CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (UCAN) — The president of a Jesuit-run university has urged students to participate in the school’s values formation program and cultivate relationships so as to prevent suicides.

Father Jose Ramon Villarin also encouraged parents to participate in the program of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, in southern Philippines, to “develop good values” so they can be seen as good role models for their children.

The school official recently spoke to UCA News about actions his university will take in the new school year after recording its first two cases of student suicides.

Roldan Bacadon was found dead on Good Friday, April 10, on his bed after he drank rat poison and slashed his wrist. It was just a one week after he graduated with honors from Xavier University and was preparing to start training to teach at a school in the city, said Saul Bacadon, his father.

In May, Ephraim de la Cruz, a nursing student at the university also died after hanging himself, for reasons that are still unclear.

The university’s Central Student Government (CSG) in notices posted around the campus called the suicides “a wake-up call for all of us.”

The student leaders urged university administrators, formators, teachers and counselors to strengthen counseling programs. “We call on our formators and counselors and teachers to be more vigilant in probing students” who show signs of being troubled and help address this “with utmost personal care and professional guidance,” the CSG statement reads.

The student leaders also urged parents to “constantly and caringly communicate with their children and assist them in processing their life experiences.”

Answering the CSG’s appeal, Father Villarin said the university will implement measures to prevent suicides this school year. The school year 2009-2010 for the university starts June 8.

Parents and the faculty association will organize a values formation program. The university’s Mission and Ministry Cluster organization will also provide a 24-hour hotline for students needing urgent counseling or consultation, Father Villarin said.

The university is also introducing a two-semester “Hope and Resiliency Program” for freshmen.

Father Villarin acknowledged that parents can be a source of stress for students. It is “normal” for parents to expect their children to be the best in their class, he said, adding that these expectations add pressure on youths.

School and Church officials have pointed to the media’s possible role in causing stress. The “deluge of information” in the age of the Internet and new media makes “cultivating family relationships and friendships” even more “important,” Father Villarin stressed.

Jesuit Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro, former dean of the university’s College of Agriculture, has also expressed concern over reports about websites teaching how to commit painless suicide.

By Independent Catholic News

The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will address a one-day conference at Heythrop College, University of London, this Wednesday. The theme of the event will be Education and Young People, and the archbishop will be joined by the British Jesuit Provincial, Fr Michael Holman SJ, and others concerned with the well-being of young people.

The conference follows a series of high profile killings in London and elsewhere in the country over the past few years, which Fr Holman considered in an article in The Tablet last summer. As the former headmaster of Wimbledon College, he criticised the way that ‘schools are submerged under a sea of targets and objectives’, making it difficult for them to find the time to teach pupils ‘values and virtues’ which ultimately help them to feel that they matter and they are valued.

‘This is not just about young people and the way some of them are drawn to violence. This is about the nature of our society, the foundation of our prosperity, the way we live now, and its consequences for young people’s happiness and for family life,’ wrote Fr Holman. ‘Can education play its part in attending to this malaise or is it part of the problem? Children grow up best within a clear framework of values and virtues, and in all the trouble and difficulty of teaching them, young people instinctively understand that they are loved and that they matter. It can be extremely difficult to communicate these values given the extent to which schools are submerged under a sea of targets and objectives.’

The Jesuit Provincial’s letter prompted a response from the General Secretary of Pax Christi, Pat Gaffney, in which she wrote: ‘Pax Christi sees an urgent need for a dialogue directed at delivering hope and opportunities for our young people … We would welcome an opportunity to gather with others for a national church consultation focused on overcoming violence and creating a culture of peace for our children.’ The Education and Young People conference is seen as part of that ‘national church consultation’.

Ms Gaffney will be one of the panellists on Wednesday afternoon at Heythrop College, alongside the college’s Vice Principal, Peter Vardy, Leo Chamberlain OSB (former headmaster of Ampleforth College) and the Jesuit Provincial. The discussion will be chaired by Dr James Hanvey SJ, and will follow a presentation by Jesuit psychologist, Fr Roger Dawson SJ, the assistant chaplain to the University of Oxford.

The Education and Young People conference at Heythrop will start at 10am on Wednesday, 3 June, with Archbishop Nichols considering ‘Education and Catholic Schools Today’. This will be followed at 11.30am by Father Holman, who will be taking as his theme: ‘Our Children, Our Society and Our Schools: Something Wrong That Needs To Be Put Right?’

By Independent Catholic News

The Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, will address a one-day conference at Heythrop College, University of London, this Wednesday. The theme of the event will be Education and Young People, and the archbishop will be joined by the British Jesuit Provincial, Fr Michael Holman SJ, and others concerned with the well-being of young people.

The conference follows a series of high profile killings in London and elsewhere in the country over the past few years, which Fr Holman considered in an article in The Tablet last summer. As the former headmaster of Wimbledon College, he criticised the way that ‘schools are submerged under a sea of targets and objectives’, making it difficult for them to find the time to teach pupils ‘values and virtues’ which ultimately help them to feel that they matter and they are valued.

‘This is not just about young people and the way some of them are drawn to violence. This is about the nature of our society, the foundation of our prosperity, the way we live now, and its consequences for young people’s happiness and for family life,’ wrote Fr Holman. ‘Can education play its part in attending to this malaise or is it part of the problem? Children grow up best within a clear framework of values and virtues, and in all the trouble and difficulty of teaching them, young people instinctively understand that they are loved and that they matter. It can be extremely difficult to communicate these values given the extent to which schools are submerged under a sea of targets and objectives.’

The Jesuit Provincial’s letter prompted a response from the General Secretary of Pax Christi, Pat Gaffney, in which she wrote: ‘Pax Christi sees an urgent need for a dialogue directed at delivering hope and opportunities for our young people … We would welcome an opportunity to gather with others for a national church consultation focused on overcoming violence and creating a culture of peace for our children.’ The Education and Young People conference is seen as part of that ‘national church consultation’.

Ms Gaffney will be one of the panellists on Wednesday afternoon at Heythrop College, alongside the college’s Vice Principal, Peter Vardy, Leo Chamberlain OSB (former headmaster of Ampleforth College) and the Jesuit Provincial. The discussion will be chaired by Dr James Hanvey SJ, and will follow a presentation by Jesuit psychologist, Fr Roger Dawson SJ, the assistant chaplain to the University of Oxford.

The Education and Young People conference at Heythrop will start at 10am on Wednesday, 3 June, with Archbishop Nichols considering ‘Education and Catholic Schools Today’. This will be followed at 11.30am by Father Holman, who will be taking as his theme: ‘Our Children, Our Society and Our Schools: Something Wrong That Needs To Be Put Right?’

9th Week in Ordinary Time

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NEW DELHI (UCAN) – The new leader of the Jesuits in South Asia says he will encourage his congregation to find new areas of work even as they reinvigorate traditional services.

Father Edward Mudavassery took over as the Provincial of South Asia (POSA) on May 31 at a ceremony in New Delhi attended by about 60 people, including Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi and Auxiliary Bishop Franco Mulakkal.

Jesuit superior general Father Adolfo Nicolas appointed Father Mudavassery as provincial on Jan. 20, to succeed Father Hector D’Souza, who has held the post for the past five years. Father Mudavassery was the rector of Vidyajyoti Jesuit Theology College in Delhi at the time of his appointment.

With more than 4,000 members, South Asia has the largest number of Jesuits in the world. They work in 18 provinces and two regions that are grouped under the Jesuit Conference of South Asia. The provincial oversees Jesuit’s common formation houses and social service institutions in the country.

Father Mudavassery told the gathering he would follow the recommendations that emerged during the Jesuits’ 35th general congregation meeting in Rome last year. These urged members to strive for new work frontiers while reviewing their traditional services.

The new provincial noted that Asia, especially South Asia, faces various types of conflicts and the Jesuits have to seek new ways to promote dialogue and reconciliation. He also said the Jesuits need to adapt their services to help more poor people. For example, Jesuit educational institutions should stress formation of good citizens as they work for academic excellence, he said.

Father Mudavassery also recalled Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the general congregation delegates about the need to address moral and ethical problems facing the rapidly changing modern world and to find new ways to preach the Gospel.

Father D’Souza hailed his successor as a man of courage and vision who had earlier led the Jesuits of Hazaribag province in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

He recalled how Father Mudavassery had inspired fellow Jesuits in 1997 after the headless body of a murdered confrere, Father A. T. Thomas, was found in a forest. The priest’s work among poor, landless dalit people had upset some landlords who had oppressed the former “untouchable” caste people for decades.

Father D’Souza said Father Mudavassery had urged his dejected congregation to continue their fight for the rights of the poor, just as their slain confrere has done. Father D’Souza also said his successor’s training in spirituality and counseling will help him to chart new territory for the Jesuits in South Asia.

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) — The global economic crisis is having a doubly negative effect on migrants and refugees: Low-wage jobs are disappearing and resentment of foreigners is growing, said the head of Caritas Internationalis.

Lesley-Anne Knight, secretary-general of the umbrella organization of Catholic charities, said, “As the world sinks deeper into economic recession, borders are closing, jobs are disappearing and life is becoming harder for refugees and migrants everywhere.”

Knight and Jesuit Father Peter Balleis, international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, spoke May 20 in Rome at the opening of an exhibition of photographs of refugees titled “Respecting Strangers: Replacing Fear With Welcome.”

Father Balleis, whose agency organized the exhibit along with Loyola University of Chicago’s Rome center, said the photographs show the dignity and courage of the refugees.

“They are just normal people who have been thrown into abnormal circumstances by powers beyond their control, driven by economic and political interests, often far removed from their lives,” the Jesuit said.

While they are seeking safety and protection in a foreign land, refugees too often are greeted with fear and hostility, he said.

Knight cited U.N. statistics that report that one in every 50 people — more than 150 million people around the world — lives outside his or her homeland as a migrant or refugee.

She said that while the Rome photo exhibit visually narrates stories of courage in the face of hardship, if the exhibit had a soundtrack, unfortunately it would consist of “the sound of doors slamming shut.”

“As people become fearful for their own futures, the stranger becomes the target of anger and resentment,” she said.

Migrants and refugees tend to be the first to lose their jobs, “not only because their status is called into question, but also because they are employed in sectors particularly affected by the economic crisis,” she said.

Added to their economic difficulties, they face more social difficulties because incidents of discrimination, including violent attacks, tend to increase when people are struggling financially or are out of work, Knight said.

The Caritas leader told her audience that she was watching a nature documentary recently and “it made me think how strange it is that we can marvel at the extraordinary diversity in nature — so many different varieties of birds, flowers, mammals, insects and fish — and yet we seem incapable of appreciating the equally wonderful diversity within our own species.”

“How wonderful it would be if the arrival of a stranger in our midst were welcomed with the same excitement and wonder we feel on spotting a rare bird or discovering an exotic flower growing in our garden,” she said.

(18 May 09 – RV) Pope Benedict XVI has sent a Message to Bishop Claudio Giuliodori of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia, Italy, for the initiatives planned by the diocese – among them a Jubilee Year – to commemorate the fourth centenary of the death of the Jesuit Fr. Matteo Ricci, who died in Beijing, China on 11 May 1610.

Matteo Ricci, who was born in Macerata on 6 October 1552, was, the Pope writes, “gifted with profound faith and extraordinary cultural and academic genius”. He “dedicated long years of his life to weaving a profound dialogue between West and East, at the same time working incisively to root the Gospel in the culture of the great people of China. Even today, his example remains as a model of fruitful encounter between European and Chinese civilisation”.

“In considering his intense academic and spiritual activity, we cannot but remain favourably impressed by the innovative and unusual skill with which he, with full respect, approached Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions. It was, in fact, this approach that characterised his mission, which aimed to seek possible harmony between the noble and millennial Chinese civilisation and the novelty of Christianity, which is for all societies a ferment of liberation and of true renewal from within, because the Gospel, universal message of salvation, is destined for all men and women whatever the cultural and religious context to which they belong.

“What made his apostolate original and, we could say, prophetic, was the profound sympathy he nourished for the Chinese, for their cultures and religious traditions”, the Holy Father adds. Ricci was likewise “a model of dialogue and respect for the beliefs of others” and “made friendship the style of his apostolate during his twenty-eight years in China”.

The Jesuit remained faithful to this style of evangelisation to the end of his life, “using a scientific methodology and a pastoral strategy based, on the one hand, on respect for the wholesome customs of the place, which Chinese neophytes did not have to abandon when they embraced the Christian faith and, on the other, on his awareness that the Revelation could enhance and complete” those customs. As the Fathers of the Church did in the time of the encounter between the Gospel and Greco-Roman culture, the author of the “Treatise on Friendship” undertook his “farsighted work of inculturation of Christianity in China by seeking constant understanding with the wise men of that country”.

“Following his example, may our own communities, which accommodate people from different cultures and religions, grow in a spirit of acceptance and of reciprocal respect”, the Holy Father concludes.

Jesuit bark (or Pulvis Patrum) was the historical name for quinine, the most celebrated remedy for malaria. Taken from the cinchona tree, its ability to bring down fever had been discovered by the Peruvian Indians, and it was Jesuits working in Peru who brought it to Europe. It was through their recommendation of its use that the wife of the Spanish viceroy in Lima, Peru, was cured of malaria in 1630, and this success greatly increased the renown of this remedy.

The month of May is a busy one for the General Curia in Rome, because it is hosting many workshops and meetings. Here is the May calendar:

From 4 to16 May twelve new Provincials are attending an English Language Colloquium. It is the second of the three scheduled for this year, two in the English and one in Spanish / Italian. The purpose is to give to new Provincials an overview of the issues the Society is facing today and at the same time let them learn about the commitments and duties of their office regarding cura personalis, cura apostolica, community and apostolic life, from the legal, legislative, financial and organizational viewpoints. The Colloquium offers Father General the opportunity to develop a more personal understanding of his closest collaborators and bring them up to date on the governance of the Society as well as the progress of the projects he received from the 35^th General Congregation. New Provincials have the chance to better understand the General Curia, with its many offices and secretariats, and visit the International Roman Houses.

From 4 to 9 May the delegates of Provincials’ Conferences are attending the meeting of International Committee for the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (ICAJE). Father Pierre Salembier, delegate of Father General for alumni, is also attending. On the agenda the “Ignatian leadership” in its practical, working aspects as well as what we are doing in various Provinces and Assistancies to identify, invite, form and support leaders for our schools according to the Spirituality of  St. Ignatius and of the Society of Jesus.

From 18 to 22 May the annual meeting of the Social Apostolates Assistancy/Conferences Coordinators. Participants are coming from the Jesuit Assistancies and Conferences of Latin America, Europe, East Asia and Oceania, Africa and Madagascar, USA and South Asia. Representatives from Entreculturas (www.entreculturas.org) and OCIPE (Office Catholique d’Information et d’Initiative pour l’Europe, www.ocipe.info) have also been invited for a review of the emerging advocacy networks.

During the first part of the meeting, led by Fathers Antoine Kerhuel, Regional Assistant for Western Europe, and Edward Mercieca, Secretary for Spirituality, participants will explore the spirituality of the social apostolate under the heading ‘Interiority in Action’. The second part, a follow-up of the Ignatian Advocacy Workshop held November 2008, will include a meeting with Fr. General. The final day is dedicated to ongoing apostolic discernment within the social apostolate, and will be moderated by Father Joseph Daoust, former president of the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and now Delegate for the Roman houses of the Society.

The outcomes of the meeting will be published in Promotio Iustititae, available online at www.sjweb.info/sjs.

The Society in numbers. The General Secretariat of the Society has compiled the statistics for the year 2008. We present some overall statistics. As of 1 January 2009, the total number of Jesuits stood at 18.516 – 13.112 priests, 2.920 scholastics, 1.675 brothers and 809 novices – this show a net loss of 304 from 1 January 2008 and present a smaller decline in relation to the previous year. As of 1 January 2009, the average age of all Jesuits was 57.44 years – of priests 64.24 years, of scholastics 28.96 years and of brothers 67.68 years. An important part of the universal mission entrusted to the whole Society is carried out by the Interprovincial Roman Houses immediately dependent on Fr. General. The total number of Jesuits in the Interprovincial Roman Houses in 2008-2009 is 441 (4 cardinals, 1 archbishop, 360 priests, 51 scholastics, and 25 brothers). Of the 441, 126 are students. As of 1 January 2009 there were 11 Dependent Regions in the Society – 3 in Africa, 3 in the Americas, and 5 in Asia-Oceania. For more information please refer to the bulletin “Documentation n. 89” published by our office or visit the ad usum nostrorum section of  http://www.sjweb.info/.

VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2009 (VIS) – Benedict XVI has sent a Message to Bishop Claudio Giuliodori of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia, Italy, for the initiatives planned by the diocese – among them a Jubilee Year – to commemorate the fourth centenary of the death of the Jesuit Fr. Matteo Ricci, who died in Beijing, China on 11 May 1610.

Matteo Ricci, who was born in Macerata on 6 October 1552, was, the Pope writes, “gifted with profound faith and extraordinary cultural and academic genius”. He “dedicated long years of his life to weaving a profound dialogue between West and East, at the same time working incisively to root the Gospel in the culture of the great people of China. Even today, his example remains as a model of fruitful encounter between European and Chinese civilisation”.

“In considering his intense academic and spiritual activity, we cannot but remain favourably impressed by the innovative and unusual skill with which he, with full respect, approached Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions.

It was, in fact, this approach that characterised his mission, which aimed to seek possible harmony between the noble and millennial Chinese civilisation and the novelty of Christianity, which is for all societies a ferment of liberation and of true renewal from within, because the Gospel, universal message of salvation, is destined for all men and women whatever the cultural and religious context to which they belong.

“What made his apostolate original and, we could say, prophetic, was the profound sympathy he nourished for the Chinese, for their cultures and religious traditions”, the Holy Father adds. Ricci was likewise “a model of dialogue and respect for the beliefs of others” and “made friendship the style of his apostolate during his twenty-eight years in China”.

The Jesuit remained faithful to this style of evangelisation to the end of his life, “using a scientific methodology and a pastoral strategy based, on the one hand, on respect for the wholesome customs of the place, which Chinese neophytes did not have to abandon when they embraced the Christian faith and, on the other, on his awareness that the Revelation could enhance and complete” those customs. As the Fathers of the Church did in the time of the encounter between the Gospel and Greco-Roman culture, the author of the “Treatise on Friendship” undertook his “farsighted work of inculturation of Christianity in China by seeking constant understanding with the wise men of that country”.

“Following his example, may our own communities, which accommodate people from different cultures and religions, grow in a spirit of acceptance and of reciprocal respect”, the Holy Father concludes.