Nowadays, the choice of ministry (work) and the issue of obedience are quite different.
There is a dialogue about what needs to be done, and leadership is by a council of several sisters. There is more discussion and input from all parties.
This is not only a sign of the times, but as Franciscans this community is trying to get back to its roots. St. Francis, although he was the founder of his order, disliked giving orders and relinquished the leadership of the community to others. They almost had to beg him to write a rule, or constitution, to govern their community. St. Francis encouraged his brothers to never place themselves over another in any way, but to prefer a lesser, or minor, status in all things.
I can think of a few people in Washington, or maybe even Hollywood, who could use some of this medicine to get over their self-promotion.
The old pyramidal structure is being pushed aside in many forward-thinking organizations in favor of an image of concentric circles. The sisters are having what they call "community days", in which there is a long dialogue about relationships and the direction of the community, and its mission.
Highly democratic leadership structures have been noted by various observers in such far-flung places as the Atlas mountains of Morocco, and rural Botswana. The Berbers of Morocco have a rotating chieftainship, in which a new chief from a different tribe is elected every five years by acclamation. In Botswana, anyone in a village who has a grievance against anyone else can call for a kgotla: an open discussion that stays in session until everyone has had his say.
So, Franciscan spirituality, like these tribal cultures,
is anti-hierarchical and takes into account the voice of even the least and the smallest in any circle. Refreshing, isn't it?
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