ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Fall 2012 • Number 42 After 50 Years: The Living Spirit of Vatican II The Council, Diversity, and Jesuit Education

Diversity in Action • Living Different Faiths • Seven Characteristics of Jesuit Education FALL 2012 NUMBER 42

Members of the National Seminar on ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION Jesuit Higher Education

Lisa Sowle Cahill Boston College After 50 Years: The Living Spirit of Vatican II Harry R. Dammer University of Scranton The Council, Diversity, and Jesuit Education Susanne E. Foster Marquette University

Patrick J. Howell, S.J. Seattle University Features

Steven Mailloux 2 The Council’s Spirit, John W. O’Malley, S.J. Loyola Marymount University 7 The “New” Jesuits, Patrick Howell, S.J. Diana Owen 12 Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue at Vatican II, Diversity in Peter Phan Action 30 Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. Loyola University New Orleans 18 Catholics are “Just Like Everyone Else”? The Council Trialogue: A Three-

Alison Russell and Conviction, Stephen M. Field, S.J. Way Conversation Xavier University 20 Vatican II: Text and Context, Massimo Faggioli of Faith, Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. 24 The Courses were Taught in Latin, Stephen John Switzer America Magazine Rowntree, S.J. Beyond Interfaith William E. Stempsey, S.J. College of the Holy Cross 27 Then and Now, Susan K. Wood Dialogue,

Aparna Venkatesan James P. Buchanan University of San Francisco Reports DREAM and Tears Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. 38 Characteristics of Jesuit Colleges and Universities: at USF, Loyola University New Orleans a Self-evaluation Instrument Sara Pendergast

Conversations is published by the 40 The Exodus of Americans from the Catholic The Mission of National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Church, Chester Gillis Scholarship, Education, which is jointly spon- sored by the Jesuit Conference 42 The Retreat Master is – God! Howard Gray, S.J. John L. Esposito Board and the Board of the 44 Ecumenical, Interreligious and Global. The future Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The opinions stated is Lutheran Buddhist, Michael Reid Trice Forum 34 herein are those of the authors 46 Men and Women for Others across the Disciplines, Living Different and not necessarily those of the JC or the AJCU. Mary Beth Combs Faiths 49 The Heart Feels what the Eyes See, John Savard, S.J. Things My Father Taught Me, Comments and inquiries may be addressed to the editor of Student Pieces Nagarajan Vijaya Conversations 23 How Vatican II Helped the Jesuits Do their Job, Being a “Jewish Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. America House Tyler Flynn Jesuit” 106 W. 56th Street 29 The Very Fabric of our Society, Michael Madrinkian New York, NY, 10019-3596 Rabbi Ruth Langer Phone: 212-515-0142 37 The Future of the Church Lies with Following the Two Voices: Grace e-mail: [email protected] Example Set by the Apostles, Peter Domas Knows No

For information about 55 The Church Has Lost its Way, Christopher Kennedy Boundaries, subscriptions to Conversations: Wilburn T. Stancil Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J. Secretary to the National Seminar Book Reviews on Jesuit Higher Education 51 Katherine H. Adams on Jesuit and Feminist Education: Loyola University New Orleans Talking Back 59 1575 Calhoun Street Intersections in Teaching and Learning for the Twenty- Jesuit Community New Orleans, LA 70118 Phone: 504 865 2781 First Century Colleges? e-mail: [email protected] 53 C. Michael Bryce on Catholic Social Learning, Harry R. Dammer Conversations back issues are Educating the Faith That Does Justice available online at http://epublications.marquette. 56 John T. Day on Fraternity edu/conversations/ Cover: The Second Vatican Design and layout by Photo Collages Council Convened in 1963. Pauline Heaney. 22 Marquette University • 36 College of the Holy Cross The Bridgeman Art Library Printed by Peacock Communications, Lincoln Park, N.J. From the Editor

What 50 Years May Mean

hen we entered the Society of Jesus at the alienation of women, the sex abuse crisis, the appar- Saint Andrew on Hudson in 1957, the ent isolation of church authorities — too many people church was, as far as we knew, set on its have stopped calling themselves Catholics. W course. I had come out of Fordham Those who were on Jesuit campuses in the 1960s and University and the U. S. Army Artillery, as a First early ’70s recall the student strikes, building occupations, Lieutenant accustomed to taking orders from higher offi- marches and candle-light vigils for civil rights and in cers and was warned that, as a Jesuit, I might receive opposition to the Vietnam War. Jesuits at the old more orders I might not agree with. But that’s how Woodstock Maryland seminary seized the opportunity to armies work. experiment with the liturgy: they wrote their own liturgi- One “order” emphasized that the young religious be cal prayers, tried them out in small group daily Masses formed sealed off from outside world “distractions.” No where each person improvised opening and closing newspapers, magazines or radio and only rare visitors. So prayers, and shared in the free-wheeling homily. One when my father, a newspaper man, sent me clippings of music group, the Woodstock Jesuit Singers, made it to the James Reston columns from the New York Times, some- Ed Sullivan Show. The spirit of experiment carried over times my mail was opened and the clippings removed. onto the campus liturgies, some in the campus chapel, One evening I saw a mysterious streak of light sail across weekdays at midnight, sitting in a circle, informally the horizon sky. I found out later it was Sputnik, a Cold dressed, or in the resident Jesuit’s dorm room. There was War reminder. a strong feeling that the Spirit really was at work. In 1958 the novice master announced that Pope Pius eanwhile, in a dramatic response to the XII had died and John XXIII had been elected and, soon demand for change, the Society closed its after, called for Vatican Council II. But we were kept in isolated country seminaries and moved to pious ignorance while Pope John threw open the win- Mthe big university campuses where, with dows and let the 19th and 20th century intellectual world their lay peers, Jesuits mingled with male and female stu- — personified in Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and dents and faculty of every age, shape, color, social class, Sigmund Freud — come flying in. A lot has happened religion, sexual orientation, belief and unbelief. Jesuits since then. and lay colleagues took risks and threw themselves into By 1960 the American Assistancy reached its peak of the world they were committed to serve. Some Jesuits 8,338 men, and the New York Province had two novitiates. left; others, under stress, grew stronger. The summer I joined 43 entered at St. Andrew and 33 at In this issue of Conversations we open with essays Bellarmine College on Lake Champlain. Today, from St. on the tensions within the council itself, ecumenical dia- Andrew six remain, from Bellarmine, seven. The national logue, challenges to Jesuit identity, the struggle of phi- headcount is 2574. In June three priests were ordained losophy and theology, once the spiritual and intellectual from the combined provinces of New England, New York, core of the curriculum, to adapt. Next a campus tour and Maryland, and three novices entered. And 300 Jesuits introduces new institutions set up to integrate and lay colleagues from the three met for three days at Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists into the Fordham, celebrated their new relationship as one unified campus culture. Then reports on Ignatian spirituality province, confident that our future is bright. programs and social projects, which sometimes restore This issue of Conversations examines what has hap- the religious faith of the alienated, plus student essays pened in Jesuit higher education over those years and and book reviews. Finally, to knit the issue together we spells out the basis of that confidence. The church is still present the AJCU-developed seven key characteristics of dealing with the council’s changes. Some have resisted Jesuit university education. and want to turn back the clock. Others fear that certain What do we conclude from our review of the last 50 theologians and members of women’s religious orders years? We have much to be proud of. We have much have, in their interpretation of Vatican II, exceeded the lim- more work to do. ■ its of orthodoxy. On some campuses this is a critical time during which freedom of expression may be in jeopardy. RASsj Meanwhile, the church is shrinking. For various reasons —

Conversations 1 The Council’s Vatican II: Spirit The Time for Reconciliation

By John W. O’Malley, S.J.

2 Conversations hen the Second Vatican To express this larger import, people began to speak Council ended almost fifty of “the spirit of the council.” They did not mean to imply years ago, it was clear that the “spirit” was at odds with the “letter” of the coun- something of great impor- cil’s documents, but, rather, that, while it built on the let- tance had happened. Its ter, it rose to a higher level of generalization. It fit the impact hit every Catholic particulars into a coherent and consistent framework. most immediately in that the Although the distinction between spirit and letter is liturgy began to be celebrat- venerable in the Christian tradition and is, indeed, a dis- ed in the vernacular, with tinction often made in everyday speech, it is tricky and the priest turned to face the susceptible to manipulation. Your spirit of the council may congregation. But there was much more. For the first not be my spirit of the council. Yet, if careful attention is Wtime in history Catholics were encouraged to foster paid to the “letter” of the council’s documents—that is, to friendly relations with non-Catholic Christians and even certain basic orientations found in them—it is possible to to pray with them. The church entered into formal dia- uncover that “something further” denoted by “spirit.” logues with other churches and revisited doctrines that In comparison with other councils, a truly special had divided the churches for centuries. Catholics in the characteristic of Vatican II is not only that such orienta- United States rejoiced that the council had for the first tions pervaded the council but also that they surfaced so time affirmed the principle of religious liberty and had early in it and persisted to the end. They are a set of officially repudiated all forms of anti-Semitism. issues-under-the issues or issues-across-the-issues that We in Jesuit universities have grown so accustomed imbue the council with a truly remarkable coherence. In to changes the council directly or indirectly brought other words, the documents of Vatican II are not a grab- about in our institutions that we take them for granted bag of discreet units but, taken together, they constitute and forget how groundbreaking they were. Among them a single, though complex, testament. perhaps the most palpable was the transformation of the Among the issues was the problem of change in an former religion department into a theology or religious institution whose identity is based on proclaiming in studies department. The change was much more than unadulterated fashion a teaching announced long ago. cosmetic, much more than a change of nomenclature. It Another issue was the relationship between the central entailed a radical rethinking of the method and purpose authority of the papacy and others in the church, espe- of that department. cially the bishops but also priests, theologians, and the Whereas before the council the religion curriculum laity itself. One of the most immediately practical, how- consisted, for the most part, in Catholic apologetics, it ever, was how to deal with realities that the church had now took on a much wider scope. Until then, moreover, traditionally considered anathema. Could and should the the department was made up entirely of Jesuits. It was church seek reconciliation with them? inconceivable that a non-Catholic might teach in it. Yet, On the day the council opened, October 11, 1962, within less than a decade after the council, the situation Pope John XXIII delivered a remarkable address in had completely changed. Philosophy departments which he tried to provide the council with its orientation. underwent analogous changes, which, among other In it the pope distanced the council from the scolding things, resulted in more attention to modern philoso- and suspicious attitude toward “the world” that had per- phies. But the whole university was affected by the vaded official Catholic thinking for over a century, as if council, as reflected in its hiring and admission policies, everything modern was bad. The church, according to in how it presented itself to the public, and in how it the pope, should not simply wring its hands and deplore tried to relate more effectively to American culture while what was wrong but engage with the world so as to retaining a distinctive identity. work together for a positive outcome. It should “make Important though these developments were in them- use of the medicine of mercy rather than of severity” in selves, they do not singly or collectively capture the dealing with everyone. It should eschew as far as possi- sense pervasive at the time of the council that something ble the language of condemnation. further happened, something of which these particulars Although Pope John did not use the word reconcil- were but manifestations—a further something that iation that was what he was speaking of. He asked for explained the particulars and fitted them into a larger pattern. The council’s import included but also tran- scended its specific enactments. John O’Malley, S.J., is a university professor at Georgetown University and author of several books on (Left) The Vatican II fathers of the church. Jesuit history and What Happened at Vatican II.

Conversations 3 He wanted to end the siege mentality that had gripped Catholic officialdom in the wake of the French Revolution and the subsequent seizure of the Papal States, a mentality that feared all things modern

reconciliation with “the world” —with the world as it is, seem identical with it. With the voyages of discovery of not as it was supposed to be according to the fantasy of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries came the shock of an idealized “Christian Middle Ages” that still held many large populations and altogether different cultures that Catholics in thrall. He wanted to end the siege mentali- had not heard of Christianity. The discoveries severely ty that had gripped Catholic officialdom in the wake of challenged the claim of universality. the French Revolution and the subsequent seizure of the A vigorous program of evangelization followed, Papal States, a mentality that feared all things modern. which in virtually every case entailed the simultaneous John XXIII had a wider experience of “the world” introduction of Western traditions and values, as if these than any pope in modern times. As a young priest he were inseparable from the gospel message. There were had served as an orderly and chaplain in the Italian army important exceptions, as with the Jesuits in China led by during World War I. He had spent decades as a papal Matteo Ricci, who in respect for their Chinese hosts tried diplomat in either predominantly Orthodox or predomi- in their life-style and mind-sets to become Chinese. They nantly Muslim populations, and he performed well as even won permission to celebrate mass in Chinese and nuncio in Paris at a most delicate moment for the church published a Chinese missal. in post-war France. Then, finally, he served with distinc- he eventually condemned the tion as bishop (technically, patriarch) of Venice. Jesuit experiment. Through the nine- We should not be surprised, therefore, that at the cru- teenth and early twentieth centuries, cial moment of the council’s opening he introduced the Catholic missionaries as well as Protestant theme of reconciliation. It was not a new theme with him. saw themselves as bearing “the white Two and a half years earlier in 1959, when he announced man’s burden” of bringing Western ways his intention of convoking a council, he gave as one of the to their flocks. It was this approach the council’s two principal aims: the extension of a “cordial councilT gently but firmly repudiated. The liturgy decree invitation to the faithful of the separated communities to set the council on its course when it affirmed, “The participate with us in this quest for unity and peace, for Church cultivates and fosters the qualities and talents of which so many long in all parts of the world.” His invita- different races and nations” and admits their customs tion found response from other Christian bodies that was “into the liturgy itself, provided they harmonize with its as positive as it was unanticipated, and it resulted in the true and authentic spirit.” In its subsequent documents extraordinary phenomenon of the presence at the council the council repeatedly took up the theme of reconcilia- of sometimes as many as a hundred or more representa- tion with cultures other than Western, most notably in the tives of the Protestant and Orthodox churches. Nothing decree on the church’s missionary activity. like this had ever happened before. Of course, the most obvious and direct act of recon- ciliation was the decree on ecumenism. Its opening line The decrees affirms, “The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Thus, even before the council opened, reconciliation Council.” It bids Catholics to respect the beliefs of those had begun to take hold as an issue and goal. During the not in communion with the church, and sets in motion council its scope broadened. In the first document that a process of respectful dialogue with them. These steps the council passed, the decree on the sacred liturgy, might seem cautious and minimal, but they constituted a , the council asked the church dramatic course reversal from condemning all other to break out of its Eurocentrism and to admit other cul- Christians and counseling Catholics to avoid, as far as tures as partners. The had, of course, possible, all contact with them. After the wars of religion consistently presented itself as catholic in the sense of of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, religious dif- embracing all peoples and cultures. Although there was ferences eventually got recognized as inappropriate, considerable truth in that claim, the church had been so name-calling, but deep antagonisms had persisted until strongly imprinted with the culture of the West as to the eve of the council.

4 Conversations Remarkable about the decree on ecumenism is how journey as does all humanity and shares the same earthly easily the council accepted it. The same was not true for lot with it.” The church is to act as a leaven, but it also the decree on non-Christian religions, . Few receives from the world as well as gives to it. Obvious other documents had a rougher course. It originated though such an affirmation might seem, it was virtually with John XXIII’s deep concern about anti-Semitism and unprecedented in official church documents, most espe- Christian responsibility regarding the Holocaust. During cially since rampant suspicion of all things modern began World War II he has used his diplomatic post in Istanbul to dominate Catholic officialdom in the nineteenth centu- to help Jewish refugees flee Poland, Slovakia, and ry. By being addressed to all men and women of good Hungary, even prompting Hungarian nuns to issue will, whether believers or not, the document extended the phony baptismal certificates to save Jews from certain reconciliation theme to its ultimate limits. death in the Nazi concentration camps. John XXIII’s speech opening the council sounded n its early drafts, therefore, the decree dealt the theme of reconciliation but in an understated and exclusively with the church’s relationship to altogether generic way. The council took it up as a fun- the Jews. Objections were raised against it on damental orientation and imbued it with a remarkable theological grounds—were not the Jews an scope. It extended reconciliation to the church’s relation- accursed race?—but also on political ship to non-Western cultures, to non-Catholic Christians, grounds. It made the Arab states nervous to non-Christian believers, and, in its final document, to because it seemed to be a step toward “all humanity.” IVatican recognition of the state of Israel, which up to But there is an even more pervasive level at which that point the Vatican had not done. the theme operated so as to substantiate the intrinsic Nostra aetate eventually won approval, but only relationship between spirit and letter. We must return to after it was expanded to include other non-Christian John’s opening address. When he asked the council to believers, most notably the Muslims. In fact, it treats the refrain from condemnations, he introduced the question Muslims at much greater length than any of the others, of the style of discourse the council was to adopt. On including the Jews. No longer were they “our eternal and the very first working day of the council, Cardinal Joseph godless enemy,” as Pope Paul III described them in 1542 Frings of Cologne explicitly brought that question to the in his bull convoking the Council of Trent, but people floor of the council. A number of other prelates subse- deserving respect, who shared with Christians many of quently took it up. By the end of the council’s first year, the same religious traditions going back to the common the question had become a major issue, but it was patriarch, Abraham. already on the way to a remarkable resolution. Few decrees of the council seem timelier in our post When early in the second year the council found its 9/ll era. Nostra aetate sounds a note of reason and com- voice, its style of discourse, it spoke through a literary passion. It is the diametrical opposite of hate-inspired form and a vocabulary that was new for councils. polemics, and it invests Catholics with a special role as Instead of issuing laws, which almost invariably had agents of reconciliation in the present tense internation- penalties attached for non-observance, the council al situation. By extension it invests all those associated decided to hold up ideals to inspire inner appropriation. with Jesuit universities with that same agency. This shift in form required adopting a vocabulary that The council’s final document was entitled Gaudium was new to councils, in which the theme of reconcilia- et Spes or in English “The Church in the Modern World.” tion, though expressed in a variety of terms, emerged Although the church-world relationship was not at all on with dominant force. the official agenda when the council opened, it had Instead of words consisting primarily in anathemas clearly emerged by the end of the council’s first year. No and verdicts of guilty-as-charged, the council spoke most wonder, for it, in fact, took up the theme of reconcilia- characteristically in words of friendship, partnership, tion with the modern world that John XXIII had pro- kinship, reciprocity, dialogue, and collegiality. Such posed in his address opening the council. The title is sig- words occur too frequently and too consistently in the nificant: not the church for the modern world; not the documents of the council to be dismissed as mere win- church against the modern world; not the church either dow-dressing or casual asides. They imbue Vatican II above or below the modern world, but simply in the with a literary and, hence, thematic unity unique among modern world. What the document recognizes and promotes is what in fact has always taken place but never before so straight- Nostra aetate sounds a note forwardly professed— the reciprocal dependency of church and world. “The church, which is both a visible of reason and compassion organization and a spiritual community, travels the same

Conversations 5 How it changed us

A simple pairing of the model implied by this vocabulary with the model it wanted to replace or balance conveys the vocabu- lary’s import: from commands to invita- tions, from laws to ideals, from threats to promises, from coercion to conscience, from monologue to dialogue, from ruling to serving, from exclusion to inclusion, from hostility to friendship, from rivalry to partnership, from fault-finding to appreci- ation, and from behavior-modification to inner appropriation of values. In promoting the values implicit in this model, the council did not deny the validity of the contrasting values. No insti- tution can, for instance, be simply open- ended. Sooner or later decision is required. No institution can be all-inclu- sive and not in the process lose its identi- ty. Certainly, no institution whose very reason for existence is proclaiming the gospel message can be so committed to reconciliation as to compromise that mes- sage. Yet, what is more constitutive of the message than love of neighbor? The council was a rich and complex event, in which it is easy to get lost in the trees and lose sight of the forest. If it is important to reflect on how the council changed us, it is even more important to grasp the new orientation the council envisaged for the church and, in so doing, Pope John XXIII signs the papal bull convoking the on for every Catholic. As I have been trying December 25, 1961. CNS Photo. to show, however, that orientation extends far beyond Catholics, and it thus affects church councils. They express an overall orientation and everybody associated with Jesuit universities, no matter coherence in values and outlook. They are central to what the individual’s religious beliefs or non-beliefs might understanding the council. be. It affects the institution itself, in its policies and in its The values the words express are anything but new way of proceeding. to the Christian tradition. They are as common in The council issued a message that was bold yet soft- Christian discourse, or more common, than their opposite spoken. It was meant to find resonance in the hearts of numbers. But they are not common in councils, nor did all persons sensitive to the call of conscience that bids us they, up to that time, play such a determinative role in avoid evil and do good. In a world increasingly wracked official church pronouncements. Vatican II did not invent with discord, hate-spewing blogs, pre-emptive strikes, the words or imply they were not already fundamental in war and the threat of war, the result was a message that a Christian way of life. Yet, taken as a whole, they con- could not be more timely. It was a message counter-cul- vey the sweep of a newly formulated and forcefully spec- tural while at the same time responsive to the deepest ified way of proceeding that Vatican II held up for con- human yearnings. Peace on earth. Good will to all. ■ templation, admiration, and actualization. That way of proceeding was the most pervasive of the issues-under- the-issues or the issues-across-the-issues at Vatican II. It was the essence of the “spirit of Vatican II.”

6 Conversations THE “NEW” JESUITS The Response of the Society of Jesus to Vatican II, 1962-2012: some alacrity, some resistance

By Patrick Howell, S.J.

he response of the Society of Jesus to the waylaid when Pope Pius XII asked the Society to ban smok- Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was ing among its members. Thereafter, much energy was misdi- immediate and, for the most part, enthusias- rected to enforcing this healthy, but ill-conceived, mandate. tic. It was characterized by the virtues of At the same time, after World War II vocations to the “joy, alacrity, and perseverance,” which Society had surged. By 1965 the Society numbered 36,038 Ignatius described in the Jesuit Constitutions worldwide. The United States had 8,000 Jesuits, of whom a as confirming one’s mission in life. Some great number were scholastics in training for ordination. dissidents among both Jesuits and laity were Externally, the Society was at its peak, but its spirituality was muted at first, but grew more critical later. stunted, its vision parochial, and its intellectual life predictably By 1965 a certain stagnation had settled safe—with the exception, as always, of some truly great schol- into Jesuit life. Jesuit spirituality was rote, loaded with rules, ars, such as Walter Ong, John Courtenay Murray, Gustav Weigel, Tand laden with monasticism. Promising scholarship on the William Lynch, Bernard Lonergan, among the Northern Jesuit Constitutions, the Spiritual Exercises, and on Jesuit American Jesuits. Theology, rather than addressing contempo- spirituality had been underway, however, for at least half a rary human issues, was still driven by the scholastic manuals, century. Governance by devoted leaders seemed more intent although neo-Scholasticism, scripture studies, and continental on filling slots than on imaginative, new initiatives to meet philosophy had breathed some fresh air and vibrant insights into the needs of the Church. There was a lot of growth of insti- the safely traditional Catholic intellectual life. tutions, but not much direct engagement with culture nor with addressing the urgent needs of the poor and oppressed. The Jesuit General Father Jean-Baptiste Janssens had con- Patrick Howell, S.J., chair of the National Seminar, teaches vened the 30th General Congregation in 1957 to do some, fair- ly minimal, updating of the Society, but even this had gotten theology at Seattle University.

Conversations 7 Evidence of the long way that the Society had journeyed and how it has weathered Many of the periti, the advisers to the bishops at the sometimes stormy relationship with the council, were distinguished Jesuits, such as the German theologian Karl Rahner, the French Henri de the hierarchical church was the warm Lubac, and the American John Courtney Murray. affirmation of the Jesuit mission by Ironically, they had been under a cloud or even Benedict XVI: silenced by the Vatican during the previous decade. Father Janssens (1946-1964) had died during the council. So the worldwide Society prepared to elect a new general. The 224 delegates met in Rome in May 1965 and elected a dynamic, charismatic Spaniard “The Church needs you, Pedro Arrupe, who had served all his life in Japan. Don Pedro, as he was affectionately called, was an counts on you, and inspired choice. He was short, balding, with a sharp aquiline nose, with extraordinary bright eyes and remarkable energy and enthusiasm. He was the first continues to turn to you with Basque elected since Ignatius himself. Arrupe had been novice master in Japan when the confidence, particularly to atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The apocalypse at Hiroshima changed his life. It deepened reach the geographical and his sense of dependence on God and opened his eyes to “what is deadly and truly terrible about force and violence.” spiritual places where others After the election, the delegates realized the enor- mity of the changes needed, as well as that the coun- do not reach or find it cil itself would not end until December, 1965. So they chose to set up several commissions to study what was needed to align the Society with the mandates of the difficult to reach.” council. Then they adjourned until the following year. That fall the council published its decree on reli- gious life and gave a twofold mandate to each reli- Benedict XVI to GC 35 Delegates, gious group: “The adaptation and renewal of the reli- February 21, 2008. gious life includes both the constant return to the sources of all Christian life and to the original spirit of the institutes and their adaptation to the changed con- ditions of our time.” ( –The Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life). The man- date was elegant in its simplicity and transformational in its effect. The Jesuit General Congregation 31 (GC 31) met the next year and provided extensive remedies for renewal and renovation of the Society. Immediately after the conclusion of the Congregation, the shedding of a great many externals was the most obvious change. Cassocks gave way to clerical shirts and pants and for some the formality of shirt and tie. Jesuit supe- riors allowed for increased personal initiative and cre- ativity. Many monastic practices, such as silence during meals, strictures on family visits, tight restrictions on travel gave way to more humane religious practices. The transformation of the Latin liturgy into the vernac- ular also shook the pillars of tradition. The change in an “unchanging” liturgy led many to assume that almost anything could change.

8 Conversations Recapturing the original spirit a preferential option for the poor. Three papal encycli- cals in the 1960s addressing the needs of the world, In myriad ways the Jesuits embraced the original charism especially the causes of war and injustice, were crucial: and vision of its founder St. Ignatius. And by attending to Mater et Magistra, Pacem in Terris, and Progressio the “signs of the times,” reflecting on culture, and on the Populorum. Then the conference of Latin American bish- causes of war and oppression, they conducted the ops at Medellin, Colombia, (1968) and the Synod of reforms needed for an , that is, a thor- Bishops document on Justice in the World (1971) set the ough updating. A century of Jesuit scholarship on the his- Church on a new, more profound path of identifying tory and origins of the Society, most of it published in more closely with the poor and dismantling the cozy Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian, greatly helped the re- relationship that the church hierarchy, including the appropriation of the founding vision of Ignatius. Society of Jesus, had often had with the wealthy elite. So the biggest change was at the very core of Jesuit This articulation of the preferential option for the poor life and spirituality. With the recovery of the original by the church culminated for the Jesuits a few years later spirituality of Ignatius and companions, Jesuits devel- in GC 32. oped a much keener sense of spiritual discernment and The Synod document Justice in the World gave a decision making, the daily examen as an “examination brief but powerful scriptural analysis of God as liberator of consciousness” grew in practical importance, and the of the oppressed in the Old Testament and Jesus as annual eight-day retreat with an individual director was preacher of justice for the poor in the New Testament. restored to its original form, which was more personal This intimate connection between faith and justice, how- and more attentive to how God loves and labors in each ever, was not welded together sufficiently by Jesuit insti- individual person. tutions over the next 25 years. This recovery of Ignatian spirituality and then its In this context, sometimes turbulent and acrimonious, rather rapid spread to lay colleagues, including the train- Pedro Arrupe convened the 32nd General Congregation ing of lay spiritual directors, inaugurated a great renew- (1974-1975). It was clear from the beginning how strongly al in the Society of Jesus and in all its institutions. the delegates, with a few minor exceptions, approved the The very person of Arrupe captured the spirit of leadership and governance of Arrupe. The 31st renewal best. He embodied a view of religious leader- Congregation eight years earlier had cleared the debris of ship rooted in collegiality, discernment, and service. He centuries. It had swept aside or suspended the mountain- led the Society in responding to Vatican II and urgent ous set of rule books. But the result was some loss of iden- needs of the world with courage, generosity and remark- tity, some floundering in direction, even in the midst of a able optimism. great deal of creative innovation. All was not well, however, within the Jesuit ranks. Many university Jesuits and, in particular, the Jesuits at Answering Atheism the Gregorian University in Rome were highly resistant to the leadership of Pedro Arrupe. In addition, in Spain At the outset of the Congregation Pope Paul VI renewed there was a movement to split the Jesuit order. The “old the mandate to the Society to address modern atheism. guard” sought a restoration of the way things had been. The Society responded by identifying as its mission today: Only the intervention of Pope Paul VI, at the urging of the service of faith, of which the promotion of jus- Cardinal Tarancón, the primate of Spain who was fearful tice is an absolute requirement. For reconciliation of a split in the Spanish Catholic Church itself, prevent- with God demands the reconciliation of people ed this division in the Society. with one another. (GC 32, Decree Four, #2) mid all the upheavals in the church, the Practical atheism was partly a result of the sense of Society of Jesus, and in civil society, a the apparent indifference of God to human suffering, great exodus of younger Jesuits was especially as transmitted by “church” people, or it was taking place, with as many as 800 to attributable to an image of God as an all-controlling, 1100 leaving each year during the years remote, omnipotent Judge. 1966-1974. Simultaneously far fewer So this simple, elegant mission statement by GC 32 were entering the Society. From the offered a vital alternative to the many forms of contem- Amid 1960s to the mid 1990s, the median age of Jesuits porary atheism, such as that espoused by Karl Marx (reli- worldwide rose from 35 to 65. gion is the opium of the people) and Sigmund Freud Another trajectory which was having a major impact (God is a projection of the father image by fearful, on the Jesuits was the increasing clarity of the Church for immature people). More importantly, it advanced the

Conversations 9 trends already embodied in the papal social encyclicals, vention, he realized he had been badly advised about the Medellin document, and the Synod of Bishops. The the spirit of obedience in the Society. And from then on, Society committed itself to be “present at the heart of his relationships with the Society and especially with the ideological battles and social conflicts, wherever the cry- new general Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach (1983-2008) ing needs of humankind encountered the perennial mes- were much more cordial and supportive. sage of the Gospel.” (GC 32 Decree Four, #19) Kolvenbach seemed to have been an ideal choice to For several years some Jesuits in the universities mediate the many conflicts. During his term as vice- balked. In time most all of this resistance dissolved. provincial, Lebanon was engaged in a destructive and bloody civil war and Kolvenbach managed to keep his “There will be many martyrs that equilibrium, his altruism, and personal tranquility in the come from this” face of opposing factions. More martyrs The more sharply focused Jesuit mission, articulated in 1975, certainly arose out of the founding vision of Ignatius but would not have been possible for the Jesuits without A further turning point for many Jesuit universities for the return to sources and the simultaneous attending to more deeply embracing the newly defined Jesuit mission the signs of the times, recommended by the council. was the assassination of the six Jesuits and two compan- Thereafter, the “service of faith and the promotion of jus- ions in November 1989 at the Universidad Central tice” became the new mantra for the Society. It affected all American in El Salvador. They were assassinated, it was Jesuit institutions and transformed the way we taught, and clear, precisely because they had so fully embraced the it guided the choices we made for mission. service of faith and the promotion of justice as essential Often it was misunderstood, even within the Society; to their Jesuit vocation. sometimes it was violently rejected. When the decree When the Jesuit delegates gathered in Rome for the th passed, a Brazilian Jesuit reportedly said, “There will be 34 General Congregation in 1995, the leadership of many martyrs that come from this.” More than 50 Jesuits Father Kolvenbach for the previous twelve years had have been martyred precisely because of this unified mis- quietly brought forth a deeper commitment to the con- sion of the faith that does justice. This figure does not temporary Jesuit mission. The GC 34 delegates further include the untold number of Jesuit martyr-witnesses in nuanced the mission of the service of faith and promo- Eastern European countries and in some Asian countries tion of justice by including significant documents on during the years of Communist occupation and persecution. faith and culture, faith and interreligious dialogue. Action rrupe took steps to institutionalize this for justice, engagement with and transformation of cul- mission with his landmark address to ture, and dialogue with other religions were all intimate- the Jesuit Alumni in Valencia, Spain, in ly intertwined and motivated and animated by faith (See 1977 when he articulated that Jesuit- GC 34, Decree Two, Servants of Christ’s Mission, #19). educated alumni were to be “men and The Congregation also advanced several breakthrough women for others.” And, in his last year documents, such as “Jesuits and the Situation of Women in as general, Arrupe addressed the urgent Church and Civil Society” and “Cooperation with the Laity needs for refugees from war and famine, Arrupe found- in Mission.” Tom Fox, the editor for the National Catholic A Reporter, called the resulting decrees the “first Catholic ed the Jesuit Refugee Service (1980). He continued to st underscore how justice without love, justice without documents for the Church of the 21 Century.” faith in God, could simply be another violent ideology. In his major address five years later to American But no good deed goes unpunished, the old canard Jesuit universities at Santa Clara in 2000, Kolvenbach says. noted how ‘the promotion of justice has sometimes been By now there was mounting criticism of the Society separated from its wellspring of faith.” He told the in certain sectors, especially by bishops and cardinals of assembly of university educators that “the faith dimen- a more traditional bent. When Arrupe had a debilitating sion was too often presumed and left implicit, as if our stroke in August 1981, Pope John Paul II, removed the identity as Jesuits were enough. Some rushed headlong temporary successor Vicar General Father Vincent towards the promotion of justice without much analysis O’Keefe and placed in charge two Jesuits of his own or reflection and with only occasional reference to the choosing. This painful interregnum lasted for two years. justice of the Gospel.” The pope had been advised that if he did this, he This challenge for integration remains today. could expect 1/3 of the members of the Society to leave. As Father Kolvenbach approached 80 years of age, When no one left over this unprecedented papal inter- he was able to secure from Benedict XVI permission to

10 Conversations resign. The era of Peter-Hans Kolvenbach (1983-2008) ized, without the vital partnerships formed with lay was crucial for mending relationships with the Pope and women and men around the globe. Never before has a Vatican officials, and simultaneously he solidified the religious order partnered with lay people so intimately in modern mission of the Society and encouraged brilliant mission, so vitally in its spirituality, and so deeply in its new initiatives. committed vision of the Church and the world: The General Congregation 35 delegates gathered in The joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the Rome in 2008 to accept Father Kolvenbach’s resignation, people of our time, especially of those who are to express its gratitude for his unwavering leadership, poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the and to elect a general—Adolfo Nicholás who had served grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as all his life in Japan— just as Arrupe had. But it was now well. Vatican II, , 1. a very different time. It is our common enterprise. ather Nicholás, in his short four years as Over five decades the Society of Jesus has at last general, has continued the great initiatives incorporated the initial impulse of John XXIII: 1) that the of the last 50 years and he has offered a church be united in Christ, truly ecumenical, 2) that the fresh vision to encourage the Society in its church be engaged with and learn from all the best the dialogue with other religions and its world has to offer, and 3) that the church be a church of engagement with cultures other than and for the poor. The Society has clearly aligned itself Western. His address in Mexico City (April with the movement of the Spirit so suddenly bursting F2010), to which Conversations gave full coverage (Fall forth when an aging Pope threw open the windows to 2011) emphasizes the key role that Jesuit universities and announce the calling of the council and to allow the colleges play in a globalized and secularized 21st century. Spirit of God to blow where she will. In a span of 50 years the Society of Jesus has been Pope John’s admonition to the bishops at the open- re-founded. It is thriving. But it is thriving in a totally ing of the council is also a good one for us to take to new and creative way. Its commitment to scholarship, heart today: “We must disagree with those prophets of for instance, is one of the strongest it has ever been, but gloom, who are always forecasting disaster, as though carried out primarily through lay colleagues within the the end of the world were at hand.” Dispelling the Jesuit university setting. gloom, Jesuits and lay colleagues have helped to bring None of this would have been possible, certainly not forth a great light and a great joy to all people. ■ with the breadth and depth of which it has been real-

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

Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

Conversations 11 [Editor’s Note: Since dialogue is one of the major themes of this issue, the reader may wish to consider the later articles by John Switzer, James Buchanan, John Esposito and Sara Prendergast on ecumenical discussions on four campuses.]

Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue at Vatican II Some Rethinking Required

By Peter Phan

n his splendid overview of Vatican II and its after- menical unity and the church’s relations to non-Christian reli- math, John O’Malley astutely notes that “we in Jesuit gions, in the context of Vatican as an event of dialogue, or universities have grown so accustomed to changes more precisely, as a process in which the Catholic Church the council directly or indirectly brought about in our learned the difficult art of dialogue. In this respect, Vatican II institutions that we take for granted and forget how represents a real break from the way of being church since the groundbreaking they are.” Among these changes are Council of Trent (1545-63), requiring therefore a corresponding those which no doubt work on behalf of Christian “hermeneutics of discontinuity.” unityI (ecumenical dialogue) and relations with non- Christians (interreligious dialogue) figure prominently. Where Did We Come From? Before broaching these themes it is vital to note that, for Vatican II, dialogue is not simply a series of activities on Ironically, some church documents have had an impact that behalf of church unity and interreligious harmony. Rather it is far exceeds their length and even their authors’ wildest the very ethos, or the distinctive “style” of the council. In con- expectations. These include Vatican II’s Decree on trast to its predecessors, Vatican II explicitly renounces issuing Ecumenism ( [UR]) and Declaration on anathemas and imposing canonical penalties. Rather, it adopts the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra the rhetoric of dialogue and with it an attitude of generous hos- aetate [NA]), especially the latter, with a mere 2000 words in pitality, expansive openness, profound respect, sincere humil- five paragraphs with 41 sentences. ity, genuine willingness to listen and to learn and to change, It is often said in jest, albeit not without a grain of truth, and all-inclusive friendship—essential qualities that make fruit- that a sure sign that the Catholic Church is introducing a new ful dialogue possible. To understand Vatican II and its impact, it is necessary not simply to parse its sixteen documents with scholarly rigor, but also to place them, especially those on ecu- Peter Phan is a theology professor at Georgetown University.

12 Conversations teaching or practice is when it claims that such teaching ters” (UR,3). Fourth, the divisions among Christians are or practice has been present in the church “from the very contrary to God’s will and constitute a scandal, and beginning.” The bishops at Vatican II, or “the council therefore, every Christian is called to work to restore fathers,” frankly acknowledge that church division church unity, first of all through conversion: “There can “openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the be no ecumenism worthy of the name without interior world, and damages the sacred cause of preaching the conversion” (UR, 7). Fifth, in studying how the church- Gospel to every creature” (UR, 1) and that “the restora- es can form a consensus on doctrines, it is necessary to tion of unity among all Christians is one of the principal “remember that in Catholic doctrine there exists an order concerns of the Second Vatican Council” (UR, 1). No or ‘hierarchy’ of truths, since they vary in their relation doubt a historian would note that Vatican II’s concern for to the foundation of the Christian faith” (UR, 11). church unity and positive appreciation for the ecumeni- cal movement did not at all exist “from the beginning.” On the contrary, they represent a total volte-face from “No one remaining outside the Pope Pius XI ‘s encyclical Mortalium animos (1929), issued a year after the Protestant-sponsored Faith and Catholic Church… can become Order Conference, condemning all movements and con- gresses promoting church unity and prohibiting Catholics partakers of eternal life.” with the ecumenical movement. For him, Protestants are “dissidents”—heretics and schismatics—who have sinfully abandoned the true church, and ecumenical unity can When dealing with non-Christian religions the coun- only mean that they must “return to the one true Church cil Fathers had to undergo an even more difficult intel- of Christ”—the Roman Catholic Church—and “acknowl- lectual and spiritual conversion. The pre-Vatican II edge and accept with obedience the authority and power church’s attitude toward non-Christians had been author- of Peter and his legitimate successors [the popes].” itatively stated by the ecumenical Council of Florence (1442): “[The holy Roman Church] firmly believes, pro- Five Points fesses and preaches that ‘no one remaining outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans,’ but also Jews, Compare this official and authoritative papal condemna- heretics or schismatics, can become partakers of eternal tion of the ecumenical movement with what is taught by life, but they will go to the ‘eternal fire prepared for the Vatican II, and one cannot but be amazed at how far the devil and his angels,’ unless before the end of their life church has come and how difficult the conversion of the they are received into it.” To this list of the damned, council Fathers to the ecumenical cause was. Divided Muslims and other “pagans” such as Hindus, Buddhists, Christians’ “remorse over their divisions and longing for and the followers of other Asian, African, and Latin unity” and the “movement for the restoration of unity American religions will be added. However, between among all Christians” are now seen as God’s generous gift 1442 and 1962, the church’s position on the impossibili- and “fostered by the grace of the Holy Spirit” (UR, 1). ty of salvation for these religious believers did soften, especially though the theory of “invincible ignorance.” As with the ecumenical movement, in its under- For Pius XI Protestants standing of the relation between Christianity and other religions, Vatican II again makes a 180-degree turn. It are “dissidents — heretics states: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. It has a regard for the and schismatics” manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from its own From the decree on ecumenism the following points teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth need to be highlighted. First, Jesus has founded only which enlightens all men and women” (NA, 2). The one church and has prayed for its unity (John 17:21). council goes on to say: “Let Christians, while witnessing Second, “it is through Christ’s Catholic Church alone, to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, pre- which is the universal help toward salvation, that the serve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained” (UR, among non-Christians, together with their social life and 3). Third, the Catholic Church accepts those Christians culture” (NA, 2). With regard to Jews, the council explic- who are not Catholic and yet are, through baptism, in itly rejects the charge of deicide and any discriminatory “some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic practice against them. Most importantly, it affirms the Church,” “with respect and affection as brothers and sis- continuing validity of God’s covenant with Israel.

Conversations 13 Grounded in the Catholic and Ignatian tradition, John Carroll University’s Campus Ministry serves persons of all faiths.

Where Were We Going? Orthodox Churches. One significant achievement is the recognition of the ecclesial character of other Christian During the half century after Vatican II, the ecumenical communities such that they are called “sister churches” cause and interfaith dialogue took huge steps forward or “separated churches.” To be precise, only the under the pontificates of Paul VI and especially John Orthodox Churches are accorded this ecclesial nature, Paul II. Given the length of his pontificate (1978-2005), and not the churches that originated from the Protestant John Paul II was able to make an enormous contribution churches which, according to Rome, do not possess the to church unity. He met with many leaders of other sacrament of orders and hence no true Eucharist, and Christian churches at the Vatican and during his 129 therefore are not church in “the proper sense.” international trips. He issued many encyclicals fostering church unity, especially Ut unum sint, 1995. The The “Ecumenical Winter” Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which includes the Commission for Religious Relations with Sadly, in spite of much progress, full communion with Jews, was highly active. Bilateral and multilateral dia- these churches is now as elusive as ever. The reasons for logues between the Catholic Church and other church- the current “ecumenical winter” are manifold. The es, at the national and international levels, were held impact of bilateral and multilateral dialogues appears and their final reports published. On the side of the rather limited, since their consensus statements and their World Council of Churches, several documents such as practical proposals for church union have led to Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry and The Nature and nowhere. Furthermore, there is either ignorance or indif- Mission of the Church held out encouraging prospects ference on the part of a large number of Christians who for church union. are quite content with the status quo. On the side of the So far, in terms of doctrine and theology, ecumeni- Vatican, recent Roman declarations such as Dominus Iesus cal progress has been most notable in the relations of and Pope Benedict’s decision to establish a personal ordi- the Catholic Church with the Anglican, Lutheran, and nariate for groups of Anglicans wishing to enter into full

14 Conversations communion with the Catholic Church had the unintended Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos about the effect of throwing frigid water on what remains of the Prophet Muhammad. Fortunately, this papal mistake was desire for ecumenical unity. Other developments such as followed by an open letter of 138 Muslim leaders, A the decision to ordain women, especially to the episcopa- Common Word Between Us and You, initiating a serious cy, and of active homosexuals to ministry seem to have dialogue between Christianity and Islam. posed insurmountable obstacle for the future of full com- munion between the Anglican/Episcopal Church and the Whither From Here? Obstacles Roman Catholic Church. As far as interfaith dialogue is concerned, the contri- Clearly, the Catholic Church’s journey toward ecumeni- bution of John Paul II is immense. His friendship with cal unity and interreligious harmony has been both Jews went back as far as his youth in his hometown of exhilarating and disheartening. The conversion of the Wadowice. The pope made a series of dramatic firsts. In council Fathers to dialogue was truly a gift of the Holy 1979 he visited the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp, Spirit, and the efforts to achieve the goals of both dia- and in 1998 issued We Remember: A Reflection on the logues in the aftermath of Vatican II were sincere and Shoah. In 1986 he visited the Great Synagogue of Rome. serious. At times, “full communion” among the churches In 1994 he established formal diplomatic relations and religious harmony were so near. And yet, still so far. between the Holy See and the State of Israel, and in 2000 What is standing in the way? Take ecumenical dia- he visited the Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust logue first. On the one hand, certain key doctrinal differ- memorial in Israel, and prayed at the Western Wall. He ences, such as those concerning justification, ministry, publicly begged forgiveness for any acts of hatred and and the papacy, no longer seem to be church-dividing, violence committed by Christians against Jews. especially among the Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox, and uring his travels John Paul made a Lutheran Churches. On the other hand, institutional point of meeting with the leaders of interests and ecclesiastical inertia left the necessary steps other non-Christian faiths. In 1986 he toward full communion unrealized. On the practical convoked the highly controversial level, the possibility of regular eucharistic sharing World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi (“intercommunion” or communicatio in sacris) still which more than 120 representatives remains what it has long been: a strong desideratum. of non-Christian religions and non- The position of the Catholic Church is that since the CatholicD Christian churches attended. For understandable Eucharist is a witness to a full ecclesial communion, as reasons, John Paul paid particular attention to Islam and long as the churches remain divided, intercommunion Muslim communities, especially after 9/11, 2001, and must not be allowed. Some theologians, however, have repeatedly emphasized the common doctrines between argued that the Eucharist is also a means to church Christianity and Islam and urged collaboration for peace union and therefore should be regularly practiced to and justice. He is the first pope to enter a Muslim house of bring it about. worship (the Umayyyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria). He Another thorny issue concerns the ecclesial nature has even kissed the Qur’an as a sign of respect. During his of the Protestant churches, that is, whether they are pontificate the Pontifical Council for Interreligious “church” in the theological or “proper” sense. Dominus Dialogue was particularly active. Iesus denies that they are, on the ground that they lack As with ecumenical dialogue, in spite of the good- valid ordination and hence true Eucharist. It also states will that John Paul II generated among non-Christians, that it is a “definitive teaching” that the Anglican orders not much has been accomplished on the official level remain invalid. In its view, possession of the sacrament toward a more adequate theological understanding of of orders (or episcopal succession) through the imposi- the role of non-Christian religions beyond the oft-repeat- tion of hands, and hence true Eucharist, is the conditio ed thesis that they contain “seeds of the Word” and con- sine qua non to qualify as church. However, not all stitute “a preparation for the Gospel.” Again, perhaps churches maintain that apostolic succession should be unintentionally, the Vatican produced a chill on inter- understood as “tactile succession” (the imposition of faith dialogue with its condemnation of the (rather mod- hands of the co-consecrators on the one to be ordained), erate) writings on interreligious dialogue of theologians and historians seriously doubt whether the historical such as Jacques Dupuis and others. Pope Benedict him- chain of “tactile succession” can be proved with certain- self created a storm of protest in his Regensburg address ty in all cases, even in the churches that claim to possess with his quotation of an offensive remark by the apostolic succession.

Conversations 15 This requires that apostolic succession and the validi- spiritual paths (“pluralism”), or that the truths and values ty of ordination be rethought theologically, in connection of other religions are ultimately derived from one’s own with the other three marks of the true church, that is, one, religion (“inclusivism”). The greatest defect of these holy, and catholic. How can apostolicity promote unity, three theologies of religions, the last one currently being holiness, and catholicity, and vice versa? The “return of dis- held by the Catholic Church, is that they presume to sidents to the Roman Catholic Mother Church” model, judge the other religions in the light of one’s own theo- which had been normative until Vatican II, is no longer logical criteria and, therefore, fail to appreciate the “oth- advocated. In its place the council proposes “full commun- erness” of various religions and view them on their own ion” as the ultimate goal of ecumenical dialogue. But does terms. Currently, the Catholic Church teaches that full communion require a visible and institutional “single Christianity (or more precisely, the Catholic Church) is system of communication,” with a unified profession of the only “way of salvation” and that other believers, if faith, sharing of sacraments, common ministry, under the they are saved at all, are somehow, mysteriously, “relat- juridical authority of the papacy (the “organic model”), or ed” to the church and that their salvation is brought does it demand only “unity in reconciled diversity,” that is, about by Christ. a communion of churches which retain their distinct and n our contemporary context of religious plural- diverse traditions (such as married priesthood and woman ism, marked by diversity and conflicting truth- ordination) and autonomous decision-making structures? claims, another way toward interreligious har- No doubt, the “organic model” is the preferable ideal. mony must be found other than either assert- However, all things considered, the “reconciled diversity” ing, ever louder, that one’s religion, model is the more realistic and feasible one. For the sake Christianity or otherwise, is the absolutely of Christian mission, so that the world may believe that unique, universal and necessary way of salva- Jesus has been sent by God and the church may become Ition, or abandoning such a claim in a mindless surrender a credible witness to God’s kingdom, should not this to the “dictatorship of relativism.” The way forward seems model of “reconciled diversity,” which encourages a legit- to be a deep intellectual and spiritual humility (or self- imate variety in all things, be realized as far as and as soon emptying, like Christ’s) that compels one to recognize, as possible? gratefully and gracefully, that one’s religion offers a true but ever partial insight into reality, and that other religions The goals of dialogue can and do correct, complement, enhance, and perfect one’s own. The road to full communion and interreligious har- With regard to interfaith dialogue, the unity that is mony is still arduous and challenging. The Catholic sought among the various religions is not as integral and Church had come a long way at Vatican II. In the last fifty far-reaching as ecumenical unity. Its goal is not to unite years it has embarked on a zigzagging but irreversible all the world religions into some sort of global religion. course. Whither from here cannot be predicted with cer- Rather it is first of all to prevent religions from becom- tainty, but there are helpful signposts. Along the way, the ing a source of violence and hatred, to remove mutual ancient motto should remain the norm: “Let there be unity misunderstandings and prejudices, and to promote a in what is necessary, freedom in what is doubtful, and greater appreciation of the various religious traditions. charity in everything.” Or, in the elegant Latin: In neces- Ideally, it is to bring about religious harmony, which does not aim at abolishing difference and variety but sariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas. ■ rather at enriching one’s own religious heritage by means of others’. The essential purpose of interreligious dialogue is the building of global justice and peace. To achieve this goal, interreligious dialogue is being carried out on four different levels of discussion: com- mon life, collaboration for a better world, theological exchange, and sharing of religious experience. Part of this dialogue is the judgment to be made regarding other religions. Today it seems no longer possible or necessary Right, students protest the invasion of to maintain that one’s religion is the only true one Cambodia at an outdoor senate session. (“exclusivism”), or that all religions are equally valid University of San Francisco.

16 Conversations Conversations 17 Catholics Are “Just Like Everyone Else”? The Council and Catholic Conviction

By Stephen M. Fields, S.J.

century and a half ago, Cardinal Only one coherent solution emerges. The past in its Newman remarked in his autobiogra- entirety must somehow be righted, fundamental justice phy Apologia pro Vita Sua that, in reli- restored, and hope of transcendence instilled. Nothing gion, the human mind has only two less than an incarnation of infinite goodness in time and logically consistent options: space will suffice. Even if, however, we accept in faith Catholicism or atheism. Those of us that Christ has accomplished these goals, still we are A nurtured before Vatican II will recall brought head to head with a more formidable obstacle: that we and our fellow Catholics had little doubt about the claim of an infallible church to be the necessary Newman’s conviction. As Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn means of making Christ’s saving work available. This Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited observes to his belief makes sense only if we accept that God has agnostic chum Charles Ryder: “Everything [Catholics] endowed this institution with sufficient power to tri- think is important is different from other people.” umph over our indigenous burden of sin. To do this, it Replies the benighted Charles, “They seem just like must possess a divine guarantee of truth, for error can- everyone else.” Retorts Sebastian brusquely, “That’s not defeat itself. exactly what they’re not.” Now half a century in the However cogent Newman’s argument may be, our Council’s wake, skepticism about Newman’s conviction modern minds, suspicious of authority, do not readily flourishes. Accordingly, it is natural to ask whether the find it congenial. Moreover, recent experience of the great aggiornamento has contributed to it. church’s conspicuous sin offers us scant encouragement Let us first consider Newman’s argument. The salva- to trust, however much we realize that the fallibility of tion of the human family, it claims, must necessarily be the Gospel’s ministers does not compromise the work- communal and historical. An impartial survey of the ing of grace in the sacraments they mediate. Hard world’s past, “in its length and breadth,” serves to con- enough to resist, these pressures are compounded by found us by its sheer absence of God. “The defeat of interpretations of the council sharing a ‘hermeneutic of good, the success of evil,” physical and “mental discontinuity.’ Emphasizing Vatican II’s uniqueness anguish,” “the prevailing idolatries,” and the “corrup- against the whole of Catholic tradition, this sometimes tions” evinced so consistently by diverse cults and cul- contends that the Church offers but one option to salva- tures lead us to confront a “profound mystery, which is tion among the various religions of humanity. Has sup- absolutely beyond human solution.” Even as our birth port, therefore, for Newman’s conviction evanesced, and cry is elicited, we come forth already as heir and hostage are we, as a result, “just like everyone else”? of an “aboriginal calamity.” Our race is disjoined from the purposes of its Creator, assuming, of course, that One exists who is both benign and omnipotent. Shaped and formed by this calamity, we feel powerless to avoid Steven M. Shields, S.J., teaches theology at Georgetown its corrosive influence on our thoughts, values, inclina- University. tions, choices, and actions.

18 Conversations Two ways of interpreting Vatican II Charles Ryder is wrong. “Hermeneutics” refers to methods of interpretation. The For better or worse, our answer must take its cue from “hermeneutic of discontinuity” interprets Vatican II as a dis- the disputations of the Medieval scholastics: sic et non tinct change from the past, even a radical turn from previ- (yes and no). On the one hand, Avery Dulles, writing on ous teaching. Examples would be the church’s apology to the council’s fortieth anniversary, carefully surveys its documents on the Church, divine revelation, ecu- the Jewish people and a profound appreciation of the menism, religious liberty, and missionary activity. enduring covenant found in Judaism. Likewise, the coun- Without doubt, he concludes, they affirm that salvation cil’s affirmation of democracy was radically different from is found in no other name but Jesus; that baptism, as the the teaching of popes such as Pius IX who had condemned door to the Church, is required for salvation; that the it in the Syllabus of Errors (1864). one true religion cannot subsist anywhere but in the Roman Catholic Church; and that Scripture has no inde- pendence apart from the Church which interprets it. It “Hermeneutic of continuity” holds that Vatican II was a seems, at least according to magisterial theory, that the renewal and reaffirmation of all that had gone before, only basic premises grounding Newman’s conviction stand as cast in new language so that it was understandable to the sure as when they led him into the fold. In short, Charles modern era. Ryder is wrong. On the other hand, as I read Vatican II, it interprets these claims analogously. It retrieves and develops a Theologian Joseph Ratzinger espoused a hermeneutic of principle intrinsic to the Incarnation as officially promul- continuity, which he continues to advance in his role as gated at Chalcedon in 451. Because humanity and divin- Benedict XVI. The Jesuit historian John O’Malley, S.J., ity unite in the one person of Christ, a blending of infi- demonstrates that both hermeneutics were present in the nite and finite obtains in God’s plan for salvation, even council and that the pastoral style and spirit of the council though each of these remains integral and distinct. It fol- lows, therefore, that human nature, together with its his- are vital for interpreting the text. See What Happened at tory, never exists bereft of a certain divine presence. As Vatican II (Harvard University Press, 2008). St. Irenaeus taught in the second century that all creation has been ‘recapitulated’ in Christ – taken up into him, and so renewed and reformed. Consequently, the Council seeks to draw the entire human family into the renewal about, not by standing outside of culture in one true church, but at varying levels and in different stern judgment, but “from the inside.” The document degrees, from those who share with Catholics a common cites the book of Proverbs to explain what it means. baptism, to the Jews who share the covenant, and to Wherever authentic value inheres in human institutions others who, sincerely following their consciences, can and symbols, there likewise inheres “the wonderful wis- be baptized ‘by desire.’ dom which was with God from the beginning.” This wis- Similarly, “The Church in the Modern World” makes dom, of course, is the divine Logos, through whom “all a broad use of analogy to teach the goodness of human things were made” (Jn 1.3). Because Christ incarnates culture. This it defines as those institutions, like govern- the Logos, it follows that Christ is implicit wherever ment and the university, and those symbols, like the arts goodness is found. It further follows, as a result, that and sciences, that more deeply understand and refine Catholics share a deep bond with ‘everyone else.’ In the physical world. Culture expresses the “spiritual short, Charles Ryder is right. experiences and aspirations” of our species. It springs On balance, therefore, the great aggiornamento reaf- from our rational nature that is freely capable of tran- firms Newman’s claim, even as it frames a more nuanced scending the chaos of brute sensuality. “Only” through understanding of Catholics’ relation to “everyone else” culture can “real and full humanity” be achieved, the than Sebastian. Conscious of the ubiquity of grace that Council teaches. “wills all people to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim 2.4), the council places the church in Charles Ryder is… a religiously analogous world. This project, in my view, represents less of a paradigm shift than a recovery of doc- trines rooted deep in Christianity. Guiding the early Nonetheless, although it embodies the accumulated church, these fueled countless martyrs to die for Catholic legacy of our creativity, culture’s intrinsic truth and truth. There is no reason why they should not sustain our beauty need grace in order continually to be renewed. own abiding witness to this same conviction. ■ Most importantly, contends Vatican II, grace brings this

Conversations 19 VaTICaN II: TExT aND CoNTExT Its Impact Is Just Beginning

By Massimo Faggioli

here is little disagreement on the fact ly) of the atrocities of the Shoah, the Holocaust of that Council Vatican II (1962-1965) is a the Jews, which took place throughout Nazi-con- “corpus” of texts that need to be read in trolled Europe. All this contributed to the church’s their historical context, and that its doc- self-understanding in relation to world religions in uments are a letter that contain also a the re-construction of a more peaceful world. On spirit. This idea is reaffirmed in the Final the world map, the end of the 1950s and the begin- Report of the Extraordinary Synod of the ning of the 1960s marked the end of European Bishops of 1985. But it is not always empires’ dominance in Africa and Asia, and the Teasy to distinguish accurately between these two ele- beginning of that epoch-making series of births of ments of letter and spirit in the debate on Vatican II. new nations known as the “decolonization.” In this Often we hear, on one side, Vatican II portrayed process the Catholic Church was very involved: in an abstract way, detached from the circumstances Catholicism had benefited from the deep and old surrounding the event itself and its reception in the ties between colonialism and missions, but the local Churches; on the other side, it has become a process of decolonization taught Catholicism the mantra to associate Vatican II and “the Sixties” in importance of becoming a world church free from order to proclaim both of them “guilty by associa- its heavy European legacy. tion” in the recurring “culture war.” Complex as it is, These changes in international politics trans- the historical context of Vatican II is a key to under- formed Catholic theology with its new emphasis in standing this most important event in the history of ecclesiology on the importance of the local church the Catholic Church in the last four centuries. A first fundamental element is that the announcement of Vatican II took place little more Massimo Faggioli, author of Vatican II: The Battle than a decade after the end of World War II, and just for Meaning, is a theology professor at the University when the Western world was beginning to become of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. fully aware (historically, culturally, and theological- [email protected]

20 Conversations (dioceses and parishes) vis a vis the universal church Enter the “new theology” (Rome and the Holy See), and inspired the effort to build ecumenical bridges to non-Catholic Churches. The These historical-cultural changes in the immediate pre- old rules prohibiting Catholics from taking part in ecu- Vatican II world were assumed and synthesized by the menical events (Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, 1928) were council, its bishops and theologians, during the long replaced, in the preparation for Vatican II, with a more phase of the council’s preparation (1960-1962). In the open attitude towards individual non-Catholic churches dialectic between the Rome-based, neo-Scholastic theol- and the World Council of Churches. At the same time, ogy and the “new theology” (which had been silenced world Judaism was longing for a more positive theolog- in 1950) new voices prevailed, approved by the over- ical relationship with the Church of Rome. This was par- whelming majority of the council fathers. The Vatican II ticularly complex because the State of Israel had just synthesis became possible thanks to the “new theolo- been founded in 1948 and it raised both political and gy’s” ability to incorporate a Tradition that goes back to theological issues for Vatican diplomacy. the Fathers of the Church and does not stop with the popes of the “long nineteenth century.” Lay ministries open up Thanks to Karl Rahner, S.J., this change is one of the major paradigm shifts in the history of the church: com- Within the church, during the decades before Vatican II parable to the importance of the council of Jerusalem the role played by women in war-torn Western societies (50 AD). Bernard Lonergan, S.J., helped translate demonstrated that the new influence of “the second sex” Catholic theology from a “classicist mentality” to a “his- in Catholic education, in the international youth lay move- torical consciousness”; Karl Lehmann helped inaugurate ments, in the tradition of Catholic Action, and in the birth a “certain amount of movement and tension moving of other new Catholic movements. These experiences from Vatican II.” Vatican II thus became a “building site,” slowly opened the door to a new understanding of lay as Hans Hermann Pottmeyer said, that collected materi- ministry in a world that already in the 1940s and 1950s als from the best of Catholic theology in the 20th centu- had become more and more secularized. ry and opened a new path for the church. Just as the These new approaches within Catholic theology were Council of Trent’s (1545-1563) major reforms were real- made possible by the eye-opening experience of con- ized only in the 17th century, Vatican II’s reception at 50 fronting political ideologies – fascism, nazism, years has just begun. ■ Communism, nationalism – during the 1920s-1940s: Catholicism had learned at a high price how narrow is the boundary between on one side the need to serve “culture” while trying to incarnate the Gospel in a given social and political sys- tem and on the other side the duty to be “countercultural” and prophetic. The end of the alliance between Catholicism and authoritarian political regimes of Europe between World War I and World War II made possible the abandonment of an apologetical and controversistic theology as the only possible way to articulate Catholicism, both within and outside. This shift became fully visible and acceptable at Vatican II including: a more positive approach to science and modern culture, a more biblically based theology, more atten- tion to the “signs of the times” and to “ter- restrial reality” as a source for theology.

The Rev. Joseph Ratzinger, left, with the French Dominican in 1962, during the Second Vatican Council.

Conversations 21 Marquette University

22 Conversations later in the afternoon or at night with music which encourages them to be more fully present. Additionally, these lay students How Vatican II help plan the Mass. Without this oppor- tunity to be engaged, the church might have lost its appeal to university stu- dents. More importantly, the laity have Helped the Jesuits become more involved in theological discussion. Those called to religious vocations no longer dominate theolog- ical education. Most professors in the Do Their Job theology departments are laity whose interest in theology can sometimes engage their students more fully than priests can. This interest in theology By Tyler Flynn creates more reasoned and aware Catholics who now have more ready access to the decisions of the Church, atican II marked a signifi- as made manifest by Vatican II’s publi- cant change which, unlike cation of Gaudium et Spes. many previous ecumenical While students certainly may have councils, did not occur on gained a greater respect for the field of any dogmatic or doctrinal theology than they had before Vatican level. Rather, it created a II, it is still not the dominant field of Vnew sense of Catholic culture, in dia- study in any Jesuit university. However, logue with the modern world, which Vatican II allowed for a greater appre- now integrates itself into every aspect of ciation for other fields of study. Much Christian life. This changing culture is like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s idea of marked by laity involvement in the finding God in his particular field of church, a blending with modern cul- paleontology, Jesuit universities have ture, a focus on the individual, and a continued in the Ignatian tradition of greater emphasis on the importance of finding God in all things. service to others, all of which are pro- This and other Jesuit principles moted in Jesuit Catholic universities. have, through this council, managed to The Jesuit University is a unique lens make their way into the everyday life of through which the changes made within the Church. In this sense, Vatican II may the church can be seen and evaluated. Jesuit institutions, through their dedica- have ultimately allowed Jesuits to do The focus of these institutions may not be tion to service, can create “anonymous what they had been trying to do for on the rigorous study of theology and the Christians” in the vision of Karl Rahner, a years, incorporating their ideas into their application of Catholic doctrines and dog- Jesuit whose ideas had a significant universities on a more broad level. While mas; nevertheless, they create a sense of influence on the Second Vatican Council. it is true that, since 1965, other problems Christian identity and culture through In a sense, these schools graduate stu- have occurred due to the changes their students’ commitment to service and dents who may not follow Christ, but Vatican II produced, these council to the good of the surrounding communi- still live their lives within His image. decrees were necessary for the growth ty. Taking Pedro Arrupe’s idea of creating Apart from offering salvation out- and continuity of the church. However, “men and women for others,” Jesuit uni- side the Church, Vatican II also allowed like anything for which the Jesuits have versities, for example, John Carroll, pro- for far more laity involvement. Though ever been criticized, it may have taken a vide students with hundreds of service missionary Jesuits like Matteo Ricci had few years for Vatican II to be fully appre- opportunities throughout the school year. exemplified the importance of the ver- ciated in context of modernity with the The focus of these universities is not nacular in the Mass and inculturation next generation of Christians present at to convert their students to Catholicism. centuries earlier, Vatican II implement- Jesuit universities. ■ While early Jesuits may have focused ed these ideals on a universal scale. their ministries on saving souls, Vatican Not only can laity now better under- Tyler Flynn is an English major and II, with its publication of Dignitatis stand the Mass, but they can also incor- history and Catholic studies major at Humanae, teaches that salvation is not porate their own culture into the litur- John Carroll University. limited to those within the church. Thus, gy. University students celebrate Mass

Conversations 23 The Courses Were Taught in Latin

t. Ignatius’ originally they began their four-year theolo- Philosophy wrote Part 4 of gy studies. Furthermore all lay stu- Constitutions to formu- dents in US Jesuit universities and Studies in Jesuit late a program of stud- colleges typically were required to ies for Jesuit seminari- take 16 (8 two credit courses) to Formation, ans. Soon, however, at 18 hours (6 three credit courses) theS request of prominent lay per- of philosophy. All courses were sons, lay students were also prescribed and taken in a standard Universities accepted. Thus Jesuit education sequence: logic, epistemology, has had a dual focus, academic rational psychology, cosmology, Before and After formation of its members, and aca- general metaphysics, special meta- demic formation of lay persons. physics (natural theology), and Today students in Jesuit colleges general and special ethics. Each the Second and universities are almost all lay course explained and defended a persons, though some schools number of truths or theses which Vatican Council continue to educate the relatively students learned to prove and on small number of Jesuit seminari- which they were examined. ans. However, for most of the Philosophers who denied these By Stephen Rowntree, S.J. Society’s history the philosophy truths were treated cursorily as studies for lay students were a “adversaries,” and succinctly refut- condensed version of the philoso- phy studies by Jesuit seminarians. Prior to changes inspired by the Second Vatican Council, all Stephen Rowntree, S.J., is in the Jesuit seminarians studied philoso- philosophy department at Loyola phy for three full-years before University New Orleans.

24 Conversations ed. Texts, lectures, oral examinations of Jesuit seminari- of God’s revelation implied the value of many philoso- ans were conducted in Latin. The philosophy taught in phies. As The Church and the Modern World #44 stated: Jesuit colleges and universities was a simplified English “Thanks to the experience of past ages, the progress of version of the philosophy taught to Jesuit seminarians. It the sciences, and the treasures hidden in the various was largely taught by Jesuit priests who having complet- forms of human culture, the nature of man himself is ed their own philosophy program were considered qual- more clearly revealed and new roads to the truth ified to teach philosophy. Dating from Ignatius’s time, opened. These benefits profit the Church.” the criterion for successful completion of philosophy was the mastery necessary to teach it. Dialogue with men of their time Neither was the privileged place of philosophy unique to Jesuit formation and Jesuit higher education. The Vatican Council explicitly spoke of seminary philos- Rather, philosophy was prescribed by the Roman ophy studies in its Decree on Priestly Formation #15. The Catholic Church for its special place in protecting the decree clearly made a bow to the past in saying that stu- faithful and the church against its many enemies. The dents were to “base themselves on a philosophic her- role of philosophy as an antidote to modern errors was itage that is perennially valid.” However, the decree con- spelled out in Pope Leo XIII’s 1878 letter, Aeterni Patris: tinued: their philosophy studies should take “into On the Restoration of Christian Philosophy. account the philosophical investigations of later ages. The nineteenth century popes had seen the church and This is especially true of those investigations which exer- especially their own authority attacked on every side by cise a greater influence in their own nations. Account social and politi cal revolutionaries. Writing toward the should also be taken of the more recent progress of the end of the century, Pope Leo XIII subtitled his first sciences. The net result will be that students, correctly encyclical, “On the Evils of Society” (Inscrutabili Dei understanding the characteristics of the contemporary Consilio, April 21, 1878). mind, will be duly prepared for dialogue with men of their time.” Thinking wrong thoughts Contem porary philosophies must be appreciated and understood as a basis for dialogue with men and women The source of these deadly symptoms was intellectual. about matters of faith. There is truth as well as error to be Leo argued that people were acting perversely because discovered in the history of philosophy. Philosophy is to their thinking had gone wrong. And the intellectual be made relevant to the problems of life and questions of errors were not primarily theological, but philosophical. students. What this philosophy is and where it will lead Philosophy defends truths divinely delivered against the was left open. Certainly, however, it could not be imposed enemies who attack them with weapons borrowed from as a pre-established body of truths. Philosophy studies the arguments of philosophers: According to Leo XIII, were to be defined by dialogue and discussion with past The philosophy above all that supported the truths of and contemporary philosophers. faith and refuted contemporary philosophical errors was Jesuits trained exclusively in scholastic philosophy that of St. Thomas of Aquinas. were not qualified to teach philosophy in this new spir- The Second Vatican Council marked a sharp break it, a spirit which also implied a new content. with the Roman Catholic Church’s attitude to modern Philosophers previously dismissed as “adversaries,” were thought characteristic of Inscrutabili, Aeterni Patris, and now understood as sources of insights into a human numerous other policy statements. Views that had been condition always to be understood in terms of its social, explicitly condemned in the 19th century, for example, cultural, and historical situations. the desirability of separating church and state, were The council’s openness to the variety of philosophies openly affirmed. Rather than a cesspool of errors, mod- and philosophers, combined with US Catholic colleges ern thought was acknowledged as a source of truths and universities’ commitment to adopt the standards, important for faith. Vatican II was the antithesis of those structures, and policies typical of American universities, attitudes and strategies that had shaped philosophical also felt as consonant with Vatican II’s spirit, resulted in education through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. the hiring of all variety of philosophers who had earned More than anything explicit that it said about philoso- their doctorates in many different universities, Catholic phy, it was Vatican II’s general spirit that was to reshape and non-Catholic. philosophy in Jesuit higher education. Both before and after the council, U.S. Jesuit col- In particular, the council’s appreciation of the historical - leges and universities had extensive core requirements ly and culturally conditioned character of all expressions centered on the humanities. Inevitably, philosophy

Conversations 25 departments and philosophy offer- ings in Jesuit colleges and universi- ties began to look pretty much like other humanities departments and their offerings. The number of required hours in philosophy had gradually been reduced before 1962. Left over from the pre-Vatican II era were four- course requirements in philosophy and theology, almost all of which after Vatican II were reduced to three or two required courses. The reasons philosophy should have a privileged place in the core curricu- lum were not evident to increasing- ly diverse faculties. In any case, most revisions of the core require- ments decreased the number of required courses. The obvious place to cut was the philosophy require- ment, which almost inevitably, post- Vatican II to the present, went from four required courses, to three, and then to two. Philosophy continues to treat questions of ultimate meaning and justification concerning a good life for humans, the nature of justice and other moral virtues, the extent and limits of human knowing, the ultimate nature of reality, the rea- sons (if any) for affirming God’s existence, and so forth, all of which are vital for a Christian inspired lib- eral education. These perennial philosophical questions are not, however, treated exclusively by philosophers. I suggest that to be faithful to our tradition today all fac- ulty should be attentive to the ques- tions of ultimate meaning and justi- fication which arise in their disci- plines. Surely many of the aims the Second Vatican Council ascribed to “philosophy” are also the aims of the social and hard sciences, as well as other humanities’ disciplines. ■

J. Edgar & Louise S. Monroe Library. Loyola University New Orleans.

26 Conversations THEN aND NoW Theology Confronts ALL of Modern Culture

By Susan K. Wood

heological education has changed dramatically. face (Catholic practices, devotions, etc.) to the Before Vatican II college courses were primari- center, which is Christ, viewed in his full living ly catechetical. Most of the professors were reality; (2) an insight into Catholicism, in its doc- Roman Catholic priests who did not hold doc- trines, laws, liturgy, etc., as an organic whole, torates and who were trained from Neo- whose principle of unity is again Christ; (3) a Scholastic manuals in seminaries. Teachers pre- personal possession of the whole truth of Christ, Tsumed that their students would be Roman Catholic. through a personal “discovery” of it; (4) a grasp Graduate courses for the laity were unknown. of the relationship of Catholic truth to all other In the early 1900s, college bulletins emphasized the truth, and to the whole of life and all its prob- religious foundation of all education, but the study of lems; (5) the development of the faculty of Neo-Scholastic philosophy was the distinguishing char- Christian judgment on all that is secular… acteristic of the traditional liberal arts curriculum in Catholic colleges before the academic study of religion Courtney Murray forged an intrinsic link between became an established part of the curriculum. The hege- Catholic identity and world mission in his promotion of mony of Neo-Scholasticism, reaffirmed in Pius XII’s the “lay apostolate” to be carried out by a well-educated encyclical, Humani Generis, in 1950, waned by the end and committed corps of lay people who would irradiate of the decade and all but disappeared by the mid-1960s. the Christian spirit into the secular order. The academic study of religion in the curriculum began Marquette University’s history reflects these develop- in the 1990s. The debate on its role was formulated as ments. In 1952 Marquette changed the name of its “theology” vs. “religion,” the former identified as “scien- department from religion to theology and initiated the tific,” and the latter as “homiletic” or “catechetic.” Thus undergraduate minor in theology, adding the major in the effort to make theology an academic discipline 1959. It established a master’s program in theology in moved it beyond catechetics to include a rational reflec- 1953 and inaugurated the first American Catholic doctor- tion on the content of faith. It became, in the words of al program in religious studies to admit laymen and lay- Anselm, fides quaerens intellectum. women in 1963. The designation “religious studies” was World War II inaugurated a Catholic intellectual intended to distinguish it from the kind of theology then revival and was a turning point in the relationship of taught in most seminaries. It never meant what the term Catholic institutions to the wider culture. John Courtney means today, the study of all religious phenomena from Murray, S.J., a prominent voice in the debate over the a neutral perspective. nature of college theology in the 1940s, summarized Under the auspices of the North American region of what a college religion course might seek to accomplish the International Federation of Catholic Universities, a in the Jesuit Educational Quarterly, Oct. 1949: group of Catholic educators issued the Land O’Lakes … the aim of the course would be “education unto religious adulthood, in intelligence, charac- ter, and sentiment.” Adulthood in religious intel- Sara K. Wood is in the theology department at ligence involves (1) a movement from the sur- Marquette University.

Conversations 27 Celebrating mass. Regis University.

Statement on July 23, 1967, which articulated the rela- Protestants and non-Christians and hold doctorates from tionship of the modern American Catholic university to European and American universities, which may be the Church and to American intellectual life. It identified Catholic, Protestant, or secular schools. Protestant the Catholic university as a community “in which authors as well as classical and contemporary Catholic Catholicism is perceptibly present and effectively opera- authors are standard fare in the curriculum. tive.” It affirmed theology as a legitimate intellectual dis- The student body is more diverse. While Catholic cipline and identified its primary task to: students may still constitute a majority, Protestants, non- Engage directly in exploring the depths of Christian Christians, and students with no religious background tradition and the total religious heritage of the are an ever-growing percentage of the student popula- world, in order to come to the best possible intel- tion. Some students enter college after twelve years of lectual understanding of religion and revelation, of Catholic education, but an increasing number come with man in all his varied relationships to God. very little understanding of their faith or with no faith. Particularly important today is the theological The debate today is not between “religion” and “the- exploration of all human relations and the elabora- ology,” but between “theology” and “religious studies,” tion of a Christian anthropology. Furthermore, the- “theology” being a discipline that begins in faith and ological investigation today must serve the ecu- seeks to explore faith through scholarly research and menical goals of collaboration and unity. reflection. It includes biblical, historical, and systematic theology and utilizes a variety of methodologies. “Religious studies” deals with a multiplicity of religious The debate today is between beliefs and their adherents, i.e., the phenomenon of reli- gion, but not from a committed perspective. It incorpo- “theology” and “religious studies” rates social scientific methods for understanding religion. Catholic universities of the 21st century are inquiring The statement called for dialogue within the univer- once again into the meaning of their Catholic identity. sity so that theology would confront all the rest of mod- This inevitably has implications for a theology curricu- ern culture and all the areas of intellectual study. It lum. Even when many institutions are moving towards a affirmed the autonomy of all the recognized university religious studies curriculum, if the Catholic identity of an areas of study and disavowed any theological or philo- institution represents a faith commitment not only from sophical imperialism at the same time that it pointed to its sponsoring religious community, but of the institution the philosophical and theological dimension of most itself, then it seems that students, their parents, and the intellectual subjects. public have a right to expect that the theology taught Today, priests comprise a small minority within the- there reflects that faith commitment, albeit with ecu- ology departments. Lay professors may include menical and interreligious sensitivity. ■

28 Conversations script rearranges the verses of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to form a kind of poet- ic concatenation. It thus uses the bibli- cal passages as the basis for a kind of The Very Fabric of art form, using Christian tradition to create an entirely new and original level of meaning. It is this relation between faith and art that is so essen- our Society tial to the Jesuit university tradition. Because of its very religiosity, the liber- al arts naturally and organically arise, Liberal Arts and the Jesuit University and are thus inextricably bound up with any Jesuit institution. The Catholic tradition, however, is rapidly washing out of many mod- By Michael Madrinkian ern institutions. Although I certainly do not advocate for the church to intercede in all education, I hope that n our rapidly changing world, we the impact of the Jesuit example, will, are witnessing the decline of the in the future, make secular institutions long-established tradition of liber- strive to make their students whole al arts in the university. In our people. As I begin to pursue my doc- increasingly competitive work- torate in medieval English literature at place environment, student Oxford University, I often reflect upon Idesire to attend the university for its the long history of this liberal arts tradi- own sake is becoming obsolete. Most tion. During the Middle Ages, Oxford often, when I ask university students upheld the medieval notion of the why they are in school they say, “to get seven liberal arts, and its focus has a degree” or “to get a job.” This career- remained on the love of learning for minded outlook, moreover, is reflect- centuries, despite the modern vocation- ed by the culture at large, and is even al prevalence. Oxford shows that insti- beginning to affect the focuses of our tutions need not be directly associated universities. At many of the major with the church to absorb a liberal arts public universities, it is becoming focus. Yet, it is the responsibility of increasingly out of fashion to teach faith-based institutions to lead the way something like Shakespeare simply to in reclaiming that which we have lost, appreciate its literary merit, let alone for Zhuangzi to Aquinas and Eckhart to providing an exemplar for others to fol- personal betterment. Chaucer and Shakespeare. As a stu- low in the future. Because I am not a Catholic, I am dent, I also worked for the Marymount As our universities, and even soci- able to look at Jesuit universities from Institute Press, which focuses of faith, ety, move towards a myopic vocation- an outside perspective. It was when I culture, and the arts, and is committed alism, I urge Jesuit universities of the first came to Loyola Marymount to printing for the betterment of world to remain true to their mission, University in Los Angeles that I began humanity rather than the greatest prof- using education to create whole peo- to understand the merits of a Jesuit it. This qualitative focus that surround- ple. Perhaps in the future, if Jesuit insti- institution. This lies in the Jesuit ideal ed me made me more passionate about tutions can remain a bastion of the lib- of “educating the whole person,” using being a student, and drove me to excel eral arts, we will begin to show society university education to foster intellectu- merely out of a love for knowledge. at large that there is more to education al and spiritual life. Rather than being What has struck me most deeply than a degree. We must show the career-driven, I was able to foster an about the Jesuit university tradition is world that without the liberal arts, the appreciation for the university itself. seeing faith in conversation with learn- very fabric of our society will unravel, Moreover, through the presence of ing. Regardless of my own, or anyone as it is the beautiful things in life that interdisciplinarity, I was able to experi- else’s religious affiliations, it is faith that sustain our humanity. ■ ence a wealth of knowledge that will binds us and gives the university life. likely never help me get a better job, As a medievalist in English literature, I Michael Madrinkian, a 2012 graduate but has made me a better individual. I have researched an anonymous reli- of Loyola Marymount University is have read, and been influenced by, gious manuscript, which exemplifies now at graduate student at Oxford texts across disciplines, from Plato and the Jesuit liberal arts ideal. The manu- University.

Conversations 29 DIVERSITY IN ACTION

Trialogue: A Three-Way Conversation of Faith

By John Switzer

accheus climbed a sycamore tree to “see” who Jesus was. Muslims, ZJews, and Christians engaged in Trialogue, fortunately, have the benefit of tables. Interfaith understanding is at the heart of what it means to be Catholic and Jesuit. It also made an early appear- ance at Spring Hill College. In February of 1830, Bishop Michael Portier purchased 380 acres from the City of Mobile in the part of town providing the college its name. Although the college would be “emi- nently Catholic,” Portier guaranteed no influence exerted upon “the minds of the pupils for a change of religious principles.” One hundred thirty-five years later, the Second Vatican Council promulgated Nostra Aetate, the Declaration on the Relationship of the Trialogue participants, from bottom left (clockwise): Rev. Ellen Sims (United Church of Church to Non-Christian Religions. Christ), Mr. Sedat Kacar (Muslim), Mrs. Perilla Wilson (Catholic), Dr. John Switzer Sharing Portier’s convictions, the bish- (Catholic, Spring Hill College); Rabbi Steve Silberman (Jewish). ops called on Catholics “to enter with Photo © Elise Poché prudence and charity into discussion and collaboration with members of Wrinkled brows emerge and smiles direction they desire—as long as dis- other religions” while acknowledging, erupt. Interreligious friendships are born cussion is respectful. preserving, and encouraging “the spiri- amid quotations from the Holy Qur’an How does one initiate a sustained tual and moral truths found among and from both testaments of the Holy experience of interreligious conversa- non-Christians, together with their Bible. I can’t help but imagine that tion? Just do it. Survey your communi- social life and culture.” Bishop Portier would be pleased. ty. Visit religious communities and In 1995 the Society of Jesus pro- Composed of local believers from build friendships. When trust is estab- claimed that being religious today means Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, our lished, religious believers can’t help but to be interreligious: “A positive relation- advisory board has insisted that the express their convictions. ship with believers of other faiths is a bulk of every event’s activity be cen- Religious self-identity has long been requirement in a world of religious plu- tered on table conversation as believers predicated on the idea that it grows ralism.” The goal of positive relation- speak from their hearts. A topic is usu- best in an environment of self-imposed ships established on friendly conversa- ally chosen by the advisors and while isolation. Inspired by Bishop Portier, tion is the very foundation of Spring Hill speakers are occasionally used, they Vatican II, and the Society of Jesus, we Trialogue: an opportunity for adherents are not the center of activity. The should recognize that interreligious lit- of the three Abrahamic faiths to meet emphasis remains on the participants eracy can be a catalyst toward clearer quarterly for face-to-face interreligious seated at tables of eight or ten, with religious identity. conversation. Volunteers bring food that each of the three faiths represented. is halal and kosher (even this is a learn- The advisory committee provides a list John Switzer is an associate professor of ing experience). Coffee and tea are of discussion questions regarding the theology at Spring Hill College, where sipped. Questions are posed and evening’s theme, but participants are he also serves as director of graduate answered by believers, not experts. free to take their conversation in any programs in theology and ministry.

30 Conversations Beyond Interfaith Dialogue The Brueggeman Center at Xavier University

By James P. Buchanan

he idea that drives the Dialogue and risk People.” The exhibit hopes to edu- Brueggeman Center for At the center we believe that dialogue cate, commemorate and inspire those Dialogue at Xavier is that in entails that we risk our presupposi- who visit it through photographs, T an age of globalization we tions in order to experience possible videos, artifacts and text panels that need to be in conversation with the transformation. Dialogue must openly tell the story of the Pope’s life from world. The challenge we set was to engage the other. Thus we become his childhood in Poland to his frame interfaith dialogue in a much partners in everything we do. Over Papacy. The narrative focuses upon broader and more inclusive context, the last decade the Brueggeman the Pope’s relationship with the engaging not only the other academic Center has partnered with over a hun- Jewish people beginning with his disciplines but the business communi- dred organizations or groups, in childhood in Wadowice through all ty, government, and civil society which we have engaged religious the historic firsts of his papacy. It also including the global NGO community. scholars and leaders and a range of tells the story of his Jewish friendship Thus our programming ranges over experts from diverse fields from over with Jerzy Kluger from childhood economics, politics, human rights, the 100 countries who have challenged through his papacy. The exhibit con- environment, healthcare, gender and our worldviews and our values. cludes with a 20-foot replica of diversity, and foreign policy, Jerusalem’s Western which bring the religions Wall into which visi- into conversation with tors are invited to scholars from other disci- place their own plines, economists, policy- prayers, all of which makers, businessmen, and are delivered to the government officials. actual Western Wall. For the religions, this The exhibit has now approach poses new chal- been visited by over lenges and opens new 800,000 people in 17 opportunities. The chal- different venues. We lenges include the demand built the exhibit as a that, if we want to be rele- tool to be used by vant to this broader, cross- communities to sectoral discussion, we strengthen interfaith must retool and begin to relations. The exhibit learn the language and has been in an equal concepts of economics, for- number of Catholic eign policy, science, and so and Jewish institu- on. We must do this in order to be The Winter-Cohen Brueggeman tions. In 2013 it will be the opening able to listen and understand the Student Fellows program has engaged exhibit at the new Museum of the other and to be listened to and under- students with a year of research which History of the Polish Jews in Warsaw stood. The struggle is to find both includes international immersion. We and will begin a European tour. common concerns and common lan- have sent students to over 40 different guage so that there is something to countries. It is high risk for all involved James P. Buchanan is executive talk about and a means to do so. The but transforms their lives and ours. director, the Edward B. Brueggeman opportunity is the possibility that the In 2005, working with Rabbi Abie Center for Dialogue at Xavier voice and values of the religions Ingber and Dr. William Madges, we University, Cincinnati, OH. For more might be listened to by the others in created “A Blessing to One Another: information about the Center’s work new, more powerful ways. Pope John Paul II and the Jewish visit www.xavier.edu/dialogue

Conversations 31 Reports DREaM and Tears at USF By Sara Pendergast

nterfaith work at the University of San Francisco around immigration rights where shared by students of (USF)) was a small seed planted last year by a Christian, Jewish, and Muslim backgrounds. Through the graduating senior who was inspired by Eboo service, the message of the importance of welcoming Patel’s Interfaith Youth Core. His message that strangers, setting captives free, and the dignity of all “faith in the 21st century can build bridges of coop- human beings was dynamically illustrated. When it came eration that are stronger than barriers of division” time for a DREAM student to share her own personal tes- deeplyI resonated with her. With that vision in mind, she timony, she had been moved to tears. The wide embrace advocated for the implementation of an interfaith pro- that this interfaith service provided was for her was a gram within university beautiful example of ministry. In order to faiths working together solidify its existence, for the common good. USF petitioned to be Since then, interfaith part of the White programs have pro- House Interfaith and duced much fruit at USF. Community Service We host a monthly inter- Campus Challenge. faith dialogue dinner Yet, institutional com- and have continued to mitment to an “inter- tie social justice and faith program” and interfaith programs being a part of the together ranging from a President’s Interfaith campaign for the SAFE Challenge didn’t Act, which would end immediately equate a the death penalty in created community. California, to events Thus, USF hired centered on ecological me as a resident minis- justice. University min- ter to work on creating istry has strengthened its a space for interfaith relationship with other engagement. Immediate questions that I began to grap- faith-based clubs such as the Muslim Student Association ple with were how does our office define interfaith? and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. How do I find students who want to be involved? What Perhaps the biggest indication that we are moving in sort of programs do I run? On a campus where engag- the correct direction was when after one of our dialogue ing students in matters of spirituality or religion is a chal- dinners a student who is Muslim asked, “Are there lenge to navigate, this task felt daunting. internships within University ministry?” This sort of state- What ended up bringing the initial growth to this ment and the DREAM student’s reaction to the candle- area of ministry was teaming up with a colleague on an light vigil, are what stretch me to widen the embrace of event that was rooted in social justice and interfaith dia- interfaith programs, find God in all things, and search for logue combined. We collaborated on an awareness cam- the common good. ■ paign around the federal DREAM Act, entitled the “DREAM Sabbath” which included elements of educa- tion, reflection, and advocacy. The central event was an Sara Pendergast is a resident minister at the University of interfaith prayer vigil where various spiritual reflections San Francisco. And coordinator of interfaith programs. To learn more visit www.usfca.edu/universityministry

32 Conversations The Mission of Scholarship The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University

By John L. Esposito

he Center for Muslim–Christian In April 2012, The Understanding, renamed The Alwaleed Bin Talal Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Center for Muslim- Muslim–Christian Understanding Christian (ACMCU) in 2006, was founded in 1993 by an agreement between the Understanding TFondation pour l’Entente entre Chretiens et (ACMCU) hosted a Musulmans, Geneva and Georgetown delegation from the University to build stronger bridges of under- Freedom and Justice standing between the Muslim world and the Party (FJP), the politi- West as well as between Islam and Christianity. cal wing of Egypt's The center’s mission is twofold: to improve Muslim Brotherhood. relations between the Muslim world and the West and to enhance understanding of Muslims in the West. ACMCU’s activities are designed to address initiatives with the World Economic Forum, the Archbishop of stereotypes of Islam and warnings of a clash of civilizations, Canterbury’s Building Bridges program, the UN Alliance of as well as engage challenging questions regarding the com- Civilizations, and The Common Word project between major patibility of Islam and modern life, from democratization and Muslim and Christian religious leaders. We were especially for- pluralism, to the status of women, minorities, and human tunate to receive a generous endowment from Prince rights. We achieve our mission through a combination of rig- Alwaleed Bin Talal, a global entrepreneur and philanthropist, orous scholarship and frequent publications (books, articles, that has guaranteed the permanent existence of the center and use of the internet and blogging), a wide-ranging academic has enabled us to significantly expand our activities. curriculum that contributes to the training of the next gener- Today we face historic transformations, from the Arab ation, conferences and seminars held at Georgetown and Spring of 2011 (the toppling of authoritarian regimes and internationally, and public outreach. The center’s audience struggles to establish new more democratic governments), includes academic, political, media, corporate and religious increased interreligious and intra-religious conflicts, the rise leaders and communities. By our eighth anniversary in 2001, of Islamophobia in the West. As we approach our 20th we were an established and thriving center, building bridges anniversary, we look forward to the next decade of realizing of mutual understanding in the U.S. and internationally. our mission at home and abroad. ■ The terrorist attacks on 9/11 dealt a major blow to Muslim-West relations and to our mission. We traveled across America and the world addressing many of the fears and ques- tions. Our faculty has played, and continues to play, a signif- John L. Esposito is university professor, professor of religion icant role in conferences across the US, Europe and the and international affairs and of Islamic studies and found- Muslim world, published books and articles and has blogged ing director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for on key issues. They were among the leaders in international Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.

Conversations 33 Forum

THINGS MY FATHER mopolitan Jesuit priestly community studies scholars; we have one Jesuit from England, Ireland, German and who has been a beneficent, brilliant TAUGHT ME Spain, who all had devoted their lives to presence throughout my time here and A Hindu among the teaching and were enormously gifted. whose interests include Scripture and They were highly disciplined, and Christology; four lay Catholics who Jesuits expected the same from their students; have varied interests—one scholar spe- By Nagarajan Vijaya they helped channel and rein in the cializing in multiple historical-critical enormous energy of undergraduate stu- understandings of the Bible; another Whenever people ask me what I do, I dents with stimulating, high quality lec- on Africa, feminism, and theologies of tell them, with a wide grin, “I am a tures, and expected a matching of effort HIV; another on Latin American libera- Hindu among the Jesuits.” from their students that they themselves tion theologies, race theory, and faith- When I first came to the depart- were exhibiting and modeling. based social movements; another on ment in 1997 my department had six It is clear to me now that the ways Catholic systematic theology, the Jesuits, one nun, one lay Catholic, one in which my father worked through Philippines and soteriology; one schol- Lutheran theological scholar, one soci- problems and his philosophical and ar focusing on immigration, social and ologist of religion, one social ethicist, ascetic outlook to life, all of which he environmental ethics, and gender and and then, me. I was one of the few tried to pass on to me, were as much violence; another bridging together women in the department. I was shaped by his orthodox, conservative Jewish and Islamic politics both in the deeply moved by the Jesuits welcom- Hindu upbringing, progressive Middle East and in America, another ing me into their midst. I felt awkward Gandhian ideals and the cosmopolitan bringing together Islam, gender and and shy, not sure of my place, and not Jesuits who schooled him. sexuality, another a medieval textual sure whether I would gradually feel a Throughout my childhood consist- scholar on Tibetan Buddhism from sense of belonging. ing of extended periods in India and India, one anthropological scholar of There was a string of autobio- the United States, my father embodied Buddhism, Japanese Shinto religion graphical history, though, that tied me the sharp, critical, intellectual question- and globalization, and another on to the Jesuits which gave me a deep felt ing of the Jesuits, his openness and crit- Hinduism, ritual, art, gender and ecolo- connection to the University of San ical inquiry into his own faith and oth- gy. These scholars-teachers all personi- Francisco and made me feel more at ers, and above all, a cultivation of his fy, each in his or her own way, a deep home. I thought it coincidental that natural curiosity towards multiple sub- attention to discipline, a mastery of nearly forty-five years after my father’s jects, both in the humanities and the multiple overlapping disciplinary orien- Jesuit education in India, from 1948- sciences. He became a life-long intel- tations and mappings, and a heart open 1952 at St. Josephs College in lectual, curious about the history of to learning and service. Bangalore and Loyola University in ideas, and his ability to braid together Soon I will become the department Chennai (then Loyola College in his native Tamil and Indian philosoph- chair, and it is an important time for me Madras), I was to teach religious stud- ical knowledge, his critical receptivity to reflect on the multiple gifts that a ies at a Jesuit university in America. and analytical sophistication in both Jesuit, Catholic university can offer in It was the slow movement of a gift western systems of thinking and learn- the contemporary educational climate. of learning, stretched out across time and ing, and his intense desire to gain Disciplined learning, academic space, across disciplines, religions, cul- knowledge all served him extremely excellence, and a rigorous base knowl- tures and continents, spanning half the well in his career and his life, all of edge of multiple disciplines in both the world. The Jesuits trained my father in which he modeled for me and passed arts and sciences, and a willingness to math and physics, English language and onto me as best as he could. Even now work hard, all seem to be a great foun- literature, and Tamil language and litera- at seventy-nine years old, my father dation for any student in the contem- ture in Chennai, just after Indian inde- exhibits an unusual level of thoughtful- porary world. It seems to me that a pendence, and I, having been trained in ness, a high degree of intellectual Jesuit education is as foundational now religious studies, Tamil language and lit- curiosity about the world, and a com- as it was then, sixty years ago, in my erature, art history, anthropology, eco- mitment to deep learning. father’s memories and now echoed nomics and engineering, was going to strongly in my own life. teach Hinduism, religion and ecology, How about Philippine soteriology? and religion and nonviolence to students Now in 2012, fifteen years later, in our Nagarajan Vijaya is chair of the depart- attending a Jesuit institution. department we have a tremendous ment of theology and religious studies at My father’s memories were of a cos- diversity of theologians and religious the University of San Francisco.

34 Conversations Forum

Being a “Jewish courses with a number of other faculty, Catholic university? Two early experi- and this plus interactions with my ences pointed to two divergent answers. Jesuit” teaching assistants over the years has Shortly after my first year at By Rabbi Ruth Langer helped refine my understanding of Rockhurst, I was stopped in the hall by Christianity and make this highlighting a Jesuit philosophy professor who said Unlike most Jewish faculty members at of difference more effective. I particu- to me, “You realize, don’t you, that since Boston College who teach solely in larly value opportunities to teach semi- you’re not Catholic you’re teaching their academic disciplines, my specific narians, as they themselves will without the benefit of sanctifying grace?” position has made dialogue with become teachers and preachers, allow- A bit stunned, the only response I could Christianity take an important role, not ing these discussions to go beyond the manage was “Father, I guess I’ll have to only in my teaching, but also in the classroom door. Just as I struggle to limp along as best I can.” research and service aspects of my pro- understand elements of Christianity on Not long after this first encounter, I fessional life – and by this I mean not its own terms, my Christian students was in a meeting in which a number of only my role as a professor, but also enter into a struggle to understand now familiar phrases were being dis- my role as a rabbi. As the professor of Judaism. For Judaism, the struggle itself cussed: “hiring for mission,” a “critical Jewish studies in the theology depart- is a form of worship of God. mass of Catholics,” and so forth. After ment at Boston College I teach an Life as a Jew at a Jesuit university listening to a number of viewpoints, undergraduate core sequence that com- has its challenges too. Many major uni- the president of the university made pares Judaism and Christianity. At my versity celebrations are in the context this statement: “I would not want to interview, the then chair kindly assured of a Mass, and I am an outsider. BC adopt any policies that would suggest me, “We know that you do not know recently placed crucifixes in all class- that the contributions of our non- much about Christianity, but you are rooms, making it improper for me to Catholic faculty are less important than smart; you’ll learn.” share aspects of Jewish ritual life when those of our Catholic faculty.” To be a rabbi is primarily to be a I teach. In most cases, though, Boston Two Jesuits, two perspectives. teacher, to be someone who engages College respects and even expects that Over time, the first experience proved deeply with Torah and transmits it to I will be deeply Jewish. This would not to be an anomaly. Now some 17 years others. This is a central aspect of my be the case in a secular setting. later, I can say that I have become a life as a Jew. In Boston College’s part of a community—both Jesuit and Christian context, though, it has added Rabbi Ruth Langer is professor of lay, Catholic and non-Catholic, that is another dimension: work on the Jewish studies, theology department, welcoming and affirming of my gifts renewal and repair of Christian-Jewish Boston College. and contributions. Such acceptance is relations, both in the classroom and in continuity with the teachings of the through our Center for Christian-Jewish Catholic Church. Unitatis redintegratio, Learning and the e-journal, Studies in the Vatican II document of ecumenism, Christian-Jewish Relations. Two Voices: states that many of the “elements and endowments” that build the life of the Grace Knows No Church, such as the Word of God, the Boundaries life of grace, and gifts of the Spirit, “can For Judaism the By Wilburn T. Stancil exist outside the visible boundaries of struggle itself is a the Catholic Church.” Prior to coming to Rockhurst University In short, the grace of God is not form of worship in 1995, I had taught theology in three bound by either our particularities or different Protestant seminaries and our differences but transcends them, divinity schools. As the first non- giving us more than we could hope for Bringing Judaism and Christianity into Catholic tenure-track faculty member or even deserve. That is the grace that dialogue in the classroom and beyond hired in the theology and religious stud- I hope informs my life and teaching at requires deliberate identification of ies department at Rockhurst, I Rockhurst. structural and cultural differences. My approached this new challenge with process of learning about Christianity confidence but also concern. How Wilburn T. Stancil, a former member of and learning how to teach Judaism would I be received? Would I be able to this seminar, is professor of theology & effectively at BC began with con- contribute to the mission of a Jesuit and religious studies at Rockhurst University. fronting this reality. I have co-taught

Conversations 35 COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS

36 Conversations would disregard its core principles to become accepted? All but one of the apostles, were martyred rather than recant their faith. This example of lead- The Future of the ership combined with the fire of the Holy Spirit in their teachings inspired millions to change their ways. Church Lies with Our modern society today is not that different from the cities of Rome two thousand years ago. However, Following the instead of standing up for principled beliefs and helping people both inside and outside the church overcome their Example Set by the shortcomings and live more fulfilling lives, the pressure in recent years is to say that every act of selfishness is okay. While this “acceptance of everything” Apostles culture may make us feel good for the moment because we receive praise from our peers, it is causing incalcula- ble agony demonstrated by the trends By Peter Domas with divorce, poverty rates among sin- gle parent households, and substance abuse brought about by depression. As Jesuit universities, we are already his year the Roman doing much to fulfill the mission of Catholic Church is marking Christ. For example, the St. Thomas More the fiftieth anniversary Society at the University of Detroit Mercy since the beginning of School of Law provides numerous volun- Vatican II, and with the teers, who throughout the winter arrive recent revisions to the at 6:30 am at the church next to the law Tmass translation, there is a renewed school to help provide meals to some of emphasis on how the church should Detroit’s homeless. Furthermore, UDM evolve in response to the ever chang- School of Law provides countless hours ing modern society. A significant num- of free legal services to the disadvan- ber of Catholics – clergy and laity alike taged through our legal clinics, and pro- – are calling for a “modernization” of grams like this are present at Jesuit uni- the church’s teachings to make itself versities all across the country. However more attractive to a society that sees no church to better understand how the Pope Benedict XVI, building upon the problem with abortion, contraception, church can thrive in today’s society. work of Blessed Pope John Paul II, has premarital and homosexual relations, For the first three-hundred years of called for a new evangelization, one not and married or women priests. In the church’s history, society opposed only focused upon bringing Christ to doing so, proponents of these changes the teachings of Jesus. However, Jesus’ those outside the Church, but to strength- say we should disregard many of the teachings of love, compassion, respect, en the beliefs and understandings of teachings that the church has held for and salvation spread from just a hand- those within the Church as well. Jesuit two thousand years because we, as an ful of supporters to millions of people universities are in the unique position by enlightened society, now know better. throughout the Middle East, North being both respected institutes of higher Meanwhile there have been times Africa, and Europe. In the face of such education in a secular society and being in the church’s history in which individ- fierce opposition, how did the church built upon a tradition of evangelization. uals claiming to act on behalf of the thrive then, but is shrinking in both Therefore, the Jesuits and the universities church have ignored Jesus’ most basic Europe and North America now? they founded, who brought Christ to the commandment that we must love our We might ask, if the early disciples New World, must now bring the New neighbors as ourselves. This should not of Christ had chosen to incorporate World back to Christ. ■ serve as justification for us to overlook into their faith many of the practices of the core teachings handed down to the their society, would there be a Peter Domas is a third year law student church by the apostles. Rather, we Christian faith today? Why would at the University of Detroit Mercy. should look to early history of the someone believe in a religion that

Conversations 37 Characteristics of Jesuit Colleges and Universities: A Self-evaluation Instrument

he response of the Jesuits to the reforms of This effort to implement a dialogue around the Tthe Second Vatican Council and the renew- seven characteristics anticipates that a Jesuit university al of the church continues will have a clear, well-articulated relationship with the The document Some Characteristics of Jesuit Society of Jesus which is formalized in a written state- Universities has been eight years in the making. The ment (“Statement of Mutual Purpose”). It articulates the efforts were initiated by the Jesuit provincials who mutual commitment and support among the Jesuit launched a strategic discernment process in 2004 for community, the provincial superior of the Jesuits in the all Jesuit ministries to examine their mission of the region, and the university’s board of trustees for the service of faith that does justice and how it relates to support and preservation of the Catholic and Jesuit the inculturation of the Gospel in every time and place identity of the institution. All Jesuit institutions share in appreciative dialogue with other religious traditions. with the Society of Jesus the commitment to promote Through a long process of exchange and frank dis- “a faith that does justice through interreligious dia- cussion that began in earnest in October, 2010, the logue and a creative engagement with culture” (GC 34 Jesuit provincials and the Jesuit university presidents and 35). endorsed this document in February, 2012. The document Some Characteristics of Jesuit It is a self-examination instrument. It is intended to Universities is meant to be flexible. It recognizes that be used by Jesuit universities and colleges as a tool for the 28 U.S. Jesuit higher education institutions “vary self-improvement, particularly with regard to the fulfill- considerably in size and scope, in the extent of gradu- ment of their Jesuit and Catholic identity. It fosters a ate and professional programs, as well as relative crucial dialogue around the question of Father Peter- emphasis given to teaching, research, and service.” Hans Kolvenbach, “What are the apostolic needs of Each institution is invited to tailor the document to its the people of God in our times, and how are we called own particular context and structures. It can be used as to respond?” a springboard for dialog with boards of trustees, with The Preamble to the seven characteristics affirms that faculty and staff, and with external stakeholders such “we need consciously to be on guard that both the noun as the Jesuit provincial, the local Catholic bishop, and ‘university’ and the adjective ‘Jesuit’ always remain fully other supporters of the institution. honored.” Catholic and Jesuit are not simply two charac- Above all it is intended to be a living document teristics among many. Rather, they signify our defining that schools make their own, a document that is open character, what makes us uniquely who we are. to rewriting and rethinking as time goes on.

38 Conversations SEVEN CHaRaCTERISTICS oF JESUIT CoLLEGES aND UNIVERSITIES How to Strengthen Our Catholic and Jesuit Identity

John Carroll University’s 60-acres campus is distinguished by it’s striking collegiate gothic architecture.

Leadership and mission. On every characterized by personal responsibility, the church and the community to learn level — trustees, president and cabi- respect, forgiveness, compassion, a habit from one another. The president should 1 reflection and an integration of body, have an open line between himself and net, academic deans and faculty — the leadership must clearly state, through mind and soul. This includes liturgy, the the local ordinary who should be wel- the mission statement and personal initia- opportunity to make the Spiritual comed on the campus. tive, the commitment to teaching, Exercises, and the moral use of one’s research, and service. All things being body with regard to sexuality, substance Jesuit presence. The university equal, they must seek committed Catholics abuse, and health. It should also promote must do all in its power to main- programs which offer an alternative to the 6tain a strong cohort of Jesuits — familiar with Jesuit traditions for vice pres- idents, who understand how the Jesuit “culture of superficiality” with which the as faculty, administrators, and campus identity can be integrated into the curricu- Society has expressed growing concern. ministers — capable of playing a public lar and extracurricular life. role formally and informally in its life. Service. The university as an insti- The Jesuit community should be known Academic life which reflects the tution must insert itself into the for its vibrant hospitality. The university 4world on the side of the poor, the mission. The overall commitment should participate actively in the 2to research and teaching should marginalized, and those seeking justice. Association of Jesuit Colleges and Those on service trips should learn the demonstrate excellence, particularly in the Universities and collaborate with other local language, learn to see the world liberal arts and Christian humanistic edu- Jesuit universities throughout the world. cation for all students. The core must through the eyes of those they serve. reflect the institution’s commitment to They should apply the Ignatian pedagogi- Integrity. In its management prac- faith and justice, should include the cal paradigm: it stresses experience, reflec- tices the university should offer com- world’s major intellectual traditions, major tion, and action. 7 pensation and benefits which demon- religions, and an introduction to Catholic strate a commitment to fairness, equity and thought taught by professors sympathetic Service to the local church. The the well-being of the employees. Fairness to the material. Promotion and tenure university should educate first gener- 5ation immigrant populations, should distinguish its norms for promotion decisions should reflect a commitment to and tenure and its practices concerning these ideals. These principles should Catholic and non-Catholic, and offer pro- gender, racial, and ethnic equal opportuni- apply to professional and graduate grams and resources which build the local ty. Its recruitment and hiring policies — schools as well. church and provide a place where the local community can meet and discuss concerning administration, faculty, and staff — should be clearly published in the mis- A Catholic Jesuit Campus Culture. matters which concern the church and the neighborhood. It should sponsor ecu- sion statement and should attract and All members of the community accept candidates who share and will 3should work to foster a virtuous life menical dialogues in a way which enables promote the mission of the university. ■

Conversations 39 Reports

Failed marriages, poor catechesis, sex scandal, unmet spiritual needs The Exodus of americans from the Catholic Church

By Chester Gillis

ach year thousands of people join the Baptists. According to the 2008 Pew Forum on Religion Catholic Church through their participation in and Public Life, while nearly one in three Americans (31 the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Most percent) was raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than Catholics have never attended the Easter Vigil one in four (23 percent) describe themselves as Catholic. ceremony at which these new members are In the past 10 years the church has lost 1,359 parish- welcomed into the church. For those who do es (7.1 percent of the national total), many of these in attend, it is a rich liturgy in which the RCIA the Northeast and Midwest, victims of demographic candidates play a significant role. Most parish- changes and unsustainable infrastructure. At the same Ees receive candidates into the church through this elabo- time, new and larger churches are being built in loca- rate ritual; for those who participate in, or at least are tions to which people have migrated in either the sub- aware of, this ceremony, it must look as though the church urbs or the sunshine states. With fewer priests there will is growing. According to the Pew Forum, 2.6 percent of be fewer, but larger, churches. the adult population (about 6 million Catholics) is com- Forty percent of Catholics are age 50 or older. Two- posed of converts. However, this growth is offset by 10.1 thirds who leave the church do so before they are 24 percent (about 23 million) who have left their childhood years old, so the next generation of Catholics is shrink- affiliation with the Catholic Church. Thus, the number of ing. Immigration, mostly Hispanic, has helped to bolster Catholics is definitely not growing and, without immigra- the absolute number of Catholics, but second- and third- tion, would be declining sharply. About 45 percent of generation Hispanic Catholics are also leaving, usually to those who leave join Protestant churches, and 45 percent join Pentecostal Christian churches. According to the remain unaffiliated. The other 10 percent join a non- Pew Forum, Latinos, who number one in three adult Christian religion. Catholics overall, will constitute a larger share of U.S. The Official Catholic Directory reports that between Catholics going forward since they make up nearly half 2005 and 2011 the number of Catholics grew from 64.8 to (45 percent) of all Catholics in the 18–29 age range. 65.4 million (an increase of 600,000, or less than .01 per- Indeed, 25 percent in this group report that they are not cent). But the Catholic population is not growing at the affiliated with any particular religion. With young people same pace as the general population in America, which from all ethnic groups marrying and starting families rose from 296 million in 2005 to 310 million in 2011 (a later, they are often out of reach of the church from their growth rate of approximately 5 percent). The 2007 Pew mid-teens to their marriage. Forum Survey indicated that there are 22 million ex- Catholics in America, a group that is larger than the Southern Baptists, the Methodists, or the Mormons. In Chester Gillis is head of Georgetown College of fact, this part of the population could be considered the Georgetown University. third largest “denomination” behind Catholics and all

40 Conversations Why? What is the most basic reason the Catholic population is not growing? The most obvious answer is that people are leaving the church at higher rates than they are joining and they are not baptizing their children Catholic at the same rate as their parents and grandparents did. One in three Americans raised Catholic has left the church—to go where? Some join evangelical churches or mainline denom- inations, a small number become Muslims or Jews, and some just abandon religion altogether. As the sociologists say, they joined the “nones”—they have no reli- gious affiliation. This group now repre- sents 16 percent of the adult population. Other underlying causes? Liberal Catholics leave because of the way the church treats women, sexuality, and poli- tics among other concerns. Conservatives leave because they believe that the post- Vatican II church has abandoned its dis- tinctiveness, aped the ways of secular society, and pursued a liberal social agen- da to name a few reasons. Many leave because they have married someone who is not Catholic. Again, according to Pew, 37 percent of Americans marry someone Jesuits enter St. John's Church for the Mass of the Holy Spirit at Creighton University. from another denomination. Many of these elect to con- attendance is the new weekly attendance. People don’t vert to the spouse’s religion; some become Catholic; but have the same sense of sin of missing weekly Mass, even many others leave Catholicism. Some, on both sides of though the church teachings in that area haven’t the traditional/progressive divide, attribute it to ineffec- changed. People say they’re busy or they have to work.” tive catechesis. Perhaps more important, many who join One indicator of this disposition is Catholics’ waning another Christian denomination (including evangelical participation in Holy Days of Obligation. Just check the churches) do so because they have found a more suit- bulletin in any parish to compare the Mass schedule for able spiritual home there. They join churches in which a Holy Day—it usually has about half the number of the worship is more vibrant and contemporary. Masses compared to a Sunday schedule. Though the The church has also been wracked by an ongoing church considers it a sin to miss Mass on a Holy Day, sexual abuse scandal that has taken its toll. In some dio- many Catholics do not, and parishes have adjusted to ceses particularly hard hit by the scandal, participation in this new reality by scheduling fewer Masses. weekly Mass has dramatically declined. In Boston, for The church is now engaged in a wide campaign for example, once the bastion of Irish-American evangelization, and it is not non-Catholics they are try- Catholicism, weekly participation now stands at 16%. ing to reach. It is baptized Catholics who are not aware This, of course, is not confined to the American Church. of, or do not embrace, the gospel or the Catholic The Church in Ireland, also scarred by sexual abuse, has Church. A document titled Go and Make Disciples: A seen a decline in participation from 90% in the 1970s to National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in about 25% today. the United States was approved on November 18, 1992, Mark Gray, Research Associate at the Center for by the American bishops, and they have a standing com- Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown mittee on evangelization and catechesis. As they know University, describes other reasons. “The monthly Mass all too well, they have their work cut out for them. ■

Conversations 41 Reports

THE RETREaT MaSTER IS — GoD! The Ignatian Spiritual Heritage Reanimated for Today’s Higher Education Challenges

By Howard Gray, S.J.

his is a summary narrative about a dense retrieval of the way Ignatius Loyola gave the Spiritual and extensive topic, that of the develop- Exercises. Briefly put, Ignatius’ method was a minimum ment of Ignatian spirituality within the cul- of explicit guidance from the director, or better, guide, of ture of Jesuit higher education during the the retreat and an emphasis on the one making the post Vatican II years. Two preliminary com- Exercises experiencing the guidance of God. So impor- ments. First, because it is a summary this tant was this encounter with divine leadership that narrative skims the surface and simplifies Ignatius counseled the human director or guide to support the evolution of the narrative. Second, it is the encounter without offering too much advice. In other importantT to remember that we are talking about a cul- words, allow God to become the true director of the ture that permeates all Jesuit higher education institu- retreat. This retreat experience grew in importance tions and that culture is highly influenced by secular pri- throughout Jesuit formation and quickly became the inspi- orities and professional competition. ration for the so-called directed retreat movement that had There are three aspects of Ignatian spirituality that I a profound impact beyond Jesuit circles, touching the lives will emphasize. First, in the 1960s and early 1970s of religious women and men, diocesan priests, and lay col- younger Jesuits and then many of their professional col- leagues. The direct experience of God, while not exclusive leagues underwent a renewed experience of the to Ignatian spirituality, became at once the touchstone of Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Second, as a the way Jesuits interpreted the Vatican II mandate for per- development of this religious experience, there emerged sonal religious renewal and for renewed apostolic energy an appreciation for and then an appropriation of the in their various apostolates. The greatest gift Jesuits could importance of the Ignatian “way of proceeding.” Third, offer their colleagues was the opportunity to experience a network of Jesuit-lay programs has emerged that fur- the direction of God in their own lives through the ther the specific mission of the higher education as Spiritual Exercises. Catholic and Jesuit, that support the goals of learning and research, but challenge the exclusivity of the secu- Ignatian Way of Proceeding. lar and competitive character of higher education. The second aspect of the Ignatian heritage, stemming The Spiritual Exercises. from the Exercises, was a habit of attending to the way God animates all creative reality. From their own educa- In the early 1960s I made my final year of Jesuit forma- tional experiences and eventually from their own work tion under a modern master of the Spiritual Exercises, Paul Kennedy, the director of the British Province ter- tianship (the final year of Jesuit formation). Kennedy Howard Gray, S.J., is a special assistant to the president proved to be a major figure in a primarily continental at Georgetown University.

42 Conversations as educators, Jesuits had a profound appreciation for the 1955)?” Dr. Rhodes’s challenge was a call for Jesuit col- power of knowledge, study, teaching, and research in all leges and universities, or better for Jesuits and their col- their ministries. It was not simply a matter of inspiration leagues, to embrace and adapt the Ignatian “way of pro- to work hard or to ceeding” in their labors in today’s cul- do whatever good ture of higher education. From they could in every Can Jesuit presence give Assembly 89 to the present we have work. It was also been mining the Ignatian heritage to the ability to find us a new world view? respond to that still relevant challenge. what God was say- ing within every aspect of learning, art, and the sciences. Exploring the Mission. It was also a reverence that extended to their students in their present vocation as learners and in their future pro- If the Spiritual Exercises constitute the heart of Ignatian fessions. This attention to the God who reveals within the spirituality and if from this experience the early Jesuits work of scholarship and teaching is a major aspect of formulated their own apostolic style of life and work, what John O’Malley has so admirably laid out in The First which they called “our way of proceeding,” then fulfill- Jesuits. The early Jesuits characterized this attention to the ment of that inspiration and the practical expression of God who reveals as their “way of proceeding,” their style the Jesuit way of proceeding were found in what the of laboring to bring the priorities of the Kingdom Jesuits called their mission. In Ignatian spirituality mis- preached by Christ into the reality of the world. sion indicated the work that Jesuits discerned as theirs to Let me suggest that a watershed moment in integrat- accomplish as disciples of Jesus Christ. Early in their ing the Ignatian way of proceeding with the institution- apostolic history, they established a plurality of ways in al priorities of Jesuit which mission could be accom- colleges and univer- plished from parishes to schools to sities was Assembly retreat centers and in a variety of 89: Jesuit Ministry of cultural settings beyond Europe to High Education, Africa, Asia, India, North and South which brought America. together representa- Moreover, in their efforts to define tives of the 28 Jesuit and to implement their mission colleges and univer- Jesuits established criteria for any sities—some 900 mission: adaptation to the specific Jesuits and col- circumstances of the people and cul- leagues to the cam- tures they served and an orientation pus of Georgetown towards what we now characterize University. Those as “men and women for others.” The participants in post-Vatican II Jesuit General Assembly 89 heard Congregations have focused their Frank H.T. Rhodes, contemporary mission on faith and the president of justice, faith and culture, and inter- Cornell University religious dialogue. Another out- challenge the partic- standing development in Jesuit high- ipants in these er education has been the intense words, “Can the and effective cooperation between Jesuit presence in Jesuits and their lay colleagues. This higher education cooperation has networked into bring us to a new regional and national efforts that world view, such as challenge those in Jesuit higher edu- that put forward by cation to envision new ways of the French Jesuit defining the global future of Jesuit Pierre-Teilhard de higher education. ■ Chardin (1881-

Conversations 43 Ecumenical, Interreligious and Global The future is Lutheran Buddhist?

By Michael Reid Trice

n October Christians will begin a “year of faith,” A further difficulty arose that remains unresolved to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second fifty years later. Walter Cardinal Kasper coined the Vatican Council (1962-1965), whereby the phrase “two-speed ecumenism” to describe this difficul- Catholic church started a process of soul-search- ty. If the first speed represents local and national dia- ing in “the first gathering together… of the whole logues, then this was perceived as less relevant to the so- mystical flock of our Lord,” as Pope John XXIII called second speed of dialogues that the Vatican initiat- described it. Amid monumental challenges, the ed with global conciliar entities. This problem of dual Council redefined what it meant to be Catholic in speeds compounded an earlier issue of credibility for Ithe modern world. Numerous documents were created, well-coordinated dialogues in local, national and inter- including the 1965 pastoral constitution on The Church national contexts. in the Modern World, the drafting of which framed the ecumenically foundational 1964 Decree on Ecumenism. Two speeds Clarity on the nature of the Church in the 20th century prepared the ground in an ecumenical quest for Cardinal Kasper was right to use the two-speed ecu- Christian unity. menical image. However, today we perceive this difficul- Protestant communities, which had had a much ty in different terms. The real issue today is the credibil- longer effort for ecumenical unity, responded to Vatican II ity of an ecumenical approach in the 21st century. Pope with enthusiasm. As a result, an increased global engage- John Paul II recognized this issue of credibility in his ment in bilateral and multilateral dialogues has marked 1995 encyclical, Ut Unum Sint, where he hoped to stoke the last fifty years. In terms of ecumenical hopefulness about the world Christianity, these dialogues ultimate aims of Vatican II. In the — from Anglican-Methodist to There can be no text, the Supreme Pontiff asked the Baptist-Roman Catholic – not only ecumenism worthy Christian world to discover anew, both hit their mark for fortifying with him, how he might exercise his ecumenical global conversation, of the name without office as a sign of unity in a way that but also largely missed the target in is “open to a new situation.” In short, terms of the reception and integra- a change of heart. Ut Unum Sint was a bold invitation to tion of these very dialogues into conversations between the Pope and local communities back home, Christian communities, about the including colleges and universities. In areas where the future of Christian unity in its new historical context. reception of these dialogues lagged, some wondered Only a few appreciated the courage of this encyclical. what formal ecumenical dialogues hoped to achieve in Instead, a growing public interest focused on broader practical terms, and for whom. interreligious engagement. The laity grew less concerned In the mid-1960s in the United States, growing num- with seeking Christian unity through formal dialogues bers of professional ecumenists within Catholic and and became more interested in immediate interreligious mainline Protestant communities were forging ahead in responses to the serious social ills in the world. formal dialogues. Yet the spirit of grass-roots ecumenical attention in colleges and universities was more engaged in cooperating alongside significant revolutions taking Michael Reid Trice is assistant dean of ecumenical and place within society. These included civil rights efforts interreligious dialogue at the School of Theology and and protests against the U.S. presence in Vietnam. Ministry at Seattle University.

44 Conversations Furthermore, in 2012, fifty years after Vatican II, the context has changed dramatically. First, mainline denominations in the United States are shrinking and/or they are embroiled in debates about sexual mores. Second, ecumenical councils at the local, state, national and international levels are under duress due broadly to the widening gap between financial obligations and a shrinking constituency. As a consequence, conciliar organizations, such as the U.S.-based National Council of Churches, have to re-imagine their future within more limited constraints. And third, as professional ecumeni- cal offices and church councils shift their focus to include interreligious engagement, the initial quest for Christian unity gets sidelined in the larger conversation about religious diversity. One might think that the ecu- menical speed for the 20th century needs refitting for the 21st, but this isn’t so. What must take place is a reassess- ment of the quest for Christian unity within a changing global landscape.

For Jesuit colleges and universities, this is a very bright moment. The decrees of General Congregation Thirty-Four of the Society of Jesus encourage ecumeni- cal and interreligious commitment in a global context. Students expand their educational experience by studying abroad. This directive aligns well with a university context Loyola University New Orleans. because students represent a demographic today that thinks less about ecumenical doctrinal considerations, Martin and forty other authors speak on themes of self- and more in terms of encountering faith embodied in the awareness and spiritual focus. Next fall, in a new lecture lives of others. Even as a broad category, students today series ‘Faith and Values in the Public Square,’ we have consider their core identities in hybrid or hyphenated asked a well-known economist (who is Christian) to dis- terms, between religions that appear more porous. cuss the value of hope in the midst of stifling forms of When I taught at Loyola University in Chicago, I recall personal debt, including student-loan debt, that affect all one of my students who spoke with me after class of communities of faith today. People are obviously look- being a Lutheran even as she simultaneously spent years ing for new depths of meaning. In our intentionally ecu- as a practicing Buddhist. She understood her core identi- menical context, these robust efforts contribute to ecu- ty as Lutheran-Buddhist within the liminal and relational menical and interreligious engagement with global hyphen between traditions. This student represents many implications. students in Jesuit colleges and universities today who A key theme within the foundational Decree on were raised under the cultural mantra of diversity. They Ecumenism is often overlooked; and we need frequent interpret multi-culturalism and religious pluralism as the reminders to embrace it: “There can be no ecumenism rule rather than as an exception. These same students res- worthy of the name without a change of heart.” A onate deeply with the Ignatian spirituality of self-aware- “renewal of the inner life” is what is necessary for such ness (examen), effective love (love through action) and change. Jesuit colleges and universities are the fertile varying expressions of spiritual direction. ground for such changes of heart. With renewed ecu- For over seven years I served as one of the ecumeni- menical approaches, we can help students to understand cal executives for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the nature of religion itself and to develop an interior life America. Today I serve alongside exceptional faculty as that keeps apace with relevant questions in a religiously the assistant dean for ecumenical and interreligious dia- pluralistic world. logue at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ecumenical, interreligious and global: Jesuit colleges Ministry (STM). A recent initiative highlights the pro- and universities are the best centers to convene serious found quest for depth in people’s lives. Our school hosts ecumenical and interreligious conversations The Jesuit an annual Search for Meaning book fair. This year over charism of “holy restlessness,” for intentional ecumenical 2,500 students and members of the community poured and interreligious dialogue has more potential than few onto the campus to hear poet Mary Oliver, Father James others can claim today. ■

Conversations 45 Must faculty who pursue justice “pay the price”? Men and Women for others across the Disciplines

By Mary Beth Combs

ate one Friday evening about seven years ago I service, and policy-related research of faculty in the sciences, was riding intercampus transportation and I over- humanities, liberal arts, and professional programs across the heard a conversation between two students. One, Jesuit network of universities. What follows is a summary a pre-med major, was telling the other about a celebration of a small fraction of this work: recent conversation that he had had with a woman at a health clinic in the city. He was tak- Coffee and Justice: Since 2003 a team of scientists and ing a break, and the woman, a prostitute, asked engineers from Seattle University, the University of Central him for a cigarette. When he noted this, a few rid- America, Managua, and the University of Washington Bothell Lers in the van snickered and one made a teasing comment have been working with a group of student scientists, from the backseat. Other riders were having conversations of Catholic Relief Services/Nicaragua (CRS/NI), and Nicaraguan their own and initially were oblivious to his story. As is typ- coffee producer families and their cooperatives to respond to ical on a late weekend evening, the energy in the van was the requests of the artisan coffee farmers to help them boisterous and the travelers noisy. improve coffee quality and market access. Susan Jackels, He continued, “When I first started talking to her, all I Michael Marsolek, Charles Jackels, and Carlos Vallejos could think was, ‘Man! I can’t believe that I am talking to a applied the group’s scientific and engineering expertise to prostitute!’ But then we started talking about her life; about assist the farmers in their goal to gain access to the organic where she grew up, and about what her family was like.” As and Fair Trade specialty coffee market. he continued, some of the side conversations in the van ceased The project, which received funding and research sup- and many riders quieted and began to listen to his story. “She port from all three universities as well as from CRS/NI, is told me about her childhood, about how she became a prosti- described in detail in their fascinating essay, “Coffee for tute, and about her hopes for her life in the future. By the end Justice: Chemistry and Engineering in Service to the Jesuit of three hours of conversation, I realized that I wasn’t talking Mission with Small-holder Coffee Farmers of Nicaragua,” ‘to a prostitute,’ I was simply talking with another human forthcoming in Being Transformed/Transforming the World: being.” All fifteen passengers in the van were silent. The Justice in Jesuit Higher Education (Fordham University silence held until we arrived at campus ten minutes later. Press). The project, which has had transformative results for The impact of one student’s narrative on a somewhat random sample of students with a possibly diverse set of interests and majors has stayed with me over the years. It Mary Beth Combs is an associate professor of economics at serves as synecdoche for the idea that the Jesuit mission of Fordham University, a member of the AJCU National Steering being present to the poor, giving preferential option to the Committee on Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, and co-edi- poor, and working as men and women for and in solidarity tor (with Patricia Ruggiano Schmidt) of Being with others is not confined to one place in the university, Transformed/Transforming the World: Justice in Jesuit Higher such as campus ministry, or even to a sub-set of depart- Education. She gratefully acknowledges generous summer ments, such as philosophy or theology. Exemplars do exist research funding from Fordham that supported her work edit- outside of these sub-sets of university life in the teaching, ing Being Transformed/Transforming the World.

46 Conversations all involved has continued to evolve and broaden: Some student researchers returned to Nicaragua after graduation to study and work with the Nicaraguan people, a team of student engineers designed an ecological cof- fee processing mill, and the coffee farmers have seen a marked improve- ment in the quality of their coffee and their sales contracts, and an increase in their quality of life.

Departmental Transformations: The faculty of political science at Le Moyne College transformed their entire departmental curriculum to one that is directly informed by the Jesuit mission of service and that seeks to educate for participatory citizenship and to teach for social justice in the real world. In an insightful and challenging essay, “An Uncertain Journey: Adopting the Mission of Social Justice in A Political Staffers in Loyola University New Orleans’ Office of Student Affairs traded their office Science Department,” also forthcoming holiday party for a day of volunteering with the St. Bernard Project, a non-profit that in Being Transformed/Transforming rebuilds homes for Hurricane Katrina survivors. the World, John Freie and Susan Behuniak explain that their departmental goal of helping stu- be ended or averted but also one in which both parties feel dents to become active democratic citizens required the they were respected in the process. The goal is to help the stu- department to reevaluate their pedagogy and examine student dents maintain their personal integrity and morale, while culture; moreover, their findings raise important questions becoming ethical and moral law students and lawyers who about power in the classroom as well as in society. Freie and embrace the responsibility to seek justice and serve others. Behuniak note that the process was not easy but the outcome has been well worth the effort: “The curriculum, course con- Disability and Poverty: Sophie Mitra and Brandon Vick, tent, pedagogies, requirements, and student programming economists at Fordham University, and Aleksandra Posarac, have noticeably moved away from disjointed individual economist at the World Bank, studied the working age dis- endeavors toward a shared mission underpinned by Jesuit abled population in fifteen developing countries and com- educational philosophy.” Freie and Behuniak also note that pared economic well-being indicators, including education, their students speak in terms of how they will use their skills employment, living conditions, household expenditures, and to be valuable in society: they consider themselves to be healthcare expenditures. They find that in developing coun- engaged citizens who are confident enough to articulate their tries’ disability is often associated with poverty; however, views, defend them, and work for social justice. there is not one specific economic well-being indicator that directly links disability and poverty in all the countries. Discernment and the law: David Koelsch, director of the These findings are essential to inform international aid pro- Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Detroit Mercy grams and domestic policies on poverty; they indicate that School of Law, has integrated reflective practices into the law one singular policy to aid the disabled population would not curriculum using the Spiritual Exercises as the model for be effective in every country and thus effective policies instruction. In an engaging essay, “Doing Well by Doing would need to be country-specific. Good: The Application of Ignatian Principles to Legal Education,” also forthcoming in Being Solidarity and Literacy: Betsy Bowen, professor of English at Transformed/Transforming the World, Koelsch explains that Fairfield University has spent more than ten years connecting students enrolled in the Immigration Law Clinic prepare for her research, teaching, and service with the work of the Mercy each class and client interaction with instruction centered on Learning Center, a literacy center for low-literate, low-income the Spiritual Exercises, and learn that a just result is not only women in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Working in close collabora- one in which the exploitation of one person by another may tion with the staff of the center to determine where the needs

Conversations 47 of the center intersected with Fairfield’s capacity, and with witness to his experience before of a group of co-travelers research support from a sabbatical and support from Fairfield’s who initially were not receptive, and one of whom even office of service learning, Professor Bowen developed a service mocked him, faculty who pursue Jesuit mission-related learning course called “Literacy and Learning.” Students in the research at institutions or in departments which do not pro- course assisted in the early education program, gaining first- mote or reward faculty involvement in the community also hand experience with children’s literacy while providing need- face potential rejection. ed volunteer help for children whose mothers were students at As Fr. Kolvenbach observed in his Santa Clara address, the center. The partnership that Professor Bowen developed for a professor “to make such an explicit option and speak with Mercy spread to other parts of the university as well: out about it is obviously not easy; it entails risks.” In “An Students in international studies and the School of Nursing also Uncertain Journey,” Freie and Behuniak highlight some of have worked with the center, and another faculty member now the risks when they note that “a department that is willing to sits on the board at Mercy Learning Center. Through their dramatically change its theme, its course offerings, its peda- involvement with Mercy Learning Center, Fairfield’s students gogy, and its connection to student life, must find that this learn—about literacy, immigration, community health care— effort is supported and reinforced across the college, rather while they meet pressing needs in the community. than find itself isolated, disparaged or even punished.” Jeannine Hill Fletcher echoes this sentiment when she astutely * * * observes in her essay, “Companions, Prophets, Martyrs: Jesuit As noted earlier, some of the above celebrated exem- Education as Justice Education” (also forthcoming in Being plars are highlighted in a forthcoming publication, Being Transformed/Transforming the World), that “in institutions Transformed /Transforming the World: Justice in Jesuit which fail to provide institutional supports and affirming Higher Education, a direct response to Fr. Peter-Hans rewards, faculty who pursue justice education will find that Kolvenbach’s address at Santa Clara in 2000. It is the first their energies are exhausted and their efforts life-draining.” attempt to formally recognize, in print, the strides that Jesuit colleges and universities have made in responding to Fr. Solidarity with the poor and with Kolvenbach’s address, as well as to highlight the challenges that the academic community at Jesuit institutions continue each other to face in responding to his call, and the areas in which we Yet this need not be so: In Ex corde ecclesiae, John Paul II pri- still need to give greater focused attention. oritizes university research that seeks “to discover the roots One challenge that continually arises in discussions of and causes of the serious problems of our time” (no. 32). In how faculty might respond to Fr. Kolvenbach’s call is the his Santa Clara address, Fr. Kolvenbach notes that to carry out inherent disincentive in doing so: Faculty may desire to this research and to “make sure that the real concerns of the respond to Fr. Kolvenbach’s call, but in order to do so, they poor find their place in research, faculty members need an may need to expand or even step outside of their area(s) of organic collaboration with those who work among and for the research expertise. All of the exemplars highlighted above poor and actively seek justice. They should be involved required the teacher/researcher/scholar to push beyond the together in all aspects: presence among the poor, designing boundaries of his or her area of expertise in some way. All research, gathering data, thinking through problems, planning of the scholars discussed above noted that the support of and action, doing evaluation.” This type of collaborative their colleagues, departments, and universities were integral research carried on in solidarity with the poor requires the to the accomplishment of this important justice-related work. kind of institutional support that is called for by Gaudium et spes, which informs citizens, and thus the university qua citi- zen, that “those who hold back their unproductive resources Others at Jesuit institutions do or who deprive their community of the material or spiritual aid that it needs… gravely endanger the common good” (65). To not feel as well supported do this work, the university and its students and faculty must necessarily work in solidarity with the poor and each other in Others at Jesuit institutions do not feel as well-support- the way that Fr. Kolvenbach calls for in his Santa Clara ed, and it is this point that highlights a second challenge that address; allowing the “gritty reality of this world into their arises in discussions of how faculty might respond to Fr. lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, Kolvenbach’s call: the risk that their colleagues, departments, respond to its suffering, and engage it constructively.” This or administrators may not recognize, support, reward (or work necessarily involves the kind of faculty support at the worse—might punish them for) research that is outside their university level that makes it clear that the university is in sol- primary fields and thus may not contribute positively to idarity with the justice work of its faculty as well as its stu- department or university national rankings. Like the student dents. And that support, Paul VI suggests, can foster significant in the opening story of this essay who took a risk by giving justice in the world (and in the university). ■

48 Conversations The Heart Feels What the Eyes See The Impact of Service-Immersion Programs

By John Savard, S.J.

t changed my life!” Many of us have heard darity.” This was a phrase Fr. Kolvenbach, S.J. coined at students exclaim this as they return to campus Santa Clara University in 2000. I found seven variables from an international service-immersion that described this well-educated solidarity: values, spir- experience to Central America, the Caribbean, ituality, compassion, social justice, cultural sensitivity, or Africa. Yet they often have difficulty artic- critical thinking, and sense of vocation. Thirteen cam- ulating exactly what has changed. I have pus ministries participated in my study, with 316 stu- been coordinating service-immersion pro- dents completing my survey before departing for their ‘Igrams for the past 15 years, so I focused my doctoral dis- trip, and once again, upon completion of the program. sertation, from the School of Education at the University I took the difference between the before and after of San Francisco, toward research of the transformation answers to indicate the amount of growth that students that students report through the process of an interna- experienced due to their participation in the program. tional service-immersion program. International service-immersion programs began at Jesuit colleges and universities as Vatican II made social “Why do people living in the U.S. justice a priority, calling on the faithful to help shoulder and have so much feel so the heavy burden of poverty and hunger that afflicted much of the world. Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., echoed this hopeless, and people who live focus as he challenged Jesuit alumni in 1973 to be “men for others,” and to work toward dismantling oppressive there (Lima) and have nothing social structures. While not all viewed this challenge favorably, the order ratified this direction in Decree Four feel so grateful?” of their 32nd General Congregation (1975) by stating, “The mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service Students felt strengthened to follow their own val- of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute ues, as they responded strongly to the item, “I don’t care requirement.” It was with this background that immer- how others perceive me as long as I am doing some- sion programs began and flourished at Jesuit colleges thing important with my life.” After the immersion expe- and universities. They were initially seen as alternatives rience, they felt more confident in making decisions to the traditional Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale or based on their own passions and desires, rather than Cancun, but they are now prominent and highly publi- based on what others expected of them. Participants cized programs at Jesuit institutions, demonstrating the often saw local communities making difficult choices commitment to a faith that does justice. and helping one another. One group of students trav- eled to Peru to work with a program delivering job train- My Research ing to street kids. The police tried to close down the My dissertation, The Impact of Immersion Programs Upon Undergraduate Students of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (2010), examined how students grew in John Savard, S.J., is the rector of the Jesuit community becoming men and women with a “well-educated soli- at The College of the Holy Cross.

Conversations 49 have nothing, but are spiritually rich. They possessed a richness that cannot be found in material things, but rather, a faith in some- thing larger than themselves.

Students’ eyes were opened to issues of social justice, as when they experienced the struggle of immigrants in Mexico. They spoke with many individuals who had attempted to enter the U.S. numerous times and were sent back, and they could feel the desperation of these hopeful immigrants. Immersion experience Rockhurst University. One student stated, “I’m from L.A., organization, but the organization did not give up on the and this changed the way I view immigration.” kids. One student reflected, “Why do people living in Participants recognized how U.S. foreign policy affects the U.S., and have so much, feel so hopeless, and peo- the lives of others around the world. These students ple who live there (Lima), and have nothing, feel so began to focus on structural changes that could have a grateful?” As our Jesuit college students experienced the positive impact on needy populations. strength of communities coming together to take a stand in favor of these young street vendors, they examined Implications their own values to clarify where they were passionate- These programs are costly to run; yet, they give a high ly willing to take a stand. value of return in terms of mission-based objectives of Jesuit institutions. Upon graduation, students do not all Students expressed growth in their sense of com- go to work for non-profit corporations, but many do passion, with one participant stating that “the heart can- consider a year of post-college service with the Jesuit not feel what the eyes cannot see.” This student had vis- Volunteer Corps or Teach for America. Not all career ited a community in a poor area of Mexico that struggled paths change, but they often shift. One student who to have drinking water. There was one pipe for the was interested in medicine began to think about work- entire town and the families walked a long distance to ing for a time with Doctors without Borders. Those carry water to their homes in buckets. The student interested in business began to learn about micro-loans. noted, “Where I live, water is plentiful. I take it for Another participant who was interested in education granted, but life is not like that everywhere.” This stu- helped build a library at the school where the immersion dent not only understood the problem of scarcity, but took place. also felt what it was like to carry those buckets and feel Whether the students were attending Jesuit schools the concern of the community over a potential shortage. on the west or the east coast, at small colleges or large This student explained, “I have to feel it first, then I can universities, they all expressed a similar impact from understand it.” their participation in the immersion programs. This con- firms that the crux of the immersion is the immersion Students expressed growth in their sense of spiritu- itself, giving students an opportunity to experience the ality, as seen by the strong response to the item, “I con- poverty and lack of resources that afflict much of the sider issues of faith before making important decisions.” world. The power of the immersion is rooted in the Students recognized their positions of privilege and the intense experience of full absorption of the lives of the riches they enjoyed as Jesuit college students. They felt poor and marginalized. For this reason, the internation- humbled when, being offered food and drink upon enter- al service-immersion experience, sponsored by Jesuit ing someone’s house, they realized it was all this family colleges and universities, is an important step of a life- had. As one participant stated, “People here (in the U.S.) long journey toward solidarity. have everything they want, but are so empty. There, they ■

50 Conversations Book Review

A CHANGE ON OUR CAMPUSES

Jesuit and Feminist Education: Intersections in Teaching and Learning for the Twenty-First Century Jocelyn M. Boryczka and Elizabeth A, Petrino, eds.

Fordham University Press. Pp.276 $28

By Katherine H. Adams

t Loyola University students and faculty and of women’s New Orleans this place within the church and within year, the Women’s American society. Our altering cli- Resource Center is mate stems from a conversation sponsoring a poster occurring on all the Jesuit campuses, series. Students, fac- one reported on and expanded by ulty, and staff con- Jesuit and Feminist Education. This A tributed their pho- anthology had its genesis at a 2006 tographs and their endings to the sen- conference at Fairfield University tence beginning “I am a feminist that sought to examine “the points of because….” Appearing in every build- intersection between the traditional ing, these large posters, involving men Ignatian pedagogical tradition and and women from the faculty and stu- emerging feminist pedagogies” to dent body, have created a powerful thus report on and extend women’s visual rhetoric, expanding the discus- roles and pedagogies on our cam- sion on our campus of the status of puses. And this conference had its on letters to Ignatius to demonstrate men as well as women. In women’s genesis in Decree 14 of the Society’s women’s centrality to his mission. In history month, the conversation con- 34th General Congregation: to recog- “Mary, the Hidden Catalyst,” Margo J. tinues with talks about body image, nize and reverse “continuing discrim- Heydt and Sarah J. Melcher discuss gender differences, reproductive ination and prejudice”—thus “to Mary’s influence on Ignatius by consid- rights, and sexual assault. change our attitudes and work for a ering her images in Spain and in On my campus, where not so change of structure.” Rome; in “Early Jesuit Pedagogy and long ago one president objected to a In the first section of the book, the production of Eve Ensler’s The essays concern the women who influ- Katherine H. Adams, author of Vagina Monologues and another enced St. Ignatius. Here, we encounter several books on writing, is chair of repeatedly referred to the students as the impressive level of scholarship that the English department at Loyola “men and girls,” we are participating prevails throughout. In “Do as I Do, University New Orleans. in a greater awareness of women Not as I Say,” Elizabeth A. Dreyer relies

Conversations 51 Book Review

the Subordination of Women,” Feminist Thought course to discuss Colleen McCluskey examines the how the central tenets of Jesuit edu- Ratio Studiorum to discern the atti- cation—context, experience, reflec- tude toward women in this earliest tion, action, and evaluation—relate of sources. to the method by which the instruc- The next two sections concern tors stress consciousness-raising and the means by which feminist peda- nurturance, a concern for the whole gogy is now enriching Jesuit univer- person. In “Teaching for Social sity education: the two-part structure Justice in the Engaged Classroom,” based on “intersections” focuses on Karen L. Slattery, Ana C. Garner, educating the whole person and Joyce M. Wolburg, and Lynn H. teaching social justice. In these sec- Turner discuss a service-learning tions, the topics vary, the general program involving Native American statements grounded in the specific economic-development organiza- and in careful research. In “The tion, a course combining a feminist lthough Personal Is Political,” the anthology’s “ethic of care” with the Jesuit empha- the volume speaks positively editors Boryczka and Petrino use the sis on social action. throughout about change and oppor- example of an Introduction to Atunity, it also reflects on instances in which Jesuit universities are falling short of the goals stated in Decree 14. Theresa Weynand Tobin’s “Transformative Education in a Broken World” discusses the short- comings of the Jesuits’ concern with individual growth, as often causing a blindness to the very structural inequalities that they have pledged to change: she argues instead for feminist “positional pedagogies” that specifically examine how our culture works. Susan A. Ross’s “Women in Jesuit Higher Education: Ten Years Later” frankly discusses what has changed at Loyola University Chicago and what has not. Ross’s essay appears in a final section of the book that concerns “fault lines.” It also contains essays At Loyola University on the conflicts caused by the The New Orleans the Vagina Monologues as well as the sit- Women’s Resource uation of lesbians and gay men at Center sponsored a Jesuit schools. poster series. Throughout the book, the Students, faculty, changes occurring on our campuses and staff contributed receive well-researched and specific their photographs consideration, with concern for all and their endings to that is positive and that which is not. the sentence The essays here are well worth the beginning “I am a attention of us all. ■ feminist because…”

52 Conversations Book Review

Catholic Social Learning, Educating the Faith That Does Justice, Roger Bergman

Fordham University Press. Pp.203 $24

By C. Michael Bryce

rofessor Roger this by identifying an active education Bergman has writ- that does justice through service- ten a provocative learning. St. Ignatius of Loyola recog- book seeking to nized that assisting others is accom- rouse the reader plished through “action in the world,” from a first-world and saw that “love ought to show slumber. He rec- itself more in deeds than in words.” Pommends a peda- To fulfill this telos, the Jesuits gogical roadmap for an education developed an educational plan to go that does justice. The book recounts out into the world, even globally. his 30-plus years in Catholic higher Unlike other colleagues/professors at education and his commitment to the University of Paris, the early justice, along with teaching various Jesuits went down into the courtyard service-learning courses at Creighton and the street to assist their students. University and witnessing the reflec- Cura Personalis meant that each stu- tive learning of his students. From dent was individually recognized this core experience, Bergman asks and treated with respect. This exam- documents: “Characteristics of a how students can be best trans- ple encouraged students to care for Jesuit Education (1986)” and the formed into solidarity with persons individual persons whom they “Ignatian Pedagogy, A Practical in need. He asks: “How is the com- encountered later along the way. Approach (1993).” and sets forth the mitment to the difficult work of More recently, the idea of indi- wonderful tableau of Ignatian learn- social justice provoked in the first vidual concern for others has been ing as the foundation for justice. place?” “How is the commitment sus- amplified in “Men for Others,” by Fr. tained over a lifetime?” Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the Superior The course shifts course Bergman responds to his first General of the Jesuits in 1975. Fr. After the analysis of Ignatian peda- question by identifying Gabriel Arrupe stresses the need for Jesuit- gogy, the book could have contin- Marcel’s simple but essential obser- trained men and women to be men ued sequentially into an analysis of vation that personal encounters are and women for others. This is not an the theology, legacy and experience the key. Then he weaves in two option, but a definite spiritual man- related to the Gospel of St. Matthew Catholic social teaching (CST) docu- date in line with the Gospel in 25: 35-41. In which Jesus identifies ments, the Encyclical of Pope Paul Matthew 25:36-41. Fr. Arrupe’s suc- himself with those who suffer. The VI, Populorum Progressio, and the cessor, Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, Gospel passage spells out the virtues 1971 Rome synod of bishops docu- identifies the importance of contacts expected by Jesus of man (sheep) ment, Justice in the World. over concepts, of students being in and the consequences for man Bergman highlights other CST the gritty world in order to learn documents but remains concerned social justice experientially. Bergman that CST remains the church’s “best also examines Ignatian history and C. Michael Bryce is associate kept secret” and endeavors to solve education, including the more recent professor of law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law

Conversations 53 Book Review

(goats) if these virtues are not ful- gogical scheme of “see-judge-act,” sion of the biblical moral basis for filled. It is a starkly clear statement derived from the social pastoral writ- service learning. This includes the of what virtue is and what is ings of Joe Holland and Fr. Peter Mosaic Law, where a call to assist required in light of the conse- Henriot, S.J., dates back to encyclicals the more vulnerable and ensure jus- quences. It is also an excellent moral of the 1700’s, and is evidence of a tice can be found in Isaiah 1:17 and foundation for an education in faith long-standing social analysis within Jeremiah 22:3. And, in Micha 6:8, the that does justice. the church. Cardinal John Henry Lord requires us to do justice, to But the book takes a different Newman is separately seen as a cre- love with kindness and to walk route. Professor Alasdair MacIntyre, ator and exemplar of social learning humbly with God. Likewise, the renowned moral ethicist, is nom- education for justice, comparable to Proverbs 31:9 calls for the defense of inated as a “guide” to enlighten the St. Ignatius of Loyola in a continuum. the poor and needy. reader about how Catholic social He evaluates transformative More familiar to us may be the teaching and Ignatian pedagogy can learning, including the importance requirements of the Good Samaritan create counter-cultural communities, of a disorienting event or emotion (Luke 10: 30-37); Lazarus and the leading to solidarity with the needy, that subsequently transforms the stu- Rich Man (Luke 16: 13-41); and the and he highlights MacIntyre’s writ- dent into solidarity with persons in parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12: ings on Aristotle, suggesting that need. The emotion can be anger, 13-21). In each case the failure to do Aristotle is the “grandfather of serv- despair, rage, regrets, rejection, justice or assist others is an eternally ice learning,” in view of his theory abandonment or shame, however fatal flaw (or fatal lack of virtue). on distributive justice. As Aristotle Bergman seizes upon shame as the offers a rationale for emulating “wise central emotion for transformation Back on course persons” Bergman stresses his own to solidarity in service learning The 4th century homilies of St. Basil high regard for a personal role because it is briefly referenced in the reiterate the importance of the model, Archbishop Oscar Romero. Spiritual Exercises and also in reflec- Mosaic Law and also highlight the He claims the three-part peda- tions found in students’ journals. centrality of Matthew 25: 36-41. St. Overall, the route the book Basil emphasizes that Jesus really takes to find an education that does meant what he said in the Gospel justice is an interesting one and is passage and expected action by us conducted with intellectual rigor. to fulfill those words. Because of Professor Bergman utilizes Ignatian this, St. Basil established a commu- pedagogy effectively, but seems to nity where poor and sick persons look elsewhere for a moral ground- could receive food, shelter and med- ing of service learning. A number of ical treatment. This community was intriguing questions arise, but still an example of a more humane the path taken by the book seems social order in difficult circum- narrow, and ideas and theories that stances, not just a temporary meas- appeal to the author don’t always ure to provide charity. In experienc- connect with MacIntyre and Cardinal ing this need, St. Basil responded to Newman. It is also difficult to accept the strong call to do something Bergman’s identification of the emo- about it. This strong call is what suc- tion of shame as the central event or cessfully involves students in service emotion in Catholic transformative or clinical learning and also encour- service learning or clinical educa- ages them to a lifetime of service. tion. Compassion, empathy, inspira- Professor Bergman repeats a similar tion, love and a desire to actually call to meeting the difficult task of assist others are more transformative social justice and continuing his life- experientially, in both the short and long commitment through teaching, long run. learning, writing and serving —a call The book could have moved heard and answered by Jesuits and Creighton University students participate in earlier into a more extensive discus- their students for over 450 years. ■ Habitat for Humanity build.

54 Conversations However, my classmates were famil- iar with Rick Santorum’s attack on Barack Obama’s environmental poli- cies, especially since Mr. Santorum The Church Has had said that they were based on a “phony theology.” Perhaps if the church could somehow become less partisan, its preexisting commitment Lost its Way to service and justice could shine through the negative political rheto- ric thrown around in every cam- A Renewed Commitment to Service paign season. This is not to say that the young Catholic community here at Fordham disrespects the church By Christopher Kennedy hierarchy, or desires to completely abandon church teaching on social issues. In fact, many of us are guided by Pope y first experience as Benedict’s words in his 2009 a Fordham Univer- encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, sity student was one in which he writes, “Charity that I will not soon always manifests God’s love in forget. It was three human relationships as well, it days before new gives theological and salvific Mstudent orientation began, and I had value to all commitment for jus- arrived early to participate in the tice in the world.” “Urban Plunge” program, run by the But I have gotten the sense community service program, now over my four years here that the known as the Dorothy Day Center Catholicism we can all relate to, for Service and Justice. The idea of and the faith that brings so many the program was to immerse us— of us together on Sundays, is one new freshmen from primarily subur- that reminds us of our duties to ban communities—into the largely the least of our brothers and sis- working-class neighborhoods of the ters. As my fellow theology major Bronx that surrounded Fordham. Mike Finucane explained to me, “I We participated in a variety of serv- am a Christian because God uses ice projects, and some of my best me as an instrument of his wonder- friends today are people I met then. the least fortunate among us. This ful love for us. That’s what service Those three days taught me confuses and angers many people is: love in action.” what it meant to be a “man for oth- my age. Moreover, my peers look at Thus as the church and its glob- ers”—someone motivated by his church decisions such as the recent al membership of all ages moves fur- faith to, as St. Francis of Assisi put it, “Doctrinal Assessment” of the ther into the 21st century, I can only “preach the gospel, using words Leadership Council on Women hope that it will develop a renewed when necessary.” Religious, and ask why the sisters’ focus on service to those in need. Thus, I would hope that any sort strong emphasis on social justice is Here at Fordham, it was this aspect of future church reform would criticized rather than lauded. of the faith that transformed me and reemphasize the importance of serv- Further, I have seen that when so many of my classmates. With ade- ice to others, especially the poor. the American church gets wrapped quate support, it can transform the It seems like the church has lost up in partisan politics, other issues lives of other young Catholics here its way on this issue in recent years. that may be appealing to young and abroad. ■ For example, we see priests or bish- people fall by the wayside. In a dis- Christopher Kennedy is a theology ops condemn a politician for his or cussion in my religion and politics and urban studies major at her position on abortion or same- class, many people were surprised Fordham University. sex marriage, while ignoring or to find that Pope Benedict’s position neglecting the politician’s views and on environmental issues is far to the actions on social programs to assist left side of the political spectrum.

Conversations 55 Book Review

A Turning Point in the Holy Cross Story Fraternity, Diane Brady

Spiegel & Grau. Pp242 $25

By John T. Day

t was Fr. Brooks,” says what had earlier been contemplated – Clarence Thomas, who the intentional recruitment of significant made the difference in the numbers of African American students lives of the five African to Holy Cross. With the assistance of a American men whose young admissions counselor, Brooks education at Holy Cross is personally sought smart, motivated the focus of Diane Brady’s young men from Catholic east coast ‘I Fraternity. high schools, especially in Philadelphia. In the fall of 1968, 19 freshmen and Brady’s book opens with vignettes one sophomore African American men describing the experience of each young started their Holy Cross careers, recruit- man in his own community on the day of ed by John E. Brooks, S.J., then associ- King’s assassination, along with the effect ate professor and chair of the religious of King’s killing on the few blacks studies department, later dean, and for already at Holy Cross. Brady recounts the 24 years president of the College. lives of the five through recruitment, also recounts the important roles of Of these 20 men, Fraternity focus- admission, arrival, adjustment, disap- individual faculty, staff, administrators, es on Stanley Grayson, lawyer, finan- pointment, challenges, graduation, and coaches, trustees, and alumni – named cier, and deputy mayor of New York early career. By the end each man and unnamed — who were important to City; Eddie Jenkins, pro-football player, emerges in a fully developed life story. the success of one or another of the government official, and community Brady was remarkably successful in men. Brooks, “with a sharp wit and a leader; Edward P. Jones, fiction writer, eliciting comments from each of the men short fuse,” persuaded a cautious presi- recipient of the National Book Critics about his own experience, each other, dent, Raymond Swords, exhorted and Circle, Pulitzer, and MacArthur awards; the College, and Fr. Brooks. Of particular Clarence Thomas, associate justice of note are the more nuanced picture of the U.S. Supreme Court; Theodore Clarence Thomas’s college experience John T. Day is provost, academic vice Wells, distinguished defense lawyer. than emerges in his own memoir, My president and professor of English at Also playing a key role was Arthur Grandfather’s Son, and the remarkably John Carroll University, and a 1970 Martin, two years their senior, the big detailed recounting of the “black student graduate of the College of the Holy brother to these twenty and others to walkout” in December 1969. Cross. For additional information follow. Martin later became the deputy Brady emphasizes the continuing about Brady, the book, other reviews attorney general for New Jersey. role of Brooks in these men’s lives: he and reactions, and Clarence Thomas’ The assassination of Dr. Martin looked out for their wellbeing, men- address upon being awarded an hon- Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968, cat- tored and challenged them during their orary degree in January 2012, see the alyzed Brooks’s efforts to undertake Holy Cross experience and after. Brady Holy Cross website: www.holycross.edu

56 Conversations Book Review

The protest against General Electric Co. recruiters in front of Hogan Campus Center was the spark for the BSU walkout crisis. (Right) Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J. Photos courtesy of the College of the Holy Cross Archives. successfully cajoled others, despite their hours in the library, their efforts walkout of bald racism on campus, charges of to thrive on an all-white campus, the black stu- reverse discrimination, and fears their desire to connect with African dents after several of their number about unhappy donors who would American women at nearby colleges. were disproportionately charged for close their wallets during hard finan- obstructing General Electric recruit- cial times at the College. ment; the granting of amnesty by An alumnus from the same era, I President Swords; Cambodia; Kent found Brady’s recounting of the State; Jackson State; the semester events often moving, bringing to life ending with a strike and no exams. In incidents known to me personally, their remaining years at Holy Cross, filling in gaps and details beyond my they had to contend with the draft, knowledge. I remembered myself resistance to racial progress, football among the undergraduates raising and basketball challenges, graduate funds for a scholarship program in school admissions, marriage and King’s memory; meeting with the other personal decisions. advisory committee after the black Subsequently in their distin- student walk out; serving as head res- rady guished careers and community ident of , which housed the spends three chapters on the tumul- engagements these men paid back controversial “black corridor.” tuous events of my senior year: the –or paid forward – the support and I found most engaging the per- foreshorteningB of the varsity football continuing friendship of Fr. Brooks. sonal details of the everyday lives of season due to a hepatitis outbreak; If these men are “the fraternity,” he these young men: their loneliness, the growing anti-war sentiment; the is their Jesuit father. ■

Conversations 57 Letters

Didn’t Face the ple similarly placed, that the stress by employing large numbers of on adjuncts (and their families, adjuncts. Savings on that order are Issues where they have families) can be awfully hard for trustees and virtually crippling. Moreover, for administrators to resist, compris- universities and colleges that pro- ing as they might the margin with- To the Editor: fess a fundamental commitment to in which the institution makes it have read with interest the social justice, as the Jesuit institu- or fails, financially. It remains the article by Lynne Elkes on tions all do, it is simply scan- case that most adjuncts are being adjunct faculty in the recent dalous that an entire academic regularly and reliably treated very, I Conversations (Spring, 2012; under-class is allowed to work very badly. Number 41). I was dismayed to under the usual conditions affect- That you would run an article find that virtually none of the ing adjuncts. on the problems of faculty devel- most serious problems faced by Of course, the institutions opment with respect to adjuncts, adjunctive faculty are treated in stand to save very large sums of while leaving these other issues this article. Most adjunctive facul- money by employing large num- unstated and unexplored, seems ty work under inhumane and bers of adjuncts (virtually none of to me deplorable and irresponsi- unjust conditions. They are poor- whom answer to the traditional ble. I hope that you will under- ly paid for each course or section notion of an adjunct, namely take some remedy of this in a they teach, despite having the someone who has special expert- future issue of Conversations. ■ same responsibilities there as any ise, and a day job, who teaches regular faculty member would the odd course—often in the Sincerely yours, have. They often have access to evenings or weekends—because Richard T. McClelland, no benefits. They have little or no they want to do so). I estimated job security. To make ends meet, that SU, when I worked there Richard T. McClelland, professor they often take on towering loads (1993-1999) saved approximately of philosophy, Gonzaga of teaching, frequently in multiple 25-30 million dollars per annum University. institutional settings. I taught as an adjunct for six years at Seattle University. There were over a dozen of us doing so in the philosophy department at that time, several of us with PhD’s, long years of experience and good records of publication. We were adjuncts because we had no alternative. SU was relatively enlightened in its treatment of adjuncts: rates of pay, for exam- ple, increased the longer one worked there; and benefits were available on a pro-rated basis. Wherever possible, the depart- ment tried to make full teaching loads available to its most suc- cessful adjuncts, and so on. The Jesuit university in which I am currently employed (happily as a tenured full professor) does none of this. I can tell you from personal experience and from long interactions with other peo- Gonzaga University.

58 Conversations Jesuit Community Colleges? “Think Outside the Box”… In support of Fr. General Nicolás.

By Harry R. Dammer

n the Fall 2011 issue of at night. Adding to the complexity, the would be transferable to most of the Conversations we highlighted “Catholic culture” that was present in remaining Jesuit colleges and universi- the remarks of Adolfo Nicolás, the United States for the last sixty years ties. Increasing future student success, S.J., Fr. Superior General of the or so, at least in the northeast U.S., is mostly for a diverse student population, Society of Jesus, who in his clearly disappearing. The National and within a Catholic and Jesuit context Mexico City address the previ- Catholic Education Association has stat- would be the goal. Students would take ous April called for an invita- ed that 1,267 Catholic schools have classes but also participate in corporate- tion to re-create the Society of closed since 2000. Based on what we work study programs much like those Jesus.I More specifically he asked “What have learned over 450 years, and the in the current Jesuit Cristo Rey second- kind of universities, with what emphases current situation that exists, what can ary school network. and what directions, would we run, if Catholic and Jesuit education do to Students at these JCC’s would be we were re-founding the Society of Jesus adjust and remain viable into the latter required to take a core curriculum, in today’s world?” half of the 21st Century? Here is one including introductory courses in theol- There is considerable evidence to idea to begin a “conversation.” ogy, Christian ethics and/or world reli- support the position that change is Have we considered the develop- gions, but also skill building in basic inevitable and a revisioning is necessary. ment of a unique or hybrid form of competencies like English, writing, and The challenges at our 28 Jesuit col- Catholic and Jesuit higher education? public speaking (eloquentia perfecta). leges and universities are enormous. One “out of the box” idea should be The dwindling number of Jesuits, rising considered— Jesuit Junior Colleges medical costs, increases in student (JJC). These institutions, similar to one Harry R. Dammer is the chair of the tuition, endowment losses, and the of the three integrated programs run by sociology and criminal justice depart- need to discount tuition to attract qual- the Jesuits at St. John’s College in Belize ment at the University of Scranton. ity students are just a few of the major City, would be located in urban areas, He served on the Jesuit Seminar from hurdles keeping administrators awake providing a liberal arts A.S. degree that January 2009 to April 2012.

Conversations 59 Talking Back

Tuition would be need-based and by the “publish or perish” lifestyle. even beyond the dreams of St. supplemented by the corporate work Each would be trained in Jesuit ped- Ignatius and his companions during study program. Faculty could be agogy with a coordinated curriculum the formative years of Jesuit educa- staffed by the graduates of other and assessment measures. And there tion in Paris during the mid-1500’s. Jesuit education departments with would be no sports, no dorms, and These JJC’s would be located in tuition relief from loans, Jesuit no twelve-salad options for lunch. In areas where there are a growing Volunteers, and Jesuits that would the end, these institutions would number of Catholics. Atlanta, Miami, love to teach but are not motivated surely be called to “live the mission” Dallas, Phoenix, and San Diego might be good places to start. Nine of our 28 institutions are now locat- ed within a five hour drive of New York City. One could claim that one third of our resources are concentrat- ed in areas more likely to grow in Hinduism or Islam than Catholicism. An even more controversial idea would be to consider converting some of our current institutions to JJCs. Of course, the ideas presented here would require hard choices and considerable risk. But we must con- tinue to ask whether we will be able to sustain our current institutions as they are configured into the late 21st century. And more important, and as reminded by Fr. General Nicholás, we are called to not only think about our current institutions but the future of the church. ■

The University of Scranton’s first inter- disciplinary service learning travel course to Los Angeles took place in January of 2012. The trip was part of the “Special Topics: Gangs & Urban Health in LA” course taught by Harry Dammer, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Sociology/Criminal Justice Department, and Catherine Lovecchio, Ph.D., assis- tant professor of nursing. (Above left) The group worked at the St. Francis Center in Los Angeles, and (below left) with Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J., the founder of Homeboy Industries.

60 Conversations MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL SEMINAR ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION

Lisa Sowle Cahill is a professor in the theology department at Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts. Harry R. Dammer is chair and professor of criminal justice and sociology at University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania. Susanne E. Foster is an associate professor in the philosophy department at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Patrick J. Howell, S.J., is chairman of the seminar and professor of pastoral theology and rector of the Jesuit community at Seattle University, Seattle, Washington. Steven Mailloux is a professor of rhetoric in the English department at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California. Diana Owen is associate professor in the department of communications, culture and technology at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Stephen C. Rowntree, S.J., secretary to the seminar, is in the philosophy department at Loyola University New Orleans, Louisiana. Alison Russell is associate professor in the English department at Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio. Raymond A. Schroth, S.J., editor, is also literary editor of America magazine. William E. Stempsey, S.J., is professor of philosophy at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts. Aparna Venkatesan is assistant professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of San Francisco.

A Note to Contributors

HOW TO WRITE FOR CONVERSATIONS

The goal of the National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education and its publication of Conversations is to Conversations is looking strengthen the Jesuit identity of our 28 colleges and universities. First, each issue is written to stimulate the for a new editor. campus dialogue — through departmental discussions or faculty symposiums — on the pursuit of various Anyone interested is invited ideals. Second, through our various departments — feature articles, forums, book reviews, reports, and to please send his or her Talking Back — we want to keep the conversation resume to Patrick Howell, S.J., going to build on the progress we have made. Chair of the National Seminar Our ten faculty members, representing various institu- tions and disciplines, visit three colleges and universi- on Jesuit Higher Education ties a year and listen to groups of faculty and students in order to decide the themes for each issue. Although at [email protected]. most of the articles are commissioned, we welcome A job description is available unsolicited manuscripts. Ideally they should explore an idea that will generate discussion rather than on the AJCU website. describe a worthy project at an institution.

Writing Guidelines. Please keep the article to fewer than 2000 words. DO NOT include footnotes. “Procession of the Fathers.” The opening of the second session of Vatican II. Photo by Peter Geymayer, Wikipedia.

Georgetown University Santa Clara University University of Detroit Mercy Seattle University Washington, DC, 1789 Santa Clara, 1851 Detroit, 1877 Seattle, 1891 Loyola University Maryland Regis University Rockhurst University Saint Louis, 1818 Baltimore, 1852 Denver, 1877 Kansas City, 1910 Spring Hill College University of San Francisco Creighton University Loyola Marymount University Mobile, 1830 San Francisco, 1855 Omaha, 1878 Los Angeles, 1911 Xavier University Boston College Marquette University Loyola University New Orleans Cincinnati, 1831 Boston, 1863 Milwaukee, 1881 New Orleans, 1912 Fordham University Canisius College John Carroll University Fairfield University New York, 1841 Buffalo, 1870 Cleveland, 1886 Fairfield, 1942 College of the Holy Cross Loyola University Chicago Gonzaga University Le Moyne College Worcester, 1843 Chicago, 1870 Spokane, 1887 Syracuse, 1946 Saint Joseph’s University Saint Peter’s College University of Scranton Wheeling Jesuit University Philadelphia, 1851 Jersey City, 1872 Scranton, 1888 Wheeling, 1954

Coming in January 2013: #43 Eloquentia Perfecta in a Digital Age. Writing and Speaking in Jesuit Higher Education Today.