Jesuits and Friends A faith that does justice
IHS HS
Summer 2007 Issue 67
Companions in the Lord School links create awareness and respect – page 10 School links create awareness and respect – page 10
Guyana Revisited Vitality and change in the Region – page 4 Vitality and change in the Region – page 4
Reaching out in North London Why the ‘migrants apostolate’ is a priority – page 16 Why the ‘migrants apostolate’ is a priority – page 16
Stephen Buckland page 8
Hania Lubienska page 18
Virgin in Prayer page 20
Jesuits and Friends A faith that does justice
Pray-as-you-go is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable MP3 players, to help you pray whilst travelling to and from work or study, or at any other time in a busy day. Find out more and download for free:
Rapid Response. The Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life feeds into debates on topical issues through its weekly articles. The aim is not to offer a rounded academic discussion of complex issues, but to share with non-specialists views and questions on current events from the Institute’s point of view.
The Jesuit Institute South Africa seeks to engage with people from all sectors of our society. Motivated by the service of faith and the promotion of justice, and by our conviction of God’s continuous active engagement in all aspects of our lives, we attempt to encourage participation in social transformation through open and respectful dialogue with others. In this way we hope to proclaim Good News to all.
Based in Central London, the Mount Street Jesuit Centre provides opportunities for people to find a deeper meaning and purpose in their lives. It does this by offering a range of courses, activities and ministries: pastoral, spiritual development/guidance, theological education and formation (including moral and social theology), young adult ministry and social justice (including the London Jesuit Volunteers).
www.pray-as-you-go.org
www.heythrop.ac.uk/hirepl
www.jesuitinstitute.org.za
www.msjc.org.uk
Theology-on-Tap is a speaker series - in the pub - for young adults 18-39, single and married, who gather for straight talk, hard facts and real answers about the Catholic faith and how to live it in real, everyday life. T-on-T focuses on contemporary issues that matter and topics of faith that directly affect the lives of young adults today.
Through summer schools and shorter events Living Theology offers interactivestyle courses which enable real questions to be answered frankly and intelligently. Leading figures give keynote lectures on topical themes. Among new developments: courses at Durham may count towards the Catholic Certificate of Religious Studies; and a London weekend on ‘Authority and the Church’. For more info:
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) works with the most marginalised and isolated asylum seekers and refugees in the UK and worldwide and places the Ignatian charism at the heart of its work. In the UK, JRS mainly works with two groups of people: • Asylum seekers held in detention centres • Destitute asylum seekers left in the UK with no status and often no recourse to public funds
www.fsplus.info
www.livingtheology.org.uk
Do you want to integrate personal faith and social action? If you are enthusiastic and ready for a challenge, able to work with those on the margins of society, flexible enough to enjoy community living with volunteers from around the world, able to live on a basic budget and to give 11 months' commitment from September till July in the UK, and are aged between 18 and 35 … Then you should explore Jesuit Volunteer Community (JVC). www.jesuitvolunteers-uk.org
www.jrsuk.net
Cover photo: Building a new classroom at St Rupert’s Mission, near Chinoi, Zimbabwe
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Jesuits and Friends
IHS
A faith that does justice
Contents
Summer 2007 Issue 67
Jesuits and Friends is published three times a year by the British Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), in association with Jesuit Missions. Editorial office: 11 Edge Hill London SW19 4LR Tim Curtis SJ Executive Editor Ged Clapson Editor Editorial group: Denis Blackledge SJ Dushan Croos SJ Alan Fernandes
Is this the evening view from the most idyllic parish in the Society of Jesus? See pages 4 and 5.
Jane King Siobhan Totman Graphic Design:
Ian Curtis www.firstsightgraphics.com Printed by: The Magazine Company Enfield, Middlesex EN3 7NT
FROM THE EDITOR
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GUYANA REVISITED Tim Curtis
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THE POPE’S OWN PRAYER GROUP And this month’s papal intentions for the Apostleship of Prayer JISA – an informed Catholic voice in South Africa Peter Knox
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www.magprint.co.uk To protect our environment papers
A SMALL BUT REAL SIGN OF HOPE Stephen Buckland
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used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free process to produce fully recyclable material in accordance with an
DEAR FRIENDS OF SARUDZAI Oskar Wermter ‘COMPANIONS’ LEADS TO DEEPER LEARNING AND RESPECT Ashleigh Callow
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Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.
HEALING THE SPIRITUAL DAMAGE AS WELL AS THE PHYSICAL Ged Clapson
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JOY AND TREPIDATION AS REFUGEES RETURN HOME Raymond Perrier
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THE SLOWEST MARATHON EVER? David Hurst
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BOOK NEWS The Reckoned Expense Is God to Blame? Evil Revisited
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REACHING OUT TO THOSE IN NEED IN NORTH LONDON Raphael Gonsalves
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OUR READERS WRITE Your letters
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BITS AND PIECES News from around the Province
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EVENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
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OBITUARIES
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HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
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HOW CAN I HELP?
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From the Editor... y first job as editor is to thank Brother Ken Vance SJ for the tremendous work he has done over the years bringing news of Jesuits far and wide to their friends in this country and overseas. He has set some high standards. I hope we can live up to them. You will probably notice a few changes to our magazine. I am grateful to the ideas of our new editorial board, and there may well be more changes to come! We have tried to make the magazine more attractive, more user-friendly and better able to communicate the message of just how much good work is being done. Please let us know if you like the changes. Your feedback is always most welcome. One change you will notice is under our title on the front cover. Beneath our name, Jesuits and Friends, we have added ‘A faith that does justice’. The work of every Jesuit is inspired by his deep personal faith and commitment to Jesus Christ, whose companions we are called to be. However, we serve under his banner, the cross, not for our personal sanctification, but for the good of those he has called us to serve. From our faith springs a deep desire for justice in our world. It is as if we are building two kingdoms: that of the world to come, but also that of this world in which we live now. And this is a mission we share with our many friends and co-workers. Another change will be the feel to the paper on which the magazine is printed. This time we have printed it from paper from sustainable rainforests, and, in the future, we would like to use 100% recycled paper. It is likely that the forthcoming General Congregation of the Society of Jesus will have much to say on the environment and the use of the planet’s resources. So we have begun in a small way to look at all of the things we do to make them more conducive to the survival of our planet. Any further suggestions as to what more we can do would be most welcome. I hope you enjoy reading the magazine. Please remember to pass it on to someone else to read too, and when it is finished with altogether, make sure that the paper is recycled. I would like to wish you all a wonderful feast of St Ignatius on 31 July. Ignatius our founder has communicated to us his pioneering breadth of vision which we seek to use as we contemplate today's world and today's problems. Our cover picture and the article by Ashleigh Callow on page 10 give one example of a bridge being built between children on opposite sides of the world. Let me finish by thanking you for your overwhelming generosity in your support for all we do. Please be assured of our prayers and keep us in yours too.
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Guyana Revisited Tim Curtis returns to Guyana after eight years and discovers that, while some things have changed, many of the old challenges remain he flight from Gatwick to Guyana was delayed a couple of hours while the pilot insisted on having a radio that worked. But there was still time for me to make my connection in Barbados for the little Liat flight to Georgetown. Alas, my bag did not make it, so for the first 24 hours all the clothes I had were those that I was wearing on the flight. The first thing I noticed when Malcolm Rodrigues picked me up at the airport, was how smooth the airport road was. On the way from the airport I also noted lots of new hotels that had been built and the brand new cricket ground. In fact, because of the cricket World Cup, many things had been improved and smartened up. I was so tired that I slept like a log that first night. Even the mosquitoes seemed less voracious than I remembered them. It is some eight years since I left Guyana. I had spent one year there as a scholastic (Jesuit student), working in the Sacred Heart parish. After my ordination I was assigned once more to the Sacred Heart Church for six years. This was followed by my tertianship (an advanced stage in Jesuit formation) and then another six years along the East Coast. Thanks to the generosity of the readers of Jesuits and Friends, Jesuit Missions was able to buy me a jeep for travelling among the six parishes that I served. Though I know the country well, there was still much to be learnt on my trip. Many of the Jesuits that I served with are still going strong. Fr Harold Wong, despite the difficulty he has in walking, still does a lot of work from his bedroom on the first floor of the Jesuit presbytery, which one could easily have mistaken for a Dickensian emporium. I was happy to speak with Malcolm Rodrigues about his work with the rainforest in Guyana. The government has set aside a large portion of the rainforest for the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development. We hope that by contributing to this venture the Jesuit Missions office can offset the carbon emissions involved in travel abroad. I made my own personal pilgrimage to the site of the Sacred Heart Church which burnt down on Christmas Day 2004. The bishop and parishioners are still discerning about how it should be replaced. I also saw the new spirituality centre which is nearing completion in Vryheid's
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God Bless
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Jesuits & Friends Summer 2007 www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk
New spirituality centre
Lust. This will be a very useful facility for the development have their church rebuilt. At both churches I met lots of old of the whole diocese. It is hoped that the centre will be friends, though too, there were some vacant pews opened by the summer. reminding me of parishioners who had emigrated. I was able to visit my old friend, Sr Noel Menezes, and see After Guyana, I stopped off in Trinidad to see the work Fr the wonderful house she has developed for those Eddy Bermingham is doing as Dean of Philosophy of the graduating from the orphanage in Plaisance. It is a great regional seminary. Currently there is one Guyanese in help to these young men as they find their feet in the world. training to be a diocesan priest, my friend Terry Pile, so On the Friday evening there was a Jesuit gathering at despite the fact that he was supposed to be studying for Brickdam, where we could meet together informally. I was able to give the presentation on Jesuit Missions that I had given to the entire Province at our meeting in Easter Week. We had a very useful discussion about how the mission office can best support those working in the region. One thing I noticed is how successful Fr Joe Chira, the former Regional Superior, had been in attracting Jesuits to go and work in Guyana. The Indian Provinces have been very generous in supplying men and currently there are four scholastics as part of their formation (two from Zimbabwe and two from India). This really does bring new vitality to the work of the Jesuits there. The cricket World Cup final took place while I was in Guyana, and as cricket is the unofficial religion of the country, all work stopped on that day. It was, however, the time set aside for me to meet my friends from amongst the religious of Georgetown. Thanks to the radio playing in the Sr Noel with one of the residents from the hostel kitchen, we were kept abreast of the latest score. On the Sunday I was able to visit two of my former an exam, we took time to catch up on old times. I also saw parishes for Mass. At Plaisance, Fr Bob Barrow and Fr Fr Michael Campbell-Johnston in Barbados. He must have Aloysius Church had made some changes. The church the most idyllic parish in the whole of the Society of Jesus, now has a disabled ramp and there are even toilets overlooking the blue of the Caribbean Sea. Jim Webb was installed in the church tower. St Peter's Beterverwagting is also visiting from Jamaica so it was good to catch up with still much the same, though the parishioners are trying to news of Jesuits from there. The British Airways flight back to London was full, but uneventful. This time I only had carry-on luggage (minus all liquids) so there was no chance of my bag being lost. On the flight I reflected on the many ways in which we, at the mission office in Wimbledon, can still offer much needed help and support to the Jesuits of Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados.
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Eddy Bermingham in Trinidad
The Post Office in Guyana is issuing a set of stamps to celebrate 150 years of the Jesuits in the country. They will feature St Stanislaus College (1907 - 2007), Sacred Heart Church, Georgetown (1861 to 2004), and Father Cuthbert Carey Elwes who was a Missionary among the Amerindians between 1909 and 1923. Issue 68 of Jesuits and Friends will include more detail about this set of stamps, which is being issued under the title: Jesuits in Guyana - 150 Years of Service, 1857 - 2007.
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THE POPE’S OWN PRAYER GROUP And this month’s papal intentions for the Apostleship of Prayer
In Issue 65 of Jesuits and Friends, Father Michael Beattie SJ reflected on the Apostleship of Prayer, which is sometimes called “the Pope’s own prayer group”. He explained the origins of this ‘daily offering’ and how it has developed over the past 113 years. It now has over 40 million members worldwide. ichael’s article generated a great deal of interest; so starting in Issue 68, he will be presenting a regular reflection on the Pope’s intentions. If you wish to find out more about the Apostleship of Prayer, you can write to him at Mount St Mary’s College, College Road, Spinkhill, Sheffield S21 3YL. Over the coming months, Pope Benedict has asked us to remember these intentions in particular:
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August That those who are going through moments of inner difficulty and trial may find in Christ the light and support that leads them to discover authentic happiness. That the Church in China may bear witness to ever greater inner cohesion and may manifest her effective and visible communion with Peter’s Successor.
September That the ecumenical assembly of Sibiu in Romania may contribute to the growth of unity among all Christians, for whom the Lord prayed at the Last Supper. That, following Christ joyfully, all missionaries may know how to overcome the difficulties they meet in everyday life.
Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach SJ, the Director General of the Apostleship of Prayer, with Fr Michael Beattie SJ, the National Secretary for the UK.
October That Christians who are in minority situations may have strength and courage to live their faith and persevere in bearing witness to it. That World Missionary Day may bring a greater missionary awareness in every baptised person.
November That those dedicated to medical research and all those engaged in legislative activity may always have a deep respect for human life, from its beginning to its natural conclusion. For peace and reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula.
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JISA - an informed Catholic voice in South Africa Peter Knox SJ
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As reported in the spring edition of Jesuits and Friends (issue 66), the South African Region has opened a new apostolate. Since January, the Jesuit Institute - South Africa (JISA) has had a flood of requests for many different types of work: training in palliative pastoral care; ongoing spiritual direction; lecturing to civil servants, MPhil students, deacon candidates and catechists; giving school retreats and retreats in daily life; writing articles; clergy formation and clergy retreats; facilitating a clergy
synod;
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relations; philosophy
conference; CLC accompaniment; and vocation discernment. The list grows as the Institute becomes better known.
learly there are many needs, and the Church is no less needy than other sectors of South African society. But if we were to respond to all the needs, then the Institute would be unable to pursue its own mission to promote respectful, informed dialogue between the Church and the secular world. In Part VII of the Constitutions, Ignatius gives Jesuits some criteria for choosing ministries. As we discern the calls on JISA, we need to bear these criteria in mind. We should, for example, be seeking contact with those people who might be multipliers in society as well as the poor, even if this may seem elitist. There are a few principles that have been part of the work of JISA from the outset, and which we intend to keep as part of our culture. The most important is that it is a collaborative work between Jesuits and laypeople. The initial staff have been three lay women and five Jesuits (two of whom are scholastics on short-term placements). The laypeople are the full-time members of the former Centre for Ignatian Spirituality, and they form the core of the spirituality team. Another important principle of our work is that it is multidisciplinary and integrative. This means that we try to bring as many different areas of specialisation (psychological, social, theological, philosophical and spiritual) to bear on whatever matter we deal with. We believe that this holistic approach gives added value to whatever we have to contribute to the important issues of the day. JISA was set up to bring an informed Catholic voice to debate in the secular world in South African society. We do not want to duplicate, even less to compete with, work already being done by well-established and respected organs of the Church, or indeed by secular NGO's. But, to borrow from a popular beer advert, we “want to reach those parts of society that other ecclesiastical voices don't reach”. In an increasingly materialist culture, JISA faces the challenge of critically fostering deeper values that promote community, compassion and spiritual and intellectual growth. This will require some courage from the members of the Institute and our associates to venture into areas usually considered “off limits” to the Church. If the voice of the Church is to be heard by those who wield influence in our society, then we must “go in their door”. For more information, visit our website at www.jesuitinstitute.org.za www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Summer 2007 Jesuits & Friends
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A Small But Real Sign Of Hope As Jesuits worldwide prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pedro Arrupe, Stephen Buckland SJ, the Dean of the college named in his honour in Harare, reflects on his legacy. f he had not died in 1991, Fr Pedro Arrupe, the 28th Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983, would have turned 100 on 14 November 2007. In the 1980s, the Jesuits began to plan a new institution to teach philosophy to young Jesuits in Africa, and Fr Arrupe's spirit and his name were linked with the idea from early on. Until then, African Jesuits began their studies either at St Canisius, in the D R Congo, where the language is French, or else in Europe or America. But as Jesuit numbers in Africa grew, the need for an English-language institution eventually gave birth in 1994 to “Arrupe College, Jesuit School of Philosophy and Humanities�, in Harare, Zimbabwe. Yes, Zimbabwe. That name echoes so often through international news, usually backed by images of violence and poverty, and sown with sound-bites of our rather nasty home-grown brand of political rhetoric, so it may be difficult to imagine the island of calm continuity that is Arrupe College. On our small, compact campus of red-roofed, mostly single-storey buildings, tucked away near the University of Zimbabwe, we have been quietly busy for 13 years, teaching undergraduate degree and diploma programmes in philosophy to hundreds of Jesuit and other religious and lay students from different parts of the continent of Africa. Even as I write, I realise once again how remarkable this institution really is. With just on 100 current members, the community of Jesuit staff and students at Arrupe College is the biggest in Africa, and we are surely among the biggest Jesuit philosophates worldwide. Out of 400 students registered since 1994, 290 have been Jesuits, and they have come from 19 of the 52
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countries of Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We have even had one from Jamaica! It is an enormous privilege to have such a unique insight into the spirit and reality of a young, vibrant and modern Africa, its peoples and contemporary cultures. Arrupe College is a microcosm of Africa, and our life of work and study together is, for us, a small but real sign of hope for our ravaged continent. From the beginning, we wanted this college to be both African and fully in the international Jesuit tradition of humanistic education. And so our students learn philosophy, but in the context of literature (both 'World' and 'African'), languages (both English and French), history, sociology, psychology, as well as religious studies and theology. Our aim is to enhance our students' identity as Africans at home in the world at large, and to sharpen the intellectual tools needed for reflection, both critical and constructive, so as to contribute actively in the future, especially in various kinds of ministry. Great expectations, of course: but we Jesuits always Think Big! And we already have some fruits in hand. Of the students who completed the programme in our very first intake of 1994, more than half have been ordained and are now active as Jesuit priests. Some have returned to teach on our staff. Of course, even a small institution of 120 students and 13 fulltime staff members takes a lot of effort to keep going: we have to run quite hard just to stay in the same place! With inflation officially at 3,700%, prices and salaries double every month, and quotations are valid only for hours. Fortunately, our rector Fr Amedeus Shirima, administrator Fr Tony Berridge and bursar Br Jonathan Chazura are very skilful at keeping the ship afloat in such treacherous waters. Our status of association with the
near-by University of Zimbabwe, and affiliation with the Pontifical Gregorian University (the “Greg�) in Rome, gives us academic stability, and our students receive their degrees and diplomas from these reputable universities. Our next planned development is a philosophy programme at Master's level, and we have a proposal awaiting approval at the University of Zimbabwe. In November, we will celebrate the centenary of Fr Arrupe's birth in joy and gratitude to God in our 14th academic year. Please pray with us that the hope we see in one another may be fulfilled in the years to come, for the sake of the Kingdom.
Pedro Arrupe Throughout 2007, Jesuits worldwide are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pedro Arrupe, the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. To coincide with his birthday on 14 November, the Winter edition of Jesuits and Friends will include a special feature on the man whose vision was 'the service of faith and the promotion of justice'.
On 24 March 2007, The Times published a moving article about the situation in Zimbabwe. Journalist, Martin Fletcher, highlighted in particular the suffering of a six-year old girl named Sarudzai Gumbo. The spontaneous response from Times readers resulted in over ÂŁ7,000 being donated to the work of Fr Oskar Wermter SJ in Harare, channelled through Jesuit Missions. Here he sends his thanks and the latest news about Sarudzai.
Dear Friends of Sarudzai Many thanks to you all for your splendid response to Sarudzai's distress. Suffering from skin cancer which has spread all over her face and head, she was taken to Mashamabanzou AIDS Care Centre and treated at Parirenyatwa Hospital, one of the two big referral hospitals in Harare. Sr Margaret, the matron of Mashambanzou and Sister Kutongo, the nurse in charge of home-based nursing care in various high-density suburbs, agreed that she had been making good progress when, tragically, her mother died (at the time that Martin Fletcher met her, she had seemed somewhat weak, but not in acute danger). So her father, who is also ill with skin rashes all over his body, asked Sr Margaret if he could take Sarudzai to the funeral. She had to agree, though reluctantly, but asked him urgently to return the child on the same day so that she could continue her treatment which seemed to be promising. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Volunteer workers in our parish, Tracey Taruvinga and Anna Kachidza, went to look for Sarudzai and found she had been taken to the rural home of the family in Mutoko, 140 km east of Harare. I went to see the family too and tried to send a message to Sarudzai's father: please come back with the child so that she can continue being treated; you could also benefit from treatment at Mashambanzou. For several days, Sarudzai did not return. Tracey and Anna were planning to get on the bus to go and look for her, carrying food, soap etc to give to her family. Then we heard: Sarudzai is back in town. Anna and Tracey do not have to go and fetch her. Now, we are just trying to get her back to Mashambanzou AIDS Care Centre for further medical treatment. As you will appreciate, Sarudzai Gumbo is not the only such case: there are many other children who are HIV positive and/or have acute AIDS. But they are not hopeless cases, provided they are tested in time and are treated before they get too weak. ARV treatment is not yet available to all who need it, but if someone is tested positive, some government and most church health facilities do have it. There is still a widespread fear and reluctance to get tested. Then such people come for help only when it is too late. Not all children of HIV positive parents are HIV positive themselves. Many are free from it and survive their parents. So we have a large number of AIDS orphans. Each parish district is supposed to list the names of all these children who are normally being looked after by grandparents, uncles or aunts who, more often than not, are very poor and hardly able to feed these additional mouths. We try to help with food and especially school fees so that they, especially the girls, do not drop out of school. Our parishioners are supposed to keep a close eye on the orphans in their neighbourhood and help, especially when there is some crisis, like children not getting along well with their foster parents or being abused by them (as unfortunately happens at times). Once more I thank you all for your concern and interest and for your material assistance. I will keep you informed about Sarudzai. Fr Oskar Wermter SJ Jesuit Communications Harare, Zimbabwe www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Summer 2007 Jesuits & Friends
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‘Companions’ Leads To Deeper Learning And Respect Ashleigh Callow discovers the benefits of the initiative that links schoolchildren in Britain with their counterparts overseas “That's my card!” shouted one of the pupils at Barlborough Hall when I showed them photos of my trip to Zimbabwe. He was delighted to see his work being received by a pupil at Makumbi Primary School. Bit by bit the Companions’ Programme is burgeoning, with many schools wanting to establish contact with the outside world That’s my card
and be a part of the global village. ne of the aims of the programme is to create an awareness of one another; and in getting to know that “other” to start shedding preconceived perceptions and stereotypes. Africa, for example, is not full of starving people alone; there is a vast richness of culture and heritage to be shared. Exchange between the schools has already begun. There has been the sharing of local folklore through stories, and cultural artefacts have been exchanged. (This included bringing a large axe from Zimbabwe which I opted to put in my suitcase. I thought I'd encounter problems if I walked through customs with it tucked under my arm!) Young children have illustrated letters of the alphabet using local images. One of the schools did not have access to coloured pencils, but that did not deter them in any way as they decorated their posters with sand and grass instead. Pupils at St Aloysius, Glasgow have gathered letters,
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Barlborough Hall & Makumbi Mission: Cultural Exchange
Father Mueller receiving games made by the pupils of Barlborough hall to share with the pupils of Makumbi
A pupil at St Mary’s Hall receives seeds from St Paul’s Musami, Zimbabwe in an activity learning about “Traditional Foods”
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postcards depicting Glasgow and, of course, a small Loch Ness monster to put in their culture box for St Aloysius, Kibera. When I asked a group of children at Barlborough Hall near Sheffield how they could be children 'for and with others' without using money, one little boy astutely responded by saying, “We can give each other respect.” A wise young man indeed! Respect means taking the time to learn and understand; realising that there may be no quick fix solutions. Through the regular exchange of activities, learning can take place and with personal contact, deeper learning can take place. A teacher and two pupils from Stonyhurst went out to Zimbabwe to visit St Peter's Kubatana; all were touched deeply by the visit. The headmistress at St Peter's Kubatana remarked, “The contact with the outside world has boosted morale. May contact and communication grow so that we can learn from one another.” For further information on the Companions' Programme, please visit www.jesuitmissions.org.uk
Healing the Spiritual Damage as well as the Physical Ged Clapson meets a Jesuit doctor whose ministry includes treating loneliness and lack of self-worth, as well as drug addiction and alcohol dependency aul O’Reilly is from Belfast. He’s a doctor. And a Jesuit priest. And he says his present job is “the best I’ve ever had”. Having been educated by the Jesuits at St John’s Beaumont and Wimbledon College, Paul applied to join the Society of Jesus at the age of 16. The Jesuits did not accept him for another nine years, by which time he had qualified as a doctor, working up to 104 hours a week. After studying Philosophy in Manchester, he was despatched to Brickdam where he worked in the Medical Faculty at the University of Guyana. Then back to Britain for a spell as a teacher at his old school in Wimbledon and further studies. It was while reading Theology at Heythrop College in London that Paul’s path crossed with that of Dr Mary Hickey, a religious sister (a Daughter of Mary and Joseph) and a gynaecologist by profession. Mary was in the process of setting up a surgery at the newly opened Cardinal Hume Centre for homeless people in Central London. She desperately needed trained medical staff, and Paul started doing one afternoon a week. He had found his niche. He says he really looked forward to going to work. And he even underwent three years’ training for General Practice in Birmingham. Paul was just about to go into homeless medicine when a need arose in Guyana, and he was sent back out to the Region for a further four years. But now he is back working almost full-time at the centre for homeless young people founded by Cardinal Basil Hume of Westminster in 1986. Its initial aim was to provide a place of refuge and support for young families living in bed and breakfast accommodation or bed-sits, and within a year it had added a medical centre (the Surgery) to serve people without a fixed address. “One of the poorest areas in the world in terms of healthcare is between the Palaces of Westminster and Buckingham (in London),” Paul insists. “The average age of death of a homeless person is 42; if they’re an intravenous drug user, it’s between 32 and 34. That’s even worse than in Sub-Saharan Africa!” Many of the people Paul treats are on hard drugs, especially crack and heroin. He says it is immensely fulfilling to see the improvement in people’s lives in a relatively short period of time. “By getting these young, homeless, drug-taking young people off potentially lethal drugs and onto methadone, we are helping to save their lives. The principal thing many of them need is stabilisation, to feel more settled, to get some control back into their lives
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so that they can start coping with the reality of life again.” The surgery at the Cardinal Hume Centre is unique, inasmuch as it is the only full-time facility of this kind dedicated to serving homeless people in London. And Paul believes the fact that he is a Jesuit is an important component to the work, since something like this benefits from the support and dedication of a religious order. He draws a comparison with the early Jesuits. “When Rome was devastated by the plague, they rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in, staffing the hospitals because no one else would. They saw an urgent need and they responded – as Jesuits have done throughout their 467 year history!” But the service provided by the surgery at the Cardinal Hume Centre often extends far beyond the medical or the physical. “For many patients, the underlying lesions and disease are a lack of faith – in God, in humanity and in themselves,” Paul reflects. “That’s often the hardest condition to deal with. So by being a service rooted in Christian principles, we have to ask ourselves how we can respond to the spiritual damage that patients might manifest. As we help them cut down on crack or heroin, as the voices in their head subside, as they start to bring their drinking under control, we often uncover a deeper, more painful loneliness. The solution isn’t just medical; it’s often spiritual too. And that really is holistic treatment!” www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Summer 2007 Jesuits & Friends
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Joy And Trepidation Raymond Perrier SJ is coming to the end of his Regency, the period in his Jesuit formation spent in full-time apostolic ministry. His has been among the refugees in Rhino Camp in Northern Uganda, where he has been working with the Jesuit Refugee Service
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As Refugees
hile the news from Darfur continues to be bleak, South Sudan has enjoyed over two years of relative peace. So, many of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees here in North Uganda are able to repatriate. Although in the Jesuit Refugee Service we love being with and accompanying refugees, we are even happier when we lose our customers: a world in which refugees are able to go home safely is a success story. Voluntary repatriation started earlier this year and has gathered momentum. Among the 80 students sponsored by readers of Jesuits and Friends, 25 decided they wanted to continue their secondary schooling in South Sudan. With great joy I was able to accompany them in February on their journey to Yei; I then returned recently to see them at the end of their first term. The girls will soon be moving into a splendid new dormitory, furnished by the sterling efforts of the boys of St Ignatius, Enfield. If they live at home, girls soon become unpaid servants and so giving them a chance to live at school is the best way of ensuring that they get a fair chance in education. The boys, on
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the other hand, have had to build their own houses, which meant making their own bricks, stirring their own cement and thatching their own roofs. Perhaps that could be the next project for the Enfield boys! From Rhino Camp where I am, 600 people a week have been leaving in UN-organised convoys. It is humbling to see what few possessions the refugees have - perhaps less than some of us might take for a weekend break! They leave with a mixture of joy at going home and fear of what they will find there. Their fears are partly relieved when they hear that JRS and the Jesuits are already in several locations in South Sudan ready to welcome them. We will continue to support education, to train catechists and to assist parishes, but we are shifting our efforts and resources across the border. Of course, many of those going back have not seen their homeland for years. But thanks to some wonderful computer and projection equipment donated by well-wishers in the UK,
Return Home
we can show them pictures of what their villages are like in South Sudan. We can also show them films on a proper big screen - they loved 'The Ten Commandments' especially since the story of Moses and the Israelites is so relevant to these returning refugees. As part of our pastoral work we always join the departing refugees down at the collection site, located in a beautiful valley beside the Nile. After the health checks, the identity checks and the baggage checks we can offer a soul check: a chance to pray together, to thank God for all that has been received here and to ask for God's protection on the journey home. I too will be coming home soon, my two years of Regency with the Jesuit Refugee Service being over. I will have many fond memories but most of all a renewed respect for refugees who, despite having so little, are able to maintain their faith in God and their faith in other people. I have also seen how welcoming Ugandans have been to people they regard not as 'scroungers' or problems but as brothers and sisters in Christ. I have had to travel many thousands of miles away from Britain to learn this. But I know that the same lesson can be learnt from refugees and migrants who are closer to us at home.
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The slowest marathon ever? David Hurst looks back on one of the most exhausting - but satisfying - days of his life t took me precisely 365 days, 6 hours and 15 minutes to complete my first London Marathon, at an age approaching 50, but from the wrong direction. Why so long? Well, I entered and trained for the 2006 event but sprained my left ankle two days before the start and had to pull out. Wags said I had injured myself on purpose to avoid running but I can tell you I was gutted after doing all the
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Photo: Stonyhurst Runners (left to right) Deputy Head, Laurence McKell, former pupil David Hurst, who went to Zimbabwe as a volunteer in the 1970s, and present pupil, Sam Williams.
training and then watching it on television. Why did I do it? A long standing chip on my shoulder at listening to many others recount their personal experiences and believing that, Yosser Hughes like, 'I can do that'. What was it like? It was a very hot day, the hottest on record for the marathon. But our team spirit was great as I was running with the Wombles of Wimbledon and 15 others in aid of Jesuit schools in Zimbabwe and Guyana - we raised over £40,000 in 2006. I have never experienced encouragement from crowds quite like this. The music from street bands and outdoor discos at every pub en route in south London made the whole event like one enormous street festival. High Fives from every kid you run past make a lot of hands to slap. Even the St John Ambulance offered High Fives with blue plastic gloves on, but I soon discovered they were actually handing out vaseline for where the sun doesn't shine! With my name on my shirt I (and the many other Davids taking part) got constant shouts to keep going from kids, adults and grannies alike. It really helps when your legs feel like dropping off past the 14 mile mark and I had already decided that, due to cramp and pain, I would walk the rest of the way. Huge camaraderie came from other runners who talk to you and
offer help and you give it back, whether they are dressed as a chicken, a pizza, Princess Leia or Spiderman. But I thought that Darth Vader could look after himself and the Wookiee had only himself to blame for wearing that suit! What was my strategy? Start slow - and slow down. That was my plan and it almost worked until I took a phone call just past Tower Bridge from my 13 year old daughter Izzy (who had baked me a Good Luck cake the night before) and afterwards I couldn't get my legs going again without absolute agony. So, along with many others, I walked round the Isle of Dogs - not pretty I can tell you. But then I met up with a fellow team member and we helped each other to jog and walk the last six miles. I had aimed to finish before dark, or at least before the litter lorries came round, and at my pace it looked like working out that way! But eventually I trotted over the finishing line at around 4.10pm. And in the end the achievement - and the pain - are all your own.
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… And will I do it again net year? Try stopping me!.
What did I get out of it? Great personal satisfaction, a huge mixture of pain and pleasure in equal doses, and a massive re-affirmation of the goodness of the human spirit - the crowds supporting the runners and the runners (mostly) supporting their charity causes. It's a truly mad day but one never to be forgotten. 14
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The Reckoned Expense Edmund Campion and the Early English Jesuits Essays in Celebration of the First Centenary of Campion Hall, 1996-2006 Second edition, revised with additional material Thomas M. McCoog SJ, ed. contribution to include recent discoveries and en years ago when The Reckoned developments, or to address new questions. Some Expense first appeared to articles were revised so radically that they commemorate the centenary of almost constitute a new work. Peter Davidson Campion Hall, Oxford, Edmund Campion and Thomas M. McCoog collaborated on a new had not yet emerged as a major figure on article on a subject that has generated much the Elizabethan historical stage. But recent interest: relations between William during the following decade, as the Shakespeare and Campion. Academy discovered recusant literature Members of the British Province, old boys of in general and Campion in particular, Campion Hall, and subscribers to Jesuits and demand for The Reckoned Expense Friends may obtain copies at the discounted price increased and copies became scarce. of £20.00 (plus £4 postage and In response the Jesuit Historical handling for the United Kingdom; Institute has published a second Students and teachers will welcome the second edition of this important collection. edition of this collection. Covering a wide range of £6 for Europe; and £10.50 for the The original contributors were topics, the volume has a helpful introduction, rest of the world). Please address John Bossy, Nancy Pollard Brown, important original essays by a number of scholars, all orders to the Jesuit Archives, Katherine Duncan-Jones, Dennis including John Bossy, Katherine Duncan-Jones, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH Flynn, Victor Houliston, John J. and the editor, Thomas McCoog, and an extensive and endorse the cheques to Jesuit LaRocca SJ, Colm Lennon, David bibliography. It is simply indispensable for anyone Archives, Farm Street. Loades, James McConica, CSB, interested in Campion, the Society of Jesus, Pp. xxxiv, 495. Illus. Thomas M. McCoog SJ, Thomas F. Catholicism in England, or early modern religious Rome, 2007. Bibliotheca Instituti Mayer, Francisco de Borja Medina and cultural conflict.” Historici Societatis Iesu 60. SJ, Michael Questier, Alison Shell, Robert S. Miola, Gerard Manley Hopkins Professor, ISBN 978-88-7041-360-1 and Michael Williams. Each author Loyola College of Maryland was allowed to revise his/her
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IS GOD TO BLAME? THE PROBLEM OF EVIL REVISITED We live in an age where war, natural disaster and terrorist atrocity are the fodder for our daily news programmes. The apparent relentlessness of such events can leave us feeling numb and helpless in the face of the suffering of our fellow humans. We may question how a perfectly good God, who can do everything, and knows all our actions, could be responsible for a creation in which there is so much pain and so much human malice and cruelty.
GERARD J. HUGHES SJ
In Is God to Blame?, a timely and highly accessible book, key questions around ‘The Problem of Evil’ are examined, the question of whether God could do better is posed and the nature of human responsibility and the Christian understanding of suffering pondered to help us make sense of the dilemma: Is God To Blame?
Is God to Blame?
How can an almighty, all-knowing and perfectly good God be responsible for a Creation with so much pain and evil? This dilemma lies at the heart of a new book by the former Master of Campion Hall, Oxford, Gerard J. Hughes SJ. Summarising the theme of the book, he writes: We live in an age where war, natural disaster and terrorist atrocity are the fodder for our daily news programmes. The apparent relentlessness of such events can leave us feeling numb and helpless in the face of the suffering of our fellow humans. We may question how a perfectly good God, who can do everything, and knows all our actions, could be responsible for a creation in which there is so much pain and so much human malice and cruelty. Is God to Blame? is a timely and highly accessible book, aimed at non-specialists. In it, key questions around 'The Problem of Evil' are examined, the question of whether God could do better is posed and the nature of human responsibility and the Christian understanding of suffering pondered to help us make sense of the dilemma: Is God To Blame? Published by Veritas, www.veritas.ie
Gerard J. Hughes SJ is a doctor of Philosophy and was Master of Campion Hall Oxford until June 2006.
www.veritas.ie
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Stamford Hill's Social Outreach he social outreach office of St Ignatius Church, Stamford Hill, is parish-based; in other words, it is accountable to the parish council and parish team. Its tasks include providing support for families, providing advice on welfare benefits, providing information, help and pastoral care for the sick, the housebound and the homeless, and for immigrants and asylum seekers. At the beginning of the academic year in September 2006, Godfrey Veersammy (a Scholastic from Guyana) and Father James Conway were given the responsibility of the outreach office. Their primary task is to develop the outreach work of the parish, which includes identifying people who might need social or pastoral assistance. The social outreach office in the parish was started about eight years ago by Michael O'Driscoll, and shortly after he was joined by Sister Winifred Lusk. Both of them belonged to the parish. Michael's full time job was as an advice worker, working particularly with people on benefits, or with housing problems. He was very keen to begin an outreach centre from the church that would specialise in giving advice among those who were homeless or had problems with the housing authorities. Today, however, most of the people who come to the office tend to be migrants, many of them asylum seekers and more recently persons who can be referred to as “irregular migrants” or “undocumented migrants”, thus making the 'migrants apostolate' a priority. The processes involved can be a bit complicated as often the solutions vary, mostly depending on what part of the world the migrants come from. These irregular migrants would come with questions about their immigration status, as well as questions about how they can access systems such as the health service and the social security system. Sadly they have to be told that they cannot really access national services very much, basically because they are not entitled to any benefits or any form of help or service.
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Raphael Gonsalves SJ from Guyana is studying Art and Design (Media) at the London College of Communication; but he is residing with the Jesuit Community at St Ignatius, Stamford Hill. Here he has found a very active and vital programme of initiatives that directly help those in need in the area. How do Godfrey and Jim help? Firstly, by listening to their stories, and then by trying to find other agencies or the relevant personnel that deal particularly with this group of people and these kinds of problems; agencies that have set up some form of social support for undocumented migrants. There are only a few of these agencies in London. Part of the job at the outreach office includes identifying some of those agencies. Godfrey and Jim do this in particular because they are both aware that there are many other things that one can do to try to help in this field, instead of targeting one's energy on something specific. Agencies that they have looked at include Praxis, which set up a full-time outreach service for anybody who might fall under the category of “displaced”. Praxis offers health services, advice networks for immigration lawyers and they offer English classes. The Catholic Workers Movement has set up a house with three permanent members; a priest and two lay volunteers. They have three other bedrooms which they keep available for destitute asylum seekers or migrants who might need urgent accommodation. And CANDL (Church and Neighbourhood Development in London) is another outreach agency, but one that works primarily with young migrants. The feeling is that St Ignatius Church could follow these three agencies and perhaps set up similar services. Jim Conway and Godfrey Veersammy at St Ignatius
The promotion of justice requires, before all else, our own continuing personal conversion - finding Jesus Christ in the brokenness of our world, living in solidarity with the poor and outcast, so that we can take up their cause under the banner of the Cross. 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus 16
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and Friends and I am I really like to read Jesuits in your magazine. moved by many of the articles text is so small I My problem is that often the it a little bigger please? can't read it. Can you make Julie, Stamford Hill changed the font we Editor's reply: Hi Julie, we have e its easier to read use for the magazine and I hop what yuou think. this time. Please let me know
Dear Br Ken, Dear Bro Ken Vance, Winter 2006, Issue 65, of Thanks very much for sending me the eful if you continue to send grat very Jesuits and Friends: I shall be with happenings in Guyana h touc in keep can I me this magazine so you might be interested in and in the British Province. I thought part of the world. this what is happening in the Church in bai), we have over (Mum ala Chak ch, Here, at Holy Family Chur ers. There are 15 small 2,000 families and over 10,000 parishion , two high schools, a ents Christian Communities, three large conv t children, a social stree for es hom l technical institute, four smal e nearby, and around 30 welfare centre, the Jesuit Provincial Hous the lay people take a very different committees and associations: h. active part in the life of the paris me, we have three Masses in With six other Jesuit Fathers to help ing every day. On Sundays, the morning and one Mass in the even one Mass in the evening. and we have six Masses in the morning 60 - 250, while on Sundays, from s varie es Attendance at daily Mass s to overflowing with the Church is almost packed, sometime s Midnight Mass and Holy between 400 and 1,000 people. Christma of nearby Holy Family nds grou large the Week Services are held in 8,000 people and usually School, where we can accommodate over 7,000 people. all the services are attended by over work you are doing. fine the That's all for now. Do keep up Joe M. Dias SJ , Joe. We still remember your Editor's reply: Good to read your news at the Berbice Campus in time in Guyana when you were lecturing the University there.
I am not a Catholic, but I came across on e of your magazines recently. I found it to be very interestin g. In particular I liked the article on the self-reliance lep rosy trust. I am a mother myself, so th e stories really tou ched me. I enclose small donation for a the work. Even th ough I am not a Catholic, can I rece ive your magazine? Betty, Bristol Editor's reply: Hi Betty, I would first of all like to thank on behalf of Fr Bex you for your donation for the leprosy trust. will make sure he re I cieves the money. Of course, you can receive Jesuits and Friends. I have alr eady added you to mailing list. Than our ks for your support.
Dear Sir, marathon in your last I saw your article about the into the streets of issue, so I actually went out by. It was such a London to see the runners go the runners. I was hot day, my heart went out to running in their really impressed by the Wombles ditions. costumes in such stifling con Luke, London
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Pieces
AND PIECES BitsBITS‘n’
Bishop Bernard Longley, Auxiliary in Westminster, ordained three Jesuits deacon on Saturday, 21 April, at Farm Street Church. Colombian John Montoya and Steve Kieta from the Oregon Province (USA) are both studying at Heythrop College in London, while Luis Felipe Navarette, also from Colombia, is at Campion Hall in Oxford.
The Faiths Together project held three full Saturday sessions in April and May culminating in a meeting at De Nobili House in Southall (west London) on May 19. The participants went out - appropriately - in pairs visiting local people of faith in their homes. They then came back to De Nobili for a meal with their hosts of the morning, to join other friends and guests. In a brief address, the British Jesuit Provincial, Fr Michael Holman SJ, remembered his time at Wimbledon College and the contribution which some of the pupils from other faith traditions made to the life of the school. He also stressed the value of the Ignatian tradition of 'spiritual conversation' what the group have been trying to achieve in the day's visits and in their discussions together.
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Over 200 people, Jesuits and their co-workers from the British Province and beyond, attended the Province Meeting at the Hayes Conference Centre in Derbyshire during Easter Week. Taking as its theme, ‘Unfolding the Future’, the meeting focussed on three areas of the Province’s work: Faith and Justice, Dialogue and Culture, and Interfaith Dialogue in Britain today. Addresses from the platform were followed by smaller workshops on a variety of topics, grouped together under the three headings. In his closing address, the Provincial stressed the importance and value of Jesuit-lay collaboration, praised the breadth of works and apostolates with which the Province is involved, and reminded delegates of the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus.
Hania Lubienska has been appointed as the Volunteer Co-ordinator for Jesuit Missions. Hania was born and brought up in Wimbledon and has studied and worked in Brazil, Poland and Holland. From Durham University and the London Business School, she enjoyed a rich and varied career in commerce, starting in the oil industry and later in the food industry. Hania then spent a year studying Christian Ministry at Campion House, after which she worked as a lay chaplain, co-ordinating student volunteers. She has also done some voluntary work herself, principally among the homeless and refugees, as well as with conservation organisations and adult literacy initiatives.
Bits ‘n’
Pieces
The parish of St Ignatius, Stamford Hill, London, joined thousands of people on 7 May to show support for the Strangers into Citizens campaign. The day got off to a powerful start with Mass at Westminster Cathedral. Then Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, with other faith and civic leaders, led the way from Westminster Plaza to Trafalgar Square, where 15,000 or so supporters waved placards, balloons and Union flags to show solidarity with migrant workers. Strangers into Citizens is calling for a policy that views migrants as contributors to the UK economy and society; an end to the asylum log-jam; and the opportunity for citizenship for long-term migrants who have made new lives in the UK. Speakers from both the civic sphere and from the many faith groups represented at the gathering, addressed the drenched crowd in Trafalgar Square. After which, those who endured the rain finally made their way to Westminster Abbey for choral Evensong.
Paul Adams, the headmaster of St Ignatius College in Enfield, has announced his intention to retire at Christmas. Mr Adams has worked at the College for the past 20 years, and the Governors have praised his ‘dedicated service’ to the school.
Gerry W. Hughes SJ spent five days in April on the Isle of Cumbrae, on the Ayrshire coast, Scotland giving a retreat to a group of the 14 bishops of the Swedish Lutheran Church, together with their two chaplains. They regularly make their annual retreat together, and this one was in silence with two half-hour talks per day. They said they appreciated the silence, the wonderful views from the top of the island towards Arran, Bute, and to the mountains North of the Firth of Clyde, and they felt at home in the cold, bracing winds. They also showed enthusiasm for the Ignatian approach, especially on the final evening of the retreat when they evaluated their experience. In their evaluation, the bishops emphasised the importance of encouraging their people to pray, to foster the ministry of lay person to lay person, and they endorsed the work of the Ecumenical Ignatian Association, recently founded in Sweden.
When Fr Jack Mahoney recently visited Gresham College in London to take part in the launch of his latest book, he found himself addressing a virtual audience of millions. Jack’s book, The Challenge of Human Rights Origin, Developments and Significance, has been published in both hard cover and paperback editions. The book launch to promote it, hosted by Gresham College and publisher, Blackwell’s of Oxford, included a lecture on human rights which Jack delivered based on the contents of his book. The occasion was recorded, and the lecture is now publicly available for downloading in both audio and video versions from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk
Thirty-four boys and nine members of staff from St Ignatius College, Enfield spent much of Holy Week on a pilgrimage to northern Spain, visiting the places so special in the life of their patron. The highlight of their pilgrimage was on the Tuesday, when their visit to Aranzazu and Azpeitia culminated in a guided tour of the magnificent Basilica of Ignatius and the saint’s house in Loyola itself. Special permission was granted for Fr John Moffatt SJ, the College’s Chaplain, to celebrate Mass in the Chapel of Conversion – the very room in which Ignatius realised his vocation.
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PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS
PUBLICATIONS AND EVENTS
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SALVE REGINA
is a newly published collection of reflections on the Rosary and other prayers, with illustrations from the Collections at Stonyhurst College. In his introduction to the book, Chaplain John Twist SJ says he hopes the publication will enable men and women today to gain insight and depth in saying the Rosary, in which generations have found ‘genuine comfort and meaning’. ISBN: 978-0-9553592-1-7, £12.99, Published by St Omers Press www.stomerspress.co.uk Illustrations—Mary and the Apostles at Pentecost and Virgin in Prayer—come from MS 45, Preces Variae, Stonyhurst Collection.
RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION Rome-based British Jesuit, Norman Tanner, has contributed three articles to a lavishly illustrated new history textbook for secondary schools. Renaissance and Reformation has been published in five volumes in both the US and the UK by Marshall Cavendish. Norman, who is Professor of Church History at the Gregorian University, wrote the articles on the Council of Florence, Religious Orders and the Council of Trent. Renaissance and Reformation covers the period from 1300 to 1700, with special emphasis on the political and social changes in Europe between 1350 and 1650. ISBN: 0761476504 Edited by James A. Patrick Published by Marshall Cavendish
SACRED MOMENTS FOR EVERY DAY a Perpetual Calendar for Your Spiritual Journey. Published by the Jesuits of Upper Canada, Sacred Moments for Every Day contains beautiful illustrations and photos and inspiring texts by Jesuits and others for each day of the year, every year! £10 each + postage (UK £2.50; EU £5.50; International £10). To order yours, contact the Curia, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH.
Jesuits & Friends Summer 2007 www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk
FIRST ECUMENICAL EUROPEAN RETREAT AT LOYOLA The first ecumenical, European, individuallygiven retreat to be held in Loyola — birthplace of the founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius — will take place this summer. Lasting for ten days from August 16, the retreat will be open to anyone who is seeking to ‘discover’ him or her self and will be based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. The official language of the retreat will be English, but there will also be individual accompaniment in Finnish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish. Apart from the first and last days, there will be no talks to the whole group. The other days will be spent in silence, although there will be a daily session with the participants’ retreat-givers, whose function will be to help retreatants discover themselves, rather than advise or instruct them. The ecumenical, European, individually given retreat at Loyola in Spain will take place from 16—25 August 2007. The cost is £360/€540, and application forms can be obtained from the Loyola Retreat Secretary, Jesuit Residence, 28 Lauriston Street, Edinburgh EH3 9DJ Email: gwhughes@lauriston.org.uk, or phone 0131 477 5784.
DEATHS & OBITUARIES
Fr John Lang SJ
Brother Hugh Carney SJ
Father Jan (Johnnie) Lang was a member of the Bohemia Province, having been born in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1919. After school in Velehrad and Prague, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1938, studying Philosophy and Theology in Czechoslovakia before being imprisoned in Theresienstadt Prison Camp in the last months of the Second World War. After the war, he resumed his theological studies at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire and served his tertianship at St Beuno’s in north Wales, where he was ordained in 1947. From 1949, Johnnie served as Chaplain to the Czech community in London, first at Southwell House and then at Mount Street, a ministry that continued to the late 1990s. In 1991, he was awarded the Order of Thomas Masaryk by the Czech President. This award was named after the country’s first president, who was also a sociologist and philosopher. Fr John Lang died at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, on 21 March 2007.
Hugh Carney was born on 17 September 1916 in Ashton-under-Lyne, and worked as a lorry driver before entering the Society of Jesus as a novice brother in 1952. During the 1950s, he was assistant refectorian and cook at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire, then cook at Mount Street from 1962 to 1965. On moving to Edinburgh, he was both Sacristan at Sacred Heart Church and subsequently assistant cook at Woodhall House. After two years at St Ignatius College (1968-70), Hugh assumed duties at St Beuno's - as Sacristan, assistant cook and finally refectorian, which he continued until 2004. Hugh Carney died at Denbigh Infirmary in North Wales on 10 May 2007.
May he rest in peace.
May he rest in peace.
Please pray for those who have died recently Fr John Lang SJ Brother Hugh Carney SJ Fr Ronald Anderson SJ Mr D. Grumitt – Brother of Fr John Grumitt SJ Mr Joseph Abraham - Grandfather of Medino Abraham SJ, Guyana Scholastic studying in Brazil Mrs Esnat Mukonori - Mother of Fr Fidelis Mukonori SJ, Provincial of Zimbabwe Mrs Mollin Gwatidzo Nee Mukonori - Sister of Fr Fidelis Mukonori SJ Mrs Lucia Widyarsono, Mother of Antonius Widyarsono SJ
Mr G. Walker Dr B J Armitage Mrs B. Adnitt Miss Adele Stewart Mr T. P. Mullins Mr G. H. Wilding Mr W. Allan Mr Richard Badham Mr Brian Burgess Sister Elizabeth Lye SMR Sister Theresa Clements Mrs Magdalen Joan Davenport
May they rest in peace.
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How Can I
Get Involved?
XAVIER VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME
JESUIT VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY
LONDON JESUIT VOLUNTEERING
CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITIES
XVP is the overseas voluntary service agency of the British Jesuits. XVP works with Jesuits and other Catholic missionary and development workers in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. XVP volunteers raise their own funds and live out the Jesuit motto, “men and women for others”.
JVC is for people ages 17 – 35 who volunteer for a period of time (from three weeks to a year) of UK based community living with a simple lifestyle, voluntary work and Ignatian Spirituality.
London Jesuit Volunteers places busy adults of all ages in direct service for a few hours a week with those who are materially poor, vulnerable and marginalized in our society, integrating action with reflection.
CLC are small groups of people who meet regularly to help each other deepen their life of prayer. CLC’s special characteristic is Ignatian Spirituality, helping members integrate prayer and action in daily life.
CONTACT Hania Lubienska Jesuit Missions 11 Edge Hill London SW19 4LR
CONTACT The Programme Manager 23 New Mount Manchester M4 4DE
CONTACT Lisa Directo Davis Mount Street Jesuit Centre 114 Mount Street London W1K 3AH
CONTACT St Joseph’s, Watford Way Hendon London NW4 4TY
T: + 44(0)20 8946 0466 E: hania@jesuitmissions.org.uk W: www.xvp.org.uk
T: + 44(0) 161 832 6888 E: staff@jvc.u-net.com W: www.jesuitvounteers-uk.org
T: +44 (0) 20 7495 1673 E: lisa@mountstreet.info W: www.msjc.org.uk/ljv.htm
JESUIT VOCATIONS Britain Fr Matthew Power SJ Loyola Hall, Warrington Road Prescot L35 6NZ T: + 44 (0) 151 4264137 E: matthew.power@jesuits.net
T: + 44 020 7511 6331 E: clcew@iname.com W: www.clcew.org.uk
If you would like more information about life as a priest or brother in the Society of Jesus, please contact:
South Africa Vocations Director 493 Marshall St, Belgravia Johannesburg 2094 T: + 27 (0) 11 614 5539 E: webmaster@sj.org.za
Guyana Fr Joachim d’Melo SJ Jesuit Residence PO Box 10720 Georgetown T: +592 22 67461 E: sjgum@networksgy.com
Don’t forget to pray for vocatio ns... Dearest Jesus, Teach me to be generous, To serve You as You deserve, To give and not to count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for res t, To labour and to ask for no reward Save that of knowing that I do Your holy will. Amen (St Ignatius Loyola)
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www.jesuitmissions.org.uk
YOUR GIFTS in response to any appeals, or for any of our Missions overseas, should be sent to JESUIT MISSIONS, which is the central mission office. Please make all cheques and postal orders payable to Jesuit Missions.
A BEQUEST We would be delighted if you remember Jesuit Missions or the appeals mentioned here in your Will. We shall be happy to send you details of the official wording.
GIFT AID For every pound you donate we can reclaim 28p, thanks to the government scheme. If you need further details contact the Jesuit Missions office.
All Benefactors are remembered in the Masses and prayers of every Jesuit in our Province.
Your donations for the Jesuits’ work in Guyana are always appreciated, as we work in a broad range of apostolates (see page 4)
For the work being done at Arrupe College in Zimbabwe, educating students from all over Africa, and preparing them for their ministries in the Church (see page 8)
To support the Jesuit Refugee Service in Uganda, as It is not too late to sponsor the runners who took part refugees prepare to return to their homes in Sudan in the London Marathon! All donations are gratefully (see page 12) received (see page 14) Back cover photo: Children at play in Musami, Zimbabwe
www.jesuitmissions.org.uk
The JESUIT DEVELOPMENT FUND helps to establish and maintain churches, schools, retreat centres and apostolic works of all kinds at home and overseas. At present the trustees are assisting the development of our work in South Africa, and providing nursing care and attention for the elderly Jesuits of the Province.
The JESUIT SEMINARY ASSOCIATION helps to defray the expensive cost of training Jesuit priests and brothers.
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March 2007 Wolf Z Schmidt SJ
Prayer for Zimbabwe Set upon, beaten and mocked: the Christ of yesterday; hit by slaps and rods in the yard of the sanhedrin; yet: innocent and unarmed
Beaten and mocked today: those who dare to speak up against the oppressor and in plain view of us all are attacked in the streets with iron rods and with police batons, innocent and unarmed.
Guilty alone, with blood-stained hands those who beat you; not realising that you were their brother; they tore into their own hearts only.
God, will their blood cry out to heaven? Cain, stopping your ears will not help; you sowed wind of blood; and what will you reap, in turn?