THE WORLD ACCORDING TO 44 ;-)

Nike colonizing Catholic schools...

2011-12-09T16:21:00.001-05:00

I would add to Jim's thoughts -- what if the 228 Catholic colleges in the US, led by the 28 Jesuit colleges and 68 Jesuit high schools, took a stand and, following Catholic Social Teaching, refused to wear Nike until they paid their workers a living wage? Why can't extremely profitable businesses "Just Do It"... and by that I mean just do the right thing, for the least of their brothers and sisters? Jim estimates that all those making sneakers for Nike in Indonesia could make a living wage if Nike gave Lebron James 97 million, instead of 100 million he currently earns to wear and make commercials for Nike
.
I have been unable to discern how my alma mater St. Joseph's, Philadelphia's Jesuit college, could honor Jim Keady with the St. Ignatius Award (in the service and promotion of Saint Joseph’s University and/or has lived a life of “service to others” consistent with the principles of Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order) for his work in attempting to get Nike to pay its workers a living wage... and then outfit all their sports teams in Nike.

Hypocrisy. But one we could change.

AMDG,

Tom Brzozowski

Team Sweat:

In the near fifteen years I have been working to end Nike's sweatshop abuses and make Nike a fair trade company, I have watched with great pain as Nike has aggressively colonized Catholic schools across the nation. In fact, this is how my work started. Back in 1997, while an assistant coach as St. John's University, I said that because of Nike's exploitation of their overseas workers, our Catholic university should not be party to the $3.5 million dollar endorsement deal Nike put on the table. I lost that battle and since have witnessed Nike continue their march across the Catholic school landscape, spreading their imperial values - values that run completely counter to the ethos of Jesus' Gospel. For their part in bowing to the Nike empire, our Catholic schools get some free gear and at times cash and other perks and Nike gets their allegiance and more importantly, public witness (via our student athletes) that Nike has the backing of some of the greatest Catholic institutions in the United States. Very simply, our Catholic schools sell their names and reputations to Nike for a pair of sneakers and a buck and they offer up our student athletes as walking advertisements for the Nike empire. For Nike's part, it is brilliant. For our Catholic schools' part, it is sad indeed.

For many, the Nike sweatshop issue is not breaking news. The plight of Nike's overseas workers has been covered by reporters, academics and activists for many years. In this time, Nike has done well to manage the public relations backlash and Catholic schools have been a key component in their game to convince consumers that "Nike fixed their sweatshop problem." While Nike has made modest strides at addressing some abuses (the use of toxic glues, sexual harassment, physical abuse, etc.) they have absolutely refused to deal with the key demand that has consistently been pressed by Nike's overseas workers and those who advocate in solidarity with them - workers want to be paid a living wage.

On the issue of a living wage, Catholic Social Teaching is quite clear. Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum, states "that the remuneration must be enough to support the wage earner in reasonable and frugal comfort." (#34) The U.S. Catholic Bishop's Pastoral, Economic Justice for All, tells us that "the way power is distributed in a free market economy frequently gives employers greater bargaining power than employees in the negotiation of labor contracts. Such unequal power may press workers into a choice between an inadequate wage and no wage at all. But justice, not charity, demands certain minimum guarantees. The provision of wages and other benefits sufficient to support a family in dignity is a basic necessity to prevent this exploitation of workers." (#103) And Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, Laborem Exercens, exorts "Hence in every case a just wage is the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system and, in any case, of checking that it is functioning justly. It is not the only means of checking, but it is a particularly important one and in a sense the key means." (#19)

Having spent so many years documenting the spending power of Nike's workers, I can tell you with authority that their wages certainly do not meet the benchmark of a living wage as set forth by Catholic Social Teaching. If you question this, I encourage you to CLICK HERE and watch a clip from my most recent round of spending power research for Nike's workers in Indonesia.

It is because of the lack of action on paying a living wage that Catholic schools are so important in Nike's public relations war. Think of it like this. Let's say you are an alumnus from St. Joseph's University, the Jesuit school where I did my undergraduate degree. And let's say that you are somewhat aware of the Nike sweatshop issue. Then you see the picture above.

Without saying a word, this image makes the statement to you that, "Nike must have cleaned up their act." Why? Because, you think, "there is no way that a Catholic, Jesuit, university would ever do business with Nike if they were still paying their workers poverty wages." This image tells people that Catholic schools like St. Joseph's University are behind Nike 100%. It tells people that Catholic schools are so much in support of Nike that we are willing to allow our student athletes to advertise their products to the masses. It tells people that Nike must be paying their workers living wages, if they weren't, why would this Catholic school allow itself to be used by Nike as a marketing tool?

I can tell you why our Catholic schools allow it to happen.

First, many are of the belief that Nike has fixed these problems because Nike has lied and they got a few Catholic schools on board with them. Once this happened, the domino effect took place - administrators think, "if these other Catholic schools have done these endorsement deals, Nike must be ok" and they act without exercising the hermeneutic of suspicion."

Second, if administrators are aware of Nike's violations of Catholic Social Teaching, rather than standing up and being a voice for the voiceless, they adopt the herd mentality noted above ("everyone else is doing it) and/or they cave to pressure from Athletic Directors, Business Managers, Board Members and powerful alumni and donors to go with the flow.

If by chance, administrators are willing to take on the issue, many times the schools want an easy out. They ask, "Ok, if we do not wear Nike, who should we wear?" This is not the question we should be asking as a Catholic school! This struggle for justice is not about who YOU should or shouldn't be wearing. It is about the WORKERS. It is about taking the preferential option for the poor. It is about working in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in these factories to bring Nike to a point where they pay workers a living wage. The question we should all be asking at our Catholic schools is, "If Nike is violating Catholic Social Teaching and they are not paying workers a living wage, what can we do to change that?"

Here is a short list.

1. If your teams are currently wearing Nike products, immediately make a public and provocative statement and cover up every Nike logo with a patch. This may violate the terms of your contract with Nike and may cost you whatever Nike is giving to you. So be it. At times, the Gospel demands radical action and with it, painful consequences. For individual athletes, if your school is not willing to take this action collectively, do it yourself. You may be the spark that lights the flame of revolution.

Using St. Joseph's University as an example, the Nike logos could be covered with something like this.

2. Take every penny of money that has been given to your high school or university from Nike and give it to Catholic Relief Services, Jesuit Refugee Services, etc.and make a public statement as to why you are doing this.

3. Engage Nike publicly on the issue of a living wage for their factory workers. Write them open letters. Hold on-campus prayer services. Send delegations to the Nike campus to meet with Nike executives. Hold press conferences announcing all these actions...

Why must we do these things? "Because we are Catholics." And because we are called by our Catholic faith, in the words of Pope Paul VI, "to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgement, to serve and to be served."

Peace,

Jim Keady
Team Sweat

1201 Third Avenue
Suite A
Spring Lake, New Jersey 07762

AMDG on top...

2011-12-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

Ahhh... AMDG or JMJ at the top of every paper. A worthwhile article that will remind you of that one teacher who made a difference in your life. Click on the title to read the entire article and to read about his passing click Beloved Brophy Jesuit Dies or Memorial to Fr. John Becker, SJ, 1925 - 2008.

To read one of Father Becker's novels click here or here!

AMDG.

The Greatest English Teacher

Terry Jeffrey

...At St. Ignatius -- in Father Becker’s class and all others -- we wrote the letters AMDG at the top of our papers. They stand for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” -- To the Greater Glory of God. These are the strategic watchwords of the Jesuit order: Everything ultimately must serve this purpose.

Father Becker taught us that Shakespeare was great not only because of the power and wit and poetry in his language but because his plays truly served the greater glory of God. They helped readers see good and evil and the consequences of choosing one over the other.

Father Becker also taught by example. He had the skills to succeed in many lucrative professions. But he took a vow of poverty and spent five decades as a good and faithful priest teaching boys to become strong and confident Christian men in an increasingly secular world.

In his later years, Father Becker published two mystery novels, while a third was published posthumously after he died three years ago. The hero, Father Luke Wolfe, teaches English at a Jesuit high school and spends his spare time at abortion clinics -- praying the Rosary.

The new St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir!

2011-11-09T11:18:00.000-05:00

A dream is started! Three years after visiting the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province the new St. Paul Miki School had its groundbreaking last month. These children of the Ho Tribals deserve the best - and will now get it. I can't wait to see the completion of Fr. Deeney's dream.

Way to swing that ax Fr. Greg, and so good to see Br. Bene ;-)

Good stuff!

AMDG,

44

Greetings from India!

I have been quiet for a while. I am at the moment in Chennai (South India) for my doctoral studies.

I just wanted to share with you all some latest news about our St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir. I attach two pdf files. You will see the photos of the ground breaking ceremony for the school in Pandabir.

Fr. John Deeney, SJ regularly visited this place for Sunday masses on his bicycle. Memories are still fresh in my mind when I used to travel with him in 1983 as a Jesuit novice. He was certainly faster and skillful than I was in cycling those village roads. His regular and relentless service to this place saw the establishment of this parish and now the school.

I was thrilled to see the crowds in these pictures gathered for the ground breaking ceremony (students, their parents and the villagers). This school project was delayed a bit as there were already one or two school projects in hand and they needed more attention.

You will also see Fr. Edward McGrath, SJ in the pictures (he is one of five Maryland Jesuits working in Jamshedpur Province in India at the moment).

I know many of you Deeney family contributed generously for the St. Paul Miki School project in Pandabir. I am sure the parishners of Pandabir Parish and particularly the children in Pandabir school are very happy to see their school building coming up with more facilities for thier education.

I am sending this mail to the addresses I have in my mail box. You may forward this to other people who might like to read and know the latest on St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir.

Thank you very much for all your support to continue Fr. John Deeney's work among the Hos in Jharkhand, India. I am sure he is interceding from heaven for all the people at Pandabir, the Jesuits at Jamshepdur province and the Deeney family.

AMDG

Jerry Cutinha SJ
.......................................................................................
Berchmans Illam, Loyola College, Chennai 600 034

Students Happy to be at St. Paul Miki!

Yes, we need a NEW BUILDING!
Ground Breaking by Greg D’Silva, SJ

Provincial Mike Raj, SJ and Ed McGrath, SJ greet parents and students

Fr. Mike Raj, SJ blesses the new site.
Provincial Flanked by Bene Kichingia, SJ & Greg D’Silva, SJ.

BORDOR (PANDABIR)

On 8 October we had the Ground Breaking Ceremony of St. Paul Miki School building. To witness and participate in the event many of our students’ parents and local people came. People’s leaders like two Ward Members, the Mundas of two villages, the Mukhya of Bara Lagia were also present on the occasion. The presence of local people and their leaders on this occasion was an indication that they have been eagerly waiting for the new school building to come up for the children in their locality.

During the prayer service, Provincial Fr. Mike T. Raj, SJ prayed for the safety of the workers in the time of the building construction and for the students. He also blessed the site with holy water, broke coconut as part of Indian tradition and then drove the first stroke of pickaxe into the ground. The Jesuits and the local leaders present also did the same. The popular prayer song – “This is my prayer to Thee, my Lord” - composed by Rabindranath Tagore was sung by the school children, led by Gulshan Kujur. Also present for this auspicious occasion were Greg D’Silva, SJ, Ed McGrath, SJ, Hilarius Kongari, SJ and Pascal Kerketta, SJ. At the end of the programme refreshment were served to all. The construction work has already begun. This new school building with nine classrooms and two office rooms will be completed by June 2012, and it will be able to accommodate about 500 students.

- James Samad

Ignatian discernment, God's fast ball, and the preferential option for the poor.

2011-10-24T12:27:00.001-04:00

Dean Brackley, SJ passed away last week (read the comments under the article as well). He was a Jesuit from Fordham who after hearing of the 6 Jesuits being martyred in El Salvador... packed his bags and moved there to help fill the huge void at the UCA left by their deaths. Most people run from danger, others run towards it. Not surprising for a Jesuit though. He will be missed, and not just by those he served at Fordham, in the South Bronx, or in El Salvador. A beautiful remembrance by Genevieve Jordan of the Romero Center Ministries in Camden, NJ - Remembering Dean Brackley, SJ.

On Wednesday I picked up his book called The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola. Great read - and you know it will be when even the introduction kicks your butt.

When I was 'doing' the Exercises I had difficulty with Ignatian Indifference - I still struggle with it, and try, most times unsuccessfully, to get my arms around the principle. This from Fr. Brackley:

"Indifference" means inner freedom. It is the capacity to sense and then embrace what is the best, even when that goes against our inclinations. Indifference is neither stoic impassiveness nor the extinction of desire that some currents of Eastern religious scholars advocate. It means being so passionately and single-minded committed, so completely in love, that we are willing to sacrifice anything, including our lives, for the ultimate goal. It means magnanimous generosity, abandonment into God's hands, availability. It is not so much detachment from things as "detachability." It means being like a good shortstop, ready top move in any direction at the crack of the bat."

If interested here's an article he penned that was reprinted in America Magazine last week.

"After reflecting on these issues for some years, it only gradually dawned on me that I belong to a peculiar tribe. The middle-class cultures of the North are newcomers to world history and have only existed for about 200 years. We're not all bad people, we're just a tiny minority under the common illusion that we are the center of gravity of the universe. The poor can free us from this strange idea."

Meeting the Victim, Loving the Poor

I shared the above with a few friends and it was passed on. The following is from my friend Tim Klarich, and his friend George Limbaugh, who is a local coordinator for the Woodstock Business Conference of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University:

Tom,

I had the opportunity to meet Fr. Dean when he was a visiting professor at St. Joseph's University; he came to one of our Woodstock Business Group meetings to share his experiences in Central America. He was similar in many ways to Fr. John Deeney, SJ; quiet but a very strong man.

Tim

Tim –

Thanks for sharing this. We had the privilege to get to know Dean when he was on sabbatical at SJU a number of years ago, and subsequently visit with him several times on our trips to El Salvador. He was an amazing combination of a brilliant theologian and a humble and dedicated servant of the poor. We had the opportunity to accompany him on a Sunday to the parish where he ministered in a poor community outside the city of San Salvador. And as you know from your travels, the word “poor” has a much different meaning than it does in our world here.

We were overwhelmed with the generosity of spirit that we were embraced with by his congregation, and the amazing faith and piety of these people – even without translating you can feel those kinds of things.

Since you have also made the Exercises, you will be able to appreciate this story that Dean tells. It is about his decision to go to El Salvador after the Jesuits at the UCA there were martyred. He was teaching at Fordham and working in the South Bronx, and deeply committed to both endeavors. As he heard the call for replacements at the university, he had a discernment process to go thru. Given the unique and urgent circumstances, it did not allow the usual deliberate process of Ignatian discernment. As Dean described it, sometimes you get the luxury of deliberate discernment; other times God just throws you a fast ball, and you have to decide to swing or not. Pretty profound, and pretty fortunate for the people of El Salvador that he chose to swing at the “fast ball.”

Peace,

George

The University of Scranton presented its annual Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministries to Rev. Dean Brackley, S.J., at a University Assembly in the DeNaples Center on April 29, 2010.

Thinking outside the box in North Philly...

2011-10-10T13:12:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while the media covers a story on the good works of the Church. This was my mother's old school, once an Irish parish called St. Columba's in the city's Swampoodle section. Not only surviving, but thriving. AMDG.

Partnership in Philadelphia could be model for inner-city Catholic schools

By Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writer

St. Martin de Porres School in North Philadelphia may have found the key to survival for inner-city Catholic schools.

Through a pioneering partnership with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and local business leaders, the school at 2300 W. Lehigh Ave. has become an independent Catholic school overseen by an 18-member board but it retains ties to the archdiocese.

It is the only school in Philadelphia with such an arrangement.

Bolstered by an endowment of more than $4 million, a full-time development director, and fund-raising that covers a quarter of the school's $1.7 million annual budget, St. Martin de Porres has been able to increase enrollment and add programs without raising tuition.

"This has provided a growth and a transformation for the school and a real sense of stability," said Sister Nancy Fitzgerald, the principal. "When I register new families and I explain to them . . . that we are an independent Catholic school and that the archdiocese cannot close us, their eyes light up."

Her school has 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade - 20 more than last year. Parents pay $2,460 per child.

The school's board, the archdiocese, and the nonprofit Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) quietly signed documents in August 2010 making the school independent.

Officials are scheduled to publicly announce Tuesday the school's independence and its successful year-old transition.

"We're just thrilled that the group has come along to ensure that the school will continue," said Mary Rochford, superintendent of Catholic schools.

John F. "Jack" Donnelly, a business executive who is chairman of the Friends of St. Martin de Porres School Board, said the new approach shields the school from the cycle of rising costs and declining enrollment that causes several Catholic elementary schools to close each year.

"The goal is ultimately to use this as a model for other Catholic schools," said Donnelly, chief executive officer at L.F. Driscoll Co. L.L.C., a Bala Cynwyd construction-management firm.

A year ago, BLOCS pledged $4 million in matching grants to help St. Martin de Porres and six other urban Catholic schools create endowments. Although St. Martin de Porres has not yet raised the $5.75 million to qualify for its $225,000 match, the school is the first to become independent.

"We will be doing a full-court press" to get the match, Donnelly said.

Other area parish schools have become independent in order to continue serving low-income students in inner-city neighborhoods. In 1993, business leaders, the Jesuits, and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary joined together to keep the Gesu School in North Philadelphia open after the archdiocese announced it would close it.

And when the lone surviving Catholic school in Chester was threatened with closure in 2006, the archdiocese, Neumann University, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and the St. Katharine Drexel Parish reached an agreement that created Drexel Neumann Academy...

(click on link for the entire article)

Hearts on Fire in Philly...

2011-06-27T12:19:00.003-04:00

Fr. Jim Martin, SJ and a team of Jesuits led the Hearts on Fire Retreat at Old St. Joseph's Church for young adults this weekend. Some pics and a great quote by St. Ignatius Loyola.

A great quote from St. Ignatius Loyola, courtesy of Sam Sawyer, SJ:

"There are very few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves entirely to His hands, and let themselves be formed by his Grace. A thick and shapeless tree trunk would never believe that it could become a statue, admired as a miracle of sculpture...and would never consent to submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor who, as St. Augustine says, sees by his genius what he can make of it. Many people who, we see, now scarcely live as Christians, do not understand that they could become saints, if they would let themselves be formed by the grace of God, if they did not ruin His plans by resisting the work which He wants to do...."

OSJ is a special place for my wife and me as we were married there;
the wedding Mass concelebrated by Bill Rickle, SJ and Herbert Charles, CSSp.

The "Hearts on Fire" mission team, in the courtyard of Old St. Joseph's after a weekend mission to young adults. Left to right (standing): Mario Cisneros, SJ; Phil Hurley, SJ, director of the Hearts on Fire program; me; Sam Sawyer, SJ.; Jim Hederman, SJ, vocation promoter; (kneeling) Sean Power, SJ: Rob van Alstyne, SJ. A great group of guys! AMDG!

Requiescat in Pace - Edward Bradley, SJ, MD.

2011-06-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

Ahhh... the Jesuits. This one was very impressive, even by Jesuit standards. A Lt. Commander in the US Navy, Medical Doctor, professor, Jesuit priest. Makes me wonder what I've been doing with my spare time.

Even though Father went to St. Joseph's Prep and St. Joseph's College... I got to know him as he was a long time subscriber to the Walnut Street Theatre where I work. He had one ticket in the first row center orchestra. Occasionally he would need to exchange his ticket and of course would come into the box office for a chat. Although not in the obituary I could have sworn that Father told me he joined the Society, then left to take care of his mother. When she passed he rejoined.

I last saw Father two months ago when he was in Jefferson Hospital. I went to his room, which was empty, and was told he was receiving dialysis, so I went down to keep him company. He was happy to see me and in great spirits. I brought him a book about Avery Dulles, SJ and a prayer card of Walter Ciszek, SJ, to pass the time. He thanked me and mentioned that he and Fr. Ciszek used to have breakfast together in Wernersville, and told a few Ciszek stories that I'm sure few people have heard.

Luann Cotton Marziani from the Jefferson Foundation told me that "we have another saint to pray to now. Fr. Bradley was a great influence on my life. He will always be “Father Heart and Soul” to me." So true Luann.

Father never shared the Vietnam story with me. We have Miss Saigon currently playing at the Walnut. He would have really enjoyed that, from the first row.

Mission accomplished Fr. Bradley. AMDG.

The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a similar obituary in today's addition. The arrangements are as follows.

BEATI MORTUI QUI IN DOMINO MORIUNTUR

Viewing:

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 6-8 PM
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 9:30-10:30 AM
St. John Bosco Church
235 East County Line Road
Hatboro, PA 19040

Funeral Mass:

Wednesday, June 15 10:30 AM
St. John Bosco Church
235 E. County Line Road
Hatboro, PA 19040

Burial will follow at the Wernersville Jesuit Cemetery.

Notes of condolence may be sent to:

John Kezlaw (cousin)
Lakeview Dr.
Dennisville, NJ 08214

Catherine McClure (cousin)
6312 Ballensby St.
Philadelphia, PA 19149

Anne Schuster (niece)
405 Newton Rd.
Halboro, PA 19040

The poor found in him a generous friend. May they now welcome him into the Heavenly Kingdom.

Saints of God, come to his aid!

Hasten to meet him angels of the Lord!

Receive his soul and present him to God the Most High.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord,

And let perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. Edward C. Bradley, SJ, dies
Doctor served the poor, counseled medical students

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered Wednesday for Fr. Edward C. Bradley, SJ. Fr. Bradley died of kidney failure June 8, at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, where he practiced medicine and taught for more than 30 years. A Jesuit for 37 years and a priest for 32, he was 82.

The son of Marie Cecilia Wood and Edward Charles Bradley of Philadelphia, he was born July 18, 1928. He was a graduate of St. Joseph's Preparatory School and earned his bachelors degree from Saint Joseph's College (now University) in 1951 and his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1955.

Dr. Bradley interned at Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia before going to the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, Florida, where he served as a flight surgeon and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander.

Additionally, he completed fellowships in cardiology at the University of Goteborg in Sweden and in cardiovascular research at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He joined the USC faculty in 1964 and was made assistant professor in 1966 and was co-investigator of the circulatory shock unit.

When Dr. Bradley learned of a Jesuit priest in Vietnam in dire need of medical supplies and assistance, he gathered equipment and took it to two Vietnamese villages. He opened clinics there, focusing on tuberculosis and polio cases. He appealed to President Richard Nixon for supplies. Nixon responded with supplies and personnel to inoculate some 8,000 villagers, virtually eradicating the disease in these areas.

In 1974, he resigned from USC to enter the Society of Jesus at the novitiate at Wernersville, Pennsylvania. He professed first vows Sept. 11, 1976. He continued the practice of medicine and in 1975 joined the faculty of Jefferson Medical College. In 1977 he went to study for a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. During his studies he practiced medicine at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco and the USC/Los Angeles County Hospital.

Fr. Bradley was ordained a priest June 9, 1979, and served a pastoral year at Old St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia. The following year, he opened a medical practice in North Philadelphia to care for the poor and rejoined the Jefferson faculty. In 1987, he began serving as a counselor to faculty and students at Jefferson, a position he held until last year.

The medical school honored Fr. Bradley's work several times. The graduating class in 1991 presented his portrait to the university. He received the Clarence E. Shaffrey SJ award from the medical alumni of Saint Joseph's University in 1999. And in 2008, the year after he retired from teaching, Saint Joseph's University Medical Alumni Chapter established the Edward C. Bradley, S.J., M.D. '51 Medical Alumni Award.

Viewing will be held Tuesday, 6-8 p.m. and Wednesday 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at St. John Bosco Church, 235 E County Line Rd, Hatboro, Pa. The Mass of Christian burial will be offered at the church at 10:30 a.m. with burial to follow at the Jesuit Cemetery in Wernersville, Pa.

'You go in their door. You bring them out ours.'

2011-06-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

Jesuit influence apparent in rugby
By Frank Fitzpatrick

Inquirer Staff Writer

It's probably not too surprising that a Catholic order conceived in the aftermath of battle, one which has always seasoned its intellectual and spiritual fervor with a healthy respect for physical strength, has become the principal force behind the growth of American rugby.

So many Jesuit high schools and colleges are playing and succeeding at the rugged and increasingly popular sport that it seems as if the 477-year-old religious order, founded by a converted Spanish soldier, Ignatius of Loyola, has added rugby devotion to its vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

"The whole idea of what Ignatius inspired in Jesuits, a competitive spirit and the development of the whole person, is really alive in the sport," said the Rev. Bruce Bidinger, a Jesuit counselor at St. Joseph's University and the chaplain for that school's basketball team.

The traditional game, with 15 players on each side, and the hybrid "sevens" version, with seven players per side, of the sport are experiencing an American boom, nowhere more so than at the 80-plus Jesuit high schools and colleges from coast to coast.

While Boston College will be the only Jesuit school competing at this weekend's 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship in Chester's PPL Park, the rosters of the 15 other teams will be teeming with Jesuit high school products.

In a recent Rugby Magazine poll of the nation's best high school rugby teams, five of the top 10 - and seven of the top 17 - were from Jesuit institutions in Sacramento, New York City, Dallas, New Orleans, and Washington.

Though Gonzaga of Washington was the top-rated team for much of 2011, this year's high school championship was won by Jesuit High of Sacramento over Xavier of New York, the latter a Jesuit school in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.

The Sacramento school has long been the primary feeder for the dynastic rugby program at Cal, which has won 26 national collegiate rugby titles. Seven players on the U.S. national team - Ray Lehner, Kirk Khasigian, Chris Miller, Kort Schubert, Lou Stanfill, Eric Fry, and Colin Hawley - played at both Jesuit and Cal.

"Those [Jesuit] schools produce smart, tough players who are also good students," said Alex Goff, the editor of Rugby Magazine.

That rugby-Jesuit connection is evident locally, too, as St. Joe's Prep, rated 17th in that same poll, captured this year's Pennsylvania rugby title. Its program - like most, a club-level sport - was formed in 2005 by three teachers at the North Philadelphia school, all graduates of Jesuit universities.

Overall, there are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Most, like St. Joe's, Scranton, Georgetown, Santa Clara, and BC, have rugby teams. Almost all play at the club level since rugby is not an NCAA-approved varsity sport.

Bit of spunk
Jesuits, whose guiding philosophy about the union of body and spirit is the Catholic counterpart to the Protestant notion of "muscular Christianity," have long advocated for sports.

Most of their colleges are too small to compete effectively with the wealthier and more populous state schools in football, but they have a history of success in basketball and lacrosse. Rugby fits neatly into that tradition.

"I don't have any definitive answers [as to why the links between rugby and Jesuits are so strong]," said Colin Curtin, a BC star who played scholastically at St. Joe's Prep. "There doesn't seem to be any reason why there are such great rugby programs and rugby cultures at these schools. But there is. The correlation is unbelievable."

According to Curtin, plans are in the works for a 2012 Jesuit collegiate tournament featuring BC, Georgetown, Santa Clara, and Fairfield.

Curtin said that in his senior year at St. Joe's Prep, when the rugby team played in the national championships, "at least three or four of the other teams were from Jesuit schools."

"It's a sport that allows a lot of people to fit in," said Bidinger. "You don't always have to be the most fit or the strongest. In that sense, it's inclusive. For rugby, all you need is a little bit of spunk and a little bit of energy."

Overall, non-Jesuit Catholic schools are also doing well with rugby.

Notre Dame, operated by the Holy Cross fathers, recently reinstated its rugby team, a response, some insiders suggested, to the school's losing too many Jesuit-trained athletes to Jesuit colleges.

Some suggest an Irish connection is at work. Rugby is among the most popular sports in Ireland. And since the student bodies at many Catholic high schools are overwhelmingly Irish, parents and students there naturally have pushed for the sport.

"[Those connections] have made many Catholic school administrators more open to the sport," said Goff.

The progenitor of American football and long a sporting afterthought on this side of the Atlantic, rugby began slowly digging a foothold at Catholic colleges and high schools in California and the Northeast during the 1960s.

While the process of adding another sport in public schools could be bureaucratically challenging, other Catholic institutions were able to establish teams quickly and, in the process, attract new students.

"These schools were finding success on a national stage, and [others] began to follow suit," said Goff. "Enthusiastic coaches realized that they could persuade a Jesuit school to start a rugby program much more readily than any other type of school. . . . Any coach who wanted to coach high school rugby only had to sell [the idea] to one administration at a private Catholic school rather than to an entire school district."

The Jesuits, of course, being a religious order, have not overlooked the opportunities rugby offers for evangelizing.

"It's like St. Ignatius said," the Rev. James Keane, a Jesuit with a passion for the sport, said of that possibility, " 'You go in their door. You bring them out ours.' "

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20110601_Jesuit_influence_apparent_in_rugby.html?viewAll=y#ixzz1O2ZeSOf3
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

gratias tibi ago

2011-05-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

Little Flower High School...

2011-05-14T09:40:00.000-04:00

Serving Little Flower for more than 70 years, collectively, are, from left:

Sister Kathleen Klarich, R.S.M., principal; Marguerite Nicholson-Schenk,

assistant principal for student services; Patricia McCaffrey, assistant

principal for student affairs; Sister Donna Shallo, I.H.M., president; and

Rita McGovern, assistant principal for academic affairs.

Little Flower High School is Thriving! -- Catholic Standard & Times

By Jim Gauger
Special to The CS&T

PHILADELPHIA — When you speak with Sister Donna Shallo, I.H.M., and Sister Kathleen Klarich, R.S.M., of Little Flower High School for Girls, the enthusiasm in their voices is almost overwhelming.

They head a leadership team at the school, located in the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia, that is both experienced and committed. Little Flower, which opened Sept. 1, 1939, “as the most modern of the secondary schools and the pride of the Philadelphia Catholic system,” is still going strong despite facing closure in the early 1990s.

“Our current students are our best advertisers,” Sister Donna, the school’s president, said. “The word of mouth is that our students are happy here, and parents want happy teenagers.” That spirit is the engine that drives the faculty and the students each day, said Sister Donna, who has been at Little Flower for 19 years.

And another key element to Little Flower’s continued success? Commitment to service. The principal, Sister Kathleen, has been at the school for 15 years. Then there are Rita McGovern, assistant principal for academic affairs — 15 years; Marguerite Nicholson-Schenk, assistant principal for student services — 14 years; and Patricia McCaffrey, assistant principal for student affairs — 10 years.

“It is very significant (having the administration in place for such a long period),” Sister Kathleen explained. “Each one is an individual with her own gifts and experiences. We are unified, committed to the mission of the school. We respect one another and communicate effectively.”
That sense of continuity and stability is welcomed by Sister Donna. “We are all interested in the students and embrace the mission of Little Flower,” she said. According to the school’s web site, Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, in order “to express his personal devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, named the school Little Flower confident that as patroness of the school she, in her Little Way, would be a model for the girls who would be educated here.”

In 1953, Little Flower was the largest Catholic girls’ high school in the country, with a student body of 3,312. Just about 40 years later the school was battling to survive as archdiocesan high schools adopted open enrollment. “Due to the deficit situation” in the Archdiocese, Little Flower and nine other schools were to be closed.

Sister Donna, who came to the school in 1991 as director of activities, remembers. “It was horrible,” she said of the 1992 crisis when enrollment was in the 900s. “All but St. James (Chester) and Bishop Kenrick (Norristown, her alma mater) survived.” (click title for the entire article)

This for my buddy Clare Pfeil, LFHS '84 (student #844350), who still sings it -- not well but it doesn't stop her ;-)

Alma Mater, good and true
The pride of Church and City,
We pledge our all to God and you
Under Mary's mantle blue.
Our faith is anchored here
With love that will light your years;
Staunch hearts will ever sing in praise of you.

Hail to you, Little Flower, hail!
Pride of all, our love will not fail
Guide us and keep us safe through the years
Bring us your children, brave through all fears.
Onward we will march foursquare
Vanguard of truth to do and to dare,
We, to you, our pledge renew,
Fore'er we will be true.

Little Flower, we glory to see
Your colors gleam in the sunlight,
Maroon for love and loyalty,
Snowy White for purity
Proud, we your banner fling,
Exultant, your praises sing.
We march on strong with trust in God above.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T12:33:00.000-04:00

This is for all of those people out there who no longer have mothers. For us old guys, of course, but especially for those younger people who lost their moms when they were way too young. I know how difficult it must be being inundated with all the advertisements at this time of year. The constant wishes... only to be turned into "I'm sorry." Don DiJulia, the AD at St. Joe's, gave the best advice when he told me "we're all rookies when it comes to losing our mothers, no matter the age."

I was lucky enough to have a great Mom... aka Ma. I hope you were too. I keep a County Mayo sticker on the bumper of my Dodge Charger to remind me of her, as she always had one on her car. Don't let the last name fool you -- she was "thoroughbred Irish", as she and her mother liked to boast. I never had perogis or golumpkis growing up.... just a roast cooked for 12 hours (until it just fell off the bone) and seemingly every meal had potatoes. Like all good mothers you were first on her mind when she woke up, and the last thing on her mind when she went to sleep. All those meals, all those rides to CYO games, all the washing and ironing, all the handkerchiefs she would spit on to remove whatever it was you got on your face. All the love, altruism, selflessness. Always putting you before her.

If you were lucky you got one like I did that dispensed excellent Yoda-like advice at the drop of a hat (oh how I wish that once I had the things I threw away), or had a comeback no matter what you said or did (are your ears painted on?). Hopefully she let you fight some of your own battles, like the time I fought the Jewish kid down the street while the parish priest was in our house visiting, and then told you to invite the boy to the house for dinner the next week - which I did and we became best friends (a Philadelphia rowhouse brand of Catholicism?). She was there, whether you wanted her to be or not, at almost every significant moment in your life. Should it have felt like your world was falling apart -- you knew there was one person who would always be on your corner. One caveat however - being in your corner didn't mean she told you wanted you wanted to hear.

At certain times in my life I would love to have just one more home cooked meal served up in the small kitchen, followed up by one of our endless conversations over Miller Lite and a Benson & Hedges Deluxe Ultra Lights. All gone now... oh how I wish that once I had.... ringing in my ear.

So for all of you out there -- don't think of how she died but celebrate how she lived. Say a prayer and remember at least one great memory, of either the lady who brought you into this world, or the lady who raised you. She is still worthy of that honor. But don't be too sad. You miss her, and I'm sure she misses you... but she is having supper with Lord now. By His cross, death and resurrection Christ conquered death. That is the consolation of Christianity. But don't think for a moment she's still not watching over you, and perhaps wondering what in God's name possessed him to do that. She may have retired the handkerchief by now though ;-)

TFB / 5-8-11 / AMDG

John W. Smithson - interim SJU president

2011-04-26T10:12:00.001-04:00

The end of an era, I'm afraid. The first non-Jesuit president in our history. I hope Fr. Lannon wasn't the last of the long black line, listed below.

This situation is not peculiar to St. Joe's as this article, Fewer Jesuit priests this Easter, but more people learning Jesuit ideals, from last week's Washington Post indicates.

As a Jesuit educated laymen -- it isn't the same as having a man who dedicated his whole life to the Society. As Fr. Martin succintly puts it; "“It’s like running a program in Italian studies with someone born in Italy, who has their PhD in Italian from an Italian school, versus someone born here who studied here,” he said. “As immersed as someone can get, they’re not living it the same way a Jesuit is. There’s something qualitatively different.”

AMDG.

Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends,

I am pleased to announce that at a special meeting on Tuesday evening, April 19, the Board voted to appoint John W. Smithson ’68, M.B.A. ’82 as Saint Joseph’s University’s Interim President. Members of the Board unanimously agreed that Mr. Smithson meets the expectations and aspirations of the campus community for this interim leadership role which were clearly articulated through the many e-mails sent to Trustees and the Open Forums that Board members held with students, faculty, the Jesuit community, administrators and staff, and alumni.

The Board heard the University community’s desire for a strong leader who will engage all constituencies within the community. It was made very clear that members of the University community desire an individual who will maintain the momentum established by Fathers Rashford and Lannon. The Board, along with those expressing their thoughts via the forums and e-mail, were united in their belief that an Interim President needed to demonstrate strength in four areas:

1. Commitment to Ignatian mission and values;
2. Commitment to and capable of, maintaining and building momentum in academic life, student life, fund raising, and fiduciary stewardship;
3. Sensitivity to student and faculty needs, and commitment to maintaining a visible and accessible leadership profile for the SJU community; and
4. Proficiency in Saint Joseph’s administrative affairs.

There was consensus across the community that we appoint an individual familiar with Saint Joseph’s and who has demonstrated a commitment to its Catholic, Jesuit mission. The Board concluded that the University needed an individual who did not require a learning curve and could be effective from day one. As a result, the Board agreed that an internal candidate was best able to act as a steward of the University’s legacy during this interim period.

As you know, Mr. Smithson served as a University Trustee from 1999-2007 and Board Chair from 2003-2007. He has been serving as the Senior Vice President at the University since February 2010. As a result of his deep engagement with Saint Joseph’s, John possesses a deep and holistic understanding of the University’s mission and history, its short-term needs and its long-term goals. He understands its current operational strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, John has a demonstrated respect for and understanding of student and faculty needs.

Mr. Smithson was recruited back to Saint Joseph’s as a result of Fr. Lannon’s and the Board’s desire to strengthen University leadership and enable the President to focus more time externally. Previously, he held the position of Senior Vice President at Towers Watson Reinsurance and, he was also the CEO and President of PMA Capital Corporation.

Under Mr. Smithson’s leadership as Board Chair, Saint Joseph’s achieved some remarkable successes, beginning with the appointment of Fr. Lannon as its 26th President. The University also experienced the establishment of the Brian C. Duperreault ’69 Chair for Risk Management and Insurance, the addition of the residence halls on City Avenue now known as Rashford and Lannon Halls, the revitalization of the City Avenue Special Services District (CASSD), the establishment of the Catholic Bioethics Institute and the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics, the signing of the agreement to purchase the Merion Campus from the Episcopal Academy and the highest ranking from US News & World Report, to name just a few.

Mr. Smithson will assume the position of Interim President of Saint Joseph’s University on May 18, 2011.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who took the time to attend an Open Forum regarding the search and selection process for the Interim President of Saint Joseph's University. I appreciate your interest and concern. It is very clear that each and every one of you is passionate about Saint Joseph’s and wants what is best for our community. I know that the other Trustees who attended the sessions found it very beneficial to hear first-hand what is of most importance to you.

Concurrently, the Presidential Search Committee is continuing the search process, focusing initially on potential Jesuit candidates who are qualified and available, to be considered as the full-time successor to Fr. Lannon.

As the Board Chair, despite this period of transition, I am both pleased by and confident in the excellent situation which Saint Joseph’s is in today. There are a number of strategic initiatives in place, including Academic Affairs, Student Life, Athletics, Development, Enrollment Management, Information Technology and Marketing. Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees and the interim leadership of John Smithson, these key initiatives will continue to move forward as we continue to make every effort to provide our students with the highest quality Saint Joseph’s education.

Please join me in wishing Mr. Smithson well as he assumes the interim leadership of the University, and in offering him your support during this time of transition at Saint Joseph’s.

Sincerely,

Paul J. Hondros ’70
Chair

Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rev. Felix Barbelin, S.J. 1851 1856

Rev. James Ryder, S.J. 1856 1857

Rev. James A. Ward, S.J. 1857 1860

Rev. Felix Barbelin, S.J. 1860 1868

Rev. Burchard Villiger, S.J. 1868 1893

Rev. Patrick J. Dooley, S.J. 1893 1896

Rev. William F. Clark, S.J. 1896 1900

Rev. Cornelius Gillespie, S.J. 1900 1907

Rev. Denis T. O'Sullivan, S.J. 1907 1908

Rev. Cornelius Gillespie, S.J. 1908 1909

\Rev. Charles W. Lyons, S.J. 1909 1914

Rev. J. Charles Davey, S.J. 1914 1917

Rev. Redmond J. Walsh, S.J. 1917 1920

Rev. Patrick F. O'Gorman, S.J. 1920 1921

Rev. Albert G. Brown, S.J. 1921 1927

Rev. William T. Tallon, S.J. 1927 1933

Rev. Thomas J. Higgins, S.J. 1933 1939

Rev. Thomas J. Love, S.J. 1939 1944

Rev. John L. Long, S.J. 1944 1950

Rev. Edward G. Jacklin, S.J. 1950 1956

Rev. J. Joseph Bluett, S.J. 1956 1962

Rev. William F. Maloney, S.J. 1962 1968

Rev. Terrence Toland, S.J. 1968 1976

Rev. Donald I. MacLean, S.J. 1976 1986

Rev. Nicholas S. Rashford, S.J. 1986 2003

Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. 2003 2011

Fr Currie to speak at SJU Commencement

2011-04-22T15:57:00.001-04:00

Charles Currie, SJ Chosen as Saint Joseph's University Commencement Speaker

Father Currie, who will give the commencement address at the graduate, doctoral and College of Professional and Liberal Studies ceremony, has served as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities since 1997. In his career in Jesuit higher education, he has served in various leadership positions, including president of Wheeling Jesuit and Xavier universities, special assistant to the president of Georgetown University and rector of the Jesuit Community and adjunct faculty at Saint Joseph’s University. Throughout, he has interwoven a deep commitment to community and poor and marginalized populations worldwide.

In 1989, he traveled to Vietnam to arrange cooperative programs between Georgetown and Vietnamese universities. Later that year, following the assassination of Jesuit priests in El Salvador, he traveled to that country numerous times as special assistant to Georgetown’s president to coordinate the university’s response to the tragedy. Following the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, he coordinated a rapid response by Jesuit colleges and universities to admit more than 1,600 students from Loyola University New Orleans and other affected institutions.

A Philadelphia native, he has studied at Fordham University, Boston College and Woodstock College, gaining graduate degrees in philosophy and theology, and at the Catholic University of America where he earned a doctorate in physical chemistry before pursuing postdoctoral research at Cambridge University the Canadian National Research Council and the National Bureau of Standards in Washington.

Charlie Currie, SJ with Joe Lacey, SJ at the Memorial Mass last

year for John Deeney, SJ of the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province.

Both of Father's brothers are Jesuits as well, Joe was at Fordham and is now at Wernersville, and Rob is in Nicaragua. Father looks to be trying to escape our conversation here -- as most smart people do when chatting with 44 ;-)

Sr. Mary Scullion, RSM -- the Laetare Medal

2011-04-18T12:09:00.000-04:00

Three word answer for a close to perfect imitation of Christ: SISTER MARY SCULLION, RSM.

She is the real deal. While the recently departed head of Philadelphia's Housing Authority, Carl Greene, drew a $300,000 salary, lived in a million dollar condominium, and wasted the tax payer's money on parties and attorney fees (and 20 leather trimmed Tumi carry-on duffel for PHA hacks - at $796 apiece ) -- this lady, this living saint, does far more for far less.

While coaching in North Philadelphia I took two of my players to a pre-season Eagles game and then dropped them off at their apartment at 23rd and Norris Streets. After they got in I saw this lady walking across the street and yelled "Sr. Mary." We chatted and she asked me what I was doing there. She knew both the boys as they lived in Rowan Homes -- a place she built for former homeless people. And she lived directly across the street.

Congrats Sr. Mary and Joan Dawson McConnon. I couldn't think of more deserving recipients! I'm sure your buddy Jon Bon Jovi will be there for the award ;-)

From the website Whispers in the Loggia, on April 3rd, by Rocco Palma.

Keeping its 130-year tradition on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the University of Notre Dame announced this morning that the co-founders of the River City’s pioneering Project H.O.M.E. -- Religious Sister of Mercy Mary Scullion (above) and Joan Dawson McConnon -- are 2011’s joint recipients of American Catholicism’s most prestigious and venerable award, the Laetare Medal.

Founded in 1989, Project H.O.M.E. (“Housing. Opportunities for Employment. Medical Care. Education.”) has been credited with cutting Philadelphia’s homeless population in half. Its efforts based around a program that invites the homeless to come in from the streets to access the education and empowerment tools to find work, stability and a place to call their own, the empire of service created by this year’s Laetare laureates has grown from a start-up in an abandoned building with 12 men looking for help to providing nearly 500 affordable housing units for its current clients, countless more gone on to owning homes, multiple businesses to employ and train those who've come in search of the step up, and a multi-million-dollar North Philadelphia technology center where underprivileged youth spend six days a week learning the computer skills they'll need in today's workplace.

According to its figures, some 95 percent of Project H.O.M.E. alums "stay off the streets for good," and attempts to imitate the model have popped up around the country.

Along the way, with McConnon -- an accountant who left the corporate world behind after volunteering in a church hospice -- quietly overseeing the operations side of the work, the fierce, formidable religious known from City Hall and national newsrooms to shelters simply as “Sister Mary” would go on to become Philadelphia’s most credible and prominent moral authority, her passionate, unvarnished conviction winning an army of followers ranging from the longtime Republican (then Democratic) Senator Arlen Specter and the new owners of NBC to the musician Jon Bon Jovi, who's dubbed the "nun who spits and swears" his "mentor" in undertaking his own considerable efforts at service. Further underscoring the point, while sisters engaged in social ministry usually find their cheering section on one side of the political aisle, such are Scullion’s devotees across all sorts of divides that, when the Philadelphia Housing Authority was recently placed under Federal oversight amid allegations of mismanagement and settled sexual-harassment claims against its now-former executive director, the city’s leading conservative commentator took to prime-time TV brandishing a “big idea”: send in Sister Mary to whip the beleaguered agency back into shape.

Twenty-five years after opening her first shelter -- a home for mentally-ill women -- as her own housing goes, Scullion now lives in a one-bedroom apartment at Project H.O.M.E.'s recently-built residence for mothers who’ve come in from the streets with their kids. Prior to that, she kept her room at a former convent which the apostolate converted into a residence for 25 male addicts in various stages of recovery.

Dubbed “the nun who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer” by NBC Nightly News -- and, by others, the modern successor to her hometown’s own St Katharine Drexel, or even "Joan of Arc" -- Sr Mary has thrice made TIME magazine’s list of the world’s “100 Most Influential People,” tapped alongside such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin, President Obama, the topmost leaders of Britain, France and Germany, China’s presidential heir apparent, the founder of Amazon and the Evangelical mega-pastor Rick Warren... not to mention B16 himself.

Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro Arrupe

2011-04-04T10:45:00.001-04:00

A brilliant blog by Fr. Jim McDermott, SJ about the life of Father-General Pedro Arrupe, SJ, as told in interviews with his closest asistant and former Vicar General Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ.

A great idea to get these stories on tape before they are lost forever. Way to go Fr. McDermott! Below please find his preface, and one video. Simply click Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro Arrupe to enjoy the entire series.

Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus

1965-1983

Anyone who ever meets Fr. Vinny O'Keefe, even for just a few minutes, walks away feeling they've made a new friend. He's just that kind of guy -- warm, solicitious, funny, the sort of person that makes you feel like you're the only person in the whole world when you're talking to him.

For 18 years, Vinny worked at the Jesuit Curia in Rome as one of Fr. Pedro Arrupe's general assistants. Vinny was the only assistant of Arrupe to stay with him from the beginning of his term as Superior General of the Society of Jesus until its end. And when Arrupe had his stroke, it was Vinny that the Society turned to to serve as Vicar General, until Pope John Paul II appointed his own man.

There's no one living that knows Arrupe like Vinny did, and certainly no one who had the sort of seat Vinny had as the Pope intervened in the Jesuits' governance and the Society went through one of its most challenging and uncertain periods.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pedro Arrupe's death. To hear the stories of him is to come to know a modern, happy saint. And to watch Vinny O'Keefe tell them is to meet one of our living saints.

(NOTE ON THESE VIDEOS: These short videos are arranged in a specific order, with the one directly below this note being the first, and so on down the line. Of course you're free to pick and choose, but especially when it comes to the set of 9 on the Papal Intervention, the story flows in a rather specific order.

As you reach the end of a page of videos, click the link on the bottom right hand side -- "Older Posts" -- to get to the next set.)

Vinny O'Keefe, SJ; Go to the World

It's t-shirt time...

2011-03-20T09:36:00.001-04:00

One never knows what gift might be the favorite.

When I visited our Jesuit friends in the Jamshedpur Province in India, along with Johnny Gill and the Klarichs, we brought a bunch of supplies with us, including some 300 t-shirts we had printed by Greg McDermott for our young friends at the St. Paul Miki School. I had badgered Fr. John Deeney, SJ before our trip for St. Paul Miki's school colors. Fr. wrote to me that this was a small rural school and they had no school colors. Johnny joked that we should have asked what their mascot was. So, of course, we made them St. Joe's crimson. When we arrived we found that their school uniforms were blue -- which would be their school colors!

I'm happy to report that half of the second batch was received -- in St. Paul Miki blue ;-)

If interested check out the Jamshedpur Jesuit website, in particular the pictures of Fr. James Shea, SJ, the Maryland Province Provincial, who visited the same tribal areas as we did.

It's t-shirt time in Pandabir, India...

Dear Tom,

Peace of Christ, loving greetings from Pandabir!

With grateful heart I acknowledge that two of your parcels had arrived in Loyola Niwas about a month back but unfortunately I could not bring them this side those days. I brought them here last week and distributed to our K.G. and 1st grade children. Thanks a billion for the nice t-shirts for our lovely children, some nice spiritual books, beautiful jacket of St. Joseph's Prep for me, delicious ~~Irish whiskey~~, rosaries, basketballs, and a t-shirt for Fr. Sushil Jojo, S.J.

Forgive me for my so much delay as I have to blame every time for our bad energy system and dodgy internet. The school kids are very happy. I have taken a picture of myself with the K.G. kids. I will definitely send you in my next mail. We had organised the annual sports day for our school children, it was a grand success and this year there was coverage from the media (newspaper). I am having a very tough time these days as admission for all the classes are coming in great number especially K.G. I do know how will I be able to squeese so many. I have gone up to 82 seats for K.G.(new batch). We usually don't go more than 60. People of this area have realised and learned about us and also the school. As the years go there will be more pressure for admissions leading us to make two sections of K.G. At present it is not possible.

It looks like I may have a transfer in May........ more later only when it is out as I do not know the details. Once again my sincere thanks to you, your Ignatian prayer group and our friend Johnny Gill for his generosity.

Lovingly,
Greg S.J.

Gregory S. D'Silva S.J.
St. Paul Miki Centre, Pandabir
C/O St. Xavier's High School
Lupungutu,
P.O. Box - 10

Greg D'SIlva, SJ, Gulshan Kujur, SJ and catechists at St. Paul Miki.

Dear Tom,

Peace of Christ!

Thanks a lot for your email. I am happy to forward to you the picture of our school kids with the teachers, catechists and Fr. Gulshan and myself.

I am fine and I do believe you and your prayer group are in good health too. Very soon we begin the lenten retreats in the villages for our Catholics. Every year during Advent and Lent we arrange retreats in the villages itself. Coming days will be very hectic (even now) with new admissions, results, supply of books for kids etc. One picture is of our parishoners (two of them on my side) whom I will be sending for jobs to Mangalore on 30th March.

Thats all for the time being.

Once again thanks to you and all our friends who visited us.

Lovingly,
Greg S.J.

Fr. Greg, the fine teachers, and the beautiful kindergarten and 1st grade students of the St. Paul Miki School. The school is operated by the Jesuits and serves the growing educational needs of the Ho Tribal Catholics in Border and Pandabir.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

2011-03-19T09:16:00.001-04:00

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, our patron saint who took the Lord Jesus as his son! We celebrate this day with the fathers of our Prep students. God blessed our Prep fathers with sons who give the Prep faculty and staff a great deal of joy each class day. The sons, too, who are not so engaged and the sons who get into trouble! All are carrying gifts into a future, gifts that will mature in times of challenge and opportunity.

I give thanks for the Prep fathers who have met the responsibilities of fatherhood, some with both sons and daughters; I pray for those who are struggling to meet their challenge more fruitfully; I ask your prayers that we at the Prep can be enthusiastic partners with the fathers of our students.

St. Joseph, pray for us! Help us to know Your Son as You knew Him.

A.M.D.G.

Rev. George Bur, S.J. '59
President

A • M • D • G

St. Joseph's Preparatory School

1733 Girard Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19130

Jaywalking laminations...

2011-03-07T11:02:00.003-05:00

Last year Fr. Terrence Toland, SJ (former president of St. Joe's) and I took in a game at the Hagan Arena. Since I was with a Jesuit I figured it was OK to park at the Jesuit Residence for the game. While walking down to the traffic light at 54th Street Father told me that his predecessor, Fr.William Maloney, SJ, advised him of two things; 1) watch the small bills because they can add up, and 2) never ever jaywalk on City Avenue. And as he finished that sentence he began to jaywalk across the street. I hope he was better watching the small bills ;-)

Yes, the SE Brothers appreciated the First Principle and Foundation laminations Mrs. 44.

With the Klarich brothers...

Welcome to Old St. Joe's... please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices...

In defense of vouchers...

2011-03-06T02:17:00.006-05:00

Oh well... it appears that the Philadelphia Inquirer will not publish my letter to the editor ;-(

Here it goes...

Re: School voucher debate heats up at state hearing Philadelphia Inquirer 2/16/2011

An interesting article by Ms. Lu on the ongoing school voucher debate. Excellent points were made on both sides of the argument yet I think an important distinction be made that "public education" does not have but one definition as it depends upon your ZIP code. There is a great difference between the quality of public education a child will receive in Cherry Hill and Lower Merion as opposed to Camden and North Philadelphia. I suppose for some this "separate and unequal" model is acceptable if you're in the suburbs but to defend the status quo that mandates that generation after generation of the poor receive a substandard education is, perhaps, a mortal sin.

Personally I grow tired of the rhetoric of certain voucher opponents as the hypocrisy knows no bounds: We have a gentleman attacking vouchers for the poor who represents the affluent suburb of Haverford Township. A former Philadelphia public school superintendent, who while leading the Philadelphia public school system -- chose to send his children to private schools. We also have the current mayor of Philadelphia, a man I admire, bragging during an election commercial that "my daughter attends public school -- where else?" A surprising statement since he himself was educated at Transfiguration of Our Lord Grade School and St. Joseph's Preparatory School. That would constitute a "where else", would it not? But it sounds as if their children all received a quality education. I suppose it's laudable that they care about inner city students but I would be more impressed if their children attended those same under-performing and dangerous schools that they continue to defend. 50% of Black and Hispanic males in Philadelphia do not graduate from high school. Is this what they're defending? Should the quality of an American child's education depend solely on their parent's wealth, the ability to move to an suburb with fine public school system, or the ability to pay for a private education? Or is it time to think outside the box and let the parents, regardless of their standing in society, choose what school may be best for their children?

Of course some have already grown tired of waiting for the government's (broken) promise to provide a good education to the poor. One such group is the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) who have started the Cristo Rey initiative, with schools throughout the nation, now in over 20 inner cities. The first Cristo Rey school was founded in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, a majority Hispanic neighborhood predominated by children of undocumented aliens seeking a better life for their children. The local public school mirrored the same anemic graduation rates seen in Philadelphia. No voucher opponents, the intention was not to "skim" the best students. The Cristo Rey schools partner with businesses for an innovative work-study program for high school students called the Corporate Internship Program, whereas students work for those companies five times a month in order to pay for 67% of their tuition. They not only receive an outstanding college preparatory education but valuable work experience as well, often in industries previously unfamiliar to the kids.

I volunteered to coach basketball at a charter middle school in North Philadelphia for a few years, and you would be hard pressed to find a more dedicated group of teachers in the world. And they would be the first to tell you that it is not just about funding. Many of the 8th graders I knew would have gone on to William Penn High School, which after being named one of the Commonwealth's persistently dangerous schools (see 08-09 statistics) in seven out of nine years was finally closed. The most important component to a child's success in the classroom is the parents, and no amount of dollars directed at a school can overcome parental neglect. We as a society must do our best to eradicate the structural sins that lead to poverty. We can look at educational alternatives such as vouchers, or we can continue to build new prisons that cost $30,000 per inmate per annum. While visiting India I stood in Kolkata, on a side street, witnessing the worst poverty in the worst slum I had ever seen. I asked my friend Fr. Hansel D'Sousa what would be the cure for this. He gave a one word answer; education. So whether in North Philadelphia, Camden, or Kolkata -- the answer is the same.

A comparison can be made to the original G.I. Bill which provided college or vocational training for servicemen returning after World War II. These fixed sum payments were made to the veterans to be used for tuition payments, books and lodging. It didn't matter to the government whether the veteran chose a secular institution such as Temple University, or a religious institution such as St. Joseph's University that as part of the ratio studiorum mandated Catholic theology classes, usually taught by Jesuits. They let each veteran make their own choices where to attend school. How refreshing would it be to have another such omnibus bill passed, this one though a parents bill of rights for their children's education. To allow parents, regardless of their income level, to choose the best schools, public or private -- regardless of affiliation, for their children. To give them the same choices that only people of means have now. People in wealthy towns such as Haverford, former superintendents, and current mayors who claim to know what's best for other people's children but would never, ever send their own children to a school such as William Penn. Vouchers would allow parents to opt out of schools that no one wants to attend in favor of another public, charter, religious or non-sectarian school -- the same choice that those in the middle and upper-middle classes can now make. Vouchers are not a miracle panacea but they can and should be an option.

I also find it ironic that some on the left look to Canada and other Western nations to emulate their health care systems yet ignore the fact that those same nations financially support all of their schools, both public and private. Yet the argument that gives me a chuckle is the concern over proselytizing. A local example is the Gesu School at 17th and Thompson, once a parish school closed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia but resurrected under the auspices of the Jesuits and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that now has a Protestant president guiding the school. Approximately 80% of the children who attend the Gesu are non-Catholic. Their parents sacrifice greatly to pay the subsidized tuition and choose a faith based education for their children. Should they grow disenchanted with the school -- they can choose to send their children elsewhere. Simply put -- let the parents make the decisions.

But let's be honest -- red herring arguments against vouchers are made by those with everything to lose. Giving an opportunity for lower income families to opt out of failing public schools, to give them a choice, would not benefit the NEA or AFT at all, and only result in a decline in membership. Teachers' unions are a special interest just like the NRA and any other PAC and make their decisions based on whether it is good for their dues paying members -- not whether it is good for the society at large. So why voucher opponents and teachers' unions may be commended for their commitment to public education -- know full well that they are dooming yet another generation of children in the inner cities. And most of those will be students of color. Whether the reasons for the defense of status quo are ignorance, self-interest, or bigotry... the results are the same. And the parents of today's school children, just like their parents and their parents before, will never see their children realize the American dream. But don't look for alternatives, don't allow the poor a choice in their children's education -- just build more prisons. Should you have the time an interesting exercise would be to see how many of the congressmen and congresswomen we send to Washington send their children to the DC public schools. And let me make one thing perfectly clear... President and Mrs Obama would never send their children to those schools either. Click here to read what our President thinks about them for his daughters.

Senator Anthony Hardy Williams is to be commended. I agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments; "I'm here to speak for a generation that has no one speaking for it. I'm compelled by my conscience and my compassion. I'm here because it's fair. Those who have can make choices. . . . Those who don't are obligated and relegated." Those who are relegated in life need someone, finally, to speak on their behalf.

Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again... but expecting different results. I think our children deserve better.

Thomas F. Brzozowski

AMDG44@aol.com

Jesuit Father John W. Swope, president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, who worked at M&T Bank on Friday, under the guidance of junior, Allan Johnson, Jr. said, “Allan and other Cristo Rey Jesuit students who work at M&T Bank take on real responsibilities for projects. In doing so, they learn critical skills for work, college and life.”

Prep's Communion Breakfast...

2011-03-03T11:15:00.002-05:00

Another great day at 17th and Girard! For more pictures click here and for the introductions click here.

Me, T, and St. Ignatius ;-)

Pergolins x 4!

Two great Preppers: Mike Farrell and Joe Ruggeri.

With Joe, Tom Prior, and Bob Carson, SJ.

How I do I find Jesus...

2011-03-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

Rev. John W. Swope, S.J.

How do I find Jesus in my apostolic work today?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A backpack full of life experience …

If Ignatius of Loyola were with us today, he would probably agree that the quality of a Jesuit life depends in part on reverently looking into my "rear view mirror." By engaging in this spiritual exercise on a regular basis, I sense that I am able to examine my life and draw wisdom from it. I am not so much talking about looking back in order to reconstruct a "one-thing-after-the-other" chronicle, but rather to discover the mystery of the presence of Jesus in the "history" of my apostolic life. If Socrates' assertion that "the unexamined life is not worth living" is true, Ignatius turned that life wisdom into a spiritual art to help men and women actually lead an "examined life." At my best moments during the day (I wish there were more of these!), I have this sense that God's spirit empowers me to bring together whatever wisdom my life offers, and let it lead me in every single encounter with others. But more importantly, when I sense this more contemplative attitude, the many faces of Jesus Christ that I have met throughout my Jesuit life form a kind of emotional and spiritual "scaffolding" for me as I attempt to be attentive to the person or task before me.

In my mission as the founding president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore, my life now revolves around finding Christ in our city, one of the most violent cities in the United States. I see the daily crime summaries in the newspaper and the stories on local TV news that attest to the crisis in the neighborhoods of beloved Baltimore. In our city, hearts break and tears flow and men and women bend beneath heavy burdens. At the same time, I see business leaders, politicians, community organizers, faith-based social service providers and individuals standing up to be catalysts of hope in those same neighborhoods. As in other times in my life, I experience suffering with Jesus who was crucified, and moments of great joy and hope with Jesus who was raised from the dead.

In August 2006, with a staff of four holed up in cramped rented offices in Baltimore's Mount Vernon section, and with a committed small group of trustees, we trusted and followed the instruction that Jesus gave to Paul after his conversion, "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (Acts 9:6). I have had a deep sense that where following Christ requires risk, that effort will bring forth great fruit and attract others to join. Highly qualified teachers have joined the Cristo Rey Jesuit mission to serve the young men and women of Baltimore. They repudiate the quality of the schools in our city, reject the voices that place the blame for low academic achievement on our young people, and pour themselves out for the Cristo Rey Jesuit mission.

Cristo Rey Jesuit received its first 9th grade class in September 2007 in the midst of the deep social pathologies of our city, and at a time when quality college-prep educational alternatives for the overwhelming majority of the city's young people were simply out of reach. Most of our young men and women come from the most distressed neighborhoods in Baltimore. And yet, in the midst of that chaos, our students aspire to a life of greatness. Here we are, four years later, on the threshold of our first graduation in June 2011. The Class of 2011 has worked for justice and peace in our neighborhoods, succeeded academically, cried and laughed together, been the first in their families to be accepted into college and are dreaming of creating a far better world. "Jesus of the Cross" as I look out over our City … "Jesus of the Resurrection" as I see our committed staff and our young people go forth to realize their dreams.

I think that the authenticity of my Jesuit apostolic life here in Baltimore depends on my encounters with these two faces of Jesus.

John Markoe, SJ

2011-02-25T18:27:00.000-05:00

An amazing story about a Jesuit I never knew about before. Thanks to buddy Novaboy for the heads up ;-)

"Racism Is a God-Damned Thing": Father John Markoe, S.J.

February 22, 2011

As a whole, the Catholic Church was slow to get fully involved in the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century. Whether or not Catholics publicly endorsed segregation, they certainly accepted it in their churches and schools, North and South.

Many Catholic institutions weren't fully integrated until the 1960s, but before that era there were some exceptions to that general reality, usually forged via an informal network of laypeople, priests, and nuns who were long-committed to promoting racial justice.

One of these was a Midwestern Jesuit who led sit-ins, marches, and boycotts long before they made national headlines. Tall and handsome, John Markoe looked like a movie star, and in fact his story would actually make a good movie; it is the story of a lumberjack, football star, soldier, alcoholic, priest, teacher, activist. Markoe's biography, a peer noted, "reads like fiction." NAACP leader Roy Wilkins said Markoe "fought the Civil Rights battle long before it became respectable, or even popular."

Born in 1890 to a blueblood family whose ancestors included Benjamin Franklin, John Prince Markoe was the son of a prominent Minnesota doctor. At 18 he was accepted to West Point, but deferred the appointment in order to go west, to work on the railroads. In 1910, he entered the military academy, where his friends included Dwight Eisenhower. He played football against Knute Rockne and Jim Thorpe, and was named an honorably-mentioned All-American.

When he graduated in 1914, the yearbook said: "Possessing unlimited abilities, there is very little which he is incapable of performing." But he earned his classmates' contempt when he stood up for Marcus Alexander, the Point's only African-American cadet. His final class ranking might have been higher, had Markoe not been a full-fledged alcoholic by his senior year.

Lieutenant Markoe was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry, a Black regiment. He welcomed the opportunity, fraternizing with his troops more than was deemed appropriate for a white officer. But nine months after graduation, heavy drinking cost him his commission. He never fully forgave himself. Back in Minnesota, he entered the lumber business and enlisted in the National Guard.

In 1916, during the unofficial war against Pancho Villa in Mexico, he regained his commission. Down in Mexico, Markoe got letters from his brother Bill, a Jesuit working with African-Americans. These piqued his interest, and he started thinking about another kind of life than the army. After his discharge in 1917, Captain John Markoe joined the Jesuits in Missouri. He and Bill took a private vow to work for the "salvation of the Negroes in the United States." (Bill later worked with their cousin John LaFarge, also a Jesuit, for racial justice.)

As part of his training, John was assigned to St. Louis, a highly segregated city. African-American Catholics were relegated to separate parishes, denied a Catholic education, and banned from Catholic hospitals. (The local archbishop was notoriously racist.) John worked in Black parishes and attended NAACP meetings. In magazine articles, he argued that racism was a moral issue, even a heresy. His work was not well-received by local whites, Catholics included.

Ordained in 1928, Markoe was assigned to St. Elizabeth's Church, a Black parish in St. Louis. The work was hard, yielded few results, and some of his fellow priests ostracized him. It took a toll, and after twenty years of sobriety, he returned to the bottle. On one occasion, it took half a dozen police to drag the priest out of a bar, as he had taken on its entire clientele. For seven years after that, he stayed at St. Joseph's Infirmary, Missouri, fighting alcoholism.

In 1943, he re-entered the fight. Assigned to St. Malachy's, another Black parish in St. Louis, Markoe and his brother Bill campaigned to desegregate the Jesuits' St. Louis University. Father Claude Heithaus, a sociology professor, publicly asked why the school admitted people of all faiths, but rejected Catholics on account of their color. They won the fight, but John was soon sent ("exiled," some said) to Creighton University, Omaha, where he spent the rest of his days...

(click on title for the entire article)

Let's go Paul VI ;-)

2011-02-25T12:01:00.000-05:00

Best of luck to my buddy Lammers and the Paul VI Eagles as they head into the playoffs on Sunday.

TB:

Here is our varsity team. We are headed to North Jersey on Sunday to play DePaul Catholic in a state tournament 1st round game. DePaul is a tough competitor so we have our work cut out. But, this PVI team has recently found its soul, so we are a very dangerous group.

Regards,

John

Scranton student needs our help...

2011-02-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

February 2011

Dear Friends of the Jesuits,

Over two decades ago, Father Brendan Lally, a Jesuit highly involved in Campus Ministry at The University of Scranton, established a program to help the poor and disadvantaged advance our Jesuit mission of becoming “men and women for others.” He did this by traveling with Scranton students and spending time in Mexico City at a home for troubled boys. Today, the University’s International Service Program (ISP) has expanded to include employee chaperoned service trips to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. I am fortunate to be among the sixty-five students chosen to participate in a summer 2011 ISP trip. I will be serving in El Salvador. I am writing to ask for your support of this mission project. My goal is to raise $1,500 to help fund this important initiative.

The money raised for the International Service Program will support my participation and help cover costs associated with the trips including essential immunizations and a small monetary donation to our host site. In addition to my personal fundraising goal, the entire ISP team will sponsor group fundraisers during the spring semester. Our largest fundraiser is called The Great Commons Ball Roll – an annually anticipated event. Each student sponsored initiative will secure funding for our service trips.

Many service supporters are able to make financial contributions of $1,000, and others are able to support this important program with gifts of $25. Please know that your gift, at whatever level you choose to give, will be greatly appreciated. 100% of your gift will directly fund this unique learning experience.

This opportunity is one to which I am fully committed. The application process for the program included an essay, personal recommendations, previous service experience, and an intense interview process. During the spring semester, I will devote much of my extra-curricular time preparing for this special experience. This involves team building, prayer and reflection exercises, specialized culture and language sessions, biweekly preparatory meetings, and the critical fundraising component.

I look forward to the challenges and opportunities this trip offers me, as well as the responsibility I will carry with me to raise awareness of living the Jesuit mission and educating my mind, body, and soul to serve as a student for others. This is a mission that is very near to my heart, as I grew up in the Jesuit tradition through the guidance of my parents, Owen and Mary Patterson, Saint Joseph’s University classes of 1980 and 1981, respectively. My dad brought me along to games at the Fieldhouse from infancy. However, through these experiences with my dad, I learned about more than just basketball. I gained an understanding of the importance of the Jesuit ideals, especially striving to be a woman for others. I attribute much of the reason why I ended up at a Jesuit university myself to the wonderful role models I witnessed since childhood. Now, with your help, it is my turn to give back.

I consider it a great honor to be able to work amongst the people of El Salvador, learning from both them and my fellow students. After much thoughtful and prayerful consideration, I decided to apply for the incredible experience of an International Service Program in order to challenge myself, to step outside of the box that I have grown comfortable with over the past three years of my college career. My education has been and continues to be one of the greatest blessings of my life, but I have much to gain from this experience so far out of the classroom.

I thank you in advance for your support. If you are unable to make a contribution at this time, please keep The University of Scranton students in your thoughts and prayers as we complete our important service work for others.

For accounting purposes, please visit our website at www.scranton.edu/isp in order to give by either credit card or check. Be sure to select El Salvador as the service trip and indicate that it was me, Marianne Patterson, who requested the gift by printing my name in the comment section. If you have any questions about the program, the service projects, or how your contribution will make a difference, you may contact Elise Gower, the International Service Program Coordinator, at The University of Scranton: gowere2@scranton.edu or (570) 941-4138. I personally can be reached at pattersonm3@scranton.edu.
I cannot express my appreciation of your generosity enough. Thank you for considering me and remembering me in your prayers. I consider it a great privilege to be able to be an instrument of your generosity.

Most gratefully,

Marianne Patterson

If by some unforeseeable reason I am unable to participate in this service experience, your gift will continue to support the important service mission for this year’s program.

Phil ~ cura personalis...

2011-02-15T13:30:00.003-05:00

The following article will surprise no one on Hawk Hill as Phil Martelli has always been a "man with and for others in the Jesuit tradition." Above Phil took time to talk to the grade school kids I coached while at practice at St. Joseph's Prep.

St. Joseph's coach helps an injured teen

What's in a name?

Anyone interested in the answer to the question posed by Shakespeare should ask Lenny Martelli.

Lenny would say inspiration. Hope. Motivation.

Lenny Martelli is a 16-year-old junior at Pope John Paul II High School who suffered a spinal injury during a snowboarding accident in Schwenksville one year ago today. The injury left him paralyzed from the waist down. The prognosis was that his chances of ever again walking were very slim - but Lenny will walk onto the court with St. Joseph's basketball coach Phil Martelli at Wednesday's game against Xavier at Hagan Arena.

Lenny is no relation to Phil Martelli, but he and his mother, Leti, father, Len, and sisters, Angela, 13, and Marina, 10, had frequently been asked if they were.

"I knew who he was and I'd often hear, 'Are you related to Phil Martelli?' I'd say, 'No, but it would be cool if I was,' " Lenny said. "And they'd ask, 'Have you met him?' And I'd say, 'No, but it would be cool if I did' - it was always in the back of my head that I'd like to meet him, and at least get to know him."

Concerned about the emotional state of her son, Leti thought it might be a boost to Lenny's spirit if she contacted Phil Martelli and asked for an autographed photo, a T-shirt, a cap, anything. Lenny got the T-shirt and the cap, and more. He got a visit from the coach while he was at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital.

"As soon as I met [the coach], he told me right away he wanted me to come out on the court with him one day and walk with him, and I made that my goal," Lenny recalled. "It gave me a big push. It was like me being an athlete and a coach telling me I have to work harder and work toward something. And being an athlete, I was always trying to do what my coaches told me. Having a coach give me something to work for, it gave me more of an edge.

"I'm definitely excited about this. I'll probably be nervous because there will be lot of people there, but I'll be more excited."

Lenny said the two caps and shirt that Martelli gave him are on his bedpost.

Phil Martelli clearly remembered the day he met Lenny Martelli at Magee.

"The first thing that jumped out at me was, here's a young kid who was snowboarding and, now, his life could be upside down," he said, emotion rising in his voice. "There was all this family love. The family spirit captured me. What moved me is [his mother] thought I could make a difference. I just said to Lenny, 'Next year you're going to walk out on the court with me.' "

Along with having the same surname, there is more to the relationship. Lenny began high school at Kennedy-Kenrick, which closed, and his mother, who lives in Plymouth Meeting and teaches sixth grade at Our Lady of Victory in Norristown, graduated from the same high school Phil Martelli coached before he moved on to St. Joe's.

Leti Martelli said that in the year since the coach visited Lenny, he has kept in contact for updates on her son's condition.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/st_josephs/20110215_St__Joseph_s_coach_helps_an_injured_teen.html#ixzz1E37eM3SO

Saint Joseph's coach teams with paralyzed student

PHILADELPHIA -- Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli on Wednesday will take the court with the most inspirational walk-on of his career.

No scorecard needed - but keep the tissues handy.

Lenny Martelli Jr., no relation to the famous Hawks coach, remembers little about the Feb. 15, 2010 snowboarding accident that left him paralyzed. Only 15 years old, he lay motionless on the snow, fearing his normal life was finished.

"As soon it happened, I just thought about not playing football," Martelli said. "I thought about not being able to do certain things. I had to accept that right away."

His acceptance wouldn't last long.

He had a broken neck, not a crushed spirit.

Lenny Martelli survived surgery and rehabilitation, and was tutored for months in a hospital bed. He listened to doctors tell him he may never walk again.

With the aid of canes, though, Martelli has ditched the hospital and started walking. He even plays guitar in a band. And on Wednesday night, he'll walk onto the court with Phil Martelli before the Hawks (7-17, 2-8 Atlantic 10) take on No. 24 Xavier (18-6, 9-1).

"I told him when he gets healthy," Phil Martelli said, "I want him to walk on the court with me at a game."

Because one Martelli kept his promise to a coach, the other delivered with a chance of a lifetime. And he'll do it the day after the one-year anniversary of the worst day of his life.

Lenny Martelli was like any teen who seemingly had it all. He played sports, went to school at Bishop Kenrick, played drums with a passion. He also enjoyed snowboarding.

But one freak accident nearly robbed him of his ability to walk and fulfill his future. When the accident happened near Schwenksville, Pa., where he was with two close friends, he immediately had no feeling from the chest down. He told his friends he couldn't move. They didn't touch him and he was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

His family, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., was called and only told their son was in an accident.

His mother, Leti, recalled a harrowing scene of hearing paramedics yell in a hall "Code blue! Code blue! Move out of the way!" She saw them rushing a stretcher with a white blanket covering the body and knew it had to be her son.

"He had a smile on his face saying, 'It's OK, mom. Don't cry, mom. Don't cry," she said. "He said, 'I just can't feel anything.' That made me cry even more."

He underwent six hours of surgery and doctors fused bones from his hip with vertebrae in his neck. His spinal cord was bruised in the accident, as well.

Lenny Martelli spent a week in a Philadelphia hospital, then three months in a rehabilitation facility. Leti Martelli stayed by her son's side and lived at the hospital while her husband was at home taking care of their other two children. Leti Martelli rented an apartment in Philadelphia and pushed her son in a wheelchair every day to a new therapy center.

During this confusing and depressing time, Lenny Martelli never cried.

"I think I shed one tear when the priest from our church came to talk me," said Martelli, who turns 17 in July. "I didn't want to let anyone to see I was hurt."

The time around doctors and staff eventually led to many questions that had nothing to do with adjusting to his unexpected new life: Are you related to Phil Martelli?

The answer, was no. But Lenny was a sports fan and he certainly knew all about the coach who led the Hawks to a No. 1 national ranking in the 2003-04 season. He told his mom it would be cool if he had to chance to meet the basketball coach.

His mom called the basketball office and startled a work-study student who answered the phone with her tale.

The student told Martelli he had to take the call. At first, he declined because he was watching tape and it almost seemed "made up." Not only did they share the same last name, Martelli once coached at Bishop Kenrick.

But when the student insisted he talk to the crying woman on the other line, his interest was soon raised.

"I said is your name really Martelli," he asked. "You really went to Bishop Kenrick?"

He started visiting Lenny and keeps in monthly contact with him.

"People touch me, too," Phil Martelli said. "I'm fortunate."

(click title for the entire article)

A protestant's thoughts about Mass

2011-02-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

A great and honest piece in the Huffington Post about a protestant going to Mass.

An Evangelical Goes to Mass

Roman Catholic mass can be a stolid exercise, perhaps even more so during Midday Mass at Conception Abbey in rural Nodaway County, Missouri. Walking up the steps of the basilica I'm braced by the cold -- there's a foot of snow on the ground and the wind is whipping. I enter the building through great wooden doors to the sanctuary. Cast in subdued light, I'm hit with the warmth of the room. The smell of incense is immediate; the sacred space a menagerie of images.

Built in 1883, the abbey church is a basilica, a status granted only to churches of major importance in the regional life of Catholicism. There are paintings on every surface, and statues or columns in every sight-line. The Beuronese murals which line the top of each wall tell the story of God. Dipping my fingers in the basin at the back of the church, I cross myself and bow to the altar. There are several dozen people already seated, scattered about. While the organist quietly plays a prelude we kneel and pray, awaiting the procession.

As I look around the room, I'm reminded that this place was once the scene of terrible violence. In 2002 a man named Lloyd Robert Jeffress entered carrying a pair of rifles and began shooting people. He walked through the halls of the monastery killing two and wounding others, then returned to the basilica and killed himself. The next day the bells of the abbey sounded once for every year the two slain monks were a part of the order -- a total of eighty-three times -- today they ring us back to mass and to sing the psalms throughout the day. That these peaceful monks suffered such heartache yet remain vulnerably open to visitors is not only a testament to their hospitality but also their commitment to the rule of St. Benedict, "Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ." I have much to learn from them.

The mass begins. The liturgy of the word includes several call-and-response sections which I pretend to know, but no one would notice if I remained silent. One of the younger monks reads from the lectern. It is the same monk who read at morning prayers -- his turn I suppose -- Old Testament, New Testament, and the Gospel for which we all stand. The priest reads the passage, and then we sit to listen to the Homily delivered peacefully.

When he is finished we sit in silence for a long time. Contemplation is assumed. The basilica is capacious, but so is the liturgy; room to think, room to pray, room to simply be. Every cough, sneeze or rattle reverberates throughout this place. Sounds live longer lives in a room like this, fading slowly. We sit and await the next moment, awaiting our Lord, awaiting ourselves. Our posture is one of hands open, receiving this mass not generating it. A restless person would find this off-putting, but nobody here checks their watch. The priest breaks the silence for the prayers of the people.

(Please click the title for the entire article)

and it would be nice if children enjoyed it..

2011-02-09T09:57:00.000-05:00

A nice article in the Wall Street Journal, brought to my attention my Fr. John Swope, SJ, of the Baltimore Cristo Rey School. Click the link for the entire story.

In Defense of Being a Kid

Children are not merely adults in training. They are also people with distinctive powers and joys. A happy childhood is measured not only by the standards of adult success, but also by the enjoyment of the gifts given to children alone.

What are the unique blessings of childhood?

It took economist Larry Summers to point out that part of the point of childhood is childhood itself.

First is the gift of moral innocence: Young children are liberated from the burdens of the knowledge of the full extent of human evil—a knowledge that casts a pall over adult life. Childhood innocence permits children to trust others fully. How wonderful to live (even briefly) with such confidence in human goodness. Childhood innocence teaches us what the world ought to be.

Second is the gift of openness to the future. We adults are hamstrung by our own plans and expectations. Children alone are free to welcome the most improbable new adventures.

Third, children are liberated from the grim economy of time. Children become so absorbed in fantasy play and projects that they lose all sense of time. For them, time is not scarce and thus cannot be wasted.

Finally, we parents are so focused on adult superiority that we forget that most of us produced our best art, asked our deepest philosophical questions, and most readily mastered new gadgets when we were mere children.

Tragically, there is a real conflict within childhood between preparation for adulthood and the enjoyment of the gifts of youth. Preparation for adulthood requires the adoption of adult prudence, discipline and planning that undermine the spontaneous adventure of childhood.

Parents are deeply conflicted about how to balance these two basic demands: raising good little ladies and gentlemen, while also permitting children to escape into the irresponsible joys of Neverland.

Our wisest sages also disagree fundamentally about the nature of childhood. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle famously declared that “no child is happy” on the grounds that children are incapable of the complex moral and intellectual activities that constitute a flourishing life. Aristotle said that when we describe a child as happy, what we mean is that he or she is anticipating the achievements of adult life. For him, the only good thing about childhood is that we leave it behind.

By contrast, Jesus frequently praised children, welcomed their company, and even commanded adults to emulate them: “Unless you become like a little child, you shall not enter the kingdom of God.”

Alliance for Catholic Education at St. Joseph's

2011-02-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

In a recent New York Times article benefactor Robert Altman, an investment banker and a deputy Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, said: "he saw Catholic schools as one of the most cost-efficient options available to poor urban families seeking to raise well-educated children and good citizens. You only have to walk into one of these schools to see it — the values they instill."

So good to see my alma mater taking a lead in ensuring a future for Catholic primary education in the inner cities. The Alliance for Catholic Education at St. Joseph's was also featured in the Catholic Standard and Times.

St. Joseph's is the 16th ACE program in the nation. It's the first in Pennsylvania and among those most closely modeled after Notre Dame, according to the Rev. Daniel R.J. Joyce, a St. Joe's administrator who helped developed it.

"We looked at these programs and thought, 'That's a contribution we could make,' " said Joyce, noting his university trains teachers through its education department. "And it's . . . an important piece of the puzzle for Catholic schools in the city."

Years ago, he said, a lot of young people entered Catholic schools as teachers.

"But they were nuns, priests, and brothers," said Joyce, a Jesuit priest who is assistant to the vice president for mission and identity. "I think Notre Dame has caught onto something: This is the new way that can happen."

A Catholic 'Teach for America'

Alliance for Catholic Education places young teachers in needy schools.

By Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writer

When Desmond Shannon was a student at the Gesu School in North Philadelphia, he thought students at that private Catholic elementary school had more homework than their teachers.

Thanks to a new, local program that trains young college graduates to teach at inner-city Catholic schools, Shannon, 22, now knows better.

"I see the other side," said Shannon, who teaches 25 sixth graders at St. Rose of Lima Catholic elementary school in West Philadelphia and spends evenings grading their assignments and writing lesson plans. "Teachers have more homework than students."

After majoring in actuarial science at St. Joseph's University, Shannon expected to be crunching numbers for an insurance company. Instead, he joined 14 other 2010 college grads who signed up to teach at nine Catholic schools in Philadelphia through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) at St. Joseph's.

St. Joseph's launched its version of the University of Notre Dame's successful ACE program in the summer with nearly $1 million in contributions from foundations and donors and support from the University of Pennsylvania.

Notre Dame's program, which was created in 1993-94, aims to provide a cadre of dedicated and academically accomplished young educators for Catholic schools just as Teach for America (TFA) trains teachers for public schools nationwide.

As is the case with Teach for America, ACE recruits high-achieving grads who did not major in education, trains them in summer, provides professional support, and sends them to graduate school so they have master's degrees in education at the end of their two years.

The tight economy and uncertain job prospects for 2010 grads helped St. Joe's fledgling program fill its openings with alums from across the country like Meghan Bliss, who received an undergraduate degree in American studies from Notre Dame.

Although Bliss always had wanted to be a teacher, she said she was really interested in earning her bachelor's degree from Notre Dame's respected program in American studies. The Missouri native applied to ACE in Philadelphia after being put on ACE's waiting list at Notre Dame.

"The Catholic education and community aspects of this program in particular were appealing to me," said Bliss, 22, who teaches third grade at St. Rose of Lima.

"Work needs to be done to improve urban education," she added. "I'm happy to be part of something that can fill that need."

All the fellows have pledged to serve two years and are working toward their master's degrees from St. Joseph's and state teaching certification. They also will receive leadership certificates from Penn's Robert A. Fox Leadership Program.

In contrast to TFA fellows who are paid the beginning-teacher rate of $44,039, ACE participants receive monthly stipends of about $1,000 for food and expenses. They live together at no cost in a former convent.

With Notre Dame focused on providing teachers for needy Catholic schools in the South and West, other Catholic universities have developed ACE programs in other parts of the country.

All stress the same three "pillars": teaching, community life, and spirituality.

"You don't have to be Catholic to do ACE, but there is an emphasis on spiritual growth," said John Staud, an administrator with Notre Dame's program, which has produced more than 1,200 Catholic educators.

"We feel it's an injection of talent and passion into a Catholic school system that is increasingly fragile in the inner cities," Staud said. "We're going to attract people interested in service and maybe the profession."

(click link for the entire article)

Spiritus est qui vivificat...

2011-02-06T16:05:00.001-05:00

Former HGP Headmaster Fr. Francis X. Hanley, C.S.Sp., Dies at Age 79

Father Francis X. Hanley, C.S.Sp., 79, former Headmaster of Holy Ghost Preparatory School, died suddenly Wednesday, December 23 of heart failure while visiting with family in Delaware. In September, Fr. Hanley became one of the inaugural recipients of the HGP Anima Una Award.

Father Hanley was born April 23, 1931 in Wilmington DE. He professed his vows August 22, 1954 at Holy Ghost Novitiate, Ridgefield CT and was ordained to the priesthood June 4, 1959 at St. Mary’s Seminary, Ferndale, Norwalk CT.

He became a member of the faculty of Holy Ghost Preparatory School, Bensalem PA in 1961 and in 1968 was named Head Master of the School and served in that capacity until 1977. He was assigned to Duquesne University in 1977 and served in various other ministries in the province including novice master and director of the provinciial retreat center over the next thirty years. He recently retired and was a resident of Libermann Hall, Bethel Park since March 2010.

There will be viewing at the Spiritan Center, 6230 Brush Run Road, Bethel Park - Tuesday, December 28, 3:00-5:00 and 7:00-9:00 PM and Wednesday December 29, 9:00-10:30 AM followed by Mass of Resurrection. Burial will take place at St. Mary’s Cemetery, O’Hara Township, Pittsburgh PA.

Please refer to Notice in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for additional information

I last time saw Fr. Hanley is when a friend and I took a bus ride to see St. Joe's play Duquesne back in '01. St. Joe's was up by 20 the entire game and the gym was mostly empty. One Duke supporter took it upon himself to constantly insult Phil Martelli and his son, who while on the team didn't get much playing time. We were sitting near Phil's wife, Judy, when she told him to lay off her son. We talked to him and he did lay off Phil Jr. After the game I see Fr. Hanley, who was the team chaplain, come storming across the court, walk up the bleachers, and give it to this ill-mannered kid with both barrels, for about five minutes. Reminded me of my days at Ghost ;-)

Enjoy your eternal reward Father. Requiescat in Pace.

Pennies for a Jesuit school in India...

2011-02-02T23:01:00.001-05:00

44's good buddy 6th Man put together a presentation for Catholic Schools Week to raise funds to build a new Jesuit primary school, the St. Paul Miki School, in Pandabir, India. This was a final request from his uncle and my friend Fr. John J. Deeney, SJ. Should we get enough pennies maybe the tribal children will get a new school soon ;-) Click the link for the PowerPoint.

Catholic Schools Week Service Project 2011 – Goes Global for Philadelphia Area School

AND.. if you want to send quite a few pennies... click here to mail a check or here to donate online. Please stipulate that your donation is for the St. Paul Miki School in the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province ;-) Any questions please contact John Gill at jgill@saintannies.org.

Benefit for Andy Dougherty

2011-02-02T20:54:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I am emailing you to have you join me at a benefit for Andy Dougherty and his family being held on Saturday, 2/19 from 7 pm till Midnight at St. Laurence Parish Hall, 8245 West Chester Pke, Upper Darby, PA 19082. Tickets are $25/person and can be pre-paid by sending a check to Eagle National Bank c/o Andy Dougherty Benefit, 8045 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA 19082.

Andy's dad, Mr. Doc, for decades he was 'the mayor' of the Fieldhouse and the Palestra and knew Hawk fans, coaches, and players as a friend. Many of you may know Larry Dougherty from his time on Hawk Hill and Andy is a classmate of mine from Hawk Hill.

Some of you may or may not know about Andy and his very sad situation. Over the last 5 years or so, Andy has had 2 very serious open heart surgeries. Since his last surgery about 2 years ago, he never really fully recovered and has recently been diagnosed with Early On-Set Dementia at age 51.

This diagnosis has been devastating both physically and emotionally not only for Andy at such a young age but also for his/our family. This has and will going forward put a serious financial stress on Andy and his family as they have 2 young children, one in high school and one in elementary school.

In an effort to lend support and help, the CYO Board at St. Laurence has organized a fundraiser/Beef ‘n Beer for Andy and his family on Saturday February 19th, 7pm – Midnight, at the Parish Hall, 8245 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby PA.

Tickets are $25 per person with entertainment by DJ Tommy Tunes. Silent Auction items and Raffle items will be awarded.

Feel free to forward this onto others.

Rich Brennan

A Jesuit's Jottings...

2011-02-01T13:33:00.000-05:00

Remembering Alfred Delp, S.J. on the 65th anniversary of his martyrdom

Feb 2, 2010 will mark the 65th anniversary of the martyrdom of Alfred Delp, S.J., a 37 year old Jesuit priest, hung to death by the Nazis in 1945. His crime? Being faithful to the call of Christ to speak out for the social teaching of the church and oppose regimes that dehumanize men and women. May we rise to the challenges of our times as Fr. Alfred Delp did to his.

Peace, Rick.

(click the title for the blog of Rick Malloy, SJ)

Of snow, Jesuits and basketball...

2011-02-01T12:43:00.000-05:00

The Godson is sick of the snow ;-)

As is Snickers.


It was about 9 degrees at the Malvern Retreat House.

But the company and food were good.

We were fortunate to have Fr. Ned Murphy, SJ as our director. Some may know him from his work at POTS (Part of the Solution)...

Some may remember his role in the Camden28, shown here with Dan Berrigan, SJ. Also this about his soup kitchen -- Of Many Things. I enjoyed his talks immensely.

With Teron, Frank, and Fr. Terrence Toland, SJ at the New Deck.

T with the Nardis before the LaSalle - St. Joe's game.

Jesuits = Christian Bros for Dummies. They wish.

Who says Catholic boys can't be bible thumpers? They are with Jim Moore, SJ ;-)

If one can have a Jewish Godfather -- it would be Melvyn Freid.

We may have lost to Temple again, but IHMHawklette knitted a huge scarf for the homeless.

The Palestra: The best place to see a basketball game... better when we win.

Yours truly, on a Saturday morning at the Jesuit Residence at SJU.

St. Joe's names 27th president...

2011-01-26T08:20:00.000-05:00

Saint Joseph’s University Names O’Keefe Its 27th President

Boston College Education Dean Selected to Lead the University

PHILADELPHIA (January 24, 2011) – The Saint Joseph’s University Board of Trustees today elected Joseph M. O’Keefe, S.J., as the University’s 27th President. Currently the dean of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, Father O’Keefe will take office May 18, 2011. He will succeed Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., who is leaving at the end of the current academic year to become president of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.

“The members of the Board of Trustees are excited to introduce Fr. O’Keefe as the next president of Saint Joseph’s University,” said Paul Hondros ’70, chair of Saint Joseph’s Board of Trustees. “We were seeking a leader with a deep commitment to education and academic excellence as well as the vision to advance the University and address the needs of the students of the future. Fr. O’Keefe more than fulfills those aspirations.

“Fr. O’Keefe’s success as a leader at Boston College and his deeply rooted commitment to the Jesuit, Catholic tradition make him extraordinarily qualified to boldly move Saint Joseph’s forward at a challenging time for higher education,” he added.

“The election of Fr. O’Keefe followed an intensive and rigorous search, and I thank the committee members for their dedication to this process,” said Robert Falese ’69, who chaired the search committee. “We sought a leader with superlative credentials, including scholarly excellence, significant leadership experience and success in fundraising. Clearly, we have found what we were looking for in Fr. O’Keefe.”

During his tenure as dean, he was instrumental in securing two major gifts: $20 million to launch the Lynch Leadership Academy, a training program for novice principals in urban schools; and $20 million for the Center for Catholic Education, a clearinghouse for research, policy and practice on issues critical to Catholic schools and universities.

A nationally and internationally renowned educator with expertise in urban Catholic schools, international comparative education and community service learning, Fr. O’Keefe holds a doctoral degree in administration, planning and social policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross and master’s degrees in French literature and divinity from Fordham University and Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, respectively.

“I am honored by the vote of confidence of the Board of Trustees and to have the opportunity to serve Saint Joseph’s University as its 27th president, Fr. O’Keefe said. “And I am excited by the challenges of building on the momentum here, working with an outstanding and dedicated faculty and advancing the vital partnerships Saint Joseph’s has with the local, regional and global communities. It’s a beautiful campus in an exciting and vibrant city, and I can’t wait to call both my home.”

Fr. O’Keefe has been the dean at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education since 2005, after serving as the School’s associate dean (2001-03) and then interim dean (2003-05). He has written extensively about Catholic education and the challenges facing Catholic schools, both urban and rural, in the 21st century, with a focus on providing educational opportunities at all levels, particularly for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and underserved populations.

“Saint Joseph’s is indeed fortunate to have found such a consummate leader,” said Fr. Lannon. “While for me it will be a bittersweet departure, I am thrilled to know that the University will be in the hands of Fr. O’Keefe, whose accomplishments in the education arena are a testament to his outstanding academic leadership.”

Fr. O’Keefe serves on the boards of Loyola University in New Orleans and Marquette University in Milwaukee. He has been a visiting scholar at Catholic University of America and Australian Catholic University and a visiting associate professor at Georgetown University, where he held the Jesuit Chair in Education.

Background: Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851, Saint Joseph's University advances the professional and personal ambitions of men and women by providing a demanding, yet supportive, educational experience. One of only 141 schools with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and AACSB business school accreditation, Saint Joseph's is home to 4,600 traditional day students, 750 College of Professional and Liberal Studies adult undergraduates and 3,500 graduate and doctoral students. Steeped in the 450-year Jesuit tradition of scholarship and service, Saint Joseph's was named to the 2009 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for General Community Service. The University strives to be recognized as the preeminent Catholic comprehensive university in the Northeast.

Lynch School of Education Dean Joseph O'Keefe, S.J., Named President of St. Joseph's University

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (1-24-11) -- Rev. Joseph M. O'Keefe, S.J., popular dean of BC’s Lynch School of Education and an internationally acclaimed expert on Catholic education, has been named president of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

Rev. Joseph O'Keefe, S.J.Fr. O'Keefe, who has served as dean of the Lynch School since 2005 and who oversaw its ascendancy to the top-ranked Catholic school of education in the United States, will be named the 27th president of the Jesuit university at a ceremony beginning at noon today in St. Joseph’s student center.

Prior to being named dean, he had served the Lynch School as interim dean from 2003-2005 and associate dean from 2001-2003, and as a faculty member since 1991. During his tenure as faculty member he also served as coordinator of the educational administration program and the Catholic School Leadership Program, as well as coordinator of the Lynch School-based Spiritual Growth Leadership Seminar and Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education (SPICE) initiative.

“Fr. O’Keefe is a dedicated, engaging Jesuit who has contributed so much to Boston College for the past 20 years as a priest, faculty member and dean,” said University President William P. Leahy, S.J. “He understands the importance of integrating intellectual excellence and religious commitment, and he works well with others. I know he will be missed on campus here, especially at our Lynch School. We wish him the very best in his new role as president of St. Joseph’s University.”

Fr. O’Keefe acknowledged that while he is delighted to assume the presidency at St. Joseph’s, he will miss BC and the many lasting friendships he has established over these past 20 years.

“Though I feel great sadness as I leave this remarkable place, I am so grateful for my colleagues on the faculty and staff, for the students I have met, for the generous donors who have supported us and for our partners in the City of Boston and beyond,” said Fr. O’Keefe. “God has blessed me beyond all measure during these past two decades. I am confident that the Lynch School will continue to thrive, and that Boston College’s best days are in the future.”

A native of Salem, Mass., Fr. O'Keefe graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1976 and joined the Society of Jesus that year. He taught at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River before earning his master's degree in French at Fordham University. He also taught for three years at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine, counting among his students BC’s Vice President for Student Affairs Patrick Rombalski. Fr. O’Keefe received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and a doctorate in education from Harvard University.

Fr. O’Keefe will remain at BC until March 1. Decisions on an interim dean and the formation of a search committee to find a successor have not been announced.Fr. O’Keefe becomes the second academic dean at Boston College to be appointed to a college presidency within the past year, following former BC Law School Dean John Garvey, who was named president of Catholic University in June.

St. Joseph's names Boston College dean as president

A Boston College dean recently appointed to a blue-ribbon task force to enhance Philadelphia archdiocesan schools will become the new president of St. Joseph's University.

The Rev. Joseph M. O'Keefe, 56, a Jesuit priest and dean of Boston College's School of Education, was appointed Monday morning by the St. Joseph's board of trustees and presented to the university community at a noon reception at the student center. Boston College and St. Joseph's are two of the nation's 28 Jesuit institutions.

O'Keefe is positioned to become a new influence not only on the region's higher-education community, but also in the city's Catholic, charter, and public schools. "In a world where the three compete, we also need to learn from each other," he said. "All have a common mission: turning around failing schools."

He has worked with the Boston public schools and has been involved in bringing public, charter, and Catholic schools together. His work is so well known that he was among 17 business and education leaders tapped in December to serve on a blue-ribbon panel on improving Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Already, he wants to explore forming a School of Education at St. Joseph's. Currently, education is a department, he said. As a school, it would have its own dean, and greater prominence and emphasis.
O'Keefe, who will start May 18 at St. Joseph's, is replacing the Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, who is leaving at the end of the academic year to become president of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. Lannon led the university for eight years.

O'Keefe said he would strive to deepen St. Joseph's involvement with the community, market the university to a wider geographic audience, and bolster the minority-student population. "I'm pretty stunned at the lack of diversity at St. Joe's," O'Keefe said in an interview Saturday. "That's going to change." The university's minority population is about 10 percent, with this year's freshman class about 12 percent.

University trustees said they were thrilled with O'Keefe's mix of fund-raising and educational-leadership prowess. "We were seeking a leader with a deep commitment to education and academic excellence, as well as the vision to advance the university and address the needs of the students of the future," Paul Hondros, chairman of the board of trustees, said in a statement. "Father O'Keefe more than fulfills those aspirations."

Hondros was among those who spoke at the welcoming ceremony attended by a couple of hundred students, staff, and faculty. O'Keefe, a native of Salem, Mass., has spent most of his life and 20-year university career in the Boston area. He has written extensively about Catholic education, with a focus on providing educational opportunities for all, particularly those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and underserved populations.

"Our work on behalf of children and families is crucial. It's the common good, it's civic engagement, it's all those things that a Jesuit university should be," O'Keefe states on the Boston College website. He earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the College of the Holy Cross, and master's degrees in French literature and divinity from Fordham University and Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Superman is already here...

2010-11-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard of The Cristo Rey Jesuit high schools... you need to. A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that 50% of Black and Hispanic boys in the city will not graduate from high school. Yet we continue to do the same things and expect different results; the definition of insanity. And witness another generation about to waste their potential.

There are now 26 Cristo Rey (Christ the King) schools nationwide, with many more in development. Started by the Jesuits in Chicago they are slowly, quietly, making a difference in the lives of so many children that the public schools and politicians gave up on long ago. So How About a Good Catholic Story?

AMDG,

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Superman Arrived Fifteen Years Ago

Op-Ed By: Robert J. Birdsell

I am encouraged by the recent amount of media and public interest in urban education in this country. From the media excitement surrounding “Waiting for Superman” to the news this week of Joel Klein’s departure from the New York school system, we as a nation are beginning to realize the crisis facing our inner cities and we are finally beginning to pay attention.

Today, a black male growing up in most cities in America has a better chance of being incarcerated at the age of 25 than of having a four-year college degree. For Hispanics ages 25-29, less than 10% who go on to college complete a degree. These facts are a national disgrace that is beginning to be understood, and it is no wonder many experts are thinking that we need Superman to fix this crisis.

However, Superman did arrive fifteen years ago, and his name is Fr. John Foley, a Jesuit priest who spent 34 years teaching and running schools in Peru. In 1995, he was called back to America to open a new school on the southwest side of Chicago. This school was to serve only low income students with limited educational options. The uniqueness of the school was that the students were to work one day a week in some of the best companies in Chicago – McKinsey & Co., Deloitte, DePaul University and Winston and Strawn, to name just a few of the firms that signed on to the program. They worked in real jobs and their earnings paid for over half of the expenses of their education.

Fifteen years later, Fr. Foley’s original school, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, has resulted in a national movement. The Cristo Rey Network was formed to replicate the school and ensure the quality of the new schools. Thanks to the generosity of the Cassin Education Initiative Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, today there are 24 Cristo Rey Network schools serving over 6,500 students and working with over 1,500 corporate partners. There are also nine other communities in various stages of starting a Cristo Rey Network school.

Even more impressive than this rapid growth are the results that Cristo Rey schools are achieving. For the class of 2008, 100% of the graduates were accepted to college and, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, over 84% of those graduates have enrolled in college – more than twice the average for the population these schools serve.

Cristo Rey is a new innovation based on an old idea – that Catholic schools should provide students from low-income urban families with a high-quality education that develops their talent for success in college and beyond. Furthermore, Cristo Rey is a new educational model – whereby we finance urban private schools through an innovative corporate work study program in which teams of students job-share full-time positions in professional settings, and thus develop skills, habits, experiences and dispositions necessary for long-term success.

Fr. Foley’s work over the past fifteen years has allowed thousands of young people to receive the quality education they and their parents dreamed of. He has been fighting this crisis – just like Superman – for over 50 years, first in Peru and now in America. So instead of waiting for Superman, those interested in true education reform have no further to turn than the local Cristo Rey Network school in their city.

Robert J. Birdsell is the President & CEO of the Cristo Rey Network

Coaches VS Cancer

2010-10-03T11:40:00.001-04:00

Coaches vs. Cancer goal: Be No. 1 in the state - Scranton - The Times-Tribune

Lackawanna Trail boys basketball coach Andrew Kettel pulls no punches when it comes to his goal. He wants to be number one in the state.

How his basketball team fares is another question, but when it comes to being No. 1 in Pa., it's a goal Kettel takes very seriously as Coaches vs. Cancer readies for its third tipoff breakfast, Nov. 7 at Scranton High School.

"I think the one thing that we can hang our hat on is the amount of growth we've had in three years, and it is because of the kids in the schools," Kettel said. "The kids buy into what this campaign is all about and they run with it."

Last year, coaches from the Wyoming Valley Conference joined the Lackawanna League to expand the reach of the local chapter.

"The biggest thing to be proud of is how fast we've climbed the ladder," Kettel said. "We're recognized on a national level. I get calls from people all over the state who are seeing what we're doing and they want to learn how we've done it."

It helps to have a man like Kettel at the wheel. He started this four years ago when the father of one of his players, Casey Cathrall, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In a couple weeks, $1,500 was raised. In 2008, the pot was upped to $38,000, and nearly double that last season.

It helps to have guys like Temple coach Fran Dunphy and St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli stopping by to speak and help kick off the campaign. This year, the local soirée will welcome Hall of Fame coach Bobby Hurley Sr. of St. Anthony's High School, N.J., one of just three high school coaches to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $15 and available by contacting Tonyehn Verkitus at the local ACS at 562-9749. More info is available online at www.coachesvscancernepa.org, including sponsorship opportunities.

The biggest part of Coaches vs. Cancer will come the weekend of Jan. 28-29 when the Lackawanna League will play girls games the first night and boys games the second in what has been dubbed "Suits and Sneakers Weekend." Lackawanna League athletic directors have helped add to the excitement by juggling the schedule to make it rivalry weekend.

"All the gyms will be packed," Kettel said. "They went above and beyond to rearrange the schedule and I think it will benefit everyone."

For more information check out Coaches vs Cancer of Philadelphia.

Jesuit Booster Shot...

2010-09-29T14:56:00.007-04:00

Forgive me for like my namesake, St. Thomas, I can be a doubter, and like many of you my Faith has its ebbs and flows, its peaks and valleys. That is why it is important for us to recognize those around us who passionately follow St. Ignatius' call to do all things ad majorem Dei gloriam.

I was privileged to attend the Hogan/Ignatius Awards at my alma mater this past Sunday to honor two great hawks, Dr. Lesley D'Ambola, D.O, SJU '82, and Dan Gallagher, SJU '94. Just as an additional dose of a vaccine is needed to periodically boost our immune system, so we also need a periodic boost for our Faith. I'm so glad to have had my Jesuit booster shot this week :-) I wish to share it with all of you.

Katie Arden, the Jesuit Volunteer at St. Luke's, was kind enough to forward Lesly's acceptance speech. Lesley's friend and former roommate at Sourin Residence, Dr. Susan Marcel, wrote "I think the video or text should be on a link on facebook, or sju.edu, or you tube. Her speech was too important to be lost on just our ears." I agree, and below is Lesly's speech. I took the liberty to post some pictures, for pictures are worth a thousand words, and painstakingly included links in the text -- ech one tells a great story... for Lesly is the first person to tell you that she works with many heroes.

So why politicians ramble on what to do about healthcare, and spend untold millions on studies on how to do it... Lesly, Fr. Aita, Dr. Cavalieri, Chris Meyers, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, St. Luke's, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Society of Jesus, the Oblates of St. Francis deSales, the JVC, the Diocese of Camden, St. Joseph's University, and many others... just do it.

A while back when I had my mini-fund raiser for St. Luke's I was talking to my next-door neighbor Louis Ramon, who was raised in Camden and attended Holy Name. He remembered sitting on the shoulders of Fr. Rick Malloy, SJ, former pastor of Holy Name and now head of Campus Ministry at the University of Scranton. Of how he took a stand against the drug dealers in the neighborhood, even when it meant there was a price on his head. Again, so many heroes.

Fr. Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P. states that "the poor person is someone who is treated as a non-person, someone who is considered insignificant from an economic, political and cultural point of view. The poor count as statistics; they are the nameless. But even though the poor remain insignificant within society, they are never insignificant before God." Similarly Archbishop Oscar Romero, in a homily preached shortly before his martyrdom, said "God's reign is already present on our earth in mystery. When the Lord comes, it will be brought to perfection. That is the hope that inspires Christians. We know that every effort to better society, especially when injustice and sin are so ingrained, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us."

To Lesly and her friends -- no one is nameless, no one is insignificant, and God is blessing their efforts. But of course they can always use some help. Your help. And don't think for a moment that you have to be a medical professional, or wealthy, to help. I know for a fact that the kitchen at St. Luke's, the one mentioned in Lesly's speech, is in desperate need of a floor. Anyone ;-)

After the brunch I spoke to Lesly and she told me she was excited to get the Fr. Joseph Hogan, SJ Award because... she thought that something like this might enable her to get more grants to help those at St. Luke's. Typical of this "woman for others". AMDG indeed. I'm pretty sure this is what God wants...what God demands.

44

St. Luke's Catholic Medical Services
511 State Street
Camden, New Jersey 08102
856.365.4642
(Directions to St. Luke's)

Alumni Association Presents 2010 Hogan Award to D'Ambola

The Saint Joseph’s University Alumni Association will present Lesly A. D’Ambola, D.O. ’82 with the Rev. Joseph S. Hogan, S.J. Award.

The Hogan Award is bestowed annually upon an alumnus or alumna who exemplifies Christian principles and outstanding loyal service to the University. A champion for the poor, Dr. D’Ambola has dedicated her life to service and the betterment of underserved populations in New Jersey. For the past decade, she has served as medical director at St. Luke’s Catholic Medical Services, which is a ministry of the Holy Name of Camden. St. Luke’s provides a full range of medical and health services for the poor, uninsured, and under-insured in Camden, N.J.

Her passions for service and medicine were instilled at Saint Joseph’s and later as a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. D’Ambola graduated cum laude from the SJU in 1982 with a degree in psychology. She was member of Psi Chi, the National Psychology Honors Society, and Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-medical honors society. As a JVC volunteer, she spent two years working with Catholic Community Services in San Jose, California at a Vocational Learning and Treatment Center. Following her tour with the JVC, she spent an additional year in California, before returning to North Jersey, where she earned a Mayoral Citation for her work directing homeless programs in Jersey City, N.J.

She received her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – School of Osteopathic Medicine in 1994 and completed her residency at St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark, N.J. She has remained active at both her alma maters, teaching as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ-SOM and serving terms as both vice president and president of SJU’s Medical Alumni Chapter. In addition, St. Luke’s is a community service and service learning site for current SJU students, as well as a medical placement location for the JVC.

Dr. D’Ambola is a native of Newark, N.J. and a graduate of Newark Academy. She is the daughter of Dr. Samuel and Alice D’Ambola and the sister of Dr. John D’Ambola and his wife Lori. She is the proud aunt of Samantha. She is a member of Sacred Heart Church in Camden.

Proud papa Dr. Samuel D'Ambola, with Hogan Award recipient Dr. Lesly D'Ambola.

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The Fr. Joseph Hogan, SJ Award acceptance speech

by Lelsey A. D'Ambola, DO, SJU '82

Thank you Tom for your gracious introduction. I am truly humbled by this award. I have so many thank-yous to say that I’ve lost count. First and foremost, I must thank God for without my faith and trust in God none of this would have happened – my journey, my calling to practice medicine, this award. To God, I give the ultimate praise and honor.

Thank you to Fr. Timothy Lannon, SJ and the National Alumni Board for this award. Thank you to my parents who worked hard and sacrificed greatly to provide my brother and me with great educations in private schools and subsequently medical schools. Thank you to the medical alumni for the honor and privilege of serving as president and vice-president of the medical alumni association. Thank you to St. Joe’s, and to some of my professors here too, for the wonderful education I received here. Thank you to the HPAC committee for supporting my application to medical school six years after graduating from here. To the Diocese of Camden and to Dr. Thomas Cavalieri, DO and UMDNJ-SOM (University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine) for supporting the Jesuit ministry of St. Luke’s Catholic Medical Services. Finally, I want to congratulate Dan Gallagher, SJU '94, who just received the Ignatius award, and to thank everyone for coming today; your presence is greatly appreciated.

For the last couple weeks, I’ve been reflecting on my journey to St. Luke’s and recounting my journey as a student at St. Joe’s. Would I be at St. Luke’s if I weren’t a student here? I think not. Because little did Fr. Mark Aita, SJ, MD and Dr. Cavalieri know that there was a third entity—I call it divine intervention—working to help me get to St. Luke’s. The St. Joe’s connection is Fr. Bill Gavin, SJ, my dear friend Fr. Bill Gavin, SJ, who was the director of campus ministry here. I met Fr. Bill when I was a freshman in the beautiful little chapel in Bellarmine Hall at daily mass. With my classmate Dave Burns, Fr. Bill started the search retreats here, the longest running retreat program at St. Joe’s.

Lesly with mentor Fr. Mark Aita, SJ, MD.

Participating in search retreats was one of the highlights of my experience at St. Joe’s. Over the years, Fr. Bill and I kept in touch, and just before graduating from medical school in 1994, I went on retreat with him at Wernersville. Fast-forward to approximately 1998-1999 when Fr. Bill heard that Mark Aita was leaving St. Luke’s. Fr. Bill later told me that he prayed that I would come to St. Luke’s, and when he heard I was here, he was not at all surprised. So today, Sept. 26, the fourth anniversary of Fr. Bill Gavin’s death, I accept this award and dedicate it in loving memory of Fr. Bill Gavin, SJ on behalf of myself and all the searchers. Personally, I want to thank you, Fr. Bill, for helping me to get “ruined for life” at SJU and in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.

1982 was a significant year. On a personal note, I graduated from this fine school, and joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) in San Jose, California. In 1982, the Jesuits arrived in Camden, and fell in love with and served the beautiful people of Camden and Holy Name Church for 26 years and developed a wonderful network of ministries serving North Camden and beyond. They joined the Sisters of St. Joseph who had already been there many years teaching the beautiful children at Holy Name School. The Jesuits and the sisters of St. Joseph worked well together in Holy Name School and provided 26 years of education for its students.

In his poignant prayer, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ talks about falling in love with God. In 2000, I fell in love with a wonderful organization called Holy Name of Camden-Jesuit Urban Service Team – which consisted of 5 ministries: Holy Name church and school; St. Luke’s Catholic Medical Services, started by Jesuit physician Fr. Mark Aita, SJ; Camden Center for Law and Social Justice, started by Jesuit attorney Fr. Dave Brooks; and Guadalupe Family Services, founded by Sr. Helen Cole, Sister of St. Joseph and licensed clinical social worker.

This award is not just about me, but about the inspiring work of Fr. Mark Aita, SJ and the staff of St. Luke’s and all the ministries of JUST. There are so many stories I could tell you about the people we serve at St. Luke’s, the most powerful for me was about a young woman, the granddaughter of one of my patients. One day, she accompanied her grandma to St. Luke’s, and I remembered we met at Lourdes hospital when I took care of her grandma there. She replied, “No, Dr. D’Amola, we met about three years ago here at St. Luke’s. I was in a very difficult time in my life. I was pregnant and planning to get an abortion, and you brought me into the kitchen to discuss other options: adoption services, and services to help me in my pregnancy. And today I have a beautiful two-year-old daughter.”

Stories like this occurred at St. Luke’s with Fr. Mark Aita, SJ and his staff, long before I arrived at St. Luke’s. I wondered what would have happened if there were no St. Luke’s. This is why we need St. Luke’s to promote life and be a presence as a Catholic medical ministry in Camden.

In health care, we talk about the eyes and ears – for instance, the nurses at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center are the physicians’ eyes and ears when it comes to patient care. I can’t always be present at the hospital. In keeping the same medical analogy, we can call the City of Camden the patient and call the Jesuits the physicians. But there is a shortage of “physicians,” so the Jesuits are unable to be physically present in Camden. But there are lots of eyes and ears in Camden. Who are the eyes and ears?

Lesly at St. Luke's in front of photos of the many happy patients over the years.

Well, it’s us – the alumni and students of St. Joe’s. We are all called to be the eyes and ears of the Jesuits as women-and-men-for-others. In addition to Sr. Helen Cole, SSJ, myself, St. Luke’s nurse practitioner and former Jesuit Volunteer Chris Myers, and the staff of all the ministries, there are the student volunteers of St. Joe’s. Our wonderful St. Joe’s students who come to Camden to serve at St. Luke’s, through the service-learning program and through the community service of campus ministry. We also have pre-med students referred to us by Fr. Mark Aita, SJ of St. Joseph's Institute of Catholic Bioethics here and Connie O’Hara, the pre-med advisor. At Guadalupe Family Services, St. Joe’s volunteers work with Sr. Helen Cole, SSJ and SJU alumnus Phil Dacchille. St. Joseph's students also run Holy Name Summer Camp for 30 children from North Camden. The SJU Hawk school bus is a “shuttle” for their adventures. The campers go to our campus two days each week for swimming. For many, this is the first college campus they see – what an impact St. Joe’s is having!

Other eyes and ears of the Jesuits include John Trumbore and Dennis Diamond, Ignatian Volunteers, who have worked tirelessly with Fr. Mark Aita, SJ and other Jesuit Superiors in Camden to keep Holy Name School open and to raise funds for tuition-assistance to help Holy Name graduates attend Catholic high schools. Also on State Street, Fr. Jeff Puthoff, SJ and Hopeworks ‘N Camden teach kids valuable computer skills. I see the Jesuit influence in all the St. Joe’s medical alumni I meet at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, selflessly caring for the people of Camden. I see it in the Jesuit Volunteers, who have served in Camden for 24 years.

We are going through some major changes in our organization, our name has changed to Holy Name Ministries and Sr. Helen Cole, SSJ is our new executive director. Our Oblates of St. Francis de Sales colleagues have come to serve the people of Camden, continuing the work of the Jesuits and beginning their own mission and ministries. We are grateful for their presence. I would like to publicly thank our Jesuit colleagues for all you’ve done in Camden, and I want to assure you that we, your eyes and ears, will continue you mission here.

Finally, I want to invite you all to fall in love with our ministries, the people of Camden, and the beautiful children of Holy Name School.

Nothing is more practical than finding God,

that is, than falling in love

in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination,

will affect everything.

It will decide

what will get you out of bed in the morning,

what you will do with your evenings,

how you will spend your weekends,

what you read, who you know,

what breaks your heart,

and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in love,

stay in love,

and it will decide everything.

- Pedro Arrupe, SJ

Superior General of the Society of Jesus (1961-1984)

Dr. Susan Poserina Marcel, Lesly, and Maria D'Arcy; former SJU roomies,
outside the Chapel of St. Joseph -- Michael J. Smith, SJ Memorial.

44's brush with greatness ;-) Congrats Doc Lesly!

Philly sports writer... to the priesthood!

2010-09-14T14:03:00.000-04:00

Once a great sports reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News... soon to be a great priest. Best of luck Kevin (although I guess you had to give up your Hawks' season tickets ;-(

Sometimes, a call to priesthood takes time

By Matthew Gambino
Director & General Manager

Kevin Mulligan has played countless golf courses. Always sure of his ability to strike the ball well or choose the right club. Never afraid of sand bunkers or fairway roughs in which the ball might lie. Confident that on a course, he’s never alone.

But it was Good Friday evening of 2008, and he was playing an unfamiliar course. This wasn’t a game at all. Golf was merely an analogy for what was happening in his life.

For almost 30 years he had been a sports writer covering among other things the Philadelphia Eagles from 1990 to ’96 and major golf tournaments such as the Master’s for the Philadelphia Daily News and other newspapers. At the end of 2007 Mulligan transitioned from that career and had begun working for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office for Communications. He was on the other side of journalism helping the media tell the good news of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese.

Transitioning to a new career after so many years is never easy. Mulligan found himself asking big questions as he walked to his car on that cold March night following the Way of the Cross outdoor devotion at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary: “Am I worthy to do this for the Church? What am I doing here?”

From behind, a voice called. It was Auxiliary Bishop Robert Maginnis, asking him to wait. The two began to walk together. The bishop said he’d heard good things about Mulligan since he began his position a few months before. He listened to Mulligan’s deep questions, gently told him to give it time and let the Holy Spirit guide him.

Neither men knew at the time they had begun a friendship that has remained close. Neither knew that it also was the genesis of a religious vocation for Mulligan. Was it a call to an even greater service than he had been rendering as a high school golf coach, member of the Knights of Columbus and active parishioner at Visitation B.V.M. Parish in Trooper? Should he be a permanent deacon, Mulligan wondered, or something else?

In May 2009 he discussed it with a close priest friend, Msgr. Ralph Chieffo, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Media. Mulligan’s Catholic spirituality had been growing, and he had been discerning a call in his prayer life.

“Am I too old to be a deacon?” he asked the priest. “I learned I was not, but I didn’t act on it. I wanted to learn more,” Mulligan said. “The more I prayed about it in perpetual adoration (of the Blessed Sacrament) I came to really believe that God wanted me to be a priest, not a deacon.”

Click title for the entire article.

For Whom the Bell Tolls...

2010-09-12T23:00:00.000-04:00

Having grown up a stones' throw from a Catholic Church -- I miss hearing the bells.

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"We really think that this is much ado about nothing," Shivey said. "Whoever moves to this area knows there's a church and a church bell. If you don't like the sound of a church bell, you don't move into the area."

"No one's ever complained before," said Speedy Morris, head basketball coach at St. Joseph's Preparatory School and a lifelong parishioner at St. John's. "With people leaving the bars and urinating on the streets, anyone complaining about church bells is ludicrous."

And Father Lyons?

"Unless the city or the archdiocese tells us we can't, they are going to keep ringing."

Too loud too early for Manayunk church bell, neighbor complains - Philadelphia Inquirer

By Sam Wood

Inquirer Staff Writer

For 104 years, the bell at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in hilly, blue-collar Manayunk has joyfully summoned the faithful to prayer, celebrated marriages, and marked the ends of wars.

Now, in a city whose many sacred symbols include a cracked bell, someone has filed a complaint to silence St. John's 5,000-pound bronze casting.

Not completely. Just in the morning. At 7. That's when it rings 18 times for the Angelus.

The official reason: It's too loud.

The Rev. James A. Lyons, pastor of St. John's, received a warning letter last week from the city Health Department.

The missive threatened the 179-year-old church with fines of up to $700 per day if the pealing bell is found to violate the city's 2006 noise law.

"Air Management Services (AMS) has received citizen's complaints of loud amplified sounds from the above premises every day at 7 a.m. AMS would like to advise you that amplified sound and all other noise . . . shall not exceed five decibels above background level measured at the property boundary of the nearest occupied residential property," states the letter, signed by Roger M. Fey, the city's enforcement officer for air and noise pollution.

Earlier this year, the church's business manager received an anonymous phone call from a woman who said she lived a block from St. John's.

"I will never forget this," said Rosemary Swider, who has worked at the church for 16 years and took the call. "She said the bell was disrupting her quality of life."

The church has stood in Gothic splendor on Rector Street since 1856. The parish originally ministered to the neighborhood's Irish Catholics. It now serves 1,900 families. About a block away, restaurants, bars, and boutiques have sprouted along Main Street, transforming the working-class community into a destination for college students and young professionals.

A clock tower - with the bell - was erected at the church in 1906, long before the city passed a noise ordinance. The church, mindful of neighborhood needs, has, over the last half-century, cut back the number of times the bell tolls.

Until the 1960s, the bell struck every half-hour and all through the night. When Lyons arrived in 1994, he restricted the bell's operating hours, shutting it off at 9 p.m.

The bell has always sounded the Catholic call to prayer known as the Angelus. Traditionally, the Angelus bells sound 18 times at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m.

Several years ago, Lyons delayed the first Angelus to 7. "We wanted to do the neighborly thing," he said, "and give everybody a rest."...

For more... Church bell complaint called silly by councilman

A message from the President...

2010-09-10T15:39:00.002-04:00

“I thank Creighton University’s Board of Directors for the tremendous honor they have bestowed on me,” Fr. Lannon said. “While at Creighton many years ago, my life was transformed. Now I have the opportunity to come home and continue the visionary momentum of this institution. I am privileged to return to Omaha and join with the administration, faculty, staff, students and dedicated alumni as we together write the next chapter of educational excellence at this great University.”

Fr. Lannon has many personal and professional connections with the Omaha community, in addition to being a Creighton alumnus. He served as president of Creighton Preparatory School from 1988 to 1995. His father graduated with a medical degree from Creighton in 1936. Fr. Lannon has been inducted into Creighton Prep’s Hall of Fame and received Creighton University’s Alumni Merit Award in 1993.

Fr. Lannon holds multiple degrees from Creighton University, Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry) and Harvard University. A native of Mason City, Iowa, Fr. Lannon entered the Society of Jesus in 1977 and was ordained a priest in 1986. During his early years he honed his educational and administrative skills while serving as an assistant principal and instructor at Jesuit institutions, as well as an admissions counselor at Creighton.

Dear Members of the National Alumni Board,

I write to you today with a heavy heart. As announced earlier this afternoon in Omaha, I have been appointed the 24th president of Creighton University, my alma matter, effective July 2011. While I am honored to be selected as the next president of Creighton, it is truly a bittersweet time for me. I have been equally honored to serve and work with the extended Saint Joseph’s community for the past seven years, and I will truly miss the people and spirit of the University when departing at the end of this academic year.

Reflecting on my Saint Joseph’s’ experience, I am humbled and overwhelmed by your passionate enthusiasm and support of the University. It is you, our alumni, who are our greatest ambassadors. Your positive response to the ongoing capital campaign, “With Faith and Strength to Dare: the Campaign for Saint Joseph’s University” – which to date has raised $141 million of its stated $150 million goal – is a testament to the commitment of building on your own Saint Joseph’s experience.

Your additional commitment as a member of the National Alumni Board further demonstrates your dedication to a great University, and I am truly grateful for that loyalty. Like you, I continue to have great aspirations for the future of Saint Joseph’s and look forward to your continued partnership with us.

Saint Joseph’s University is a genuinely amazing place. I am a better person and priest because of my time here as well as the enduring relationships gained along the way. Paul Hondros ’70, chair of the Board of Trustees, will be communicating with the entire SJU community regarding the search for the next president and, of course, each of you will be instrumental in ensuring a smooth and effective transition.

May God continue to bless each of us and the work we do in support of Saint Joseph’s University.

Timothy R. Lannon, S.J.
President

For more on the announcement... Lannon Named Creighton's 24th President & SJU President Timothy R. Lannon, S.J., to Become 24th President of Creighton

Fr. Timothy Lannon, SJ expected to leave Hawk Hill

2010-09-10T03:59:00.000-04:00

Timothy Lannon, SJ expected to lead Creighton - Omaha.com

WORLD-HERALD EXCLUSIVE
The Rev. Timothy Lannon, an Iowa boy who attended Creighton University and once served as president of Creighton Prep, is poised to be named Creighton University's next president.

Several people with knowledge of the selection process told The World-Herald that Lannon, currently president of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, will succeed the Rev. John Schlegel as Creighton's leader.

Creighton administrators declined to comment on Wednesday.

Kim Manning, an interim vice president at Creighton, said in a written statement that the search committee has been considering candidates and that no board action has been taken. The Creighton board meets Friday.

Lannon, who couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, would become Creighton's 24th president.

He would take over from Schlegel, who has headed Creighton for 11 years and has announced that he plans to retire. Schlegel, 67, has been credited with boosting enrollment, pushing the campus eastward and heading a $400 million fundraising effort.

Lannon, a Jesuit priest, has been at the center of speculation at Creighton since Schlegel announced in mid-July that he would leave in 2011. Lannon grew up in Mason City, Iowa, and graduated from Creighton University, where he was student body president. He holds a doctorate from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. He was ordained in 1986.

Lannon, 59, was Omaha Creighton Prep's president for seven years before departing in 1995.

He served as a vice president at Marquette University in Milwaukee and became president of St. Joseph's in 2003.

St. Joseph's enrolls about 8,000 students and, like Creighton, has a solid basketball program. Creighton enrolls about 7,400 students.

Like Creighton, St. Joseph's is a Jesuit university that does well in academic rankings. St. Joseph's ranked in the top 15 master's-level universities in the North this year, according to U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges lists, and Creighton ranked as the top Midwestern regional university.

Lannon lived for a while at St. Joseph's in a university-owned apartment building occupied mainly by students. He was known for sharing with students leftover desserts from social events he attended or hosted.

Under Lannon, according to St. Joseph's website, the university improved student housing, the student center, science center and fieldhouse. St. Joseph's also bought a 38-acre campus from a private K-12 school when the school moved.

St. Joseph's also says that under Lannon, a revision of undergraduate curriculum took place, and facilities were created for programs in business ethics, Catholic bioethics and autism education.

World-Herald researcher Jeanne Hauser contributed to this report.

Fr. Lannon celebrating a Hawks' victory in Cincinnati with Vince Reilly and John Gill.

Fr. Lannon with Teron Dow, SJP '11 at St. Joseph's Prep's Father-Son Communion Breakfast.

SJU Mass for the people of Orissa

2010-09-04T13:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who took time to attend our Mass at the Manresa Hall Chapel of the Jesuit Residence at St. Joseph's University, concelebrated by our Indian friends S. Tony Raj, SJ and John Guidera, SJ. It was a beautiful night! Since the chapel is small I was worried about attendance but we were able to squeeze everyone in, including four of our retired Jesuits who worked in Jamshedpur for many years.

The news of the Christian persecutions may be off the front page but the people in Orissa still need our help. To get a better understanding of the situation please visit www.orissaconcerns.net/kandhamal/ or read a copy of Fr. Tony's speech below. I'd urge you to keep those people in your prayers, and if able, to support them financially as they seek to rebuild their lives and their villages.

AMDG,

The Jesuit Missions

Maryland Province Jesuits

Advancement Office

P.O. Box 64848

Baltimore, MD 21264

Support Jesuit Indian Missions

John Guidera, SJ and S. Tony Raj, SJ concelebrate.

John Guidera, SJ and George Bur, SJ / Nancy Curtis, Fr. Deeney's sister, speaks to Fr. Guidera.

Theresa Roney and Jen Angelucci / Jim Moore, SJ with the McDades.

~~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~~

“Let there be peace on earth”

Thank you Tom for asking me to share.

First of all thank you very much for the support that we continue to receive from each one of you towards our peace building efforts in Kandhamal, Orissa. Today on the second Anniversary of the large scale unprecedented violence that visited the Christians, we continue to pray for lasting peace, and work towards peace founded on Justice.

The socio-economic and political situation of India today has given rise to marginalization of people through appropriation of land and resources and violence by state, corporate and non-state actors. This large scale violation of human rights has resulted in people’s resistance movements and campaigns for alternatives. Violence based on narrow communal and ethnic politics has increased manifold since 1990.

The anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal in 2007-08, that included murders, rapes, arson, burning, loots, and forcible conversions into Hinduism affected about 60,000 people and forced the Prime Minister to describe it as ‘National Shame’.

The people of Kandhamal and other areas of Orissa bore the brunt of two violent anti-Christian communal attacks within the span of nine months in 2007 and 2008. According to government figures during the last bout of violence from August to December 2008, in Kandhamal district alone more than 600 villages were ransacked, 5600 houses were looted and burnt, 54000 people were left homeless, 38 people were murdered. Human rights groups estimate that over 100 people were killed, including women, disabled persons and children, adivasis and dalits. Three women were gang-raped and many injured. 295 churches, big and small, were destroyed. 13 schools, colleges, and offices of 5 NGOs damaged. About 30,000 people had to live in relief camps for months .Barring a few townships, almost all villages in Kandhamal district were under the control of anti-social elements led by Hindu fundamentalist groups. During this period about 2,000 people belonging to minority communities were forced to convert from Christianity to Hinduism. More than 10,000 children had their education cut short because of displacements, fear and severe disruption.

Today, after two years, the situation has not improved, although the administration time and again claims it is peaceful and has returned to normal. A visit to the affected villages and interaction with any of the survivors will reveal a totally different reality, which has been documented by different human rights’ activists

Some of their findings are:

-- The survivors are under threat not to return to their villages unless they agree to change their religion, withdraw cases against their attackers, stop eating beef and dalits stay within limitations imposed by the upper castes. About 15000 people are still living as refugees outside their villages.

-- Out of 3300 complaints filed by victims in the local police stations only 831 have been registered (as First Information Reports – FIRs). Many cases have not been investigated and the accused not prosecuted. In other cases, shoddy police investigations have already created a crisis in the dispensation of justice.

-- The accused have coerced, threatened, and cajoled the victims and the witnesses. There have been attempts to bribe them, both outside and inside the Fast Track Courts. The real perpetrators, like Mr.Manoj Pradhan (BJP-MLA Member of Legislative Assembly), are moving around scot-free and threatening the witnesses time and again, whereas hardly any steps are taken to protect witnesses or ensure their safety. The victims have expressed their deep distrust of the current justice delivery system.

-- There is no action against Orissa Administration officials who could not protect the lives of hundreds of Christians and who allowed Hindu extremist mobs to move around the district with an organised and armed crowd and to do arson, burning, killings uninterruptedly in the presence of police or those who allowed RSS leaders like Pravin Togadia to enter the area and deliver hate speeches.

-- There are major lacunae in the administration of relief to and rehabilitation of the victims of the mass violence. Improper identification and assessment of the houses as fully or partially damaged has been done, damaged houses have been left out of the lists, while lost or damaged household articles are not mentioned at all. Even the 837 families, who lost their houses during December 2007 violence, are yet to get any housing. The government has promised only Rs 50000 as compensation for fully damaged houses; still the actual disbursement till now has only been Rs 10000. Out of 6500 families which lost their houses 60 percent are yet to have a roof to shelter under. Not a single one of the destroyed NGO schools, hospitals, and offices has been compensated.

-- The administration has not made any visible effort to support a revival of dignified livelihood of the victims, to prevent large-scale migration and pauperisation of victim families, or to bring back dropped out children to school.

-- The long-standing problem of landlessness and land alienation of the dalits and adivasis has been completely ignored. There have been almost no efforts to provide land rights to landless survivors, who are facing difficulties to get a shelter after they lost their houses during violence.

Complaints lodged with police after 2008 3232

Cases Registered (FIRs) 831

No of Case were commuted to the fast track courts 193

No. Cases under trial 95

No. Cases disposed (Filed as Closed) 91

No. Persons Convicted 176

Life imprisonment Sentence 5

Persons Acquitted 653

Persons arrested so far 794

All the above observations could be clubbed into the following four areas. The incident and what followed in response has led to:

• Increasing distrust on Criminal Justice System: Shoddy police investigations, threat to victims and witnesses leading to a gross miscarriage of justice.

• Migration, School-Dropouts and Pauperization: The complacency of the administration has left the people feeling insecure and there are still 20,000 people living in poorer livelihood conditions, who are yet to return to their villages, and many children who have dropped out of schools.

• Inadequate or no Compensation left the Survivors Homeless: The apathy and inefficiency of the government in identification and assessment of damage has led to improper and inadequate or even no compensation for the survivors.

• Landlessness and Land Alienation has Doubled the Suffering: Official negligence of ‘land problems’ has been used to demonize the Dalits and to use it as a scapegoat for communal violence. The long-standing problem of landlessness and land alienation of the Dalits and Adivasis has been seriously neglected. While Adivasi lands are illegally transferred to traders and government employees, the Hindutva forces accuse Dalits as land grabbers and tried to project it as the cause of Kandhamal violence. Also, there have been almost no efforts to provide land rights to landless survivors/victims, who are facing difficulties to get a shelter after they lost their houses during violence.

Hence National Public Tribunal (NPT) was organized (22-24 August). Its Objectives are as follows:

• To study and analyse the long-term and short-term causes and impacts of Kandhamal violence

• To assess the role, conduct and responsibility of various organizations, group of individuals or persons, in influencing, precipitating or escalating the violence

• To assess the role played by the Administration and police before, during and after the pogrom

• To study and analyse the various aspects of the problems faced by survivors and victims of violence

• To recommend both short-term and long-term measures for the necessary reparation, peace building, justice delivery, prevention of communal violence and strengthen secularism

• To bring out the findings to larger society and create pressure on the government to do necessary follow up action

• To use the proceedings, findings and the recommendations of the Jury for any further legal action, if necessary

• To assess the functioning of the Criminal Justice System in the context of Kandhamal violence

• To share the findings in a specially convened Media Conference

The other follow-up actions are:

• Observation of Kandhamal Day: NSF plans to observe coming 25th August as International Kandhamal Day to remember the attacks on the Christian minorities in Orissa by communal forces. civil society activists, political parties will be requested to observe this day throughout the globe. Particularly, NSF will engage with the civil society in Orissa and India to observe the Day through various solidarity actions such as exhibition, public meetings, workshops, street-plays, film-shows etc.

• Exhibition on Kandhamal Violence at Delhi: An Exhibition with articles from the site of the violence and paintings narrating human stories from Kandhamal will be organized at Delhi from August 22-24th, 2010. The objective of the exhibition is to inform the larger society about the situation after violence and to create awareness against communal violence. A curator has been engaged to select and develop the articles for exhibition. Also, two artists have been contracted to visit various violence affected villages to develop paintings for exhibitions. Such exhibitions will held in over 50 different places in India.

For painting click on http://orissaconcerns.net/kandhamal/

• Film on Communal Violence: A Documentary Film will be produced on Kandhamal violence. Apart from recording the current situation, testimonies by various people will be taken up as regards to the background, causes, occurrences, impact of the Kandhamal violence. Relevant footage will be collected from different sources. A senior and experienced film maker will be requested for the purpose.

We Jesuits work with the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar towards peace.

Other than that, We as Jesuits are working for the past two years with 11 affected village communities of Mundigodo Gram Panchayat, Tumudibandha Block, Kandhamal Distict in building peace through livelihood options (agricultural interventions)

Of the 4500 destroyed houses that need to be built, there is commitment for 3402. Out of the 3402, the archdiocese has committed for 2453. Our 100 are within the 2453. Out of these 2453, 1310 houses have been completed by the Archdiocese.

Ongoing Ministries with the survivor-victims:

Relief (Immediate, and interim), Education, Rehabilitation, Vocational Training, Psycho-spiritual & trauma counseling, health ( we Jesuits take care of this sector fully), justice delivery, peace building, Reconciliation.

The vulnerable / focus groups : youth, women and children

RELIEF, REHAB, RECONCILIATION

The gap = Justice Delivery.

Thank you for your continued support. We seek your prayers and support. Lets continue to pray for peace, and work for peace.

S.Tony Raj, SJ

~~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~~

Mae Roney and Theresa Gill / Joh Gill, Joe McDade, Dan Caramanico.

Grandma Gill with Grace / Linda McDade and Jim McLaughlin

Preppers Tim Klarich, George Bur, SJ and Bill Hicks / The lamp breaking Angeluccis.

Russ Strollo and Chris Lester / Rich, Marie, Francine and Russ.

Mike Caramanico and Ed Deeney / Dudley Doright and Violet.

Nancy and Ed (Fr. Deeney's siblings) and Fr. Deeney's nieces together with Fathers Raj and Guidera / 44 and John Gill with Fr. Tony.

Get well soon Joe...

2010-08-16T14:17:00.001-04:00

Mass concelebrated by Indian Jesuits at SJU on 8-24.

2010-08-10T07:29:00.006-04:00

Dear Friends of the Jesuits:

Greetings! My friend Fr. S. Tony Raj, SJ is visiting from India and will be in Philadelphia briefly next week. Ed Plocha, from the Maryland Province Jesuits, has asked me to organize a Mass and Meet & Greet for Fr. Tony on Tuesday, August 24th, at 6:30 PM, in the Jesuit Residence Chapel at St. Joseph's University. As many of you know from my friendship with Fr. John J. Deeney, SJ the work the Jesuits perform in Jamshedpur, India is near and dear to my heart. The torch is being passed from the original transcribed Maryland Jesuits who have sowed the seeds of Catholicism in India and Fr. Tony will be our liaison between the two provinces.

Fr. Tony was in Khandamal, Orissa during the Christian persecutions two years ago and in response the Jesuits have decided to start a Vice Province in Orissa. Despite the persecutions they have been inundated with Jesuit volunteers. He has a story worth telling us. Should you be interested in attending Mass on Hawk Hill concelebrated by Fr. Tony and Fr. John Guidera, SJ, and having some light refreshments afterwards at the Carriage House, please let me know as soon as possible. I realize that August is a difficult month with vacations but I'm sure we will all be blessed by attending. I know Tony is quite anxious to make as many new friends as he can ;-)

Please let me know if you'll be attending (no regrets necessary) by e-mailing me at SJHAWK44@aol.com as I'll need an estimation for refreshments.

I look forward to seeing you on the 24th!

AMDG,

Thomas Brzozowski (44)

“If one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with it”
(1 Cor 12:26)

Gentle Jesus, you know the pain and suffering of persecution first-hand. Send your Spirit of courage and strength to all those who are suffering for their faith in You in Orissa and Jamshedpur. Grant that in the midst of all their persecution they may hold fast by this faith and that their suffering will draw them closer to You. Bring forgiveness and healing to Orissa and Jamshedpur. Grant the Peace that You alone can give. Amen.

With Jerry Cutinha, SJ and S. Tony Raj, SJ at St. Joseph's Prep, and with
John Gill at St. Alphonsus Rodriguez In Maryland last year.

a friend remembers John Deeney, sj

2010-07-18T17:24:00.002-04:00

Dear all,

Greetings from Jamshedpur.

22 July (birthday of John Deeney] is soon approaching, so I thought I write a few lines to you all. I am travelling to South India today and I will be travelling on 22 July and I will have no access to Internet till I return to my office on 23 July. So I dispatch this letter today itself.

John has been a great friend of mine though I am only 46. We used to spend a lot of time together sharing on different matters. I had a great appreciation for the works he had done and was continuing to do even in his old age. Our common interest was the Ho tribe. He taught me the Ho language when I was just 19, just before I joined the novitiate. Since then he has been an inspiration for me. The love I have for the Ho language and Ho people, I have acquired from John Deeney.

Even in his old age he worked on his computer for his publications in the Ho language. Even many youngsters who are good at computers find it difficult to work on Page Maker Programme, but John picked up Page Maker programme very easily. Regularly he would ask me give him some tips how to improve on his skills in Page Maker and he was a very good learner and was so grateful for small helps he received. Such was his dedication for the mission, the love the Ho language and the Ho people. We will find it difficult to get such an expert on the Ho tribals in the near future.

Those of you who visited him in Chaibasa would know the simplicity of life that he led. For so many years he used a bicycle to go around villages and he found it so helpful for his ministry that he never learnt how to ride a motor bike. He never complained about the heat of the summer or about the food that was served. He had no complaints about any of his Jesuits companions or working staff. He was always a positive man. Whoever met him met a saint in him - left inspired and deeply touched.

John was greatly spiritual and holy. He had a long of list of people who he prayed daily. And I knew very well that he added more people to that list daily. And he never was tired praying for them. I know all of your names were in that list. And I am sure he is continuing to pray for all the people in the list still. Many of our conversations were spiritual. And I was so comfortable to share my spiritual life with and return enriched.

I thank on behalf of all the Jesuits in Jamshedpur for the saintly man the Deeney family offered to the Church, the Society of Jesus and to Jamshedpur. I assure my prayers for you all. My special prayers and love to his dear sister Nancy and brothers Ed and Jerry.

God bless you all.

Lovingly,

Jerry Cutinha, SJ
15 Straight Mile Road,
Sakchi, Jamshedpur 831001.
INDIA

Prep at the Shore....

2010-07-15T18:38:00.003-04:00

Join the Prep at the shore this August!

Now featuring two fun events...

Prep Beach Bash
Saturday, August 14
2:00-5:00pm

The Whitebrier
260 20th Street, Avalon, NJ 08202

Beer, Wine, Appetizers

$25/Person Online (by August 9)
$30 at the door

Must be 21 or over

Register Now >>

Prep at the Shore
Sunday, August 15
12:00-3:00pm

Avalon Yacht Club
704 7th Street, Avalon, NJ 08202

12:00pm Mass
12:30-3:00pm Reception

Heavy Hors doeuvres and Open Bar

$50/Person Online or at the Door

Register Now >>

A • M • D • G

Why care for Haiti?

2010-07-09T15:06:00.001-04:00

Mission in Haiti with Br. Jim Boyton, SJ

Better late than never...

2010-07-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

Pete Hamill to Finally Graduate From High School - NYTimes.com

Mr. Hamill remembers the idea of a belated diploma as having begun with a Regis classmate, Thomas Hickey, a retired lawyer in Paramus, N.J. Mr. Hickey’s recollection is that after the list of 400 celebrated New Yorkers was announced in September by the Museum of the City of New York, Mr. Hamill told him, “I’d much rather have a Regis High School diploma on my wall.” Arrangements were made. He will receive his certificate from the school’s president, the Rev. Philip G. Judge, S.J.

Mr. Hamill makes no pretense of being much of a Catholic. “Somebody once said there’s no ex-Catholic, there’s only retired Catholics,” he said. “Because of the music and the architecture and the structure of the Mass and all that, it stays with you. I’m a retired Catholic.”

The Jesuits stayed with him, as well. “They put doubt in you, intellectual doubt,” Mr. Hamill said. “Someone presents a thesis, you back up and say, ‘Is that really true? How do we know that’s true?’ ” The Jesuits, he said, also bequeathed “standards of excellence — you couldn’t just show up.”

“Even now, as old as I am, I have this secret Jesuit over my shoulder,” he said. “I think I’ve written a pretty good paragraph and he’s shaking his head: ‘C’mon, pal. Better try that again.’ This critical intelligence directed at yourself is very good. In that sense, those two years at Regis shaped a lot of what I did later, because I was never satisfied.”

Catholic schools vital and necessary

2010-07-05T10:03:00.003-04:00

From the letters to the editor in the ...

Catholic schools vital and necessary

Your article "What parents want from schools" (Tuesday) points out what we at Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) already know: Catholic schools are a vital and necessary option for parents throughout Philadelphia.

Catholic schools operate and thrive in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Often, the only safe and academically strong school in a neighborhood is a Catholic school. Over the last 30 years, parochial-school enrollment has declined, but it is not because parents don't want to send their children to Catholic schools. On the contrary, each year BLOCS receives more than 8,000 applications for scholarships from families that want to send their children to Catholic schools but cannot afford to.

Philadelphia's archdiocese schools play a key role in the educational economy of the city. These schools provide a good education at no cost to the taxpayer, and offer the chance at a better life for thousands of children in the hardest-hit neighborhoods in the city. At BLOCS, we're working hard to make sure that the tens of thousands of children who attend Catholic schools in Philadelphia are able to continue receiving a strong, values-based education, regardless of family income level.

Improving access to a high-quality education is of critical importance for the children of Philadelphia. In order to do so, we need to work across the traditional lines and include public, charter, private, and Catholic schools in the effort to better educate our city's future generations.

Joe Garecht
Executive Director
BLOCS
Conshohocken

jgarecht@blocs.org

A Port Richmond Pub

2010-06-19T12:24:00.003-04:00

Where heroes hang out ~ Philadelphia Inquirer

Medal of Honor recipients find their way to Mick’s Inn.
By Kia Gregory

Inquirer Staff Writer

In the back room of Mick's Inn are framed, autographed portraits of Medal of Honor recipients. And whenever the heroes are in town, they take to the stools of the dimly lit Port Richmond bar and sometimes buy a round.

Bellied up there last week was Jon Cavaiani. He received his medal after getting his platoon out of enemy fire and enduring two years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

He keeps a bottle of Jack Daniel's, his name taped to the label, in a special spot behind the bar, near the bust of JFK and the leprechaun doll.

"That's tradition," he said of the whiskey, which he takes on the rocks. "You have to have Jack Daniel's in your life. He's been my friend."

Cavaiani, his hair a regal silver, came east from his California home for a national drag-racing tournament. He stopped by Mick's to "have a couple of horns, and renew old friendships."

As longtime bartender Gregg Flaherty tells it, for more than a decade, the esteemed veterans have been coming to what some would describe as a dive bar in this blue-collar, heavily Irish neighborhood, where residents decorate their front porches with American flags and home-team colors.

The lure began when the bar sponsored a hole in a charity golf tournament to support James "Daddy Wags" Wagner. A former Marine and owner of South Philly's Cookies Tavern, Daddy Wags was raising money for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation.

As a thank-you, he sent over a portrait of his friend "The Colonel": Harvey C. Barnum Jr., a Marine from Virginia who received the medal for valor in Vietnam.

Being an Army guy, Flaherty wanted an Army guy, so Daddy Wags sent him a picture of Cavaiani, followed by other Medal of Honor recipients from around the country: Ronald Ray, Robert O'Malley, and James Allen Taylor.

They are among the 3,400 service members who have received the nation's highest military honor since 1861.

Above the portraits is a sky-blue flag signed by dozens of them that Cavaiani donated a while back. "Even the president doesn't have one of these," Flaherty bragged.

"Now they all come here," he said of the visiting veterans. "They like it because people treat them like people. Usually they go to affairs where they can't let their hair down and be themselves. Here they can drop an F-word sometimes."

Aside from the national heroes who pop in a few times a year, the regulars are all veterans of something: folded Catholic schools, long-gone businesses, and a neighborhood that now includes hipsters and artists.

They're all from here and know everybody who counts, through family and fading traditions.

One quiet afternoon, a handful stared up at the TV as Flaherty popped open cans of beer. The Phils were tied 1-1 in the first.

The bar at Clearfield and Belgrade Streets, across from a Police Athletic League office and a Celtic shirt shop, has been a neighborhood fixture since 1962, Flaherty said.

It's a place that respects God (a no-parking sign from the 1979 papal visit sits by the TV), sports (Flyers and Phillies championship banners by the door), and its connection to the past.

"People grew up with North Catholic," said Flaherty, wearing a gray '66 NC Falcons polo shirt. "Now that's closing."

After Flaherty graduated, he was drafted and spent 15 months crawling through the thick grass and swamps of Vietnam.

Click title for the entire article.

Like kick the can, or watching paint dry...

2010-06-19T11:18:00.002-04:00

Reason #5,647 Not To Like Soccer Blogs NCRegister.com

I understand that soccer is all the rage these days and I have been following the world cup just like many others. But…

One often hears the question, “Why isn’t soccer more popular in the US?” Of course there are many reasons. Ninety minutes of running around only to end up nil nil is not very satisfying. I mean real sports shouldn’t end in a tie and they certainly shouldn’t end 0-0.

When my boys were little and started out playing little league, the rules said not to keep score. Of course, even though they weren’t supposed to, the kids knew who really won the game. Even these little ones understand that sports are supposed to have winners.

While I certainly don’t endorse hooliganism, I sort of understand it. Thousands of men continually bored to tears have to find something to do, no?

Of course, even if match after 0-0 match is not enough to to drive you from the sport perhaps this will.

The star of the England National Team soccer and powerhouse Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, sat down to a press conference yesterday to discuss this week’s tie with the US team (another tie, what a surprise) and their forthcoming match. Probably because even soccer reporters are bored with the sport they are paid to cover, the questioning strayed from soccer to religion. A reporter asked Mr. Rooney why he wears a prominent cross and rosary beads around his neck when he’s not playing.

Mr. Rooney responded “I’ve been wearing them for about four years now and you don’t usually watch training (to see them.) I obviously can’t wear them in games. It’s my religion.” At which point a media officer for the Football Association jumped in and put an abrupt end to the discussion saying curtly “We don’t do religion.”

Soccer doesn’t do religion.

Reason #5,467 why we don’t do soccer.

For those who love soccer and wholeheartedly disagree with me , let’s just agree to disagree. You know, kind of like a tie. You should be used to that.

To get more Matt & Pat... Matthew & Pat Archbold Blogs National Catholic Register NCRegister.com

So funny -- don't buy Hyundai

2010-06-19T10:50:00.003-04:00

The ad begins with singing in Latin, and depicts an Argentine "church" – complete with a stained-glass window of a soccer ball -- in which the wildly popular sport is clearly what’s being worshipped.

Critics complained that Hyundai mocks the Eucharist, which Catholics believe to be the body of Christ, by showing "worshippers" on their knees receiving slices of pizza rather than the communion host.

"This ad is an outrageous affront to Catholics and a mockery of our most sacred beliefs and practices," said Fr Marcel Taillon, a parish priest in Narrangansett, Rhode Island.

At one point the commercial shows a soccer ball covered with a crown of thorns, part of Jesus Christ’s passion.

Hyundai television commercial red-carded after getting Catholics offside Herald Sun

Hyundai Pulls 'Insensitive' World Cup Ad After Catholic Outcry - DailyFinance

Korean carmaker Hyundai has pulled a World Cup-themed TV ad after an outcry from Catholic advocates who called the spot sacrilegious and offensive. The 30-second ad, which aired during the the England-USA soccer match on Saturday, features a church in Argentina that apparently worships soccer -- and more specifically soccer legend Diego Maradona.

The ad spot depicts a church service with religiously charged imagery, including a soccer ball with a crown of thorns and worshipers kneeling as they receive pizza for communion.

"All over the world, soccer is almost a religion," intones the spot's narrarator, actor Jeff Bridges, "but for the members of one church in Argentina, it actually is."

Fake Church, Real Offense

Clearly designed to be humorous, the spot, called "Wedding," missed the mark -- widely -- outraging Catholic advocates and bloggers. "Believe it or not, in honor of the World Cup, Hyundai has managed to produce a commercial that many of the world's 1 billion Catholics will find offensive," wrote Tim Drake, a senior writer with the National Catholic Register. "It's one thing to gently poke fun at extreme devotion to sports," Deacon Greg Kandra wrote on Beliefnet.com. "It's another to satirize Holy Mass by ridiculing its symbols, sacramentals and gestures."

Hyundai said the ad was based on an actual church in Rosario, Argentina, called Iglesia Maradoniana, which is dedicated to retired soccer star Diego Maradona. A 2002 BBC article said the house of "worship" was called the "Hand of God" Temple, after Maradona's infamous 1986 goal against England.

Hyundai said it meant no offense but rather intended to humorously connect the "passion of soccer fans with owner loyalty."

Viral Marketing a "Calculated Risk"

But John Barker, President of Barker/DZP, a New York-based ad agency, says he doesn't buy Hyundai's claim. "I think it's a stretch if the marketer says no offense was intended," Barker tells DailyFinance. "That's probably not intellectually honest."

"There's no way Hyundai couldn't predict a scandal of sorts," Barker says. "It's a calculated risk based on the value of viral media. Controversy is one of the elements that drives video-sharing in social media, and humor is another. So it stands to reason that controversial humor is a good way to ensure viral value."

On Monday, Hyundai apologized for the ad and said it had been taken off the air. "We got enough of an outcry that we think we missed the mark," a Hyundai spokesman tells DailyFinance. "So we're going to do the right thing and pull it down."

In a statement, the company said: "The unexpected response created by the ad, which combined both soccer and religious motifs to speak to the passion of international soccer fans, prompted us to take a more critical and informed look at the spot. Though unintentional, we now see it was insensitive. We appreciate this feedback and sincerely apologize to those we've offended."

"Deeply Anti-Christian and Anti-Catholic"?

Drake, of the National Catholic Register, called the Hyundai ad part of a larger anti-Catholic trend in the advertising world.

"Make no mistake," he wrote. "There is a deeply anti-Christian and anti-Catholic philosophy that has infiltrated Madison Avenue. It's apparent in much of the atheistic programming and the commercials being produced. Some will be provoked to say, 'Lighten up -- it's just a commercial.' Yet, if the Jewish Star of David or the Koran were being so belittled, the outrage would be tremendous."

No Mother Theresa, No US Marines, but...

2010-06-11T09:39:00.004-04:00

In this Sept. 30, 2009 file photo, the moon rises above New York as the Empire State Building is lit in red and yellow in honor of communist China's 60th anniversary. Catholics are criticizing the owners of the landmark skyscraper for declining to illuminate it in honor of the late Mother Teresa, who would have turned 100 on Aug. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

“[T]he death of ten to twenty million people is nothing to be afraid of.”
—Mao Tse-tung

"Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend ... on the pleasure of anyone else.”
—Mother Teresa

Empire State Building disses U.S. Marine Corps, refuses to honor soldiers with scarlet, gold lights

The few. The Proud. The Dissed.

The U.S. Marine Corps, like Mother Teresa, is being barred by the Empire State Building from starring in lights.

"We were rejected," said Gunnery Sgt. Alex Kitsakos of the Marines' public affairs office in midtown, who asked for the building to be lit scarlet and gold in 2008 on the Marines' Nov. 10 birthday.

"Of all the silly things they would consider lighting the building for, they wouldn't light it for the Marine Corps?" he asked. "Whoever it is that's running the building, they certainly could be making better decisions about who it is that they choose to honor."

Anthony Malkin, the developer whose family owns Manhattan's tallest skyscraper, has refused all calls to light the tower blue and white on Aug. 26, Mother Teresa's 100th birthday. A statement from the building Thursday said it does not honor religious figures or organizations.

"We are privately owned and our policies and practices are subject to change in accord with ownership's preferences," the building said.

"We are saddened by the hateful words and messages being generated both for and against lighting for Mother Teresa," it said. "We surely wish that the emotions of those in favor be directed towards good actions of community service in the spirit of their views, and that those who are against be dignified and respectful in their dialogue."

The Albanian nun tended to the sick and ailing in Calcutta's slums, and her Sisters of Charity order opened a convent in the Bronx to care for the poor here.

News of the Marine refusal came as City Council Speaker Christine Quinn called on all New Yorkers to volunteer in Mother Teresa's spirit on her 100th birthday on Aug. 26 - and to light their own windows blue and white, the colors of the Sisters of Charity.

"We're not going to wait for the Empire State Building to make sure that her light is alive and strong in New York City," Quinn said, shortly after getting off the phone with Malkin in another attempt to convince him.

"He has a building with a lot of lights, but he's just one man," Quinn said. "If thousands of New Yorkers put these lights in their windows on Aug. 26, we'll send a message that Mother Teresa's work is alive and well."

Friends have tried to work out a compromise with Malkin, a third-generation real estate scion who has earned acclaim for renovating the aging tower. One reported Thursday: "There is no deal."

alisberg@nydailynews.com

Commemorating Mao but Not Mother

Where's Anita Dunn when you need her?

Recall Anita Dunn, who resigned as President Obama's communications director not long after Glenn Beck had the temerity to broadcast her jaw-dropping affirmation, made in a church no less-at a high-school baccalaureate ceremony-that her two favorite philosophers were an extraordinarily unlikely pair: Mao Tse-Tung and Mother Teresa. (Click here.)

I'm not sure of Dunn's current whereabouts, but I'm certain the management department at the Empire State Building in New York City could benefit from her input. Readers might recall the last time I wrote about the Empire State Building: I grappled with the astounding image of the building's top aglow in red and yellow to commemorate the birth of Red China. Yes, unbelievably (click here), the Empire State last October paused to recognize Mao's communist China, which was responsible for 60-70 million deaths, the single greatest slaughter of humanity in history, dwarfing Hitler's terror by six-fold.

New Yorkers apparently were oblivious to such vital facts-or were aware and simply didn't care-as they strolled along Madison Avenue slurping Smoothies and reading their New York Times under a blood red (and yellow) sky.

But why do I revisit such sordid recent history? Wasn't it embarrassing enough to suffer this once?

Well, it turns out the brain-trust in charge of deciding which symbols (and revolutions) to elevate in New York-the same brain-trust that offered up this crowning touch for Chairman Mao-are refusing to light up for ... brace yourself, Mother Teresa.

The Empire State Building Lighting Partners rejected a request made by official application, backed up by a nationwide petition, to recognize this paragon of virtue. That's right, Mao's dystopia was honored for its 60th birthday, but Mother Teresa will not be acknowledged for the centennial of her birth this August 26.

I wish I were joking, but, sorry, you can't make this up. (Click here.)

Indeed, who, or what, would be so perverse as to even think it up? It sounds like a plot right out of the Screwtape Letters, though the Prince of Darkness had a tendency to be more subtle than this.

So, the saintly nun who comforted the sick as they died in her arms in destitute Calcutta, soothing souls in their final earthly moments, an act of sheer selflessness she did as "something beautiful for God," was refused. To the contrary, Red China, byproduct of a murderous Marxist despot, where collectivization starved to death more people in three years than Mother Teresa could meet in a lifetime, was recognized.
Chairman Mao is howling from his grave.

By my recollection, the only juxtaposition possibly more strange was the Obama White House considering banning a crèche at Christmas while, simultaneously, sanctifying the White House Christmas tree with a most curious ornament: a twinkling little comrade Mao. (Again, unbelievable, I know-click here.)

Christ at Christmas? Maybe. Mao at Christmas? Yes.

Mother Teresa honored? No. Mao's Red China honored? Yes.

Of course, this is a travesty, but one hardly surprising, given the state of American culture, the people Americans elect, and America's educational horrors, especially the failure to teach the horrors of communism. Bill Donohue and his Catholic League are protesting the Empire State Building's blacklisting of Mother Teresa, and a petition is circulating.

I, for one, wouldn't be surprised if the city and ACLU got involved and upheld the decision out of respect for "church-state separation." Why not heap absurdity upon absurdity? Besides, such would be yet more delicious irony: Mother Teresa, modern saint, banished because of faith; Mao, militant atheist who booted out the missionaries and declared war on religion, illumined.

There's one positive achievement from this episode: It exposes as nonsense what we were told by defenders of the Empire State's Red China recognition last October: No big deal. They recognize all kinds of things.

Apparently, that's not true. They are exclusive in their inclusiveness; intolerant in their tolerance; discriminating in their diversity. Their moral and verbal gymnastics allow for evil's coronation but a blackening of one who truly served the Light.

And so I ask: Where's Anita Dunn when you need her? At least Anita Dunn, confused as she was, found room in her mental-philosophical universe for both Mao and Mother.

Of course, those of us upset by this will be told we're over-reacting, and that there's surely good reason for these decisions. Sure-always is.

But it's our silence in the face of such blatant acts that creates a culture where people don't know the difference. The other side is quite audacious, why must we always be silent?
Alas, I have a suggestion for New Yorkers unhappy with this: On the day which would have been lit for Mother Teresa, light a candle and place it in your home or office window. Now that would be a symbol.

- Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. His books include "The Judge: William P. Clark, Ronald Reagan's Top Hand," "God and Ronald Reagan" and "The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism."

Lord Stanley and Krass Brothers?

2010-06-10T22:09:00.004-04:00

Well it seems Lord Stanley won't be living in Philly this year ;-( Great effort by the Flyers who would not have even made the playoffs, let alone the Stanley Cup Finals, if not for beating the Rangers in the last game of the year.

To your left is 44 buddy Jack Dougherty posing with the Cup the last time the Flyers won. Hard to believe they made a French cuff shirt like that back on the 70's! Jacob Reed's Sons? Lit Brothers? Boyd's? Wanamaker's? Gimbels's? Jack Lang? Strawbridge & Clothier? Krass Brothers? But it was better than a leisure suit ;-0

Since Jack was from Mom's old neighborhood, near St. Columba's at 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue, the picture below would be from the 40's. Any old guys from Swampoodle can help me out with the particulars.

Fr. and Mrs. Johnson...

2010-06-06T15:47:00.002-04:00

Although Johnson is the second married priest in its history (the Rev. George McCormick, a former Episcopal priest, served from 1984 until his death in 2000), the Camden Diocese is still learning how to fit the couple in. "The insurance forms for priests don't have a line for 'wife,' " Janet Johnson said. "I told them I'm his 'preexisting condition.' "

The priest - and his Mrs. Philadelphia Inquirer

A rare ordination in N.J. diocese.
By David O'Reilly

Inquirer Staff Writer

After 19 years as a Lutheran pastor, the Rev. Philip Johnson had grown disenchanted with Protestantism.

"There comes a time, if you're Catholic, to be Catholic," the newest priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden said Wednesday at his home in Sewell.

Dressed in his 11-day-old Roman collar and black clerical garb, Johnson, 59, was explaining the appeal of Catholicism's traditionalist ways when a middle-aged woman emerged from the kitchen.

"Here you go, Hon," said Johnson's wife, Janet, handing him a glass of Coke.

"Thanks," said the priest, smiling as she eased down next to him on their living room sofa.

It was a familiar scene for the Johnsons. Married 38 years, with four grown children and four grandchildren, they spent nearly two decades in a Lutheran parsonage in Jersey City, N.J., before converting to Catholicism four years ago.

Men sporting both Roman collars and wedding rings are a rarity in the Catholic Church; it banned married clergy eight centuries ago. In 1951 it made an exception for married clergy who convert, but on a case-by-case basis.

The church has ordained only a few hundred since. "Mr. Johnson's ordination does not indicate a change of celibacy norms for Latin Rite priests," the Camden Diocese noted when it announced his May 22 ordination.

In fact, the Johnsons had no clue he would be accepted for ordination when they converted. But priesthood was their fervent hope. "He was just horrible sitting in the pews," Janet Johnson, 60, said Wednesday, and laughed. Her husband, a serious man, shrugged. "I just couldn't imagine not preaching," he said.

It was not until four months after converting, as Johnson was studying at the Catholic University of America in Washington, that Camden Bishop Joseph Galante learned of his situation and invited him to be a candidate for priesthood.

Galante has named Johnson parochial vicar at St. Bridget's parish in Glassboro, where he will also serve the Catholic community of Rowan University. Both Johnsons will conduct marriage-preparation classes around the six-county diocese.

(Please click title for the entire article)

Dr. Jack

2010-06-04T21:29:00.004-04:00

Basketball Remains a Constant for Jack Ramsay - NYTimes.com

BOSTON — In a dream last week, Jack Ramsay said, his wife returned to him.

Jean Ramsay, who died in January, followed her husband to all of his coaching stops during their 60-year marriage, from St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia to the Portland Trail Blazers. She read novels during games to occupy her time. But in this dream, the game mattered to her.

“I dreamed I was driving to the basket and Jean was keeping score, which was as far as possible from what she would do,” he said over lunch Monday. “As I was leaving the floor, someone asks, ‘How many did you score, Jack?’ and she said, ‘You had 41.’ ”

A small smile creased Ramsay’s face.

The dream united two loves: the girl he met at a dance at St. Joe’s who died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease and the sport that still fascinates him at 85.

He is old enough to joke that he was the one to suggest cutting out the bottom of James Naismith’s peach basket. Ramsay is ESPN Radio’s lead N.B.A. analyst, working regular-season and playoff games with Jim Durham.

“It enables me to stay close to the players and coaches,” Ramsay said.

Before Game 4 of the Boston-Orlando Eastern Conference finals Monday, he waited outside the Celtics’ locker room at TD Garden to interview guard Ray Allen in the corridor. Allen is an easy subject: candid, descriptive and analytical. That done, Ramsay strode into Coach Doc Rivers’s office.

Ramsay sat on the edge of his seat — an octogenarian version of the way he knelt on the sideline as a coach — and thrust his ESPN Radio microphone at Rivers.

Each question — about team chemistry, motivation and team defense — made a listener wonder if Ramsay, who coached Portland to the N.B.A. title in 1977, already knew the answers.

“I wanted to hear them,” he said. “I was thinking of our listeners, not me.”

As he walked back into the corridor, Ramsay saw Celtics forward Glen Davis.

“Same as Game 3 for you,” he said to Davis, who scored 17 in the Celtics’ rout.

“Yes, sir,” Davis said quietly.

Ramsay is lean and muscular — his biceps bulge from a short-sleeve shirt — the result of swimming a mile a day in the ocean near his home in Naples, Fla., and a regimen of crunches, push-ups, jogging and stretches that he takes from hotel to hotel.

“Usually, 100 crunches and 100 push-ups,” said Ramsay, a triathlete until he was 70 and a jump-roper. His fixation on fitness began in the Navy when he was part of an underwater demolition team that trained for the planned invasion of Japan in 1945.

“It’s like you had training camp but the season was canceled,” he said of the lost wartime opportunity. But, he said, the training “toughened you, made you value fitness.”

The body that Ramsay has preserved so well has endured a lengthy fight against melanoma. The cancer that began in 2004 on his left foot eventually spread to his lungs and brain but is now in remission, his last chemotherapy two and a half months ago.

“I’m very fortunate to have gotten past the cancer problem,” he said over a lobster roll. “Well, I shouldn’t say that. But I was not expected to live.”

Bill Walton, the center on the Portland championship team, said: “Jean’s death was much tougher on him than the cancer. Guys like Jack are so tough they would do anything to take away someone else’s pain. I don’t think I’ve ever made a rougher call than when I called Jack after Jean died. What do you tell an 85-year-old man whose college sweetheart is no more? She was always there, the gentle one, the quiet one.”

Ramsay said he hoped to create a grant program at St. Joseph’s to help women who want to get a degree while raising children. Jean Ramsay raised five children during her husband’s peripatetic career, which included seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Buffalo Braves and the Indiana Pacers.

(click title for the entire article)

LET'S GO FLYERS!

2010-06-04T11:04:00.004-04:00

Flyers History - Kate Smith

When good luck charms are mentioned in professional sports, the one name that always comes up is "Kate Smith". Never in professional sports has there ever been an unlikely combination that has worked so well. The radio star of yesteryear and the "Broad Street Bullies". But you couldn't argue the results and the love affair that grew between Flyer Fans and that first class lady.

Kathryn Elizabeth Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia, on May 1, 1909. She started signing before audiences as a child, and would end up on Broadway then with her own radio and television shows on top of her recordings including 19 Gold albums. The one song she is most associated with is Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". She first sang that song on Armistice Day, 1938. She did such a good job that Berlin gave her exclusive broadcast rights to sing that song for many years.

On December 11th, 1969 when Flyers vice president Lou Schienfield ordered the playing of Kate Smith's "God Bless America" in place of "The Star Spangled Banner". He tested several Patriotic songs in an empty arena earlier and it was Kate's song that sounded the best. This was a day when American patriotism was at an all time low and to spark fans that had appear to be disinterested earlier during the playing of the national anthem, a different song was played. There were several angry comments during that first playing, but a Flyers 6-3 win over Toronto changed their tune as well. The Flyers lost their next home game without Kate, but the subsequent home game and Kate's song resulted in another win - and the legend started.

It was up to Lou Schienfield to choose which games to play Kate. Generally it was a game by game decision - with Lou deciding on instinct or if the game was important. The first 3 years saw an incredible difference in the home records - 19-1-1 with Kate and a losing 31-38-28 record without Kate (including playoffs)

Kate's first live performance was the home opener of the 1973-74 season. Fortunately for the Flyers, Kate's 88-year-old uncle was sending Kate newspaper clippings detailing her growing relationship for the Flyers. For $ 5,000 she agreed to play live. When the red carpet rolled out , Leaf's goaltender Doug Favell - who had played all of the previous seasons for the Flyers in their franchise history, knew his new team was in trouble. If his teammates didn't fully appreciate her influence, he did. The Flyers ended up winning 2-0. It didn't take too long for other players on other teams to realize what it meant when "God Bless America" was played before a game. When the Flyers eventually made the finals and Kate played live before game 6 of the finals, Boston stars Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito tried to reverse the jinx by shaking Kate's hand and giving her flowers - it didn't work and the Flyers won the cup.

The following season Kate worked her magic yet again. A live performance in game 7 of the semifinals inspired a victory over the New York Islanders as the Flyers continued on their way to a second straight Stanley Cup. On January of 1976, during the height of the cold war "God Bless America" spurred on the crowd and the team to a victory over the Soviet Union's Central Red Army Team - and staked them to a claim as the greatest team on earth.

Kate's song started to be played less frequently after that point, but she will always be remembered. It wasn't long after that Kate's health began to deteriorate. Complications from diabetes caused numerous problems over a 10 year period. In 1982 she was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom. When it became apparent that Ms. Smith's time was drawing to a close, hundreds of Flyer fans gathered together at her hospital and sang the song that she had sung to them. Smith died on June 17, 1986, in Raleigh, North Carolina, but her memory lives on. A statue of her appears today as a tribute to what she brought to the Flyers.

More on Greg Boyle, SJ of Homeboy Industries

2010-06-01T14:28:00.004-04:00

I just finished reading Tattoos on the Heart - Greg Boyle, SJ. Took all of two days and I would recommend it to everyone. Consolation and desolation in every page... sometimes in the same paragraph. Happy, sad and inspiring from cover to cover.

I hope it becomes a best seller so Homeboy Industries can start hiring again. Do yourself a favor and put it on your summer reading list. Once read you'll also be counting your blessings.

The following From America Magazine's blog:

Greg Boyle on NPR's Fresh Air

Greg Boyle, S.J., founder of Homeboy Industries, and author of Tattoos on the Heart (which we reviewed here in our piece "Hope for Homies"), was interviewed on May 20 on NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross." (Back in April, he was also a guest on the America podcast.)

As John Coleman, S.J., reported in "In All Things" a few weeks back, Homeboy Industries is facing serious financial problems, and has laid off "the bulk of our staff," as its website reported recently. Here Greg talks with Terry Gross about Homeboy, gang ministry, the Jesuits and hope in general. At one point Terry Gross asks him why he became a Jesuit. "What made you feel called in the first place?"

"I liked the Jesuits. They taught me...and they were hilarious and joyful, and nobody funnier on the planet earth than the Jesuits I knew. And they were getting arrested protesting the Vietnam War. I loved both those things. And you put that together and I thought, boy, there's I wanted to with my life. I want to be prophetic and take stands and stand with those on the margins, and I want to laugh as much as I can...."

You can hear the interview here. And you can help Homeboy Industries here. As Greg notes, Angelenos have money to save the Hollywood sign and an alligator named Reggie. How about Homeboy?

James Martin, SJ

PS -- not into reading? Buy a shirt or sweats instead at HOMEBOY Industries!

Iggy Goes to College

2010-05-29T11:05:00.003-04:00

A bit silly but poignant in the fact that the students at my alma mater would take the time to make such a movie. I never knew that Martelli cut St. Ignatius from the St. Joe's basketball team. Not even as a walk-on Phil? Cameos by Dan Joyce, SJ and Phil Florio, SJ.

A short movie that was made in 2007, for a Freshman retreat at Saint Joseph's University (in Philadelphia, PA). Comedic and poignant, with a long-winded lecture by the one and only Fr. Dan Joyce, SJ.

Iggy Goes to College
Here is "Iggy Goes to College"--a video created by Brit Keesling '10 and Sal Profaci '10 for the freshman Escape retreat. It tells the tale of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier, two college roommates who together founded the Society of Jesus, which eventually founded ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY!! Featuring the acting talents of Phil Martelli, Fr. Phil, Fr. Joyce, Dave Moffa, and much much more!!

from Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit...

2010-05-26T12:25:00.003-04:00

The following from by buddy Joseph at Good Jesuit, Bad Jesuit -- Jesuit's Saint Mary Assunta Chapel Open To The Public. One of the finest blogs out there.

For more click The Rooms of St. Ignatius.