Bridge
Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley Volume 1, Spring 2008
Bridging Theology and the Cultures of the World
Indonesia Immersion
Stuffed Fish and Calamari for Breakfast
ALSO Profiles in Ministry Historic Symposium in Shanghai Journal Reflections from the SOA Protest BRIDGE spring 2008
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Bridge Volume 1, Spring 2008
Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley Bridging Theology and the Cultures of the World
Contents FEATURES Shanghai Euclid Conference . . . . . . . . 4 SOA Journal Reflections . . . . . . . . . . 10 Indonesia Immersion . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Arrupe Centennial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Ukrainian Ecumenism . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Profiles in Ministry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Faculty News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Alumni Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Developments in Development . . . . 23
The Bridge is the semi-annual magazine of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. The Jesuit School is a theological school faithful to the intellectual tradition and the apostolic priority of the Society of Jesus: reverent and critical service of the faith that does justice. The Jesuit School achieves its mission through the academic, pastoral and personal formation of Jesuits and other candidates for ministry, ordained and lay, in the Roman Catholic Church. The Development Department produces the Bridge. Editor: Catherine M. Kelly Associate Editor: Meredith MacDonald Photography: Students & Staff DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Molly McCoy Board of Trustees Joseph P. Daoust, S.J., Thomas H. Feely, S.J. President John D. Feerick John E. Kerrigan, Jr., Loretta Holstein Chair Paul Locatelli, S.J. William J. Barkett John P. McGarry, S.J. Thomas E. Bertelsen, Jr. Walter Modrys, S.J. Betsy Bliss Stanley Raggio Louis M. Castruccio D. Paul Regan Marx Cazenave John D. Schubert Bishop John S. Cummins Tony Sholander, S.J. Rev. Virgilio P. Elizondo Thomas Smolich, S.J. John D. Whitney, S.J. Sr. Maureen Fay, O.P. Jesuit School of Theology 1735 LeRoy Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709 Tel: 510-549-5000, www.jstb.edu
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Editor’s Note I am delighted to introduce our new magazine Daoust, S.J. format for the Bridge.Rev. Our Joseph mottoP.“bridging theology and the cultures of the world” reflects Unless the Lord the global mission of the Jesuit School of build the house, for the Theology — to prepare future leaders vain universal Church — as they well labor as theindiversity of that build it. our international student body. 127:1) In response to the (Psalm requests from our readership for more stories on the current In the midst of the greatand depression over 70 ministries of our alumni at the suggestion years ago, the Jesuits of the West Coast relied on of one of our contributing writers, Janelle providence to start the Jesuit School of Theology Peregoy (M.Div. 2008), I am happy to introduce Alma, a town“Profiles in the Santa Cruz mountains. aatnew column, in Ministry,” which Originally founded as a part of Santa Clara features firsthand ministry accounts from our University, the School was dedicated solely alumni and students. In this edition, we are to training young Jesuits the Syauswa, priesthood. profiling alumnus, Rev. for Daniel S.J. In the latein1960s in the ecumenical spirit (S.T.L. 2007) the D.R. Congo and two of of Vatican II, the Jesuit students, School of Rev. Theology made a leap of faith, our current Mr. Phil Hurley, S.J. and dared to become part of a consortium of (M.Div. 2008) and Janelle Peregoy. If you are hitherto all Protestant seminaries, an thearticle Graduate Theological interested in submitting on your Union. Moving from the countryside into the heart experiences, please contact me. of vibrant and sometimes violent Berkeley, Finally, starting with this issue, we areit ceased being part of Santa Clara University and publishing the Bridge electronically. If became you independently incorporated and accredited. It soon would like to receive the magazine electroni began to educate other religious and lay men and cally, please send me your email address. Thank women for ministry alongside Jesuits training for you to the many readers who have already sent priesthood. their emails requesting an electronic copy. With frequent prayer for guidance, Please send news, articles and emailthe Jesuit School of Theology community discerned that addresses to Catherine Kelly, Associate for the long-term enhancement preservation Director of Development, Jesuit and School of of our mission, it might be best to combine both Theology, 1735 LeRoy Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709 institutional collaborations of our past history. That or ckelly@jstb.edu. Thank you! is, remaining in Berkeley as an integral part of the Graduate Theological Union, we might also affiliate Catherine M. Kelly again with Santa Clara University as a university Editor graduate school of theology and ministry. Therefore, we will be discussing such a possible re-affiliation with Santa Clara University, which is favorably disposed to this possibility. Cover: The gates at the mosque of the Islamic State University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Photograph by Erin Bishop.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear Friends,
I am writing this from Rome, where I have been attending the Jesuits’ General Congregation since January 5th. I hope we are finished and I can get back to California by the time you are reading this. We Jesuits love to talk! In reality, a General Congregation is a wonderful gathering of Jesuits from around the world. There are 225 of us in Rome from over 100 countries, all focused on trying to find what God’s spirit might have in mind for the Society of Jesus as we go into the future. One thing we all felt was a real movement of the Spirit in the election of our new Superior General, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, at the end of January. Born in Spain, he has worked for 40 years in Asia, largely in Japan and the Philippines. He brings a great sensitivity to the cultures and worldviews of that part of the world which will be so important in the Church and to our “global village” in the future. The process we use to elect a Superior General was designed by St. Ignatius Loyola over 450 years ago, and still works with incredible effectiveness. We call it murmuratio, a Latin word for one-on-one conversations about the qualities of possible Jesuit candidates for Superior General. No advocacy of any candidate is allowed, no campaigning, no pressure; just heartfelt spiritual conversation during four days of prayer together. By the end of that time, the Spirit seemed to be moving us all in the same direction, and we have an inspiring new leader in Fr. Nicolás. The rest of the General Congregation is taken up with writing “decrees” which are addressed to all the Jesuits in the world, and will give some direction to us in certain areas. Likely topics for such documents are Jesuit Mission, Jesuit Governance, Obedience, and Collaboration with the Laity. It takes a lot of discussion on each to find out what has been happening all around the many provinces of the Society. And then we pray and discuss some more until we arrive at a consensus on what seems best to say to our Jesuit brethren. I miss being back in Berkeley as the second semester gets under way. The excitement and energy of students as they begin new courses is contagious. And there are a few things piling up on my desk which I will have to get to when I return. But for now, this is a graced time for me, and I think for the whole Society of Jesus. It certainly is a time of sensing how God is at work in the world in so many places and so many ways. Not least of all, of course, at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. And each day I look out on the huge Basilica which stands somewhat incongruously over the rock under which the bones of St. Peter were placed after his crucifixion. I will be praying for you here, that we can find ways to serve the Lord as well as that Palestinian peasant did so long ago. Thank you for your support and interest in how we can work together for the future of the Church.
UPDATE March 1, 2008: At the Jesuits’ General Congregation in Rome, Father General appointed Fr. Daoust as a member of the General Council of the Society of Jesus, and the Delegate (Provincial) for Jesuits and Jesuit Institutions in Rome. Fr. Daoust will be leaving the Jesuit School of Theology and moving to Rome in the fall of 2008 to assume these new responsibilities. More information to follow.
Rev. Joseph P. Daoust, S.J. President
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“Seeing the Great Extent of the World with Peoples So Diverse” Rev. Kevin Burke, S.J., Academic Dean
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In early November a delegation
from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley participated in a historic symposium held in Shanghai, China, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the translation of Euclid’s Elements into Chinese. The translation, com pleted in 1608 by the early Jesuit missionary, Mateo Ricci, S.J., and his friend and collaborator, Paul Xu Guang-qi, one of the first Chinese court officials to become a Catholic, ignited a scientific and economic revolution in China. The anniversary symposium, sponsored by several Chinese universities as well as the local Chinese government, included presentations from scholars from such disparate fields as history, astronomy, agricultural science, mathematics, political science, economics, and theology. It included a public unveiling of a statue of Ricci and Xu Guang-qi discoursing about Christianity and Confucianism and a second statue of an older Guang-qi looking up at the night stars after his younger pupil had fallen asleep. Academic Dean Kevin Burke, S.J., and Jesuit School of Theology ecclesiastical doctoral students Rev. Fausto Gianfreda, S.J. (Italy) and
Rev. Mathieu Ndomba, S.J. (Congo) joined representatives from Santa Clara University, the University of San Francisco, Loyola Marymount University, and the California Province staff to form the U.S. Jesuit delegation to the conference. Sponsored by the California Province of the Society of Jesus, the delegation also met with the extraordinary and still active Bishop of Shanghai, Aloysius Jin, S.J., a 91-year-old Jesuit who spent 28 years imprisoned by the Chinese government. They also held a memorable meeting with members of the Religious Studies faculty of Fudan University, one of the great universities in China, about the possibilities of future collaboration among our various faculties. This is a complex, exciting time in China and in the developing relationship between the Vatican and the Chinese government. It is also an exciting time for students like Fausto and Mathieu, with their keen interests in interreligious dia logue and cross-cultural exchanges. The trip to China provided each with an undreamed of opportunity to encounter a civilization very different from their own and to see
with their own eyes one of the great cities of the world. Fausto, whose studies are focused on interreligious dialogue between Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus, made this observation: “People in Shanghai work for long hours. They are inte rested in what they can attain through their efforts. The risk is that they live in a void of spirituality. The consciousness of this risk opened my eyes to the necessity of bringing them the hope of the Gospel.” Mathieu marveled at the thought of visiting a country so distant from his own. He recounted a phone conversation with his mother in the Congo who could not believe her son was going to China. Fausto and Mathieu both expressed gratitude for the commitment that the Jesuit School of Theology has made to the study of theology in the context of the world’s many cultures and religions. As they pointed out, that commitment makes real the Ignatian Contemplation on the Incarnation from the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises where Ignatius bids us “to see the great extent of the circuit of the world, with peoples so many and so diverse.”
Photographs: OPPOSITE PAGE TOP: Xu Guang-qi Park pond. OPPOSITE BOTTOM, left to right: (1) Members of the Jesuit delegation from California at the cathedral in Shanghai; (2) Most Rev. Aloysius Jim, S.J., Bishop of Shanghai; (3) Statues of Mateo Ricci, S.J. and Xu Guang-qi in Xu Guang-qi Park. THIS PAGE, left to right: (1) Rev. Kevin Burke, S.J. presents to Bishop Aloysius Jim a collection of 17th century Chinese etchings by Jesuit missionaries; (2) The main pathway in Xu Guang-qi Park. All photographs by Rev. Mathieu Ndomba, S.J.
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Profiles
in Ministry Preaching and Learning at San Quentin Prison Rev. Mr. Phil Hurley, S.J. (M.Div. 2008) When Johnny Cash played his live concert at San
Quentin State Prison in 1969, he famously performed back-to-back versions of the song, “San Quentin,” written for the occasion. He sang: San Quentin, what good do you think you do? Do you think I’ll be different when you’re through? With all due respect for Cash’s pointed critique of the prison system, I must say that today good is happening and people are being changed within San Quentin’s walls — at least within one little corner called Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Chapel. I began preaching at various liturgies at the chapel after ordination to the diaconate in October 2007. Many people who find out that my first preaching ministry is in such an infamous prison remark that it must be difficult. In all honesty, I have to respond that I find it an amazing and consoling place to work. “Some of the holiest men I know are there,” I often find myself saying. This is true. Especially among the inmates who are the lay ministers and leaders in our little “parish,” I find men who know deeply their own brokenness and their need for God and for his reconciling, healing love. Preaching in a place where so many people are so open to the Spirit makes for powerful experiences of God — for both the congregation and for the preacher. Rev. Kurt Denk, S.J. (M.Div. 2007) began preaching at San Quentin last year as a deacon and now serves as assistant chaplain there while attending law school at the University of California. He thinks often of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:36, “I was…in prison and you visited me.” “I go to prison and I do encounter Christ, in these men,” says Denk, “and then I have the privilege of preaching to them. I learn what to preach from them.” I also find this “reciprocity of grace” between the inmates at San Quentin and myself, especially in the ministry of preaching. One parish council member, who has worked with many Jesuits and permanent deacons in formation over the years, calls the chapel, “Deacon U.” We have the best of teachers in this school. I will not soon forget a session in which the inmate who is the senior altar server was tutoring me in the deacon’s parts of the Mass. Standing at the lectern before an empty chapel, I expressed to him some of my nervousness about the upcoming preaching. He gently gave me some sage advice, borne from years of observing many different preachers: be yourself, preach
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Rev. Mr. Phil Hurley, S.J., Rev. Julien N’Guessan, S.J., and Rev. Kurt Denk, S.J. at San Quentin
from the heart, and trust God. I am blessed to be a student at Deacon U. The men at San Quentin are also generous in expressing how our preaching affects them. Rev. Julien N’Guessan, S.J. (S.T.D. student) assists at Our Lady of the Rosary chapel while working on a Doctorate in Sacred Theology degree at the Jesuit School of Theology. Since English is not his first language, he was initially concerned that he would not be able to preach with enough fluency. Yet after Mass one Sunday, several inmates shared with him how powerfully affected they were by the homily. N’Guessan came to a deeper realization of God’s hand at work in this ministry. “It is not simply us preaching,” says N’Guessan, “It is God working through us to get his message to his people! Preaching is first of all the Holy Spirit present in the life of the people and in the life of the preacher.” The Holy Spirit is present in our lives at San Quentin. I preached for the first time at Our Lady of the Rosary chapel the Sunday after our diaconate ordination. The first reading, from Exodus 17, featured the image of Moses’ arms being supported on either side by Aaron and Hur. While challenging all of us at San Quentin to be even better supports for one another, I also gave witness in the homily to the many people already supporting each other’s “weary arms” in a place whose very name is infamous. This support springs from the fellowship of those who gather together each week to be fed by Word and by Sacrament: congregation and preacher alike. Allow me this prayer, Mr. Cash, if you would: Lord, in San Quentin, what good you do! We’ll all be different when you’re through.
Ministry in West Oakland: My Summer Internship at St. Patrick’s Janelle Peregoy (M.Div. 2008) There is no doubt that students entering the Jesuit
School of Theology are talented. Long before many of us came here, we volunteered domestically and abroad, taught high school, ministered at parishes and served in a variety of pastoral settings. Many of us have the opportunity for further training in a variety of ministries in the inner-city area of the Diocese of Oakland known as West Oakland, one of the most ethnically diverse and economically poor areas of the country. Funding for this culturally contextualized ministerial training and full scholarships for qualified students who minister in West Oakland comes from a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. When Rev. Greg Chisholm S.J., the pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church in West Oakland, offered me an internship to work for and not necessarily with the parish’s youth program, I was intrigued. The parish already had two volunteer youth group leaders yet what it lacked was a long-term strategic vision and some possible resources to implement that vision. My job description, as I interpreted it, was to get to know the bilingual, largely African-American and Latino parish community and to assess objectively how a youth program could continue to be developed. I began this process by attending both Sunday liturgies — one in English and the other in Spanish — and getting to know the parish power players. When I began working at the parish, the youth group had primarily been focused on children and teenagers of the English-speaking community. I needed to understand why the program had yet to appeal to the Spanish-speaking community and to determine what changes needed to be implemented to make it more attractive. I spoke with many of St. Patrick’s parents and grandparents. They had differing opinions as to the exact purpose of a youth group but everyone unanimously agreed that it should be an open, safe, and loving environment for children to experience God. From there, I went out into the local community of West Oakland. What kinds of youth programs worked in the area? Youth ministers from other congregations in the neighborhood provided many possibilities for program structure, activities, and goals. I also gained insight from the local community branches of the Y.M.C.A and the Boys & Girls Club. These kinds of organizations had experience with programs that develop specific skills Janelle Peregoy
like team-building through social activities. I spoke to educators who worked with students of varying age levels. To many of them, I posed the question of what a parish youth group could do — besides providing a spiritual component — to improve the lives of its youth. The short answer to my question was helping with homework and mentoring to seniors in the college application process. My research also included asking questions like: “How can sports help build confidence in boys and girls?” “In what ways can the older youth of the parish mentor the younger ones?” “How do you encourage the youth to become more involved in the entire life of the parish?” Of course, these questions pale in comparison to the following question: “How do we implement these kinds of programs and ideas at St. Patrick’s?” After only three months of working at the parish, I could never claim to have learned all the answers. I can claim, however, to have learned how many undiscovered resources there were within the parish itself. Whether it was a parishioner who works as a bank manager who was willing to discuss the perils of credit card debt with teenagers or another who suggested the possibility of creating a children’s liturgy, much of the potential of the youth program rests in St. Patrick’s itself. At the end of my project, many of my recommendations to the parish council consisted of identifying those untapped resources within the parish community. Whether it is experience in fundraising, a shared love of hiking or simply volunteered time and commitment, there are so many ways that any one person can participate and enrich the quality of the youth program. Once the adults of the parish, even those without children, realize the gifts, talents and experiences they have to offer and the positive difference in the lives of children such contributions would make, then they may feel more invested in the youth ministry program and in the parish as well.
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From Theology to Agriculture: The Patience of the Sower Rev. Daniel Syauswa, S.J. (S.T.L. 2007) What you see in the picture is not the result of
computer manipulation. This picture taken on February 9, 2008 at my place of work summarizes my journey from Berkeley, California to Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo. In my right hand, you can see Dynamics of Theology, a very familiar book by Roger Haight, an American Jesuit theologian. In my left hand is a less familiar book: A Dictionary of Agriculture. Those two books (in the hands of a theologian) speak to my journey and express the possibility of bridging theology and agriculture. But how does one move from one to the other? For someone who knows that the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley does not train agriculturalists, my story offers a different view: theology and agriculture are very close.1 As I reflect on my journey at the Jesuit School of Theology, I realize how our experiences as students and faculty are mutually enriching. The diversity that we bring is so vast that we still have much to learn from each other even after four semesters spent together. If you were asked to locate Kinshasa on the map, you might seriously hesitate before you could find it. Yet Kinshasa is the capital city of the third biggest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which many of you have come to know unfortunately because of the many deadly conflicts that have taken place since 1994. Many friends in the U.S. have also discovered the D. R. Congo through its dark and complex history of colonization thanks to the book by Adam Hochschild, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1998). The Congo is not only a place of darkness — yet that is how the media wants to present it. It is also a place for hope; hope combined with patience. Hope and patience are theological and biblical virtues. More fundamentally, they represent two core attitudes of the sower. Sowing will never be an easy task. Indeed, the sower works with living raw material that he/she buries in the I completed a Master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering in France in November 2001. With that background, I started my theological journey with an interest in environmental questions. My Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) thesis testifies to that: The Ecological Dimensions of Peace. Ecology, Faith, and Culture from an African Perspective, a work which Rev. T. Howland Sanks, S.J. directed and Rev. William O’Neill, S.J. encouraged. 1
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Rev. Daniel Syauswa, S.J. in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo
ground. Living things, as you know, can die. Life and death: from one to the other, stands the faith. However obscure these words may seem to be, they express my current experience. From sowing to harvesting, we need patience. The time in between can also be a time when we mourn the grain of which we are deprived. For this reason, the psalmist rightly reminds us of “those who sow in tears” and harvest in rejoicing (Psalm 126:5). I graduated from the Jesuit School of Theology on May 19, 2007 with many other friends now teaching or continuing their studies in theology. After my Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.), I was assigned as a professor in an agro-veterinary college which the Jesuits of the Central Africa Province run. I began by teaching Fundamental Agriculture to 40 students from different backgrounds. Teaching the basics of agriculture can be compared to teaching the basics of the Christian faith. In my office, I can see the peanuts and a grain of corn I harvested today. These are the fruits of the work I did with the students. These fruits help me assess how far the students have mastered the basics of agriculture. I am also the Assistant Academic Dean and currently serve as the Acting Dean while our Dean participates in the Society of Jesus’ General Congregation 35 which elected Rev. Adolfo Nicolás as the new Father General of the Jesuits. Beyond the office work, I enjoy and am challenged by the wonderful experience of accompanying students on their journeys. Teaching in the Congolese context, however, is very difficult. Successive governments have neglected education and we receive growing numbers of young
in Ministry
Profiles
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(continued)
people who have not benefited from the best that this Google the world “coltan” and tell me what you read. rich country is able to offer. In Kinshasa, the capital Good news? News about corporations? Good news, yes! city, for instance, “road” is an empty word. Recently, Even in the midst of ruins! heavy rains cut the only access from the city center to I live in a wonderful community, a house of formation. our campus. So, my role as Academic Dean also includes I am one of the “formators” of about 70 Jesuits studying making sure that our professors have transportation to philosophy and coming from more than 15 countries. It and from our campus. Since public transportation is very is so diverse and mutually enriching and challenging — poor and private cars rare, I rely on our four-wheel drive that is good news! I will never forget the first words car to pick up the professors at the nearest accessible place. Jesuit School of Theology President Joe Daoust, S.J. In all this, hope remains a challenging experience. told the new candidates to the S.T.L. program in his We hope that the work we are doing will benefit the welcoming address during the orientation week in students and the entire country. We live in a continent August 2006: “You all bring a unique presence. Each where international media is not ready to expose and one of you is a gift to the community.” Believing these share the good news because some continue to benefit words and celebrating the experience they bear gives from the disruptions of society. energy even where good news is rare on a macro level. I remember my very first weeks here in Kimwenza, The community can still work like a laboratory where we the place that hosts our agro-veterinary school. After a test, adjust, and experiment on a micro level what we are few weeks, the gap between my experience in Berkeley called to bear witness to in the world. and my home country seemed so large that I was Five days ago, we completed sowing a great diversity of vegetables. After peanuts and corn, this is my second agricultural practice with the first-year students. Next semester, I will be teaching Horticulture (according to the Oxford Dictionary, “the study or practice of growing flowers, fruits and vegetables”). Looking at a small grain of spinach germinate and come out of the ground serves as a reminder to me that life remains the way open to all of us. As long as we can till the soil, sow grains, see them grow and harvest, the task of education remains a sacred mission. Education — whether in theology or in agriculture — is like sowing grain.Whether you Daniel with his sleep or stay awake, it is God who gives growth. Our siblings and nieces task consists in preparing the soil and watering the crop and nephews until it reaches maturity. We are all coworkers with God, helping people to integrate the different facets of their rich lives. afraid of being discouraged by the marks of destruction Integrating the facets of our lives speaks to me in around me. It took a long time for me to hear a word a profound way. If I had more than two hands, you of consolation and even to see things that could sustain would have seen in the photo my acoustic guitar in the my hope. In such situations, humor is an excellent third hand and a camera in the fourth. Singing is an companion. I began telling people that I would walk important part of my life. Singing at Newman Hall — with a lamp under the sun and would tell people: “Have Holy Spirit Parish (Berkeley) and at the Jesuit School you seen good news”? Sister “Good News” was so rare of Theology Masses provided me with a space of vibrant that one needed a lamp day and night to meet her. Just hope. Singing — even when I have only lamentations to Google the term “Nord Kivu” and you will see that this voice aloud — remains a life-giving force. The fourth region where I was born seems to have nothing good hand would have held a camera for communication to offer to the world. Yet this is where a conference on purposes. Thank you, dear readers, for having provided Peace, Security and Development was concluded a few a space where I was able to integrate all these. days ago in the presence of an international community. As the Lenten season continues, let us join in mur “Nord Kivu” is very rich in a mineral known as coltan muring this beautiful song by Janèt Sullivan Whitaker: (the colloquial African name for columbite-tantalite), “Long before the mountains came to be…you have always the ore of which is used to make consumer electronics been, you will always be… In every age, O God, you have such as cell phones, DVD players and computers. But been our refuge. You have been our hope.”
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Journal Reflections
Photo by Maria Elena Arana
from the School of Americas Protest Several students from the Jesuit School of Theology participated in the Ignatian Family Teach-In and School of the Americas (SOA) protest at Fort Benning in Columbus, GA in November 2007. Here they share with us excerpts from their journal entries which reflect on their experiences there.
Friday 9:05 pm
The prayerful engagement of the SOA at the Ignatian Family Teach-In and funeral procession had a powerful impact on plunging us deeper into the heart of God as a community. As we heard the painful and impassioned stories of the women from El Salvador who had their children “disappeared,” as “Presenté” echoed through our souls in remembrance, and as we shared Eucharist, we were being sucked deeper and deeper into that divine engagement as a community. We saw each other with eyes that recognize our fullest dignity as people who are
held in that wildly passionate divine love… and our solidarity in that love with all those who have been treated in a way that is radically inconsistent with that vision. And this is what drives us to protest. Prayer and protest cannot be separated. They constitute a single engagement, witness, and response to that love that holds us and all that lives so intimately; we realize our shared life; and it’s the one expression in which we might “be who we are” more deeply. Brent Anderson (M.Div. 2009)
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Sunday 10:30 am
Saturday 1:30 pm
The sung response washed over me as we slowly walked forward. It was Sunday and we were at the Funeral Procession, the focal point of the SOA protest. Wedged somewhere in the middle of over 20,000 other par ticipants, we each held white crosses with the name of someone who had been killed by a member of the School of Americas. From a stage near the front, cantors chanted the names of the dead. With each name, the crowd responded, “Presenté” — you are here. I stood there holding my cross, praying to God for more answers to all the questions I felt that weekend. Is what I’m doing enough? Would I better serve the least of these as a lawyer instead of as a minister? How can the U.S. begin to responsibly correct its corrosive foreign policy toward Latin America? Where is the Church’s place in that struggle? What difference did what I was doing at that moment really make? And the names still continued, drowning out even the questions in my head with their sheer number: names of mothers and fathers, children and nuns; names known and unknown. These were more than just sung names. They were people, loved and named by God, who lost their lives needlessly. We stood in witness to Christ re-crucified in the poor and the oppressed. We stood in witness to the loss of our brothers and sisters in Christ, martyred by greed, corruption, and domination. We each held a name of one of those people. We honored them, and for a moment they lived in us and in that same moment we died in them. Although I have been to the SOA protest before, I am consistently humbled by it. Carrying the names of one of the victims, I felt I was being entrusted in a way to carry their memory on. At the same time I looked around me and saw every shape and shade of humanity: nuns, anar chists, sorority girls, veterans, and children. The young and old, the strong and lame, stood together in witness to the unjust losses at the hands of SOA graduates. My questions don’t have clear answers, but my direction is clear. The scriptures and the gift of the Eucharist calls me to be radically changed by the belief that I am part of the Body of Christ. Whether the response be “Presenté” or “Amen,” I cannot stop affirming what membership in that body means or challenges me to.
We piled into the cars and went to check out the gate of Ft. Benning. Walking around I saw people from all walks of life: high school and college students, army veterans, religious sisters, priests, and hippies. It felt like a carnival. Men and women of the neighborhood were selling barbecue ribs and hot dogs on the side of the street. A woman was shouting on stage, her voice echo ing through the speakers. People were playing music. We passed a group of children lying still on the asphalt with their eyes closed; their clothes were stained with red paint. A sign read “El Mozote Massacre: 800 killed.” Underneath it read, “Please join us.” I walked past and read names written on pieces of paper: Martina Rodriguez, 35; Mirna Chicas, 10; Jesus Claros, 5; Maria Del Cid, 60; child, 1; Gertrudis Guevara, 80... I thought about El Salvador. I thought about my friends Luis and Ingrid, and the summer I spent with their family in Guarjila, Chalatenango. I remembered when Luis told me how as a kid he and his family fled to Honduras, about how his brother and father fought and were killed. I thought about the El Mozote massacre in Morazán: an entire village massacred by the same battalion that would assassinate the Jesuits and Elba and Celina at the UCA (Universidad Centroamericana) eight years later. The majority of the members of that battalion would be found to be School of the Americas graduates. I walked over to a woman who stood with a pile of red-stained clothes at the El Mozote sign. She intro duced herself as Mary Dennison, and said she’d spent six months in jail for crossing the line the previous year. She told me that last year she had organized the Susan Haarman (M.Div. 2010) same thing, but without the red paint on the clothes. “It needed something more,” she said. I exchanged my shirt for an old guayabera with splotches of red. And I lay down on the asphalt next to the name, Luis Mendoza, 25. Vince Prietto (M.Div. 2010)
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Sunday continued 12:00 pm
We had just finished the funeral procession, where people walk to the fence and place their crosses in the chainlink. There were white crosses everywhere, as well as other mementos and signs. I was staring at the tangle of the memorial when I heard wailing. The 1,000 grandmothers, a group that visits the SOA every year, had fashioned a living art project in front of the fence. They were wearing white scarves around their hair and moaning as people with white painted faces and black robes cried back. The moaning was haunting and I had to step away from the fence to gather my thoughts. Jackie Lee (M.Div. 2010)
12:30 pm
It was as if God had come down to cover all of us and protect us from harm, to grant us solace and the hope for the peace we were all asking for. God gave us this time of quiet to allow each individual to reflect on how each was working to spread love and justice. I was very present to the situation while also wondering what I might do when I approached the gate. Would anyone be scaling the barbed wire fence and if so, how? What would I say to God when I put my cross on that fence? I thought about a number of other things as well: the victims of all the murders, how ridiculous I looked walking with one sandal, my traveling companions, what the neighbors or police must think just watching us. I thought about my own life, not in an urgent or questioning way, but with a concentration on possibility. I finally reached the temporary fence that had been put up to keep protesters from reaching the first of two other fences that had been put up over the years to keep protesters out. It was beautifully littered with white crosses, a symbol of those who had died at the hands of SOA graduates and were now present with us while calling us to be present to them. I stuck my cross in with the others and asked God to show me the path to justice and to guide me. I remembered those who had died and slowly took in the whole scene. Slow, prayerful, an occasionally annoying camera flash, reverent, peaceful. God was there and we had been willing to meet him. It was like when Moses led the people of Israel to meet God at Sinai, they had gone through all of the proper prepa rations and were excited to meet God but also willing to accept the responsibility of meeting Him. After this climactic experience, we gathered
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again together as a group, still in that euphoric state of grace, trying to hold on as long as we could to this rare meeting. It was at that point that a drum line busted through the crowd. In a ritualistic musical parade, the serene bubble atmosphere popped and a man dressed in orange sweats became the center of attention, being carried along by the sound of the drums. At their arrival at the gate, instead of placing a cross, he quickly scaled the fence and jumped over. The crowd grew loud and the drums beat, showing both their dislike of the police arresting him and their approval of his action. God’s presence had gone. If he had been in a cloud, the cloud went away leaving us naked, aware of the reality of life, of the situation. The hate and despair of injustice returned to my heart and the prayer ended. I was back on the ground, on earthly land and the message was clear — I am a source both of this injustice and of this change we so desire. I can’t stay alone in prayer with God forever. The reality of the arrest made me realize that. I didn’t feel as good, but the world needed hope, the world needed justice, and I needed to be just as present to that as to my prayer. Jesus often went up the mountain to pray but he came down. I’ll stay down from the mountain right now as well, working to do justice to honor the lives of those who died in the name of justice. Matt Petrich (M.Div. 2010)
Dr. Thomas Cattoi Assistant Professor of Christology & Cultures Each January Intersession term, students and professors from the Jesuit School of Theology participate in an immersion trip to study and experience firsthand the cultural contextualization of theology. Professor Thomas Cattoi reports on the immersion trip to Indonesia this year where the group engaged in interreligious dialogue.
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of 10 Master of Divinity students — Joseph Riordan, S.J., Phillip Cooke, S.J., Dat Tran, S.J., Michael Smith, Annie Selak, Erin Bishop, Rose Mary Moore, Gina Jenkins, Roselle Ruperto, V.D.M.F., and Su Fern Khoo, V.D.M.F. — taking part in an immersion trip to Indonesia. While Jim had already led a similar immersion in 2006, this was my first foray into what is not only the fourth largest country on earth, but also the largest Islamic nation in the world. The Jesuit School of Theology group was privileged to enjoy the hospitality of the Jesuit community of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, who hosted us for two weeks in the dormitory of their old campus and provided us with abundant (and often surprising) food throughout the duration of our stay (many students remarked they will miss the stuffed fish and calamari served for breakfast at 7 A.M.). The city of Yogyakarta, where we were based for the greater part of the trip, is located in central Java, and is effectively the academic capital of Indonesia, hosting a number of state, Islamic, and Christian universities. The local Jesuits were able to arrange a number of talks with speakers from some of these institutions, enabling us to gain a better understanding of the complex multireligious reality that is Indonesia today, where different Islamic movements vie for supremacy, while co-existing with different Christian denominations as well as a number of other religious traditions. Our group was also blessed with the constant presence of Tom Michel, S.J.,
an American Jesuit who is a member of the Indonesian Province of the Society of Jesus and has spent over 20 years working in Rome fostering inter-religious dialogue. His lectures on Islam offered an invaluable entrée into a religious tradition that is far more sophisticated and diverse than its usual presentation in the Western media. Indeed, the reality of Indonesian Islam is an excellent example of this diversity. More than half of all Javanese Muslims are known as abangan (nominal Muslims), and follow a local, largely syncretistic form of Islam that accommodates earlier beliefs in the power and omnipresence of the spiritual world. The Sultan who, much to the surprise of Western visitors, still rules over the city, is a key figure in the religious life of many local Muslims, who view him as a political, but mainly as a spiritual leader. This more tolerant form of Islam is opposed by the so-called santris (strict Muslims), who argue for a purification of religious practice according to the Arab (especially Saudi, or wahabi) model. Our visits to two different pesantrens (Islamic boarding schools) evidenced the huge differences within the Indonesian Islamic community. At the first school, we were forced to take part in a rather confrontational debate on the divinity of Christ and the nature of our faith; at the second, the headmaster and the teachers were eager to tell us all about the academic success of their students, some of whom had returned from exchange programs in Alaska and Massachusetts. The Indonesian Jesuits and theology students who accompanied us on these visits helped us negotiate these differences, which are part of their everyday life, but are often very difficult for outsiders to appreciate in their full import.
PHOTOGRAPHS: PREVIOUS PAGE: top to bottom: (1) A plate of Indonesian snacks, accompanied by hot tea, were presented everywhere we traveled (EB); (2) Dressed in sarongs, the Jesuit School of Theology group ascends the hill towards the Hindu temple of Besakih on the festival of Diwali, the triumph of dharma (MS). THIS PAGE: top to bottom: (1) Erin Bishop and Michael Smith wear the fresh rice and tropical flowers they received after a Hindu blessing at the natural fresh water spring of Tanah Lot shrine on the coast of Bali (EB); (2) Traditional fruit stand in Yogyakarta. (EB)
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Another highlight of the trip was the excursion to the parish of Sumber, on the slopes of Mount Merapi, where Fr. Kirjito, a priest known to the Yogyakarta Jesuits, works with the local villagers and inspires them to persevere in their traditional way of life despite the constant threat of natural disaster and environmental devastation. Fr. Kirjito seems to be a man for all seasons, ready even to exorcise on the spot one of the dancers who had been possessed by a spirit during a traditional dance. Indeed, there were not a few surprises. During this extended outing, Jim Redington, S.J. managed to kill a poisonous frog with a broom, but further details are probably covered by the seal of the confessional. After waking up every morning at 4 A.M. at the sound of the hazan (the Muslim call to prayer) for about two weeks, we moved to Bali for the last few days of the trip. On this fabled island, Hindu temples and statues abound. So do tourists, souvenir shops, and sacred monkeys, which are eager to take possession of whatever innocent trusting visitors are carrying on their person. Our local guide was a member of the Carmelite Third Order, and was actually rather perplexed by our interest in “demonic� Hindu practices. All in all, this was an extraordinary experience. I hope, God willing, to be able to lead yet another group of students to Indonesia in January 2010.
THIS PAGE: top to bottom: (1) Daily fresh palm offerings at the Besakih temple on Bali during the festival of Diwali (EB); (2) Volcano Mount Merapi viewed from the Buddhist monument Borobudur (EB); (3) Banners of dried rice and palms decorate virtually every street corner on Bali during Diwali (EB); (4) Jesuit School of Theology group with Indonesian companions and artists at a cultural center near the Catholic parish of Sumber; the instruments in front compose the gamelan, the traditional Javanese orchestra (MS). Photographs by Erin Bishop (EB) and Michael Smith (MS).
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Celebrating the Centennial of
Pedro Arrupe’s Birth “The event ...formed the young Arrupe into a man and a
Rev. Rob McChesney, S.J. Coordinator of Cross Cultural Initiatives
To highlight the 100th birthday of the late
Jesuit who found God ‘with open eyes’ in the world around him, engaging rather than retreating from the world.”
Academic Dean Kevin Burke, S.J. presented the opening Jesuit Superior General Pedro Arrupe, during the fall lecture, “Pedro Arrupe’s Mysticism of Open Eyes”, on semester the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley September 25. Rev. Burke highlighted the incarnational sponsored a Centennial Celebration in his honor. Four mysticism so characteristic of Arrupe and, indeed, Jesuit evenings featured lectures and special events recalling founder Ignatius of Loyola. Arrupe, a former medical his enduring legacy. Capacity crowds in the Gesù Chapel student in Spain, was a survivor of the nuclear blast in displayed the beauty and versatility of this space. Hiroshima, where he famously led the young Japanese For our school community, it was an opportunity to Jesuits under his supervision to minister to survivors walk in the footsteps of this contemporary religious titan, of the atom bomb. The event was one of several which as famous in his day as Mother Teresa. Superior General formed the young Arrupe into a man and a Jesuit who from 1965–1983, he was always a humble man, perhaps found God “with open eyes” in the world around him, best captured in these words of his successor, former engaging rather than retreating from the world. Superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.: On October 9, Rev. Noel Sheth, S.J., a Jesuit from India and Professor at the Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Pedro Arrupe is a spiritual master in the line of John Religion in Pune, India, was the featured second speaker. the Baptist….profoundly committed to Jesus Christ. Rev. Sheth spoke on “Hindu Avatara and Christian Incar Like John, he draws attention away from himself nation: Interreligious Dialogue after Pedro Arrupe”. Rev. to Christ. He makes John’s words his own: ‘he must Sheth is a former Rector of the Papal Seminary in Pune, increase, I must decrease.’ Just so, the point….is not to and a respected scholar in Sanskrit. draw attention to Pedro Arrupe. Rather it calls us to Rev. Sheth began by noting that Arrupe is remembered look where Don Pedro is pointing, to see the world and as one of the first to begin to speak about “inculturation” the church as he saw them and, in everything, to see within ecclesial circles, dating to his intervention at the Jesus and hear his call. final session of Vatican II in 1965. He went on to present the Hindu teachings on Avatara (“Descent of God”), and
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spoke of how Hindu theologians would therefore view the Christian teachings on Incarnation. Rev. Sheth also commented on how the Christian beliefs on Incarnation compare, from a Christian point of view, with the Hindu teachings on Avatara. The lecture evoked a lively interchange with those in attendance. On November 14, the actual 100th birthday of Pedro Arrupe, the Jesuit School of Theology hosted the West Coast premiere of a new documentary commissioned by Georgetown University. Entitled, Pedro Arrupe: His Life and Legacy, the 40-minute, professionally produced video left the audience informed, inspired and in tears. For many current students, including young Jesuits, it was their first opportunity to see and hear the charismatic Arrupe. His loyalty to the papacy in the wake of his stroke and the suspension of ordinary Jesuit governance was truly remarkable, and Arrupe’s associates interviewed in the film very candidly discussed the events.
The final event, on December 4, was a fitting tribute to Arrupe’s enduring legacy. In 1981, shortly before the stroke that disabled him for the rest of his life, Arrupe founded the Jesuit Refugee Service ( JRS). Today, JRS has burgeoned into an important international ministry of the Society. Jesuits, religious men and women from many orders and hundreds of laity serve refugees and displaced in the most desperate and sometimes dangerous conditions. Here in the United States, JRS serves in four Immigration Detention Centers run by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security. The evening began with a dusk procession through the neighborhood celebrating Posadas. This devotion, popular in Mexico and throughout Latin America, remembers that St. Joseph and the pregnant Mary could find no room at the inn in Bethlehem. Happily, shelter was found this day in the Gesù Chapel, where
“Look where Don Pedro is pointing, see the world and the church as he saw them and, in everything, see Jesus and hear his call.”
Eucharist was then celebrated. Afterwards, the audience viewed the short film, Posada: A Night to Cross All Borders. Written and directed by alumnus Rev. Mark McGregor, S.J., (M.Div. 1995), the film won the Religion and Human Rights prize at the 2007 International Festival of Cinema and Religion in Italy. The film movingly portrays the efforts of the JRS in Los Angeles, as members accompany and serve undo cumented minors seeking shelter in the United States. Unfortunately, too often they find no room in the inn, and lack any legal, procedural or religious rights. Rev. McGregor was present to engage the audience afterwards, and urged the school community to engage this issue with open eyes by visiting www.posadas-project.com. The Fall 2007 series generated such enthusiasm that the school is hosting a Spring 2008 series, “From Arrupe to Kolvenbach to Nicolás: Changing Leadership in the Society of Jesus.” Sr. Janet Ruffing, R.S.M., Rev. Howard Gray, S.J., and Rev. Joseph Daoust, S.J., will lecture about the newly elected Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., his two predecessors, and the Jesuit General Congregation 35. For more details, please visit our website www.jstb.edu/ events/changingleadership.html.
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Visiting the Ukrainian Catholic Church Rev. John Endres, S.J., Professor of Sacred Scripture
From July 18–22, 2007, I had the
opportunity to visit the city of Lviv in Ukraine. The invitation came from doctoral student, Halyna Teslyuk, who holds the Raymond E. Brown Catholic Biblical Scholarship at the Graduate Theological Union. She and husband, Roman Zaviyskyy, and son, Danylo, are members of our Jesuit School of Theology com munity. They wanted to introduce me to their city and their Church, the Ukrainian Catholic Church (www.ugcc.org.ua), a Byzantine Rite Church which began in 1596 when the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Kiev entered into communion with the See of Rome. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, this Church has enjoyed the freedom to exist and there is great new life pulsing there. My visit also coincided with the final day of the Jesuit Ecumenist’s conference in Lviv, where Jesuit
School of Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology student, Rev. Olvin Veigas, S.J., presented a paper on the church situation in Russia. There now is a small Jesuit community in this city, which once was home to an influential Jesuit college and baroque Jesuit church; these buildings still stand in the center of the city near the Opera House. Halyna and Roman are already mem bers of the Theology Faculty at the Ukrainian Catholic University, the only such institution in the former Soviet Union. At their university, we had a constructive visit with their lib rarian who discussed their collection and various needs. Another visit to the seminary provided a beautiful view of a newly-built institution located near a working-class section of the city, so they can engage in ministry training projects there. Close by is a Theological Center with numerous programs for lay and religious theo logians, including an impressive Summer School of Icon-Painting taught in English (www.ucu.edu. ua/eng/summerschools/pastoral. programs/icon.painting). We also visited a Studite Monastery outside the city, where most of the monks are young and energetic. What impressed me most was the energy about church life and education at each of these sites; they all know each other and work together, suggesting a vibrant new generation for this Church. Each day I attended the Divine Liturgy in the Ukrainian Rite (including the Jesuit community) Halyna Teslyuk and Roman Zaviyskyy in front of the the Holy Spirit Seminary and the Ukranian Catholic Seminary.
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Rev. John Endres, S.J., Most Rev. Hlib Lonchyna, and Halyna Teslyuk.
in churches graced by beautiful icons. We also visited St. George Cathedral, where Bishop Hlib Lonchyna visited with us; there I learned much about heroic church leaders and the faithful during times of greatest persecutions in the Soviet era. Lviv was once a great city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and has the architecture and monuments and museums to delight the visitor. But I must confess that I most enjoyed the personal contacts with the families of Halyna and Roman, their friends from university and church, and Jesuits there. We are already working on some small ways of assisting their library’s develop ment and we look forward to some cross-cultural and educational exchanges in the future. Today’s Jesuit mission in Ukraine is very different from the past, when it was manifest in flourishing institutions. Future contact between faculty and students of the Jesuit School of Theology and the theological faculties of the Ukrainian Catholic Church could prove a fruitful way of engaging this historic tradition.
From July 15–20, 2007, Rev. Olvin Veigas, S.J., an S.T.L. student, participated in the 19th International Congress of Jesuit Ecumenists, held in Lviv, Ukraine. His paper, “Ecumenism in Russia: The Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Catholic Church — Present Realities and Future Prospects,” has just appeared in the proceedings of the congress, Ecumenism East and West: Jesuits in Dialogue. Olvin belongs to the Russian region of the Society of Jesus.
INTERVIEW
Meet Our Students: Zoe Bernatsky, S.S.M.I. (M.T.S. 2008) Meredith MacDonald (M.Div. 2008) Zoe Bernatsky, S.S.M.I., joined
the New Directions Sabbatical Program in January 2007 after working for several years in health care. Coming from Winnipeg, Manitoba, she sought a break from the fast-paced world of health care, and time to reflect and pray. Shortly after her arrival in Berkeley, she deci ded to pursue a Master of Theological Studies with a focus on ethics and spirituality and in the fall of 2007, she enrolled in this program. What drew Zoe to the New Directions Sabbatical Program at the Jesuit School of Theology? “I wanted something containing an academic component that would challenge my world view, my view of God and myself, and invite me to new possibilities. Something that wasn’t too structured and would allow me time for prayer and reflection,” she offers. “The prayer life here is so enriching, especially the programs and retreats offered by George Murphy, S.J., and the access to great spiritual directors.” Zoe’s community is the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate (S.S.M.I.), a Byzantine-Ukrainian Rite community located mostly in Europe, Brazil, Argentina and
North America. Established in 1892, the order was founded as an apostolic women’s group to support parish life. The initial provision of informal health care, care for children, and encouraging the spiritual life of the people, led to offering education, health care, and parish ministry for Slavic people in locations far and wide. The Sisters followed the Ukrainian people as they immigrated, seeking a better life and an opportunity to express their faith, after experiencing great hardship particularly during the Communist regime. Zoe began as a registered nurse working in intensive care. Over the years, she has served in hospitals in rural settings, specializing in
Zoe’s experience in health care led her to focus her studies on ethics and spirituality. “Particularly in Catholic health care, it is important to reflect on how God is leading us as organi zations and to facilitate people within those organizations to notice how God is working in their lives. As a staff and a board, we are not
Theological reflection offers ... an opportunity to see where God has been in experiences and where God is calling me. labor and delivery, and emergency, and most recently in long-term care. Her experience in health care administration at a long-term care facility allowed her to work with a diverse group of people and establish connections with local parishes. Volunteers nearly doubled the staff, creating a great environment for mutual enrichment for all.
always focused on how we are moving towards the Kingdom of God. How we frame the questions we are living is so important. Theological reflec tion offers such important tools in people’s lives, and for me it has been an opportunity to see where God has been in experiences and where God is calling me.”
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FACULTY NEWS
Thomas Buckley, S.J. while on a
sabbatical semester in Virginia, gave two lectures at Virginia Wesleyan University in Norfolk in October on Thomas Jefferson’s statute for religious freedom. Later that month he presented a paper on “Patrick Henry and Religious Freedom” for a meeting of the Southern Historical Association in Richmond; and in early November he lectured at the Virginia Military Institute on “Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson: Alternative Views on Church and State”. Tom will present “The Struggle for ‘Total Separation’ in Context: Lessons from Virginia” at the Graduate Theological Union Professional Development Program Faculty Colloquia in March.
through the Italian Cultural Association of UC-Berkeley in November; a paper at the AAR meeting in San Diego on icons and images in Byzantium and Tibet. He will give the opening address at the Boston College Graduate Conference in Comparative Theology in March 2008; in May, he will teach a two-week course on the Christology of Chalcedon at Sun Yat Sen University in Guang Zhou, China, and in June-July, he will participate in the Institute of Advan ced Studies in Asian Cultures and Theologies at Christian University, Hong Kong. Mary Ann Donovan, S.C.
participated in Buddhist-Catholic Kevin Burke, S.J. recently edited a dialogue presenting a paper, book entitled, Pedro Arrupe: Essential “Life with God”. She authored Writings. Published by Orbis Press “Elizabeth Ann Seton and the as part of their “Modern Spiritual Eucharist,” appearing in Vincentian Masters Series,” it is currently in its Heritage 26–27 (2007), pp. 73–96. third printing. Kevin was busy during For the fall Theology in the City the fall semester speaking at several lecture series in Los Angeles, CA, Jesuit universities nationally on the she presented, “Amnesia, Women, occasion of the Arrupe Centennial. and Christian Beginnings”.
Thomas Cattoi, Ph.D. gave his first Theology in the City lecture in Sacra mento entitled, “Atheist Religion? The Challenge of Buddhism to Contemporary Christianity” in November 2007; a lecture on the Italian poet Cristina Campo
Eduardo Fernandez, S.J. recently celebrated the publication of his new book, Mexican American Catholics (Paulist Press, Nov. 2007). Along with James Empereur, S.J., he gave a workshop, “Celebrating Sacraments in a Latino Context,” at Santa Clara University for pastoral leadership personnel from neighboring dioceses. He continues to offer workshops in Cultural Orientation for Inter national Priests with Loyola Marymount University, and he just returned from coordinating the first-year M.Div. immersion trip to Mexico City. Alejandro García-Rivera, Ph.D.
received two grants, one for a Theological Aesthetics Conference which will take place at the Jesuit School of Theology from May 29 to June 1, as well as a grant from
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Mia M. Mochizuki, Ph.D.
S.T.A.R.S., a Templeton program, to work with scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. He is also a Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar for 2008. He will be traveling to eight campuses giving lectures on his research projects. He published an article on Christology in America in September, in addition to several encyclopedia articles in the new Introductory Dictionary of Theology by Liturgical Press. He gave two talks at the AAR this past November: one on art and religion, and the other on the work of Orlando Espin. Finally, he offered a talk at the University of Turabao in Puerto Rico on “Endless Forms Most Beautiful: a New Dialogue between Science and Theology”. Gina Hens-Piazza, Ph.D. will give
the Bishop John Cummins Lecture at Holy Names University in March. The title of Gina’s address is “Many Voices — One Text: Toward a Truly Catholic Biblical Interpretation.” Francis X. McAloon, S.J. presented a paper entitled, “‘touch me afresh?’: Consolation, Desolation, and Con version in Hopkins”, at a meeting of the Gerard Manley Hopkins Society, held at the Jesuit Centre, Milltown Park, Dublin, Ireland, October 2007. In January 2008, McAloon offered a three-day series of lectures to the
California and Oregon first-year novices on the topic of “Hopkins, Poetry, and Prayer.” Mia M. Mochizuki, Ph.D. was awarded affiliated faculty status in the Department of the History of Art and the Department of Dutch Studies at UC-Berkeley. In the Jill Marshall classroom, she led one “Faculty Mentorship Team” with Jenny Patten Gargiulo in support of training excellence in teaching for future faculty members and critically reflected on the problems of teaching art and religion in a theological environment. Her lectures include: “Art and Ideas of Europe: The Golden Age of Dutch Art”, The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA; “The Cartography of Contact: Western-inspired Maps in Japan”, Japan Envisions the West: 16th–19th Century Japanese Dottie Peterson, F.C.J. Art from Kobe City Museum Sym posium, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA; “Rembrandt, Iconoclasm from the Université de Montréal and the Religious Imagination”, and presented a lecture entitled, in Stephanie Dickey and Shelley “Touching the Risen Jesus: Mary Perlove, co-chairs, “Art and Faith Magdalene and Thomas the Twin in the Dutch Republic: Rembrandt in John 20”. She participated in and His Circle,” Faith and Fantasy a panel on Johannine Studies at in the Early Modern World Con the Society of Biblical Literature ference, The Centre for Reformation Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, and Renaissance Studies, Victoria and presented her contribution, College, University of Toronto, “Remaining in His Word: Faith to Toronto, Canada. Her book reviews Faith by Way of the Text”, to the include: “Julie Berger Hochstrasser, volume What We Have Heard From Still Life and Dutch Trade”, the Beginning: The Past, Present, and Renaissance Quarterly 61 (2008): Future of Johannine Studies, edited forthcoming; “Eric Jan Sluijter, by Tom Thatcher (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2007). She Rembrandt and the Female Nude”, Sixteenth Century Journal 38 (2007): presented lectures to the Carmelite Communities Associated, the 749–50; “Holy Image, Hallowed Trappist Formation Personnel of Ground. Sacred Images from Sinai, the United States, the Christian exh. cat. Los Angeles ( J. Paul Getty Museum) 2006”; GTU Flora Lamson Scholars Group at Boston College, and spiritual directors at the Hewlett Library Audio Blog, August 28, 2007: www.gtulibrary.livejournal. Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Montréal. In addition, she gave the com/69464.html. Camilla Madden Lectures to Adrian Dominicans and the Michael Sandra M. Schneiders, I.H.M. G. Lawler Lecture at Creighton received an honorary doctorate
The Jesuit School of Theology would like to thank Dean of Students, Jill Marshall (M.Div. 1985), and Director of Field Education, Dottie Peterson, F.C.J. (M.T.S. 1997), who are retiring this spring for their years of dedi cation and service to the school. Jill started in July 1997 and shared the following memory: “An endu ring favorite memory, repeated earlier this month is the Mass of the Holy Spirit, when I look out at what the students have created — the environment, the music, the processions, the ministries, the liveliness and prayerfulness of our worship — and am so grateful for the privilege of being here amidst all these gifts and all this generosity.” We are grateful for Jill’s and Dottie’s generous sharing of their spirituality, talents, and lives with us, and offer our best wishes for their future endeavors.
and Best Wishes
Farewell
University. She led workshops on Religious Life for the congregation of Notre Dame in Wilton, CT, the Diocese of Savannah, and the S.Sp.S. Congregation in Chicago. She taught summer session courses on biblical interpretation at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA and at Spring Hill College in Atlanta, GA. She also participated in an Interdisciplinary Focus Group on the Future Direc tion of the National Religious Retirement Office (NRRO). Thomas J. Scirghi, S.J. recently
returned from tertianship in Australia. His articles on liturgy have been featured in Liturgy and Seattle Theology and Ministry Review. Locally, he conducted several workshops in Oakland and Los Angeles on Presiding for Lay Ministry and is currently serving on Oakland’s Diocesan Liturgical Commission in preparation for the opening of the new cathedral. BRIDGE spring 2008
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ALUMNI UPDATES
Please continue to send your news (e.g., new ministry, publication, promotion, celebration of marriage or significant anniversary of ordination, vows or entering religious life, birth of child, retirement, travels, etc.) for publication in the Bridge to Catherine Kelly, Associate Director of Development, Jesuit School of Theology, 1735 LeRoy Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709 or ckelly@jstb.edu. Thank you!
Maria Elena Arana (New Directions Fall 2006) writes
from London: “I have had an extraordinarily happy though busy autumn — very hectic with CAFOD [Catholic Agency for Overseas Development] work — lots of events round the country with our campaign volunteers.” Adrian Beaulieu (C.T.S. 1985)
recently took a new position at Providence College, Providence, RI, as Dean of International Studies. Formerly, he was at Smith College from 2000–2007, as Associate Dean for International Study. Mary Burns, S.C. (New Directions Spring 2006) brings us up to date.
Mary is the foundress of the Maura Clarke — Ita Ford Center (MCIF) in Brooklyn, NY. “All is well. I am in my second year teaching high school religion and am on the board of MCIF.” Sr. Carmel Carroll, R.S.M. (I.S.W. 1997) writes from Bathurst,
Australia: “I am finishing a fiveyear term on our Congregation Leadership Team. I hope to return to Pakistan to resume involvement at Notre Dame Institute for Education in Karachi where we offer training for teachers.” Karla Felix-Rivera, V.D.M.F. (M.Div. 2007) now lives in Long Beach,
CA. “Verbum Dei has a community here at a parish and I have been absolutely enjoying my ministry experience. I am the confirmation program coordinator (there are 200 teens in the program) and also focusing on adult faith formation (especially with Hispanics). As I am more and more involved in Archdiocesan-level activities, my gratefulness for the preparation I received at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley grows as I
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notice how much it has prepared me to work in the Church (especially as a woman).” Frank Finkenberg (C.T.S. 2004)
is a teacher for physics and religious education at a local gymnasium (i.e., an advanced school for 9- to 18-years-olds) in Germany. “I understand my work is to get young people enthused about something which I am enthused about: the question of what really is and what the foundations of the world are — the physical and the metaphysical ones. The science and religion dialog was my primary study interest when I was in Berkeley, for which I have fond memories.” Catherine M. Kelly (M.Div. 2006)
married Andrew de Boer, an environmental engineer, on January 12, 2008 at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco, CA. Associate Professor of Liturgy, Rev. Tom Scirghi, S.J., presided. The couple lives in Berkeley, CA. Bernie McDermott, S.C. (New Directions Spring 2005) writes
from Australia: “I am in Melbourne and fronting-up the mission edu cation campaign for the Columbans
Photo by Peter Bruce
in this huge diocese. In fact I am the sole (soul!) member of team at present as the other two have returned to overseas mission in Peru and Japan. I enjoy visiting different parishes. I hope to complete my term here in early ‘09 and return to England to a parish in my home diocese of Shewsbury where I hope to give something back to Home Church which has given me so much over the years.” Joseph McDonald (M.A.B.L. 2007)
and his wife, Caroline, welcomed a daughter, Fiona Clare, into the world on January 14, 2008. Paul Murray, C.F.X. (I.S.W. 1992)
was elected to the General Council at the Xaverian Brothers Chapter in Belgium this summer and now is working full time at the Generalate in Baltimore.
Jermiah O’Connel, S.J. (New Directions Fall 2004) writes from
Mukasa, Zambia: “In January 2006 my successor, Fr. Nicky Mwanza arrived, joined the school and I appointed him as Deputy Head immediately. I expect to be here until April (or later) and then pro ceed on leave to Ireland, and return to Zambia in July/August 2008.” Dorothy Powers, S.S.M.N. (I.S.W. 1987) reports from Texas with a
spirit that we can probably all relate to: “July 1 I took a job as DRE at a mega-parish. Other than running around like a lost chicken and a deer in headlights, I am enjoying it...quite a mixed community: Nigerians, Congolese, Ghanaians, Mexicans (and growing by the minute), folks from the Philippines, Vietnamese and then just the regular hybrid ‘white folks’. Mix that with a big home-school group, Catholic school, public school, regular religious education on Sunday
morning, sacramental prep of about 150 for First Communion, 60 in the RCIA adapted for children and a home-based (70 families in Family Intergenerational Religious Education) group and it’s a challenge just figuring which one needs attention first. The glorious thing is that they all get along beautifully...lots of ‘cross-over’.” Patrick Rasmussen (I.S.W. 1983)
“My year at ISW was one of the great turning points in my life. The quality of the people whom we lived with and who shared their wisdom with us was remarkable. I am still doing workshops with religious and clergy over this way. I am off to Papua New Guinea in a month for a week with the SVD’s (Society of Divine Word missionaries) in the Wewak diocese where I spent three years back in the early 70s. It will be a wonderful return for me.”
Barbara Schlatter, C.PP.S., (New Directions 2005–2006) does prison
ministry with one other sister, offering GED classes twice a week.
Br. Michael Segvich, C.F.C. (I.S.W. 1995–1996) “After 4 years as Athletic
Director and 5 years as Principal of my alma mater, St. Laurence High School in Burbank, IL, I am now in my third year as Co-Director of Educational Services for the North American Province of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. I live just a few blocks from CTU in the Hyde Park area of Chicago.” George B. York, II (M.Div. 1973)
works as a Master Restorer of antique wood objects at York Specialists in Denver, CO. He writes, “My study of the thought of Michel de Certeau, S.J., entitled, Michel de Certeau: Union in Difference, is to be published by Gracewing Publications, UK, in the near future.”
Developments focus on the following key areas: additional endowed chairs, endowed scholarships, improving the student residential facilities, and maintaining the immersion programs. Our goal is to retain the interest of existing donors in these priorities as well as attract new donors who believe in our mission to educate and train future ordained and lay leaders to serve the Church in mini stries of faith and justice. I welcome your feedback on how the Development Department can better integrate individual philanthropy with our mission. My door, phone line and email are always open. If you are on campus, please stop by. Sincerely,
In Development
It is a great pleasure for me, a graduate of a Jesuit institution, St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, to assume the position of Executive Director of Development for the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. I firmly believe that once one is welcomed into the world of Jesuit spirituality and education, he or she is a part of the extended family for life. Now is an exciting time for the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, having successfully concluded the Partners for Tomorrow’s Church campaign; estab lished endowed chairs and endowed scholarships; and completed the new and renovated facilities to which our donors committed their gifts. The School also initiated new programs, many with an international focus. We cannot thank everyone enough for both your moral and financial support. As we move forward with improving the infrastructure and ensuring the viability of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, our fundraising efforts will
Tom Hyland Executive Director of Development (510) 549-5041 · thyland@jstb.edu
BRIDGE spring 2008
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Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley
Merchandise
Sale
All items have the “JSTB” logo. Shipping is additional. To order or inquire about size or color availability, please contact Tess Marino at (510) 549-5062 or tmarino@jstb.edu.
Pictured: • Columbia Sportswear vest (right and middle), men & women, assorted colors (Special order if size is not in stock): $42.00 • Messenger bag (middle): black or blue $21.00 • Silkscreen crewneck sweatshirts (held in middle) (M, L, XL): grey or blue $18.00 • Corduroy baseball caps (right): brown $14.00 • Travel coffee mugs featuring colorful stoles (right): $6.50 • Jacket (left) no longer available Not pictured: • Silkscreen hooded sweatshirts (M, L, XL): grey or blue $24.00 • Large tote bag: blue or white $20.00 • Embroidered crew neck sweatshirt: cardinal or denim $17.00
• Small tote bag: blue or white $15.00 • Knit ski cap: black with white trim $10.00 • Note pad with pen: assorted colors $4.50
Development Department Jesuit School of Theology 1735 LeRoy Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709 510-549-5000 www.jstb.edu
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