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| January 20, 2004 |
Jesuit Vatican astronomers were overjoyed and relieved at the Spirit's safe landing on Mars on January 3.
"It's an engineering success. A huge breakthrough," said Fr George Coyne SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory. The Spirit robot was to search for signs of life or conditions that support life.
"Previous orbital studies of Mars's surface show clearly that there may have been water on Mars. Now with the Spirit on the ground, the probe will dig underneath the planet's dry surface looking for water or chemical evidence that there may have been water," Fr Coyne said.
But Fr Coyne said there's more at stake than just a mere search for other forms of life.
"What would be truly incredible would be to discover life on Mars that's independent of life on Earth," he said.
"In the early stages of the planets being formed, a lot of material was exchanged between Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Earth. So it is conceivable that life may have transported itself in these primordial exchanges when pieces of planets plummeted into each other," Fr Coyne said.
"But what if scientists were to discover life that has nothing to do with the DNA we have here on Earth? That would mean life is absolutely abundant in the universe," Fr Coyne said. "If life had two beginnings, one here on Earth and one on Mars, then statistically life could have emerged millions of times elsewhere beyond the solar system."
Br Guy Consolmagno SJ, an astronomer, planetary scientist, and curator of the Vatican meteorite collection, said that any discoveries made by the Spirit should augment, not necessarily change, one's religious beliefs.
"Science and religion teach you bits and pieces that are true, but as you learn later on, there is more going on than just that," Br Consolmagno said.
"The challenge for both science and religion is to put the details into a broader picture, a deeper understanding of who we are and why we're here," he said. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The commemoration of the 100th birthday of German Jesuit Karl Rahner--on 5 March, 2004--started in January with a two-day academic conference at the Jesuits’ School of Philosophy in Munich. From 1973 to 1982, Karl Rahner was a professor of theology and philosophy at the institute; he died in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1984. [Source: www.jesuits-europe.org]
The Karl Rahner Society homepage is located at: http://www.krs.stjohnsem.edu/
Law students and clinical faculty from University of Detroit Mercy, along with attorney volunteers, are now traveling around Detroit in a remodeled RV, dispensing legal advice to those who would normally not have access to it.
UDM's Mobile Law Office embarked on its maiden voyage in November. The remodeled vehicle has a desk and chairs, filing cabinets, a street map of Detroit, and a separate room for confidential client interviews. [Source: University of Detroit Mercy]
Jesuits Br Mike O’Grady and Fr Ben Jimenez, along with layman Gary Ashbeck, all refused to post bond after being arrested during the November protest at the former School of the Americas at Ft Benning. They are being held in the Muscogee County Jail in Columbus, Georgia, until their trials begin in late January.
The Claver Jesuit Community in Cincinnati, where Br O’Grady lives, has updates and letters that the three men have written from jail at http://home.fuse.net/claver/SOA.html [Source: Chicago Province Notices]
In the spirit of his friends, Jesuit Fr Daniel Berrigan and the late Philip Berrigan, John Dear SJ implored a large group of National Guard troops to disobey their orders to be deployed to Iraq.
Fr Dear confronted a group of 75 members of the 515th Corps Support Battalion drilling in a parking lot across from his church in Springer, New Mexico, late in 2003.
"In the name of God, I order all of you to stop this nonsense, and not go to Iraq," he said. "I want all of you to quit the military, disobey your orders to kill and not to kill. I don't want you to be killed."
Although the priest's early morning lament was met with bewildered expressions and even a few chuckles, Fr Dear believes any attempt to avert war and death is worthwhile, regardless of the response.
"I'm just trying to apply the Gospel of Jesus, to love your enemies," said Fr Dear, who believes his efforts are merely echoing the stand of the Catholic Church. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
+++ African Jesuit Aids Network
The Fall 2003 Issue of Company Magazine carried an article describing the work of the African Jesuit Aids Network (AJAN). The network works to unite the international cast of Jesuits in AIDS ministries across the continent of Africa. Their website is http://www.jesuitaids.net . The Company article is available at http://www.companymagazine.org/v211/facesofaids.htm .
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