DISCLAIMER
SFO FILES is a website established to propagate information on the Secular Franciscan Order that, prior to 1978, was known as the Third Order of St. Francis (TOSF). The website is maintained by Carl Schafer OFM (Order of Friars Minor), an Australian Franciscan friar of the Province of the Holy Spirit and a Catholic priest. Fr Carl has functioned as a Spiritual Director to the Third Order of St Francis (TOSF) before 1978, and since then as a Spiritual Assistant at every level of the Secular Franciscan Order: local, regional, national and international.
The website is intended primarily for the information and formation of Spiritual Assistants to the Secular Franciscan Order but is open to everyone. Fr Carl shares what he has learnt in fifty-eight years of association with the TOSF/SFO-OFS and has compiled information and links that are informative and interesting.
Fr Carl wants to maximize the website's value as a source of information on the Secular Franciscan Order and an optional instrument of formation for members of the Franciscan Family, including the Spiritual Assistants of the OFS and Franciscan friars, as well as members and enquirers of the Secular Franciscan Order.
SFO FILES includes the reproduction of official documents issued by the highest authorities in the Secular Franciscan Order, in the Orders of Franciscan Friars, and in the Catholic Church. The material on this site may include views or comments of third parties and contributions from persons other than Fr Carl, which may not necessarily reflect his views.
SFO FILES or Fr Carl accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any material contained on this site and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.
SFO FILES accepts no liability for damages arising from any virus that may be received as a result of visiting SFO FILES or any of the links provided.
Information on this site may be copied without cost for personal use provided the source is acknowledged and the text or formatting is not altered. Publication of material in any media either wholly or in part intended for publication for financial gain by any person or organization is subject to permission being granted by Fr Carl.
Links to other websites are provided for information and do not constitute endorsement of material or endorsement of the concepts presented at those sites. Equally, where a link is made to another website, no endorsement or sponsorship of SFO FILES exists unless expressly advised in that website.