The St Xavier Social Service Society coordinated with 25 voluntary groups to form a disaster management team that visited various areas, said its director, Fr Cedric Prakash SJ. "Our aim is to reach where government agencies could not manage," he said.
Fr Prakash is also coordinator of the newly formed Earthquake Affected Relief and Rehabilitation Service, and he said his team would coordinate national and international help for those affected by the quake. Team members were in remote villages trying to meet needs for food, shelter, and clothing, he added.
India's prime minister, declaring a national state of emergency, appealed for $1.5 billion to rebuild Gujarat, and the United States, Britain, Germany, China, and other countries pledged millions of dollars. Aid from Catholics in other countries was being channeled through the Catholic Church in India. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Fr Fred Kammer SJ, the president of Catholic Charities USA, weighed in on President Bush's plan for faith-based initiatives saying he's encouraged by the tone of the proposals. In a column that ran February 10 in the Washington Post, Fr Kammer said recent discussion about whether the faith-based initiative is appropriate has overlooked what already exists.
"The current debate is most frustrating in that it has effectively ignored how we and other religiously sponsored social service agencies have had such partnerships with governments for more than a century," he wrote. Not only did those partnerships help Catholic Charities' affiliates serve more than 9.5 million people in 1999, they also have passed muster with the US Supreme Court, he noted.
Fr Kammer said Catholic Charities supports various safeguards to ensure that services provided through church and community groups are credible and professional. He said he applauds the administration's declarations that the program is meant to supplement what government does, not replace it. But, he added, "the test of any new policy should be whether the total help to the poor and vulnerable will be increased and by how much."
He lauded President Bush's announcement of new federal tax deductions for charitable contributions by taxpayers who do not itemize deductions, but added: "Such deductions should not be funded by cuts in direct aid to the poor for day care, job training, and cash assistance." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Fr David A Myers SJ (ORE) is the 2001 recipient of the Arizona Saint Thomas More Society award, given annually "in recognition of personal sacrifice for a difficult Christian Principle," according to Society representative Robert McWhirter. Fr Myers was honored for his "uncompromising advocacy for the poor."
He said he is frequently asked how he can be both a priest and a lawyer; his response is that the two are very similar in that they are positions of public trust, dedicated to helping others, especially those least able to help themselves.
Fr Myers ministers religiously and legally in the Phoenix area, and he has provided political asylum help to nearly 2,000 refugees.
"We have to do more than give moral support. We have to reach out," said Fr Tacho Rivera SJ, president of the Jesuit Hispanic Ministry Conference. He and a group of Jesuits and lay workers involved in Hispanic ministry reassessed programs to reflect the growing Hispanic population in the US church at a national meeting in Oceanside, California, this January.
They said trends include more community organizing that stresses empowering people to solve problems and improving ways of bringing Hispanics into Jesuit schools.
A survey of Jesuit ministries presented at the meeting showed that 78 percent of Hispanics served by Jesuit programs are reached by community groups, said Fr Joseph Palacios SJ, assistant sociology professor at Georgetown University.
Another 13 percent of Hispanics are reached by parish organizations and about 3 percent each by social service and spiritual ministries, said Fr Palacios. Educational institutions represent "the least amount of service to Hispanics in terms of number of people and percentages," he said.
Fr Rivera said efforts are being made to bring more Hispanics lacking the finances into Jesuit schools. He cited Cristo Rey High School in Chicago, which finds jobs for Hispanic students with the money going to the school operating fund.
Fr Allan Figueroa Deck SJ noted that Spanish is now the second language of US Jesuits and that work with Hispanics includes revamping the traditional Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
Fr Deck, executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality, formed a Latino team of 15 lay people to give conferences and retreats in Spanish, in order "to get the Spiritual Exercises out of traditional approaches and retreat-center settings and into the Hispanic community." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Ambom has resumed work after evacuating from the Moluccas in July last year following the escalation of violence in the islands. "Yulius Setiarto of JRS Moluccas called from Ambon to say the team has arrived safely. So far, the situation is calm," said JRS Indonesia director, Edi Mulyono SJ.
Although the situation is reportedly calmer, tension is prevalent; thousands have been killed, and an estimated 700,000 people displaced [according to the International Catholic Migration Commission] since religious conflict was ignited in the islands two years ago. The violence intensified last year with the arrival of Laskar Jihad fighters from Java, and the Indonesian government declared a state of civil emergency in June. Many are taking refuge in Ambon and are in need of protection and material assistance. [Source: JRS Dispatches]
Pope John Paul II is convinced the Western world is undergoing a crisis of truth and freedom in a climate of agnosticism and relativism, according to Cardinal-designate Avery Dulles SJ in a January 25 speech at Santa Clara University.
Fr Dulles's address was wide-ranging, covering truth and freedom, democracy, ethics, right to life, peace and justice, family life, and faith and reason. He said the pope is calling for a new birth of freedom that encompasses truth and responsibility, not power and advantage. The pope views democracy as good, Cardinal-designate Dulles says, if it demands virtuous citizenship.
The pope has frequently taken note of the crisis of family life in the Western countries with the "contemporary culture of hedonism, high divorce rates, rise of domestic partnerships, and sexual activity before and outside of marriage," he said.
He said the pope is also concerned about the effects of a global economy on international relations and also worries about the heavy burden that debt puts on "the economies of poor nations."
Overall, Fr Dulles said, the pope is pleased with the church in the United States, especially its vast educational and health care systems, but, he cautions, those institutions should be "Catholic" in fact, not just in name.
In a question-and-answer period when asked about the role of women in the church, Fr Dulles said the church is challenged and encouraged to continue to use their talents but that there is no need for discussion of women's ordination.
"That topic has been discussed before," he said, "and we have always come up with the same answer." The pope has said the church's ban on women priests is definitive and not open to debate among Catholics.
However, said Cardinal-designate Dulles, the pope "wants women to play a larger role. We need more visible presence of women." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The Jesuits' Vatican Radio has been in existence for 70 years and is "in the best of health," stated the director of the radio station, Fr Pasquale Borgomeo SJ. The first radio broadcast was made by Pope Pius XI on February 12, 1931.
Fr Borgomeo said, "Evangelization is the permanent duty of the Church and part of its very nature, and we are there to serve it. Seeking new ways to meet needs, the requirements of those who listen to us, and cultural changes, implies seeing these as signs of the times in which we live, and allowing ourselves to be guided by them in our search for new forms and new ways of using this instrument."
To mark the 70th anniversary, John Paul II received the staff of Radio Vatican in audience on February 13. [Source: Vidimus Dominum]
Fr Robert Drinan SJ, who once served in Congress, told high school students visiting Capitol Hill that he hoped their experience would change their lives and make them "resolve to be active politically."
Fr Drinan addressed more than 300 students in a setting that was familiar to him—the floor of the US House of Representatives. He was a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts from 1971 to 1981.
The students came from across the country to participate in the weeklong National Young Leaders Conference; they took part in seminars, tours, and political discussions.
Fr Drinan said a main reason he came to Congress was his opposition to the war in Vietnam, which he called "one of the great tragedies of American life." The fact that Congress was able to stop funding for US involvement in the war, he said, was the most rewarding part of his term as an elected official.
Fr Drinan discussed current issues as well, including President Bush's proposed tax cut, which he himself feels is too high and would only increase the country's current debt. He also brought up topics such as the death penalty, campaign reform, and overcrowded prisons, saying the students could explore those further with their own research.
But the priest didn't want the young people to just write up reports on issues, and urged them to contact their senators and representatives because "young people can have a good deal of input."
He advised the students to become well informed by studying, reading everything, and challenging people. "The worst thing you could do is be apathetic," he added. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
For the first time since the schism caused by Martin Luther, Catholics, Reformed Protestants, and Lutherans recently debated the question of indulgences together, one of the issues dividing these Christian communities.
The meeting involving the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches was held in Rome in early February, at the invitation of the PCPCU.
"The purpose was to clarify historical, theological, and pastoral issues related to indulgences in order to come to a better understanding of one another," the press statement explained. "It did not aim at an agreement on indulgences -- an issue on which there have been long-standing differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Churches of the Reformation. "The consultation took place in a positive atmosphere, which lent itself to honest and constructive discussion."
There were two presentations describing the Catholic understanding of indulgences. Professor Gerhard L Mueller of Munich, Germany, addressed the "Historical Aspects of the Indulgence." Fr Jared Wicks SJ gave a systematic presentation entitled "Towards Understanding Indulgences: Vetera et Nova."
On the Lutheran and Reformed side, the following responses were given: Professor Michael Root, Lutheran, of Columbus, Ohio, gave an analysis of "The Jubilee Indulgence and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification." Professor Ellen Babinsky, Reformed, of Austin, Texas, presented "A Reformed View of Indulgences." Professor Theodor Dieter, Lutheran, of Strasbourg, France, gave a response to professor Mueller's paper. Professor George Sabra, Reformed, of Beirut, Lebanon, responded to Fr Wicks's paper.
Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, PCPCU president, took part in several sessions of the consultation. It is intended that the papers from this meeting will be published as a contribution to further discussion. [Source: Zenith News Agency]
Readers from around the world are invited to visit and contribute to a new website "Mission and Interreligious Dialogue" at http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/dialogue/.
The website is a project of the Advisory Committee on Interreligious Dialogue of the USA Assistancy of the Society of Jesus. The site includes a wide variety of articles and documents that pertain to interreligious dialogue, including the publications of the Jesuit Secretariat for Interreligious Dialogue, as well as notices and reports of current and coming events in the field.
Up to now, the website has only had materials in English, but it is hoped that it will soon provide information in other languages. Those wishing to contribute to the website can send articles or reports by attachment to Thomas Michel SJ at interrel@sjcuria.org
The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, made up of the presidents of more than 200 US Catholic colleges and universities, gave its Theodore M Hesburgh Award for outstanding contributions to Catholic higher education to Fr Terrence E Toland SJ at its annual meeting in late January.
Fr Toland, a theologian and former college president, was honored for his contributions to a nationwide dialogue between bishops and college presidents during years of negotiations over the shape of US norms for Catholic higher education. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Georgetown University's Board of Directors announced the selection of John J DeGioia PhD ('79) to succeed Leo J O'Donovan SJ as president of the University beginning July 1, 2001.
DeGioia currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Georgetown and is also a faculty member in the philosophy department. He began working at Georgetown after graduating in 1979 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility throughout the university.
DeGioia will become Georgetown's 48th president and the school's first lay president. [Source: Georgetown University]
Fr Daniel K Lahart SJ (MAR) is the new president of Strake Jesuit in Houston and will assume duties in August 2001. Fr Lahart is currently Vice President of Finance and Administration for Gonzaga College High in Washington, DC, and is the assistant to the Provincial for Secondary Education in his province.
The Board of Directors of Loyola High School, with the approval of Cardinal Maida, have approved the election of Fr David Mastrangelo SJ (DET) as president of Loyola High School, Detroit.
Thomas Anthonysamy SJ, the present novice master in Patna, India, has been named the next Patna Provincial, succeeding William D'Souza SJ.
Varghese Puthussery SJ, 48, will succeed Fr James Aril as Provincial of Dumka-Raiganj, India.
Cyril Vasil (SVK), Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, has been appointed Consultor of the Congregation for Oriental Churches by the Holy See.
The Holy See has appointed Robert White (MIS), Director of the Center for Communications at the Gregorian University, as a Consultor of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
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