INFORMATION
INFORMATION
No.137 November-December 2001
ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL Joan Pender has been named
provincial of Australia/New Zealand for a second
mandate. Kim Sook Hee has been named
provincial of Korea for a first mandate. Koh Do Yim died on October
19th, several months before the end of her first
mandate. Hers was the first death of a Korean RSCJ. As many
of you know, she had had a liver transplant operation on
October 5th and was recuperating well when she
developed a severe infection. We ask your continued prayer
for Kim Jeong Mi, the RSCJ who donated 60% of her
liver to Koh. She is recuperating well at the
novitiate. Kim Jae Soon (Agnes) has been
the acting provincial of Korea since late
September. PARAGUAY After a lengthy discernment and in
communication with the community and the Provincial Council
of Argentina/Uruguay, the General Council has decided to
close the community in Paraguay. The poverty of that country
and its enormous educational needs have pressed us to remain
there for 13 years despite the difficulties. Looking at the
history of the Society, we see that we have had to leave
countries (France, Cuba, Hungary) several times, or
sometimes communities (St. Charles, USA), only to return
later with a new apostolic thrust. Now we live the Paschal
Mystery, with deep gratitude for all the life received and
shared by our sisters. Our affection and prayer are with
them in this "Adiós." INDONESIA Our presence in Indonesia was inspired
by the event of Philippine Duchesne's canonization in 1988.
Now this "project" has two communities including a
novitiate. On November 18th, feast of Philippine,
the Indonesia Project became the Indonesia Area. Nance
O'Neil will be the provisional Area Superior until there
is a consultation sometime in the first months of
2002. THE COUNCIL'S AGENDA Jane Maltby will go to Malta
January 4-7. Marisa Sacerdote will
participate in the meeting of initial formation teams of
Latin America in Chile, January 20-27. Afterwards she
will go to Argentina until February 9. Latin American Workshop on Formal
Education The third workshop on formal education
in Latin America and the Caribbean took place October 4-12
in Argentina. The theme was "The pastoral dimension of the
educational institutions" and the slogan, "Journey,
encounter, hope." Participants included delegates from
Argentina-Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico-Nicaragua, Cuba,
Puerto Rico, Peru, and guests were from the United States,
both provinces of Spain as well as Mariado Górriz and
Marisa Sacerdote of the General Council
(47%
RSCJ and 53%
lay women and men). By the end of the workshop there were
some specific action steps for the management and direction
of these educational centers, for catechesis or religious
formation and for service to the communities of these
institutions. It was agreed to strengthen this network of
formal education, and an organizational plan is being
created to be presented to the provincials of Latin America
in April. Meeting of provincial treasurers of
Africa and Europe The meeting of provincial treasurers
of Africa and Europe was held November 20-24 at the Villa
Lante. Some topics presented and discussed were:
spirituality, the role of treasurers and the administration
of goods, our response to globalization, ethical investment,
the financial implications for our provinces in Chapter
2000. Fifteen treasurers of Africa and
Europe participated, and Mieko Shinjo joined them. The
experience of sharing and listening to each other helped
each one to move forward in her service in the light of the
General Chapter. PROBATION The probanists will make their 30 day
retreat November 19-December 19. The profession ceremony will be on
January 20, 2002 at the Villa Lante. We assure them of the
prayer and love of the Society during this important time in
their lives. NEW PUBLICATION At least one copy of the book will
be sent to each province. Additional copies may be
ordered by contacting Cynthia Barbee, Provincial
Secretary, 4389 West Pine Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63108
USA. Cost of the book, U. S. $17. Postage: within the US
and Canada, $2 for media mail, $4 for priority mail.
Surface mail for Mexico, $4, for Europe,
$5. A MONTH IN ASIA It was by chance that our visit to
Korea coincided with Koh Do Yim's operation, and
anxiety for her and for the health of Kim Jeong Mi
weighed on everyone's heart. Koh's strong will to live
and Kim's gratitude that she was allowed to give her
liver to her sister were an invitation to reflect deeply
on the preciousness and fragility of each human life, a
lesson which the events of September 11th had
already etched indelibly in our consciousness. It was a
sober time. It was also a time of marveling at
the different but complementary aspects of the Korean
"soul". An example will illustrate this. In one afternoon
we visited a Buddhist temple whose popularity indicates
the thirst for silence and peace in the midst of a
fast-paced, busy society. Several hours later we attended
a performance of traditional dance, percussion, vocal and
instrumental music. Costumes of brilliant colors,
haunting melancholic melodies, frenzied movement and
drumming were a far cry from the stillness of the temple.
Yet together they speak of wholeness. It occurred to me
that it is not by chance that the Korean flag is in the
shape of the two universal principles of yin and
yang. It was in Japan that we heard that
Koh Do Yim was dying, and we experienced the love and
solidarity of the province of Japan with the province of
Korea with whom there has been so much shared history
including politically inflicted wounds and love-inspired
efforts of reconciliation. The Society's Cor Unum was
palpable during those days. If one phrase could characterize
the Taiwan Area it would be the Chapter's call to
collaboration in reciprocity. The thriving school that
many of us remember helping to build in the 1960's is now
completely lay-run by faculty and staff imbued with the
Society's philosophy of education. Our sisters still play
an important role of animation and
accompaniment. In Taiwan one is ever conscious of
mainland China both because many of our sisters
came from the mainland (as chronicled in Madeleine Chi's
recent history of the Society in China) and because
several from the Area minister there on a short-term
basis. Recently the Taiwan Area bought a building in
Manila to serve as a house of studies for young women
from the mainland, sent by their bishop and welcomed by
the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila to be formed as lay
ministers. One of these students has just become a
candidate in the Philippines District and the hope is
that perhaps one day, if the political situation of China
changes, (and recent Vatican-Chinese government exchanges
fuel the hope) we might replant the Society there. In the
meantime, the four RSCJs who are teaching in four
different university/seminary settings (see Mary Hinde's
article in the September 1997 Information) are
aging and are anxious that soon there may be no RSCJ left
on the mainland. If anyone feels a call to offer
herself for China for a few years we know of an
organization that could assist us to find a placement.
Speak to your provincial if you feel so
moved! The day before leaving Taiwan, at a
gathering of friends, associates, faculty, alumnae and
religious of other congregations we had the opportunity
to reflect a bit on the impact of the events of September
11th. I told them that I was a kind of
"ambassador" &emdash; that I would be going next to
Indonesia, then in a few weeks to Belgium and Holland,
later in the spring to Brazil and Australia/New Zealand.
I asked them: "What message would you like me to take
with me?" One alumna said, "Indonesia is your next stop.
It is the country with the largest Muslim population. Is
there any way our sisters there can help us to learn more
about Islam and its religious beliefs?" Finally, Indonesia …
while we were still in Japan we began to pick up others'
anxiety about our going to Indonesia. There had been
recent reports in the press about violent
anti-American/Western demonstrations in that country
which is 90% Muslim. Although I never felt any personal
fear I did not want to discount the fears of others.
While I did not want to be imprudent, I did not want to
be overly cautious. Of all moments I felt this was a time
to be with our sisters there and to learn from them
something about Muslim-Christian relations. In the end,
Son and I trusted the advice of the RSCJs in Jakarta who
consulted others as well. All felt it was safe for us to
come and, as Rose Chihwei Sun said in Taiwan "Son In Sook
will be your protector; she has a good image!" We had several opportunities to
interact with Muslims: the imam of the mosque in the
neighborhood of the novitiate, the director of a school
for the handicapped where Gera Philips rscj, is a
therapist, a professor in a liberal Muslim university. It
was the latter, Professor Budhy Munawar-Rachman, whose
face lit up when he spoke of his dream of a convergence
of religions into a "religion of the heart". I see our
fledgling presence in Indonesia (an international
community of seven: two Indonesian novices, a Japanese, a
Korean, an American, a Filipina and an Indian) as a
realization of what the Chapter is calling us to,
bridging the worlds of East and West, of Islam and
Christianity, university and street kids, the
physically/mentally well and the handicapped. A month is a very short time to try
to understand and absorb not only one culture but four!
But it is a beginning, and I came away so grateful, so
blessed by the depth and beauty of these ancient
civilizations and welcoming people. Midway through our
visit Son said something that touched me deeply. She
said, "I think you could live in Asia." I think I
could!
Clare Pratt and
Jane Maltby will visit the Province of
Belgium/Netherlands from November 19 to December
3.
Since the People's Republic
of China has emerged on the world stage, it
seems timely for us to remember that
the Society had a house in Shanghai, China. Sixty
missionaries from thirteen countries served in four
Sacred Heart schools in that city. Despite political
uncertainties, war, revolution and persecution, Shanghai
RSCJ and their collaborators educated several thousand
students and spread the gospel on Chinese soil.
Last summer during a meeting
with the General Chapter delegates from Asia and Oceania,
I told them that theirs was the one part of the world I
had never visited and I felt it was a priority to visit
some of their provinces as soon as possible. How to
choose?! Since Son In Sook is the link with Korea, Japan,
Taiwan and Indonesia and the latter two are very small it
seemed feasible in one month to make an "informal" visit
of Korea and Japan and the "regular" visit of Taiwan and
Indonesia. Space allows only a "bird's eye view" of these
four very distinct countries but I will try to share
something of the richness of the experience.
Clare Pratt rscj