New Jesuit Rector Has Interesting Solutions To The Vocational Crisis Within The Society

Third-parties bring new tenor to debate
By: Michael Baldwin
April 30, 2008
After one year and one month of directing Seattle University’s goals for Jesuit Catholic mission and ministry, Patrick Howell, SJ, will become rector for the Jesuit community on July 31.

The Jesuit Superior General appointed Howell as rector last week to replace Peter Ely, SJ, for the next six years. Ely will take a year-long sabbatical before returning to Seattle U. A rector is the religious superior in the Jesuit order, and will guide the Jesuit community’s spirituality and faith at Seattle U and two other Northwest towns, Anacortes and Mount Vernon.

“We Jesuits fondly welcome him as our next religious superior,” wrote Stephen Sundborg, SJ, president of Seattle U, in a campus-wide email. Howell, who did not plan on entering into Jesuit leadership when he became a Jesuit in 1961, said he was surprised upon hearing of his new appointment. “I didn’t see myself as rector last week,” said Howell. Finding new Jesuits to bring into Seattle U will be a priority Howell will engage when he assumes his rector duties in July. While Seattle U has 25 resident Jesuits and three satellite Jesuits, national Jesuit numbers and enrollment declined steadily since 1971, according to Howell and his U.S. Jesuit directory. Now, all 28 U.S. Jesuit universities struggle to restock their communities with Jesuits. He said Jesuit leadership did not begin to manage the declining numbers until 15 years ago. Now, because of their delayed response, there are both fewer Jesuits and fewer Catholic lay people, or non-ordained people, in administration and education positions. Three of the Jesuit universities provide recent examples of this trend: Le Moyne University, in Syracuse, New York and Georgetown University in Washington, DC do not have a Jesuit president. “We need to be more intentional in Jesuit leadership formation,” said Howell.

Despite the problem of finding new Jesuits, Howell contends the Oregon Province has substantial enrollment compared to many other provinces. Despite being what Howell calls “great” Catholic provinces where 50 percent of the population is Catholic, Boston and New York experienced several years with no new Jesuits. ( Maryland , New England and New York )

Meanwhile, California, Oregon and the South maintained steady Jesuit populations.

Howell said there half the number of priests from when he entered in the Society of Jesus in 1961, yet there are two-and-a-half times more Catholics. This leads to increasing lay person leadership. Several issues factor into fewer men becoming Jesuits, according to Howell, including a more secular culture in Europe and America. “We [the Society of Jesus], put too much emphasis on celibacy,” said Howell, “to the detriment of access to the Eucharist and sacrament.” Howell believes this could be circumvented by relying on women more than the church does.

He also sees the Jesuits’ ecumenical ventures as a way to help form strong communities and encourage an attitude toward social justice in staff and students. “We have dedicated teachers at Seattle U,” said Howell. “We’re helped by rubbing shoulders with Protestants, Jews and Muslims.” Ecumenism is an actively promoted belief of Howell’s. In 2000, he was a scholar-in-residence at Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, and later he became dean of the School of Theology and Ministry, and began making the courses more ecumenical. He founded and is the editor of the Seattle Theology and Ministry Review, a journal of articles about ministry, ecumenism and interfaith dialogue. “We have a better articulation of our mission: ecumenism, interaction with culture and society, justice and peace,” said Howell. Howell hopes to further his ecumenism as rector at Seattle U. Over the next six years, Howell will guide the spiritual formation of the 25 Jesuits based from Seattle U’s Arrupe House. He will also observe the enrollment and development of new Jesuits with the hope of integrating them into Seattle U’s community.
Link (here)