Brittonia

Tokyo rocked by Mother of All Earthquakes

2011-03-13T00:46:00.010+09:00

Friday (March 11, 2011), afternoon around 2:50, I was in bed taking a siesta--as I went to bed last night, or this morning, only around 3:00 AM. It was time for me to get up, but I was still psyching myself to get up while listening to Narnia, the C.S.Lewis fable for children. One of the characters in the story, Eustace, was wondering who he was as he suddenly found himself changed to a dragon. Then I sensed small mild tremors. Although most of us, accustomed as we are to innumerable tremblers, tend to take them easy, today I got up, got out, closed the door, and stood in the usual 'safe' place, which is the door frame, between the room and the corridor. [It is 10:15 PM now, and I just returned after going out, as the building started shaking again.] It looked like the usual rattle, with some shakes and squeaks, but suddenly it got serious and continued on and on, with violent movements of everything around me. I could hear inside the room things crashing and books falling, and the whole building was moving in different directions. The noise was really the most frightening as it was like going on an old steam engine train over a broken down bridge in India. Or, (for those who have not been to India) it was as if the whole building was an airplane going through a turbulence over the Pacific!

Today was supposed to be the wake of Fr. George Graziano, whose lifeless body lay just about 20 meters from where I was, and no doubt I prepared interiorly to join him saying goodbye to this world. I could hear things falling in different rooms, but could hear no one crying or shouting. Neither could I see anyone running. It was as if I was the only one in the whole building, going to face this calamity. The quake seemed to continue much longer than usual, becoming extremely severe at times. I could see the door of the tiny chapel in front of my room open, and two statues (one of Mary and the other of Joseph) falling down and crashing into pieces. The decapitated head of Joseph rolled towards the exit, and moved back and forth in rhythm with the quake. I was wondering whether to get out of the building by running just a couple of meters to the exit door, but the threat of imminent doom held me strapped to my 'safe' spot. At last--some say after about three minutes, some say after about five minutes--the quakes subsided, and I rushed out of the building to the open ground between a three storied building and a five storied building.

There in the same area, I met a young man in his twenties, who had come to Japan just a couple of months ago. He was dressed in black for the wake of George, and he was dusting himself and pressing down his pants. As he was a foreigner, I asked him where he was during the quake and how he found the experience. Although he looked cool, his story was even more chilling than mine, Apparently he was in the adjoining building using a personal computer, when he felt the quake. He tried to get out, but in the corridor, he was not sure if he could make it safely to the exit. So he went back to the computer room and opened the window to get out. Unfortunately, outside the window there is a two-meter-wide pit going all the way down to the concrete basement, and the only solid ground is about two meter away. To add to his problems, the window too is quite small and about a meter above ground; so he could not sprint or stand near the window to jump. Still being young and perhaps scared, he just jumped and landed safely on the muddy ground with some interior scratches in his leg. So he was still tense with fear, which increased as he viewed the nearby tall buildings swaying back and forth. Luckily he had no serious injury, and he looked cheerful.

The aftershocks continued as I took a walk around the building and the garden. I could see a large number of persons standing outside in the streets of Sophia University, but there didn't seem to be any damage. Many residents I spoke with mentioned about things falling down and room in disarray, but nobody reported any human injury. The Sophia employees meanwhile came out and directed everyone to go out to the playground, which is the official 'safe'' area for people around here during a major quake. Today there were some graduate school entrance examinations, and so there were many more people than usual. I went to the Sophia crossroads, met many students and friends, and walked towards the playground. There were a few hundred people in the playground just in front of the main entrance to Sophia. I went up the dote 'embankment' where too there were many people, each one with a cellphone trying desperately to contact someone or other. Apparently cell phones didn't work for some time or they worked only partly. So some seemed frustrated. Of course, everyone seemed to be narrating to someone else how he or she escaped the quake and which things fell down or broke. As I walked towards the Yotsuya station, I could see that the cross on top of the St. Ignatius Church tower had rotated 180 degrees, hinging on a screw that held it aloft over the tower. Some bricks or concrete debris seem to have fallen down, and so there was a no entry zone around the tower.

It was after about 15:40 that some Sophia employees announced in a megaphone that they could return to their places. [It was surprising that they didn't use the loudspeaker; they only used a simple megaphone, which could be heard only by a few people nearby!] The trains had stopped soon after the quake, and so many people had nowhere to go. According to TV, most taxis and buses too were unavailable. So many started walking back. Many students and employees returned to the university. Many persons slept yesterday in shelters as they could not return to their homes, and some walked for three to five hours to reach their home! Sophia too made its space available to those who sought shelter.

On TV, of course, the earthquake has been the only news in all channels, and even now at 12:10 AM, on March 13, they still broadcast earthquake news. When I saw the news some time ago, about 1400 were reported dead, and a large number missing or wounded. According to news, this earthquake was perhaps the most serious in anyone's living memory, and perhaps the deadliest in a millennium. This was also a mega quake that has affected almost the whole of Japan, all the way from Hokkaido to Okinawa. The center of the quake seems to have been somewhere in the sea near Miyagi, with a frightening 8.9 magnitude. Miyagi seems to have felt a quake of 7.8 magnitude, and the Tokyo area, a quake of magnitude between 5 & 6. The duration of the quake, about three to five minutes, too seems to have been quite unusual.

What seems to have done the greatest damage is the tsunami. Although the news channels warned about the tsunami soon after the quake, people seemed to have had no time to remove their belongings to a safe area. The news clips of the inundating tsunami look like Hollywood movie clips as rushing water pours into airports, homes, and highways hauling cars, trucks, boats, houses, and even buildings! There were also fires in many places. The Sendai airport seems to have practically sunk under tsunami though parts of the main building were above water. And now there is the very serious talk of chemical leaks from the atomic plant, which has made it necessary to move nearby residents to safe areas at least 30 kms away.

One point that struck me after the quake was how sturdy the modern buildings are! Really the Japanese architects have done an excellent job! Although in movies we see skyscrapers crashing and crushing people, not a single major edifice seems to have fallen during this monstrous quake. A couple of minor accidents were there, but no major collapse of any building. In Tokyo there were only very few deaths due to the structural failure of buildings--one of the saddest being the Kudan Kaikan crash that seems to have killed two and injured about 20. No doubt, the Police, SDF, Fire Service, and other service personnel too are doing a remarkable job during this critical time. Congratulations and thanks to all of them!

Although it is nearly 32 hours after the major quake, I can still feel tremors now and then. The aftershocks have continued since yesterday afternoon, and one doesn't feel relaxed enough to go to sleep. I hope we will all live through this monstrous mother of all earthquakes and learn additional lessons to protect ourselves better.

George Graziano, Jesuit Professor of English

2011-03-09T19:58:00.017+09:00

I have to apologize for reporting the death of another Sophia University Professor, Fr. George Graziano, S.J., who passed away around 7:30 P.M. today (Ash Wednesday, March 9, 2011).

I don't think George was ever hospitalized during his long life except for the final three months. His hospitalization, towards the end of last year, proved to be not only the first, but also the last. When he reluctantly left for a checkup, he was looking forward to returning within a short time, but his situation deteriorated gradually and turned critical after a couple of falls in January.

George was born on February 2, 1930, entered the New York Province of the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1947, and was ordained a priest on June 20, 1959. He had been in Japan since 1955, mostly teaching English at Sophia University until his retirement around 2000.

With a degree in Applied Linguistics, George taught mostly oral English, presentation skills, and writing. George was a pioneer in introducing media-based English courses at Sophia, and, according to various accounts, he even had a bus with audio-visual gadgets in the 1960s and 70s. Although he belonged to the Department of English, for many years he taught in the Faculty of Law, grooming many generations of youngsters. He was a dedicated and committed teacher, willingly giving his time to students, helping them improve their oral and written English. His office door was always open, and there were always students there, often learning English while watching a movie or a Columbo episode. He kept in touch with students even after their graduation, and he officiated at the marriage of many of them.

George was much interested in audio-visual machines and computers. He had a substantial collection of audio and video tapes for teaching English, some of which he himself edited or compiled. His favorite teaching tool was the Columbo TV series, many episodes of which he knew almost by heart. He was one of the earliest users of a computer at Sophia, especially from a non-Science Faculty, going back to the days of punch cards. After the arrival of PCs, he used almost every version of Windows until Windows Vista. He was competent in handling the programming language BASIC and wrote several programs for use in class. In fact, after his retirement from Sophia, he volunteered to work in Myanmar, and there too he employed his personally developed CALL system, which consisted of a set of lessons with Columbo episodes and custom-made dialogs and questions, all controled by his own software program.

George had the knack of attracting people and was often surrounded by former students who came from different walks of life. One of the reasons for his popularity might have been his membership in a yachting club, to which he belonged for many years. Almost every year, he attended numerous functions associated with the club and was regular in giving opening or closing speeches. He was also a 'socialite' being very generous in treating friends, sometimes even cooking for them. George was a very talented cook and had very clear notions about the quality of food and the manner of serving and eating. Perhaps he came from a family of restaurateurs, educated since a very young age in food vocabulary and food criticism. He often made bread, pizza, and other dishes in his office and ate with others.

George was a memorable character. Perhaps no student is likely to forget George's sonorous voice and impressive appearance. Most notable were his hair, which he laboriously wound around to cover his bald pate, and his pants, all of which were ultra-tight. Of course, he was always dandy, paying close attention to the colors of his clothes, the design of his tie, and the choice of his jacket. Perhaps more than his voice and appearance, what made him memorable was his vocation-inspired sociability and generosity, as he always strove to be available and generous to others. R. I. P.

Funeral Details:
April 9, 2011 (Sat), 10:00 AM: There will be a Memorial Mass for Fr. Graziano at St. Ignatius Church, Yotsuya, Tokyo.

Wake and Funeral were canceled due to the calamitous Great Quake of March 11.

Klaus Luhmer, former Chancellor of Sophia University

2011-03-01T13:08:00.023+09:00

[FYI: For a printable version of this entry and for the Japanese Eulogy delivered by Fr. Jerry Cusumano, S.J., on the occasion of Fr. Luhmer's funeral, please click the following link and view the first entry: http://pweb.cc.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/ ]

I hate to make this into a blog of obituaries, but unfortunately so many illustrious professors and builders of Sophia University are disappearing that I am forced to write something about at least some of them. Just a couple of minutes ago, I heard that Fr. Klaus Luhmer, one of the most well-known faces of Sophia University, passed away at the age of 94, at 12:20 PM today (March 1, 2011).

My association with Klaus goes back to many years, but it started getting closer and warmer since the time he started using computers and email, in mid-1990s. He was one of the most athletic, energetic, and enthusiastic men around, and so his curiosity knew no bounds. He boldly embraced the Internet, and despite numerous 'electronic accidents', he continued to use it and do creative work with it. I believe he started engaging himself seriously in Montessori-style education around that time, and he started translating, writing, and editing numerous books and articles on Montessori--of course, with several Japanese collaborators, one of his closest associates being Professor Masako Ejima. He also became the President of Nihon Montessori Association (日本モンテッソーリ協会会長) and was eager to give some exposure to the Association on the Internet. That was what brought us together. Following his suggestions and recommendations, I opened a Montessori web site for him at Sophia (with web-data created by another Montessori colleague), since the Association had some links with Sophia University then. Sophia, unfortunately, cut off its ties to the Association after some years, and so the Webpages had to be removed. Luhmer too gave up the Association's Presidency in favor of some other person.

Around the same time, I also created a Web site for Fr. Luhmer, aptly named LUHMERLAND (see http://pweb.cc.sophia.ac.jp/luhmer/), listing major events in his life and the series of Montessori books he authored, edited, or translated. Even after he moved to Loyola House, he continued supplying some information for the Web page, including his meeting with Agnes Chan, a Sophia University alumna and a teen idol of the 1970s. Fr. Luhmer really enjoyed life and loved to be in the company of people, and so he was constantly on the move meeting persons, giving talks, and visiting the sick. It was hard to keep up with all his activities, and so I have to confess that I was a bit negligent in reporting many of his activities.

Here is a list of some major events in his life:

**1916, September, 28 : Luhmer was born in Koln, Germany. Had his early education at Beethoven Gymnasium near Bonn.

**1935, April 26 : Entered the Society of Jesus.

**1937, February 18: Arrived in Japan, via Siberia, with other illustrious Jesuits such as L. Laures & Erlinghagen, after 13 days of travel! Studied Japanese in Tokyo and Hiroshima for about 18 months, and then studied philosophy at Hiroshima noviciate for about three years.

**1943: Studied at Tokyo Azabu Theologate, while experiencing many aerial attacks and bombs.

**1945 July 1: Ordination to priesthood, and on August 6, witnesses the incredible atomic bomb over Hiroshima, from a distance of 4 kilometers. Enters the bombed zone within the city several times to help the wounded, rescue Fr. Enomiya Lasalle, and save some Church relics and sacred vessels. Thus becomes acquainted first hand with the atom bomb, and also gets affected with some skin infection.

**1947: After acquiring teaching skills at Kobe Rokko Gakuin, proceeds to Detroit University, USA, for studying Educational Administration.

**1953: Enters Sophia University as a Professor in the Department of Education, Faculty of Literature. He teaches Western Educational History and Comparative Education.

**1957-1965: Holds the position of Sophia University Chancellor. Among his achievements as Chancellor were the buying of the Kioizaka Building, establishment of the Science Faculty, and the recruitment of illustrious Japanese to hold important positions.

**1965: Is in charge of Public Relatioins, and gives publicity to Sophia overseas. Also sees to the publication of student newspaper and dissemination of information about Sophia.

**1969: For about three years--especially during the Student Unrest period--serves as the Vice-President of General Affairs under President Moriya.

**1985, November: Receives an Award from the Japanese Government for his services (勲三等旭日中授賞)

**1987: Even as he is ready to retire at the age of 70, he is appointed the Chancellor of Sophia University once more! Also made a Professor Emeritus.

**1992 March: Retires from the job of Chancellor, and takes up wholeheartedly and intensely the study of Montessori Education. Visits various countries like India and Italy to get to know Montessori first hand, and attends many conferences on Montessori. Becomes President of Nihon Montessori Association. Publishes several books (see http://pweb.cc.sophia.ac.jp/luhmer/album.htm), including The origins of Liberal Education: From Plato to Montessori, The Way of Montessori Education, and Schule und Ildungsreform In Japan I & II

**Fr. Luhmer was not only an academic, but also a sportsman, doing ice-skating even in his mid 80's, and a man of many talents. He loved playing the flute and organ, often playing with friends in an ensemble. Even at the age of 90, he was learning Korean, Spanish, Italian, and French listening to the NHK radio!

Fr. Luhmer was perhaps born to govern as he spent most of his life occupying positions of power and administration. Still, he had a simplicity and gentleness that made him amiable and approachable. He was friendly with all and never put on airs. Like most great men and women of history, he had a way with fellow human beings, and dealt with them respectfully, fairly, and generously. He seemed adept in using languages--especially Japanese--and wielded Japanese ably to raise funds, extract cooperation, and encourage colleagues. He used to speak of the verbal and non-verbal cues that the wealthy gave him whenever he went fundraising, and had a list of signs that guided him when to continue a conversation and when to cut it short.

Funeral Arrangements:
WAKE: March 3, 2011 (Th), 19:30, at St. Ignatius Church, Yotsuya, Tokyo
FUNERAL: March 4, 2011 (F), 13:30, at St. Ignatius Church, Yotsuya, Tokyo

Sophia University gets a new President!

2010-12-16T00:09:00.014+09:00

This evening the Sophia University Presidential election results were announced, and the winner is ... Professor Tadashi Takizawa of Law Department. Universities in Japan follow different norms to elect or appoint a President. At Sophia, since the Student Revolt of the late 1960's, they have the custom of electing a President. Every tenured or quasi-tenured 'shokutaku' member of Sophia, including non-teaching employees, is eligible to vote. Usually three candidates are presented after various preliminary procedures and vetting, and the voters decide which one of the three they'd like to have as President. Although Sophia is a Jesuit University, the President doesn't have to be a Jesuit; in fact, s/he doesn't even have to be a Catholic or a Christian. The highly esteemed and appreciated current President Yoshiaki Ishizawa, for instance, is not a Christian.

Professor Takizawa is a graduate of the prestigious Todai 'Tokyo University' getting his doctorate in Law and Politics in 1976. He came to Sophia as a Professor in 1984, and has held several important positions including the Dean of the Faculty of Law. He currently serves as the Chief Librarian of Sophia. He has also taught part-time in many other universities, and has spent a couple of months at the Catholic University of Leuven as a visiting Professor.

Professor Takizawa succeeds Professor Ishizawa, who did a remarkable job as the President serving for two terms. Professor Ishizawa brought many honors to Sophia especially by his pioneering research and discoveries in Cambodia, where Sophia University's presence can be seen in Angkor Wat and several other voluntary activities.

Photo Credits: (c) Sophia University, Tokyo

Jesuit Robert Spitzer rebuts Atheism

2010-11-30T21:50:00.023+09:00

Just today I received a copy of Robert Spizer's New Proofs for the Existence of God - Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy, sent by a friend in USA. Obviously, I haven't read it. I tried to find out about it, and it looks like a heavy, I mean difficult, book with lots of scientific jargon.

One reason I was interested in "New Proofs" was that there seem to be extremely few books from God-affirming scientists rebutting the arguments of God-denying scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Stephen Hawking. There are, surely, many apologetic books from so-called believers, who simply repeat what they were taught, without much critical or scientific reflection. Even in debates, often the believers come across as 'uninformed' or 'naive' with little awareness of contemporary science and are easily talked down to by their opponents. The only book of a God-affirming scientist that made waves internationally--prior to Spitzer's--was Francis Collins' Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. Spitzer is not a professional scientist like Collins; but he is a Doctor of Philosophy, and hearing him talk, one cannot but conclude he does have quite a bit of scientific knowledge. Perhaps his doctoral studies were in Philosophy of Science, combining Philosophy and Science. Anyway you can judge for yourself after watching, for example, this fiery and eloquent presentation of Spitzer:

Here is another video clip of Spitzer speaking on "The curious Metaphysics of Dr. Stephen Hawking."

Hearing him talk and having read about 60 pages of his book, I believe Spitzer's rebuttal of atheistic scientists boils down to the age-old maxim, "Nothing can come out of nothing!" The 'something' of a scientifically established Big Bang, initially formulated by the Catholic Priest-Scientist Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître, cannot simply come out of nothing--going against all sicentific principles. Spitzer quotes numerous scientists, talks their language, and presents their formulae and theories to show that Science simply has no other valid hypothesis except God to explain the origin of the universe at Big Bang.

As we know, even among atheistic scientists, the conscientious ones do not say, "There is no God," or "We can prove there is no God," but only say, "God is unnecessary," or "We don't need God to explain any of the observable phenomena." For example, when buses were run in Spain and England procaiming atheism, the awkwardly worded poster read: "There's probably no God! Now stop worrying and enjoy your life!" [Not clear what the significance of the poster is when most surveys suggest that people who believe are the ones who enjoy life and have fewer worries!]

Spitzer appeared a couple of weeks ago together with Stephen Hawking and Deepak Chopra on Larry King Live to discuss the book of Stephen Hawking, which the media proclaimed as Hawking's attack on God. There are three video segments of this discussion: the first presents the curt answers of Hawking to Larry King's questions, and the other two the responses of Spitzer et al. Here is the second segment in which Spitzer plays a major role:

Click here to watch the First segment.
Click here to watch the Third / Final segment.

Whatever the merits of Spitzer's book, it is great to see a book that talks science and debates with scientists on an even plane. I was impressed by the number of scientists that he presents as supporters of a God-hypothesis. It is up to atheistic scientists to rebut Spitzer's arguments! You can read more about Spitzer's work at his site http://www.magisreasonfaith.org/library/ and even order a copy of his book New Proofs for the Existence of God - Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy.

Sophia University Ranked First!

2010-11-04T23:41:00.014+09:00

A recent article in the Nikkei Career Magazine Special Edition (日経特別編集キャリアマガジン, June 10, 2010) ranks Sophia University first among the 480 Japanese universities surveyed for "Developing students' skills most needed for contemporary employment." The survey, limited to only four-year universities--thus excluding professional schools, junior colleges, etc.--was based on the responses of 4,684 students who were about to embark on job hunting.

The 25 survey questions dealt with four significant areas concerning (1) Personal feeling towards the university (大学愛 'Love for the university'), (2) Social relationships (交友関係 'friendships'), (3) Extracurricular Activities (課外活動), and (4) Satisfaction with academic work (学業 'Academic work'). Why these four topics? The surveyors say that a major difference between students who get employment and those who don't is their social skills or their ability to fit smoothly into society. The four major areas explored are indicators of students' social skills, and the university that contributes to the development of these skills is the most successful in educating the future workforce of Japan. The questions were of Multiple Choice format with 2, 3, 4, or 5 options.

According to the survey, the scores that Sophia obtained were as follows:
(1) Feeling towards the university: 234
(2) Social Relationships ... ... .: 614
(3) Extracurricular Activities.. .: 506
(4) Academic Satisfaction ... .. .: 478
Total Score:... .. .: 1832

For comparison, here are the scores of second-ranked and third-ranked universities (in the same order):
2nd-ranked university: 290, 615, 455, 445, 1805
3rd-ranked university: 232, 595, 455, 491, 1773

It is noteworthy that Sophia's impressive scores were mainly in "Academic Satisfaction" and "Extra-curricular Activities"--both hallmarks of a Jesuit University. Sophia usually demands much from students (rigorous attendance, lots of homework, etc.), and Sophia students are remarkably cooperative and committed to academic excellence. Many of Sophia's "Extracurricular Activities" are humanitarian activities, inspired by the traditional Christian concern to be socially responsible and to do something for the socially downtrodden. Worth mentioning are voluntary organizations such as Meguko that help the poor and STP 'Summer Teaching Program' that go out to teach skills to high-school students both in Japan and overseas.

Of course, all such surveys must be taken with a pinch of salt, and I don't think there is any reason for Sophians to boast or be complacent. Probably most Sophians are themselves a bit surprised at the first rank, though the report is sure to be a moral boost to all Sophians, especially the students.

Jesuit Mystic William Johnston Passes Away

2010-10-12T09:55:00.029+09:00

This morning (Oct. 12, 2010) I received the news that Fr. William Johnston, S.J., author, translator, mystical theologian, and sought-after preacher, passed away at Loyola House, where he had been cared for. Bill, as we used to call him, had been sick for nearly two years, since the time he had a stroke, towards the end of the annual retreat he was making at the Kamishakujii Jesuit Residence. Luckily, someone found him and took him to a hospital, where he had an urgent operation and his life was saved. I wrote 'Luckily,' but perhaps he himself might have said, 'Unluckily,' for he loathed being bed-ridden and unable to speak. Although his life was spared, he could not speak for nearly two years--though some visitors felt he understood what was said and showed some signs of recognition.

Bill was much senior to me, and although we had met frequently, we never had close personal exchanges until the late 1990s, when a Toshiba Satellite brought us together. He had just returned from the United States, where someone had very strongly urged him to buy a computer and use it for writing. So he arrived in Tokyo, proudly owning a Toshiba laptop, and asked several people to help him. Almost everyone gave up, and then Bill came to me and said, "You are going to help me write my next book in a computer. Everything is set, for I got the computer with the help of an expert. All you have to do is to help me start." So I went to his room and examined the computer, and immediately realized why nobody was able to help him.

The computer was quite simply a 'lemon': (1) It was an old model, with a very small amount of RAM memory, and basically a DOS machine into which some old version of Windows had been installed. (2) It was a U.S. model, entirely in English. (3) It had no CD or DVD drive, either internal or external. (4) It had absolutely no application software. And (5) it had no printer. Bill couldn't even understand why nobody would teach him to write his next book in this wonderful 'new' machine. The problems, however, were nearly insurmountable: In Japan, especially in the 1990s, there was very little support for non-Japanese Computers, and so nobody, not even Toshiba, was willing to solve problems of a computer bought in USA. As the computer had no CD drive, there was no way to install any software programs, most of which were then available only on CD-ROMs. Moreover, in Japan only Japanese or bilingual software was available, but his computer won't take anything other than English! Most of the printers sold in Japan weren't suitable for an English PC either, and there were other problems related to cables, connectors, and so on. It took me nearly two weeks to make the 'lemon' somewhat useful as I managed to install a DOS version of Word Perfect 5.1 (English) and find a printer that could be connected to his Toshiba.

Then I started instructing Bill on how to use the PC, and he was one of the most diligent and humble students. Following my instructions, he always wrote down the basic steps I taught him and never tried to learn more than he could digest. He was neither curious nor eager to explore the Internet, and so he limited himself to using the computer only as a typewriter. Very soon, he started writing his first book on the laptop, and there were, as may be expected, many critical times when he practically lost whole chapters or didn't know where they went! My visits to his room were regular and frequent, and several times I brought back 'miraculously' (in his eyes!) some of the Chapters which he thought he had lost forever. Finally, the book was completed, and although I was away on sabbatical, he managed to have it printed and published with the help of others--under the title of "Arise, my Love...," the very first book he wrote using a computer!

Since our Satellite get-togethers, we began to meet more frequently especially over a cup of coffee around 9:30 AM. Frankly, I was more like a sounding board or devil's advocate than like a fan or disciple. We have discussed all sorts of topics about persons, state of the Church, state of Religious Life, theology, future of religions, sex, celibacy, sexual maturity of celibates, atheism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc., etc., and frequently we were more in disagreement than in agreement. Of course, all our discussions usually ended up peacefully, and even when we parted in disagreement, we would meet again to continue the discussion, when he would say that he had changed his mind or that I was biased. Actually, he would sometimes say that I was ultra-conservative appearing as a liberal and at other times say that I was ultra-liberal appearing as a conservative. Overall, he enjoyed the challenges I put before him, and, actually, he wanted to be challenged, for challenges helped him develop his inchoate ideas.

Bill upset some people with his autobiography, "Mystical Journey: An Autobiography," which they found to be too frank and too revealing. He was quite excited when writing it, and would often say that it would be shocking to readers. I would often provoke him by saying, "Come on Bill, now at your age, you can be honest enough to write anything and everything! No need to be fuzzy or vague. Tell us clearly what you think and reveal yourself fully!" As a good Jesuit, he gave copies of the pre-published manuscript to other senior Jesuits for feedback, and occasionally modified it. Overall he was pleased with the reception he got for his autobiography, which urged him to start another autobiographical project. Meanwhile he had got a new desktop computer and was eagerly working on his new project. He used to tell me that his new book would be even more revealing and shocking to people, and that he would be sending parts of it to persons he could confide in.

It was at this stage that one of the promising Jesuits of Japan, Roger Downey, wound up in a Tokyo hospital, suffering excruciating pain due to his throat cancer. As the doctors, both in USA and in Japan, had given up on him, he was simply waiting for the inevitable, being tenderly cared for by the nurses but unable to speak or move freely. Johnston would regularly go to see him, and often tell others of the pain that Roger courageously suffered. The painful last days of Roger touched Johnston so deeply that he often prayed for Roger's early death and wished that his own life would not be prolonged artificially if ever he had to end up in bed like Roger. He often said that he wanted to die quietly and quickly, without being placed in a medical facility for too long. Paradoxically, soon after Roger's death a stroke paralyzed Johnston, and what he most disliked, he had to go through--perhaps in a mental state that was much less lucid than that of Roger.

William Johnston was born on July 30, 1925, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His childhood memories were colored by the 'religious' wars then prevalent in Northern Ireland. His family later moved to Liverpool, and he entered the Society of Jesus on September 20, 1943. He arrived in Japan as a missionary in 1951, all set to convert the Japanese to Christianity. Gradually, however, he got interested in mysticism, Buddhism (especially Zen), and interreligious understanding. He was especially touched by the pioneering interreligious activities of Fr. Enomiya Lasalle, S.J., of whom he wrote: "I see Lassalle as a prophet of the twentieth century, ranking beside Thomas Merton and Bede Griffiths." After his theological studies in Kamishakujii, Japan, he was ordained a Priest on March 24, 1957.

In 1958, Fr. Johnston left by ship from Yokohama for Rome, where he tried to pursue his studies at the Gregorian for a short period of six months. Though his stay there was short, he underwent substantial changes in his character and outlook, thanks to the persons he met there. Recalling his experiences, he writes: "Those seven years [in Japan] had changed me completely; but my short stay in Rome would change me even more. It was nothing short of a revolution in my life." His next major stop was Lumen Vitae, the Catechetical Institute in Brussels, where he studied for another six months. It was here that he entrenched himself deeper into studies of mysticism and was exposed to various Asian and exotic mystic traditions, such as the TM (Transcendental Meditation) of the Indian Guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

After a brief detour in New York, Johnston returned in 1960 to Japan to teach at Sophia University. Having no higher academic degrees, he felt uncomfortable for some time, but then after browsing through a copy of The Cloud of Unknowing, he decided to write a doctoral thesis on that book which, he felt, mesmerized him. His doctoral thesis was successfully completed under the direction of Fr. Tony Evangelista, and was published with an introduction by the eminent Thomas Merton, under the title of The Mysticism of "The Cloud of Unknowing." Regarding the success of this book, Johnston himself says, "After forty years, it is still in print with Fordham University Press and some people have told me it is my best book. I don't agree. But they say it."

His next major project was the translation of Endo Shusaku's Chinmoku 'Silence,' which he did against much Jesuit opposition (because the novel dealt with a Jesuit apostate!). Although not a professional translator, Fr. Johnston did an excellent job of translating, and, thanks to his translation, many people around the world came to know who Endo Shusaku was. His translation was critically acclaimed and is still being sold. With rumors floating around that a Hollywood movie will be made of the novel Silence, one may expect Johnston's translation to be on the market for some more years. Endo and Johnston remained good friends, and Johnston officiated at the memorial Mass for Endo.

Johnston's illustrious career includes numerous books on mysticism and mystical theology, such as The Still Point: Reflections on Zen and Christian Mysticism , Silent Music, Inner Eye of Love: Mysticism and Religion, Mystical Theology: The Science of Love, and Christian Zen. Even towards the end of his career, he was very much sought after for retreats and spiritual talks, and he would get occasional calls for interviews or video sessions. Until the stroke deprived him of free movements, one could see him spending hours meditating in quiet areas or reciting repetitive vocal prayers like the Jesus prayer or the Rosary. Among the Japanese he baptized is the current Archbishop of Tokyo, Rev. Okada, who will be present at Johnston's funeral.

Johnston has been one of the few recognizable names associated with Sophia University and the Jesuits of Japan. I have heard his name mentioned in numerous countries--especially in the English-speaking ones--and I was always amazed at the admiration people had for him and at their curiosity to know about his character and spirituality. People seem to like his English style and intelligible approach to mysticism.

Towards the end of his life, I often called him jovially "The Prophet of Doom," because he was much worried about the contemporary problems affecting the Church and predicted that an entirely new Church and new forms of Religious life have to emerge if they are to continue. Though he might have been a Prophet of Doom, he was also a Prophet of Hope, for he never gave in to despair or frustration but always inspired Christian confidence in resurrection and renewal of all things that look gloomy. His commitment to the welfare of the Church was never in doubt although he equally stressed that all religions must strive to work together in peace. One of the very last pieces he wrote on mysticism and religious harmony, "Cosmic Energy," can be read at: http://willtells.blogspot.com/

Funeral Arrangements:
WAKE: October 14 (Th), 2010, 19:30 PM at St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo (near Yotsuya Station on JR, Marunouchi, & Namboku lines)
FUNERAL MASS: October 15 (F), 2010, 13:30 PM at St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo (near Yotsuya Station on JR, Marunouchi, & Namboku lines)

Interreligious Vedanta in Japan

2010-05-30T22:24:00.018+09:00

This afternoon (May 30, 2010), starting from 14:00, there were two significant events at Gotanda Seisen University: (1) "Golden Jubilee [of the Japan Vedanta Society (JVS)] Celebration Closing Ceremony" and (2) "Swami Vivekananda's 148th Birthday Celebration." Although I am not a member of the JVS, thanks to another professor, I received information about the celebration and was tempted by an invitation card. So although at Sophia University, there were Sophia Alumni Day celebrations, I opted to skip them and go to Gotanda. It took about 20 minutes from Yotsuya to Gotanda by train, via Yoyogi, and then about a 10-minute walk to the university. Surprisingly, there were a couple of Seisen student volunteers at Gotanda station and a few other spots, standing with a sign pointing to "Seisen University."

Thanks to the invitation, I was given a VIP tag and led into the hall before the 'ordinary' crowd and given a preferential seat in front. Very soon the hall was full (a few hundred guests) and the events began 15 minutes late... perhaps to remind all that the events are 'Indian' and will follow the "Indian timetable." :)

The MC was a Japanese lady who spoke beautiful English and Japanese. There were altogether eight 'talks' or 'discourses', one each by the following: (1) Sr. Junko Shioya (Chair of the Seisen Managing Board), (2) Swami Medhasananda (President of JVS), (3) Swami Smaranandaji (Vice President, Ramakrishna Mission), (4)Rev. Takeo Okada (Catholic Archbishop of Tokyo), (5) His Eminence H.K.Singh (Ambassador of India), (6) Rev. Ryojun Sato (Buddhist Priest of Jodo Sect & Prof. Emeritus of Taisho University), (7) Prof. Yasuji Yamaguchi (Professor of Meiji University), and (8) Prof. Tsuyoshi Nara (Vice President of JVS). Fortunately, most spoke briefly. Prof. Sato spoke longest, and Prof. Yamaguchi perhaps second longest. Being academics, they were perhaps asked to give serious lectures. The non-academic VIPs were reasonably brief.

The non-academic VIPs gave the general soft salutations--with the usual words of thanks and pleasure at being invited, etc.--mingled with a personal note of how they got involved in Vedanta Society and how they happened to be there. The two Swamijis gave a short history of the Vedanta Society's founding in Japan 50 years ago, noting the role played by Vivekananda himself, who had been in Japan and impressed everyone with his eloquence and wisdom, as he had done at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The Swamijis also referred to the Japanese and Indian contributions, especially the cooperation extended by the Indian Embassy and the several Ambassadors. The Ambassador spoke briefly wishing all the best to the Society and assuring support.

The Catholic Archbishop of Tokyo, Okada Takeo, was perhaps the most misfitting among the group (for he was neither an Indian nor a Japanese engaged in Vedanta research or acquainted with India, as every other speaker sitting on stage was), but the most forthright and simple. He confessed that he knew little about India or Hinduism and was reluctant to accept the invitation, but was told to say 'anything' he wanted to say, and so accepted the invitation. As he continued speaking, however, he came across as extremely honest, spontaneous, plain, unassuming, and impressive. He did refer to the general ignorance of the Japanese about India and Indian religious thoughts--except for the great Buddha and Buddhism. Few Japanese, he said, seem familiar with Hinduism, and it was interesting to read about Hinduism in novels like Endo Shusaku's Deep River. He recalled Mother Theresa and her example of universal love, and the image of India as a poor or suffering nation, although currently undergoing changes due to economic prosperity. The Archbishop also tied up Indian poverty with the current Japanese situation asking the audience if Japan is any better, especially morally, spiritually, and psychologically--even as the population is graying and children are rare. He referred to the nearly 30,000 suicides taking place in Japan every year, and asked what contributions the Religions in Japan make to alleviate such hopelessness among the population. Confessing his faith in Christ and recalling Christ's commandments to love others as oneself, he reiterated the obligations of all religions to work in harmony for the alleviation of human suffering, which, he reminded all, was also one of the major aims of the Buddha.

Rev. Ryojun Sato gave perhaps the most academic paper, on "Buddhist Sangha and its Idea of Co-living." He bagan humorously with the three Hindi words he learned while he was in India in the early 1960s: pani 'water', kana 'food', and sona 'sleep'. He said he could get along well in India with only these three words, but today the only word he would consider necessary for survival is ... dharma. (Dharma is one of those 'magnet' words of India that can attract to itself a variety of meanings such as 'duty', 'obligation', 'commitment', 'God's will', etc., etc., depending on the exponent.) Elaborating Dharma and Buddhism, Rev. Sato stressed the need to 'co-live' or live harmoniously with all beings (humans, animals, and plants), recalling the ecological connection we all have with everything around us.

Prof. Yasuji Yamaguchi, a philosopher by profession, spoke of his beginnings in Western Philosophy and how he remained unsatisfied and unfufiflled until he encountered Eastern ideas in Sri Aurobindo's works. Since Sri Aurobindo acknowledged Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Sri Vivekananda as his guides, Prof. Yamaguchi's talk was the most appropriate for the occasion. Prof. Yamaguchi referred to various works of Sri Aurobindo, citing key passages from Aurobindo's Life Divine and other writings.

After the talks, i.e., around 5:30, there were light refreshments--spicy bits of crackers, a samosa with curried potato, a sweet laddu ball, etc.--thanks to Mr Chandrani, a restaureteur in Tokyo. The audience was then entertained from 6:00 by Santoor Pundit Shivkumar Sharma and various other groups. Unfortunately I had to leave the great performance around 6:30 and so I could only hear the first performance of the Pundit. That was perhaps the first time I saw and heard Santoor, a small boxlike 'portable piano' with 100 strings! The performer uses two strikers (like chopsticks or unscrewed hands of thin scissors) to tap the strings and produce sounds of three octaves!

For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Vedanta, Ramakrishna, and Vivekananda:

Vedanta: 'The end of Vedas', literally with reference to the last books of the Vedic Canon, namely, the Upanishads [coming after a series of books classified as Samhitas, Brahmanas, and the Aranyakas], and figuratively, as the definitive end and purpose of all the Vedas (the Hindu/Indian Sacred Scriptures). As the Vedas have no namable authors, the Vedanta too is authorless, but there are several major exponents, the most significant being the eminnet theologian-philosopher-mystic Sankara of 8th century. There are different versions and contradictory interpretations of Vedanta. Currently in the West, perhaps Deepak Chopra, the New Age and Hollywood Guru, is perhaps a well-known and popular exponent.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-1886): An extrordinary Hindu sage, mystic, and teacher, who was not 'academically' learned, but whom great academics sought after to learn from. Although a Hindu, he was most notable for sponsoring religious harmony, interreligious dialog, and ecumenism, significantly much earlier than the Catholic Church (which began its journey of interreligious dialog only after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s). Many are the minds that have been influenced by this little man, who lived a simple life, seeking neither fame nor glory.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902): If Ramakrishna were Jesus, Vivekananda would be St. Paul, or if Ramakrishna were St. Ignatius, Vivekananda would be St. Francis Xavier. A brash atheist and rationalist when young, he was touched by Ramakrishna's sanctity and became his ardent missionary. He is most notable for his eloquent and articulate presentation of Hinduism at the First World Parliament of Religions in Chicago (1893), where he rebutted counterarguments and impressed many with his magnanimous and rational views. His International travels took him also to other countries like Japan, UK, etc. He founded the Ramakrishna Mission on May 1, 1897 (perhaps on the model of Catholic Religious Orders?) to keep Ramakrishna's messages alive. Although at times a sharp critic of the West and Christianity, he essentially followed the lead of Ramakrishna in exhorting people of all religions to live in harmony respecting each other.

Ramakrishna Mission: While we read frequently of Hindus who hate or injure non-Hindus, most Hindus love peace with other religions, and Ramakrishna's contribution here has been significant. In India, the Ramakrishna Mission often celebrates Christmas inviting Catholic priests. In Japan, too, the Mission has among its members a Jesuit Priest and perhaps several nuns and lay Catholics.

Case of Christovao Ferreira, Hero of Endo Shusaku's "Silence," now Online

2010-05-07T15:18:00.015+09:00

Nagasaki Jesuit Museum of 26 Martyrs

I remember reading the novel Silence of Endo Shusaku many years ago and being touched, like everybody else, perhaps, by the hard decision faced by the main character. The book, written in Japanese under the title of Chinmoku, was translated by the Jesuit Fr. William Johnston (who, by the way, was a friend of the late Endo Shusaku and is now unfortunately bed-ridden) and published first by Sophia University, in cooperation with Charles E. Tuttle Co., in 1969. As it gained popularity around the world, mainly among Christians, it was published by others and established itself as a great Christian classic.

Silence is essentially the story of a Jesuit priest of the 17th century by the name of Christovoa Ferreira, who, under torture, gave up his faith while even many of his Jesuit confreres, lay men, women, and children underwent torture and stood firm in their faith. In the novel, Ferreira encounters Rodrigues, another daring Jesuit who tries to set the wrong done by Ferreira right; the novel touches on the question of commitment, loyalty, fidelity, faith, etc. Ferreira, of course, was not the only one who gave up his faith, but the fact he was a Jesuit and acting as the 'Provincial' or local superior when he succombed made him a special person of interest. The novel, of course, takes literary liberties with the true events, and it is easy to get confused as to which parts are true and which are not--much like in the case of Da Vinci Code.

It is this confusion that Fr. Hubert Cieslik wanted to remove by writing a detailed account of the historical events that led to Ferreira's apostasy and the events that followed. Cieslik's account was published in 1973 in the Sophia University journal Monumenta Nipponica, and, to my knowledge, no free copy was available on the Web. Now, at last, a freely downloadable version of Cieslik's article is available for everyone to read, print, and 'enjoy'--if enjoying is possible while reading such an event.

The case of Ferreira and the seriousness with which people took Faith those days are sure to be startling to modern readers--especially at present, when so many scandals plague the Church and other Authorities. Some may even see a parallel between the priests of those days and the priests of these days... and the current social climate that makes 'apostasy' invisible or casual.

You can access Cieslik's article by clicking the picture below and selecting the appropriate (first, for some time at least!) entry.

The Fading Face of Christianity...

2010-04-02T18:57:00.021+09:00

[From Editor, 2010-04-02:
*Due to the unconscionable activities of spammers, currently even genuine non-spam reactions to this blog won't be displayed immediately... Feel free, however, to post them, even stating your email address, for after filtering the spam I remove the writer's email address from the entry before posting them to the public so that you won't be spammed by these spamming bums.
End 'From Editor']

I often feel that if one wants to write a book about a non-native country, one should do so within a week or two after arrival. Why? Because after a couple of weeks, the wonder disappears and the strange or noteworthy things become 'normal'. It is as if one becomes blind to things after becoming familiar with them. So here I am, not to write a book, but just to note a few things after my recent 24-day trip to Benelux (Belgium-Netherlands-Luxembourg].

The occasion was primarily a couple of lectures I had to give at the University of Antwerp, but I also used the opportunity to 'observe Christianity in its natural habitat' and research about language use, especially English use, in these countries. Here I'd like to reflect mainly on religious issues.

When I mentioned to several Europeans that one of my interests is to observe Christianity in its natural habitat--i.e., in countries which were once called "Christian", such as Europe, U.S.A., Canada, Australia, & South America--they all said very casually, "Well, Europe is no more Christian." When I spoke with a young couple, I began a generic sentence with, "Supposing you, as a Christian,..." and the man immediately cut me short to say, "Don't assume we are Christians!"

Although missionaries from former 'Christian countries' still engage non-Christians in many 'non-Christian' countries around the world and work hard to convert the 'pagans,' it is a sad fact that even in their own countries their sermons and calls to conversion will go unheeded. I heard repeatedly from priests and the few practicing Christians that young people in Europe don't come any more even near the Church. Most Christians in Europe, a priest told me, are "Chretiens aux quatre roues" (Christians on four wheels). Apparently, they come to Church only on four wheels: when they are carried as babies in a baby-carriage, when they are brought to first communion in a decorated car, when they arrive to contract a marriage in a luxurious stretch limousine, and finally when they arrive as dead bodies in a hearse. Even the age of "Sunday Christians" has gone! Sundays are too frequent!

When I engaged in conversation with some young people, especially in the Catholicism-oozing Flemish city of Antwerp, they were all extremely gentle, caring, sincere, serious, and earnest. They only seemed to be turned off by Christianity or Christian discourse! After one of my lectures on Hinduism and Christianity, a participant, presumably engaged in educating the young in religion, commented: "Whenever we announce a meeting related to Christianity or Christian practices, hardly anyone signs up! But if we announce a meeting about Yoga, Zen, Mindfulness, or any such Asian spiritual matters, people sign up in large numbers!" She was not the only one commenting that way. Another Catholic priest said that whenever he offered anything Christian such as Ignatian Exercises or Catholic Moral Teachings, hardly anyone signed up; but if he taught Asian meditative techniques with a title such as "Mindfulness" or "Yoga"--each session lasting even 90 minutes or more--many people signed up. "They not only sign up, but also persevere, never missing a session!"

Another thing that struck me was the large number of Moslems (as visibly identifiable from their garb, hair-style, hair veils, living quarters, restaurants, food stores, etc.) especially in the Netherlands and Belgium. Certain areas in Belgium had several Islamic blocks and numerous Islamic areas, as if designated for them. I also noticed mosques in several cities as I was traveling far and wide within Benelux by train. In fact, because of their exceptional appearance, Moslems and Afro-Europeans strike you more often than the White Europeans whom you tend to take for granted. Women with children--the children being either inside or outside the womb--and young adolescents too were mostly non-Whites.

Europe is perhaps still Christian at least in architecture! There are numerous churches, Cathedrals, and monasteries still in existence though hardly any of them serving the purposes they were originally created for! They are now special theaters, or museums, or stages for entertainment.... Cathedrals serving modern needs! The Jesuit Catholic Church in Brugge (the very beautiful ancient city in Belgium) is a typical case in point. Unable to maintain it and unable to pass it on to other religious groups, the Jesuits seem to have sold it to an enterprise that apparently promised to use it for cultural purposes so that at least the vestige of religiosity may be preserved. However, in a short time, the buyers seem to have sold it to another entertainment company, and currently it is used as a theater that caters to those who want to experience entertainment as it was several centuries ago: with fire-spitters, fire-eaters, magicians, sexy dancers, etc., etc.

Clearly these are simply facts... What they signify is open to many interpretations. Is Christianity finished in Europe? What has caused the decline? Will anything resurrect Christianity in Europe? Will they have another St. Francis of Assissi or a St. Ignatius Loyola who diverted the course of history? Who in Europe pays attention to the doctrinal, moral, and ethical minutiae that priestly and religious persons dictate, sermonize, propound or write volumes about?

When I asked similar questions to some locals, including Jesuit priests, many seemed hopeful and not at all desperate or alarmed. While even acknowledging the current gloomy situation, they all thought that it was only the swing of a pendulum in the non-Christian direction, and it will swing back in the Christian direction. One observant priest stated, "I think Christianity as we knew it is gone and won't come back in Europe. However, a new form of Christianity, much more meaningful to the modern humans, will emerge out of the current crisis."
[photo credits: Wikipedia]

Catholics Debate Atheists

2009-11-18T00:48:00.013+09:00

[From Editor, 2010-04-02:
*Comments are filtered for Spam! Your legitimate comments will appear!
**Sorry, the video clips of the debate are currently unavailable!
End from Editor]

As is widely reported on the Net, Intelligence Squared had a debate on the topic: "The Catholic church is a force for good in the world." Speaking for the motion were Archbishop John Onaiyekan (of Nigeria) and Ann Widdecombe MP, a convert. Speaking against the motion were the ubiquitous Christopher Hitchens and the gay actor Stephen Fry. Before the debate, 678 were 'for' the motion; 1102 Against; 346 Don’t know. After the debate: those who were 'for' went down to 268. 'Against' went up to 1,876, and 'Don’t know' down to 34. The consensus of both Catholics and non-Catholics seems to be that Hitchens and Fry thoroughly outperformed the Catholic team.

I watched the shorter, 40', version of the debate. It was a pity that the Catholic team put up an African Bishop, for whom English was a second language, and a woman whose voice was so squeaky that it took some time getting used to. The Catholic team addressed the issues reasonably well, but failed miserably as communicators or charmers of the audience, especially when pitted against the smooth-tongued media professionals Hitchens and Fry. Also they were no match for their opponents in shooting arrows or hurling mud, especially in rebuttals.

People have their freedom to engage in whatever debates they like, but it looks to me that Catholics debating atheists like Hitchens engage in not only a futile but also a counterproductive enterprise. Even if they are matched in wit and oratorical skills, the atheists will be at an advantage. The atheists have nothing to lose, no position to defend, no history to identify with, and no responsibility to anyone except to themselves. Hitchens and the whole 'against God/Religion/Catholics' gang have only to be against something; they don't have to be for anything whatever except themselves. That gives them great freedom to attack without getting hit. It is like an invisible man punching a hapless boxer. So the Atheist can say, 'I don't approve of people forgiving one another,' 'I hate my enemies and my friends too,' 'I don't see what the problem is with x sleeping with y, regardless of the mutual relationship, as long as they are consenting adults,' 'Yes, I'll kill if I can get away with it,' and so on. He can attack every position his/her opponent takes as restricting his freedom or as out-of-sync dogmas.

Above all, a religious person comes with a baggage, a history, a heritage, which has proud as well as embarrassing elements. That is simply the fate of every one who places himself with a group, for all institutions, religious as well as secular, are made up of fallible humans. So he cannot but leave himself open to attack. The theist cannot return the attacks of an atheist in kind even if he wanted to, for an atheist has no history, has no group membership, has no commitment. Hitchens, for example, can totally distance himself from all the evils that the other atheists had done before him, for the 'atheists' don't have a Church or a history or a group identity. There is no way a theist, who comes with a group identity and heritage, can ever match wits with an atheist, who has no accountability to anyone except to himself! At least if a Hindu and a Jew or a Christian and Moslem debate, there may be some sort of equivalence of 'historical baggage'; whereas a 'loner' like the atheist can always come one up against a theist.

Another major problem with these debates is that they are simply exercises in 'impressing' people rather than in delivering truth or in searching for truth. Recent debates have become a form of entertainment, so we need entertainers rather than scholars to debate. Truth? That can be dispensed with in the context of the debate. Whatever the atheist says or the theist says, there is no way to verify immediately or even later on since they are neither footnoted nor referenced! Even if statements were footnoted, we would only have a case of X quoting Y, and Y quoting Z, without being able to ascertain whether X, Y, and Z know what they are talking about. As anyone who has gone through the books Bad Science or Who Stole Feminism? or Scientific Blunders or How to Lie with Statistics would agree, it is hard to take at face value the statistics and so-called scientific statements. Winning a debate requires entertainment appeal and quick wittedness rather than veracity or knowledge.

Kandhamal Videos

2009-11-01T11:53:00.007+09:00

Here are three video clips about the sad events that took place last year in Kandhamal, Orissa, India. Those unfamiliar with the events may explore this Wikipedia article to know what happened. Basically, it was a case of extreme violence, one religious group, the majority, attacking another, minority, religious group. It is unthinkable that such events take place in 21st century India, a country that can rightfully boast of religious tolerance and magnificent mainstream Hinduism. Several Jesuits were involved in assisting the affected Christians.

According to All India Christian Council, the 2008 violence affected in 14 districts out of 30 and 300 Villages, 4,400 Houses burnt, 50,000 Homeless, 59 People killed including at least 2 pastors, 10 Priests/Pastors/Nuns injured, 18,000 Men, women, children injured, 2 women gang-raped including a nun, 151 Churches destroyed and 13 Schools and colleges damaged. The violence targeted Christians in 310 villages, with 4,104 homes torched. More than 18,000 were injured and 50,000 displaced and homes continued to burn in many villages. Another report said that around 11,000 people are still living in relief camps. Some of the tribals even fled away to border districts in neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh and took shelter in churches of those districts.

Arrests
On October 14, Cuttack archbishop Raphael Cheenath moved the Supreme Court seeking Rs 3 crore as compensation to rebuild the demolished and vandalized churches in the communal riot-hit areas. He also sought Rs 5.5 lakh for the kin of those killed in the riots and compensation of Rs 60,000 to those whose houses were damaged or torched by miscreants. [From Wikipedia]

Here are two more clips continuing the same video story:
Kandhamal Part 2

Kandhamal Part 3

Uwem Akpan: A Jesuit story teller

2009-10-07T13:16:00.013+09:00

Heard of Uwem Akpan? Perhaps not, but soon you will, not only here from me, but also from the general media. He is one of the brilliant young English writers from Nigeria, having already won many awards for his writing. As he has published at least two stories and a column on “Faith and Doubt” in The New Yorker, he is well-known to literary buffs of contemporary fiction. Since mid-September, when Oprah Winfrey, the undisputed Queen of talk-shows, announced that she has selected his book Say You're One of Them as Oprah’s Book Club Selection, Americans and many English-speakers around the world have come to notice him. Oprah’s Book Club is said to be the largest in the world, and her selection is guaranteed to boost any book’s sale to millions.

One of Uwem’s stories, “An Ex-Mas Feast,” was published in The New Yorker on June 13, 2005. "Ex-mas"-->"X-mas," as you can guess, is Christmas. After getting to know that Uwem was a Jesuit priest from Nigeria, I read it two days ago with great interest. The story is quite touching, and Uwem’s deliberate use of Africanisms interesting. The story, narrated by a young boy, is about his extremely poor family and his 12-year old elder sister, Maisha, who is the main money maker. How she earns her money, what she does with it, and how the whole family is affected by her form the meat of the story.

Uwem was born in Ikot Akpan Eda in Nigeria, and was educated in Nigeria, United States, Kenya, Benin, and Tanzania. He is fluent in his own mother tongue Annang, English, and several other language varieties. He was set on becoming a Jesuit even as a high school student, and he is currently working as a Parish Priest in Africa, spending most of his time in pastoral duties and writing usually at night.

In USA, he studied philosophy and English with the Jesuits at Creighton and Gonzaga universities. After studying theology for three years at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and receiving ordination to the priesthood in 2003, he pursued his English studies at the University of Michigan and received his MFA in creative writing.

Some of the awards that Uwem has won are:

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
Nominated for the Guardian First Book Award
Nominated for the Caine Prize for African Writing
Nominated for the Story Prize
Nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
Selected for Oprah's 2009 Book Club
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book, African Region

As you can see from the video clip below, he is a very cheerful and easy-going person—clearly reaching for the stars (and the Divine) while solidly keeping his feet on the ground. As he himself says, he is not too fond of abstract theologizing but likes to communicate his core beliefs in an intelligible language. No wonder he follows in the footsteps of the great story tellers: the Buddha and Jesus. Uwem seems most concerned in his fiction to give voice to the children of Africa and thus let the world know of their day-to-day concerns.

Here is an interesting interview with Uwem, which will make you laugh with him:

Here are some links for you to discover more about Uwem.

 Read Uwem’s "An Ex-Mas Feast" in The New Yorker
 Watch Oprah Winfrey, the talk-show Queen, comment on "An Ex-Mas Feast," the first story in Uwem Akpan's Say You're One of Them. "This little family not just broke my heart, but opened my heart."
 Watch Oprah explain why she chose Uwem's book.
 Visit the official site to read more about Uwem and buy his great book of stories!

The Pope in Vatican Observatory

2009-10-02T09:05:00.007+09:00

Here's a short video clip of Pope Benedict XVI visiting the new premises of the Specola Vaticana, the Vatican Observatory, on September 16. See him welcomed by the Jesuit Superior General Fr. Adolfo Nicolas (former profesor at Sophia University), Jesuit Fr José Gabriel Funes, the Director of Vatican Observatory, and Jesuit Brother Guy J. Consolmagno (He is the one with a beard!). Fr. Funes and Br. Consolmagno are both highly qualified scientists.

Br. Consolmagno, S.J. was at Sophia last year, when he came to Japan to attend a conference on meteorites. After his B.A. & M.A. at MIT, he obtained a Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. He did further research and taught at Harvard College Observatory and MIT, then worked as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. He joined the Jesuits in 1989, preferring to be a 'Brother' (i.e., to be a member of the Society of Jesus without being ordained a 'Priest'). He has been at the Vatican Observatory almost since he began his Jesuit life. He is an author of several books--both scientific and religious--and he writes regularly for many journals and periodicals (including The Tablet). See a short list of his books by clicking here.

Fr. Funes, S.J. is another scientist of note, having received his Master's degree in Astronomy from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina and a doctorate from the University of Padua in Italy. He has also a bachelor's degree in philosophy from University del Salvador in Argentina. He taught astrophysics at an American university before being appointed Director of the Vatican Observatory, in place of another Jesuit scientist Fr. George Coyne. Fr. Funes was in the news last year when he suggested that the existence of ETs cannot be ruled out. "Vatican astronomer cites possibility of extraterrestrial 'brothers'," wrote The New York Times, introducing Fr. Funes' remarks.

Lama Osel and Jiddu Krishnamurthy

2009-06-03T12:24:00.014+09:00

Just last Friday (May 29), I was talking with a group of women about the case of infants who are dramatically identified as the re-incarnations of some Buddhist Lamas and groomed to mature as adult Lamas. And today (June 1) I accidentally came across the heading “El niño lama se hace agnóstico” in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. The Lama in question is Lama Tenzin Osel, who was chosen by Lama Zopa and the one and only Dalai Lama, as the reincarnation of the well-known Lama Thubten Yeshe. Lama Zopa is the direct disciple of Lama Yeshe, the founder of FPMT [Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition], who died in 1983, aged 49.

Lama Zopa temporarily succeeded Lama Yeshe and was on the look out for the reincarnated Lama Yeshe. He first set his eyes on the Spanish toddler Osel Hita Torres (born on 12 February 1985, in Granada, Spain) in the fall of 1985 and immediately recognized him to be the incarnation of Lama Yeshe, based on several dreams and signs. Osel’s mother Maria, a fervent disciple of Lama Yeshe, is supposed to have given birth to Osel painlessly, and Osel himself seems to have exuded excellent qualities highly suitable for a Lama. After being enthroned officially as the reincarnation of Lama Yeshe, the new Lama Osel, received the respect and obeisance of even senior Lamas although he himself was still a child.

Lama Osel’s formation seems to have been very strict and cloistered, but at the same time reasonably liberal as he was given opportunities to learn languages like English and Spanish and to engage in secular studies. What triggered a change in the young Lama is not clear, but according various news reports yesterday, the Lama has explicitly disowned his Lama-ness and confessed to having become an agnostic. The Guardin of May 31 says that “he bemoaned the misery of a youth deprived of television, football and girls.” Interestingly, the Lama had no exposure to movies other than the Eddie Murphy action thriller The Golden Child, which deals with an infant Lama trying to escape from ruthless villains. Lama Osel’s comment: "I never felt like that boy."

Lama Osel’s case reminds one of the dramatic break that Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) made with the Theosophists in the late 1920s. Krishnamurti too, like Lama Osel, was discovered when he was still very young and was expected to become the undisputed spokesman for the Theosophical Society and a “World Teacher.” After a highly programmed education, however, Krishnamurti received the enlightenment of disillusionment, and eloquently uttered memorable sentences like the following:

I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path.

Krishnamurti, as may be clear, confronted the Society that groomed him, not only because of disillusionment but also because of his sincere quest for Truth. After leaving the Theosophists, JK lived for many years as a much admired philosopher, spreading his message around the globe. In accordance with his own teachings, he ordained no disciples--though it won't be a surprise if many claim to be his disciples--and established no monasteries. "I do not want followers,” he had said.

The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing: to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies.

Not much is known—at least as of June 1—about Lama Osel’s formal reasons for snapping his ties with the Buddhist tradition that formed him. He is currently in Madrid studying mass media. According to reports, he seems rebellious and critical of the Buddhist circle that elevated him to a position of sanctity and authority: "They took me away from my family and stuck me in a medieval situation in which I suffered a great deal." Looking back on his monastic education, he has said, "It was like living a lie."

Until June 1, the FPMT site (http://www.fpmt.org) had many pages dedicated to Lama Osel, giving an account of his birth, selection, enthronement, education, and activities. On June 2, all the links to Lama Osel were inactive.

Although the stories of Krishnamurti (Hindu) and Osel/Torres (Buddhist) are different, they raise the same questions about human reliability, trustworthiness, freedom, and the meaning of Truth, Commitment, Permanence, etc. It may be insignificant if an individual changes his/her mind arbitrarily, say, with regard to which ice-cream s/he prefers. When the individual holds a position of authority, however, there are all sorts of implications. Supposing the Dalai Lama or the Pope were to assert tomorrow in public that they would give up their current status of teaching others and go humbly in search of Truth… Although no such dramatic events have occurred—as far as I know—history seems to have enough number of cases of authorities who have misused their power or have lived a double life, essentially conceding that they could not reconcile their life with their stated beliefs. There have been also cases of respectable theologians and less well-known religious leaders who have made an about-turn. The case of an Australian Jesuit Provincial who left the Jesuits and wrote a book on “searching for truth” comes to mind. So, perhaps, we are forced to reflect along with Pilate, Mahatma Gandhi, Herman Hesse, and others, “What is Truth?”

Follow-up (June 5, 2009)
The FPMT site currently shows the pages related to the birth, selection, and activities of Lama Osel. Also, there is a page of explanation from Osel himself on his current status and state of mind (See http://www.fpmt.org/Teachers/Osel/). Although he says that "certain media find ways to sensationalize and exaggerate an unusual story," he doesn't point out any significant media errors. He seems to confirm that he is no more a Lama, but also asserts that he keeps his friendly ties with FPMT. In a few phrases, he does sound like J.Krishnamurti, of whom he must have surely heard during his long education in India: "Personally, my job is to find new ways in which to discover the true nature of our being."

(References, in no specific order)
1) El niño lama se hace agnóstico
2) The Birth, The Search, & The Enthronement of Lama Tenzin Osel Rinpoche
3) Rachel Helyer Donaldson, Reincarnated Lama goes off the rails.
4) Fuchs, Dale. Boy chosen by Dalai Lama turns back on Buddhist order.
5) J. Krishnamurti Online
6) J. Krishnamurti in Wikipedia

Obama at Notre Dame

2009-05-19T23:49:00.010+09:00

Catholics around the world may have heard of the recent controversy surrounding the honorary degree given to the US President Obama by Notre Dame, a Catholic University like Sophia. The controversy concerned Obama's track record and position on abortion & stem cell research, which, some Catholics maintained, made him unfit to receive an honorary degree from a Catholic university. The critics didn't like him to deliver the key note address at the graduation ceremony either. Some Catholics, of course, didn't see any problem at all. Whatever group you may belong to, you may find Obama's speech at Notre Dame worth listening to.

This is one of his most religious speeches as he frequently refers to God, faith, and Catholics, acknowledging gracefully the good Catholic influences he has received, e.g., from the late Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago and the former Notre Dame President Fr. Ted Hesburgh. Without advocating any stand pro or con abortion, Obama calls on all opposing parties to strive for mutual understanding and accommodation in a civil manner. He supports his call for mutual accommodation by pointing out that it is an unavoidable option and that it is in fact a Christian mission. Note also his final 'May God bless the United States of America,' a phrase that some atheistic intellectuals want abolished.
So here is the video: (CNN video, about 30 minutes).

For a brief description of the controversy, see
(1) CBS News: Inside The Obama Notre Dame Controversy
(2) PBS: Obama Notre Dame Controversy

Obama at Georgetown, and the hidden IHS

2009-04-22T00:56:00.012+09:00

Here's a topic for conversation, especially among Sophians, as Sophia University is a Jesuit (also Catholic!) University like Georgetown. Compare the picture above with the picture below... Do you see any difference in the background/setting?

When President Obama recently visited Georgetown University to give a lecture on the state of the economy, the university was told to cover the famous Jesuit logo IHS that is prominently displayed behind the podium in Gaston Hall. Many dignitaries give lectures and conduct workshops in this ancient hall, and the distinctive Georgetown University eagle and IHS logo with a Cross have been there for all to see. For whatever reason President Obama's Office had requested that the IHS logo be covered up and Georgetown University graciously complied.

Perhaps there is nothing sinister or significant in all this; but several bloggers and media pundits have criticized Georgetown University for being unchristian and denying its Jesuit identity. Critics of Obama too have taken this as a sign that he is not a 'true' Christian. As a matter of fact, his lecture did contain indirect references to some New Testament passages, but the critics point out that he did not mention Jesus by name.

As seems to be routine whenever a Catholic 'issue' comes up, some in the media immediately called up Thomas Reese, S.J., the former editor of the Jesuit magazine America, for his opinion about the case. His response to Julia Duin of The Washington Times was quite straightforward: "It is more for camera quality than anything else... They don't want distractions that would make the eye wander. I don't think this is motivated by theology, but by communications strategy."

Perhaps Sophia University will have nothing to worry about when inviting dignitaries like President Obama, for it doesn't have any Jesuit logo, statue, or symbol to cover up! Although Sophia clearly asserts its Jesuit and Catholic identity in PR materials, the university itself is bereft of Christian icons and symbols.

Leaving aside the Jesuit logo controversy, you can watch President Obama's full address at Georgetown University by clicking the picture below.

For more on the story, see
Baier, Bret. Religious Symbols Covered Up When President Obama Spoke at a Catholic University. Fox News.
Duin, Julia. Obama at Georgetown: The mystery of the missing sign. [The Washington Times]
Eden, Dawn. UPDATED?Obama's messianic jargon hits 'rock' bottom ...
and G'town removes the Holy Name to accommodate The One. [The Dawn Patrol]
Houston Chronicle, The. Georgetown's Cover-Up

[Thanks to a Washington correspondent for bringing this story to my attention.]

Harvard has ended Edward Green's Research Program

2009-04-01T16:09:00.011+09:00

(Thanks to Dr. Green who has entered below in the "comments" section that the closure of his research program at Harvard was decided prior to his coming out in defence of the Pope. In other words, although Wikipedia and the Crawley article highlight the closure of the Research Program, the closure itself was not triggered or caused by his agreeing with the Pope. Added April 3)

The latest news I read in the Pope-condoms controversy is that the illustrious figure who defended him has lost his position at Harvard. According to William Crawley of BBC,

Dr Edward Green, director of Harvard's HIV Prevention Research Project, who came to the defence of Pope Benedict during last week's international row over condoms in Africa, says Harvard University has ended his research program.

The Crawley-Green interview in its entirety is very illuminating, and again raises the communication issue. Do people really listen to each other? Try to understand each other? Or simply read a few lines and take off into expressing their own views related to a single word or phrase--ignoring the context or what was actually said? We know that our attention span in listening is very limited; it surely seems our attention span in reading too is limited. But coherence demands some continuity with what is said/written. That coherence seems lacking in many discourses; or the coherence is held by a single word or phrase rather than by the content or theme.

The case is very similar to an old man, who on hearing, "How are you feeling today?" says, "Oh, feeling is bad. People should stop feeling and start acting. These days too many people spend all their time on feeling and expressing feeling. The world demands action. You must concentrate on what you do. Do not waste your time on feeling. I have suffered for many years thinking about my feelings only to realize that they are empty..." etc., etc. Is this a coherent conversation? Is the old man communicating as a proper interlocutor? The question was one of concern about the old man; but he picks up the word "feeling" and rambles on about unrelated issues!

Now in the case of Pope-condom news, precisely such a phenomenon is happening as if that is normal. The Pope says something in which the word "condoms" occurs, and immediately the media take him to task elaborating on all sorts of things that he said nothing about. And wise guys comment online like this one writing in the Washington Post: '[Y]ou [referring to Green] begin by writing that "the Pope was right" when he said that condoms don't prevent aids and that they make its spread worse.' The Pope absolutely said nothing of the sort, but this writer has somehow got that into his head from the single word "condoms" that the Pope used!

Green, as a scientist, is a much more careful reader and he reacts to what the Pope actually said. Read, for example, this answer of his to Crawley:

Edward Green: What the Pope said was the distribution and marketing of condoms would not solve the problem of African Aids and that it might even exacerbate the problem. And I think it was that second comment that really set the critics off, really upset a lot of people. I can understand that, because I have worked in Aids prevention for a long time. In fact, I worked as a condom and contraceptive social marketer at the beginning of the pandemic--I was working in family planning. I am part of a group of researchers that have been looking for the behavioural antecedents to HIV prevalence decline in Africa. We now see HIV going down in about 8 or 9 countries in Africa and in every case we see a decrease in the proportion of men and women who report having more than one sex partner in the past year. So when the Pope said that the answer really lies in monogamy and martial faithfulness, that's exactly what we found empirically.

Green interprets the Pope precisely as I had commented on my previous blog entry.

Here is a segment that shows how Green finds himself misquoted or selectively quoted, leading to miscommunication:

William Crawley: The Lancet has described the Pope's comments, which you agree with, as a distortion of scientific evidence.

Edward Green: That's because The Lancet is not thinking about the generalised epidemics of Africa. I hasten to add--and I have tried to do this in all of my interviews, although sometimes only part of my interviews are quoted--I point out that at national levels, we see condoms working in epidemics like those of Thailand and Cambodia. But in the generalised epidemics of Africa--well, there was a UN Aids study done in 2003 by Hearst and Chen, it was actually published in the peer-reviewed journal Studies in Family Planning in 2004, and they conclude that there is not a single country in Africa where HIV prevalence has come down primarily because of condoms.

Here the importance of context becomes evident. The Pope's comment was about Africa, not about Thailand or Cambodia, a point that Green pays attention to. Reporters who ignore the context tend to exaggerate what the Pope said. What the Pope may have said about Thailand or Cambodia is unknown, but that is not relevant to evaluating his comment on the distribution of condoms in Africa!

Regarding UNAids, which disagreed with Green, here is a segment:

William Crawley: We shouldn't trust the UNAids organisation on this?

Edward Green: I would be very careful about trusting the UNAids organisation for anything scientific, anything having to do with, for example, statistics about Aids. They have had to back-pedal and retract a lot of their basic statistics. It may seem pretty shocking for somebody like me to disagree with UNAids, but the fact is that UNAids is changing its thinking on this matter. As a matter of fact, in a very few days, there is going to be joint statement released by our Harvard programme, the Southern Regional Office of UNAids, and the Southern Regional Office of the World Bank, saying that the primary intervention for Aids in Southern Africa should be to discourage multiple and concurrent partners and that condom promotion is a secondary backup strategy.

The Crawley-Green interview is a must read in full. Crawley is very pointed and plays the devil's advocate to perfection. Thanks to his sharp questions, Green is able to articulate point by point why he defended the Pope's statement. Note especially Green's opinions on the Lancet and the UNAids, which came out strongly against him. Still, the disappointing point is that Crawley himself repeatedly talks as if the Pope had said, "Don't use condoms"! He is one of the many who still haven't got the significance of why the Pope spoke of "distribution" rather than "use." He should read the previous entry of this blog!

I only hope that Green will continue in his relentless pursuit of truth and stand up for his convictions even if it were to go against the teachings of Church X or University Y. It is the media's irresponsible message that religion is against truth or science. As Gandhi ably put it, God is Truth. Sincere religions have nothing to be afraid of truth. But to spread alarm and panic without adequate evidence or by misinterpreting facts is irresponsible science.

References:
BBC: William Crawley's interview of Edward Green
Washington Post prints Green's defense of the Pope.
Edward Green in Wikipedia

The Pope, Condom, and Discourse Analysis

2009-03-27T08:57:00.015+09:00

As one interested in language use and communication, I was pretty excited about the recent pronouncement of the Pope about condoms and the way newspapers, blogosphere, and even friends and acquaintances interpreted it.

When I recently asked a friend about what he thought about the Pope's comment, he said, "Oh, very embarrassing! For a Pope to say in public to hundreds of thousands of Africans that they shouldn't use condoms..."

I said, "But actually, he didn't make his comment in public to thousands of Africans! He was with some reporters on a flight, and while inside the plane, he tried to answer a few questions that the reporters posed. And that's how he happened to say what he said."

"But still, it doesn't seem sensible to say that people shouldn't be using condoms!"

"Well, maybe he personally thinks people shouldn't be using condoms... but in that response to a reporter he didn't exhort people not to use condoms... he was simply answering how he saw the problem of AIDS in Africa and what he thought was the solution."

"But didn't he quite explicitly say that using condoms increases AIDS rather than decreasing it?"

"No! The Pope was talking about condoms being widely distributed like ad leaflets, and said that mere distribution of condoms was not going to solve the AIDS problem, but might increase the problem! His comment was not about use but about distribution."

"Oh, well, whatever he said, he was wrong!"

Obviously, my friend is not the only one who got the impression or who made up in his mind after following the media reports that the Pope was blatantly preaching to the masses, "Don't use condoms! Using it will only increase cases of AIDS!" Readers and hearers got that impression since the media frequently omitted mentioning the context of the Pope's comment and the fact that the Pope was reacting to the distribution rather than to the use of condoms.

What's baffling is that even major newspapers like the Washington Post misinterpret the comment just like my friend. The Post wrote:

Pope Benedict XVI said, "You can't resolve [the AIDS epidemic] with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem." In a perfect world, people would abstain from having sex until they were married or would be monogamous in committed relationships. But the world isn't perfect -- and neither is Pope Benedict's pronouncement on the effectiveness of condoms in the battle against HIV/AIDS. The evidence says so.

Now if we examine this paragraph, we see that the Post explicitly states that the Pope reacted to "the distribution of condoms" and that the pronoun "it" in "it increases the problem" refers to the distribution [singular], not to condoms [plural]. And yet, the Post continues, "In a perfect world, people would abstain from having sex until they were married or would be monogamous in committed relationships. But the world isn't perfect...," implying the Pope spoke about "use" rather than "distribution."

What is the Post reacting to? That is the linguistic, rather the sociolinguistic, question. Whatever it is reacting to, it is definitely not to what the Pope said in this interview or to anything he has said previously, for according to reports this Pope has said so far little about condoms!

Now the next paragraph in the Post goes:

Are condoms foolproof protection against infection by HIV, which causes AIDS? No. Sometimes they break, and sometimes people put them on incorrectly. Still, doctors on the front lines of the fight against the AIDS epidemic established long ago that the use of condoms greatly diminishes the transmission of HIV, the cause of a disease that has no cure.

Here the Post is trying to give the impression of being objective, by conceding that condoms are not foolproof since they are misued and break sometimes--addressing an issue which has nothing to do with what the Pope said. The Pope spoke of 'distribution,' but the Post completely ignores it and goes after what happens when condoms are 'used'. Improper use and breakage of condoms have nothing to do with the massive distribution of condoms, which is the target of the Pope's criticism. The Pope definitely doesn't state or imply that condoms are ineffective because they break or because people misuse them!

What is paradoxical is that the Washington Post tries to be so very commonsensical and enlightened by insinuating that it is not so unrealistic as the Pope, while failing to realize that in fact, it is even more unrealistic than the Pope in assuming that the mere distribution of condoms leads to reduction in AIDS, when not even in Washington, D.C. such a causal correlation has been established.

Moreover, as is well-known, condoms must be worn consistently and correctly in order to be effective; but "the world isn't perfect" as the Post wisely reminds us, and so the Post is as unrealistic as, if not even more unrealistic than, the Pope in presuming that most people wear the condom consistently and correctly and thus contribute to reducing HIV. "The evidence says so," says the Post confidently contradicting the Pope, but the evidence actually is against the Post! Surveys show that most people do not use the condom correctly or consistently--and hence the reduction of HIV due to condom use is negligible [See Dr. Green's interview below]!

The distinction between "use" and "distribution" is not mere semantic nit-picking! In the given context of Africa, the "distribution" that the Pope criticized has been identified as a major problem by even secular researchers. No one disputes that under laboratory conditions condoms help reduce HIV; but the wisdom of spending millions of dollars on buying and distributing condoms as if they are the panacea for AIDS has been questioned by many researchers, the most notable being Edward Green of Harvard University. As an academic, the Pope must have read Green's writings and those of others like him, and that was what prompted him to criticize the distribution. Benedict, a life-long academic, is too smart to say that condoms must not be used because they break sometimes!

Discourse-wise it seems obvious that the Post and many other newspapers like it are simply reacting to some stimulus that is not in the given discourse. There is clearly some misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or failure of communication. What triggered the failure can only be speculated.

Perhaps they see the Pope--the representative of a religion that is known to discourage extramarital liaisons and the use of prophylactics in marital unions-- saying something about condoms for the first time, and immediately react to what he might have said or intended. They ignore the immediate context and the actual sentence, because they have nothing to say about it, and jump to a related topic about which they have much to say.

It could be that they create a straw man in order to attack him and push their own pro-prophylactic values. As is obvious, it is the strawman, not the Pope, who said anything about the actual use of condoms.

Or it could be that they are not aware of the debate among African experts on the merits and demerits of distributing an excessive amount of condoms!

If even classy newspapers misinterpret the Pope, one can imagine what goes on in blogosphere! I read a few blogs, and they are hilarious. They offer lots of fodder for miscommunication research. Most critical bloggers simply give AIDS statistics as if the stats alone are enough to prove their point that the Pope is wrong (a strategy adopted by the Post too!). They conveniently ignore the statistics related to condom distribution and the fact that the Pope has no dispute with statisticians. Most tend to criticize the Church's anti-prophylactic stand, but that's an entirely different issue unrelated to what the Pope said about the African situation. The condom use policy is not the one under discussion. Blogosphere also reveals that there is no shortage of 'wise' men and women who enjoy giving the Pope derogatory titles wholly based on their own ignorance and subjective interpretation!

Setting the study of miscommunication aside, I shall leave the readers with this thought-provoking quotation from National Review Online:

“The pope is correct,” [Edward C.] Green [Director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies] told National Review Online Wednesday [3/18], “or put it a better way, the best evidence we have supports the pope’s comments. He stresses that “condoms have been proven to not be effective at the ‘level of population.’”

“There is,” Green adds, “a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded ‘Demographic Health Surveys,’ between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates. This may be due in part to a phenomenon known as risk compensation, meaning that when one uses a risk-reduction ‘technology’ such as condoms, one often loses the benefit (reduction in risk) by ‘compensating’ or taking greater chances than one would take without the risk-reduction technology.”

Green added: “I also noticed that the pope said ‘monogamy’ was the best single answer to African AIDS, rather than ‘abstinence.’ The best and latest empirical evidence indeed shows that reduction in multiple and concurrent sexual partners is the most important single behavior change associated with reduction in HIV-infection rates (the other major factor is male circumcision).”

Readers who may like to pursue this topic will find the following URLs of interest. Any Internet search on the topic will bring up many more links. I invite the readers, if they can, to keep track of anyone who has paid attention, especially in their criticism, to the fact that the Pope spoke of 'distribution' and not 'use' of condoms. My guess is the count will be zero!

NRO quoting Green on Pope

Wisom of Whores: Is the Pope a Scientist?

Washington Post: Condom Sense

UNAids and myth of condoms efficacy against Aids [Some behind the scene politics!]

Cosmic God and Templeton Prize 2009

2009-03-18T00:14:00.012+09:00

There was no report of the Templeton Prize recipient in today's (3/17) newspapers in Japan. It may appear tomorrow... At any rate, I was drawn to the news about the award since the recipient, Bernard d'Espagnat, happens to be a top-class scientist, a Catholic by upbringing ("he was brought up a Roman Catholic but did not practice any religion and considered himself a spiritualist," according to Reuters), and a bold thinker who reflects on the limits of science.

My interest in the award was also provoked by a Science and Religion Symposium that I watched on the Internet. This International Symposium was attended by leading atheistic scientists like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, & Sam Harris, and a few pro-religion members including a representative from the Templeton Foundation. Several atheistic scientists criticized the Templeton Foundation and accused it of bias. There was even a proposal from one of the atheists that the award must be given to Richard Dawkins for his 'great' contributions questioning the very need for religion. The Templeton representative gave a soothing reply denying bias; however, he was in a rush and departed soon after his short talk, leaving the crowd to boo him behind his back and to continue complaining about the Templeton Foundation. Overall it looked like the atheist crowd didn't see any point in trying to link religion/spirituality and science. They were all out to have religion mercilessly 'executed' or at least put away among nonsensical superstitions.

In this context, it's interesting to see that the award this year (2009) was given to a practicing scientist and philosopher of science, especially since last year (2008) the Templeton Prize was awarded to a Catholic priest cosmologist, Prof. Michael Heller of Cracow, Poland.

D'Espagnat, 87, is French and professor emeritus of theoretical physics at Paris-Sud university. He studied or collaborated with some of the greatest scientists of the last century, including Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, and John Bell. His special research interests are quantum physics and its implications to philosophy. He wins one million UK pounds in prize money.

What does he say relating science and religion? Reuters gives the following summary:

Classical physics developed by Isaac Newton believes it can describe the world through laws of nature that it knows or will discover. But quantum physics shows that tiny particles defy this logic and can act in indeterminate ways.

D'Espagnat says this points toward a reality beyond the reach of empirical science. The human intuitions in art, music and spirituality can bring us closer to this ultimate reality, but it is so mysterious we cannot know or even imagine it.

"Mystery is not something negative that has to be eliminated," he said. "On the contrary, it is one of the constitutive elements of being."

In a sense, what d'Espagnat says seems identical to what ancient religious philosophers like Sankara of India [8th century]or Thomas Aquinas of Italy [13th century] have said. That God defies science, human knowledge, and human grasp is an essential theme of most religious thinkers. That's what led Sankara to posit Nirguna Brahman [the Brahman/God-without-attributes, i.e., God of whom we humans can say little or only in the negative] and Saguna Brahman [the Brahman/God-of-attributes, i.e., God as we humans try to understand and formulate, using inadequate language]. The "mystery" is simply the inability of a finite being trying to grasp the infinite being, or analogically of a cup trying to hold all the water of the sea, or of a well-frog trying to grasp the wonders of the world outside the well.

The following, also from Reuters, elaborates on d'Espagnat's thinking:

Some baffling discoveries of quantum physics led him to believe all creation has a wholeness and interrelatedness that many scientists miss by trying to break problems down into their component parts rather than understand them in larger contexts.

One of these is entanglement, the way that paired subatomic particles remain linked even if they move far apart, so that experimenting with one automatically effects the other without any apparent communication between them.

This view clashes with the materialist outlook widespread among scientists.

"Materialists consider that we are explained entirely by combinations of small uninteresting things like atoms or quarks," said d'Espagnat, whose latest book in English -- "On Physics and Philosophy" -- was published in 2006.

"I believe we ultimately come from a superior entity to which awe and respect is due and which we shouldn't try to approach by trying to conceptualize too much," he said. "It's more a question of feeling."

Although they cannot be tested, the intuitions people have when they are moved by great art or by spiritual beliefs help them grasp a bit more of ultimate reality, d'Espagnat said.

"When they hear very good music, people who like classical music have the impression they get at some reality that way. Why not?" he asked.

It looks to me that d'Espagnat's observations are very traditional and compatible with the views of religious thinkers. What's significant is perhaps that he, as a scientist, espouses and buttresses them with science-speak, encouraging the average believer who may be overawed by scientists who pooh-pooh religion, God, and faith.

Amanda Gefter, writing in the New Scientist, quotes the following lines of d'Espagnat as representative of the science-religion bond that he espoused and that drew the attention of Templeton Foundation:

There must exist, beyond mere appearances … a 'veiled reality' that science does not describe but only glimpses uncertainly. In turn, contrary to those who claim that matter is the only reality, the possibility that other means, including spirituality, may also provide a window on ultimate reality cannot be ruled out, even by cogent scientific arguments.

Gefter points out that d'Espagnat calls the "veiled reality" a Being or Independent Reality or even "a great, hypercosmic God".

Although Gefter believes "that drawing any spiritual conclusions from quantum mechanics is an unfounded leap in logic," she seems satisfied that the Templeton Foundation is not biased since d'Espagnat's views don't add much weight to any institutional religions.

It seems that d'Espagnat's views, like most philsophical views, are subject to numerous qualifications, modifications, refinements, and interpretations. It may be an error to take him as an advocate of institutional religions. However, religions are ultimately pointers to God--not an end in themselves--and in this broad view believers of all religions may find something inspirational in d'Espagnat... as they will also in Sankara and Thomas.

Here are the references for further reading

*Gefter, Amanda. "Concept of 'hypercosmic God' wins Templeton Prize."

*Times Online

*Reuters Report

*The Templeton Foundation

Sophia University in Cambodia

2009-03-09T21:40:00.014+09:00

After paying a 20US$ admission fee and flashing the ticket to one of the numerous security agents scrutinizing foreigners (native Cambodians don't need a ticket), you are ready to enter the premises of Angkor Wat. The first view you get is of a magnificent causeway, constructed with large slabs of stone, over a huge 190-meter-wide moat that surrounds all the four sides of the Wat premises. As you step on to the causeway, you'll notice uneven edges, pits, chipped corners, and a few unwalkbable areas. When you have advanced almost half the distance, you'll see on the left a large board stating prominently that repair work is going on thanks to the involvement of Sophia University Angkor International Mission!

Yes, our little university has a pride of place in Cambodia, especially in Siem Reap, where numerous Cambodian cultural assets such as the Angkor Wat are. The board along the causeway shows photos of the opening ceremony after partial restoration, and you can see in them the faces of Yoshiaki Ishizawa, Sophia University President, and Toshiaki Koso, S.J., Sophia University Chancellor, along with the chief dignitaries of the country. The repairwork, whose planning began perhaps in the early 1990's, is only partially over and is being continued even now.

Thanks to the initiatives of President Ishizawa, Sophia University has been involved in Cambodian activities for many years. As he himself likes to acknowldege, he was introduced to Cambodia when he was a student by the jovial and affable French professor Fr. Paul Rietsch, S.J. Since then, he has become an avid researcher, and subsequently scholar, of Cambodia. According to rumors, currently he is the most knowledgable Japanese authority on Cambodia. He appears frequently on Japanese TV programs presenting his discoveries and introducing Cambodia, always with a face that exudes uncontrolable enthusiasm and cheerfulness.

Currently, Sophia's name may be found not only on the causeway to the Angkor Wat, but also on several other Cambodian locations. Most notable perhaps is Sophia's name at the entrance to Banteay Kdei, another temple complex near Angkor Wat. Apparently Sophia Mission in Cambodia has been entrusted with the task of conducting excavations at this site--built by Emperor Jeyavarman VII in the late 12th or early 13th century--and the Sophia team has been busy digging, cleaning up, and inventorying there for several years.

It was here at Banteay Kdei that the Sophia team discovered quite unexpectedly in March 2001 an extraordinary collection of 274 Buddhist objects, including many ritually decapitated Buddha statues, a stone pillar with about 1000 carved Buddhist images, and several 'unbeheaded' Buddha images. This was such a rare and marvelous find that it was reported in several local and international newspapers, and those involved in the discovery also have written academic articles [see Marui, Masako. 'The Discovery of Buddhist statues at Banteay Kdei temple', _Journal of Sophia Asian Studies_, 19 (2001); Ishizawa, Yoshiaki. 'Special issue of the inventory of 274 Buddhist statues and the stone pillar discovered from Banteay Kdei Temple', _Renaissance culturelle du Cambodge_, 21 (2004), 2 vols.] Some of these statues are in excellent condition as if made only yesterday!

Thanks to this remarkable discovery of Buddhist relics, Sophia became involved in putting them all in the specially constructed Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in the northern province of Siem Reap. It is said to have been built at an expense of one million US dollars, with generous donations from Japan. In display at this museum are all the Buddhist objects that the Sophia team excavated at the Banteay Kdei Temple. The next time you go to Angkor Wat, make sure to visit the museum and appreciate the plaque honoring Sophia University! (Entrance fee 3 US$).

Sophia also has a rather luxurious (by Cambodian standards) research center in Siem Reap, close to the Spean Neak Bridge, by the side of the river. It has a nice front-yard, an altar for a guardian deity, a quiet watch-dog, generous office space, and several rooms for visiting researchers. Two academics represent Sophia's interests there, Mr. Satoru Miwa (Site Manager and Research Fellow of Institute of Asian Cultures) and Ms. Chie Abe (Researcher and coordinator). They welcome visitors generously and give them a guided tour of their offices and explain the kinds of work they do there. Given the large number of Japanese tourists and their own heavy workload, they can't serve as tour guides to temples in the city, but they really go out of the way to assist visiting Sophians...

Although I've examined several Sophia-related Websites, I can't find any single one in English giving a comprehensive picture of the history and activities of Sophia's work in Cambodia. There seem to be quite a lot of information in Japanese, for example, at the site entitled Sophia University Angkor International Mission: http://angkorvat.jp/. This page, in fact, has some English documents (see http://angkorvat.jp/document.html), some easily identifiable, but some hidden among pages with Japanese titles.

Here I list a few significant web-pages that may be of interest:

(1) Various English documents are listed among Japanese ones here at the official Sophia University Angkor International Mission site

(2) Here's an official document concerning Sophia University activities posted at APSARA, the Cambodian Government's Autorité pour la Protection du Site et l'Aménagement de la Région d'Angkor ("Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap").

(3) "Sophia University team finds Kannon pillar in Cambodia." An article reporting the discovery of Buddhist objects, published in _Yomiuri Shimbun_ (August 25, 2001) and currently preserved at _Buddhism Today_

(4) Sophia University Angkor International Mission: A Japanese/French webpage located at Sophia University. Although the text is not English, there are interesting photos of the excavation site and the fantastic finds.

[This blogger was in Cambodia for about three weeks and just returned to Japan.]

John Nissel, S.J.: Life and Work [AUDIO added]

2009-01-31T17:51:00.035+09:00

Professor Gerard Barry, S.J., has been a life-long friend of Professor John Nissel, S.J. and both, originally members of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, worked together in the English Language Department of Sophia University. Although Prof. Barry was away from the Department for some years--while he founded and guided Sophia Junior College in Hadano--he returned to the Department and continued his teaching career with Prof. Nissel. Currently Fr. Barry is an assistant to the Pastor at St. Ignatius Church, the Jesuit Parish near Sophia. He was called upon to address the audience at the final parting celbrations for Fr. Nissel. Here, with his permission, are his words recalling the life and work of Fr. Nissel.

You can listen to Fr. Barry by starting the audio. For the convenience of Japanese visitors, about 70 seconds of Gospel Reading in Japanese precedes the English talk. If you prefer, skip the Japanese by moving the play button forward.
(1)Windows Media Player

(2) Flash Player, for those who don't have Windows Media Player. Click the menu item 01 to start playing.

I will speak in English for several reasons. First, Fr. Doyle suggested that I do so. Second, a majority of those gathered here are graduates of the English Language Department, all former students of Fr Nissel, and because of his efforts you have mastered English. And finally, it makes my task much easier.

Fr. John Nissel was born on Oct 18, 1925; his mother, born Helen Sullivan, was of Irish descent, and his father, John Nissel, was of German descent. He went to parochial schools in Baltimore, St Benedict’s grade school and then on Loyola Jesuit High School. Upon graduation from Loyola HS he entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Wernersville, PA on 14 Aug, 1943. From Wernersville he moved to Woodstock College where he studied Philosophy from 1947 to 1950. In September 1950 he came to Japan and studied Japanese at Taura, Yokosuka, until July 1953. Then he returned to Woodstock again and studied Theology there until 1957. He was ordained priest on 17 June, 1956, at Woodstock. His last year of formation, tertianship, was spent at Auriesville, New York. From there he moved to Georgetown U where he earned a graduate degree in Linguistics. He returned to Japan in September 1959 and started teaching English Language in the newly established Faculty of Foreign Languages. He taught there for 32 years, until his retirement from Sophia U in 1992. During this period he held various positions in the University, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages from 1967-1970, Dean of the International Division from 1971. In 1975 he taught English at the newly founded Sophia Junior College.

On retirement from Sophia he moved to Kagoshima, where he taught English language and literature at Kagoshima Junshin Junior College from 1992-2001. Then he moved to Rokko Catholic Church for pastoral work for a year. He returned to the SJ House in April 2002. Last year, 2008, he moved to Loyola House on November 11th.

Glimpses or vignettes into the boyhood of John Nissel

Catholic Boyhood
I caught a glimpse of his piety when Fr J’s sister Helen and his nephew Will visited Japan in May of last year. We went to Narita to pick them up and while riding back to Tokyo in the bus Will said that even though we had never met he felt he knew me. He certainly knew my name. I asked, “Why do you know my name?” It turns out that whenever the Dagenheart family said grace before meals, they would also ask God to help Jesuits working with Uncle Jack in Tokyo at Sophia. Will said we would pray for Fathers Forbes, Mason, Barry, McKeckney, etc. A litany of the names of those working with Fr Jack at Sophia. I was amazed and gratified to hear this. It gave me an insight into the piety that must have prevailed in the family of Fr Jack and his sister when they were children.

The second glimpse is related to Pimlico. The home of the Nissel family was near Pimlico, one of the more famous race tracks in the U.S. It was at Pimlico that on November 1, 1938, a race was held between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, two of the best race horses in the US. The race was called the "Match of the Century". It was one of the most anticipated sporting events in U.S. history. The Pimlico Race Course, from the grandstands to the infield, was jammed solid with fans. Trains were run from all over the country to bring fans to the race, and the estimated 40,000 at the track were joined by some 40 million listening on the radio. War Admiral was the prohibitive favorite (1-4 with most bookmakers) and a near unanimous selection of the writers and experts. Young Jack Nissel, then 13 years old, was not allowed inside the race track, but he did watch from outside the rails Seabiscuit’s stunning come from behind victory. He never forgot this and relished telling others about that day.

His character
Perhaps Fr N’s most productive work was done in the English Language Department. He was a member of the Department from its foundation and worked with Professors Noguchi, Koine, Forbes, Hattori, Mason, McKechney, Kishimura, Nakano, Graziano and others to establish and bring the Department to maturity. Besides his teaching duties, he always had some job in administration. Despite the endless rounds of meetings he always managed to have well prepared classes. What always amazed me was his popularity with his students. As an administrator he was strict and authoritarian. (He was the oldest child in his family.) But in the classroom he managed to have his students laugh several times during each session. As Professor Milward pointed out last night, he had an excellent sense of humor. Even after retirement he had a special rapport with younger Jesuits. He enjoyed teaching them English and they enjoyed his company.

Another characteristic he had was his quest for more effective teaching aids. Even before computers became popular he introduced into the English Language Department office things like the IBM Selectric Typewriter, classification using data or punch cards. When computers first came to Sophia he got one for the Department. We, any in the faculty who was interested, were introduced to Ichitaro, then TwinStar, then Word Perfect, etc. He also was instrumental in introducing Kurtzweil, the first scanner, to the department. He was instrumental in introducing the “reading card library” for student use in vocabulary building. He was always on the alert to find effective aids for teaching and administration. He was also quite zealous about keeping in touch with graduates of the department, for this reason he founded SELDAA, the journal of the English Language Department.

News of the death of Fr N came suddenly. He had entered Seibo Hospital on Saturday, January 24 and he died on January 25th. We were all shocked. When I heard the news the words Mark Van Doren said in his eulogy of Thomas Merton ran through my mind. Thomas Merton was orphaned at 16, at 23 he found Jesus Christ, at 26 he entered a Trappist monastery in Gethsemane, Kentucky. He died suddenly in 1969. Mark Van Doren said something like this at his funeral:

'The best bottle of wine
tipped over and spilled.
Catch it! Save it! But nobody could.
Now, nothing’s left but the fragrance.'

All we have left of Fr Jack Nissel now are our memories of him. These memories are like the fragrant smell coming from a fine wine. We are saddened by his absence, by the knowledge that we cannot see him again, we cannot be with him, enjoy his warm humor, see his friendly smile. But we are consoled by his faith.

He firmly believed in the words of today’s scripture. As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians: (1 Cor 15: 51-57)

'The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. This corruptible body will be clothed with incorruptibility, this mortal body with immortality. When the corruptible frame takes on incorruptibility and the mortal immortality the saying of Scripture will be fulfilled; “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Thanks be to God who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

When faced with the death of a close friend the words of Hamlet may come to mind. In his “to be or not to be” speech Hamlet describes death as “the undiscovered country from whose bourn, (boundaries) no traveler returns.” This phrase well describes the finality of death. Once dead, no one returns to this earth. And this is scary. But the faith John Nissel had counterbalanced this fear. True, he did not display his faith; he did not “wear his faith on his sleeve” as we say. But his life was a testimony to his belief in the words of the Gospel we just read.

Jesus, at his last meeting with his beloved disciples, at the last supper, Jesus, knowing that he was soon to be arrested, tried, condemned to death, executed and buried, assured his followers:

'Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Have faith in God
and faith in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places;
otherwise, how could I have told you
that I was going to prepare a place for you?
I am indeed going to prepare a place for you,
and then I shall come back to take you with me,
that where I am you also may be.
You know the way that leads to where I go.' (John 14:1-4)

Yes, Lord, the life of John Nissel has helped us to understand your words more clearly. The memory of his life is our treasure and his gift to us.

Father Nissel: Thank you ever so much! You did so much for so many in such a gracious way. Till we meet again. Sayonara.

Gerard Barry, S.J.
January 28, 2009. 13:30 St Ignatius Church, Tokyo

Former FFS Dean John Nissel, S.J.

2009-01-26T23:39:00.012+09:00

The founder and dean of Sophia University's Faculty of Foreign Languages, Fr. John Nissel, died on Sunday (1/25) early morning of a heart attack in Seibo Byoin, a hospital run by Sisters. He was 83 years old, and 65 years a Jesuit. A native of Baltimore, Fr. Nissel joined the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus, and came to Japan as a missionary in 1950--at a time when, given the dire economic conditions, it was a challenge to work in Japan. After about three years, during which time he learned Japanese at the Jesuit Language School in Taura, he returned to Maryland to do theology at Woodstock. He was ordained a priest in 1956, and then spent a few years at Georgetown University to acquire the needed academic qualifications to teach at Sophia University, mainly in the field of English and linguistics.

Returning to Japan in 1959, Fr. Nissel plunged into an academic career that was to last until 2001. He was one of the founders of the Graduate School of Linguistics at Sophia University. An English learning series he authored with several others was a best-seller among the Japanese learners of English. He has a large number of former students who are currently English educators, including several at Sophia University itself.

After retiring from Sophia in 1992, Fr. Nissel went to work as an educator and administrator at Kagoshima Junshin Junior College. His work there lasted until 2001, when he proceeded to Kobe Rokko Jesuit Church to take up the career of a parish priest. His stint in the parish lasted only a year, as he moved to S. J. House, near the Sophia University premises in 2002. At S. J. House, he continued to teach individuals and small groups both English and religion. In 2008 November, he moved to Loyola House, the facility for Jesuit Seniors, as his memory was fading and his walking became unsteady. He seems to have been in good spirits until two or three before his death, but when he was moved to the hospital on Saturday (1/24), he was extremely weak.

Fr. Nissel was an efficient administrator, as the many positions he held--Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Chair of the Department of English Studies, Head of the Graduate School of Linguistics, etc.--testify, and an excellent communicator. Although he seemed uncomfortable in using Japanese, he was sufficiently competent, but whatever weakness he might have had in his Japanese language skills, he made up for it by his extraordinary social skills. Moreover, in Japan, monolingual English speakers are highly prized, especially if they are English teachers, and because he spoke English most of the time, the Japanese enthusiastically flocked to him. He had several groups of admirers and friends who frequently visited him and invited him to talk to them. One important reason for his popularity was his great sense of humor, which he used to loosen up even the most frightened Japanese. I attended the farewell lecture he gave on his retirement from Sophia, and the only thing I can remember now is that the audience was roaring with laughter as he filled his narrative with numerous jokes and puns.

Fr. Nissel was a very energetic and intellectually gifted man. Until quite late in his life, he used to go cycling and ice-skating to different parts of Japan, and was always very eager to challenge new musical instruments, computers, and other arts. If my recollection is right, he used to play the flute very well and used to practice it frequently with his close friend and colleague Josef Edelman, S.J. In the 1980s, he was at Georgetown University trying to study Sociolinguistics in order to teach it at Sophia. He was always captivated by computers and programming, having tried his had at programming in BASIC and PASCAL. He explored several Japanese computers--in the good old days when the Japanese PCs were 100% incompatible with PCs elsewhere in the world--and then shifted to the MS-DOS and Windows PCs, and finally settled down with a Mac. He was always curious to learn new techniques and do something creative. He was invaluable during his last years, as he patiently helped several young Japanese to improve their English skills. No doubt, many will miss him. R.I.P.

You are welcome to add your comments about Fr. Nissel in the "Comments" section. (Click the "Comments" button below this entry, type, and post!)

Wake: 1/27 (Tu) 19:00 at the main chapel of St. Ignatius Church
Funeral Mass: 1/28 (W) 13:30 at the main chapel of St. Ignatius Church
See here for directions

≪通夜≫　１月２７日（火）　１９時より　　聖イグナチオ教会
≪葬儀ミサならびに告別式≫　１月２８日（水）　１３時３０分より　　聖イグナチオ教会

Milward's "Eccentric Country" now Online

2009-01-24T16:32:00.005+09:00

Jesuit priest and Sophia University Emeritus Professor Peter Milward's hilarious book "Eccentric Country: England" is now online. Based on his numerous travels to England with groups of Japanese, the book is a series of reflections on the eccentricities that struck him as he guided his charge through castles and cathedrals, mansions and meadows. There are 12 sections, each with 4 chapters, with such witty titles as: Ancient Eccentricities, Mysticism in Cows, Monuments of Madness, Mad Mansions, Holy Follies, Flying Horse, Fighting Cock, and Cowardice of Cows. The book also is beautifully illustrated with about 50 photographs taken by the author himself. Enjoy!
Click on the image or the link on the right panel to enter Peter's Eccentric Country!

General Nicolas with Fellow Jesuits in Japan

2008-12-27T15:44:00.027+09:00

The General Addressing Jesuits

December 26 was a busy day for Jesuits in Japan. More than 60% of the Japanese Province, about 160 men, gathered in Kibe Hall, the Japanese Jesuit Headquarters in central Tokyo. There were young and old, brothers and priests, foreigners and Japanese, coming from far (Nagasaki and Sapporo) and near (Sophia University, next door). The formal meeting began at 10:00 AM with a prayer, followed by a welcome speech by Shogo Sumita, the Japanese Provincial. Then came the main guest of the day, the Superior General, Adolfo Nicolas, dressed in black with a roman collar, as he regularly appears these days.

"Here I feel very much at home," the General began, after introductory bows and hellos, "since so far nobody has knelt before me asking to be blessed." Peppering his talk with amusing anecdotes and entertaining episodes, he gave a brief "State of the Society" address, outlining how the headquarters of the Society function in Rome, how the relations between the Society and the Vatican are improving, and how overall the Jesuits are enthusiastic apostles rather than troublesome whiners. He highlighted especially the painstaking work that Jesuits do in the Amazon regions of Brazil, in former Communist countries, and in countries where religious freedom is non-existent. Speaking in fluent Japanese throughout, he recalled the recent beatification of Peter Kibe, S.J, and 187 martyrs and told the audience that the rest of the Society has great expectations from the Japanese Province.

Jesuits together for Mass

Clearly, Nicolas is a very optimistic General, affirming the positive and encouraging the audience. He exuded confidence, hope, and enthusiasm. No dark clouds in his horizon! It has to be added, though, that his optimism was enlightened, not naive. He did point out that the Society's strength may dwindle to less than 10,000 within the next few years, and there are many challenges ahead. He also goaded the audience, with self-deprecating humor, to reflect on why Jesuits seemed to work better individually than collectively.

The Stats

After a break for lunch, Shnizo Kawamura, a Jesuit Professor at Sophia University, gave an hour-long presentation, complete with PowerPoint slides, on the 100-year history of the Society of Jesus in Japan. Beginning with the reasons that kept the Jesuits away from Japan soon after the Restoration, he introduced the major Popes and Jesuits who contributed to the growth of Jesuits and Jesuit apostolates in Japan. Perhaps the most exciting of his topics was the Church's position on Catholics 'bowing' at the Yasukuni (Shinto) Shrine in the 1930s, when, for a time, Church authorities saw no reason to forbid Catholics from visiting the shrine. The Church took such a stand since the Government, in response to a query from the Archbishop, had explained: "The visit of shrines is required from students of higher schools and students of middle and primary schools for educational reasons. The inclination required on these occasions from the students and pupils as a group has no other purpose than that of manifesting the sentiments of patriotism and loyalty." Kawamura's sobering statistics may be an eye-opener for most Jesuits and others concerned with the welfare of the Church.

Kawamura Presenting

The climax of the day was surely the liturgy, in which the General acted as the chief celebrant and homilist, and seven Jesuits pronounced their final vows. In his homily, the General gave friendly advice to the vowants--especially to transcend petty worries concering troublesome superiors and defective colleagues and to focus on their avowed commitment to serve God and the Church. He also exhorted them to be 'available' as Ignatius would like them to be--adding that they might even be called upon to serve in other parts of the world.

Seven Jesuits for Final Vows

After Mass, there was a reception to celebrate not only the memorable visit of the General, but also the 100 years of Jesuit presence in Japan and the Final Vows of the 'Seven Samurai.' The General enthusiastically mingled with the crowd, meeting many old friends and making new friends as well.

Nicolas at the Reception

Photos (c) Jesuits of Japan

Jesuit General Nicolas addresses Sophians

2008-12-24T18:08:00.012+09:00

Fr. General on the podium

The Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, arrived in Tokyo safe and sound on Sunday (2008-12-21)--accompanied by Fr. Jose de Vera, who served for many years as the PR man of the Jesuits in Rome--in time for lunch with his former Jesuit colleagues at Sophia University. He looked relaxed, healthy, and cheerful as usual. Many were relieved to see him still the same: casual, cordial, jovial, warm, and committed to fulfilling his responsibilities. Keeping a busy schedule, he addressed Sophia University Faculty and Staff on Monday morning, although his time for the session was extended from 15 minutes to nearly an hour. In the afternoon, he addressed Sophia University students and interested outsiders. There was a large crowd despite the fact that his address was scheduled during class time. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Osaka, Leo Jun Ikenaga, S.J., too came all the way from Osaka to meet with the General and listen to his address.

Archbishop Ikenaga in the audience

On Tuesday, the General met with numerous other persons, including Cardinal Peter Shirayanagi (who took the trouble of coming to Sophia University), with whom he had lunch.

On Wednesday, Christmas Eve, he met with the board members of Sophia University, and had dinner with them and their partners in the Jesuit Residence. He plans to celebrate Christmas Mass this evening with Sophians--but simply as one of the concelebrants rather than as the chief celebrant or chief homilist.

The General flanked by Provincial Fr. Sumita and Vice-President Dr. Grove

December 26 will be an important day for all the Jesuits of Japan, as many are expected to gather at St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo, to meet the General in person. The events of the day will include also an academic lecture by the young historian, Fr. Kawamura, S.J., Ph.D. (Professor in the Department of History, Sophia Univeristy), on Jesuit successes and failures during the past 100 years, and the Last Vows of several Jesuits.

Photos: Professor Mike Milward, S.J.

Jesuit General Adolfo Nicolas to visit Sophia University

2008-12-12T09:18:00.010+09:00

Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, S.J.

The Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., is expected to spend a few days in Japan, visiting especially his alma mater, Sophia University, and meeting with students and colleagues. Fr. Nicolas, as is now well-known, spent most of his life in Japan, having arrived in Japan as a missionary in 1961, at the age of 25. His connection with Sophia University too is long. Besides graduating from Sophia University's Faculty of Theology (1968), he also served as a Professor in the same Faculty for may years.

Although the Jesuits know well the role and importance of the visit of their Superior General, most non-Jesuits within Sophia University may not. Given the negligible fraction of Catholics in Japan, most students and members of the faculty are not Catholic or even Christian. Often in casual chats and surveys, students tend to say that they are 'atheists' (by which they simply mean that they don't go to places of worship or pray to a divinity, not that they are militant disbelievers). Although most of them have heard of and read about the Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier, they rarely draw a link between him and Sophia University. They may know that Sophia is a 'Christian' university, but their awareness that it is also a Catholic and a Jesuit University is rather dim as in this secular age, explicit religious references tend to be left out of focus. The visit of Fr. Nicolas, therefore, may be a great occasion for many to get to know the Catholic, Jesuit, and international dimension of Sophia University.

Fr. Nicolas will arrive on Sunday (12/21) and stay in Japan for about ten days. He is expected to dialog with several ecclesiastical dignitaries and address a wide variety of groups, both lay and religious. His engagements at Sophia University are as follows:

12/22 (M) (Bldg 10 Auditorium)
11:45 ~ 12:00 Address to Sophia University Faculty and Staff members (not open to the public)
15:30 ~ ?? Address to Sophia University Students (open to the public)

*As Fr. Nicolas is fluent in Japanese, both addresses will be in Japanese.
*Those interested in attending the 15:30 session may contact Sophia University Catholic Center (Tel: (03)3238-4146; Fax: (03)3238-3031)

Sophia FFS to celebrate 50th Anniversary

2008-12-11T22:41:00.009+09:00

Fr. John Nissel, S.J.

Sophia University established the Faculty of Foreign Studies (FFS) 50 years ago, with Fr. John Nissel, S.J., as the first Dean. The official Japanese name of the Faculty is Gaikokugo Gakubu 'Faculty of Foreign Languages,' and it includes the following six departments: English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Portuguese. Although the focus of the departments in earlier times was only language, the current curriculum embraces also area and culture studies.

On December 13, 2008, the Faculty, currently headed by Professor Kensaku Yoshida, will celebrate the 50th anniversary. The major events planned are as follows:

13:05 Dean's Welcome Greetings
13:15 Main Lecture by Mr. Yoshiteru Uramoto (1974 Graduate of the Deptartment of English, and currently Deputy to the Director General. United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in Vienna)
14:30 Break
14:30 - 15:30 20-minute lectures, by three high profile graduates.
15:40 - 17:00 Symposium with invited speakers and concluding remarks

All these free events will be held in the Bldg 10 Auditorium; they are open to everyone. No reservation is required.

Venerable Bldg 1 Corridor

------
17:30 -
Party (Bldg 2, 5Fl Dining Hall) only for those interested; 5,000 Yen Admission fee. Reservation recommended. Call 03-3238-3701 for reservation, or send email to f-foreign[at]sophia.ac.jp

Archbishop Pittau Celebrates his 80th Birthday

2008-12-02T23:47:00.005+09:00

Archbishop and former President of Sophia University Joseph Pittau celebrated his 80th birthday on November 20, and Sophia University and the Sophia Alumni threw a party for him on November 21. A large gathering of about 300 friends and well-wishers assembled in Building 9 Basement Cafeteria to greet him. His brother, a parish priest in Italy, and a large number of Jesuits and priests too were present.

Despite his age, Archbishop Pittau is in excellent health and is constantly in demand for lectures, liturgical appearances, and spiritual talks.

Archbishop Pittau [Photo by Francis Britto, 2007]

Four Jesuits of Japan to be Beatified

2008-11-14T00:39:00.012+09:00

Logo by Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan

The Catholic Church in Japan eagerly awaits the beatification ceremony of 188 martyrs, to be held on November 24, 2008, in Nagasaki. Already many catholic delegations from different parts of Japan have arranged organized tours. Several students and professors from Sophia University and many parishoners of St. Ignatius Church, next door, will also be going for the ceremony.

Among the 188 illustrious martyrs, there are also four Jesuits, Peter Kibe being the most well-known. In fact, the official announcement of the ceremony refers to "Peter Kibe and 187 Martyrs," giving him prominence. The other three Jesuits are the adventurous Julian Nakaura, who went to Europe in the 16th century and met Pope Gregory XIII and several royals; Diego Yuki Ryosetsu, who was ordained in Manila and excelled in erudition and education; and Nicholas Keian Fukunaga, who, as an 'ordinary' un-ordained Jesuit, managed to bear witness to the Gospel by his remarkable courage.

The stories of each one is quite moving, and you can read a brief account of their life at "All About Francis Xavier." The account is written by Fr. Fuyuki Hirabayashi, a Japanese Jesuit who was deeply involved in preparing documents related to the beatification.

A printed edition of Peter Kibe and 187 Companions, a book of 76 pages, compiled by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Japan and translated into English by Fr. Francis Mathy, S.J., a professional translator of several Shusaku Endo works, can be obtained from St. Ignatius Catholic Church (6-5-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083; Tel: 03-3263-4584 Fax: 03 3263-4585), for a token donation.

A book on the 188 Martyrs

The Tokyo Archdiocese has prepared small booklets related to the beatification in different languages. Here is the English booklet. For versions in Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese, visit: http://www.tokyo.catholic.jp/text/diocese/oshirase/080929reppkuleaf.htm

Sakthi Dancers and Sr. Chandra at Sophia

2008-11-09T01:46:00.012+09:00

Based near Dindigul, in Tamil Nadu, India, Sakthi Dancers are a group of women whose goal is to conscientize the Tamil masses on matters related to social justice and social equality, with their music, songs, and dances. The group owes its origin to Sr. Chandra, a Catholic nun of the ICM [Immaculati Cordis Mariae ‘Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary’] congregation. Invited by several Japanese volunteer organizations, Sr. Chandra is currently in Japan together with a colleague, Sr. Felicy; four male musicians, a folk-art researcher and photographer, and nine dancers—young and energetic like the freshmen of Sophia.

Sr.Chandra and Staff

The group has a series of engagements until November 21, as they are expected to perform almost every day in a different place. Sr. Chandra is also scheduled to receive an award for her humanitarian services on November 17th at Tokyo ANA Hotel （社会貢献支援財団「社会貢献賞」授賞式は１１月１７日ANAホテル１０時）.

The group’s visit to Sophia on November 7 was hastily arranged, and its primary goal was to give the dancers a glimpse of the Japanese academic world. As it was the first overseas trip to many of them, they were all excited to see students of their own age and observe the classrooms, offices, and the academic atmosphere of Sophia. Thanks to Sophia University’s PR office, each of them also received some simple memorabilia to take home.

Watch the trailer of Sakthi Dancers & Sr. Chandra

Although most Catholics in Japan may not have heard of Sr. Chandra, she has been known to several Christian and non-Christian volunteer groups in Japan, and some of them have been regular visitors to her Sakthi Dancing Center in India. One such visitor was Ms. Taeko Kurokawa, who has been to the Center annually for more than ten years and has introduced many other friends to Sr. Chandra and her dancers. She is also the chief host of the dancers during their visit to Japan. Another significant visitor to the Center was Mr. Kazu Matsui, who, being a cameraman, director, and movie producer, made a documentary on the work of Sr. Chandra (see his Japanese blog at: http:// blog.commotion.tv/ar/matsui/ 2008/10/post_6.html). Entitled Sakthi Dancers and Sister Chandra, this movie has won international acclaim, having already been awarded several prestigious prizes in such film festivals as 2008 Worldfest Houston (see http://www.worldfest.org/ downloads/winnerslist2008.pdf), and Heart of England International Film Festival (see http://www.amritsa.com/08iffe.htm).

The November 7th evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun (Japanese Newspaper) carried a photo and a brief report about the group. The report contained the schedule of major events, a history of the group, and Sr. Chandra’s philosophy.

The Sakthi Dancers

An NHK presentation of Sr. Chandra and her dancing troupe is expected sometime this month. Those who cannot see their performance live may look forward to watching this presentation.

Here is the schedule of major events:

11 November (Tu) Two Performances (15:00 & 18:30) at Tokyo Women's Plaza
12 November (W) Two Performances (15:00 & 18:30) at Tokyo Women's Plaza

For further information regarding the Sakthi engagements:
Tel： 043-293-2828 FAX： 043-293-2869
Email： mail@roadpromotion.net
E-Ticket PIA: pia.jp/t (PCode:390-208)
Visit also: http://sakthi.luci.jp/

Professor Emeritus Felix Lobo Passes Away

2008-10-04T10:15:00.020+09:00

Felix Lobo Reading [Photo: Francis Britto, 2004]

This morning, on the great feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, it was reported that Professor Emeritus Felix Lobo passed away. He was admitted to Seibo Hospital, Tokyo, about a month ago--when he celebrated his 82nd birthday--for some minor ailment, and some who saw him two days ago reported that he was his usual self, cheerful and upbeat. He seems to have passed away very quietly in the early morning hours today.

The photo above does not do justice to the 'happy-wolf' nature of Felix Lobo, who was always bublicious and vivacious. He was unceasingly energetic despite his body size, groomed to compete with that of St. Thomas Aquinas. Everyone I spoke with during the past thirty minutes (following the announcement of his death) immediately recalled at least one joke said by Felix. He enjoyed telling jokes and making people laugh. He was really 'felix' by nature and felt ever grateful to God, his friends, colleagues, students, and assistants for making him so happy.

A Dominican, a Franciscan, and a Jesuit die. When the Dominican enters heaven, there is no excitement or reception. Nobody even bothers to look at him. The Franciscan hopes for a better recognition, and he steps in oozing out confidence. But no luck! The poor Franciscan doesn't get any reception or notice either. Finally it's the turn of the Jesuit, who enters carefree like most Jesuits. As soon as he puts his foot into the heavenly territory, however, there is a loud applause and fireworks, and everyone comes around to congratulate him. The Franciscan and the Dominican are upset, and complain to St. Peter. And Peter says casually, "Oh, don't worry about it. Almost every Franciscan and every Dominican makes it to heaven as a matter of course, and we have lots and lots of them here. But as for Jesuits! Do you know that he is the first Jesuit after... oh, only God knows how many years! [A story the Jesuit Felix loved to tell.]

Felix was born in Segovia, Spain, on 4 September 1926. He was very proud of his ancient city, which has such landmarks as the Roman Aqueduct, Alcazar Castle [which, Felix pointed out, inspired Walt Disney], and a magnificent cathedral. When I visited him there in 1990, he took me around to all these sights and treated me to Cordero asado estilo Segovia and finally took me to a real village bodega to taste the local wine. He joined the Jesuits on 31 August 1943 and came to Japan in 1952 as a Jesuit missionary. Ordained a priest in 1959, he spent most of his life at Sophia University as a professor in the Spanish Language Department. After retirement, he kept himself busy writing language-learning materials and assisting in the Jesuit Parish of St. Ignatius. Although he was still active and healthy-looking, he moved of his own accord to the Loyola Retirement House in a suburb of Tokyo, about three years ago. It was perhaps a proper decision, for though he did appear healthy, he was becoming more and more forgetful and unable to keep track of appointments and names of persons. He was perhaps the only resident at Loyola House to appear always wearing a necktie and a jacket, looking more like a doctor than like a cared-for old man. Even when I visited him in September 2008, he was properly dressed in a three-piece suit and able to carry on a conversation--though he couldn't remember details about names or events. He was not totally incoherent either, for he was able to recall certain names or events or associate some names with one or two events.

Segovia Aqueduct [Wikipedia]

Besides being a priest, Felix was professionally a linguist, a psycholinguist. He did his doctoral studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and became a devoted student, friend, and admirer of Dr. Robert Lado. When he returned to Japan, he took an active part in boosting linguistic studies at Sophia University. In cooperation with several Japanese colleagues, such as the well-known scholars Akira Ota and Haruhiko Kindaichi, he re-organized the linguistics curriculum and established the graduate school of linguistics. In the 1970s, he was also well-known as a Spanish teacher on Japanese Educational TV channel. He served for many years, sometimes even simultaneously, as the Head of the Spanish Language Department, Head of the Graduate School of Linguistics, Head of SOLIFIC [SOphia Linguistic Institute For International Communication], and Head of the undergraduate section of Linguistics. He was also for many years one of the chief editors of Sophia Linguistica and several other linguistics-related and Spanish-related publications from Sophia.

Although Felix himself wrote few well-known treatises on linguistics, he was an able organizer, coordinator, stimulator and mentor. He was instrumental in bringing some of the most well-known linguists, such as Noam Chomsky, M. A. K. Halliday, Robert Lado, John Lyons, Ray Jackendoff, and David Crystal, to Sophia and several of his students are professors of linguistics in Japan. He also encouraged many Japanese colleagues and students to study overseas, and there are several Georgetown graduates in Japan, thanks to his PR for his alma mater. Many linguistic publications from Sophia University, especially prior to 1990 are likely to bear his name as one of the editors or authors. Some of the volumes he edited for learning English and for learning Spanish have been best-sellers and money-makers within Japan.

Segovia Alcazar

Felix was a cordial, warm, and affectionate person who elicited affection and love from the people he moved with. He was also very faithful to his friends and to those who did him favors, treating them to lavish luncheons and parties. He rarely forgot any good deed done to him, and he loved to praise every woman he met as 'the most beautiful and charming' and every man he met as 'the most talented in the world.' Perhaps the secret of his infectios felicity was his ability to feel thankful all the time, taking every good thing that happened to him as the result of God's and people's love for him.

Funeral Arrangements

Vigil Service: October 7 (Tue), 2008, 19:00 at St. Ignatius Church
Funeral Mass : October 8 (Wed), 2008, 13:30 at St. Ignatius Church
St. Ignatius Church is close to Sophia University, just one minute walking distance from Yotsuya Station, on JR Chuo Line, Subway Marunouchi line, and Subway Namboku line. Here's the access map.

10/10 Post Funeral

The Vigil service, lasting nearly 90 minutes, was officiated by Fr. Manuel Silgo, SJ, and the homily was preached by Fr. Thomas Eceizabarrena, SJ. St. Ignatius Church was nearly full. A large number of professors, alumni, Felix's students and friends were present. Although normally the corpse is placed in the church during vigil, in Felix's case, the corpse had been cremated earlier and only the ashes were kept. A large photo of a smiling Felix stood in front of the altar. The service ended with each one going to the front of the altar, bowing reverently, and then placing a few grains of incense at a small incense burner--a symbolic offering, replacing flower-offering.

The Funeral homily, the next day, was preached by Fr. Anselmo Mataix, SJ.
Some former students of Felix Lobo have decided to produce a book narrating how Professor Lobo influenced them.

The Second Coming of Jesuits to be Celebrated

2008-09-27T16:04:00.003+09:00

October 18, 2008, will mark the 100th anniversary of the 'second' arrival of Jesuits in Japan, and the start of the plan to found Sophia University. On the request of Pope Pius X, three Jesuits arrived in Japan in 1908, to contribute as Catholic scholars to higher education. The realization of their dream was the founding of Sophia University in 1913. The three pioneering Jesuits were: Fr. Dahlman, Fr. Rockliff, & Fr. Boucher.

Various public events are planned for October 18, 2008, including musical performances by Canisius College Orchestra (Berlin Jesuit Gymnasium) and a special lecture by the well-known Japanese author, Catholic, and humanitarian Ms Ayako Sono. The events will take place in Bldg 10 Auditorium, starting at 15:30, and the admission is free, but reservation is required! Contact (03)3238-4161 for reservations.

Three Jesuits Ordained Priests in Japan

2008-09-20T17:10:00.008+09:00

There was an ordination ceremony this afternoon (20080920) at St. Ignatius Parish Church, next to Sophia University. Japan has only about half a million Catholics in a population of about 125 million; so it is extraordinary even if simply one Jesuit receives ordination per year. Miraculously, this year there were three Jesuits: a Japanese, an Indian, and an Indonesian.

The presiding bishop was Msgr Peter Okada Takeo of Tokyo. An unassuming, ascetic-looking bishop, he conducted the ceremnony with the required solemnity, as the choir of St. Ignatius Parish bathed the nearly 1,000 attendees in soothing music. About 50 priests concelebrated, including Fr. Sumita, the Jesuit Provincial of Japan; Fr. Karumathil, the Jesuit Provincial of Kerala; and several rectors, diocesan and religious priests of different orders. The gospel passage was Mk 16/14ff, calling on listeners to preach the gospel and baptize. The homily was surprisingly short, just about ten minutes, in which the bishop recalled the 188 Japanese martyrs who will be beatified soon and exhorted the newly ordained to live up to their calling.

Although the mass was at 14:00 and a wayward typhoon was threatening, the Church was full. As is common in Japan, but perhaps unthinkable in India and Christian countries, there were not only Cathoics but also non-Catholics at the ceremony. Non-Catholics in Japan can marry in Catholic Churches, and they eagerly attend Christmas masses, sometimes even waiting for an hour or two! In Japan, non-Catholics are allowed to join the procession of communicants and approach the altar, though they are told not to extend their palm to receive the host but to bow their head and receive the priest's blessings. So when his or her turn comes, a non-Catholic bows reverentially and the priest extends his hand and blesses the person, sometimes uttering words of encouragement.

Recalling Roger Downey ...

2008-09-07T11:21:00.015+09:00

The Spring 2008 edition of Southeast Asia Program e-bulletin at Cornell University contained a very touching and personal tribute to Fr. Roger Downey, S.J., former professor of Economics at Sophia University, by his thesis supervisor, Professor Erik Thorbecke. As this tribute revealed several dimensions of Roger that were unknown to many of his colleagues in Japan, I asked Professor Thorbecke for permission to post it in this blog, and he readily granted it. My sincere thanks to him and the editorial staff of the e-Bulletin for helping me get the permission.

************************************************************

Roger Downey

8 January 1944 - 26 December 2007
In Memoriam: Vignettes of his life

I first met Roger when he enrolled in the PhD. Program in Economics at Cornell University. Typically graduate students converge on a dissertation topic only in their third year in Graduate School. But not Roger. Almost as soon as he had arrived at Cornell he approached me to ask me to be his thesis supervisor and he proceeded to tell me in some detail what the topic of his thesis was going to be.He is the only graduate student - out of the approximately eighty I supervised - who knew even before embarking on the doctoral program what his specific research interest were. Of course, when Roger moved to Cornell he was already a mature scholar with a deep grounding in theology, philosophy and Asia. As a Jesuit he was very much concerned with issues related to poverty and income distribution and he had decided that in order to help alleviate poverty he needed to acquire a technical competence in economics and economic development. Perhaps even more surprising was the fact that he had selected Indonesia to be the focus of his dissertation research. He was planning to study the root causes of poverty and income inequality in Indonesia. Parallel to his economics studies he became fluent in Bahasa Indonesian and immersed himself in the rich activities of the Southeast Program at Cornell.

• • •

While a graduate student at Cornell, Roger lived in a Catholic parish about ten miles from campus where he assisted the priest- a very old and colorful Irishmanwith pastoral duties. On St Patrick day the Irish priest together with Roger would organize a party for the congregation to which we would be invited. Although Roger was always mindful of the need to maintain the right decorum, once he brought my wife over to an empty corner of the party room away from the crowd and proceeded to show her how proficient a dancer he was. He was careful that nobody would see him. Behind a serious exterior was hiding a “joie de vivre” always under control.

• • •

Close to the parish where Roger resided was a small lake with a row boat. One of Roger’s fellow graduate students at that time was Iwan Azis (today one of the leading Indonesian economists). Roger invited Iwan to row across the lake. When they reached the middle of the lake Iwan dropped his camera in the water and fell overboard. After a short while Roger realized that Iwan did not know how to swim and had to dive in the cold water to save Iwan’s life. (Incidentally Iwan who was also one of my students shares the same birthday as mine: February 17 which is also the date of the Memorial Mass in Roger’s honor. We shall think of him and pray for him on that day).

• • •

Just at about the time Roger had completed all of the course work for his PhD. and was ready to embark on writing his dissertation a very fortunate thing happened. The Dutch Ministry of Overseas Development was initiating a research and training program to help the Indonesian Statistical Bureau build a competence around the concept of the “Social Accounting Matrix” (SAM) that is crucial in understanding and measuring the inter-relationship among the structure of production, the incomes of different socio-economic groups, their consumption patterns and the satisfaction of basic needs. The SAM is a necessary quantitative and analytical tool to understand the root causes of poverty.

The Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands approached me to see if I (as one of the earlier architects of the SAM) would be interested in joining force with the ISS in preparing a proposal to be submitted to the Ministry. I immediately contacted Roger who expressed great interest in being involved. The proposal called for a small team of experts to be located at the Indonesian Statistical Bureau in Jakarta first for a three year period and subsequently renewable. The proposal jointly submitted (ISS and Cornell) was funded and Roger became the chief of party of a small group of experts. In retrospect the timing could not have been better. Just at the time Roger was ready to work on the topic he had focused on years earlier and which led him to pursue an advanced degree in Economics, destiny intervened with a golden opportunity.

• • •

As co-technical director of this project one of my duties was to prepare a budget including settling on a salary for Roger. Since Roger’s lifestyle was very modest and frugal and since he was planning to live in the Jesuit complex in Jakarta I, naively, assumed that he would be satisfied with a likewise modest salary. To my great surprise Roger proved to be a hard nosed and demanding negotiator requesting the remuneration that he thought befitted the position. My first reaction was that this behavior was not in keeping with Roger’s character but then I realized that I was wrong and that he was fully entitled to the market salary.
It is only years later that I heard that most of Roger’s salary if not all of it went to build a school in a remote part of Indonesia. Needless to say I learned a valuable lesson and felt guilty about my lack of sensitivity.

• • •

A key member of the team of experts working with Roger was a very young and very bright Dutch econometrician Steven Keuning. At regular intervals I would visit the team in Jakarta and have extensive discussions with the Indonesian statisticians at the Bureau. It was clear that although the SAM was a novel and esoteric concept very difficult for many Indonesians to grasp, Roger and his team were highly respected and valued. Roger was a most demanding taskmaster expecting perfection from himself (more on this later) and from his co-workers. Often Steven would be frustrated by Roger’s expectations but, in the process, he and others would learn and acquire the enormous discipline, commitment to hard work and patience required to deal with large scale date sets originating from often mutually inconsistent sources. Steven Keuning has had a brilliant career and is now the Chief Statistician for the European Central Bank- a most prestigious job. I can not, of course speak for Steven but I feel confident that his professional success in improving, promoting and disseminating the SAM world-wide owes a debt of gratitude to Roger’s at times tormenting demands. Likewise, the Indonesian statisticians and economists who were trained under the auspices of this project have the highest appreciation for what they learned from Roger, Steven and their successors. The SAM project lasted about ten years and propelled Indonesia as the leading producer of SAMs globally.

• • •

After spending a number of years in Indonesia, it became time for Roger to return to Cornell to complete his PhD dissertation. On the basis of the progress already achieved and the chapters that I had read I had estimated that Roger would easily be able to finish his dissertation in a couple of semesters. Roger and I would have bi-weekly meetings to go over his work. He always insisted that we go into the material very thoroughly and in its most minute details. Time after time, as his supervisor I was satisfied with his work but he was not. Time went on and the thesis got longer and longer- reaching over 700 pages in length (the average length of a dissertation in Economics is probably around 200 pages). I finally put my foot down and told Roger that his dissertation met the most stringent quality requirements and that he should put an end to it. Roger refused. It did not meet his standards and he insisted on proceeding. I may be stubborn but I simply could not compete with Roger’s stubbornness.

• • •

When it appeared that we were at a standstill and that Roger would continue indefinitely to refine his dissertation, destiny again intervened. His Jesuit superiors ordered him to move to a new assignment (as I recall in the Philippines). Where I had failed his order succeeded. Roger felt very frustrated but with no choice in the matter he let go of his dissertation- quite unsatisfied with it- and promptly was rewarded with the prize for the best dissertation on Southeast Asia (in all disciplines) at Cornell. Roger was such a perfectionist that nothing he wrote (and probably others as well) was ever good enough. This is undoubtedly the reason he, as a first class and mature scholar, published relatively little in his lifetime. However his influence on others is continuing to be strong and enlightening through what he taught those fortunate enough to have crossed his path during his (too) short but rich and intensive lifetime.

• • •

Erik Thorbecke, Fort Bragg, CA, February 13, 2008
First published in South Asia Program e-Bulletin at Cornell University

D'Souza Debates Singer

2008-05-22T16:56:00.028+09:00

On May 19, the Japan Times published an article by Peter Singer, an avowed atheist and professor at Princeton, about the debate he recently had with Dinesh D'Souza, the author of the bestseller What's so Great about Christianity. Dinesh was written about in this blog several months ago.

You can read the entire Singer article here.

Provoked to read it by a colleague, I read it, but I found it one-sided or biased as it is written by only one of the debaters. Although the article primarily deals with Singer's own views, one can see the bias in Singer's statements like the following: "In recent months, D'Souza has made a point of debating prominent atheists, but he, too, struggled to find a convincing answer to the problem I outlined above." Curious to examine further, I viewed the whole debate online, taking nearly two hours! I believe the debate itself is about 60 minutes and there is a long Q & A session.

Here I introduce the debate, which readers too can view online. The first segment given below is a direct video, showing the first nine minutes of the debate. Since there are 12 segments of the entire debate and Q&A, I simply paste the links to the other 11 segments. Feel free to explore each and follow the entire debate.

Although I don't want to spoil the excitement, I may point out that the purpose or focus of the debate is not explicitly stated... and that may be a key point. As those familiar with Singer know, he is a controversial figure. He was born of Jewish parents, acquired fame as the author of Animal Liberation, and is often criticized for his advocacy of liberal abortions, and even of infanticide and euthanasia. This is important to know, for you can see Dinesh trying repeatedly to draw him into a debate on these obviously provocative issues. His strategy was, perhaps, to show to the audience (at Biola, a Christian university) how Godlessness leads to unacceptable or murderous conduct. Singer, however, never falls into this trap and sets his own trap for Dinesh, by presenting the problem of Evil for Dinesh to face.

Video Segment 1: Debate Begins

Video Segment 2
Video Segment 3
Video Segment 4
Video Segment 5
Video Segment 6
Video Segment 7: Question & Answer Session begins
Video Segment 8: Q & A
Video Segment 9: Q & A
Video Segment 10: Q & A
Video Segment 11: Singer's Closing Comments
Video Segment 12: D'Souza's Closing Comments

For the enthusiastic, here is Dinesh's Blog.

Jesuits React to Peter Singer

On May 25, 2008, comments on the article of Singer made by William Johnston, a Jesuit and retired Sophia University professor, appeared in the Japan Times 'Readers in Council' section.
Johnston's main point is that Singer needs some exposure to Asian philosophy. Here is a section of what Johnston says:

If Singer would come to Japan and sit in silent, wordless meditation, he might eventually come to see that all is nothing, fullness is emptiness, God is and is not. The repetition of nothing ("mu" in Japanese) or emptiness ("ku" in Japanese) leads us to the reconciliation of opposites whereby we realize that everything is one and not one.

This knowing and not knowing, all and nothing, fullness and emptiness I also found in "The Cloud of Unknowing," written by a 14th-century English mystic who led me to see that I am one with the Absolute and not one. In today's word, we need dialogue with mystics and we can find this in dialogue with Asia.

You can read the whole letter of Johnston here.

A few days later, on May 29, there was a hilarious comment (also in the Japan Times 'Readers in Council') by a certain Greg Hutchinson of Sayama, Saitama, on what Johnston had written. After giving a brief overview of Johnston's comments, Hutchinson, added:

For people like me who are slow when it comes to the Truth and similar categories, Johnston adds that he is "one with the Absolute and not one." And so, it's safe to infer, are we all.

I would like to thank Johnston and not thank him, because his explanation was clear and not clear. (But with a smile.)

Another Jesuit, Fr. Peter Milward, reacted to Peter Singer's article as follows. As his reaction has not been published anywhere, I shall present the whole of it as he submitted it to me.

Why is there suffering?
May 20 2008

On reading the article of Peter Singer about the existence of suffering (in Japan Times, May 18), I had the feeling of what the French call déjà vu, and what the English call “old hat”. The arguments he trots out are as old as Epicurus (in Greek) and Lucretius (in Latin), and he may find them answered (in English) in Sir Philip Sidney’s Arcadia (1590) and Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man (1734). It was no doubt after considering such arguments that the psalmist repeated his impression that “The fool has said in his heart, There is no god.” It was, however, the author of the Book of Job – as Singer himself recalls, though he puts the answer into the mouth of Dinesh D’Souza – who undertook to answer the fool.

In the Book of Job the answer is put into the mouth of God himself, and interestingly the answer is no answer. The God of Job, in his wisdom, does not undertake to answer the unanswerable, or to solve the insoluble. If the problem of suffering goes back into the dim mists of antiquity, and if it is still echoed by atheists like Singer and Dawkins, it is simply because no one has succeeded in giving it a satisfactory solution. Yet the majority of human beings – not only Christians, let me remind Singer – have always believed either in one God or at least in many gods, and for them this has always been an important object of their prayers. At the same time, while praying, they have to admit their insufficient knowledge of the universe which God impresses on Job in answer to his question. If we knew everything, we might know the answer to this question, but we don’t know everything – not even Dawkins or Singer know everything – and so we have to be content, like Newton in his famous saying about a boy playing on the seashore, with our ignorance.

PETER MILWARD
Tokyo

日本語テスト。日本語を使っても平気でしょうね。ただし、外国人がフォントなどないなら混乱するでしょう。はっきり分かりません。要するに、これはただの日本語テストです。済みません。

Papal visit to USA

2008-04-18T22:41:00.010+09:00

Photo Credit: "Christ our Hope"

The Pope's visit to USA is only a minor news item in Japan, where Catholics are a negligible minority, numbering just a few hundred thousands. So here let me introduce a few sites for those who may be interested in the Pope's visit to USA. Perhaps the best coverage is by the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) site: Christ our hope: Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Journey to the United States 2008. This whole site is dedicated to the Pope's US visit and gives many articles, the Pope's timetable, and many photos. There are also video clips, and the texts of all his speeches/addresses.

For Pope Benedict's major homilies and religious discourses since his election, go here.

Here's an interesting article on Notable moments in meetings of presidents and popes by Jennifer Loven. As suggested by the title, this article highlights the major meetings of the US Presidents and the Popes since the time of John Kennedy.

Here is an old address given on May 20, 2005, by George Bush, the US President, at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, which may be relevant to recall. The President here honors Catholic contributions to USA. The following paragraphs may be indicative of the jovial and serious nature of the address:

The Catholic contribution to American freedom goes back to the founding of our country. In 1790, a newly inaugurated George Washington -- the first George W. -- (laughter and applause) -- addressed a letter to all Catholics in America. He assured them that "your fellow citizens will not forget the patriotic part which you took in the accomplishment of their revolution." I'm honored to stand before you to offer my gratitude for the work American Catholic sons and daughters are doing for our nation. This work includes the incredible acts of compassion through our faith-based institutions that help Americans in need, especially the Catholic schools that educate millions of our fellow citizens and deliver hope to inner-city children of all faiths. (Applause.)
... ...
When the French writer, de Tocqueville, visited these shores back in the 1830s, he noted that the most democratic country in the world was also the one where the Catholic religion was making the most progress. He called Catholics the most faithful believers in our land, yet also the most independent of citizens. (Laughter.) As I've learned from dealing with Senator Santorum. (Laughter and applause.)
... ...
Catholics have made sacrifices throughout American history because they understand that freedom is a divine gift that carries with it serious responsibilities. Among the greatest of these responsibilities is protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. That was the message that Pope John Paul II proclaimed so tirelessly throughout his own life, and it explains the remarkable outpouring of love for His Holiness at the funeral mass that Laura and I were privileged to attend in Rome.

See also the various Catholic News resources in the right column of links and feeds.

The article "A Catholic Wind in the White House" by Daniel Burke was published in the Washington Post on April 13, 2008, and reprinted in an English newspaper from Japan. This is the article that speaks of Bush's Catholic leanings:

As the White House prepares to welcome Benedict on Tuesday, many in Bush's inner circle expect the pontiff to find a kindred spirit in the president. Because if Bill Clinton can be called America's first black president, some say, then George W. Bush could well be the nation's first Catholic president.

This isn't as strange a notion as it sounds. Yes, there was John F. Kennedy. But where Kennedy sought to divorce his religion from his office, Bush has welcomed Roman Catholic doctrine and teachings into the White House and based many important domestic policy decisions on them.

Complete autobiography of Peter Milward now online

2008-04-08T00:10:00.004+09:00

The complete autobiography of Peter Milward, Genesis of an Octogenarian, is now online. You may add your comments, remarks, or review by clicking the Comments button below. You may simply enter your name or nickname. No need to enter your email address or other personal details.

Rare photos of the new Jesuit General Fr. Adolfo Nicolas

2008-03-31T23:40:00.011+09:00

Here are some rare photos of the newly elected General Superior of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas,S.J., taken around the time he was ordained. He was ordained priest on March 17, 1967, with fellow Jesuits Fr. William Currie & Fr. Anzorena at St. Ignatius Parish, near Sophia University, Tokyo, by the then Archbishop (now Cardinal) Shirayanagi. The photo prints are from the carefully kept collection of Fr. Currie, S.J., the previous President of Sophia University, currently teaching in the Philippines. The photos were digitized and sliced by this blogger, Sophian.

Fr. Nicolas holding a handmade gift like a trophy!
(c) Jesuits of Japan, 2008

Newly Ordained Fr. Nicolas in 1967
(c) Jesuits of Japan, 2008

Fr. Nicolas as a young Jesuit Scholastic in formation
(c) Jesuits of Japan, 2008

Fr. Nicolas and Fr. Currie in Jesuit Theologate, Kamishakujii, Tokyo
(c) Jesuits of Japan, 2008

Sophia Jesuit Vladimir Kos to speak at 40th International PEN Assembly

2008-03-15T10:19:00.009+09:00

Vladimir Kos (photo (c) BriFrancis)

Hardly anyone around Sophia University could have guessed that this simple, unassuming old man trudging in and out of Sophia frequently is to speak at the 40th Internation PEN Writers' meet to be held in Bled, Slovenia, towards the end of March 2008. Yes, Fr. Vladimir Kos, a Jesuit priest, ardent missionary, committed social worker, and retired professor is also a well-known poet, having already published more than ten acclaimed books of poems in his mother tongue, Slovenian. Even most of his Jesuit brothers at Sophia are not aware of his status and stature as a poet since he rarely speaks about the accolades he has received and, unfortunately, all his poems are in a language that nobody around here understands--except him!

Professor Alenka Zbogar, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, writes about him as follows:

Vladimir Kos, who comes from Murska Sobota, is a professor at Sophia University (Tokyo) and a missionary to a poor suburb of Tokyo. According to Lev Detela, he is one of the most original, qualitative, and productive writers of Slovene migration. We can claim that his diction in poetry is individualistically sharpened: he transforms some forms, and his language is modern. Vladimir Kos is also known as a writer of short stories and a publicist. In Slovenia he has published a book of essays, Eseji z japonskih otokov, and a selection of poems, Cvet, ki je rekel Nagasaki.

The Slovenian Wikipedia has an entry on him with a list of his publications, though with limited biographical data.

In the section of Eastern European Literature, Britannica Book of the Year 1999 identifies Vladimir Kos's Cvet ki je rekel Nagasaki: izbrane pesmi as one of the "two collections of poetry [that] stood out."

It's a pity that no-one nearby can read and appreciate Kos' poems, but the remarks of the Slovenian literati seem to suggest Kos is a significant contributor to Slovenian literature.

Kos is scheduled to leave Japan around Good Friday and return after rubbing shoulders with the academic elite--only to continue his humble work of serving the poor in a Tokyo suburb.

Brittonia Article Plagiarized!

2008-03-11T16:09:00.011+09:00

Although I've seen several extracts from my report here about Fr. Nicolas, some with clear reference to this blog and some without, for the first time I see almost the entire article stolen by some Indian publication called Navhind Papers & Publications Ltd., which has printed my essay without any attribution or credit to this source. You can see the plagiarized article, without any credit to this blog or my authorship, here: http://www.navhindtimes.com/articles.php?Story_ID=01213 and my original article here. Apparently they have done a very quick job of stealing. I posted the first version of my blog on January 19, 2008, and their plagiarized copy is dated January 21, 2008! Well, someone said "Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery," but I wonder whether being plagiarized too is a form of flattery. At any rate, it's quite disappointing and painful to see what looks like a decent newspaper from Panaji, Goa, stealing from someone's blog in Japan. Or are Indians still so backward as not to know what constitutes plagiarism? Getting a few facts from other sources and using them in an original blog entry seems somewhat acceptable; but for a newspaper to steal the entire article from someone's blog seems a bit over the limit and dishonorable. Perhaps there are many other more illustrious bloggers who are continually ripped off?

Autobiography of Peter Milward (1 - 25)

2008-02-26T23:43:00.026+09:00

The first twenty-five chapters of Genesis of an Octogenarian, the autobiography of Peter Milward, are now available. Here's the entrance. Milward's most recent episode narrates the adventures of his sabbatical in 1988, teaching in Baltimore and visiting various cities ... There are only six more chapters left!

William Johnston

Note the links to some books of Peter Milward and to some of William Johnston, the well-known authority on mysticism and translator of Endo Shusaku's Silence. You can easily order the books by clicking the links and visiting an online bookstore. Both Milward and Johnston are Jesuits and retired professors of Sophia University.

Genesis of an Octogenarian 1, 2, 3 & 4

2008-02-21T17:39:00.009+09:00

At last, I'm glad to report that the first fourchapters of Peter Milward's autobiography, Genesis of an Octogenarian, are ready. The digital version is on a dark background with white letters, which some consider helpful to online readers. At any rate, I'm also preparing a PDF version, which I hope I can make available one of these days. Meanwhile enjoy reading Peter's birth and childhood in remote London.

Here is the door to PMGenesis, Peter Milward's Genesis of an Octogenarian.

For various reasons, if you wish to link to Peter's autobiography or recommend it to anyone, please use the URL of this Blog http://brittonia.blogspot.com/ rather than the URL of PMGenesis. The PMGenesis URL may disappear or move, but hopefully the URL of this Blog will remain longer.

Autobiography of Peter Milward

2008-02-20T09:57:00.005+09:00

There is perhaps hardly any experienced English language teacher in Japan who has not heard of Peter Milward. Long before the current invasion of EFL teachers with TESOL licenses, Peter Milward was one of the most popular English teaching experts in Japan. As an Englishman with a degree from Oxford and committed to teaching in Japan, he was a most sought-after speaker, writer, and teacher. He is a prolific writer, and nearly 300 of his books have been published in Japan as reading material for English language learners; there is another set of about 100 books that are more academic, religious, or scholarly intended for general audience. He is also a frequent poster in the Tablet and several English-language newspapers and magazines of Japan. His Letters to the Editor are always sure to draw several other letters, often contesting his opinions.

Professor Milward is now retired from Sophia University, but still continues his academic career. His laptoc PC is rarely turned off during the day, and he is typing away more and more books and articles. One of his latest productions is his autobiography, entitled Genesis of an Octogenarian. It will be interesting not only to thousands of his former students and academic colleagues, but also to all those who want to know the story of Japan as seen by foreigners.

With Peter's generous permission, I am hoping to bring out his "Genesis" on the Web, chapter by chapter. Although it will be stored at a temporary server, a link will be offered here as each chapter gets ready.

Here in this first installment, let me offer Peter's CV, as he himself has presented it.

Peter Milward
CV

Jesuit Priest. Emeritus Professor of Sophia University, Tokyo. Director, Renaissance Institute, Tokyo.

Born in London, 1925. Educated at Wimbledon College, 1933-43. Entered Society of Jesus, 1943. Studied Philosophy at Heythrop College, Oxon, 1947-50, Classics and English Literature at Campion Hall, Oxford, 1950-54. BA 1954, MA 1957. Came to Japan, 1954. Studied Theology at St. Mary’s College, Kami-Shakujii, Tokyo, 1957-61. Joined faculty of Literature, Sophia University, 1962. On retiring from Sophia in 1996, Dean of Faculty of Culture, Tokyo Junshin Women’s College, 1996-2000.

Specializing in Shakespearian drama, published first book An Introduction to Shakespeare’s Plays (1964), followed by Christian Themes in English Literature (1967). After year’s research at the Shakespeare Institute, Birmingham University, 1965-66, published Shakespeare’s Religious Background (1973), and as result of series of lectures at Campion Hall, Oxford, Biblical Themes in Shakespeare(1973). After further research at the Huntington Library, California, published two companion volumes on The Religious Controversies of the Elizabethan Age (1977) and The Religious Controversies of the Jacobean Age (1978). From the Renaissance Institute, Tokyo, published monographs on Biblical Influence in the Great Tragedies (1985) and Shakespeare’s Other Dimension (1987), followed by three more monographs jointly with the Saint Austin’s Press, London, on The Catholicism of Shakespeare’s Plays (1997), The Simplicity of the West (1998), and Shakespeare’s Apocalypse (2000). Also from the Renaissance Institute published two companion volumes, Shakespeare’s Meta-drama, Part I on Hamlet and Macbeth (2002) and Part II on Othello and King Lear (2003). From Sapientia Press of Ave Maria University, Florida, published Shakespeare the Papist (2005), Jacobean Shakespeare (2007), and Elizabethan Shakespeare (2008).
Published many other books and articles on GM Hopkins, TS Eliot, JH Newman, GK Chesterton, CS Lewis, in addition to some 300 books of essays for Japanese students in English and Japanese. In addition to the Renaissance Institute, founded GK Chesterton Society of Japan, GM Hopkins Society of Japan, and founding member of Thomas More Society of Japan, CS Lewis Society of Japan, besides being long-time member of the English Literary Society of Japan, the Shakespeare Society of Japan.

Interests. 4 P’s, poems, proverbs, paradoxes and puns especially in Japanese, 2 F’s, fauna and flora in England and English literature, 2 more P’s, pilgrimages to England, Europe, the Holy Land, and all provinces (in Japan, from Okinawa to Hokkaido, in short, “all things counter, original, spare, strange”, such as idiosyncrasies in human beings, especially English and Japanese.

Nico-Nico Nicolas will be obedient...

2008-01-28T00:01:00.000+09:00

Fr. Nicolas having an audience with the Pope. Photo from Jesuit Headquarters.

[Have you noticed that in almost all the photos, Fr. Nico-las is smiling? In Japanese we say of a smiling face nico nico!]

Since his election as the General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas has been covered widely by the mass media, and there are now articles on him in Wikipedia, Time, New York Times, etc., etc. Overall he is rated favorably for his erudition, cheerfulness, missionary experience, and maturity. Most people who know him personally in Japan too think that he will do an excellent job.

There is also a section of Catholic netizens who are alarmed or worried about his election. These are the same ones who are alarmed and worried about persons like Jon Sobrino, Jacques du Puis, Roger Haight, Anthony de Mello, Balasurya, Bermejo, Phan, and such theologians. Obviously they expect Jesuits to be not only obedient, but also docile, cooperative, non-confrontational, and traditional. Although I don't like to direct readers to some extravagant Jesuit accusers, here is one that is, shall I say, moderately accusatory. A certain Samuel Gregg, writing for the National Review on January 25, sets his theological tone by saying, '"the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity . . . and the resurrection of Jesus." These are hardly debatable subjects for Catholics.' Then he praises the achievements of the Jesuits throughout history... with an unpleasant truth.

The Jesuits, after all, played a major role in the Counter-Reformation that rolled back Protestantism's frontiers in Europe. For almost 500 years they have imparted a superb education to thousands of people. Famous Jesuit alumni include Cervantes, Descartes, de Gaulle, Moliere, and Scalia ? as well as Castro, Diderot, and Voltaire.

The Jesuits themselves were no intellectual slouches. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Thomas Woods notes that Isaac Newton counted Jesuits as among his most prized scientific correspondents. Thirty-five lunar craters are named after Jesuit mathematicians and scientists. Jesuits helped identify key concepts underlying market economics 200 years before Adam Smith.

These are no small achievements. Yet it's hard to deny today's Jesuits are in trouble. In raw numbers, the Jesuits have dropped from 36,000 in 1965 to about 19,000 today.

Then he goes into criticizing Jesuits like Sobrino and Haight, and expressing his evaluation of Nicolas as follows.

In his first homily as Jesuit Father-General this past Sunday, Nicolas did little to assuage fears that muddled theology remains ascendant in the Society of Jesus: "In this globalized world of ours the number of those excluded by all is increasing," the new Father-General intoned, "since our society only has room for the big and not the small."

More troubling than this 1970s boilerplate, Nicolas seemed to imply that the order would seek to further relativize the gospel to accommodate non-Christians: "[W]hat is the color, the tone, the image of salvation today for those many people who are in need of it, those human non-geographic nations that demand salvation." He's off to an inauspicious start.

Gregg is just one example of the concerned. Providentially, on the same day, the National Catholic Reporter Conversation Cafe and Catholic News published articles to assure the world that the new Jesuit General will be humbly obedient to the Pope. The interesting article in CNS begins:

The obedience, affection and common mission binding the Society of Jesus to the pope are solid, unchanging and the reason why differences can be so painful, said the new superior general of the Jesuits.

Father Adolfo Nicolas, elected Jan. 19 to head the world's largest Catholic men's order, told reporters, "The Society of Jesus has always been, from the beginning, and always will be in communion with the Holy Father, and we are happy to be so."

Meeting journalists Jan. 25, he said, "If there are difficulties, it is precisely because we are so close."

Like a married couple, he said, the Jesuits and the pope are bound to one another and committed to working together for the good of the church and the world.

"Only those who love each other can hurt each other," he said.

As to the existence of any personal tension between him and the Pope, the article reports the following:

"The Society of Jesus wants to cooperate with the Vatican and obey the Holy Father. This has not and will not change. We were born in this context, and this is the context that will determine our decisions," the superior said....

Other newspapers, he said, have tried to imply that there is "a theological distance between me and (Pope) Benedict XVI," when, in fact, Father Nicolas' theological studies included the then-Father Joseph Ratzinger's textbooks, which "were very interesting and had a newness and an inspiration that all of us recognized."

"The distance is a theory in the imagination of those who have written it," the superior general said.

This is a highly readable article and will assure those who worry about Nico's orthodoxy. The article also reports on how Nico was influenced by Japan and the East. The concluding paragraph must be quoted:

Father Nicolas said he hoped the Jesuits would follow the principles of Mohandas Gandhi, "who said that when you speak of something you must first ask, 'Is it true?' because if it is not true, then it is not interesting. Second, 'Is it gentle, charitable, kind?' and third, 'Is it good for others?'"

Read the full article here.

The NCRCafe article by John Allen covers the same ground in a more dramatic way.
Writing under the title "New Jesuit leader: Theology is a dialogue, but we will obey," Allen reports:

"The Society of Jesus from the very beginning has always been in communion with the Holy Father, and it will continue to be," Nicolas said. Referring to impressions of a split between the order and the Vatican, Nicolas said this is "an artificial tension that comes from outside of us."...
"We want to collaborate with the Holy See and to obey the Holy Father," Nicolas said. "That has not changed, and it will not change. This is the context in which we will make decisions."

In a similar spirit, Nicolas also rejected reports of any theological tension between himself and Pope Benedict XVI.

"This is false," he insisted, saying that as a young theology student he read the books of then-Professor Joseph Ratzinger.

"There was a newness, an exhilaration that engaged all of us" in Ratzinger's writings, Nicolas said. "Any distance [between himself and Benedict] is more theoretical in the minds of those who imagine it," he said.

This highly interesting artilce too has a lengthy presentation of Nico's views on Japan and Asia, and how he was changed as a result of his experiences here.

"I believe that Asia changed me, I hope for the better," Nicolas said. "I came to better understand others, to accept what's different about them, trying to understand these differences and what we can learn from them."

"This may be hard for you to believe, but in Spain I was a little intolerant," Nicolas said. "Religion was understood as fidelity to a series of practices, and I was very demanding."

"In Japan, I saw that true religiosity goes deeper … I learned to smile at differences that in Spain would have made me very nervous. I also learned that imperfection is natural, and we have to accept it on principle."

"For the Japanese, it's often a scandal that we are so intolerant, not accepting of differences," he said. "This is a challenge for us."

"Asia is a challenge for the universal church," he said. "Asia can give us much," later citing especially the "deep humanism" of the region.

You can read the entire article here, at NCR Conversation Cafe

Fr Adolfo Nicolás, S. J. Elected the New General of Jesuits

2008-01-19T21:44:00.000+09:00

Fr. Nicolas, the newly elected Black Pope, taking the Oath of Office. Photo Credit: Fr. Dan Doll, S.J., Jesuit Curia, Rome.

Surprise! Surprise!

For the second time, a former Provincial (regional head) of the Jesuits of Japan has been elected the General of the nearly 20,000 Jesuits worldwide. The Jesuit General, known also by the ambiguous title of 'the Black Pope', is the supreme head of all the Jesuits. Fr. Adolfo Nicolas was the Provincial Superior of Japan (1993-1999), following the footsteps of the colossal Pedro Arrupe, who too served as the Provincial of Japan and later became the General of the Jesuits. Given his age, a little over 70, some felt he may not be elected, but the delegates in Rome seemed to have thought otherwise. After stepping down as Provincial, Fr. Nicolas held various offices until he became, in 2004, the President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania (JCEAO), with headquarters in Quezon City, Philippines. It was as the President of JCEAO that he attended the General Congregation.

Fr. Nicolas was born in Palencia, Spain, on April 29, 1936, and entered the Society of Jesus in Aranjuez at the tender age of 17, in 1953. Like most Jesuit missionaries who came to Japan, he finished his noviciate (first stage of training as a Jesuit) and philosophate in Spain, and then arrived in Japan to dedicate himself to the Japanese mission. After Japanese studies and some teaching, he began theological studies at Sophia University in 1964. Ordained priest on March 17, 1967, he took his final vows--the vows that Jesuits take to be completely incorporated into the Society of Jesus--on October 5, 1976. He is a theologian by profession, having done his advanced theological studies at the Gregorian University Rome (1968-1971), and his major topics of research have been related to dogmatic and systematic theology.

After his return from Rome, he became a professor of theology in the Faculty of Theology at Sophia University (1971), but within a few years was called upon to lead the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Quezon City, Philippines. The EAPI describes its mission as "striving to witness to a new way of being Church" in Asia. His term of office at EAPI (1978-1984) was a resounding success as he brought in bright professors and students from different parts of Asia to build a theological and spiritual network among the Asian Christians. Having achieved a reputation for leadership, Fr. Nicolas has since held several significant positions. He became the Rector of the Jesuit Theologate in Kamishakujii, a suburb of Tokyo, in 1991; the Jesuit Provincial of Japan in 1993; and the President of JCEAO in 2004.

Fr. Nicholas being congratulated by a delegate. Photo credit: Jesuit Headquarters, Fr. Dan Doll, S.J.

Fr. Nicolas is an active theologian renowned for his insightful articles, books, sermons, retreats, and lectures, especially among the Asian Christians and the Spaniards. Two of his outstanding books in Japanese are: 希望の地平-現代における修道生活の意義 [kibou no chihei--gendaini okeru shuudouseikatsu no igi] 'The Horizon of Hope: Meaning of Religious Life in Contemporary Times' (Tokyo: Joshi Paulokai [Paulist Sisters' Press], 1976) and ゆるしの秘跡 [Yurushi no Hiseki] 'The Sacrament of Penance' (Tokyo: Joshi Paulokai [Paulist Sisters' Press], 1977). Among his numerous articles is this one addressing the burning issue of Christianity in Asia: "Which Asia? Which Christinaity? Which Crisis?" (Concilium (2005/3), 64-70).

Fr. Nicolas is a cheerful and optimistic person, not to mention well-versed in theology and spirituality. He first came to Japan in 1961 and has spent most of his time since then in Japan and the Philippines. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Japanese, and several other European languages. As a professor of theology, he is quite familiar with the current religious crises confronting the Church and the Society, and as a former Provincial of Jesuits in Japan, he has the experience of facing major challenges. Fr. Nicolas has shown special interest in helping the poor, immigrants, and refugees, and has personally spent three years, after completing his term as the Provincial, working for immigrant laborers in Japan. At least in Japan, most Bishops know him well as he was a professor of theology, teaching both at Sophia University and at the Tokyo diocesan seminary, and has served as a theological consultant to several of them. Given his ever-smiling personality, he has always been popular with young Jesuits, and most seniors too admire him for his intellect and common sense.

The New and the Old? Fr. Nicolas greeted by the retiring Fr. Kolvenbach Photo Credit: Fr. Dan Doll, S.J., Jesuit Curia, Rome.

As he was both a student and professor at Sophia University, all of us at Sophia University wish him well and hope he will guide the Jesuits masterfully to face the future with courage and confidence.

The official announcement from Rome concerning his election is as follows:

Father Adolfo Nicolás new Superior General

Father Adolfo Nicolás was elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus on Saturday, 19 January in a solemn ceremony following four days of prayer and conversation by the 217 electors who came to Rome from all over the world.

Coincidences: Professor Masashi Masuda, currently in the Faculty of Theology, Sophia University, points out the interesting fact that Fr. Nicolas was born in 1936, the year of the Rat, the same year in which the current Prime Minister of Japan, Yasuo Fukuda, was also born--and this year, 2008, also happens to be a Year of the Rat.

Fined for joking about "Ten Commandments"

2008-01-13T21:25:00.000+09:00

Cartoon (c) Mike Graston [The Windsor Star, Ontario], used with his permission.

Yes, a TV Station has been fined for joking about the Ten Commandments--no, not the Ten Commandments, but the Ten Commandments of Driving issued by Church authorities!

According to CNA, the Catholic News Agency, a Slovakian TV station has been fined the hefty sum of $88,400 "for making fun of a Vatican document on Christian driving." The CNA report gives no example of how the station made fun of the document, but the program seems to have pointed out that the priests were incompetent to give advice on driving and that Vatican was too tiny a place to give any resident adequate driving experiences. I never imagined there were countries where making "fun of a Vatican document" was punishable! Read the story here.

The so-called "Ten Commandments for Drivers" that landed the Slovakian TV station into trouble is included in the lengthy DOCUMENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE: "GUIDELINES FOR THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE ROAD," dated 19.06.2007. The relevant section, 61, of the document is as follows:
[start quote]

61. In any case, with the request for motorists to exercise virtue, we have drawn up a special “decalogue” for them, in analogy with the Lord’s Ten Commandments. These are stated here below, as indications, considering that they may also be formulated differently.

I. You shall not kill.
II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.
III. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
IV. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of accidents.
V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
VII. Support the families of accident victims.
VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
X. Feel responsible towards others.

[end quote]

Jesuits in Rome: Looking for a Leader

2008-01-10T23:37:00.000+09:00

Fr. Sumita, the Japanese Provincial, and Fr. Kolvenbach, the General, during the latter's visit to Sophia University in 2005

Two hundred and twenty-five Jesuit representatives or delegates from around the world are currently gathered in Rome for the historical 35th General Congregation (GC 35) of the Society of Jesus. Some of these are representatives elected by their peers, but many are regional officials of the Order. Their average age is around 56. There are 75 delegates from Europe, 43 from South Asia. 40 from Latin America, 30 from North America, 18 from Africa, and 19 from East Asia and Oceania.

This particular Congregation, GC 35, is unique because for the first time in the history of the Jesuits, the incumbent General will solemnly resign and let another man take charge. The Jesuits have always had their General serve until his death, but in recent times they have considered allowing him to retire after a certain age. When the previous General, Pedro Arrupe, wanted to retire, he was stopped from doing so, but later on an incapacitating stroke and the Papal intervention gave him a providential break to get his wish. For all we know, the current General, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, is in good health despite being close to 80 and seems capable of governing for several more years. Sensing the signs of the times, however, he has proposed stepping down in favor of a younger man, and the Pope has approved his plan.

The election of a new General will be the first task of the assembling delegates. There are speculations about the 'Generabili' as there are, after a Pope's death, about the 'Papabili'. A recent issue of the Catholic magazine Tablet gives the names of Fr. Lisbert D'Souza and Fr. Devados, both Indians, and Fr. Mark Raper, an Australian, as potential candidates. Several others, especially Fr. Mark Rotsaert of Holland and Fr. Elias Royon of Spain, too are often mentioned. Whoever is elected, however, must be approved by the Pope first, before his name is released to the public. Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, a former Provincial of Japan and the current President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia, has also been rumored to be a candidate, but as he is past 70, he may be considered too old.

There are two delegates from Japan: Fr. Shogo Sumita, the Provincial of Japan, and Fr. Renzo de Luca, until recently the head of the 26 Martyrs' Shrine, in Nagasaki. Both are graduates of Sophia University, Tokyo.

The Congregation was convened nearly two years ago, on Feb 2, 2006, by Fr. Kolvenbach, the incumbent General. A preparatory commission, with 14 members, was set up in February 2007. The delegates have been arriving in Rome since early January 2008, and the Congregation officially opened on January 7, 2008, with a solemn Mass at 4:30 PM. The delegates are expected to engage in 'murmuratio' for a few days before the election day so that they get to know each other and make up for themselves whom to vote. No canvassing for votes or promotion of self is permitted, and a specially set-up committee has been entrusted with the task of spotting anyone who fails to toe the line.

There is no time limit for how long the GC will take place; it is up to the members to fix their own schedule. Usually, though, it lasts less than two months. In modern times, GC 31 was the exceptional one, as it lasted for 141 days and held twice, once in 1965 and again in 1966.

In GC 35, electronic gadgets are expected to be used much. Public voting will all be done electronically, and simultaneous translation will be available. A professional Jesuit photographer will be the official photographer. The primary languages used at the Congregation will be English, French, Italian, & Spanish.

Whoever is elected, he is sure to face many challenges, like the shortage of vocations, the dwindling number of total strength (from an impressive 36,000 in 1964 to less than 20,000 in 2008), keeping good relations with the Vatican, and so on. The future of institutions like Sophia University too may depend on his leadership!

The Jesuits, nuns, and Germaine Greer

2008-01-03T17:51:00.000+09:00

In the book There's something about a Convent Girl (Bennet, J., & Forgan, R., eds. London: Virago Press, 1991), Germaine Greer of The Female Eunuch fame writes (p.92): "To be a Catholic is one thing. To be a convent girl is another. You might not even be a very good Catholic because the nuns were dreadfully incompetent at teaching Catholic philosophy. The Jesuits on the other hand are very good at it, and if I'd been taught by Jesuits I'd probably still be a Catholic. But I was taught by nuns and they blew it." I wonder how the Jesuits will take this, coming from none other than a once firebrand feminist. As a compliment? As an insult? Although Greer suggests here that she is no longer a Catholic, elsewhere in the same article she says she is a Catholic--at least when it suits her, as for example, when confronted by a Jehovah's Witness or by a Protestant pastor seeking funds (p.93).

Looks like Greer is writing at least some parts tongue-in-cheek. No doubt, she has got gripes about the Catholic Church, convents, nuns, Catholicism, and the Catholic morality taught by them. On the other hand, she is also very frank in praising the formation she received at a convent school and the gentle and understanding way in which the nuns treated her. Her article is not entirely an attack on religion or the nuns; it is rather a confused set of reflections including both compliments and complaints. She has sentences like (p.93): "I am still a Catholic. I just don't believe in God. I am an atheist Catholic--there's a lot of them around. I don't want to escape from it. I'm very glad to be Catholic." Then there's her last punch (p.95): "I think there's something to be said for nunneries. I'm not sure that there's anything to be said for Catholicism. That's the problem." Even though the book is not about religion or Catholicism, she takes potshots at both almost on every page!

Last year, someone wrote a fake obituary of her, an extract from which follows: "Germaine Greer the author of controversial books was found crushed under a pile of her own articles that had lost balance.... Greer had a habit of adding to the pile even after being advised that there was a serious risk of the owner being infected by the toxins in the ink. A condition sometimes referred to as poison pen or poison letter addiction.... Death was instantaneous but neighbors were only alerted when her articles stopped piling up.... Her controversial style made her a hero to those people who like controversial styles. Her controversial advice was extended to every one from Mother Theresa, to The Australian Male, The Australian Lifestyle, The Crocodile Bloke, and everyone else that she could think of.... Some people believe that Greer had a desire to destroy people so she could remain in the media spotlight."

Copyrighting "Allah"? Ban re-imposed!

2008-01-01T22:04:00.000+09:00

According to CNA, the Catholic News Agency,

'A senior government official in Malaysia has ordered a Catholic newspaper to drop the use of the word “Allah” in its Malay language section if it wants its publishing permit renewed, the Associated Press reports.

'The Herald, published by Malaysia’s Catholic Church, has translated the word God as “Allah.” Che Din Yusoff, a senior official at the Internal Security Ministry’s publications control unit, has said this usage is erroneous because “Allah” refers to the Muslim God. "Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people," Che Din told the Associated Press. Che Din said that the newspaper should use the general term for God, the word “Tuhan.” '

You can read the entire article at Allah is only for Muslims, Malaysian official says.

As a linguist, I found this bit of news quite interesting, for it raises the question of whether we can copyright or protect our religious vocabulary. I have no idea what the arguments involved in this "Allah" usage are, and I have no idea which side is correct. Perhaps, Che Din Yusoff is right in asking Christians not to use "Allah"... Maybe the word "Allah" has connotations like the "Dainichi", which early Japanese Christians unwittingly used to refer to God, and later gave up after realizing that "Dainichi" was not the kind of God that they believed in.

A similar argument can be made as to why Christians may not feel at home with "Brahman", a Hindu word for God. "Brahman" may not be exactly what Christians mean by God the Almighty, for in Hinduism, Brahman is an "It" rather than a He or a She. In other words, the word "Brahman" often appears as an impersonal Almighty, although most Hindus may acknowledge God--perhaps referred to as Ishwar--to be a person as well. Can "God" be translated in all languages with all the adequate theological and dogmatic implications?

The point is, Is Allah the same as what Christians mean by God or what the Hindus mean by Brahman or Ishwar, or what the Japanese mean by Kami? Does Allah mean the one and only supreme God that Jews, Christians, and even most Hindus confess or is Allah the super-duper Islamic god who can beat up all the other gods of other religions?

If "Allah" just means "God", do people like Che Din feel that only Muslims, and no one else, can have any recourse to "God"? Or do they feel that "Allah" is one of the many gods, but the most powerful and the only True God, who can outwit the gods of Hindus, Christians, and others?

A related question: Could the Japanese ask Japanese Christians not to use the word "Kami" because it only refers to the Shinto god or a Buddhist god? Or could Hindus ask Christians to drop the use of "Ishwar" , which Christians currently use to refer to God or to Jesus?

The Malaysian case is pretty intriguing, for the word "Allah" is, presumably, Arabic, and not even Malay--except as a borrowed and incorporated word. So can Malay Muslims claim exclusive rights over a word which is not even theirs linguistically? Perhaps the Arabs can make such demands, though I have not heard of any such demands from Arabs. I wonder whether Christians in Muslim or Arab countries like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria use the word "Allah" to refer to God. If anyone can enlighten me on that, I'd be grateful.

But even Arabs, can they claim　exclusive right to the word "Allah" forbidding others from using it unless they become Muslims? A very interesting question... Linguistically, it seems similar to the "linguistic imperialism" arguments of native English speakers trying to assert their rights over the English language. The scholars of this school would like to see all non-native speakers of English use English exactly as they (the native speakers) do. Unfortunately though, currently nonnative English speakers outnumber native English speakers, and they tend to speak English as they like--ignoring the pressures from native speakers. It is also worth noting that English itself uses a large number of non-Anglo-Saxon or non-English words quite arbitrarily. Does English use all the words it has borrowed from Latin, Spanish, French, Hindi, Tamil, Japanese, Arabic, etc., in precisely the way they are used in the original languages?

Put broadly, can the native speakers of any language dictate how a word of their language should be used by others who don't share their beliefs or prejudices or dogmas?

Anyway, the latest news regarding the "Allah" question is that the Malaysian government 'has reversed its decision to ban the publication over its use of the word "Allah," easing a row that strained racial harmony in the multiethnic country.' Even the concerned Catholic editor, Fr. Andrew, seems to have been taken aback at the 'unconditional' permission he was granted. "There are no conditions, there was no mention of the Allah ban," Fr. Andrew told The Associated Press. Apparently, the security officials declined to comment when contacted. The background is given by the Jakarta Post as follows:
'The ministry had repeatedly warned The Herald [the concerned Catholic Weekly] that its printing permit may be revoked if it continued to use "Allah" as a synonym for God in its Malay-language section. After The Herald refused, it was told in early December that its Malay-language section would be banned from January." Here is the entire article: Malaysia backpedals on Allah ban for Christian paper, renews its permit

Well, the "Allah" news has another twist. As of January 4, 2008, various news reports say that the Malaysian government's ban on the use of "Allah" by other religions still stands! A reversal of a reversal or a misunderstanding, apparently. The Khaleej Times (4 January 2008) reports, "Abdullah Md Zin, a minister for religious affairs, said on Friday the ban on the use of the word remained despite the renewal of the permit [of the Catholic weekly Herald]. 'It was just the priest's interpretation that there was no restriction on the use of the word,' Abdullah told Reuters. This is the latest in a series of disputes that is feeding fears of a gradual erosion of the rights of non-Muslims."

Religious Harmony in Tamil Nadu

2007-12-26T21:57:00.000+09:00

Although the sad news concerning India today is the religious violence in Orissa, where 12 churches were vandalized), there is also this bit of encouraging and consoling news of an event in South India. Under the title "A festival of religious harmony," reporter M. Balaganessin writes in The Hindu newspaper that in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, "People of various walks of life and different faiths, who are members of the Pudukottai branch of the Tiruvarul Peravai [a branch of the unit founded by the late Hindu guru Kundrakudi Adigalar, to promote religious harmony through mutual trust and cordial relationship for the past two decades], visited a couple of churches and greeted Christians on the occasion of Christmas on Tuesday. They went to the R.C. Church and the TELC Church here and greeted the people at the end of a special mass."

The President of the Peravai is quoted as saying, “It has been customary for the members belonging to other faiths to greet Muslims or Hindus on occasions such as Ramzan or Deepavai.” Read the full article here.

Isn't great to know that there are such dedicated religious leaders in India striving for religious harmony and mutual understanding? Worth noting is also the fact that those who vandalized the Churches in Orissa are Hindus (or those claiming to be Hindus), and the leading Peravai leaders who extended their arms enthusiastically to greet Christians and Moslems are also Hindus--the magnanimous and remarkable Hindus of whom M.K.Gandhi was a representative.

It's a pity that such news of religious harmony rarely gets noticed or reported as much as news of religious violence. The Hindu deserves congratulations for reporting on such efforts to live in harmony.

Professor Roger Downey, S.J.

2007-12-26T09:46:00.003+09:00

There has been another death in the Jesuit family of Sophia University. This time it is Fr. Roger Downey, S.J. He has been in the hospital for the past four months, and this morning around 5:00 was placed under critical observation. Two Jesuits then rushed to be by his side, and he passed away quietly around 7:00 AM. Yesterday, Christmas Day, several of his colleagues in the Economics Department greeted him, and several Jesuits sang Christmas Carols for him in the hospital. He seems to have been conscious and grateful for the concern shown to him. Fr. Downey retired from the university last year, when his disease was diagnosed to be serious, and he was given the status of Professor Emeritus for his services to the university. He was still in his early 60's. R.I.P.

Roger was fluent in Japanese and Indonesian, besides his mother tongue, English, and was capable of communicating in Chinese. In fact, it was while he was in China, about three years ago, that he realized that his health was deteriorating and decided to return to Japan for treatment. He was the Chaplain for a large group of Indonesians around Tokyo, having inherited this apostolate from another eminent Jesuit Fr. Bob Webber. Roger was also a great PC explorer, as he set up intranet servers and computers in different places. He also developed some software plugins for Excel, facilitating various calculations required of his students. Perhaps most striking was his athletic appearance, as he exercised regularly, pumping iron and doing push-ups. Almost everyone is impressed by his courageous and non-complaining attitude during his prolonged illness. He was a model patient. Coincidentally, just this month an article he had written for the Japan Missionary Bulletin was published.

An official funeral Mass will be celebrated on January 15, 2008, at St. Ignatius Church, Tokyo. St. Ignatius Church is about a minute walk from Yotsuya Station (Marunouchi Subway, Namboku Subway, or JR), and the Mass will begin at 13:30.

If you can recall any episode or experience related to Fr. Downey, please feel free to share it by adding it as a "Comment." Just click the "Comments" button, write your comments, simply identify yourself (even if you have no account or password), and then post the message.

According to Donal Doyle, a close friend of Roger, the following picture was Roger's favorite photo of himself, taken in Colorado when he and his siblings climbed a nearby mountain on the day after their father's funeral.

Sophia News 20071225

2007-12-25T11:08:00.000+09:00

Chirstmas in Japan is much like in so-called Christian countries, with lots of decorations all over. People engage in shopping and gift-giving, are familiar with Santa Clauses and sacred cribs, and many, even though they are not Christians, attend Mass on December 24th, usually with their dating partner. St. Ignatius Church, close to Sophia, is usually full at every Mass on 24th. Some even wait for several hours to get in, since there is a limit to the number of people who can get into the Church. One of the priests at St. Ignatius tells me that the 16:30 Mass was attended by 1300 persons, the maximum capacity of the Church. Formerly, they used to have a midnight Mass, but nowadays, due to problems related to transportation, the last Mass is at 11:00 and usually in English. Last night, the 'midnight' Mass was celebrated at 11:00 in English by Gerard Barry, S.J. (founder and long-time President of Sophia Junior College) and Fr. Scott Howell, S.J. (Sophia University Chemistry Professor, Englsh Debates coach, and frequent adviser to Sophia students from overseas).

Within Sophia itself, there was a Mass in the Kodo, a hall that can accommodate about 800 persons. The chief celebrant and homilist was Fr. Mitsunobu, a Jesuit theologian, and the Sophia University Choir, with Catholic and non-Catholic members, sang during Mass. After Mass, the more than 700 attendees had light refreshments. In former times, they used to have many baptisms during the Mass--which often prolonged the Mass to two or more hours--but nowadays they don't have baptisms during Christmas Masses. Looks like they moved the baptisms to the Paschal season. Individuals like Fr. Alfons Deeken, S.J. usually baptise more than ten persons; these days they hold Christmas baptismal masses somewhere in private. It's a pity, since public baptisms might be more meaningful and inspirational in a country like Japan where Catholics are not even one percent.

Sophia News 20071222

2007-12-22T14:35:00.001+09:00

Polish Countryside: This photo was taken in Poland from a train running from Warsaw to Krakow, in mid-September, 2007.

A few days ago, the incumbent President, Prof. Ishizawa, was re-relected as President of Sophia University for another term. Professor Ishizawa is a leading scholar in matters related to Cambodia, and he has excavated rare Buddhist statues over there. Recently he authored the book "Angkor Buddhist Treasures from Banteay Kdei", containing many photos of Buddha statues rarely seen before. The book is in English and contains the article "The History of the Angkor Buddhas". The book (96 pp., PB)is published by NHK Publishing (Nov 5, 2007), but has no ISBN!

On December 20th, Prof. Kasuya, a Jesuit Priest and Professor of Law, passed away after a brief illness. He was 68 years old, and was still listed as teaching. He was an influential figure within Sophia for 20 years or so, until he left office three years ago, serving in different official capacities. On 22nd, a brief farewell ceremnony was held for him at St. Ignatius Church, with his family members, colleagues, and Jesuits attending.

Thelogian Peter Phan's Inter-religious views

2007-12-16T12:55:00.000+09:00

Recently Fr. Peter Phan's theological position was addressed by the "Committee on Doctrine, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops." The relevant document can be downloaded here: www.usccb.org/dpp/statementonbeingreligiousinterreligiously.pdf

Who is Peter Phan? Here is an elaborate, perhaps unfriendly, presentation of the theologian at the Razinger Fan Club: http://www.ratzingerfanclub.com/blog/2007/09/fr-peter-c-phan.html.

Vocation S.J.: Companions of Jesus (3 clips)

2007-12-12T11:13:00.000+09:00

This is a series of three video clips introducing the Jesuits and their work. Three Jesuits, Brother Jim Boynton, Father Eduardo Fernandez, and Father Greg Boyle appear.

Vocation S.J.: Companions of Jesus Clip 1 of 3 (7'29"):
In this segment several Jesuits appear, including John English, SJ, speaking of Jesuit life, their mission, and their educational philosophy. Finally, a young Jesuit says how he finds his priesthood.

Vocation S.J.: Companions of Jesus Clip 2 of 3 (7'10"):
BEWARE: When the video goes past 20" of playtime, it enters an infinite loop, probably due to some bug. When this happens, just click the play-line at about 25" point or so, and the white-circle-with-red-center skips a few seconds and starts playing from where you clicked without any subsequent problem.

This video presents the work of a Jesuit with troubled kids.

Vocation S.J.: Companions of Jesus Clip 3 of 3 (6'26"):

This final segment deals with Jesuits reflecting on their own Jesuit life, finding it challenging, energizing, and at times difficult.

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (5/5)

2007-12-09T11:44:00.000+09:00

November 14, 2007, marked the 100th anniversary of Pedro Arrupe's birth. Pedro Arrupe, born in Spain, worked in Japan as a Jesuit, making significant contributions. He was later elected the General of the Society of Jesus. Jesuits and their institutions around the world celebrated the event in various ways.

Here is a series of powerpoint slideshows, prepared by Jayaraj, an Indian Jesuit, on the life of Arrupe.

Pedro Arrupe - I
Pedro Arrupe - II
Pedro Arrupe - III
Pedro Arrupe - IV

Here is a 2001 Spanish production on Pedro Arrupe, in five parts. Looks like the presentation was televised by TVE 2 in Spain.

Note the program is in Spanish, and the video is occasionally less than ideal, though watchable. As a professional production, this moves quickly touching upon only the major events in Arrupe's life.

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (1/5) 9'20"
Arrupe's birth, education, and entry into Japan

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (2/5) 8'40"
Arrupe's life in Japan, election as the General of the Society of Jesus, and the 32nd General Congregation of Jesuits.

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (3/5) 8'42"
Arrupe's activities as the General, problems with Liberation Theology, and comments by Ignacio Iglesias and Garcia Gutierrez.

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (4/5) 7'32"
Arrupe's stroke and the troubles in Rome to get the Society back in order. The roles of Vince O'Keefe, Paulo Dezza, and Joseph Pittau

Documental Pedro Arrupe 2001 (5/5) 4'7"
The last days of Arrupe, his death, and the tomb alongside Ignatius and Xavier.

Ignatius Loyola, the founder of Jesuits 3'02"

2007-12-08T15:27:00.000+09:00

This is another short video from Loyola Productions on Ignatius Loyola, the founder of Jesuits. An unidentified person with a Roman collar (we may assume to be a Jesuit) narrates the beginnings of Ignatius' conversion, starting from Ignatius marching against the French and ending with his confrontation with a moor. Various Ignatius-related slides form the animated background. An appetizer for those who may like to know about Ignatius.

The Jesuits - ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam 3'20"

2007-12-08T15:23:00.000+09:00

Here is another video related to the promotion of Jesuits. Essentially a slide show with micro-video clips and a script of a few sentences. Quite interesting and captivating, both the images and the somewhat self-deprecating, but perhaps realistic, description of Jesuits... Made by Loyola Productions.

"A Holy Boldness" video about Jesuits 4'20

2007-12-08T14:59:00.000+09:00

Here's a Jesuit Promotion Video made by USA Jesuits. Mostly testimonials of individuals (who are not identified) saying why they chose to be Jesuits. It would have been more credible and appealing perhaps if the persons had been identified.

The Japan Jesuits don't seem to have anything similar although they have a homepage at http://www.jesuits.or.jp/. (Looks like someone is cybersquatting www.jesuits.org--which has nothing to do with the Jesuits!)

Here follows the video of Boston College Jesuits! (4'12")

2007-12-08T14:53:00.000+09:00

Here are five Jesuits from Boston College performing "Living on Prayer" of Bon Jovi.

Thevocals: Fr. Donald MacMillan
Bass Fr. James Erps
Keyboard Fr. Richard
Lead Guitar Fr. Bienvenu
Drums Fr. WIlliam Neenan

An interesting way of promoting a College/University. Probably some universities in Japan may have started something similar. Will the Sophia University Jesuits be able to perform something similar, perhaps for an enka????

Dinesh debates

2007-12-08T13:35:00.000+09:00

Here's Dinesh D'Souza, an interesting speaker of Indian origin and one of the few articulate, informed, and quick-witted defenders of Religion, against the opponents of religion and of belief in God. This is an excerpt from the long debate he had with Daniel Dennett, an atheist and professor at Tufts.

Opal Dreams

2007-05-28T23:52:00.000+09:00

As I was writing about Whale Driver, I was reminded of Opal Dreams, an Australian movie that I saw a few weeks ago. Opal Dreams too is a story involving children, but much more credilbe than Whale Driver. The subtitle of Opal Dreams is Pobby and Dingan.
The story revolves around a little girl who has two imaginary friends, called Pobby and Dingan. She is about 8, and she has an elder brother, slightly older. The father is a freelance opal hunter in some outpost in South Australia. He is not too pleased with the girl's attachment to her imaginary friends, which goes to such extremes as setting seats and plates for them at table, conversing with them in front of others, consulting their wishes, putting their seatbelts on, and so on. In fact, the family tries to bring her to her senses now that she is getting to be an adolescent, but she is adamant about her friends.
It so happens that on a certain occasion the dad and brother take Pobby and Dingan on a ride and fail to bring them back. The girl is convinced that they have lost her friends somewhere and want them brought back. The dad even gets into trouble because of her insistence on finding Pobby and Dingan, but everybody tries to please the girl and find her friends. She is feeling lonely every day and gets quite sick. Perhaps the most touching part of the movie starts from there when her little brother takes upon himself to do all he can to please his sister. The end of the story is in what he does to make his sister happy and in whether the people who were laughing at her over he imaginary friends had any change of opinion.
Although this story too has a few incredible elements, overall it's quite credible. The movie really brings to focus the good will of many people and the family bond. The brother-sister bond, the father-son bond, the family-neighbors' bond, etc., etc., are quite moving.
It's not clear whether the author wrote the story with any 'spiritual' or 'philsophical' aspirations, but there are interesting questions posed in the movie, like: What is real and what is imaginary? Isn't imaginary real for the little girl and for many of us? Does real have to be touched and seen? Or, are only things touched and seen real? As a capion in the movie poster suggests, Are there things that can be seen and experienced only when they are believed? The girl in the story can draw accurate pictures of her friends, with proper dresses and make up, almost like most Hindus can tell you where each of the Major Hindu gods lives, how s/he is dressed, what his or her vehicle is, and so on. Actually most religious people can identify a figure as Mary or Joseph or Krishna or Rama simply by looking at it... even though none of them has seen Mary or Joseph or Krishna or Rama.

An Indian song to a Hindu god goes like this: "I don't care whether you are simply a figment of my imagination or an inanimate stone, I just cannot forget you or discontinue worshipping you." The statement looks a bit irrational, but most of our actions are quite along those lines. Much of what we claim to know and stake our reputation by, we only believe--perhaps on the authority of X or Y (who may be authorities or scientists)--but there could be several deceptions along the route, and what we are ready to die for can only be a figment of our imagination or unfounded belief.

I'm also reminded of the story in the Maccabees in the Old Testament (2 Maccabees 7,1-42), where a Jewish mother with seven children are ready to be burned alive rather than 'disobey God.' The only anticlimax of the story is what they believed disobedience to God was simply eating pork! Are the Maccabees to be admired because they preferred to die rather than eat pork? Or are they to be admired because they believed they were trying to please God? Or are they to be looked upon critically because they 'believed' eating pork is forbidden by God--so severely as to even risk their lives?

Whale Driver

2007-05-28T23:28:00.000+09:00

Tonight I saw a New Zealand movie called Whale Driver, mostly with New Zealnd actors and actresses, most of them little known in this part of the world. The story is by Niki Caro. The acting of everyone is quite moving--especially of the young 11-year-old girl, who is the heroine, and of the ones who act as her grandparents. The story is about a Maori leader who expects a male offspring for his first son so that the grandson may continue the tribe's leadership and traditions. Unfortunately, the son's wife dies while giving birth and what's more the child born is a female. The grandpa is quite disappointed and is not too nuanced about showing it. The movie centers around the little girl's relationship with the grandfather, who has a love-hate relationship with the girl. Although he seems to love her by showing some signs of affection, he is bitter that the girl has destroyed his dream and that she has brought bad luck on the tribe. Of course, the girl goes through the pains of realizing that she is unwanted without entirely giving up her hope of winning the grandfather. Of course, the climax is, Does she succeed in winning her grandpa back?

The story is quite moving in many parts, especially in the scene when the little girl delivers a speach at school as she sheds profuse tears. Unfortunately, the story has quite a bit of unbelievable or, shall we say, supernatural or reason-defying elements, which make it a bit of tear-jerking fantasy, not entirely credible. There is the Deus-ex-machina to redeem the situation even in hopeless cases. But for that, it's a moving story overall. I'm not all that a fan of fictions with such convenient supernatural interventions. Either a movie should go entirely into fantasy like Star Wars or the Lord of the Rings; or it must tackle raw reality as is--at least to a believalbe extant. Whereas stories like Whale Driver or Emily Rose, however, move between rational and irrational realms making them somewhat shallow or hollow.

The photography and music are great. Beautiful scenes of the sea and sky and the green pastures. Green and blue remain with you even after the movie. The young girl was apparently nominated for numerous awards, perhaps including Oscar, and surely she does a great job.

Four Women in War [Hitler and four Women]

2007-01-22T21:36:00.000+09:00

I watched tonight with some of my friends a little known documentary movie called "ヒトラーと4人の女たち" [Hitora- no 4nin no Onnatachi] or Quatre femmes dans la guerre or FOUR WOMEN IN WAR, directed by Patrick Jeudi. Unfortunately, there seems to be nothing about this movie on the Internet. Even a search of 'Patrick Jeudi' reveals only one or two documentaries he had made before this, but not this one. I have no idea how this movie was made or what for or where it was shown first. No such information seems available. So here let me briefly write about this great documentary.
First, I watched this movie with a few Germans, Japanese, USA-ians, Irishmen, Indians, a Hungarian, and a Spaniard. In general all of them liked it as much as I did.
This is not a movie for entertainment, but a movie for a study of history, more like a documentary on the History channel. The whole movie seems to consist of movie clips and photos of the period; there are no actors playing any role. From beginning to end, there are various shots and movie clips, some quite moving and perhaps targeted to mature audience--especially some shots showing the war-wounded and naked bodies being disposed of like autumn leaves and twigs.
The movie seems to have been originally in French, but the one we watched was in English. As a documentary, the characters don't speak themselves except through a female narrator. So there is no perceptible mis-synchronization problem. The movie tries to tell the events in the life of four women at the time of Hitler, connected with Hitler's rise and fall. The four women are: Margaret (B.White), the American photo-journalist; Nancy Mitford, a British novelist and biographer known also for her relationship with Colonel Gaston Palewski, Charles de Gaulle's Chief of Staff; "Madeline," a French freedom fighter; and Traudl Junge, Hitler's secretary. The narrator introduces each of the characters and what they did during the time of war. Perhaps the longest time is given to Margaret, focusing on her pioneering activities as a woman photo-journalist during the time of war.
A few details about the movie: It's a "Roche Productions" production, made in 2005. It's about 98 minutes long. The opening note says: "Based on real characters. However, our narration has taken a few liberties." The narration seems to have been adapted from many sources related to the characters. Music is by Laurent Lesourd. The archive footage comes from many sources like Absolutely Archives and Natural Archives Washington. The International Sales seems to be handled by France Television Distribution.
The movie is worth watching mainly for historical education since it consits almost entirely of the movie clips of the period. There are numerous shots of Hitler himself in his private moments--segments that seem rare. The narration is quite gentle or objective (cool?)--without any sermonizing or revolutionary reflections.
Highly recommended for history buffs, historians of women's struggles in men's world, World War II historians, and those wishing to recall the painful experiences of the early 1940s.

First Entry

2007-01-22T00:24:00.000+09:00

Hello World,
This is my first entry in this blog... just exploring what can be done. The real action will begin later on, I hope.
Here let me insert a photo I took of the Nakaura Julian Memorial building in the little village of Nakaura, near Nagasaki, Japan. More about this Julian later on!