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By Phyllis Hanlon
 Jesuit
philosophy espouses the integration of faith and knowledge
with an awareness of social responsibility in relation to
the worldwide community. Since its founding in 1843, Holy
Cross has embodied and exemplified these Jesuit ideals in
its curriculum and also through the numerous campus organizations
that promote community service and volunteerism in support
of social justice.
The new Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture is scheduled to open at the beginning
of the academic year 2001. As the centerpiece of the 55,000-square-foot Carol
and Park B. Smith Hall, the Center will reflect the essence and identity of the
school by creating an atmosphere of open dialogue among people of different faiths
as well as with members of other academic institutions. Located at the literal
geographic center of the campus, Smith Hall and the Center will join all aspects
of Holy Cross in a cohesive manifestation of spiritual, social and academic life.
David J. O’Brien, Loyola Professor of Roman Catholic Studies, has been
appointed director of the Center. He is a member of the College’s history
department and an American Catholicism historian. For the past 12 years, he has
also served as the director of Peace and Conflict Studies, a program that addresses
issues of peace and social justice. The program’s curriculum uses the questions
of national and international security as a springboard for developing nonviolent
conflict resolution methods and promoting peace all over the world.
According to O’Brien, the Holy Cross mission statement is a critical piece
of the Center’s foundation and its future direction. “The mission
statement has a certain authority. It is not just a piece of paper,” he
says. The entire Holy Cross community contributed to the development of this
cornerstone document, which took four years to refine and adopt. “It is
rare to find such a fully processed mission statement,” he adds. A promise
to serve “the Catholic community, American society, and the wider world” is
one of the core goals of the College, according to the document. Additionally,
the statement prompts respect for cultural and spiritual diversity, which paves
the way for ethical and moral development. “The creation of the new Center
for Religion, Ethics and Culture is one clear way to demonstrate the creative
implementation of the Holy Cross mission statement,” says O’Brien.
The Center is currently creating its own mission statement, which will lend added
strength and commitment to the school and its purpose. Specifically, the Center
will concentrate on fostering dialogue that is “inter-religious, interdisciplinary,
intercultural and international in scope.” In keeping with the school’s
Jesuit tradition, the Center pledges to become a common ground for the discussion
of basic human questions. The entire Holy Cross community—students, faculty,
staff, alumni and friends—will be invited to partake in ongoing international
conversations that carry both an intellectual and a spiritual bearing.
“The real sense of the Center is to develop and make conversations happen
within the College across different departments, as well as with other church-related
institutions and liberal arts colleges,” O’Brien says. He predicts
a unification of disciplines under the umbrella of the Center. Instead of taking
a course at one end of campus and then pursuing discussion of the subject or
attending related seminars and workshops at the other end, he sees the Center
as facilitating “an integrated academic experience” for students
and faculty alike. “Schools all over the country are interested in achieving
this type of integration,” he says.
O’Brien envisions an even broader synthesis as proposed spirituality conferences,
workshops and events join existing ones. The annual Bernard J. Flanagan Lecture
Series is one of a number of ongoing endeavors the school has presented for the
last five years, he reports. The Religion and Modernity Lecture Series, which
is sponsored by the dean of the College, invites speakers from various theological
backgrounds to the College to present research findings and open the door for
stimulating discussion. Last fall, Mary C. Boys, the Skinner and McAlpin Professor
of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary, New York, visited the campus.
She presented a lecture that addressed specific texts within the New Testament
from a new and different perspective. O’Brien hopes to place Holy Cross
in a major leadership role when new concepts blend with current programs such
as these into a comprehensive instrument for promoting dialogue.
Working toward that objective, Holy Cross has formed an alliance with three other
higher educational organizations that focus on religion. For the past eight years
as part of a collegium, Holy Cross has held a summer institute that brings young
faculty from various Roman Catholic institutions of higher learning together
with graduate students from major universities across the country. During an
eight-day seminar, a dialogue takes place that revolves around the relationship
between faith and intellectual vocation. “These seminars have been very
successful,” O’Brien says.
The Lily Fellows Program on Religion, Humanities and Arts has also served as
a stimulus for discussion on current topics and theology. “The annual meeting
brings together approximately 80 church-related schools for a discussion of religion
and a particular topic,” he says. “This year the forum will take
place in Los Angeles where the topic will be religion and film.” Additionally,
this program sponsors a number of other seminars on higher education issues and
offers research grants.
O’Brien is particularly excited about a new affiliation with Rhodes College
in Memphis, Tenn., that is also funded by the Lily Endowment. “Faculty
from both Holy Cross and Rhodes will conduct an exchange of ideas regarding church
relatedness,” says O’Brien. Upon completion of the dialogue, faculty
will return to their respective campuses to continue that conversation with students
and other faculty members. Rev. William E. Stempsey, S.J., assistant professor
of philosophy at Holy Cross, will attend this year’s conference.
As the building project nears completion next fall, O’Brien hopes to hold
a conference on Jerusalem in a collaborative effort with the local college community. “This
event will celebrate the three great faiths of Jerusalem,” says O’Brien.
In addition, he plans to integrate this event and all first-year activities into
the theme of forgiveness. “It is important to practice forgiveness in this
era of post-Cold War conflict,” he says. He cited the hot spots of Bosnia
and El Salvador as prime locations where a spirit of forgiving is needed. The
Pope’s recent request for forgiveness is the driving force behind this
kind of religious direction that the Church is taking, according to O’Brien.
In addition to expanding its conference and seminar sponsorship, O’Brien
has turned an eye toward perpetuating the Jesuit component that is such an integral
part of Holy Cross and its history. “As the number of Jesuits shrink, Holy
Cross wants to make sure the beliefs of the Jesuits are not lost to us. The continuum
of Jesuit fellows will help preserve that.” For this reason, the recently
instituted International Jesuit Fellowship Program has been placed under the
auspices of the Center. This program, which provides an endowment for a Jesuit
studying overseas to pursue his education at Holy Cross, will begin this September.
Rev. Justin Sudarminta, S.J., who holds his Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham
University, will be the first participant in the program. He is scheduled to
teach environmental philosophy and ethics classes during his stay at Holy Cross.
His presence is expected to enrich the students’ lives as well as to continue
to strengthen the worldwide Jesuit community. O’Brien says, “We hope
to bring three or four more Jesuits here on a regular basis. Their presence will
provide external stimulation for the students.”
Smith Hall will also contain a library and
chapel, architecturally designed to symbolize an intersection
between faith and learning. The designers of the building
as well as school officials “want to demonstrate the
contemplative spirit of the space, both symbolically and
in terms of its programs,” says O’Brien. He explains
that the two-story entry will contain beautiful and unusual
windows that allow an enormous entry of light. “This
space will truly represent the central focus of the school
and the vision of the Center.”
He contends, too, that the inclusion of a chapel is a positive and insightful
addition that will promote acceptance and respect for diversity. “This
space will provide opportunities for worship that include non-Catholics,” he
says, “and those who aren’t comfortable in the larger Catholic chapel.” Campus
ministry and the religious studies department will also be located in the new
building. The physical configuration of this space will aid these departments
in their efforts to make spirituality available to all students who seek a Catholic
dimension to their education, according to O’Brien. “Holy Cross has
an obligation to partake in that process,” he says.
The developing mission statement for the Center says it all. Just as the new
building will be located at the heart of the Holy Cross campus, the promise to
address “fundamental religious and philosophical questions” lies
at the heart of the school’s basic principles. The Center for Religion,
Ethics and Culture promises to serve as the pulse of spiritual and intellectual
life not only for Holy Cross, but also for academic communities far beyond Mount
St. James.
Phyllis Hanlon is a free-lance journalist from Charlton,
Mass.
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