OF MANY THINGS topics for upcoming editions of the 106 West 56th Street Matt Malone, S.J., is traveling. New York, NY 10019-3803 ighth-graders in Catholic schools magazine. We also discuss specific Ph: (212) 581-4640; Fax: (212) 399-3596 in Chicago a half-century ago articles and possible authors to open Subscriptions: (800) 627-9533 had a lot on their minds. Beyond up those topics. And we discuss www.americamedia.org E facebook.com/americamag coping with being a teenager and manuscripts authors have sent in. twitter.com/americamag surviving adolescence, deciding which A valued feature of the meetings is President and Editor in Chief high school to attend loomed large. lunch with a faculty group and another Matt Malone, S.J. Often family tradition was decisive. with students. These gatherings are Executive Editors Other times it was where friends deeply informative, inspiring and Robert C. Collins, S.J., Maurice Timothy Reidy decided to go. That’s how I ended up challenging. Some concerns are common Managing Editor Kerry Weber at St. Ignatius. At 13, I had made a life to the schools. Faculty members talk Literary Editor Raymond A. Schroth, S.J. Senior Editor and Chief Correspondent decision. about adjuncts, workloads and the Kevin Clarke Back then we did not hear much costs of education. And they talk about Editor at Large James Martin, S.J. theory about Jesuit education. We just mission: How does the rhetoric of Jesuit Executive Editor, America Films lived it. It got into religion courses, of education seep down into the everyday Jeremy Zipple, S.J. course, but also into our English and reality of courses and programs? Poetry Editor Joseph Hoover, S.J. Associate Editor and Vatican Correspondent Latin textbooks, some of the history, Students are usually optimistic and Gerard O’Connell not much in chemistry or physics. love their school, a special place for them. Associate Editor and Director of Digital Religious images were everywhere, and And they know about the Jesuit factor; Strategy Sam Sawyer, S.J. daily Mass was required, unless you they know the language and the images; Senior Editor Edward W. Schmidt, S.J. they know it makes their scholastic Associate Editors Ashley McKinless, Olga lived south of 87th Street, about 10 Segura, Robert David Sullivan miles from school. experience different, special. Assistant Editor Joseph McAuley Much of that changed during my The students I sat with at lunch in Art Director Sonja Kodiak Wilder years at St. Ignatius (1956-60), as much Kansas City—Audrey, Matt, Morgan Editorial Assistant Zachary Davis in the church at large was changing. and Shayla—showed a high level of Columnists Helen Alvaré, John J. Conley, S.J., Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., James T. Keane, John W. Since then, the talk about what Jesuit understanding of what their Jesuit Martens, Bill McGarvey, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, education means—what makes it education means, and they enjoy Margot Patterson, Nathan Schneider distinctive, what it demands, what results great rapport with their teachers. Correspondents John Carr (Washington), An- They discussed how well students thony Egan, S.J., and Russell Pollitt, S.J. (Johannes- it strives for—has become more explicit. burg), Jim McDermott, S.J. (Los Angeles), Timothy Two weeks ago, a small group are incorporated into the mission or Padgett (Miami), Steven Schwankert (Beijing), gathered at Rockhurst University the Jesuit ideal, but they also saw a David Stewart, S.J. (London), Judith Valente (Chicago) in Kansas City, a national seminar need for better expression of the core Moderator, Catholic Book Club called Conversations on Jesuit Higher values, Jesuit values. Still, the values are Kevin Spinale, S.J. Education. This seminar grew up after there. And some wanted more explicit Editor, The Jesuit Post Michael Rossmann, S.J. a meeting at Georgetown in 1989 reference to Jesus and the church. Editorial e-mail when some Jesuit leaders decided to get Most students who enter a Jesuit [email protected] more deliberate about the term “Jesuit school come from a family that has Publisher and Chief Financial Officer Edward G. Spallone Deputy Publisher Rosa education,” to study its character and gotten them this far, a family that M. Del Saz Vice President for Advancement plan for its future. The seminar gathers typically supports them and shares their Daniel Pawlus Advertising Sales Manager three weekends a year to discuss issues dreams. They live their college years with Chris Keller Advancement Officer Kerry Goleski Business Operations Staff Khairah and twice a year publishes the journal hopes for a great future, with ideals and Walker, Glenda Castro, Katy Zhou, Frankarlos Conversations. Ten of the members are maybe some fears. While at school they Cruz Advertising Contact ads@americamedia. receive something special beyond credits org; 212-515-0102 Subscription contact/ drawn from among the 28 Jesuit colleges Additional copies 1-800-627-9533 Reprints: and universities. Serving as the editor and a diploma, important as those are. [email protected] of the journal, I am number 11. The Will this something special last? Will © 2016 America Press Inc. meetings and membership on the board this Jesuit thing be something they keep rotate among the schools, and members and share? Will they use it to build a generally serve three-year terms. better world, to do more for that world, The meetings are a privileged to find God working in it and be part of opportunity to know the world of Jesuit that work? That spells success in Jesuit Cover: Commencement at Jesuit-run Le Moyne higher education. We discuss issues education. College in Syracuse, N.Y., May 17, 2015. CNS current in the schools and brainstorm EDWARD W. SCHMIDT, S.J. photo/Gregory A. Shemitz Contents www.americamagazine.org VOL. 214 NO. 16, WHOLE NO. 5128 May 9, 2016

JESUIT EDUCATION 15 TEACHING THAT TRANSFORMS The distinctive heart of Jesuit education Kevin P. Quinn 22 COLLEGE ENCOUNTER Dialogue and witness in Catholic education John C. Cavadini 26 AN EDUCATOR’S INFLUENCE Learning to think in biology class J. Joseph Marr 29 LAUDATO SI’ UNIVERSITY A school of hope in an unexpected place Jim McDermott

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 15 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial The Two Israels 6 Reply All 8 Signs of the Times 14 Column Forever and a Day James T. Keane 20 First Monday Access Denied Ellen K. Boegel 31 Vatican Dispatch A Call to Prophetic Action Gerard O’Connell 32 Generation Faith My Jesuit Formation Patrick Furlong 33 Faith in Focus Worth a Fig Beth Meleski 26 29 The Word Continuing Education John W. Martens

BOOKS & CULTURE

35 IDEAS “Black Panther" OF OTHER THINGS The Pain of Abstraction BOOKS My Battle Against Hitler; Jesus and Buddha

ON THE WEB James Kubicki, S.J., and Frédéric Fornos, S.J., talk about the ​ Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network​, and Rob Weinert-Kendt reviews “The​ Crucible,” right, and “Blackbird”​ ​ on Broadway. Full digital highlights on page 8 and at americamagazine.org/ webfeatures. 35 CURRENT COMMENT

current regulatory environment makes tax avoidance a Canada’s Liberal Orthodoxy primary component of global corporate strategy. Financial A proposed new bill to legalize physician-assisted suicide rewards are linked not with productive activity but with in Canada has drawn strong opposition from an impressive artificial constructs: tax residencies that are polite legal coalition of religious voices. Standing together at a press cover stories rather than actual investments in places where conference on April 19, Catholic, Jewish, evangelical and they are headquartered. But this is not surprising. After Muslim leaders registered their grave concern about the all, why should a corporation, seeking the benefit of its measure proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and shareholders, volunteer to pay taxes it can legally avoid? made an admirable pledge: “Our churches, synagogues and The answer, of course, is that those tax revenues help mosques are committed to comfort and care for those who bolster the common good. Senator Elizabeth Warren has are dying and their families.” argued that the problem of transnational tax avoidance Unfortunately, the prime minister’s Liberal Party is not that U.S. rates are too high but that the revenues controls the House of Commons and is expected to pass generated from corporate taxes are too low. But the fix for the measure sometime after the current ban on the practice both these problems may be related. Lower corporate rates expires in June. The proposal would make it legal for could be traded for reforming the tax code—both to reduce doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs and would allow the incentives for tax avoidance and to increase overall nurses and family members to administer the dosage. revenue. There are moral reasons for corporations to pay A few members of the Liberal Party have said they their fair share of taxes. We should also reform the tax code would not back the bill for religious reasons. On this to give them an economic incentive to do so. question, at least, Prime Minister Trudeau does not appear to require strict adherence on the part of his M.P.’s; in 2015 he mandated that any Liberal who sought the Children Navigating the Web party’s support had to agree to vote in favor of pro-choice In “The Joy of Love,” Pope Francis reminds readers that legislation. Like many who favor legalizing physician- while new technologies can be a force for good, they can assisted suicide, Prime Minister Trudeau argues from also place the most vulnerable at risk. “We cannot ignore personal experience: in his case, the slow decline of his the risks that these new forms of communication pose father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who for children and adolescents,” Francis says, adding that suffered from Parkinson’s disease. Yet as pro-life advocates technology “exposes them more easily to manipulation by have argued time and again, there are always palliative those who would invade their private space with selfish options for patients who suffer grave illness. Canada’s interests” (No. 278). According to a study from the GSM religious leaders are calling for increased access to palliative Association, an organization that represents mobile care and appropriate conscience protections for health operators around the world, more than 60 percent of care workers. If the bill passes, these protections must be children worldwide are using digital tools; as this number included. Catholic Charities and other religious groups rises, so does the risk of children falling prey to online should be allowed to continue their life-affirming ministry abuses, from bullying to grooming by sexual predators. to the dying without any government interference. In Latin America and the Caribbean, where crimes against children are rarely investigated, new initiatives Corporate Tax Conversion are helping children navigate the digital world. The app In early April, a $160-billion deal between the pharma- Project Brazil allows children to report cases of violence ceutical giants Allergan and Pfizer fell apart when its tax anonymously. It also uses location data on the child’s advantages disappeared. Originally, Pfizer had planned the phone to provide information on organizations where the merger as a tax inversion—a maneuver that would have victim can find help. In Costa Rica the app Empodérate, shifted Pfizer’s tax residency to Ireland, where Allergan or “Empower Yourself,” educates children on their rights is headquartered and subject to a 14 percent corporate and provides them with resources to report abuse. And tax rate instead of the 35 percent rate Pfizer faces in the in Jamaica there is Ananda alert, which is similar to the United States. New Treasury Department rules, however, AMBER Alert System in the United States. Initiatives like would have prevented Pfizer from escaping the higher these are welcome. As our reliance on technology grows, domestic tax rates. Pope Francis reminds us we should always keep in mind The failed merger is indicative of a larger problem. The the safety of our world’s youngest.

4 America May 9, 2016 EDITORIAL The Two Israels hen Senator Bernie Sanders, during his New of immoral madness; but it is a York debate with former Secretary of State madness rooted in a loss of hope. WHillary Clinton, criticized Israel for its brutal Uri Ariel, the conservative min- waging of the war in Gaza in 2014, he called our attention ister of agriculture, must have to a moral issue politicians lately tend to avoid: the Israeli- sensed this when he described Palestinian conflict. Palestinian laborers waiting in To punish Hamas for its rocket attacks, Israel line at the checkpoints for hours as a disgrace and called for launched Operation Protective Edge, consisting of aerial giving the Palestinians a seaport with access to gas and water. bombings and a ground invasion. The Israeli Defense Forces A recent U.S. State Department report on human were responsible for 2,131 deaths, among them 1,400 civil- rights practices in Israel and the occupied territories pres- ians, including many children. Seventy-two Israelis, includ- ents an exhaustive analysis of degrading conditions in pris- ing five civilians, died. The air strikes were so devastating— ons, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, and damaging schools and hospitals, private homes and public troubling treatment of refugees, children and laborers. buildings—a U.N. report warned that by 2020 Gaza would The report counts 6,826 Palestinians in jail, including 264 be “uninhabitable.” minors. According to the State Department, they receive A young American Jew, Jacob Bacharach, wrote in the harsher treatment than the general population, including in- Israeli daily paper Haaretz (4/16) that Israel was becoming creased administrative detention, restricted family visits, no “not the mystical homeland we appeal to in prayer, but a real, temporary furloughs and more solitary confinement. Prime compromised place, a country whose frankly disastrous pol- Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used intolerant rhetoric itics and shameful treatment of the Palestinians has made it against Arab citizens to win re-election. When Arabs tried increasingly unsupportable.” The rising tide of self-examina- to build homes, regional planning committees with no Arab tion in recent years has transformed arguments over a two- members frustrated their attempts. Military courts convict a state solution into a debate over the “two Israels”—between much higher percentage of Palestinians than civilian courts. those sensitive to Palestinian rights and those so terrified by Catholics should care about this issue, since the Holy the “intifada of the knives” that they deny those rights in the See and Palestine have committed themselves to a two-state name of security. solution. How can American Catholics work for fair treat- Since October, Palestinians have killed about 30 ment of Arab citizens and for peace in Israel? We should Israelis, while Israelis have shot dead 120 Palestinians who encourage our political and religious leaders to raise their were making, or were suspected of making, attacks. Human voices. President Obama recently sent Vice President Joseph rights groups have complained that some of the assailants Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry to attend a gala did not pose an imminent threat. In March two young sponsored by J Street, the pro-peace American Jewish lobby. Palestinian men stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier at The president is considering a presentation to the United a checkpoint in Hebron; one was killed in the attack, the Nations to lay a foundation for his successor. It should other lay wounded until another soldier came by, saw the re-emphasize the importance of minimum standards for the wounded man was still alive and executed him. protection of the human rights of Palestinians and of free- Israel’s defense minister has declared that this soldier’s dom of expression for dissenters among the Israeli public. action “completely contradicts I.D.F. values and its battle It should also call for a review of the Israeli military field ethics.” The soldier has been charged with manslaughter. manual, lest any ambiguity become a license to kill. While some in the I.D.F. seem committed to protecting the Meanwhile 16 of Israel’s current and former security army’s integrity, a notable segment of the Israeli public has chiefs posted a full-page ad in The New York Times (3/29) celebrated the indicted soldier as a hero. Meanwhile, the endorsing the two-state solution. The alternative is a future corpses of Palestinian attackers killed by Israeli forces are in which Jews will be a minority in Israel; it is estimated not returned to their families but put in a freezer for months that in 15 years they will make up 44 percent of the popu- while families plead with courts for their return. lation. We pray that before it is too late, the United States The rockets of Hamas and the knives young will demonstrate its friendship by speaking honestly and en- Palestinians used in indiscriminate attacks are instruments couraging Israel to be true to its better self.

May 9, 2016 America 5 REPLY ALL strategy. It is a shame, however, that of our current primary system in an they cannot bring themselves to see age where travel and communication Armchair Critics more clearly the extent of his abuses were very slow. But nowadays, with Re “Presidential Powers” (Editorial, on issues on which they agree with Mr. television and the Internet, it seems 4/18): Although I disagree with Obama’s agenda (the environment, very antiquated. the fundamental argument about many aspects of health care and immi- How about this as an alternative: President Obama’s “overreach,” I con- gration) as well as the ways his over- Let the parties nominate as many cur that the four topics selected by reaching harms constituencies whose contenders as they wish by a certain the editors are important domains for agenda they seem not to share (busi- date. Then have a national primary discussion. I am thankful that the ed- ness’s rights, for example, or the rights for all registered voters of that party. itorial staff ofAmerica does not have of people holding what have become The votes will be made online. This to solve the overwhelming challenges, in just a few years politically incorrect should not be difficult to authenticate at home and abroad, that the presi- views). The constitutional erosion is with modern secure communications dent has no choice but to confront. furthered by both. technology. Then, any candidate who Armchair, post-hoc critiques of how BOB FAUTEUX does not meet a certain threshold (say the executive keeps the United States Online Comment 1 percent in the first round) drops out. safe (i.e., the first task of the presiden- The remaining candidates continue cy) are commonplace, but collecting ‘Authentic’ Authoritarians to debate and advertise, and votes are intelligence and stopping destructive Re “Facing the Frontrunners,” by held every few weeks with subsequent- extremists must be done either by hu- Margot Patterson (4/4): The com- ly higher thresholds, until a candidate mans or robots, which is a decision the parison of Donald J. Trump to Hitler reaches 50 percent. president must ultimately make. To and Mussolini may not be appropri- The advantages of this include that provide transparency about how and ate, but it is a sad commentary on our every person has a vote that counts, where this is done may satisfy jour- politics that the comparison has to be not just people in the earliest states, nalists, but it can all too easily become made. Mr. Trump may not be exactly and candidates with higher support in informative to the perpetrators we are like them, but he can still be a menace. some regions and lower in others are attempting to halt. His strident, ill-informed and crude not at a disadvantage. I agree in principle with the edi- language, appeals to victimization, JAMES HYNES tors’ contention that the better meth- hyper-nationalism, incitement to vio- Online Comment od for dealing with these and many lence and lightweight and counterpro- ‘Over the Pope’ other matters would be to go through ductive policy positions (especially on “Examining Conscience” (4/4), by Congress. But how many times does a national security) are not the qualities James F. Keenan, S.J., addresses a sane person bang his head on a huge of a statesman and presidential timber. subject that is not spoken about very rock before he sees blood flowing and They are the qualities of an amoral frequently in the church. I have ques- tries to move around the rock in legal demagogue who will disappoint his tioned several Catholic priests about ways? The president is aware of much followers because the United States is why our conscience is never preached more, including consequences for the not a kingdom. about or discussed, and the answer by decisions he makes. Criticizing him is The checks and balances in our sys- three of these priests was that most our First Amendment right; however, tem will defeat his preposterous pro- people are not knowledgeable enough criticizing without knowing the entire- posals if he is elected president, a very to understand what it really means; ty of what he knows is questionable. unlikely prospect due to high unfa- RICHARD BOOTH vorability ratings. If Mr. Trump is “au- basically, ordinary Catholics cannot Online Comment thentic” we should keep in mind that be trusted in many situations to make many demagogues and authoritarians their own informed decisions. This at- Constitutional Erosion in history have been “authentic,” in- titude toward the laity is why Father I salute the editors for (a) recalling cluding Hitler and Mussolini. Keenan’s article is so important. their strong April 2008 reservations GABRIEL MARCELLA It is also important to note the about George W. Bush’s abuse of con- Online Comment former Archbishop Ratzinger’s stitutional power and the magnitude commentary in 1968 made in the of its impact and (b) their choice to Primary Advantage Second Vatican Council’s “Pastoral close the editorial with a critical para- Re “Fix the Primaries” (Current Constitution on the Church in the graph on President Obama’s drone Comment, 4/4): One can see the sense Modern World”: “Over the pope...

6 America May 9, 2016 there still stands one’s own conscience, Francisco than, say, in the rural South. the work of Matt Malone, S.J., and his which must be obeyed before all else, if And the ceiling for “poverty level” description of his dad introducing him necessary even against the requirement needs to be much higher. to town hall meetings made it most of ecclesiastical authority.” The church I wish policymakers would treat understandable how Father Malone should be giving more time and atten- TANF and other programs the way learned to love the democratic process tion to the development of people’s they do grants to businesses—as an that is so much at the heart of our na- consciences so that they can make in- investment. Every cent of this money is tion (Of Many Things, 3/14). My dad, formed personal decisions. going back into the local economy—for an Irish immigrant, loved baseball and JANE MARFIZO food, rent, baby items, drugstore pur- he passed that feeling on to me. I can Online Comment chases—not to mention the human in- still see him hitting the ball a mile and vestment in strengthening families. running the bases with joy. A basic val- The Right Words Finally, I believe that any woman ue he taught me was that a central part Re Of Many Things, by Matt Malone, who wants to should work for her own of sportsmanship was to be fair. S.J. (4/4): As a priest and homilist, I satisfaction and career development. I am very much in agreement with struggle mightily on the great festivals But women who want, or need, to stay Father Malone that the several of of our faith, especially Easter, to find home with their children should be en- the Republican debates have been an words adequate to the occasion— abled to do so. A number of years ago embarrassment to watch. Still, it did words that will fill the hearts and a major women’s magazine had a cam- bother me that he never mentioned minds of my hearers with wonder and paign with the slogan “Every mother is the Democratic candidates. Senator awe of the mystery we celebrate. While a working mother.” One of my favor- Sanders has made promises on spend- I regularly fall short, the ancient, anon- ite cartoons shows a husband coming ing that almost everyone knows would ymous homily in America’s Easter home to a messy apartment—dishes be impossible to implement without issue, with extraordinary imagery and in the sink, soggy diapers, vacuum in already straining a troubled economy. deep religious insight, hit that elusive the corner. The caption has the wife I recently saw Secretary Clinton say mark. Thank you for one of the most saying, “Honey, you know the ‘nothing’ in an interview that she cannot recall personally inspiring and moving expe- I do all day? Well, today I didn’t do it.” ever having told a deliberate lie. Yet a riences of this Easter season. (REV.) GERALD FEIERFEIL There is still a lot of work to be done Quinnipiac University poll from 2015 Sioux City, Iowa to get a just and livable income for ev- found the word liar to be the word re- eryone. spondents most frequently associated Tennessee’s Search JOAN HILL with Hillary Clinton. In “His Final Act” (3/28), Michael Online Comment Father Malone, is it only Republican V. Tueth, S.J., offers a great reflection candidates who are making a poor im- Fair Play on “the little-known spiritual side” of pression on the citizens of the United I am a devoted reader of America; still, Tennessee Williams. Mr. Williams’s States? How about a little fairness? there are times when I find its liberal sexuality placed a large barrier be- PATRICK WOODS, C.SS.R. bias on certain issues annoying. I enjoy Bethpage, N.Y. tween him and traditional Christian doctrine. Yet there is a profound ten- sion in Mr. Williams’s plays between the brutality of human behavior and the desire for grace and companion- ship. It is some of the same searching that Christian theology concerns itself with. BERT CLERE Online Comment

Mothers at Work I have a couple of points in response to “Revisiting Welfare Reform” (Editorial, 3/21). TANF needs to be adjusted by location—higher in cit- “Exit polls say 46 percent are voting Democrat, 36 percent are voting ies like Boston, New York and San Republican, and 18 percent of voters are going home to pack.” CARTOON: BOB ECKSTEIN CARTOON:

May 9, 2016 America 7 FROM OUR BLOGS Islamic Fashion Rattles French Nerves, Margot Patterson Pope Francis Marks 35th Anniversary of Jesuit Refugee WEB EXCLUSIVE Center in Rome, Gerard O’Connell The story of a novelist from El Salvador who was Virgilio Elizondo, A Man of the forced into exile after writing a novel about the Marginalized, Victor Carmona killing of six Jesuits in 1989. WHAT YOU’RE READING Top Ten Takeaways from ‘Amoris RADIO Laetitia,’ James Martin, S.J. James Kubicki, S.J., and Frédéric Fornos, S.J., talk What Some Critics of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ about the pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network on Are Missing, James Martin, S.J. “The Catholic Channel” on SiriusXM. CNS Director Tony Spence Forced Out Kevin Clarke

THEATER Pope Appoints French-Born Archbish- op Christophe Pierre as New Nuncio to Rob Weinert-Kendt reviews “The Crucible” and the United States, Gerard O’Connell “Blackbird,” two new Broadway productions about ‘Amoris Laetitia’ and Gay Marriage: A troubled relationships. Closer Look, Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

“This is a story of the high price of speaking the truth,” —Lisa Weber, “Unmasking the Assassins of 1989”

8 America May 9, 2016 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

REFUGEE CRISIS makes sense, whether Pope Francis calls a Year of Mercy or not.” Jesuit Campaign Aims to Bring In Syria—where the Jesuits have deep historical ties—J.R.S. finds itself Education to the World’s Margins doing education and more. “We’re play- ing, I think, a very distinctive role in Syria. We’re one of the SAVING THE FUTURE. Syrian children stand outside their school in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on April 12. Jesuit Refugee Service hopes to raise $35 million so that by 2020 it few N.G.O.’s who are actually can educate an additional 100,000 refugees per year. in Syria,” he said. “Part of our goal and our way of working is that we don’t see this re- sponse [to the refugee crisis] as a sectarian response. We serve Muslims. We serve Christians. Our staffs are made up of Christians and Muslims. Our goal here is that eventually this war will end. Eventually, Christians and Muslims will be working together in Syria again. How do we start laying the seeds for that?” Every J.R.S. education program includes a psycho- social component because ev- ery J.R.S. school is trying to teach traumatized, displaced children. In Lebanon, that re- quires a social worker in every esuit Refugee Service has a very specific answer to Pope Francis’ call to put school and program. mercy on the leading edge of a church reaching out to the peripheries. The Online courses designed and de- Janswer is education. livered from the Jesuit network of With a campaign called “Mercy in Motion,” J.R.S. is trying to raise $35 million universities in the United States have this year so that by 2020 it can educate an additional 100,000 refugees per year. enabled J.R.S. to dramatically expand Just 36 percent of the world’s refugee children go to some form of secondary its offerings to post-secondary refugee school. Fewer than 1 percent get anything beyond secondary school. In the world’s students, but the critical need is with largest refugee crisis, more than 2.6 million Syrian children are out of school. younger children where a human, Jesuit Refugee Service has more than 150,000 students in its educational interactive process of teaching and programs around the world, but that is not much in a world with 60 million learning is more important than con- people living as refugees or at risk of becoming refugees. The Office of the U.N. tent delivery, Father Smolich said. High Commissioner for Refugees says 51 percent of the refugees are under the For refugees who have been treat- age of 18. ed as objects and obstacles by regimes, The refugees who will shape the 21st century are everywhere, not just in armies, border guards and officials, the Middle East, said Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., international director of J.R.S. healing begins by humanizing their “People are realizing now, finally, it really is a global phenomenon,” he said. “This is experience. Father Smolich said he not about Syria and Europe. This is a whole interconnected reality.” wants refugee schools to be places of “Education is the real game changer. If the average stay in a refugee camp is 17 human encounter. years, what are you going to do with those 17 years?” he asked. “We’re trying to re- “Pope Francis is onto something spond to needs—trying to respond as part of the church doing that.... That, to me, here. You start with the encounter,”

May 9, 2016 America 9 SIGNS OF THE TIMES he said. “The church is at the frontiers. “I hope it gives them a sense of sta- and use every “means at our disposal” to We figure out what to do based on bility. I hope it gives them access to spread awareness and resources. that encounter.” jobs. I hope access to some future be- The need to have adequate protec- Math class in a refugee camp does yond being moved from camp to camp tion policies and procedures in place for not solve all the problems, but it does when the going gets tough,” said Father religious orders is urgent because they solve some of them. Smolich. are present in so many countries around the globe, said Mark Vincent Healy, an advocate in Ireland for survivors of CHILD PROTECTION child sexual abuse. For example, of the 48 Spiritan priests noted in Ireland’s Focus Turns to Religious Orders National Board for Safeguarding n a continuing effort to protect Father Fogarty said his first prior- Children’s audit in 2012 as accused of children, much of the attention ity after being elected superior of the abuse in Ireland, half of them had also Iof the Catholic Church has been Spiritans in 2012 was to establish served in other countries, including the on how dioceses and national bish- comprehensive guidelines and then United States, Canada, Sierra Leone ops’ conferences have been respond- ask each of the order’s provinces and and Kenya, Healy has said. ing to victims and protecting children. In Healy’s case, the Spiritan priest Religious orders and congregations who had abused him at a school the are sometimes left out of that picture, order ran in Ireland was transferred to even though most of the more than a Spiritan-run school in Sierra Leone, 300,000 Catholic schools and orphan- where he allegedly abused again be- ages around the world are run by reli- fore being convicted in Ireland and gious brothers and sisters. Now the fo- laicized. Healy’s case was handled in cus is turning to those religious orders Ireland—the country where the abuse of men and women. occurred—but, he said, victims of Irish Pope Francis last year authorized missionaries in other countries, partic- the Congregation for the Doctrine ularly Africa, lack clear channels or have of the Faith to investigate and judge none at all for reporting and redress. claims of “abuse of office” by bishops JOB ONE. Father John Fogarty, The church already responds to the who allegedly failed to protect minors superior general of the Congregation psychological, emotional and spiritu- and vulnerable adults from sexual of the Holy Spirit, said drawing up al fallout of victims of war in many of guidelines for the congregation to abuse. But that form of censure “wasn’t prevent sexual abuse “was the first those countries, Healy said, so why not extended to superior generals, and it priority” after he became superior in extend that same care and concern to should be,” said Father John Fogarty, 2012. victims of abuse by its own members? superior general of the Congregation Healy has been looking at ways the of the Holy Spirit. regions to draw up procedures that order and the church as a whole could Canon Law and the complementa- would protect children and respect lo- provide services across jurisdictions, es- ry Vatican norms regarding this field cal laws and customs. pecially “in countries where there are no “refer only to clergy”—bishops, priests Since each local superior of his order structures” to help survivors and com- and deacons—said Hans Zollner, is responsible for his territory, Father munities. S.J., president of the Center for Fogarty said he uses his role “to work One proposal, which Healy also Child Protection at Rome’s Pontifical with the superiors” and get them all “on discussed with Father Fogarty, was Gregorian University. the same wavelength.”Not everyone in the creation of a global network mod- Each religious order or congregation every part of the world is “at the same eled after Doctors Without Borders. establishes its own policies, he said. And point” in recognizing the need to pro- Instead of addressing physical harm, while some may have a set of guidelines tect and care for children and survi- the network could specialize in deliv- for their whole congregation, in others vors; “our job is to get them there, put ering mental health care services to each province or region is in charge of pressure on them to produce adequate people suffering from trauma caused setting up guidelines. policies, procedures, hold workshops” by war, civil conflicts and abuse in un-

10 America May 9, 2016 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

derdeveloped nations. By offering comprehensive mental NEWS BRIEFS health services, Healy said, perhaps Pope Francis surprised a group of teenagers “you can alleviate the suffering and on April 23 in St. Peter’s Square, telling them bring some function back to a dysfunc- that happiness is not a downloadable app and tional society. Otherwise, violence will then hearing the confessions of 16 teens as he just repeat itself.” joined 150 other priests offering the sacrament of reconciliation. • Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics Sisters’ Acts of Mercy of Austria refused to allow the installation of a fence on church property by border officials, When ISIS extremists rolled across arguing on April 21 that the barrier, meant to Iraq’s Nineveh Plain in 2014, tens keep out refugees, was contrary to the spirit of thousands of Christians fled to of the Gospel. • Zambians are shocked and Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq. They ashamed of the xenophobic violence primar- Bless me father... still wait in limbo in crowded camps. ily against Rwandans in the capital, Lusaka, a Their only certainty is that whatever church spokesperson said on April 22. • On the same day that Pope happens to them, a group of Dominican Francis brought 12 Syrian refugees to Rome from Greece, April 20, nuns will be at their side. “We will not a merchant ship picked up 41 refugees in the Mediterranean who leave our people. Wherever they go, we told human rights workers they had seen as many as 500 people will go with them,” said Sister Luma drown when their boat capsized. • Pope Francis’ plea for humanitar- Khudher, a member of the Dominican ian aid for Ukraine is bringing needed attention to a forgotten war, Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena. The said Ukrainian Catholic leaders, as parishes throughout Europe pre- Iraqi congregation was founded in pared to take up a special collection the pope requested for Ukraine Mosul in the late 19th century, and on April 24. over the decades the nuns have oper- ated schools and clinics throughout the country. The nuns became the de poverty, caring for the poor, the archdi- life. A Georgetown student group’s facto managers of aid for much of the ocese will assist with airfare and lodging invitation to Richards, the head of displaced community in Irbil. “The sis- for those requesting assistance,” said an the nation’s largest abortion provider, ters were everywhere. When we asked announcement on April 19 by the arch- to speak on April 20 at the country’s about the needs of the displaced, no diocese. The archdiocese will gather the oldest Catholic university drew na- one could answer with any authori- evidence and present it to the Vatican’s tionwide criticism and was countered ty except the Dominican sisters,” said Congregation for Saints’ Causes and to by a week of pro-life activities at the Michel Constantin, the regional direc- Pope Francis. If, after examining the in- school. The events included panel tor for the Catholic Near East Welfare quiry, the Vatican congregation and the discussions on the dignity of life and Association. pope recognize Day’s heroic virtues, she the importance of outreach to women will be declared venerable, the next step facing crisis pregnancies. In his homily Closer to Canonization in the canonization process. She now at the Mass on April 21 at Epiphany has the title “servant of God.” Catholic Church, Cardinal Wuerl A canonical inquiry into the life of warned about a powerful movement Dorothy Day, co-founder of the and environment of political correct- Catholic Worker Movement, will begin A Celebration of Life ness “all around us.... It says to set aside soon and extend to the end of the year, One day after Planned Parenthood’s such things as the value of human life according to the Archdiocese of New president, Cecile Richards, spoke at and substitute the politically correct York, which is sponsoring her sainthood Georgetown University, Cardinal position that actually you should be cause. The names of 256 people had Donald W. Wuerl of Washington free to choose to kill the unborn child. been submitted as potential eyewitness- celebrated a University Mass for But the word of God says to us, ‘Don’t es to Day’s life. Of those, 52 have been Life for college students at a nearby conform yourself to this age.’” chosen for interviews. “Because many of Catholic church, encouraging them the eyewitnesses still live in voluntary to stand up for God’s gift of human From America Media, CNS, RNS, AP and other sources.

May 9, 2016 America 11 SIGNS OF THE TIMES

DISPATCH | BEIJING Hong Kong’s institutions. An alarming incident occurred in P.R.C.’s Publishers Clearing House late 2015, when five men associated with the Mighty Current publishing here they have burned the P.R.C. government. Owners of The house, which produced inflammatory books, they will end in South China Morning Post decided books about P.R.C. leaders, their per- ‘Wburning human beings,” that their business interests in China sonal lives and family business deal- wrote the German essayist and poet could be hurt by allowing the strip to ings, went missing—four from Hong Heinrich Heine in 1823. It is unlikely continue. Kong and one from Thailand. All five he would have thought that the same Although most tourists from the rest eventually re-emerged in police custody would be true of disappearing books of China who visit Hong Kong go there in China. So far, only one, Lee Bo, has and vanishing people, although that ap- to shop, some sought to pick up books returned to Hong Kong; the other four pears to be what is happening in Hong that purported to expose Communist are still being held. Kong. Party scandals and secrets. While some Other publishers are feeling the heat. The threat of censorship has hovered titles contained genuine investigative re- Pete Spurrier, founder of Blacksmith over Hong Kong since it was hand- Books, a boutique Hong Kong ed back to the People’s Republic of The threat of censorship publisher that recently released China almost 19 years ago. Media Umbrellas in Bloom, an account of outlets and bookshops issued warn- has hovered over Hong the “Umbrella Revolution,” as the ings then to customers that beyond 2014 protests are called by some, the handover on July 1, 1997, it was Kong since it was hand- told The South China Morning uncertain what they could or could ed back 19 years ago. Post that two companies turned not publish or stock on their shelves. down the printing of the book, and But in those first few years following a third consented to the work only if the transition, the city remained for the porting, others were simply pulp books it could remain anonymous. most part a bastion of free press and cobbled together from often specious The Post itself has now become a free speech. newspaper articles. Regardless, trade bellwether of freedom of expression The “Basic Law,” the framework was brisk in these titles, placed prom- in Hong Kong. Formerly owned by upon which the United Kingdom inently on racks at the departure gates Rupert Murdoch, The Post is now the agreed to return Hong Kong to main- of ferry piers, train stations and airports property of another billionaire—the land control, appeared to guarantee a for passengers headed back into other online retail magnate Jack Ma. His high degree of autonomy. And books, parts of China. Alibaba Group spent over a $250 mil- magazines and newspapers critical of All of that is about to change. Since lion on the acquisition, which many China continued to be published in the beginning of the year, 11 out of 16 suspected was concluded with Chinese the Hong Kong Special Administrative of the bookstores operating in Hong government backing despite Ma’s assur- Region (S.A.R.). Kong International Airport have closed ances that he would fight to keep the But P.R.C. pressure on Hong Kong out of fear of reprisals or reduced busi- paper independent. to curtail messages unflattering to its ness prospects for selling books deemed So far so good. State-run media leadership began even before 1997. offensive to the P.R.C. government. were ordered to avoid reporting on the The cartoonist Larry Feign, whose Protests in Hong Kong in 2014 saw Panama Papers and the involvement “The World of Lily Wong” lampooned some of the S.A.R.’s most prominent of family members of Chinese leaders. Hong Kong life and politics, saw his thoroughfares and business districts oc- They were also told to seek out and strip abruptly cancelled in May 1995 cupied as students, journalists, academ- scrub references to the scandal online. when its content was deemed critical of ics and other concerned citizens spoke But The Post reported the news as nor- out against what they perceived as the mal. How and whether that coverage STEVEN SCHWANKERT, author of Poseidon: P.R.C.’s growing, negative influence on will continue remains to be seen. China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Hong Kong society. But demonstra- Sounds like a story that would Submarine (Hong Kong University Press), is America’s Beijing correspondent. Twitter: @ tors ultimately failed to propel reforms make a good book. greatwriteshark. meant to maintain the independence of STEVEN SCHWANKERT

12 America May 9, 2016 May 9, 2016 America 13 JAMES T. KEANE Forever and a Day mong the signature moments day-to-day.... Aren’t we all?” tirade on the spot. All in one evening. of Reggie Jackson’s baseball Vin called Reggie’s strikeout on Equally important has been the Acareer is one he would rath- the radio, the medium for which he comfort of continuity. My father, as a er forget: a ninth-inning showdown is famous, but he has also done tele- teenager, as a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the 1978 World Series against the vision play-by-play for an astounding in the Washington Heights neighbor- Dodgers’ reliever Bob Welch. The number of historic moments in sports. hood of Manhattan, listened to Vin Yankee slugger had earned the nick- Remember Don Larsen’s perfect game Scully. Think about that. In a sport name Mr. October for his World to win the 1955 World Series? Vin that claims to be about tradition, the Series heroics against the Dodgers called the game. Or the ball squirt- players and coaches come and go all the year before, including one game ing between poor Bill Buckner’s legs the time; sometimes even the teams where he hit three home runs on three in the 1986 World Series? Vin called and stadiums do. But not Vin Scully. consecutive pitches, and Welch was that. Sandy Koufax’s perfect game in Finally, there is the wisdom that just a 21-year-old rookie who couldn’t 1965? Vin. Joe Montana’s desperation comes through with every broadcast, throw much beyond fastballs. So he touchdown pass to Dwight some of it the result of threw Jackson nine straight, the last a Clark to put the 49ers in Vin Scully, a life well-lived, some of heater down the middle that Jackson their first Super Bowl? That it earned the hard way. swung at so hard he almost fell down. was Vin, too. His call of Southern Though a private man, (He missed.) Kirk Gibson’s game-win- California’s Scully has given a few The Dodger Stadium crowd went ning home run in the 1988 interviews about his crazy: Reggie Jackson was the player World Series is legendary. soundtrack Catholic faith, including everyone loved to hate. He didn’t have He has narrated plenty of to summer- one with The National the kindest words for them, either, classic golf and tennis tour- Catholic Register in later dismissing them as “a baseball naments, too. Vin Scully time, is 2013 in which he re- crowd that usually sits on its hands even called the perfect game retiring. flected on the death of and waits for Vin Scully to tell them Kevin Costner tossed in his first wife and the what they’re seeing. The usual Dodger that awful movie. loss of a son. “When my Stadium crowd is about 50,000 peo- The city of Los Angeles just gave wife, Joan, died in 1972 at the age of ple and 40,000 transistor radios.” Dodger Stadium a new address: 35, I was devastated, as were our chil- But the impossible is happening. it’s now located at 1000 Vin Scully dren. We didn’t stop praying, though. After 67 years of play-by-play for Avenue. X-Files fans hear his name The worst thing you can do in times the Dodgers, Vin Scully, Southern every time they watch the show, be- of trial is to stop praying. The tough California’s soundtrack to summer- cause agent Mulder’s partner is named moments are when you need God the time, is retiring. Unless the Dodgers in his honor. For one short year, he most. He’s always there and more than make the playoffs (THEY WILL), was even given his own weekday vari- happy to give us His help; we need Oct. 2, 2016, will be his final broad- ety program. And he has a star on the only ask for it,” Scully said. cast, a few weeks before his 89th birth- Hollywood Walk of Fame. “There are so many good things day. Why so much Sturm und Drang about the Church, but that might be That’s a lot of birthdays. But Vin over an announcer? It’s that voice, first the most essential thing I’ve learned has always been philosophical about of all, that velvety tenor described by from it: the importance of continu- length of years; three decades ago, he Chris Erskine of The Los Angeles al communication with God. That’s announced during a broadcast that Times as “full of swing, moxie and what all the kneelers, candles, incense, Cubs slugger Andre Dawson had sonic opulence.” But the level of eru- stained-glass windows, holy water and bruised his knee and was “listed as dition is part of it, too. Vin can quote other things are about: directing our Shakespeare, compare an athlete’s mus- minds and hearts to God.” cles to the Belvedere Torso, explain why Did Vin make the wrong choice 67 JAMES T. KEANE is an editor at Orbis Books in Ossining, N.Y., and a former associate editor of the number 13 isn’t really unlucky and years ago? Maybe the guy should have America. Twitter: @jamestkeane. bowdlerize a manager’s profanity-laced been a spiritual director.

14 America May 9, 2016 Teaching That Transforms The distinctive heart of Jesuit higher education

BY KEVIN P. QUINN

hat is different about Jesuit higher education? Two questions will help focus this consideration. How does the idea that reality is suf- fused with the presence of God, or the idea that the way to become more like God is to be as fully human as we can, find expression in HUMAN FLOURISHING. Stephanie Lovina, a Jesuit higher education? And does Jesuit higher education aspire to graduate of St. Joseph’s provide for its students something more than superior academic training? University, working at W Well-done education at a Jesuit university transforms a student and prepares him or her Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. for work that promotes the common good, while allowing that student to discern his or her vocation in life and, in the long run, to flourish as a human being. This is the transforming power of education on a Jesuit campus rightly understood: personal transformation that

KEVIN P. QUINN, S.J., is the president of the University of Scranton and a professor of philosophy there. This ar- ticle is a version of an address he gave at the First Joint Symposium of Universities With Jesuit Tradition, hosted by Trnava University in Trnava, Slovakia, in October 2014.

May 9, 2016 America 15 leads to societal transformation through the ongoing dialec- Undergraduate teaching, with its dream of making cit- tic of personal freedom and social responsibility. izens for the City of Man and the City of God, has Contemporary Jesuit leadership remains vigilant regard- always been first in Georgetown’s time and heart. For ing what is an appropriate starting point for this discussion. two centuries on this good ground the faculty has The 34th General Congregation stated: “As we look to the labored to help young men, and for the last 30 years future, we need consciously to be on guard that both the young women, to achieve themselves as citizens, hus- noun ‘university’ and the adjective ‘Jesuit’ always remain fully bands and wives, parents and as friends. “Liberal ed- honored” (Decree 17, No. 5). And the Association of Jesuit ucation” has always had those aims and only those.... Colleges and Universities says further: “Catholic and Jesuit, [W]e have never bowed to either of two heresies— descriptors that define us as an institution, are not simply that the bachelor’s degree is for making a living rather two characteristics among many. Rather, they signify our than for life itself, or that one can debase the arts and defining character, what makes us uniquely who we are.” sciences to make them “value free.” Neither fallacy has This is a risky undertaking for us as Catholic and Jesuit ed- ever clouded the renaissance Jesuit vision that every- ucators. While the values and “way of proceeding” of secular thing human, as well as the nature in which mankind education sometimes overlap with ours, many times they do sits, is filled with the laboring presence of God and not. That is why it is so important for us to understand and thus worth the struggle to enjoy, understand and cel- celebrate the principles and convictions that motivate our ebrate. work, precisely as the work of a university that is Catholic and Jesuit. Such convictions flow from the spiritual vision passed on The contemporary university qua university is charac- in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, the touchstone of terized, the A.J.C.U. adds, by “peer reviewed research, re- all Jesuit spirituality and the work of any Jesuit school. The search-grounded teaching and teaching as mentoring, and underpinnings of education in Jesuit schools can be found in service, all within a climate of academic freedom.” What the worldview transmitted by three meditations found in the universities claim to be teaching their students—specifi- exercises. Although written almost 500 years ago, they evoke cally, to think critically, reason analytically, solve problems powerful, foundational convictions that can—and, I would and communicate clearly—is necessary but not sufficient for submit, must—animate any academic program at a Jesuit Jesuit universities. For a Jesuit university should ask more of university. These meditations are those on the Incarnation, its students by educating and forming them to become men on the Call of the King and on the Two Standards. and women of faith and of service to their communities. This is the “value added” of Jesuit higher education. The Meditations This self-defining claim poses a significant challenge for In the meditation on the Incarnation, Ignatius asks the re- us because it does not matter to our external accreditors or treatant to use the powers of imagination to envision the to our secular colleagues. By definition, Jesuit institutions of Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—involved in a conver- higher learning exist to educate young people in a way that sation as they look down upon the entire “expanse and circuit prepares them to be valuable contributors to the common of the Earth.” They behold it all at once, the good, the bad good through the work they will do in the course of their and the ugly, and they agree that the project of creation, as careers. But that, for Jesuit educators, is not enough. We embodied in the human race, is not going well. Something is seek to form—and that powerful transitive verb cannot be wrong and needs fixing. The fruit of their discussion is a di- overemphasized in our context—men and women of a par- vine decision and resolution: “Let us work the redemption of ticular kind: individuals of faith who understand that their the human race.” And the angel Gabriel is sent to Mary in the faith compels them to work for justice and in the service backwater village of Nazareth. of others, regardless of their chosen profession. Even more This meditation and the understanding of the nature of pointedly, our tradition recognizes that the work our alumni God it conveys are at the very heart of Jesuit spirituality and undertake and the careers that will unfold for them take on Jesuit education. The foundational understanding is this: God their proper importance and meaning only in the context of has chosen to “roll up his sleeves” and “go to work” in creation. the deeper, primary commitments of their lives: the com- God labors in creation. Our laboring, therefore, is one pro- mitments they owe to their families and their communities. found manifestation of how we are made in the image and In 1989, reflecting on 200 years of Jesuit and Catholic likeness of God. This insight has—or should have—pro- education at Georgetown, Timothy Healy, S.J., then the uni- found implications for the work of education in Jesuit schools. versity’s president, spoke eloquently of the work of all Jesuit Ignatius does not stop there. After inviting us to consider universities when he reminded all involved with the life of the truth that God labors in creation, he then summons all Georgetown: men and women to join in that divine labor. In the medita-

16 America May 9, 2016 tion on the Call of the King, Ignatius asks the retreatant first Ignatius, evil was very real and very active in the world, es- to consider a good and upright earthly king who issues a call pecially in the realm of human decision-making; moreover, it to his subjects, asking them to “join with him” in a noble task was crafty and relentless in its desire to frustrate the hopes “conquering all enemies of mankind, which include disease, and the laboring of God among human beings. In this power- ignorance, poverty and oppression.” Ignatius asks the retreat- ful meditation, Ignatius asks the retreatant to imagine a scene ant to consider that any reasonable person of good will would in which both Christ and Satan invite all human beings to join in such an endeavor. He then takes a step further, asking “choose sides” in the great cosmic struggle between good and the retreatant to reflect on the call of the Eternal King, Jesus evil. Ignatius insists that “Christ calls and wants all beneath Christ, to join with him in the aforementioned work of re- his standard, and Lucifer, on the other hand, wants all under deeming the human race. This call is issued to every human his.” Human beings must choose. being. These three meditations, quaint as they may appear to con- The Ignatian imagination sees God as actively involved in temporary readers and foreign as they surely are to secular ac- the ongoing work of creation and sees human beings as recipi- ademics, can be for us today powerful reminders of why Jesuit ents of an unending divine invitation to join in that work here schools exist and how Jesuit educators should understand the and now. Fittingly, academic programs at Jesuit institutions work we do. In particular, these meditations can inform how are natural and potentially very powerful tools for bringing we structure our academic programs. about human flourishing both for the individuals who are ed- ucated and formed in them and for the broader community Jesuit Education Today in which they will work. Ignatius reminds us, however, that But what is distinctive about Jesuit higher education today? Jesuit schools—precisely because of the good they can bring The Society of Jesus is 475 years old and continues to edu- about for so many—will be opposed by what Ignatius repeat- cate young men and women by applying insights born of the edly called “the enemy of human nature.” Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and by reflecting on expe- In the meditation on the Two Standards, Ignatius places riences of countless Jesuits and Jesuit schools across the globe both the activity of God in the world and the call to action and through the centuries. Contemporary commentary on God issues to all human beings within the broader context Ignatian spirituality identifies several important themes, as of a cosmic struggle between good and evil in the world. For articulated by the Jesuits at Georgetown in 2010:

May 9, 2016 America 17 the experience of a divine and forgiving love that in for the rights of others, especially the disadvantaged and the turn enables us to recognize our complicity with sin; a oppressed.” personal calling that frees us to embrace our truest pas- This is the contemporary standard for engaged learning in sions in following Christ and in service of others; the a Jesuit university. This standard applies to all students. To redemptive possibility of self-giving love that invites apply these Jesuit “marching orders,” students are encouraged us to attend to the cries of those who suffer; [and] the to enter worlds beyond campus, to gain an education that no experience of enduring goodness that gives hope for a classroom alone can offer, to learn with and from people in world in which the Spirit always labors. marginalized communities and so to become global citizens for a new century. These themes in turn shape the Ignatian worldview and in- This educational strategy calls for personal transformation form as organizing principles much of Jesuit education, as the that would lead to transforming society. The ideal of a per- A.J.C.U. states, by “encouraging students to see the hand of sonal transformation requires a rigorous education to prepare students to become ethical and compassionate EXTRA CREDIT. Mary Haffner, graduate of Gonzaga University, leaders who will infuse society with faith and left, and Mackenzie Irvin, graduate of Le Moyne College, justice, informed by knowledge. For personal working at Dolores Mission in Los Angeles. transformation to be effective, academic, mor- al and spiritual, experience must be integrated with and enhanced by learning outside the classroom. But it must be experiential learning in which immersion and reflection on experi- ence are intertwined and focused on the needs and concerns that many in our world face. It must also be learning that is framed in the con- text of asking the “bigger questions” of human experience, such as, “What does this experi- ence say to me about God, about the purpose and meaning of human life and about how the hopes and labors of God in the world can be frustrated?”

Learning With There is a catch here, a shift in educational philosophy. The aim is not just serving others and learning about people but learning with and from people who are often excluded from participation in economic, social and political God in all things, to discern the ‘magis,’ or the better course life. And further, there is a call to integrate academic inquiry, of action, [and] to ‘engage the world through a careful analysis creative imagination and reflection on experience in order to of context, in dialogue with experience evaluated through re- inspire the fashioning of a more just and humane society. Or flection, for the sake of action, and with openness, always, to as Mark Ravizza, S.J., put it so well during a conference on the evaluation’ (GC 35).” University of Scranton campus: integrating accompaniment, Jesuit education has engaged mind, heart and hands since spirituality, academic excellence and community will lead uni- the first Jesuit school opened in 1548. In 2000, Peter-Hans versity students to a depth of thought and imagination that Kolvenbach, S.J., then superior general of the Jesuit order, is a distinguishing mark of the Ignatian tradition. Through called for a new Jesuit educational standard. “Tomorrow’s these experiences faculty members, students, community ‘whole person,’” he said, “cannot be whole without an educat- partners and indigenous peoples become dynamic partners in ed awareness of society and culture with which to contribute an ambitious and often difficult educational process. socially, generously, in the real world.” For that reason, he ex- To deliver a transformative education in the Jesuit tradi- plained, students “must let the gritty reality of this world into tion requires the integration of academic, moral and spiritual their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, learning—the union of mind, heart and soul. We also know respond to its suffering, and engage in it constructively.” They that any university that claims—as Jesuit institutions surely should learn, he said, to “perceive, think, judge, choose, and act do—to educate and form the whole person cannot pretend

18 America May 9, 2016 that the religious life of that person is somehow an optional worldview born of intellect and imagination—for what we or accidental dimension that can be relegated to the sidelines do in our academic programs, others will provide them for or attended to as an afterthought. Rather, the experience of us. If we do not know who we are as Jesuit universities, oth- a Jesuit education can and should provide all students with ers will happily tell us who to be. the tools and opportunities to develop the habits of mind and I am thinking here not of coercive governmental intru- heart that will enable them to encounter the living God. Only sion but of controlling narrative and value systems that ac- in this most important of all encounters will students discover creditation agencies, professional associations and even our the truth about themselves as well as the meaning and impli- secular colleagues offer as substitutes for the thicker, deeper cations of the call that comes with being a person. narrative that is our inheritance as Jesuit schools. We must In the words of the Georgetown Jesuits reflecting on maintain strong and professionally savvy relationships with undergraduate education there: “The journey of selfhood all these outside entities, but we must likewise always be should also ideally include the cultivation of a freedom to careful to safeguard, promote and deepen the distinctive choose our truest selves.” Promoting this project of self-dis- reasons for and faith-fueled convictions behind why we do covery and discerning one’s deepest vocation is consistent what we do. We must, in other words, continually articulate with, for example, the University of Scranton's statement aloud and in public, for ourselves and our many constitu- to “provide a superior, transformational learning experience, encies, the spiritual vision that animates everything we do, preparing students who...will ‘set the world on fire.’” The including our professional education programs. task of providing these tools and opportunities is not the Jesuit universities are in a privileged position to provide job of any single office or division of the university. Nor is an education that speaks to the deepest desires of our stu- the target audience only students studying philosophy and dents and at the same time aims to address the most pro- theology. Rather, this task is the focus of the entire universi- found needs of our world. Inherited from generations of ty community and is arguably the raison d’être for any Jesuit Jesuit educators and two millennia of Christianity, this is our university. legacy to preserve and enhance. It is hard for me to imagine So today’s Jesuit universities in the United States are more important or rewarding work. In sum, the 21st-cen- about student formation, regardless of the student’s college tury Jesuit university attempts to educate its students by or discipline. Jesuit schools have long had, as the Georgetown joining excellent academic training with personal and mor- Jesuits stated, “a keen interest in formative concerns and in al formation rooted in the Catholic tradition. When this is the ways in which such concerns intersect academic work.” done well, those students, now alumni of Jesuit universities, Robust collaboration between academic and student affairs will work hard transforming society, thereby contributing to and the continued vitality of general education on Jesuit the labor of God in attempting, as David Fleming, S.J., said, campuses highlight this concern for formation among un- to “work the redemption of the human race.” A dergraduates. Jesuit educators aim to invite all students into a broader for- mational experience that will enable them to grow into persons of a certain kind, blessed with gifts of heart, mind and soul. It is this human formation that provides the context within which Jesuit higher education takes on its proper perspective, its deeper purpose and its true meaning. Much of what I have discussed here is, to be frank, aspirational and liable to be interpreted as the stuff of promo- tional materials. To an extent, that is true. However, the aspirational, the ar- ticulation of the goal toward which we are working, giving voice to the very rea- sons why our schools exist—all of this does matter. It can give shape to what we do and the way we do it. If we do not provide a theoretical framework—or a

May 9, 2016 America 19 FIRST MONDAY

Access Denied

egislation and litigation regard- the extension of those protections to Supreme Court is able to issue a ma- ing L.G.B.T.I. discrimination transgender claimants. Nevertheless, jority opinion in Zubik v. Burwell, Land the use of gender-specific federal law does not prevent sex-based the contraceptive mandate case. public toilets reveals a deep societal public accommodation discrimination Regardless, politicians and advocacy divide and illustrates the need for rea- and the equal protection clause does groups serve their constituents best by soned use of political power. The most not apply to commercial relationships. avoiding unnecessary controversy and recent controversy arose after some lo- Thus, businesses throughout North looking instead for mutually beneficial calities passed antidiscrimination ordi- Carolina may impose toilet use restric- solutions. As Gov. Dennis Daugaard nances that allow people to use facilities tions on transgender customers. of South Dakota, a Republican, stated based on gender self-identification. In Mississippi also recently enacted a when he vetoed a bill that would have response, states passed laws prohibit- law that limits public facili- prohibited transgen- ing L.G.B.T.I. discrimination claims ty usage. Mississippi passed Politicians der accommodation in and limiting the use of gender-specific a very different type of law serve their public school facilities: facilities in public buildings. that protects defined reli- “Best government is the The equal protection clause requires gious beliefs, including that constitu- government closest to laws to be, at minimum, rationally the terms “male (man) or ents best the people. Instead of based. In Romer v. Evans (1996), the female (woman) refer to an encouraging local solu- U.S. Supreme Court struck down a individual’s immutable bio- by avoiding tions, this bill broadly Colorado constitutional amendment logical sex as objectively de- regulates in a manner that prohibited all government action termined by anatomy and unnecessary that invites conflict and designed to protect homosexuals. In genetics at time of birth.” controversy. litigation, diverting en- rejecting Colorado’s argument that the The law does not take into ergy and resources from amendment protected religious rights, consideration the conun- the education of the Justice Kennedy wrote, “it is divorced drum faced by intersex people who are children of this state.” from any...legitimate state interests; it is born with undefined or hermaphro- Political and religious differences a classification of persons undertaken ditic sex organs. aside, many people, including women for its own sake, something the Equal The Mississippi law clearly violates (who often endure long waits for fe- Protection Clause does not permit.” the establishment clause of the First male-only facilities), parents with small North Carolina’s recently enact- Amendment, as the constitution re- children and adults who need physi- ed law is more carefully worded than quires neutrality among religious be- cal assistance, benefit from non-gen- the invalid Colorado amendment, but liefs. Any law, like this one, that bla- der-specific facilities. Single-use toi- North Carolina’s own attorney gener- tantly supports a specific set of beliefs lets can become gender-neutral unisex al considers the law unconstitutional, is an unconstitutional endorsement of facilities with the simple change of a and the governor is trying to mini- religion. Enacting legislation that is sign, and money that otherwise would mize its impact. Federal civil rights patently unlawful and doomed to be be spent on litigation could be used to laws prohibit sex-based discrimina- invalidated by the judiciary serves no retrofit multiperson facilities to provide tion in education, employment and legitimate purpose and erodes confi- more privacy for everyone. housing. The federal circuit court that dence in the democratic process. Focusing on outcomes that are uni- covers North Carolina has approved Religious rights already are pro- versally beneficial will not end all dis- tected by the federal and state consti- putes regarding the appropriate balance tutions and numerous federal, state between civil rights and religious rights, ELLEN K. BOEGEL, who teaches legal studies at St. John’s University in New York, clerked for the and local laws. These rights may be- but it would be better government. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. come clearer if the eight-justice U.S. ELLEN K. BOEGEL

20 America May 9, 2016 May 9, 2016 America 21 College Encounter Dialogue and witness in Catholic education BY JOHN C. CAVADINI odern campus politics make strange bed- witness. People will feel that the deck is stacked, that their fellows. In recent years, both the Cardinal views are not heard, that there is only a party line. Newman Society and students at Mount On the other hand, can any university really be a fully Holyoke College in Massachusetts have neutral place for dialogue, where the only value is dialogue Msought to cancel—for very different reasons—a production itself? Is there really a university, even the most secular, that of “The Vagina Monologues,” a play regularly performed at would say it stands for no values at all, not even “truth” or colleges across the country. “justice”? The more absolutely neutrality is claimed, the The controversy over this explicit play is just one exam- more likely it is an illusion or even a delusion, and the more ple among many of schools grappling with the competing likely it is that one will compromise some fundamental truth desires to, on the one hand, support free speech and, on or value. the other, create “safe spaces” for students in which certain After all, then, it seems that in practice a university must values are upheld. Watching these events unfold in 2015, it be a place of both witness and dialogue, however minimal struck me that 25 years after the publication of “Ex Corde the witness claimed, on the one hand, or however much the Ecclesiae,” St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on the dialogue may be restricted, on the other. A serious univer- Catholic university is not only relevant to contemporary de- sity, and especially a Catholic university, is faced with both bates but perhaps even avante-garde. One of the enduring theoretical and prudential considerations regarding a bal- legacies of “Ex Corde” has been to provide a framework for ance of the two. A Catholic university can be thought of as thinking about the goods of education and the identity of an attempt to balance the two in a unique way, and, from universities. the perspective offered by 25 years of implementation and In the various debates spawned by the document, two debate, it seems evident that “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” presents ways of arguing about the identity of a university (especially, the project of a Catholic university in just this way. but not only, of a Catholic university) arose. The first is to think of the university as a place of witness; the second is to Community of Inquiry think of it as a neutral place intended to facilitate dialogue. It is fair to say that “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” features the idea of The first way of thinking regards the university’s funda- dialogue quite prominently. “Dialogue” was one of St. John mental role in bearing witness to higher values, truths and Paul II’s signature words and is present in full vigor through- beliefs, for which the university itself, and not just indi- out the text of the document, including the introduction: viduals at the university, stand. The second way of think- ing regards the university as a place that, far from bearing Through the encounter which it establishes between witness to any particular value or truth, is a neutral arena the unfathomable richness of the salvific message of where learned discussion and debate occur, with clarifica- the Gospel and the variety and immensity of the fields tion of thought arising from such dialogue. People are then of knowledge in which that richness is incarnated by free to choose and uphold their own values and beliefs as a it, a Catholic University enables the Church to insti- result, but the university as a whole is simply the impartial tute an incomparably fertile dialogue with people of impresario of such dialogue and does not stand for any of every culture (No. 6). the values discussed. Even before recent events on secular college campuses, it Here the dialogue a Catholic university can foster flows was clear that no university can consistently hold to only one from an idea of the university as establishing an “encounter” of these modes absolutely. A university that is only a place of between revelation—so rich that it is never able to be ful- witness, without also having room for dialogue, will lose its ly grasped—and the various disciplines of academic inqui- credibility as a university and, as a result, its credibility as a ry in which the university, to a greater or lesser extent, is able to incarnate this richness in some appropriate way. The JOHN C. CAVADINI is professor of theology and McGrath-Cavadini Catholic university is a kind of living incarnation of this en- Director of the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. counter that takes place specifically in and as a community

22 America May 9, 2016 TRUE DIALOGUE. The Rev. Philip Lowe, chaplain of Neumann University in Aston, Pa., with students outside the campus chapel

of inquiry, we could say, in the mode of inquiry. faith and reason, and indeed, “Ex Corde” notes that “a specif- What could this mean? Does it mean, for example, that ic part of a Catholic University’s task is to promote dialogue there are a Catholic biology and a Catholic organic chemis- between faith and reason” (No. 17, emphasis original). try? No, of course not; but it means that the study of biology at a Catholic university should in some way present the op- Evangelizing Truth portunity to experience the fundamental encounter with the Reading farther, we find that the point of this dialogue is richness of the Gospel incarnated in the mode of inquiry. At to show “more profoundly how faith and reason bear har- a minimum, this will happen because these studies, without monious witness to the unity of all truth.” Encountering departing from their own scientific methodology, are con- the “incarnation” of the richness of revelation in the mode ducted in an intellectual community where, in another de- of inquiry means encountering both dialogue and witness, partment, the doctrine of creation is taught and explained in because the dialogue itself bears witness, in this case, to the a way that resists reductionism and gives permission for the unity of truth: wonders that science discovers to be the occasion for genu- ine praise of the creator. While each academic discipline retains its own integ- Or, maximally, because scientific research is carried out rity and has its own methods, this dialogue demon- by believers, students are made aware that faith and scientif- strates that “methodical research within every branch ic study can in fact be combined. Nor should we neglect the of learning, when carried out in a truly scientific incarnation of the riches of the Gospel that occurs when sci- manner and in accord with moral norms, can never entific inquiry is carried out in a way that refuses to violate truly conflict with faith” (“Ex Corde,” No. 17, citing the dignity of the human person and in fact seeks to advance “Gaudium et Spes,” No. 36). human dignity. The incarnational feature of the Catholic university is St. John Paul II clearly believed in dialogue. And yet this thus, in “Ex Corde,” already, in implicit form, both dialogue dialogue is not carried out in a neutral space or to a neutral and witness. This is because the “incarnation” of the richness end. The Catholic university is not a “neutral place” but “a of revelation in the mode of inquiry, when it becomes explic- primary and privileged place for a fruitful dialogue between

CNS PHOTO/COURTESY NEUMANN UNIVERSITY CNS PHOTO/COURTESY itly thematized, is nothing other than the dialogue between the Gospel and culture” (No. 43, emphasis original). The point

May 9, 2016 America 23 of the dialogue is to clarify the meaning of the human person institutional witness, it will also lose the sense of itself as a in light of revelation so that people will be enabled “to come to place of “dialogue,” at least in the way St. John Paul II intends. the full measure of their humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, renewed even more marvelously, after sin, in Balancing Act Christ, and called to shine forth in the light of the Spirit” (No. Claiming a trajectory that goes back as far as the Second 5). Out of a dialogue arises a witness to the church’s liberating Vatican Council’s “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in message. the Modern World,” “Ex Corde Ecclesiae” certainly affected The text later states that a specific priority of the Catholic the way both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis came university in its modern context is “to communicate to society to articulate the Catholic university precisely as a place of those ethical and religious principles which give full meaning to balancing witness and dialogue. Pope Benedict’s address to human life” (No. 33, emphasis original). Thus: Catholic educators during his visit to the Catholic University of America in 2008 offers a good example: “To all of you I By its very nature, each Catholic University makes an say: bear witness to hope. Nourish your witness with prayer.” important contribution to the Church’s work of evange- Here is a clarion call for the university to be a place of witness, lization. It is a living institutional witness to Christ and also sounded in other places in the address. For example: “A his message, so vitally important in cultures marked by university or school’s Catholic identity is not simply a ques- secularism (No. 49, emphasis original). tion of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction—do we really believe that only in the mystery of In sum, there is no question of a university that is merely the Word made flesh does the mystery of the human being a neutral place for dialogue, but rather of a university with truly become clear?” commitments in faith to the dignity and transcendence of the And yet there is also an awareness that the university will human person, ready to clarify and bear witness to those com- not be able to form anyone into these values unless there is an mitments and to come to understand them better through appeal, as Pope Benedict says, to their “will.” “Perhaps we have dialogue. If a Catholic university becomes so uncomfortable neglected the will,” he notes, adding that it is the responsibility with thinking of itself as a part of the church’s mission of of teachers to... evangelization that it ceases to understand itself as called to evoke among the young the desire for the act of faith, encouraging them to commit themselves to the ecclesial life that follows from this belief. It is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth. In choosing to live by that truth, we embrace the fullness of the life of faith.

The emphasis here on freedom, on persuasion, on choos- ing and on inspiration implies also the emphasis on dialogue, conversation and exchange that is so evident in other writ- ings of Pope Benedict. No one is persuaded, the will is not moved and free decisions are not made unless there is oppor- tunity for discussion, debate, exchange and conversation. The word dialogue itself is not used here, but it is implied. One can recognize in these remarks the balance between witness and dialogue that St. John Paul II attempted to articulate in “Ex Corde,” though perhaps one can see a certain emphasis on witness.

Power of Appeal Pope Francis, in turn, in his remarks on Catholic education so far, certainly explodes the idea that for a university to em- brace a paradigm of dialogue implies that it must become a neutral space whose sole purpose is to foster dialogue, without any explicit witness to core values. Commenting on the university specifically as a place of dialogue, he says that Catholic schools and universities—even, and perhaps

24 America May 9, 2016 especially, when attended by many non-Christians or non- Catholics bring to the dialogue must indeed be the convic- believers—still are called upon... tion that Jesus Christ is the meaning of the cosmos and not simply a message of justice and peace that would be at home to offer, with full respect for the freedom of each person at any good university (though that message is obviously also and using the methods appropriate to the scholastic en- important). vironment, the Christian belief, that is, to present Jesus One can see here a renewed iteration of St. John Paul II’s Christ as the meaning of life, the cosmos and history. idea in “Ex Corde” that the Catholic university is, as such, the incarnation of an encounter between faith and reason, be- This, Pope Francis is saying, is to enter belief into dialogue, tween the richness of the Gospel and the various modes of not as one position among many but as a belief to which the inquiry. Its witness, therefore, is dependent upon and execut- university is itself committed, convinced that it can speak to ed in dialogue. Although contrasts between Pope Benedict the souls of people across racial, cultural and even religious and Pope Francis are often overdone, perhaps we can see here boundaries. Jesus, Pope Francis reminds us, proclaimed the an emphasis on the pole of dialogue. good news in the “Galilee of the people, a crossroads of peo- But in continuing and interpreting the legacy of St. John ple, diverse in terms of race, culture and religion.” Paul II, Pope Francis is asking us to go beyond inherited Of course, Jesus was not preaching at a university, and dichotomies between dialogue and witness. He is wagering Pope Francis speaks of “methods appropriate to the scholastic that if we do so, we will find an energy that animates an aca- environment.” A university culture of “courageous and inno- demic culture, filling it with an appeal to the imagination that vative fidelity that enables Catholic identity to encounter the is the stuff of leadership, of innovation, of interest, urgency various ‘souls’ of multicultural society” is not meant to turn and life, an “expression of the living presence of the Gospel the university culture into one of proselytism, of pressure to in the fields of education, science and culture” that exposes convert to Catholicism. That would hardly have “full respect the myth of the conflict of science and religion, or of reli- for the freedom of persons,” nor would it be an authentic wit- gion and culture, as just that, a myth. That, it seems to me, is ness to the Gospel, which has an intrinsic power of appeal, if worth buying into, a powerful form of witness generative of we can only trust it is so and enter it into dialogue with that all kinds of new forms of dialogue ex corde ecclesiae, from the trust in mind. And yet, though it is not proselytism, what heart of the church. A

May 9, 2016 America 25 An Educator’s Influence Learning to think in biology class BY J. JOSEPH MARR right answer—will be to some question you did not know We first met when I was applying to Xavier University in you where asking. Cincinnati, Ohio. The dean of admissions, after praising my After some weeks, we were asked to write a paper that high-school record and my plans for medical school a bit too proved or disproved the process of evolution. This was an generously, sent us over to see the chairman of the biology exercise in dialectics as much as biology. I slowly came to department. In a small office in one corner of the third floor realize that this was how Father Peters taught. He was not of Albers Hall, we met a gray-haired, quiet man wearing a simply conveying information to young minds but develop- lab coat. This was Joseph J. Peters, S.J. He had an understat- ing critical thinking. His course was as much about why the ed gravitas, and it quickly was clear that he was not as easily scientists and philosophers of the Middle Ages, Renaissance impressed as the dean of admissions. I do not remember our and the Enlightenment were important to us now as it was conversation, but I do remember the serene quietness of the about the origin of species. We were being given a course laboratory, the lack of ornamentation of the office and the in the philosophy of science alongside introductory biology. aura of science. Do not discard this as hyperbole; to me it By junior year I had begun to study the deeper myster- was tangible. ies, at the same time memorizing biological information and We talked; he gave some advice regarding admissions being seduced by it. Comparative anatomy gradually came procedures and coursework but was otherwise noncom- into focus as the beautiful mosaic of the commonality of mittal. I returned home absolutely committed to the Xavier structure and function throughout the animal kingdom. In program. It had nothing to do with the campus, pleasant as embryology, ontology really did recapitulate phylogeny as it was; I had seen none of the dorms or other facilities, of the movement of cells from one part of the body to another which there were many fewer than there are today. I knew during embryogenesis unfolded: a window into our histo- nothing of the composition of the student population and ry. Father Peters saw this as an almost theological exercise. did not care. I had met someone who was beyond teachers I He saw the magnificence and mystery of developing life and had met thus far: clearly dedicated to some arcane concept instilled it into his lectures. Since then, the scientific under- called knowledge and intent to pass on this sense of ded- pinnings of embryogenesis have become much clearer. None ication. Some people have life-changing moments at rock of that has taken the magic from embryogenesis as Father concerts or from mind-altering drugs; I had mine in a labo- Peters presented it, but rather may have enhanced it. ratory interview. The following autumn I matriculated. As seniors, we moved beyond simple course work. We I had studied no biology and was part of the crowd in were asked to create a research project worthy of the name the introductory biology class. Father Peters taught that in- and then find a way to investigate it. We had guidance but troductory course and began with a history of the subject, no direct help. This was not unique to biology, being im- though it was not presented as such. He told a story of the plemented in various ways across the university. This was astounding creatures that had come to be over time. Some university education at its best, I thought, challenging us to remained with us; others had their day and were no more; pursue, present and defend new knowledge. It changed my still others had characteristics of their ancestors but had life. added new features that were useful. I worked on the physiological mapping of a part of the sal- In his lectures, we learned to apply and distinguish be- amander brain. The department provided the salamanders, tween deductive and inductive reasoning and how to focus but when the research moved beyond the standard available on a scientific question. We learned that an experiment al- instruments, I had to fend for myself. In order to stimulate ways gives the right answer: this is why it must be designed and record brain functions in salamanders, I wound up de- and conducted carefully. If not, the answer you get—the vising a procedure for producing glass microelectrodes from glass tubes heated with a Bunsen burner. Of course, the J. JOSEPH MARR, M.D., recently published Fall From Grace, a history value of this lesson was not in glass manufacturing, but in of the past 50 years of medicine and social change in the United States. developing the individual ingenuity necessary to solve prob- Assistance with biographical research for this article was provided by Thomas P. Kennealy, S.J., archivist at Xavier University. lems and the willingness to go figure them out.

26 America May 9, 2016 MORE THAN FACTS. Joseph J. Peters, S.J., with biology students in 1968

I still have a copy of the thesis I presented, proving my our presentation of this synthesis and then, finally, begin to conclusions about certain brain functions in the salamander. write. At the end of the exam we understood the dynamics It is a forgettable piece of work but has an honored place on of physiology far better than we did before. Beyond that, I my bookshelves, reminding me not about what I contribut- suspect that how we answered did not matter much. ed to science but what I learned in the process. I went on to Father Peters was a scholar in a community of scholars a career of 20 years in medical research and teaching that and, for many of us, a model to be emulated. He coaxed from began by overheating glass rods in the biology lab. us our best efforts—by example. He was a quiet, self-effac- Finally, there was Father Peters’s final exam in physiology. ing person and yet had a towering reputation. What combi- It is a complex topic, and we who sat for the exam had stud- nation of factors brought this about? His biography is in- ied accordingly. When the day arrived, the 12 of us remain- structive. Father Peters was born in 1907 and died 91 years ing of the 120 who began in biology as freshmen were seated later in 1998. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1927 and with paper and pen awaiting the exam. pronounced his final vows in 1940. His 31-year academic The door opened. Father Peters walked in and said, “Pick career at Xavier University stretched from 1946 to his re- up your pens and write your names on the top of the page.” tirement in 1977. He chaired the department of biology for We wrote; he waited. 21 years. “Set your pens down.” We did that. During his Jesuit formation, he studied philosophy at “Now tell me everything that happened from my first St. Louis University and philosophy and biology at the sentence until the second. Please leave your papers on the University of Detroit. He earned a licentiate in theology desk in the front of the room when you complete the exam.” (again at St. Louis) and a doctorate in zoology at Fordham. Then he left. We were stunned. This blend of backgrounds was evident in his teaching and It was an excellent exam. He assumed that we had stud- makes clear why he did not simply teach biology. He taught ied the material; he wanted to know how well we had as- about life, the beauty of knowledge and the history and phi- similated it. Stated differently: “I trust you have mastered losophy of science. He challenged us to consider who we the notes, but can you make a symphony?” The exam itself were relative to the rest of the planet’s biology. was a learning experience. Before we could begin we had to He did not offer simplistic answers but instead encour- review a great deal of physiology, decide how to organize agement and guidance about how to seek a solution and en-

May 9, 2016 America 27 ter more deeply into a topic. His approach to embryology, in particular, bordered on the mystical. If you think about one cell be- ginning the journey of division into almost 37 trillion, genes turning on and off, creating various tissues that then move into their fi- nal organization, getting all of this right just about every time, you begin to understand why he felt that way. Philosophy, theology and natural science all played their roles in forming his style and methods of education. As an educator, Father Peters passed all of this along to those who wanted to listen, encouraged independent judgment and of- fered guidance when asked. In all my years of schooling, I have en- countered several very good teachers, role models and counselors. But I have not met anyone who matched Father Peters in devo- tion to knowledge, breadth of perspective or inspired teaching. When I got to medical school, I realized quickly that the biology and chemistry I had learned were already out of date. This is the nature of scientific knowledge. However, the abilities Father Peters had helped me develop to think about how to do science, and what scientific knowledge was and how it could be achieved, were still entirely valid. Education has two components: informa- tion transfer and perspective. The former is easily accomplished; the latter is acquired only with difficulty. He gave us both but emphasized the second. It has been said that education is what you retain after everything you learned has been forgotten. That was one of the gifts that Father Peters gave to any of his stu- dents who would listen. He taught us to think critically and to direct that thought to action and achievement. Is there a better definition of the purpose of a university? He taught the love of learning, the benefits of the intellectual life and a holistic view of life and its issues. He showed us a spiritual approach to understanding, looking objec- tively and critically at oneself. Is there a bet- ter definition of the liberal arts? He pushed his students forward without prodding and stayed in the background as we went ahead. He left a mark and an in- fluence that remains many decades later. A

28 America May 9, 2016 Laudato Si’ University A school of hope in an unexpected place BY JIM McDERMOTT

The students and staff of the Ayuuk Indigenous Intercultural University gather for one of their regular assemblies. eep in the waist of Mexico, on gentle plains at teach their children care for the environment, economic soli- the foot of the forested Sierra Juárez, lies a small darity (through community organizing) and an appreciation indigenous community known as Jaltepec de for and promotion of indigenous cultures. As of 2010, 34 Candayoc. Warm and rainy year round, Jaltepec percent of people in the state of Oaxaca speak an indigenous Dis a town built around coffee beans, corn and livestock. It is language; 16 different indigenous cultures can be found just in a location about as remote as can be found today—six in this area and 62 throughout the country. Indigenous peo- hours drive from the nearest big city and without consistent ples make up over 21 percent of Mexico’s population. access to the Internet or even phone service.

And in this most isolated and unexpected of places, there Ayuuk students carry a roof they is a university. More surprising still, though it has been in built for placement on a new existence for 10 years, its mission sounds like a passage from building. “Laudato Si’.” Universidad Ayuuk, otherwise known as the Ayuuk Indigenous Intercultural University, was founded in 2006 out of conversation between local people, regional organi- zations and the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus. Based on what they learned from a regional study, the Society offered to start a school in Jaltepec. The local people agreed. “But they wanted a school with certain characteristics,” remembers César Palacios, S.J., the president. Specifically, they wanted a university that would

JIM McDERMOTT, S.J., a screenwriter, is America’s Los Angeles corre- spondent. Twitter: @PopCulturPriest. OF UNIVERSIDAD AYUUK PHOTOS COURTESY

May 9, 2016 America 29 The Wisdom of Community much; one small grant from the U.S. federal government So the Jesuits, in conjunction with regional organizations could keep it running for a decade. But “in Mexico it is not and the local community, began Ayuuk as a school spe- possible for the government to give money to private insti- cifically for indigenous people. tutions,” Father Palacios points Today they have 150 students, out. And the isolation of the who come from all over the school means it is not readily on country and more than a dozen people’s radars, either. In the end different cultures. Spanish is the some funds are raised within the shared language, but 13 different country, including from the other indigenous languages are spoken Jesuit universities of Mexico, and at Ayuuk. And the pedagogy for some come from donors abroad. its three fields of study—sustain- For Father Palacios, himself a able administration and develop- member of the Wixarika indig- ment, communications for social enous community, the ultimate development, and intercultural Students and staff of goal of the school is to prepare Ayuuk celebrate Earth Day education—taps deeply into in- in a special indigenous students for a “glob- digenous practice and insight. ceremony. al culture.” This “There’s knowledge in the com- means development munity—the wisdom of the el- of practical skills ders, the wisdom of the communities,” says Father Palacios. but also that fun- Areas like “our relationship to the earth, the knowledge of damental concern the human person, how you organize things—the universi- for others expressed ty wants to bring that knowledge to the academy...to make both by indigenous it more accessible.” culture and Pope But even more intriguing than its pedagogy is Ayuuk’s Francis. “We need to New graduates Karla Morales and have the tools, so the administration. Unlike the typical customer-service model Elena Garcia speak at Ayuuk’s of Western education, in which students’ main responsibili- commencement. focus of our admin- ty to their school is prompt payment of fees and respect for istration program is the school environment, Ayuuk is built on the indigenous business, but it’s also practice of tequio, or “collective work.” As part of their life care for the environment. For our communication program, at Ayuuk, every student has a job related to the upkeep and it’s communication [skills], but also the social organization development of the school. Cleaning the classrooms, tend- of local communities. For education, it’s teaching, but also ing the gardens—every student shares in the responsibility learning indigenous languages and cultures.” for the school. “Our students work for the institution and That global concern molds the religious identity of the the institution works for them. That’s the idea oftequio ,” says school as well. “Our students come from various Christian Father Palacios. denominations,” he says. “Because of our intercultural focus, This co-op style practice extends to extraordinary de- we don’t have religious activities in our university but in the grees. When someone offered Father Palacios money for a town. new gymnasium, he put the question to the students. “I told “Everyone knows we are Catholic. But if we were to proj- them, ‘If you want the gym, you have to build the gym, be- ect ourselves as a private university just for Catholics, people cause we don’t have money for workers.’ would shy away,” he says. “We keep it open it to all and pro- “And they told me, ‘Okay.’ And now we have a gym. They mote dialogue that is intercultural as well as interreligious.” cut the wood, they cleared the space.” In “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis calls for a “dialogue with Three times a semester the administration also meets with all people about our common home.” The future of our the student body both to hear their concerns and ideas and planet is not the purview of any one group, but a reality to seek their counsel. Father Palacios makes clear, this is not a to be formed by all of us, no matter what our nationality, pro-forma exercise: “Our decisions are made in these assem- religion or bank statement. “The Spirit of God has filled blies.” Participation is the custom of indigenous communities. the universe with possibilities,” Pope Francis writes. “From the very heart of things, something new can always emerge” Preparing for a Global Culture (No. 80). Each year Ayuuk has to raise between three million and five In the little town of Jaltepec de Candayoc, Universidad million pesos, roughly $300,000. That might not sound like Ayuuk offers an inspiring glimpse of that hoped-for future. A

30 America May 9, 2016 VATICAN DISPATCH A Call to Prophetic Action ope Francis visited a refugee suffering after being forced “to flee sit- the continent’s Christian values. camp on the Greek island of uations of conflict and persecution for Francis sought to allay such fears PLesbos with two Orthodox the sake, above all, of your children” and during a memorial service at the port of Church leaders on April 16, not only “to leave behind everything that is dear Mytilene for the refugees who drowned to express solidarity with the 2,500 to you and—what is perhaps most dif- at sea. “The worries expressed by in- refugees there and 60,000 others in 40 ficult—not knowing what the future stitutions and people, both in Greece camps across Greece but also to encour- will bring.” and in other European countries, are age the governments, the churches and Then, before having lunch in a ship- understandable and legitimate,” he said. the peoples of the European Union’s 28 ping container with eight refugees, the But, he added, “we must never forget member states to respond with greater Christian leaders signed a joint state- that migrants, rather than simply being solidarity to the biggest humanitari- ment appealing to “world opinion” not a statistic, are first of all persons who an crisis on the continent since World to ignore this “colossal hu- have faces, names and in- War II. manitarian crisis,” which, dividual stories.” The pope’s dramatic gesture came at they declared, is “funda- ‘Migrants Significantly, he re- a time when the influx of refugees from mentally a crisis of human- are first of all minded everyone that Syria and other countries was putting ity” that calls “for a response “Europe is the home- serious strains on the European Union’s of solidarity, compassion, persons who land of human rights, fundamental principles, causing some generosity and an immedi- have faces, and whoever sets foot states, under pressure from national- ate practical commitment on European soil ought ist and xenophobic political forces, to of resources.” names and to sense this, and thus block the free movement of people. They appealed to the individual become more aware of These political tensions, and the fear international community the duty to respect and of terrorism, had pushed the union on “to respond with courage” stories.’ defend those rights.” March 18 to negotiate an agreement to the crisis “and its under- He and the Orthodox with Turkey to end the irregular mi- lying causes” by working to leaders asked religious gration from that country, an accord end the wars and violence in the Middle communities “to increase their efforts criticized by human rights organiza- East. They called for “a broader inter- to receive, assist and protect refugees of tions and the office of the U.N. High national consensus and an assistance all faiths” and promised their churches Commissioner for Refugees. program” to “defend fundamental hu- would defend the fundamental human Francis decided to visit Lesbos, man rights, protect minorities, combat rights of refugees, asylum-seekers and through which 500,000 refugees tran- human trafficking and smuggling, and migrants. sited to E.U. countries in the past year, eliminate unsafe routes.” They asked On Sept. 6, 2015, Francis asked as the union began deporting the first all countries to give asylum to the ref- every Catholic parish and religious groups back to Turkey. Together with ugees and expand their relief efforts. community in Europe to give shelter the Orthodox leaders, he met 300 refu- They praised the Greek people for their to a refugee family and instructed the gees amid highly emotional scenes and generosity to the refugees, despite their Vatican’s two parishes to accept two cries for help and freedom from the own economic difficulties. such families. terrified refugees in the camp, now a The pope, patriarch and archbishop He concluded his visit to Lesbos detention center, who fear deportation. are aware of the problems E.U. govern- with a prophetic gesture: He brought He told them he was aware of their ments face from political and xenopho- three Syrian Muslim families back to bic forces that stir anti-immigrant back- the Vatican with him on the plane. By lash. They know that many Christians this act, Francis is calling on European GERARD O’CONNELL is America’s Vatican too, even some bishops, view this influx states, peoples and churches alike to correspondent. America’s Vatican coverage is sponsored in part by the Jesuit communities of of refugees as a Muslim invasion of respond in a truly human way, with the United States. Twitter: @gerryorome. Europe that poses a serious threat to solidarity, to this grave crisis.

May 9, 2016 America 31 GENERATION FAITH My Jesuit Formation How the Society transformed my life BY PATRICK FURLONG

n high school, I did not to consider it anything but even know what a Jesuit rhetorical. Iwas. One thing I did In that moment, I real- know: a fancy and expen- ized L.M.U. was absolutely sive Jesuit school like Loyola for students like me. The Marymount University in L.M.U. I know is most dis- California surely could not be tinctly found off campus, for students like me. With its throughout Los Angeles in manicured lawns and breath- organizations like Homeboy taking ocean views, I just Industries; or in Tijuana with knew students like me were programs like De Colores, not destined for life on the a weekend immersion trip L.M.U. bluff. How could we sponsored by L.M.U.; and in ever afford it? As it turns out, sacred places across the world I was wrong. Fortuitously, a where ordinary people do ex- mix of academic and need- traordinary work in the face based scholarships trans- of injustice and adversity. formed L.M.U. from a “dream EMBRACING In times of struggle, it is school” to “my school,” and FAITH. Patrick hard to follow the advice of Furlong, left, talks the Jesuit education I would with LMU student Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, receive has transformed my Giovanni Falcon S.J., to “trust in the slow work life. on an Ignacio of God.” I am overwhelmed Companions I spent my first day at immersion trip in with emotion by the flood of Loyola Marymount away Santiago, Chile in migrants and refugees around from the beautiful mani- 2014. the world who feel that their cured lawns and breathtak- potential in their homelands ing ocean views. Instead, I has reached a ceiling—a ceil- joined a small group of students in a an organization that helps formerly ing they hope will transform into a program sponsored by the university’s incarcerated young men and women floor their children can use as a foun- Center for Service and Action. The reintegrate into society. I met a charis- dation for a new life. Racial inequality Center immersed me in downtown matic Jesuit priest named Greg Boyle, eats away at the fabric of our society, Los Angeles, where I learned about so- the founder of Homeboy. He encour- a not-so-subtle reminder that there cial injustice and met some of the peo- aged me and the other freshmen in the is work still to be done, despite what ple fighting to make the world a better group to imagine compassion as the many want to believe. place. I sat in a tiny conference room answer to every question. When I was a student at L.M.U., in Boyle Heights, in what was then the I will never forget the quiet inten- a Jewish friend shared the story of a headquarters for Homeboy Industries, sity of his eyes. He had just returned rabbi, Abraham Joshua Heschel, who from presiding over the funeral of a described marching with Dr. Martin former gang member who died too Luther King Jr. as a moment when he PATRICK FURLONG is the director of Global Ignatian Academic Initiatives at Loyola soon, and when he asked his question, “learned to pray with his feet.” Perhaps Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif. I heard the plea of a man begging us the pursuit of the magis is just that:

32 America May 9, 2016 never ceasing to pray with our feet, countless problems in the world, but I not look only to Rome for such daring while continually seeking to trust in the am lucky to be surrounded by some of servant leadership. I am surrounded by slow work of God. the brightest and most passionate stu- it everyday because of so many ordinary Father Boyle said something else dents and communities, fighting on the people who have the audacity to fight when I first met him that has guided the margins to make the world a little more for the dignity of every human being be- way I approach life to this day. Quoting just, a little more humane. cause they believe in something that is as the Book of Ecclesiastes (2:13), he re- Pope Francis’ leadership is an incred- radical as it is simple: The answer to the minded us that the light is always better ible inspiration in times like these. But I world’s most pressing questions starts than the darkness. There are seemingly often wake up thanking God that I need with compassion.

FAITH IN FOCUS Worth a Fig Harvesting my children’s faith BY BETH MELESKI

hese days, when my family tiny and uniformly cut pieces of fruit at her husband. I heard her exasperat- arrives at 9:30 a.m. Sunday through the parable of the barren fig ed whisper, “She’s being so bad today.” I TMass (usually fast-walking in tree. During the collection she found stifled a smile as the little girl scooted just as our celebrant starts up the aisle), her lovey—an item often given to pro- out of their reach with a giggle. By the my husband and I can end of the Mass, the be relatively secure in 2-year-old was fran- the knowledge that we tic and her mother will make it through exhausted. I could the service without relate. Once upon incident. This was not a time, I had two always the case, and toddlers, just a year one Sunday morning, apart in age, so the not long ago, those look on that moth- more capricious days er’s face and the were brought back to slump in her shoul- me. ders were muscle The woman in memory to me. front of my family was I stopped the heavily pregnant with mother after Mass her second child. Her as she shrugged into oldest was a lively and her coat and col- curious 2-year-old. lected the crayons The toddler colored scattered around quietly through the her pew. The father readings and snacked on impossibly vide a child with comfort—deep in already had led the little girl out, anx- the recesses of her mother’s purse and ious for damage control. settled in for a cuddle. By the time of She looked at me guardedly, prob- BETH MELESKI is an essayist and stay-at-home the consecration, however, she want- ably steeling herself to be berated or mom. She is certain that an actual fig tree would ed only to tap dance on the pew as we criticized for her daughter’s behavior. not thrive in her care, but she is immodestly proud of the children she has nurtured. This is kneeled. “It’s worth it,” I said to her, “Bringing her first essay forAmerica. I watched as the mother made a face her to church each week. It’s worth it.” BOB ECKSTEIN ART:

May 9, 2016 America 33 She apologized anyway, “She’s usu- too numerous to name. The same chil- and deeds. ally so much better. I don’t know what dren who, as potty-training preschool- As I walked out of the church that got into her today.” To start with, I ers, were hurriedly rushed up the aisle morning, my phone vibrated. I squint- thought, she’s 2. She has a 10-minute when, invariably, they loudly insisted ed in the sunlight as I read the text attention span, but has been asked to they had to use the bathroom just as message from a friend: “I just have to remain still and quiet for over an hour. the church plunged into silence. tell you how much I enjoyed watching Instead I responded, “She did great.” I have been in the shoes of this your daughter belting out the respons- As I told the mother to have a mother many Sundays before. My hus- es in Mass today! So sweet!” good week and turned to find my own band and I have pacified with toys and That was the payoff. I realized that brood, my youngest child raced past rolled our eyes over their heads and after so many years and tears—theirs me on her way to play tag in the grass hissed warnings and smiled encour- and mine—my husband and I nur- outside the church with her friends. I agingly as responses and prayers grew tured our children’s faith, helped to made a halfhearted effort to slow her from tentative and unfamiliar to confi- make our church feel like home and down to a more dignified pace. But dent and certain. conveyed that the Mass had meaning. in truth, I was delighted that she felt Over the years, and still today, we We persevered and powered through, comfortable enough in this place to let choose, time and again, to brave the using all the diversions and tactics at her hair down. She is not disrespectful, wrath of children awakened too early our disposal—toys, books, coloring, only joyful. on a weekend morning, in order that snacks, threats and bribes. I watched as my other two, now we might continue to attend Mass as And when that failed, we acknowl- teenagers, followed more slowly. They a family. We prioritize religious educa- edged our blessed mess and apolo- caught up with some friends and be- tion over sports, dance rehearsals and gized with a rueful laugh to the people gan talking and laughing just a bit social events. We find ways, in our in- worshiping behind us. I have offered too loudly to be appropriate. Again, I creasingly secular world, to work our doughnuts to these poor souls as com- let it go, preferring their casual com- faith into our lives; sharing parables pensation and said a prayer that our fort to a caution that will make them and the stories of the saints as bed- barren trees would someday flower. less easy here. These are the children time stories and stopping for evening I motioned to my husband on that who dropped Goldfish crackers and prayers each night, a practice that re- morning and called the kids. As we Cheerios on the floor, who were cart- connects us after a long day of going headed to the car, my son sauntered ed out of the church screaming more our separate ways. We rely on our “vil- up humming the Mass’ closing hymn. times than I could count for reasons lage” to help us set examples in words Close behind, his sister joined in, soft- ly singing the refrain. I breathed in the moment as the littlest one grabbed my hand. She said, “Hey Mom, know what? I wasn’t bored in church today.” “Oh good, honey. Why do you think that is?” “Well, Mass doesn’t seem so long when you know how to join in.” Not all Sundays are like this. There are still Masses in which arms remain crossed and frowns never budge. There are Sundays when my husband and I must insert ourselves between feuding children. During these mornings I, like the owner of the fig tree, wonder if the fragile buds we are nurturing will con- tinue to bear fruit. But on that Sunday morning, I wiped away a tear and silently repeat- ed the words I said to that mother: “It’s worth it.” A

34 America May 9, 2016 Books & Culture

IDEAS | NATHANIEL ROMANO recovering from invasion and war and is riven with various social, political and religious factions, within the roy- WELCOME TO WAKANDA al family, between the elites and the Ta-Nehisi Coates takes on the Black Panther working classes, and between the cults aligned with traditional national f sports fans draft fantasy teams beliefs. It is portrayed as highly ad- of players, comic book fans vanced technologically, dependent Ilikewise draft fantasy teams of upon trade in the desirable miner- creators. Favored characters may al vibranium, a useful plot device be paired with dream writers, or in the Marvel universe. Coexisting amazing writers might be paired with this technologically advanced with peerless illustrators. utopia is a traditional culture built And so it came to pass that upon mystic and mythic notions of Marvel Comics, in a fit of cultur- the nation and its people. Indeed, al awareness perhaps unequaled the Black Panther himself is a sort in contemporary comic book of manifestation of the nation; publishing, invited Ta-Nehisi think Captain America but with a Coates to write the newest series quasi-mystical overlay. of Black Panther. Mr. Coates is an award-winning author of nu- Through a Different Lens merous books and articles on the Much of T’Challa’s story has been intersection of race, culture and developed through the lens of white politics in contemporary America. American creators. In his first few T’Challa, the Black Panther, is stories, T’Challa was essentially the king of Wakanda, a fictional a plot device to allow white he- African nation that is simultane- roes and characters to ously technologically advanced and question their own par- wed to traditional cultural norms. adigms and privileges. This new project was announced In the early 1970s, his last year, in the midst of an America first turn as a starring struggling anew with questions related and has always remained character was in the un- to race, society, violence and inequality. a major player within the fortunately titled Jungle The announcement was greeted with Marvel universe as a mem- Action. Yet over time the great enthusiasm—and for good rea- ber of a group of characters character evolved from a son. known as the Illuminati. mere caricature. In the T’Challa has long been a fascinat- Any story involving the Coates and the newest late 1990s, Christopher issue of Black Panther ing character in the Marvel pantheon. Black Panther has to face James Priest (often cred- He was created by Stan Lee and Jack the serious tensions inher- ited simply as “Priest”) Kirby in an issue of the Fantastic Four ent in the character. He is not a free- wrote a series starring T’Challa. Priest in 1966 (only a few months before the lance superhero, nor is he responsible introduced or reinvigorated many as- founding of the Black Panther Party). simply to a team, like the Avengers or pects of the Black Panther mythos. At the time, he was the only black com- the X-Men. Instead, he is the monarch He did not invent the Black Panther ic book hero in a mainstream publica- of Wakanda, a sovereign country, and but gave him an identity independent tion. Since his first appearance in print, has to deal with domestic and inter- of white heroes and teams; Priest de- he has headlined several standalone national politics. That country, too, veloped the idea, for example, that

IMAGES COURTESY OF DKC NEWS/MARVEL COMICS. PORTRAIT BY NINA SUBIN COMICS. PORTRAIT OF DKC NEWS/MARVEL IMAGES COURTESY titles, with mixed commercial success, is riddled with tensions. Wakanda is T’Challa joined the Avengers only in

May 9, 2016 America 35 order to evaluate them as a threat to traditionally worked with: “In my work released by a flagship publisher is an Wakanda. for The Atlantic I have, for some time, amazing sight—but one that is becom- In the early 2000s, Reginald Hudlin been asking a particular question: Can ing less so. Like many media, comic likewise took the character in new a society part with, and triumph over, books in recent years have been cri- directions, exploring what it would the very plunder that made it possi- tiqued for their lack of diversity and for mean to be both king and superhero. ble. In Black Panther, there is a simpler even pandering to the supposed “ide- This was the point at which T’Challa question: Can a good man be a king, al” comic book reader—the straight, married the X-Man Storm, herself and would an advanced society tolerate white, middle-class boy aged 15- to from Africa and long portrayed as a a monarch?” Mr. Coates offers a differ- 25. Marvel, though, has pushed back regal and even quasi-divine in recent years, bringing figure. Since then, although minority and women char- the Black Panther has not acters and creators to the had his own series, he has fore. Legacy characters remained at the forefront of like Spider-Man, Captain the Marvel universe, hold- America and Thor have all ing leading roles in recent seen minority and women company-wide stories like characters take on greater Avengers vs. X-Men (2012), roles in their stories. Female Infinity (2013) and last sum- creators have successfully mer’s Secret Wars. And he written for popular series has taken the lead of a team like Captain Marvel or have solving cosmic-level prob- created new ones like the lems in the recently launched very popular Kamala Khan, series The Ultimates. a Pakistani-American teen- What is fascinating ager who has become the about Mr. Coates taking on new Ms. Marvel. the character is only par- The story of Ta-Nehisi tially the novelty of having Coates and T’Challa of a mainstream black comic Wakanda becomes perhaps book character written by the most high-profile ex- an African-American (or the ample of a publisher seek- novelty of having an African- ing not to take advantage of American comic book cre- minority communities but ator at all), though that is im- rather to celebrate and tru- portant. Rather, it is because, ly represent them. Though in hiring Mr. Coates, Marvel the early reviews have been has reached outside the box positive, it is too early to to bring in a creator who is know if Mr. Coates’s run invested in and engaged with will be successful. Still, as the questions and tensions of part of developments that race and society; Mr. Coates see popular media open is arguably the most well-known voice ent way to explore the deep questions to all voices and experiences of our within this conversation in the United of how we live in Black Panther. While society, and media unafraid to invite States today. The decision to hire him a comic book is not a seminar on race serious intellectuals to bridge the gap shows that Marvel is truly interested in relations or critical theory, the narrative between theory and culture, we can al- telling a meaningful and engaging story becomes a lens through which readers ready count the newest volume of The about the intersection of race, culture can engage these questions. Readers can Black Panther a welcome and import- and politics. see how characters in Wakanda live out ant contribution. In his own reflections on writing their daily struggles and try to engage Black Panther, Mr. Coates states that these tensions in the real world. NATHANIEL ROMANO, S.J., is current- ly studying theology at the Jesuit School of the comic is, in some ways, an extension To see a writer of Mr. Coates’s cal- Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, of some of the broader themes he has iber involved with a superhero comic Calif.

36 America May 9, 2016 OF OTHER THINGS | DANIEL P. HORAN and unintentional lack of awareness about diversity in all times and places. THE PAIN OF ABSTRACTION At worst, it was a form of cultural co- lonialism that conflated the experience ike so many of Pope Francis’ that abstract and overly idealized de- of a few with the truth of the Gospel writings, homilies and inter- pictions of how life “should look” has and led to the suppression of differenc- Lviews, there are many passages caused many individuals and families es, traditions, languages, cultures and in the apostolic exhortation “The Joy great difficulty and pain. even whole populations. This is not of Love” that are well worth return- One is reminded of Jesus’ admoni- only a phenomenon of the past but a ing to frequently and considering for tions in the Gospels to religious leaders dynamic that can at times be bolstered an extended period of time. The pope who place moral and juridical burdens by the effects of globalization today. himself writes in the introduction, “I on the shoulders of their people with- In response, Pope Francis has do not recommend a rushed reading out making any effort to assist them shone a bright light on the teaching of of the text,” suggesting instead that the in alleviating such the Second Vatican greatest benefit comes “if each part is obligations and un- Council about the read patiently and carefully” (No. 7). realistic expectations primacy of conscience With the document weighing in at 325 (e.g., Mt 23:4). For Mercy always and the importance paragraphs (79 more than “Laudato too long this has been of local discernment Si’”), I’m not sure there is any other the modus operandi takes into in response to partic- way to approach this teaching than of many contempo- ular moral questions to take it slowly, contemplatively and rary religious leaders, account the about the family. This prayerfully. who have justified context of the is a step in the right Though I feel as if I have only just judgmental preaching, direction. But can begun to unpack for myself the mul- refusal of the sacra- individual. we dare to imagine a tiple theological, spiritual and pasto- ments and inadequate fuller appreciation of ral threads that are woven together to pastoral sensitivity context and particu- form this impressive text, I have been under the perhaps larity in other areas of struck by one recurring theme that well-intentioned but life? first appears early in the exhortation nevertheless misguid- Take, for example, and undergirds the whole text. That ed effort to show the the potentially dam- is the emphasis on the importance of “tough love” of justice. aging effects of rigid context in the lives of Christians. Of course, as Pope gender identities. To To many modern people, the notion Francis has repeated say that a “woman” or that one’s context, social location, cir- throughout his pon- a “man” acts, dresses, cumstances in life and the like should tificate, what has been lacking is the speaks, looks, thinks and feels X, Y matter when thinking about and dis- necessary mercy that reveals the com- or Z unrealistically and unfairly gen- cussing questions of morality and the passionate face of God Christ revealed eralizes a single privileged abstraction practice of one’s faith may appear to throughout the Gospels. And that over the multitude of lived realities. be an obvious statement. However, as mercy always took into account the Women and men who do not conform Pope Francis writes about marriage, context of the individual. to a narrow depiction of such an ab- “At times we have also proposed a far While the understandable focus of stract ideal can be made to feel inade- too abstract and almost artificial theo- the exhortation is on the nuclear fam- quate or somehow defective. logical idea of marriage, far removed ily and the sacrament of marriage, this As the exhortation challenges us from the concrete situations and prac- recognition of the importance of con- to consider the importance of context tical possibilities of real families” (No. text can and should be extended to oth- over abstraction in marriage and the 36). With a degree of candor unusu- er areas in the life of the church. Over family, we should likewise encourage a al for church documents, “The Joy of the centuries, there are many ways that deeper appreciation for the lived reali- Love” acknowledges the possibility particular contexts—like Eurocentric ties of women and men in all aspects of thinking and experience—have been life. This should be the starting point uncritically presented as universal real- of all theological reflection and pasto- DANIEL P. HORAN, O.F.M., is a Franciscan ities and the abstract ideal for a global ral ministry, not some painfully unreal friar and author. Twitter: @DanHoranOFM. community. At best, this was a naïve abstraction.

May 9, 2016 America 37 BOOKS | CHARLES R. GALLAGHER Nazism as another form of national- ism. Not so for von Hildebrand, whose NAZISM’S NEMESIS earliest reaction to Nazism was viscer- al. As the memoir unfolds, even von MY BATTLE AGAINST HITLER wartime service permitted him time Hildebrand’s wistful monarchism Faith, Truth, and Defiance in the to publish his first book in 1916, and evaporates under the force of his phil- Shadow of the Third Reich by 1924 he was an assistant profes- osophical personalism and extraor- By Dietrich von Hildebrand sor in philosophy at the University of dinary faith. Here is a philosopher Translated and edited by Munich. pushed into anti-Nazism precisely by John Henry Crosby There is nothing much proletari- the power of his new philosophical Random House/Image. 352p $28 an about von Hildebrand. He dines view. If Camus is counted as the fa- with duchesses, hosts industrialists, ther of political engagement, then he If you have ever found it tempting to lionizes clergy, longs for the return of should be seen as the stepchild of von eat dessert before the main course, the Hapsburgs and ingratiates himself Hildebrand, who pioneered the place then I would encourage you to in- with various German cultural and po- of the philosopher as a public and po- dulge this streak and read the second litical elites. In our own age, when the litical nemesis to Nazism. part of this memoir first. For readers Von Hildebrand viewed Nazism unfamiliar with the life and philoso- not simply as another form of collec- phy of Dietrich von Hildebrand, the tivism, but rather as a worldview based profundity of his struggle, the manner in a materialism as equally destructive of his Catholic thinking and the rea- to the soul as Bolshevism. son why the Nazi Gestapo might want For von Hildebrand, personalism to assassinate him, the short essays meant that all humans were in some at the end of this memoir bring all of sense transcendent. Under the influ- this into focus. Originally published ence of Max Scheler (1874-1928), in his Viennese journal Der Christliche von Hildebrand now saw the human Ständestaat, the essays warn 1930s person as “the value of all values.” The Catholics not to be “morally blunted” materialist “what” of the person was by National Socialism, to stand up for superseded by the transcendental the Jews and to take on anti-Nazism “who” of the person. This new equa- as a Catholic religious imperative. The tion, grounded in Husserl’s “essenc- dessert is delicious and sets up the es,” and distilled by Scheler, gave von main course extraordinarily well. Hildebrand a new and prophetic free- In the first part of this memoir we dom in pronouncing on Nazism. are introduced to von Hildebrand, For von Hildebrand, Nazism’s stat- whose life when read through the eyes ist impulse denuded the soul of its of liberals or democrats might seem transcendental meaning. It devalued neither appealing nor all that inter- plight of refugees is at the front of the humanity. The “value” of the person— esting. He was born into Germany’s public mind, we may strain to find deep whatever race, ethnicity or creed—was cultural aristocracy (his father was a sympathy with a person whose flight obliterated by sole identification with famous German sculptor whose studio from danger in Germany entailed trav- the state. This is what Achille Ratti, was in Italy). Although of military age, eling by train to his family’s hillside Pope Pius XI, called “stateolatry,” the since he was recently married and a fa- villa in Florence. Von Hildebrand be- idolatry of the state. The free exercise ther, he avoided any whiff of grapeshot moans the fact that as a Florentine ref- of religion and the exercise of con- during World War I by serving as an ugee he will no longer be able to have science were anathema to Nazism, assistant to a doctor in a Munich hos- long lunches with the Spanish Infanta. von Hildebrand argued, even if some pital. Both he and his wife Gretchen A son of privilege who had reached Nazi politicians made piecemeal con- converted to Roman Catholicism privileged status, von Hildebrand had cessions. In its origins and in full flush, during the first year of the war. He every reason to go along to get along Nazism was intrinsically evil. “It would received his doctorate under Edmund with the rising Nazi party. Many be better,” von Hildebrand concluded, Husserl at Göttingen in 1912. His young academics found it easy to view “if it could be destroyed altogether.”

38 America May 9, 2016 Incredibly, von Hidebrand was forming these conclusions as early as 1923, when he witnessed Hitler’s putsch in Munich. He was vocal- izing them shortly after. For von Hildebrand, Nazism was not simply a carbuncle on the German body pol- itic, it was the Antichrist. Hitler and his associates were simply “criminals.” With a double-thrust of the pen, von Hildebrand characterized the Nazi ethos and its public pomp as nothing more than “kitsch.” Von Hildebrand railed at Nazi anti-Semitism as not only inhumane, but un-Christian. He particularly singled out Catholics who either tried to reconcile with or make concessions to Nazism. These Catholics had become “infected” with National Socialism and were in des- perate need of reconversion. How could such a young philos- ophy professor become so intensely anti-Nazi so shortly after the birth of Nazism? The memoir moves us to consider how the new philosophy of personalism, combined with a vibrant life of prayer, made such protest pos- sible. To the mind of this reviewer, von Hildebrand’s personalism acted as a unique impetus for protest because it was completely removed from the dominant Thomism and neo-Thom- ism of the day. Aquinas shackled his adherents to the obeisance of civilly constituted governments. (An excep- tion here would be Jacques Maritain.) For Aquinas, civil government was “subordered” to divine law and acted on a mandate only to approximate the divine order. Consequently, Aquinas did not compel the church to pass judgment on the style of a state, only to its relationship with the church. Personalism cut through such dis- tinctions, especially since the style of the state clearly showed intent to de- value human life. Thomists were left to wrestle with the fact that Hitler’s legal ascent to power left him as the “civilly constituted authority.” Von Hildebrand saw the Hitler govern-

May 9, 2016 America 39 ment not as legal but as criminal. He As von Hildebrand began to in- ing sidelined from the discussion did not hold out for a reconciliation dict liberal Catholics in the wake of altogether. This edited memoir is a of Nazism with the church. Nazism “Humane Vitae,” many theologi- long-overdue accomplishment that was the AntiChrist. It was malum in se. cal critics began to dismiss him as snatches back the complex story of one Legalism was immaterial. Exasperated, nothing more than an angry crank. philosopher’s antifascism, and should von Hildebrand understood that it Consequently, scholars began to gloss be considered for placement on every was precisely such “civil obedience” that over, if not cast aside altogether, von Catholic bookshelf. stymied the bishops’ ability to criticize Hildebrand’s earlier career as an an- Hitler. In contrast, von Hildebrand ti-Nazi. By the 1970s his trenchant CHARLES R. GALLAGHER, S.J., is professor of history at Boston College. His next book is never missed an opportunity to criti- warnings against Hitler and Catholic Defending the Body of Christ: The Nazis cize National Socialism and the party’s anti-Semitism were in danger of be- of Copley Square. leader, Adolf Hitler. While the memoir strains to put Hitler’s fingerprints on the levers that LEO D. LEFEBURE forced von Hildebrand into exile, his- torian Derek Hastings’s recent work HOW DIFFERENT? on Nazi violence against the German Catholic press seems to show that JESUS AND BUDDHA returned home to the Catholic com- von Hildebrand’s fretful accounts of Friends in Conversation munity enriched and transformed. his flights from Nazi terror were war- By Paul Knitter and Roger Haight They found positive resonances that ranted completely. (In 1935 and 1939, Orbis Books. 304p $26.00 changed their lives, but they also rec- for example, Catholic resisters Willi ognized that the Buddhist tradition Schmidt and Maurice Bavaud met One of the great paradoxes of differs profoundly from Christianity: their fate by means of a practice spe- Buddhist-Christian relations is that Merton quipped that comparing cially reserved to the Nazi S.S. for just Buddhist worldviews diverge so rad- Christianity and Zen Buddhism is such critics—beheading.) ically from Christian perspectives rather like comparing math and ten- As Austria fell to the Nazis, that in many ways it seems difficult nis. Since that time, many Christians von Hildebrand made his way to to imagine any understanding at all have explored Buddhist perspectives France, where he was able to join the between their respective adherents; with appreciation. These explorations Catholic Institute of Toulouse. With yet many Christians, including my- pose many questions for reflection. To France next in line for conquest, von self, have found that engagement with what degree can a Christian coher- Hildebrand bolted to Lisbon in 1940, the Buddhist tradition has strong- ently accept Buddhist views? Does it where he ended up as one of two ly enriched their Christian practice. make sense for someone to claim to be Catholics aboard a ship chartered by Mutual understanding is precarious: both Buddhist and Christian? While the Rockefeller Foundation to trans- if a Christian assimilates Buddhist a number of Christians describe port German Jews to the United perspectives and practice too easily to themselves as practitioners of both States. In 1942, he began a teaching familiar assumptions, one misses the Buddhism and Christianity, some crit- career in the philosophy department otherness of the Buddhist tradition; ics, both Buddhist and Christian, have at Fordham University lasting until his if, on the other hand, one stresses the been skeptical. The Dalai Lama has retirement in 1960. differences to the point that the two compared the attempt to practice both The Second Vatican Council proved traditions are incommensurable, then Buddhism and Christianity to putting to be an electric moment for von no true communication appears possi- a yak’s head on a sheep’s body. Hildebrand, and he immediately lent ble, and no learning or enrichment will In this volume Paul Knitter and his pen to the emerging Catholic cul- result. The relation is a gestalt that can Roger Haight, S.J., explore this chal- ture wars of the 1960s. Catholic mo- be viewed in different ways, depending lenge in a series of engaging conver- rality was a pressing concern for von on whether one emphasizes the differ- sations with each other. They strong- Hildebrand. Germany’s incremental ences or the similarities. ly endorse the project of Christians desensitization to fascist political In the middle of the 20th century, learning from Buddhists in the present gains was similar to the way creeping pioneers like Hugo Enomiya Lassalle, climate, which they describe as marked sexual permissiveness desensitized Thomas Merton and John S. Dunne by individualism, injustice and violence the conscience to the moral gravity of crossed over to explore the resourc- but also by an emerging corporate con- human sexual activity, he argued. es of the Buddhist tradition and then sciousness that is open to appreciating

40 America May 9, 2016 religious diversity in pursuit of com- in bringing the teachings of Jesus and may assimilate Buddhist perspectives passion, justice and peace. Each chap- the Buddha into dialogue is to guide a bit too easily to Christian views, as ter in this volume unfolds as a dialogue, life in the present world of massive in- when he describes the Spirit of God with a Christian per- equity amid the threat as “the Christian Buddha-nature,” or spective from Haight, of ecological catastro- when he compares the Buddhist rela- a Buddhist perspective phe. On this level they tionship between emptiness and form from Knitter, mutual give us many helpful to Augustine’s theology of coopera- responses and final- insights and much to tive grace, or when he describes the ly a joint statement, ponder on our journey. Mahayana Buddhist view of absolute “It Seems to Us.” On These venturestruth as “critical and metaphysical.” the one hand, they start from a particu- While these types of comparisons can stress the importance lar vantage point, and be thought-provoking, it is not clear of strong borders to the discussions of that they fully recognize and respect guarantee identity; on Knitter and Haight the stark otherness of Buddhist worl- the other hand, they reflect their own or- dviews. call for flexible borders igins within the U.S. One of Paul Knitter’s earlier books to permit passing over Catholic theological bore the bold title: Without Buddha I and coming back. community of the Could Not Be a Christian. Knitter’s van- The main interest middle and late 20th tage point in the new volume is playful of Haight and Knitter century. Haight writes and paradoxical, for he describes him- is not in theoretical issues but in spir- as an experienced Catholic systematic self as both a Christian and a Buddhist, itual practice, including both the prac- theologian, drawing on the theological employing the Christological language tice of meditation and the engaged language of his tradition to interpret of the Council of Chalcedon to sug- practice of transforming the world to and respond to Buddhism and illu- gest that the two practices are united relieve suffering. Their main interest mine the relationship. At times Haight in him, remaining truly different but

May 9, 2016 America 41 becoming one without being confused or changed. Whether the Buddhist and Christian practices are indeed not changed in this experimental union may be open to question. In this volume Knitter writes usually as a Buddhist; but occasionally he shifts voice, commenting from a Christian vantage point. For example, in the middle of offering a Buddhist perspec- tive, Knitter abruptly warns that “the danger is that we Christians....” Haight and Knitter often pair the Buddhist term “Emptiness” with the Christian term “God” as analogous ex- pressions for ineffable ultimate reality, which is described as both transcen- dent and immanent. Knitter views “Emptiness or God” through the lens of process theology: “Emptiness or God ‘depends’ on form or creatures, not for its existence, but for its activ- ity.” While there is no one Buddhist understanding of Emptiness, most Buddhists would not view Emptiness as an alternate term for what Christians mean by God, and most would have questions about Knitter’s formulation. CLASSIFIED Haight and Knitter challenge humans to realize “their connectedness to the For Sale from over 35 countries: Jesuit scholastics, women power of creative Emptiness,” and religious and laypeople. The holistic program is Bible for Sale: First Catholic Bible print- they speak of functional analogies be- enriched by training and renewal in the Ignatian ed in United States by Mathew Carey, 1790. tween emptiness and Jesus’ proclama- vision. For more information, visit https://www. Very rare. Full brown leather. Good condition. scu.edu/jst/academics/special-programs/new-di- tion of the rule of God. This strategy Approximately 45 known copies. $30,000. Call rections-sabbatical/, or contact Rob McChesney, for details: (207) 299-3962. risks domesticating the differences S.J., at (510) 549-5046 or RMcChesney@jstb. between Christian understandings of Retreats edu. “Your time, God’s goodness!” the transcendent God who creates the CELEBRATE Pope Francis’ vision. Inspiring, dy- universe and Buddhist interpretations namic parish missions, retreats: “Discipleship and of emptiness, which is not a transcen- the Francis Effect” and “Celebrating the Jubilee of WANT YOUR AD HERE? Mercy.” Website: www.sabbathretreats.org. dent creator. Visit americamagazine.org. Because Haight and Knitter repeat- Sabbatical Email: [email protected]. edly describe the Buddhist perspec- NEW DIRECTIONS SABBATICAL at the Call 212-515-0102. tives as complementary and function- Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. Enjoy a ally analogous to Christian perspec- semester or two at the only Jesuit sabbatical pro- Ten-word minimum. Rates are per word per gram in North America. The scenic San Francisco issue. 1-5 times: $2; 6-11 times: $1.75; 12-23 tives, one may question whether the Bay Area is the setting for this unique program times: $1.50; 24 or more times: $1.25. For an otherness of the two traditions receives situating experienced ecclesial ministers within additional $30, your print ad will be posted on sufficient recognition and consider- the broader context of a major international Jesuit America’s Web site for one week. The flat rate ation. Nonetheless, this is a welcome formation center. Meet future church leaders for a Web-only classified ad is $150 for 30 days. and stimulating invitation to explore an important relationship. America (ISSN 000-7049) is published weekly (except for 13 combined issues: Jan. 4-11, 18-25, April 4-11, May 23-30, June 6-13, 20-27, July 4-11, 18-25, Aug. 1-8, 15-22, Aug. 29-Sept. 5, Dec. 5-12, 19-26) by America Press Inc., 106 West 56th Street, New York, NY 10019. Periodical postage is paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Circulation: (800) 627-9533. Subscription: United States $69 per year; add U.S. $30 postage and GST (#131870719) for Canada; or add U.S. $69 per year for LEO D. LEFEBURE teaches theology at international priority airmail. Postmaster: Send address changes to: America, P.O. Box 293159, Kettering, OH 45429. Georgetown University.

42 America May 9, 2016 THE WORD Continuing Education PENTECOST (C), MAY 15, 2016 Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1-34; Rom 8:8-17; Jn 14:23-26 “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything” (Jn 14:26)

f you have a teacher, you are a stu- teaching until much later. new lessons of the Holy Spirit, taught dent and you have things to learn. As a result, Jesus tells his apostles in through the presence of the same IThere are, naturally, students who John that “I have said these things to Spirit moving through Gentile be- believe they know it all or, even if they you while I am still with you. But the lievers, shocked many of the Jewish do not, are not compelled to learn any- Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the believers. Some were unwilling to ac- thing else. They are comfortable with Father will send in my name, will teach cept that God was working among what they know. Some students, too, (didaxei) you everything, and re- people considered beyond the are simply bored and uninterested. mind (hypomnēsei) you of all that I covenant relationship apart Whether they know a little or a lot, have said to you.” One of the roles from circumcision and the they are not inspired to put in the work of the Holy Spirit is the continu- Torah. The work of the to learn something new. These issues ing education of the disciples Holy Spirit, therefore, had are cast into an interesting light when of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is to be discussed, debated and we recognize that one of the roles of not simply a substitute teacher. argued before the church ulti- the Holy Spirit is that of teacher. While still helping the disciples mately made a formal decision In the farewell discourse in the remember “all” that Jesus said to to verify the work of the Spirit Gospel of John, Jesus teaches his apos- them, the Advocate teaches “ev- tles to keep his “word,” reminding them erything.” The teaching role of the PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE that “those who love me will keep my Holy Spirit includes Jesus’ previous word, and my Father will love them, words, but it also encompasses new Place yourself with the disciples of Jesus at Pentecost and in Acts 10 as the Holy and we will come to them and make lessons. Spirit is teaching. What is the Holy Spirit our home with them.” But as we are Beyond these generalities, teaching you today? Where do you see the often reminded in John’s Gospel, not though, what exactly do we need to Holy Spirit teaching the church today? everything was clear to the disciples learn and what exactly does the Holy DUNNE TAD ART: while Jesus was with them. In Jn 2:18- Spirit teach? The scene at Pentecost 22, Jesus speaks of the destruction of gives us a clue as to the newness and among the Gentiles. the Temple, claiming that if it is razed boldness of the teaching of the Spirit, Learning is an ongoing process be- to the ground, he will raise it up in which cannot simply be relegated to tween teacher and students. The Spirit, three days. The redactor tells us that remembering a list of things, like the sent to guide us, did not stop teaching Jesus was speaking of his body, but it rote memorization of letters. While at Pentecost, but we must also be re- was only “after he was raised from the the Holy Spirit brought to Pentecost ceptive to learn. Paul tells the Romans dead, his disciples remembered that he the ability “to speak in other languag- that “the Spirit of God dwells in you,” had said this.” As with any students, es,” it would soon become clear it was a reality that still imbues each of us Jesus’ disciples could forget things, not a language institute the church was and orients us to the ways of God and not remember them to begin with or building but a body of believers meant away from the “flesh,” those things that misunderstand the implications of his to include every nation on earth. The are opposed to God. But this means church’s universality was symbolized that each of us, with the whole church, by the action of the Holy Spirit among needs to be attentive to what the Holy JOHN W. MARTENS is a professor of theology Jewish followers of Jesus speaking nu- Spirit dwelling in us is still teaching us at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn. Twitter: @BibleJunkies. merous foreign languages and, later, by today. Our education did not stop with the outpouring of the Spirit among the Jesus’ ascension but continued with the Gentiles (Acts 10). giving of the Holy Spirit, our teacher. As we learn in Acts 11 and 15, the JOHN W. MARTENS

May 9, 2016 America 43