if the Sisters who have experience stop listening to her gossip. She is always right. She knows everything. She always holds information that you do not have. If you confront her with reality, she always denies it and says it is the fault of someone else. Do you have an answer to this please? After years, I think the only thing to do is to put her on a pedestal which does not touch the community, congratulate her, and to avoid contact with the community as much as possible in a diplomatic way. Is there a better way please?Number of years in the monastery 49Number of years you have served as superior 29Number of Members in your community 26
Maria Almudena Vilariño Periañez Delegate - Region 2 San Pelayo de AntealtaresCongregación Monástica de Santa HildegardaSpain Considering the three attitudes of transparency, compassion and trust, as briey described, please share one of these three in which you are facing challenges in your leadership.I think that the three attitudes are deeply related and that strengthening or weakening any one of them affects the other two. Therefore, it is difcult for me to focus on just one because depending on the relationship of a sister with me or sisters with each other, the challenge differs.The challenge for my leadership lies between the trust that binds and the freedom that gives space, that is, delegation and co-responsibility. Perhaps, one of my challenges is to help teamwork, to foster trust among sisters working in the same ofce, to have them discuss new projects with each other before discussing them with me or with the community. There are sisters who nd it difcult to make decisions and take responsibility (even if it is only to show their faces or defend with arguments what they think in a community meeting) or they feel “controlled” if they are asked too much. Trust, moreover, cannot be imposed, although it can be encouraged. I am aware that by electing me my sisters have given me a great deal of “basic” trust, but this trust has to grow on both sides. And its “humus” is truth and love.Number of years in the monastery 28Number of years you have served as superior 3Number of Members in your community 2334Isabelle Thouin Delegate - Region 9 Abbaye Sainte-Marie Des Deux-MontangesSolesmes Canada
35Support StaffTranslatorsObserversPresenter
36 Cathy Cawiezel USACIB AccountantChristine ConrathND de JouarreFranceAIM Observer Marie-Cécile DassonnevilleFranceFrench Translator
37 Scholastika Häring Abtei Burg DinklageCIB Juridic Study CommissionGermanyCanon Lawyer Patricia Henry Monasterio Pan de VidaCIB Juridic Study CommissionMexicoSpanish Translator Helen Jilek Sacred Heart MonasteryUSACIB TreasurerMary Luke Jones Our Lady of Grace MonasteryUSAExecutive Secretary Tamra ThomasSaint Benedict MonasteryUSATechnology Specialist
Scholastika Häring Abtei Burg DinklageCIB Juridic Study CommissionGermanyCanon Lawyer Helen Jilek Sacred Heart MonasteryUSACIB TreasurerMary Luke Jones Our Lady of Grace MonasteryUSAExecutive Secretary Maria Clemens Laguardia San Marco/OffidaItalyItalian Translator Tamra ThomasSaint Benedict MonasteryUSATechnology Specialist38
Mercy Thoppilan Aim Office/BHOPALIndiaAIM Observer Professor Mariele Wulf CanadaPresenter39
Our thanks to Noemi Scarpaand the Sisters ofMonestero S. Anna Umbria 40