Dear JST Community,

In September, I wrote to you in response to the abuse crisis occurring in the Catholic Church, and affirmed JST’s commitment to helping the Church do its thinking and praying in this critical moment.  I also invited you to join us in considering the question: How can we as a theology center in the Jesuit and Catholic tradition best respond to the needs of the Church at this time?

I am grateful to all who offered feedback. Your voice has been part of our communal discernment as we consider how to move forward.  A faculty working group, led by Professors Lisa Fullam, Julie Rubio, and Chris Hadley, S.J., has been working diligently to create a tangible response, which I am pleased to share with you now.

In the coming months we will begin implementing three initiatives: (1) a self-study, (2) a lecture series, and (3) praxis-based workshops.

Self-Study

During the spring, we will implement a self-review process that will critically analyze the education and formation that occurs at JST. The self-study will consider four facets of ministerial formation: human development, spiritual development, intellectual development, and pastoral development.

Inspired by the Ignatian practice of the Examen, we will consider both strengths and areas for growth in our current curricular and co-curricular programming, and identify specific action steps. This process may also identify best practices to share with other theology centers and diocesan seminaries.

Lecture Series

JST is collaborating with Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education to develop a four-part lecture series in the calendar year 2019. The lectures or panels will alternate between both campuses and be linked by live streaming.  The events will be open to the general public, as well as the campus communities, so that we can serve the local Church.  The tentative topics for the lectures are:

• Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Global Catholic Church (Early Spring 2019 @ JST)
• Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Problem of Forgiveness (Early Fall 2019 @ SCU)
• Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Challenge of Sex and Gender (Late Spring 2019 @ JST)
• Clergy Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Challenge of Accountability (Late Fall 2019 @ SCU)

Praxis-based Workshops

In order to help prepare our students to respond appropriately as ministerial leaders in instances of abuse, JST will offer two praxis-based workshops in the coming months.  These workshops, designed specifically for SCU students, will be facilitated by professionals who work in the area of victims assistance ministry. The tentative topics for the workshops are:

• Providing Pastoral Care to Victims of Abuse
• Preaching in the Context of Sexual Abuse

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The three initiatives described above are concrete outcomes of our communal discernment over the last several months. Clearly more work must be done as we attempt to confront the tragedy of sexual abuse.  Our hope is that these three initiatives will contribute to the authentic and lasting reform we seek for our Church, and help us better care for those impacted by clerical abuse and abuse of power. As we continue in this work, we keep central the pain and suffering of the victims of abuse and listen to their counsel.

You may keep updated on the progress of our response by consulting the JST webpage: Authentic and Lasting Reform.

Sincerely, in our Lord,

Kevin O'Brien, S.J.
Dean, Jesuit School of Theology
Santa Clara University