Father Adolfo meets the press

From the SJ Press Office, Rome: In view of the strong desire shown by the media for an ‘interview’ with Father General, Fr. General decided to meet the strong desire of the media for an ‘interview’ halfway. As this was not yet the moment for Father General to talk about the Congregation before he had received indications and even ‘mandates’, it was decided to invite the journalists for an encounter in which Father General would greet them and say a few words. No questions would be entertained. Around 65 journalists (three TV stations) accepted the conditions and came to meet him. Father General made a 20 minutes speech which was very well received. Then the journalists visited the aula of the Congregation.

You can find a translation of Father Nicolás’ talk, prepared by Vatican radio, in this PDF from SJ Press Office.

Milltown welcomes adult learners to come and look

Working in tandem with the AONTAS Adult Learners’ Festival, the Milltown Institute is holding an Open Evening on Tuesday 5 February to introduce its adult education courses. It extends an invitation to all comers to “explore your questions about Spirituality, Philosophy and Theology in an open friendly environment”. At 6.15pm and again at 7.15pm, there will be a short presentation about what Milltown has to offer, but callers are welcome at any time during the evening. For more details, email Sorcha Woods or phone 01-2776352.

Who are the Jesuits of today?

Who are the Jesuits of today? What is their future? And why are they still seen by some Protestants as such a threat? With these introductory questions, William Crawley turned to Alan McGuckian SJ on BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence on 27 January. The interview was occasioned by the election of Adolfo Nicolás as Superior General. Others interviewed on the occasion were Michael Walsh, writer, broadcaster and former Jesuit, and John Wilkins, former editor of the Tablet. Listen to Sunday Sequence here.

Strings to his bow

Colaiste Iognaid student Finn Gormley was featured in last week’s Sunday Tribune as he not only plays left wing for the Connaught Under-18 Schools Rugby, but he also is the Irish Under-18 Windsurfing Wave Champion. Finn is on the current college senior cup team, was on the Connaught Senior league winning team before Christmas, and has dreams of playing for Ireland. He was the overall winner of the 2006 Irish Wave Sailing Championship, a specialisation within windsurfing.

Distinguished thinker speaks at Milltown

One of the world’s leading thinkers on religion and science, Dr John Polkinghorne, will give a public lecture in the Milltown Institute on the theme of ‘Human personhood: the context of hominid evolution’. It will take place on Tuesday, 19 February 2008. Dr Polkinghorne had a long and highly distinguished academic career – he taught theoretical physics for many years, held a Chair at Cambridge, was appointed President of Queen’s College, was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2002. On top of all this, he was ordained an Anglican priest in 1982. For further details about his Milltown lecture, email Gabrielle McCabe.