Entah mengapa di masa prapaska, kasus-kasus pelecehan seksual di Gereja Amerika kembali mencuat. Kalau membaca beritanya (saya kutip di bawah), saya menjadi semakin yakin bahwa memang Hierarki Gereja dan juga kita semua itu perlu untuk semakin belajar rendah hati, belajar terbuka mengakui kesalahan dan melindungi mereka yang lemah. Tanpa keteladanan sikap yang demikian, kredibilitas Gereja menjadi semakin rapuh, dan kredibilitas para imamnya akan diragukan oleh semakin banyak orang. Tidak sedikit pastor di Indonesia yang menganggap soal pelecehan seksual di Gereja Amerika tidak akan ada di Gereja Indonesia. Saya pribadi justru beberapa kali mengetahui dan melihat bahwa pattern/pola yang dilakukan pimpinan Gereja/ordo/tarekat religius di Indonesia kok ya ada yang sama dengan "modus" yang terjadi di Amerika ini. Apakah soal ini menjadi soal yang institusional di dalam Gereja Katolik? Mungkin masa prapaska menjadi masa yang tepat untuk kembali belajar rendah hati dari kasus-kasus skandal yang di minggu-minggu ini kembali mencuat di Amerika. Mawas diri tentu penting. Tidak ada salahnya berkaca pada apa yang terjadi pada Gereja Katolik di tempat lain. Satu yang mengejutkan adalah bahwa pelaku pelecehan salah satunya pernah menjadi pembimbing rohani dan pembimbing retret Mother Teresa dan kelompok suster cinta kasih. Semoga Gereja Katolik terus menjadi Gereja yang bertobat, berani membela dan memperjuangkan kejujuran dan kebenaran, sekalipun seringkali menyakitkan. Kalau tidak demikian, saya yakin semakin sedikit anak-anak dan yang lemah akan datang kepadanya. Cerita/beritanya ada di bawah ini: Beberapa minggu lalu, publik dan Gereja Katolik di Philadelphia dikejutkan dengan adanya fakta bahwa beberapa imam-imam diosesan yang tersangkut kasus-kasus pelecehan (sexual abuse/misconduct) ini ternyata masih dibiarkan bebas berkarya. Mengapa mengejutkan? Karena setelah gonjang-ganjing kasus pelecehan seksual di Gereja Amerika di awal era tahun 2000, sudah ada kesepakatan di antara para uskup (Dallas Charter), sesuai arahan vatikan bahwa hal semacam ini (membiarkan para abuser berkarya dan "berkeliaran") tidak akan terjadi lagi. Tidak lama kemudian, ada berita mengejutkan lagi. Serikat Yesus Provinsi Oregon di Amerika Serikat menyetujui untuk pembayaran settlement/ganti rugi sebesar 166 juta dolar atau setara dengan 1,5 trilyun rupiah kepada sekitar 500 kasus pelecehan kepada kelompok umat katolik terpencil di Alaska dan kawasan penduduk Indian. Uang 1,5 trilyun itu kalau di Jakarta bisa membangun 150 gedung gereja baru (pengandaiannya 1 gereja butuh 10 milyar), atau bisa membangun dan memberi investasi pada 100 sekolah katolik sejumlah 15 milyar/sekolah, atau 1000 sekolah katolik sejumlah 1,5 milyar/sekolah (luar biasa bukan!!). Setelah kasus Oregon dengan jumlah settlement yang fantastis, berikutnya ada berita skandal "baru" lagi dari SJ Provinsi Chicago. Banyak media menyoroti kasus ini termasuk media milik Jesuit (misalnya America Magazine), media katolik (National Catholic Reporter) dan seperti biasa media sekuler The New York Times. Kalau membaca berita di bawah ini, saya hanya bisa geleng-geleng kepala. Mengapa? Mungkin bisa saya sebutkan di sini poin beritanya: 1. Pimpinan Jesuit Provinsi Chicago dinilai “menganggap sepi” banyaknya laporan yang masuk ke provinsialat tentang adanya perilaku aneh dan menyimpang dari seorang Jesuit yaitu Pater McGuire. Laporan pertama mengenai hal ini terjadi medio 1960-an dan hampir selama 40 tahun tidak ada tindakan signifikan terhadap laporan-laporan ini. Sudah sejak awal tahbisan sudah ada surat/laporan dari seorang Pastor Austria tentang perilaku aneh Pater McGuire ketika studi di eropa, dan daftar laporan semacam ini semakin panjang selama 40 tahun. 2. Dia punya kebiasaan bergaul dekat dengan remaja laki-laki, mengajaknya pergi dan tidur bersama di kamarnya 3. Menarik juga bahwa di tahun 60an-70an Pater McGuire pernah dilarang terlibat di pendidikan oleh beberapa sekolah Jesuit, akibat perilakunya yang sering mengajak beberapa siswa untuk tidur di kamarnya. 4. Dilarang bekerja di sekolah, justru membuatnya menjadi Pembimbing Retret terkenal untuk retret 8 hari di banyak tempat, bahkan di kalangan Serikat beliau dikenal sebagai "master" pembimbing retret. 5. Hebatnya lagi: Dia pernah menjadi pembimbing rohani MOTHER TERESA di tahun 1980an . Dia diserahi kepercayaan oleh Mother Teresa untuk membimbing retret para suster Cinta Kasih di seluruh dunia, berkeliling memberi retret kepada mereka di banyak negara. 6. Pernah dituduh melakukan pelecehan terhadap 15 anak, dan tuduhan ini memaksa Provinsial memindahkannya, namun dengan alasan bahwa dia dipindah untuk sabatikal dan bukan karena kasus pelecehan 7. Pernah dilarang oleh Provinsial untuk melakukan perjalanan ditemani oleh anak-anak tetapi aturan ini dengan nekad dilanggarnya 8. Baru pada tahun 1993 (berarti sekitar 30 tahun dari adanya laporan pertama) dia dikirim untuk pemeriksaan dan penanganan psikologis selama 6 bulan. Di minggu2 terakhir, beliau diijinkan memberi retret dan gilanya dia melakukan pelecehan kepada anak-anak pada saat itu. 9. Tahun 1998, Provinsial Chicago menerbitkan surat bahwa tidak ada halangan apapun bagi Pater McGuire untuk melakukan pelayanan umat dan tidak ada bukti bahwa dia memiliki masalah pedophilia. 10. Tahun 2002, karena semakin banyaknya laporan, akhirnya Pater McGuire dibatasi pelayanannya sebagai imam. Akhirnya pada tahun 2008 beliau dibebastugaskan dari tugasnya sebagai imam sebagai kelanjutan dari proses hukum kasus-kasus tersebut. ====================================== Suit Says Jesuits Ignored Warnings About Priest By ERIK ECKHOLM http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/us/29jesuit.html baca juga: http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=4067 Jesuit leaders in Chicago largely ignored or kept secret numerous reports, spanning four decades, that a prominent priest was sexually abusing teenage boys, lawyers for victims charged on Monday in a motion for punitive damages in a Chicago court. Included in the motion were more than 65 recently obtained church documents and depositions that, the lawyers said, demonstrated “a reckless disregard for the safety of others in the face of repeated reports of sexual misconduct” on the part of Chicago Jesuit leaders. The former priest, Donald J. McGuire, now 80, was convicted on several counts of sex abuse in state and federal courts in 2006 and 2008, and is serving a 25-year federal sentence. The newly public documents date from the early 1960s, when a concerned Austrian priest, in imperfect English, first observed in a letter to Chicago Jesuits that Father McGuire, newly ordained and studying in Europe, had “much relations with several boys.” The reports extend into the last decade, when Father McGuire reportedly ignored admonitions to stop traveling with young assistants, molesting one as late as 2003, as law enforcement was closing in. The legal motion argues that Father McGuire’s superiors in Chicago turned “a blind eye to his criminal actions.” The current case started with a civil suit brought by six men who say they were victims. Three have since settled with the Jesuits, but three others, identified as John Doe 117, John Doe 118 and John Doe 129, are still pursuing the suit against the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus and Mr. McGuire. Most of the newly released documents were obtained in the discovery process for the suit: letters and memos the church was required to produce from its files, and transcripts of depositions. The motion filed on Monday asks the Cook County Circuit Court to take the unusual step of considering additional, punitive damages, given what the motion says is the evidence of a long trail of credible warnings about the priest’s behavior and ineffective responses by church officials. Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, a victim advocacy group that has long monitored the church’s response to sexual abuse charges, said that the series of warnings given to Jesuit leaders by parents and fellow priests was unusually long and clear. “I have never seen such detailed and frequent notice received by the priest’s superiors, so many ‘directives’ regarding the priest’s future behavior, and so much evidence presented to his superiors that those directives were being violated, without the priest being removed from ministry,” Mr. McKiernan said. His group has posted a history of the case and many of the key documents. Mariah E. Moran, a lawyer for the Chicago Province, said she could not comment on the motion because she had not had a chance to study it, and a spokesman for the province did not respond to requests for comment. In depositions and settlement meetings over the last three years, senior Jesuit officials have said that until recent years they had not heard firm-enough evidence of sexual abuse to justify stronger action against Father McGuire. Last week, the Jesuits’ Oregon Province agreed to pay $166 million to hundreds of victims of sexual abuse, which occurred decades ago at remote Indian boarding schools. The two cases shed rare light on how religious orders have dealt with charges of sexual abuse, as opposed to the Catholic dioceses and bishops at the center of most recent scandals. The Jesuits are the world’s largest Roman Catholic religious order. The motion filed on Monday charges that the church misled prosecutors in 2006, with its lawyers claiming that they had little information about the priest — despite the lengthy record of complaints. The case has been acutely troublesome for the Jesuits, an order known for its scholarship and its elite high schools and universities. Father McGuire was by all accounts a mesmerizing teacher, and after he was barred by some Jesuit schools in the 1960s and 1970s for suspicious behavior, including having students share his bedroom, he went on to became a popular leader of eight-day spiritual retreats around the country and the world. For about two decades, starting in the early 1980s, he was a spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa, who put him in charge of retreats for the nuns in her worldwide order, Missionaries of Charity. Several times each year, in India, the United States, Russia and other countries, he led retreats for the sisters. In these travels he routinely took along a teenage boy as an assistant, saying he needed help administering his diabetes treatment. In complaints voiced by some parents and priests at the time, and in later depositions, those assistants said their duties often included sleeping in the same bed as Father McGuire, showering and reading pornography together, providing intimate massages and watching him masturbate. The Jesuits have their own administrative structure, with a leader in Rome and regional provinces in the United States, although they also operate with permission from local bishops. On his return from Europe in the 1960s, Father McGuire was assigned to live and teach at Loyola Academy, a high school in Wilmette, Ill. Two boys stayed with him in his room for about two years each, where he constantly abused them, according to the 2006 trial. In 1969 the second of those boys, then 15, ran away and described the abuse to his parish priest, who contacted the Jesuit president of the academy. The school responded by removing Father McGuire, but, according to a letter released on Monday, publicly described his departure as a “sabbatical.” In 1991, in another of the many warnings revealed on Monday, the director of a retreat house in California reported to the Chicago Province’s leader that Father McGuire was traveling with a teenage boy from Alaska and sharing a bed with him, and that the boy’s mother had expressed her concern that “her son has in some way changed.” That year, the Chicago Province’s leader, the Rev. Robert A. Wild, imposed the first set of “guidelines” on Father McGuire. In written instructions he said: “I ask that you not travel on any overnight trip with any boy or girl under the age of 18 and preferably even under the age of 21.” But Father McGuire was left to police himself, and Father Wild said in a 2009 deposition that he had regarded the case as “a serious matter” but also “ambiguous.” The province sent Father McGuire in 1993 for a psychiatric examination and six months at a treatment center — but in the week before he was to report for the evaluation, he was allowed to conduct a retreat in Phoenix, where he molested another boy, the documents indicate. As late as 1998, the new documents show, the Chicago provincial wrote a letter of “good standing” for Father McGuire to allow him to minister in a diocese, stating that “there is nothing to our knowledge in his background which would restrict any ministry with minors.” As the reports of abuse accumulated, the Chicago leaders issued one set of restrictions after another on Father McGuire, finally, in 2002, saying he could minister only to nuns in the Chicago region. But none of these directives were enforced, the court motion asserts. Father McGuire was formally removed from the priesthood in February 2008 after a conviction in Wisconsin and after a federal indictment had been issued in Illinois. 
Kamis, 07 April 2011
Biar Anak-Anak dan Yang Lemah Datang Padaku?
Selasa, 29 Maret 2011
Protes Nuklir, 2 Pastor Uzur Dihukum Penjara
Jumat, 25 Maret 2011
Decision Making by St. Ignatius Loyola (Calm Deliberation)
(taken from “What’s Your Decision” by J. Michael Sparough, SJ and Tim Hipskind, SJ - Loyola Press, 2010)
IDENTIFY THE DECISION TO BE MADE
The issue should be practical and real. Your decision should not be a vague idea or intention. It’s decision to do or not to do something. For example, the thought “I really should do something to get out of this dead-end job” is not an issue for a decision. A decision would be, “I am going to stay in marketing and look seriously for a new job,” or “I’m going to do this (go to graduate school, take some courses, start a side business) to prepare for different career.
The decision should be the one that you have the right to make. You can decide seriously pursue marriage, but you cant get married until you and your partner are both in a serious relationship. You can decide to have career in finance, but you cant decide to work for Citibank until Citibank offers you a job.
You must have the information to make an intelligent decision. Decision making often grinds to a halt because we don’t know enough about the alternatives. What salary will the new job pay? What time commitment does the volunteer opportunity really require? Often we must make a decision without all the information we would like to have. If so, we must take uncertainty into account. “am I willing to take on the new job when I really don’t know how much time it will require?”
STATE THE CHOICE CONCRETELY
State the question as a positive choice as concretely as you can. Be specific. Boil it down to two choices if possible. Most choices can be stated in one of two ways: X versus non-X, or X versus Y. the first kind of decision is something like “I will take a course in conversational Spanish this summer.” The second kind of decision is something like “I will stay in my current job, or I will quit and start my own business.” It’s often helpful to state the choice in the way that appeals to you most at this early stage of decision making. If you want to start your own business, pose the issue that way: “I will start my graphic design business by next July or I won’t do that. Don’t be afraid to tell God what you really want.
PRAY FOR INNER FREEDOM
Achieving true freedom is the most important step and the most difficult one. The goal is to be free to choose the alternative that most fully expresses our deepest selves. We’ve reached this degree of freedom when we can sincerely imagine ourselves living with either choice. We want only to do what God wants, which is what we want in our deepest, true self. To get this point of freedom, we must be free of the personal attachments and desires that stand in the way.
GATHER ALL THE NECESSARY INFORMATION
Get all the relevant facts: what? Where? When? How much? Why? Is decision yours to make, or do others have to make decisions too? If others are involved, have they made these decisions? Are important practical details unclear? Consult with everyone that intimately affected by the decisions (spouse, children, friends, colleagues). Listen to what they think, but also make careful note of how they feel. Are they agitated, enthusiastic, happy for you, worried? Discuss the matter in detail with someone who will be honest with you and objective about the situation. Look for a spiritual counselor who knows you well enough to have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses but is not so close to you as to have a personal stake in what you decide. This person should be able to help you focus on the question: what do I really want?
PRAY FOR INNER FREEDOM AGAIN
Pray about the decision again in light of what you have learned so far. Most likely new issues have arisen. The previous step has stirred up some new feelings and desires. Bring them to God in prayer. People find it helpful at this point to pay attention to the emotions that the process has stirred up.
MAKE A LIST
Take a sheet of paper and list all the reasons for and against each alternative
EVALUATE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Ask God for the gift of openness and freedom and then evaluate your list of pros and cons. Go over each reason on the list: reflect on them, pray about them. Be mindful of how they make you feel.
Which reasons seem to be the most important. Starting your own business brings up financial security, time with your children, job satisfaction and family peace. Which one or two of these issues strike you as the most significant? why?
What values emerge? Several advantages and disadvantages may be pointing to the same value. The pros and cons of taking a conversational Spanish course might boil down to a choice between a desire to always be learning something new versus an impulse to be prudent and cautious.
Which core values seem more consistent with your true self. Do you see yourself as a cautious person? A risk taker? Someone who is concerned about the opinions of others? Reflect on these values. What are your motives? Are you truly that kind of person? You may have to spend a lot of this step and repeat earlier steps.
TEST YOUR REASONING WITH YOUR IMAGINATION
You have applied your intellect and reason to the task, and the reasons for preferring one options over the other are lining up. Now, is the time to employ another mental faculty to test these reasons. Use your imagination. Take some time to imagine yourself living out each choice. Imagination is used as a tool to stimulate feelings of consolation and desolation.
MAKE A TENTATIVE DECISION
God has been influencing you through this process. Now is the time to pay attention to your will, your capacity to decide. Your will has probably settled on one of the alternatives before you. If so, make a tentative decision.
CONFIRM THE DECISION
In the ignatian approach to decision making, confirmation of decision usually involves feelings of spiritual consolation. This ste[ completes the integration of the whole person in the process of discernment and decision making.
MAKE YOUR DECISION EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT CERTAIN ABOUT IT
Our thoughts, will and feelings may all tell us that this decision is the right one but there are no guarantees. We don’t control the future. Knowing this, it is not unusual to hesitate at the point of making a final decision. We procrastinate, waiting for certainty. Decide, and trust in God. The decision, important as it is, is but a step on your journey. It’s means to an end, the end is God. If you keep the end in view, all will be well.
JOE PATERNO'S STORY
Joe Paterno became head of football coach at Penn. State University in 1966 and had outstanding success almost immediately. His teams were among the best in the country. They went undefeated in two seasons and won three prestigious bowl games. Paterno was heralded as one of the best college coaches in the country.
In 1972, Paterno received an offer to leave Penn. State University and coach the New England Patriots, a struggling professional team. Paterno, who was paid a salary of $ 35,000, would be paid $ 1.3 million by the Patriots- an unheard-of sum at the time. He would also get an ownership stake in the team. Paterno considered the decision carefully. He made a list of pros and cons. He talked to colleagues and mentors. All the signs pointed toward accepting the offer. The money was very attractive. But it was also a superb career opportunity for a young coach. Paterno accepted the job verbally and made plans to fly Boston to sign the contract. He told his wife, Sue, “Tonight, you get to sleep with a millionaire”
But Joe didn’t get much sleep. He lay awake thinking about his decision. He realized that what he really liked about coaching was working with young men and playing a role in their development as human beings. He saw that professional coaching could never mean what college coaching meant to him. He decided to turn down the job. In the morning he told his wife, “Last night you went bed with a millionaire, but this morning you woke up with me”
Paterno’s decision to leave Penn. State University seemed to make sense, but it was never confirmed. His misgivings did not go away. Instead they increased until Joe could see what he really wanted-not money and glory but the satisfaction of making positive difference in young men’s lives.
Senin, 21 Februari 2011
Selamat Jalan Pater Wisnu......
Siang itu, hampir duapuluh tahun yang lalu, adalah hari pembukaan pendaftaran siswa baru. Saya dan teman-teman sedang duduk-duduk di depan aula seminari sambil mengamati suasana Kolese Gonzaga yang sangat ramai. Kita sungguh menikmati suasana siang itu karena rupanya banyak dari kami yang “menunggu” calon siswa baru untuk mendaftar dan datang. Tiba-tiba dari arah pintu gerbang ada kegaduhan…..semua yang tadinya duduk mulai bangkit dan berdiri mencari tahu ada hiruk pikuk apa di kejauhan. Pelan-pelan terlihat sebuah mobil yang berjalan tersendat akibat dikerumuni siswa Gonzaga…ada yang memukul-mukul badan mobil, ada yang berteriak-teriak sambil tertawa, ada yang menghalang-halangi laju mobil dengan merebahkan diri di atas kap mobil….makin lama makin banyak siswa yang ikut serta. Ternyata di dalam mobil ada seorang calon siswa perempuan beserta ibunya yang hendak mendaftar. Buat mereka berdua, bisa jadi peristiwa ini “mengerikan” dan mengagetkan….mobil mereka dikerubuti anak-anak berambut gondrong dengan tampang yang tidak begitu “bersahabat”…..maklum, Gonzaga waktu itu baru menerima murid perempuan untuk tahun yang ketiga….kita semua yang melihat peristiwa itu terbahak-bahak melihat kekonyolan teman-teman….. Tapi tiba-tiba tawa kami langsung terdiam….Pater Wisnu sudah ada di belakang kami….dan dia terlihat sungguh berang…..Tanpa sepatah kata beliau mengamati yang terjadi…menatap dengan tatapan yang tajam seperti elang yang sedang mencari mangsa…..dan beberapa detik kemudian, seperti seorang petarung yang hendak maju ke gelanggang beliau berjalan dengan langkah kaki yang tegas dan mantap sambil menunjukkan jarinya kepada kerumunan siswa tadi…….Ajaib!..siswa yang melihat Pater Wisnu berjalan ke arah mereka langsung lari tunggang langgang membubarkan dan melarikan diri. Seolah tak mau kehilangan mangsa, Pater Wisnu terus berjalan dan makin kencang…nampaknya beliau sudah tahu siapa yang dituju…..beliau terus mengejar…..plak-plak-plak-plak…beberapa orang terkena tamparan beliau.
Beliau memang keras dan tegas selama menjadi kepala sekolah…gayanya yang seperti tentara atau tukang pukul membuat beliau seringkali ditakuti dan menjadi obyek kebencian para siswa..tak heran kalau banyak siswa Gonzaga waktu itu begitu membencinya, dan bahkan karena kebencian itu, tak jarang kami mendengar isu-isu panas yang dilempar kalangan siswa berkaitan dengan Pater Wisnu. Tapi itu mungkin hanyalah satu sisi Pater Wisnu sebagai pendidik…..hampir duapuluh tahun yang lalu....
Saya masih ingat dulu ketika beliau masih di Katedral Jakarta, setiap kali selesai misa minggu siang, beliau selalu menyapa saya bila bertemu di pintu samping gereja dengan tak lupa mengulurkan tangan. “AWP”…begitu biasa beliau memanggil saya, dan biasanya dilanjutkan dengan sapaan lain menanyakan kabar saya, kabar keluarga, kabar bapak ibu. Beliau memang pribadi yang ramah, yang tidak ragu untuk menyapa orang lebih dulu. Selama saya di dalam Serikat, kesan mendalam akan keramahan Pater Wisnu tidak pernah hilang. Setiap pertemuan Yesuit di Jakarta, ataupun bertemu beliau dimana saja, sapaan hangat itu selalu ada.
Sabtu siang kemarin saya begitu terkejut dan sedih mendengar kabar kepergiannya yang begitu tiba-tiba. Ketika mendapat kepastian dari Pater Riyo bahwa kabar itu benar, dan juga berita selanjutnya bahwa beliau meninggal karena kecelakaan motor, saya berkata dalam hati “Pater, kenapa harus naik motor? Pater sudah tidak muda lagi…..Jogya-Magelang akan lebih nyaman dan aman bila Pater naik mobil saja…57 tahun bukan usia yang muda lagi untuk naik motor…..”
Hari ini Pater akan beristirahat di Getsemani Girisonta….pasti akan saya kunjungi makam Pater di situ bila saya lewat Girisonta nanti suatu waktu. Saya yakin sekarang Pater sudah direngkuh oleh kasih Bapa di surga. Selamat jalan Pater…..Sakit dan lukamu tertabrak truk pasti sudah Dia sembuhkan…tak ada lagi memar, benjolan dan luka-luka di wajahmu.…Selamat bertemu Bapa di surga yang engkau imani...Bunda Maria yang menjadi teladan berimanmu…Santo Ignatius Loyola yang selalu engkau teladani....selamat bertemu Para Kudus dalam Serikat Yesus yang engkau kagumi, bertemu ayahanda yang engkau cintai dan juga selamat bertemu dengan Pater Wibowo, sahabatmu……
Saya hantar Pater dengan doa-doa …semoga beristirahat dalam damai di surga…
Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord,
==========================
Motor Senggol Truk, Satu Meninggal
http://suaramerdeka.com/v1/index.php/read/news/2011/02/20/78404/Motor-Senggol-Truk-Satu-Meninggal
Mungkid, CyberNews. Kecelakaan terjadi antara sepeda motor Kawasaki Skywave dengan truk pengangkut bumbu dapur di ruas jalan raya Magelang-Yogyakarta km 11. Akibat kejadian ini, seorang pengendara sepeda motor tewas seketika.
Korban tewas merupakan Romo Wisnu Murti, 59, seorang pastor kepala Gereja Katolik Santo Antonius Kotabaru, Yogyakarta. Saat itu, korban sedang dalam perjalanan menuju Kota Magelang dengan mengendarai sepeda motor Kawasaki Skywave.
Menurut keterangan yang dikumpulkan di lokasi kejadian, kecelakaan bermula ketika Romo Wisnu Murti hendak mendahului sebuah truk lewat sebelah kiri. Karena jalan yang tersisa sempit, motor yang dikendarai Romo Wisnu menyenggol badan truk.
"Motor tersebut oleng namun terus melaju. Sampai di depan truk sepeda motor itu tidak lagi terkendali hingga ambruk ke samping kiri. Pengendaranya justru ambruk ke sisi kanan sehingga kepalanya terlindas ban truk," kata saksi mata Endro (50).
Menurut Endro sejumlah warga yang melihat kejadian itu langsung memberikan pertolongan. Namun korban sudah tidak bergerak. "Saya kemudian mengambil koran di rumah untuk menutupi tubuh korban sambil menunggu polisi datang,” tutur Endro.
Jenazah Romo Wisnu sendiri kemudian diangkut menggunakan ambulance yang ada di Gedung Muhammadiyah menuju RSUD Muntilan Kabupaten Magelang untuk menjalani otopsi.
Sopir truk dengan nomor polisi W 8262 XA itu kemudian diamankan di pos lalu lantas Palbapang Mungkid. Ia dimintai keterangan oleh polisi tentang kejadian tersebut. Truk berwarna putih yang mengangkut bumbu dapur juga masih ditahan sebagai barang bukti.
Sementara itu, sejumlah anggota Polres Magelang melakukan kegiatan olah TKP. Kegiatan itu memakan waktu sekitar 30 menit hingga menyebabkan kemacetan lalu lintas sekitar satu km di kedua jalur. Hal ini karena separuh ruas jalan tidak bisa dilewati.
Menurut Endro ruas jalan tersebut cukup berbahaya karena sedang dilakukan pelebaran jalan. Kendaraan hanya bisa melalui bagian jalan aspal, karena jalan tanah di sebelahnya masih dikeraskan dengan pecahan batu (krokos).
Selasa, 08 Februari 2011
CHALLENGES AND ISSUES IN JESUIT EDUCATION
Excerpt from The Keynote Address of ARPN Adolfo Nicolas, SJ, Superior General, Society of Jesus on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of Jesuit Education in the Philippines
THE BASIC QUESTION
(9) I think the key to understanding the word “Frontiers” is to return to what the Holy Father said when he addressed us Jesuits during the recent 35th General Congregation. Many of you are very familiar with this wonderful speech, when Pope Benedict XVI said to us, and by extension, to all of you: “The Church needs you, counts on you, and continues to turn to you with confidence, particularly to reach the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach or find it difficult to reach.” (Allocution, No. 2) “The geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach or find it difficult to reach”: these places are our “frontiers.”
(10) As you know well, we in Jesuit education do not have small goals, but an enormous dream: to assist our students to achieve what Fr. Kolvenbach described as “the full growth of the person that leads to action-action, suffused by the spirit and the presence of Jesus Christ, the Man-for-Others.” What are the frontiers we need to “go” to in order to achieve this goal?
(11) As I have said, I do not have all the answers to these questions; and I think the whole point of this congress is for us to search together for these answers. But let me share a few of my own reflections that might stimulate your own reflection. Basically,
I would like to propose two frontiers. They are two of my most important concerns for the Society of Jesus today, which I feel also are concerns for our mission in education.
THE FRONTIER OF DEPTH
(12) The first frontier I would like to propose is the frontier of depth. Depth, for me, is perhaps a better translation of Ignatian Magis. The trouble with translating Magis simply as “More” is that it can too easily be understood as the “More” of a competitive, consumerist culture. If we have more awards, higher rankings, more computers and sports facilities, more faculty members with advanced degrees, then we can too easily fool ourselves into thinking that we are living the Magis. I am not saying that these are not important; they are vital for a good school. But to be a good Jesuit school, they are not enough.
(13) Ignatius was always concerned with depth. You have heard many times, I am sure, his principle of Non multa sed multum, literally, “Not many, but much,” originally one of the annotations in the Spiritual Exercises, but applied often to Ignatian pedagogy as well. One could paraphrase this as “not quantity, but depth”: “what satisfies the soul,” Ignatius says–in other words, what really matters in the business of becoming human and Christian–is not many superficial bits of knowledge and information, but a deep understanding and appreciation of what is most important.
(14) When one looks at the Gospels, we see that Jesus always responded in depth. Look at any healing story: the way Jesus heals the paralyzed man brought in by his friends through the roof; the leper; the woman with the issue of blood. Jesus first responds to a concrete, immediate need: the healing of a sickness. But then he goes on to respond to a deeper need: the burden of guilt or the sense of hopelessness or rejection and isolation. Finally, he goes deeper still and offers what they long for most, often without knowing it: the gift of the Kingdom of God, of friendship with a God of unconditional love, in a way that transforms them at the core of their persons.
(15) What is the depth of the education we provide, and how might we be called to go deeper? Let me offer a few questions that might help explain what I mean.
(16) How deeply do we respond to our students’ needs? If our instruction is good and up-to-date, then we respond to their need for forming and developing their talents. But beyond that are deeper needs. Even the brightest and most talented of our students are struggling. Beyond the normal struggles of youth, many of them struggle with families that are broken, wrestle with problems of isolation and misunderstanding and insecurity deeper than their minds. And how do we respond to their deepest hungers for meaning and purpose, for strength and hope that is the Kingdom of God experienced in their lives?
(17) These days, in the liturgy, we have been reading from the story of Jacob and his struggle with God. His first vision is consoling, promising, full of light: he sees angels ascending and descending on a ladder to heaven. But his last vision is much darker and more mysterious because it is deeper. He wrestles with a stranger, who turns out to be God, and Jacob wins the struggle, but comes out limping, walking a little like Ignatius did. Perhaps this should be the image of what our students turn out to be: not just walking out of our schools straight, tall, completely confident and sure of themselves, but rather, limping, even a little, because they have struggled deeply.
(18) How deeply do we help them see? When you live in Rome, you enter many beautiful churches adorned with glorious images, frescoes, statues, paintings, stained glass windows, and you realize that in an earlier age, these were the images that filled people’s imaginations. They were images that taught people to aspire to a certain model of humanity. But our young people are growing up in a world where the media floods them with other glittering images, on billboards, on websites, on magazine covers and MTV’s. They are images that are filled with promises. They sell dreams that tell them that they become more human when they have the right gadgets and wear the right clothes. What these images do is hide the face of the poor and the suffering, and make them invisible. How can we help them see more deeply, to truly
see the real beyond the virtual, to see beyond these images that make false promises so that they can see the face of the hidden humanity of the poor in a way that moves them to want to serve in compassion?
(19) How deeply do we invite them to think? Our students today, as you know, are flooded with an incredible amount of information that keeps entering our houses, our computers, our lives. The sheer amount of information and the ease with which one can “surf” from one page to another can promote superficiality. How deeply do we help them screen, digest, connect, decide about this flood of data and the accompanying (albeit camouflaged) values that accompany them? There is evidence that the capacity of people for sober understanding and a critical sense have weakened. When I look around and see so much fundamentalism and fanaticism around the world, and the suffering that these escapes from sober thinking have produced, I wonder whether we have to think more creatively of how we can ensure that our students learn how to think deeply?
(20) How deeply do we form their inner persons, their commitments and convictions, their faith and their strength? You are aware of how quickly even a religious culture like that of the Philippines is becoming secularized and pluralistic. All around, our young people are being given more and more choices-not just choices of websites on the Internet, or choices of TV stations on cable TV, or choices of stores in malls, but choices of values and beliefs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that one cannot expect that external structures and traditions alone will support them in the Christian faith, beliefs or values. I have worked with Filipino migrant workers, and I have seen how easily, in a different environment, they have gone over to other groups. As the external supports become weaker, then the inside must become stronger. Depth of knowledge and, even more important, depth of experience, must mature into a depth of conviction that is able to remain peaceful and steadfast even in a confusing and hostile world.
(21) In the end, the test of whether our education is one of depth, is whether we are able to produce people who can “decide from inside”-which is another way of saying, the test of our education as Jesuit education is if we are able to produce people of discernment. More and more, people are making choices, not from the inner realm of faith, conscience, values, truth, but from the seductive voices coming from the outside, of gain, profit, public opinion, convenience and fashion. People are becoming weaker in the habit of finding in the depths of the heart the answers to difficult emerging questions. On the other hand, if one looks at the alumni we are proudest of as products of the Jesuit educational system, I think we will find in them a certain of depth of perception, thinking, commitment, and character, and the habit of deciding from inside.
THE FRONTIER OF UNIVERSALITY
(22) The second frontier I would like to propose is the frontier of universality. You may be aware of a letter I wrote recently on the subject of the universality of our Jesuit vocation, inspired by the spirit of GC 35. Today, I think a challenging frontier for Jesuit education is to be a more universal education in the Ignatian sense of breadth of belonging and wideness of concern and responsibility.
(23) Again, universality translates Magis but in a way that challenges the competitive way we sometimes translate Magis simply as “Excellence.” Of course, we strive for excellence, but sometimes we fall into the trap of measuring excellence only if we see ourselves as better than some other schools run by other religious
groups, or even worse, better than other Jesuit schools!
(24) When I travel around the world, I see the violence and suffering caused by a terrible narrowing of the sense of belonging and competitiveness. It is a paradox of globalization that as technologies allow us to grow in knowledge of those very distant
from us, at the same time, there is greater fear of the Other, the one who is different, who does not belong to my tribe or my race or my caste. Because of their fears, people end up with very small, suffocating worlds, and regard those who do not belong to those tiny kingdoms as insignificant sub-humans, at best, or as threats to be eliminated, at worst. And, I am afraid that if we are not careful, the prestige that attaches to our schools, the fame of the “Jesuit brand” of education may tempt us to make our schools a new but still narrow base for belonging, which we use to distinguish and separate ourselves from others.
(25) But there is nothing of this narrowness of belonging in Ignatius’ vision of life. He was always a man of large vistas: he loved to look at the stars, at the vastness of the sky that reflected the universal, all-embracing love of God. Ignatius’ concern was always the more “universal good”: he always wanted Jesuits to be ready to serve anywhere where there is hope for God’s glory. And he gathered around himself such a diverse group of men, of different languages, cultures, nationalities and personalities, to form a single group of friends in the Lord, who transcended their little differences, in their common dedication to the same universal mission.
(26) GC 35 further heightened this Ignatian universality by pointing out how urgently a more universal perspective, which allows us to see beyond our narrow concerns and to work with others, is needed in our world. The great challenges of the world cannot be responded to by one province, one region alone, or by Jesuits alone. The enormous challenges of the Philippines and Asia, to come nearer to home, cannot be responded to by one school or by one university alone. They require the breadth of vision and spirit that overcomes little sectarianisms so we can work with each other, Jesuits and other co-workers and companions all together in mission.
FRONTIERS OF DEPTH AND UNIVERSALITY FACING UNIVERSITIES
(32) I would now like to address a special word to those involved in higher education who have come to join us this morning. I hope that what I have said earlier about the frontiers of depth and universality is relevant to you too. But I would like to elaborate a bit more on what the frontiers of depth and universality might mean for Jesuit universities.
(33) When he visited the United States, the Holy Father used a very striking image to describe the Church. He said the Church is like a cathedral decorated with stained glass windows. When you are inside the Church, with the light shining through them, the stained glass windows are glorious and beautiful. But if you see them from the outside, they seem dark and unattractive. And the Holy Father said that in today’s world, unfortunately, too many people stay outside and see only the grim and unappealing exterior.
(34) Recently, my Council and I have been reflecting on this present reality of the apparent unattractiveness of the Church in today’s world. It is a very serious problem. I have heard that a recent survey in Britain showed that the majority of the people surveyed felt religion did more harm than good in the world. This is obviously not the same everywhere, but this kind of attitudeis more and more prevalent, in many parts of the world, not just in the West, and it weakens the ability of the Church to gain a listening for the message of life and hope of the Gospel. We have been seeking to understand the causes of this apparent weakening of the credibility of the Church, hoping to see how the Society of Jesus, as servant of the Church, can help.
(35) The causes are complex, and this is not the place to discuss them. But, one thing that emerged very clearly when we discussed this problem from the perspective of various continents is that there are two groups who especially feel this alienation: intellectuals and the youth.
(36) Obviously, these groups are present in our universities. And thus, it seems clear to me that our Universities can play a special role in responding to this present challenge to the Church. And the universities can respond precisely by going more boldly and creatively into the frontiers of depth and universality precisely as universities.
(37) Perhaps I can best explain by referring to some concrete ideas taken from the recent and very rich new encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate.
(38) First, the Holy Father, reflecting on Pope Paul VI’s teaching in Populorum Progressio in the light of our present globalized world of inter-connection, makes this striking statement: “As the society grows ever more globalized, it makes us neighbors but it does not make us brothers.” (CiV, 19). Reason, he says, can grasp “the essential of equality” of people, our disciplines and technologies can help us control our “civic coexistence,” but the felt sense and conviction that others are really my family, my brothers and sisters, for whom I am responsible, can only come with an experience in the heart of God’s fatherly love for all. How deeply do we reach the young people entrusted to us, so that as we give them rigorous intellectual and professional training, we go further and touch them “at the level of the heart,” to use the Holy Father’s words? (CiV, 20)
(39) Second, Pope Benedict quotes Paul VI, who said very truly: “the world is in trouble because of the lack of thinking.” (CiV53). This is one of the convictions of the Holy Father throughout his encyclical: the present world economic crisis and the continued suffering of millions reveals to us that many of our old solutions do not work, and require new solutions based on deeper, more adequate, more creative ways of understanding the many complex realities of human life and the world: business, finance, culture, the role of the State and politics, the environment, the family, migration, international relations and cooperation, human rights and duties, the very meaning of what it means to be human. Here is a clear call to depth: How can our universities, with all the gifted and highly trained intellectuals, teachers and researchers in them, promote still deeper reflection and research into these crucial areas on which the creation of a better future for the world depends?
(40) Finally, in this encyclical in which the Holy Father memorably describes globalization as the explosion of worldwide interdependence,” (CiV 33), it is not surprising that he calls for a similar kind of inter-dependence and cooperation in the search for truth in love. “In view of the complexity of the issues,” he writes, “it is obvious that the various disciplines have to work together through an orderly interdisciplinary exchange. . . in a collaborative effort to serve humanity.” (CiV 30, 31) How can our Jesuit universities-the word “university” itself shares the same root as “universal”-heed this practical call to universality, breaking out of parochial enclaves of disciplines, departments, universities, and even countries to engage in the kind of collaborative work that is a service of the future of our people and our world?
(41) If our universities can deepen formation and intellectual work, and make more truly collaborative and universal our work together, our universities will truly serve the Church’s mission of integral human development, and at the same time, give a convincing witness in today’s secularized world of the presence of the life-giving love and truth at work in the Church.
CONCLUSION: MOVING FORWARD IN HOPE
(42) You have many more talks ahead of you, and I am sure they will present you with many more challenging things to reflect on. In the spirit of non multa sed multum therefore, I shall leave you with these two frontiers which, as I said, are for me, two of the most important frontiers for the whole Society of Jesus in all its life and mission today: depth and universality. I trust that later, you will have time to reflect more deeply on what I have said, to confirm, to correct, to concretize.
(43) Before I end, however, I would like to share with you a little anecdote from the life of Fr. Arrupe. One of his valued possessions, I heard, was a picture given him by the first man who walked in the moon, the astronaut Neil Armstrong. It was a
picture of the earth taken from the moon, and Fr. Arrupe kept it on his desk. It proved a very helpful reminder for him. When he was confronted with a very heavy or demanding problem, he would look at the picture and ask himself: “Where is Italy in that picture? Can I see Rome? Can I see Borgo Santo Spirito 4 (which is the address of the General Curia)?” Of course, he could not see Rome or Borgo Santo Spirito. And he would say to himself: “Well, if I cannot see Borgo Santo Spirito, maybe the problem I’m concerned about here in Borgo Santo Spirito isn’t that big, after all!” And he would be at peace!
(44) It’s a good story, I think, for many of you teachers and administrators when you face what seem like very heavy problems in your work! I hope you remember it, and find comfort in it! The point of the story, however, is not to trivialize problems or pretend they are not real. It is about seeing things from a wider perspective.
(45) More precisely, I think this picture helped Fr. Arrupe see things-our work, our service, the problems and challenges we face-from the truer perspective of God’s infinitely larger point of view. What we do, how we plan and choose, matter a great deal; but something larger-God’s universal plan of bringing life, hope and joy to the world-gives those specific plans and choices their true depth, value and meaning.
(46) In a sense, that is what I have tried to do in my small way with this opening talk. I have not spoken technically as an educator. By reminding you, however, of an education that promotes depth and universality, I have been speaking to you not of general educational goals, but of specific goals of Jesuit education that make it not just a noble humanitarian work, but a service of the Gospel. If we dream of an educational system that teaches people to decide from inside, from the depths of their hearts, and to serve generously not just a tribe, but as broad a slice of humanity as it can, it is because these were the goals of Jesus, and the only reason Jesuit schools exist is to serve humanity according to the vision and the spirit of the Gospel.
(47) Let me put it another way. Recently, during an intensive meeting of the General Council, one of the Councilors pointed out that we were using, over and over again, the same verbs: pianificare, coordinare, organizare: to plan, to coordinate, to organize. These are organizational verbs, very important, necessary for moving ahead. But, that evening, when we celebrated the Eucharist, the Gospel of the day showed Jesus sending out his disciples and the verbs he used were very different: preach the gospel to the poor, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, expel demons, raise the dead. All these were verbs of life, verbs of giving life, which show that the mission of God in Jesus, the business he is about, is making life flow more abundantly for humanity wherever it is lacking or blocked. And the real secret of mission is not to get rid of the organizational verbs or the Gospel verbs, but to somehow make the organizational actions that we have to perform expressions of the life-giving actions of the Gospel. Yes, we plan, coordinate, organize-but only so that we can preach the good news to the poor, heal the sick, liberate the enslaved, raise the dead!
(48) I think it is the same with Jesuit education. We use many verbs in the course of our lives as schools: we prepare lesson plans, practice classroom management, attend department meetings, write papers, evaluate and grade our students. But in reflecting on depth and universality, we are reminding ourselves that all these actions we only do so that we can somehow be instruments of sharing, increasing, enriching life according to God’s plans.
