SVD Alumni East Newsletter

Volume 16, Issue 1 “ONE HEART-MANY FACES” February, 2013

called to labor in foreign lands, nor would he in his Ad Multos Annos life see first hand the harvest reaped by the Two of the greatest missionaries of the 19th hundreds of missionaries he personally sent to the century, a period characterized as the rebirth of the far corners of the world. missionary movement in the church, had something Today we celebrate and honor a great SVD on the in common along side of their great love and golden jubilee of his life as an SVD priest and commitment to the missions. Neither of them ever missionary. Just a glance at the assignments set foot in what were then known as mission lands. entrusted to Fr. Don in his years of service in the One of them of course was St. Therese of Lisieux, SVD is indeed impressive. Even more impressive is the Little Flower, later named patroness of the the fact that superiors appointed Don to many of missions. The other was a German diocesan priest, these assignments following an election process in whose talents and early years in the priesthood were which his confreres had first given him their vote of spent in the field of teaching. At the same time he confidence. At the very beginning of our SVD was consumed with the dream of finding someone to constitutions, we read: Whoever joins our Society take the lead in founding a national German Mission must be ready to go wherever the superior sends Society. When no one else could be found, St. him in order to fulfill our missionary mandate Arnold Janssen became the founder and father of even if this entails leaving his own country, the Society of the Divine Word, today an mother tongue and cultural milieu. When Don international missionary society which numbers was ordained in 1962, he had put down the 6012 members, priests and Brothers working in 70 Philippines as his first choice on his list of preferred countries, the third largest missionary order in the assignments. (It might be the fact that his older Church. He co-founded two missionary brother Jim had been ordained as an SVD congregations known as Sister missionary in 1954 and missioned to the Philippines Servants of the Holy Spirit. One a contemplative had something to do with this.) In any case, Don order numbering 340 members; the second an active ended up in Rome where he obtained his Doctorate order numbering 3200 members. in Theology . Don was already known as a superb It is not my intention here to give a history of the actor and speaker during his seminary days. SVD; rather I wish to point out that St. Arnold was convinced that, in God’s providence he was not

1 Continued on page 2 No surprise then that his doctoral thesis was entitled: The Theology of Preaching. Don returned to the States in 1967. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, for those whose ministry in religious life was in the field of formation, teaching, or leadership. The best of times: the excitement and expectations that came with the completion of Vatican II. The worst of times: the turmoil, confusion and change that followed in the wake of implementing what had happened to the Church in Vatican II, and in the world with the revolutions of the late sixties. Don was caught up in all three areas of the crises that enveloped religious life: formation, teaching, leadership. New wine demanded new wineskins, but change and transition also demanded time and discernment as to what should be kept, what needed to be changed, what of the new should be incorporated. Faithfulness and commitment to what had been asked of him carried Don through some very difficult situations. But this was not done with out moments of doubt and uncertainty, plus a willingness to deal with criticism that came both from those on top, and those below. Through those many years Don, you never lost your missionary outreach in the church. Your time and talents dedicated to the internal working of the Society were balanced by your outreach and involvement with marriage Encounter. (200 weekends of such encounters, as a member of the Marriage Encounter Leadership team in Chicago) You found time for frequent supply work in parishes. In addition there were the many years you served on the team developing the mission theology for the World Alive Exhibit at Techny, and your assignment as coordinator for this same mission project. Don, there are two constitutions that for me sum up your approach to the many assignments that came your way over the past 50 years. They read: It is by listening to the word of God and living it that we become co-workers of the Divine Word. The witness of a truly Christian life on the personal and community level is the first step in the realization of our missionary service. (106)Our foremost obligation is the proclamation of the word. (107) Today your family, confreres and friends gathered here join our congratulations and thanks with all those present at least in spirit who benefitted from your talents and ministry before they went out to the four corners of the mission world. Fr Joe Connolly (Fr Joe delivered this tribute to Fr Don at conclusion of Mass at Annual Meeting, September, 2012 )

Fr Don Skerry, SVD, celebrating Mass at Miramar, September 28, 2012

Photo, Mike Cousins

2 President’s Message Message from Treasurer “ IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR” A blessed and peaceful 2013 to all. This was the title of a song made popular by Frank Sinatra The treasurer’s duties are to inform all on how in the early 1960’s. I cite it now in a different context than did “Old Blue Eyes.” Yes, I’m describing life as I view it much money is in the treasury. As of th in the past year. You may well ask, “Is this writer residing December 20 , we have $4602 in our bank on another planet and totally uninformed about the chaos account. Money will be spent for printing and in our world?” My response is that it all depends on one’s perspective. Politicians and philosophers call it mailing of this newsletter, approximately proportionality. I call it recognizing the evil but focusing $1400, and approximately $1300 for the issue on the positive. in June. The Executive Committee to give Did the horrendous events that occurred in our world $1000 for the Blue Sisters in St. Kitts/Nevis outweigh the tremendous good that has been and is being achieved? God alone is the ultimate judge. The pessimistic for their new school. prophets of gloom will remind us of the increasing We wish to thank all for their dues and their genocide, world hunger, wars and natural disasters. They generous donations. Without these monies we cite the severe financial and economic crises in the U.S. would not be able to issue our newsletter nor and Europe. We and our families have experienced illness, suffering and financial set-backs, and sometimes great continue the giving of donations to the Society tragedy in our lives. But the grace and multiple blessings and missionaries of the Divine Word. of God revealed to us in so many ways ultimately trump A summary of our financial report from the totality of evil and suffering. When I say “It was a very good year,” I am emphasizing October 1, 2011 to December 20, 2012: how the “Good News” is still being heard, preached, and Beginning Balance end of year September 2011 5226 impacting millions of lives throughout our world. For the Dues Received 1975 doubtful and discouraged take comfort in St.Paul’s Donations 2710 promise in his letter to the Romans 8:28, “And we know Meeting- September 2125 God causes all things to work together for good for those Income Received 6810 who love God and are called according to His will.” Total Income 12036 At our annual S.V.D. Alumni East Reunion last Expenses September at Miramar we decided that despite the aging Rev. V. Burke 500 of our Alumni we would vigorously continue our activities Rev. D. Skerry 1000 in the “good years,” to come and let Divine Providence Miramar Retreat House 500 take it from there. Admittedly, many of our members are advancing in age, and experiencing the usual disabilities Meeting Expense and physical restrictions that accompany the “Golden Room 2125 Years” Food/drink 286 I’m gently suggesting, when possible, consider rather than Perpetually Enrollment 25 retiring to the rocking chair of retirement, ride, at least in Miramar Booklet Night 110 spirit, the “One Hoss Shay” made famous in the poem by Misc.( Stamps-bank) 38 Oliver Wendell Holmes. He writes, “The wonderful one- Total Expense 7433 hoss-shay/ that was built in such a logical way/ it ran a Ending balance as of Dec. 20th, 2012 4602 hundred years to the day/ and then, of a sudden, it…” You guessed the rest. But what a way to go into eternity. When Henry Pinson we say, “Ad multos annos,” we pray that all of us, our S.V.D. members and our Alumni, will experience many [email protected] years of faithful and productive lives. We pray then that we can say each year, “It Was A Very Good Year!” John Flanagan [email protected]

SVD East Alumni Association Newsletter Editor…Mo Donovan [email protected] Your Articles, letters, poems, photos, artwork warmly solicited.

3 Chorus Angelorum heard it so much from Joe over the years, who said his heart remained forever with the SVD. The SVD materialized then in the gathering, all of them. "Sit Sit over Over here; Here you're family," Mary said, bringing Pete O'Keefe and me to the easy chairs in the front row. And me and Pete representing them, and that Joe may We were about to sit down, when I looked at the row of already be enjoying a grand colloquium### with FiFi, and women right behind the chairs. There were about eight of Mo, and Mikovits, and Otto, and McKinnon, and them, sitting next to one another; something immediately O'Malley, and Shiago, and Stiller, and Strike..And then special about them. Might it be because they were Irish. to the colloquium of course, the most pragmatic of all, the No. Something else. Maybe the dedicated, gently worn man that Joe selected as his his favorite and most esteemed faces of mothers or grand mothers from Brooklyn come to SVD superior. He spoke up then, Father Malin, the way mourn a priest. They all had that sensitive searching look. he always did, this guy whom Joe idolized. "You done "Hi," I said, not sure of the proper funeral language, or if I good, Brains. you done good." ** should speak at all, but that's what came out. "I'm ready," Joe said, well in advance of that final hospital Instantly, in chorus, they all smiled.. They said things stay. Sort of anti-climactic for him, spiritually. A few days together then, I don't remember what, and somehow I felt before that End he went through one of his final "dolans" an immediate bond. Maybe because we all knew Father with me, a poetic construction of thoughts that he created in the cloister of his stroke-compromised brain. Something Joe Dolan. Was that it? . that gradually brought him back to being able once again "Joe," Pete volunteered, " is a classmate of Father Joe." to...read He recited his last dolan then, amid five "Oh..." they all said then. Actually they were singing it. intervenous tubes and with. a half of a tongue that cancer That's what mothers and grand mothers do, when they're had taken from him early in life: delighted. Right? I kept looking at them. I kept talking. Pete kept talking. When you can't sleep, They said things, too. I don't know why I kept talking. don't count sheep. And then Pete said something; I don't remember what, but Go to the shepherd. then it came to me! He will listen "Oh, you're all Sisters!" I exclaimed. "Yes, " they said. Together. Joyous. * From the Burial Service Liber Usualike this humble writer, or whoever it is who has forgotten or not yet I never did too well with Sisters. I never got good marks learned the Latin. from them. They smacked me sometimes. I deserved it. They kicked me off the Altar Boys roll. I deserved that, too In paradisum deducant te Angeli: But now I felt wonderful, and it wasn't about me. in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres, A chorus, they were. A Chorus Angelorum. Here in the et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. flesh to...'perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem!' * Here to do the job! In advance. To usher Joe into Paradise. Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quandum paupere, Father Coserta, his boss, I mean pastor, at Saint aeternam habeas requiem. Bernadette's Church in Brooklyn, talked about a special part of the Mass Transferral Service for priests practiced in Into paradise may the angels lead you, the Eastern Rite, that wafts the chalice cover over the and the Martyrs at your arrival, priest's face with its top side touching his face, and usher you into the holy city of Jerusalem. symbolically giving him his own advanced view of his "Paradisum".* Father Coserta went on at lyrical lengths May the Chorus of Angels receive you, to describe how Joe remained steadfast in the face of and with Lazarus once poor, adversities that hit him from the very beginning of his may you have eternal rest ministry, some of which we were aware of, including the **Brains - A semi-affectionate term for seminarian at relentless physical onslaughts to his health, some of which Miramar and Girard minor seminaries that always left one we saw in his last hours at the intensive care unit of The humbler and sometimes complimented. New York Methodist Hospital, all of which the O'Keefe **Colloquium - A period in the seminary routine when family, the bunch of them, saw and embraced throughout speaking was permitted, looked forward to after long his life. . didn't he baptize the lot of them and marry them, periods of silence. too And here in this hour, Mary includes me in as

'family'! Mary, whose own family traveled from their Norwalk, Connecticut convent to do their job as..angels. I Joe Flanagan [email protected] realized she meant the SVD; she meant the SVD: she had

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Message from Vice-President MISSION STATEMENT- SVD ALUMNI EAST I have to admit that I was especially thrilled by your unanimous selection of me as your Vice-President We subscribe to the Mission Statement of the SVD Alumni (especially since the other candidates present Association with these additions: . SVD Alumni East has reorganized from the Miramar exhibited such skills and enthusiasm for the assignment:). Alumni Association in order to encompass all SVD Alumni residing in the Northeast.

Who am I?  We will participate in the SVD Mission by promoting Many years ago, I was quite active in the Miramar Alumni religious vocations through coordinating our efforts Association. However, as I pursued my career at General electric with Techny and our local parish and Diocesan in many cities spread over five states, it became impossible to be programs. much of a contributor to the workings of the organization; thus,  We will sponsor mission experiences by volunteering I attended meetings, enjoyed the presentations, met old friends our talent and presence on volunteer projects and made new friends. Now, I am quite pleased to have another especially through our financial support and prayer. opportunity to both lead and participate in the success of the new  We will promote close camaraderie with our fellow SVD Alumni Association. alumni and their families from the Miramar, As I reflect on he limited resources in our organization relative to Bordentown, Conesus and Girard groups as well as our ongoing activities and the electric programs introduced by fellow alumni who now reside in Northeast by President Flanagan and the Executive Committee, I agree that conducting an Annual Reunion at Miramar, Ma. We our major focus for this year will be the direction of ongoing will develop an attractive event schedule which will efforts to complete certain programs in process, such as : include a social, spiritual, and intellectual dimension. 1. Continue and expand the Phonathon Program as we We will not only encourage our brother alumni to attend reach out to each alumnus in our several states. the Miramar event but we will support their respective 2. Expand our database; most importantly, drastically reunions by our attendance and publicity. expand our system of emails. Currently, we have 100  We will continue publishing the SVD Alumni East emails. This lack must have a special focus. Newsletter twice annually which will serve as the news 3. President Flanagan has also initiated a program of vehicle for all four Associations. Through the dues outreach concerning the Annual Meeting. Specifically, vehicle, we will continue to aggressively raise funds for what are your ideas for programs at our Annual SVD Missions. Meetings?  4. For example, in September, for Annual Meeting, John We will emphasize the spiritual aspect of our Flanagan has arranged for a Panel of published SVD Associations by encouraging our members to attend and Alumni Authors to join us. Retreats or Recollections at the Miramar facility or in 5. This past year, John Eddy spoke of his outstanding their home locality, as outlined in SVD Partners in career with the State Department. Should we continue Mission. We remain committed to prayer for our sick such programs? What ideas do you have? and deceased alumni and their spouses 6. Shortage of priests is a significant problem for the SVD and within various Dioceses, Archdioceses. I Executive Committee of SVD Alumni East propose that SVD Alumni East Executive Committee, with input from all alumni, initiate a special program that will address this need both for SVD, in cooperation with Len Uhall, our main priority, - and various Dioceses or Archdioceses within our member base of several states. I propose activating our leadership potential. 7. How can you help? 8. Please send me your ideas, pro and con to me at 9. [email protected] or via mail, at: Woodbridge Station #34 We give to others from our plenty 36 Cambridge Road But what if we had nothing to give? Woburn, Ma 01801 Then we could give of our nothing; would that not be the greatest gift of all? Joe Skerry [email protected] Rich Daigle [email protected]

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“What is Diplomacy Anyway?” recent offensive by the Taliban in Afghanistan is John Eddy undoubtedly the Taliban’s last gasp. I doubt very much that the Taliban are at their last gasp. The attentive

newspaper reader will see no evidence of that. I would say that the three most important jobs of a diplomat I was stationed at a post in the Middle East when members are these: (1) to prevent war; (2) to understand how the of the mujahidin, the predecessors of the Taliban, stopped world works; (3) to tell America’s story to the world. for refueling on their way back to Afghanistan from To prevent war. If not to prevent it, to foresee it, to delay it, hospitals in the U.S. Midwest. Their wounds had been if it has begun, to end it, and if all else fails, to design a just patched up so that they could fight the Soviets again. As peace plan after the war, not a destructive one like that they straggled back into their airplane, I saw some without following WW I, which led to WW II. limbs, some half blind, and some who looked barely fifteen. Most of us have read enough history or suffered enough They are tough people. personal grief to know that war is indescribably stupid. So we come to the second most important job of a diplomat: You may contend that a defensive war is not stupid, but the to understand how the world works. A critical part of this aggression that required it was stupid. The examples are understanding in the modern world is to accord economics well known. What could Napoleon have possibly hoped to its proper place. achieve by invading Russia in 1812? Of his 500,000 The U.S. public has little day-to-day interest in economics soldiers, he lost 380,000 , the majority of them frozen to beyond jobs, cost of living data, and home mortgage interest death. A mere hundred and twenty-six years later, Hitler rates. It especially does not care about the economic invaded Russia, in the same month of June, but when the situation in foreign countries. Why? Well, for one thing, winter closed in, he like Napoleon lost his Russian economics is complicated. Almost worse, it is boring. campaign and in effect World War II. In 1991, Saddam Someone described an economist as an accountant without Hussein invaded Kuwait over an obscure territorial claim, the personality. Someone else, after attending a dinner was tossed out, and was eventually hanged. party for economists, said, “The conversation flowed like What should we say about our own invasion of Iraq in glue.” 2003? After we have seen the killing of hundreds of Compounding the step-daughter nature of economics in the thousands of innocent Iraqis, thousands of our own military U.S. Government, short-term political calculations always killed or maimed, after witnessing the continuing civil war, trump economics. You can’t turn the economy around over ending up with a partisan Shi’ite government religiously night, but you can point temporarily to wonderful things linked to Iran, can we say that our invasion of the Asian going on in other sectors. landmass, which McArthur so often warned against, was No one in the Department of State, so far as I’m aware, “bright”? sounded any loud warning before the bells of the five-alarm A Martian might assume that Vietnam would deter us from fire that was the Greece, went off. Were any of you reading another go this soon at the Asian mainland. It did not, nor about the dicey state of the euro five years ago even after did Iraq deter us from in essence occupying Afghanistan, our own recession began in earnest? though at the invitation of the Afghan government. We are In my observation, economic officers at State are viewed, to gradually withdrawing but still fiercely opposed there by the borrow Samuel Johnson’s phrase, as “ink-stained tribesmen that defeated both the Russians and the British. wretches.” They “worry too much,” they metaphorically The U.S. military is a sacred institution, one to which the wear thick glasses, and their ties are too short. rest of us owe an enormous debt. But we must remember I worked for a solid year with the Director General of the that the basic mindset of the military is always “can do.” A Foreign Service and the Under Secretary for Economic U.S. President with the larger picture in mind cannot Affairs for a year while they tried to bring the Department’s substitute the general’s judgment for his own. It is economic priorities into line with today’s realities. Both abandonment of office for any U.S. President to say, “I officials thought that, with the end of the Cold War, cannot overrule the judgment of my generals in the field.” international competition would now be much more a Why not? Lincoln did. But the President’s judgment must matter of trade, exchange rates, and debt rather than throw be informed by civilians; that is, by diplomats. weight. I thought then, and I still think, that the problem I was startled when our Secretary of Defense maintained the with economics in the Department is basically cultural. I other day, in words almost identical to those used by the don’t think there will ever be a real change in the culture of Pentagon during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, that the 6 the Department until the President starts picking up the phone and calling mid-level economic officers directly, the way JFK used to do with desk officers. Ambitious officers would then quickly note which way the wind was blowing, and the most ambitious of them would become economic zealots overnight. The third and final most important job of a diplomat is to tell America’s story to the world. The record of the United States in supporting human rights and humanitarian assistance is well known. Indian students with whom I used to talk were convinced that the phrase “all men are created equal” was the whole essence of the U.S. Constitution, where the phrase does not in fact appear. It is the moral grandeur of the United States that gains us followers. America’s story will create more imitators of U.S. ideals than any amount of bombing. U.S. diplomats see this over and over again. This country, despite its crimson failings, inspires others. Knowing my own country’s faults, I was at times baffled by the sublime comments left at U.S. diplomatic posts around the world. But when we tell America’s story to the world, we must tell it straight. The Asian farmer standing in his rice field with a transistor recognizes the difference. In 1999 something bad happened in our ability to tell the story straight. In an economy move, the U.S. Congress abolished the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). President Kennedy had founded USIA with Edward R. Murrow as its first director. USIA ran the Voice of America. It organized libraries, cultural exhibits, and lectures for students and government officials around the world. USIA was a highly professional, proud, and totally creditworthy spokesman for the United States in foreign countries. But Congress abolished USIA. Congress assumed that its talented officers could be absorbed without harm by the State Department with a savings to the taxpayers. The former USIA officers, many of them superb, slid down into the State Department’s acid-filled maw. The independence of their product was warped even if they managed to maintain their own personal integrity. Nowadays we have information and cultural officers working next to political offices, often seated physically next to them. Remember, we said that politics trumps economics. It often trumps objectivity in telling America’s story. I do not believe this problem can be fixed without restoring USIA to its former independent status. So the three most important jobs of a diplomat are to prevent war, to know the way the world works, and to tell America’s story. But the question remains. Can diplomats actually do anything about the problems we’ve discussed? I think they can. They must, in fact, because it is the State Department that advises the President on guiding the ship of state through the perilous waters of international life. There is no better example to give us hope than that of the great George F. Kennan, a career Foreign Service officer who died in 2005 at the age of 101. To show what he achieved, it is necessary only to cite that he was the principal architect of the U.S. containment policy toward the Soviet Union after World War Two and also the primary drafter within his small policy planning staff of the Marshall Plan. Through Kennan’s relentless effort, speaking, and writing in the face of tremendous opposition from powerful figures in this country, he finally persuaded the U.S. Government and the U.S. public that, given the facts of the Soviet occupation on the ground in Eastern Europe, the only realistic course was to drop the idea of war and, whether we liked it or not, adopt the norms of international civility in dealing with the Soviet Union. His view was that it would be better to defeat the USSR by peaceful competition in economic development, human rights, and the open marketplace of ideas. The Marshall Plan, in which the United States extended its helping hand to Germany, its fallen enemy, was part of this strategic vision. Kennan insisted upon maintaining U.S. military strength but insisted even more on sticking to our own best principles, convinced that, if we did so, the Soviet Union would eventually fall of its own weight. There are few today who would say he was wrong. Some years ago the American Foreign Service Association sent out a survey asking members for examples of heroism, their own or that of others. Despite a considerable history of heroism, no one submitted any examples. Perhaps that was because diplomacy is not a profession for bombast or histrionics. I believe American diplomats follow the British somewhat in this respect. During the Cold War, a radio broadcaster in Europe interviewed three ambassadors and asked what they would like for Christmas. The Soviet ambassador said, “We Soviets wish for lasting peace all over the world.” The French ambassador said, “The French would like to see intelligence and logic play a greater role in settling the world’s affairs.” What would the British Ambassador like? “Oh, how terribly nice of you!” he said. “Thank you so much. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d quite like a small box of candied fruit. [email protected] 7

MINUTES Annual Meeting of SVD Alumni East at Miramar September 27-28, 2012

Thursday, September 27 President John Kiely called the meeting to order at 01:30 p.m. and outlined the principal material to be covered, including the election of a new president. He suggested that members give careful thought to a matter pending before the executive committee: the whole matter of the SVD Alumni East’s longevity as an organization. Father Tom Umbras, Director of the Retreat Center warmly welcomed the group and spoke of the optimism and rejuvenation of spirit that he felt the fraternal get-togethers always engendered. He said he was pleased that SVD Alumni East had selected Miramar for its venue Treasurer Henry Pinson addressed a dilemma facing the association as it sought to bring itself into line with laws governing the taxation of charitable donations funneled through SVD Alumni East. Mo Donovan pointed out that the real purpose of the dues was to support the missions, and Father Don Skerry pointed to the good works he had seen during his visit to St. Kitts, including a pre-school. Jim Welch reminded the members that cash gifts given to the “golden celebrants” were invariably re-sent virtually in their entirety to the missions. Henry contended that the best protection of the organization’s assets might be afforded the umbrella of section 5013-C of the tax code, yet this route was encumbered with burdensome reporting requirements sometimes exceeding the capacity of voluntary administrator Henry through the available options, saying that it seemed to him one had to be chosen even if none was.  Option One: Acknowledge that we are a business with officers. The trouble here is that we don’t employ anyone, and our bank account is less than $10,000.  Option Two: Establish ourselves as a 5013-C organization. But then we must have bylaws that we now lack. Even though our bank account is less than $10,000, it would still cost $400 to fill out the 15-page form, in part to prove that we are non-profit.  Option Three: Hook onto someone else’s 5013-C. Write someone else’s “employee identification number (EIN)” on our return. Even if our bank account is under $25,000, we would still have to fill out a form, but it is short. Henry Pinson alluded to the experiences of others attempting to cope with greater IRS vigilance. In a recent review, IRS found that two million out of six million non-profits were non-compliant, such as football and softball leagues. In any case, they were barred from opening a bank account because the bank is required to ask for bylaws. Since SVD Alumni East has no bylaws and doesn’t want any, SVD Alumni East must hook on to someone else’s EIN. Priorly, when he was treasurer of a different organization,, John Flanagan opened a non-interest bearing account under his own name. This is no longer possible. Now, however, with more demanding regulations, SVD Alumni East’s best option may be to channel its money into a sub-account of Miramar’s account, and use that sub- account to pay out to the missions. Alumni Director Mike Cousins, however, thought that such donations might be better directed to the Missions office at Techny. To facilitate a decision, Fr. Joe Connolly suggested: (a) consulting Fr.Tom Griffith regarding the options outlined above. The membership agreed by acclamation and empowered the executive committee to make the final decision. Len Uhal provided an update on SVD Vocations, emphasizing entrants into the Divine Word College at Epworth. Only two or three SVDs are teaching at the college, but there are 22 SVDs present in total. Epworth experienced a sharp decline in enrollment during the 1970’s, but after the Vietnam War, numbers of Vietnamese students began arriving. Inadequate English disadvantaged some, but the college rectified this to some extent when in the mid-1980’s it started to teach English. A similar circumstance had inhibited Sudanese refugees when they began arriving, but their cases were rendered more difficult because they could not pass the GED test. This problem was in some instances insuperable. In 2006, the college changed its mission statement to begin accepting priests, brothers, sisters, and lay persons. Students at the college currently originate in 21 countries. The SVD is now present in 70 countries.

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Election of President and Vice President: After the break on September 27, nominations and seconding motions having been taken, the members elected current Vice President John Flanagan by acclamation as President for the coming year. The members then elected Joe Skerry as Vice President by the same method. Report on SVD Alumni Association: Mike Cousins, Director of the Alumni Association, summarized the activities of his office. Following a number of very active years traveling around the country to visit local alumni chapters, Mike’s office has seen a contraction of budget. Gifts from Mike Cousins were made available. Here John Flanagan reverted to his opening concern about the longevity of SVD Alumni East. Those he consulted during the break, however, all felt that optimism and not pessimism should rule the day. No artificial shut-down date should be set. To probe a larger consensus, John put the question to the body assembled. Did the members wish to ring down the curtain on a determined date or let the matter rest for now, letting the future enlighten the best course? A rousing chorus clamored for allowing the future to show the way. On Friday, September 28, John Eddy spoke on the subject, “What is Diplomacy Anyway?” He offered conclusions reached during 28 years as an active-duty Foreign Service officer in the U.S. Department of State. He found that the three principal jobs of a U.S. diplomat were: (1) to prevent war; (2) to understand how the world really works; and (3) to tell America’s story. The first job, to prevent war, is self-evidently important, but the second is handicapped by the small appreciation that the U.S. public holds for the role of economics in the United States’ ability to carry out an effective foreign policy. Regarding the third job, Congress badly damaged the ability of the U.S. Government to tell America’s story to the world when in 1999 it disbanded the U.S. Information Agency, in what might be called a “Pyrrhic” economy move. Following an extensive question and answer period, John signed copies of his recently published book, Funny in Parts: The Diary of a Foreign Service Officer (Author House, 2011, available from authorhouse.com and other online book sellers). Following dinner, the members assembled for one of the principal purposes of this year’s gathering: to honor Father Don Skerry on his completing 50 years as an SVD priest. His brothers, Bill and Joe, reminisced about the family’s unique beginnings in the New World, when during the nineteenth century a shipwrecked Irish sailor was cast up the shores of Prince Edward Island. The family presented a charming slide show of Don’s upbringing. Fr George Morin ,a diocesan priest and friend of Father Don’s regaled the audience with picaresque remembrances of Fr Don when they worked together in a Boston-area parish. Father Don remained close to Boston throughout his career as he worked tirelessly to support the SVD missions administratively. He did this in part by organizing and conducting parish “missions” around the United States. True to his reputation as the SVD’s “Gary Cooper,” the rangy Golden Celebrant spoke little throughout the evening. He did, however, at the end, deliver eloquent and heartfelt thanks to his SVD confreres for their unfailing solidarity throughout the years, to his family for their lifetime of support, and to his brothers for their thoughtful collection of Skerry lore and memorabilia on the present happy occasion. Your reporter recalls that Father Don was one of the smallest boys at Miramar, though this image was perhaps distorted by his lowly status as an underclassman. Father Don is no longer small in any way, however, whether in brain, limb, or voice. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.”

John Eddy [email protected]

SAVE THE DATES October is the time of beautiful Fall Foliage in NE

October 9 and 10, 2013 are the dates of SVD Alumni East Annual Meeting at Miramar

Jon us as we celebrate both events on Columbus Day Weekend, 2013

Details of Weekend in June Newsletter

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Bob Riemer, SVD, reflecting on his several Memories of Fr Ted Murnane, SVD visits, to San Carlos University on business, recalls Dean seeking him out, making him feel John Donne in No Man is an Island reminds us welcome as they talked about the good times quite forcefully that “…Each man’s death diminishes me at Techny and exchanged perceptions re their For I am involved in mankind…” respective universities. Bob”…was especially So it is. impressed with Dean’s being a talented Whether our experience was from Conesus, teacher in the classroom and a competent Techny, San Marcos or..; we were affected. We administrator, but, most of all, by his love for mourn this vibrant yet reflective spirit. and dedication to the Philippine people…” How was he called in our experience? Still. there are anecdotes to treasure. Was it Turtle Dove, Munch,, or some other Carrie Aviola, Dean’s long time Secretary at sobriquet ? San Carlos University brings to our attention How do we remember? one telling picture. His music, his homilies, his teaching, his rare “..On one occasion, He helped the head of sense of the whole? University of San Carlos Health Services on a Perhaps like Paul Knitter, we reflect on Dean’s research project on prevalent illnesses of sermon on Teilhard de Chardin in Techny’s students in the downtown and south chapel. A sermon, according to Paul, campuses. The researcher submitted her draft that’…was revelation for me and I suspect for report. So, sitting beside his hospital bed, with others… the material world was good and my laptop on, Father Murnane dictated his beloved of God..” comments. I admire his will and sharpness of Perhaps, as with Larry Nemer, SVD, three mind still…” memories that stand out was Dean’s musical So, who was Fr Theodore, (Dean, Ted) Murmane, direction of PIRATES OF PENZANCE in SVD? the seminary, and his “…creative leadership One SVD obituary points out, in part, certain key in our Dixieland Combo, where Dean let us achievements: get away with nothing…” as well as his being “… Fr Ted was instrumental in promoting and a marvelous host in San Carlos. coordinating the University’s research activities, as Some may recall with Pat Wheatley, Dean’s well as in establishing academic linkages and two great talents of music and mathematics; partnerships with various universities in the country but music won out.. Pat recalls hearing about and abroad….he also initiated linkages with SVD Universities-with Nanzan University in Nagoya; Fu Deans coming in first place in a trumpet Jen Catholic University in Taipei and the Catholic competition. Pat also remembers the time University of Kupang in Timor. ..” when”…Dean introduced some avant garde sacred music at one of our services, to the But, to many, Fr Ted was, most importantly, a friend, discomfiture of some. one who constantly and continually reached out. Nick deGroot, SVD “.. looks back with gratitude on the way he challenged us with music and Mo Donovan [email protected] the choir practices. He was a perfectionist, but he was good at getting the best out of us…”

10 Miramar Saints and Cardinals the spring of 1946 on his way from Rome to China and celebrated Mass in the seminary Chapel and In pre -Vatican 2 years, the Church felt that addressed the community in the Study Hall. Cardinal seminarians such as ourselves should be somewhat Tien also confirmed Don Breidt and Jim Harvey. isolated from the affairs of the “world” in order to Cardinal John Joseph Wright of Diocese of focus totally on things spiritual. For this reason, most Worcester, MA resided at what is now the Retreat seminaries, both major and minor, were ideally Center on many weekends while conducting retreats located in places removed from the din of the cities. for various groups and conferred the Sacrament of Miramar’s situation was ideal in this regard, nestled Confirmation in the Center Chapel. amid rural villages such as Duxbury and Kingston, Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman of New York five or six miles from Plymouth, the only city in the had a private residence in Whitman ,a few miles from whole area. Miramar, and often came to visit his nephew at Camp It is all the more interesting that two individuals of Miramar, the summer facility operated by the high rank came to visit and address the community seminary during school vacation time. during the late 1940’s in the peace and quiet of St Cardinal Humbeto Sousa Medeiros, Cardinal Francis Xavier Mission House, Miramar. The Bernard Francis Law and Cardinal Sean Patrick causes of both, a man and a woman, have been ‘OMalley, O.F.M.Cap., as Archbishops of Boston introduced in Rome for beatification and visited Miramar from time to time, with Cardinal canonization. O’Malley at the Retreat Center only recently The Most Reverend Mar Ivanios of Trivandrum, India: was responsible for many thousands of his Ed Fitzgerald followers entering the Church from their previous situation outside the Faith, and was named their archbishop to lead them into the fold. Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress Zita of Austria (who was also the Queen of Hungary) was the wife of the last Hapsburg Kaiser in Vienna, the Emperor Karl , who has already been beatified and who awaits canonization with a second miracle attributed to him. Both of these potential saints visited Miramar and spoke to the community between 1945-1947. Many of us who were there at that time will remember these most distinguished guests. mindfulness The Cardinals of Miramar

It is certainly an immense distance from St. Peter’s at the window two moths Basilica in the Vatican to the tiny village of Island Creek, where Miramar is located, yet a surprising beg to be let in number of Princes of the Church have made the trip. behind them Cardinal William Henry O’Connell owned a patient spider Miramar before1922, when he sold the property to the frames her web to snare them when Society of the Divine Word. He was Archbishop of Boston for some thirty-five years in the early the light goes out twentieth century and enjoyed the former Loring Rich Daigle…[email protected] estate as a summer retreat.

Cardinal Richard James Cushing, as Assistant Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith in Boston, was instrumental in the transaction of purchase and later as Archbishop of Boston, came to

Miramar on many occasions, especially for graduations. Cardinal Thomas Tien, S.V.D. stayed at Miramar in

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SVD East Alumni at Annual Meeting at Miramar, 2012 Photo, Mike Cousins

Email Alert

This issue of Newsletter has been mailed to 400 SVD East Alumni residing in these states: AZ,CA,CT, DE, FL,GA,IA,LA,MA,MD,MS, MT, NC, NJ, NY,HI, IL,NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, WI, WV, VA plus Australia, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Japan.

To All: we appreciate your support. Thank You

As we aim to improve communication among and between us, our email communication is somewhat weak.

Please send me your email at [email protected], so correct emails can be verified, new ones added. Emails will only be used for matters relating to SVD. To protect your privacy, group emails will normally be sent via BCC.

In this Newsletter is also enclosed the voluntary dues card, in addressed stamped envelope which in addition to the dues, also gives you the opportunity to contribute to SVD Missions. The decision on where to contribute is made by the Annual Meeting and/or the Executive Committee. Once we have your email, we will send to you the names and emails of the Executive Committee for your direct input. In the meantime, please send your thoughts on where funds should be allocated to President John Flanagan at [email protected].

We seek your input-your ideas, your Articles, your experiences, your memories.

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