Father General

The XII Synod of Bishops on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church has finished the second week of its deliberations and is facing the difficult task of drawing the final conclusions of the long process. Attendance at the daily sessions (morning and afternoon) and other events related to the Synod have left Father General with little room for other activities. In spite of it, he has kept an appearance of “all is normal” at the Curia. Albeit briefly, to meet the European Provincials who were meeting in Madrid, he even managed to fly to Spain on Saturday, October 18 at noon and get back for the morning session of Monday, October 20.

The members of the Synod have the possibility of addressing directly the assembly or submitting in writing their interventions. Father Nicolás chose the writing alternative and his intervention was published in the Official Bulletin of the Synod, on October 15. The text, original in English, follows:

In these days of the Synod we have heard a good number of those aspects that make the Holy Scriptures such a precious gift from God.

And yet we continue to feel that there will always be new or unanswered. The questions that reach us most often are of a pastoral character. The people of God continue to ask the pastoral question: How can we read the Scriptures so that they produce in us, in our hearts, in our families and in our communities all the good effects that Christian Tradition has proclaimed through the Centuries?

Allow me to address just one concrete aspect within the wider pastoral breadth of the question. This aspect is the so-called “Medicinal” or “Transforming” power of the Word of God. It is my conviction that the Word of God can claim in a high degree a “therapeutic” role in the life of the Christian community.

Every time we “enter” the World of the Bible, we are exposed to a New World: God’s World; God’s Action; God’s teaching of his people. The encounter, if real, can be shocking, surprising, enlightening, soothing or consoling. It can also be misunderstood and lost.

Thus the conditions of the encounter are all important. Pastors and Ministers of the Word have to become good helpers for good and fruitful encounters. We need to know where people really are (diagnosis); we need the skills for presenting the Word (teaching, preaching, biblical catechesis); we are expected to be good company in the search for depth (contemplation); and we are ordained or commissioned for good Christian leadership (service of love for community and Christian living).

Which means that Pastors and Ministers of the Word need training for good diagnosis, for wise application of forms of reading, for deeper prayer and interiorization of the Word of God, and for a meaningful accompaniment that helps the faithful discern the action of the Spirit in and through the reading of the Bible.

Since this is a fine skill that requires deep spiritual sense, adequate training and discerned commissioning, it seems highly needed that this training be included in the preparation for the pastoral ministry and in programs of ongoing formation for all Priests. Moreover all Parishes and/or Dioceses should have access to Centers or Trained persons that can offer this service to individuals or communities and who can train catechists and other lay ministers in this important service.

The Osservatore Romano of October 14 communicated that the Holy Father had appointed Father Adolfo Nicolás , Member of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

In a letter of October 15 addressed to Fr. Ernesto Cavassa, President of the Conference of Provincials in Latin America (CPAL), Father General approved the selection of Centers at Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Santiago de Chile (Chile) and Bogotá (Colombia) as interprovincial Schools of Theology for the formation of Ours in Latin America. Father General noted in the letter his appreciation for the discernment carried out by the Provincials. He also underlined that other Theological Centers operating in various parts of the continent continue to have a full mission as apostolic works at the service of the local or regional Church.

Appointments

Father General has appointed Father Giuseppe Bellucci, of the Italian Province, Director of the Press and Information Office. He replaces Father José M. de Vera, of the Japanese Province. Father Bellucci was associated with Popoli e Missioni (at present Popoli) since 1972, and became Director from 1976 to 1998. He will take office at the beginning of November.

From The Provinces

Africa

The Jesuit Center of Research and Action for Peace (CERAP) in Ivory Coast opened on October 1st  a School of Moral and Political Sciences modelled on the famous Institute of Political Sciences (IEP) of Paris. The West African School of Moral and Political Sciences offers a Master degree in “good governance”. The program has a core curriculum of political science, economics and law along with management and intensive English language courses. Its objective is to help students gain an education necessary to take over executive positions in their countries. Lectures on regional integration, migration, corruption and similar matters concentrate on the challenges that African graduates will have to confront. In the public announcement of its opening, the school communicated its aim to train men and women in regard to “how to make choices combining ethics, efficiency and performance with concern for the common good and respect for human dignity”.

East Asia-Oceania

The Jesuits in the seven Provinces and five regions of the Assistancy number 1686. The Province of Indonesia is the largest with 350 members  followed by the Philippines with 305, Japan with 234, China with 187, Australia with 154 and Vietnam with 125.

Engaged in special studies are 75 Jesuits:

Theology: 20

Spirituality: 9

Philosophy: 6

Education, Psychology, Sciences: 5 in each field

Social Sciences: 4

Biblical Studies, Culture: 3 in each field

Canon Law, Communications, Management: 2 in each field

Catechesis, Religious Studies, Ethics, Agriculture, History, Labor Law: 1 in each field.

Rome

November 6-8, in the 50th anniversary of the death of Pius XII, the Gregorian University in cooperation with the Lateranense will hold a Congress on “The Legacy of PiusXII’s Teaching”. At the end of the congress the participants will be received by Benedict XVI.