Archbishop-elect in video from Pope’s address
Fr. Claudio Dalla Zuanna, SCJ, the archbishop-elect of Beira, Mozambique, is pictured in a video of the Holy Father’s September 7 meeting with bishops who are working in mission territories. Standing in the front row, Fr. Claudio is second from the left; there is also a close-up shot of him about 20 seconds into the film.
“Mission requires pastors that represent Christ in holiness of life, prudent and forward-looking, ready to generously spend their time to the Gospel and to bear in their hearts the solicitude for all the Churches,” said Pope Benedict XVI to the bishops who were in Rome for a training course organized by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
Click here to view the short video about the Pope’s address.
Click here to read an article posted on www.fides.org about the meeting, and click here to read the Holy Father’s text in Italian.
As noted previously, Fr. Claudio will be ordained as archbishop of Beira on October 7. Prior to his appointment he served as vicar general of the congregation.
Fr. Tom Cassidy, SCJ, will be among those in attendance at the ordination in Mozambique.
Back to school
“It has been more than a month since I arrived in California,” writes Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ. “The drive from Chicago to Berkeley was scenic but long and tiresome.”
Fr. Joseph-Thien Dinh helped Fr. Vien make the move out west, sharing the driving duties of a U-Haul truck. Fr. Vien is in Berkeley, beginning post-graduate studies in Scripture at the Jesuit School of Theology.
“Classes have begun,” he said. “Two of the three courses I have this semester are language courses: Greek and Latin. It is quite a task to learn two languages at once!”
Fr. Vien’s new address:
2600 Virginia St. Apt. 1
Berkeley, CA 94709
Back to school via Turkey
Fr. Francis Vu Tran, SCJ, is also heading back to school –– Scripture Studies at the Gregorian in Rome –– but first he will complete a month-long program in Turkey. He has been there since early September.
“I wanted to go to Turkey to follow the legacy of St Paul and St. John; I want to see the places mentioned in the Bible where Paul wrote and try to get his perspective,” said Fr. Francis. “I want to better understand why Paul mentions certain things. Being there helps to bring Scripture to life for me in a different way.”
Fr. Francis returns to school in October and hopes to complete his licentiate in Scripture by next summer and prepare for doctoral studies.
Talking about his area of study, the Old Testament, he said that while it is a lot of work it is something that he has come to truly enjoy. “It’s allowed me to get a better perspective on the Hebrew people,” he said. His thesis will be on Proverbs “because proverbs are such an important teaching tool in the Vietnamese culture,” he said.
“My passion is working with young people, and proverbs [both with a capital “P” and lower case “p”] can help to give them an understandable perspective of God,” he added.
Position Announcement: Director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation
The US Province is seeking a Director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation. The successful candidate will educate, animate and engage members of the province, their coworkers and other publics on current social justice issues; assist the province and its members in responding to the challenge to be “prophets of love and servants of reconciliation” in today’s American society, the church, and the global community. The candidate must have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and be able to work independently within a team environment. An advanced degree in Social Justice or its equivalent required. Salary will be commensurate with experience and will include a competitive benefits package. Position will be located in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Interested candidates should email a cover letter, confidential resume and salary history to justice.scj1@gmail.com
During the provincial assembly in July, Fr. Ed Kilianski, SCJ, the councilor responsible for JP issues, talked about the possibility of hiring a full-time province director of Justice, Peace and Reconciliation.
If the province is going to give social justice concerns adequate attention, someone needs to have full-time responsibility for Justice and Peace. “Everyone on the Justice and Peace Commission has full time obligations in other areas,” said Fr. Ed. “And that includes me.”
Although the ideal would be to have a member of the province serve in the position, there may not be an SCJ available for such work at this time. “And already we are hiring non-SCJs to collaborate with us, such as the new president-rector of Sacred Heart School of Theology and the office manager at Vocation Central,” said Fr. Ed. “As our numbers diminish, we have to look at new ways of continuing the ministries and concerns that are important to us.”
Army days
Fr. Mark Mastin, SCJ, a chaplain with the U.S. Army, recently wrote to say that he’ll be visiting Hales Corners for a few days starting on October 30. It is one of the few breaks that he has had since assuming his duties as a chaplain over a year ago.
“Things are very busy here with planning field exercises in preparation of us going to Afghanistan for nine months beginning in June, 2013,” he wrote. “Of course, these orders can be cancelled, but we are going through the motions to make certain we are ready.
“We all have mixed emotions about going. We just had one company come back and another will be back in the up and coming months. We are preparing for their return by setting up events and counseling sessions to help them reintegrate into a so-called ‘normal’ routine.
“We have been in teleconferences with those deployed; it is a fascinating process. The Army has a great system of phasing in our soldiers back home. We have many behavioral and family programs to help them readjust and to handle potential high risk situations. I have been involved already with a few who came back early with injuries. A day does not go by that I am not involved in some form of intervention.”
Class of ‘67
The novitiate class of 1967 held an informal reunion luncheon on September 8, the 45th anniversary of the day they made their first profession. The classmates, at least those who live in the Milwaukee-Chicago area, met at a restaurant in suburban Chicago.
Pictured above are Tom Bruce, Dominic Peluse, Tim Gray (bottom row, L-R) and Lou Becker, George Nestler, Fred Stadler, Dick Scheiber (bottom row).
Update
Fr. Bill Marrevee, SCJ, regional superior of Canada, has retired from ministry at St. Mark’s in Alymer, Quebec. His new address is with the community in Ottawa:
192 Daly Ave.
Ottawa, ON K1N 6E9
Tel.: (Res.): 613-236-9195
Private: 613-233-3778
SHST professor receives award
Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki has selected Dr. Steven Shippee, Associate Professor of Systemic Studies, to receive the 2012 Vatican II Award for Ecumenism. Dr. Shippee will be presented with the award on Tuesday evening, October 23, 2012.
Provincial’s time
After a week in South Dakota, Fr. Cassidy will be in Milwaukee for a few days before going to Chicago for a visitation of the Dehon Formation Community. He will be there September 18-22. September 29 he leaves for Africa to attend the ordination of Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna in Beira, Mozambique.
Upcoming meetings and events:
October 11-12: Provincial Council Meeting
October 12: Dedication of Sacred Heart at Monastery Lake
November 13-14, North American Councils meeting in Toronto
December 18-19: Provincial Council Meeting
2013:
January 29-30: Provincial Council Meeting
March 13: Local Superiors Meeting
March 14: Provincial Council Meeting
April 8-9: Mission Education Conference, St. Joseph’s Indian School
April 30 – May 1: Provincial Council Meeting (budgets)
Week of June 3: Province Election Assembly.
