The Ignatian Year: Conversion
Michael C. McFarland, SJ

Last month, Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ, the founder and President of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies on Human Dignity & Care at the Gregorian University dedicated to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults (formerly the Center for Child Protection), addressed a group of supporters gathered at the Georgetown Jesuit Community. He talked about the difference between those institutions, including dioceses, that had dealt successfully with the abuse crisis and those who had failed and were still mired in scandal. The successful ones had followed the basic structure of confession. They had done an honest and thorough examination of conscience, confessed their faults, shown genuine sorrow for their failings and pursued some form of reparations to help mitigate the damage done. That allowed them to get past the crisis and move forward. The others, those who had failed, were not willing to look honestly at their own attitudes and behavior that contributed to the crisis. They rather clung to their image of innocence and purity, unable to acknowledge the truth of their human failings. That left them stuck in a status quo that had become untenable.

This is an important lesson for all of us as we close out the Ignatian Year on July 31, the Feast of St. Ignatius. This commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius has called us to our own conversion with the theme “To see all things new in Christ.”

July Alumni Appointments

HE Mons. Giuseppe Andrea Salvatore Baturi, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cagliari (Italy),
to
Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference
 _____
 

Archbishop Philippe Curbelié,
currently Head of Office in the Department for Culture and Education,
to
Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
_____
 

Rev. Marcos José dos Santos,
currently parish priest of Nossa Senhora das Graças in Centenário do Sul-Pr (Brazil),
to
Auxiliary Bishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cascavel (Brazil)
_____
 

HE Msgr. Bruno Valentin,
currently Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Versailles (France),
to
Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne (France)
_____
 

Rev. Don Dario Vitali,
Full Professor of the Faculty of Theology,
to
Consultor of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
_____
 

Dr. Maria Lia Zervino,
President of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations,
to
Member of the Dicastery for Bishops

Mass Cards
available online

The mission of the Gregorian University Foundation is to raise funds that provide financial assistance for the education institutions of the Society of Jesus in Rome, Italy, which includes the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute.