Archbishop Wester records remarks for Dehonian conference
A few days before he began his Pilgrimage for Peace in memory of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe sat down with Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, and Sr. Cathy Bertrand, SSND, to do a video interview in preparation for the Dehonian North American Conference scheduled for October 7-10 in Olive Branch, MS. The focus on the conference is the dual threat of climate change and nuclear weapons. Archbishop Wester was profoundly impacted by a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2017. When he returned to Santa Fe, he was acutely aware that much of the work of developing and testing atomic bombs took place in New Mexico. He has since become a staunch advocate for universal, verifiable nuclear disarmament.
The archbishop’s schedule will not allow him to be present at the October conference in-person; however, he will be available via Zoom to answer questions following his video presentation.
“The moral imagination, which allows us to see ourselves in the other, can overcome the constraints that blind us to the possibility of creating a peaceful world,” wrote Archbishop Wester in an opinion piece – written in collaboration with others – for the Albuquerque Journal published last month. “Pope Francis, that spiritual giant of the 21st century, emphasized its importance recently when speaking with a group of artists and writers. ‘We need the genius of new language,’ he said, ‘powerful stories and images … proclaiming to the world the message of the Gospel, of allowing us to see Jesus … Continue to dream,’ he urged them, ‘to be restless, to conjure up words and visions that can help us interpret the mystery of human life and guide our societies towards beauty and universal fraternity.’”
Click here to read the full opinion piece.
Click here to read the archbishop’s pastoral letter “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace.”
PICTURED ABOVE: Fr. Ari Saputra, SCJ, Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, Archbishop John Wester, Sr. Cathy Bertrand, SSND, Fr. Hendrik Ardianto, SCJ, and Sr. Mary Bertrand, SSND (Sr. Cathy’s sister; the two were traveling together prior to the meeting with the archbishop)
Have you registered?
If you have not yet registered for the October 7-10 Dehonian Conference on the Dual Threats of Climate Change and Nuclear Weapons, please do so as soon as possible. SCJs and staff in North American ministries are encouraged to attend.
Click here to access the registration form.
“The preparatory committee will be meeting this Wednesday; having a better sense of numbers, of how many will be attending, will be helpful for our planning,” said Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, committee chairperson. Other committee members include Fr. Bob Bossie, SCJ, Fr. Paul Hoang, SCJ, Fr. Peter Mc Kenna, SCJ, Fr. Ushindi Kambale Sahani, SCJ, Ms. Lily Ooi, Mr. Joe Tyrell and Sr. Cathy Bertrand, SSND who will facilitate the conference.
The two presenters are Archbishop John Wester of Sante Fe and Sr. Kathleen Storms, SSND. Sr. Kathleen will in-person at the conference; Archbishop Wester will be present via video and Zoom.
Mass of Thanksgiving
Our thanks to Sacred Heart Southern Missions for sharing a few photos from Fr. Paul Phong Hoang’s Mass of Thanksgiving at Christ the King parish in Southaven, MS. Fr. Paul was ordained to the priesthood on June 1; he continues to serve on the pastoral team in northern Mississippi where was also a deacon.
Click here to view the pictures on Facebook.
Welcome back!
Two SCJs recently made their way back to the US Province after extended time outside of the country. Fr. Stephen Huffstetter completed a decade of service on the General Council and returned to the US Province in late July. He is a member of the Sacred Heart Monastery Community but will be on sabbatical before taking on his new role as president-rector of SHSST next year.
Fr. Christianus Hendrik is busy trying to reset his body clock in South Dakota after a year-long sabbatical in his home country of Indonesia. He will continue to serve as a member of the Lower Brule Ministry Team.
Please remember
Paul Bản Văn Nguyễn, the father of Frater Paul Thien Văn Nguyễn, SCJ, died this morning (August 5) in Vietnam. Frater Thien did his novitiate and professed first vows in the US Province; he is a member of the district of Vietnam.
Madrid conference text
The Centro Studi Dehoniani (Dehon Study Center) in Rome recently published the papers and documents of the Dehonian Theological Seminar “Towards an Economy for All: Inclusive – Sustainable – Just” held in Madrid in May, 2023.
The volume contains the presentations of various participants at the conference, including “Composing a World Together” by Fr. Gaël Giraud, SJ. The introductory talk of the conference, it outlined the thesis he defended at the Gregorian University in Rome. “It was a spiritual reflection on the underlying issues on the renewal of the economic system today,” wrote Fr. John van den Hengel, SCJ, chairperson of the North American Theological Commission. “Interpreting the Ascension in the Acts of the Apostles, Giraud maintained that Jesus taken from sight by a cloud abdicated the chair of his authority to his disciples. He wanted them to assume his power and sit on the throne and rule in his stead. ‘The time of the Church,’ he said,’ is our apprenticeship under the movement of the Spirit.’ It was an interesting and adventuresome thesis.”
The volume also includes reflections by the five theological commissions of the Congregation. The North American contribution addresses the aboriginal relationship to Mother Earth and the need for reconciliation on the part of North American settlers.
Click here to access the full conference publication.
Also published…
Congratulations to Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, who recently had several book reviews published:
Nguyen, Vien. Review of Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle by Shannen Dee Williams. Review for Religious 2.3 (Fall 2022), 309-311. https://doi.org/10.1353/rfr.2023.a925826
Nguyen, Vien. Review of The Bible and Patriarchy in Traditional Tribal Society: Re-reading the Bible’s Creation Stories by Chingboi Guite Phaipi. Review of Biblical Literature. 06/01/2024. https://www.sblcentral.org/API/Reviews/1002016_73024.pdf
Nguyen, Vien. Review of Pope Francis and Mercy: A Dynamic Theological Hermeneutics by Gill K. Goulding. Homiletics and Pastoral Review (July 2024). https://www.hprweb.com/2024/06/book-reviews-july-2024/#mercy
About the first, “Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle,” Fr. Vien writes that “[t]his comprehensive, groundbreaking, and thought-provoking book is a seminal contribution to the history of the experiences of Black women religious. Williams is to be commended for succeeding in her expressed purpose: giving tribute to the courageous named and unnamed Black religious sisters who forged new pathways for the Church and society and exposing the hidden histories of the US Church’s colonial, slaveholding, and segregating pasts. The chapter on the early struggles of Black sisters, the Church’s slaveholding past and perpetuation of segregation, and the establishment of religious communities for Black women and girls by Black sisters was illuminating (chap. 1). It details the first generations of Black sisters’ determination and courage to fight for racial justice within the boundaries of the Church.”
Click on the links above to read the full reviews.
Record-breaking summer!
The St. Joseph’s Indian School Bookmobile wrapped up a busy summer in mid-July. The tour broke records in every category!
The outreach made stops in 44 communities, crisscrossing South Dakota to serve nearly 2,300 children and adults. The Bookmobile crew distributed nearly 22,600 books free of charge, some of which were Native American books by Native American authors procured through Lily Mendoza of Rapid City, S.D.
Books for all ages, from children to adults, were available for free at every stop.
The Bookmobile is also part of the school’s effort to connect with alumni and distribute food and dental hygiene supplies in communities across the state, plus North Dakota. A record 85 alumni visited with Alumni Relations team.
Many school staff volunteered on the bookmobile this year, several of them family service counselors hoping to connect with families and students. Frater Thuan Nguyen, SCJ, one of our seminarians, also assisted for part of the summer.
Visiting with Cardinal Cupich
Students in the ECS program (English and Culture Studies) at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology had the opportunity to visit with Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago during their tour of the Windy City last week. The cardinal has a long history with the Priests of the Sacred Heart, having served as bishop of the Diocese of Rapid City for 12 years. Dehonians first began ministry in the United States in the area that is now under the jurisdiction of the diocese and continue to serve it through the Lower Brule Pastoral Team.
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