Peter Knox SJ's blog

At the end the first half of the academic year, the students at the Jesuit Institute School of Theology have conducted evaluations of the courses they have been attending. Students come from all across the archdiocese. There are 26 students attending the second year of theology, and 24 in the course in Scripture being taught at the Catholic Bible College. Most are Catholic. However, one or two members of other churches were referred to us by St Augustine College, because they specifically wanted to study theology and biblical studies at the certificate level. So an ecumenical respect prevails, while the the ethos of the courses remains Catholic.

The 30 day retreat being offered later this year has, as one of the directors, a distinguished British Jesuit with a deep interest in spirituality and social justice.

Robert Ronald Darwen (Ron) was born in 1931, in Preston, a very Catholic part of England. He grew up aware that his home county of Lancashire was the stronghold of the English Catholic survival during penal times. He attended high school at Preston Catholic College and then entered the Jesuits at the age of 18. He was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 33.

Ron spent his early years in the priesthood working in parishes in Glasgow, Worcester, Coventry and Liverpool. During these years he became very concerned about issues of social justice in Britain's inner cities. He was particularly concerned about the inadequate housing for the poor and vulnerable, and was involved in several Catholic housing projects providing sheltered housing to the elderly and marginalised.

At the age of 51 Ron went to the Ignatian retreat house in Wernersville, USA, where he trained in giving the Spiritual Exercises. The following year he became novice master of the British Province, and directed novices from South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK.

After six years as novice master, he was appointed director of tertians (the final years of Jesuit formation) in the joint Irish-British tertianship in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In this capacity he helped Jesuits from all over the world to prepare for their final vows and integration into the Society.

Ron is currently a member of the novitiate community in Birmingham, England, where he is a sought-after director of the Spiritual Exercises, and continues his work in issues of social justice.

As well as Father‟s Day, today, 20 June, is World Refugee Day. It is an opportunity for us to consider the plight of the many refugees and to examine our attitude towards them.

It is always instructive to do a little history to put things into perspective. Earlier this week we celebrated Youth Day, when we remembered the massacre of the youth of our own country beginning on June 16th 1976.

As the only body in the world that can bring nations together to give them a say in affairs of vital interest to them all, the United Nations convened the Climate Change Conference from the 7th to the 18th of this month. Those of us who are not up-to-date with the ecological debate may have found it all a bit confusing, or taken sides as we do at soccer matches.

We are aware of how the previous South African regime used to sell South African manufactured armaments in unstable regions like the Middle East, South America and parts of Africa. This cynical disregard for the security of the citizens of other countries helped to earn our country the status of pariah nation.

I have been completely amazed at the media attention surrounding Michael Jackson's death and puzzled at the public outpouring of grief.

(Address of Bishop Kevin Dowling at the Launch of Fr Peter Knox's book)

Christa was a little girl whose story will never grace the pages on which important life events are captured. But Christa was a little girl who captured my heart totally, who touched my life and my journey with experiences too deep, too precious, to translate into words. As such, she will always remain in my heart, and this is a simple but beautiful gift from God to me.

I ask myself why I should go through the sham of another election; why I should legitimate another five years of government with my vote; what difference my vote will make when it is a foregone conclusion; how I can possibly think I’ll make a difference. Isn’t it better just not to turn up on the day, and there will then be twenty-one million votes minus one – mine – abstaining, making my voice heard. Or maybe I should spoil my ballot and that may be counted as a protest vote – a protest against all these men and women who promise they have my interests at heart and then go ahead and do as their party dictates.