Jesuits and Friends Winter 2012

Jesuits and Friends A faith that does justice A faith that does justice

Winter Issue 83 Winter 2012 2012 Issue 8379 Summer 2011 Issue

Hope for an AIDS-free generation

PL EA gr A SE

at ll TA ef d K ul on E ly a A re tio C n ce s OP iv Y ed

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Jesuits and Friends is published three times a year by the British Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), in association with Jesuit Missions.

Dushan Croos SJ Editor Ged Clapson Associate Editor Editorial group: Denis Blackledge SJ Annabel Clarkson Richard Greenwood Jane Hellings Andrea Kelly Jonathan Parr James Potter Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ Graphic Design:

Ian Curtis www.firstsightgraphics.com Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing Company www.magprint.co.uk To protect our environment, papers 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 Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.

Editorial office: 11 Edge Hill London SW19 4LR Tel: 020 8946 0466 Email: info@gbjm.org

COVER PHOTO: Fr Matsepane Morare SJ with members of the parish team at St Mary’s Nyanga Parish in Cape Town after a day of bringing people together to celebrate life. Fr Matsepane refereed football matches involving boys, girls and adults – including a women’s match. Read more about his work among people living with HIV/AIDS on pages 4 and 5.

Photo credit: AJAN

From the Editor...

When Blessed Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council 50 years ago, it was an invitation to see the world and ourselves differently in the light of God’s astonishing love for us. In considering the Church in the Modern World, the Council spoke of “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age” (Gaudium et Spes). And in a similar way, Jesuits and Friends invites us to look at the world in the light of our faith in the risen Christ, by highlighting initiatives of the Society of Jesus and laity from around the world, echoing the words of St Ignatius when he asked his followers to reflect on “What have I done for Christ, What am I doing for Christ, What will I do for Christ?”

The challenges faced by refugees – especially in Africa – and the effect of HIV and AIDS in the Continent undoubtedly represent some of the enormous “griefs” and “anxieties” to which the encyclical referred. But, as this edition highlights, there are also great signs of hope – as we read of the way people are responding to the needs they witness around them. This is particularly true with organisations like the African Jesuit AIDS Network, whose emphasis now has shifted from care for the dying to supporting self-help groups, helping people to generate their own income and caring for orphans. Further signs of hope can be

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seen in the field of education, with the birth and growth of a Catholic University in South Sudan after 40 years of war and the fundraising efforts of teachers and parents for their primary school in Zimbabwe.

The work of the Jesuits and their coworkers in Britain too continues to be diverse and challenging, as the staff of Loyola Hall take the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius to groups in China, Latvia and the Middle East. And, closer to home, the British Province is also responding to the needs of young adults through its work in the Catholic Chaplaincy of Manchester’s Universities.

This is the world into which Jesus was born.

Though it is a world of fear and anxiety for many, it is also a world in which his life-giving message continues to offer hope and joy. I hope that each of these articles helps you to see, in the light of God’s love, the beautiful though wounded world into which the Son chose to be born, so that he might bind up its wounds and shelter it in his Father’s inn.

God bless you and your families

Fr Dushan Croos SJ

Winter 2012 Issue 83

Discerning Local Vocations in South Africa Russell Pollitt SJ 3

Manchester Chaplaincy looks to the future Tim Byron

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Hope for an AIDS-free generation Danielle Vella

The Centre for Eastern Christianity: Breathing from both lungs Anthony O’Mahony

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Keeping one foot in the air Ruth Holgate at Loyola Hall

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Praying with St Ignatius in South Africa Annemarie Paulin-Campbell South Sudan’s graduates celebrate Ged Clapson and Michael Schultheis SJ We walked 200km to help build our primary school library!

Timothy Zhou

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8 The Apostleship of Prayer: the Pope's prayer themes for the coming months Chris Chatteris SJ 18 9 Around the Province

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Recent Publications

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St Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst … “One big family” Lawrence Crouch 12

Obituaries and recently deceased benefactors

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Holy Name University Church - the first 140 years Michael Flannery SJ and Ged Clapson 14

How you can support the Jesuits' work at home 23 and overseas

A faith sustained and inspired Isabel Olizar

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Discerning Local Vocations in South Africa rom Russell Pollitt SJ, parish priest of Holy Trinity parish in Braamfontein, Johannesburg and, until recently, Vocations Promoter for the South Africa Region.

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In recent years there has been a boom in religious and priestly vocations in Africa and Asia. Seminaries in Nigeria, for example, are often oversubscribed and many dioceses turn men away every year as they do not have places for them. Even here in South Africa, the diocesan seminary will have a space problem in 2013, although many young people who are in formation for religious life here are from other African countries.

In common with many religious orders, the Society of Jesus in South Africa is struggling to get local vocations. It is a rather complex issue to understand; but rapid secularisation and the growth of economic opportunities in the country certainly seem to help explain why. The Church played a huge role in fighting apartheid in South Africa. In some ways it was "centre stage". In the new environment, the Church has been relegated to the margins; its voice is

less powerful and its profile is lower. Some of the negative press that the Church has got in recent years, especially around issues like homosexuality and HIV may also play a part in creating a negative perception of the Catholic Church in SA (although the Church is one of the biggest providers of care for people living with HIV and those affected by it).

Life as a priest or religious in poor countries has often been seen as a way out of a life of poverty. To enter religious life or the priesthood, unlike in many western countries, is a sign of "upward mobility" and not "downward mobility". It allows people access to the basics and, of course, education. Hence the quality of candidates can sometimes be a real question and anyone attempting to discern a vocation needs to think and pray very hard about their motivation.

Race has also been a complicating factor in South Africa.

For many black people, entering religious life or the seminary has its own challenges because African culture values offspring and family. Yet at the moment, most people who enter priesthood and religious life are black: very few whites seem to have vocations! The Archbishop of Johannesburg has asked, publicly, a number of times: "Doesn't God call whites anymore?" This is another curious question which I am not sure we have quite understood.

The work of attracting vocations and discerning them in SA really means we need good, skilled vocations workers and people who have the necessary skills to help young people discern their future. I wonder how the European and African experiences can complement and assist each other.

Seminarians from various African countries gather in Cape Town.

Credit: David Rowan SJ

Have you or someone you know considered life as a Jesuit priest or brother?

For more information, contact:

BRITAIN – Fr Matthew Power SJ Loyola Hall, Warrington Road, Prescot L35 6NZ Tel: + 44 (0)151 426 4137, matthew.power@jesuits.net

GUYANA – Stefan Garcia SJ Jesuit Residence, PO Box 10720, Georgetown, Guyana Tel: + 592 22 67461, guyjesuits@gmail.com

SOUTH AFRICA – Fr Shaun Carls SJ 8 The Elms, York Road, Rosebank Cape Town, 7700 South Africa Tel: (+27) 021 685 3465 Email: shauncarls64@gmail.com

Or visit www.jesuitvocations.org.uk The JESUIT SEMINARY ASSOCIATION helps to defray the expensive cost of training Jesuit priests and brothers.

To make a donation, please send a cheque made payable to TRCP to 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH, specifying that it is for the Formation Fund. Thank you. www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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Hope for an AIDS-free generation

s the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN) marks its 10th anniversary, Danielle Vella assesses how attitudes have changed over the past decade, meets some of the people who have been involved with AJAN and learns of their hopes for the future.

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"Many people found it very hard to employ me because of the stigma. My children could not play with others in the neighbourhood. They were always chased away. This was such a trying time but I had the responsibility to see my children grow so I had to be strong.”

People in the Ugandan capital of Kampala steered clear of Josephine because she is HIV-positive; her husband died of AIDS, leaving her with three children. With 23.5 million infected people, AIDS is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, but the stigma attached remains pervasive. Add to this the pressure to stay well and to make ends meet and it is hardly surprising that many people living with HIV, especially women struggling to go it alone, find it nearly too much.

"After failing to meet the basics,

feeding the children, paying house rent, covering our medical bills and school fees, I felt so hopeless; all I knew was that death would come next,” recalls Josephine.

Happily, Josephine was proved wrong; she was put on antiretroviral treatment (ART) and referred to the Jesuit Solidarity Fund, which helps poor families in Kampala and Gulu, a town in northern Uganda, to meet their basic and educational needs. The families are usually headed by women or children. Eventually Josephine got better, set up a market stall selling bananas, and managed to send her eldest son to university. She has still more plans: “The story is not over yet. I dream of acquiring a piece of land, where I can build a house, so my children can have a place to call home.”

Some years ago, it would have been unheard of for people living with HIV to dream of a future. When AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981, it was a horrific death sentence. The advent of antiretroviral drugs in the late 80s – not to cure but to contain HIV/AIDS – changed the disease from a fatal to a chronic manageable condition, especially from the mid-nineties when highly effective combinations of the drugs started being used.

It would take years for antiretroviral treatment to be widely

Home-based care (HBC) for people with AIDS in Chikuni Parish, southern Zambia, where sustainable agriculture is one of their many income-generating activities. Here, the HBC team leader, Gregory Haze (right) and nurse Helen Hachipuka visit client Silverio Hachipola (centre) who lost his wife to AIDS. Credit: Darrin Zammit Lupi 4

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available in Africa. When the Jesuit Superiors of Africa and Madagascar (JESAM) set up the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN) in 2002 to coordinate and expand the Jesuit struggle against AIDS, the world still viewed the pandemic in Africa as an emergency.

However, when the roll out of ART began in earnest, the response to AIDS changed accordingly, from care for the dying and funerals to supporting people living with HIV to live as well as possible. Jesuits and their co-workers in parishes, hospitals and other settings throughout Africa can testify to this, as the focus shifted from home-based care for the sick to selfhelp groups, income-generating activities (IGAs) and education for orphans and vulnerable children.

The discourse has changed too. At international level, apocalyptic talk has given way to ringing declarations buoyed by hope. The optimism is not unfounded. Nearly 6.2 million people received ART in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011, a 22% increase compared to a year earlier and up from just 100 000 in 2003. An upbeat mood gripped the International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Washington in mid-2012.

Fr Paterne Mombé SJ, AJAN Coordinator, called it “a conference of hope” and a fellow participant, Fr Désiré Yamuremye SJ from Burundi, agreed: “I took away with me the message: Together, we can make an AIDS-free generation.”

But clouds linger. When Nairobibased AJAN celebrated its 10th anniversary on 21 June 2012, Fr Mombé talked of “gloomy predictions”, namely “a growing international trend of seeming complacency about HIV and AIDS and diminished funding”. Fr Michael Lewis SJ, the JESAM President, also mentioned these two trends as “fresh and difficult” challenges and added: “We are all aware of the disastrous state of the economies of many countries; this of course impacts negatively on the resources of AJAN.” AJAN is not alone; countless AIDS programmes are being told to “do more with less”. What this means in reality is turning new patients away from clinics and cutting back on desperately needed prevention services; this at a time when there are still eight million people in low and middle-income countries without the ART they need to survive.

It is not only about ART: African people living with HIV are usually expected to shoulder the costs of tests to monitor their treatment and of medication for opportunistic infections linked to HIV/AIDS. They must pay their transport to reach the clinic, to say nothing of eating well – vital if you are on ART. For many, these essential costs are simply unaffordable, so Jesuit AIDS projects sometimes pay medical prescriptions and supply food packages.

Although the needs remain urgent and widespread, funds are declining. “This decade will see us having to stand much more on our own two feet and finding more sustainable and self-reliant methods of keeping the works of AJAN moving along,” continued Fr Lewis.

Sustainability and self-reliance: the buzzwords of the current AIDS response, not only for the actual programmes but also for the people we serve. The vision of AJAN is Empowered individuals, families and communities working toward an HIV and AIDS-free society and fullness of life. Key to this vision is ensuring

Fr Jacques Fédry SJ with members of ASVS (Association of Solidarity, Life and Health) which takes responsibility for the education of 73 AIDS orphans in Burkina Faso. Credit: AJAN

that, as much as possible, people living with HIV are able to look after themselves and their families, to live in dignity, not dependency. IGAs are increasing, along with training, micro-credit, supervision, cooperatives and other elements to ensure feasibility.

Maimouna, a widow from Burkina Faso, is one of many who have benefited. She belongs to the Association for Solidarity, Life and Health, which was co-founded by the late Fr Jean-Luc Masson SJ and is supported by the Jesuits. “The help given to me is enormous and has brought me consolation because I can meet my needs,” she says.

“Thanks to the association’s microcredit system, I sell soap and earn something, which keeps my family from destitution.”

Another buzzword these days is “mainstreaming” – integrating the AIDS response in other areas of development and justice. This makes sense because fighting AIDS in Africa essentially means taking on the injustices and socio-economic ills that feed and are fed by the disease: poverty, gender inequality, some cultural and religious beliefs, conflict, stigma, lack of infrastructures, and many others.

Like the tip of an iceberg, AIDS signals deeper challenges: take the way it has highlighted the need for universal access to health care.

Jesuits see this all the time in their work. Fr Matsepane Morare SJ, until recently parish priest of St Mary’s Nyanga Parish in Cape Town, says: “We need to help young people make the right choices. If it was simply a question of teaching young people abstinence before marriage, our burden would have been light. But it is not enough to teach a young girl to say NO when she must make a choice between a relationship that promises survival, and going hungry and even homeless if she says NO.” Apart from encouraging more mainstreaming of AIDS-related issues in Jesuit works, AJAN is determined to maintain the momentum of its first 10 years of operations, pressing ahead with selfreliance, care and support, prevention and education. There will be a strong focus on advocacy, to remind the international community that AIDS is still a matter of life or death for millions of people in Africa.

They can make it, yes, but not alone.

Josephine summed it up when she told us about her dream home: “With improved health and support, I hope I will make it.”

Read the memoirs of Social Pioneer and AIDS activist in Zimbabwe, Fr Ted Rogers SJ. See page 21 for details.

www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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Praying with St Ignatius in South Africa U

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ntil about ten years ago, there was almost no training in Spiritual Direction being offered in Africa. The approach to Spiritual Direction in South Africa was strongly shaped by approaches from the UK, Canada and the United States and anyone who wished to study Spiritual Direction went overseas to study at places such as Guelph in Ontario; St Beuno’s in North Wales; and Spokane in the United States. But that is starting to change: now the Jesuit Institute-South Africa is seeking to develop and explore new ways of doing Spiritual Direction which may be more helpful in the African context.

As Annemarie Paulin-Campbell explains …

Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell at work in South Africa.

A conference on Spiritual Direction in the African context took place in Johannesburg earlier this year, hosted jointly by the Jesuit InstituteSouth Africa and St Augustine College, the local Catholic University. Its purpose was to initiate an exchange of ideas amongst spiritual directors in English-speaking African countries; and several aspects of Spiritual Direction were identified as being particularly important.

The first was the indigenous African approach to spirituality, which emphasises the connectedness of everything, seeing all of life and creation as intrinsically interconnected and interrelated.

A holistic approach is needed, as every aspect of the person’s life is seen as one whole. There is a profound recognition of the importance of handing on wisdom to the next generation and older people are seen as wise by virtue of their life experience.

Another significant aspect is the importance of narrative and the sharing of one’s story. In the South African context, people coming out of the experience of apartheid have often been denied their stories. A culture of suspicion in which people did not know who they could trust meant that stories were suppressed. Providing a safe place where these stories can be told and prayerfully received is key to healing negative images of God and self, and part of the gift of Spiritual Direction, whether in an individual or group context.

Hospitality is yet another fundamental idea which is intrinsic to most African cultures. In the Kiswahili language, for example, there is no translation for the word “stranger” but only “visitor.” In African cultures, the group or community is extremely important.

The word “Ubuntu” expresses a core value which is that “a person is a person through other people.” When

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evolving approaches to Spiritual Direction in Africa, we need to take account of this and provide group contexts as well as individual contexts.

One of the most important issues to address is that of expectations.

What is a person expecting and wanting when he or she comes for Spiritual Direction? When we offer Spiritual Direction that focuses on the development of the individual’s relationship with God, are we imposing a model that does not take real account of the insertion of the person in a very communal reality?

Other cultural issues we need to take into account include the fact that people tend to seek out an “elder” or wise person as and when they need help with a particular struggle or key decision, rather than in an on-going way.

Bearing these kinds of issues in mind, we are starting to explore a variety of modes of spiritual accompaniment.

Seeking the wisdom of 'elders' through spiritual conversations.

One of these modes is that of “spiritual conversation”. Very often, black South Africans coming from rural or township backgrounds will look for a wise person or ‘an elder’ to talk to when they are in some kind of difficulty or when they have an important decision to make. They would want to be able to tell their story uninterrupted and then to receive some word of wisdom or instruction. Very often an appropriate ritual would be suggested which might bring healing, reconciliation or resolution. Spiritual Direction offered in a similar frame as “spiritual conversation” might be more helpful and culturally resonant. The directee would come only when they felt a need and would be able to share their experience and receive some guidance. The time might end with a blessing or with being sent to perform an appropriate ritual.

Because the group is extremely important in African culture, group modes of Spiritual Direction which acknowledge the central importance of community also need to be

developed. One of these proposed group modes is called “Legotla individual focus” which is discernment with and for an individual by a group of “elders”.

Traditionally a “legotla” (a Sotho word) is a gathering of elders to discuss an important issue or decision. Similarly, a person facing a decision may find it helpful to engage in a process of Spiritual Direction which allows for the input of wise people in the person’s life from their family or community in a process of discernment facilitated by the spiritual director.

We still need to evolve ways of doing Spiritual Direction which resonate with the experience of people here and not simply adopt or impose models which have been developed in other parts of the world. This is an extremely complex and challenging task, as there is no single African culture and African cultures are constantly changing. We are asking ourselves how insights and values from an African perspective can enrich our approach to Spiritual

Direction and how some of the insights and values from a Western/Northern perspective may be of value to a person coming from an African perspective.

Ignatius encouraged us to adapt and apply the Spiritual Exercises.

We need to try different approaches; to see what proves helpful; and to keep the conversation going among those engaged in this ministry in Africa and beyond.

Photos: Jesuit Institute - South Africa

Dr Annemarie Paulin-Campbell has studied and worked in the area of Christian Spirituality for the past 15 years doing Spiritual Direction and retreat work, and training spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition.

Some of the ideas described in this article will be explored in more detail with some papers from the Conference to be published in a special edition of The Way next year.

www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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After 40 years of war, South Sudan’s graduates celebrate t was back in 2007 that the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference decided to establish a Catholic University as a national institution, with branches or faculties in both North and South Sudan. In September the following year, 50 pioneer students and a team of staff inaugurated the institution. The Republic of South Sudan won independence in 2011 after four decades of war; and last May, there was another reason for celebration, as 25 of the Catholic University’s pioneer students graduated with degrees in Economics and Business Administration.

The vision for the University began back in the 1970s, when politicians and representatives of the Catholic Church set out their hopes for the future of the young people of Sudan.

They included American Jesuit, Fr Michael Schultheis SJ, who had been Professor of Economics at Makerere University in Uganda and at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Fr Schultheis went on to be the Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Africa and, in this capacity, he witnessed thousands of Sudanese fleeing the violence in South Sudan.

This led him to ask – with others – ‘What will their future be?’ Part of the answer lay in education for the youth; and he was involved in establishing Catholic Universities in Mozambique, Ghana and most recently, South

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Students perform a traditional dance as part of the celebration on the occasion of the pioneer graduation event.

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The pioneer graduates.

Sudan, where he is now the University’s Vice-Chancellor.

During Sudan’s 40 years of war, it was the Catholic Church – the dioceses and parishes of the local Church and other organisations like the Comboni Missionaries, Catholic Relief Services, SCIAF, CAFOD and the Jesuit Refugee Service – that remained with and supported the Sudanese people through their suffering and encouraged them not to lose hope. The Church played a pivotal role in the New Sudan Council of Churches which advocated a sustainable peace process and paved the way for the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, while individual churches worked to end tribal conflicts.

The graduations at the Catholic University of South Sudan last May represented the realisation of hopes and dreams of generations of Sudanese – including the many who lost their lives during the conflict. The graduates were represented by student valedictorian Jacob Adut Mabor, who recalled “the hurdles and challenges of the past four years”, before thanking the teaching and other staff at the University for their

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Photos: Fr Michael Schultheis SJ

support during this period. The Acting and Deputy Governor of Central Equatorial State, the Honorable Manase Lomole Waya, described the occasion as “the first graduation in the young republic of South Sudan” and urged the students “to be a lamp for others … to set standards and to establish records”. He told them not to hang their degrees upon the wall but instead “to be prepared to be leaders, to be stewards of resources”.

“These few words of wisdom and congratulations cannot capture the four years that have passed nor can they unfold the far future that lies ahead,” says Fr Schultheis. “In fact, the baby is born ... and with proper nurturing, it promises to be a significant contribution to the Church and the new country of South Sudan, in forming lay people who are competent and committed and have a sense of the social ministry of the Church.”

By Ged Clapson – from an original report by Fr Michael Schultheis SJ

To support the work of Jesuit Missions in Africa, send your contributions to Jesuit Missions (details on page 23); and for additional information about the Catholic University of South Sudan, email mschultheis@nwjesuits.org

We walked 200km to help build our primary school library!

By Timothy Zhou in Makonde, Zimbabwe

e decided that it was vital our children have a library. The pupils are bright and too many are missing out owing to an absence of books. We needed to be proactive for the future of our children.

The Parents and Teachers Association at St Rupert Mayer Primary School in Makonde, Zimbabwe, of which I am a member, was determined to do something to ensure a future for our children, so we rallied together to arrange a sponsored 124 mile (200km) walk to raise much needed funds to build a library.

St Rupert’s is located in a very remote and dry area to the north west of the capital, Harare, where resources and infrastructure are limited. But that didn’t stop plans being put in place to enable this walk.

From 10 to 17 August 2012, the 40 participants, which included

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teachers, pupils and nurses, walked from the school via Chinhoyi, Banket and several other primary schools to St George’s College, which is also a Jesuit school, based in Harare.

We really wanted to do something proactive. It was also important and a fitting occasion to mark the 50th anniversary of the school and to show that we continue to have aspirations for the future.

The walk brought together St Rupert Mayer Primary and St George’s College in a show of solidarity and mutual assistance which extended far beyond just the financial. We are grateful to the

pupils and staff of St George’s who not only gave generous financial support but also welcomed us into their school. I would like to thank them and all those that supported us during this special week.

The team from St Rupert Mayer raised $3,000 (approx. £1,900) and received donations of cement and timber to start work on their school library.

The Jesuit Delegate for Education in Zimbabwe, Fr Joe Arimoso SJ, joined the group on their last evening and encouraged the parents and teachers to make the most of this opportunity by urging children to start reading from a young age.

If you would like to support the schools in Zimbabwe, you can find out how on page 23 or visit www.gbjm.org/companionsprogramme/ to find out about JM’s work building relationships between schools.

www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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A faith sustained and inspired n August 2011, Isabel Olizar set out with several thousand other pilgrims from Loyola, where she had spent several days at the birthplace of St Ignatius. The occasion was part of MAGIS – a pastoral experience organized by the Society of Jesus and other Ignatian organisations for the days leading up to World Youth Day. As Isabel explains, the theme for their reflection that day – ‘leave your land’ – was not only inspiring but also profound …

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For me, leaving Loyola did indeed feel like leaving home, in part because of the peace and joy I had experienced there, but also because being in Loyola had been an important stage in a journey exploring my faith, a time of finding a home in the Church. Much of this journey over the last few years has taken place within spaces provided by, and with the support of, the Jesuits in Britain.

An important aspect for me has

been studying at Heythrop College.

In 2007, I started a part-time MA in Christianity and Interreligious Relations; and in 2010, I became a research student focussing on Catholic-Muslim relations. When I started the MA, I saw it as something interesting to fit into the margins of the rest of life. But over time, my studies have become increasingly important. My studies continuously reveal the richness of Catholic thought and theology and have not

Photos: The two sides of MAGIS - a flashmob dancing after Mass celebrated in front of the basilica by Fr Adolfo Nicolás shows the joy and freedom of the pilgrims in Loyola. The peaceful and reflective side of MAGIS is evident in the field behind the basilica where all the activities took place. Credit: Florian Ploeckl.

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only drawn me further into my research but have also driven a renewed interest in my faith. These positive experiences have been possible because of the staff and ethos of the College. I have always been treated as an individual, encouraged to discern and pursue my interests to the best of my ability, and have found the College a vibrant, inspiring and supportive community.

Commitments My faith has also been nurtured and deepened by my time with London Jesuit Volunteers (LJV), which runs at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre in Mayfair and at the Hurtado Jesuit Centre in Wapping. I stumbled across LJV on the internet when I was looking for opportunities to volunteer in London and was immediately struck by the three commitments it asks volunteers to make: to action, serving marginalised people in London; to contemplation, individually and as part of a group; and to community, both to LJV and to the placement community.

My first placement was at the Ollalo Project, run by the Brothers of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John, which provides accommodation and opportunities to migrants from EU countries who have fallen into homelessness. My second was with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), where I made weekly visits to an immigration removal centre.

Initially the commitment to service seemed the most significant and tangible. But gradually, I have come to appreciate fully each of the three commitments and the way that they reinforce each other. I found reflection and prayer before visits to the removal centre helped me to better accompany the detainee during our time together; and coming together in small groups and as a wider community to reflect on and share our experiences was often inspiring, and allowed us to better understand and learn from our experiences.

Although it was for just a couple of weeks, MAGIS had a profound effect on my faith. Run by the Jesuits with other Religious Institutes based on Ignatian spirituality, MAGIS prepares young people for World Youth Day. The motto of MAGIS was With Christ

• London Jesuit Volunteers – the Mount Street Centre (central London) and the Hurtado Centre (Wapping). With Ignatian reflection at the heart of the LJV service, volunteers work as advocates, mentors and befrienders alongside people in prisons, hospitals, homeless shelters and those sleeping rough, in communities of people with learning disabilities, and with outreach agencies for refugees, asylum seekers and other marginalised people. More details from andrea@mountstreet.info • Also Glasgow Jesuit Volunteers – a group of volunteers working against poverty and alienation in a city which has some of the most deprived and marginalised groups in the United Kingdom. More from: secretary@glasgowjesuitvolunteers.org • Volunteering with JRS-UK can involve corresponding with or visiting a refugee in a detention centre, helping at the Day Centre for destitute asylum seekers, supporting the spiritual companion project or offering time and professional skills in fundraising, communications, IT, social media, research, policy or administration to the office team. The mission is to accompany, serve and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people; and seeks to be infused by the values of Ignatian spirituality. Contact uk@jrs.net or jonathan.jrs@btinternet.com • If you are interested in finding out more about MAG+S 2013 contact Sr Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ at magisuk@fsplus.info

at the Heart of the World; and in Loyola, surrounded by singing and dancing, as well as prayer and reflection, I experienced being with Christ in a way I had neglected, that of faith in Christ as a source of freedom. It was fitting then that the theme of my experience was ‘dreams of liberty’, during which I was part of a group visiting a prison. MAGIS and the friendships and memories it led to, in particular that sense of Christ as a source of liberation, continue to provide inspiration as I try to be with Christ at the heart of the world.

What I value most from these different experiences is that an initial step by me, such as enquiring about studying or volunteering, has been welcomed and encouraged. And as I

have then tried to identify my academic interests, discern how I would like to serve, or explore my faith, I have been guided and supported. Over the last few years I have been impressed by the range and innovation of the work of the Jesuits in Britain. But, through the individuals and organisations I have encountered, particularly through LJV and MAGIS, I have also been made more aware of the diversity and activity of the wider Church to which I now have a strong sense of belonging. I am very grateful for the opportunities the Jesuits have offered me during the formative years of my late twenties.

Isabel has now suspended her studies and her commitment to LJV in order to look after her new baby, Jaka, who was born on 2 August 2012; but she says she is confident that her renewed faith and the foundations that this has been built on will continue to sustain and inspire her.

Indeed, according to Isabel: “Jaka's middle name is Nace, a Slovenian variant of Ignatius. It seemed fitting!”

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St Mary’s Hall, Stonyhurst – “One big family” A school is more than bricks and mortar, even if it has a magnificent building and resources, and is set in idyllic countryside. That is according to Lawrence Crouch, the Headmaster of St Mary’s Hall, the preparatory school of Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. A school is its children and its staff. So while he could write for Jesuits and Friends readers about the school’s academic life, the sport, the drama, the music, the links with St Paul’s Musami in Zimbabwe and much more, he has chosen instead to introduce just a few of the children and staff that make up their global community ...

Mary & Izzy from Lancashire, UK Mary and Izzy are local girls: Mary came because her three brothers came before, so she knew the school quite well. She was still worried until she discovered it was “one big family”. Mary loves pretty much everything at the school. Izzy was so proud when she won a scholarship and she wasn’t worried at all. “The teachers are all like friends; we have so much fun when we learn”. Both girls are on the School Committee and are budding sacristans – they like to be involved in everything.

Kwangu & John from Lusaka, Zambia Kwangu and John came because some of their friends had come before. Kwangu loves it – “for the people and the place”. He likes it because, unlike his last school, it is all inside under one roof and he says it teaches you to be responsible and tidier. John says it’s always cold but “Lancashire is a beautiful place and the hills are majestic”.

Both boys speak about how the school teaches you to get closer to God through the prayers and reflection. In John’s words, “SMH really helps you to understand what sort of person you are supposed to be”. After a pause he added, “It makes you more respectful and tolerant of others – whether you like them or not!”

Jonathan & Ethan from lots of places Albeit British citizens, John and Ethan have lived in Switzerland, Jedda, Canada, Spain, Belgium, France, USA and of course, England. Ethan’s parents looked up “boarding schools” and found Stonyhurst was near some relatives. Jonathan’s father knew about the school because of relatives who came here. Both boys love the sport and maths. Ethan likes the spiritual life, which “makes you a better person”. Jonathan said, “It makes you think less about yourself and more about others”.

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Zak & Harrison from Lagos, Nigeria Harrison followed in the steps of his brother; and his parents knew Zak’s, so Zak came as well. At the prospect of living so far from home, Harrison said he was “happy and scared – about equally!” He wants to become a professional rugby player or footballer. He says the school has taught him to behave and to have good manners, and it gives him confidence. Zak says, “It’s not like my last school – not holy exactly – but faithful”. He loves the 400-year-old history and being a part of that. At other schools, “you wouldn’t see pictures like ours everywhere you walk”. When he goes to bed each night he asks himself, “Have I done the best I can today? And let’s see if the next day I can achieve more.”

Olivia & Summer from Seoul, South Korea Imagine coming all the way from South Korea at the age of 8 and 11 respectively! Summer was certainly nervous but, once she had settled, she loved it here. “I love my friends and the countryside is so much greener than home – but I don’t like the weather!” Olivia has only been here four weeks and so speaks very little English. Yes, she certainly likes it, but when pushed for an answer as to why, she could only say, “I don’t know!” She does like Bwana the dog though.

Pablo & Sofia from Madrid, Spain Pablo and Sofia are brother and sister. The connection with Stonyhurst comes through two sets of parents who work with McDonald’s! Sofia came first and was definitely worried because she had “seen films where children get sent to boarding schools for being naughty!” She loves the school though – especially the outings; and she particularly enjoys art and hockey. Pablo visited the school and wanted to start immediately but mum said he was too young. Both children were selected to represent the school at the Year 6 Jesuit Leadership courses – this year’s was Ignite 2012 at St Aloysius’ College Junior School in Glasgow. They said it taught them to realise that they “could do something important with our lives”. Sofia says SMH teaches you to be kind - even to your brother - with the result that although "we always fight at home we never fight here!"

SP Flanagan & Louis Burke from Lancashire At SMH we employ “gap students”, which is a loose term to describe young people who have left either school or university and are exploring their options. They are vital to our community, since they are the guides and role models for our young boarders. SP and Louis both love it. SP graduated in radio communication but it did not suit him and coming to SMH gave him a sense of purpose. Louis felt it “was a step forward”. But they both felt it was a step into the unknown, “coming in blind” and doing “ridiculous, fantastic things”. “Every day was another 100 pieces of information” to absorb.

SP says, “If you do this you can do anything. I can’t believe anything else will be a challenge. When you’ve spent hours in the night with a sick child, it will be no problem being a parent”. (I didn’t want to contradict him at this point.) “Last week the drama teacher asked us if we wanted to build a spaceship – we both said ‘Yeah!’ before asking ourselves how on earth we were going to manage that”.

Louis said, “My school was a GCSE factory, but this place is about the whole child, the possibilities and the potential – there is something for everybody. Everyone comes away with something. It’s a school that makes men and women for others”.

SP and Louis are pictured on the left with Kwangu and John.

Ignite 2012 was a gathering of children from Jesuit preparatory schools in Britain last September, organised by the Jesuit Institute, at which they were invited to explore together what it means to be part of the Jesuit family. They learned more about each others’ schools – their similarities and differences – and celebrated their diversity and common mission.

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I hope you have enjoyed meeting some of our community. I am sure you will know why I am so proud and honoured to be their Headmaster.”

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Holy Name University Church – the first 140 years n 1866, Bishop William Turner of Salford invited the Jesuits to open a church in Manchester. At that time, the population of the area was growing significantly with the development of industry in the city and the influx of Irish immigrants.

The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus was designed by Joseph A. Hansom & Son and opened in 1871. It is the largest church in Manchester and is now a Grade I listed building.

In 1928, a tower was erected in memory of the church’s famous Rector, Fr Bernard Vaughan SJ. Another priest who served there – Fr Michael Flannery SJ – here recalls some of its history and its association with the city’s Universities …

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For almost 90 years, the Holy Name on Manchester’s Oxford Road was a thriving parish and city church. By the time of the Second World War, the Jesuits were ministering to the students of Manchester University, which had been steadily growing. They established a Catholic Society and eventually, in the 1960s, built a Chaplaincy next to the Church for the Catholic students at the University. In 1969, the church was sandblasted inside and out, and what had been a massive grimy church became once again a cream-coloured place of beauty. The parish priest at the time, Fr Gerard Marsden SJ, was confident that the church still had a big part to play in the life of the city besides being an architectural adornment of it. But by the 1970s, Holy Name Church was facing the depopulation of its parish as the University expanded.

Practically every house in the parish had been demolished and the church stood exposed in the midst of wide open spaces.

Holy Name ceased to be a parish church in 1987; but the building itself still boasted a weekly Mass attendance of 1,200 – largely students. In 1992, the Jesuits decided 14

to leave both church and the University Chaplaincy. On their departure, the Diocese of Salford enlisted the aid of the Oratory of St Philip Neri to administer the church which remained in the ownership of the Society of Jesus. After a four-year period during which Catholic students were served through various chaplaincy facilities across the city, the Catholic Chaplaincy on Oxford Road was re-established in the renamed Avila House – with a priest of the Salford Diocese as its first fulltime resident chaplain. The chapel in the building was utilised on a regular basis, but Holy Name church was available for greater occasions or for one weekly Service, Friday afternoon Benediction in early days, a Sunday evening Mass in later times. However, no diocesan or other funds were available. Financial independence entailed begging.

The University whose founding institutions date from 1824 and 1851 as a regional university is now the largest in the UK with nearly 40,000 students and more than 10,000 staff and boasts more Nobel Prizes than any other British university apart from Oxford and Cambridge. Among its

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alumni are British Jesuit Provincials (past and present) and the current editor of this magazine!

In September 2012, the Bishop of Salford invited the Jesuits to return to run the chaplaincy, with the Holy Name becoming the integrated University church. At the same time, he entrusted the care of St Chad’s, Cheetham Hill to the Oratory of St Philip Neri, thereby securing the future of the Oratorians in Manchester and also securing the long term future of St Chad’s historic church and parish.

Additional reporting by Ged Clapson & Dushan Croos

Since 1992 the Jesuits have retained a presence in Manchester through the Jesuit Volunteer Community, which, since 1987, has provided full-time programmes for young adults who wish to volunteer and live beside some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Britain today. For more information, visit www.jvcbritain.org

Manchester Chaplaincy looks to the future he Jesuits returned to Manchester earlier this year. Fr Tim Byron SJ took on the role of Chaplain to students at the University of Manchester and Holy Name became the University church. Here, he brings us up-to-date with the challenges and opportunities ahead ‌

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The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus still stands proud and loud on Oxford Street in the heart of the city, even though the neighbourhood has dramatically changed. Proud because the church stands clean and gleaming, on those rare moments when the sun penetrates the Manchester rain clouds. Loud because every hour the bells chime and on the Angelus the chimes become a beautiful hymn. Indeed, a few students have told me that the bells can be heard all over campus; it is a nice thought that at the end of neuroscience lectures, drama workshops and lab experiments, the chimes of bells coming from Gilbert Scott’s towers momentarily lift hearts and minds to higher things.

Under the visionary leadership of Fr Ray Matus of the Clifton Diocese, who is soon to found the Manchester Oratory in Cheetham Hill, the Holy Name is in great shape and treasured by locals, believers and non-believers alike.

There is a steady stream of students who come in during the day for a quiet moment; ten minutes in one of the back pews of the church provides a pleasant

The Easter Passion as performed by Manchester Students in Holy Name Church

distraction from the hurly burly of chaplaincy life. It is good to hear the gasps of appreciation and watch necks crane, as eyes open wide in admiration of the sacred space that they have stumbled upon.

The vineyard is certainly ripe for the harvest. With 85,000 students on the doorstep, the wide open spaces of central Manchester have been rebuilt to host the largest conglomeration of undergraduates in Europe. It is clear that we have inherited a Chaplaincy which has huge potential. Situated right in the middle of the action, we are witnessing the transformation of it being a bolt hole for Catholic students, as it becomes a more open meeting place, buzzing with visitors, ideas and debate.

Already impressive are the Faith and Politics group which have a stream of Catholic MPs coming to visit and talk openly about how the two worlds can mix and offer a counter-witness to the supposed marginalisation of faith.

Perhaps more importantly, the embryonic Faith and Science group is developing a voice and a forum where scientists with a strong religious commitment can share ideas, discuss ethical implications of their work, and support each other. As Manchester has a growing reputation as a globally important place for scientific teaching and research, a Catholic presence that is confident rather than defensive would be wonderful. With the relocation of the BBC to Salford’s Media City UK up the road, maybe some of these inspiring young PhD students and more established lecturers and professors could become an important counterbalance to the boorish Richard Dawkins in the national faith / science debate.

It is thrilling to accompany these students; but it is also poignant to see how, in a culture that deifies beauty and youth, there is so much fragility and insecurity. Their dreams and enthusiasm are contagious; but there is a sense that an overly pious and defensive faith does not equip them to fulfil those dreams.

The way that so many of them have already embraced simple tools such as Examen and Imaginative the Contemplation gives me hope that Ignatian Spirituality may flourish here.

The Chaplaincy foyer provides a place for Fr Tim (right) to meet and chat with students and visitors. www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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Breathing from both lungs Anthony O’Mahony considers the role that the Centre for Eastern Christianity at Heythrop College, University of London, plays in nurturing dialogue and understanding between the Churches of the Eastern and Western traditions.

The Eastern and Western churches have been separated for almost a millennium. Their relationship has been a key theme in the modern papacy and the wider Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

When Pope Paul VI met with Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in 1964, he witnessed to the profound importance of Christian unity to the modern papacy. The establishment of a formal ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, whilst it has been difficult at times, continues to witness to the importance of the two traditions to each other.

Pope John Paul II referred to the need for Christianity to breathe from its two lungs - Eastern and Western (Euntes in mundum, Apostolic Letter 1988).

The Centre for Eastern Christianity seeks to create a significant scholarly opening in Eastern Christian Studies, through lectures, seminars and conferences and through high-level publications and strategic research at a university level, both nationally and internationally, for a wide academic and ecclesial audience.

Events organized by the Centre are open to all and details of future events can be found at www.heythrop.ac.uk/research/centre-for-eastern-christianity.html

Eastern Christianity, like Western Christianity, is marked by a plurality of ecclesial cultures which have emerged over a long history. Today, Eastern Christianity expresses itself in three principal ways.

The Eastern Orthodox tradition, associated with the Greek, Russian, Romanian, Georgian and other Slavic countries, shares the Chalcedonian formula of faith with the Western Church. This formula maintains that the Second Person of the Holy Trinity is truly God and truly man, consubstantial with the Father.

The Oriental Orthodox family of Churches includes the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Syriac and Malankara Churches, which are found across the world - in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. Today there are large diaspora communities in the West. Although these Churches do not share the Chalcedonian formulation of faith, their mutual ecumenical dialogue since Vatican II has been astonishingly fruitful and successful, enabling Paul VI and John Paul II to sign common declarations of faith with the patriarchs who lead them.

The Eastern Catholic Churches, whilst they represent only a very small proportion of global Catholicism, are an important expression not just of the complexity but also the sheer creative diversity of the contemporary Catholic Church. Their presence is especially strong in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Heythrop College is the foremost institution in the United Kingdom for Catholic thought and theology, and is hence in a unique position to establish space for nurturing the dialogue and encounter between Eastern and Western Churches. The Centre for Eastern Christianity at Heythrop disseminates awareness and knowledge of the Eastern Christian tradition, the ecumenical engagement between West and East and the significant challenges faced by Eastern Christianity in, for example, the Middle East.

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When Ruth Holgate first arrived at Loyola Hall in Merseyside in 1994, little did she imagine that 18 years later her work would take her to the deserts of the Middle East, the sub-zero temperatures of Latvia or to Beijing, where she has helped to train Chinese priests and religious in the art of Ignatian Spiritual Direction! But – as she reflects here – being ‘on the road with Ignatius’ has meant...

Keeping one foot in the air oyola Hall Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Merseyside has been offering training in formal Ignatian Spiritual Direction and general spiritual accompaniment for over 25 years. The courses were first initiated to meet the increasing need for trained prayer guides for retreats in local parishes.

A few years later, a further course for training spiritual directors was created. Then, as the need for training grew across the UK, these courses became residential and, since about 1996, two courses (level 1 and 2), along with a 30 day retreat have been combined to offer a threemonth programme of formation in Ignatian Spiritual Accompaniment.

The courses at Loyola Hall attract lay people, priests and religious – and not just from the UK. In recent years, we have had participants from India, Thailand, Canada, USA, Malaysia, Ghana, Australia, Cyprus,

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Scandinavia and Holland.

An unexpected and encouraging development has been the number of invitations we have received to take our retreat direction and training not just ‘on the road’ but abroad. Most of these invitations have come from people who have already participated in our training courses and have recognised what might be possible for the Churches in their local area.

There is a great desire in people – wherever they might be – to explore their spirituality and to reflect on the relationship between their faith in God and their day-to-day lives. The participants in these courses and retreats have been varied in culture and denomination – Chinese religious and priests in Beijing, Lutheran pastors and young people in Latvia, and other Lutheran and ecumenical groups in Sweden, Norway and Holland. We have even been asked to send a male member of the team to

Jordan to lead retreats for men in a country where the gender of the retreat director needs to be considered to allow for local sensibilities.

An exciting aspect of training such diverse groups of people is noticing how they each appropriate the experiences of listening and discerning. Together they learn different aspects of the ways of God in the lives of those to whom they are listening, and develop in their own understanding and appreciation of Ignatian Spirituality.

There is a great thirst for spirituality in many parts of our world, and Ignatian insights and methods offer one particular and fruitful way to begin to meet some of those needs.

These developments in our work have been for me particularly challenging, exciting and inspiring. Now I just wonder where next … ?

The Lia Gard retreat house in Norway was an idyllic setting for Loyola Hall staff to provide a course in the Supervision of Spiritual Directors.

Photos: Vron Smith/Stephen Hoyland

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The Apostleship of Prayer: the Pope’s Prayer Themes O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them in particular for those prayer themes recommended by our Holy Father this month …

General

Missionary

December 2012: That migrants throughout the world may be welcomed with generosity and authentic love, especially by Christian communities.

January 2013: That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.

February 2013: That migrant families, especially the mothers, may be supported and accompanied in their difficulties.

March 2013: That respect for nature may grow with the awareness that all creation is God’s work entrusted to human responsibility.

December 2012: That Christ may reveal himself to all humanity with the light that shines forth from Bethlehem and is reflected in the face of his Church.

January 2013: That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

February 2013: People in Conflict. That the peoples at war and in conflict may lead the way in building a peaceful future.

March 2013: That bishops, priests, and deacons may be tireless messengers of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. www.apostleshipofprayer.net

Below, Fr Chris Chatteris SJ, the Apostleship of Prayer Promoter in South Africa, reflects on some of Pope Benedict’s prayer themes for the coming months, starting with those that involve refugees and migrants … few months ago, the Bishops of Zimbabwe wrote a pastoral letter addressed not to Zimbabweans in the country itself but to those outside it – the ‘diaspora’ scattered throughout the world but concentrated mainly in South Africa.

This moving document expresses the bishops’ concern for those who have left their homes in an often desperate search for some way of supporting their struggling families.

The bishops express their understanding of why they have left and also the hope that one day they will be able to return home.

To get into South Africa many risk crossing the border illegally by wading through the crocodile-infested Limpopo River. Once they have arrived, their problems have only just begun: they then have to run the gauntlet of some of the more ruthless of South Africa’s criminals who lie in wait for the immigrants and then rape, rob and even kill them with seeming impunity.

Even if they manage to find a job and somewhere to stay, the immigrants’ troubles are not necessarily at an end.

There have been sporadic outbreaks of xenophobic violence against immigrants over the past few years and they have been attacked and killed, being regarded as competitors for

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scarce employment. In one case a migrant was burned to death.

We pray for organizations who serve refugees and economic migrants. We also pray for governments which set policy on immigration and for the governments of countries which cause their citizens to emigrate, remembering what Jesus himself said: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’ hristians and Jews are often put on the back foot on the issue of the environment because of Genesis 1:28, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it ..."

It reminds us that, whether we like it or not, we are the most powerful species on the planet and in fact we do dominate it simply because, unlike other species, we are capable of developing nature-altering technology.

The power that this gives us involves a responsibility that falls on us all but particularly the technologically advanced nations, whose impact is already blighting the lives of millions of people in the developing world, particularly in Africa. The recent drought-induced spikes in food prices, almost certainly exacerbated by human-induced climate change, are a current case in point.

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When there is a drought in the USA, ironically this does not cause hunger in the USA, because Americans only have to spend a fraction of their income on food. In Africa, however, many people spend the bulk of their income on it. So when it goes up in price, this affects their expenditure on things like health-care and education. Meanwhile, Western countries go blithely ahead with biofuel production, effectively turning food into petrol, driving up the price of corn, which is a staple in much of Africa.

If we don't, in this century, finally learn the lesson of the necessity of being stewards of nature, we run the risk of serious ecological collapse.

This could trigger a collapse of the human population, which could well begin with the poorest and most vulnerable of Africa. The recent American drought, which has driven up the price of maize everywhere and made hungry people even hungrier, is an example of what might lie ahead.

In response to the Pope’s call that respect for nature may grow with the awareness that all creation is God’s work entrusted to human responsibility (March 2013 Intention), we pray for wisdom, the spirit of sharing and for the humility to recognise that some ‘developments’ (like biofuels) have led us up tragic blind alleys and must be curtailed.

Vatican II: The Essential Texts he 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council is providing the opportunity for many to return to the source materials from this historic event in the life of the Catholic Church.

Edited by British Jesuit Fr Norman Tanner SJ, Professor of Church History at the Gregorian University in Rome, Vatican II: The Essential Texts brings together the key documents of the Council, with a view to helping readers to understand the development of the Church's positions on • its relationship with the secular world and other religions, • the role of lay people, • human rights and the common good, • the liturgy, • and issues that are still highly relevant.

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The Council's impact on the Church is still playing out today, and with many current Church issues finding their roots in differing interpretations of Vatican II, this new volume will provide a valuable insight to understanding its significance. In addition to the introductions from Pope Benedict and James Carroll, the documents are also accompanied by brief historical prefaces from Professor Edward Hahnenberg, Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University, Cincinnati.

Vatican II: The Essential Texts is published by Image Books, ISBN 978-0-307-95280-6. Price £10.

A Midlife Journey r Gerald O’Collins SJ is one of the best-known theologians and spiritual writers in the Englishspeaking world. He has written or co-authored some 60 books, has lectured and taught in England, Ireland, the United States and his native Australia, as well as for many years at the Gregorian University in Rome.

His latest book – A Midlife Journey –provides a fascinating insight into one of the most momentous decades of the Church’s history. It is set against the background of the events that swept the world, from the death of President Kennedy to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and of the spiritual revolution caused by the Second Vatican Council. Writing on the book, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton says: “With remarkable honesty and lucidity, Gerald describes the impact of the Council on his generation of young priests. He pulls no punches as he narrates the challenge to his thinking and

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calling to celibacy. The story could easily have been sanitized.

Thankfully he has not given into that temptation. He has presented a fascinating and detailed autobiography of a fruitful and fulfilled life.”

A Midlife Journey presents a personal counterpoint to turbulent times inside and outside the Catholic Church. The period it covers coincided with all the dramatic events of post-war European reconstruction, the demise of the British Empire, May 1968 in France, the Beatles generation and the revolution in world Christianity that was Vatican II. A Midlife Journey by Gerald O’Collins SJ is published by Gracewing at £15.99; ISBN 978-0-85244-803-8

Ted Rogers - Jesuit, Social Pioneer and AIDS Activist in Zimbabwe he memoir of Jesuit octogenarian Father Ted Rogers has just been published by Cluster Publications of South Africa – the first volume in the series ‘Christian Lives in Africa’. Describing him as a ‘social pioneer and AIDS activist, the book recalls Fr Rogers’ time as a merchant seaman who was torpedoed off the West African coast during the Second World War, as well as his ten years of training to be a Jesuit, before he founded the School of Social Work in Ian Smith’s Rhodesia.

Fr Rogers had noticed the effect urbanisation was having on families moving to cities from rural areas, leading him to introduce the training of social workers in the country. The academic model of training he instituted has since been adopted by other African countries. As a result of working in the field of social work, he was among the early pioneers who noticed the ravaging effects of HIV/AIDS on communities, which has led him to be outspoken about the need to be more open about

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sexuality. He has garnered praise for the peer programmes he helped shape and for working with AIDS clubs in a number of Zimbabwean high schools and he believes secrecy that often surrounded HIV has resulted in stigma around the illness.

Fr Rogers spent 51 years in Zimbabwe and his memoir is an interesting combination of an Out of Africa-type story with aspects of an untold history of Zimbabwe, both under Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe.

Once an admirer of Mugabe, Fr Rogers later became one of his fiercest critics. He is currently a member of the Jesuit community in Boscombe, near Bournemouth.

Ted Rogers: Jesuit, Social Pioneer and AIDS Activist in Zimbabwe, is published by Cluster Publications and is available from Jesuit Missions (see page 23). www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk Winter 2012 Jesuits & Friends

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Around the Province Hospitality through new JRS Scheme Religious communities, families and individuals are being asked to consider inviting a destitute asylumseeker into their homes, as part of the JRS-UK ‘At Home’ scheme. Two communities – one Jesuit and the other of Religious Sisters – took part in a pilot programme earlier this year, lasting two months. Both of them said they found the experience of value to themselves as hosts (one

called it “blessed and life-giving”) and to their guests and intended to do it again. For the guest, the ‘At Home’ scheme provides reliable, safe and comfortable accommodation as well as regular healthy meals.

Significantly, it transmitted an essential message of concern, care and friendship; often after years of destitution, with no access to work or statutory support, hospitality and

friendship can restore confidence and help repair broken self-esteem and dignity. JRS-UK provides ongoing support and guidance for those who volunteer to become hosts, including a comprehensive handbook. More details are available from Jesuit Refugee Service UK on 020 7488 7310 or email uk@jrs.net

A 100th Birthday Gift? Make a Donation to Jesuit Missions!

A special Mass has been celebrated in Zimbabwe to mark Cecily Holden’s 100th birthday and to thank her for a donation of £435.

The money was raised when Cecily asked her family and friends to make a donation to the work of the Jesuits overseas in lieu of presents.

A loyal and regular supporter of Jesuit Missions over many years, Cecily has been a parishioner at St Peter’s Church in Stonyhurst all her

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life and at nearby St Joseph’s Chapel of Ease in Hurst Green, which is served from St Peter’s. With her late husband, Jack, she was awarded the Benemerenti medal for their services to the parish; and in 2010, she was also awarded the Campion Medal for over 50 years’ service as sacristan. The Campion Medal was introduced in 2004 by the British Jesuits as a way of recognising publicly lay co-workers who share

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their ideals and mission.

Edmund O’Donovan at Jesuit Missions says the donation will make a major impact on their work – especially at St Peter's School in Kubatana, Zimbabwe, which is linked with Stonyhurst through the Jesuit Missions Companions programme. For more about this Mission and for details of making a donation, see page 23.

First Vows: a cause for celebration Four Jesuits took their First Vows on 8 September, the Birthday of Our Blessed Lady. Christian Keeley, Mark McDevitt, and Geoff Te Braake from the British Province, and Janis Melnikovs of the Lithaunian/Latvian Province were joined by about 150 friends, family, and fellow-Jesuits at St Mary's Church, Harborne, near the Novitiate in Birmingham. The congregation also included people they had worked with during the novitiate from the parish and the diocese. The British Provincial, Fr Dermot Preston SJ presided at the Mass, and Fr Tom Layden SJ, the Irish Provincial, preached.

The Director of Novices, Fr Paul Nicholson SJ, called the occasion “a cause for celebration”. He said that having worked closely with them over the last two years, each of the men was bringing his own particular gifts and talents, strengths and

weaknesses, to life as a Jesuit. “And he does that, not on the basis of some romantic idealism or wishful thinking, but having lived this way of

life already for 24 months, thought about it, prayed about it, and tried to see as clearly as possible whether it was for him,” said Fr Nicholson.

Headmaster to leave Glasgow College next summer John Stoer has announced that he plans to step down as Headmaster of St Aloysius’ College in Glasgow at the end of the current academic year, after nine years in the post. He was the College’s first lay head since it was founded by the Jesuits 153 years ago.

Mr Stoer took up his post at St Aloysius' College in 2004. Reflecting on his impending retirement, he said: “This post has been, without question, the fulfilment of my professional career and I have developed a great love for it and its community.

“It is a wonderful school to work in and Glasgow is a great city to live in. I am very confident of the future of this school and of its continued success. I am confident because of its pupils and parents, because of its governors and the support of the Society of Jesus, and because of its staff, who are wholly committed to its vision and its mission.”

John Stoer was educated at the Benedictine school at Douai (Berks) and graduated from Bristol University where he studied theology and sociology. He was certified as a teacher at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill (University of London). After he qualified, he served as Deputy Head Teacher at Campion School in Essex, which was founded by the Jesuits, before being appointed as the first lay head of St Joseph’s College in Stoke-on-Trent, a Christian Brothers school.

The Board of Governors of St Aloysius’ College is advertising for his replacement.

Almost 800 years of service!

This autumn, several Jesuits of the British Province and beyond have celebrated their Jubilees.

They included Hugh Ross (75 years in the Society); Gerry W. Hughes and Ronald Hull (70 years); and Patrick Connors, Mark Hackett, Tony Horan, Gerald O'Mahony and Tom Shufflebotham, who all celebrated 60 years in the Society of Jesus.

Chris Dyckhoff, John Twist and David Townsend celebrated 50 Years as Jesuits with Mass at Corpus Christi Church, Boscombe. And in Zimbabwe, George Croft marked 70 years in the Society and Brian Porter celebrated 60 years.

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Deaths and Obituaries Fr Hugh Thwaites SJ

Hugh Stanley Simon Thwaites was born in Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex on 17 July 1917. After his schooling at St Hugh’s School, Bickley, and Malvern College in Worcestershire, he started work with the Mond Nickel Company where he remained until the

outbreak of World War II. His wartime service was spent in the Royal Army Service Corps and the Royal Artillery until he was captured by the Japanese and held as a Prisoner-of-War in Singapore and Siam (Thailand) for three-and-a-half years.

It was while on his way to serve in the Far East that Hugh, who had been raised in the Church of England, was baptised a Catholic. At the end of the war, he applied to and was accepted by the Society of Jesus and undertook philosophy and theology studies at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire.

Following his ordination to the priesthood in 1954, he gave the Spiritual Exercises at Corby Hall in Sunderland, Craighead Retreat House, Bothwell and Manresa College in Roehampton, and also worked as both Vocations Promoter and spiritual director for the Knights of the Blessed Sacrament.

Following a Vocations campaign in Guyana, Hugh became editor of the Missionary Magazine (Jesuit Missions) and was appointed the National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer, with responsibility for The Messenger magazine. In 1968, his association with immigrants and students from overseas began, that lasted for some 22 years, first at Sacred Heart in Wimbledon, then in Tooting Park, Brixton and Catford.

During the 1990s, Hugh worked in various Jesuit parishes in Oxfordshire, London and Glasgow, and supplied at parishes in the Diocese of Wrexham and Sanderstead, Croydon. In 1999, he retired to Bexhill-on-Sea where he lived with the Poor Sisters of Nazareth before moving to Mount Street in London and then to the Corpus Christi Jesuit Community in Boscombe, where he died on 21 August 2012.

Please pray for those who have died recently. May they rest in peace.

Mr Ralph J McGuire Sr Maura Slevin Mrs E Shute Mr John Vaughan Mr Conor Reilly Mr Bill Orchard Mr George Fortune Mr Leo Jacobs Sr Yvonne Searwar OSU Mrs Sandra Brown Miss Mary Delamere Mr Jim McCreanor Mrs Betty Heard Miss G M M Elkins Miss Mildred Nevile MBE Mrs Margaret Hargadon Mrs Shirley Haworth

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Monsignor Thomas Gregory Turner – cousin of Fr Frank Turner SJ Mrs Winifred Mary Leeming – sister of the late Fr Fred Rigby SJ Miss Dorothy Bex – cousin of Fr Tony Bex SJ Lt Thomas – uncle of Fr Edwin Thadheu SJ Lt Rajaprakash Thomas – cousin of Fr Edwin Thadheu SJ Mr Irudayaraj Anthony – uncle of Edwin Anthony Mr Robert Scott – relative of Fr Tom Shufflebotham SJ Fr Walter Farrell SJ Fr Pierre Ceyrac SJ Fr Jim Webb SJ Fr Herrmann Husemann SJ Fr Vincent O'Keefe SJ Fr Bill Donnelly SJ Mr Raphael Gonsalves & Mr Gerald McCarthy – both former Jesuit scholastics

Jesuits & Friends Winter 2012 www.jesuitsandfriends.org.uk

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From a letter written in Goa by St Francis Xavier, 18 September 1542, to the Society of Jesus in Rome. The Feast of St Francis Xavier is 3 December.

Photo: St Francis Xavier’s Church, Liverpool.