Archive for February, 2011

Jesuit Father Charles Currie, president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), has received the 2011 Henry Paley Memorial Award from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), which recognizes an individual who, throughout his or her career, has unfailingly served the students and faculty of independent higher education.

Fr. Currie is one of the best known advocates for independent higher education in Washington, across the country and internationally. During his tenure, the AJCU has moved to the forefront of efforts to preserve student aid, increase access to the underserved and strengthen the nation’s educational system in providing greater opportunities for a college education among underserved populations.

Currie also recently received a special award from The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The 2011 CHEA Award for Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes was presented to him for his leadership “in developing and applying evidence of student learning outcomes to improve higher education quality and accountability.”

Jesuit Father Claudio Barriga, who oversees the Apostleship of Prayer from the Jesuit headquarters near the Vatican, said he estimates there are about 50 million people fulfilling the membership requirements in the apostleship and its youth wing, the Eucharistic Youth Movement, by offering their lives to God and praying for the needs of the universal church and the intentions of the pope.

The Jesuit said he was in Vietnam in January and discovered that there are Apostleship of Prayer groups in every diocese with an estimated 1 million involved.

A government-approved bishop in mainland China reported that there is a group of people who makes the offering and prays for the pope’s intentions each day in his cathedral, Fr. Barriga said. The Apostleship of Prayer is responsible for the annual distribution of “the pope’s prayer intentions” for each month.

In the United States, he said, “it’s mainly a digital community” thriving through the use of the website, www.apostleshipofprayer.org, which includes links to a daily audiovisual meditation posted on YouTube and through both national and parish-based Facebook pages.

But it’s also big in remote areas of Angola where many people have never even seen a computer and in Madagascar where about 250,000 young people belong to the Eucharistic Youth Movement, he said.

Barriga said one reason the Jesuits are looking to “re-create” the apostleship is to strengthen the Jesuits’ commitment to it — whether to leading groups personally or virtually over the Internet.

Another reform at which the Jesuits are looking is helping to keep members focused on the big, important “permanent needs” of the church and the world as reflected in the monthly prayer intentions, while also being able to count on millions of people’s prayers when special needs or disasters arise, Barriga said.

Read more about Barriga and the Apostleship for Prayer at U.S. Catholic.

Jesuit Father Robert Niehoff, who has served since 2005 as president of John Carroll University, recently talked about what it’s like to be president of a university.

“There is always more to do than I can ever do. Once you get used to that fact, you begin to enjoy the rich history and tradition of Carroll. All that our students, faculty and staff do and the community we have created at Carroll is amazing to me,” said Fr. Neihoff of his work at the university, which is currently celebrating its 125th anniversary.

He says the best part of his job is celebrating student and faculty success. “It’s always great to hear a parent talk about what a great time their freshman student is having,” said Niehoff.

Niehoff also said that Jesuits cannot do anything without working with others. “That realization is more important than ever now that a small number of Jesuits currently work at John Carroll.”

Read the full interview with Niehoff.

Photo by Tom Burke/Catholic San Francisco

Jesuit Father Al Grosskopf has been a counselor and friend for almost 40 years to a population that is sometimes overlooked: divorced men and women.

Fr. Grosskopf says that while the church is against divorce, he reminds the people he ministers that the church is not against divorced people.

In an attempt to reach this population, he established one of the first Catholic divorce support groups in California at a parish in San Jose.

Divorce support groups furnish a means for people to share their painful experiences with others who also know the experience, said Grosskopf, who at age 80 is a parochial vicar at San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Parish, where he ministers to a divorce support group.

Grosskopf’s work also includes helping those preparing to seek annulments.

“I find the men and women of our tribunals are very sensitive to the pain of the petitioners,” Grosskopf said. “Theirs is a ministry of remarkable compassion and sensitivity.”

Read more about Grosskopf’s ministry at Catholic San Francisco.

Jesuit Father Kevin Fitzgerald eyes the ball before playing it over to Georgetown students during a Spike-a-Jesuit game.

For the past 10 years, Georgetown University has held a Jesuit Heritage Week to celebrate the school’s Jesuit character. But one event is more emotional and anticipated than the rest: the annual Spike-A-Jesuit volleyball match.

“I’m a bit of a twisted soul, but I look forward to this match the day after it’s finished,” said Jesuit Father Pat Rogers. “I’m in charge of rallying up the Jesuits and it’s just a lot of fun; we talk it up a whole lot and the guys get really excited about it.”

The Jesuit community had a perfect 8-0 record entering the 2010 match, their first loss. The students defeated the Jesuits for the second year in a row on Feb. 1.

“It’s pretty simple, the students were really quite better than we were,” Fr. Rogers said. “Actually I’m pretty proud of ourselves because we’re a pretty old team, and we get out there and we try and we scrape.”

While the Jesuits lost the first two games and therefore the match in the best-of-three format, both teams decided to keep playing, and the Jesuits won the third and fourth games.

“We started playing as a team, and we have age and wisdom on our side,” said Jesuit Father Matthew Carnes.

Fr. Carnes credited a fundamental Jesuit skill as the reason for their success in volleyball: discernment. “Discerning the weaknesses on the other side, discerning your strengths, and using them to your advantage is what it’s all about,” he said.

As he left the court, Rogers said, “The students better not get too full of themselves, because we will be back.”

For more on the volleyball game, visit the Georgetown Voice.