The Capuchin Franciscans at that house are very orthodox and very Franciscan. In fact, that’s Archbishop Chaput’s community you’re talking about.
The reason that you may notice they are very involved with a specific group is because of the command from the Church that Franciscans return to our roots. This implied several major changes. To understand them, the laity has to understand what happened between Vatican I and Vatican II.
In short, the world had expanded with missions in the Americas, Africa and Asia. The bishops wanted priests. The friars (not just Franciscans) tried to help by ordaining more and more men. This was not the mind of St. Francis, but no one thought that it would last a long time. Gradually, the Franciscans (all of the branches) became very priestly or clerical. The priests took over and the non-clerical friars were assigned tasks as houseboys. They were not allowed to speak to their brothers who were ordained, eat at the same table, pray in the same chapel, go to school, participate in the government of the order. In short, if Francis had come back, he would have been a porter, not the Superior General.
In the 1950s, the friars realized that they were very far from St. Francis. They asked Pope Pius XII for help. He told them to wait. I guess the Holy Spirit knew that the good pope would not last much longer. When Vatican II came around, without anyone asking, Perfectae Caritatis was decreed. It was the very thing that the friars had asked Pope Pius XII to grant them, permission to go back to the 13th century and become a brotherhood of equals, with a focus on life among the poor.
This is how you get this situation. Unlike Vincentians who were founded to serve the poor, Francis did not found his order to serve the poor. He founded his order to live and work among the poor just like the common man. Friars do not go in and then go back to the middle class house in the evening. They remain with the poor.
This explains why a typical friary can be a very old churchy looking building or a very modern cement block. It does not matter to a Franciscan. The idea is to live where the poor live. The goal is to move away from serving the middle class and higher and toward the poor.
The Franciscans have always led the way in the observance of poverty. You will find them among the Mexican Americans in Denver, the Haitians in Miami, the Hispanics and blacks in NY, etc. These are their people. These are the people whom Francis wanted his sons and daughters to live with, work with and serve. We were to imitate them. Many of their customs have become part of our way of life, even the way that we pray is influenced by the people we serve. This was very much part of Francis’ way. That explains why we’re NOT MONASTIC.
Francis avoided everything that was monastic, because it was not the way of the poor. The monks had a very special place in the Church and their customs were part of their way of life. Dominicans kept the customs of the monks, but lived among the people. Francis did not keep the customs of the monks. He prayed like the people, dressed like them, did the same kind of work as they did.
To answer the other question, contrary to what was said here, there is no regulation against a Franciscan being a priest, bishop or pope. The only regulation is that every Franciscan is a brother, whether he is ordained or not. Archbishop Chaput, Archbishop Fernandez and Cardinal O’Malley continue to be friars (fratres). They are bound to obey the rule of St Francis. When they retire, they are to return to the community and continue as if nothing had ever happened. They will be given an assignment like any other friar. One such example was Bonaventure. He was a cardinal. The order recalled him because the friars wanted him to do two things: a) be the General Minister and b) write the definitie biography of St. Francis. Bonaventure returned and became Brother Bonaventure again. That’s the way that Franciscan life goes.
The Franciscans of the Renewal also came out of the Capuchin Franciscans. They had to be carved out, because they were among middle class Catholics. They are now in the slums of several major cities. They may not stay there when the economy improves, nor may they work in parishes. It’s all part of going back to Franciscan life before Vatican I.
Many people are angry at the Franciscan family. They don’t understand the harm that was done to the order between the two councils. The order was transformed into something that Francis never had in mind. It’s going to take time to get back to the roots. There is still resistance, especially among the laity. The greatest resistance is to the non-ordained brothers taking on pastoral duties. I have never understood this. They are very good theologians, spritual directors, retreat masters, parish administrator, etc. You will see most of us among the poor as Christ did.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
A slap on the wrist will do.