To the whole society

Media

Part of The Cross

Title: To the whole society
Creator: Arrupe, Pedro
Language: English
Year: 1972
Rights
Fulltext: Knights In Action Manila KCCS LAUDS FINANCE SECRETARY “For a job well done" is precise ly the message of Bro. Oscar Ledes ma, president of the KC Commu nity Services, Inc., on behalf of the Board of Directors, in his letter to Hon. Cesar Virata, Secretary of Finance, congratulating the lat ter for his uncompromising stand against graft and corruption. The following are excerpts of Bro. Le desma’s letter: "The Knights of Columbus Com munity Services Board of Directors have noted with much elation and appreciation your continued cam paign to weed out undesirables from the Department of Finance. The newspapers have carried time and again articles about immoral and unjust personnel of your de partment who have been separated by you from the government ser vice for their betrayal of the trust which the Filipino people had re posed in them. "We hasten to write you in or der to assure you that we are be hind your crusade for upright pub lic service and good and clean gov ernment, to strengthen you in seem ingly moments of despair and frus tration, and to assure you that our services along this crusade are at your beck and call.” Dumaguete City GREEN REVOLUTION PROJECT The Dumaguete Council No. 3938 awarded a resolution to Bro. Brigido Telmo in recognition of his leader ship in promoting the Green Revo lution (Operation Gulay) KC project in Negros Oriental. The award cere mony was held during the "outdoor" regular meeting of the members of the Council at the backyard garden of the recipient. Bro. Telmo has a 700 square meter lot planted to vari ous kinds of vegetables which yields more than enough for home consump tion and for neighbors. The excess of Bro. Telmo’s harvest is sold in the market by his wife. The out door meeting was made livelier by a musical extravaganza and the na tive delicacies made of bananas, ba linghoy, camote, peanuts and pineap ples (all from the garden) served by the hosts (Mr. and Mrs. Telmo). Special Feature: (Letter of Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., General of the Society of Jesus) To The Whole Society On Increasing Our Fidelity to the Person of the Holy Father. Dear Fathers and Brothers, The Peace of Christ! When, during the Synod, I spoke on the question of justice in the world, I said that the public image of the Holy Father has suffered great damage. In saying this, I felt deeply that some of us are partly responsible for this damage. When I reflect on the fact that the true image of the Holy Father needs to be reestablished, a very personal question im mediately comes to my mind—a question in con science: W’hat can I and what can the Society do about this situation? The first thing we have to do is to become aware of our responsibility and of our specific mission in this regard. I refer to the spirit of fidelity to the person of the Holy Father which ought to be firmly ingrained in our mentality. Our times are characterized on the one hand by a greater freedom of ideas, of criticism, and of selfexpression and on the other by a great confusion and disorientation on key points, such as the so-called “demythologization of authority". As a result, the loyalty towards the Holy Father, or at least the way of living it, of some members of the Society has been affected. Defense of Authority Some say that loyalty to the Holy Father implies sincere criticism, a sincerity that includes the public expression of ideas and views that are contrary to those expressed by him. We should in time of prayer put this question to ourselves: are we in our desire to come to the assistance of the Holy Father misled rather into a personal criticism which is conformed to the current popular taste. Criticism of authority,, whether in private conversations or in public, is to day an easy way of attracting attention, while the defense of authority is unpopular and requires cour age. A group of writers recently admitted to me that this was so. It is true that today both the exercise and the ac ceptance of authority are seen in a different light. It is also true, however, that—in order to avoid what today is considered an outdated attitude of exces sively mechanical submission to orders now felt to have been too .autocratic—an opposite extreme is often encountered, characterized by criticism,- con testation, and a priori resistance to any authority whatever. The difficulty thus consists in maintaining the true Ignatian attitude towards authority, which, while it requires obedience, also recognizes and even recommends representation and dialogue and is based on mutual sincerity and respect. In the society, this has to be a supernatural attitude which is informed by the “law of charity". Hence, especially in the case of the Holy Father, following our centuries-long tradition and inspired by the desire to do our apostolic work effectively, we should proceed with that love and respect which we owe to the Vicar of Christ. It is only natural that our tendency should be to share his preoccupations, ac cept his directives, and collaborate in carrying them out; and I am pleased to see that this is in fact the attitude of most Jesuits. Evangelical Humility This does not exclude the possibility of someone Page 2 May-June, 1972 Champion Declaimer. — Roy Layumas, eight-year-old national cham pion declaimer receives a Certificate of Appreciation from GK Osmundo Gaviola. The declamation contest was a project of the K of C, Council No. 4320. Also shown in the picture (I to r) are GK Feliciano Gauzon and GK Sofronio C. Carmona. Angeles City “OPERATION TULONGAN” The members of the K of C, Holy Sepulcher Council No. 4278 rendered medieal and dental services to the re sidents of barrio Sampalungan and Lourdes Sur, this city, recently. The Council’s medical and dental services project is a continuation of its "Op eration Tulongan” series — barrioto-barrio assistance program. Some 500 indigent families were benefited in the ninth series of “Operation Tu longan.” The medical team that went to Sampalungan were Drs. P. Malonzo, N. Tayag, R. Franco, C. Narciso, G. Jose, E. Roxas, F. Tanhueco, B. Dayrit, P. Baula and GK B. Sazon. In barrio Lourdes Sur, the team was composed of Drs. R. Yosuico, R. Fran co, C. Narciso, B. Manalac, Bros. T. Meneses, A. Jose, E. Roxas, P. Lan sang, PGK E. Torres, B. Dayrit, H. Angeles, F. Gonzales, PGK L. Gomez and GK B. Sazon. Oroquieta City ROLLING CLINIC A rolling health clinic has been put up by the members of Oroquieta Coun cil No. 3816 to serve the indigent people of far-flung barrios. The rolling clinic is managed by a medi cal team under the leadership of Dr. Emerico L. Conol. Grand Knight George L. Siton of this Council an nounced that the rolling health cli nic will be a continuing project of the Council. A carton of medicines was received recently from Rev. Francisco G. Tantoco, Jr., KC Na tional Secretary. The medicines were paid out of Council funds for free distribution to indigents, GK Siton said. finding it difficult to accept some particular point or directive and feeling that, precisely in a spirit of true service, it is his duty to express disagreement. In such a case, he should consider the question before God and seek proper advice, so that he may determine whether a "respectful silence” might not actually be the greater service, and at any rate also avoid turning an unconsidered manifestation of dissent into a cause of scandal and confusion for others. It would be good to Keep in mind the fact that constant and disres pectful criticism carries with it, as a “side effect”, the destruction of authority itself—a most harmful and disruptive effect for the work of the Church. The use of pressure through public opinion and per sonal criticism is not an appropriate means to make known one’s ideas or opinions to the Holy Father. If anyone thinks he has the duty to express doubts or reservations on a certain matter, there always are ways and means within the Society to bring his opin ion to the attention of the person responsible, and this includes the Holy Father, in an appropriate and effective manner. In the past few years I have had various personal experiences, which I can well understand that others cannot have, and they bear out this affirmation: the openness, charity, and profound Evangelical humil ity of Pope Paul VI are such, that they make all the more inopportune, unjust, and intolerable the dis respectful way of proceeding of Borne groups, includ ing Catholics, in the world of today. For these reasons I would like us to ask ourselves sincerely before God .and in the depth of our con science : Where do I stand in- thia most delicate is sue? Am I aware, in my way of acting, of^ anything that could have injured or diminished the authority of the Holy Father? What can I do to collaborate with him and what contribution can I make to have the person of the Holy Father and hir. authority properly esteemed and accepted? If I have given in to destructive criticism, could this not be a sign of a deeper underlying fundamental attitude regarding the Church and the faith itself? See with Ignatian Eyes It is not a question of simplistic adulation; I am urging, rather, a stance that is sincere, apostolic, and filial, which would enable us to see with Igna tian eyes what our way of acting in this matter ought to be. This will not stand in the way of true theolo gical and scientific investigation, nor will it make our pastoral work more difficult; on the contrary, it will draw upon us abundant blessings from God. I wish that those especially who direct the various means of communication make an effort to apply all the "Igna tian intelligence” possible to come up with the means best suited to foster that love and respect for the person of the Holy Father that befits the Vicar of Christ. These are my feelings, and I express them sincerely and without hesitation. These are the sentiments that I wish all Jesuits to have. The reason why I wanted to express them is that our love and fidelity towards the Vicar of Christ are basic to our spirituality and to the true identity of the Society. I commend myself to your prayers. Devotedly yours in Christ, (Sgd.) Pedro Arrupe, S.J. General of the Society of Jesus Rome, January 25, 1972 May-June, 1972 Page 3