The Council of the Congregation met at the Carmelite Provincial House in Bangalore, India.  Bangalore is a center for many religious communities; there are over 300 religious houses in Bangalore.  Holy Cross has the provincial house for the Province of South India, the District of India, scholasticates for both, and candidates for both. 

The house was festively decorated for the members of the Council of the Congregation.  The evening before the meetings began there was a cultural presentation of Indian dances by students mostly from the Mount Carmel College. 

The meeting of the Council of the Congregation, of course, centered on restructuring.  Hugh Cleary presented us with his report on the state of the Congregation.  (This will be done in a separate document.)  Then there was a series of reports on what each province or district has a blessing and as a challenge, what had happened earlier with restructuring along with reports on reactions to the latest questionnaire.  

As I see it, the basic question before the Congregation is: Do we want to be and can we be an international congregation, or are we simply content to be a congregation that is simply located in many different countries?   

A congregation that is located in different places can be likened to a franchise.  McDonald’s is all over the world.  Although each area does some adaptation, the format and the products are basically the same and are familiar to all.  Likewise, a religious congregation can operate with its charisms, history, and similar assortment of apostolates all over the world.