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February 15, 2005 |
In September 1954, eight African-Americans quietly joined the student body at Spring Hill College and changed the campus forever. On Thursday, February 24, the college will kick off a three-day celebration honoring the courage and spirit of these students and commemorating the 50th anniversary of integration at Spring Hill.
"In 1949, Fr Patrick Donnelly called upon the college 'to raise the torch of education in Alabama to light and lead the way to full democracy in Alabama and the Southland,'" said Spring Hill President Gregory Lucey SJ. "As we carry that torch today, we pause to honor those who created that first spark that has helped light and lead the way for 50 years."
A dinner celebration will honor Mary Andrea Abrams '57, Patricia Blackmon '58, Robert Buchanan '57, Elbert LaLande '57, Cecilia Mitchell '58, and Julia Ponquinette '58, who all entered Spring Hill College in September 1954, and Fannie Motley, who entered in the spring of 1955 and who would become the college's first African-American graduate a year later. A keynote address will be delivered by Vivian Malone Jones, one of the first African-American students to integrate the University of Alabama.
Spring Hill's first African-American students will again be honored at half time during Spring Hill's home game against the University of Mobile on February 26.
A detailed history of Spring Hill's integration efforts, including profiles of students, a complete time line, and photos from 1954, can be seen at www.shc.edu/integration . [Source: Spring Hill College]
From January 29 through the end of February, Seattle University is hosting the Tent City 3 community. The temporary encampment for approximately 100 homeless men and women provides them shelter, support, and safety.
Tent City was developed in 1990 to provide safe shelter for homeless adults; there are currently four Tent Cities, and Seattle University is the first university to host a homeless encampment.
Seattle University is hosting Tent City 3 to provide needed help to the homeless and to bring educational focus to the issue of homelessness. An elected council of residents governs the community and enforces a code of conduct, which includes a policy of no tolerance for drugs, alcohol, or weapons, and no verbal or physical abuse.
Learning and service opportunities for the university community, developed in consultation with Tent City 3 residents, include onsite legal and health clinics staffed by the faculty and students of the law and nursing schools. Student and community groups are also preparing hot meals. [Source: Seattle University ; Photo source: Anil Kapahi]
After a five-year investigation, the Vatican's doctrinal congregation said it had found "serious doctrinal errors" in the work of US Jesuit theologian Fr Roger Haight and forbade him to teach as a Catholic theologian.
The Vatican's critique focused on Fr Haight's 1999 book, Jesus Symbol of God, which explored the themes of Christ's divinity, the resurrection, the Trinity, and salvation for non-Christians.
A notification signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, that summed up the investigation's conclusions was published by the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.
A note said Pope John Paul II had approved the notification and ordered its publication.
The doctrinal congregation said Fr Haight's book contained "serious doctrinal errors against the Catholic and divine faith of the church."
"As a consequence, the author is forbidden to teach Catholic theology until his positions have been rectified in such a way as to be in full conformity with the doctrine of the church," the notification said.
The notification said Fr Haight's assertion that Catholic theology must be "in dialogue" with the modern world leads him to downplay or deny central teachings of the church, including that:
Fr Haight recently resigned as a professor of theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He had been barred from teaching there since 2000, pending the outcome of the Vatican's investigation.
The Vatican notification said that Fr Haight’s June 2000 response in writing to questions about his work "neither clarified not corrected the errors that had been pointed out."
A theological examination launched in 2002 found serious errors in the work. Fr Haight’s explanation of his methods and corrections of the content of his work were found to be unsatisfactory by the doctrinal congregation.
In 2000, Jesus Symbol of God, published by Orbis Books, won an award from the Catholic Press Association as the year's best book on theology. It was a selection of the Catholic Book Club, operated by America Press. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The effects of child sex abuse by clergy on its victims are wide-ranging and long-term, according to Fr Gerard McGlone SJ, visiting psychology professor at Saint Joseph's University.
Fr McGlone spoke at a national symposium in Los Angeles for diocesan officials from across the country who work with victims who as minors were sexually abused by clergy. The January symposium was sponsored by the US bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection and attended by 65 victims' assistance coordinators.
Experiencing abuse can adversely effect psychological, physical, social, and sexual behavior, he said. Working with victims involves being a good listener as victims tell their story of abuse, trauma, and pain, he said.
"It is the survivor's experience. This is our focus, our lens of understanding," Fr McGlone said.
Child sex abuse is not limited to the church nor is it less prevalent elsewhere, he said. "It happens in every aspect of society and takes many forms," he said. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The Jesuits are leaving downtown Tampa's Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where they have ministered for more than a century.
The New Orleans Province of the Society announced it is transferring parochial responsibility of the church to the New York-based Holy Name Province of the Franciscan Friars.
Franciscan priests will take over administrative duties in late July. The dwindling number of Jesuit priests was given as the reason for the change. [Source: Tampa Bay Online, www.tbo.com ]
Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland, announced the election of Fr Thomas Pesci SJ as the school's next president. Fr Pesci will assume the presidency on July 1, 2005, when current president Fr Jack Dennis SJ steps down.
Fr Pesci served as president of Rockhurst Jesuit High in Kansas City, Missouri, for almost eleven years; he also was a chaplain and teacher at Loyola Blakefield in the early '80s. [Source: Loyola Blakefield]
The 20th World Youth Day (WYD) will take place in Cologne, Germany, from August 16-21, 2005. In the days before the event—from August 8-15—the Jesuits host Magis, the Ignatian project for WYD, which is a combination between pilgrimage and group retreat. Magis is on the web at www.magis2005.de ; World Youth Day is on the web at www.wjt2005.de/index.php?id=5&si=0 .
Lenten Prayers for Busy People by William J O’Malley SJ guides readers through a forty-day Lenten retreat.
One can order online at www.maryknollmall.org/ or at www.amazon.com . To order by phone, call Orbis Books at 800-258-5838.
Mar 1, 1549. At Gandia, the opening of a college of the Society founded by St Francis Borgia.
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