Fr. John Hardon, S.J. on "Mystics and Mysticism"  and spiritual warfare, watch the video of his conference (here)

New Website For Maltese Jesuits

Fr. Paul Pace, S.J.

The beginning of this year has seen the release of a new website from the Maltese Jesuits, which according to Provincial Fr Paul Pace, SJ, is aimed at communicating the Jesuits’ message in the best and most efficient manner possible. The website integrates the Jesuits’ many web channels into a single more accessible web medium and aims to meet the diverse needs of students, researchers, collaborators, media organisations, and above all, people looking for support through the services the Jesuits offer. 

The new website puts control of all content into the Jesuits’ hands, so fresh content can be placed online very easily to keep the website fully updated at all times. Fr Pace’s favourite aspect of the website is its dynamic image of the Jesuits and their work, its user-friendliness and the fact that it has brought most of the Jesuits’ works together under a single roof. 

Jesuit.org.mt is a huge website, due to the Jesuits’ large involvement in Maltese society through institutions such as St Aloysius College, the University Chaplaincy, the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality and their retreat houses, among many others.

Link (here) to read the full article at the Times of Malta.

Social Action And Charity And That's Very Much In Line With The Jesuit Tradition

Divisive views on some aspects of The V@gina Monologues have made it susceptible to criticism on campus. Those behind the production of the monologues have occasionally faced roadblocks in regards to its content. "It's a process like anything else," Hesse-Biber said. 

"This is a Catholic college. It has a certain kind of mission. We are mindful and respectful, and we compromise." 

Russell and Labaudiniere also acknowledged the difficulties. "We have grown accustomed to the unique and stringent protocol necessary to be able to perform the show on campus," Russell said. "We have experienced criticism in the past, but as we continue to perform the show and convert skeptics into supporters, we have developed a strong base of people who support the show and the women who run it. We realize that a lot of the controversy stems from misconceptions about the show, and it amazing to see people's opinions change once they attend." 

The V@gina Monologues at BC has long incorporated a charitable aspect into their production. It has traditionally been associated with V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. 

This year, all the profits from the show went toward V-Day's 2011 Spotlight Campaign on the female population in Haiti, where sexual violence has exponentially increased since the earthquake last January. Russell said that the show has enabled them to donate several thousand dollars to charity. Hesse-Biber also spoke of the charitable nature of the show.  

"The V@gina Monologues is more then just a play, it's a linking to social action and charity and that's very much in line with the Jesuit tradition," 

she said.

Link (here) to The Heights

Heavenly Nourishment

The Imposition of Salt

 

Quality of salt is that it causes hunger and thirst. The Church used to draw attention to this feature of salt in the rite of baptism used before Vatican II. There, the priest would pinch salt in the mouth of the baby to be baptized. He would then pray, After this first taste of salt, let his [or her] hunger for heavenly nourishment not be prolonged but soon be satisfied … 

This “heavenly nourishment” was an allusion, of course, to the Eucharist, to the true food and true drink that Christ wants to give us all. This should give us pause. Am I salt of the earth in this sense too? 

Does my life and witness make others hunger and thirst for the Eucharist? Jesus’ words today suggest that our lives will have this effect to the extent that they retain the distinctive flavor of the Gospel, to the degree that they are staked on the power of realities unseen. The more this is true of us, the more Catholics will desire to “come home.”

Link (here) to the full post and homily by Deacon Aaron Pidel, S.J.

A Jesuit Of Nearly Two Centuries Aso

Many priests belonging to religious orders had their own unique habits. 

Seen here is Father John Pinasco (1837-1897),

an Italian-born Jesuit who served as President of both the University of Santa Clara 

and the University of San Francisco. 

Link (here) to McNamara's Blog

British Jesuit Vocations

The British Jesuits have a vocations website, check it out. There are plenty of pictures and plenty of videos and lots to explore. It seems to me to be very Jesuit: intense but a bit dull, lots of older men in polo shirts, college ties or sweatshirts.

Link (here) to the great blog of Fr. Ray Blake.

Jesuit Father Discusses The Importance Of The Creation Of The Vatican City State

Lateran Pact signing ceremonies

On February 11th 1929, the Lateran pacts were signed by Cardinal Pietro Gasparri for the Holy See and by Mussolini for the Italian State. Pacts which take their name from the Lateran Palace premises attached to to the Lateran Basilica , the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the venue for negotiation and final signing of the pacts . In an interview with Veronica Scarisbrick , Professor of History at the University of Virginia in the United States, Jesuit Father Gerald Fogarty focuses on these pacts and specifies the difference between the Treaty and the Concordat signed eighty two years ago: "... the Lateran Treaty guaranteed the creation of Vatican City State, the spiritual sovereignty of the Holy See therefore. The Concordat regulated relationships between the Church and the Italian government within Italy...and then finally there was an agreement, a third pact that was signed in regard to financial remuneration and so forth ... so this definitively ended the Roman Question."

Father Fogarty also highlights the importance of these pacts for the Universal Church : "...the little plot of land was to guard the spiritual sovereignty of the pope and his communication with the Church throughout the world..in order to guaranteee the spiritual autonomy, authority , freedom of communication of the pope there had to be some type of Catholic State guarding that , so therefore they created Vatican City State .."

Finally our historian explains how by becoming an independent state , Vatican City acquired the right to communicate with other states. That's why the day after the signing of the pacts Pius XI entrusted Marconi with the task of setting up the Vatican's radio station, one inaugurated two years later .

Link (here) to Vatican Radio to listen to the interview.

Archbishop Terrence Pendergast, S.J. "Skilled Spiritual Captain "

Archbishop Terrence Pendergast, S.J.

On September 10, 2009, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court ratified a massive financial settlement for clerical child abuse victims in Nova Scotia; this “unprecedented” settlement was negotiated by Bishop Raymond Lahey. The decision extended financial compensation to abuse victims, ensured strict public confidentiality regarding the details of the thirty-nine abuse cases, and placed a significant burden on the lay faithful who are expected to share the financial costs of the settlement.7 According to police allegations, the very bishop who played a critical role in concluding this landmark settlement was, five days later, caught transporting child porn from a foreign country.8 Bishop Lahey’s trips to countries notorious for child pr@stitution and his evasive answers triggered concerns by a border agent who ordered a search on his laptop computer.9 If police allegations prove to be true, it will be a tragic symbol of ecclesial failure: a shepherd called to oversee reconciliation with abuse victims turns out to be plagued with an appetite for porn@graphy dealing in the criminal exploitation of children.10  Caught in the middle of the media furor over these allegations are two outstanding leaders in the Canadian Catholic Church today. Archbishop Anthony Mancini is at the center of the storm since Lahey’s diocese has been brought under his jurisdiction. 

In Ottawa, Canada’s capital, Archbishop Terence Prendergast, S.J. is dealing with unexpected fallout due to the fact that Lahey was arrested in his diocese and now seeks sanctuary there while his legal proceedings unfold. 

Both men are gifted leaders. Archbishop Mancini is noted for his exemplary work in pastoral psychology and ministry to priests. He is a bishop who embodies Newman’s motto, always ready to speak “heart to heart.” Archbishop Prendergast, S.J. is a seasoned biblical scholar and a straight-talking dedicated shepherd—the kind of tough, hard-hitting, skilled spiritual captain who inspires confidence in the hockey-hallowing hearts of Canadians.

Link (here) to the extremely well written article by Daniel Cere at  the Homiletic and Pastoral Review on the abuse scandal and the fallout from it.

Jesuit Superior General To Meet With Jesuit Provincials

Visit to America. Father General Adolfo Nicolas, S.J. will take part in the meeting of the Jesuit Conference USA and visit the Jesuits and Jesuit ministries of Jamaica (a dependent Region of New England) February 13-19.  Every two years Father General attends a meeting of the Provincials to get first-hand information about the mission of the USA Assistancy and to present his perspective and vision regarding the universal Society.  In addition to their usual and ongoing work for promoting the apostolic livelihood of the men and ministries of the USA Assistancy, the Provincials will discuss implementation of two parts of the Assistancy's strategic discernment plan: communications and vocation promotion.  Father General's visit to the Jamaica Region will include an opportunity to visit some of the Society's ministries, meet about 100 of the Society's collaborators and benefactors, and join the Jesuits of Jamaica for an evening of prayer and conversation.

Link (here) to the Jesuit main website.

Jesuit In The Middle Of The Counter Reformation

At his weekly public audience on February 9, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about St. Peter Canisius (1521- 1597), the Dutch-born Jesuit who was known as the “2nd apostle to Germany” and named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

As a theologian working in Germany during the years of the Protestant Reformation, St. Peter Canisius “took part in many civic and theological disputes,” the Pope pointed out. He was remarkable, Pope Benedict added, for his ability “to harmonize fidelity to dogmatic principles with the respect due to each individual.” “In a historical period of deep confessional contrasts, he avoided severity and the rhetoric of anger, something fairly rare in discussions among Christians at that time,” the Pope said. 

The great theologian’s approach, and his determination to revitalize the faith, offer models for today, the Pontiff added. St. Peter Canisius produced a large body of written work, offering guidance for individual prayer and participation in the liturgy as well as catechetical works that became widely used. His own personal piety, the Pope observed, offers evidence that Catholic teaching is most fruitful “only if the preacher is a personal witness of Jesus and knows how to become his instrument.” 

Link (here) to the article at Catholic Culture.

Amnesty International Apllies Moral Pressure To Jesuit University?

According to the Xavier Alliance, the organization was granted university recognition after 

pressure was applied by Amnesty International, an international hom@sexualist organization that has also embraced the pro-abortion position in recent years. 

The Xavier University in Cincinnati  initially resisted the creation of such a group in the 1990s, and still maintains a policy statement that “draws to the attention of all its members the traditional and wise Catholic moral teaching that properly locates sexual activity within the relationship of a man and a woman united for life through marriage as husband and wife.”  

Link (here) to the full, lengthy and detailed article.

Tamil Jesuit Arrested By Security Intelligent Service

A Tamil Jesuit priest accused of having had links with Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels has been freed on bail after a court hearing yesterday. Father Paul Satkunanayagam, S.J. and five other people were arrested at a hotel in the city of Dambulla, 264 kilometers north east of Colombo on February 9. According to hotel sources six American INGO workers had come to the hotel before the arrests to obtain details from the priest about the current flood situation in the eastern part of the country. Media reports said the priest and the five others arrested were allegedly in possession of CDs containing war songs that were sung by LTTE rebels. None of the Americans were among those arrested. Father Satkunanayagam was to meet the Bishop of Batticaloa and later make a press statement, according to Trincomalee-Batticaloa diocese spokesman, Father Joe Mary. “Father Satkunanayagam works at a NGO in Batticaloa and offers counseling there, Father Mary said “Most media outlets have been given false information about the priest,” he added. Father Satkunanayagam is being investigated by the Security Intelligent Service and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) who probe alleged Tamil rebel activities.

Link (here) to UCANEWS to read the full story.

Jesuit Numbers In The Last 100 Years

 

During the past 100 years membership in the Society of Jesus has steadily grown and steadily dropped. In 1910 there were 16,295 Jesuits worldwide and in 2010 there are 18,266. The number of Jesuits steadily increased year by year from 1910 until it peaked in 1965 at 36,038 Jesuits. Since 1965 there is a steady decline each year resulting in about half the number of Jesuits as there was 45 years ago.

Link (here) to the blog entitled For The Greater Glory of God, 
authored by Fr. Varghese Malpan S.J.

The Jesuits As A Group

Now let me ask a hard question. Are we prepared to say that the leadership of the Legion as a group was or is more evil than the current leadership of, say, the Jesuits as a group? One group more or less knowingly presided over a thriving but distorted new order; the other group more or less deliberately infected a once great order with a serious illness, and still too often persists in the same destructive treatment. Or another question: Are we prepared to say that Marcial Maciel was more evil as the leader of the Legion than Rembert Weakland was as the leader of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee? Let us be careful about supposing any man’s evil to be the greatest ever, or to place any evil situation beyond the reach of the Church’s grace. In any case, to me, leadership that still believes it has always been right is the greatest obstacle to reform. It is hard to imagine there are many Legion leaders who still believe they have always been right. 

Link (here) to the full editorial at Catholic Culture

Anti-Catholic And Anti-Jesuit Modern Literature

Sanjida O'Connell, a scientist and presenter of British nature programmes, has a sideline writing romantic novels which serve as a Trojan horse for her latest enthusiastic research projects. In The Naked Name of Love, a 19th-century Jesuit botanist, faith shaken by Charles Darwin's recently published works, travels across central Asia and falls in love with a female shaman.

Link (here)

My Brother The General

Fr. Frank M. Haig, S.J. at the burial service of his brother

Loyola University Maryland has received a $1 million gift from the estate of former Secretary of State Gen. Alexander M. Haig, who died in February 2010. Jesuit Father Frank R. Haig, professor emeritus of physics at Loyola and Gen. Haig’s younger brother, has directed the gift, which will create the Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Endowment Fund for Science, Faith, and Culture.  

“Al saw a special value in the influence of his Catholic faith on the formation of American culture and the transmission of that richness to young people,” said Father Haig. 

The fund will result in additional celebrants and music for campus Masses and enhancements to the university’s modern languages and theater programs. Father Haig has been a member of the Loyola faculty since 1973. While officially retired, he still teaches one course in astronomy each semester in the Loyola’s physics department. 

Link (here) to the full article

Boston College Theology Professor John McDargh

John McDargh

The Heights reports today that Boston College theology professor John McDargh delivered a talk on campus in which he told attendees why he “never felt like same s@x attraction is unnatural.” The report says the talk titled “Boundary Crossing and the Journey of Faith: A Personal Account” was given as part of Boston College’s ”Agape Latte” series. We checked out the “Agape Latte” page on the College website and found that it is cosponsored by Campus Ministry. The Heights article recounts Professor McDargh’s comments on his homosexuality and why he left the Catholic Church.  Here’s more from the article:

At Harvard, he said he learned what it felt like to “be on the margin.” He fell in love with his costar in a theater group, a man named Michael. Though he is hom@sexual, McDargh said he never felt ostracized from religion.  

“The reason I never felt like same s@x attraction is unnatural is because when I met Michael, I felt like a duck in the Sahara, who had suddenly been brought to the Mediterranean, and said, ‘Oh, that’s what webbed feet are for,’” he said. At Harvard, McDargh met his partner of 30 years and expanded his knowledge of different views of God by occasionally attending Evangelist masses. 

He was offered a job at Boston College in 1979, where he has worked since. It was during the 1980s that McDargh said he faced one of his greatest “zags” in life. For the GLBTQ community, that time was marked by the AIDS epidemic. “It was a time where at mass when you were ask to remember the dead you couldn’t get through it all,” he said. “I had buried more people and attended the death of more people then I ever thought I would.” 

It was in the midst of this turmoil that he eventually broke from the Catholic Church, when the healing liturgies in his church aimed at helping people with AIDS was canceled by his pastor. “I think it was not because the pastor wanted it to be, because he was told to,” he said.  

“After that, I couldn’t go there anymore. You have to find a place where you are welcome, that challenges and supports you. You need to find the community where you can live and the community where you can die.” He is now Episcopalian.

Link (here) to the Cardinal Newman Society to read the full post.

Fr. Jerry Linder, S.J. In Court

In a stunning admission Wednesday, a Catholic church employee testified that the Los Gatos priest attacked by a man who claimed the cleric s@xually molested him as child is indeed on a list the church keeps of alleged molesters. 

The acknowledgment by Mary Margaret Roehm won't change the fact that Judge David A. Cena is likely to decide by the end of the day there is enough evidence to order Will Lynch to stand trial later this year for the revenge beating. But by quickly drawing out damaging information about the Rev. Jerry Lindner, Lynch's attorney Pat Harris is on his way to achieving several goals. 

The admission could create sympathy for Lynch, making it tougher for the prosecution to win a unanimous verdict on the assault charge. It also lends Lynch's molestation charge credibility. Not least of all, it also furthers the agenda of Lynch and other alleged victims of Lindner, who want to use the trial to ''out'' Lindner. About 25 protesters marched outside the courthouse Wednesday, bearing signs that read, "Jail Father Jerry,''  "Sacred Heart Jesuit Religious Center: Rapist Resort'' and "Help Free Willy.''

Link (here) to the full article with pictures of the protest at the courthouse. 

Unfortunatly There Is A List

 On cross-examination, Harris said, "you gave two reasons why they are there. But there's a third reason, isn't there,'' he asked. "We do have Jesuits that have been sent to Sacred Heart for different reasons,'' Roehm said.Lynch said "one of the reasons is they are accused of or convicted of molestation,'' adding, "And you understand that about Father Lindner, is that correct?'' "Yes," Roehm said. 

Later, Lynch pursued the issue further, asking Roehm if the east wing, rather than the infirmary wing, was where "they keep the molesters.''  

"We have a Jesuit in the infirmary who is on the list,'' Roehm said. "So there's a list of molesters?'' Harris asked, drawing an objection from Gemetti that the judge sustained.

Link (here) to the full story at Contra Costa Times.

The Case Of Fr. Jerold W. Linder, S.J.

Fr. Jerold W. Linder, S.J.

The allegations against Father Jerold W. Linder, S.J., which he denies, entered the legal arena last year, when Meadows filed suit on behalf of Bart and William Lynch. Twenty-four years ago, when the boys were four and eight years old, they attended a camp-out near the Bay Area of families associated with the Christian Family Movement. As Kathleen Smith, a mother involved with the Movement describes it, "CFM is an international group of lay people, approved by the Vatican and the Oakland California diocese". Mrs. Smith recalls that in the mid-1970s she approached Father Jerry to act as the spiritual advisor for the lay organization. He accepted and acted in that capacity until 1979.

Bart was four, he remembers, when Father Jerry assaulted him in the course of a CFM camping trip. "Violence is the key issue, even more important than the s@xual abuse. I literally feared for my life. Whispering in my ear, Father Jerry said, 'You want to live, don't you. Don't tell anyone, or I'll kill you.'"  

This was after Father Jerry had s@domized the four-year old. "I remember blood in my pants and Father Jerry burying them in the woods."

Marylou T, a CFM parent, recalls that afternoon. "It was a mystery to me as to why Father Jerry ended up with the Lynch boys. That afternoon when it came time to make dinner everyone came back except Bart, Will and Father Jerry. People went in little groups looking for them. Finally, after some time passed, Father Jerry and the two boys appeared from the woods. Everyone clapped."

Link (here) to read the full article and the detailed account at Counter Punch

My Brother Bernhard

Bernhard Emunds

Last Friday Catholic news sites around the world started picking up on a statement by German-speaking theologians that is calling for a “necessary new beginning” in the Catholic Church. 

Additional theologians are still adding their names to the signers of the memorandum, which as of today has 208 names attached to it. I was happy to see both my brother Bernhard Emunds (who teaches social ethics at the Jesuit theological school in St. Georgen near Frankfurt), 

and my old dogmatics professor Hans Jorissen (from the University of Bonn) among the signers.

Link (here) to the US Catholic blog

German Jesuit On German Catholic Dissidents

Fr. Hans Langendörfer, S.J.

Father Hans Langendörfer, S.J., the secretary of the German bishops’ conference, has responded to a recent statement by over 140 German theologians calling for changes in Catholic doctrine and discipline. “In their memorandum, many professors of Catholic theology wish to contribute to the conversation about the future of faith and the Church in Germany,” Father Langendörfer said. The priest noted that bishops and theologians have been engaged in “beneficial” structured dialogue for 20 years and that the theologians’ memorandum includes “ideas often discussed together.” 

Link (here) to the full story at Catholic Culture.

The Editor Of Homiletic And Pastoral Review

Fr. David Vincent Meconi, S.J., is professor of patristic theology at St. Louis University, where he teaches courses on Trinitarian theology, Christology and soteriology in the early Church, the history of Christian deification, and St. Augustine of Hippo. He recently marked his first year as editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review. Fr. Meconi recently spoke with Carl E. Olson, editor of Ignatius Insight, about being a Jesuit, a patristic scholar, and editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review.

Ignatius Insight: I read that the first Jesuit you met was a professor teaching a course on atheism. What's the story? How did you come to be a Jesuit?

Fr. Meconi: From as long as I can remember I prayed about being a priest: growing up, I was surrounded by great men who had given their lives to Christ in that special way and their example made quite an impact on me. Deep down, however, I never thought I would be happy as a priest in a parish (truth be told, I don't have the patience!).

However, when I arrived at Marquette University and learned about the Jesuits and their mission of teaching and writing and prayer, I started to think that here was my calling. Fr. Donald Keefe, S.J. (now out at Fordham) was a great influence on me during those days, as was, of happy memory, Fr. Leo Sweeney, S.J.—both, giants in their fields and great men of the Church.

Link (here) to read the full interview at Insight Scoop / The Ignatius Press Blog

Love Is In The Air For Valentines

Noticed the Cardinal Newman Society's post today about the distribution of "G@y? Fine by me" t-shirts by Gonzaga University and wondered whether our local Xavier University would be doing the same. Not only did XU not disappoint, but they go one better -- devoting an entire week to ... well, read it for yourself

Link (here) to the great Ohio based Catholic blog, Ten Reasons.

Should women wear a head covering in church? Take the poll (here) at WDTPRS.