INFORMATION

No. 140 May 2002

INTERPROVINCIAL The meeting of provincials of Latin America took place in Belo Horizonte,

NEWS Brazil from April 4 to 11. Clare Pratt and Jane Maltby partcipated in this meeting and were able to experience the efforts and the hopes of our Latin American provinces.

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The XII AMASC (Association Mondiale des Anciennes et Anciens du Sacré- Coeur) World Congress took place in Sydney, Australia April 13-19, with the theme “Matters of the Heart: Reconciling Ourselves with our World.” Clare Pratt and Jane Maltby participated and Clare gave a conference entitled “Values and Mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart.”

The International Conference of Heads of Sacred Heart Schools took place at the same time, also in Sydney. Clare drew from the Chapter of 2000, speaking to the Heads on our spirituality in a talk entitled “An Education that Transforms.”

Both conferences are enclosed with this issue of Information.

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COUNCIL'S Clare Pratt: in Rome

AGENDA Mariado Górriz: in Rome

Jane Maltby: will attend the joint assembly of the provinces of Germany/ Sweden and Austria/Hungary, May 17-21.

Marisa Sacerdote: in Rome

Son In Sook: will attend the joint assembly of the provinces of Germany/ Sweden and Austria/Hungary, May 17-21.

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EXPRESSION OF Message from the Province of Colombia to the Society:

GRATITUDE "Dear Sisters, It was a great joy to receive your emails. On behalf of the Province I want to thank you for your messages of condolence on the death of Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino and for sharing in the suffering of our people in Cali at the time of the Archbishop's assassination. His death symbolizes the sacrifice of so many lives cut short in this historic moment in our country. It is painful to see that life is less and less valued each day. This latest occurrence calls us once more to live in hope while sowing the seeds of justice, the only way to make peace possible. Be assured of my affection and of my prayer.

María Eugenia Lourido, rscj

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PUBLICATION A flyer is enclosed announcing Professor Chantal Paisant’s study of the letters of Philippine Duchesne and her Companions in Les Années Pionnières 1818-1823. For over five years, Chantal read and transcribed these early letters; with insight and sensitivity she uncovers a complexity of personal and external experiences. Chantal pays tribute to the RSCJ who supported her: first of all to the memory of Jeanne de Charry; to Patricia García de Quevedo who authorized the publication of the texts; to Françoise Greffe who first welcomed the project, and to Anne Leonard for her help as General Archivist.

PLEASE NOTE The community of Lowendal would like to inform you that it will be closed August10-20, as it was last summer. Those planning to visit Paris during this time should keep in mind that they will not be able to receive hospitality in this community.

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OUR VISIT TO Mariado and I visited the Province of Egypt February 12 to 26. The first

EGYPT thing that struck me were the contrasts that I saw in the country. On the one hand, the monuments and ruins seen everywhere attest to the fact that this is one of the oldest civilizations on earth. On the other hand, the majority of the population lives in one of the most underdeveloped countries. It is hard to believe that this Land of the Pharaohs has withstood so many invasions during its long history. In many places desert and lush vegetation are side by side because of the valley of the Nile, only 15 kilometers wide, and because of the great efforts of the people to turn the desert into arable land, resulting in considerable agricultural production. The tension among religions is palpable, not only between Muslims and Christians, but also between Orthodox and Catholics. At the same time, in our schools, half of the students are Muslims, and among the Christians, many are Orthodox. I could go on listing the contrasts.

I had been in Cairo in 1986 for an assembly of provincials, and almost all of the participants had some experience of Upper Egypt, at the request of the General Council of that time. Oddly enough, it is in the south, not the north. During that assembly we spent most of our time inside the seminary where the meetings were being held, and we only did some touring. It is not easy to get to know the reality of a country under those circumstances. Nor where these 15 days enough, but they did give me a better sense of the life of the people and, above all, of our sisters.

It would be presumptuous of me to write about life in that country, but I think that I can share some reflections based on what I experienced in Egypt. I will only refer to two conversations that surprised me.

The first was in a conversation with Father Boulard, sj. at the beginning of our visit. He had this to say, more or less in these words, “If Egypt is a Muslim country today, it is due to the lack of unity among the Christians.” He was referring to the conflict between the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. In this context, it is an awful thing to hear an Orthodox father say to his daughter, “I would prefer that you marry a Muslim than a Catholic.” Such a statement is understandable in a country where Christians are a minority and where religious segregation exists. In a situation where the only way of witnessing to Jesus Christ is through one’s life, and where love, communion and service are the only language possible, this seems scandalous. In this context I greatly appreciated and valued the life and the work of our sisters, witnessing to the tenderness of God in dispensaries, in sewing workshops, with disabled children, in schools, etc., welcoming all and loving each one without discrimination or boundaries.

We were asked the same question at least twice during those days: “Don’t you think it’s a little naïve to speak about dialogue with Muslims?” In any other context I think that this question would be unthinkable. But for those who are subjected to the segregation of Christians, who have suffered attacks of terrorism simply because they are Christian, who do not know if someone with whom they live or work is a fundamentalist, this question is understandable, given their experience. And this has made me reflect a great deal on the relativity of our own points of view and on the difficulty of having a common vision, as a Society, in such different contexts. And so dialogue continues to be an urgent need. Yet, what is its challenge within each context? What are the attitudes necessary for dialogue in each situation?

Marisa Sacerdote, rscj