New Superior General for the Jesuits
International women's congress in Rome
Afternoon tea for the future
Sydney boycott of Lambeth "disappointing" says Primate
New Superior General for the Jesuits
There is much to celebrate as we settle into 2008. The announcement on January 19 of Fr Adolfo Nicolas as the new Superior General of the Jesuits has been welcomed with joy. We are delighted that Fr Nicolas is from our Assistancy (region) and knows our Province well. He is wise and approachable. He has been involved with the issues of faith and culture in Asia for many years. He replaces Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach who has given 25 years of dedicated and selfless service.
So wrote Fr Des Dwyer SJ who was Acting Australian Provincial at the time Fr Nicolas was elected the Jesuits' new Superior General. His comment appeared in the Australian Jesuits province publication, Province Express.
Another response comes from Fr Daniel Patrick Huang, SJ, writing for the website of the Jesuits in the Philippines:
The day after the election of Fr. Adolfo Nicolas as Superior General of the Society of Jesus, many of us here in Rome find ourselves deeply grateful for the guidance of the Spirit. We believe in faith that it was the Spirit who led us to choose Fr Nico - as we fondly call him in our part of the world - as the 29th successor to St Ignatius. This past week, the newspapers in Italy had come out with lists of possible generabili. It is surely significant that Fr Nicolas was never mentioned!
Fr Nico embodies for many of us the primary quality St. Ignatius stipulates as desirable in the man who is to become General: that he be a man "closely united with God our Lord." "Tell me," an elector from Europe asked me soon after Nico's election, "have we elected a saint?" Whatever the answer to that question, many have noticed and wondered at the serenity and joy that Nico radiates. There is a wholeness, a centeredness, a freedom about him that point to spiritual depth.
The full article is available here. Fr Huang also suggests that a glimpse into the thought of the new General could be found in a 1990 paper written by Fr Nicolas for the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences entitled "
A Spiritual Journey Through the Asia of the 1990s."
The CRA President and Australian Provincial Mark Raper SJ (right) and the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr Adolfo Nicolas, greet each other.
International women's congress in Rome
The Director of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Office for the Participation of Women, Ms Kimberly Davis, will network with women from around the world at a Rome congress this month.
The congress is being held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter on the dignity and vocation of women, Mulieris Dignitatem.
The international congress, entitled 'Woman and Man, the humanum in its entirety", will hosted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
It will feature a range of keynote speakers, panel discussions and other opportunities for reflection on the subject of women since the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem. The panel discussions will touch on women's responsibility and participation in building up the Church and society. The congress will also feature an audience with Pope Benedict XVI.
Afternoon tea for the future
Sydney's Edmund Rice Centre has announce the plans for the 2008 series of Afternoon Tea For the Future.
These are friendly gatherings to provide an opportunity for people concerned with climate change to come together so they can deepen their knowledge on issues, share
experiences about actions taken and where appropriate, plan individual or group actions.
The Afternoon Teas began in 2005 and have in this time covered a diversity of Climate Change and eco-justice topics including the use or not of nuclear power, everyday actions to work towards sustainable lifestyles, importance of conserving water resources and impacts of human induced climate change on people in the Pacific and Africa whose lives impact the least on our fragile planet. The Afternoon Teas are also an opportunity to give mutual inspiration and encouragement in a supportive atmosphere.
Meeting on the first Tuesday of each month from March to November, (July excepted) from 2pm to approximately 4pm the gathering will have a more formal structure for the meetings in 2008.This will include:
welcome to country and a statement from the Earth Charter
short session on community issues or updates on actions.
main topic using short excerpts from DVDs, or a song and then short talk by the coordinator, volunteer or guest speaker.
facilitated group discussion, usually very energetic and enjoyable.
break for sharing some afternoon tea.
conclude with a summary and decision for action if appropriate, addressing the concern of all.
There will be two major themes to the gatherings. The first two sessions will concern "Corporations and Climate Change", and the next two sessions are based on the theme of "Sustainability". Each session will be a stand alone topic but will be in keeping with the general theme of the day.
All interested people are welcome. The venue will be the Edmund Rice Centre, first floor 9 Alexandria St, Croydon.
Sydney boycott of Lambeth "disappointing" says Primate
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia has described as "disappointing" the decision by the Archbishop and Bishops of the Diocese of Sydney to boycott the upcoming Lambeth Conference in July.
Sydney's Archbishop Peter Jensen (pictured) has announced that despite remaining fully committed to the Anglican Communion, they "sense that attending the Conference at this time will not help heal its divisions."
Archbishop Philip Aspinall said in a public statement that he found it difficult to understand the view that the Lambeth Conference was not a proper place to deal with issues facing the international Anglican Communion.
While in England, the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, has called for a change of heart among Evangelicals and others in the often bitter argument about sexuality, Scripture and authority. In a lecture delivered at the end of 2007 and published in a new book designed to build-bridges in the run-up to the Lambeth Conference, he nevertheless points out that it is possible on the basis of the Bible to recognise that people of the same gender can have deeply involved emotional and physical friendships.
The bishop, who is a senior figure on the Evangelical wing of the Church, also forthrightly apologises for the form of action he took in opposing the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John, who declared himself to be in a non-sexual gay partnership, as Bishop of Reading. He expresses sorrow and regret over its hurtful impact, but he does not state that his reasons for doing so at the time were wrong.
The new book, A Fallible Church, has contributions from leading Anglicans with different stances and starting points in current debates, including Dr Stevenson, who is also Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev John Gladwin, Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, and Canon Mark Chapman, vice-principal and lecturer in systematic theology at Ripon College, Cuddesdon.
complete article from
Ekklesia, with further links to the lecture and more details on the book.
photo: Ramon Williams
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