Jesuits in Europe News Service - Archive 2000

Archive:  March - December 2000

Loyola 2000

  

Croire Aujourd'hui explores the plight of the ‘Excluded of the earth’

In the 15 December issue of the French bi-monthly magazine ‘Croire Aujourd'hui’, supported by the Jesuits in France, a dossier explores the plight of the "Les exclus de la terre" (Excluded of the earth). The report is divided into three parts: the debt relief campaign; refugees, especially the ‘most forgotten’; a debate which explores ways of promoting solidarity. Eddy Jadot and Lena Barrett of the Jesuit Refugee Service Europe presented the part of the forgotten refugees, who are ignored by the media and public opinion, and overlooked by politicians and administrators, at times because the regions they come from do not enjoy strategic importance. They report: ‘In total, during the last five years, international humanitarian aid has decreased by 21 per cent.’”

  

Salvadoran Judge Drops Jesuits Case

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - A Salvadoran judge has decided not to try ex-President Alfredo Cristiani and six generals in the killings of six Jesuit priests in 1989. Justice Ana Rodriguez ruled Tuesday night that it was too late to pursue the case. [...]

The Jesuit community of Central America University, where the priests worked and which filed the lawsuit, said it would appeal. One of the priests recently said the case might be brought to a Spanish tribunal.

  

Movie Project "Franz Xaver" for 2002

München, 12 December 2000 -- The Central European Assistancy's Provincial conference named the motto for the year 2002 "Franz Xaver", referring to the 450th anniversary of the death of Francis Xavier, the founder of Jesuits missionary movement. Even nowadays in the age of globalisation and interreligious exchange, he still challenges to rethink cultural infiltration and mission. On the occasion of the motto "Franz Xaver" amongst others a TV production will be set up.

... more info ...

  

Interreligious Dialogue: the Way to Fulfil God's Plan in History

Jesuit Editor Bartolomeo Sorge affirms the importance of meeting with Islam in Italy as well as in Europe

Milan (Italy), December 6th (VID) – "Today, reading the signs of the times with faith, it is difficult to not behold in the interreligious dialogue the privileged road for the fulfilment of God’s plan for our history". So writes the Jesuit Bartolomeo Sorge, the director of the review "Aggiornamenti Sociali" (Social Updates) supporting the positive aspect of the dialog with Islam also in Italy and in Europe.

"Given the dominant secularism in the West, which reduces religious faith to a mere phenomen of consciousness deprived of any social influence – he points out – could the presence of Muslim believers perhaps not be helpful in overcoming the ostracism of religious sense from civil life? Is it only a utopia to think that the meeting between the great monotheistic religions can effectively favor the establishment in the world of a true peace founded on justice and the recognition of the rights of everyone, a
peace which ideologies have not managed to guarantee? And those many Christians of today, whose life is dominated by materialism, could they not perhaps be stimulated to rediscover the primacy of that which is spiritual and religious practice, which Muslims are strongly attached to both privately and publically, without respect for humans?"

According to Father Sorge the defense of Christian values cannot be obtained if we obtain certain discriminations against Muslim immigrants, but through a vigorous spiritual renewal of the Christians themselves.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

European Jesuit Leaders express 'special concern' about refugee issue

Jesuit Provincial Leaders from countries across Europe today called on Governments to give a more compassionate response to those coming to Europe as economic migrants. Their statement was issued to mark the 20th anniversary, on Nov 14th 1980, of the founding of the Jesuit Refugee Service.

Press Release and full text of Statement

  

75 years Jesuits' Faculty of Philosophy in Pullach and Munich

MÜNCHEN, 19 Nov. 2000 -- The Berchmanskolleg is celebrating its 75th anniversary. To mark the occasion a commemorative volume is published: "Schule des Denkens". 75 Jahre Philosophische Fakultät der Jesuiten in Pullach und Muenchen, ed. by Julius Oswald SJ, Stuttgart (Kohlhammer) 2000. In this volume experts from Frankfurt, Innsbruck and Munich honour philosophy of the "Pullacher Schule", shaped by Walter Brugger, Adolf Haas, Johannes B. Lotz and Josef de Vries. They created a transcendental philosophy, still strongly influencing catholic thinking and acknowledged beyond denominational limits. Contributions about Christian philosophy, adult education and research on communication show, how this tradition is still developed further and determines the plentiful curricular proposition of this academy north of the Alps. In addition to that the history of the Berchmanskolleg and academy as well as publications of it's professors are introduced.

... Reported by Dr. Rita Haub <rita.haub@jesuiten.org> 

  

20th anniversary of the founding of Jesuit Refugee Service

The Jesuit Refugee Service is celebrating today its 20th anniversary. From the beginning up to now the purpose of JRS is intimately connected with the mission of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), namely to promote the justice of God’s Kingdom, in dialogue with cultures and religions. JRS was set up in 1980 by Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, then Superior General of the Society of Jesus, as a spiritual and practical response to the plight of refugees at that time. Given the increased incidence of forced displacement in the 1980s and 1990s, the Society of Jesus has several times restated its commitment to refugees.

Today the JRS is at work in over 40 countries, with a mission is to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. The mission given to JRS embraces all who are driven from their homes by conflict, humanitarian disaster or violation of human rights, following Catholic social teaching which applies the expression ‘de facto refugee’ to many related categories of people.

  

Gdynia celebrates 450th anniversary of Stanislas Kostka

On Sunday, November 12, the Jesuit community and the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Gdynia, Poland, marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of their patron with a festive celebration.

The Eucharist was celebrated by the Archbishop of Gdansk, the Most Reverend Tadeusz Goclowski. He was joined by concelebrants from the local Jesuit community, visiting Jesuits, diocesan clergy and priests from other religious orders. The President of Gdynia and other civic officials were in attendance.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the congregation moved outside and Archbishop Goclowski blessed a new statue of St. Stanislaus Kostka. The statue stands at a crossroads where people of all ages are in constant motion from one Jesuit apostolate to another. All the buildings are situated on a height recently designated by the city of Gdynia as "The Hill of St. Stanislaus Kostka." The statue will remind everyone of the determined young Pole who achieved sanctity in his short 18 years and is honored as one of the patrons of his country as well as the patron of young people and Jesuit novices.

  

16th Century Copperplates Discovered In Amsterdam Jesuit Church

AMSTERDAM, 12 Nov 2000 -- Recently a remarkable discovery was made at the Jesuit church "De Krijtberg" in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A unique collection of 75 original copperplates with religious images from the sixteenth century was found. They were all made by members of the famous family of engravers Wierix at Antwerp, Belgium. Several of the plates have a direct connection with the Society of Jesus, and show Saints Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Aloysius, Stanislas, and Robert Bellarmine. About 10 % of the total production of the Wierixes (2333 prints altogether) have a Jesuit connection. Their most famous contribution are the 153 engravings for the very influential illustrated meditation book by Jerónimo Nadal SJ, "Evangelicae historiae imagines", posthumously published in 1593 in Antwerp. How the collection ended up in Amsterdam is not clear, but probably the copperplates were transferred from Antwerp to Amsterdam some time after the Suppression of the Society in 1773.

  

87 new Novices for the whole of Europe

BRUSSELS, 5 Nov 2000 -- For the whole of Europe 87 new novices enter the Society this year. Both Polish Provinces lead the field with 10 and 12 novices. Besides there are 71 novices who start the second year. 66 novices have taken their first vows.

  

Father General visits Slovenia and Croatia

On November 3, Father General, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, will leave Rome for Slovenia and Croatia. At Ljubljana he met the ecclesiastical authorities of the city and a group of Jesuits before attending the consecration of Saint Joseph's Church scheduled for early afternoon of November 5.

On November 6, Father General will be in Zagreb where he will bless the new Faculty of Philosophy. His speech for this occasion is entitled "Faith and Science: a Common Responsibility for Human Dignity". After paying a visit to the Archbishop of Zagreb, Father General will celebrate the Eucharist and preach the homily at the Pastoral Center of the Society. On November 7, Father General will meet a group of Jesuits before flying back to Rome.

    

President of Ireland Gives Address at Jesuit University Residence Hall

'Seismic shift in the economic, social and cultural landscape of Ireland' -
President McAleese of Ireland.

The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, gave the Jubilee Year Lecture at the Jesuit University Residence Hall in Dublin on Tuesday, 31st October 2000. About one hundred and fifty people attended, representing studentsa and their friends, former students, staff and friends of University Hall.In a wide ranging address, which focussed extensively on the value of education today and its importance, the President talked of a 'seismic shift in the economic, social and cultural landscape of Ireland', and pointed out that people in Ireland have never before had 'such opportunity to shape a present and future we can be proud of'.

More information

  

Jesuit Cardinal Objects to Halloween

VATICAN, Oct. 31, 00 (CWNews.com) -- Jesuit Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini of Milan has drawn media attention by arguing against the excessive celebration of Halloween.

"Halloween is a type of celebration that is foreign to our tradition," the cardinal said. Pointing to the pagan origins of the feast, he argued that Christians would do better to emphasize the "immense significance" of the Christian feast days that follow: the feast of All Saints and All Souls.

  

El Salvador: Jesuits Ask for Justice for 1989 Massacre at UCA
Rector calls for new investigation

San Salvador (El Salvador), October 20th (VID) - The Attorney General of El Salvador is examining the possibility of reopening the investigation into the murder of six Jesuits of the Central American University who were killed on November 16, 1989, together with two women staff members. On the contrary the Jesuits prefer a totally new investigation. The Rector of the University, Father José Maria Tojeira, pointed out that the Attorney General is acting rather as the defender of those who have been accused of crimes and not as the supreme judicial authority".

Father Tojeira added that at the moment the Society of Jesus is waiting to see how the events develop before deciding what initiatives to take. One of the hypotheses is that they bring the masacre before Spanish justice, as much as five of the religious were of Spanish nationality.

In 1991 two army officials were condemned to 30 years of prison for the crime committed in 1989. Two years later they received amnesty and until now the investigation has not stated anything as regards those who ordered the massacre.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Mexico: Jesuit Asks for the Recognition of Indians' Rights
Father Cortez awaits decisions from the new President.

Mexico City (Mexico), October 16th (VID) - The Mexican president, Vicente Fox, when he takes office, will have to commit himself to improving the judiciary system and recognizing the rights of the indigenous peoples’ rights. This is the opinion put forward by the Jesuit Edgar Cortez, director of the Center for Human Rights of Mexico City.

Father Cortez has affirmed the need for a "real independence" of the judicial power from political power, and denounced the existence of many cases of impunity for military officials involved in human rights violations. "Fox’s new government will have to deal with these situations" and make the recognition of the Indian peoples established by the Constitution and which has until now remained empty words, effective, Cortez said.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Jesuit Weekly rehabilitates Oscar Wilde
Praises His Deathbed Conversion to Catholicism

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 10, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- A Jesuit weekly has rehabilitated Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde on the centenary of his death, hailing his turn to spiritual values and deathbed conversion to Catholicism, the Associated Press reported. La Civilità Cattolica observed it had once condemned Wilde and his most famous poem, "The Ballad of Reading Gaol,'' which was inspired by his imprisonment for homosexual offenses.

In the current edition, Father Antonio Spadaro said the two years the poet spent in jail were "really tough for Wilde, comforted only by some letters, even of a spiritual nature". [...]

Wilde died in Paris on Nov. 30, 1900. Father Spadaro wrote that the priest summoned to his deathbed was "absolutely sure'' Wilde knew he was converting even though he appeared semiconscious. As further evidence of Wilde's interest in the Church, Father Spadaro wrote that Wilde wanted to go to a Jesuit retreat after his release from prison in 1897. The Jesuits asked him to wait a year as a test that his desire was real, the news agency noted.

  

Bosnia: Jesuits and Orthodox Begin Collaboration on Refugees

Agreement between Serbian-orthodox seminary and Jesuit Refugee Service

Sarajevo (Bosnia), October 10th (VID) - The Jesuit Refugee Service and the Serbo-Orthodox of Foca, Bosnia have begun a cooperation. Father Stjepan Kusan, a Jesuit who is the local director of the JRS has disclosed that the Society of Jesus’s refugee assistance service, has decided to help the "Serbian-Orthodox seminary of Foca to manage a bakery which will provided for the needs of the seminarians and university students".

The initiative, according to Father Kusan, is "part of our attempt to foster reconciliation and collaboration" and was received with a great deal of attention and availability by the Serbian-Orthodox bishop of Foca and the seminary as well, also welcomed the JRS visitors.

Regarding this, Father Kusan again pointed out that " the personal presence among the people has shown itself to be the best way to advance reconciliation. The JRS will continue to promote this kind of presence".

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

International Jesuit leader asks U.S. colleges to battle injustice 
Santa Clara, Ca, USA, 6 October 2000

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the leader of Jesuits worldwide, was the main keynote speaker at the conference, "Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education," presented jointly Oct. 5-8 by Santa Clara University, Boston College and the University of Detroit Mercy.

The conference, attended by 400 delegates from 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S., plus Roman Catholic leaders from Rome, Latin America, and the Far East, was convened to identify the pursuit of social justice as a central theme for Jesuit higher education. The conference also was the kickoff event for the year-long sesquicentennial celebration of Santa Clara University, California's oldest institution of higher education.

"It is the calling of a Jesuit university to take conscious responsibility for being a source for faith and justice," Kolvenbach told his audience of nearly 900. "Jesuit universities have stronger and different reasons than many other academic and research institutions for addressing the actual world as it unjustly exists and for helping to reshape in the light of the Gospel."

In his speech, Kolvenbach traced the conference theme - to have colleges and universities embrace "an action-oriented commitment to the poor" - back more than four centures to the Jesuits' founder, St. Ignatius Loyola.

For a complete text of Fr. Kolvenbach's speech, click here.

  

Fourth European Meeting of "Young Europeans" Network
Ludwigshafen, Germany, 5-8 October 2000

The Fourth European Meeting of the "Young Europeans" network on Youth Formation and Youth Exchange took place at the Heinrich Pesch Haus in Ludwigshafen, Germany, from 5 to 8 October 2000. This network started in 1994, when Jesuits and lay people active in Jesuit youth activities outside the school or university met for the first time. Since then network members have organised more than 40 common European activities.

The main interest at this meeting was twofold: Besides presenting and exchanging experiences in youth work, the participants worked on the Jesuit profile of European youth activities. With this profile they will try to take part in the new programme of the European Commission.

  

Mark Rotsaert Appointed CEP President

In a letter of 3 October 2000 the General Superior, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, has appointed Mark Rotsaert as the new President for the Conference of European Provincials (CEP).

Mark Rotsaert, 58, is the present Jesuit Provincial of Northern Belgium and since 8 May 2000 Acting President of the CEP. He succeeds the Maltese Alfred Darmanin.

In his letter Father General says that normally the job of CEP President should be a full-time one, but at the same time he asks Mark Rotsaert to remain for some time Provincial of the Northern Belgian Province (BSE).

  

Canonization of four Jesuits

ROME, 30 Sept 2000 -- Among the 120 martyrs who will be canonized on October 1st at St. Peter's Square in Rome, there are four French Jesuits: Leon Ignace Mangin, Paul Denn, Modeste Andlauer, and Remi Isoré.

All of the 120 new Saints -- Chinese, French, Belgian, Dutch, Spanish and Italian -- gave testimony of their Faith in China during persecutions which span from 1648 to 1930. As the martyrdom took place in regions entrusted to various orders and religious congregations, the martyrs have been divided into groups under the name of the religious congregations: Dominican group (6), Franciscan (30), Jesuit (56), Salesian (2), and the Paris Foreign Mission (24). Two martyrs do not belong to the above groups.The majority of the martyrs are lay, but there are also some bishops, priests and religious.

  

Loyola 2000: Meeting of Major Superiors

LOYOLA, 21 Sept 2000 -- About 130 Jesuit Major Superiors from all over the world started their General Assembly in Loyola, Spain by celebrating together the Eucharist. . The main topic of the meeting -- from 21 to 28 September 2000 -- will be "Creative Fidelity in Mission".

   Decree 23-C of the 34th General Congregation in 1995 prescribed that "approximately every six years beginning from the last General Congregation, Father General shall convoke a meeting of all Provincials in order to consider the state, the problems and the initiatives of the universal Society, as well as international and supra-provincial cooperation". The upcoming Assembly of Major Superiors at Loyola, 21-28 September 2000, has been called by Father General, Dutch Jesuit Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, to implement this directive. About 130 Jesuits will participate.

Father General will open the Loyola Assembly tomorrow morning with a conference on "Creative Fidelity in Mission" followed by position papers on inter- and supra-provincial cooperation for mission. The discussion will take into account the various experiences of such cooperation in the last years. A point to be clarified regards the authority - or lack of authority - of the Major Superiors' Conferences.

  

Russian Jesuits clear legal obstacles

Moscow, Sep. 18, 2000 (Keston / CWNews.com)
by Tatyana Titova, Keston News Service

The Russian branch of one of the Catholic Church's largest religious orders, the Jesuits, has finally achieved its goal of re-registration under Russia's amended 1997 law on religion. First registered in September 1992 under the terms of the 1990 religion law, the Russian Independent Region of the Society of Jesus was re-registered on September 12 of this year.

The Jesuits working in Russia have long been fighting for the right to re-register their order while being able to continue to operate in conformity with the provisions of the Church's canon law and their own organizational structure.

[...] Unlike the many religious organizations that responded to the requirements of the new law by changing the way their organizations were run (even if the changes were apparent only on paper), the Jesuits refused to do so. They appealed to the Russian Constitutional Court for protection of their rights, which are secured by the Russian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as article 5 of the religion law, which declares that a religious organization may establish itself and conduct its activity in line with its own hierarchical structure. On April 13, 2000, the Constitution Court ruled that "the constitutional rights and freedoms of the plaintiff have not been infringed‚" but decreed that the Jesuits should be re-registered and should be allowed to retain all of their regulations.

[...] on September 14 the Russian Jesuits received documents confirming their re-registration. On September 15, Viktor Korolev, the head of the department for registration of religious organizations at the Ministry of Justice, commented laconically on the decision, telling Keston: "They presented their documents in line with current legislation, and we were able to re-register them."

Father Stanislas Opiela, former Regional Superior, declared that he was very happy his order had been re-registered in line with Russian legislation and with the provisions of canon law. "I know what forces were brought to bear to ensure that we would not be re-registered," he told Keston, "and I am very happy that the law has triumphed."

  

Russia: Jesuits re-registered as religious association

MOSCOW, 14 Sept 2000 - Today Fr Jerzy Karpinski, Regional Superior for the Society of Jesus in Russia, has received from the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation the documents that stated that the "Regio Independens Russica" has been officially re-registered. In this manner the presence of the Jesuits in Russia becomes again "legal".

  

Ecumenism: Martini, Salvation is Possible for Everyone

Jesuit Archbishop of Milan also presents a pastoral on the Virgin Mary on Holy Saturday.

Milan (Italy), September 11th (VID) - The ecumenical dialog will not be blocked by the recent declaration ‘’Dominus Jesus" which was presented by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

   Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit and Archbishop of Milan said that he was convinced of this, illustrating his pastoral letter entitled "The Holy Virgin of Holy Saturday" released for the pastoral year of his diocese to journalists.

"Few - stressed the cardinal almost want to reassure the many worries especially stirred up in lay and Protestant circles by the declaration - noted that the declaration opens with an ecumenical sign: the text of the Nicene Creed, therefore in the formulation without the Filioque still used today by the orthodox".

But the contested Ratzinger document also, according to Martini "clearly says that salvation is possible to all of those outside of any Church whatsoever, if each one follows the grace of God, his moral conscience and the Holy Spirit".

Martini’s pastoral letter compares our epoch to the experience lived by his disciples and by the Holy Virgin of Holy Saturday, when Christ was dead and their faith was challenged by the wait for the resurrection. But today too Christian Identity is no longer protected and guaranteed but challenged and Mary helps us to understand that the time, even ours "is like a unique great Saturday, which we live between that which already occurred with the first coming of the Lord and that which has not yet occurred with his return, like the pilgrims toward the eight day".

Full text: www.diocesi.milano.it/vescovo/lettere_past/lp_madonna00.htm 

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

FESTAZGHAZAGH 2000 - MALTA
An international youth festival for the millennium, 23-30 August 2000

Festazghazagh 2000 -- an international youth festival for the millennium organised by the Maltese Diocesan Youth Commission -- was a resounding success. More than 80 youth groups and movements gathered together for a week-long celebration of talent and joy. The stands put up by the young people dealt with different aspects of the theme: Although many, we are one. About 40,000 visitors attended. People from all walks of life and age brackets. They were overflowing with joy at the sight of so much good and so much talent coming from our young generation.

The festival was enhanced by the participation of 250 young people from fifteen countries, ranging from North America, to Africa, Northern Europe and Australasia. An American and an Italian group gave wonderful and highly professional performance to two musicals. While all the groups came together in an international folklore variety evening. It was a deep experience for them also to taste the joys of being one, although so different and coming from so far apart.

The festival was opened officially on the 23rd August by the President of the Republic of Malta, in the presence of many distinguished guests and a large gathering of youth. One highlight of the programme was an encounter between the young people and the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. They spoke about what they had in common, rather than what brings them in contrast! The discussion was broadcast on local TV.

More than 150 young volunteers gave themselves wholeheartedly to the task of organising and running the festival, while around 1000 young people were involved the shows and the exhibition stands.

Source: Fr Paul Chetcuti sj, Diocesan Youth Commission, (KDZ), 492/3, High Street, St Venera, HMR 18, Malta. Tel. (356) 484506, fax (356) 482656, E-mail: kdz@orbit.net.mt 

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South Dakota Jesuit gets missionary award

A Roman Catholic missionary organization has named an 85-year-old South Dakota priest as the top U.S. missionary for his 60 years of work with American Indians.

The Rev. Richard Jones, a Jesuit priest on the Rosebud Reservation, will be given the Lumen Christi Award by Catholic Extension on Sept. 18.

Jones has worked in South Dakota with the Lakota Indians since 1963. He began his ministry teaching at a mission school and then taught in Milwaukee and St. Louis before returning to the reservation in 1963.

``We have no problems here,'' Jones said of his work on the reservation, ``only challenges.'' 

 Source: PioneerPlanet / St. Paul (Minnesota)

  

Jesuit Bishop of Fairbanks dies in Emmonak

By Maureen Clark, The Associated Press
(Published August 7, 2000)

The bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Fairbanks died of an apparent heart attack Sunday, minutes before he was to celebrate a confirmation Mass in the Western Alaska village of Emmonak. Bishop Michael Kaniecki was 65.

"He had complained of a headache, took some aspirin and went for a short walk outside the church," said the Rev. Pat Bergquist of the Fairbanks Diocese. Kaniecki collapsed at 11:45 a.m. outside Sacred Heart Catholic Church and was pronounced dead by a village health aide.

"A lot of people are going to be in shock and mourning his loss. He made a big difference in Alaska," said the Rev. Joseph Sergott, pastor of Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage. "His motto was to love and serve, and he did that well."

Kaniecki was born in Detroit in 1935 and spent his entire career in Alaska.

In 1982 he was appointed religious superior of the Jesuit Community in Alaska, and in 1985 he was installed as the third bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks. Kaniecki was a 35-year pilot who flew his plane to visit the many remote communities in his diocese.

Source: Anchorage Daily News

  

International Jesuit Education Leadership Program for Central and Eastern Europe 

Gdynia, Poland, 1 August 2000

The International Jesuit Education Leadership Program for Central and Eastern Europe started this year for the third time. Twenty four participants from seven countries met together in Warsaw in the newly opened European Center for Communication and Culture.

From July 3 to July 28 teachers and school administrators from Lithuania, Croatia, Slovenia, Moldova, Malta, Egypt and Poland were working on educational context in various countries. They were practicing teaching skills and studying Jesuit documents on education. Fr. Fernando de la Puente SJ introduced participants into practical approach of mentoring and he presented Spanish project "School for Parents". Fr. Wojciech Zmudzinski SJ was leading workshops on Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm and Clinical Supervision. Fr. Artur Kolodziejczyk SJ presented how to establish an effective Public Relations office in the school and Bozena Pratnicka shared her mentoring experience in the Jesuit High School in Gdynia. Marco Zupanc SJ introduced participants into several themes using very well prepared multimedia presentations. Fund-raising, Youth Culture, School Vision and Mission, School Climate, Staff Development were also studied during the July session.

In September all participants will launch their internship in Jesuit schools in their own countries implementing what they learned. Fr. Thomas Roach from the Maryland Province will visit them as supervisor and coach. They will also receive a support through e-mail and the Resourse Center on Webside administered by The Pedro Arrupe Formation Center for Educational Leaders in Gdynia (Poland).

After finishing one year internship all participants will come back to Warsaw (July 3-28,2001) to continue the program. The July 2001 session will focus on leadership skills, administration, change process, long range planning, Jesuit-lay cooperation and spiritual staff development.

For further information please contact:
Wojciech Zmudzinski SJ - Regional Director of IJELP
Pedro Arrupe Formation Center for Educational Leaders
ul. Tatrzañska 35 - 81-313 Gdynia, Poland
tel./fax: 058-661-65-82

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India: A Jesuit Manages Government Funds for the Poor

The projects concern health and agricultural development.

New Delhi (India), July 28th (VID) - The Church has a "moral obligation", which consists in verifying that "the funds put at the disposal of the poor, are effectively distributed to them". The Jesuit Chenakala has set up an assistance activity using government funds on the basis of this principle.

This is taking place in the state of Karnataka, in the South of India, and is a novelty in as much as the social and charitable activities of the Catholic Church are in the overwhelming majority financed with aid from outside.

The projects underway concern health and agricultural development, for a total of 23 million rupees per year.

A recognition of this activity has also come from the local politicians who are of the Hindu religion. While the Indian religious thinks that "the ecclesiastical organizations because of their credibility are better able to use the governmental funds for development. And furthermore, it concerns the best, concrete way, to remove the "false accusations" of Hindu propaganda leveled against the Church

Source: Vidimus Dominum

   

Jubilee: Religious Should Ask the Poor for Forgiveness

This is suggested by the Jesuit Piersandro Vanzan in the review of the Italian Major Superiors.

Rome (Italy), July 26th (VID) - If John Paul II has rightly asked for forgiveness for the great deal of evil done by Christians a bit everywhere, shouldn’t religious ask the poor for forgiveness, especially if they became so because of the not very evangelic-like choices made by the consecrated?

This is what the Jesuit Piersandro Vanzan asked himself in the review of the Italian Major Superiors, presenting a series of three papers on poverty and the poor.

And if that were not enough - continues the reasoning of Vanzan - the examination of the conscious behooves the "religious who take vows to a life of poverty " who have become "poor religious" having cloaked themselves with consumeristic mentality -, or when the charism of the foundation has become discolored by misunderstood updates which burn new vocations.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

G8 Fail The Poor : No Further Debt Cancellation Aggreed
Press Release from Jesuits for Debt Relief and Development - JDRAD

Sunday, July 23, 2000…. Despite renewed commitments to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty by the year 2015, G8 leaders today meeting in Okinawa, Japan, failed to take action to make this financially possible. Instead they reiterated their support for last year's debt package which falls far short of what is required.

Frustration with last year's package, agreed at last year's G8 meeting in Cologne, is mounting. At best it will only produce a cancellation of less than half most eligible countries debt stock. The package proposed cancellation of $100 bn. To date agreement has been reached to cancel only $15 billion, and only a fraction of this has actually been cancelled with only one country, Uganda, benefiting to date from a cancellation of her debt stock.

All studies to date on the projections for economic growth, aid and debt relief for HIPC countries show that together, they will still no provide the necessary resources to halve poverty in these countries. Debt relief is one of the most efficient forms of resource flow into these countries. Yet the Cologne package is insufficient.

Today's failure underlies the injustice of a system where the lives and livelihoods of the 1.2 billion living on less than one dollar a day are determined by the leaders of the 8 most wealthy nations who hold no democratic mandate to do so. Until an independent arbitration procedure is established to deal with the crisis, as proposed by UN Secretary General Koffi Annan and many campaigning groups, JDRAD included, many more individuals and communities will fall victim to the skewed priorities of G8 leaders.

For further information contact JDRAD, email cfj@s-j.ie 
or visit  http://www.jesuit.ie/jdrad

  

Diocesan communicator to head Jesuit Refugee Service

The director of communications for the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, Father John Dardis SJ, is to leave the position in December. From January 1st, 2001, he will be regional director of the Jesuit Refugee Service for Europe.

He has held his current post since September 1995, when he was seconded by his order for an initial three-year period. That was extended yearly since 1998. Before 1995 Father Dardis was founder/director of the Jesuit Communications Centre in Dublin. In 1995 also he worked with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Tanzania and helped to set up Radio Kwizera, a station for refugees from Rwanda. [...]

In his new post Father Dardis will co-ordinate the work of Jesuits and their colleagues on behalf of refugees and asylum-seekers in 13 European countries. This will involve advising on policy concerning refugees and asylum-seekers at EU level. The greater part of his work, however, will consist in examining how refugees and asylum-seekers are portrayed in the media and how this affects public perception and policy towards them.

"Ten years ago the refugee problem was one which we associated with Ethiopia or with Cambodia and Vietnam. Five years ago we associated it with Rwanda and Burundi. Now it is on our doorstep. It presents a real challenge to us about how we think about ourselves and about our society. It is a challenge directly related to the Gospel," he said.

Source: Article by Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Irish Times, Dublin. 

  

Beatification procedure started for Flemish Jesuit

BRUGES, 14 July 2000 - The Diocese of Bruges has started the procedure for a possible beatification of the Flemish Jesuit Constant Lievens, born at Moorslede in 1856. Bishop Roger Vangheluwe has appointed honorary Director of Missio Belgium, Monsignor Omer Tanghe, as diocesan postulator. Vice-postulators are Flor Jonckheere s.j. (India) and Frans Herpels (former parish priest of Gullegem). Lievens started the Jesuit mission in Chotanagpur, India. He dedicated himself to the local poor, fought for their fundamental and social rights and established the first saving banks . He died in Leuven, Belgium, in 1893.

  

San Salvador Journal, 11 July 2000:
Pilgrims Take Inspiration From Martyrs of the 80's

[...] 

more than a decade since the killings, tens of thousands of people from around the world have sought out the Jesuit residence's tiny garden to bear their own witness to the faith of eight people they consider martyrs who defended the poor during this country's civil war.

Invariably, these pilgrims also trek across town to the chapel at the Divine Providence Hospital where Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, a vocal  opponent of the elite and the violent, was shot dead while celebrating Mass.

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Refugees: Aiding Them Remains an Integral Part of the Jesuit's Mission

Writes Father Kolvenbach presenting the new director of the Jesuit Refugee Service

Rome (Italy), July 8th (VID) - The "Jesuit Refugee Service", the refugee assistance body, is an "integral part" of the Mission of the Society of Jesus "for reaching the goal of promoting justice". 

The General Superior, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, wrote  a letter sent to the entire congregation at the end of June, in which he announced among other things, that as of October the new director will be Father Luis Magrina, who will replace Father Mark
Raper, who has directed the organization since 1990.

Padre Kolvenbach also pointed out that Father Magrina, who comes from the Province of Catalonia, in Spain, has held positions of responsibility within the Society. He worked for the "Jesuit Refugee Service" from 1995 to1996 in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Social Doctrine: Father Calvez, Bring It Up to Date on Financial Markets

The Jesuit holds that education on financial mechanisms is required

Fribourg (Switzerland), July 1st (VID) - The Church’s social doctrine lacks an analysis of the "new economy" constituted by the growing importance of financial markets. This is the opinion of Father Jean-Yves Calvez, Father Jean-Yves Calvez a Jesuit, was formerly the assistant of Father Arrupe, and then the editor-in-chief of "Etudes", the French review of the Society of Jesus for six years. He is currently a professor at the Institute of Theology and Philosophy of the Jesuits of Paris.

"The world - he declared in an interview conceded on the occasion of the his conference in Fribourg - has recently experienced a series of financial crashes and an ethical reflection is now needed more than ever". Certainly it concerns a sector "in which the Church cannot intervene directly, but it is one upon which the Church should encourage reflection, with a quest for solutions and means of intervening".

"The world of finance - he adds - is not as mysterious as one thinks. You need a knowledge about its mechanisms and you need to motivate associations to exercise their influence". 

In any case, stressed Father Calvez, the problem is that the social doctrine needs updating since it has until now "hardly at all dealt with" the issue of the preeminence of the finances in the economy. Furthermore, while the documents of the Church on
this matter are well known at the level of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, at the level of the general public or middle-management, I must deplore the general ignorance of its social doctrine".

Source: Vidimus Dominum

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Jesuits Open Second Congress on Jewish-Christian Dialogue

ROME, 27 June -- On 27 June, 2000, the Second International Congress of Jesuits engaged in Jewish-Christian dialogue was opened at the house of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem on the theme: "The Significance of the State of Israel for Contemporary Judaism and for Jewish-Christian Dialogue". This congress, in which 32 Jesuits from 21 provinces of the Society are participating, follows upon a previous congress held in December, 1998, in Krakow, Poland.

In the opening session, a speech of welcome was delivered by Rabbi David Rosen, director of the Jerusalem office of the Anti-Defamation League. This was followed by greetings sent by Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, and a presentation of the congress theme by Fr. Arij Roest Crollius, S.J., of the Gregorian University in Rome. The opening session concluded with a Eucharistic celebration over which Mons. Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, presided.

  

Russia: Materials Sequestered from the Inigo Center Have Been Given Back

The police raid of last May 11th in Novosibirsk, remains without an explanation

Novosibirsk (Russia), June 23rd (VID) - All of the materials which were sequestered during the police raid on the premises "Inigo Center" on May 11 , in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, on the Pacific Ocean coast have been restored to the Jesuits .

News of the restitution has been confirmed both by the apostolic administrator the Jesuit Bishop Joseph Werth and by the Center’s director Father Jozef Macha. "They have given us back everything - stress Father Macha - Previously, on June 1st they sent an official communiqué in which they stated that they had found nothing against us".

There continues to be however no explanation of why the premises were searched and materials confiscated. Concerning this matter, Father Macha stressed that as a religious organization the Society of Jesus is under the control of the Ministry of Justice, while the police operation was undertaken by the local units which deal with prevention and financial crimes.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

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Culture: The City of Rome Awards Prize to the "Bombacarta" Association Promoted by the Jesuits

Father Spadaro's creative laboratory has produced a video on the elderly

Rome (Italy), June 21st (VID) - It is a publishing and interactive Internet laboratory of creative writing which has been dubbed "Bombacarta" (Paper Bomb), an association conceived of and animated by Antonio Spadaro, a young Jesuit who writes about literature for "La Civiltà Cattolica" (Catholic Civilization) magazine .

His association which exists outside of the normal scheme of things, was awarded the first "Memory Room" Prize instituted by the Commune of Rome on June 19th for his video on the elderly.

"Bombacarta" came into being in 1997 as a forum for meetings and creative writing. "Bombacarta" soon became something far more, a real and virtual laboratory, a office in which one works in order to promote artistic creativity and to improve the expressive abilities of its members. And with the arrival of new technologies, it no longer limited itself to writing in the traditional way, but fully adopted the new information technology expression, with its own Internet site "Bombacarta" (www.bombacarta.net), and workshop.

A genuine interactive network.

At the origin of all of this, is the apostolic and literary passion of Father Antonio Spadaro, a distinguished literary critic who has found support and encouragement in his religious community. 

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Jesuit Bishop appointed metropolitan Archbishop of Botucatu, Brazil

ROME (VIS) 7 June 2000 - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Aloysio Jose Leal Penna S.J., of Bauru, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Botucatu (area 14,181, population 750,000, Catholics 626,000, priests 74, permanent deacons 6, religious 189), Brazil. The archbishop-elect was born in Piquete, Brazil, in 1933, ordained a priest in 1963 and consecrated a bishop in 1984. He succeeds Archbishop Antonio Maria Mucciolo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

  

Jubilee: For the Jesuits an Invitation to Jerusalem

The commitment of the Jesuit community of the Holy City to support interreligious dialogue among Christians, Jews and Muslims

Jerusalem (Israel), June 5th (VID) - Jesuits from every part of the world have been invited by their confreres in the house of Saint Ignatius in Jerusalem to take part in the celebrations of the Jubilee of the Society in the Holy city with the goal of exploring the possibility of an interreligious dialog among Jews, Christians and Muslims.

For this purpose, a series of events has been organised during the month of June and July to which Jesuits from every part of the world are invited to take part.

The program foresees first of all, a study trip, between the 4th and the 15th of June, in the places of the New Testament. The visit will be guided by Father Juan Manuel Martin-Moreno, S.J., who is already an expert in pilgrimages in the Holy Land and holds study courses on the New Testament at the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Jerusalem.

Between the 17th and the 25th of June Father Raymond Helmick, S.J., who has worked in these last years in the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, will conduct a meeting which will have as its theme, religious commitment in the resolution of the conflict. Personalities of the Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian religious world will also attend the meeting.

Hosted by the Jesuit community of the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Jerusalem, a congress will be held from June 27th to the 2nd of July on the theme of Jewish-Christian apostolate. The topic of the meeting will be "The Meaning of the State of the Israel in Jewish/Christian dialog". The rapporteurs of the convention will be Father Arij Roest Crollius, Professor of Missionary Studies at the Gregorian Pontifical University of Rome; David Neuhaus, S.J., of the Pontifical Biblical Institute of Rome and Father Tom Michel, S.J., secretary of the Office for Interreligious Dialogue.

Francis X. Clooney, S.J., (Boston, USA) and Anand Amaladass, S.J., (Chennai, India), both noted for a profound knowledge of religious in India, and in particular those of Hindu tradition, will speak about Christian identity in the light of the meeting with Indian culture between the 4th and 10th of July.

David Neuhaus, S.J., who has a great deal of experience in the Jewish-Christian dialog, shall face the theme of the vitality of modern Judaism between the 11th and the 17th of July.

Paul Heck, S.J., who has lived for several years in Arab countries, and in particular in Jordan shall, having finished his doctorate in Islamic studies, hold a course on Islamic culture between the 18th and the 24th of July.

Finally, between the 25th and 31st of July, Father. William Fulco, S.J., professor of studies on the area of the Ancient Mediterranean at Loyola Marymount University, shall conduct a course which will examine the historical and anthropological origins of the conflicts which have always tormented the Middle East and which continue to persist today via religious, political and cultural conflicts.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

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Russia: Society of Jesus Is Legal Once Again

A sentence of the Constitutional Court has been published in the last few days

Moscow (Russia), May 30th (VID) - A sentence of the Constitutional Court has once again made the Society of Jesus legal. The Society was allowed to once again present an application for registration.

According to the law of 1990 on cults, religious associations in Russia must, in order to carry out their activities, be inscribed in a special registry. The Society of Jesus was registered in 1992 in conformity with the norms.

Five years later , the procedure was supposed to be repeated however the ministry rejected the registration, on the grounds of among other things, the fact that the Province of the Society of Jesus was founded by non-Russian clergy and the fact that the Jesuits did not have a stable residence. The woman lawyer Galina Krylova defended the Jesuits before the Constitutional Court.

The Court, with a sentence dated on the 13th of April, by only rendered public in these days, acknowledges the legality of the inscription of the Society of Jesus and, by consequence, its activities. "The Constitutional Court - commented Father Stanislaw Opiela, Superior of the Jesuits in Russia - did not want to modify the law, but simply offer a positive solution to our problem". The sentence therefore represents, a "a positive precedent" for all analogous cases underway.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Russia: Jesuits Centre Searched by Police

The Apostolic Administrator in Siberia, where the Event Took Place, Wrote Putin a Letter

Moscow (Russia), May 26th (VID) - Officials of the Russian Tax Police, in the past few days, stormed into the "Inigo" Jesuit Catholic Centre of Novosibirsk, in Siberia. All the religious of the Centre and all the lay collaborators were held for four hours.

Policemen searched every room, with a particular interest for the Kana television broadcasting station and for the programs prepared for the Catholic editions for Polish television. The Tax Police seized documents of the Secretariat, 104 video cassettes, a personal computer and a video recorder, which have not been given back yet.

The lawyer of the Centre pointed out that the searching was illegal, due to the fact that the Police had no right to enter the premises belonging to a religious organization.

The apostolic administrator of Western Siberia, bishop Joseph Werth, a Jesuit, in his quality of member of the Council for religious affairs to the Russian President, sent an official letter asking for clarifications on the event. The director of the Centre, father Jozef Macha, has submitted his protest to the Public Attorney's Office.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

   

Indonesian Jesuit appointed Bishop of Purwokerto

VATICAN CITY, MAY 24, 2000 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Julianus Kemo Sunarko S.J., director of the Institute of Research and Social Development and president of Caritas Indonesia, as bishop of Purwokerto (area 15,336, population 13,062,800, Catholics 70,668, priests 34, religious 185), Indonesia. The bishop-elect was born in Klepu, Indonesia, in 1941 and ordained a priest in 1975.

  

In Favour of Women. Jesuit Symposium in Amsterdam

On May 20 about 220 participants came to the Jesuit centre for spirituality "Ignatiushuis" in Amsterdam for the symposium on "The Jesuits and the position of women in church and civil society". Starting-point was the relevant decree of the last General Congregation (1995), of which the materialization with the help of women was expounded by Mark Rotsaert, Provincial of the Flemish Jesuits.

Feminist theologian Hedwig Meyer Wilmes (Catholic University Nijmegen) gave a rough sketch of the historical backgrounds of the Jesuit attitude towards women, and asked for concrete recommendations for a changing practice. Canon lawyer Hildegard Warnink (Catholic University Louvain) gave an overview of limits and possibilities for an active role for women in the Church, in spite of the blocked road towards women's ordination. Protestant minister Petra Renes evaluated her twelve years as staff member of the Ignatiushuis, where from its beginning in 1985 Jesuits and women have been collaborating, and pointed at the "minefield of the liturgy" as a future challenge.





    Finally Dutch General Superior Peter-Hans Kolvenbach broadened the theme to the collaboration of Jesuits and lay persons, and argued in favor of an "apostolic agressivity" regarding the improvement of the position of lay persons and especially women in the Catholic Church.

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Asia: More Than Converting, The Job of the Believers is to Bear Witness

The opinions of a Jesuit and a Divine Word Missionary

Jakarta (Indonesia), May 19th (VID) - Do not convert at all costs, but rather to be witnesses of the Gospel of Christ: is the job of the believers in Asia, according to the Jesuit Franz Magnis-Suseno, professor of philosophy in Jakarta.

The religious explained his point of view on the role of Christianity as it compares with the other great Asian religions, during a convention which took place on the island of Java.

The Jesuit of German origin pointed out that conversion is always the work of the Holy Spirit. The believers must let the Spirit complete its work. However, they have the duty to "bear witness". Which is not the same thing as converting. Bearing witness means letting the love of Christ manifest itself and emerge from our lives, both as an individual as well as as a community".

During the convention, another religious, the Divine Word Missionary Ludger Feldkaemper, secretary of the Biblical Federation, pointed out that Asians are beginning today to discover the richness of the Continent’s religious pluralism.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

  

Jubilee: A Jesuit Cardinal Has Presided Over the Via Crucis for 4,000 Priests

Who gathered yesterday for the Jubilee of the Clergy on the Occasion of the Pope's Birthday

Rome (Italy), May 17th (VID) - It was Cardinal Jan Korec, Jesuit, Bishop of Nitra Slovakia, who presided over the Via Crucis which saw 4 thousand priests gather together yesterday for the Jubilee of the Clergy, at the Circus Maximus, in the archeological zone of Rome,

Cardinal Korec is one of the living witnesses of persecutions of the Communist regimes against the believers of Eastern Europe. At the conclusion of the Via Crucis, he pointed out that "the Church has born the Cross for long years in prisons throughout the world, even in civilized Europe and in its new civil nations which in the previous centuries it had taught and educated.".

"The duty of we priests - added the Cardinal - "is to guide the individuals and the nations in a way that they do not turn their shoulders to each other but look at each other face to face in reciprocal comprehension".

"Years after our priestly ordination - he concluded - a great deal has changed: our age, our health, our experience. The substance however has not changed: I am a priest of Christ in eternity. We priests must always be guided by the same faith and love, we must have the same mission, the same faith".

Source: Vidimus Dominum

Jesuit criticises academic interference by Vatican.

A prominent German Jesuit has criticised the way the Vatican appoints professors of theology in German universities. Wolfgang Seibel, former editor-in-chief of the respected Jesuit magazine, Stimmen der Zeit, said that after episcopal vetting the Vatican’s approval should be a mere formality. He described the Vatican’s vetting of candidates as "a huge mistrust of the abilities of a local bishop". The procedures applied by the Vatican lacked all fairness and justice in so far as the Vatican never justified its decisions nor gave candidates an opportunity to defend themselves, he said.

Source: The Tablet, London, 13 May 2000

Jesuits: A Reflection On the Structures of Government in Globalization

Will be made in the meeting of superiors major of the Society of Jesus in Loyola in September

Rome (Italy), May 10th (VID) - Preparations are already underway for the meeting of Superiors Major that will take place in Loyola, Spain from the 21st to the 28th of next September.

The Father General recently sent a letter to all of those who attend the next gathering, speaking about the meaning of the next meeting.

"The intention of the decree of the 34th General Congregation - writes Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach - is not the convening of a Congregation of Superiors Major with precise rules of procedure and legislative power. Rather it encourages those who, at the highest levels of the Society, have government offices to meet , in such a way that they can know each other, and reciprocally enrich each other by swapping experiences in order to together reach conclusions and resolutions which will help the Society to
always be at the service of Christ’s Mission".

"In a meeting of Superiors Major" - he continues - "it is imperative that we ask ourselves the increasingly more urgent question which has been triggered by globalization, i.e., if the structures of government at the interprovincial level and at the super-provincial level are adequate to face our apostolic responsibilities of the present and of the future"?

Source: Vidimus Dominum

Terrorism: United States Presents Its Excuses for Unfounded Accusations About Jesuits

They are contained in a State Department report and will be struck from the new edition

Washington (USA), May 9th (VID) - The US State Department has offered "its most sincere excuses to the Jesuit Community," assuring it that it was not the intention to denigrate the Society of Jesus or its pastoral work in the world".

The press release was made following a controversial annual report published at the beginning of the week, with the title, "Global Tendencies of Terrorism", in which it was affirmed that the Colombian National Liberation (ELN) was founded in 1965 by a Jesuit inspired by Fidel Castro and by Che Guevara.

Similar accusations, explains the press release, are "absolutely false" and will be struck from future editions of the report.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

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Acting President for CEP 

Rome - On  28 April it was made public to the European Provincials that Father General has nominated Fr Mark Rotsaert SJ, the present Provincial of the North Belgian Province (BSE), as Acting President of the Conference of European Provincials from 8th May 2000 until a new President is nominated in September 2000.
  
On 20 April it was made public that Father General, in response to the request which Fr Xavier Dijon SJ, Provincial of the South Belgian Province (BME), and I, as President of the Conference of European Provincials (CEP) made to him, has approved the transfer of the three European Works in Brussels listed below from the jurisdiction of the CEP to the BME for a period of three years: the Foyer Catholique Européen, the European Schools and the Chapelle Van Maerlant. The official date of transfer is 1st May 2000.

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The Memory of Father Arrupe is Becoming Increasingly Vivid

Many communities and initiatives bear his name

Rome (Italy), April 27th - The memory of Pedro Arrupe, the praepositor general who following a long illness which forced him to leave the government of the Society, died in 1991, appears to be increasingly vivid among the Jesuits.

With the passing of time the figure of this religious is becoming important not only for the council renewal which was begun in the Society of Jesus, but also because of the animation given to the whole consecrated and the entire Church.

In the Society of Jesus, one can today count at least 29 communities which carry his name, as well as 10 training houses, 33 social, cultural and volunteer houses, 2 spiritual exercise houses and the academic Prizes.

This growing fame might encourage the expectations of many who hope that the conditions are created for starting the cause of beatification of this exceptional figure.

Source: Vidimus Dominum

Symposium on Africa held at Deusto University, Spain

Academics, researchers, and humanitarian workers came together in a symposium about Africa held between 5 and 7 April in Bilbao, Spain. The symposium, Africa at the Threshold of the 21 Century, was organised by the Institute of Human Rights of the Deusto University, Alboan, a Jesuit-sponsored NGO, and the Jesuit Refugee Service. The involvement of JRS in the organisation of such a meeting is in line with the original mission of JRS as stated by its founder, former Father General, Pedro Arrupe SJ. When announcing its foundation, Fr Arrupe called on JRS to "to encourage our publications and institutes of learning to undertake research into the root causes of the refugee problem so that preventive action can be taken".

Many JRS members of staff were present at the symposium, which gave an opportunity to people interested in Africa to share their knowledge, and to gain a deeper understanding of the continent and its millions of refugees. Presentations by noted researchers and academics in the field were followed by workshops.

The picture of Africa which emerged was one of exclusion from the rest of the world, of weak and corrupt states, armed conflict, gross economic inequalities, human rights violations, and displacement. Underlying the symposium was a search for signs of hope in this bleak, but realistic picture. One speaker, Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher, Alison Deforges, said: “There are many hopeful signs, however they are to be found not in the circles of power, but among the people you work with.”

Source: JRS Dispatches, 17 April 2000

1989 Case of Murdered Jesuits in El Salvador will not be reopend

SAN SALVADOR, APR 13 (ZENIT.org).- The investigation of the murder of 6 Jesuits and 2 maids, which occurred in the Central American University of San Salvador on the night of November 16, 1989, will not be reopened, in keeping with the laws of the country.
 
Over the last few weeks, the Rector of the Jesuit University had requested the reopening of the investigation. But Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador explained that, according to the last amnesty decreed by the government, the current laws do not permit the reopening of the case. "If equity is understood as justice, this means that the laws must be applied to everyone," the Archbishop stated.
ZE00041309

Irish Jesuits Net Faithful With Prayer Web Site

Saturday, April 08, 2000
By Kevin Smith

DUBLIN (Reuters) - People seeking spiritual respite from an increasingly hectic world are tapping into a religious Web site to pray at the rate of 3,000 a day. The site, set up by Roman Catholic Jesuits in Ireland, offers a daily six-stage prayer session, and has attracted users from around the world, from Hawaii to Abu Dhabi.

No one is more surprised at the site's success than its designer, Jesuit priest Peter Scally. "I'm amazed at how well this has worked. The Internet really is an ideal medium for prayer and feedback," he told Reuters.

The site, www.sacredspace.ie, has had 400,000 hits since its launch a year ago, he said, and its popularity was growing. It was also being translated into Gaelic, Spanish and Portuguese, with plans for other languages. Scally said the site attracted most users in Ireland, followed by Britain and the United States.

English: http://www.jesuit.ie/prayer/index.htm 
Irish: http://www.jesuit.ie/tearmann/index.htm 
Spanish: http://www.jesuit.ie/oracion/ 
Portuguese: http://www.lugarsagrado.com 

Commemorative postmark for first Maltese Jesuit Provincial 
Malta, 3 April 2000

    The postal authorities of Malta issued a commemorative postmark on 1 April 2000 to mark the centenary of the birth of Jesuit poet and first Maltese Jesuit Provincial, Father Guze` Delia SJ (1900-1980).

Fr Delia was born in Siggiewi, Malta, and joined the Society in the Sicilian Province at the novitiate of Bagheria on 11 December 1917.

As Rector of St. Aloysius' College, in Birkirkara, during the years of World War II, Fr Delia obtained letters from Father General Ledochowski that put the College and the Society's only residence in Malta under the direct jurisdiction of Father General, thus saving them from expropriation. He was appointed Provincial of the Maltese Vice-Province in 1947.

Fr Delia's contribution to Maltese literature, mainly through his "Leggendi" and poems, earned him the National Prize for Literature on three different occasions.

Ex-Salvador General Denies Slay Role 

03/28/00

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) -- A former president and a retired general Tuesday denied accusations that they and other officials were responsible for the murder of six priests and two women during the country's 12-year civil war.

"I feel completely at peace with my conscience that I had nothing to do with that or any other bloody act in the country, neither by action nor by omission,'' former President Alfredo Cristiani said at a news conference.

On Monday, the Jesuit-run Universidad Centroamericana filed a complaint alleging that several army generals were involved in planning the murder of six priests and two women in 1989, and that Cristiani and other officials did nothing to prevent it.

Cristiani, who left office in 1994, said that he was willing to face trial if prosecutors accept the university's demand to reopen the case. The six priests, who worked at the university, allegedly had been suspected of sympathy for the country's rebel movement.

A Unique Retreat
Province of Japan, March 2000

At the special invitation of Father Provincial, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, Archbishop of Milan, came to Japan to direct a six-day retreat from 5-10 March for some 60 Jesuits at Kami-Shakujii.
Every day, in addition to two talks on the Exercises, the Cardinal preached at the morning liturgy, and on two evenings he presided at a "sharing," listening and responding to questions and comments. As might be expected from such an eminent Biblical scholar, Cardinal Martini offered a deeply scriptural retreat, based both on St. Paul's II Corinthians and on St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises, while drawing on his experiences as archbishop especially at "sharing" time. (Japan Province News, March 2000)

Spanish Jesuit awarded in India

Spanish Jesuit Father Carlos Valles has received the highest literary title bestowed by India's Gujarat state, which is run by a pro-Hindu government and has witnessed anti-Christian violence in the past two years. (Asia Focus, 10 March 2000).

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