American advertising turns people into objects and uses products as a substitute for human relationships, said Fr John F Kavanaugh SJ in an address at the annual Catholic Healthcare Administrative Personnel program at St John's University.
Fr Kavanaugh said that after patients were healed, health care personnel had the task of sending them back to a cultural situation that "erodes any sense of spirit."
The "pathologies of our culture" can lead to a "cultural illness" in which advertising makes people think their identity and worth depend on the objects they possess and consume, he said.
Instead of recognizing the necessity of life in a community based on committed relationships, there is a breakdown of human ties as people are objectified, he said.
He disputed the contention that advertising was only a mirror of society, and said it was rather an edited presentation of society's existing elements whose purpose is selling products.
Fr Kavanaugh criticized advertising particularly for its erotic tone and "sexualizing" of objects, and said it fundamentally distorted the relations of men and women. He also commented that people who spend large sums on the luxury items that are advertised forget about the many people living in poverty.
To counteract the trends he criticized, Fr Kavanaugh called on his listeners to develop a "radical vision of justice" and "spend time with people in this culture for whom the culture is a nightmare." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The Jesuit College at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has issued a CD-ROM with the bibliographical description of its entire collection of rare books, from the 16th to 19th centuries, with more than 1100 titles. The CD-ROM uses the Adobe Acrobat format and can be purchased for US $10.00 plus shipping costs. For more information contact Walmira Costa <walmira@zaz.com.br>
A few Jesuits have received a message "Jesuit Priest abused by his own order" concerning Fr Joseph Pallathu, Kerala, India, and the "Jesuits in Europe News Service" has been asked for clarification.
From the information given by the Regional Secretary of South Asia at the Curia in Rome we have come to know that Fr Pallathu was a Jesuit priest for 33 years, an "approved scholastic" [without final vows] and was dismissed [through an order of "unwilling dismissal"] from the Society on April 29, 2000, after all other measures to bring him back to "our way of proceeding" had failed.
Fr Pallathu is an effective communicator and has been able to sell his side of the story very effectively. Through the print and electronic media he has been carrying on a campaign of protest and defamation, making false accusations against superiors and the Society, and has filed cases in a civil court against the Provincial and other Jesuits.
In response to a journalist some months ago, Fr General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach said: "Let me assure you that Fr Joseph Pallathu has been legitimately dismissed from the Society of Jesus, for actions and patterns of behavior incompatible with the Jesuit Constitutions. The reasons for his dismissal have been communicated to him in writing. You surely do not expect Jesuit superiors to discuss with the press the personal conduct of Fr Joseph, because he has the right to have his privacy respected, even if he chooses to go public." [Jesuits in Europe News Service]
A large part of the work that the Jesuit Refugee Service Europe (JRS) does involves advocacy. JRS pleads the cause of refugees in the European Parliament, with the European Commission, with Church leaders; they study European Union (EU) legislation on asylum; and they draw up responses, offer feedback, and make recommendations for change.
By 2004, the EU hopes to harmonize its laws on asylum and immigration in all the Member States and is now publishing a variety of communications and directives. This is therefore a crucial time: If JRS waits until after 2004, it will be too late to criticize overly restrictive laws and closed borders.
If Europe is to reflect all that is so rich in the Jesuit tradition: openness to other cultures, a broad humanitarianism, a commitment to justice, then action is needed now. That is why the JRS Europe office is expanding its work in the area of policy and placing more emphasis on it. They have recently established an international policy group, and they hope to have two or three interns working in the area of policy and media relations this fall.
Most people want to reach out to refugees and those seeking asylum, but people's opinion about refugees changes according to the information that comes their way. In recent times, much of the debate has become polarized and extreme. In response to this, another new aspect of the work of JRS Europe involves sending out information to the media in order to try to provide balance in the public debate. [Source: Jesuit Refugee Service]
"Tribals" or "Adivasi," as the indigenous people of India are called, do not fall within the Hindu caste structure. They are most densely concentrated in the north and northeast of India. After many years of agitation for a homeland, a new federal state was carved out of Chhotanagpur (the cultural name of the hilly terrain in South Bihar) in November 2000 and named Jharkhand. Within it are four Jesuit Provinces: Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Hazaribag, and Dumka-Rajganj, while two populous districts of the adjacent Province of Madhya Pradesh are ethnic and linguistic extensions of Chhotanagpur.
The Social Action coordinators of the five Provinces involved conceived the idea of a joint Social Action Center. It will be called "Bagaicha" (orchard), the name of a traditional tribal venue for exchanging news and views. Its purpose is to coordinate Jesuit social action in Jharkhand. Once a site has been found, the new center will be constructed in the capital city of Ranchi. The center will aspire to be non-sectarian, a venue of welcome for like-minded activists who may want to share concerns and information, consult each other, or stay overnight. [Source: Headlines]
"In a country as desperately poor as Honduras, why do theater? Theater is never going to lower the infant mortality rate. Theater will not save an infant dying of malnutrition. Theater is never going to change the world. But theater can make a child laugh, and this reminds us that it fulfils other needs perhaps as desperate." Jack Warner SJ created "Teatro La Fragua" in 1979 and is currently artistic director.
Based in El Progreso, it is theater that takes the point-of-view of the dispossessed. Its goals are "to awaken the creativity of the people, to find solutions to current problems, to fight against the cultural illiteracy that has robbed people of their proud Mayan heritage, and to forge a national identity by means of the people's own expression."
The company of 14 Honduran actors stages dramas featuring Latin American writers, does dramatic adaptations of local stories, myths, and folklore, and performs religious plays. The plays are put on in plazas, churches, and schoolyards, primarily for poor and working-class audiences. La Fragua conducts training workshops throughout Central America and has toured in Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. [Source: Headlines]
Company Magazine featured Teatro La Fragua in its Winter 1996-7 Issue. That article is available online at www.companysj.com/v142/plank.html .
450 years ago, on April 25, 1551, two Jesuits landed in Vienna, coming by ship on the Danube. One of them was Fr Claude Le Jay, one of the initial founding fathers of the Society. This event was commemorated on April 25, 2001, with a festivity in the great hall of the Museum of the History of Vienna. The two speakers were Dr Gottfried Mraz, who spoke on "Activities of the Jesuits since their arrival 1551," and Fr Gernot Wisser SJ, who gave a talk on the "Mission of the Jesuits in today's Vienna." More than 150 guests attended, among them the Auxiliary Bishop of Vienna, Mgr Krätzl.
In the Austrian patent office, the designations "Ignatianische Exerzitien," "Ignatianische Einzelexerzitien" (Ignatian retreat, Spiritual exercises), and "Ignatian pedagogy" were registered as trademark, in order to protect them against potential improper use. This process of trademark protection is undertaken in accordance with the competent departments of the Austrian dioceses. [Source: Thomas Neulinger <kommunikation.at@jesuiten.org>]
Jesuit Fr Walter J Burghardt's book "Long Have I Loved You: A Theologian Reflects on His Church," published by Orbis Books, won first place in the Catholic Press Association's (CPA) book awards in the popular presentation of the Catholic faith category.
Jesuit Fr Thomas P Rausch's book, "Reconciling Faith and Reason," (Liturgical Press) tied for third place in the same category.
Also receiving first-place awards were: Fr Daniel Berrigan SJ for "Job: And Death No Dominion" (Sheed & Ward) in the scripture category; Charles M Shelton SJ for "Achieving Moral Health" (Crossroad) in the pastoral ministry category; and Sister of the Holy Child Jesus Carol Ann Smith and Fr Eugene F Merz SJ for "Moment by Moment" (Ave Maria Press) in the first-time author category.
For the CPA's journalism awards, Fr John F Kavanagh SJ tied for first place with two others for best regular column for his "Ethics Notebook" in America magazine. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
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