Latest news with #Jesuits
The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
How the Jesuit experience shaped Ger Brennan, the new Dublin football manager
THE QUOTE FROM St Ignatius Loyola, a Basque soldier turned priest who formed the Jesuits, holds that, 'Give me the boy until he is seven, and I will show you the man.' It is from the Jesuit approach to education, and again, we are quoting here; 'concentrated on the holistic development of the individual, encompassing intellectual, spiritual and moral growth,' that the new Dublin senior football manager Ger Brennan is rooted. In a Podcast back in 2021 for Belvedere's Faith and Services Programmes, he told of how he prays the Jesuit Examen (examination of the conscience) every day. How he listens to the school song, 'Only in God,' and related how he tries to invoke compassion in his dealings with young students in UCD, where he is the Gaelic Games development officer. Appointed on a three-year arrangement as Dessie Farrell's successor, he is now once of the most closely scrutinised figures in Irish sport. He's not alone in professing his religious beliefs in the GAA. Nonetheless it makes him unusual. On 20 January 2014, just a few months after he won the All-Ireland title, he went along to St Dominic's in Cabra to launch Catholic Schools Week. He told students there, 'I am someone who believes strongly in Jesus Christ, I believe in God incarnate and I believe that Jesus is the example, the X-Factor, for people to follow their lives by. 'It's something I've been fortunate enough to have accepted and believed in from a very young age starting at home and it's something which I drift from time to time . . . but . . . once you experience the love of Christ in your life, be it through a personal, deep or more public experience there's no getting away from him. 'For me, faith, love of God is always an invitation, a freedom of choice and it's something we can choose to accept or something we can choose to ignore. I think there are many challenges in the world which support us in ignoring that love of God in our lives but I think if we keep continuing to focus on the goodness within young people and believe within yourself I think everything will work out fine.' At the time, he was in St Kevin's, teaching Religion, Irish and History. He was also the School Chaplain. The launch of Catholic Week wasn't afraid to ask itself some fundamental questions. Brennan told those gathered that the holistic approach to education should include the 'invisible reality' which he summed up as 'my soul, my spirit, my faith in Jesus Christ.' For the modern intercounty footballer and now manager, it all seems a little… unlikely. But so much of Brennan is unlikely. Advertisement He grew up in Dorset Street and his pathway to the fee-paying Belvedere College was through a Social Diversity Programme that took in students on scholarships. While attending Belvedere, he naturally fell into playing a little rugby and was a couple of years ahead of Cian Healy. Absolutely none of this is building up to some corny rags to riches narrative by the way. The Brennans were high achievers in their own right. Brennan bringing Sam Maguire to meet a child in hospital. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Their sporting pedigree can be traced to Ger's uncle Fran who played soccer for various teams including Drumcondra, but mainly Dundalk from 1966 to 1973. He won an international cap in a friendly against Belgium in 1965 in Dalymount Park. Another uncle, Tom Brennan was featured in an Irish Press report from February 1975. He was an early prominent member of the Liffey Valley Club and that day he took first place in the National Senior cross-country championship in Belfield, running seven and a half miles of a twisting, challenging route in 36 minutes and 59 seconds. He beat the course record by 29 seconds and among those left in his wake included the late Jerry Kiernan, Danny McDaid and Tom O'Riordan. Ger Brennan grew up playing Gaelic football with St Vincent's, but he wasn't what you might call your typical Vincent's man from Marino, in coming from the north inner-city. By the time he played championship for Dublin, he became just the third man from the north inner city to represent the county in the previous 60 years. The others were Anton O'Toole and Paddy Cullen. In an area with a population of around 120,000, you can see again how rare it is. On the pitch, he was there from the start of the Pat Gilroy era as they transformed themselves and Gaelic football. He made some critical interventions. In the 2011 All-Ireland final, he caught Kerry's Declan O'Sullivan with the kind of hit that either gets a red card or turns a tide. O'Sullivan subsequently lost possession for two plays in which Dublin grabbed a goal and a point. In his debut season playing with Dublin. Andrew Paton / INPHO Andrew Paton / INPHO / INPHO He kicked two points against Mayo that defied belief After retiring in October 2014, he continued to play on for St Vincent's and became a high-profile supporter for a 'No' vote in the 2015 Marriage Equality referendum. Writing in The Irish Independent at the time, he said, 'I know I'll be targeted for it and labelled for it. It would have been easier to keep my mouth shut and not rock the boat. But I'm sick of the accusations being flung around that if you vote 'No' you are homophobic. I know I'm not homophobic; my gay friends and family can attest to that. I am voting 'No' because I don't want our Constitution to deny that it is a good thing for a child to have a mother and a father. 'The Universal Declaration on Human Rights proclaims that everybody is equal in dignity and it holds that marriage is a male-female union. I don't think the Declaration of Human Rights is homophobic. I'm voting 'No'.' Along the way, he got his first break coaching at county level under Niall Carew at Carlow in 2020. His involvement with UCD brought him further into that world but all the same, it was a small surprise when he took over Louth following Mickey Harte's shock departure in 2023. Bringing the Wee County to their first Leinster title in 68 years represented a modern-day Gaelic football miracle. He could do anything he wanted after that, but Dessie Farrell stepping down in Dublin made him the obvious move. A decade ago, you could happily have made the argument for hours on end that the easiest job in Gaelic football was that of the Dublin manager; plenty of players, great facilities, nobody living too far from home, permanent residents of Croke Park, and so on. Those arguments have dried up. Different rules will apply for Brennan. Old Dublin town hums with the possibilities. Who is coming back? Where are they at? What levels can they reach? What happens next will be fascinating. Comes with the gig.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Plato Goes to China'
Author: Shadi Bartsch As improbable as it may sound, an illuminating way to understand today's China and how it views the West is to look at the astonishing ways Chinese intellectuals are interpreting—or is it misinterpreting?—the Greek classics. In 'Plato Goes to China,' Shadi Bartsch offers a provocative look at Chinese politics and ideology by exploring Chinese readings of Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, and other ancient writers. She shows how Chinese thinkers have dramatically recast the Greek classics to support China's political agenda, diagnose the ills of the West, and assert the superiority of China's own Confucian classical tradition. In a lively account that ranges from the Jesuits to Xi Jinping, Bartsch traces how the fortunes of the Greek classics have changed in China since the 17th century. Before the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the Chinese typically read Greek philosophy and political theory in order to promote democratic reform or discover the secrets of the success of Western democracy and science.
Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Indian priest Richard D'Souza appointed director of Vatican Observatory
Indian Catholic priest Richard D'Souza has been appointed as the new director of the Vatican Observatory. The newly elected Pope Leo XIV confirmed his appointment on Thursday evening. Fr D'Souza, who has a doctorate in astronomy and who has been a staff member at the Observatory since 2016. (MLA Delilah Lobo | X account) D'Souza, 47, a Jesuit priest who hails from Goa and who holds a doctorate in Astronomy will succeed the existing head of one of the world's oldest astronomical observatories, will succeed incumbent Guy Consolmagno, when his term ends on September 15. 'I am very honoured to be appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the next Director of the Vatican Observatory,' D'Souza said in a comment to HT. Also Read:Pope to bestow one of Catholic Church's highest honors on John Henry Newman 'On one hand, I am aware of the many high-profile Jesuits who have held this position in the past and have paved the way for the Observatory's success today: I am truly standing on the shoulders of giants. On the other hand, I understand the great responsibility entrusted to me of guiding the Vatican Observatory at this critical time, so that the Specola continues to serve the Pope and the Universal Church, promoting the dialogue between faith and science, through solid scientific research,' he said. D'Souza who hails from Mapusa in Goa a Bachelor's degree in Physics at St Xavier's College Mumbai, a Master in Physics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany where he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg for his thesis work; a doctorate in astronomy with research done at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Munich, concentrating on the formation and evolution of galaxies and a post-doctoral programme at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. He is a member of the International Astronomical Union and has recently had an asteroid named after him. 'I am delighted that His Holiness has chosen Fr. D'Souza to be the next director of the Vatican Observatory. I know that Fr. D'Souza has the vision and wisdom to carry the Observatory forward during this time of rapid change in astronomical research, especially given his experience with space telescopes and advanced computational techniques,' incumbent Consolmagno said. Back in Goa Richard's parents Mary and Joseph expressed their 'happiness and gratitude' at the opportunity he has been entrusted with to serve in his mission. 'As a child he was always curious and showed interest in the scientific side of things and we are happy and grateful that he has been entrusted with this responsibility that allows him to serve both his mission and the pursuit of science,' the family stated. The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical observatories in the world. It was founded in 1891, by Pope Leo XIII. D'Souza has been a staff member of the Vatican Observatory since 2016 and has held the role of the Superior of the Jesuit community of the Vatican Observatory since 2022. In 2018, he along with researchers working at the Vatican Observatory found conclusive evidence of a long lost galaxy the third biggest after Andromeda and the Milky Way, named 32p that was 'shredded and cannibalised' by the Milky Way's galactic neighbour Andromeda about two billion years ago. This disrupted galaxy was the third-largest member of the local group of galaxies, after the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Using computer models, D'Souza and Bell were able to piece together this evidence, revealing this long-lost sibling. Their findings were published in Nature Astronomy in July 2018. His research focuses on the phenomenon of galaxy merging and its effects on the present day properties of galaxies like the Milky Way. He has published in numerous international scientific journals and is a member of several international collaborations.
BBC News
31-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Derbyshire private schools close after decade-long cash struggle
Two independent Catholic schools in Derbyshire have closed after the trust that runs them went into administration. Mount St Mary's College in Spinkhill and its prep school, Balborough Hall School, announced the "immediate closure" on Wednesday. Shaun Whyman, chair of governors of the charitable trust, said on the schools' website they had faced "increasing financial pressures" since 2015."This decision has not been made lightly, and we understand the shock and distress this news will undoubtedly bring to our entire school community," he added. The schools were founded 183 years ago and became an independent charitable trust in 2004. Following years of financial strain, the schools were supported by the Jesuits in Britain charity, which provided more than £3m in loans to the trust, Mr Whyman said. He added that governors and senior leadership had been working to prevent the closure of the schools since early 2025, including looking for a new owner, but were unsuccessful. Holiday club scrapped "As of the end of July, the level of debt and lack of a realistic path to financial viability mean we have no alternative but to proceed into administration," Mr Whyman added. He said the decision to close was a "truly heartbreaking moment" for pupils, staff and families. All of the schools' ongoing activities, including a holiday club, have also been stopped with immediate effect. The schools' statement cited wider challenges affecting independent schools in the UK, including the VAT on school fees introduced in January and the removal of business rates relief for independent schools from April. The government introduced VAT on school fees to pay for more state school teachers in EnglandIt was estimated the policy would raise an extra £460m in the 2024-25 financial year, rising to £1.7bn by St Mary's College and Barlborough Hall School said further information would be shared with families and pupils in the coming days and weeks.
The Guardian
24-07-2025
- The Guardian
Late Jesuit global leader didn't stop known child molester from becoming priest
Pedro Arrupe, the late, former worldwide leader of the Jesuit religious order and a candidate for Catholic sainthood, acknowledged in records produced as part of a New Orleans court case that he was warned about how one of the group's aspiring priests had been accused of sexually molesting two minors and acknowledged making sexual advances on a third. The man was ultimately ordained, and there is no indication in records in the court case in Louisiana state court that Arrupe – who coined the Jesuits' slogan 'men for others' – took steps to prevent him from becoming a priest. The man was later accused of molesting other minors he met through his ministry. Arrupe's involvement in the case of Donald Barkley Dickerson – who died in 2016 and two years later was confirmed by the Jesuits to be one of hundreds of their members faced with substantial claims of child molestation – began toward the end of the 1970s. But it has drawn new scrutiny in a lawsuit that accuses Dickerson of raping a 17-year-old student at a Jesuit-run university in New Orleans. The case in New Orleans civil district court raises questions about whether Arrupe, a beloved figure whose name is on numerous prestigious awards and buildings at Jesuit institutions around the world, did as much as he could to protect those who trusted in his order. Church officials in Rome in 2019 initiated the process to canonize Arrupe, who is known for having ministered to survivors of the US's atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of the second world war. The first stage of that process has thrust Arrupe one step closer to becoming a saint, as the Jesuits themselves described it. The new concerns about Arrupe come at a time when the broader global Catholic church has been sending mixed signals about the urgency of addressing the clergy abuse scandal that has roiled it for decades. Pope Leo XIV in June said the church must 'not tolerate any … abuse', sexual or otherwise, and earlier in July the pontiff appointed French bishop Thibault Verny to lead the Vatican's child protection advisory commission. However, also in June but in another part of France, the archdiocese of Toulouse gave the high-ranking position of chancellor to a priest who had been imprisoned after being convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy in 1993. And a former Vatican diplomat who was convicted of possessing and distributing child abuse imagery reportedly has been allowed to continue working as one of several clerks at the Vatican's secretariat of state. At least one Jesuit official who testified under oath as part of the lawsuit accusing Dickerson of raping a minor on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans said he was horrified by the way the order admitted the suspected pederast into its clerical ranks. 'I think the whole thing is appalling,' said John Armstrong, a priest who described himself as secretary of the Jesuits' US central and southern province – which includes New Orleans – while an attorney for the plaintiff questioned him in early June. Meanwhile, a statement from attorneys representing the plaintiff who describes having survived being raped by Dickerson at a Loyola dormitory issued a statement saying Arrupe 'shouldn't … be canonized a saint'. His name also 'should be stripped from every building, award or anything else it currently graces', reads the statement from attorneys Richard Trahant, John Denenea and Soren Gisleson, all lawyers for numerous people who reported being sexually abused by clergy assigned to Catholic institutions in New Orleans, which is the church's second-oldest diocese in the US. A spokesperson at the Jesuit central and southern province declined to comment, citing a policy against discussing pending litigation. Neither Loyola nor the Shreveport diocese in north-west Louisiana where Dickerson was assigned during the alleged campus rape immediately responded to requests for comment. Arrupe spent 18 years as the Jesuits' superior general beginning in 1965. He was mailed a 20 December 1977 letter detailing concerns regarding part of Dickerson's abusive past, about four years after he was credited with conceiving the order's enduring 'men for others' mantra – encapsulating the Jesuits' zeal for community service – during an address to members in his native Spain. The letter from Thomas Stahel, Arrupe's fellow Jesuit and at the time the top official – or provincial – in the region including New Orleans, recounts how Dickerson had just gone on a retreat where he 'made sexual advances on [a] 14-year-old boy'. The boy, a student at the Jesuit-run Brebeuf college preparatory school in Indianapolis, told his parents – who in turn reported Dickerson to Stahel. Stahel's letter made clear that he believed the boy because he was at least the third child on whom Dickerson had been accused of inflicting abuse. By then, Dickerson had amassed a history 'of overt homosexual encounters with two high school boys whom he masturbated', Stahel's letter said. As their client pursued a lawsuit against the Jesuits decades later, Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea obtained records from the order's regional archives through legal discovery showing Dickerson had admitted abuse which occurred while he was studying to become a priest and was assigned to the order's high school in New Orleans. The Jesuits sent him to psychiatric treatment from February to June in 1975 without reporting him to civil authorities to be investigated as a criminal child molester. That was the Catholic church's custom at the time, though it has acknowledged that that practice was misguided and has sought to reform its protocols in such cases, including by urging its leaders to be transparent and report offenders to law enforcement. Dickerson completed the treatment and gained a recommendation from a Jesuit official named Louis Lambert to be ordained as a priest. As Stahel put it, Lambert excused Dickerson as only behaving abusively whenever he 'got nervous'. Yet, having learned of a third abusive incident attributed to Dickerson at the time he wrote his letter, Stahel implored Arrupe to at least hold off on the ordination, which had been scheduled for two days after Christmas that year. 'Dickerson seems to me a poor risk for ordination,' Stahel – who was also known for being a longtime editor at the Jesuits' America magazine – told Arrupe. 'I do not think we can in conscience present Dickerson … as ready for ordination.' The Jesuits subsequently postponed Dickerson's ordination – 'till further study of his suitability,' with Arrupe's approval, according to Stahel's December 1977 letter – and once again sent him to psychiatric treatment in 1978. In September 1978, Arrupe wrote to Lambert, saying he had gotten the psychiatric report on Dickerson. 'I shall await further information on the case from Father Stahel,' Arrupe wrote. Arrupe does not appear in any other documents so far reviewed by the Guardian and WWL Louisiana. In June 1979 and January 1980, Stahel wrote a pair of memos describing conversations with Dickerson, who had been a brother with the Sacred Heart order before joining the Jesuits, according to the website Dickerson in the first conversation said that 'the incident of December, 1977' was 'relatively insignificant' and that the doctor who treated him agreed, Stahel wrote. In the second conversation, Dickerson again asserted his belief that the same incident was 'relatively insignificant', Stahel wrote. But, Stahel continued, Dickerson understood 'such incidents have far reaching consequences, can cause scandal and in short must be regarded as serious'. Dickerson was ordained as a priest in 1980, according to information published by the Jesuits. It wouldn't be until 1983 that Arrupe stepped down as the superior general of the Society of Jesus, as the order is formally known. He had suffered a debilitating stroke in 1981. After his ordination, Dickerson was assigned to the order's college preparatory high school in Dallas. Jesuit officials did not alert leaders at the campus about their knowledge that Dickerson was a child molester, according to the Dallas Morning News. The newspaper attributed that fact to a deposition given by an order official in charge of schools in the region, Philip Postell, amid clergy abuse-related litigation many years later. By July 1981, Stahel received a letter from Postell informing him that Dickerson had been removed from Dallas's Jesuit college preparatory school. The parents of a child had reported an accusation against Dickerson to the school, whose principal discovered the various prior abusive episodes, the Dallas Morning News reported. The parents' accusation was one of multiple reports of child abuse made against Dickerson while at the school. Postell – who was president of the Dallas Jesuit college preparatory school from 1992 to 2011 – eventually conceded under oath that he should have reported Dickerson to law enforcement at that point, according to the Morning News. But Jesuit leaders simply transferred Dickerson about 200 miles east to the Cathedral of St John Berchmans in Shreveport, Louisiana. While assigned to St John, Dickerson frequently visited Loyola New Orleans, where he had gone for his undergraduate and post-graduate studies, the plaintiff represented by Trahant, Gisleson and Denenea would later assert in court. The plaintiff recounted gaining early admission into Loyola in August 1984 at age 17 and meeting Dickerson shortly after beginning his freshman year. Dickerson soon began inviting the plaintiff to dinner weekly alongside other priests. That allegedly escalated into groping and oral rape, including behind a sacristy. The plaintiff would later say in his lawsuit that he was eventually raped by Dickerson in a dorm room. The Jesuits at last got rid of Dickerson after the Shreveport church to which he was assigned received a letter in 1986 from a family reporting him for 'feeling and touching' their son inappropriately, as the Dallas Morning News noted. It was by then at least the seventh documented allegation against Dickerson – not counting the underage Loyola New Orleans student, who came forward after many years had passed. A Jesuit official handling that seventh known complaint against Dickerson drafted a memo to colleagues in which he insisted that the accused clergyman deserved 'to be given the benefit of the doubt'. 'We should proceed on something like this very cautiously,' the official, Edmundo Rodriguez, wrote in the memo. 'On the possibility of a set up, however remote', the memo added, deliberation about Dickerson should be limited only to 'this particular case'. Nothing should be discussed publicly either given 'the sensitivity of the material', Rodriguez added. Rodriguez also suggested the Jesuits provide $10,000 to Dickerson in living expenses over the next year, especially while the matter was pending. Dickerson, for his part, resigned less than a week later, saying it was for his 'own peace and the good of the Society of Jesus'. 'I am grateful to the society for what it has done to try to help me,' including sending him to 'extensive psychological therapy' at Foundation House in Jemez Spring, New Mexico, Dickerson wrote in his resignation. 'It is clear now that these measures have not been enough to prevent my falling into problems which become public and have the potential of harming the Society of Jesus and the church seriously. 'I appreciate your willingness to suspend judgment on the question of moral culpability and to acknowledge my genuine efforts to overcome my tendencies.' The Jesuits revealed in December 2018 that Dickerson was a credibly accused child predator. That year, it included him on a published list of more than 40 order priests and other members who had been the subject of child molestation claims deemed credible while working in what is now considered the order's central and southern province in the US. Jesuit officials released that list within months of a Pennsylvania grand jury report which established Catholic clergy abuse in that state had been more widespread than originally thought, creating pressure for groups such as the Jesuits to be transparent about molesters in their employ. Dickerson – who spent time in Nebraska after his Jesuit career, according to public records – died at age 80 in August 2016. That was about 25 years after Arrupe had died. In June 2024, the former Loyola New Orleans student who was allegedly abused by Dickerson sued the university, the Jesuits and the Shreveport Catholic diocese for damages. He did so almost immediately after Louisiana's supreme court upheld a law temporarily allowing people in the state to sue for compensation over sexual abuse no matter how long ago it had occurred. The lawsuit was unresolved as of Thursday, with the defendants generally trying to attack the validity of the law which enabled the plaintiff to file against them for damages. They also have contended that the allegations against Dickerson were outside the scope and course of his ministry. Nonetheless, at least one Jesuit has made it clear that he was not proud of how the order managed Dickerson. That official is John Armstrong, the assistant secretary of the Jesuit central and southern province, which disclosed that Dickerson was a child predator. Armstrong recounted how he once participated in a meeting about Dickerson in 1976, after the order realized he was a problem. He said he then had to work in Dickerson's proximity in New Orleans in the mid-1980s and loathed it, even though they interacted only once as far as he could remember. Under oath, Armstrong confirmed the Jesuits would not have needed to let Dickerson be present at any of their institutions – such as Loyola, where Dickerson purportedly abused the plaintiff – if they had ousted him or turned him over to law enforcement. Referring to how the Jesuits dealt with Dickerson throughout his career, Armstrong said he believed it was 'appalling that it was handled that way'. It was 'appalling that it happened,' Armstrong said. '[I] feel terrible for the people that were victims of [Dickerson's], and it is beyond my understanding how after that first incident … he was allowed to go any further.' This article was amended on 24 July 2025. A previous version said that Pedro Arrupe died 15 years before Donald Dickerson, but it was actually 25 years.
