Christmas 2022 Reflection

Dear Friend,

 

Our recent trip to Rome for our annual Colloquium reminded us in vivid and compelling ways of the importance of the institutions we support, the Gregorian University, the Biblical Institute and the Oriental Institute, and how crucial our funding is. The students especially left a deep impression. Seeing students from all over the world, who bring such a wealth of experience and insight from every race, nation and culture, all working, learning and praying together, united in their dedication to serving Christ in the Church, moved us deeply. We met students from India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Viet Nam, China, Korean, the Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, Slovakia, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Cameroon, Rwanda, Uganda, Congo, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, and Columbia, as well as the United States and Western Europe. Their talent, personal warmth and commitment to bringing the power of the faith and the healing mercy of Christ to their communities gives us hope in the future of the Church and the world.

 

As we listened to their stories, we were overwhelmed by the sacrifices many of them made to come to Rome and study at the Gregorian. Women religious and lay students especially, along with some seminarians and priests from poor dioceses, would not be there without the scholarship help we provide. Even with that, they often struggle financially, crowding into minimal housing, enduring long commutes and skimping on food. It motivated several of us on the trip to increase our efforts to provide the financial support they need and deserve.

 

The institutions do a marvelous job of preparing the students for their future as leaders in the Church. The students consistently cite the availability and care of the faculty. They also appreciate the thoroughness and depth of the education they receive. They do not just memorize facts and doctrines, but are encouraged to think through difficult issues and ask searching questions. And because the faculty are so heavily involved in administrative and advisory positions across the Vatican and other religious institutions, they bring the most important contemporary issues and the best of current scholarship into the classroom, in addition to giving the students a strong grounding in the foundations of the faith.  In addition, we encountered several special programs the Gregorian, the Biblicum and the Orientale offer to equip students to address the most pressing challenges facing the Church. The most significant is the Institute for Anthropology (IADC, formerly known as the Center for Child Protection), which conducts the Catholic Church’s premier program to train administrators, ministers and advocates to create programs to protect children and vulnerable adults. We also heard about programs in Church management and leadership, Judaic Studies, Jewish-Christian and Ecumenical relations, Integral Ecology and Evangelization. Even within the traditional disciplines, such as moral theology, history, Scripture and canon law, students are exploring vital issues such as mass violence, hatred and prejudice, the environment, human rights and the reconstruction of devastated communities. Clearly, they are being well-prepared to go out and make a difference in our  world.

 

In doing so they will be following the shining example of so many graduates who are helping build the more just, open, collaborative and faithful Church Pope Francis envisions. We met a number of alumni who hold highly influential positions in the Church, including the new Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal  Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Luis Ladaria, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Arthur Roche, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and Fr. Robert Geisinger,  SJ, the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice. These are just a few of the thousands of graduates who serve in key positions in the Vatican and in dioceses, seminaries and other institutions throughout the world, including our own country. It is no wonder that the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, told us that maintaining the quality and sustainability of the Gregorian, the Biblicum and the  Orientale are among the highest priorities of the Society of Jesus and that our support is an essential part of that mission.

A wonderful example of the quality of the graduates who are helping shape the Church here in the United States is Fr. Brad Easterbrooks, whose reflection on his experience in Rome and his current ministry can be read here. Shortly after completing his STB at the Gregorian this past June, he was ordained to the priesthood and returned this October for work on a Licentiate in dogmatic theology. Afterwards, he will serve three years in his home Diocese of San Diego before returning to active duty in the Navy.

 

Last year at the Gregorian alone, 505 of their 2849 students received a full or partial scholarship, like Fr Easterbrooks. I hope you will help us this Christmas with a generous gift, as your means allow, to help  fund scholarships as well as other crucial programs at our three institutions. Your gift goes much farther than at most US universities because the cost of attendance at our schools is so low and helps educate  much needed future leaders for our Church all over the world.

 

Be assured that I will remember you at Mass this Christmas. I hope you will keep all our students, alumni  and their service to the Church in your prayers too.

Yours in Christ, 

 

 

 

Rev. Michael C. McFarland SJ 

 

 

PS Please consider making a gift to support scholarships or other crucial needs so that our institutions  can continue to thrive and no deserving student is turned away. Every donation, no matter the size,  contributes to the well-being of the many dedicated students and faculty who labor each day to build a  better Church and society for us all.

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