Preparation of the Topics to Be Discussed

As of May 17, 2007, 80 Provinces or Regions and 9 groups had sent 358 postulates, of which 258 were addressed to the General Congregation and 100 to Father General. Six Provinces did not send any postulates.

When the Coetus Praevius met in April, 2007, the 350 postulates that had been received until then were divided into three groups: postulates to be sent to the General Congregation, to Father General or to be rejected. As a result 117 postulates were referred to Father General, 31 were rejected and the rest constituted the main object of the study and analysis on the part of the Coetus. The deadline to send postulates to the General Congregation is January 7, 2008 the very day the Congregation begins.

The Coetus Praevius classified the postulates into 11 themes or groups and prepared a Relatio Praevia – a preliminary report – for each group. The material sent to the Electors comprises a summary of these themes, followed by a detailed presentation of each theme. The detailed presentation includes the reasons for and against, the postulates that fall within that theme, an analysis of the theme, an assessment of its importance and, finally, recommendations on how the Congregation could deal with the topic.

The Coetus Praevius has proposed that these 11 themes could be divided under two heads: those on which the General Congregation may wish to produce a decree or document, and those that could be discussed by the General Congregation with a view to giving Father General and the ordinary government a mandate and some recommendations on how to follow them up.

Possible Decree Themes: Mission, Identity, Governance, Obedience and Laity. Possible Ordinary Government Themes: Community Life, Formation, Vocation Promotion, Youth and The Jesuit Refugee Service. There is an additional grouping of postulates that proposed renewal in various apostolates of the Society. These postulates have been listed together for convenience but no specific proposal is made by the Coetus Praevius about them. The 69 pages report was sent to the Electors in May, 2007.