national jesuit news · general peter hans kolvenbach said “global-ization has made the world...

By Thomas C. Widner SJ

The first ever meeting of all 33 Jesuitprovincials of North and South Americabegan in Miami Saturday, May 22, in thepresence of Father General Peter-Hans Kol-venbach and members of the staffs of the U.S.and South American Jesuit Conferences.

A moderate agenda aimed toward betterunderstanding of the realities of the two

Americas began with Father General identi-fying some common issues – globalization,migration, lay collaboration and diminish-ing resources. He noted that the two Amer-icas have more than 50 percent of all theCatholics in the world yet have nearly 80,000fewer priests than all of Europe which num-bers only 25 percent of the world’s Catholics.

The meeting, Father General hoped,would bring mutual understanding, soli-darity and assistance among the provinces.

The provincials spent their first day inprayer and reflection as Frs. Brad Schaeffer,president of the U.S. Jesuit Conference (JC),and Francisco Ivern, president of the Con-ference of Provincials of Latin America(CPAL), offered insights into their roles asmoderators. Frs. Tom Smolich, provincialof California, and Guillermo Baranda,provincial of Chile, reflected on their ownmission as provincials. All provincials thenspent the afternoon reflecting on their ownprovincialates, eventually sharing theirreflections in both small groups and a ple-nary session.

On Monday the provincials discussed aninternal working paper on migration andways in which the two conferences of provin-cials could cooperate in providing pastoralassistance to migrants.

They heard a presentation from Fr. TimBrown, provincial of Maryland, and Fr.Ramon Alaix, provincial of Bolivia, reflect-ing their experiences of justice and cultureissues. Fr. Jorge Julio Mejia, a member of theCPAL staff, explained the importance ofFTAA, the Free Trade Agreements in theAmericas, to the pastoral work of Jesuits.

Another presentation concerned inter-provincial cooperation and the experience

of twinning relationships, especially regard-ing the new importance of lay collaborators.

The meeting served as a vehicle forJesuits of both hemispheres to better appre-ciate their different missions and to look forgreater understanding, cooperation and sol-idarity.

Following the meeting, the provincialsof CPAL continued another two days withtheir own semi-annual meeting.

JUNE 2004 ■ VOLUME 33, NUMBER 6

NATIONAL JESUIT NEWS

3 NewsJesuit development directorsgather in Rome as one Assistancy.

6 COMMENTARYBill Barry examines our com-munity life and makes somesuggestions.

10-11 FeatureNewly ordained Jesuits for eachprovince are featured here.

North andSouthAmericanprovincialsmeet inhistoricdialogue

Father Provincial Jose Miguel Ortega (PAR) takes notes as speakers’ statements are translated.

Father Provincial Jorge Ambert (PRI) addressesan issue. Father General converses with Fr. Brad Schaeffer during a break.

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NATIONAL JESUIT NEWS

EDITOR: Thomas C. Widner SJPUBLICATIONS MANAGER: Marcus BleechPUBLICATIONS ASSOCIATE: Julie Bourbon

National Jesuit News (ISSN 0199-0284) is published monthly except January,March, May, July, August, September by the U.S. Jesuit Conference, 1616 PSt., NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036-1420. Phone: (202) 462-0400/FAX(202) 328-9212. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., 20066-9602and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes toNational Jesuit News, 1616 P St., NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036-1420. For undeliverable copies, please send form 3579. Copyright © 2003 bythe Society of Jesus.

Province CorrespondentsJerry Hayes SJ, CaliforniaGeorge Kearney, ChicagoJohn Moriconi SJ, DetroitJackie Antkowiak, MarylandPhil Steele SJ, MissouriRichard Roos SJ, New EnglandLouis T. Garaventa SJ, New YorkKenneth J. Boller SJ, New YorkBrad Reynolds SJ, OregonDonald Hawkins SJ, New OrleansPatrick Dorsey SJ, Wisconsin

The articles published here reflect the opinions of

the editor or the individual authors. They are not meant

to represent any official position of the Society of Jesus.

When sending in address changes include your full

address and home province.

mailto:[email protected]

Find us on the Web at:

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2 National Jesuit News ■ June 2004

By Brad Reynolds SJ

Inspiration for Sunday’s homily cancome from just about anywhere. In ruralsouthwest Alaska, it is often from theradio.

For the past three years -- a fullliturgical cycle -- Fr. Paul Cochran(ORE) has inspired deacons, pastoralministers, and the Church communityin southwestern Alaska. Four times eachweek, KNOM Radio in Nome airs hisproductions of “The Lord Be With You,”an exposition of the scriptural readingsthe next Sunday’s liturgy.

“It’s ministry of the Word in a dif-ferent form,” explains the 42-year-oldJesuit. “It’s to help the persons preach-ing to get their own creative juices flow-ing.”

Cochran tries to talk about thegospel message in the context of Yup’iklife. “The taboos of the biblical cultureare often part of this culture,” heexplained, “especially the concepts ofhonor and shame. And when you talkabout the tax collectors, you can talkabout the outcasts who live in their ownvillages.”

Cochran knows enough about life inEskimo villages to talk knowledgeably.While one-third of his ministry involvesproduction of his radio programs, hespends the other two-thirds of his timeserving the villages of Chefornak andNewtok, both located on the Bering Seacoast.

Production of his show is done fur-ther inland, at the mission of St. Mary’s.Besides serving as the community cen-ter for the Jesuits dispersed throughoutthe Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region, St.Mary’s is also home for the Fairbanksdiocese’s Eskimo Deacon and the NativeMinistry Training Programs. While atSt. Mary’s, Cochran usually produces 4-6 weekly shows at a time.

“That’s enough to turn the brain tomush,” he said with a chuckle.

His scripts run 8-9 minutes inlength. He works from an outline in hishead, editing as he writes. “The fer-menting process takes awhile,” headmitted, “but the time crunch gets the

fingers tapping on the keyboard.” Thereare several biblical commentaries in theJesuit community’s library he uses asresources, but he also carries one on hisever-present laptop computer.

He records his shows on a cassettetape recorder provided by KNOM. Dailyactivities in the Jesuit residence provedtoo noisy; the sounds of footsteps, waterrunning through pipes, ringing phonesand voices were messing up his record-ings. The quietest place he could findwas a storage closet in the offices of theNative Ministry Training Program. Herecords there at night, when the build-ing is deserted. “It’s quiet then,” he said,“and there’s no people knocking at mydoor like in the village.” After threeyears of practice, Cochran said he canusually record straight through a scriptwithout having to tape over mistakes.

The show got its start in 1990 whenthen Jesuit Bishop Michael Kanieckiasked Fr. Chuck Peterson (ORE) to workwith KNOM Radio in producing homi-ly helps for the Eskimo deacons servingthe villages of the Fairbanks diocese.Peterson was on the air until 1997, whena former Jesuit Volunteer, Patrick Tam,took it over. Cochran began his broad-casts in 2001.

KNOM’s station manager, TomBusch, said that the show is a great ser-vice not only to the native deacons, butalso to the Church in Alaska. “I thinkthe program is an extremely positivespiritual note in the weekly lives ofeveryone who listens to KNOM,” he said.

There are very few radio stations inthat region of the state, and Busch esti-mated that KNOM is listened to byalmost half of the adult population inthe villages, about five to six thousandpeople.

Compared to big city markets likeAnchorage, Seattle or Portland, thosenumbers are miniscule. But the GoodNews was never measured by marketshares. In the Eskimo villages of south-west Alaska, it comes across the radioand into the heart.

(Fr. Reynolds [ORE] is artist in res-idence at the Colombiere Jesuit Commu-nity in Portland, Ore.)

News

Gospel inspiration via radio airs insouthwest Alaska

Send change of address to:NJN, 1616 P Street, NW, Suite 300Washington, D.C. 20036-1420

MOVING?Name:

NEW address:

City, State, Zip:

Fr. Paul Cochran broadcasts over KNOM in Nome, Alaska.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Marquette University in Milwaukee is hosting the eighth annual Association of Edi-tors of Jesuit Publications (AEJP) conference July 11 to 13.

AEJP fosters communication among the editors, writers, designers, and others whoproduce publications at Jesuit colleges, universities, high schools, province offices, andother Jesuit ministries. All those working in communications or interested in com-munications are welcome to attend.

The conference will include several sessions with Jack Brady and Greg Paul, of Brady& Paul Communications, who specialize in editorial design, magazine critiques andmakeovers, and ways of rejuvenating publications. There will also be sessions on webdesign, photography, and the Ignatian vision and mission. For a full schedule and reg-istration form, log onto www.aejp.net.

AEJP hosts eighth annual conference in Milwaukee

by George Kearney

When addressing development profes-sionals from the 10 provinces in the U.S. Assis-tancy and the Upper Canada Province, Fr.General Peter Hans Kolvenbach said “global-ization has made the world smaller and small-er,” resulting in a “global village.”

The development directors held theirannual meeting at the Jesuit Curia in Rome atthe invitation of Fr. Frank Case (ORE), Gen-eral Counselor and Regional Assistant for theU.S. By gathering in Rome, Fr. Case hoped thedevelopment directors would come to a deep-er understanding of the landscape of anotherglobal village, the worldwide Society of Jesus.The gathering in Rome also provided thedevelopment directors an opportunity toupdate one another on the progress of agroundbreaking effort.

The 11 provinces represented at the meet-ing are currently engaged, with the blessing oftheir respective provincials, in a drive to raise$500,000 for a library at the recently openedJesuit theologate in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

It’s thought to be the first time all 10provinces in the Assistancy have launched acooperative fundraising campaign. Fr. RobertGrimm (ORE), associate general treasurer, saysthe Abidjan campaign is a good example ofthe inter-Assistancy cooperation called for byFr. General.

“This group [of development directors]has asked, ‘how can we work for something

greater than us?’ It’s the first time the Societyin the U.S. has said they’ll tackle and resourcesomething beyond themselves.”

The cooperation exhibited by the devel-opment directors is significant, too, in light ofFr. General’s call for inter-provincial cooper-ation. “In the U.S. Assistancy, where work isprovincially focused,” Case said “the fact thatdevelopment directors from all 10 provincesmeet at all is important. It’s indicative of agrowing consciousness of the universality ofthe Society.”

While the phenomenon of globalization isrelatively new, the annual meetings of Jesuitdevelopment directors are not. In fact, longbefore any province had formed a “develop-ment office,” fundraisers from the provinceswere meeting.

Rachel Brennan, provincial assistant fordevelopment in the Detroit Province, explainsthat modern development offices grew out ofthe efforts of Jesuit Seminary Associations.More than 20 years ago, JSA representativesfrom various provinces, nearly all of whomwere Jesuits, would gather to compare andshare the direct mail techniques which con-stituted almost all of their fundraising efforts.

In the early 1980s the Chicago Provincecombined their JSA, and Peru and Patna Mis-sion Offices to form the first province devel-opment office. One by one, other provincesinstituted similar changes (the CaliforniaProvince became the 10th and final U.S.province to open a development office in

2003). Their timing was perfect. The Internetand the burgeoning software industry wereradically changing the face of fundraising,which has since grown to more than a billiondollar a year industry.

Provinces expanded their developmentstaffs and invested in powerful software pack-ages. When the Jesuits who’d been running theJSA offices were assigned to ministries, pro-fessional laywomen and laymen replacedthem. The new development offices solicitedmajor gifts, offered a variety of planned giv-ing options, and continued to utilize directmail.

But, according to Tim Freeman, provin-cial assistant for development in the ChicagoProvince, they did much more, too.

“Fundraising efforts up to that time hadrelied largely on family members of Jesuits.With diminishment of Jesuits, it became clearthat relying only on Jesuits’ family membersto fund the work of the Society wasn’t reallyrealistic,” Freeman explained. “The new devel-opment offices went out and invited other peo-ple, partners, into the work of the Society. Theprovinces began crafting a more complete anddynamic relationship-based approach to rais-ing money. They reached out to donorsthrough publications, through websites, a vari-ety of events, and, most importantly, throughpersonal contact.”

During this time, the annual JSA meetingsnever stopped, they just changed. For a while

National Jesuit News ■ June 2004 3

Development directors travel to Romefor groundbreaking fund-raisingcampaign


The spring 2004 meeting of the JesuitConference board moved closer to thedevelopment of a strategy for future min-istries by approving the hiring of Fr.Charles F. Kelley (NEN) to the Jesuit Con-ference staff for the coming year. Kelleywill develop the process by which the U.S.Assistancy will plan for the next 15-20years.

The provincials have identified astheir goal the development of a vision ofthe Society of Jesus in the U.S. and ourservice to the Catholic Church in the year2020.

The objectives for this plan includearticulating a projection of the Society,its resources and personnel in the year2020, an assessment of current minister-ial commitments and a plan for futureinvolvement of Jesuits in those ministries,prioritizing new directions for ministriesbased on needs of the Church and socialrealities, and the development of admin-istrative structures that match the pro-jection, plan and priority.

The provincials spent several sessionsduring the board meeting reflecting onstrategies, the future, and their expecta-tions for the process.

The provincials also finalized theirpreparations for the joint meeting of allthe provincials of North and South Amer-ica held in Miami May 22-26 as reportedon page 1.

In addition, the provincials againheard from Dr. Monica Applewhite, vicepresident of Praesidium, Inc., regardingthe standards of accreditation beingdeveloped by Praesidium for the Confer-ence of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)for religious clergy. Dr. Applewhite assist-ed the provincials in considering a draftof the standards and their reflections onthe standards.

In other business, the provincialsapproved budgets for the JC office, thetwo theological centers, as well as grantsand subsidies for America, internationalJesuit scholarships, JSEA, and the Viet-namese province.

Meeting as the board of Jesuit Mis-sions, Inc., the provincials approvedgrants requested from that resource.

Fr. Brad Schaeffer (CHG), presidentof the JC, received his evaluation from theprovincials. Fr. Jeff Chojnacki (NYK) waselected to the executive committee of theboard, replacing Fr. Tom Smolich (CFN),whose term ended.

The provincials also heard reportsfrom each of the JC offices.

JC boardmoves closerto strategiesfor the future

North American development directors met with Fr. General in Rome this spring.

continued on page 13

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During a recent Sunday litur-gy, the Acts of the Apostles posedthe first challenge for the newChristians. Some required cir-cumcision for the Gentiles. Paulconfronted the elders atJerusalem and the decision wasmade not to burden the Gentileconverts with the requirements ofthe Mosaic Law. After acknowl-edging Jesus as king and Lord,this was the first real break Chris-tians made with their Jewishroots.

In “The Fog of War,” the doc-umentary film interviewing for-mer Secretary of Defense RobertS. McNamara, 11 lessons McNa-mara learned from the war foughtin Vietnam are described indetail. First among them was thatone should empathize with one’senemy.

McNamara explains suchempathy. American troops weresent to Vietnam to fight the ColdWar. The U.S. government sawitself saving the world from Com-munism. The Vietnamese saw

themselves as fighting a civil war.They struggled to free themselvesof their colonial rulers.

McNamara believes one of thereasons we lost the war in Viet-nam is that we didn’t understandour enemy’s thinking. We didn’trealize the Vietnamese were will-ing to die to the last man toremove foreign control from theirshores.

Our nation seems nearlybogged down in war in Iraq. Havewe empathized with our enemy inorder to learn how to bring peaceto the Middle East?

Do cultural and moral issuessimilarly bog down the CatholicChurch in the U.S.? Andrew Gree-ley says our bishops are morallybankrupt because of theirresponse to the scandal of sexualabuse of minors. Some bishopsquestion politicians for theirorthodoxy on the issue of abor-tion. Some Catholics questionbishops on their commitment toCatholic teaching on peace andwar, the death penalty, same-sexmarriage and a host of other

social issues which some claimbishops disregard as almost irrel-evant.

Can the Church learn any-thing from the Christians of theActs?

These Christians spent a greatdeal of time praying over theirproblem. No problem today willever be solved without an extra-ordinary commitment to prayer.The Jerusalem elders dialoguedabout it and probably disagreedwith one another. Yet they cameto an agreement. Unless Catholicstoday can dialogue about our ownissues, we can never come to anacceptance that reconciles andunites us.

But the Jerusalem elders alsotrusted one another to come to adecision that could be accepted.Is such trust possible in today’sChurch?

It would be worthwhile forChristians everywhere to re-examine the Acts of the Apostles.Though the dynamics are pro-portionately different, the way ofproceeding is not.


Commentary

Paul and Bob and the fog of mistrust

By Julie Bourbon

The Woodstock Theological Center hosted a forum discus-sion on “Forgiveness in International Politics: An AlternativeRoad to Peace” May 4 at Georgetown University. The Bunn Inter-cultural Center Auditorium was nearly filled as more than 100people gathered to hear speakers address the politics of forgive-ness in intergroup and international conflicts.

The forum addressed four central questions: Is there a socialand political understanding of forgiveness, one that goes beyondpersonal and pietistic notions? Does forgiveness have a trackrecord in political and international affairs? Where and how hasthe concept been applied to intergroup and international con-flicts? What role can religious communities play in helping tobuild a politics of forgiveness, especially among nations andwithin fractious societies? And is there a credible forgiveness-based approach to dealing with challenges such as internation-al terrorism and the reconstruction of Iraqi society? Couldforgiveness play a role in the response to conflicts over cultureand identity in Western democracies?

Fr. Drew Christiansen (NYK), associate editor of Americamagazine and counselor on international affairs to the USCCB,called for building a culture of forgiveness and for the Church,as the “home of forgiveness” to play a role in its creation. “I thinkwe need to preach and we need to teach forgiveness,” he said. Henoted that forgiveness is not a part of every religious traditionand that public forgiveness is still not a part of the wider cul-ture, but that religious and secular peace initiatives should becelebrated and supported.

Donald W. Shriver, Jr., president emeritus and professor ofapplied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary in New York,quoted the poet Robert Frost, who famously wrote “To be socialis to be forgiving.” Calling forgiveness both “pragmatic as wellas principled,” Shriver spoke of tolerance, genocide, truth andreconciliation commissions and politics. “Christians have specialreasons for wanting political forms of forgiveness,” he said, “forwe have it on good authority that divine and human forgivenessare our doorways to freedom from the prisons of our past sins.”

Doris Donnelly, professor of religious studies at John CarrollUniversity, began with a reference to Paul’s Letter to the Corinthi-ans and the “ambassadors of reconciliation.” She went on to listfive qualities of which such an ambassador must be in posses-sion: humility, hope for the future, energy for justice, fortitudeand a spiritual center.

During the question and answer period, Donnelly said thatfor true reconciliation and forgiveness to occur, there must firstbe an account made of the suffering of the victims, and shereminded the crowd that “the role of a reconciler is costly.”

Robert T. Hennemeyer, a career foreign service officer withthe State Department from 1952 to 1986, served as moderator.He coordinated Woodstock’s project, “Forgiveness in ConflictResolution: Reality and Utility” and formerly directed the Officeof International Justice and Peace of the USCCB.

“forgiveness in international politics … an alternative roadto peace” by William Bole, Drew Christiansen, SJ, and Robert T.Hennemeyer has just been published by the United States Confer-ence of Catholic Bishops. ISBN 1-57455-574-X. Visit www.usccb.orgor call 1-800-235-8722 for more information.

Woodstockforumaddressesforgiveness

BOOKSIgnatian Humanism: ADynamic Spirituality forthe 21st Century

By Ronald ModrasLoyola Press, Chicago, 2004346 pp., paper, $16.95ISBN 0-8294-1986-1Fr. Modras reveals the

impact and influence ofRenaissance humanism onIgnatian spirituality and the

Society of Jesus through five compelling biographies– Matteo Ricci, Friederich Spee, Karl Rahner, PierreTeilhard de Chardin, and Pedro Arrupe. The author isprofessor of theology at Saint Louis University.

Walking in the Spirit: A Reflection on Jerón-imo Nadal’s Phrase “Contemplative Likewisein Action”

By Joseph F. Conwell SJInstitute of Jesuit Sources, St. Louis, 2004297 pp., paper, $21.95A sequel to the author’s book “Impelling Spir-

it,” the author examines the General Examen andthe Constitutions, Nadal’s use of the phrase “con-templat ive l ikew ise in act ion” and what thatmeans for contemporary Jesuits. Fr. Conwell is amember of the Manresa Jesuit Communit y inSpokane, Wash.

Propaganda and the Jesuit BaroqueBy Evonne LevyUniversity of California Press, Berkeley, Calif., 2004353 pp., cloth, ISBN 0-520-23357-3A study of the propagandistic art and architecture of the Society of Jesus

as exemplified by its late Baroque Roman church interiors, this analysis ofJesuit art and architecture evaluates how the term “propaganda” functions inart history. Levy is associate professor of art history at the University of Toron-to.


By Julie Bourbon

The Jesuit Conference Committee onFormation (JCCF) sponsored a three-daymeeting for formatores of the U.S. Assis-tancy and Canada from April 23-25. Morethan 80 people participated from across thespectrum of Jesuit formation: vocations,novitiate, first studies, regency, theologyand tertianship. The meeting was held atthe El Retiro retreat Center in Los Altos,Calif., in unseasonably warm conditions.

The gathering, the first of its kind heldin the United States, was intended as areview of the formation process, from aman’s first contact with a vocation directorto his tertianship experience. Both Jesuitsand lay colleagues participated, and werejoined by Fr. Brad Schaeffer (CHG), presi-dent of the Jesuit Conference, Fr. OrlandoTorres (PRI), Fr. General’s assistant forvocations and formation, and Frs. TomSmolich (CFN) and Jeff Chojnacki (NYK),the provincials of the California and NewYork Provinces, respectively. Frs. TonySholander (CFN), assistant for formationand John Armstrong (NOR), national sec-retary for formation and Br. Charlie Jack-son (CFN), director of vocations, wereintegral to the meeting’s planning and exe-cution. Fr. Joe O’Connell (MAR) moderated.

Sholander greeted participants by call-ing the meeting a “novel kind of experimentfor all of us,” and an opportunity to learnfrom “a collective wisdom we have neverbeen able to assemble in the U.S.” He intro-duced Schaeffer, who talked about forma-tion in the context of strategic planning.While noting “the thing we’ve done best inthis Assistancy, to be honest, is formation,”he also questioned the group, asking “have

we holistically taken a look at that in a longtime?”

Schaeffer touched briefly on a range ofissues, including the combining of novi-tiates, the ongoing revision of the RegionalOrder of Studies, the addition of a regencycolloquium, and the Brother-to-BrotherCampaigns. He emphasized repeatedly theimportance of listening to the younger andnewer members of the Society, and sharingknowledge and wisdom across both age andcultural differences. “I don’t expect mira-cles, but I do expect wonders,” he said.

Armstrong, in a nod to the lay forma-tores present, remarked “if we were doingthis meeting not long ago, there would beonly Jesuits in this room,” and cautionedthe Society against the dangers and temp-tations of becoming an “airtight bubble.”

While the meeting continued for three

days, an intense Saturday session repre-sented the bulk of the gathering. Conduct-ed in “fishbowl” style, the session allowedrepresentatives from subsequent stages offormation to engage in public conversationabout the transition between stages andwhether men are being adequately preparedto make those transitions.

To begin, three representatives fromvocations took the stage with three from thenovitiates, followed by conversation betweenthe novice masters and first studies, firststudies and regency, etc. An open chair andmicrophone were provided so that audiencemembers could take turns asking questionsor offering comments, which many didthroughout the day.

As he explained the concept of the fish-bowl and brought up the first group of par-ticipants, O’Connell said, partly in jest, “Imyself am in my 44th year of formation.” Hekept the meeting on schedule Saturday, nomean feat, and again early Sunday, whenfinal comments and observations were made.Chojnacki presided at a liturgy in the chapelSaturday evening, and Schaeffer on Sundaymorning.

During the first session, with vocationdirectors and novice masters, issues thatcame up included diversity, “shadow” for-matores, underdeveloped prayer lives, thedifference between formation of brothers andpriests, more traditional vs. less traditionalcandidates, and Catholicism in a Post-Mod-ern world.

“If vocation directors are looking fordiversity, they have succeeded admirably,”said Fr. Billy Huete (NOR), novice directorat Grand Coteau, citing not just race and eth-nicity, but age, family background, levels ofprayer life, and candidates’ spectrum of com-fort with their own sexual identity.

Fr. Dave Godleski (CHG), vocation direc-tor, expressed the concern that the men aretoo busy, which prompted nods among the

audience, and cited a “huge transitionalproblem” in the novitiate when men areasked to slow down for the first time afterleaving often very busy lives behind.

In response to discussion of liberal vs.conservative candidates, Fr. Len Altilia(CSU), vocation director, observed that moreand more, vocations seem to be coming froma small, traditional contingent that is “pin-ing for the Church they never knew.” Whilehe said it might be difficult for the post-Vat-ican II generation of Jesuits to understandthis shift, “we need to be able to deal withthat, because it isn’t going away.”

During the second session, Fr. Joe Lin-gan (MAR), director of novices for the Mary-land, New England and New York provinces,asked whether it was most advantageous toput men directly into an academic programright after encouraging the apostolic zeal ofthe novitiate experience. “Are we being real-istic in novitiate in preparing men for Jesuitlife?” he asked.

Fr. John Libens (DET), superior of theFirst Studies program at Loyola Chicago,called formation “iterative,” a term that wasrepeated throughout the weekend, andremarked upon a lack of knowledge of thebasic teachings of the Church. A need forbasic courses in Catholicism was commonlyagreed upon. Fr. Jack Treloar (WIS) of JSTBencouraged those involved in formation tocultivate a “love of the life of the mind,” andto encourage those in first studies to readtheology.

In the third session, Fr. Rick Ralphson(WIS) questioned whether those makingregency assignments are looking beyond theprovince borders or beyond secondary edu-cation for this phase of formation. He alsoremarked that men in regency tend to feel“temporary,” rather than a part of the coreapostolic community.


Formatores meet in a “fishbowl” to understand scope of transitions

Fr. John Armstrong (NOR), National Secretary for Formation, tunes in.

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Fr. Tony Sholander (CFN) instructs participants between sessions.



commentary

By William A. Barry SJ

Jesuits have always been good at argu-ment. But we often use facts selectively inour arguments. For example, Ignatius didnot want the Society to be saddled with theobligation of the choral recitation of theDivine Office. So whenever a superior triesto introduce some common prayer, this factis brought up by some of us to make thesuperior’s idea seem incompatible with ourway of proceeding.

Ignatius, however, liked choral prayer,wanted to be part of it, but exercised someasceticism over his desires for the sake ofthe apostolate. How many of us need to beweaned away from choral prayer?

The same sort of thing happens whenwe talk about the community life of Jesuits.“Look at Xavier; he hardly ever had a com-munity life.” “Jesuits are apostles; we haven’tgot time for all that hearts and flowers stuff.”

We conveniently forget that Xavier dear-ly loved the companions he had left behind,most especially Ignatius. He left the com-panions in Rome for the sake of the aposto-late, not to escape community meetings,deliberations, and sharing. Which brings usto the topic for this reflection.

Javier Osuna has written a fine book onthe early Society called “Friends in the Lord”(Tr. Nicholas King SJ, London: The WaySeries 3, 1974.) that can help us to reflect onour own life together.

Over a six-year period in Paris, from1528 to 1534, a group of six young studentsformed around Ignatius. Beginning in Jan-uary 1534, Ignatius gave each of them sep-arately the Spiritual Exercises. SimonRodrigues states that each of the compan-ions knew nothing about the plans of theothers who made the Exercises. Each onewas first elected to be a companion of Jesus,and only then found out that the others hadbeen similarly elected.

Through these elections they came tobelieve that God wanted them to be com-panions. Unlike other students who wouldgo their separate ways after their studies,they “decided to form a more permanentgroup to which they would bind their lives.So community reflection was demanded ofthem as to what they should do after theirstudies. The first deliberation in the historyof the young Society took place in the sum-mer of 1534” (Osuna, p. 54).

This deliberation led to the vows ofMontmartre, to the commitment to contin-ue their studies for the sake of the aposto-late, and to go together to Jerusalem.

This was a very disparate group of youngmen, intelligent, ambitious, even driven.Their countries and provinces were often atwar with one another.

For example, the family of FrancisXavier fought on the side of the French atthe battle of Pamplona where Ignatius was

wounded. Yet they learned to trust oneanother, care for one another, love oneanother. How did it happen? They took thetime to get to know one another at a deeplevel.

After the vows at Montmartre, “theymade a point of fostering friendship and fre-quent communication with one another. Inthe course of the year they came together ina modest way ... These meetings were thetime to treat of spiritual matters as a group,and to discuss their problems: ‘and thustheir love in Christ was nourished and aug-mented’ ” (p. 61). They often disagreedstrongly with one another about their future.Yet the disagreements were brought out intothe open, and through humble listening toone another and through prayer and reflec-tion they ended up, for the most part, inunanimous agreement on the moot point.

I want to use some of Osuna’s conclu-sions to speak of Jesuit community lifetoday. “Firstly,” he concludes, “the commu-nity of the Society was born of a friendshipin the Lord” (p. 143). The first companionsdid not just take it for granted that becausethe others had made the Exercises they hadthe same vocation. They talked with oneanother about what happened in their heartsand minds during the Exercises and in theirprayer and life afterwards.

How often do we tell one another whoJesus is for us? Talk about our relationshipwith Jesus has not been a hallmark of ourlives. Yet, when such talk is tried, we notonly like it, but also are energized by it. That“consolation” should tell us something aboutwhat is good for us.

In our Society today we come from dif-ferent generations, different cultures anddifferent formational experiences even with-in the same province. We differ in our polit-ical allegiances and our theologies, and weare heterosexual and homosexual in our ori-entation. We may be as foreign to one anoth-er as were the first companions.

The only way that we can establish the“principle and foundation” upon which theSociety was founded is by the method usedby the first companions, namely by talkingto one another about our relationship withJesus and our struggles to be true to his call.It will not be easy, but it is the only way for-ward if we are to become friends in the Lord.

“Secondly, the companions are awarethat their community is not the result oftheir efforts; their union was begun by theLord …. In other words, the companionsrecognize the community as a constitutiveelement of their vocation” (p. 143). Com-munity for them is not a utilitarian neces-sity, but a gift from God.

The 31st General Congregation put itthis way: “So ‘community’ in the Society ofJesus takes its origin from the will of theFather, who gathered us into one body.”Jesuit community exists for the sake of the

apostolate, but it must first be a communi-ty, a grouping of friends in the Lord who arealso friends of one another. Do we believein practice that the Jesuits we live with havebeen brought together by God’s will to beour friends in the Lord whose friendshipenergizes us for the apostolate?

Often the objection to a focus on com-munity life is that it takes away energy fromthe apostolate. The energy analogy is dan-gerous when used to explain aspects of thespiritual life. Energy in physics is a finitequality; an amount expended in one direc-tion is unavailable for something else. Thisanalogy, when applied in psychology,attempts to explain human action that isneurotic or determined by the past, henceunfree. Real love for anyone cannot beexplained by energy dynamics; real love byits nature seems inexhaustible. It is, in fact,imitative of the divine creativity of the Trin-ity.

Chris Lowney, in “Heroic Leadership,”makes the same point. Speaking of the lovethat bound Jesuits to one another he writes:“Unlike energy-sapping workplaces riddledwith backstabbing and second-guessing,environments of greater love than fear gen-erate energy.” (italics his) (Loyola Press,2003, p. 199).

Osuna’s third conclusion: “The group’scharacteristics were from the outset deter-mined by its apostolic nature.... This serviceconditions the style of their community exis-tence. They soon realize that the law of theirlife will be dispersion for work, and theydevelop their community in accordance withthis law...” (p. 143).

They had to work out what would givethem cohesion as a spiritual communitywithout the distinguishing characteristicsof religious life known at the time. Osunawrites: “they slowly come to discover thebonds of union that remain unaffected by

distance and nourish charity and concernfor one another despite distance” (p. 143).

Among other things they discovered let-ter writing as very important to keep alivethis mutual love for one another. Theydevoured letters from one another and sentthem around the world to hearten eachanother. In our day e-mail and the telephonemake such communication much easierthan it was for the early Jesuits.

“Fourthly, the imitation of Jesus Christand the apostles appears repeatedly as thebasic inspiration that directs the develop-ment of their ‘Society’” (p. 143). How canwe regain that imaginative and creativevision so that we are vitalized as a group andas individuals by it?

Once again, it is only by talking with oneanother about our dreams and hopes andabout our relationship with Jesus.

“Fifthly, one of the most prominent fea-tures of the group is its method of deliber-ating in common and of making groupdecisions... a style of deliberation that couldbe imitated even today” (p. 144). This stylewas the kind of communal discernmenturged on us by the 32nd and 33rd GeneralCongregations and Fathers Arrupe and Kol-venbach. It will not be easy, but it is possibleif we are willing to trust God’s grace and oneanother’s call to be companions of Jesus andof one another.

This reading of Osuna leads me to theconclusion that the first companions cameto realize what they needed to nourish thecommunity that God had created. Theyhoped that their followers would continueto emulate them. The ball is in our court.

(Barry [NEN] is co-director of the ter-tianship program for the New EnglandProvince.)

(An unabridged version of this article isfound on the Jesuits Only page atwww.jesuit.org)

The ball is in our court – nourish what God created

JESUIT COMMUNITY: A REFLECTION


By Robert Dundon SJ

What Thomas Friedman has called the administration’s“budget of mass destruction” has hidden assumptions. Oneassumption seems to be that the Fed can insure continuedeconomic expansion without more fiscal restraint on thepart of the government. This may or may not prove true.

However a still more serious threat to continued eco-nomic growth in the USA and in the industrialized worldis being ignored by the White House team. They are implic-itly assuming that the price of the oil imports we dependon so heavily will not sharply rise while future budgets arebeing brought back into the black.

Petroleum geologists have questioned this latterassumption.

On the basis of their expertise these folks predict thatthe future price of oil must skyrocket if the law of supplyand demand holds true. It seems likely that a runaway oilprice increase will trigger a drastic economic re-structur-ing in the lifetime of our present high school students. Thiswill happen in the years after “Hubbert’s peak” is passed.Hubbert’s peak is the future point in time when world oilproduction will begin to decrease.

Back in 1957 a geologist employed by Shell Research,Marion King Hubbert, predicted that the oil production inthe lower 48 states would peak around 1970. He used hisknowledge of the oil fields in the USA. He also used sever-al theories, which predict that a mineral resource that isin demand can be produced along a rising curve. Then afterabout half of the resource is used up, the curve peaks andbegins to decline.

Hubbert’s prediction was correct. Oil production in thelower 48 states has declined since 1970. Improved oilextraction technology has helped decelerate the declineand extract more oil from oil fields than in Hubbert’s time,but Hubbert’s declining curve is still approximately true.

In the 1990s petroleum geologists began to apply Hub-bert’s theories to all the oil fields in the world. They havecome up with some alarming estimates. Nobody is tryingto say exactly when this time will come, but it is soonerthan you think. In Kenneth Deffeyes’ 2001 book, “Hub-bert’s Peak: the Impending World Oil Shortage,” he explainswhy estimates of the year of Hubbert’s peak are uncertain.

Daniel Yergin is an energy expert who disagrees withthe petroleum geologists of Hubbert’s school. He maintainsthat oil production will remain fairly constant over the nextfew decades. This would postpone for a few decades thesharp price rise predicted by Deffeyes and other petrole-um geologists. Yet even the optimistic Yergin has to admitthat eventual steep oil price increases are coming.

In my opinion energy policy should be one of the issuesin the 2004 election—both short range and long-rangeenergy policy. Energy policy directly affects jobs not onlyin the energy industries—coal, oil, nuclear and electricpower, but also the transport, agricultural, and petro-chemical industries. More efficient energy usage will helpall of these industries.

The administration has proposed measures to movetoward a hydrogen-powered transport system. This soundslike a good idea, but hydrogen is usually manufacturedfrom a fossil fuel with a greenhouse gas as a byproduct. Ifhydrogen is produced from water it must be manufacturedby putting in more energy than can be retrieved. Althoughhydrogen is indeed a useful fuel, it cannot provide a satis-factory solution to our energy needs after the age of fossilfuels.

Energy policy also affects global warming. Early in thisadministration it was stated that global warming mightnot be happening. There have been no such assertions fromthe White House in recent months. I suspect that the rea-son is that the oilmen in the White House know about theincreasing evidence that our profligate use of fossil fuelsin this country is indeed contributing to global warming.

Unfortunately, the party in opposition seems to be blindto fundamental energy issues. They seem to be willing tofocus on the pump price of gas. Before the Iowa Democra-tic Caucuses most of the Democratic candidates endorsedsubstituting alcohol for a portion of our imported fuel.Whatever the economics of burning alcohol produced fromIowa corn may be, the energy accounting shows that it isnot a wise investment to use fuel to grow corn to producea fuel additive. Good political leadership must take energyconservation into account, even though it may not be pop-ular with voters. I’m not going to vote for the Green Partyover this issue alone, but I am asking other politicians totake energy and environmental issues as fundamental toour national prosperity.

The economy of the USA is prodigal with energy. Ener-gy problems, like the power outage in the Northeast andGreat Lakes region last August, have been typicallyaddressed only from the supply side. There is little dis-cussion about decreasing the demand for energy, still lessabout increasing energy taxes as an incentive to conser-vation.

The New York Times reported on April 18 that someautomobile company executives were now supporting ahigher gas tax. In reply a Sierra Club spokesperson sug-gested that a meeting be held somewhere in a telephonebooth for anyone interested in higher gas taxes.

The present price of oil cannot be maintained for long.Our political leadership should tell us what they will dowhen the price of gasoline goes up to $3 a gallon and doesn’tcome down. This voter is convinced that there is no ques-tion that this will happen.

Nobody knows whether it will happen in the nextadministration or not. Nobody knows what the price ofgasoline will be during the administration to be inaugu-rated in 2008, but the smart bet is that it will be over $3per gallon.

An Associated Press story on March 23 asserted thatthe average gas price of $1.74 was an all time high. In Aprilanother 4 cents were added to the record. I wonder howlong the record will stand.

Let the economists work out for us the implications ofa crude oil price rise to $60 or $70 per barrel. This may wellhappen within the next 10 years. Then let some bold econ-omists tell us what will happen as the price of crude oilcontinues to rise after that.

It has to come sometime—this decade according to theHubbert school and this century according to the optimistslike Yergin. The sooner preparations for the restructuringof our economy are made, the less painful they the restruc-turing will be. The sooner the political debate movesbeyond the present pump price to the future economy ofscarce oil supplies, the better for the country.

(Fr. Dundon [WIS] is pastor of St. Benedict the MoorParish in Omaha.)

The future price of gas: $3 per gallon by 2008?


News

By Paul Bernadicou SJ

Three outsiders to the typical Jesuit university lifestyle– a married couple and a non-teaching Jesuit – shared theirexperiences of poverty with the rectors of higher educa-tion Jesuit communities in March. The principal topic fordiscussion at the meeting of (HERO) the Higher EducationRectors’ Organization March 5 - 7 at Seattle University was“Reflections on Poverty and our Call to Simplicity of Life.”Steve and Tricia Trainer, a successful professional and mar-ried couple from the Jesuit St. Joseph’s parish in Seattle andFr. Jack Morris (ORE), founder of the Jesuit VolunteerCorps, reflected with the rectors.

Steve, a convert and a highly competent and well com-pensated head of a prestige building development compa-ny, became a committed Catholic and subsequently decidedwith his wife Tricia to live a simple lifestyle which permitsthem to donate half of his salary to others’ needs as aresponse to their Gospel call.

This generosity is distributed in various ways: a finan-cial and pastoral concern for destitute Native Americansin the Seattle area, serious profit-sharing on an equalizingbasis within his 21-person company; and mentoring col-lege graduates on their professional and lifestyle goals. Andon their family level, they have demonstrated willingnessto take into their home Tricia’s aging parents who are inincreasing need of care.

Tricia grew up having moved 13 times by the age of 18.This gave her a feeling of resonance with today’s homeless.

She cited three strong influences on her thinking andcommitment to simplicity of life: The first was Franklin D.Roosevelt, who said “The test of our progress is not thosewho have too much; it is whether we provide enough tothose who have too little.”

The second was Oscar Romero, who said “Only thepoor, the hungry, those who need someone to come on theirbehalf, will find that someone. And that someone is God.Without poverty of spirit, there can be no abundance ofGod.”

Her final citation was poet Mary Oliver who wrote in“In Backwater Woods,” “To live in this world, you must beable to do three things: to love what is mortal, to hold itagainst your bones knowing your life depends on it, andthen, when the time comes to let it go, to let go.”

Over the last 50 years, we Americans have shifted fromhelping the poor to blaming the poor, so this is now theway that the poor see themselves. We have lost the senseof our shared mortality as Mary Oliver described it.

Trisha elucidated three attitudes that underlie living asimple lifestyle:

■ Keeping the greater world in mind — something

she and Steve learned early in their marriage when theyvolunteered to work for some months with refugees incar-cerated in Hong Kong;

■ Be willing to be inconvenienced — like willinglytaking into their home her aging parents who will needtheir care;

■ Living a simpler, yet connected, appreciative, andenjoyable lifestyle with moral and political convictionsabout food consumption and environmental responsibili-ty.

Both Tricia and Steve enjoy a very supportive environ-ment within the community of their Jesuit St. Joseph’sparish in Seattle for living such a lifestyle of faith and socialjustice.

Morris, now 75, spoke next about two results of his seri-ous reflections at age 65 concerning how he wanted to liveinto his old age. Two examples of determinations he madeat that time were:

■ He had joined a small group that became a com-munity through “walking together to Bethlehem for peacein the world.” He spoke about how the hardships on theroad led them to find their true selves as advocates forsocial justice, deeper faith, a simple lifestyle, a genuine

experience of community — very like the tenets of theJesuit Volunteer Corps he had founded over 40 years earlier.

■ Ten years he spent in Uganda living and learningfrom the very poor. Jack was deeply moved by the faith andhope of the people in God’s indisputable love for them amidstthe very experience of their destitution because they soappreciated God’s gift of life.

HERO members engaged in wide-ranging discussionfollowing these presenters. Among the topics offered forconsideration, reaction, and further reflection were these:

■ Our Jesuit tension between our professional roles inhigher education and a simple personal lifestyle.

■ Tensions between a personal practice of our vow ofpoverty and our more lavish community lifestyle.

■ The need to invite laypeople to react to our com-munity lifestyle with us in order to get a more objectivesense of how it appears to our co-workers and those we min-ister among.

■ Why we have such difficulty in discussing the topicof poverty and lifestyle in our communities. A very helpfulobservation from one Jesuit rector’s experience was thatsuch discussions worked best if broken down within a largeJesuit university community into smaller groups of five orso each, especially if these same groups continued to meettogether over several sessions or throughout an academicyear.

■ How to use our considerable financial and profes-sional resources in higher education to make systemicchanges in our larger American and global society.

■ How to break through the sense of entitlement bywhich some Jesuits seem to be imprisoned.

■ How downsizing and fewer financial resources areforcing Jesuit communities to reconsider our expensive foodservices and lifestyle costs.

■ How the practice of the vow of poverty is not meantto be an exercise in stinginess.

■ How some Jesuits are helped by their frequent pas-toral outreach to the poor in detention or prison ministry,in poorer parishes, in third-world experiences.

There is joy in “letting go” of a more expensive lifestyleso that one is more connected with the many less well off.How can we facilitate this experience for ourselves and forothers through lived experiences as, for example, the JesuitVolunteers have discovered through direct contact with thepoor?

It was a most beneficial opening of a topic the memberswill revisit to authentically live our call to the lifestyle andmission of Jesus.

(Bernadicou [CFN] is rector of the Loyola MarymountUniversity Jesuit Community.)

HEROS discuss our vow of poverty at Seattle meeting

Ignatius gives his fine clothes to a beggar. From Ribadeneyra’s“Vita Beati Patris Ignatii,” Rome, ca. 1609.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Development CoordinatorGeorgetown University

The Woodstock Theological Center is a Jesuit centerat Georgetown University and is seeking a DevelopmentCoordinator. The Woodstock Theological Center engagesin theological and ethical reflection on topics of social,economic, business, scientific, cultural, religious andpolitical importance. The Development Coordinator willwork directly with the Center's Director to coordinateand carry out the Center's fundraising and public out-reach activities, and thus should have an interest in orappreciation for Jesuit spirituality and Woodstock's mis-sion at Georgetown University. Requires a Bachelor's

Degree (work in the area of theology or religious stud-ies preferred), 3-5 years demonstrated success in a non-profit development position, direct experience withpaper and electronic records management, events man-agement and donor relations and research. Technicalskills include excellent math, computer, and communi-cation skills (written and oral). Experience designingand administering databases with MS Access, FileMak-er Pro or other database software. Familiarity with weband multimedia presentation design desirable. Otherrequirements include an ability to multi-task, an eye fordetail in the areas of development, finance and logistics,and the ability to persuade and influence. If interested,please apply online at www.georgetown.edu/hr/jobsJob Number: 2004-0328B


By Daniel Hendrickson, SJ

Como Mexico No Hay Dos. It’s the name of aranchera song, and Mexican folk singer Vicente Fer-nández sings it with both poise and excited passion.It’s a song of his people proclaiming a truth long held bythem but one recently discovered by us: “Mexico.There’s no other like it!” Them is the Mexicans, ofcourse. Us is JSTB.

The first-year class of the Masters of Divinity Pro-gram at the Jesuit School of Theolog y at Berkeleyrecently traveled to Mexico City. An equal number oflay students and Jesuit scholastics embodied a groupof 20 led by Sr. Dorothy Peterson, FCJ and Fr. EduardoFernández (NOR), instructors with JSTB’s Departmentof Field Education. They were greeted by Fr. GerardoPadilla (MEX) and other members of the Mexican JesuitTheologate who helped construct and host the JSTBimmersion.

Peterson’s class, “Evangelization, Culture and Min-istr y” represents a recently designed, newly imple-mented curriculum for lay and Jesuit seminarians, andit is not unlike the emphases for service-learning cours-es and residential communities easily seen emergingon Jesuit University campuses around the United States.While Creighton University, for instance, celebrates itsinaugural year of the Cortez Community of analyticalstudy, research, service-work with neighbors of the uni-versity, prayerful reflection, and community living,JSTB hopes to be just as encompassing and intention-al. But it is doing so in the explicit arena of ministryin the American Catholic Church.

A significant number of American Catholics are His-panic. They are African, Asian, and European, too, eth-nic realities that will not go unexplored by JSTB. Butsome demographers enumerate the Latin Americancontext of the American Catholic Church at 40 percent.Because JSTB is in the business of training women andmen to further entrench themselves into the life andwork of the Church, it hopes that graduates of its min-istry program think and do good theology, pastor asChristian stewards, and evangelize God’s Word with theexperience of a fully savored taste of the Church’s widesocial and cultural expanse.

So JSTB lauds a new curriculum of graduate theo-logical study and ministerial practice that must beresearched and reflected upon in library and localityalike. Students frequently and easily commute to theparishes of the West Oakland Deanery to think, teach,preach and pray with a broad ethnic range of Ameri-can Catholics.

Again, the Hispanic contingent is large. JSTB begandreaming a year or two ago about an immersion trip toMexico, a pilgrimage to the tried and true roots of Mex-ican-American Catholics – and Mexican Catholics inAmerica – that could most fully and authenticallyexpose distinct cultural verities that are layered withhistorical, psychological, economical, geographical andreligious dimensions.

A healthy grant to the President’s Office of JSTBhelped make a fast-paced, two-week pilgrimage possi-ble. Mornings offered excursions to the Teotihuacantemples, the central-city Zócalo where a large – andsinking! – cathedral stands amidst ruins of an Azteccity, the Museum of Anthropology, the artist commu-nity (Coyoacan) of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, andthe Basilica of Guadalupe. Afternoon seminars facili-tated by Mexican scholars addressed details of Mexi-co’s long, complex histor y. They also lectured onMexican cinema and instructed on the culture’s richmusical legacy. Others detailed the methodology of reli-gious cultural analysis, articulated the phenomena of

popular religiosity in Mexico, and looked closely at thepower and mystique of Our Lady of Guadalupe.Evenings provided time for Mass, reflection and local-area excursions. Weekends splintered the group toJesuit parishes within the metro’s reach for overnightstays and ministry projects as far as Salamanca in onedirection and Guadalajara in another.

Marquette University alum and JSTB lay-studentErik Anderson explains that the immersion “was sucha visceral experience . . . I found myself touring the oldJesuit novitiate in Tepotzótlan, drinking coffee in thetown’s Plaza Mayor, watching the grace-ful moves of the dancers in Ballet Folk-lórico, and debating Mexico’s recenthistory – all in the same day!”

Indeed, como Mexico no hay dos! Somany of us pilgrims discovered the tru-ism of Vicente’s lyrics. Sightseeing, sem-inar discussion, weekend service-trips,reflection, private and shared: they tookus to Mexico’s depth and we ascendedfrom it knowingits distinctness.And we werenot unaffected.

Some of uswere fascinatedwith the pre-colonial empireof the land; oth-ers resented thehorrors of anew version of western conquest. We werecurious about the missionaries,impressed with a few and disgusted bysome. We wondered about Our Lady ofGuadalupe, her message to Juan Diegolong ago, the intricate details of herimage, and her power over millions. Wewatched the people of Mexico crawl ontheir knees toward her with their prayersand we offered our own. We argued aboutour own nation, the kind of neighbor it isand could be. We witnessed economicdesperation in people’s lives and foundhopelessness and indignity wonderfullycontaminated by courage, generosity andpride.

This brand of determination was spir-ited by JSTB’s own Chuy Palomino (CFN). Second-yeartheologian and native of Mexico, Palomino loudly pro-fessed a deeply felt and fully convinced mantra of thepeople of his own region during a Ballet Folklórico per-formance. “Ay, Jalisco no te rajes!” Don’t give upcourage, Jalisco!

Toward the end of the trip, at the celebration of Massone of our last evenings together in Mexico, we indi-vidually named our graces, which were multiple. Anample number of them testified to a definite experi-ence of God hand-in-hand with being on Mexico’s turf.

One was the grace of yielding. It showed relation-ship to God with a genuine element of self-surrender.Some of us were attentive to a total experience of theMexican pilgrim seeking communion with God throughthe Lady of Guadalupe. Or, crowned in flowers, it wasanother pilgrim seeking the same from the Black Crossof La Chalma.

Only the Guadalupe shrine is more frequented byMexican pilgrims than La Chalma. JSTB classmate MarkRyan (MIS) – likewise crowned – reflected upon such aconstant outpouring of devotion. “What an authentic,human expression of desire for supernatural interven-

tion!” Ryan was both impressed and humbled, more-over, with offerings of clipped ponytails left behind ata specific altar at the La Chalma site where pilgrimssymbolized promises they pledged to God.

The grace of yielding showed a people determinedto be in relationship with God, to honor the preciseplaces he has been peculiarly present, to serve him withpromises of fidelity and conversion of heart and, in asense, to make God come through on his end of thedeal. God is more accountable in Mexico it seems, butonly because Mexican’s are not unafraid to be account-

able to him. The people of Mexico have along-established pattern of showing Godhow much they depend upon him. Thatis, in part, why they built shrines overthe centuries and continue to flock tothem praying gratitude and petitioningGod’s gifts.

As the spring semester unfolds inBerkeley, JSTB student-theologians willcontinue to interpret the graces they

received. Butasking questionsabout the way wedo ministr y inWest Oakland,for instance, orwithin theAmericanCatholic Churchin other locali-ties, will be con-

sistent. Because that was the point, really. Peterson remarked that the trip to Mex-

ico “teaches us a great deal about what wedo and do not know about the Mexicanreality while also teaching a lot about ourown cultural roots, strengths, and biases.Immersions of this kind help us enter moredeeply into the question, ‘What does thisexperience have to say about my faith, andwhat might it say about my call to min-istry?’”

Lay-student Catherine Kelly said that“for starters the Mexicans showed me howto be fully present to the people with whomthey minister. They were so remarkablyfocused with their care, concern, attention.I hope to emulate that in my ministry.”

Good spiritual directors, sophisticated philosophersand challenging preachers will all query: so what!? Theyfacilitate us toward action, though, based upon seriousthought and prayer. Their simple question demands own-ership for insight. JSTB anticipated that the Mexicanimmersion could be a catalyst of intellectual, moral andreligious conversion for its participants. And by gleaningthese kinds of insights from it, such an experience isthereby efficacious of true Christian discipleship thathelps promote the same kinds of conversions in the worldaround us.

Some of us in Chardin House at JSTB quip, “It alwayscomes back to Lonergan!” Jesuit priest and philosopherFr. Bernard Lonergan (CAN) articulates a complexthough attractive process whereby God is found in allthings. Said discoveries promote the best kind of actionin and around us subsequent to good discernment.

Within the vast parameters of one of the largest citiesin the world, JSTB found the Holy Spirit whirling andswirling about. God and JSTB are similarly determinedto see what will come of that. Híjole!

(Hendrickson [WIS] is a first-year theologian atJSTB.)

JSTB immerses scholastics and lay students in Mexico

FEATURE


Oregon ProvinceFr. John Bentz,41, fromDrewsey,Oregon, has BAsin theater andEnglishliterature fromGonzaga Univer-sity. He was partof the team thatopened St.

Andrew Nativity School in Portland,Oregon. He has been on the foundingteams of five different theaters, was aninstructor of acting at University of SanFrancisco, and was assistant to the resi-dent director of The Lion King in NewYork. His plans include working withimmigrant Latino populations inperformance projects to preservecultural heritage and to help build theOregon Province’s vocation program.

Fr. Craig High-tower, 34, fromRenton, Wash.,graduated fromSeattle Universi-ty with a degreein criminal jus-tice and taughtU.S. history,Church history,and Christian

morality at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma,Wash., where he also coached soccer

(one of his nieces was on the team). Hespent some summers doing repair workand rebuilding houses and churches inAlaska and spent other summers work-ing at St. Andrew Nativity School inPortland, Ore. His first assignment willbe teaching and directing Ignatian Iden-tity at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane.

Fr. ThomasLankenau, 45,from Denver,has a BS inwildlife biologyfrom ColoradoState. He taughtreligion andbiology at Gon-zaga Prep inSpokane and did

pastoral ministry at a reservation inMontana. He taught English for theJesuit Refugee Service in Zambia. He isalso a freelance writer on environmentalspirituality. An avid birdwatcher, he'stallied nearly 500 species in the UnitedStates; he visits Yellowstone annually towatch the grizzly bears and wolves.After ordination, he will teach scienceand religion at Seattle Prep, and hehopes to work as a chaplain at a nationalpark during summers.

Fr. Bryan Viet-Hung Pham, 28, fromDalat, Vietnam, majored in philosophy,political science, and religious studies atGonzaga University and has an interestin civil and canon law. At BellarminePrep in Tacoma, Wash., he taught world

cultures, science,and U.S. govern-ment and was co-director fordiversity. In Cana-da, he worked as alegal assistant forJesuit Refugee Ser-vice and as aparish deacon,and he spent a

summer in India working at a leper colony.He enjoys tai chi, yoga, running and skiing.His next assignment is as associate pastorat St. Ignatius in Portland and liaison forJesuit Social International Ministry.

Fr. James Taiviet Tran, 44, from Dalat,Vietnam, with abachelor’s in elec-trical engineeringfrom University ofWashington inSeattle, taughtelectronic labcourses andcoached seniordesign projects inthe department ofelectrical

engineering at Seattle University. He hasalso directed silent retreats, was chaplain ata youth detention center in Seattle, andcoordinated and taught RCIA at a parish inOakland, Calif. He enjoys cookingVietnamese cuisine and tasting other spicyAsian foods; he also loves the outdoors. Hewould like to be involved in parish work.

Chicago ProvinceFr. Eric Knapp,35, from Rich-mond, Mich.,has BAs in Eng-lish and educa-tion from GrandValley State inMichigan and anMA in educationfrom Loyola Uni-versity Chicago.

He worked at Loyola Academy inWilmette, Ill., teaching English andSpanish, coaching cross-country andtrack, and leading student immersiontrips to Peru. An avid competitivemarathoner and cyclist, he’s completed22 marathons and two AIDS rides, aswell as serving as chaplain to LoyolaUniversity Chicago’s cross-country andtrack teams. He hopes to continue work-ing in education.

2004OrdinandiOrdinandi


California ProvinceFr. Lan Ngo, 34,from Dalat, Viet-nam, the tenth ofeleven children,has a bachelor’sdegree in biologyfrom Universityof California SanDiego and taughtgeometry andtheology at Bro-

phy College Prep in Phoenix. He alsoworked with a Vietnamese Youth Groupin the Bronx, directed retreats forinmates at a women’s prison in Dublin,and had an internship directing eight-day retreats at El Retiro Retreat Housein Los Gatos, Calif. After ordination, hewill start graduate work in Asian studieswith a special interest in VietnameseChurch history.

Fr. Tan RobertPham, 36, fromSaigon, Vietnam,has degrees inmechanicalengineering andspeech commu-nication fromCalifornia StateUniversity Fres-no. He spent two

years teaching theology and working onthe yearbook, in campus ministry, andon Kairos retreats at Jesuit High inSacramento. He also worked with theL’Arche Community in Seattle, at a hos-pital, and at St. John of God RetirementCenter in California. After ordination,he would like to work in a parish orcampus ministry. His hobby is takingblack and white photos, especially land-scapes and portraits.

Fr. DennisRecio, 33, fromManila, Philip-pines, hasdegrees in Eng-lish and psychol-ogy fromUniversity ofCalifornia SantaCruz and taughtEnglish at St.

Ignatius College Prep in San Franciscoand Verbum Dei High in Los Angeles. InChicago, he served at Genesis House, arehab facility for prostitutes. He has alsodone retreat work and served in conva-lescent homes and at the Jesuit UrbanCenter in Boston. After ordination, heplans further studies in literature.

Fr. Manh Tran, 37, from Saigon, Viet-nam, graduated with a bachelor’s degreein philosophy from St. John’s SeminaryCollege in Los Angeles. He has workedwith abused women and children, visit-ed the sick in the hospital, and worked

with the mental-ly handicappedat a L’Archecommunity. Healso taught reli-gion and musicat Brophy Col-lege Prep inPhoenix, andworked on staffat St. Sabina

Parish in Chicago. He hopes to do familyand spiritual ministry in the future. Heloves music, movies and food.

Maryland ProvinceFr. StephenSpahn, 33, fromDenver, has a BAin internationalrelations and anMA in diploma-cy from George-town University.He was aninstructor inphilosophy and

political science at Loyola College aswell as a staff member for the college’sCenter for Values and Service. He taughtpolitical science at Le Moyne College,served as a hospital chaplain and order-ly in New York, and worked at a parishin Haiti. The youngest of 10 children, hewill be vested a priest by one of hisbrothers, a diocesan priest. After ordi-nation, he will join the staff of HolyTrinity Parish in Washington, D.C.

Fr. MichaelWoods, 39, fromPittsburgh,received a BA inchemistry fromIndiana Universi-ty of Pennsylva-nia. He taughtphilosophy andtheology atWheeling Jesuit

University, where he also worked incampus ministry. He spent a summer inSarajevo with the Jesuit Refugee Service,assisting children who were victims oflandmines; in the U.S. he worked with aresettlement program in Syracuse thathelped refugees who fled Kosovo andBosnia. In the fall, he will be inresidence at St. Alphonsus RodriguezParish in Woodstock, Md., while contin-uing studies in liturgy at Catholic Uni-versity.

New EnglandProvince

Fr. GeorgeWilliams, 46,from NorthHaven, Conn.,has BAs in politi-cal science andpublic relationsfrom SyracuseUniversity and anMA in socialwork from

Boston College. He served in Brazilworking in a parish and ministering tothe homeless. He has spent the last 10years as chaplain and coordinator ofpastoral care at Suffolk County House ofCorrections in Massachusetts; he willcontinue working in full-time prisonministry in Boston after his ordination.He also has experience as an addictioncounselor, and his hobbies includecooking, yoga, pottery, Mormon historyand his pet ferrets.

Fr. John Wrons-ki, 38, fromChelsea, Mass.,has a BA in Eng-lish from Collegeof the HolyCross. He taughtEnglish and reli-gion andcoached cross-country, track,

lacrosse, and chess at Nativity Prep inBoston. His other ministry experiencesinclude directing retreats in Berkeleyand Los Altos, Calif., and serving as achaplain at Cook County Juvenile Deten-tion Center in Chicago. He likesrunning, movies, art museums andCape Cod beaches. He is interested inIgnatian and Johannine spirituality andplans to work in the area of spiritualityand pastoral ministry after ordination.

Ordinandi


province briefs

MISSOURI NEW ORLEANS

■ Our Southerner in the realSouth, Fr. David Andrus, hasbeen appointed Vicar for the Vic-ariate of Pohnpei-Kosrae in theDiocese of the Caroline Islands.He now has responsibility fornine parishes and three missionson five islands in two states ofthe Federated States of Microne-sia. Assisting in the ministry are11 permanent deacons, two con-gregations of religious women,and one diocesan and two otherJesuit priests.

■ Director of the Jesuit Spiritu-ality Center at St. Charles Col-lege in Grand Coteau, Fr.Warren Broussard, has beenactive not only in renovatingspirits but also the buildingwhere the spirits find rest. Theentrance foyer to the only novi-tiate of its kind in the UnitedStates is the latest target of hiswork.

■ Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald andMr. T.J. Martinez led 10 juniorsfrom Jesuit College Prep of Dal-las on a pilgrimage to GrandCoteau to offer them not onlyinsights into their own lives butalso insights into Jesuit traditionand folklore. The students hadthe opportunity of visiting the St.John Berchmans Shrine at theConvent of the Sacred Heart. Ithas been suggested that the Bel-gian scholastic violated Jesuitcustoms in his post-Civil Warmiraculous appearances andhealing of a Sacred Heart postu-lant at Grand Coteau: he did notnotify the local superior of hispresence, and he made noattempt to stay at a Jesuit house.

■ Province Social MinistriesAssistant Mary Baudouin hasannounced that the province hasendorsed the boycott of Taco Bellcalled by the Coalition ofImmokalee (Florida) workers.One member of the JVC: Southand one Loyola University stu-dent spent a week working sideby side in the tomato fields.

■ In a letter to the whole Soci-ety, Fr. General has thanked Fr.Mark Lewis for his six years asDirector of the Historical Insti-tute of the Society of Jesus(IHSI). Fr. Lewis will be return-ing to the province, as will Fr.Joseph Tetlow, who is leaving hispost as director of the spiritualityinstitute in Rome.

-- Donald Hawkins SJ

■ Fr. John Padberg, director ofthe Institute of Jesuit Sources,oversaw the renovation of the sev-enth floor of Jesuit Hall, whichnow houses the Institute. Theoffices of the Review for Religiouswill eventually move there as well.

■ Though only two years old, theColombiere Jesuit Community inColorado Springs is already in itssecond location. The communityhas moved into a house largeenough to accommodate thelegendary Fr. Bob Sullivan whenhe moves in after his six-year stintas pastor of Our Lady of GuadalupeParish. Two timely injuries had Fr.Superior Joe Damhorst doingmost of the heavy lifting; Fr. JerryBorer suffered a broken ankle andyoung Fr. Bart Geger hurt his backlifting weights!

■ New octogenarian Fr. JackStochl, pastor of St. Martin dePorres Parish in Belize City since1995, was recently named Episcopaldelegate by the ailing Bishop O.P.Martin so that confirmations in theMaya-Kekchi villages of the Toledodistrict could take place as sched-uled. Fr. Dan White, who will moveto Belize this summer to learn thepastoral ropes from Stochl, is won-dering if his new mentor will con-tinue to wear his miter and crosieraround the parish.

■ Changes are afoot in KansasCity. Father General has namedFr. John Vowells as the next rectorof the Rockhurst Jesuit Commu-nity, replacing Fr. Jack Callahan(WIS). Fr. Vern Heinsz will joinFr. Jim Blumeyer’s efforts to helpthe Ignatian Spirituality Center inK.C. continue to grow.

■ Speaking of Kansas City, Fr.Terry Baum (CHG), new presidentof Rockhurst High School, iswasting no time making his markon the local cultural landscape. Hisquickly scribbled drawing broughtalmost $1,000 at the school auction;and his rendition of “O Canada” ata recent Royals-Blue Jays gamestirred the hearts of thousands.

■ On July 1 Fr. Chris Pinné willturn over the leadership of theprovince’s highly successful AlumService Corps to Mr. Mike Calla-han, teacher and retreat director atDeSmet Jesuit High School. Thiswill be the fourteenth year of theprogram, begun by Fr. FrankReale.

-- Philip G. Steele SJ

Next wave of comparativetheology will be a tapestry

By Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski

What does the future of interreligious dia-logue and comparative theology look like?

On the last weekend of March, a graduate stu-dent conference at Boston College gave someclues. Students at Jesuit institutions with gradu-ate programs in theology from across NorthAmerica gathered for three days for “EngagingParticularities II: New Directions in ComparativeTheology, Interreligious Dialogue, Theology ofReligions and Missiology.”

Papers and discussions among these gradu-ate students gave a foretaste of the direction inwhich the next generation of Jesuit formed schol-ars will take interreligious dialogue and com-parative theology.

Four threads emerged revealing a tapestry ofcharacteristics and concerns these young schol-ars share. Although participants remain indebt-ed to the professors and theologians of previousgenerations that formed them, they gave voice topriorities, concerns and emphases particular totheir experiences and contexts.

The brightest thread in this tapestry was thecommitment to engaging particular religious andcultural themes. By definition, those drawn todiscussing points of contact between Christiani-ty and other traditions are open to diversity with-in theological discourse.

Yet at this conference, there was not just anotional openness to diversity. Rather, the par-ticipants themselves were a testament to thediversity to which disciplines like interreligiousdialogue and comparative theology are open.Those present were Jesuit and lay, male andfemale, Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant. Par-ticipants included people from South Asian, EastAsian, African, Middle Eastern, and EasternEuropean contexts. Many also brought and shareda rich array of cultural contexts and encounterswith other religions.

There was not just an acknowledgment thatChristianity is a minority religion in certain partsof the world, but also discussions of what thatreality looks like “on the ground.” The richnessof these contexts deepened conversations throughthe weekend.

For example, a paper titled “Remembrancingthe Other: Historical Consciousness and Interre-ligious Dialogue” prompted a discussion of therole of ethics and theology in diverse global con-texts. Moving beyond standard discourses framedby European or North American backgroundsallowed new visions of how Christianity can bearticulated while retaining its integrity andvibrancy.

In tandem with the diversity of the partici-pants was the sheer variety of disciplinesengaged.

The presenters explored a range of fields andmethodologies while considering questions ofcomparative theology, dialogue, mission, andethics. Disciplines as diverse as biblical studies,

feminism, eco-theology, and church history wereentry points for discussing the intersectionbetween differing religious traditions, the con-ditions for dialogue, and the effects of suchencounters.

By drawing upon the variety of disciplineswithin the orbit of theology, the conference par-ticipants acted as pioneers. They spoke of themultiple ways in which religious traditions speakabout common issues and allowed an apprecia-tion for the diverging ways in which these issuesare addressed.

Another feature of the conference was howparticipants probed the implications for the top-ics discussed. There were discussions of ethics,spiritual practices, evangelization, and the rele-vance of interreligious dialogue to global vio-lence. In some ways, the presence of people fromdeveloping world contexts often led directly toengaging the implications of the theological viewsarticulated over the weekend.

This was shown in a paper offered by anAfrican Jesuit. “Building a New Humanity With-out Fears and Tears: A Preferential Option forPeace and Dialogue,” opened participants toforms of indigenous African religions and solu-tions it offered for aiding Christian actions forpeace and justice.

The final thread of this conference was theaffirmation of a central element of the compara-tive theology method: that as one retains religiouscommitments, one finds one’s own beliefsenlightened by engagements with other tradi-tions.

By sharing diverse perspectives and interact-ing with non-Christian theologies, the participantsbecame aware of new insights into their own tra-ditions, practices and beliefs. By openness todiverse traditions, the participants often foundthemselves affirming insights that were both inher-ent and new to their own traditions.

As a student of the medieval Christian-Jewishencounter, I have gained great insights from rab-binic interpretations of scripture and insights intothe nature of God’s relationship with humanity.

The next generation of scholars in comparativetheology, interreligious dialogue, missiology andrelated fields present at Boston College this Marchdisplayed a set of habits and commitments indica-tive of evolving ways of engaging theologically withother religions. By engaging various religious andbackgrounds via a variety of disciplines and a con-cern for the implications of new theological expres-sions, the participants revealed a new way of doingtheology. Woven together, these threads show Chris-tian theology in new colors and images, both famil-iar and yet seen in a new way.

Anyone interested in attending and/or makingpresentations at a similar conference at Boston Col-lege next year is asked to contact me at [email protected].

(Joslyn-Siemiatkoski is a Ph.D. candidate in theHistory of Christianity in the Department of Theol-ogy at Boston College.)

Jesuits and Interreligious Dialogue


WISCONSIN

■ After 12 years as novice direc-tor, Fr. Pat Lee has begun a well-earned sabbatical. His socius, Fr.Tom Lamanna, was named as hisreplacement and installed duringa liturgy at the novitiate on May17.

■ Fr. Bill LeRoux will receive anhonorary doctorate from SeattleUniversity during the June com-mencement exercises, in honor ofhis 46 years of service. Until earli-er this year, LeRoux was vice-president for university relationsat SU. He now resides at theProvince Infirmary in Spokane.

■ Al Falkner was named the newpresident of Gonzaga Prep inSpokane by the school’s board ofdirectors on March 22. Falkner,who has served as principal of theschool the last nine years, replacesJohn Traynor, who is retiring atthe end of the school year.

■ Fr. Rick Ganz was named thenew director of University Min-istry at Gonzaga University inApril. After teaching and servingas superior at Portland’s JesuitHigh School, he has been enjoy-ing a year of sabbatical beforestarting his new work in Spokane.

■ St. Andrew Nativity Schooland its president and founder, Fr.Kevin Connell, were honored byPortland’s Royal Council ofRosaria for “an act of heroism” inserving the city’s needierstudents. This June, St. Andrew’sgraduates its first class of 20eighth grade boys and girls.

■ Fr. Lou Renner is completingthe finishing touches on his latestopus, “Alaskana Catholica,”detailing the personalities andlocales of significant Catholic his-tory in Alaska. He alsocontributed the forward to a newbiography of Jesuit Bishop Fran-cis Gleeson, the last Vicar Apos-tolic of Alaska and first bishop ofFairbanks.

■ Fr. Gregg Wood, fully recov-ered from an emergencyappendectomy, has returned tothe Alaskan villages of HooperBay, Scammon Bay and Chevak,where he serves as pastoral minis-ter. In December, Wood wasmedivaced from the Bering coastinto Anchorage for surgery afterhis appendix ruptured, but onlyafter waiting several days for theweather to clear enough for planesto land.

-- Brad Reynolds SJ

■ St. Agnes Parish in San Fran-cisco raised over $3,500 this pastLent for one its local charities, St.Anthony Foundation. Fr. CameronAyers, pastor, presented the direc-tor of St. Anthony’s, Fr. JohnHardin, OFM, with the check at adelicious dinner his communityhad provided.

■ Fr. Wafik Nasry recently fin-ished a licentiate in Arabic andIslamic studies in Rome while liv-ing at the Bellarmino. He also fin-ished a second licentiate inmissiology at the Gregorian and willsoon begin doctoral studies there.

■ Fr. Sonny Manual will takeover the office of rector at SantaClara University this summer,succeeding Fr. Dennis Parnell.Sonny is the former California for-mation director and currentlyserves the university as vice provostand dean of the Schools of Counsel-ing Psychology, Education and Pas-toral Ministries.

■ Fr. Michael E. Engh, actingdean of the Bellarmine College ofLiberal Arts at LoyolaMarymount University, has beenappointed dean of the college, effec-tive June 1. Engh, who has beenassociated with LMU since 1988,was selected after a national searchto head the university’s largest col-lege. Bellarmine College has 1,900students in 12 departments and 18programs, with 140 faculty.

■ The Loyola Institute for Spiri-tuality in Orange presented itsHearts on Fire Award to the Honor-able Judge Frank Firmat and Robertand Loretta Holstein for respondingto today’s spiritual hungers byenabling people to discover andnurture God’s life within others.

■ Fr. John Lo Schiavo, chancellorof USF, received the USF AlumniAssociation’s first LifetimeAchievement Award, named in hishonor. More than 700 peopleattended a dinner and dance April24 at San Francisco’s St. FrancisHotel. Lo Schiavo has been associ-ated with USF for 43 years as aJesuit, teacher, administrator,trustee and president.

■ JSTB was awarded a grant of $2million from the Thomas andDorothy Leavey Foundation in LosAngeles for Endowed Scholarships.“This scholarship endowment willenable the Jesuit School of Theologyto attract the very best students tothe Master of Divinity program,”said Fr. Joseph Daoust, president.

-- Jerry Hayes SJ

■ Frs. Kevin Cullen (MIS) andJohn Fitzgibbons attended theNational Formatores gathering atEl Retiro Jesuit Retreat Housein Los Altos, Calif.

■ Restorative justice practicesare used worldwide in a criminaljustice context. Fr. Jim Raddehas successfully adapted themfor parish use. At St. Joan of Arcparish in Minneapolis, hisretreat, “Birthing Hope: A Circleof Healing,” used a restorativejustice circle process.

■ Fr. John Naus of MarquetteUniversity has won the AlphaSigma Nu Alumni of the Yearaward. A long time sponsor ofMarquette’s chapter, Naus wasgiven his award as part of theabbyak induction ceremony.Afterwards, he provided balloonanimals, hugs and kisses foreveryone present.

■ Fr. John Belmonte has beennamed the new principal of Mar-quette High School effectiveJuly 1. Sixty percent of the Wis-prov novitiate class of 1985 nowworks at Marquette High: Fr.Tom Manahan serves as presi-dent, and Fr. Tom Doyle asdirector of Campus Ministry.Can classmates Frs. Tom Merkeland Tom Stegman be far behind?Wags wait to see what the nextmove of these old schoolMafiosos might be.

■ Fr. Peter Bwanali (ZAM)successfully defended his PhDdissertation on “The Politics ofDifference.” Peter and Fr. WillProspero will be beginning ter-tianship this summer in exoticOhio.

■ Fr. Gene Donahue has beentapped to go to St. Paul,Minnesota to study the possibili-ty of starting a school there. Fr.Rick Abert has been named thenew superior of the Miguel ProJesuit Community to replaceDonahue.

■ Inside joke: A communitymember will spend the summertouring as Tevye in the TempleLbra’him Community Center pro-duction of “Fiddler on the Roof.”In a recent interview, hedescribed himself as “breathless”and “thrilled silly.” “This is mybig break, and I’m gonna take it.”Break a leg, Paul.

-- Patrick Dorsey SJ

OREGON CALIFORNIA

a mix of provinces utilizing the JSA model and other provinces usingthe new development model populated them. “But there was always aneed to meet,” says Freeman. “It’s very easy to get very focused on thework you’re doing in your province or territory. If you’re not careful, youcan get too focused, and you can miss out on advances in the industry,on new and better ways to do things. By meeting each year, we were ableto learn from the ‘best practices’ in each province.”

“E-mail,” said Rachel Brennan, “has changed the way we meet, too.You used to see someone twice a year and that was it. Now that everyonee-mails, we’re constantly firing off messages to the whole group. ‘Hey,has anyone tried this?’ ‘Does anyone know how to handle gifts like this?’and so on. There are 10 other offices out there trying to do the exactsame thing. We’d be crazy not to use each other.”

While e-mail is useful, the face-to-face meetings continue. Everyfall the directors of the various development offices convene. Each spring,the directors and other staff members gather in one of the 10 provinces.

Recent meetings held in the New England and Wisconsin Provinceshave yielded a new Assistancy wide planned giving initiative (that uti-lizes both traditional mailings and online giving) and the groundbreakingAbidjan campaign. This year’s was the first meeting held in Rome.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. Grimm assembled anambitious agenda designed to expose the development directors to theinner workings and international works of the Society. The developmentdirectors were treated to an overview of the treasurer’s office from him,an overview of communications ministries from Fr. Tom Rochford (MIS),educational ministries from Fr. Tom Roach (MAR), Ignatian Spiritual-ity from Fr. Joe Tetlow (NOR), an overview of the Curia from Fr. GabrielCodina (ESP), the Society’s Secretary General, as well as a meeting withFr. General himself.

They also listened to presentations on the Latin American, African,South Asian, and East Asian Assistancies, and the Jesuit Refugee Ser-vice. On May 6, Fr. Roger Yaworksi (CSU) celebrated Mass for them inthe rooms of St. Ignatius. “It was a blessing to be here,” said MargaretCuccinello, director of development for the New York Province, to Fr.General. “Each of us has learned so much about the Society, and we’releaving here to continue our work with our hearts on fire.”

At the conclusion of the three-day meeting, the directors set a datefor their fall meeting —by then, efforts will be largely underway in mostprovinces to raise the Abidjan library funds— and then returned totheir various ministries. That’s right, their ministries. “We are an apos-tolic unit of the province,” said Rachel Brennan. “And each of us, thoughwe’re mostly laypeople, sees what we do as a ministry, something we’vebeen called to do.”

(Kearney is director of publications and public relations for the Chica-go Province.)

DevelopmentContinued from page 3

Society of Jesus U.S.A.http://www.jesuit.org

Jesuit.org, the home page for the Society in the United States,features resources, vocation event information, archived issuesof National Jesuit News, and a host of links.

A new section for Jesuits only has been added. Follow the linkfor “Jesuits Only” to fill out the form to gain a username andpassword.

Web Resource


■ Fr. Timothy J. Hipskind inter-preted Br. Mike O’Grady’s act ofcivil disobedience and subsequentimprisonment as an act of prophet-ic witness in an article titled “Whydid he do it?” The article was pub-lished in the April 12, 2004, issue ofAmerica Magazine.

■ O’Grady and Fr. William E.Creed collaborated to author anarticle for In All Things on theirshared experience offering retreatsto homeless men.

■ Fr. John P. Foley hasannounced his resignation as presi-dent of Cristo Rey Jesuit HighSchool. He will move from CristoRey to the rapidly expanding CristoRey Network of Schools, the nation-al association based on the CristoRey model. This fall, six Cristo Reymodel schools will open across theUnited States, bringing the total to11.

■ Fr. Jerome E. Treacy earned aDoctor of Sacred Theology (S.T.D.)when he successfully defended hisdoctoral dissertation, “The Chris-tology of the Anglican Bishop JohnA.T. Robinson,” to the faculties ofthe Gregorian University in Rome.Fr. Michael D. Class, the socius tothe provincial, also earned a Ph.D.in higher education after success-fully defending his dissertation atthe University of Pennsylvania. Hisdissertation, “Organizational Cul-ture as a Result of Change in BudgetSystems,” was based on case stud-ies of two Jesuit universities.

■ Fr. Michael W. Cooper turnedto Creighton University’s Insti-tute of Latin American Concern(ILAC) when he learned that, forthe first time in five years, hewouldn’t be able to bring studentsfrom St. Leo University in St. Leo,Fla., where he is director of univer-sity ministry, to Cape Haitien,Haiti, for a spring break servicetrip. ILAC instead arranged a pro-gram in Santiago, DominicanRepublic, where Cooper, 11students, and two professorsworked with poor rural farmers andHaitian refugees harvesting toma-toes, and spent a day with mentallyand emotionally challengedorphans.

■ The Josephite Pastoral Centerhas invited Fr. James W. Hasse toprovide paintings for its 2005 BlackHistory and Heritage Calendar.Hasse, a pastoral minister at theClaver Jesuit Mission in Cincin-nati, also recently exhibited his art-work in Detroit.

-- George Kearney

■ Mr. Michael Simone was theguest preacher at the First Unitar-ian-Universalist Church ofDetroit on April 18. He delivereda sermon on the School of theAmericas and Christian SocialJustice. He also recently becamean acknowledged contributor tothe “Lonely Planet Guide toGuatemala” when they acceptedhis article describing San LucasToliman, where he has spent sev-eral summers.

■ Fr. John O’Malley receivedan honorary doctorate from Mar-quette on May 16. John’s newbook, “Four Cultures of theWest,” will be published thissummer by Harvard UniversityPress.

■ Fr. Mike Vjecha, MD, hasreturned to HIV/AIDS research inhis new position as ScienceAdministrator for the SMARTstudy (Strategies for the Manage-ment of Anti-Retroviral Therapy).This U.S. government-fundedproject is the world’s largest HIVstudy; it will enroll 6,000 patientsin the U.S. and abroad and followthem for at least seven years. Thestudy is being conducted throughthe CPCRA (The Terry BeirnCommunity Programs for ClinicalResearch on AIDS), a consortiumof U.S. clinics serving minorities.It is headquartered in Washing-ton at the V.A. Medical Center,where Vjecha will be based.

■ Fr. John Staudenmaier(WIS) will finish his three-yearcommitment as interim dean ofthe College of Liberal Arts andEducation at UDM on June 30.Dr. Charles Marske will begin histenure as dean on July 1. Thiscoming year, John will be scholar-in-residence at Santa Clara Uni-versity’s Center for Science,Technology and Society, wherehe will continue to edit Technolo-gy and Culture while working tofulfill a contract with MIT Pressfor a second edition of “Technol-ogy’s Storytellers: Reweaving theHuman Fabric,” still in printthough 20 years out of date. Johnwill return to UDM next summerfor the 2005-06 academic year.

■ Also on sabbatical next year,but staying closer to home, will beFr. Gerald Cavanagh. For 30years now, Jerry and anotherUDM faculty member have takena group of students backpackingthe week after final exams. Thisyear they went to ShendandoahNational Park in Virginia.

-- John Moriconi SJ

CHICAGO DETROIT

PROVINCE BRIEFS

■ Fr. Vin Duminuco, visitingprofessor at Fordham’s Gradu-ate School of Education, wasone of 100 invited participants ata symposium on the future ofCatholic education in the U.S.sponsored by the NCEA as part oftheir centennial activities. Themeeting focused on the themes ofidentity, leadership and engage-ment with society as a whole.Meanwhile, the new O’HareLeadership Program forsecondary and middle school fac-ulty sponsored by Fordham Uni-versity and the province is off toa very successful start underVin’s superb leadership.

■ Fr. Joe Parkes, finishing histenure as president of FordhamPreparatory School, has accept-ed the presidency of the newCristo Rey School in Manhattan,to open this summer. More than60 students have been accepted,and the school has been endorsedby the Society of the Holy Child ofJesus, the Brothers of the Christ-ian Schools and the New YorkProvince.

■ Fr. Bob Haus is retiring fromthe faculty of Canisius Collegeafter 45 years of service in theDepartment of Mathematics andStatistics. He has also served thecollege as an associate dean andmoderator of the Digamma Soci-ety, and has lived in the residencehalls for his entire tenure. A clearand concise presence in the class-room, and a beloved teacher anddedicated explainer of the mathe-matical mysteries to countlessfreshmen over the years, Bob washonored at a convocation lastmonth.

■ All of the first-year novicesfrom St. Andrew Hall in Syracuseare completing their novitiateexperiment at Calvary Hospital inthe Bronx. They are all living atFordham University, exceptPeter Gyves, who is working inChad.

■ Fr. Dave Ciancimino,currently the headmaster ofXavier High School in New York,will become the socius of the NewYork Province this summer.

■ Fr. Mark Massa, professor oftheology and director of the Cen-ter for American Catholic Stud-ies at Fordham, will deliver thisyear’s keynote address atProvince Day on June 19.

-- Kenneth J. Boller SJ

-- Louis T. Garaventa SJ

NEW YORK

Mission Possible: High SchoolReligious Education, 1950-2003, Where We’ve Been, WhereWe’re Going

By James DiGiacomo SJNCEA, Washington, D.C., 2004128 pp., $30, paper ($22 for NCEA members)ISBN i-55833-327-4This is the story of the author’s

50 years of teaching theolog y infour Jesuit high schools. The recenthistory of the Church in America isseen through the eyes and heard

through the words of thousands of young people with whomhe tried to share his faith. Fr. DiGiacomo is pastoral ministerat St. Michael’s Church, New York.

Gleeson, The Last Vicar Apostolic of All of Alaska: TheFirst Bishop of Fairbanks

By Carol Louise Hiller OP1st Books, Bloomington, Ind., 2004$12.25 paperISBN 1-4140-2583-1A biography of Francis D. Gleeson SJ, who became the first

bishop of Fairbanks, Alaska. The book can be found in book-stores or is available from the author for $20. Write to Sr. CarolLouise Hiller OP, 1320 Padre Drive #217, Salinas, CA, 93901-2165 (email, [email protected]) or call the publisher, atten-tion Julie Sowell at 1-800-839-8640 ext.214 or Brad Collins at1-888-280-7715.

The Jesuits in the United States:The Italian Heritage

By Vincent A. Lapomarda SJJesuits of Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass., 2004Library of Congress #2004102725180 pp., paperA histor y, beginning with the

colonial era in the U.S., of the contri-bution of Jesuits of Italian backgroundto this countr y and the Society ofJesus. Fr. Lapomarda is the coordina-

tor of the Holocaust Collection and the Italian American col-lection at the College of the Holy Cross.

Awake My Soul: ContemporaryCatholics on Traditional Devo-tions

Edited by James Martin SJLoyola Press, Chicago, 2004150 pp., paper, $11.95ISBN 0-8294-1987-XThe book contains 19 essays

by contemporary Catholic writersand thinkers on the practice ofdevotions for a new generation ofthe faithful. Among the devotionsconsidered are First Fridays, therosary, the Sacred Heart of Jesusand more. Fr. Martin is associate

editor of America magazine.http://www.authorhouse.com/home.asp

BOOKScontinued from page 4


■ Fr. Christopher Fronk, now achaplain in the U.S. NavyReserves, pronounced his finalvows in the Wheeling Jesuit Uni-versity chapel on March 7. Fr.Provincial Timothy Brown wasthe principal celebrant of the Masswith Fr. Terrence Toland ashomilist. A reception followed inWhelan Hall.

■ Frs. Thomas Gleeson,Edward Glynn, GeraldStockhausen (WIS) and Tolandhave been recently named to theWJU Board of Directors.

■ Two major gifts were recentlygiven by the Scranton JesuitCommunity, one to the universityto help renovate and enlarge theretreat center, and the other to thePrep’s Capital Campaign.

■ Fr. Joe Rossi recently gave alecture to the Bohemian ManorAssociation on the occasion of the300th anniversary of the foundingof this Jesuit ministry.

■ The St. Ignatius Jesuit Com-munity at St. AlphonsusRodriguez Church at Woodstock,Md., bid farewell to Fr. PatrickRavichandran Thomas (IDA), anIndian Jesuit doing hisTertianship at Campion RetreatCenter. Patrick brought youth,energy and an international visionto the community during his four-month stay. He did his regencyand the past four years of priestlyministry in Zambia teaching at St.Peter Canisius College. Besideshelping at the parish, Patrick min-istered at University of MarylandMedical Center and substitutedfor Fr. Bernie Suppé during hisrecuperation from surgery.

■ Mr. Kurt Denk recently spon-sored a two-part lecture, “WhenHeaven Meets Earth,” bringingtogether Rev. Rodney Parker, Ros-alin Mandelberg and JalalSoroosh, who spoke on the meet-ing of hearts and minds of Chris-tians, Jews and Moslems.

■ Wheeling Jesuit Universityhas been preparing to celebrate,from mid-2004 to mid-2005, the50th anniversary of its founding in1954.

■ Fr. Joseph Lingan served asretreat director for the spring dayof recollection to the WheelingJesuit Community on March 27.

-- Jackie Antkowiak

■ Fr. Aloysius P. Kelley (MAR),president of Fairfield University,signed a five-year collaborative agree-ment with the University of CentralAmerica on March 15 in Managua,Nicaragua. This partnership will allowFairfield to focus and define its mis-sion in Latin and Central America andprovide opportunities for mutual aca-demic cooperation and the exchangeof students and faculty.

■ Rwandan Fr. Elisee Rutagamb-wa (RWB) spoke at Boston Collegeon several occasions in April to com-memorate the tenth anniversary ofthe genocide that claimed the lives ofas many as 800,000, mostly ethnicTutsis. Rutagambwa, a Jesuit scholas-tic teaching high school in Burundi in1994, lost 40 family members and rel-atives in the genocide, along withmany more friends andacquaintances. He is now a doctoralstudent in theology at B.C.

■ On the day before this season’sfirst Red Sox home game, Fr. Provin-cial Tom Regan blessed the firstbatch of “Break the Curse Cookie Bat-ter” for the Dancing Deer Bakery,across the street from Boston’s Fen-way Park. The blessing included aprayer “for all those who willconsume these cookies…. As they eatthese tender morsels may they cry outin resilient tones a resounding‘onibmab,’ that is, bambino inreverse!” Many Bostonians are pray-ing for a superior quality batter atFenway Park this summer.

■ Fr. Paul Harman has beeninstalled as rector of the communityat Boston College, replacing actingrector Fr. Ed O’Flaherty.

■ Fr. William Russell has steppedin as acting socius. The new socius,arriving in October, will be Fr. JohnHiggins, outgoing rector of the Fair-field Jesuit community. John will besucceeded as rector by Fr. Walter“Skipp” Conlan of Boston College.

■ Fr. John Wronski will becomedirector of vocations, succeeding Fr.James Hayes, who was announced inthe last issue of NJN to be the futurerector of the community at HolyCross College.

■ Fr. Richard Deshaies willbecome provincial assistant for for-mation, succeeding Fr. David Dono-van, who has been named to succeedFr. John Hanwell as rector of thecommunity at Boston College HighSchool.

-- Richard Roos SJ

MARYLAND NEW ENGLAND

Fr. Jack Hanwell (NEN),rector at Boston CollegeHigh School, emphasizedduring the fourth sessionthat, due to declining num-bers in the Society, theJesuit-lay relationship canno longer be seen as lay col-leagues collaborating withJesuits, but rather the otherway around. “WE are col-laborators with our col-leagues,” he said.

In a discussion of mys-tery and clarity, Fr. John Privett (CFN), rector atWeston, pronounced: “Priesthood. It’s a question.It will never be answered.” He also urged his broth-ers to practice what he called the “sacrament of pres-ence,” being there for their fellow Jesuits, both youngand old. Fr. Bill Barry (NEN) picked up on Privett’stheme and urged reverence for each other, even inthe face of disagreement. “We need to learn to talkto each other in a time of ambiguity.”

In the first day’s final session, Dave Nantais(DET), now finishing his first year at Weston,responded to comments from some of his older con-freres about anger among Jesuits in formation. Get-ting a big laugh, Nantais said “I don’t know if I’mrepresentative because I’m not all that pissed off.”Becoming more serious, he reminded the group thatwhen he entered the Society, most of his classmateswere about age 30 and “gave up something to join,to be missioned to serve.”

Some points that were made during the wrap-up session on Sunday included the observation thatthere was a lack of diversity among conference par-ticipants, who were, nearly to a man, white. “Thisis a reflection of the past rather than the future,”said Fr. Bill Wood (CFN), tertian instructor.

Smolich said that it is not unusual for a youngpriest to have a crisis within three to five years ofordination, after realizing, he said wryly, that “thepriesthood is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Chojnackitouched on that point when he noted that there isnot a good mentoring process for men post-ordi-nation, making it inevitable that they will makesome poor decisions in their ministries. And Fr.Brian McDermott (MAR), rector at Georgetown,cautioned young priests against trying to be allthings to all people, putting their trust in the “avail-ability of the real God (rather than) the god of avail-ability.”

The meeting broke up after liturgy Sundaymorning, although the vocation directors and novicemasters stayed on for several more days to conduct

separate meetings with some joint sessions.In a post-conference summary, Sholander wrote:

“The conversations and comments of the partici-pants were candid, thoughtful, insightful and, inmany cases, inspiring. Those who gathered clearlytake their responsibilities seriously and have tremen-dous dedication to and love for the Society.”

Sholander summed up the following five majorpoints:

1. Community life has many challenges for menwho move from formation houses to apostolic hous-es. Finding a home, support and companionship areall quite a struggle. Men love the various ministriesin which they work, but find the communities oftenlonely. They long for more interaction, faith shar-ing and mutuality.

2. Coordination between first studies and the-ology programs can be problematic, and the deansof all of the programs are seeking to find ways tocommunicate more frequently and effectively.

3. Formation programs in the U.S. are a carryover from a different time, when entrance classeswere larger and candidates were younger. They maynot suit an older cohort of men who enter with muchmore life experience and education. It is necessaryto re-imagine formation with an idea to respond-ing to these new circumstances.

4. There exists a generational divide betweenmembers of the Society, and communication acrossthat divide is not always successful. It is very impor-tant that we listen closely to one another, settingaside our filters.

5. The use of labels (e.g. “liberal” or “conserv-ative”) is not helpful and introduces inadequate dis-tinctions and artificial barriers that do not furthercommunication, but instead build walls and fostertrench warfare. These labels also falsely simplifyand minimize the experience of the other, reducingcomplexities to clichés.

A more detailed report from the gathering isforthcoming.

FormatoresContinued from page 5

Sr. Mary Ann Donovan S.C., (JSTB) and Fr. Bill Barry (NEN) share a laugh.

Fr. Matthew Carnes (CFN) and Fr. John Privett (CFN) enjoy the beautiful courtyard at El Retiro.

John Anthony Nicholson SJ(New York) Fr. John Anthony Nicholson, 89, died

November 28, 2003 at the New York Province Infirmary,Bronx, N.Y. He was a Jesuit for 68 years and a priest for 57years.

Born in the Cathedral parishin downtown Syracuse, N.Y., hespent his formative school yearsat the Cathedral of the Immacu-late Conception Academy andattended the College of the HolyCross for two years before enter-ing the Society at St. Andrew-on-Hudson, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in1935.

He went to the Philippines forphilosophy and regency. He began

his theological studies at Novaliches during the wartimeoccupation. Subsequently interned at Los Banos (1944-1945), John returned to the U.S. to complete theology atWoodstock College, and was ordained there on January9, 1946.

Almost all of John’s active priesthood was spent inthe Caroline Islands – he was one of the earliest Jesuitssent there after the mission was entrusted to the NewYork Province. For the next 38 years he worked as a parishpriest on Kitii, Ponape, and Truk. He was known for hiscompassion to his parishioners and for his practical con-struction skills wherever he was assigned.

John returned to LeMoyne College in 1987, where helived until going to the Province Infirmary in 1992.

-- Louis T. Garaventa SJ

Patrick Russell Shaules SJ(China, applied to California) Fr. Patrick R. Shaules,

89, died December 18, 2003 in Dover, Del., after a brief ill-ness. He had been a Jesuit for 68 years and a priest for55 years.

Pat was born in San Diego, June 27, 1914 and enteredthe Society at Los Gatos on September 7, 1935. He had agreat desire for the China missions and was approved in1943. Wartime conditions, however, precluded this so hecontinued his regency at Loyola University (1942-45) andstudied the Chinese language privately.

He studied theology at Alma College (1945-49) andwas ordained June 12, 1948 in San Francisco. After ter-tianship at Port Townsend, Wash. (1949-50), he beganhis missionary career in Manila, studying Chinese withthe dispersed and exiled missionaries from the Main-land.

In 1952, Pat was assigned to teach history at the Tai-wan National University and English at the NormalSchool in Taipei, posts he held until 1955, when he tookup pastoral work in Hsinchu. In 1962, he was namedassistant principal and dean at Ricci College, a free K-12school for refugees in Macau.

In 1966, in response to the growing need to train theincreasing flow of refugees from the Mainland, Pat start-ed Macau Welfare Enterprise, training and giving work toabout 750 people in 12 centers, producing clothing, jew-elry and electronic parts. About the same time he found-ed a similar operation, Asia Co-Op Enterprises in HongKong. After a period of fund-raising in California (1970-71), Pat was back in Taiwan, as director of social worksat Sacred Heart Residence in Hsinchu.

In the late ’60s he started the program to which hedevoted the remainder of his life, Operation H.E.L.P.(“Help Employ the Less Privileged”), with headquartersin Taipei and later, Wilmington, Del. In 1979 he openedthe U.S. office and funneled seed money to hundreds ofmissionary projects throughout Asia and Africa.

From his home in rural Hartly, Del., Pat also had timeand energy for pastoral ministry. He would take parishsupply calls, regularly say Mass at a nearby prison, andlead home prayer groups. For many years he would joina local pro-life group for weekly prayer vigils outside the

memorials


Bill enjoyed perfect health all through life except forlosing his hearing. It was a heavy cross to bear, and ittriggered his move in 2001 to the Jesuit community atSt. Camillus.

--Charlie Baumann SJ

Lawrence C. Helmueller SJ(Wisconsin) The “oldest man in the province,” Fr.

Lawrence C. Helmueller, 95, died on December 26, 2003in the Jesuit Community at St. Camillus in Wauwatosa,Wis. Most of his ministry was done at Mission, S.D. wherehe was pastor for 23 years and at St. Joseph’s Hospital inOmaha where he was chaplain for 20 years. He was aJesuit for 73 years and priest for 61 years.

Born on Feb. 17, 1908 in EauGalle, Wis., near Eau Claire, Larryattended local high schools andSt. Lawrence Seminary (1925-29)and worked a year before joiningthe Society at Florissant on Aug.8, 1930. He completed his A.B. atSaint Louis University, taught atSt. Francis Mission (1937-39),and went on to St. Marys, Kan.for theology. After ordination onJune 17, 1942 and tertianship inCleveland, Ohio, Larry divided his time between Mar-quette High School in Milwaukee and St. Francis Mis-sion in South Dakota, until 1954 when he began servingthe people in Mission, S.D.

To be a reservation pastor meant being able to livealone, work alone, be on call at all times, and be handyenough to fix things that quit working. Larry was all ofthese. Recognizing that the youth in Mission had verylittle to do, he excavated a basement and turned it intoa roller rink. Recognizing that many parishioners werepoor, he acquired a building for storing items for rum-mage sales. Recognizing that the future of the Church laynot in having two separate churches, one for Native peo-ple and one for white people, Larry eventually united thecongregations in Mission into one.

Larry left the reservation in 1977. After a yearlongsabbatical in Santa Barbara, Calif., he settled into a sec-ond career as chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Omaha,Neb. He found a niche there on the pastoral staff; he wasvery effective in visiting patients who were elderly. Herarely had a cold and almost never missed a day of work.

In his late ’80s Larry was assigned to more limitedhours at St. Joe’s until 2002 when advancing Alzheimer’sdisease forced him to finally retire to the Jesuit Commu-nity at St. Camillus where he died peacefully in his room.


Francis J. Parrish SJ(California) Fr. Francis J. Parrish, 92, died Decem-

ber 29, 2003 at Santa Teresita Hospital, Duarte, Calif.,after a long illness. He had been a Jesuit for 74 years anda priest for 61 years.

Frank was born in Los Ange-les on August 9, 1911, attendedLoyola High School there, andentered the Society at Los Gatoson October 6, 1929. He returnedto Loyola High as a regent, 1936-39, where he taught Latin andEnglish and coached the light-weight football and basketballteams. He studied theology atAlma College, 1939-43, and wasordained to the priesthood June13, 1942 in San Francisco. Tertianship was made at St.Robert’s Hall, Pomfret Center, Conn. In 1977 Frank wasraised to solemn profession.

After studies, Frank was assigned to Loyola HighSchool as chaplain and athletic director. In 1948 he then

local abortion clinic. As his health declined in recentyears, Pat had to give up overseeing Operation H.E.L.P.,but was able to devote a few hours a day helping anddoing pastoral ministry.

-- Dan Peterson SJ

William J. Mehok SJ(Wisconsin) A prominent Jesuit statistician, Fr. Bill

Mehok, 90, died December 26, 2003, of natural causes atSt. Camillus Health Center in Wauwatosa, Wis. He was aJesuit for 73 years and a priest for 60 years.

Born in Dresden, N.D., Billwas one of three children whobecame priests. His brother Char-lie, a Jesuit, died in June of 2003.His brother George, a diocesanpriest, died over 10 years ago.

Bill entered the Society atFlorissant on Sept. 1, 1930. Hestudied at Saint Louis University,receiving an A.B. in 1936, a Ph.L.in 1937, and an M.A. in educationin 1938. Bill taught at Marquette

High in Milwaukee, studied theology in St. Marys, Kan.,and was ordained on June 22, 1943.

Following tertianship in Cleveland, he learned somestatistics at SLU and went to work in 1946 at the JesuitEducation Association in Washington, D.C., the fore-runner of the JSEA. His assignment was to gather sta-tistics on Jesuit schools in the United States, a job atwhich he was so adept that he moved on to the JesuitCuria in Rome and gathered statistics on Jesuit schoolsworldwide (1955-66).

When Bill returned to the U.S. he joined other Jesuitsworking at the Cambridge Center for Social Studies(1966-70). Finally, his talents were noticed by the Cen-ter for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) andhe joined their research team. Between 1970 and 1979Bill co-authored 14 studies, including one commissionedby the DeRance Foundation on the devotion to the SacredHeart.

In 1979 Bill went to the Jesuit School of Theology atBerkeley to update his theological studies, after whichhis brother George invited him to work at St. John’s Parishin Wahpeton, N.D. When his brother retired from activeministry in 1987, Bill moved to the chancery in Fargo toassist in computerizing the offices. He also teamed witha diocesan priest, Fr. Jim Lauerman, to create a ques-tionnaire that could identify a young man’s potential forpriesthood. The questionnaire, called the “MinistryPotential Discerner,” was marketed out of CardinalMuench Seminary and was used for a period of years insome dioceses, including the archdioceses of Philadel-phia and Chicago.


moved to Loyola University, where he briefly served asdean, taught religion, and began his work as archdioce-san director of the Apostleship of Prayer, a ministry thatwould be the focus of the rest of his life. As director, Frankpromoted the group through lectures, parish missions,and radio and television talks.

Frank was superior of Manresa Retreat House, Azusa,1965-71, and then moved to Colombière House, LosAngeles, where he continued his work with the Apostle-ship of Prayer. In 2001, his health failing, he moved toSanta Teresita Hospital.

Frank was a busy retreat director, spiritual director,and a chaplain to many groups. He also worked with thedeaf in Los Angeles for many years. For almost 50 yearshe spoke on the radio series, “The Sacred Heart Program,”as well as other radio and television programs. In 1992 hegathered selected scripts and published them in bookform as “Sparks From His Heart.”

Frank was closely involved with the process of can-onization of St. Claude La Colombière SJ as early as 1957.He was instrumental in the occasion of the final mira-cle, which paved the way to the canonization. In 1990,Fr. John Houle SJ was suffering from incurable pulmonaryfibrosis. Frank blessed him with a relic of Colombièreand John fully recovered. When Blessed Claude was can-onized on May 31, 1992, both Frank and John were in thefirst row at the ceremony in Rome.

Frank had a very enthusiastic, positive and pleasingpersonality. He had the ability to relate well with youngpeople. Zealous and absolutely devoted to his work, hehad a winning simplicity and openness about him thatpeople found attractive. As one friend put it, he was “abeautiful and loving witness of Jesus Christ.”

-- Dan Peterson SJ

Orville J. Catuso SJ(Wisconsin) Fr. Orville Catuso, 83, died on Dec. 31,

2003. He was a Jesuit for 63 years and a priest for 50 years.Born in Milwaukee on Dec. 28, 1920, Orv was one of

five boys. Both his parents died at the beginning of theDepression and the family dispersed. Orv, being theyoungest, was placed in the archdiocesan orphanage.

When he was 11 years old, theorphanage burned down and theorphans were re-located else-where. A diocesan priest paid forOrv to attend St. Lawrence Sem-inary (1935-40). The brothersnever got back together.

Orv entered the Society atFlorissant on Sept. 1, 1940. Hestudied at Saint Louis University,earning an A.B. in 1944 and anS.T.B. in 1955. He taught at St.

Francis Mission in South Dakota, studied theology at St.Marys, Kan., and was ordained on June 17, 1953.

Although Orv never considered himself outstandingin any area, he taught at Marquette and Campion highschools, served as minister at Creighton University, andassisted at the retreat house in Oshkosh. Among his moresatisfying assignments was his time as a chaplain at theVeterans Home in King, Wis. (1975-1991). He loved tolisten to the men and the stories they told, to hear abouttheir struggles to believe in a loving God, and to fosterin them a desire for the sacraments. He worked at Kinguntil forced to retire after age 70.

Orv next settled into St. Bernard’s Parish in Apple-ton, Wis. (1991-96). The pastor of the parish had a strongsocial justice orientation and had schooled the parish-ioners for 30 years to have a concern for the poor, thehomeless, and the indigent. Orv did the pastoral carework in the parish, visiting the homebound and elderlyand anointing the sick.

The parishioners said that Orv was very kind, gen-tle, humble, and prayerful. This panoply of traits was aresponse to his own disabilities: emphysema from smok-

ing, blindness from macular degeneration, and arthri-tis. One parishioner said, “Orv was a living example ofsomeone who was poor. He showed us how to live a lifewith disabilities.”

When the pastor retired, Orv went to live at the JesuitRetreat House in Oshkosh (1996-2000), where his workfocused on advising, listening to, and praying with theretreatants. He was an awesome confessor, very kind andcompassionate.

Forced by his illnesses to move to St. Camillus in2000, Orv’s emphysema triggered his death in 2003.


Paul G. Stockhausen SJ(Wisconsin) Fr. Paul G. Stockhausen, 94, died of

prostate cancer on Dec. 31, 2003. He was a Jesuit for 76years and a priest for 63 years.

Born in Milwaukee on June 5, 1909, Paul attendedMarquette High (1923-27) and entered the Society atFlorissant on Aug. 31, 1927. He received his formationthrough Saint Louis University, earning an A.B. in 1932and an M.A. in philosophy and math in 1934. He taughtmath at Regis High School in Denver and at CreightonPrep in Omaha; and he studied theology at Alma College.He was ordained on June 27, 1940 in San Francisco andcompleted tertianship at Port Townsend, Wash. in 1942.

The early church father, Hip-polytus, once said of Jesus,“Though hungry himself he feedsthousands; though weary herefreshes those who labor.” Paulwas a person known not so muchfor what he did as for what peo-ple received from him.

Paul was sent to teach at Mar-quette U. He taught philosophy inhis first year (1942-43), math thesecond year, philosophy and the-ology for 12 years, and finally just theology for 23 years.He served as chaplain in the engineering school (1946-51) and as teacher of catechism in the medical school(1952-57).

His career spanned Vatican II and the student anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s. He continually re-invented his courses to match the interests of theundergrads. In the 1950s he taught apologetics; in thelate 1960s, Bible-based courses on God and Christ; in the1970s, what it means to be a Christian, theories of non-violence, and ethical problems regarding the distribu-tion of wealth in contemporary society.

In 1961 Paul moved to Marquette High to be the spir-itual father for the scholastics, something he also tookon during the summers throughout the ’60s at the Jesuitvilla in Waupaca. He was a breath of fresh air for thescholastics of that period.

In 1974 Paul became the treasurer of the MarquetteHigh community. Though he never taught at the school,his presence in the faculty dining room each day wasappreciated. He enjoyed people and took an interest inwhat they were interested in. Always gentle and kind, hewas also an excellent confessor.

In 1993 Paul moved to St. Camillus and took on theonerous task of keeping track of Medicare and JesuitHealth Trust records for everyone in the community. InOctober 2003, Paul had the impression that he would diebefore Christmas Day. Though disappointed not to cel-ebrate our Savior’s birthday with him, God did invite Paulhome for New Year’s Eve.

-- Charlie Baumann SJ

John L. Mahoney SJ(New England) Fr. John L. Mahoney, 84, died at Cam-

pion Center in Weston, Mass., on January 3.He grew up in Milton, Mass., and attended local

schools until his senior year in high school when he

transferred to Boston College High School. He enteredthe Society at Lenox, Mass., in 1938 for novitiate andjuniorate, then came to Weston College for philosophy.

John volunteered for theprovince’s Baghdad mission andin 1945 went to Baghdad to studyArabic and teach in our sec-ondary school there. He was acheerful, lively, and outgoingman, respected and also liked byhis students, many of whom tele-phoned and e-mailed provinceoffices from around the world tooffer condolences whey theylearned of his death.

He returned to the province in 1948 for theology andordination, followed by tertianship at Pomfret, Conn. In1953, he returned to Baghdad to continue his work inArabic and to serve as minister of the house of studies.

He spent the next 15 years serving in Baghdad in var-ious capacities: teacher and assistant principal in thesecondary school, teaching Arabic and serving as min-ister and treasurer of the Jesuit house of studies, andlooking after the material needs and health requirementsof the Jesuit community.

In 1968 the Baathist political party came to powerwith a program of staffing all institutions with nativeIraqis and expelling foreigners from them, especiallyAmericans, so in 1969 the Jesuits in Baghdad had to turntheir high school and university over to governmentauthorities and leave the country.

John then came to Boston College High School toteach English, mathematics, and religion for the next 25years and to engage in pastoral ministry until 1997, whenworsening health problems obliged him to move to Cam-pion Health Center.

His cheerful, outgoing and cooperative manner madehim an ideal patient for the medical staff there and hecontinued to be an enjoyable companion until a series ofstrokes deprived him of most of his faculties. He was acheerful, welcoming, and “productive” Jesuit priest tothe end.

-- Paul T. McCarty SJ

Howard C. Ellis SJ(California) Br. Hal Ellis, 90, died January 6 in Regis

Infirmary, Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, after along bout with cancer. He had been a Jesuit for 49 years.

Hal was born in Camden, N.J. on Christmas Eve 1913.He attended schools in New Jersey and had a year in busi-ness school in Philadelphia. He was inducted into theArmy in 1942 and served as a rifleman in the 129thInfantry. Over a 32-month period he saw action in theFiji Islands, New Hebrides, Guadalcanal, Bougainvilleand in Luzon.

After discharge from the service, he eventually movedto San Jose and worked in the retail clothing business.He entered the Society as a Coadjutor Postulant on Sep-tember 6, 1953, becoming a novice on March 7, 1954.

Following his novitiate training in 1956, Hal wasassigned to the clothes room at Sacred Heart Novitiate. In1958 he moved to Alma College in a similar capacity, sup-plying and repairing clothing and linen for a communi-ty of 140. He made his tertianship in 1964 at St. Stanislausin Cleveland and pronounced his final vows as a Broth-er at Alma on August 15, 1965.

When the theologate moved to Berkeley in 1969, Haltook up the job of assistant minister and guest master.Hal was assigned to St. Ignatius College Prep in 1979,where he served as subminister and sacristan until 1993.His last posting was to Sacred Heart Jesuit Center as assis-tant to the minister. He spent his final years, 2001 untilhis passing, in Regis Infirmary, praying for the Churchand the Society.

Hal had a great gift for laughter and had a propensi-ty for malapropisms. His mangled sayings (“Hal-a-


Props”) became famous throughout the province. He wasan accomplished dancer and loved the music of the swingera. Hal also had a deep loyalty to his friends; over theyears he kept in touch with many of his buddies in hiswartime unit as well as with his Jesuit friends from nearand far. His great faith shone through in the way he faith-fully carried out all those mundane tasks that keep a com-munity going.

-- Dan Peterson SJ

Daniel F. Lawler SJ(Maryland) Fr. Daniel F. Lawler, a member of the

Jesuit Community at Wernersville, Pa., died at ReadingHospital in West Reading, Pa., on January 6, 2004.

Born September 27, 1914, in Philadelphia, he grad-uated from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School and enteredthe Society at Wernersville July 30, 1935. He followed theregular course of studies at Wernersville and Woodstock.His first year of philosophy was spent with his class atInisfada, Manhasset, Long Island. During regency hetaught at Loyola High School and Georgetown Prepara-tory School (1942-45). He was ordained at WoodstockJune 20, 1948.

Following tertianship at Pass Christian, Miss., heserved as minister and teacher of sophomores at LoyolaHigh School. His next assignment was to GeorgetownUniversity, where he was assistant dean of men and pro-fessor of religion (1955-58). He was professor of religion(1958-62) at Loyola College and student counselor there(1962-64). He taught theology at the University of Scran-ton (1964-70).

Following two years at St Joseph’s College as execu-tive secretary and in private study, he entered upon themajor part of his apostolic labor, serving at seven parish-es; at Corpus Christi, Baltimore (1972-73); at St Alphon-sus, Woodstock, where he was co-pastor and then pastor(1973-76); and then in the Diocese of Harrisburg at StJoseph’s, York (1976-77); at the Harrisburg Cathedral(1977-83); at St Rose of Lima, York (1983-87); at St Fran-cis Xavier’s, Gettysburg (1987-91); and at Corpus Christi,Chambersburg (1991-01), when ill health prompted hismove to Wernersville, where he had been praying for theChurch and the Society.

-- Michael Westman

Richard F. Olson SJ(New England) Fr. Richard F. Olson, 75, died of heart

failure at Campion Center in Weston, Mass., on January15. Born in Somerville, Mass.; he graduated from BostonCollege High School in 1946. He entered the Society thatsummer at Shadowbrook in Lenox, Mass.

Talented musically, he served as choir director andorganist as a novice and in thejuniorate. He came to Weston Col-lege for philosophy in 1950, againsharing organ and choir-directingduties until 1953, when he optedto go to the province’s JamaicaMission.

For the next three years hetaught math at St. George’s Collegein Kingston and was very highlyregarded by students and col-leagues alike for his professional

and effective style of teaching and his concern for the wel-fare of his students, both in and outside of the classroom.In 1956 he returned to Weston College for theology, andserved again as organist and choir-director. He wasordained to the priesthood on June 13, 1959.

He finished theology in 1960 and spent the followingyear in tertianship at Pomfret, Conn. Never particularlyathletic or physically vigorous, he learned at the end oftertianship that he was suffering from muscular dystrophy.Unpleasant as this news was, he adjusted and returned in1961 to Weston College to serve as librarian for a year.

He spent the following six years at the Jesuit’snewly opened Xavier High School in Concord, Mass.He began a sabbatical year in 1969 by undertakinggraduate studies in education at Boston College. Dur-ing this time he also served as rector of the Jesuit com-munity at Xavier. He continued the graduate studiesover the next two years, serving also as religionteacher and student counselor at Boston College HighSchool.

In 1972 he moved to the Jesuit high school in FallRiver, Mass., to head their guidance and counselingdepartment, and he remained there until 1976, whenhe returned to B. C. High to resume teaching religionand to serve as director of counseling services foranother 16 years.

As the years went by, his physical disabilities wors-ened and in 1992 he came to Campion Health Centerwhere he could receive the special care he needed andrichly deserved. Health problems had dogged himthroughout his life as a Jesuit, but he adjusted hissights, took on the work he was able to do, and foughtthe good fight until the end.


William E. Dooley SJ(Wisconsin) Fr. William E. Dooley, 89, died of nat-

ural causes on Jan. 20, 2004 in the Jesuit Communityat St. Camillus. He was a Jesuit for 71 years and a priestfor 56 years.

Born in Omaha on Sept. 5, 1914 but raised in Mil-waukee, Bill attended Mar-quette High School and enteredthe Society at Florissant, Mo.on Aug. 8, 1932. At Saint LouisUniversity he completed an A.B.in 1937, a Ph.L. in 1939, and anS.T.L. in 1946 and found a greatlove for antiquity and classicallanguages.

Indeed, during regency atCampion High School and atCreighton Prep, Bill divided his

time between teaching, prefecting, and studying San-skrit! In theology at St. Marys, Kan. it became clearthat Greek and Latin would be Bill’s forte. So afterordination on June 16, 1946 and tertianship in Cleve-land, Bill went to the University of Toronto for specialstudies.

As a teacher Bill always demanded the utmost fromhis students. As a student at Toronto he found that hecould learn more easily on his own than in the class-room.

Bill left Toronto and spent the rest of his Jesuit lifein Milwaukee. At Marquette University he taught bothgraduate and undergrad courses in ancient philoso-phy up until 1977, when he became disillusioned andquit the classroom, deciding instead to tutor gradu-ate students who were determined to learn Latin andGreek. He also became interested in developing thephilosophy section of the university library, was putin charge of acquisitions for the philosophy depart-ment, and did an outstanding job right up to his death.

In 1988 Bill suffered a stroke that paralyzed hisleft side but left his mind sharp. He thought his careeras a scholar was over; however, the community hireda typist to help him continue. Until this time Bill hadno publications; collaboration with a typist and anoth-er Jesuit enabled him to publish a translation of a com-mentary on Aristotle’s Metaphysics, authored byAlexander of Aphrodisias around 200 A.D.

In 1999 Bill moved to St. Camillus. His interestswidened to include 401-K pension funds and paper-back fiction, but he continued to view the paralysis as“my purgatory.”


Joseph R. Lerch SJ(Maryland) Fr. Joseph R. Lerch, 77, died January 29

at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Baltimore.Born May 1, 1926 in Baltimore, Joe graduated from

Loyola High School and entered the Society April 15,1944, at Wernersville. He did philosophy studies 1947-50 at West Baden College, West Baden Springs, Ind.

In 1950 he sailed for India, where he was to spendthe next 30 years of his life. His first two years were spentstudying Hindi at Gomoh, followed by a year as assistantprefect at Bandgaon, and a year teaching English inJamshedpur.

He did his theology studies 1954-57 at St. Mary’s Col-lege, Kurseong, where he was ordained November 21,1956. Following tertianship at Hazaribagh, he wasassigned to graduate studies in theology at the Gregori-an University in Rome. In 1960 he joined the faculty atSt. Mary’s College as professor of theology. He was rec-tor of the college from 1972 to 1978.

During a sabbatical year he was scholar in residenceat the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago. The next year(1979-80) he was professor of theology at St. Joseph’sSeminary, Allahabad.

Returning to the United States in 1980, he served asdirector of the retreat house at Manresa-on-Severn. Hewas associate pastor at Holy Trinity in Washington 1987-89, before becoming pastor at St. Alphonsus, Woodstock,Md. His last assignment beginning in 1999 was as chap-lain at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Towson, Md.

-- Michael Westman

Robert J. Higgins SJ(New England) Fr. Robert J. “Pinky” Higgins, 83,

died of cancer at Campion Center in Weston, Mass., onFebruary 7, 2004.

A native of Boston, he graduated from Boston Col-lege High School in 1937. Always an enthusiastic base-ball fan and baseball player, he was known from earlyyears as “Pinky” Higgins, after a star third-basemanfor the Boston Red Sox.

After high school he entered the Society at Shad-owbrook and did novitiate and juniorate there, fol-lowed by philosophy at Weston. For regency, he taughtand coached at B.C. High. In 1947 “Pinky” returned toWeston College for theology and ordination.

In 1951 he went to Jamaica to teach in a newlyestablished Jesuit prep school designed to prepare boysfor entrance into St. George’s College in Kingston.While he was there he introduced the youngsters toAmerican baseball and softball, organized leaguesthroughout Kingston for both sports, and in the processearned a reputation as a highly critical observer ofumpires.

When a colleague mentionedthat more time in the classroomrather than on the playing fieldswould be of greater value to theboys, “Pinky” replied that therewere times when a good softballgame would be better thanShakespeare for both minds andbodies.

He returned to the U.S. fortertianship at Pomfret, Conn.,(1953-1954). He returned to Jamaica to spend the next24 years serving in pastoral ministry at parishesthroughout the island, interspersed with teaching atSt. George’s College and Campion College in Kingston.He returned to the United States in 1978 to serve forfive years as assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Churchin Malden, Mass. Until 1997 he engaged in local pas-toral ministry while living at B.C. High.

Health problems required him to move to Campi-on Health Center in Weston in 1997, but even from herehe continued for several years to travel to Malden andelsewhere to give pastoral help a few days a week


“Pinky” was cheerful, the kind of man who lightenedyour day. Naturally gregarious, he would engage completestrangers in conversation at bus stops. He was an activeparticipant in the evangelical cursillo movement and at thesame time a man of refined sensitivity – friends and peerssays that an unkind word never passed his lips. When hereturned to the U.S. from Jamaica he faithfully visited threepeople every week: a man he had taught at B.C. High, a 100-year-old-blind lady, and his sister.

A faithful, humble, cheerful man and priest, he will besorely missed.


Peter J. Gabriel SJ(New England) Br. Peter J. Gabriel, 83, died at Campi-

on Center in Weston, Mass., on February 13, 2004. He wasborn in the textile-mill city of Lawrence, Mass. His familymoved to Dover, N.H., when he was quite young. He attend-ed local schools and worked in Dover until he entered theSociety at Lenox, Mass., in 1953.

His formal education ended with high school butbecause of his background he spoke French and Lebanesefluently as well as English. Nonetheless he felt that his callwas not to the priesthood but to serve God in a more hid-den and humble role as a Brother. His father, AbrahamGabriel, had emulated the biblical Abraham in leaving hisnative Lebanon to come to America and eventually tobecome a sort of patriarch and pillar of the Lebanese-Amer-ican community in Massachusetts and New England gen-erally.

In the Society, Peter carried on the deep-rootedLebanese traditions of warm, welcoming and generous hos-pitality, especially in his work as dining-room manager andsacristan. In his first assignment he was an assistant cookat the novitiate in Lenox until 1956, when he was assignedto Weston College where he served successively – and some-times simultaneously – as secretary to the rector, assistanttreasurer, manager of the dining room, and librarian.

In 1963 he went to Holy Cross College where he servedfor the next 13 years as assistant minister, sacristan, andwardrobe custodian. Although the services he performedwere relatively hidden and humdrum, he carried them outwith an alacrity and cheerfulness and competency that

endeared him to the members of any community he livedin.

In 1966-67 he served as assistant minister at CampionCenter, and for the following three years at Boston CollegeHigh School as assistant director of development. From1981 to 1984 he was director of development at St. ThomasAquinas High School in Dover, and from 1984 to 1986 as achaplain at Boston City Hospital.

He served for the next nine years as chaplain and pas-toral visitor at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover andfrom 1995 to 1996 as assistant minister of Loyola House inBoston. Worsening health problems required him to cometo Campion Health Center in Weston in 1996, where he con-tinued his welcoming and cheerful ways until sickness inca-pacitated him.

He was a vivacious person, a man who was always inter-ested in you, not himself.


Vincent J. Lagomarsino SJ(Maryland) Fr. Vincent J. Lagomarsino was born July

22, 1918, in New York City, but grew up in Concord, StatenIsland, and graduated from Curtis High School where hehad hopes of becoming a concert pianist. After five years'service in the Army he entered the Society at WernersvilleMarch 11, 1946. He did philosophy and theology at Wood-stock College with one year of regency in between at LoyolaHigh School. He was ordained at Fordham University byFrancis Cardinal Spellman June 16, 1956.

His first assignment after tertianship at Auriesville wasto the University of Scranton, where he spent seven yearsas student counselor and professor of theology. He con-tinued the same assignment at Wheeling College until 1974,during which time he earned a Masters in theology fromMarquette University. Following a year teaching at St.Petersburg High School in Florida, he entered upon hisministry of twenty years as Veterans Administration chap-lain, first at Sheridan, Wyoming, for three years and thenfor seventeen years at Coatesville, Pa. In 1995 he took upresidence at Wheeling Jesuit University serving as pastoralminister until failing health prompted his recent transferto Manresa Hall.

-- John Swope SJ

The following Jesuits have died since theNJN last published and prior to our May 7deadline. Their obituaries will appear asspace and information become available.

Alvey, Stephen L. (MAR) May 4Beining, Paul R. (MAR) March 20Browning, Joseph E. (NOR) May 3Butler, Robert E. (NYK) March 11Carroll, Joseph P. (CFN) March 30Cser, Ladislas (HUN/NYK) April 6Cutajar, Alfred E. (MAR) May 5Dehler, William A. (CHG) April 8Fitzgerald, Thomas R. (MAR) March 22Flannigan, John G. (MIS) April 21Harrington, John S. (ORE) March 5Koch, Terrence E. (CFN) April 29Martinez-Mari, Joaquin (BOL/NEN) April 17Pennisi, Ignatius F. (NEN) March 25Poetzl, Donald J. (CFN) May 1Prussing, Charles B. (CFN) February 29Quigley, John S. (NYK) March 9Quinn, John J. (MAR) April 12Ratnasekera, Anthony J. (SRI/NYK) March 2Ronan, Charles E. (CHG) April 8Soucie, Edward A. (NYK) March 31Van Roo, William A. (WIS) March 30Walsh, Michael E. (ORE) April 15

ANNOUNCEMENT

PresidentSaint Ignatius Loyola AcademyBaltimore, Maryland

Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy of Baltimore announces a national searchfor a new president. The Academy, conceived in the tradition of the NativitySchools, is an independent tuition-free Jesuit Catholic middle school for boysfrom families of modest incomes. Its 75-member student body is principallyAfrican American. The Academy’s mission is to draw from and share with itsstudents the very best spiritual ideals and moral values. The Academy providesits graduates with the opportunity to pursue excellent secondary educations,to prepare themselves for college, and to live as Men for Others.

The successful candidate is preferably a Jesuit, but other strong candidateswill be considered. The candidate should demonstrate qualities commensu-rate with the ideals of the Academy. His education must be steeped in the ped-agogy of Ignatius Loyola in order to assure the Jesuit character of the Academy.He needs to have a firm grasp of the educational issues facing our typical youngman. He should display the spiritual ability to lead a staff and student body todesire great things for our society.

The candidate needs to do six things to build upon the solid foundation ofthe Academy’s first 10 years: inspire and oversee a creative headmaster’s work;attract a committed and energetic faculty; oversee the Academy’s self-study;

increase the endowment; enhance the graduate support program; and devisea vigorous long-range plan. A complete position description will be sent toeach applicant.

Please submit a resume of your academic and administrative experienceby 15 June 2004, and three letters of reference to:

The Academy Search Committeec/o Eugene M. Geinzer, S.J. 4603 Millbrook Road, BaltimoreMaryland 21212-4721 Phone (410) 617-2209 [email protected]

Jesuit Relations


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By Julie Bourbon

“I’ve always been fascinated with thekids who don’t get the material easily,who struggle with it,” said Fr. Ralph Metts(MAR), an educator at heart and, for thelast 16 years, an integral part of the JesuitSecondary Education Association (JSEA).An imposing man, he makes a visitorimmediately comfortable with his easylaugh, and one can imagine him doingthe same for a class full of teenagers.

Vice presi-dent of JSEAsince 1995,Metts, 58, will beleaving at theend of July tobegin a one-yearsabbatical.Beyond that, whoknows? He’sthinking ofspending the

next year traveling, perhaps to Australiaand New Zealand, maybe returning toLatin America where he has spent timein Brazil, Chile and Peru. “I’d like to getback down there and see what’s going on,”he said, noting that he’d have to “spruceup” his Spanish first.

Prior to becoming involved withJSEA, Metts had just finished nine yearsof service as a learning specialist for fiveMaryland Province high schools, pri-marily Gonzaga in DC. He taught English

and Latin in regency and immediatelytook to the challenge of working withbright students who had special needs.

“Adolescents to me are endlessly fasci-nating,” said Metts, acknowledging with agrin that they are endlessly fascinating tothemselves, too. “It’s always a challenge tofind out what’s going on.”

A graduate of the Teachers College atColumbia University in New York, Mettsholds an M.Ed. in reading and learning dis-abilities and an Ed.D. in special educationlearning disabilities. Although he’s beenout of the classroom for years, it holds aspecial place in his heart, which probablyexplains why he’s spent so much time overthe years working with teachers.

Metts’ tenure at JSEA began in 1988 inNew York City, when he joined the formerJSEA Commission on Research and Devel-opment (CORD) at Fordham’s Lincoln Cen-ter campus. He served on CORD for sevenyears, doing research on Jesuit educationand Ignatian pedagogy. At the same time,he was an associate professor at Fordham’sSchool of Education and served on the fac-ulty for the Jesuit Secondary SchoolAdministrator Program (JSSAP), a train-ing program for prospective presidents andprincipals of Jesuit high schools.

JSSAP was eventually replaced by theSeminars on Ignatian Leadership, andMetts continues to work with lay col-leagues, doing seminars four times eachsemester throughout the country. “Frommy perspective, that’s been an extremely

successful program” he said. “It’s fun towatch teachers … move into leadershippositions” in the Ignatian model.

In 1995 Metts, became JSEA’s vice pres-ident, a role in which he continues today.He has worked with the association’s Stu-dent Profile Survey (SPS), an attitudinalsurvey of freshmen and seniors that mea-sures whether they are open to growth,intellectually competent, religious, lovingand committed to justice. Rather than asurvey of individual students, it looks atwhole grade levels. “We’re looking to seewhat happens to students as a class in Jesuitschools,” Metts said. SPS has been updatedto SPS II under Metts’ careful oversight.

He has also published several books oneducation, including one, “Ignatius Knew,”which has been translated into Spanish,Portuguese, Chinese and Indonesian. Mettswill be a hard act to follow, and it will takean energetic person to keep up the pace.“It’s one of those cases where a couple ofpeople could replace him,” said Fr. JoeO’Connell (MAR), partly in jest, althoughMetts’ successor should consider himselfwarned. O’Connell, JSEA president for 17years, will himself be leaving after thiscoming year.

Metts, a Pittsburgh native and theeldest of seven joined the Society at 17.When he told the kindly librarian at hishigh school that he was thinking aboutbecoming a priest, the nun showed himwhere the books on different religiousorders were. He’d always had a sense thathe wanted to be a priest, and it didn’t takehim long to settle on the Jesuits, eventhough they weren’t a presence in Pitts-burgh at the time. “I guess I thought theywere characters,” Metts said, smiling, thenquickly adding “which they are.”

Always a weekend traveler, Metts andO’Connell, who live in a small communityon Connecticut Avenue, often get away for

quick trips during the summer. Maine is afavorite destination. A theatre fan, as well,Metts is a regular at productions of theShakespeare Theatre, mixing such culturedpursuits with regular forays to see theWashington Capitals play hockey. The for-mer can at times be more satisfying thanthe latter, or at least that was the case aftera recent game at which the Caps turned ina dismal performance. “They were bad.That’s the only way to say it nicely,” Mettssaid, shaking his head.

His other great interest is cooking, par-ticularly baking bread, in the great Jesuittradition. He admits to cheating and usinga food processor with a hook to knead thedough. A particular fan of rye, Metts willbake you anything but white bread. He andO’Connell share cooking duties in theircommunity. “He’s a good chef,” said O’Con-nell. “I have to follow recipes, but he canjust whip things up.”

After years of being used to the rhythmof doing a lot of work in-house, and thengetting away for seminars and spendingseveral months a year on the road, Mettsis ready for a change. “It will be an adjust-ment for me,” he said, but “whatever hap-pens is fine. There may be some newchallenges.”

Pictures of Jesushttp://www.picturesofjesus.com

This site offers help for those lookingfor images of Jesus on the web butdon't know to make the most of animage search engine such as Google's.There are links to image search engineresults, and art web pages, depictingJesus and Mary, as well as angels andsaints. It categorizes the pictures bycontent (e.g. face of Jesus, passion anddeath), and also by form (e.g. masters,e-cards, wallpaper, coloring pages,stained glass, kid's art, etc.)

JSEA leader looks backbefore moving on

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Fr. Ralph Metts

Prayer for Peacehttp://peaceprayer.gn.apc.org

The Prayer for Peace is said each day atnoon around the world, as a kind ofmultifaith Angelus. “Lead me from deathto life, from falsehood to truth...” ThePrayer began to circulate in 1981 inEngland. Its source is not clearly known,and it has no ties with any singledenomination or faith. But within monthsof its appearance its worldwidecirculation was announced by MotherTeresa of Calcutta, and other religiousleaders followed suit.

Gutenberg Biblehttp://www.bl.uk/treasures/gutenberg/

homepage.html

The Gutenberg Bible is the oldestsurviving printed book produced in theWestern World. This section of theBritish Library site offers digital imagesof the entire text of the Library's twocopies, and also a fascinating history ofGutenberg and his world. Gutenbergalso printed indulgences at the requestof prominent German cardinal NicolausCusanus.

national jesuit news · general peter hans kolvenbach said “global-ization has made the world...

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