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Interview Only love defeats exhaustion. God is love. Now I have a question for you: What can you do for the Church? are the individuals full of generosity, like the Good Samaritan? Who have faith like the Roman centurion? Who are enthusiastic like John the Baptist? Who dare the new, like Paul? Who are faithful like Mary Magdalene? I advise the Pope and the bishops to seek out twelve people outside the lines for administrative positions, people who are close to the poorest, who are surrounded by young people, and who are ready to try new things. We need to be with people who burn in such a way that the Spirit can spread itself everywhere. What do you recommend to help the Church recover from exhaustion? I recommend three very strong steps. The first is conversion: the Church must recognize its errors and follow a radical path of change, beginning with the pope and the bishops. The pedophilia scandals compel us to take up a path of conversion. Questions about sexuality, and all the themes involving the body, are an example. These are important to everyone, sometimes perhaps too important. We have to ask ourselves if people still listen to the advice of the Church on sexual matters. Is the Church still an authoritative reference in this field, or simply a caricature in the media? The second is the Word of God. Vatican II gave the Bible back to Catholics. Only those who perceive this Word in their heart can be part of those who will help achieve renewal of the Church, and who will know how to respond to personal questions with the right choice. The Word of God is simple, and seeks out as its companion a heart that listens. ... Neither the clergy nor ecclesiastical law can substitute for the inner life of the human person. All the external rules, the laws, the dogmas, are there to clarify this internal voice and for the discernment of spirits. Who are the sacraments for? These are the third means for healing. The sacraments are not an instrument of discipline, but a help for people in their journey and in the weaknesses of their life. Are we carrying the sacraments to the people who need new strength? I think of all the divorced and remarried couples, to extended families. They need special protection. The Church upholds the indissolubility of marriage. It’s a grace when a marriage and a family succeed ... The attitude we hold towards extended families determines the ability of the Church to be close to their children. A woman, for instance, is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion, who takes care of her and her three children. This second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not only is the mother cut out from the Church, but also her children. If the parents feel like they’re outside the Church, and don’t feel its support, the Church will lose the future generation. Before communion, we pray: “Lord, I am not worthy ...” We know we’re not worthy ... Love is a grace. Love is a gift. The question whether the divorced can receive communion ought to be turned around. How can the Church reach out to people who have complicated family situations, bringing them help with the power of the sacraments? What do you do personally? The Church is 200 years behind the times. Why doesn’t it stir? Are we afraid? Is it fear rather than courage? In any event, the faith is the foundation of the Church. Faith, trust, courage. I’m old and sick, and I depend on the help of others. Good people around me make me feel their love. This love is stronger than the distrust that I feel every now and then with regard to the Church in Europe. Only love defeats exhaustion. God is love. Now I have a question for you: What can you do for the Church? Courtesy: National Catholic Reporter JIVAN: News and Views of Jesuits in India OCTOBER 2012 14
Spirit Matters By Hedwig Lewis, SJ St Pedro Calungsod: The new Filipino saint was a Jesuit associate The new Saint from the Philippines was a 17th century teenage catechist at a Jesuit mission. Blessed Pedro Calungsod was martyred on 2 April 1672 for his faith together with Bl Diego San Luis Vitores, SJ in Guam, Philippines. On 19 Dec 2011 a miracle through his intercession was approved, and he will be canonized on 21 Oct ’12. When news of Fr Vitores’s martyrdom reached Manila there was great celebration, with the ringing of church bells and general rejoicing. The Jesuit College gathered in the Manila Cathedral to sing the Te Deum. In Spain, from where Fr Vitores hailed, there were fireworks, the ringing of bells, and the celebration of Solemn High Masses. Meanwhile, in the Visayas, the Phillipines, the birthplace of Pedro, there was no excitement and one wondered whether the Calungsod family were even aware of the death of their dear one. In 1981, when Agaña - a diocese in Guam created out of the diocese of Cebu - was preparing for its 20th anniversary as a diocese, the old manuscripts of 1673 relating to the beatification cause of Fr Vitores were rediscovered, his case was reopened, and he was finally beatified on 6 Oct 1985. Pedro’s name was mentioned in various documents of Fr Vitores, so it was thought proper to introduce the cause for his beatification, too. The papers were submitted to the Vatican in 1994 and approved in 1997. In January 2000 Pope John Paul II approved the decree on Calungsod’s martyrdom and set his beatification for 5 March 2000. On 19 Dec 2011, the Holy See officially approved the miracle qualifying Calungsod for sainthood and Pope Benedict XVI set the date for 21 Oct 2012 (World Mission Sunday). Scarcely anything is known about Pedro Calungsod. There are no historical records about his place of origin or his parents. In the documents related to the martyrdom of Fr Diego Vitores, Pedro is referred to an indio bisaya or a pure native from the Visayas region of the central Philippines. Calungsod means “fellowcitizen of Visaya”. The annual letter of the Philippine Jesuit Province sent to Rome in 1672 uses the diminutive terms mocito and mancebito to describe Pedro. Presumably, he was about 17 years old when he died, and only 12 when he left for the Mariana Mission in 1667. Few details of his early life prior to missionary work and death have come through historical research. Pedro must have received his elementary education at a Jesuit boarding school – perhaps at Tanay in eastern Negros. The Jesuits in the Philippines used to train and employ young boys as competent catechists and versatile assistants for the Marianas Mission. Pedro would have had to master the Catechism and learn to communicate in Spanish and Chamorro. He would have been trained in the skills of drawing, painting, singing, acting, and carpentry that were necessary in missionary work. He would also have been an altar-server at Mass. The Jesuit mission in the Mariana Islands was the first in Oceania and also one of the bloodiest. On 15 June 1668, Fr Vitores and a band of five other Jesuits arrived on Guam, the southernmost and largest of 15 volcanic islands. With the missionaries came a garrison of 30 soldiers from the Philippines, whose responsibility was to protect the missionaries. Pedro was among the young exemplary catechists chosen to accompany them. Pedro became Fr Vitores’ faithful assistant in the mission, and served generally as sacristan, catechist and translator. The first mission residence and church were built in 1669 in Hagatna, Guam. Life in the Marianas was hard. The provisions for the Mission did not arrive regularly; the jungles were too thick to cross; the cliffs were very stiff to climb, and the islands were frequently visited by devastating typhoons. Despite the hardships, the missionaries persevered, and religious work with the Chamorro people was enthusiastic and reassuring. The Mission was blessed with many conversions. In course of time, the Chamorros grew resentful of the way their language and other customs were being replaced. Chamorro deaths had also increased due to foreign-borne illnesses. A Chinese quack, named Choco, envious of the prestige that the missionaries were gaining among the Chamorros, started to spread the rumour that the baptismal water of the missionaries was poisonous. And since some sickly Chamorro infants who were baptized died, many believed the calumniator and eventually apostatized. Choco’s campaign was readily supported by the Macanjas – “medicine men”, and by the Urritaos, young natives who were given to some immoral practices. They together began to persecute the missionaries, many of whom were martyred. Fr Vitores and Pedro were brutally killed with spears and a cutlass in the village of Tumhon, in Guam, on 2 April 1672. Their bodies were dumped into the sea, never to be recovered. Pedro Calungsod is the second Filipino saint. The first, St Lorenzo Ruiz, who worked as a calligrapher for the Dominican parish of Binondo, Manila, was martyred in Nagasaki, Japan in 1637. The motto on Pedro’s canonization logo reads: “Life that is Offered, Faith that is Proclaimed.” • JIVAN: News and Views of Jesuits in India OCTOBER 2012 15
Page 2 and 3: By Kinley Tshering, SJ Garden Out o
Page 4 and 5: New Frontiers By Job Kozhamthadam,
Page 6 and 7: New Frontiers Science. Non-technica
Page 8 and 9: New Frontiers of 4 July, 2012, reaf
Page 10 and 11: Jesuits - Assistancy Assam governme
Page 12 and 13: Jesuits - Assistancy Students of th
Page 16 and 17: Perception By William J. O’Malley
Page 18 and 19: Mosaic At least 3,000 people sought
Page 20 and 21: Jesuits - World Efforts to re-creat
Page 22 and 23: Jesuits - Asia Pacific Cardinal Sha
Page 24 and 25: Jesuits - World Why healthy people
Page 26 and 27: Jesuits - World Exiled Jesuit pries
Page 28 and 29: Obituaries G.V. Doorssealaer, SJ (M
Page 30: By Joseph Cardozo, SJ Lessons 10 Le

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