Archive for the ‘Partnerships’ Category

Jesuit Father Ben Urmston has stood up for just about every social justice cause in 46 years as a Catholic priest. And, in recognition of his efforts over the years, the NAACP of Cincinnati honored the Jesuit with its Fair and Courageous Award at its 56th annual Freedom Fund Dinner.

The award is one of the chapter’s highest honors and, as the name suggests, recognizes “public servants who perform fairly, impartially and courageously.”

“I do feel honored. The NAACP is a pioneering civil rights group,” Urmston said. “Sometimes we over-emphasize the individual and don’t recognize the contribution everyone makes to the common good. Even if they think they are only doing something insignificant, we’re all in this together.”

Urmston is a Cincinnati native who left for the service at age 17 and taught and worked briefly in Detroit before returning.

“We live in two Cincinnatis,” Urmston said. “One is in the basement. The other is on the top floor, and if it’s not on the top floor, it’s not in the basement.”

Urmston sees the differences between the two as a schism emblematic of  issues around the country.

“It’s counter-productive,” said Urmston, professor emeritus of Peace and Justice at Xavier, where he founded programs such as the campus shantytown in solidarity with the homeless. “We need to learn compassionate listening with people we disagree with.”

Urmston is a World War II veteran who served in Patton’s Third Army, fighting in three major European battles – the Rhine, Ruhr and Bavaria – before serving a year in the Philippines.

“With God’s help, I was able to draw good from evil,” Urmston said. “Despite many years of repressed memories, instinctively I got my passion for peace and justice. I value freedom.”

In September, Jesuits from around the World came together to Rome to meet with Father General Adolfo Nicolás about the ever evolving issue of interreligious dialogue and ecumenical outreach. Jesuit Father Thomas Rausch, the T. Marie Chilton Professor of Catholic Theology at Loyola Marymount University attended this meeting, and offered his reflections to National Jesuit News on the issues facing today’s Society and the future of interreligious dialogue.

In 1995, the Jesuits came together in their General Congregation to broaden the understanding of the Society’s mission, to include the proclamation of the Gospel and the evangelization of culture. Recognizing that that Jesuits today carry out their mission in a world of ecclesial and religious pluralism, this past September, Jesuits from around the globe came together in Rome, to discuss the future and expansion of this mission.

Mindful of this, Father General Adolfo Nicolás reorganized the Jesuit Curia’s one-man secretariat for ecumenical and interreligious affairs, appointing eight Jesuits from around the world who would meet with him every September for three years to advise him on shaping Jesuit mission in these areas. The most recent meeting included discussions that were wide-ranging, covering topics such as; new challenges to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, how those from different religions might find ways to pray together or in each other’s company, how to encourage dialogue with indigenous and traditional religions, and how to prepare Jesuits for engagement with all these issues.

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Founded more than a decade ago by Jesuit Father Jeff Puthoff and the pastoral teams of several local parishes, Hopeworks ‘n Camden is a transformative and holistic ministry of empowerment for the youth of inner-city Camden, which offers technology training and job opportunities, coupled with academic support and formation.

Jesuit Father Tom Greene, Secretary for Social and International Ministries at the Jesuit Conference (SIM), SIM Policy Director John Kleiderer and SIM Programs Director Amy Newlon were privileged to visit with Fr. Puthoff, the staff and youth of Hopeworks. Below are their reflections:

Under Puthoff’s leadership, Hopeworks has evolved in its ten-years of existence, expanding its programs to offer not only technology training but also comprehensive “literacy” programs that help youth complete high school, and get into college.  The technology and literacy programs are augmented by a counseling and formation program that helps young people to overcome barriers which impede their success.  Amy Newlon, Director of Programs for SIM, was very impressed with how adaptive Hopeworks is in its programming.  “Hopeworks saw that there was a critical need affecting the youth they serve – unsafe, insecure, or unsupportive housing with limited personal space.   As such Hopeworks opened a new residential community – the C.R.I.B. (Community Responding In Belief ) that provides a safe, respectful, celebratory and structured atmosphere where Hopeworks youth can and do succeed.”
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It is more important than ever for students exploring a religion, especially Islam, to examine its sociopolitical, historical and theological roots, according to Jesuit Father Daniel Madigan, an associate professor of theology at Georgetown University.

Fr. Madigan, a native of Australia with a doctorate in Islamic religion from Columbia University, said theological study of Islam is also important in helping Christians and non-Christians better understand their own faith.

“When we talk about theology among ourselves we adopt a kind of a language and we’re so used to doing it, we don’t challenge each other on it,” Madigan said. “We don’t realize how weird it sounds to people who grew up in a different faith.”

Establishing an interreligious dialogue between Christianity and Islam, and among all world religions, is an important step towards greater accountability and acceptance, according to Madigan.

Read more about Madigan at the Georgetown University website.

The missionary strategies used by the Jesuits in China constitute an advanced and effective model for the enculturalization of Christianity. This is what emerged, in brief, from a presentation held in May at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome by Jesuit Father Klaus Schatz, a professor of church history at the St. George’s Philosophical and Theological School in Frankfurt.

Fr. Schatz’s presentation was part of a series of conferences on the theme of “Conversion: A Change of God? Experiences and Reflections on Interreligious Dialogue”, launched by the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies of Religion and Culture (ISIRC) at the Gregorian University.

Speaking on the Chinese mission founded by Jesuit Father Matteo Ricci and carried out in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, Schatz stressed that the scope of the Jesuits, in the beginning, was aimed at earning credit with the upper echelons of society. They wanted to gain the trust of the court and the emperor, who were the ones who shaped an official interpretation of religious rites. The novelty of Christianity, presented by the Jesuits to the Chinese, was that every man can have a direct and immediate relationship with God. This was a message unheard of in a country where only the emperor could make sacrifices to heaven.

Ultimately, their mission had a much farther reach. Korea is a unique example in the history of Christianity of a local church starting not through preaching, or direct personal contact with missionaries or Christians, but through literature. Here, the Christian faith got on its feet towards the end of the 18th century because a group of Koreans read Ricci’s book on the teaching of the Lord.

H2onews, a Catholic news service that distributes multimedia in nine languages, has more on Schatz’s presentation at the Pontifical Gregorian University here.