Father Michael Sheeran, SJ, the president, reminded his university community of how a good dialogue or exchange of ideas is done. First, “Mutual respect is necessary.” Taking points from St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, he gave a few “rules of discourse” that sound quaint in their seriousness — and for that reason deserve remembering:“A favorable interpretation…should always be given to the other’s statements. If misinterpretation seems possible, it should be cleared up with Christian understanding. So, too, if actual error seems to be held, the best possible interpretation should be presented so that a more correct understanding might develop.“Be sure you really understand the other person’s conclusion, line of reasoning, personal history and fears. Be sure you address the other person’s conclusion, reasoning, personal history and fears. “Seek to walk in the other person’s moccasins.” These could be rules for friends, married couples and families, but they should not be limited to our most important relationships. Fr. Sheeran noted that for us, personal respect means being aware of the presence of God in other persons, even in a difference of opinions.
And he recalls that St. Ignatius “advised his early companions to ‘go in the other person’s door and bring them out your own.’”The saint didn’t mean this merely as a clever conversion strategy. Rather, it is a rule for us to use in interaction with others. We presuppose that “they are men and women of good intentions and people of integrity and dignity given to them by God.”
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