November 2, 2009
- US Congress Honors Jesuits on the 20th Anniversary of their Deaths in El Salvador
- Pope Celebrates 100 Years of the Pontifical Biblical Institute
- St Stephens Mission Celebrates 125 Years
- Jesuit Says his Life is a Journey to Peace
- New JRS Shelter for Asylum Seekers in Australia
- BBC Program on Revival of Jesuit Music in Bolivia
- Matteo Ricci Exhibit Opens in the Vatican
- Jesuit Takes Sanitary Precautions Against Swine Flu at Mass
- Around Campus
- From the Editors
US Congress Honors Jesuits on the 20th Anniversary of their Deaths in El Salvador
On October 21, the US House of Representatives approved House Resolution 761, which remembers and commemorates the lives and work of the six Jesuit priests and two women on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their deaths at the University of Central America (UCA) on November 16, 1989. The full resolution is available on the web at http://tiny.cc/elsalvador.
Company magazine's Fall 1999 issue featured several stories on the El Salvadoran Jesuits:
www.companymagazine.org/v171/contents.html
[nationaljesuitnews.org]
Pope Celebrates 100 Years of the Pontifical Biblical Institute
Pope Benedict XVI addressed professors and students of the Jesuit's Pontifical Biblical Institute on October 26 to mark the institute's 100th anniversary. Pius X founded the institute in 1909 and entrusted its direction to the Society of Jesus.
In his address, the pope recognized the important work of the institute and expressed his gratitude to the Society for maintaining the institute in Rome and in Jerusalem.
The pope praised the institute for making a "significant contribution to this renewal with scientific biblical research, the teaching of biblical disciplines, and the publication of qualified studies and specialized journals."
A translation of the full address Benedict XVI delivered is at http://tiny.cc/popeaddress. [Zenit.org]
St Stephens Mission Celebrates 125 Years
St Stephens Mission in Wyoming, founded in 1884 by Fr John Jutz SJ, celebrates its 125th anniversary this year.
Special masses and activities, including novenas, dances, and pow-wows, led up to the main celebration on September 6. The anniversary closing Mass will be December 26, St Stephen's Day.
The mission provides various programs—including religious instruction, counseling, and a scholarship program—for the Shoshone and Arapaho people. [Jesuit Journeys]
Jesuit Says his Life is a Journey to Peace
"For me life is a journey to peace," said Fr John Dear SJ, who spoke on peace and justice at Saint Ambrose Parish in Salt Lake City on September 20. "It is spiritual to be a human being, living and breathing in peace, and making peace with ourselves, with our spouse, our neighbor, our children, our community, our state, and the world.
"You have heard of my notorious criminal record. I have been arrested 75 times protesting for peace and justice," he told the group.
"We are not walking the road to peace, we are barreling down the highway to violence. I think you could say we live now in a world of permanent war—permanent war on children, permanent war on the poor, permanent war on the earth and all creatures, permanent war on all people, and permanent war on the future."
In 1982, Fr Dear went to Israel on a pilgrimage and when Israel invaded Lebanon, he saw jets drop bombs and he decided to dedicate his life to working at ending wars.
Fr Dear is an organizer, lecturer, retreat leader, and author/editor of 25 books, including his autobiography, A Persistent Peace. His web site is www.johndear.org. [Intermountain Catholic News]
New JRS Shelter for Asylum Seekers in Australia
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia has opened a new shelter, Ashfield House, for asylum seekers in Sydney.
The house, which has been fully furnished with donated items, currently accommodates asylum seekers from West Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia and can host up to seven people.
Most of the asylum seekers attend English classes to assist them in their search for employment. JRS also provides a referral service to ensure that they receive legal advice and assistance.
The inauguration of Ashfield House brings the number of JRS shelters in Sydney to four. For more information on JRS Australia activities go to www.jrs.org.au. [JRS Dispatches]
BBC Program on Revival of Jesuit Music in Bolivia
"Heart and Soul," a weekly BBC program that explores spirituality around the world, recently went to Bolivia and explored how a revival of centuries-old Jesuit music is leading to a spiritual re-awakening and creating the next generation of the country's classical musicians.
Listen to the program online at http://tiny.cc/Jesuitmusic. [www.bbc.co.uk]
Matteo Ricci Exhibit Opens in the Vatican
An exhibit titled "On the Crest of History, Father Matteo Ricci (1552-1610): Between Rome and Peking," opened October 30 in the Vatican's Charlemagne Wing.
The exhibit marks the 400th anniversary of the death of the Jesuit missionary with Western artworks from the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as Chinese objects and paintings, some of which are more than 3,000 years old.
Ricci was the first Westerner to be received at Beijing's Imperial Court during the Ming dynasty Monsignor Claudio Giuliodori, the bishop of Ricci's native Macerata in central Italy, said he hoped the exhibit, which runs through January 24, would further bolster "friendship with the Chinese people . . . and ties of communion with the Catholics of this great country." [AsiaNews.it and abs-cbnnews.com]
Jesuit Takes Sanitary Precautions Against Swine Flu at Mass
Fr Shay Auerbach SJ, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia, said he suspended the use of the cup and giving the Host on the tongue after four parishioners came down with the H1N1 flu virus. The parishioners who got sick got the flu somewhere else, Auerbach said.
The Catholic Diocese of Richmond put out guidelines for liturgical services but has left it up to individual pastors to decide what to do in their parishes.
Fr Auerbach also advised parishioners before Mass that they shouldn't shake hands at the sign of peace or hold hands during the Lord's Prayer. [Richmond Times Dispatch]
Around Campus
Canisius College Appoints 24th President
Canisius College has named John J Hurley as its 24th president.
Hurley, a 1978 alumnus who currently serves as the college's executive vice president and vice president for college relations, will be the first lay president in Canisius's 140-year history.
Hurley, whose appointment will be effective July 1, 2010, succeeds Fr Vincent Cooke SJ, who will retire after a 17-year presidency. [Canisius College]Santa Clara's Team California Wins Third Place in the 2009 Solar Decathlon
The kitchen of the Refract House
The judges described Team California's 800-square-foot house, called Refract House, "masterfully executed, exquisite, and well designed."
In addition to winning third place overall, Team California also received first-place awards for architecture and communication and second-place awards for engineering, appliances, and home entertainment.
Watch Team California arriving in D.C. and reassembling their solar house:
www.refracthouse.com
www.solardecathlon.org
[Santa Clara University]
Wheeling Jesuit University Presidential Search Suspended
The Wheeling Jesuit University Board of Directors has halted the search for a new president. The timing of the search and a dwindling candidate pool were key factors in the decision.
"We were hoping to appoint a new president by the first of the year, but the process of hiring a college president takes time, and we want to be as thorough as possible in finding the right leader for the university," said William Fisher, board chair.
Wheeling's Board of Trustees announced the departure of Fr Julio Giulietti SJ as president on August 5, 2009. J. Davitt McAteer, a vice president at Wheeling Jesuit, is serving as the interim president.
The search is suspended to review the best options for reopening the hiring process. [Wheeling Jesuit University]
Spring Hill College Inaugurates New President
Fr Richard Salmi SJ was installed as the 38th president of Spring Hill College on October 23.
He succeeded Fr Gregory Lucey SJ, Spring Hill's president for the past twelve years.
Fr Salmi previously served as vice president for student affairs at Loyola University Chicago and John Carroll University in Cleveland. [Spring Hill College]
'USF Steps Up' Program to Offer Half Price Courses
Starting in January 2010, the University of San Francisco will offer some general education courses for half price at its regional campuses through USF Steps Up, a new program to help non-USF students trapped by the budget cuts at California's public universities and give them the classes they need to graduate.
Budget cuts at the University of California and California State University systems have resulted in layoffs, course reductions, and higher fees and left students scrambling for classes, many of which have been cancelled.
"I've heard heartbreaking stories from my colleagues at state schools," says Jennifer Turpin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Francisco. "Students are begging to get into classes, but they can't graduate because they can't get the classes they need. We realized we could help these students and California by offering these classes at our regional campuses, where USF already has a presence."
The other benefit is that it may help students qualify for financial aid at their home institutions. Some students do not currently qualify because they are unable to register for a full course load. By enrolling in classes at USF, they may reach the threshold necessary. For more on the program, go to www.usfca.edu/usfstepsup. [University of San Francisco]
SLU students paint a character on a gymnasium wall at an elementary school.
Saint Louis University's annual Make a Difference Day on October 24 involved more than 2,500 students, faculty, and staff and was the largest day of service of its kind in the country.
Volunteers went to more than 100 service sites that included schools, churches, and community organizations.
Hundreds of alumni in other cities, including Dallas, Omaha, and Milwaukee, also took part in their local Make a Difference Day programs as part of an organized effort. [Saint Louis University]
Regis University Breaks Ground on New Community Garden
Regis University students, faculty, and staff broke ground for the school's new community garden in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver in October.
Workers at the university's physical plant currently work with Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) to provide resources and teach volunteers how to maintain the garden. The garden's lot spans over 19,000 square feet and will be divided into 24 plots, which will be shared with members of the Regis University and Berkeley communities.
Part of the garden's produce will be donated to local area food banks, and Regis biology professors will incorporate the garden into their courses. [AJCU Connections]
Loyola University Maryland Opens School of Education
Loyola University Maryland celebrated the launch of its School of Education with an inaugural convocation in October.
Loyola's School of Education is the only one in Maryland with a dedicated focus on the advancement of achievement and development of city children that is based on an analytical framework of identity, race, social capital, and culture. [Loyola University Maryland]
Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Loyola High of Los Angeles has completed its ninth year of the High School Placement Test Prep Project, a service education program that had 700 students from 40 inner-city Los Angeles Catholic grade schools enrolled this year.
The program helps prepare eighth graders for the high school placement test. Students from Loyola High, the Jesuit's Verbum Dei High, and four Catholic girls high schools in Los Angeles served as tutors. [Loyola High Los Angeles]