Posted: July 16

Vacation is over

(Rome) Actually, my vacation lasted a bit less than two weeks, but I have been slow to get back working on the blog. The speed of life in the Curia slows down during the summer, but never stops because the southern half of the world looks at July and August as work time, not vacation time. And I have been working hard at my desk programming some applications that a few of the people at the Curia use to manage databases. It is not as romantic as traveling to far-off places to visit a new radio station, but managing our data is important in itself as well as being part of the bigger process of modernizing how the offices of the Society of Jesus communicate among themselves. The job makes for a quiet day with lots of concentration and not much to say at the end of it. But a few weeks of that kind of sitting still and I begin to look forward to the August trip to Rio de Janeiro for a meeting of the communication coordinators of Latin America.

Father General spent last week in Vietnam and was present for the inauguration of the new province of Vietnam. The Jesuit work there was considered as a “region” for many years but has now moved up to the independent status of a province. Fr. Joseph Doan accompanied him, since Doan is Father General’s assistant for East Asia. (It’s just this kind of distinction that makes the database work I mentioned above so convoluted.) It was a triumphant moment for Doan who is Vietnamese and was able to participate in a fulfilling climax to a story that began in such difficulty. Father Pedro Arrupe, the previous superior general, sent Doan back to Saigon in 1972 just as he was finishing Biblical studies in Rome. Doan reached his country just as the U.S. forces pulled out, and he was promptly sent to prison where he spent nine long years. He remained in his country after his release and became regional superior before Father Kolvenbach called him back to Rome to be his assistant. I remember attending a meeting of provincials from East Asia; the conversation turned to Vietnam and Doan said, “In Vietnam everything is illegal, but possible.” The range of the new possibility is becoming more clear. Vocations are flourishing, new works are starting, and the Jesuits proudly claimed their status as an equal among other Jesuit provinces. They had a modest dinner to thank friends and benefactors, 200 tables with 10 people per table. No wonder Doan is so pleased.