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| March 19, 2003 |
A lasting peace only comes at the cost of "turning the other cheek." according to former Archbishop of Milan Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini SJ.
Speaking from his retirement home in Jerusalem, he said that peace "has a price." He likened efforts to maintain international peace to the process of building a sand castle, "which must be protected and rebuilt with infinite patience."
Martini was once one of the Church's most prominent bishops, considered a possible future Pope. He has remained silent since moving into retirement, but offered his thoughts for a front page story published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.
He said the world at this moment in history "sincerely wants peace, but does not know how to pay the cost."
A lasting peace, he said, would require sacrifices, "not just in a personal sense, but for groups, peoples, and nations." Nations, he argued, must learn that at times it is best not to insist on their rights and privileges and to "turn the other cheek." [Source: Catholic World News]
Georgetown University is one of five Washington DC-area colleges to share in a $13.9 million grant from the federally funded program GEAR UP, which helps prepare low-income high school students for college.
GEAR UP also funded programs at Trinity College, American University, George Washington University, and Howard University with grants from the US and DC education departments.
At Georgetown, the funds will be used to supplement the Institute for College Preparation at the Center for Minority Educational Affairs, which is a six-year program that starts in seventh grade. It has had a combined college entry rate of 96 percent, with many of the students becoming the first in their families to attend college.
Students who participate in Georgetown's institute study a variety of academic subjects, travel abroad to put their study to use, prepare for the SAT, learn about internships, and have the opportunity to take college-credit courses before high school graduation. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Optimism is hard to find in a world bracing for war, but Fr Thomas Michel SJ, director of the Jesuits' office for interreligious dialogue, believes there are signs of hope.
Since September 11, he said, "for the first time we Christians and Muslims are speaking seriously to one another about serious matters, and we are both asking what the implications of a war would be."
His speech was part of a series of reflections on interreligious dialogue offered in Rome by the Gregorian University's Institute for the Study of Religions and Culture.
The Jesuit said that while "it is difficult to be optimistic" as a US-led coalition prepares for a war in Iraq, it is clear that the majority of people around the world, including Christians and Muslims, want peace.
"Muslims do not want to see a war between Islam and the West. Osama [bin Laden] does not represent them, but they fear they will be the victims of a fight he started," Fr Michel said.
Muslims see what happened in Afghanistan and the preparations for war against Iraq, as well as the continuing tensions with the Muslim-dominated areas of the southern Philippines, he said, and "they wonder, 'What next?'" [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Accounting students from Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics are offering free income tax preparation services through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program this spring. By April 15, they will have prepared about 900 returns.
This marks the 31st consecutive year in which the university's students are offering the program to Seattle-area residents; accounting professors, tax professionals, and representatives from the IRS are also on hand to help out.
The VITA program was developed by the IRS primarily to assist low-income taxpayers, and Xavier University accounting students are also volunteering through the program, giving free basic federal and state income tax assistance to their community. [Source: Seattle University, Xavier University]
Three celebrated authors will help the Fordham University commemorate its contributions to New York City during the "Fordham and the City" lecture series, which began in February. The series also celebrates the 19-year tenure of retiring university president, Fr Joseph A O'Hare SJ.
Kenneth Jackson PhD, the Jacques Barzun Professor of History and Social Sciences at Columbia University, presented the first lecture, titled "Empire City: New York, Fordham and the Development of the World Metropolis."
Jackson's talk will be followed by two others: "Fordham and the Rise of Gotham: City of God and City of Man" by novelist Peter Quinn; and Fr Thomas Shelley PhD, a Fordham theology professor, will present the lecture titled "From St John's College to Fordham: A Catholic University for the Capital of the World." [Source: Fordham University]
Since October 2000, a two Jesuits has been present in Ankara, Turkey; a third arrived in 2001, and a fourth arrived recently from Germany. In a recent letter, they described how their work has been going and especially that the chapel has become a "center of attraction."
"This has happened because our house is well known. Many visitors come, more than 20 a week, Christians and Muslims, alone or in groups, to ask questions, pray, or for a course of study. The center has become a sort of "presentation" of the Catholic Church in the Turkish capital."
In the future, a library and a computer room for doing research are being planned. [Source: Vidimus Dominum]
The Third Jesuit Core Curriculum Conference on March 20 and 21 at Xavier University will focus on ôDeveloping the Jesuit Core in a Global Society.ö More than 100 academics from Jesuit colleges across the country are expected to attend.
The conference will explore of how various Jesuit institutions currently structure their core curriculum and to what degree their current curriculum helps prepare students for a rapidly globalizing world. Fr Stephen Privett SJ, University of San Francisco president, will give the keynote address. [Source: Xavier University]
The news media too often take complex situations -- like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the tensions with Iraq -- and boil them down into stories about villains and heroes, said Fr Robert White SJ, a professor of communications at the Gregorian University.
Space limitations and the rules of news writing result in oversimplified headlines and leads that "are attractive and easy to understand by an audience that likes to think in stereotypes and ideologies," Fr White told a Rome conference on "Media and Truth: An Interreligious Perspective on Ethical Reporting," sponsored by the World Conference on Religion and Peace.
The European, North American, and Middle Eastern speakers agreed that as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues and a US-led coalition prepares to attack Iraq, old prejudices and stereotypes against Jews and against Muslims are appearing more frequently in the media.
Fr White told the conference, "In general, the less journalists know about a particular topic, the more likely they are to repeat stereotypes and ideology.
"It is widely recognized that religion and Middle Eastern minorities are two areas in which journalists are least prepared," he said.
A revival of anti-Semitism in the European media and an increasing amount of anti-Islamic rhetoric in North America and Europe dominated the conference's discussions. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Archbishop Desmond M Tutu, retired head of the Anglican Archdiocese of Cape Town, South Africa, and a 1984 Nobel Peace Prize winner known for his work in ending apartheid, received Marquette University's highest award, the Pere Marquette Discovery Award, in February.
The university's conferral of the award marked only the fourth time in the school's 122-year history that it was presented. The award is given to individuals who achieve an extraordinary breakthrough in some form of human knowledge or add to the advancement of humanity. It has previously been presented to the crew of Apollo 11, German theologian Fr Karl Rahner SJ, and Mother Teresa.
During his acceptance, Archbishop Tutu issued a somber warning that any war against Iraq would be immoral.
He instructed his listeners to help wipe the tears from God's eyes by calling for peace, not war. Marquette University president, Fr Robert A Wild SJ called him a "giant of a human being who exudes hope" and a man with unwavering faith in human goodness and compassion. [Source: Marquette University, CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Gonzaga College High and Georgetown Prep are sponsoring the 7th Annual Jesuit Lacrosse Classic, which Lacrosse Magazine called "arguably the country's premiere high school lacrosse tournament."
This year is the largest ever with nine Jesuit schools coming from seven states and the District of Columbia. The event, which takes place at Georgetown Prep from March 21 to March 24, features some of the top teams in the country; this year is no exception with five teams receiving a top ten statewide ranking.
More importantly, as "men for others," the participants are targeting a local charity, as well as Washington Jesuit Academy in Washington, DC, and Xavier High in NYC to receive a portion of the proceeds. Over 300 young Jesuit men will meet on the playing fields, gather for mass at Gonzaga, and enjoy a dinner together. [Source: Jeff Rhoda]
Fr Michael Kennedy SJ, pastor at Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles, and Martin Sheen, who plays President Josiah Bartlet on the NBC drama "The West Wing," talked about their spirituality at the Religious Education Congress sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The two men--friends since the mid-1980s--have teamed up on a new book, "The Jesus Meditations: A Guide for Contemplation," featuring Fr Kennedy's meditations based on Ignatian spirituality and Sheen's voice-over on a companion CD.
Prayer, oil, and ritual, in combination, create a powerful message of healing, Fr Kennedy said. He hopes his meditations help teachers, youth ministers, and those involved in adult education to use Ignatian meditation in their prayer groups and retreats.
Fr Kennedy credits prayer with saving his life. While delivering medicines to the poor of El Salvador, he and others were apprehended by the Salvadoran military, which was known for employing torture tactics. Fr Kennedy assumed they would never be released alive.
But he turned to prayer and found the peace that comes from "knowing God is present in the darkest moments." And it was from that sense that Fr Kennedy was able to talk his would-be torturers into setting him and the group free.
Sheen said he began to be formed more deeply in his faith when he met the New York Jesuit community, particularly Fr Daniel Berrigan. And following a health crisis while filming "Apocalypse Now" and a bout with alcoholism, he said, he began to more fully embrace his faith.
It is out of the worst times in one's life that "the genius of God's presence" begins to make itself evident, said the actor. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
José María Rubio Peralta, a Jesuit priest who died in 1929 will be canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 4 in Spain.
The pope will canonize four other Spaniards that day as well: Blessed Pedro Poveda Castroverde, founder of the Teresian Institute, who was martyred at the start of the Spanish Civil War; Blessed Genoveva Torres Morales, founder of the Congregation of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels, who died in 1956; Blessed Maria Guerrero Gonzalez, founder of the Sisters of the Society of the Cross, who died in 1932; and Blessed Maria Pidal Chico de Guzman (also known as Maria Maravillas de Jesus), a discalced Carmelite who died in 1974. [Source: The Tablet]
This Canadian site invites the user to click on its interactive map of the world to find Jesuits almost anywhere on the planet (New Zealand is one of the blind spots). That leads mostly to another map of the region (or 'assistancy'), with information on that region's Jesuit presence and links to various Jesuit websites. The site also includes a dropdown link box to ten selected Jesuit resources, Jesuit cartoons, and the Rome Curia. [Source: Church Resources]
Mar 15, 1711: The death of Eusebio Francisco Kino, missionary in Lower California and Arizona, noted for his far-ranging exploration and accurate mapmaking.
Apr 1, 1963: The death of Fr Gerald Ellard SJ, liturgist and one of the founders of the National Liturgical Conference in the US.
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