mission
JESUITS OF THE CALIFORNIA PROVINCE FALL 2004
SOCIAL JUSTICE
HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES—
FATHER GREGORY BOYLE MAKING IT WORK
THE POWER OF FAITH IN HONDURAS
DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE CALIFORNIA PROVINCE
“OUR MISSION IS TO GO ANYWHERE IN THE
WORLD WHERE THERE IS A GREATER HOPE OF
GOD’S GLORY AND THE HELP OF SOULS.”
IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
JESUITS OF THE CALIFORNIA PROVINCE FALL 2004
6
GREATEST NEED, GREATEST GOOD
PHIL SCHERMEISTER
Jesuits have a long history of working to find where they can
do the greatest good. From gold rush days to the heady tech
boom at the end of the last century, The California Province has
worked to serve those who needed their help. Now Jesuits are
working to find new ways to make a difference.
10
FAITH, JUSTICE AND POWER
IN EVERY ISSUE
2
FROM THE PROVINCIAL
On Beginnings
4
PROVINCE NEWS
New novices, first vows,
ordinations, and other
updates from the Jesuits.
22
ON POINT
24
MEDITATIONS
War: When, if ever, can
it be justified?
He’s negotiated for the return of tribal lands, been held hostage
by militia, formed Christian communities, and routinely visited
65 villages on horseback. Now Father Jack Donald, S.J. is involved with a new ministry: bringing electricity to his parish at
Bonito Oriental, Honduras.
12
REDEMPTION THAT WORKS
Deep social unrest in the inner
city of Los Angeles called for a
bold initiative—and a special
person to lead it. When gang
warfare erupted in Los Angeles,
the California Province sent
Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. to
help troubled and at-risk youth
redirect their lives.
Good Endings
MANUELLO PAGANELLI
Fr. Phillip Bourret, S.J. and Mary Wong partner together
on a project. Fr. Bourret recently celebrated his 75 year
Jubilee as a Jesuit.
Chino and Gus working in the office
at Homeboy Industries.
ON THE COVER: Father Gregory Bolye, S.J., in his office at
Homeboy Industries. Photographed by Manuello Paganelli
MISSION FALL 2004 1
from the provincial
ON BEGINNINGS
W
MISSION
EXECUTOR EDITOR
David Crumrine
EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Gail Tyson
William Masterson
Dan Petersen, S.J.
Leo Hombach, S.J.
William O’Neill, S.J.
DESIGN
Zehno Cross Media Communications
Mission is published 4 times a year
by the Jesuits of the California Province,
P.O. Box 68, 300 College Ave,
Los Gatos, CA, 95031-0068
Phone: (408) 884-1630
E-mail: [email protected]
www.calprov.org
©2004 California Province
of the Society of Jesus
All rights reserved.
The comments and opinions expressed
in the Mission magazine are those of
the authors and editors and do not
necessarily reflect official positions of
the California Province Society of Jesus.
2 MISSION FALL 2004
elcome to Mission! For the
Jesuits of the California
Province, our new magazine
represents a new chapter in our service
to the people of God and our partnership with you: our families, associates,
coworkers, and generous benefactors.
Each issue of Mission welcomes you
into the remarkable lives and dynamic
works of Jesuits and their partners in
ministry throughout the world. St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society
of Jesus, encouraged each of us to “find
God in all things.” I believe you will see
the hand of God in the pages that follow.
The first article introduces you to the
Province, chronicles its history, and
reflects on the future of Jesuits and lay
serving together within contemporary
society.
Our cover feature on Homeboy Industries and Father Greg Boyle, shows what
can happen when unconditional love is
used as a means to rehabilitate those on
whom others have given up. Father Jack
Donald in mission bringing light to the
poor in the jungles of Honduras highlights our International Ministries. Father
Bill O’Neill contributes a reflection on
the war in Iraq through the lens of the
Christian tradition of Just War theory.
From the recent ordinations of priests
to the men entering the novitiate, as
well as other milestones of the California
Province, we bring you up to date on
the latest comings and goings. The final
article is a reflection on the lives of the
Jesuits who have died over the past year.
These stories illustrate the difference
your sponsorship makes when you put
your faith and support in the Jesuits. We
invite you to partner with us, to help us
in our Mission. Our world and our work
are “charged with the grandeur of God.”
Those that partner with us will find a
splendid journey of hope, faith, and the
love of God in service to others.
Those of you who have chosen to
make an annual gift amount of $25 or
more will continue to receive the magazine, as our gift to you each quarter. I
invite you now to make a gift using the
envelope provided here,to ensure that
you receive Mission all next year.
In the months to come, Mission will
present many more accounts of Jesuits
and lay persons working together to
make our world a better place. Once
again, welcome to Mission. Know that
you and your needs remain in our
prayers and masses. Thank you for your
prayers, support, and generosity over the
years and in the years to come.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Thomas H. Smolich, S.J.
province news
ORDINATIONS
BISHOP NAMED IN
MANDEVILLE, JAMAICA
Andrew Bobola García, 36, from San
Francisco, has a BA in English Literature from
UCLA. After joining the Jesuits he taught at a
high school in Turin, served in Padua, and in
Rome. While at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley he ministered at San Quentin
Prison. He now serves at Most Holy Trinity
Parish in San Jose.
Lan Ngo, 34, from Dalat, Vietnam, the tenth of
eleven children, taught geometry and theology
at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix. He has a
bachelor’s degree in biology from University
of California San Diego and a Ph.D. from UC
Berkeley in Asian Studies.
Tan Robert Pham, 36, has degrees in mechanical engineering and speech communication
from California State University Fresno. He
spent two years teaching theology and is now
Associate Pastor at Most Holy Trinity.
Dennis Recio, 33, from Manila, Philippines,
has degrees in English and psychology from
University of California Santa Cruz, and Literature and writing from USF. He also taught
English at St. Ignatius College Prep in San
Francisco and Verbum Dei High in Los Angeles.
In Chicago, he served at Genesis House, a
rehab facility for prostitutes.
B
Ordinationed, June 13, at Blessed Sacrament
Church in Los Angeles, (L-R) Fr. Lan Ngo,
Fr. Dennis Recio, Bishop Gabino Zavala,
Fr. Andrew Garcia, Fr. Tan Robert Pham and
Fr. Manh Tran
Manh Tran, 37, from Saigon, Vietnam, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from
St. John’s Seminary College in Los Angeles. He
has worked with abused women and children,
and worked with the mentally handicapped
at a L’Arche. He serves in campus ministry at
Loyola Marymount.
ishop Gordon D. Bennett, S.J., has
been named as the new bishop of
Mandeville, Jamaica. Bennett was
one of 10 active African-American bishops
in the United States. Born in Denver, Bennett was the valedictorian of his class at
Loyola High School in Los Angeles, where
he later served as president. Bennett
entered the Society of Jesus through the
California Province at age 17 and embarked
on a distiguished career as a teacher and
school administrator upon his ordination in
1975.
Bennett’s installation in Jamaica was
postponed by the destruction of the parish
in Mandeville. Nearly every roof was taken
from the church buildings. The California
Province will gratefully accept any gifts
donors would like to earmark for the reconstruction of Bishop Bennett’s parish.
NEWEST JESUITS
EIGHT SECOND-YEAR NOVICES
PROFESSED FIRST VOWS at a ceremony
at Loyola Marymount University in
Los Angeles on August 14, 2004.
Included (L-R): James T. Keane, S.J.,
Joseph M. Frias, S.J., Matthew D. Farley, S.J.,
Thomas Smolich, S.J, Provincial, Hermenegildo
(Jun) V. Potestades, S.J., Robert Fambrini,
S.J., Director of Novices, James N. Hannibal,
S.J., Anthony Sholander, S.J., Assistant for
Formation, Robert W. Stephan, S.J., Wayne R.
Kattner, S.J., Christopher J. Duffy, S.J.
Robert Angelo, 45, was born in El Centro,
grew up in Stockton, and has lived in the
Los Angeles area since. He is a professionally trained organist who has performed in
the U.S. and Europe, including two performances in the Vatican.
Bosco Ho, 30, originally from Hong Kong,
has B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology from California State University, Los
Angeles. He has worked as a research
psychologist at California State University,
Los Angeles.
Oscar Báez, 27, was born and raised in
Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico, where
he was very active in the youth group in his
local parish. Since coming to the U.S. nine
years ago, he has earned a B.A. (honors) in
philosophy from St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo.
Thomas Moulder, 54, originally from South
Bend, Indiana, has a B.A. in psychology from
Pepperdine University. He is a retired U.S.
Naval Reserve Chief Petty Officer. Since
leaving the Navy, he has worked as a mental
health counselor and in the U.S. Attorney’s
office.
Victor Cancino, 21, from San Gabriel, completed his junior year at Loyola Marymount
University. He has been active in his local
parish and served as a research assistant in
LMU’s theology department.
Ike Udoh, 23, originally from Walnut Creek,
has a B.S. in integrative biology from the
University of California, Berkeley. He is a
certified medical assistant and has worked
as an optometric assistant.
Julian Climaco, 29, originally from Cebu
City in the Philippines, has an A.A. in liberal
arts and an A.S. in nursing from Los Angeles
Harbor College. For the past nine years, he
has worked as a registered nurse and occupational health nurse.
WWW.CALPROV.ORG
Province News and more information
MISSION FALL 2004 3
province news
2004
JUBILARIANS
SEVENTY FIVE YEARS IN THE SOCIETY
Philip L. Bourret, September 7, 1929
SEVENTY YEARS IN THE SOCIETY
John J. Brennan, July 30, 1934
Albert Chan, July 30, 1934
SIXTY YEARS IN THE SOCIETY
George K. Aziz, August 14, 1944
The ISN will also launch
Harry T. Olivier, August 14, 1944
a web-based network to
Leonard J. Sullivan, August 14, 1944
promote communication,
John B. Palm, October 31, 1944
social justice education,
FIFTY YEARS IN THE SOCIETY
awareness and action.
Bernard F. Cassidy, August 14, 1954
Ronald C. Clemo, August 14, 1954
William J. Fulco, August 14, 1954
Thomas F. Mccormick, August 14, 1954
Charles R. Olsen, August 14, 1954
Lorenzo J. Palafox, August 14, 1954
Richard A. Robin, August 14, 1954
Robert J. Shinney, August 14, 1954
John A. Coleman, October 7, 1954
SIXTY YEARS IN THE PRIESTHOOD
P. J. Philip Conneally, June 17, 1944
FIFTY YEARS IN THE PRIESTHOOD
Martin L. Brewer, June 12, 1954
J. Ripley Caldwell, June 12, 1954
George T. Dennis, June 12, 1954
John G. Ferguson, June 12, 1954
David Fitch, June 12, 1954
William F. Lester, June 12, 1954
Terrance L. Mahan, June 12, 1954
James R. Menard, June 12, 1954
Michael J. Zimmers, June 12, 1954
WWW.CALPROV.ORG
Province News and more information
4 MISSION FALL 2004
STRENGTH IN SPIRIT
T
he newly-created Ignatian SolidarThe Ignatian Family Teach-In has
ity Network (ISN) provides Jesuit
grown into a weekend-long event that
institutions the opportunity to take
commemorates the martyrs, and looks
a closer look at their mission and what it
into the issue of our military involvement
means to be women and men for others
at home and abroad, as well as other
through one of its programs, the Ignatian
issues of social injustice worldwide. This
Family Teach-In.
year, the Ignatian Family Teach-In will
The Ignatian Family Teach-In began six
take place November 19-21 in Columbus,
years ago as part of the annual protest
Georgia. Speakers from the United States
to close the Western
and other countries will
Hemisphere Institute
be joining an expected
This year, the Ignatian Family
for Security Cooperacrowd of 3,500 stuTeach-In will take place
tion (WHISC), formerly
dents, Jesuits, and
November
19-21
called the School of the
friends.
in Columbus, Georgia.
Americas or SOA.
This fall, the ISN will
The SOA training
also launch a webcamp, housed within
based network to
the Army’s base in Ft. Benning, GA., has
promote communication, social justice
trained Latin American militias on terror
education, awareness and action. The
and torture tactics, leading to some of
purpose is to link together the many exthe worst human rights abuses throughisting social justice and advocacy efforts
out Central and South America. Fifteen
among Jesuit affiliated high schools,
years ago, six Jesuit priests and two lay
universities, parishes, retreat centers, inpartners were martyred in El Salvador by
dependent organizations and lay persons
SOA-trained death squads. Over 10,000
across the nation and make them more
people attended the Ft. Benning SOA
successful. For more information go to:
www.ignationsolidarity.net
WATCH protest last year.
You Can Help
Make A Difference.
Who Will...
Help a teenager find their way out of a world of urban violence?
Fight alongside the less fortunate for their personal dignity and rights?
Build a new life for the less fortunate, here and abroad?
Educate those that value God, ethics and morality?
Bring Faith where it’s needed most, whether a local parish or to a
foreign land in unrest?
Comfort a lonely person dying of disease?
Care for those who have given all to fulfill Christ’s work.
Form our new leaders and instill in them the faith and values
we hold dear?
Jesuits Can. Jesuits Will.
Jesuits are uniquely able and willing, making themselves available to take on
some of the world’s most pressing issues. Putting faith in action, combining
knowledge and ethics, advocating for the poor, weak and marginalized, and
fighting against social injustices; these are the ways that Jesuits respond to the
needs of today’s world to make it better.
To make a difference in the world has led Jesuits along many paths. Jesuits can
be found working in many places; in schools, as scientists and professionals, in
community service organizations, working for the common good. No matter the
path, the goal is the same — to commit one’s life to Ignatian values and make
the world a better place in light of today’s mission.
You can help by making a gift to the Jesuits of the California Province using
the attached envelope. Or, call us at 408-884-1630 to place a gift using your
credit card or to find out about other ways of giving, including planned gifts.
We thank you for your support!
P.O. Box 68, 300 College Avenue • Los Gatos, CA 95031- 0068
Phone: 408-884-1630 • www. calprov.org
MISSION FALL 2004 5
greatest need
greatest
T
he gold rush, like the technology boom
that followed it, inspired throngs to seek
their fortunes in California. Yet century
after century, many boomtown settlers have found
themselves on the margins—destitute and forgotten
by almost everyone. Everyone except the Jesuits.
Photography by Phil Schermiester
“Gold, gold, gold,” wrote Fr. Michael Accolti in 1849. “It’s the watchword of
the day. Go where you will, the people speak of nothing but gold... No one
can hold these people back.”
When gold eluded the forty-niners, however, no social services existed to
prop them up. Fr. Accolti and Fr. John Nobili discovered that the conditions
for many newcomers were desperate. The two priests quickly got busy serving them, bringing tangible support and finding God in the midst of rampant
disease, violence, and lawlessness.
Today Jesuits and lay colleagues continue to serve people on the margins.
The goals that guide us are rooted in our history. From the beginning, our
Province has served the poor, ministered to diverse groups and invented
6 MISSION FALL 2004
Sacred Heart Jesuit Center
in Los Gatos was opened in
1889 as the novitiate where
California Jesuits first entered
the Society of Jesus. It is
now the home of nearly 70
retired Jesuits, as well as the
site of Regis Infirmary.
good
MISSION FALL 2004 7
new ways to bring to them the Good News. Our strategy continues to be clear-cut and bold: Identify the greatest needs and
invest people and resources in ways that leverage them to
greatest good.
DOING THE
GREATEST GOOD
TOGETHER
The Province-sponsored
Convocation 2003 at
FIRST NEEDS. The Gold Rush immigrants that poured into
Loyola Marymount
California included thousands of Chinese fleeing starvation and
unemployment. Just as the Jesuits served refugees, we continue
to help new ones. During the 1990s more than 3.89 million
people immigrated into the California Province from other
countries. More than half came from Latin America and about a
third from Asia, many fleeing hardship or
persecution.
The first Jesuits in California focused on education, particularly for the children of first-generation Americans from Europe
and Asia, and the Native Americans whose lives were radically
altered by the Gold Rush.
Within a few years, our forebears founded what would
become Santa Clara University and the University of San
Francisco, as well as several high schools. So impressive were
their schools that a San Francisco newspaper declared in 1864,
“Today the Jesuits have built the most prosperous and populous
education institutions in California.” Later, they would create
schools in Los Angeles that would become Loyola High and
Loyola Marymount University.
Today, there are three middle schools and five High Schools
within the California Province. In cities where extremes of
affluence and poverty co-exist, two new educational ventures
express our solidarity with the poor. Sacred Heart Nativity
School in San Jose* educates boys in grades 6-8 who have
the ability to do college preparatory work but currently fail to
reach their potential. The Province has also missioned Jesuits
to Verbum Dei High School in South Central Los Angeles,
whose innovative work/study program enables young men to
realize their aspirations.
University brought
together 325 Jesuits and
225 lay colleagues for
four days of prayer, reflection, and discussion
on the nature and scope
of Jesuit-lay partnership.
Rev. Tom Smolich talks with
Jean Anderson West, chair of
the Province’s Mission and
Vision Committee, an outgrowth
of the Convocation.
As a result, the Province adopted these goals to guide
the way it works within communities.
WE’VE COMMITTED OURSELVES:
• To encourage a greater sense of solidarity with the poor
by increasing the opportunities for working with and
serving the poor based on the “faith that does justice”.
• To recognize and adapt Province programs to the
growing racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity
that characterizes the people served by the Province.
• To explore new and innovative ways of bringing the
Good News to an increasingly secularized world.
establishes Nuestra Senora
de los Dolores. More than
20 Jesuits work for nearly
Jesuits arrive in San
Francisco, Archbishop
Joseph Alemany of San Francisco gives
Santa Clara Mission as a foundation for
seventy-five years in
the first institution of higher learning in
Present-day California.
California, Santa Clara University.
St. Ignatius College formed (later
becomes University of San Francisco).
8 MISSION FALL 2004
early 1900’s
Father Eusebio Kino, S.J.
1850’s
1687
Jesuit Milestones in History
Sacred Heart Jesuit
Center in Los Gatos
was opened in 1889 as the
novitiate where California Jesuits
first entered the Society of Jesus.
It is now the home of nearly 70
retired Jesuits, as well as the site
of Regis Infirmary.l.
MOST HOLY TRINITY educates
children in grades K-8. The school
works within an extremely diverse
community. It is attached to one
of the fastest growing parishes in
San Jose, offering mass in English,
Spanish, Vietnamese, and Tagalog.
Pastor Eduardo Samaniego, S.J.
visits some students during
Physical Education.
Alma College established as one of only
two Jesuit theological centers in the United
States operated by the Society of Jesus
(Relocated and renamed Jesuit School
of Theology at Berkeley in 1969). Jesuit
Seminary Association (JSA-1926) and
California Jesuit Missionaries (CJM-1938)
Social
Ministries,
Pacific Institute for Community
Organizations (PICO)
founded in Oakland. Proyecto
today
colleagues sustain the work of our earliest pioneers, serving
where others hesitate to go. Indeed, the vast majority of people
currently working or volunteering in Jesuit ministries are and
will continue to be lay men and women. The Province has
placed a high priority on programs in which Jesuits and lay
partners can work side by side to make a difference it the communities in which they work and live. Animated by Ignatian
Spirituality, we are exploring new frontiers together, finding
God—and opportunities to make the greatest difference — in
the lives of those we serve. In the spirit of two enterprising
Jesuits who led the way, we invite our partners, benefactors,
and friends to help shape the future together. Be on the lookout for more ways you can become involved with the partners
and people of the Jesuits of the California Province.
1970’s-80’s
FUTURE NEEDS. Today, California Province Jesuits and lay
we have widened our scope to include pastoral, social, and
international ministries. The Jesuit Seminary Association,
established to educate and train men to be Jesuit Priests and
Brothers, flourished with the help of benefactors. Today these
donations are more crucial than ever as the requirements-and
costs-of global education increase.
Generous donors also bolstered the California Jesuit
Missionaries, founded to support Jesuit missions, in China,
Philippines, Mexico, South America, and Taiwan. Now their
contributions reinforce the work that local Jesuits do in Asia,
Africa, and Latin America.
1920’s-30’s
GROWING NEEDS. As the California Province evolved,
Jesuits of the California
Province serve in three
universities, six high schools, thirteen
parishes, two retreat centers, and
a wide array of other social and
Pastoral founded in East Los Angeles
pastoral ministries serving primarily
as part of Dolores Mission.
the poor and underserved.
founded in San Francisco to support
Jesuit works.
MISSION FALL 2004 9
10 MISSION FALL 2004
FAITH, HOPE
AND POWER
H
e’s negotiated for the return of tribal lands,
been kidnapped by military forces, formed
Christian communities, and routinely visited
65 villages on horseback. Now Father Jack
Donald, S.J. is involved with a different
PHOTOGRAPH: ANNE KNUDSEN
ministry: bringing electricity to his parish
at Bonito Oriental, Honduras .
BY GAIL TYSON
MISSION FALL 2004 11
INTERNATIONAL MISSION
E
ver since 1938, as American
Jesuits in China and later renamed
California Jesuit Missionaries (CJM),
Jesuits of the California Province have
been serving the poor and less fortunate overseas. Missionaries traveled to
China, Taiwan, Phillipines, South and
Central America, Mexico and Nepal,
building churches, feeding the hungry,
and working alongside the poor to make
their lives better.
This year, The San Francisco offices
of CJM on Stanyan Street were closed
and it’s operations incorporated into
the development offices of the California Province, along with the Jesuit
Seminary Association. The Director of
CJM, Fr. Ted Taheny has watched over
CJM for the past nearly 25 years. His
letters were not only vivid accounts of
what missionaries were doing in their
ministries, they also served to bring in
deperately needed funds for overseas
works. The California Province continues to raise funds in support of overseas
Jesuit ministries of faith, economic and
social justice.
Over the past 65 years, five Jesuits
have served as directors of CJM.
1936-1950 Fr. Pius Moore, S.J.
1950-1954 Fr. John Lipman, S.J.
1954-1964 Fr. William Klement, S.J.
1964-1981 Fr. Edward Murphy, S.J.
1981-2004 Fr. Theodore Taheny, S.J.
Jesuit Missionaries at the Tien Center, China, 1965
12 MISSION FALL 2004
From left to right: Church Senora de Los Milagros, Carbonales. Bonito Oriental; Parishioners at the House
of the Administrators at Centro El Alfarero, Father Jack Donald, S.J., giving the sign of the peace to the
people at Mass
W
hen this California Province
missionary first went to the
Central American country of
Honduras in 1977, he fell in love with
the place. That love has matured as he
has worked to foster faith and human
rights in often-desperate circumstances.
“This work comes from the foundations
of who we are as Jesuits,” says Father
Ted Gabrielli S.J., Provincial Assistant
for Social and International Ministries.
“Jack would probably say he is going
to Honduras not to save souls but to
accompany the people-to move toward
a more just and equitable future for all
in a spiritual, prayerful context.”
Donald began his Honduran ministry
by working with the Hicaque Indians
and banana camp employees. “Since
maybe 150 years ago,” he explains,
“the Indians have had title to 700 acres,
but the cattlemen had stolen all of the
land. I was helping the Indians work
through the government, military, and
legal counsel to recover the land of one
of their tribes. After three years, I was
taken prisoner by the military forces.
The cattlemen had denounced me as
a subversive, but the real reason was
because I was helping the Indians.”
Held for three days, Donald was
finally freed when his brother, James,
rallied protests by bishops, congressmen, even a Swiss human rights group.
The missionary and the tribe succeeded
in their efforts.
“The land [at stake] was covered
under an inalienable treaty made with
the Indians,” recalls Donald. “We got it
back legally, for the first time in Honduran history.”
Over the last part of the century,
Donald witnessed a great migration
to northern Honduras from the south,
where droughts and overpopulation
have forced people to look for other
means of survival.
“When I arrived in the parish I have
now, it was just a jungle with parrots
and monkeys and wild animals,” he
recalls. “It’s a beautiful area but there
is a lot of poverty—95% of the people
are farming virtually for their own
survival.”
The Oscar Romero Parish center,
in the village of Bonito Oriental, lies
between Toquoro and Trujillo, 30
minutes from the ocean. Donald rides
a circuit, serving about 15,000 Catholics
in the two cities and about 65 villages.
“The most rewarding thing is being
able to form a parish of people who
are conscious of their faith and who do
the evangelizing,” says Donald. “When
“The parish is a cohesive group working
PHOTOGRPAHY: MARIO GUTIERREZ
together in the faith and becoming an
influence on society.”
FATHER JACK DONALD
BELIZE
0 km
30
60
Isla de Guanaja
Isla de Roatán
Monkey
River Town
San Antonio
Islas de la Bahía
Punta Corda
“We will dig holes and put poles in
the ground ourselves,” says Donald.
“We’re trying to get the city and the
state electric company to give us some
of the materials. Each family has to pay
for their own installation, but the bulk
of the cost will be covered by contributions through Jesuits or others.”
Meanwhile, challenges continue, including a meteoric rise in drug trafficking, the deterioration of public services
due to increased privatization, and a
PHOTOGRPAHY: MARIO GUTIERREZ
I came they were Catholic in name
only, and maybe a few elderly ladies
went to mass. Now the congregation
is half men, half women and includes
fairly young people. It’s a cohesive
group working together in the faith
and becoming an influence on society.”
One tangible expression of this vitality
is the long-planned electricity project.
The community began it two years ago
and expects to finish by the end of this
year.
Isla de Utila
Cayos
Cochinos
Puerto
Cortés
Tela
Puerto Barrios
GUATEMALA
C
Trujillo
La Ceiba
BONITO ORIENTAL
San Pedro
Sula
El Progreso
Olanchito
L
Santa Rosa
de Copán
a
M
Yoro
Santa
Bárbara
o s
q u
i t i a
Puerto
Lempira
Juticalpa
Nueva
Ocotepeque
Gracias
Siguatepeque
Comayagua
La Esperanza
La Paz
TEGUCIGALPA
Danlí
SAN
SALVADOR
Bonanza
Puert
Cabeza
Yuscarán
San
Vicente
EL SALVADOR
Usulután
San
Miguel
Ocotai
Nacaome
Somoto
NICARAGUA
Choluteca
Esteli
Jinotega
Map of Honduras showing Bonito Oriental
Matagalpa
Chinandega
Chichigalpa
growing number of villages without
teachers. People who, Donald says,
have “no land, no money, no opportunity” surround him.
Nevertheless, he knows that God is
in their midst. Donald sees it when his
celebrants at Mass translate the Word
in Indian languages, when the parish council negotiates with the electric
company, when he baptizes more and
more villagers, and when the people
get involved in a democratic process.
For him, it all combines to form a
vision of what society should be.
“We’re not just creating buildings,”
Father Jack Donald says, “we’re building a community.”
Gail Tyson combines her interest in
spirituality and communications in her
work for congregations and denominational schools.
Father Jack Donald, S.J., with a group of children outside the Church of Feo, Bonito Oriental.
MISSION FALL 2004 13
La Cruz
de Río Grande
NOTHING
STOPS A
BULLET LIKE
A JOB—
HOMEBOY MOTTO
PHOTOGRAPHY: MANUELLO PAGANELLI
14 MISSION FALL 2004
REDEMPTION
THAT WORKS
The most desperate of times call for bold initiatives—and uniquely talented
people to guide them. When gang warfare erupted in Los Angeles in 1988,
the California Province missioned Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. to help at-risk
youth redirect their lives. The results are making news, and a difference,
one homeboy and homegirl at a time. BY GAIL TYSON
T
This is the sound of people recovering what was lost in their lives: the soft
clatter of keyboards, as young men
and women peer intently at computer
screens. The pad of feet as others move
purposefully from office to office. The
shrill peal of the telephone, repeated
like a mantra every minute or two.
It is a typical morning at Homeboy
Industries, and it’s hard to picture these
polite, fresh-faced teens and 20-somethings as former gang members and
prisoners. Yet they have come to this
place after doing their time, hanging
with gangs in the streets, or fearing they
may be the next one killed in the gang
warfare that has claimed so many of
their friends and family. Here former
gang rivals work side by side, recovering their self-respect, a sense of family,
and hope for their futures.
Founded by Father Gregory Boyle,
S.J., Homeboy Industries is the largest
intervention program for at-risk and
gang-impacted youth in Southern
California. It offers a host of services—
and a bridge to a new life. Since 1988
the services have expanded to include
job training, tattoo removal, counseling,
aftercare for newly released probationers,
and four enterprises where young people
can learn job skills and develop a work
ethic. It is a place, Father Boyle says, that
believes in redemption.
Initially, most people come here looking for a job. Many begin by getting jobs
in Homeboy’s own job-training ventures:
silkscreen printing, landscaping, and
cleaning and recycling. The first business,
Homeboy Bakery, was destroyed by fire
in 1999; today several youth work for a
local Glendale bakery. Eventually, Homeboys would like to once again own their
own bakery.
Another enterprise, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise, sells apparel and gear
that bear the Homeboy Industries logo
and its motto—NOTHING STOPS A
BULLET LIKE A JOB—or the slogan:
JOBS NOT JAILS.
MISSION FALL 2004 15
“I’m giving them
more than a job.
They say, ‘You’re
the big brother I
never had.”
RUBEN RODRIGUEZ
16 MISSION FALL 2004
Those seeking a way out of poverty
and violence come to Homeboy Industries’ spotless storefront on First Street in
East L.A. On one summer day, sunshine
pours through the plate-glass windows
into the “Well.” In this squared-off area,
young men and women sit before computers, entering data about applicants
who come from all over Los Angeles
County. The latest job seekers sit in
chairs on the perimeter of the room,
silent and expressionless. Above them
on the walls are photo collages of
young people, laughing and working.
Many of them, a guide named Robert
tells visitors, are now dead.
Thousands of youth have passed
through Homeboy’s doors, but they
can still encounter danger on the way.
At 5:25 a.m. on June 24, 2004, Miguel
Rafael Gomez was gunned down as he
removed graffiti from storefronts. The
Homeboy graffiti removal service was
recently shut down due to the danger
of more retaliatory violence. Several
years ago a gang
member-turned-computer trainee was
fatally shot on his
own street.
Besides the murdered, there are the
everyday tragedies.
Gus, manning the
reception desk,
describes how when
his twin brother
was picked up by
the police, he gave
them Gus’s name. An
officer stopped Gus
on his way to work.
To eliminate him from the inquiry, the
policeman checked Gus’s distinguishing
identifier—a prosthetic leg he wears
after a drive-by shooting so badly damaged his leg that doctors had to amputate.
Behind Gus, ramps on either side
of the Well bear a steady stream of
traffic to two glassed-in offices. In one
of them, Father Boyle admits he is having a bad day.
“In 1988 I buried my first one,” he
says. “This morning I buried my 137th.”
During the late ’80s Father Boyle witnessed an explosion in street violence.
At the time he was pastor of Dolores
Mission Church, around the corner from
where he works today. “The gang reality existed before 1988,” he says, “but
that year something new took its place,
in part caused by the increase in the use
of rock cocaine.”
The unprecedented spread of violent
rivalry turned Los Angeles into the gang
capital of the world. The highest concentration of gang activity in the entire
city was taking place in Boyle’s parish.
Dolores Mission, the poorest congregation in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,
comprised Pico Gardens and Aliso
Village—the largest public housing
developments west of the Mississippi.
From 1988 on, the death toll continued to rise. Meanwhile, the priest
remembers, “As a community we said,
‘What should we do?’”
In response he and the residents
formed Proyecto Pastoral, a community outreach program. They opened
Dolores Mission Alternative School, to
Dr. Luis Moreno has volunteered here for two years.
He is one of many adults who are helping to transform lives through Homeboy, and whose collaboration is essential to this ministry’s success.
provide education for at-risk and ganginvolved youth. Because area employers
would not hire the teens, Boyle paid
them to clean yards, haul trash, and
perform other work.
In 1991 a milestone occurred. Father
Tom Smolich, S.J., [the current Provincial
of the California Province], won prize
money on the television show, Jeopardy.
Those funds helped gang members build
the Dolores Mission Child Care Center
(La Guaderia). That year, Proyecto Pastoral also launched Jobs For A Future,
the program for employment referral,
preparation, and training, and its economic development branch, Homeboy
Industries.
A community of kinship
After years of steady expansion, Homeboy officially became a non-profit organization on July 1, 2001. Today Father
Boyle directs a thriving enterprise that he
also calls “a community of kinship.” Many
of the youth employed here call it their
“familia” (family) or “casa.” (home).
“This is gang intervention as place,”
Boyle says, in describing the ministry.
“Initially it is like rehabilitation—a chance
to recover what is lost from their lives.
The sheer volume tells us there is a huge
need.”
In 2003 Jobs for a Future placed over
523 clients in employment positions—450
with outside employers and the rest in
Homeboy Industries. The Release Program, which provides transitional care
for youth released from probation camps,
currently serves 344: 127 female and
217 males. Homeboy’s two counselors have met with over 175 youth. By
mid-year in 2004, Boyle observes, the
free tattoo removal program had treated
more than 2,000 people, with 1,500
more on the waiting list.
This program eliminates a significant
barrier to employment. It’s also crucial
to the clients’ safety, because gang
related tattoos can provoke attacks by
rival gangs. Each week 60 males and
females stream into the tiny office at
the rear of Homeboy’s headquarters
for the extremely painful procedure.
The removal of just one tattoo requires
numerous laser treatments, which break
up the ink below the surface of the skin
so that the body can reabsorb it. As
patients endure the excruciating pain,
they can look up to a shelf above the
gurney. There, in front of the air purifier, are three ceramic statues: a homeboy and a homegirl flanking Jesus, who
reaches toward them with outstretched
arms.
Healing, managing,
and mentoring
Beneath that homely trinity, Dr. Luis
Moreno works tirelessly. He has volunteered his time here for two years, removing over 2,000 tattoos from patients
ranging in age from 13 to 50. The physician grew up in East L.A., averting close
calls himself with gang predators before
going to Harvard Medical School. He is
one of the many adults who are helping
MISSION FALL 2004 17
Ruben Rodriguez spent
two weeks alone, his only
companion a book by
Anthony de Mello, S.J. One
of the Jesuit’s aphorisms
could have described the
crossroads where Rodriguez
found himself: “A basic
ingredient in the attainment
of freedom: adversity that
brings awareness.”
18 MISSION FALL 2004
transform lives through Homeboy, and
an example of the type of partnership
that is essential to this ministry’s success.
Another example is Ruben Rodriguez.
He and his wife, Cristina, run one of
the most successful Homeboy enterprises, Homeboy Silkscreen, in a factory
district 10 minutes away. Approximately
$750,000 worth of orders for apparel
and gear come through the operation
yearly. In 2003 they delivered over
300,000 items.
The couple owned the shop until
2001, when they were convinced it
could better serve Homeboy Industries
as a nonprofit, and they stayed on to
manage it. “Our family thought we were
crazy to turn our business into a nonprofit,” Rodriguez admits with a smile.
“But I didn’t have a future until I met
Father Greg.”
For Rodriguez, the turning point occurred in 1987 when he bumped into
Father Boyle at 2 a.m.—miserable,
alone, and worried about his bills. The
priest took him in, listened to his problems for over an hour, then wrote him a
check to cover his debts. He asked the
man to come back to see him.
Seventeen years later Rodriguez muses, “That one night helped me create
300 jobs.” That is the number of youth
who have come to Homeboy Silkscreen
to learn a trade and build a new life.
Rodriguez has made that journey, too.
After meeting Father Boyle, Rodriguez
spent—at the priest’s request—two
weeks alone in an unused apartment
over the parish. His only companion
was a book by Anthony de Mello, S.J.,
whose wisdom awed him. One of the
Jesuit’s aphorisms could have described
the crossroads where Rodriguez found
himself—“A basic ingredient in the
attainment of freedom: adversity that
brings awareness.” The experience gave
him the courage to leave the job he
hated and begin working for the L.A.
Parks and Recreation Department. He
also began helping Gregory Boyle.
More than a job—
or a business
“He’s like a Godfather,” says Rodriguez,
laughing, “the kind that says, ‘One day
I’m going to ask you a favor.’” The
request: Would Ruben supervise the 12
kids who worked at Homeboy Bakery?
“I got there and the ceiling was falling in, the oven was half-gone, and the
concrete broken up,” Rodriguez recalls.
“Plus, some of the gang members were
not exactly happy campers. But I started
to work with the kids, and we paved
and tiled the floor, fixed the roof, and
got the bakery up and running.”
Then Rodriguez thought of a way he
could help his mentor even more. After
describing his dream of a silkscreen and
embroidery business, he recalls, “Father
Greg said, ‘Jump on it.’ The first month
we only made $2,000, and the rent
was $1,800. But I really knew this was
going to work. We ended up finishing
the year with overall sales of more than
$350,000.” Now Homeboy Silkscreen
doubles that income every year and
employs 14 workers, seven of them
full-time.
“They tell me I’m giving them more
than a job, and I’m the big brother they
never had,” says Rodriguez. “We’re like
a family, and the job we have to do is
to keep the family going.”
He didn’t always feel like this. When
he owned the business, he felt driven
to make money. “If one of the guys was
late. I’d tell him, ‘If you don’t want to
work, get out.’ Father Greg and I would
bump heads over it. I was forgetting
what was important: A homeboy showing up here was making a big effort.
Finally Father Greg told me, ‘The day
they stop coming is the day they give
up.’” Relinquishing ownership freed
Ruben to change course. “I started
changing my way of thinking and seeing what the person in front of me was
really about,” he says. “Now I make an
honest effort to help that person.”
On these mean streets, a
place of dignity and love.
Back at Homeboy’s headquarters, the
sounds of that effort being made are
loud and layered. In the cubicles up
and down the hall, people are busy
placing workers, interviewing community service workers, and learning about
the classes Homeboy offers in cooking,
computing, photography, and graphic
arts.
Suddenly, the crack of fireworks go
off in a back room. Everyone is immediately quiet, some of the people in
the room hurriedly duck for cover—as
if by instinct. The sound of the room
becomes even more raucous when it’s
found out that it was only a tease of the
sounds they’ve heard so often before.
Adrenaline pumping leads to anger and
shouts by those who were obviously
frightened by the thought of facing one
of their darkest fears.
Later, Father Boyle nods to the
alleged culprit, who waits outside his
office, as one of the employees explains
the extent of the damage. Boyle isn’t
focused on the harm done to a bathroom. “It’s just a symptom,” he sighs,
explaining that the boy’s brother was
murdered last week. Outside these
walls, the city can be stunning in its
bleakness. Gangs have racked up nearly
750 deaths since 2002, and 2004’s count
could exceed the previous year’s.
Staying faithful in the face
of death and violence
It’s hard to stay faithful in the face of
such statistics. To sustain him, Father
Boyle can invoke the spiritual and
mental discipline he developed during
his religious training. Jesuits undergo
the longest formation period of any
religious order. Over 10 to 12 years,
unique prayer and discernment processes help “form” Jesuits for mobile
careers, “availability” they call it. Their
work requires an agile response to new
and unexpected ministries, and the
ability to keep them going in the face of
insurmountable odds.
Boyle exemplifies the kind of qualities the Province expects of Jesuits, as
described by Father Tony Sholander,
S.J., Provincial Assistant for Formation:
“a man who is at home with other cultures, eloquent, bilingual, compassionate, and who has visited at least two
other countries.”
Homeboy’s founder has worked with
Christian Base Communities in Bolivia
and served as chaplain of the Islas
Marias Penal Colony in Mexico. He
wanted to work in this neighborhood
because, he explains, “It is the poorest place we have.” The immigration of
3.89-million people from other countries
into the California Province has created
new opportunities within our borders.
The coincidentally named Boyle Heights
MISSION FALL 2004 19
A LIFE CHANGED
Some people live a lifetime
before they’re 22. Take Miguel
Ramos. His eyes light up as they
meet yours, his handshake firm,
his smile open and easy. As he
tells the story of his life, it is hard
to connect his gentle strength
with the dark, turbulent past he
describes.
“I was eleven when I became
involved with a gang,” he begins.
Of eight uncles, seven were
in gangs. One night a drive-by
shooting killed his two-year-old
cousin as he was riding his bike.
Miguel watched helplessly as his
cousin choked on his blood in his
uncle’s arms.
“It filled me with revenge,” he
says simply. “I wanted to hurt the
people who hurt my family.”
His own hurt quickly spiraled
into self-destruction. By the age
of 12, he was smoking and selling
rock cocaine. At 13, he spent
four months in juvenile hall on an
attempted murder charge. By 14,
Miguel was walking around with
a gun, doing PCP, crack, coke,
and heroine—and facing charges
of kidnapping and carjacking. By
the time he finished elementary
school, he was hanging exclusively with 20- and 30-year-olds.
“Being in a gang meant everything to me,” he says. “I felt on
top of the world, knowing they
were going to back me up all the
way.”
No one else, he says, was paying any attention as he dropped
20 MISSION FALL 2004
out of school, “finding any reason to cause trouble, and putting
my life in the line of fire.”
Then his past caught up with
him. Tried as an adult on the
two-year-old car jacking charge,
Miguel was sentenced to prison
for 11 years.
Before parole seven years
later, he was moved to several
different jails. By the time he
reached his last stop, California
State Prison, he had realized
“God is the only one who can
help me.”
“My faith brought me out [of
prison],” says Miguel. “I remembered how my grandma would
give me a blessing every time I
left the house. It motivated me
to want to do good. The biggest
change came at New Folsom.
It was the worst of the worst,
where people were doing 150
years to triple life, and that’s
where I did my hardest time.
“Right after I arrived, we were
in lockdown in our cells 24/7. I
asked myself, ‘Can I see myself
doing something with my life?’
And I connected with God very
deeply.”
During that time he also
corresponded with Father Teddy
Harder, a Catholic chaplain who
had first visited Miguel in juvenile
hall. When Miguel told Harder he
wanted to change his life, get a
job, and work hard, the chaplain
told the prisoner about Father
Greg Boyle and Homeboy
Industries.
“The day I got out, this [Homeboy’s office] was my first stop
after breakfast,” Miguel says,
smiling at the memory. “Five
hours after my release, I was talking to Father Greg and wondering,
‘Why is he offering me a job?”
Now, more than a year later,
Miguel is motivating others to
do good—speaking to school
groups, helping to orient parolees
in Homeboy’s after-care program,
and giving his five-year-old brother
the attention and guidance Miguel
never received. When asked
what he wants to do long term,
he says, “I’m doing it.” At 22, his
new life is under way.
“I want to change the cycle
in my family,” Miguel says.
“Prison gave me an opening to
[embrace] commitment and
respect. Every day, Homeboy
gives me a reminder.”
They are exactly what
God Had in mind when
God made them.
FATHER GREGORY BOYLE S.J.
area of L.A., which houses Homeboy’s
offices, used to be a first home for many
different ethnic groups: Jews, Mexicans,
Japanese Americans, Russian Molokans, African Americans, and people of
Armenian, Italian, and Chinese descent.
Today largely Latino, the residents
struggle to survive in an environment
earlier immigrants could never have
imagined. “Demons aren’t the problem,”
Father Boyle observes. “Demonizing is.
You’ll never be able to demonize someone you know, and getting to know the
people here gives you a reverence for
the complexity of their lives.”
Coming back from saying funeral
Mass for one of his own, the priest fields
a steady stream of interruptions: meeting
a newcomer (“How about a job, son?”
he asks him), signing checks, promising
to help a pleading caller. On his computer is a quote from Helen Keller: “Life
is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
Daring to trust—and expecting
more of themselves
All around him, young people are daring to trust one another and to expect
more of themselves than their families
or their former gangs ever did. But this
is not a search-and-rescue operation,
and Father Boyle makes clear he is no
one’s savior.
“This is only for those who want it,”
he says. “No amount of me wanting
this guy to have a life will make that
happen. I tell them, ‘We’re here for you
when you’re ready.’”
What makes these “homies” so resilient
comes, in part, from tapping into a dignity they lost touch with a long time ago.
Just after the firecracker explodes, Father
Boyle talks to the young man who allegedly set it off. At first the youth denies
responsibility, and the priest says simply,
“I believe you, son, because I know you
would never lie to me.” Seconds later, the
young man tearfully admits the mistake.
Moments like this, as much as the job
skills and educational opportunities, are
part of the path of recovering belief in
oneself. A painting behind Father Boyle’s
desk testifies to the power of one human being’s belief in another. Depicting
a male figure embracing a child, who
reaches up to him, it says, “Gracias,
Father G-dog”—affectionate street slang
for the man who is a father figure as well
as a Jesuit Father.
What God had in mind
For many of the youth, Homeboy Industries is the first experience of functional
familial relationships. That makes it
challenging to move on. Yet Homeboy
is designed as a place of recovery, not
dependence, one that empowers youth
to develop their talents and follow their
dreams.
Although it can be difficult to leave,
they do go on to work in many fields.
Homeboy alumni include a commercial
printer, an electrician, and a member
of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps,
but their careers run the gamut from
clerical, warehouse, and manufacturing
to film and television.
Whatever they end up doing, Gregory
Boyle would probably say—as he has
about many of these kids—“They are
exactly what God had in mind when
God made them.”
Throughout the California Province,
people are redeeming themselves by
recovering their innate dignity and
hope for the future. In Boyle Heights,
it means that instead of firing guns,
they’re firing their imaginations. One by
one, they are able to reach that point
because people like Gregory Boyle,
Luis Moreno, and Ruben Rodriguez
reach out to them—working hand in
hand with the people of God to make it
happen.
Gail Tyson combines her interest in spirituality and communications in her work
for congregations and denominational
schools. Photography©Manuello Paganelli
MISSION FALL 2004 21
on point
fair inwar
When all is
BY WILLIAM O’NEILL, S.J.
“S
o many in these days have
taken violent steps to gain the things
of this world–war to achieve peace;
coercion to achieve freedom; striving
to gain what slips through the fingers.”
So wrote Dorothy Day, Catholic activist
and forerunner to liberation theology, in
September of 1957. September 11, once
again, has raised the question. How in
a time of terror can we live the Gospel
of Peace? Now, as then, seeking those
things which lead toward peace is a hard
grace.
Scripture scholar John Donahue wrote,
“The way of peace will be that kind and
quality of life which Jesus will embody
in the gospel and the way of discipleship
to which he will summon his followers.”
And strangely enough, it was so even for
those earliest of Christian theologians,
the authors of the theory that has come
to be known as “Just War”.
By the time of Constantine, the Church
of the poor and outcasts had become the
proprietors of an empire; Christian think22 MISSION FALL 2004
ers for the first time addressed the question of using limited violence to preserve
an earthly peace. Pacifism was retained
as an overarching ideal, but largely confined to the monastic and priestly caste.
War was a tragic necessity for Augustine, the consequence–and the remedy–
of fallen nature. The idea of loving one’s
enemy left no exception. Yet the “kindly
harshness” of charity did not exclude
“wars of mercy waged by the good.”
Inspired by the idea of “a severity which
compassion itself dictates,” such a war
of mercy presumed that those inflicting
punishment had “first overcome hate
in their hearts.” Neither Ambrose nor
Augustine permitted violent self-defense;
for only defense of the innocent neighbor could satisfy the stringent claims of
charity.
Even Thomas Aquinas recognized
the imperative accorded nonviolence in
Christian life, posing the question thus
in his Summa “Whether It Is Always
Sinful to Wage War?” Harkening back to
their studies of Aquinas, the Renaissance
Spanish schoolmen Francisco de Vitoria
and Francisco Suarez fashioned the Just
War tradition as we know it today in the
law of nations–law ordained, in Vitoria’s
words, for “the common good of all,” including that of one’s enemies. Violence,
even when believed justified, is thus
always tragic.
“No to war!” John Paul II exclaimed,
“War is not always inevitable. It is always
a defeat for humanity.” For Christians, a
deep resistance to violence makes war
always the exception; indeed, we may
say that the idea of “just war” represents
well reasoned exceptions to the general
tenet of nonviolence.
Codified in international law, just
warfare and fair conduct rules in war
address the question posed by Aquinas:
“Is it always sinful to wage war?” Is
our cause just; our authority legitimate,
and the intention right? That is, do the
reasons justifying our cause explain our
policy of war-making? Is the waging of
war proportionate to the end of restoring right relations; is there a reasonable
hope of success?
Our failure in Iraq thus far to uncover
weapons of mass destruction must raise
grave doubts not only about our vaunted
intelligence gathering, but also our principal legitimizing claims. And since it is
violence that must be justified before the
bar of reason; have all less lethal means
been duly exhausted as the criterion of
last resort? Invoking these moral values, John Paul II and the United States
bishops raised serious questions about
the moral legitimacy of any “preemptive,
unilateral use of military force to overthrow the government of Iraq.”
To Aquinas’ first question of “can a just
war be waged,” there follows a second:
“can it be waged fairly?” Appealing to
the criteria of discrimination (noncombatant immunity) and proportionality,
our bishops warn that “in all our actions
in war, including assessments of whether
‘collateral damage’ is proportionate,
we must value the lives of Iraqi men,
on point
women and children as we would the
lives and livelihood of our own families and our own citizens.” Finally, we
must speak of ensuring a just peace.
The welfare of the most vulnerable Iraqi
and Afghani citizens becomes a moral
imperative.
In our reading of Scripture, we distinguish the spirit from the letter of the law.
So too, we must distinguish the “letter”
of just-war theory from the background
beliefs informing our “moral squint” at
war. Indeed, I believe our talk of preventive war, though couched in just-war
rhetoric, owes much more to the realism of Machiavelli and Hobbes than to
Augustine’s “kindly harshness.”
In the militant rhetoric of Hobbes’s
Leviathan, for instance, there is “no
peace without subjection.” The natural
ority, if not hegemony in our national
security doctrine recalls Clausewitz’
famous dictum, that war is but “a continuation of political discourse by other
means.” As Day noted, the discourse
of violence is finally a self-consuming
artifact: “War to achieve peace; coercion
to achieve freedom; striving to gain what
slips through the fingers.” In John Paul
II’s words, “War is never just another
means that one can choose to employ
for settling differences between nations.”
If tragedy has taught us anything,
perhaps it is to imagine otherwise: in the
words of Dorothy Day (whom Machiavelli would have derided as an unarmed
prophet), “Yes we go on talking about
love. St. Paul writes about it, and there
are Father Zossima’s unforgettable
words in the Brothers Karamazov, ‘Love
in practice is a harsh and
dreadful thing compared to
love in dreams’. What does
the modern world know of
love, with its light touching
of the surface of love? It has
never reached down into the
depths, to the misery and
pain and glory of love which
endures to death and beyond it. We have
not yet begun to learn about love. Now
is the time to begin, to start afresh, to
use this divine weapon.”
For those who seek the way of peace,
rather, “love of enemy admits of no
exceptions,” and those inflicting punishment must “first overcome hate in
their hearts.” A hard lesson, to be sure,
but enmity cannot be a fitting memorial to our grief. The moral repugnance
we feel for the tragedy of September 11
constrains us in our response, lest we
become, however unwittingly, that which
we abhor most.
War is never just another
means that one can choose
to employ for settling
differences between nations.
state is no longer naturally pacifist–it is
aptly called “every man against every
man.” And in that inglorious tract of time
called history, we have but one right,
that of self-defense–the very right Ambrose and Augustine denied.
War thus ceases to be a tragic exception to the “natural” rule of non-violence, justified only by the State’s special
province for the common good. Violent
self-preservation is our natural right, writ
large upon the “artificial person” of the
state. In the Hobbesian world of Realpolitik, “the language and imperatives of
war” become, says Jean Bethke Elshtain,
“a permanent rhetorical condition” belying what Pius XII called a “Christian will
for peace.” “Inter arma silent leges caritatis.” In times of war, the laws of charity
are silent.
The insistent defense of U.S. global
economic, political, and military superi-
William O’Neil, S.J. is a California Province
Jesuit and Associate Professor of Social
Ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology at
Berkeley. His writings include a book on
ethics and hermeneutical theory and
articles on human rights, refugee policy,
and the role of religion in public life.
PRINCIPLES OF THE JUST WAR
• A just war can only be waged as a last
resort. All non-violent options must be
exhausted before the use of force can
be justified.
• A war is just only if it is waged by a
legitimate authority. Even just causes
cannot be served by actions taken
by individuals or groups who do not
constitute an authority sanctioned by
whatever the society and outsiders to
the society deem legitimate.
• A just war can only be fought to
redress a wrong suffered. For example, self-defense against an armed
attack is always considered to be a
just cause (although the justice of
the cause is not sufficient -- see point
#4). Further, a just war can only be
fought with “right” intentions: the only
permissible objective of a just war is
to redress the injury.
• A war can only be just if it is fought
with a reasonable chance of success.
Deaths and injury incurred in a hopeless cause are not morally justifiable.
• The ultimate goal of a just war is to reestablish peace. More specifically, the
peace established after the war must
be preferable to the peace that would
have prevailed if the war had not been
fought.
• The violence used in the war must be
proportional to the injury suffered.
States are prohibited from using force
not necessary to attain the limited
objective of addressing the injury
suffered.
• The weapons used in war must discriminate between combatants and
non-combatants. Civilians are never
permissible targets of war, and every
effort must be taken to avoid killing
civilians. The deaths of civilians are
justified only if they are unavoidable
victims of a deliberate attack on a
military target.
More information can be found online
at www.catholicjustwar.org/doctrine.asp
MISSION FALL 2004 23
LONG BLACK LINE
Jesuits work in many different ways for the Greater Glory of God. Jesuits in the
past were referred to as the “long black line” as they walked in their cassocks.
This picture was taken at Sacred Heart Novitiate circa 1949 at a grotto shine
which survives today at the Jesuit Center where retired priests and brothers reside.
ES ITS
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