Newsletter - Regis College

Regis CollegeNewsletterSpring/Summer 2012In this issueRegis College’s Commissioning Mass 20122 Letter from the PresidentHonouring Fred Crowe SJ3 Adrienne Pereira RetiresAlpha Sigma Nu Inductees4 CultureFest, Royackers Lecture,St. John’s Bible5 Regis in the Arts6 Student-lead Social JusticeInitiatives7 Faculty Updates8 Regis Happenings

A Word from the PresidentDear friends of Regis,Jack Costello SJ with AdriennePereira and Jesuit scholasticMatthew Livingstone SJ atthe retirement reception forAdrienne, which followed theCommissioning Mass.To page through this June Newsletter for our 2011-12 academic year is to get aglimpse of the variety of activities, events and projects that have made up the lifeof the Regis College Community over the past half year.As I look back on those months through these photos and stories I marvel atthe vitality that is being celebrated in the academic and service work of ourprofessors, in the liturgies and public talks that have drawn many of you here, inthe remarkable energy of our students. With regard to the students I am thinkingespecially of the magnificent CultureFest preceded by the film documentary workin El Salvador by two of our young Jesuits, and also of the social justice film seriesthat drew so many people. It has been a rich semester.Blended into all these have been the wonderful Commissioning Liturgy forour ‘departing’ students and the immensely joyful expressions of gratitude forAdrienne Pereira’s fifteen years at Regis—including the start-up of The AdriennePereira Bursary. And on a more serious but equally grateful note, the wake andfuneral of Fr. Fred Crowe SJ, a great teacher and Lonergan scholar among us forclose to fifty years.We move into the coming months with several excellent Summer Courses beingoffered by our faculty—so our halls will not be empty or silent. We also willwelcome various guests and groups coming to visit our lovely building, and somewill rent the premises for wedding, baptism and birthday parties—just for thebeautiful setting.Our journey includes you…actually, it requires you—for your companionship,your affection and your support for Regis that is more necessary now than ever.Please continue to be a part of Regis life. And allow us to be part of yours.Blessings on each of you, and may the summer be a safe and truly joyful time foryou.Jack Costello SJFrederick Crowe SJIn addition to more than 60 years asa Jesuit, Frederick Crowe SJ will beremembered and respected not onlyas the twentieth century’s foremostBernard Lonergan scholar, but as acreative theologian in his own right.He was ordained in 1949 and joinedthe faculty of Regis College in 1953.He taught at Regis until retiring duringwhich time he served as Presidentof Regis College from 1969 until1971. Upon retirement he dedicatedthe next three decades to researchand writing. His interest as a studentin the works of Bernard Lonerganprompted him to devote his life to thestudy of Fr. Lonergan. His researchbecame part of the Lonergan Archive,and the heart of the Lonergan Centrewhich he established at Regis Collegein 1970. In 1985, the Centre becamethe Lonergan Research Institute. Fredwas the first Director and remained sountil 1992.During his lifetime Fred publishedclose to 200 books and articles. Histeaching was legendary. He was therecipient of both the John CourtneyMurray Award, the highest honourbestowed by the Catholic TheologicalSociety of America, and the CardinalSpellman Award for Theological Studies.Many, the world over, are indebtedto him for creating this legacy. Wepray for his peace in the Lord.The Regis News is published by the Development Office, for Graduates and Friends of Regis College, 416-922-5474 ext 231.If you wish to receive this newsletter electronically, contact the Development Office at michele.clemo@utoronto.ca2Regis College Newsletter Spring/Summer 2012Regis College, 100 Wellesley Street West Toronto, ON M5S 2Z5Telephone: 416-922-5474 Fax: 416-922-2898 www.regiscollege.ca

Adrienne Pereira Retires after 35 YearsAdrienne has been the backbone ofsupport and a pillar of strength formany of us. Not only does she have atremendous sense of professionalismand the capacity to be an exceptionalhost, her warmth and love for Regisstudents and the Jesuits is evident ineverything she does.Kelly Bourke, MDiv Alumni 2011Little did Adrienne Pereira know whenshe agreed to fill in as secretary at St.Paul’s High School in Winnipeg in1977, that she would stay for eightyears and begin a career with theJesuits that would span 35 years.After working for St. Paul’s HighSchool, Adrienne moved to Torontoin 1985 and was hired to work at theJesuit Communication Project whereshe helped to facilitate media literacyprograms. At one point, she wasappointed acting director, the first non-Jesuit to be given this responsibility.In 1997, Jack Costello SJ, thenPresident of Regis College,asked Adrienne to join Regis asadministrative assistant to thePresident, a position Adrienne saysshe has thoroughly enjoyed for thelast 15 years. “I have worked at Regisunder three Presidents, and throughthe move from St. Mary Street to ourcurrent location. I can honestly saythat it has been 15 happy years. I’vealways believed that you have to lovewhat you do, and I have loved comingto work every day. Regis is a trulysupportive community, and the faculty,staff and students will always have aspecial place in my heart, as will myfriends and colleagues in the broaderJesuit community.”Adrienne will continue to be a valuedfriend and colleague to current andformer students, and Jesuits acrossCanada and around the world.Amongst her many virtues Adrienne’sadaptability is remarkable. During the15 years that she has been at Regisshe has worked with three presidents.To each she has given the same gift ofcheerful, efficient, and organized hardwork, but for each she has adaptedher collaboration to accommodate hisstyle and working manner so as to bemost helpful in the administration ofthe college. She receives a trio—bass,baritone and tenor—of “thanks”.Rev. Joe Schner SJ, former President,Regis CollegeAdrienne retired at the end of April,but assures us that she will be back,after a summer of travelling andreading. Adrienne has agreed tocontinue on a part-time basis tomanage rental arrangements forexternal events which help generateadditional revenue for Regis College.In honour of Adrienne Pereira’sdedication to Regis College, TheAdrienne Pereira Bursary has beenestablished and will be awardedannually to a second year studentwho exemplifies the Ignatian spirit inacademics and student life. Donationsto The Adrienne Pereira Bursary can bemade by contacting Michele Clemo,Director of Development, RegisCollege at 416-922-5474, ext 231.Alpha Sigma Nu Inductees 2012Alpha Sigma Nu is the honour society of the Jesuit institutions ofhigher education. Each year, the Society recognizes those studentswho distinguish themselves in Scholarship, Loyalty and Service.Alpha Sigma Nu seeks to identify the most promising students ofJesuit institutions of higher education who demonstrate an intelligentappreciation of and commitment to Jesuit ideals. On February 15,2012 on the occasion of Regis College Chapter of Alpha Sigma Nuinduction, eight Regis students were honoured as well as PresidentJack Costello SJ. Two faculty professors were inducted as honourarymembers: Dr. John Berkman and Dr. Margaret Lavin.The 2012 student honorees were (left to right):Julie Cachia, Zane Chu, Edmund Lo SJ, MatthewLivingstone SJ, Angela McAuliffe IBVM, VanessaNicholas Schmidt, John O’Brien SJ and Artur Suski SJ.Regis College Newsletter Spring/Summer 20123

Matthew and Trevor “Document” for Social Justice“Documentaries are part of theChristian witness,” says MatthewLivingstone SJ. “When a goodstory comes along it should betold.” Both he and Trevor ScottSJ traveled to El Salvador inDecember 2011 to create twofilm documentaries on sociallyurgent issues.Trevor is directing a documentaryon the experience of hospitalityin the world of refugees and newimmigrants to Canada. “For newimmigrants, this is a very insecuremoment in their lives,” says Trevor.“They likely don’t know anyone inCanada, they are dependent on thehospitality of government, religiousorganizations, and Canadians.”In the very short term, hospitality canbe as basic as where they spend theirfirst night in Canada. In the longtermhospitality deals with the largerissue of how Canadians welcomenew immigrants. “Canadians pridethemselves on being hospitable, butour idea of hospitality may be differentfrom that of other countries such as ElSalvador,” says Trevor. “We can learna lot about ourselves and what we cando to help new Canadians by studyingthe immigrant experience.”Matthew was the team leader for adocumentary which was difficult tofilm because it dealt with the issueof gender violence in El Salvador.Together with director Jenny Brown, anindependent Canadian film director,Matthew documented the fact thatthe civil war has incited a culture ofviolence and impunity in El Salvador.“Unfortunately, violence is prevalentin certain segments of the public,and people have become used toviolence,” says Matthew. “Most oftenwomen are the victims.”6Regis College Newsletter Spring/Summer 2012The documentary team in El Salvador, withTrevor and Matthew (back row center) andLeah, (far right).The documentary explores thecontributing factors to this culture ofviolence. The team interviewed policeofficials, local activists; families whohad lost loved ones to the violenceand former guerrillas. They visitedmass graves, where these acts ofviolence had recently been carriedout. “The deaths are being catalogued,but more needs to be done to preventthe death and horror,” says Matthew.Members of the team for bothdocumentaries include educationdirector Ninette D’Souza, CameramanManuel Rico-Martinez, Loly Rico-Martinez and Francisco Rico-Martinez.The University of Central AmericaInstitute of Human Rights providedSocial JusticeFilm Seriessupport for the documentaryteam: by helping to set upinterviews and meetings withpoliticians, hiring a lawyer andoffering needed space.Music for the documentaries isbeing written and performedby Leah Hunter who recentlycompleted her Masters inTheological Studies at Regis.Trevor is just finishing his Mastersin Divinity at Regis College. He wasordained as a Deacon in April and isapplying to get a Masters in Theologyas well as a Licentiate in SacredTheology in order to be able to teachin certain Catholic Faculties.Matthew, President of the studentcouncil at Regis College, graduatesthis year with a MDiv. He holds a MAin Islamic Political Philosophy and anHonours BA in Political Science. He ismoving towards getting his Licentiatein Sacred Theology and is hopingto continue his studies of Islam andMuslim cultures.Matthew and Trevor agree thatthey have been given an incredibleopportunity as part of their Jesuiteducation to work for social justice.Both expect their films to becompleted in the fall of 2012.Regis College’s first everstudent-lead Social JusticeFilm series was a hugesuccess drawing up to 60participants to each filmviewing and presentation.Student organizers GregKennedy SJ and DanielLeckman SJ (pictured leftto right) plan to continuethis thought-provoking filmseries this fall.

Faculty NewsVisit www.regiscollege.ca for a comprehensiveaccount of faculty initiativesJohn Dadosky was recently awardeda grant for a summer research projectin theological aesthetics. He was alsoselected to participate in the AAR-Lucesummer seminars in ‘Theologies ofReligious Pluralism’ and ‘ComparativeTheology.’ John’s forthcoming article inthe Irish Theological Quarterly is titled:“Revisiting Lonergan’s Philosophy.”Sr. Gill Goulding CJ has severalarticles to be published during thecourse of 2012. In addition, she hasbeen awarded a Theological ScholarsResearch Grant by the Lilly Foundationand a Post Doctoral Fellowship at theLonergan Institute, Boston College forher sabbatical time January throughJune 2013.Mary Jo Leddy’s latest book is titled:The Other Face of God: When theStranger Calls Us Home (Orbis, 2011).Along with her writing activities,Mary Jo Leddy has also been keynotespeaker at a number of speakingengagements and is Visiting Scholar,Oblate School of Theology, SanAntonio Texas.Margaret Lavin has just completeda book titled: Vatican II: Fifty Yearsof Evolution and Revolution in theCatholic Church (April 2012), astraightforward and concise discussionof Vatican II and how its teachingshave shaped Catholic Church practicesover the past 50 years.Maureen McDonnell attended theSpiritual Directors’ Internationalconference in Boston in April, whereshe participated in the planning ofthe Leadership Institute. Maureencontinues to participate in the RomanCatholic/ United Church Dialogue,where the topic under discussion ismarriage.Dr. Gilles Mongeau SJ gave a lectureentitled: ‘Religion and Culture inAquinas,’ to faculty and students inthe Catholic Studies program at King’sUniversity College in London Ontarioin March. King’s is the Catholic collegeat the University of Western Ontario.Sean Mulrooney recently taught aweek-long course in Academic Skillsfor students in their propedeuticSpiritual Year at St. Augustine’sSeminary. He also taught a course withat St. Michael’s College that providedadult learners with an introduction tothe thought of Bernard Lonergan SJ.Gordon Rixon SJ recently presentedpapers at the West Coast MethodsInstitute at Loyola MarymountUniversity in Los Angeles and theannual meeting of the CanadianTheological Association at theUniversity of Waterloo.Professor Jaroslav Skira was recentlyappointed to the Toronto School ofTheology, as the Director of AdvancedDegree Programs for a five yearterm. He will also continue to be afaculty member at Regis. In February2012, his translation of The SecondVatican Council Diaries of Met. MaximHermaniuk, C.Ss.R. (1960 -1965), waspublished by Peeters Press. Recentlythe book won the Manitoba Day Awardfor excellence by the Association ofManitoba Archives.In FebruaryMichaelStoeber hada solo exhibitof his abstractpaintings.Michael Stoeber just publisheda chapter entitled: “Mysticism inEcumenical Dialogue,” in the book,Teaching Mysticism, edited by WilliamB. Parsons (Oxford University Press),and his essay: “Theosophical Influenceson the Painting and Writing of LaurenHarris,” is published in the current issueof the Toronto Journal of Theology.Monty Williams’ latest book: SteppingInto Mystery: Four Approaches to theSpiritual Path (Novalis Press, 2012),has just been released. From May untilDecember, Monty will be offeringretreats, workshops, and public lecturesin Malaysia, Hungary, Australia andTasmania.I want to Support Regis College’s programs and mission!Please use the enclosed envelope to return this reply form with your gift. Thank you!I would like to give: q $35 q $50 q $100 q $200 or $ _______Your name: please print clearlyAddressPayment InformationMy cheque is enclosed, payable to: Regis CollegeI prefer to charge my gift to my: VISA MasterCardPhoneEmailI wish to remain anonymous when the Regis College publicly acknowledges itsdonors. Charitable Business Number: 13169 0125 RR0001Name on cardCard #SignatureExpiryDateRegis College Newsletter Spring/Summer 20127/