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| February 20, 2003 |
In a February 7 letter sent to each Jesuit province, the Social Justice Secretariat of the Jesuits, in consultation with the staff of the order's Rome headquarters, outlined opposition to a war with Iraq.
The letter, signed by Fr Fernando Franco SJ, head of the secretariat, called for "a considered and prayerful reflection on the main reasons that militate against war on Iraq." The social justice office said its opposition was based on several considerations:
The letter asked each Jesuit province to get people to "creatively reflect on these issues, prepare some plans of public action, and discern concrete ways of collaborating with others." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Central American church officials were cautious about reports that the Honduran government located the remains of US priest and former Jesuit James Carney who disappeared in 1983 during the government's campaign against leftists.
Two sets of remains, one believed to be of Fr Carney, were uncovered in a common grave in the jungle region of Patuca on the border with Nicaragua, Attorney General spokesman Ricardo Castro said January 28.
Fr Carney disappeared while serving as chaplain to a small band of leftist guerrillas; he left the Jesuit order shortly before joining the guerrillas.
"Although there are always reasons to hope, it's too early to identify the remains as Carney's. They're just starting the process of examining what they found," said Fr Joseph Mulligan SJ of Managua, Nicaragua, who has spent years investigating Fr Carney's disappearance. " The government spokesperson's suggestion that these are 'probably' the remains of Carney is a little exaggerated. Several times in the past we've experienced the discovery of remains, which some people claimed were Fr Carney, and it's always turned out not to be true," Fr Mulligan said. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
In a country where tolerance seems to be the highest public value, Catholic higher education needs to promote "a stronger vision of our common life," Fr David Hollenbach SJ, a moral theologian at Boston College, told a national gathering of about 200 Catholic college and university leaders in January.
Fr Hollenbach cited political sociologist Alan Wolfe's findings that tolerance is the near-consensus choice of "what is valued most highly by the middle class in the United States today."
"A live-and-let-live form of tolerance alone cannot produce an adequate response" to the "economic deprivation, unemployment, single parenthood, homelessness, and frightening drug-related violence" affecting millions in America's inner cities, he said.
One of the central missions of Catholic higher education, he said, should be to imbue students intellectually and socially with "a deepened commitment to solidarity with others."
"The Catholic community," Fr Hollenbach said, "possesses a long tradition that uniquely positions it to help both students and larger society understand the importance of the common good for our life together. The Catholic university has a critical role to play in enabling present and future citizens to appropriate this tradition and its relevance to the challenges we face." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The clergy sex abuse scandal is like an earthquake that exposed three intersecting fault lines: authority, the credibility of the church's teaching on sexuality, and the relation of the church to the world, said Fr Michael McFarland SJ, president of the College of the Holy Cross, during a conference at the college on how Catholic higher education can help church leaders in confronting the sexual abuse crisis.
The January conference was the first joint project of the Holy Cross Center for Religion, Ethics, and Culture and the Catholic Common Ground Initiative, which was established by the late Cardinal Joseph L Bernardin of Chicago in 1996 to foster dialogue in the church.
Some aspects of church authority will not change, but the church must have more openness and accountability and give laity more voice in leadership, Fr McFarland said. Catholic colleges now run by lay boards have learned that keys to successful power sharing are education, dialogue, and trust, he continued.
Church teaching about sexuality must be put in a context that makes sense to people today, and Catholic colleges can help with that, Fr McFarland said. He suggested they can also help with dialogue in conflicts between the church and the media, civil authorities, victims' advocates, and the general public.
Catholic colleges have the freedom, openness, and diversity to examine everything anew and the combination of loyalty and independence that makes them valuable to pastoral leaders, he added. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Several graduates of Jesuit colleges and universities were successful in their campaigns for governor and the House of Representatives last November. Three new delegates were elected to Congress, and three individuals were elected governor of their states.
House victories included: Timothy Bishop, a Democrat from New York and a '72 alumnus from Holy Cross; Christopher Van Hollen Jr, a Georgetown University Law graduate, who won a seat in Maryland; and Tim Murphy, a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University and former Pennsylvania state senator.
The three Jesuit alumni governors elected were Janet Napolitano, a graduate of Santa Clara University, in Arkansas; Frank Murkowski, a graduate of Seattle University and a US Senator from 1980-2001, who stepped down from the senate and became the first Republican governor in Alaska in 20 years; and Mike Johanns, a graduate of the Creighton School of Law, who became the new governor of Nebraska, winning 69 percent of the vote.
In addition, 34 alumni from Jesuit institutions were reelected to the House of Representatives. The total number of Jesuit college and university alumni in the 108th Congress is 5 in the Senate and 37 in the House. [Source: AJCU Connections]
Stephen Power SJ, JRS Ethiopia Country Director, reports: "A further meeting, coordinated by the Ethiopian Government Ministries, to report on the drought situation in the country, was held on January 23. These meetings are taking place fortnightly and lead to good exchanges between the government, UN, and NGO bodies.
Food in the "pipeline," i.e. that is on the way, is extremely important now. Pledges are all very well but will be much more effective if translated into food on the ground soon. Many people have been concerned around the world, and it is because of their/your response and concern that things are moving a little. Here there is now the awareness that other events may soon further monopolize the headlines, especially possible war in Iraq and crisis in North Korea. Then, people will die away from the eye of the media, until they die in sufficient numbers to make it a story again."
To find out more about the present food crisis in Ethiopia, including details of how to make a donation go to http//www.jrs.net/alerts/etlatest.htm [Source: JRS Dispatches]
A new Vatican document on the New Age movement, "Jesus Christ the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian reflection on the 'New Age'," released February 3, warns that a number of Catholic retreat places, seminaries, and religious formation houses are dabbling in New Age spirituality that is incompatible with Christian doctrine.
The 90-page text by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue does not name the retreat houses or their practices. But it identifies the enneagram, a system for understanding personality types developed partly by American Jesuits and Jungian psychology, as elements of New Age, together with Feng shui, deep ecology, and practices such as tantric exercises and transcendental meditation.
The document's reference to the enneagram, a personality type indicator that makes use of an ancient nine-point symbol, is brief but damning. The enneagram reached California via esoteric circles and was developed by New Age practitioners. But it was also adapted by Jesuits as a tool of spiritual discernment for use in formation and retreat houses, where it has proved popular. "When used as a means of spiritual growth," the document says, the enneagram "introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of Christian faith."
Despite its warnings and admonitions, the document is an attempt to understand the phenomenon as well as to signal its incompatibility with Christian doctrine. Its authors describe the booklet as a resource for people "engaged in pastoral work" that aims to help them "explain how the New Age movement differs from the Christian faith." [Source: The Tablet]
The full document is found at: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_newage_en.html
US Jesuit colleges and universities showed their solidarity for international peace on February 13 as campuses across the country participated in 'A Day of Prayer for Peace.' Each one of the 28 Jesuit institutions planned activities to promote awareness for a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Iraq.
In addition to interfaith prayer services, masses, and lectures, many schools found unique ways to call attention to their anti-war efforts. To demonstrate its solidarity with its sister institutions, the University of Scranton held a candlelight vigil with 28 luminary bags representing each of the Jesuit colleges and universities.
Loyola University New Orleans published a brochure consisting of excerpts from the statements against war by the US bishops, the US Jesuit provincials, and the pope.
Santa Clara University created an interactive memorial, dedicated to victims of combat, which featured reflections and facts about war. Individual written reflections and drawings were also part of the memorial.
"The threat of war in Iraq has brought our campuses together in genuine solidarity as they confront the grave issues of life and death, now and into the future," said Fr Charles Currie SJ, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). [Source: AJCU]
Fr Edward W Schmidt SJ has been appointed the 15th provincial of the Chicago Province. He has served as director of campus ministry at Xavier University and cofounded Company magazine, serving as a writer and business manager for the past 20 years. He succeeds Fr Richard J Baumann SJ in September. [Source: Chicago Province]
Fr Timothy M McMahon SJ has been appointed the next provincial of the Missouri Province. He taught at De Smet Jesuit High, served as his provinceÆs vocation director, and was pastor at St Francis Xavier Church in Kansas City for seven years. He succeeds Fr Frank Reale SJ in August. [Source: Missouri Province]
The California Province has announced that Convocation 2003, a meeting of the Province, will be held August 1-8. Approximately 250 Jesuits and a significant number of lay people who share in the apostolic works of the Province are expected to participate in the convocation: 15 lay persons from each university, 12 from each school, and 5 from each parish or any other institution run by the Province. During the first four days, in an atmosphere of prayer and dialogue, Jesuits and lay will consider the meaning of cooperation among themselves, and its possible development in the future. The last three days will be reserved for the Jesuits who will reflect on the accomplishments and the consequences of the convocation.
During a meeting that took place recently in Argentina, the Master of Novices of the Assistancy counted their troops. In the whole of Latin America there are 205 novices, among whom 20 want to become Brothers and 21 are indifferent. [Source: Jesuit Press and Information Office, Rome]
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate
http://cara.georgetown.edu
While religious orders have been suffering from a lack of recruits during the past decade, there's been a big upsurge in numbers wanting to be associated with their life and work. This is the conclusion of one piece of research from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) based at Georgetown University. CARA was founded 40 years ago to increase the Church's self understanding and to serve the applied research needs of Church decision-makers. The website contains a set of summaries of research findings that complements statistics released elsewhere, such as in the Vatican Yearbook.
JesuitUSA News is a service of Company Magazine. In addition to the print edition, almost all of the items in Company Magazine can be viewed via the World Wide Web at www.companymagazine.org or www.companysj.com. Any correspondence concerning this mailing list should be sent to the editor at news@companysj.com . The newsletter is available to all Jesuits, to those who work with them, or to those who are simply interested in what they are doing. Tell your friends; the price is right! If you are requesting addition to the list, please include your real name as well as your email address. If you are changing your address, please include YOUR NAME as well as both the NEW and the OLD email addresses.
The editor of this Newsletter is Richard VandeVelde SJ who is ably assisted by Ms Rebecca Troha, Assistant Editor. They would both like to remind you of the following useful WWW links for items of Jesuit interest. Many of these links will lead you to others.
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