Based on the ECLDF Formation Plan and in response to the decisions of the International Assembly in Fatima (2018), the Dominican Lay Fraternity of the Netherlands (DLN) wrote the document: ‘For the salvation of all souls’ : formation within the DLN anno 2021: starting points and structure. This international Assembly called upon the Lay Dominicans of each Province to draw up their own guidelines for formation.
From the foundation in 1999 of the DLN onwards, formation has always been an important point of attention. The DLN wants to form its members in all phases of their existence as Lay Dominicans, in the spirit of the Gospel and of Saint Dominic. Three formation programs were thus created: for the initial formation of aspirants, for the continued initial formation for members in the first three years of their profession, and for the permanent formation of the fraternity as a whole.
In the more than twenty years that the DLN has now existed, important developments have taken place in both social and ecclesiastical fields. This also applies to the DLN itself. In twenty years, the fraternity grew from nineteen to over sixty members. The composition of the DLN also changed. Initially, it was mainly people who were already familiar with the Order of the Preachers who joined. This has been less the case in recent years. In the light of these developments and in the light of the decisions made in Fatima in 2018, a reconsideration of the formation programs was desirable.
The document (including an English summary) is published on Agora. With Google translate more paragraphs can be translated from Dutch into English.
