From the Director's Desk...

          The first time I heard the term "appreciative inquiry" was when an African Jesuit who recently visited us mentioned that the way we approach theological reflection at Woodstock reminded him of it. He assured me that "appreciative inquiry" is very akin to our "Ignatian" method of reflecting on issues. Recently, Cynthia Sampson used this same notion in her panel presentation at the recent Woodstock Forum on "The Challenge of Peace Twenty Years Later: Avenues of Hope for Shaping a Peaceful World," a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the United States Bishops' pastoral letter on peace.

          "Appreciative inquiry" refers to a cooperative search for the best that is in people, their institutions, and the world around them. Organizations like Peace Discovery Initiatives, of which Cynthia Sampson is president, use it. Some businesses also use it. People who have learned to "count their blessings" use the same approach to reflecting on their situations. When we are able to recognize "avenues of hope in shaping a peaceful world," we can discover the ways in which God's grace is germinating. From amidst the bleakest circumstances of conflict and social injustice, we can "reach for the human good" that is within ourselves.

          I suspect that those of you who have some acquaintance with Ignatian spirituality will quickly recognize what Saint Ignatius calls "The Contemplation for Attaining the Love of God," in the Spiritual Exercises. This becomes the basis for this year's Woodstock theme, "Reaching for the Human Good: Finding God in Our Differences."

          This Woodstock Report shows how each of the three panelists at our Woodstock Forum responded to questions posed by the moderator Dr. John Borelli, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Inter religious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  Father J. Bryan Hehir, President of Catholic Charities USA, responded to the questions, "What did the pastoral letter say?" and "What is the challenge of peace in today's world?" Father Hehir, who was involved in drafting the pastoral, noted three new challenges of peace that did not exist at the time of the pastoral. We then explored two avenues for the future of peacemaking: interreligious dialogue and conflict resolution, represented by Dr. William F. Vendley, secretary general of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, and Cynthia Sampson. Ms. Sampson described a "best-practices" approach to conflict resolution that has worked in the new world context, while Dr. Vendley gave graphic examples of how he has seen religions working together in response to conflict situations.

          Just three weeks later Woodstock cosponsored, along with the United States Jesuit Conference, an all-day "Forum on Catholic Traditions on Peace and War," with about sixty invited participants. This Report carries a brief description of what we hope will be an ongoing conversation. It also provides a new feature, entitled "In Focus," on how Woodstock is committed to Interreligious Dialogue. I am happy to announce that Woodstock senior fellow Father James Redington, S.J., who co-directs this program, has been jointly appointed as professor of the theology of religions at the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, California.

          We also welcome our new Woodstock International Visiting Fellows, Dr. Beatriz Domingues from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil, Dr. Zhang Xianqing from Xiamen University in the People's Republic of China, and Dr. Saban Ali Duzgun, from Ankara University in Turkey.

          Finally, I invite you to read my annual letter recently published in the 2004 Appeal. Thank you to all who included Woodstock on your "giving tree" this Christmas.

          I hope that your holidays have been blessed and full of peace.

Gasper F. Lo Biondo, S.J.
Director

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