Jesuits in the News

posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Right after Pope Benedict XVI's address to Catholic educators April 17 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, college presidents and superintendents were ready to do their homework.

Several of them said they wanted to carefully read and reread the pope's address to unpack its rich, detailed message.

During the address to more than 400 educators, the pope spoke softly, reading his text as prepared. His words were interrupted twice with applause -- when he expressed "profound gratitude" for the educators' work and when he implored them to continue their efforts for "those in poorer areas."

The intellectual depth of his message was not lost on these educators, nor was the fact that he spoke to them as one who understands their challenges, telling them he knows of their sacrifice and dedication from his "own days as a professor."

"He came to us as a colleague and as the Holy Father," said Cynthia Zane, president of Hilbert College in Hamburg, N.Y. Referring to the pope's intellectualism and college teaching experience, she added, "Who better to understand our work and our mission?"

Jim Towey, president of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., left the address feeling like he had just been in an honors seminar. "I need some time to ponder this; it was no light address," he told Catholic News Service.

His first impression was to feel simultaneously encouraged and challenged to do more.

"He set the bar higher," he said, while also acknowledging that the pope's words were not without his "characteristic hope" that assured school leaders they could faithfully continue in their mission.

"We have a lot to pray about," Towey added.

Vincentian Father Dennis Holtschneider, president of DePaul University in Chicago, was happy about several aspects of the pope's talk -- including his emphasis on religious orders continuing to support schools in poor areas. "A little bit of encouragement goes a long way," he said, hoping the pope's words would have an impact on the effort to keep inner-city schools open.

He also appreciated the pope's description of schools' Catholic identity not coming from "the number of Catholic students" but from the "conviction" and commitment to faith of the entire school community.

"That is a harder challenge," he said, "but he certainly hit the nail on the head."

Sister Carol Jean Vale, a Sister of St. Joseph and president of Chestnut Hill College near Philadelphia, was similarly "heartened" that the pope asked religious orders to stay committed to educating the poor.

Karen Ristau, president of the National Catholic Educational Association and someone who knows about Catholic inner-city school closings all too well, was similarly pleased with the pope's plea and the applause it generated.

"The pope understands the big picture of education; it's not just numbers, but the intersection of faith and reason," she said.

Weeks prior to the address, media reports had speculated that the pope might come down hard on college presidents for hosting events or speakers not in line with Catholic teaching. Instead, in the words of one president, they were given a "gentle reminder" that academic freedom should not be pursued at all costs.

"It was certainly nothing of the scolding that some alarmists had hoped," said Jesuit Father Jeffrey von Arx, president of Fairfield University in Connecticut.

Jacqueline Powers Doud, president of Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, said she never bought into the reports of a possible reprimand and "didn't think the pope would use this platform" to deliver harsh criticism.

"He acknowledged there are challenges," she said, but at the end he also "urged us to be witnesses of hope."

Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity College in Washington, also said she had not anticipated a scolding and said his words of affirmation "have given us an opportunity to say we're proud of our work."

Like her colleagues, she planned to carefully read his address and also was convinced it would provide a springboard for further dialogue among college presidents and other educators.

"This is a moment of renewal," she said.

John DeGioia, president of Jesuit-run Georgetown University in Washington, called the pope's remarks "inspiring, moving and a powerful personal experience."

He recalled the tremendous opportunity to be with colleagues and witness the crowd of young people gathered outside as part of "a huge celebration. There was a wonderful spirit to the place yesterday." Later DeGioia said he felt the pope's validating conviction and "deep sense (that) what we do matters."

The superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington said the pope's message affirmed her work and the mission of Catholic schools in the region. Patricia Weitzel-O'Neill said Pope Benedict stressed the need for truth in education during his address to educators at Catholic University. The pontiff emphasized Catholic education is much more than knowledge, she said. "It is about sharing the truth."

She emphasized the pope's call for intellectual charity and the need to serve all children. "Educators have always brought hope through Catholic education to all children," Weitzel-O'Neill said.

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Contributing to this story was Lynnea Pruzinsky Mumola.

END

04/18/2008 5:24 PM ET

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

posted: Tuesday, April 22, 2008

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- During his whirlwind April 15-20 U.S. visit, Pope Benedict XVI took a few moments out of his demanding schedule for a private meeting with one of America's pre-eminent theologians, the ailing, 89-year-old Cardinal Avery Dulles.

The Jesuit scholar traveled from his residence at Jesuit-run Fordham University's Rose Hill campus in the Bronx section of New York to St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., April 19, for a prearranged, 15-minute private meeting with the pope, just after the pontiff met with disabled youths.

"It was a lovely meeting," said Dominican Sister Anne-Marie Kirmse, the cardinal's executive assistant for the past 20 years. She was present to help facilitate the get-together, held in a suite of offices at the seminary.

"The pope literally bounded into the room with a big smile on his face," she told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview April 21. "He went directly to where Cardinal Dulles was sitting, saying, 'Eminenza, Eminenza, Eminenza, I recall the work you did for the International Theological Commission in the 1990s.'"

The pope and cardinal's meeting was also attended by Jesuit Father Thomas R. Marciniak of the Fordham Jesuit community, who served as Cardinal Dulles's priest-chaplain, and Francine Messiah and Oslyn Fergus, health care workers who help the cardinal.

"This meeting is significant because these are two of the leading Catholic theologians who interpreted Vatican II for a generation," said Father James Massa, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. "It was a meeting of two great Catholic intellectuals."

The grandson of a Presbyterian minister and son of John Foster Dulles -- secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- Cardinal Dulles entered the Catholic Church in 1941 while studying at Harvard Law School. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he joined the Jesuits in 1946 and was ordained in 1956. He has written 22 books, hundreds of articles and has more than 30 honorary doctorates.

During the meeting, the cardinal gave the pope a copy of his latest book, "Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988-2007," published in early April, Sister Anne-Marie said.

"The pope expressed great interest in the book," she said. "He eagerly looked through it and was touched by Cardinal Dulles' inscription to him."

Often considered Cardinal Dulles' most influential work, "Models of the Church" in 1974 provided tens of thousands of bishops, priests, seminarians and lay leaders with a deeper understanding of the different but complementary theologies of the church underlying the work of the Second Vatican Council.

Most of his writings have guided the interpretation of Vatican II on a host of issues, including the nature of the faith, authority in the church and the relationship between Scripture and tradition, Father Massa said.

"These are the very same topics that the future Pope Benedict XVI would devote many of his scholarly energies to," he said. "It was Cardinal Ratzinger who appointed (then Father) Avery Dulles to the International Theological Commission, an advisory body to the pope on all matters theological."

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI upon his election as pope in 2005.

When Pope John Paul II elevated the 82-year-old Jesuit priest to cardinal in 2001, he became the first American named a cardinal to honor his work as a theologian.

Too old to vote in the College of Cardinals at the time of his elevation, the newly named Cardinal Dulles told CNS in 2001 he considered his selection largely honorary. When members of the College of Cardinals turn 80 they can no longer vote in a conclave.

The cardinal is now confined to a wheelchair and incapable of prolonged speech as a result of post-polio syndrome, which he originally contracted when he was in the Navy 62 years ago. In early April he gave his farewell address as the Laurence J. McGinley professor of religion and society at Fordham University.

"The cardinal is finishing teaching a class (at Fordham) this semester, and I'm helping him with that," Sister Anne-Marie said.

Though he didn't attend the meeting between the two Catholic scholars, Father Massa said the get-together between the pope and Cardinal Dulles was touching to him all the same.

"I wrote my doctoral dissertation (in 1997) at Fordham with Father Dulles as my dissertation mentor," he said. "He chose my topic; it was a sign of his respect for Cardinal Ratzinger and respect for our institution and its structure. The topic was 'The Ecclesiology of Cardinal Ratzinger.' So, this was an emotional and poignant encounter for me."

Before the meeting's conclusion, the pope blessed Cardinal Dulles, "assuring him of his prayers for the cardinal, and encouraged him in his sufferings," Sister Anne-Marie said.

END

04/21/2008 4:59 PM ET

Copyright (c) 2008 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

posted: Thursday, April 17, 2008

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) -- Haiti's bishops and a group of Jesuits in the country called on the government to put in place short- and medium-term plans to address the hunger crisis driven by a hike in world food staples.

In an April 12 statement, the Jesuits also urged the international community to "keep its promises and help the country rise out of the quagmire it has sunk into."

Describing themselves as "deeply united with this suffering people and sincerely in solidarity with the victims," the priests urged Haitian President Rene Preval to carry out an in-depth reform of public institutions to allow development.

They also called on parliament to put in place a plan to provide relief to people who cannot afford to buy the food they need to survive.

The same day, Haiti's bishops also expressed their compassion for the poor and offered solidarity to the families of victims of violent unrest.

"The bishops' conference condemns violence, whatever its form, because violence brings conflict and it can in no way resolve our problems," they said in the statement.

The statement, signed by Bishop Louis Kebreau of Hinche, president of the bishops' conference, reminded Haitians that "if the right to demonstrate is sacred, this does not authorize anyone to take lives or attack property belonging to others. Those responsible for public order must protect lives and property and punish those who break the law."

The bishops said peaceful and legitimate demonstrations should not be infiltrated by "agitators and interested manipulators" who provoke acts of vandalism.

Expressing their outrage at the manipulation of minors who participated in protests, the bishops called on parents, educators and community leaders to promote "a real citizens' education that allows these young people to become honest citizens who respect their national and cultural heritage."

"The hour for division and exclusion has long passed," they said. "It is time to ask ourselves the question: What is the commitment that we as citizens wish to take regarding our nation in danger to establish a climate of peace and serenity, in a new spirit of trust, solidarity and mutual respect?"

Since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's departure from Haiti in 2004, the price of rice and beans has nearly doubled and, in the last six months, these staples have risen by more than 30 percent. Preval, an agronomist, initially refused to allow government subsidies on imported rice, which today feeds most Haitians, saying that he would only subsidize national rice production.

Preval announced April 12 that his government would provide significant subsidies for fertilizer. Under sustained pressure, the president also finally announced that he had reached an agreement with rice importers, that they will reduce for one month the price of rice by $3 per sack. The government will in turn subsidize rice by $5 per sack, bringing the price down to $43 per sack.

The food crisis and ensuing widespread riots in early April brought a Senate vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis, who stepped down April 12, as Preval negotiated with rice importers.

Many Haitian analysts had suggested that unrest over high food prices had been hijacked by certain political sectors who sought to use the situation to advance their own political interests, including attempting to topple the government.

Some speculated that part of the business sector, including rice importers, were opposed to government policies to encourage national production rather than import foodstuffs, and wished to capitalize on a popular demand for cheaper food. Others speculated that Aristide's political party, seeking to make a comeback, also had tried to use the unrest for its own ends.

END

04/16/2008 7:08 PM ET