July - December 2002
[Woodstock Report, December 2002, No. 72]
Walter J. Burghardt, S.J., co-directed with Father Raymond Kemp
Preaching the Just Word retreat/workshops for priests of the Archdiocese
of Denver (followed by a day for permanent deacons) and for the bishop,
priests, deacons, and lay leaders of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
On September 17 the Catholic Coalition on Preaching, at its fourth annual
conference in Philadelphia, honored him with its award "for his exemplary
contributions to the life and ministry of preaching." Henceforth
this award will be named after him. On its Founders' Day, October 25,
the Washington Theological Union gave him its Distinguished Service Award
for his "legendary contributions to the study of theology and the
art of preaching." On that occasion he delivered the annual McCarthy
Lecture on "Justice 2002: Critical Challenges Confronting America
Today." It was summarized in the Washington Times November 4. On
November 29 he gave the annual Chancellor's Lecture at Regis College of
the University of Toronto on "Justice Sacramentalized, Justice Globalized,"
and at Regis' fall convocation the next day received an honorary degree
(his twenty-third). On December 9 the Georgetown Center for Liturgy conferred
on him its first national award "for his immeasurable influence on
the liturgical life of American parishes, particularly through the improvement
of Sunday preaching and the clarification of the intimate connection between
liturgy and social responsibility."
John Farina published his Great Spiritual Masters
with Paulist Press in July. That same month his Beauty for Ashes: Spiritual
Reflections on the Attack on America was honored by the Catholic Press
Association of America with an award for Best Book in Spirituality 2001,
paperback, 2nd place. The commemoration of September 11 saw
Dr. Farina appear as commentator for the Voice of America TV coverage
of anni-versary events and on New York One's program for that day. In
October he appeared on PBS's "Debates Debates" discussing globalization
and religious conflict. During the fall semester, he presented a lecture
entitled "Catholics, Faith-Based Initiatives, and School Vouchers"
to the Georgetown University Catholic studies faculty colloquium. He continued
developing the Catholicism and Civic Renewal project at the Center that
focuses on the crisis of civic life and the resources Catholicism brings
to addressing that crisis.
Leon Hooper, S.J., has submitted the final version of an article,
"Cups Half Full: John Courtney Murray, S.J.'s Skirmishes with Christian
Realism" as a chapter in a forthcoming volume, The Christian Realists:
A Re-Evaluation, edited by Dr. Eric Patterson at the University of
California, Santa Barbara. Murray is the only "non-realist"
taken up, mostly for contrast. Hooper's article deals primarily with Murray's
reactions to Reinhold Niebuhr, and their eventual similarities. The book
should be available in the spring. Work continues on a Murray website.
Reverend Raymond B. Kemp co-directed Preaching the Just Word retreats
with Walter Burghardt for the Archdiocese of Denver and the Diocese of Kansas
City-St. Joseph. The latter included the bishop and lay leaders along with
priests and deacons. Ray is teaching a course entitled "The Church and the
Poor" to 38 undergraduates at Georgetown University. He spoke to the
Catholic Coalition on Preaching in Philadelphia on "Preaching and Civic
Engagement," to the lay leadership course in Springfield, Massachusetts,
and in Springfield, Illinois, on Biblical justice, and at all the weekend masses
at Good Shepherd, Mt. Vernon, Virginia, on a similar topic. Ray also addressed
the International Catholic Stewardship Conference in Toronto on
"Stewardship and Justice." Father Kemp also led a four session review
of Charles E. Curran's new book, Catholic Social Teaching 1891-Present: A
Historical Theological, and Ethical Analysis (Georgetown University Press,
2002) at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, Maryland.
Dolores R. Leckey was a participant in a conference hosted jointly by Commonweal
and the Institute for Faith and Reason, under the auspices of the Pew
Foundation. The topic was "Catholicism in the Public Square" and was
held at Georgetown University at the end of September. That same weekend she
gave a lecture at Holy Trinity Parish in Georgetown on the topic "Feminism
and the Catholic Tradition: An Oxymoron?" During the summer she taught a
class at the College of Saint Elizabeth in New Jersey using the materials in the
soon to be published book Spiritual Exercises for Church Leaders. In
November she gave an open lecture at the Carmelite Monastery in Boston on
"Jessica Powers: Poet, Carmelite Nun, Woman of the 20th
Century." She reviewed a new book to be published by Orbis Press entitled Evelyn
Underhill: Essential Writings. (She recommends it!) She also wrote an
article for Catholic News Service, "Sacramental Presence in Daily
Life."
James D. Redington, S.J., participated in the Advisory Board planning
meeting for the new Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue, an
initiative centered in Catholic University's School of Religious Studies,
on July 1. And on July 10, September 10, and November 12, he and Dr. Michael
Timpane coordinated the fourth, fifth, and sixth meetings of Woodstock's
Interreligious Dialogue on Education-two of the meetings at the Association
of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and one at the Aspen Institute
offices. A solicited grant proposal for the same project was submitted
to the United States Institute of Peace on October 1. He spoke on "The
Need for Interfaith Dialogue after 9/11" as part of the panel titled
"In God We Trust," at the Sikh Leadership Conference organized
by Washington's Interfaith Confer-ence at Georgetown University on July
20. From October 3-5, Fr. Redington participated in the McKenna Symposium
of Georgetown's theology department, on "The Western Encounter with
East Asian Religions."
April - June 2002
[Woodstock Report, June 2002, No. 70]
Walter J. Burghardt, S.J., co-directed with Father Raymond Kemp Preaching
the Just Word retreat/workshops for priests of the Diocese of Stockton,
California, for Jesuits of the Wisconsin Province, and for Jesuits of
the Detroit Province. For the PJW retreat/workshop given to U.S. Army
chaplains in Trier, Germany, he presented his talk on contemplation ("A
Long Loving Look at the Real") by live video-conference from Georgetown
University. He delivered the Commencement Address at the University of
Portland, Oregon; with it came an honorary degree (his twenty-second)
of Doctor of Humane Letters. He presented a three-day workshop at St.
Albert's Priory in Oakland, California, for all 150 members of the Western
Dominican Province, featuring biblical justice, the relationship between
liturgy and justice, and contemplation. His book of memoirs, Long Have
I Loved You (Orbis), has gone into a fourth printing, with a first
prize from the Catholic Press Association of the United States. On June
22 he celebrated the sixty-first anniversary of his ordination.
Drew Christiansen, S.J., gave a lecture, "Why Do They Hate
Us?," on March 20, for the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, a panel
presentation on "Just War and Nonviolence" for the American
Studies Program of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities
on April 3 in Washington, D.C., and a talk for the Episcopal Diocese of
Washington, D.C., on "Solidarity with Holy Land Christians,"
on April 11. He also offered a keynote address, "After September
11: Catholic Social Teaching on War and Peace," for the Association
of Diocesan Attorneys in Arlington, Virginia, and a keynote on May 5 for
the investiture of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, Toronto, Canada.
He made a panel presentation, "Killing the Fatted Calf: Biblical
Justice after Conflict," for the Brandywine Forum of the Institute
for Global Engagement in Saint David's, Pennsylvania on May 19. He participated
in two roundtables on the Middle East for Lou Dobbs Moneyline,
and two interviews on the Bethlehem standoff for CNN International's Q
and A. The Proceedings of the Sixty-Third Annual Convention of
the Canon Law Society of America (Washington: CLSA, 2001) contains
Father Christiansen's address, "One Church, Many Cultures,"
dealing with the treatment of ecclesial diversity by the Synod for America
(1997-9).
J. Leon Hooper, S.J., is gathering together John Courtney Murray's
publications and some unpublished materials, and having them digitalized,
for eventual inclusion in a searchable web site at Georgetown University
of all Murray's works - and he is looking for funding to pay for development
of the site. He is also working with John Farina on defining and funding
a three-year project on civic renewal and Catholicism, a project anchored
in the social approaches of Murray and Dorothy Day, while taking account
of current changes in both religious participation in civic renewal and
in the public credibility of American Catholicism. He also organized and
delivered a paper for Woodstock's March 14th Forum on "Being
Radically Religious in Public Life."
Raymond B. Kemp directed five Preaching the Just Word retreats
with Walter Burghardt, S.J., for United States Army chaplains who met
in Waikiki, Honolulu, and in Trier, Germany. This was the first time Father
Burghardt was video conferenced into a retreat. The diocese of Stockton,
California, and both the Wisconsin and Detroit Provinces of Jesuits completed
the PJW spring schedule. Fathers Burghardt and Kemp also spoke to the
Partners In Preaching program in the Twin Cities, and escaped before a
spring snowstorm. While in California, they experienced an earthquake
which measured 5.1 on the Richter scale. Father Kemp participated in the
Commonweal Colloquium at Union Theological where he delivered a paper,
"Preaching and Civic Engagement." He celebrated the dedication
of the new Our Lady of Mercy Church in Potomac, Maryland, and his own
thirty-fifth anniversary as a priest in the new church on Sunday, May
5.
Dolores R. Leckey addressed a gathering of 500 women (and a few
men), sponsored by the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts, on the topic
of "Blessings All Around Us," the title of one of her books.
The presentation looked at the events surrounding September 11 and the
current Church crisis and identified particular blessings within these
tragedies. She also had several book signings for her new book (with Arthur
Jones), Facing Fear with Faith (Thomas More Publishers). With Father
William Byron, S.J., and Dr. Eugene Kennedy, Dolores appeared on the Diane
Rehm Program (National Public Radio) for a discussion of issues surrounding
clerical abuse of minors. She prepared an edited report of the Woodstock
"afternoon of conversation" on "Peace and the Christian
Imagination" which is now available for those interested. Finally,
she is making progress with While Shepherds Kept Watch, and is
in conversation with a prospective publisher.
Gasper F. Lo Biondo, S.J., traveled to Manila, Philippines,
and coordinated the East Asia/Oceania regional meeting of the Global Economy
and Cultures (GEC) project. Fr. Jose Magadia, S.J., director of the Ateneo
Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs, hosted and participated in
the meeting. Jesuits representing social centers in eight countries participated
in this five-day meeting at the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI),
located at Ateneo de Manila University. Participants discussed working
documents on narratives from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines,
with comparative reflections on the other narratives from Australia, Indonesia,
Malaysia, and Micronesia. They analyzed the relationship between the narratives,
the opening up of their countries to the global economy, and ways in which
this opening up affects the local cultures referred to in the narratives.
Participants also agreed to form an East Asian/Oceania GEC electronic
network.
Michael R. Mackie visited chapters of the Woodstock Business Conference
in Reading, Pennsylvania, Boston, Massachusetts, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
during the months of March and April. There have been several objectives
accomplished during the visits: participation in the monthly meeting of
the chapter with the related ability to meet the membership; discussion
with the members about the ways in which the Center can support local
efforts more fully and effectively; exploration with the chapter coordinators
and chaplains about the use of new technologies to make resources more
easily available and to enable greater dialogue with the Center and amongst
the chapters. The feedback from the participants and the initial benefit
to Woodstock has been very positive. Woodstock also agreed to collaborate
with Michael Naughton of the John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social
Thought of St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a project to
identify non-financial measurements for corporate responsibility. Work
sessions will be conducted in May and June with business leaders, academicians,
and ethicists in Washington, D.C., to better define the work to be done
and the expected results of this much called for effort.
James D. Redington, S.J., joined panels of experts to
tape two editions of the weekly TV show, Passion for Truth, on
March 16: one on the topic of "Government Rewriting of History in
India," and the other on "Hindu-Muslim Riots in India."
On April 7, he lectured and led a discussion at St. Margaret's Parish,
Bel Air, Maryland, on "Islam - the Basics." On April 27, he
attended the day-long, closing conference of the Pew-funded project, "Muslims
in the American Public Square," at Georgetown University. Fr. Redington
participated in the sixth annual Vaishnava (Hindu) - Christian Dialogue
on April 26-27, with 18 others, at Rockwood Center in Rockville. And on
May 22, he and Dr. Michael Timpane convened the third meeting of Woodstock's
Interreligious Dialogue on Education, at the Aspen Institute offices in
Washington.
January - March 2002
[Woodstock Report, March 2002, No. 69]
Walter J. Burghardt, S.J., co-directed with Father Raymond Kemp
a Preaching the Just Word retreat/workshop for the U.S. Army Chaplains
at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, North Palm Beach, Florida. He
presented a talk on "Preparing a Justice Homily" to the Augustinians
of the Eastern Province at the Malvern Retreat House in Pennsylvania.
For the retreat to the U.S. Army Chaplains in Hawaii, he presented his
contemplation talk by live video-conference from Georgetown University,
a "first" which offers possibilities for the future; the upcoming
retreat in April for the U.S. Army Chaplains in Trier, Germany, will have
him "attend" and present in this manner. In Lent, he preached
to the St. Aloysius Jesuit Community in Washington, D.C., a homily entitled
"Each Year This Joyful Season," and gave an address on "Justice:
Human or Divine?" at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Long Island,
New York. He expects his comprehensive book on Justice to be ready
for Orbis publishing house by the end of this year.
Drew Christiansen, S.J., served as coordinator of the
Episcopal Conference Working Group's four day long consultation held in
Jerusalem. He also served as a panelist at the Catholic Social Ministry
Gathering's presentation on "Religion and Violence," in Washington,
D.C., and gave a lecture on "Christians of the Holy Land" at
Xavier University in Ohio. In March, Father Christiansen gave the keynote
address for Peace Day events in the Diocese of Joliet, Illinois, and made
a presentation on Church teaching and public policy at an event sponsored
by the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, in New York.
His essay on "What Stirred Such Hatred?" appears in Beauty
for Ashes: Spiritual Reflections on the Attack on America (Crossroad
2001). He also prepared an article for a Catholic International's
special issue on "Understanding Islam."
J. Leon Hooper, S.J.'s, study of Dorothy Day's adaptation of the
spirituality of the enclosed, tubercular Little Flower to the slums of
Depression New York will appear as "Dorothy Day's Transposition of
Thérèse's 'Little Way'" in Theological Studies 63 (March 2002).
Raymond B. Kemp directed three Preaching the Just Word Retreats:
one for the Augustinian Fathers at Malvern Retreat House, and two for
U.S. Army Chaplains. One retreat was held in North Palm Beach, and the
second featured a live video conference with Walter J. Burghardt, S.J.,
on the campus at Georgetown and the chaplains at the Hale Koa Hotel on
Waikiki, Honolulu, Hawaii. Father Kemp lectured at St. Matthew's Cathedral,
Washington, D.C., on "Fasting and Almsgiving," and conducted
the parish Lenten mission at St. James Parish, Springfield, N.J. He is
teaching a three credit theology course to undergraduates at Georgetown
University using Bernard Lonergan's Method in Theology. The course
is on the African-American struggle and is entitled "Struggle and
Transcendence."
Dolores R. Leckey has a new book, co-authored with journalist
Arthur Jones of the National Catholic Reporter, titled Facing
Fear With Faith, which is now in bookstores. It is a joint meditation
on the events of September 11. This unexpected book put her major project
While Shepherds Kept Watch on hold for a few months, but that book
is now back on track. Dolores also wrote an article for Catholic News
Service (CNS) on Lenten prayer and a tribute for Bishop Howard Hubbard
of Albany on the occasion of his 25th anniversary of episcopal
ordination. As noted elsewhere in this Report she facilitated the
Woodstock "afternoon of conversation" in February on Peace and
the Christian Imagination and hopes to produce a small publication - perhaps
"an occasional paper" - based on that conversation.
Gasper F. Lo Biondo, S.J., facilitated the Global Economy and
Cultures project (GEC) meeting for the region of the United States and
Canada on December 26-29. The meeting took place at the Romero Retreat
Center in Camden, New Jersey and was hosted by Richard Malloy, S.J. This
was the third in a series of six regional GEC meetings at which narratives
are presented, interpreted, and analyzed. Father Lo Biondo attended the
annual meetings of the Association for Social Economics, January 3-6,
in Atlanta, Georgia, where he gave a paper at the session on "The
Social Economics of Globalization and Economic Development." He has
been invited to serve as a peer reviewer for the World Bank project on
social exclusion and poverty reduction in Latin America.
James D. Redington, S.J., lectured on Hindu Spirituality on November
19 to the Adult Religious Enrichment Program at St. Ann's parish, Arlington.
On January 8, he and co-director Dr. Michael Timpane convened the first
meeting of Woodstock's Interreligious Dialogue on Education. Its eight-member
group met for four hours at the Woodstock Jesuit Community. The group's
second such meeting took place on March 5, at the Aspen Institute offices
in Washington. On January 14, Father Redington joined a panel of experts
for the weekly TV show, Passion for Truth, on the topic "Intimidation
of the Press in India and Pakistan." And on February 6, he lectured
and led a discussion titled "Children of Abraham" (on Judaism
and Islam) for the evangelization group at St. Jane Frances de Chantal
parish in Bethesda.
See Also:
|
|
