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FAITH FEATURESCAMPUS NEWSWORLD NEWS

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Go set the world aflame!The TORCH

Pakistani Woman Asks for Pope’s

Prayers

PAGE 5

Fr. Beaumier Encourages Leadership

PAGE 3

God, Yoga, & Self-

Discovery

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BOSTON COLLEGE’S CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER ESTABLISHED 2013

Inside this Edition

Continued on Page 4

Last spring, with my graduation only a lit-tle more than a week away, I was still mired in exams and papers. Nevertheless, I was try-ing to carve out time to spend with the people who had mattered most to me over my four years at BC. Each year introduces you to new people, brings you closer to some, and causes you to grow apart from some others. As grad-uation looms, a sense of finality comes to one’s mind that encourages reflection on all of this.

Although I wanted to tell each of these people how much I love them, I was worried that it might sound awkward or be misunderstood in

some way if I was just going around to everyone saying “I love you.” It is not always easy to figure out how to tell someone that you love them. We learn in the First Letter of John that saying those words is not necessarily what love consists in: “My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed, and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Had I loved each of these people “in deed and in truth” and not merely “in word or in tongue”? This was the question that hung in my mind in those final days.

How had I loved them? I could not imme-diately think of anything extraordinary that I had done for them. Then, had I really loved them at all?

Life does not always provide us with op-portunities for acts of love on a grand scale, but to persist in small daily gestures of love is per-haps a greater heroism than one might think. For that love which endures all, keeping on amidst the mundane, despite estrangement, and even in the face of its rejection, is a love that is truly devoted to the other rather than being wrong-

Saying “I Love You”CHRIS CANNIFF

Continued on Page 15

St. Mary’s Renovation Project Nears CompletionSTEPHANIE JOHNSON

On Tuesday, November 18, two editors from The Torch had the opportunity to meet with Thomas Runyon, Boston College Construction Project Manager, to get a sneak peek at St. Mary’s Hall prior to the official re-opening of the build-ing in early December. The major project features both interior and exterior renovation and intro-duces academic space to a building that previ-ously served primarily residential purposes. The

Woods College of Advancing Studies, the Com-munications department, and the Computer Sci-ence department will occupy the academic space.

The Boston College Board of Trust-ees approved the renovation project back in 2012, and work officially started after the Jesuit community moved out on January 9, 2013. St. Mary’s is the second-oldest building on Bos-ton College’s campus and serves as the primary

residence for the university’s Jesuit community. St. Mary’s was built in 1918, under-

went major renovation in 1932, and experi-enced additional minor renovations throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The 1932 project featured a sizeable addition that would allow the university to accommodate more Jesuits.

Runyon led the editors of The Torch through the door on the ground

Volume II, Issue 3

Campus NewsThe TORCH // Volume II, Issue 32

CAMPUS NEWSHolocaust Expert Speaks on Finding Unity Amidst the Broken GlassALESSANDRA LUEDEKING

Over 1,500 people from Jesuit universities, high schools, parish-es, and other Catholic organizations gathered in Washington, D.C. this past weekend to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of six Jesuits and two of their companions in El Salvador, as well as to en-gage in dialogue about how to live out “a faith that does justice.” Stu-dents, pastors, lay activists, religious men and women, and others com-mitted to social justice came together to learn, reflect, network, and advocate at the 10th annual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ).

The theme of this year’s IFTJ was “Uprooting Injustice, Sowing Truth, Witnessing Transformation,” with an emphasis on remembering the Salva-doran martyrs. In a powerful opening reflection, which included naming all eight martyrs, the entire conference prayed, “May their spirit of justice and truth live in our hearts.” The IFTJ col-lectively mourned the injustice of the murders by the Salvadoran army and continuing injustices around our world and in our country today, while also us-ing the anniversary as a catalyst to pro-mote work for justice and peace. Chris Kerr, executive director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, a national network promoting work for justice based on the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, wel-comed delegates from across the coun-try and the world to participate togeth-er as members of the “Ignatian Family.”

Keynote speakers included Dr. Mi-chael Lee, Associate Professor of Sys-tematic Theology at Fordham Univer-sity, Marie Dennis, co-president of Pax Christi International, and Father Ismael Moreno Coto, S.J. (familiarly known as Padre Melo), human rights activist and director of Radio Progreso and E.R.I.C., The Team for Reflec-tion, Research and Communication in his native Honduras. Lee spoke about the example of the University of Central America (UCA), the institution in San Salvador where the six murdered Jesuits lived and worked, as “dedicat-ing itself to a national reality” and being a “university with a center outside itself.” Dennis urged students to realize that their “Jesuit education will help [them] find beauty, courage, and compassion where others only see despair.” She encouraged everyone present to reject worldly measures of success and to “interpret reality from the soup kitchens and broken neighborhoods

and war zones.” Padre Melo spoke of the urgency of the currently volatile situation in Honduras and proclaimed that the United States government has “manos y mentes llenas de sangre inocente,” hands and minds full of innocent blood in its complicity with the militarization of Honduras. He also emphasized that, contrary to popular belief, economic inequalities in Central America are more pronounced now than they were 25 years ago.

Breakout sessions allowed participants to engage more intimately with diverse topics, such as “Peacebuilding in Words, Actions, and Behaviors,” and “Social Justice in 21st-Century Life-Giving Cinema.” Throughout the IFTJ, student speakers also shared their experiences of service immersions, racism and feminism initiatives, criminal rehabilitation efforts, and other

student-driven programs that raise awareness and connect faith to action.

The IFTJ closed on Sunday night with a Mass of remembrance, commu-nity, and reflection on the opportunity to gather together and speak about is-sues pertinent to the world today. Father Brent Otto, S.J., spoke in his breakout session, “Liturgy of Lament: Starting Point for Communal Action for Jus-tice,” of Sunday Mass as “a meal hosted by Jesus for his friends” and that Mass is the place “where we are most authen-tically ourselves.” The Ignatian Family shared an authentic meal, brought to-gether by the animating spirits of Jesus Christ and the ever-present memory of the martyrs, on the exact date that 25 years ago was a day of mourning and

outrage at the atrocities committed by the Salvadoran government. Boston College’s own Fr. Don MacMillan, S.J., joined the IFTJ late Sunday after-noon after spending the weekend at the UCA remembrance in El Salvador and said the IFTJ was mentioned at the UCA as “a spark of hope” for the future of justice and advocacy. Mass was a joyous and spirited affair filled with thanksgiving and prayer for the Ignatian Family and the wider world.

The spirit of the IFTJ continued on Monday morning as delega-tions met with members of Congress to advocate for comprehen-sive immigration reform, environmental justice, and U.S. policy to-ward Central America, taking full advantage of the privileges of democratic government and putting faith into concrete action.

Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice Remembers Martyrs and Reflects on “Uprooting Injustice”LIBBIE STEINER

On Tuesday, November 4, the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning wel-comed Holocaust expert, Alan Rosen, in commemoration of Kristallnacht. Rosen studied in Boston under the tutelage of Holocaust survivor, Elie Wie-sel, and is currently the author or editor of over ten Holocaust-related titles.

Kristallnacht, or the “night of shattered glass,” was a pogrom unleashed by the Nazis which resulted in the desecration of 267 Jewish synagogues throughout Germany and Austria, the decimation of over 5,000 Jewish shops, the death of 91 Jews. Additionally, over 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. The day of its commemoration, November 9, is sig-nificant in the Jewish culture because it is the date accepted as the death of Rachel, the Biblical matriarch who is regarded as the “quintessential one” who could beseech on behalf of the people Israel in their time of need. More importantly, however, the date is noteworthy because it is anchored in the secular calendar, despite it being an event perpetrated against Jews.

The date, Rosen claims, “has this outrageous backdrop of being associ-ated with the enemy, and the enemy’s own claim of trying to get justice for a terribly unjust cause.” November 9 was also the date that the German Kaiser signed the peace treaty ending World War I, as well as the day of Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1938, which served to bolster Nazi popularity nonetheless. The date was “tarnished” and “sullied” by Nazi celebrations

of pride. “It was their holiday! It was their date!” Rosen exclaimed. Yet, he argued that commemorating Kristallnacht on November 9 turns the sor-did association with Nazis inside out. “The ‘turning inside out’ of the date is such that we take the venom of the enemy and transform it into sacred observance in the Jewish calendar.” The positive inversion is further rein-forced because it marks the fall of the Berlin Wall, which occurred in 1989.

However, Rosen makes a distinction between the Jewish date used in re-membrance of the Holocaust and the secular date commemorating Kristall-nacht. Jews observe the Holocaust Memorial Day on Yom HaShoa, the 27th day of the Jewish month, Nissan. “The striking-ness of that date, of it being the date of commemoration, is felt particularly…because it is the only Jewish date that orchestrates governmental activities in the United States,” Rosen pointed out. Indeed, the secular calendar reserves two dates: the commemo-ration of Kristallnacht on November 9, and the Holocaust Remembrance Day in the spring. The spring date is informed by the Jewish calendar, which operates on lunar cycles, which is why it is never on the same day each year. For one day of the year, then, the secular and Jewish calendars are unified.

Rosen concluded with an account of Holocaust survivor, David Matzner, who commented on the tragedy of Kristallnacht: “I have survived to see and to make sure that the synagogue of my family has been rebuilt.”

Photo Courtesy of Lee Pellegrini

Campus News The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 3

LAURA MCLAUGHLIN

Archbishop of Miami Speaks on Catholic Vision of Immigration Reform

On Monday, October 27, Archbishop Wenski of Miami and chairman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development came to Boston Col-lege to speak about immigration reform. Wen-ski is active in the Miami community and both speaks and celebrates mass in Spanish and Creole.

He began with Pope Francis’ message that we must learn to see Jesus in immigrants, as Je-suswas “the migrant of migrants,” moving from Heaven to earth. Wenski emphasized the need to not blame diversity or immigrants for the prob-lems caused by immigration, but rather human failings. He said that although we live in a glo-balized world, Pope Francis’ belief that “global-ization makes us neighbors but not brothers” is very important consider when deciding how to treat our Christian brothers and sisters. Bridging the gap between religion and modern day poli-tics, he pointed out that when Joseph had to move his family to Egypt to escape Herod’s mass killing of infants, he “didn’t worry about getting a visa”.

Wenski said that although the Church recog-nizes the right of a country to declare and protect its borders, it is not right to deny access to peo-ple trying to escape the instability and violence prevalent in their own countries. He compared this act to locking people inside of a burning building they are trying to escape. Also impor-tant to Wenski is allowing families to reunite,

which can take as long as ten years. He explained that strict border enforcement actually causes more illegal immigration as instead of one of the family members leaving the U.S. and know-ing they will be able to return, their whole family will come into the U.S. in order to be reunited.

According to Wenski, any new proposal for immigration reform should include three main components: first, it should feature ways for un-documented immigrants to gain citizenship. This would stabilize families as well as the labor force, and would be a fair way to honor the contribu-tion they make to the country. Second, a pro-posal must provide a legal way for immigrants to work, as this will give them the protection and benefits they deserve. Rather than ‘stealing’ jobs from Americans, immigrant workers ac-tually help to keep agricultural jobs in the U.S.. Rather than create a new “under class” of peo-ple which Wenski compares to that which the Jim Crow laws created, he says that we need to stop exploiting these workers who are often un-der paid and inhumanely treat. Rather than see-ing immigrants as wrong doers, the law should see them as people vulnerable to victimization. Lastly, a proposal must include a way to shorten the waiting time for family unification, as the current system easily separates spouses and chil-dren from their parents for long periods of time.

On the nature of laws, Wenski said that Ameri-

cans have a tradition of honoring law breakers, namely Rosa Parks and civil rights leaders’ acts of civil disobedience, as well as events dating as far back as the Boston Tea Party. Similarly, when asked to comment on the fact that many immi-grants are not interested in becoming citizens but simply want to come to the U.S. for a short time to make money, Wenski pointed out that America is supposed to be a country that rewards risk takers; he modified his previous portrayal of immigrants of victims to say that some are in fact, quite en-trepreneurial and independent as they cannot rely on benefits. However, they can easily be exploited as workers when they are here, so in essence, “they don’t come as victims but they can be victimized”.

Recently, Archbishop Wenski spoke to Rep-resentative John Boehner after a Mass was cel-ebrated on the border, with communion passed through the fence. The mass had an effect on Boehner, which is one example of how the Church can be an active force in immigration reform. However, despite the urgency of the issue, mul-tiple immigration reform bills in Washington have not passed because of partisan politics. Wen-ski concluded by provocatively asking to whom Americans would listen; “Bill O’Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Glenn Beck? Or do we listen to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?”

Fr. Casey Beaumier, a beloved Jesuit at Boston College, presented a talk on leadership in the Je-suit tradition Tuesday, November 11, in Devlin Hall. Warmly welcoming the dozen or so stu-dents who attended, Fr. Casey introduced himself and expressed his desire for the talk to be an in-teractive discussion with the students. He assert-ed that anticipation and influence are two impor-tant and distinctively Jesuit aspects of leadership.

By anticipation, Fr. Casey referred to leaders who are able to anticipate needs of others before they have been articulated. In order to develop this skill, leaders must reflect and come to know humanity. Fr. Casey acknowledged the leadership style of Jesus Christ, who was able to be a leader to all people – sinners, tax collectors, and prosti-tutes. Jesus was able to meet people where they were and did preliminary work to anticipate what people’s needs would be before he met with them.

Fr. Casey emphasized a strategy for Jesuit lead-ership: Enter into other people’s doors so that they can come out ours. Like Jesus, we must be able to meet people where they are in order to be good leaders. We must be willing to en-ter into another’s door. We can’t be afraid of anyone because of who they are, where they’ve been, where they’re going, or what they rep-resent. We need to be open to all of humanity.

This acceptance of humanity is taught to us through our Jesuit education at Bos-ton College. Exposure to literature, philoso-phy, history, and more, from a variety of dif-ferent cultures, opens our eyes to more than ourselves. Only by entering into other people’s

doors, can we lead them to something greater. Next, Fr. Casey turned his attention to the idea

of servant leadership, another important aspect of Boston College education that helps students be-come men and women for others. Father Casey defined servant leadership as being other-cen-tered, as overcoming oneself in order to be pres-ent for other people. The paradox of this outlook is that the more a person gives away his or her leadership, the more than person rises up as a leader. This idea ties closely to the Christian be-lief that the more a person gives to God, the more he or she will receive from and be blessed by God.

Fr. Casey told the story of a beggar who is asked by a king what he can contribute. The beg-gar gives the king three grains of rice. The king returns to the beggar the same three grains of rice covered in gold. The beggar realizes that if he had given more, he would have received more.

In our culture, it can be hard to give ourselves away; it can be hard to be humble. Father Casey provided three distinctively Jesuit suggestions to help us in this journey to be good leaders.

The first is mentorship. College is a crucial time in spiritual development and it is highly important to have a spiritual mother or father, a conversation partner, with whom one can be completely vul-nerable. This person should be outside one’s nor-mal circle of friends. This should be a person with whom to discuss visions, successes, and failures. Through this conversation partner, the capacity for leadership emerges. Fr. Casey spoke candidly of his mentor when he was in college. He was able to open up to this spiritual father, and their

relationship allowed him to grow into the person he has become. Only after sharing this story did Father Casey reveal that his mentor is none other than Fr. Leahy, the president of Boston College.

The second recommendation is availability. Fr. Casey noted that BC students are strivers, over-extenders, willing to throw themselves into any-thing and everything. This leaves them very little time for reflection on their activities. According to Fr. Casey, if there is no reflection on what these activities cultivate in the heart and mind, they are for naught. Availability was defined in the talk as carving out time to not be programmed, to not be scheduled. Fr. Casey asked the follow-ing question that left the students silent: If you have a desire or a need, do you make time for it?

The third proposal is self-care. Fr. Casey ex-plained that the person is the temple of the spirit, and as such, should be cared for. Fr. Casey delineat-ed five specific areas for care: spiritual, intellectual, physical, social, and aesthetic. He said aesthetic is the most neglected pillar of our temple. He asked the students: “Have you noticed that Fall is go-ing on right now…Have you seen the ocean?” He expressed that we need to take time to appreciate the beauty of the world around us and that when we live near the ocean, it is not right for us to only see it when we are flying into and out of Logan.

Fr. Casey said he loves to spend his life. “I would rather burn out than rust out,” he said. If we were to die tomorrow, would we like the way we spent our lives?

Fr. Casey Beaumier Encourages Leadership in the Jesuit TraditionTARA WENGRONOWITZ

Campus NewsThe TORCH // Volume II, Issue 34

St. Mary’s Renovation Project Nears CompletionSTEPHANIE JOHNSON

floor of the south wing of the building. This new door will serve as the building’s main door and provides access to the academic space.

The ground floor of St. Mary’s is home to office space and a recep-tion area for the Woods College, a ten-car parking garage, utilities, and a large kitchen. The dining area, rector’s office, a smaller kitchen, recreation room, reception area, conference room, and the main chapel can be found on the first floor of the building. The features of this floor are similar to the features of the floor prior to renovation; however, the layout has changed slightly. For example, the large confer-ence room that was previously located next to the chapel has been relocated to the front of the building. The Jesuit com-munity can also access their enclosed courtyard from this floor. Runyon told The Torch that the courtyard is awaiting the arrival of a fountain that is current-ly being sculpted in Italy. The academic area of the second, third, and fourth floors is devoted to the Computer Sci-ence and Communications departments.

The residential area of the build-ing experienced drastic changes. Prior to renovation, the residential area fea-tured eighty rooms for Jesuit priests. The newly renovated living quarters are much smaller due to the incorpora-tion of academic space, and there are now only thirty-three bedrooms. Jesu-its will occupy thirty of the bedrooms, while the other three will be designated for guest use only. Approximately forty or forty-five Jesuits have been residing in 2000 Commonwealth Av-enue for the duration of the renovation project. The residential area in St. Mary’s is too small to house all of the Jesuits that were relocated, so some community members will be placed in other houses around cam-pus such as Roberts House and 30 Old Colony Road while others will move to the Jesuit retirement facility at Campion Center in Weston, MA.

The main chapel renovations mostly involved cleaning, polishing, and refurbishing. The chapel will also be air-conditioned, a feature that was lack-ing before. In addition to the main chapel on the second floor, the building also features two smaller chapels, which are incorporated into the residential area.

When asked if the team experienced any major setbacks, Run-yon informed The Torch that they experienced a great deal of surpris-es due to the age of the building. Despite the numerous surprises they have managed to keep the costs within the original projected budget.

In addition to major layout renovations, restorations involved a great deal of refurbishing of existing wood, windows, and plaster. The reno-vation also introduced air-conditioning to the building. In order to incorpo-rate air-conditioning, a large hole had to be cut into the roof of the building. The hole inhabits a space that previ-ously contained many of the supportive steel beams for the building. Reinforc-ing support for the building proved to be a major challenge for the project team.

One of the biggest components of the renovation project concerns the cast stone found on the exterior of the build-ing. Runyon told The Torch that the re-furbishing of the St. Mary’s cast stone is the largest project ever of its type in the country. By comparison, the refurbish-ing of Gasson Hall’s cast stone involved

approximately 6,800 pieces, while St. Mary’s Hall had 15,000 pieces that needed to be refurbished. Each piece was sent to Canada to be refurbished.

The building is currently undergoing inspection, and the plan is to start moving the Jesuit community back into the building in early December. The first Mass to be celebrated in the chapel following the re-opening will be on Monday, December 8—the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Cont’d from Page 1

Colorado Bishops Refute Claims about Personhood AmendmentKATIE DANIELS

WORLD NEWS

In an October 23rd press release, Colorado’s three bishops refuted the or-ganization Catholic’s for Choice’s campaign against a proposed ballot mea-sure, Amendment 67. In a brief statement released by the Colorado Catho-lic Conference, which represents Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver, Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs, and Bishop Stephen J. Berg of Pueblo, the bishops stated that Catholic’s for Choice’s claims were “rid-dled with inaccurate facts and statistics” and “must be corrected, since it misrepresents the truth and what the Church believes and teaches.”

The bishops clarified that Catholic’s for Choice does not speak for the Catholic Church, observing that the group “only chooses those findings that agree with their dissent from Church teaching” and “[assumes] that the Church in Colo-rado supports Amendment 67, when in fact it has maintained a neutral stance.”

In their statewide media campaign in opposition to Amendment 67, Catholic’s for Choice claimed that 14% of Catholics believe that abortion is morally wrong and that 99% of Catholic women use birth control. The bishops cited “well-established research” from the Pew Research Center that finds “over half of American Catholics believe that abortion is mor-ally wrong.” The bishops also quoted the Washington Post’s fact checker Glenn Kesler, who has written that “The journalistic shorthand has been that ‘98 percent of American Catholic women have used contracep-tion in their lifetimes.’ But that is incorrect, according to the research.”

Catholic’s for Choice also claimed that the Colorado bishops’ stance on abortion is “anathema to our Catholic traditions.” “Nothing could be further

than the truth,” the Colorado Catholic Conference asserted. “Colorado’s bishops, like all Catholic bishops for 2,000 years, have steadfastly proclaimed that respect for all human life at every stage is foundational to the Catholic faith. Abortion from the earliest tradition of the Church has been immoral.”

“It is our hope that one day Catholic’s for Choice will take the time to ac-quaint themselves with basic Church teachings, and acknowledge the truth of the Catholic faith, and choose not to undermine her teachings with false and inaccurate information and ads that only work to mislead the public.”

Amendment 67, or the Colorado Definition of Person and Child Initiative, was a proposed ballot measure that would have included unborn human be-ings in the definition of a person in the Colorado criminal code. Personhood Colorado, the group behind the initiative, gathered over 140,000 signatures in support of putting the measure on the ballot. The required threshold is 86,105.

Amendment 67 has also been nicknamed “The Brady Project” after a drunk driver hit Heather Surovik’s car and killed her unborn son, Brady, a month before his due date. The driver was found guilty of vehicular as-sault, but was not prosecuted for the baby’s death. Catholic’s for Choice has campaigned against the measure on the grounds that including un-born human beings in the definition of a person in the state criminal code could lead to restrictions on abortion and certain forms of birth control.

The initiative did not pass in the November 4th midterm elections, with 35% of voters voting for and 64% voting against Amendment 67.

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 5World News

Pakistani Woman Sentenced to Death Asks for Pope’s Prayers

After being sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010, Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi is now ask-ing for the prayers of Pope Francis and Chris-tians worldwide, as her appeal was dismissed by the Lahore High Court earlier this month.

Bibi is accused of allegedly making derog-atory comments against Mohommad in an argu-ment with a Muslim woman over a cup of water. Bibi denies the charges, and her lawyers are planning to appeal the decision to Pakistani Supreme Court as soon as possible.

According to Nasir Saeed, di-rector of the Centre for Legal Aide Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), a Christian organiza-tion that works to support per-secuted Pakistani Christians, says that courts have a reputation for persecuting minorities sim-ply because of their reputation.

Saeed says “While the rest of the world condemns such draco-nian laws, Pakistan continues to persecute its minorities simply because of their religion.”

A Pakistani Christian youth, who spoke to EWTN concurred with this, saying Christians like himself “are treated (like) third class citi-

zens, and to settle their personal agendas and litigations the accusation of blasphemy is an easy way to settle personal revenge and grudges.”

This prejudice was evident in the court-room as well, when “around 25” mul-lahs came to the hearing “to apply pressure and push for the sentence…to be upheld.”

“It is not surprising that the judges were swayed by pressure from local influential Muslims, but I had

hoped that justice would prevail and that the case would be judged based on its merits” said Saeed.

Catholic leaders both in Pakistan and at the Vatican have spoken out against the persecution of Bibi for her religion.

In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI called for Bibi to be granted “complete freedom … as soon as possible;” after the allegation was upheld in high court earlier this month, Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad-Rawalpindi called the decision “heartbreaking.”

Bibi is now reaching out directly to the Vati-can—no longer simply for support, but for prayers for her life. “Pope Francis,” she wrote, “I know you are praying for me with all your heart. I know that

thanks to your prayer, I could be set free. In the name of the Almighty Father and his glory, I thank you

for your support in this moment of suffering and disappointment.”

She says that in this time of dis-tress, her faith is the only hope she has left. “I am holding tightly onto my Christian faith and trust that God my Father will defend me and give

me back my freedom,” Bibi said in her letter. “I also trust in you, Holy Father Francis, and in your prayers.”

As her case enters the Pakistani Supreme Court, Bibi hopes that she may still be grant-ed freedom through the prayers of Pope Fran-cis, and Christians throughout the world, however unlikely that may seem at this point.

ANNALISE DEAL

JAY CHIN

Vatican Reorganizes Abbey of Montecassino

After more than a year without an abbot, Pope Francis appointed Donato Ogliari as Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Montecassino. Along with this installment, the Pope announced that a large amount of this territorial abbey would become part of the local Diocese of So-ra-Aquino-Pontecorvo, under the overview of Bishop Gerardo Anton-azzo. This diocese will grow about 50% in size, both in terms of territory and members, and will be renamed Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo.

The Abbey of Montecassino is the mother abbey of the Order of St. Benedict, built by the founder himself in the 6th century. The Abbey has enjoyed the status of territorial abbey since at least the 8th century when the surrounding lands were donated to it. Because of its position on a hilltop and its proximity to Rome, it has been subject to numerous attacks through-out history, the most famous being the Battle of Montecassino that took place during World War II. (This battle completely decimated the mon-astery and afterward it had to be rebuilt.) Pope Paul VI wrote the Motu proprio “Catholica Ecclesia” in 1976, stating that territorial monasteries would no longer be established and that those extant would be reorganized with other ecclesial territories as is needed. The reasoning for this Motu proprio stems from a Hierarchy’s concern that the monastic community would not be able to faithfully live out its charism it if had a vast num-ber of faithful and parishes to attend pastorally. All 53 parishes, 37 priests, and 50 women religious will no longer be under the territorial abbey,

leaving it with its religious community, under the direction of the Abbot. The Diocese of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo was erected in the 3rd

century as the Diocese of Sora. In the early 19th century, under Pope Pius VII, two territories were united to it, now under the name of the Diocese of Aquino, Sora, e Pontecorvo. In 1896, the name was “short-ened” to Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo. Before the recently added parishes, the diocese oversaw the operations of 91 parishes and 151,000 Catholics.

Before being transferred to Montecassino, Abbot Donato Ogliari was Abbot of Santa Maria della Scala monastery since 2006. He was professed as a member of the Consolata Missionaries in 1978 at the age of 21. He was ordained a priest four years later. His final profession came in 1992. His predecessor, Abbot Pietro Vitorelli, only one year older than Abbot Ogliari, resigned in 2013 after little more than five years as Abbot due to his failing health, Pope Francis accepting his resignation is conformity with Canon 401.2 of the Code of Canon Law, which states that “A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.”

Bishop Antonazzo, appointed bishop in January of 2013, greeted the new members of his diocese, saying “To the entire di-ocesan community of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo I ex-tend my cordial greetings and I entrust my deep trepidation of soul,”

“She says that in this time of distress, her faith is the only hope she has left”

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 World News6

Millions Celebrate First Feast of St. John Paul II

On October 22, Catholics celebrated newly canonized Saint John Paul II’s first feast day. The event drew a large crowd to his shrine in Washington D.C. where the rosary was said and then a documentary on his visits to North America over the years was shown before the Mass in commemo-ration of St. John Paul II was said. The shrine is home to a blood stained piece of the garment St. John Paul II was wear-ing during the 1981 attempted assas-sination. The now permanent exhibit, “A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II” drew large crowds and features artifacts, interactive displays, and facts about St. John Paul II’s spiritual, intel-lectual, and political impact. It is a place of pilgrimage where people can come to learn about the Saint and grow in their faith through knowledge of his example. It was created with the purpose of be-ing a response to his and Pope Francis’ calls for a “new evangelization”, a place to experience a genuine encounter with God and see how His work was car-ried out by the Saint. It was designated a national shrine earlier this year by the United Conference of Catholic Bishops. The shrine was filled with everyone from young people to the elderly, from D.C. inhabitants to Polish pilgrims, from lay people and sisters, priests, and brothers. He was Pope for 26 years, but an impor-tant figure even before that as a Bishop of Krakow under the communist regime.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a special guest in the celebration, comment-ing St. John Paul II’s life, said, “He traveled; he wrote; he acted; he spoke of great themes and challenges; he confronted; he inspired us to seek God and

holiness; he uplifted; he led the Church and humanity in prayer. Ultimately, he was a sign of faithful clarity in a troubled time and a steadfast beacon of hope.” The impact of this message was seen in the number of people cel-ebrating the feast day there, and the enthusiasm with which people report-

edly partook in the celebrations. Various Catholic schools and institutions have now been named in his honor. Those inspired by the Saint spoke about their encounters with him, such as Edyth Tri-ana, whose son the Saint baptized. She told of when St. John Paul II celebrated Mass in her hometown in Mexico, and how she and her husband identified with him. Now, October 22 will be their son’s “spiritual birthday.” Polish American Fa-ther Kazimierz Chwalek recounted how the Saint inspired him to listen to his call to the priesthood because of the way he “made himself available to people.”

Pope Saint John Paul II will forever live in the minds of people around the world as the outspoken, holy Pope, who kissed the ground of every country he visited, wrote extensively about faith and its role in the modern world, and made influenced individual people in their faith as well as large scale political move-ments like the Solidarity movement which contributed greatly to the demise of the communist regime in Poland. His 26 years as Pope saw the collapse of Communism in all but five countries, a

renewed interest in the Church among the young, and a growing concern for the moral health of nations. For anyone under the age of 36, he was their first Pope and the most monolithic image of Catholicism in the twentieth century.

The conflict between Gaza and Israel con-tinues despite a recent cease-fire. In what has come to be known as “auto intifada”, Palestin-ians are killing Jewish citizens in Israel using their motor vehicles. So far, the attacks have re-sulted in four deaths including the death of a three-month-old. The attacks come less than two months after Israel and Palestine agreed to a long-term cease-fire following devastating bombings in the Gaza strip set off by the murder of a Palestinian teenager by Jewish extremists.

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as confrontations at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif compound continue. The com-pound, which is considered by Jews to be the ho-liest site in Jerusalem and by Muslims as one of the holiest sites in Islam, has been shrouded in violence and has prompted these vehicular at-tacks. Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group cur-rently in control of Gaza, quickly took respon-

sibility stating, “Hamas blesses the action. What is happening in Jerusalem is helping us prepare for war” and calling the driver who carried out the attacks and was killed by police, “a martyr”. The most recent attack was carried out on No-vember 5 by a Palestinian man who ran over a group of civilians, killing one police officer and injuring 13 people. The attacks incited more vio-lence and sparked rioting in Arab neighborhoods.

Roadblocks have been put in place in flashpoint Palestinian neighborhoods, reinforcement police have been placed at key sites, and concrete bar-ricades have begun to be built along the 24-stops along Jerusalem’s railway. These confrontations come in the midst of increasing violence at the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif compound. Jewish extremist groups’ publicized plans to visit the compound were viewed as an act of aggres-sion by Palestinian Muslims and resulted in a clash between police and protesting Palestin-

ians at the compound that saw 39 Palestinians injured. Although Jews are permitted to visit the compound, they are forbidden from praying for fear that it might incite more violence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last week that Israel plans to keep the rule in place.

Joseph Jules Zerey, a Melkite-Greek Catholic Archbishop decried the increasing violence, “It is terrible not only here, but in Iraq and Syria, it’s ter-rible to see all of this suffering. We have not been created to kill each other this way. We are acting like savages, even the animals are better than us.”

In the past 5 months, nine people, includ-ing four perpetrators of the attacks, have been killed. Archbishop Zerey has called for the gov-ernment and civilians to work together towards building peace, regardless of religious convic-tions, stating, “I have to respect him, respect his human rights, but also to help the other, whatever he is, to live in his human dignity.”

SOFIA INFANTE

Gaza-Israel Conflict Continues With a Wave of Vehicular Attacks

LAURA MCLAUGHLIN

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 7World News

USCCB Picks Delegation for Synod on the Family

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has elected its delegation for next year’s Synod on the Fam-ily during their annual meeting in Baltimore last week.

The Church in the US will be represented by: Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, president of the USCCB; Daniel Cardinal DiNardo of Galves-ton-Houston, the vice president of the USCCB; Archbishop Charles Cha-put of Philadelphia, who will host the 2015 World Meeting of Families; and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, the highest-ranking Hispanic bishop in the country and the leader of the US’s largest Catholic diocese.

The Conference also elected two alternatives, Archbishop Blase Cupich, who was in-stalled as Archbishop of Chi-cago yesterday, and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who heads the US Bishops’ Defense and Promo-tion of Marriage Subcommittee.

The names of the chosen del-egates will be sent to the Vati-can for final approval. The final-ized list will participate in the Synod of the Family that will be held next October in Rome. The Synod is the follow-up of the one that just concluded this October and will be responsible for producing the fi-nal and authoritative document regarding the Church’s stance on issues of marriage and the family. Pope Francis has requested bishops to dis-cuss the themes of the Synod before reconvening at the Vatican in 2015.

In addition to the four delegates, Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York and Archbishop Donald Cardinal Wuerl of Washington serve on the

body that will plan the Synod and will likely also be in attendance next October.The summary of the debate at the recent session of the Synod on the

Family made for a small earthquake within the Church, when the unof-ficial English translation of the document seemed to be at odds with some elements of Church teaching. This gave rise to speculations in both lib-eral and conservative circuits, ultimately to be quelled by sources pointing

to the discrepancies in translation between the official Italian docu-

ment and the various translations which the Vatican had intended to be merely a guide to the media but which were mistakenly taken as the final word on the matter. The 2015 session will give the members a chance to express their views on the points mentioned in the summary document and any relevant discus-sions that the delegates may have with their brother-bishops or mem-bers of the flock and will ultimately decide the group in charge of draft-ing the final document, the Church’s authoritative word on the matter.

Especially notable among the group of delegates is Archbishop

Chaput, who will be hosting the World Meeting of Families in Phil-

adelphia next September. The event is expected to host about one million participants from all around the world and will likely bring Pope Fran-cis to the US. The World Meeting of Families is an event held every three years and sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family. The theme for the Philadelphia gathering in 2015 is “Love is our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.” The message of the Meeting will likely be some-thing the USCCB is expecting Archbishop Chaput to bring to the Synod.

GJERGJI EVANGJELI

International, Interreligious Colloquium in Rome Examines Meaning of Marriage and Complementarity

From November 17-19, leaders and scholars from around the world are gathering in Rome to examine the meaning of marriage and family life and its role in society. Entitled, The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An In-ternational Colloquium, the gathering is sponsored by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and co-sponsored by the Pontifical Councils for the Family, for Interreligious Dialogue, and for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

The colloquium takes on the name, “Humanum,” which re-fers to the complementarity of man and woman that gives life to all of humanity. The official website for the colloquium, humanum.it, says, “It is hoped that the colloquium be a catalyst for creative language and projects, as well as for global solidarity, in the work

of strengthening the nuptial relationship, both for the good of the spouses themselves and for the good of all who depend upon them.”

The colloquium features 30 speakers from 23 countries and 14 reli-gious traditions. Pope Francis delivered the opening address on Monday. He compared the crisis of the family in today’s society as an ecological crisis, endangered as are natural environments, and likewise, in need of protection. He also directly impressed upon the participants the neces-sity of the colloquium’s objectives in the interest of young people today.

“I urge you to bear in mind especially the young people, who rep-resent our future,” Pope Francis said. “Commit yourselves, so that our youth do not give themselves over to the poisonous environ-ment of the temporary, but rather be revolutionaries with the cour-age to seek true and lasting love, going against the common pattern.”

The Holy Father’s address and full-length video recordings of all the speakers are available on the Humanum website. The collo-quium is also producing a series of six videos, each reflecting one of the colloquium’s main themes, including “A Hidden Sweetness: The Power of Marriage Amidst Hardship”, “The Destiny of Human-ity: On the Meaning of Marriage”, and “The Cradle of Life and Love.”

In looking at the topic of the unity of man and woman, speakers also ex-amined how we think of the individual person as well. Dr. Tomás Melendo, a professor of Metaphysics at the University of Málaga in Spain, highlight-ed the way in which society often applies quantitative terms to persons. “I prefer to employ qualitative terms. Each person isn’t more or less or equal to, because we’re not quantities,” Dr. Melendo said. “Each one is unique.”

In the second video, “The Cradle of Life and Love,” Theresa Okafor, the di-rector of the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage in Nigeria, calls atten-tion to marriage as being at the core of society. “Marriage gives rise to a family,” she says, “and the family is the first human society, which we can say is the cra-dle of love and life. Marriage is important because it leads to social cohesion.”

Ultimately, the interreligious, international colloquium seeks to re-new and reinvigorate the meaning of marriage and family life in the in-terest of the well being of society. However, as Pope Francis said in his address to the colloquium, “’complementarity’ does not roll lightly off the tongue!” Nevertheless, despite the difficulty of the topic, as both Pope Francis and the Colloquium emphasize, “Complementarity be-comes a great wealth. It is not just a good thing but it is also beautiful.”

MARGARET ANTONIO

“The 2015 session will give the members a chance to express their views on the points mentioned in the summary document and any relevant discussions that the delegates

may have with their brother-bishops or members of the flock and will ultimately decide the group in charge of drafting the final document, the Church’s authoritative

word on the matter.”

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 38

Editor-in-ChiefNatalie Yuhas

Editor-in-Chief EmeritusChristopher Canniff

Executive Editor/ Business ManagerStephanie Johnson

Executive EditorEthan Mack

Senior Staff ColumnistsMargo Borders

Katie Rich

Campus News StaffMargaret Antonio

Alessandra LuedekingLaura McLaughlin

Libbie SteinerTara Wengronowitz

World News StaffGjergji Evangjeli, Editor

Alexander CervoneJay Chin

Annalise DealSofia Infante

Website EditorKevin Gleason

Layout EditorAlexandrea Ramnarine

CartoonistAndrew Craig

The Torch is a Catholic student newspaper produced by members of the Boston College community that reports on Catholic news both on campus and in broader society and that probes the vast riches of the Church’s intellectual tradition. Tak-ing seriously the values to which Boston College is committed as a Catholic uni-versity, The Torch desires an active and healthy exchange of ideas. Moreover, its

chief end is to be a tool for the new evangelization, spreading faith in Jesus Christ as a source of conversion and new life.

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The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3Catholic Television 9

CATHOLIC TELEVISIONNatalie Yuhas & Chris Canniff

Represent The Torch on Catholic TVOCTOBER 24, 2014

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 Catholicism 10110

CHRIS CANNIFF

History: Johannes Bapst, SJ

CATHOLICISM 101

Ecumenism: A Brotherly DisputeGJERGJI EVANGJELI

Johannes Bapst was born in Switzerland a few days before Christ-mas in 1815. At the age of 20, he entered the Jesuit novitiate, and af-ter eleven years of formation, he was ordained a priest on New Year’s Eve in 1846. Two years later, he was missioned to the United States. His assignment took him to Old Town, Maine, which is thirteen miles north of Bangor. At the time, the Vatican still officially classified the United States as mission territory, and it was Fr. Bapst who was sent to minister to the few Catholics who lived scattered across that re-gion and to evangelize the Native American communities there as well.

Living in this predominantly Protestant and pagan social setting, Fr. Bapst had his work cut out for him. Nearly thirty-five miles south in the town of Ellsworth, issues arose for Catholic students who were being forced to use a Protestant translation of the Bible in their public school. Fr. Bapst advocated on behalf of these Catholic students who, on the grounds of their religious liberty, had a right to use a Catholic Bible translation. When the school board responded to Fr. Bapst’s plea by expelling the Catholic stu-dents, Fr. Bapst sued the school district. The town committee then passed a resolution banishing him from Ellsworth on threat of severe punishment.

On the night of October 14, 1854, Fr. Bapst did return to Ellsworth to minister to the Catholics there in defiance of the town’s resolution against him, members of the local Know Nothing Party, an anti-Catholic political party prominent in 19th-century America, enacted a medieval punishment against the priest. Fr. Bapst was tarred and feathered and subsequently run

out of town on a rail. When he bravely returned to the town the follow-ing Sunday to celebrate Mass, several of his parishioners gathered around the chapel with pitchforks to protect Fr. Bapst from further retaliation.

Protestant citizens of Bangor repudiated the actions of the people in Ells-worth, and one democratic politician took Fr. Bapst into his house and vowed to defend him with his life. As far away as New York City, non-Catholics spoke out against the Know Nothing movement’s violent actions against the Jesuit.

The remainder of Fr. Bapst’s time in Maine was peace-ful, and he oversaw the building of the first Catho-lic Church in Bangor. After three years, he was sent to Boston.

Fr. Bapst was named the first president of Boston College when the school opened in 1863. Located on Harrison Avenue in Boston’s South End, the school served boys from age 11 until roughly 18. After six years running Boston College, Bapst was promoted and served as the Superior for Jesuits in Canada and New York. Following a brief time living in Rhode Island, he moved to Maryland where he passed away at the age of 71.

After BC had relocated to Chestnut Hill in the early 20th century, several gothic buildings were constructed on the new campus. The li-brary, built in stages over a period of years, opened in 1928 and was the fourth building on the campus. It was named in honor of Bos-ton College’s first president, the Swiss Jesuit missionary who brought the sacraments to the People of God even at great cost to himself.

On November 30, Pope Francis will be attending Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of St. George in Istanbul on the occasion of the Feast of Saint An-drew the Apostle, which will be presided over by Patriarch Bartholomew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Every year, the Vatican sends a delegation to the Feast, St. Andrew being the founder of the See of Constantinople, the First See in the Eastern Church, which is usually reciprocated with a delegation sent to the Vatican for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. It has been a very long time, however, since the Pope has been present at the Cathedral in Istanbul for the Feast of St. Andrew (likely, the last time that happened the city was named Constantinople and the cathe-dral was Hagia Sofia). It had also been a very long time since the Patriarch of Constantinople has been present at the Pope’s installation Mass, until it happened when Pope Francis was installed. Most of all, for far too long, exchanges between these two heads of the kind witnessed on March 20, 2013, where the Pontiff called the Patriarch “my brother Andrew” and the Patriarch responded by calling him, “my big brother Peter” have been far too scarce. Now, how-ever, all these things have either happened or will happen very soon. Times are chang-ing and they are changing for the better.

Perhaps the biggest irony of the sepa-ration between the Eastern and Western Churches is the fact that Sts. Peter and An-drew were brothers. The Schism in 1054 was not the first time Rome and Constantinople had been at odds and, like the pre-vious times, everyone expected that the divide would be quickly overcome. Sadly, due to factors not altogether theological, the 1054 split has lasted for close to a millennium. Sadly, 2054 is approaching fast, and East and West remain divided. In this context, reading John 17:20-23 is especially painful. “… that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Jn. 17:23)

The twentieth century has, likely correctly, been regarded as the worst century in human history. Today, the world lives in the wake of two hor-rendous world wars, the brutality of various communist regimes, and the decline of faith. All these things have left deep and horrific wounds on both the East and the West, wounds which we thought would heal with time, but which we now can see desperately need to be treated by a phy-sician. Negligence, complacency, and emptiness—the trademark of post-

modern thought—is quickly seeping into culture, both in the East and in the West, as the world races to become a place rife with what Nietzsche called “the last man.” The twenty-first century and those who live during it are tasked with redressing the vast darkness of the twentieth century.

But who can break this darkness? This darkness is not merely human. Sure, its physical agents were and are humans, but this darkness comes from hell. Who can be so powerful as to stand up to it? Only One, the One who already conquered hell. There is only One Physician that can heal our festering wounds. For this purpose, all those who love Christ must unite under one banner and show a completely united front against evil.

During the first three centuries, the Church of Christ suffered sporadic but brutal persecutions, and for a very good reason. The Roman dream was to extend Rome outward, to create a Roman world, but conquests before and after AD 33 did not get the Romans even close to fulfilling their dream.

A single event in Jerusalem in AD 33, transcended anything that the Romans could have ever even hoped for. St. Paul changed the popular slogan Caesar kyri-os to Christos kyrios, a move that had as much political as theological profundity. Where the might of Rome failed, the meekness of Christ succeeded; it created, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” (1 Ptr. 2:9) a new, distinct, and supernatural nation

with Her supernatural ruler. The Church on earth is the mark of that nation. In contemplating why it was that, by AD 313, 10% of the Roman Empire turned Christian (with the rest to follow shortly), the fact that the Roman dream was fulfilled and transcended by Christ is as good a reason as any.

Today more than ever, the Christian East and the Christian West need to reclaim that victory. Today more than ever East and West need to come together and, reunited as brothers, strive to put an end to the physical and spiritual destruction that is rampant in the East and in the West alike. The healing of the fracture between East and West would be a significant sign to our fallen and bruised world. It would be the realiza-tion of the sincere hopes of many Orthodox and Catholic believers and it would be a sign to all concerned that the Church of Christ, despite some supposedly enlightened thinkers telling us otherwise, is thriving today as She always has and will continue to thrive until the ending of the world.

“Perhaps the biggest irony of the separation between the Eastern and Western Churches is the fact that Sts. Peter

and Andrew were brothers.”

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 11Catholicism 101

Faith in Action: Boston College Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds simple, decent, and affordable houses for people in need. Through volunteers and donations, Habitat for Humanity is able to provide these new houses and also repair houses for low-income families on a local, national, and global level. They have 1,500 local affiliates in the United States and 70 national organizations.

The mission of Habitat for Humanity states: “We undertake our work to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all, and that we must be ‘hands and feet’ of that love and grace in our world.”

Boston College has an official Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter and strives to advance the mission of being Jesus’ hands and feet on earth through 4 different goals: to volunteer, to advocate, to educate, and to fundraise. The group builds simple, decent, and affordable houses around the Greater Boston area, as well as advocates for people experiencing homelessness and people who do not have access to affordable housing. On campus, the group seeks to educate the Boston College community on Habitat for Humanity’s mission and ministries, which align BC’s Jesuit identity of being “men and women for others.” Along with advocating, the Boston College chapter of Habitat for Hu-

manity works to raise money for their building projects. Without donations and volunteers, Habitat for Humanity would be unable to do their great work.

Past events Boston College Habitat for Humani-ty has done include group builds, Ultimate Frisbee tourna-ments, and participating in the annual Act Speak Build Week.

If you are interested in volunteering for BC Habitat foe Humanity or would like further information, please visit: http://www.bc.edu/offices/ministry/socialjustice/BCChapter_HabitatForHumanity.html or stop by

Campus Ministry.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity, please visit http://www.habitat.org.

NATALIE YUHAS

MICHAEL O’CONNELL

Cornerstone: The Last Things

Death is an inevitable phenomenon that is very much a part of us whether we like it or not. One day, sooner or later, will be the last we spend in physical form on this earth. To many this is sadden-ing, so it is overlooked. Some may even go through their lives com-pletely ignoring any thoughts of death. Death may invoke a sense of uneasiness, but this is no way to approach the reality of such a thing.

Catholic teaching speaks of the last things: death, judgment, and heav-en or hell. From a Catholic perspective, death does not signal the end for us, but only the beginning. The theological virtue of hope is ultimate-ly the defining factor when we are facing death and what comes after.

The fear of death still haunts the general population of the Catholic Church, as well as other Christians. This fear of not knowing tends to be brushed aside. We become caught up in our daily lives and try not to think about this. Going to class, laboring over homework, planning for our future jobs, and every other pressing issue in our lives can distract us from think-

ing about why we are really here. We may be the children of God, but this is sometimes difficult to accept with all of the stress that goes into our daily lives. Even in weekly Mass, the concept of death tends to be overlooked, but the question remains: how do we not fear death and what may come after?

By living a virtuous life under the guidance and direction of God, our savior Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear. While our end in this world may seem like the last stop on our journey, just know that Jesus will be waiting for us at the gates of heaven. Although we are so easily distracted by other things in our lives, as well as tempted by sin, it is never too late to connect with God. Our final judgment rests upon how we live our lives on earth, so if we live to the best of our ability with God in mind, we should not fear death. Those who do not think about the concept of death will be much more scared when that day comes, but those who accept it as something that is greater than us should not fear it. Be not afraid of death, because it is only the beginning, the beginning of the rest of your life. You may leave your body behind, but your spirit shall live on if you let God into your heart.

Andrew Craig, 2014

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 312 Extras

CATHOLIC CROSSWORD

Faith Features Book Recommendations

Chris Canniff // Nobel Prize Acceptance SpeechWilliam Faulkner

Natalie Yuhas // A Farewell to ArmsErnest Hemingway

Margo Borders // Brideshead RevisitedEvelyn Waugh

Ethan Mack // The Things They CarriedTim O’Brien

Katie Rich // Rediscover CatholicismMatthew Kelly

Mark Hertenstein // Epistle to the RomansKarl Barth

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 13Faith Features

FAITH FEATURES

“We need others physically, emotionally, intellectually; we need them if we are to know anything, even ourselves.” CS Lewis

The time had finally come: a Friday afternoon after an incredibly long and stressful week. Actually, it was a Friday afternoon after a string of incred-ibly long and stressful weeks. Everyone told me that junior year would be tough, but I didn’t think that I would constantly be feeling like I’m drown-ing. So when I finally had the opportunity to breathe this Friday afternoon, I took it. I had felt out of sorts for weeks, and I couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. Maybe I just needed to get a change of scenery. Maybe it was just being homesick and I needed to be reminded of how lucky I am to be going to school in such a great city. I hopped on the T after my last class and planned on walking around my favorite spots in Boston just to clear my head. However, for what-ever reason, the bustling Common, scenic Newbury Street, and not even the familiar shelves of my favor-ite bookstores could cure my blues. I came back that afternoon feeling almost worse than when I had left.

I couldn’t figure out why I felt so crummy. I had done everything I wanted to do, and usually taking time to do things by myself is exactly what I need after a long week. I’m an independent person, and I like being alone; it’s my version of hitting the re-charge button. I wrote it off as being in a rut and con-tinued chugging through my work. It took me until a

few weeks later when I decided to eat with some friends I hadn’t seen much of that semester, instead of sticking to my usual routine of quickly grabbing dinner to go before homework, that I realized what I was missing. Although dinner was nothing special, the laughs and stories we shared were exactly what I needed and I walked away finally feeling recharged and like the un-easiness had lifted. I realized that because I have been so focused on school and other extra curricular obligations this semester, all I was ever doing

anymore was spending time alone. I was block-ing everyone else out in order to feel like I was staying afloat, and it was making me miserable.

Because I like being independent, I tend to push people away whenever I start feeling stressed or something starts going wrong in my life. I can deal with it on my own. I don’t want to drag someone else into my problems. However, CS Lewis said that, “We need others physically, emotionally, in-tellectually; we need them if we are to know any-thing, even ourselves.” We were created to be social beings and rely on one another. After all, where would Jesus be without his apostles? We can draw incredible strength from being around people who love us; it brings out the best in us. “As iron shapes iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). I am so grateful to have the friends that I have, both at home and at Boston College and for the numerous ways they continue to help me grow.

Strength in Numbers NATALIE YUHAS

Friday afternoon found me padding across the wooden floor of the Plex multi-purpose room on uncertain bare feet, unrolling a borrowed yoga mat in the back corner by the door. Maybe I unconsciously want-ed an easy getaway in case I embarrassed myself. I certainly didn’t want to be anywhere near the mirrors that cover the entire wall of the opposite side of the room. For once in my life I was early, and I sat cross-legged in the middle of my mat and waited, watching the room fill up around me.

My beautiful roommate stood at the front of the room, pulling on her ponytail and chatting with a few girls in Love Your Body T-shirts. This yoga session was spon-sored by the Women’s Center as part of their Love Your Body Week campaign, and my roommate, a recently-cer-tified and Plex-employed yoga instructor, was leading it.

She was nervous, and increasingly so as the room filled with more and more people. I was there for mor-al support, and as I sat in my t-shirt and running pants, trying to remember the last time I even stretched, I be-came more and more anxious as well. The girls around me looked like pros. They had the lululemon uniform. They had the mats (my pitiful maroon one had PLEX stamped across it). As they waited, they contorted them-selves into positions that seemed laughably impossible.

The next hour passed much more smoothly than I had anticipated. Only a few times did I have to duck my head to hide a smirk as I lost my balance, or just felt remarkably incapable. When the blood rushed to my head in Downward-Facing Dog and I heard my room-mate say, “We’ll stay here in this resting position for a few moments,” I bit back a laugh as I thought, this is resting? Dear God.

My roommate will openly say that yoga saved her life. It pulled her out of a crushingly difficult time. She says that contrary to what many believe, yoga isn’t a religion, or just exercise. It’s a way of life. As she says, “it is learning to let go of that which does not serve you.”

Nearing the end of the hour, as I rose and settled into Warrior Two, lean-

ing forward and admiring how my feet finally seemed to line up proper-ly on their own after several rounds of readjusting, I began to understand this principle. I will admit that I had never felt particularly drawn to Love Your Body week, as I tend to shy away from focusing on loving myself, just as I shied away from the mirrors in the multi-purpose room. I find my joy in focusing on others, in watching them grow and come to accept themselves and their own lot in life. But stumbling my way through the

sequences, and listening to my roommate speak in her calm-ing voice about becoming aware of my own movements, and focusing on uniting my body and breath, I was struck by how important it is to occasionally focus on myself.

Matthew Kelly, in his book Rediscovering Catholicism, says that we must nurture and grow all aspects of ourselves to become the holy men and women we are called to be. He establishes four major aspects of the human person – physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. He explains: “When we eat well, exercise often, and sleep regularly, we feel more fully alive physically. When we love, when we give priority to the significant relationships of our lives, when we give of ourselves to help others in their journey, we feel more fully alive emotionally. When we study our vi-sion of our self, God, and the world expands, and we feel more fully alive intellectually. When we take a few mo-ments each day in the classroom of silence to come before God in prayer, openly and honestly, we experience life more fully spiritually.” These, he says, are all life-giving endeav-ors, so that by using this best version of ourselves in the service of Christ, His words will ring true: “I have come

that you may have life and have it to the fullest” (John 10:10). Yoga may not be your thing, and I have yet to decide if it is mine,

but self-awareness looks good on everyone. If we nurture all parts of ourselves – the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual – and we follow the yoga idea of letting go of that which does not serve us in all four of these areas, then we will become better servants of God.

God, Yoga, and a Moment of Self-DiscoveryKATIE RICH

Faith FeaturesThe TORCH // Volume II, Issue 314

MARGO BORDERS

Domine, Quo Vadis?

If you are anything like me, you are feeling the stress of the semester right now. Not only are there tests and papers to worry about, but your thoughts are also consumed by picking next semester’s classes, applying to graduate schools, or avoiding the massive amounts of reading growing on your desk. I’ve spent a lot of my time abroad reflecting about what I want to do this year, this summer, and the rest of my life. The stress of making decisions never seems to slow down.

Saint Peter experienced this type of decision as he head-ed on the Appian Way out of Rome during Nero’s persecu-tion of Christians. He was spreading the news of the Gospel when he decided to leave because of danger. Just as he was leaving the city, Jesus appeared to him. Peter asked, “Lord where are you going?” Jesus’ reply meant everything to Pe-ter. He answered, “Back to Rome to be crucified again.” Peter immediately turned around and made his way back to Rome to eventually be imprisoned and crucified for his preaching.

The difference between Peter and us is that Peter was decisive in his actions. He didn’t take a seat on the Appian Way and start composing his pro and con list. He noticed Jesus in front of him, giving him guidance and a model to follow, and he immediate-ly turned around. He again answered Jesus’ call to “come, follow me.”

I biked the Appian Way recently and stopped in the church on the spot of this apparition. As I contemplated Peter’s decision and rode past all of the ancient ruins that he would have seen, I had time to reflect and I asked

myself the question Peter posed to Jesus: where am I going? In all of life’s craziness, especially in the chaos of study-

ing and traveling abroad, where am I going? We often find ourselves asking ourselves this question, but it can be help-ful to pose this question to God. In the midst of stressful times and impending decisions to be made, it is most help-ful to listen to what God is saying to us in our lives. If we were to take the time to notice Jesus in front of us in our lives like Peter did, we would not have any stress in mak-ing our decisions. We would know that we were answer-ing God’s call in our lives, something that will fulfill us.

One of my favorite models of holiness in the Church is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was a young Italian who worked ex-tensively to serve the needy and work for the betterment of the

Church in his short life. He was an active man and loved to climb mountains, so his motto is, “Verso l’alto,” or “Towards the Top.” I am reminded of this motto when I think about the path on which I am headed. Where am I going? Towards the top, towards heaven, and towards Christ, who Himself is the way.

If God Is Love…MARK HERTENSTEIN

Recently, I have been obsessed with that phrase in the First Epistle of John, “God is love.” Besides my theological desire to parse it to death (as we are want to do), I now have a renewed and more energetic desire, motivated by the question it raises.

If God is love, have we been doing theolo-gy wrong, and have we been doing ministry wrong?

When I was able to be in ministry this past summer, I was told one of the simplest things that has meant a great deal to my approach as a minister and as a theologian: “They don’t care about what you know until they know that you care.”

How true this is! People don’t care that you know about how to pray until they know that you are willing to struggle even now with them through prayer. They don’t care that you know about sexual ethics un-til they know that you care about them more than their mistake, or that you care about them enough not to recoil as if they are a dirty rag. They don’t care about what you know until they know that you care about them.

Too often, I have found, we start theology in the wrong place. We start from truth and being and other categories, not from what is the fundamental revelation of God. We start with God as He is. But we miss that any discussion of God (as He is) must start with what God first says of Himself. And that is the message that God is love.

Too often in pastoral ministry, people (especially outside of min-istry) think we should start with a set of propositional truths, and then proceed to apply them to people in the abstract. The last time I checked, however, there are no abstract people walking around. There are very real people with very real concerns that do not fit in our neat-ly configured categories of theologizing. That means the problem is not with them; the problem is with us who put boxes up in the first place.

Theology should not be done outside the concerns and confines of the Church. Theology and practice belong together, and they al-ways are together whether we realize it or not. The Church’s first word is Jesus Christ, and the same should be said of theology and prac-

tice, if only we realized that it means we start with God as God who first loves. And that Word is spoken both in word and practice.

“Pastoral” should not be a dirty word in theology, as if it is somehow devoid of any theology in all respects; it is the very practice of what the-ology does, and so practice should also define what we then say in theol-ogy! We have entirely messed up if we believe that if the way the world works is contrary to the categories we set up, then the problem is al-ways with the world and never with our neat little boxes in which we have put both God and people (how loving, just, and merciful indeed…).

It is no wonder that many proponents of traditional Christianity can-not get a word in; they remove themselves from being able to speak at all since they do not speak out of love, or they speak out of a skewed view of it.

The problem is not that people are not receptive to the Christian mes-sage; that the world out there is no longer receptive as it once was; that we must now fight it. The problem is that we present an idol to them, not the gospel; indeed, we sometimes wield that idol as a weapon.

The problem is not that people do not make proper categories about reflect-ing on their experiences or mistakes or sins, or that they are not thinking about things “the right way.” The problem is that we do not address the problem by thinking it into submission; we address the problem the same way God does – love.

The problem is not that people in our society need to see com-passion and sympathy in order to take seriously the Christian mes-sage of the gospel; if anything, that is a sign that all is well with us as human beings! We theologians and ministers have forgotten that.

There is something oddly beautiful about that fact, that we must first be shown love and show love in order for the truth to enter and change us and others. There is something beautiful that as ministers of God, we should imitate the way in which God has come to us- in love. The truth only comes out of love itself.

It is, in fact, the beautiful icon of God who is love, and human beings who are the image of that God, not the idol of theologians and philosophers.

Mark Hertenstein is an alumnus of the Boston College class of 2014. As an undergraduate, he dou-ble majored in classics and theology, and he wrote The Torch’s monthly Protestant Perspective column. He is currently studying for a M.Div. at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA and is preparing for ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Faith Features The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 3 15

ly ordered to the self; it is a love that is unconditional, unconquerable.With every tight hug, every thoughtful gift, every helping hand, every

kind word—with everything we do for another, we say to them “I love you.”In those final days, I was planning to go out to dinner with two friends

who were not graduating. I bought each a small gift and wrote each of them a note. It was hard to come up with what to say, and I think that what I ended up writing may even have sounded a bit awkward at points. But I meant every word of it. The hardest thing for me to write, though, was the closing of the letter. How should I sign my name? “Regards”? “Sincerely”? “Best”? Then I thought to myself, “What a dumb question! I’ve loved these two friends. There’s no reason that I can’t just say it. And if I really have loved them with small daily gestures, then in a sense I’ve already told them, I’ve already said it. It isn’t a secret to any of us. To say it now in word makes sense because I have lived it in deed and in truth.” And with that, I signed each letter—Love, Chris.

Saying “I Love You”CHRIS CANNIFF Cont’d from Page 1

What is the key to happiness? This question has occupied the lives of philosophers, mystics, prophets and gurus through-out the centuries. However, what is the Christian response to this question? Well, believe it or not, the Church gives a very simple answer: holiness. In other words, if we strive to become saints, we will be happy. Now this might immediately bring to mind the phrase “easier said than done”, but that doesn’t diminish the simplicity of the method. The formula remains simple, even if the execution is difficult. However, what if we reversed the question? Can we easily point to the cause of unhappiness? Could it be that reversing the question also reverses the answer, so that unhappiness is caused by a lack of holiness?

It certainly can feel that way. Troughs of depres-sion often cause us to search our past for the sinful offense that made God punish us in this way. This hy-per focus on our own sins in turn leads us to greater despair. Thus begins a vicious cycle that is not easily halted. It is hard to imagine that the God who is love would want to anyone to exist in this state. Unhap-piness can be the result of sin, and such shame can push us to break continual habits of sinning. But I don’t believe that drowning in constant unhappiness brings about the same result. Such depression does not help us pursue the good, rather, it paralyzes us.

If depression is not caused by the moral fault of the depressed person, what is the cause of it? I am not even going to pretend I have the answer to this question and even if I did, it would give little comfort to a person in the midst of depression. It would be

like explaining St. Thomas’ response to the problem of evil to a Holocaust sur-vivor who lost his faith in God. The more pressing question for us is how we can alleviate the suffer-ing of our depressed brothers and sisters. How can we help them see themselves as God sees them?

The first thing we have to understand is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to reason some-one out of depression. Arguments in this context are like waves crashing on a brick wall. No mat-ter how powerful they are, they will almost al-ways fail to make a dent. While the thoughts and feelings behind that “wall” may be false, they are quite real to the person experiencing them. What than can we do? Well, first and foremost, we can pray. God’s words can get to a person when our words prove totally fruitless. Prayer is the way in which we can take part in that grace. We can also reach out to that person in whatever ways are available to us. Even something as simple as ask-ing someone how they are doing can go a long way. Finally, we can be always willing to talk to someone when they reach out to us for help. If a person experiencing depression reaches out to another, you can be sure that it was not an easy thing to do. Don’t make them feel embarrassed or foolish for making the decision they did.

If we can be the means through which people rise up from depression, it’s hard to imagine how we could

be a more profound notion of God’s grace. For what could be more miraculous than a person engulfed in self-hate coming to see themselves as God sees them.

Holiness and DepressionETHAN MACK

“With every tight hug, every thoughtful gift, every helping hand, every kind word—with everything we do for another, we say to

them ‘I love you.’”

The TORCH // Volume II, Issue 316

St. Mary’s Renovation