Professor Emeritus Felix Lobo Passes Away

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.

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The Second Coming of Jesuits to be Celebrated

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.

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Three Jesuits Ordained Priests in Japan

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.

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Recalling Roger Downey ...

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.

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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

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D'Souza Debates Singer

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.

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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.)

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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。

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Papal visit to USA

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.

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Complete autobiography of Peter Milward now online

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.

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