“May Lay Fraternities and IDYM communities, wherever they coexist around the world, work together in a spirit of love and goodwill.”
This is the appeal voiced by Carlos Fernando Beltrán, International Coordinator of the Dominican Youth Movement (IDYM), and Sébastien Milazzo, OP, Coordinator of the International Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ICLDF), in a joint letter to the laity of the Order of Preachers. Their message, supported by Br. Cristóbal Torres Iglesias, OP, General Promoter of the Laity, expresses a shared hope: that whenever possible, the existing dispensations concerning the initial formation of young people from the Dominican Youth Movement who wish to join Lay Fraternities be implemented.
They recall that, with the support of then-Master of the Order, Fr. Bruno Cadoré, OP, and following the III International Assembly of Lay Fraternities in Fatima (2018), the General Declarations were updated to ease the transition from youth communities to lay fraternities.
At the November 2024 meeting of the International Commission of the Dominican Family, in the presence of Master of the Order Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, they observed that many youth communities advance and mature together. This provides a precious opportunity to encourage young people to continue their vocational journey in the Order while maintaining their lay status and charismatic commitment.
In this regard, they recommend that each Provincial Council of Lay Fraternities smooth, encourage, and enthusiastically support the formation of new lay fraternities, even in cities where one already exists. They emphasize that Dominican legislation does not limit the formation of lay fraternities in a single city or convent. “We believe this will have a direct and immediate impact on the transition process of young people within the IDYM,” they concluded.
