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The Mercury March, 1901 u >—I N D c THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY The Literary Journal of Pennsylvania College Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter ■ I VOL. X GETTYSBURG, PA., MARCH, 1901 No. 1 WANTED:—A MAN JAMES MCCREE. Wanted:—a man, a true real man; Too proud to stoop and too clean to steal. Too broad for party, or clique, or creed, Yet loving his country's weal. With an open hand for friend or foe, And a restful faith where he cannot know. Wanted:—a man without a price, Who will do the right, nor count the cost; Scorning a world broad title deed If purchased with honor lost. With nerve to look a wrong in the eye, And courage to strangle it till it die. Wanted:—a man with a woman's heart, To swell in pity at human woe; With god-like grasp of intellect For the cause that deals the blow; And, with sturdy stroke of word or pen, Smite the curse from the hearts of his fellow-men. GETTYSBURG COLLEGE LIBRARY GETTYSBURG, PA. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY THE RELATION OF THE JUS NATURALE TO THE JUS GENTIUM J. RUSH STONER, '01. TN order that we may arrive at any idea of the relation of the jus *■ naturale to the jus gentium, we must first try to get a clear conception of the real nature or characteristics of these two forms of Roman law. When the stoic philosophy came into the hands of the Roman jurists, they extracted from its vigorous and elevating theories the idea of Natural Law as applicable to Roman jurisprudence. These jurists held that what they termed the jus naturale was the natural and ethical foundation upon which must rest all Civil Law. Thus the origin of Natural Law among the Romans might be referred to the philosophical ideas of the Stoics. These Grecian philosophers looked upon the universe as "imbued with an all-pervading soul or power," which they considered not only as a "dynamical force producing motion, but as a rational principle producing order and perfection." This rational principle, the}'' taught, is a constituent element of all being, and reveals itself not only as a law of the physical world in external nature, but also as a guide for human conduct, having its throne in the conscious-ness of man. Man's greatest duty, they claimed, is to discover the law of reason and conform to this law as it is set forth in the "essential constitution of his nature." The highest precept in the Stoic philosophy was "to live in harmony with nature." It was the ultimate principle laid down to guide men in all the rela-tions of life. And how true is the statement made by one of the writers on this subject: "By his original constitution, man is a participant of the Universal Reason, and by the exercise of his rational faculties he can discover the Law of Nature, so far as it is necessary to control his own conduct. When looked at from a moral point of view, the Law of Nature is thus the highest rule of human conduct, and the ultimate standard by which all human actions, whether individual, social or civil, must be judged." This Stoic philosophy, since the conquest of Greece, had a vast influence over Roman thought along the line of morality,— individual and social,—and legal rights and duties. Roman lit-erature from the time of Cicero to Alexander Severus was per-vaded" with the idea that law has a deeper foundation than mere conventionalities or customs. Cicero was the first to make the important step of grounding law upon nature; and in his "Laws" THE GETTSBURG MERCURY the fundamental principle is laid down "that man is born for jus-tice, and that law and equity are not a mere establishment of opinion but an institution of nature." This principle was specially applied by the jurists of the Empire in determining legal rights and duties. Just what idea the Romans had of Natural Law seems to be somewhat vague. Ulpian says that Natural Law is common to all living creatures, both man and beast; but this view was not generally accepted and had no influence on the legal thought of Rome. It was generally considered, in a proper sense, as applicable only to rational being. Cicero, in a striking passage of his "De Republica," gives his views regarding Natural Law, declaring that God is its author and its duties are unchangeable obligations. Therefore, he says, "It is not one law in Rome and another in Athens, one to-day and another to-morrow, but it is ever the same, exerting its obligatory force over all nations and throughout all ages." Here we perceive the germ of International Law planted in the alluvial soil of heathen philosophy; after the elapse of many centuries, to spring up into the vast system of In-ternational Law now involving much of the ripest modern thought and promising a vigorous growth to perfection in the future. There is not a universal agreement in the theories of the dif-ferent writers on the Law of Nature. However, Chancellor Kent follows very nearly the definition given by Grotius, when he says, "By the Law of Nature I understand those fit and just rules of conduct, which the creator has prescribed to man as a dependent and social being and which are to be ascertained from the deduc-tions of right reason, though they may be more precisely known and more explicitly declared by Divine Revelation." It is said to be written on the heart of everyone by the Divine Hand and that no one can claim ignorance of it, in so far as his degree of intellectual and moral development makes him able to read it. And its author, essentially just, is everywhere and always the same. Taking this view of Natural Law it would seem to belong more appropriately to ethics than jurisprudence. In fact, many writers do consider it as equivalent to Moral Science. Many writers, as Dr. Paley in his work on "Moral Philosophy," main-tain that it embraces man's duty to God, to his neighbor and to self. Some exclude all other significance of the term Natural Law, and confine it strictly to the "rules prescribed to man, by THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY right reason, in his conduct to his fellowmen." Then there is a third class who use it in a still more restricted sense to mark out the theory of only that part of man's duty to his fellowmen that can be enforced. There are rules of justice which are universally recognized as founded on the rational nature of man and dictated by reason. Agreeing with the statement made in Prof. Lorimer's "Institutes of Law," I believe that Natural L,aw may be most accurately de-scribed as "the dictates of reason with reference to human rela-tions." Judging from some of the ideas cherished by the Romans, their conceptions of the true significance of Natural Law were vague. They looked upon it at times as equivalent to equity, and this seems to have been the real point of contact, through which the jus naturale and the jus gentium blended into one perfect code of law. Then again they considered it as synonymous with the jus gentium. Whatever is the relation the jus ?iaturale bears to the jus gen-tium, one thing is sure, it performed an important role in estab-lishing for Rome her vast and matchless system of law. The jus gentmtn, according to Main's interpretation, was "a collection of rules and principles determined by observation to be common to the institutions which prevailed among the various Italian tribes." Whenever a certain custom or usage was observed to be common to a large number of races, it was set down as a part of the Law of Nations, or jus gentium. A great many observances of this kind were made, and if, after a careful examination, a common characteristic having a common object was found in all of them, it was thus classified in the jus gentium. This new system thus established was not favored by many at that time. It was con-sidered as a mere appendage to the jus civile, as a practical means for adjusting civil relations between real Romans and foreigners. But this new system of law was destined to hold a more impor-tant place in Roman jurisprudence. Soon it came to be regarded as a constituent part of Roman law, equal to the jus civile and even more superior in dignity. And the whole body of Roman law was then made up of these two essential and co-ordinate parts, .the old jus civile and the jus gentium. These two elements were combined to form one body of jurisprudence, and henceforth there was a tendency in legal development at Rome for "law" and "equity" to blend into one "single and organic system of justice." THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 5 The close relation the jus naturalehore to the jus gentium may be seen in the prevailing belief existing among the Roman jurists when the theory of Natural L,aw was introduced for their consid-eration. They believed that 'the old jus genthim was in fact the lost code of nature, and that the praetor in framing an edictal jurisprudence on the principles of the jus gentium was gradually restoring a type from which law had only departed to deteriorate." When viewed in the light of Natural L,aw, the jus gentium took on a significance vastly different from the old. It was no longer looked upon as a mere "body of customs common to Rome and the states subject to Roman dominion," but those common laws collected by the praetors were now believed to be the laws that Universal Reason had instituted for men in primitive society. And the fact of their common existence was a strong proof that they were taken from 'universal principles inherent in the very nature of man." And as a consequence there was a tendency among the philosophical jurists to identify, in this highest sense, the jus gentium with jus nalurale. Gains declares that "the law which natural reason has constituted for all men, obtains equally among all nations and is called jus gentium." We have associated with the conception of nature the ideas of "simplification" and "generalization." And the result of a close study of the L,aw of Nature by the Roman jurists was that of in-ducing them to regard "simplicity," "symmetry" and "intelligi-bility" as the main characteristics of a good legal system. And when the jus gentium was looked at in the light of the theory of Natural Law, the copious and involved phrases of the law became out of taste, and the many ceremonials and other useless difficul-ties quickly vanished. Thus the contact of these two principles not only gave to the established system of Roman law a greater dignity but also made it more concise and direct. The jus gentium, when thus transformed from its old signifi-cance to a higher meaning by the reforming power of Equity as cherished among the jurists, was brought into so close a relation to the jus nalurale that the two principles became one and insep-arable. And while the idea of equity seems to have been the ele-ment through which these laws were united, yet the union of these laws had the effect of establishing a higher conception of ' 'aequi- /os" itself. The'jus gentium " "a^«Vai"andthe "jusnaturale," all bear a very close relation to each other. Their similarity is ■"■I1,M" 6 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY evident from the fact that they were so often considered identical. But each, if carefully examined, is noticed to have its own indi-vidual characteristics to distinguish it from the others. These terms of Roman jurisprudence might be considered successive steps in the development from a mere germ of International Law approaching the "perfect law of reason." But when we attempt to determine exactly what the true relation between \hajus naiut-ale and the jitsgentium was, we enter upon disputed ground. The real meaning the Roman jurists attached to the famous phrase, jus gentium, is not yet satisfactorily decided. And until this is rightly settled, no accurate conclusion regarding their real relation can be drawn. But one thing is certain, when Grotius drew up his famous system, known as the "Grotian Law of Nature," he adopted many principles of the jus gentiuni, declaring that they were part of that Natural Law, which all men are compelled by their own reason to obey; and his system of law was universally accepted by the civilized world. eQtfb THE HARM OF EXCESSIVE NOVEL READING ROBERT W. LENKKR, '03. [ OVEL reading is one of the principal diversions of the present day. Great is the number of persons who, as soon as they have partaken of a meal, lie idly about to digest, as it were, the plot of a novel along with their food. Neither is novel reading confined to that class who are well able to be at leisure at almost all hours, but it is indulged in by all classes from the common laboring man to the best families of the earth. Thus the novel has a great range and is read by a vast multitude. To read a good novel occasionally, thinking about what you have read, and storing it away, is beneficial and instructive, but to skip over any novel, good or bad, as many do, is harmful. Some one has said, "Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting." It is necessary that novels should be classified for this discus-sion. First, we have the classical novel which has stood the test of years and has been given a permanent place in the literature of the world. Nothing harmful can result from the excessive read-ing of this class except that the habit may be carried so far as to THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 7 be at the expense of biography, history and other matters of fact which are needful. The popular novel is the next to be considered. In this class are found such books as David Harum, Janice Meredith, Richard Carvel, and scores of others of not quite so recent publication. One is not considered " up to date " who has not read these books, but let me ask how many of these books will stand the test of years. Just one step lower than the popular novel we find books by such authors as Bertha Clay, Mfs. Georgie Sheldon, and hun-dreds of others of the same rank. The constant reading of books of this kind is most injurious. Of course the novel must have its hero or heroine, and it must of necessity be a tale of love. In these books the sympathy of the tender hearted reader goes out to one or more of the fictitious per-sonages. Sympathy gives way to compassion, and compassion to tears—the usual sign of grief. Were this to happen occasionally there would be no harm done, but when one is addicted to the novel it is a frequent occurrence. Softness of the heart disappears gradually, and finally all sense of tenderness and sympathy is destroyed. The last and worst class of novels is that class of dime novels so fitly styled 'blood and thunder." They frequently lead to heinous crimes those who are so unfortunate as to be drawn into the habit of reading them. This is a work of the devil which finds willing victims among school boys, and to which the corruption and ruin of many a precious soul may be attributed. It is need-less to describe this class of vile literature, but let it suffice to say-that the excessive reading of it has sent thousands of men to jails, penitentiaries and even to the gallows. Taken all in all, the reading to excess of any novels, whether classical or not, is harmful to humanity, first, because it destroys all sense of feeling; second, because it keeps from us the history of the world and its great men, and lastly, it takes up many hours which should be spent more profitably. An educated mind is a full-blown rose whose fragrance rejuv-enates all that come near.—Exchange. *-""-" — THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY MAS JOHNNY DEAR. CHAS. W. WEISER, '01. Johnny was a little man Who never told a lie, He never stole at mother's jam, Or "swiped" a piece of pie. (?) He spent his early years at home, Obedient (?) to his "ma," He was an angel in the sight Of his doting "pa." And when at last the day came That he was sent to school, He had a little "swelled head," And meant to keep the rule. (?) The fellows called him "sissy," He called them names as well; They had a "scrap" at recess Of which I "darsent tell." But when at eve returning He had a battered nose, A blackened eye and "strubbled" head, He made a prelty pose. His mamma had the tantrums, His papa took a fit, He was "as mad as blazes" That Johnny "wasn't it." * * « * He went to see his grandma Who lived upon the farm— All dressed "a cock-o-lorum" He did the "rustics" charm. He "grabbed a hold" the black cat, He held her by the tail, She scratched him on the "paddy" Which made the "youngster" wail. While playing with the house-dog, He fastened on a can, And clapped his hands, a shouting While the creature ran. He stole into the barn-yard And scared the poultry out, He stoned the pigs and cattle, Running 'round about. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY He "grabbed a hold" a cow's tail, She started on a run, She threw him in a mud hole— You should have seen the fun, They penned him in the wash-house, From there he "took a sneak," He climbed out thro' the window— He was a "perfect freak." He stole into the pantry, And helped himself to jam; He then ran down the mill-race, And fell into the dam. Old Towser saw him struggling, And helped him get away; He fled into the hay-loft, And lay upon the hay. "Twas there they found him sleeping- "Ma's darling little one," When they found he's missing, And all in search had run. «f£» A TOAST S. W. HERMAN, '99. 'TWAS a brilliant assemblage. Men famous as artists, sculp- A tors, authors and specialists of every kind had been gathered to grace the banquet. The odor of flowers and costly perfumes verily saturated the air. The tables were ladened with priceless gold and silver vessels heaped up with delicate viands. All that was beautiful seemed to be there to please the eye and delight the taste. Among the group of men there were but few in youthful prime. The springtime had passed and the autumn of life was draw-ing near to the great majority. Amid the clink of glasses and the clang of platters they lingered long over the feast. Then came the toasts and there was but one subject given to which each should respond—"The Happiest Day in Your Life." One of the youngest arose and holding high his bright goblet drank to the day when his ambition was realized in producing his first book. He recalled the intoxication of the joyous moment when he was assured of its success. Another drank to the day when his master-piece, a great paint- rsm 10 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY I ing, was completed and he stood before it drinking in its sublime beauty. Another told how happy was the day'when he restored, by a cut of his knife, the life of a patient. And another told of a life rescued from the depths of degradation and saved to a new life. Thus they spake of the days that brought to them the greatest joy. There was but one left and he was very old. The far away look in his eyes mirrored the character of his thoughts. As a swift rush of the incoming tide, his boyhood came back to him and he retraced it step by step. Slowly, almost unconsciously, he arose and with voice low, but distinct, gave his toast. He spake as though he were talking to some unseen person, relating a tale that had become the sweeter the more he told it. A silence that could almost be felt fell upon his hearers and thus he spake: "How well do I remember that day, the day of days, when joy rushed into my heart with an over-powering sense of completeness. Standing at this distance and looking into the past, memory brings back its relics and lays them here before my mental vision. Yes, almost as real as when they happened. Only the rough places are smoothed over now and the sharp corners are rounded by time's peculiar power. I thought upon that bright day that sor-row could never enter into my life again. The cup of happiness, which was held to my lips, was so full that it overran the brim and was wasted. I did not care because I had so much, neither did I think that some day I would agonize in spirit and begrudge even one drop spilled. But many days and years have filled in the gap between that day and this. Days of varied pleasures and sorrows. Pleasures that tried hard to measure up to the joy of that one day, but somehow failed. Sorrows which by comparison seemed very bitter, even bitter unto death. I will tell the story of that day and you may judge what happiness was mine and now the pain. I awoke at the call of the birds that morning. Such melodies poured forth from their throats that it seemed the very air I breathed was sweet with mu-sic. It thrilled me so. A song of praise rushed from my heart and lips. With the song came words of prayer and thankfulness. My life had been one unbroken dream of tender care and comfort. Where'er my eyes turned that morning I caught glimpses of that which made me glad. And then I closed my eyes and saw bless-ing upon blessing passing before my vision, coming back in this THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 11 memory's hour, to show me cause for gratitude. But I arose and threw open the window to let in the pure fresh air of spring-tide. Oh! glorious vision of life everywhere. As I threw open the win-dows of that dark room, I threw open the windows of my soul and let in the light. And it seemed to rush in and bear me up to the great fountain of light so that I was cleansed and purified for the day's toil. I could not help but say : 'Thanks be to Thee, who gavest light of day to dissipate the darkness of the night and for that light which removes the darkness of ignorance and sin.' From my window I could see far down the valley. I could see fields green with growing grain. Here and there upon the winding road were wagons wending their way to the little village lying in the midst of the valley. Down by the side of a dancing brook were the cows taking their morning drink. In the barn the horses were being harnessed. The chickens were busily scratching in the barnyard for their breakfast of flies and worms. Everything betokened peace and plenty. On the other side of the brook the ground rose in undulating swells until it reached the foot of the distant bluish mountain. I seemed to absorb that quiet yet beautiful scene, unmoved by the forces about me, not feeling my-self akin to the life powers that existed in them. Then I hastened to come down and bathed in the cool sparkling water, making my body as pure and clean as my soul had been cleansed before. I can feel even now the vigor which that bath imparted. The blood fairly rushed thro my veins. That was life, strong in its intensity. And then came the breakfast and the morning greeting of father, mother and baby sister. Father's loud and cheery voice, mother's quiet and tender and sister's baby greeting. All these were infinitely tender and joyous as I recall them over the space of years. Was there disappointment or sorrow in any of those tones? It didn't seem so then. Ours was a perfect home, full of unselfishness and love. The daily chores were soon done and well done, since the day would be given me as a holiday in which I might do whatsoever I desired. Mother smiled to hear me singing at my tasks. The wood was sawed, split and carried to the wood-box. The water was drawn. Then I sat and/watched mother as she worked, and after many attempts, countless digressions and falteriugs of speech, I unveiled my heart to her. She understood me as only a loving mother can, and coming, took rny hand in hers and stroked my boyish curls. I can feel her cooling hand L ""Il" ■"■'■■ ' ""* 12 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY upon my brow even now—hands hardened by toil in deeds of love. What healing power was in those hands ! By their magic touch the fever in my veins was conquered. Aye, even the heart throbs of youthful sorrow melted away like the tiny ice-diamonds in the warmth of the morning sun. How often since have I wished myself back upon that old doorstep, telling mother all my trials and being prescribed for with her love that probed deeper than a surgeon's knife, yet with infinitely less pain and far better results. You will have guessed ere this the love which I had hidden in my heart. It was to me so sacred that I scarce could breathe it aloud for fear the winds might catch it up and tell to all the world my sweet shame, for so it seemed to me in those first hours. But 'mother heard it all and wished me well. She told me the old saying that the lady fair was never won by a heart that fainted. So I resolved to do that day what had lain upon my heart so long and begged for utterance. No more did my love seem boyish in my eyes, for under mother's magic spell it assumed its true pro-portions and I knew that the grandest thing in all the world was love. I had not cared now even if the birds had told it where'er they went, or the winds had found out my secret and had whispered it to all parts of the universe. Indeed I tried to think and speak aloud how I should plead my cause, and when, late in the after-noon, I went to see the one who awoke within me all this tender care, I had mapped out my plans. As I drove over that familiar road, all nature seemed transformed. The plants and trees sent forth an aroma than which I never breathed a more delicious fra-grance. Even the clouds of dust through the sun's rays appeared as showers of gold. And as I rounded the last bend of that little lane down by the garden, I saw her picking weeds from out the beds. How like her ! A weed troubled her until it was removed. There was not a weed in her pure soul. I stopped to gaze when suddenly she turned and saw me. I wasn't prepared for that. I wonder which of us felt the more embarrassed. She with a sud-den turn had torn her apron off and unrolled the sleeves which had revealed to me a dimpled, dainty arm. And I was caught as a spy, it seemed to me, gazing upon forbidden objects. My courage slowly returned, as with a graceful bow she welcomed me. My! but now my new born boldness had deserted me. Where was that self-assurance now, which was so self-assertive 7HE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 13 but a short time since. All my forces put to flight by a little pink dress. There I sat and pondered over this question until she came forth to take a drive with me. We chose the road along the little dancing brook. The memory of that evening comes to me now, with such a wealth of meaning, that my words to de-scribe it seem to clothe it with poor rags. We talked of indiffer-ent things. But there was something that I wanted to say which seemed to choke me. I would make a bold attempt, only to fin-ish my remark with something concerning stream or sky or when these became exhausted to repeat them. At least a silence fell. I said I alwa)'S liked to view such a scene in silence and simply think. But really I wanted time to bring up reserve forces for the final attack upon this little defenceless fortress by my side. It was unfair I know. But had she been armed with all the weapons of war I would have had more courage. Every-thing about me seemed to speak of love. This little brook which rushed along so gayly, kissing the bank and babbling words of love to the fair water lilies, urged me on. The trees, aided by the winds, clasped their branches around each other and sighed with very surfeit of love. And yonder setting sun blushed rosy red as he kissed yon mountain top. With the increasing fervor of my imagination and the figures which it formed, I grew bolder. But now my beautiful words had flown. I thought it best to cap-ture by a quick attack, and so I blurted out my love. I would give half the years of my life to see again that flush of glad sur-prise, to see those deep blue eyes look into mine with sweet sur-render. Silence now was welcome, while our hearts tried to calm their startled beat and understand their wondrous joy. We loved and all the world can never know our secret until it feels the power within its breast. The hours glided by and we came home. Then followed days of sweet assurance. No longer doubts came into either mind to mar the sweet security ofmutual surrender. All days were bright when I had her to see. But that day seems to me brighter than them all. And if my choice were granted me to bring back whatever day I might choose from my past life, 'twould be that day in which we told each other's love. That night the stars shone with dazzling brightness. The moon seemed to rival the sun. The katydids sang for me and the fire flies be-came as attendant spirits to show me home. Mother was waiting for me and I poured into her listening ear 14 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY the story of my happiness. She wept with very sorrow at losing me. No longer was she as brave as when she urged me on that morning. But her tears of self-loss were soon spent and she only remembered my joy. Who can understand the depth of the mother's love? My love has long since died. Father and mother, too, have gone to join that invisible throng. I live in the past, in those days when my happiness was overflowing day by day. Memory is my faithful servant to recount the sweet old story. Even when I glance forward into the future, memory brings me the materials from the past with which the vision is built. When I may see her again after these years of separation, will hold her again in my arms and tell her how my love for her has remained young and strong, that will be the happiest day of all days." The old man's voice faltered and broke, but suddenly his eyes brightened. He seemed to be listening intently to some one speak-ing to him. And then again he spake in tones loud and distinct. "But listen, I hear again the song of the birds. Throw open the windows. I^et in the light. There they come, all of them, father, mother and sweetheart." The toast was ended. Tears were the applause. Reverently they laid the old man down. At last the happiest day had dawned. c^p SOUL, WHAT ART THOU? Oh my soul! what canst thou be, With thy unknown heraldry— Thy ceaseless ebb of consciousness ? Wilt thou tell me whence has come This thy strange incessant hum, Made manifest with vividness ? From what weird ethereal realm Hast thou found a ready Helm, To guide thee to this senseless clay ? Closely shrouded in a cloud, Or the thunder riven loud, Has chance in some way shown the way ? Maybe thou hast been evolved And must yet be all dissolved With that which gave thee thy birth. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 15 Then wilt thou like meteor flee, . Where the sun from gilded sea Of clouds looks down upon the earth ? And wilt thou leave to its fate Clay thou didst inanimate, When it distasteful is to thee? Or, returning, bear away This clod to elysian day, Transformed to angels' symmetry? Soul. Oft in adversity ; Oft filled with amenity. The strangest of all things below. Perceiving and defining ; Recalling and combining; And feeling knows and knows it knows. Soul—essence in unity With powers of a Trinity— Wilt thou reveal thyself to me ? Or to immortality Change, and with celerity Reveal then thy identity ? «^SL> 'PORTER. Are you one of those noisy people ? Are you ? Stop and think. Noise never wins a man anything. It is never construc-tive— it is ever destructive. Know a poor, imperfect machine by the noise it makes. The mightiest of mechanisms, the solar system, works in perfect silence. Men who have moved their fellow men have ever been the most quiet in their demeanor. There is real power in silence. Seek to gain that power now while at college. Remember that "voice answereth to voice," and it is the "still small voice" you must awaken in the hearts of men if in any way you are to rule them. e*$b I hold in truth, with him who sings To one clear harp in divers tones, That men may rise on stepping-stones Of their dead selves to higher things. —TBNNYSON. I \J\J H *— * ' —■ ■lllWMl I ■■■■' I HUM THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Entered at the Postoffice at Gettysburg as second-class matter Vox. X GETTYSBURG, PA., MARCH, 1901 No. 1 E. C. RUBY, '02, Editor-in- Chief R. ST. CLAIR POFFENBARGER,' 02, Business Manager J. F. NEWMAN, '02, Exchange Editor Assistant Editors Miss ANNIE M. SWARTZ, '02 A. B. RICHARD, '02 Advisory Board PROF. J. A. HIMES, A. M., LIT. D. PROF. G. D. STAHLEY, M.D. PROF. J. TV. RICHARD. D. D. Assistant Business Manager CURTIS E. COOK, '03 Published each mouth, from October to June iuclusive, by the joint literary societies of Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College. Subscription priced One Dollar a year in advance; single copies Ten Cents. Notice to discontinue sending- the MERCURY to any address must be accompanied by all arrearages. Students, Profesiors, and Alumni are cordially invited to contribute. All subscriptions and business matter should be addressed to the Business Manager. Articles for publication should be addressed to the Editor. Address THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY, GETTYSBURG, PA. EDITORIALS nPO the members of the retiring staff we do not hesitate to say *• that we voice the sentiment of every friend of the MERCURY in extending to them a vote of thanks for their very acceptable and efficient service rendered to the literary journal of our Alma Mater. The editorial and the business departments have been so managed as to reflect great credit upon the staff. The high rank which the MERCURY, as a literary journal, holds to-day among the college publications and the excellent financial standing of the same shows that the student body had not misplaced their confi-dence. Whether this can be said of the new staff is a question which remains to be answered one year hence. To the Getlysburgian we extend our thanks for its words of THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 17 encouragement. We bespeak for the members of its new staff unparalleled success in the work which has been placed into their hands. With this issue the MERCURY enters upon its tenth year. It has not grown up without its trials and difficulties. In fact, it stands to-day as an excellent example of the truth that "strength is born of struggle." Let us not think, however, that it can maintain its present position without any more support. The pressure which is brought to bear upon it is greater each year. The more it grows and reaches out the more resistance it must necessarily overcome in order to move forward. With this in mind we trust that the students and alumni of Gettysburg College will give us all the encouragement and assistance possible in try-ing to push this journal to the foremost rank of its class. As to the case of plagiarism referred to in the February num-ber of this journal, we suppose it will be satisfactory to our read-ers to learn that the Princeton student has made a confession of his guilt and has been expelled from the University. The follow-ing is an extract from the letter which was written by the Prince-ton student to the editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine: "A great injustice has been done by me to Mr. Heilman, of Gettysburg, the University, my class, especially those who took part in the oratorical contest last June, and all who are proud of belonging to an institution where the principles of true Christian manhood are taught. I want to frankly confess the gross plagia-rism of which I am guilty, and remove any censure that may be brought upon your magazine, for upon me alone devolves the blame." J» The observance of the twenty-second of February as a national holiday is an important factor in the life of every American citi-zen, for it serves as a constant reminder of Washington and his relations to the history of the country and affords a good oppor-tunity for every one to show his patriotism, and his gratitude for the services of the man who threw himself, body and soul, into the life of the nation. Although set aside as a memorial to Wash-ington, it ought also to be looked upon as a remembrance of those who were silent participants in the struggle for success, in order that this country might be free. —S. %J\J> 18 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY AN ALUMNUS HONORED BY THE PEN AND SWORD SOCIETY The Pen and Sword Society has again invaded the ranks of the alumni and succeeded in capturing one upon whom they thought it fitting to fasten their badge of honor. This alumnus was Rev. William M. Baum, D. D., of Philadelphia, Pa., who delivered the address at the recent public meeting of the society. Dr. Baum prepared for college in an academy at Reading, Pa., entered Gettysburg College in 1842, graduated in 1846, entered the Theological Seminary the same year, and was admitted to the ministry in 1848. In 1861 he became a member of the Board of Trustees of Gettysburg College and also of the Board of Di-rectors of the Theological Seminary. He is the oldest member of the Board of Trustees, but is still as young in his activity for the welfare of his alma mater as ever. He seems always ready to grasp any opportunity to further the interests of Gettysburg Col-lege. We feel confident that no one will say that the Pen and Sword has made a mistake in choosing a man whose feelings towards the institution are in perfect harmony with the objects of the society. A NIGHT OF TERROR TN the course of a lifetime one is called upon to undergo many varied experiences. Most of these experiences are transitory in their effects ; but not a few of them, on the other hand, produce an indelible impression upon the mind of the individual, and are never forgotten. It is to this latter class that the one which I am about to relate belongs. Like an evil intruder it broke in upon the peace and monotony of my earlier years, and, at the time, seriously endangered my mental health and happiness. Now, however, although the memory of it is still unimpaired, I am able to look back with a smile of composure upon what was to me at the time a veritable night of terror, and, in the light of a fuller aud riper knowledge, make myself believe that what I so distinctly saw, heard and felt upon that night never had any existence,—in other words, that I was the victim of gross deception on the part of my senses. The northern part of the county of Monroe, in northeastern Pennsylvania, is still covered with vast tracts of woodland in which the ruthless axe of the woodman has not yet been permitted THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 19 to enter upon its work of destruction. Here the wild and pictur-esque Paconas reach skyward in rugged grandeur and beauty, as if in mute appeal to Him who created this old world to be spared from the spoiling hand of civilization. Here, amid venerable peaks, enveloped in hazy blue, deer, bears and other wild animals still find comparative peace and security. And there, too, issuing from out the mountain sides, are many brooklets of clearest and coldest water, which rush in glittering cascades down over pre-cipitous rocks, or, like interminable threads of silver, wind their devious ways among the underbrush in the bottoms of deep and shady ravines. Fortunate indeed is the angler or hunter who finds his way into these primeval regions, for here every brooklet is the home of countless numbers of beautiful, golden-spotted trout which have not yet learned to distrust the deceitful advances of the cunning followers of old Isaac Walton ; while clumsy Brunos frequently apprise you of their presence by suddenly emerging from the dense underbrush and deliberately looking at you in a surprised and inquiring manner, at the same time snorting their decided disapproval of your intrusion , and frequently beautiful deer with large watery eyes will suddenly confront you and then bound off again into the mountain fastnesses. Nor is this region pre-eminent alone for its natural beauty, but nearly every height and valley is invested with a strong romantic interest because of the many curious Indian legends connected therewith. One of these we shall here relate because of the direct bearing which it has upon our story. In a particularly obscure and unfrequented valley in these mountains, miles away from any other human habitation and al-most inaccessible to all but old mountaineers, is a rude and de-crepit log cabin, no longer tenanted by any living creatures but bats and wild animals which at times find in 'it refuge from the fury of the elements. A.nd yet, I hardly dare say that it is with-out any other occupants at present, for, if popular report is to be credited, evil and mischievous spirits of departed tenants still re-turn from time to time and make this old cabin a weird scene of diabolical revelry. Thirty-five years ago this cabin was inhabited by an old Indian sorcerer or medicine man, by the name of Wapohootche. He was the last one of his tribe to resist the civilizing tendencies of the time and place, and for years had dwelt all alone in his se- " " !UM-'' ff—"———- ""—"—■—■ 20 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY eluded valley, appearing among the whites only about once in four or five months in order to exchange venison and furs for the few products of civilization which he might need. Wapohootche was a remarkable character. The term, "old as the hills," was often applied to him, for his shiny, yellow pate, with its few sparse white hairs, his wrinkled and flabby skin and general ap-pearance indicated great age; he was evidently a centenarian be-fore our fathers knew him. However, his erect carriage and glit-tering eye showed that he still possessed much of the vigor and fire of younger years. Because of his reputed powers of sorcery he was held in superstitious fear and awe wherever he went. Wonderful stories were told of his fabulous wealth, and that these stories were well-grounded was shown by the fact that Wapohoot-che continually carried upon his person, as inseparable ornaments, four heavy golden armlets, probable relics of early barbaric splen-dor. It was in the summer of '64 that this Indian was last seen among the whites and it was generally believed that he had been murdered for his money, but not until some years after was any investigation made, so great was the superstitious fear entertained by the whites of entering Wapohootche's valley. At this time, however, two bold young hunters entered the Paconos with the avowed intention of visiting the valley and its solitary cabin. These hunters were never seen again, and popular report had it that they had fallen into the power of the evil spirits of the valley and had been spirited away. A rescuing expedition resulted in ignominious failure, for before it had come into sight of the cabin it was in some unaccountable manner seized with the greatest fear and panic, and the terrified rescuers were only too glad to escape with their lives. No further investigation was made and Wapo-hootche's Valley was shunned by all as an accursed place. In view of what has been said the reader can readily under-stand why I, a boy of fourteen at the time of which I write, should hail with delight the prospect of a trout-fishing trip to the Paconos. It required but little time to make the necessary preparations, and so, early one beautiful May morning, our party of ten started out for a point about two miles north of Wapohootche's Valley where the trout-fishing was exceptionally fine. We arrived at our des-tination just before sunrise, and in an hour or so were all stationed at different distances along a small stream upon the mountain THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY plateau, pulling out the finny beauties at a rate that would satisfy the most zealous fisherman. In the afternoon, by common consent, we divided our forces, some going up stream and the others down. L,ate in the day, about six o'clock as far as I could judge without a watch, I found myself so far down stream that I could obtain no response from my companions to my repeated halloos. However, inasmuch as my luck was very good just then, I determined to continue fishing down stream for awhile and then rejoin my friends. So interested was I in the sport that I became utterly oblivious to the passing time, and was only brought to my senses by the nearby rumbling of thunder. L,ooking about me, I observed that the sun had long since set and darkness, increased by a rapidly approaching thun-der- storm, was settling down. By the time I had put up my fish-ing tackle and had begun to retrace my steps, the storm was upon me in all its fury. I now found that while it was an easy matter to follow the stream on its downward course, it was a very difficult task to travel up stream. With a terrific rain beating in my face and vivid flashes of lightning blinding my eyes, it was impossible for me to make any progress. But, as I was now almost terrified at the prospect of spending a night alone upon the mountain, I de-termined to adopt what seemed to be my last resource, and follow the stream on its downward course until I should come to an old wagon-road which I supposed to be about a mile distant. On I now went with frantic haste, stumbling over rocks, run-ning into trees or becoming entangled in the underbrush. At last, utterly exhausted and completely bewildered, I leaned up against a tree and endeavored to regain my breath and quiet the painful throbbings of my heart. All about me was Stygian dark-ness. I made frenzied and ineffectual efforts to keep from my sight the scenes which every flash of lightning would reveal. The woods about me seemed full of horrible and menacing forms. The white trunks of dead trees with their bare limbs writhing in the storm were magnified by my highly excited imagination into frightful ghosts and the whole mountain seemed peopled with angry spirits. Overcome by exhaustion, fright, and a terrible sense of loneli-ness, I gave way to what was a very natural impulse for a boy of my age and sobbed spasmodically as I leaned there against that —-— yur *-• F^^^™"™™ ■■"■ ■■■■■ ■mniMmiM 22 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY tree. In my tears I found at least a temporary relief; tliey not only helped to shut out from my sight the terrifying scenes about me, but they also had a soothing effect upon my greatly overtaxed physical and mental faculties. A certain numbness seized me, and sinking down into a reclining position, I endeavored to nerve myself for whatever might come. Suddenly there was a particularly vivid flash of lightning and that instant I observed that my wanderings had brought me into a deep ravine. Immediately the appalling truth confronted me that I was lost in Wapohootche's Valley. Nor was I obliged to wait long for a confirmation of this truth, for all at once, with startling suddenness there broke out upon the night air a most hideous and blood-curdling scream which died away in a series of groans and sighs. At the same time I saw, by the aid of the lightning, a log cabin only a short distance before me which I in-stinctively knew to be that of Wapohootche. My knees smote each other and the cold sweat stood in beads upon my forehead. I sank to the ground in abject terror, but found my whole atten-tion involuntarily directed towards the cabin. The fury of the storm had abated, only fitful lightning remain-ing to lend to the scene a weird and ghostly effect. But now I longed for the crash of thunder again and the roar of the wind and rain, for, breaking in upon the oppressive stillness which ensued, there came to my ears from the cabin, heart-piercing sighs, groans and muffled screams of agony and despair, accompanied by fiendish laughter. Then arose a sound as if of some terrible struggle, ending in the fall of a heavy object after which there would again be those screams of agony mingled with demoniacal laughter. I tried to rise and flee, but I found myself riveted to the spot. And now I was able to distinguish a faint reddish glow about the door of the cabin, as it was slowly and silently opened, and presently, to my horror, I beheld in full view the hideous, skin-clad skeleton of Wapohootche, yellow with age and possessing a certain strange and terrifying luminosity. From out of the hol-low sockets of his eyes and from between his grinning jaws issued a reddish light. Suddenly that horrible, grinning skull riveted its gaze upon me; the light from its glowing sockets seemed to penetrate me through and through. And now the hideous appar-ition approached towards me with ghostly stride, the demoniacal grin becoming continually broader. I made another frenzied ef- THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 23 fort to escape, but could not budge. Closer, closer, closer it came until it stood directly over me. Down it stooped, and I felt its cold, clammy fingers about my throat. My blood was frozen in my veins; I could not utter a sound. Slowly, but surely, the vise-like grip of Wapohootche tightened. I was being choked to death. At last, summing up all 1113^ strength, I gave vent to an agonized scream, made a frantic struggle, and thereby ended one of the most disagreeable dreams it has ever been my misfortune to have. The scene which now greeted my eyes was strange indeed, but it had none of the terrifying characteristics of my hideous dream. The dark ravine, the solitary cabin, the weird sights and sounds and the apparition of Wapohootche had disappeared. Instead of these, the moon was shining brightly through the leafy canopy overhead, causing the drops of water, left b}' the recent shower, to sparkle like diamonds, while all about was forest, and only a few yards before me the little stream, in which I had been fish-ing the afternoon before, gurgled and purled as it tumbled along its stony channel. My .mind soon grasped the situation. I remembered the shower, the darkness, the frantic flight, my terror and exhausted condition when I sank at the tree; and I knew it was thus that an unnatural sleep induced by exhaustion, had overpowered me and rendered possible my frightful dream, in which all the worst fears and apprehensions that had seized me during my flight had been more than realized. As I was sitting there, pondering over the strange experiences of the night, the stillness was broken by a familiar voice calling for me from some point not far distant. I immediately answered, and in spite of my stiffness and drenched garments set out with surprising speed along the path which I had followed the evening before. A few more halloos were exchanged, and presently, to my great joy, I met with two of my companions of the previous day who had been searching for me ever since the storm had ceased. There remains but little more to tell. By the time the sun had risen we were well on our way home, my companions re-proaching me more than once along the way for the trouble I had caused them, and I, for my part, being willing to bear all their reproaches without murmuring, inasmuch as Wapohootche and his mysterious valley had been left far behind us. —R. D. C, '00. IW' 24 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY THE OLD SPELLIING SCHOOL EMORY D. BREAM, '02. \ BOUT sixty-five years ago there arose in the country schools ** of this part of the country the custom of devoting a part of one day in each week to a spelling match. Reading, writing, arithmetic and spelling were the principal branches then taught. The teachers had very limited knowledge of arithmetic, so that the children learned little more than reading, writing and spelling. As spelling was the foundation of reading and writing, the teach-ers felt that it should have special attention. Out of these spelling matches in the school grew the night spelling school. The primary purpose in view was to learn to spell correctly. The school terms were short. The farmers did not have the im-proved machinery and labor-saving methods that they now em-ploy. Competition was not so great and money making was the chief aim of progressive country people. Their plain ways of living and dressing were inexpensive, so that by beginning early and working hard a young man was in most cases able to start in life with a comfortable income. Owing to these facts the children as a rule were not sent to school until late in the winter and then did not always attend regularly on account of threshing and other work that was done during the winter season. Often, too, they did not go to school after they were fifteen or sixteen. Al-though the people paid little attention to education, yet they felt the need of spelling when they wished to write a letter or trans-act business. It was to this end that such schools were begun. The social benefit of such meetings was also taken into consid-eration. Places of entertainment and social gatherings were few. Anything that would afford a meeting place for the young people was sure to be well attended. The boys and girls not only learned to know each other better but became acquainted with those who came from a distance. The only place that could be obtained for such a meeting was the district school-house. These buildings were the property of the people and everybody was made to feel welcome. The only convenient time to hold such a meeting was in the long winter evenings when the days were short and the people were not tired and exhausted from toiling through long hours in the scorching sun. The meetings were usually held weekly and always on the same evening of the week. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 25 Spelling schools were started for the benefit of young men and women, but the teachers soon became very much interested and in this way used their influence in getting their pupils to attend. The children were anxious to go and often succeeded in bringing their fathers and sometimes their mothers with them. About seven o'clock was the time to begin spelling. Before beginning, however, the class had to be organized and some num-ber chosen for a game. Two persons were selected to choose those whom each wished to spell on his or her side. Desks such as we now have in our school-rooms were unknown to them. Long benches were used instead. These benches would be placed along the wall on each side of the room, and each of the two di-visions of the class occupied the benches, one division facing the other. The best spellers were chosen first and took their places in order, commencing at the front end of the room. Either Web-ster's or Walker's common school dictionary was used. The teacher of the school, or some other person who could articulate distinctly, dictated the words and kept "tally," as it was called; that is, kept an account of the words missed by one side and gained by the other. Sometimes the teacher would ap-point another person to perform this office. Commencing at the head end of the class, one word and one trial was given to each member, passing alternately from one side to the other. In case a word was misspelled by one person it was given to one on the opposing side. Should he or she spell it cor-rectly that counted one for the side on which it was spelled. A word was always permitted to go until spelled correctly. Return-ing from the foot to the head of the class, spelling continued until the game was won. The number usually taken was fifteen or twenty, varying according to the ability of the audience in general. When one game had been spelled an intermission often or fifteen minutes was given. This was a time for conversation and finding a partner to take home when the meeting should close. Recess being ended, a new class was chosen and another game spelled after which "spelling off'' took place. Taking the two at the foot of the class, one from each side, they were permitted to spell against one another until one ' 'spelled the other down.'' The unsuccessful one now sat down and the next person on the same side rose in his stead. In this manner the spelling was continued ■——- DJ\JI BUI ■ mgBKB^Bimmmmmmmfiimmummimmwiimmnmmmmim 26 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY till all of one side had sat down. The audience was then dis-missed and the engagements made at recess were fulfilled. The growth of spelling schools was rapid. Not only did they increase in number but soon became well attended. With growth came success. By taking part in one or more of such matches each week for several winters, persons of ordinary ability became good spellers. Those who took special interest in the work would master all the words in the abridged dictionaries. Some who could not even read or write learned to spell comparatively well. This helped them to higher planes in society. Taking into con-sideration these facts, we feel safe in saying that the old spelling school reflects very creditably upon the people of half a century ago. To say that spelling schools have simply gone out of style is not sufficient. They are not altogether a thing of the past, but are few in number and little interest is taken in them. Various causes have contributed to their decline. Probably the introduction of more branches into the schools and the advance along all educational lines has taken the attention of the people from spelling to other studies. The children remain in school a few years longer than formerly. Many of these young people prefer to spend their evenings in study. Not as many people are required to do the farm work as formerly. Many young people have gone to the factories and schools of the cities so that there are not as many young people in the country as there were years ago. Other causes might be in-cluded among the foregoing reasons but the result would not be altered. From these facts it must be obvious that the spelling schools will not be revived to any great extent. Nor will the coming generations ever attain the proficiency which characterized many of our fathers and mothers. «t*£> Too much of joy is sorrowful, So cares must needs abound ; The vine that bears too many flowers, Will trail upon the ground. —ALICE CARY. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 27 RUSSIA'S ATTITUDE TOWARD AMERICA MoNTFORT MELCHIOR, '02. '"THE twentieth century opens with a continuance of the same * relations between Russia and America that existed at the dawn of the nineteenth century. Russia has ever maintained and still maintains a friendly policy toward America. There has never existed any complications or strained relations between these two colossal nations of the world. In the past her friendly policy has been plainly recognized. Russia was very glad and even anxious to sell' to the United States the territory of Alaska for a mere trifle, in order that she might have some feasible excuse for friendly overtures toward America. She has never been jealous of Amer-ica's expansion; on the other hand has rather encouraged it, seem-ing to say, "You take all you want in the western hemisphere, Cuba or whatever it may be, and wink at me when I grab on the eastern side of the globe, so that we may grow great together." Russia has probably felt the need and desired the aid of Amer-ica in checking the marine domination of England. England's advancement and especially her naval success has always been an eyesore to Russia, and she has smiled with satisfaction at the stride America has taken in rivaling England's marine career. Another evidence of Russia's friendliness was shown when, in the early days of the American empire, she so earnestly desired an embassador from that rising nation. Jefferson, then President, was desirous of establishing a minister at St. Petersburg, but the Senate thought that there were not sufficient reasons for such a policy, and whatever reasons there were they did not justify the extra expense. As a result the proposition was lost, much to the dissatisfaction of Jefferson, to say nothing of Russia. When Mad-ison became President and advocated the same policy, he met a like opposition, but by his obstinate perseverance finally succeeded in winning his point, and John Quiucy Adams was sent as Amer-ica's representative at the Court of the Czar. The personal bear-ing of Adams and his policy in diplomatic relations won the friendship of the Czar himself, as well as that of the whole nation, and to Adams was due much of the friendly bearing of this des-potism to the American Republic* During the civil war of the United States, Russia, if ever, I *MemolrB of J. Q. Adams. TU7WI «■»' ■ii" —'■iiTfiifiri'iiftfrnmirmTtnimiffliimmmiiiiiyiyiiiiiiMiiiiiyiin 28 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY manifested the interest of a firm and loyal friend. At this mo-mentous crisis when all the world favoured and even abetted se-cession or the partition of America, Russia, like the mighty bear she is, gave a murmuring growl of sympathy, and it is fair to say she would have felt little hesitancy in manfully expressing herself, had it been necessary. Russia alone stood out and refused to do aught against the stalwart youth who had developed from the valorous few who dared brave the long dreary years of New Eng-land and Virginian hardship. At the present everything seems to show that Russia still maintains the same attitude toward America, that she always has maintained. Along commercial lines it is to her advantage to keep relations just as friendly as possible, and no less for political reasons. Russia well knows that she can depend on none of the Eurasian countries as a friend, and she feels the sore need of a formidable ally. Her great hope lies in America, and if an alliance could here be formed she would fear no one. In the recent disagreements between the two great continents, Russia always showed ber sympathy to be with the United States. She gloried to see Spain go down under America's powerful arm, and is no less anxious to see the Philippines quieted, and America triumphant over all. Some great man whose name has now escaped our memory, said, a few years ago, that if the whole world became involved in a chaotic state of warfare, Russia and America side by side, or shoulder to shoulder would battle against the world. That, no doubt, has been Russia's opinion exactly. At the present time the partition sooner or later of China seems inevitable. All the European powers have their eyes trained on this vast empire, and are waiting only for a plausible opportunity to jump in and help themselves. Russia is among the foremost of these powers, and right there is where she wants the co-operation of America. If an alliance could be formed between these two nations, then with her own great armies and the civilizing and enlightening agiencies of America the success of her eastern conquests would be certain. Here is where Russia's present attitude toward the old Amer-ican colonies blends into that of the future. We can entertain no doubt but that her policy in the future will be the same that it has been in the past and present. No one can fail to see the immense opportunities and resources of Russia. From the fur-bearing re-wm THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 29 gions on the north to the tropical fruits of the south; from the grain fields and manufactories of the west over the platinum and gold fields of the Ural mountains to the mines oi Siberia, she is provided with all the necessaries of human life. No one can help but see the same wealth of America. Russia has seen and thought of this for years. If these two nations were united commercially and politically, what could they not do ? Let England become unruly. Then let Russia and America close their ports, and say to the rest of the world, "You close yours"—where would Eng-land be in forty-eight hours ? Think of a federation reaching from St. Petersburg to the Ural mountains, from the Ural mountains across the whole continent of Asia to Kamtchatka, from Kamt-chatka across Behring strait to Alaska, or directly aross the Pacific to San Francisco, and from San Francisco across America to New York ! Think of the possibilities of such a union ! And Russia has been thinking about them. She, with all her despotism, is shrewd and quick, and distinctly sees that it is to her advantage to maintain friendly relations with America. Such has been, is, and no doubt will be her attitude toward the old American colonies. As to the United States, nothing is less probable than such advances, but let us ever remember that in Russia we have a firm and ever loyal friend. THE PROPER CARE OF HUMAN LIFE /~\NE of the great mysteries in this world is that of life, and es- ^^ pecially human life. We are told that "God created man in His own image and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.'' With this view of the origin of human life we have come to regard it as a divine gift placed into our hands for a definite period of time and conditioned upon a proper care and use of it. What constitutes a proper care of human life has never been universally agreed upon, but we believe that the human race is beginning to realize more and more the importance and necessity of a proper care. There are two important phases of this question; first, the care which each individual should have for his own life, and second, the care which he should have for the life of his fellow-men. Every human being shows his care for his own life by observ-ing the laws which pertain to the healthful condition of the body. 30 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY Health is a priceless blessing. It is often called the greatest of blessings; and we are told that without it life has no worth. This language may be too strong, for we have seen those who, amidst infirmity and frequent illness, through force of intellect, and still more through religious principle, devout gratitude and trust, have found life a greater boon than the multitude of the strong and healthy ever dream of. Still, health is an inestimable good, and is essential to the full development and gratification of our powers. Without it life loses its bright charm, and gradually declines by m_vsterious decay. Without it human life falls far short of its true mission in this world. Health and disease are physical conditions upon which pleasure and pain, success and failure, depend. We may also safely consider what is known as self-defense against the violence of human hands, or the brutal attacks of wild beasts, or even the threatenings of the elements of nature as a part of the proper care for one's own life. The man who does not try to preserve his life when he is assaulted by his fellowruan without a cause, or when he is attacked by furious beasts, or when storms, floods, and fire threaten him, surely does not have much of a price set upon that mysterious gift from God. He cares little for his own life who goes through the world unconcerned as to what may befall him and regardless of the fact that he is created with the power and the necessary means for defending his life in very many instances. Then again, it must not be forgotten that there are circum-stances which require that human life must be given up. Our lives have an office for others, to help save and lift up humanity. Who are the men in whom human life seems to be manifested in its brightest glory, who appear best to have fulfilled its end ? They are those who have made the greatest sacrifices for truth, humanity, religion, patriotism and freedom. It is not to those who have watched over and kept their lives, but to those who have cheerfully given them away, that the tribute of reverence and joyful commemoration has been paid. This view of the proper care of human life may be implied in the teaching of Christ—"He that loses his life for my sake shall find it." This, however, re-fers more to the principle of unselfishness in general than to the sacrificing of life. We shall now consider the care which man should have for the life of his fellowmen. In all ages the individual has, in one form Hill! THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 31 or another, been trodden in the dust. In monarchies and aris-tocracies, he has been sacrificed to one or to the few, who, re-garding government as an heirloom in their families, and think-ing of the people as made only to live and die for their glory, have not dreamed that the sovereign power was designed to shield every man, without exception, from wrong. In the ancient republics, the glory of the state, especially conquest, was the end to which the individual was expected to offer himself a victim. It was the glory of the American people, that, in their Declaration of Inde-pendence, they took the ground of the indestructible rights of every human being, and in the Emancipation Proclamation they have given to the world the evidence that they meant what they declared. Indifference to human life is probably at its height in times of war. Such indifference was found in Napoleon when, for the amusement of some mistress of the night, he sacrificed fifty of his soldiers in an escalade which he knew to be positively futile for any military purpose, or in Abdul Hamid when, probably for no other reason than that he feared the downfall of his own power, he sanctioned the horrible massacres in Armenia, or even in our own Civil War, when thousands of men were carelessly sacrificed, both in the north and the south, for the sake of the military glory and fame of certain individuals. The sufferings and death of a single fellowbeing often excite a tender and active compassion, but we hear without emotion of thousands enduring every variety of woe in war. A single mur-der in peace thrills through our frames. The countless murders of war are heard as an amusing tale. The execution of a crimi-nal depresses the mind, and philanthropy is laboring to substitute milder punishments for death. But benevolence has hardly made an effort to snatch from sudden and untimely death the inumer-able victims immolated on the altar of war. Even to-day the voice of those, who forget that they have a care which pertains to the life of their fellowman, is heard in terms of reproach when we seek to avoid war. In most of these cases which I have mentioned there still ex-ist opinions which lead to either extreme. Like many other things of this nature it may be safest to say that the proper care for human life is the golden mean of these extremes. There are circumstances which demand that the right of self-defense be dis- TUrerr-T-T 32 THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY placed by the willingness to give up life; that the rights and lib-erties of our fellowman be taken from him for the good of society; and that the government of a country must furnish some of its citizens as victims upon the altar of war, especially when it is car-ried on for the sake of bettering the conditions of the human race-s' EXCHAMGES TT is said that no two minds follow the same channel of thought. A We each have our likes and dislikes and what is attractive to one person may not have the least charm for another. A department entirely devoted to exchange work has recently been added to the MERCURY staff, and the editor takes this oppor-tunity to say that any criticism which may be given in this col-umn will be offered with perfect frankness but with not the slight-est intention of giving offense. We shall try to avoid useless and nonsensical "cutting," which has always reminded us very strongly of the proverbial "feline quarrel," but shall be ready to defend ourselves and our institution as best we can, if occasion demands. Among the exchanges which we have examined, we note the following: The Lafayette of February 8th contains an excellent article on fraternities. We agree with the writer throughout. If the sensi-ble ideas he expresses were followed, the membership of many fraternities would be smaller, but their moral character would undoubtedly be of a higher type. "His Professor" in the February Touchstone displays a bit of the real class-room spirit. The story is interesting and ends in a pleasant manner. The Lesbian Herald is a very welcome exchange—one which we enjoy thoroughly. Its appearance is unpretentious but at-tractive; its arrangement excellent; and its articles in general of a high type. THE GETTYSBURG MERCURY 33 We could wish that every person who tries to make puns would read the article "Puns and Punsters" in the February Mountaineer. We congratulate Allegheny College on her recent endowment of thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of building a chapel. Other exchanges to be acknowledged are: The Saint John's Collegian, The Western Maryland College Monthly, The Haver ford-ian. The Roanoke Collegian and The Ursimis College Bulletin. In men whom men condemn as ill I find so much of goodness still ; In men whom men pronounce divine I find so much of sin and blot, I hesitate to draw a line Between the two, where God has not. Burns and Byron—MmER. In battle or business, whatever the game, In law or in love, it is ever the same; In struggle for power, or the scramble for pelf, Let this be your motto: Rely on yourself! For whether the prize be a ribbon or throne, The victor is he who can "go it alone." -SAXB. c*p The very power that molds a tear And bids it trickle from its source, That power preserves the earth a sphere And guides the planets in their course. —ROGERS. uu> PATRONIZE OUR ADVERTISERS. C R. SOLT MERCHANT TAILOR Masonic Bldg., GETTYSBURG Our collection of Woolens for the coming- Fall and "Winter season cannot be surpassed for variety, attractive designs and g-eneral completeness. The latest styles of fashionable novelties in the most approved shades. Staples of exceptional merit, value and wearing durability. Also altering-, repairing, dj-eing and scouring at moderate prices. .FOR UP-TO-DATE. Clothing, Hats, Shoes, And Men's Furnishing- Goods, go to I. HALLEM'S MAMMOTH CLOTHING HOUSE, Chambersburg St., GETTYSBURG, PA. ESTABLISHED 1867 BY ALLEN WALTON. ALLEN K. WALTON, President and Treasurer. ROBT. J. WALTON, I Superintendent. flummelstooin Bromn Stone Company Quarrymen and Manufacturers of Building Stone, Sawed Flagging and Tile Waltonvllle, Dauphin Co., Pa. Contractors for all kinds of Telegraph and Express Address. Cut Stone Work. BROWNSTONE, PA. Parties visiting the Quarries will leave cars at Brownstone Station on the P. & R. R. R. For a nice sweet loaf of Bread call on J. RAMER Baker of Bread and Fancy Cakes, GETTYSBURG. PA. EIMER & AMEND, Manufacturers and Importers of Chemicals and Chemical Apparatus 205, 207, 209 and 211 Third Avenue, Corner 18th Street NEW YORK. Finest Bohemian and German Glassware, Royal Berlin and Meissen Porcelain, Pure Hammered Platinum, Balances and Weights. Zeiss Mi-croscopes and Bacteriological Apparatus; Chemical Pure Acids and Assay Goods. SCOTT PAPER COMPANY MAKERS OF FINE TOILET PAPER 7th and Greenwood Ave. PHILADELPHIA -■ ■'■'■HI"!'" ! GETTYSBURG COLLEGE LIBRARY GETTYSBURG, \.

Security Council 8221st Meeting ; 5/21/2018 Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Ac… https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13276.doc.htm 1/5 MEETINGS COVERAGE Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Accountability Mechanism After more than four years of work, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was still unable to verify that Syria's initial declaration on its chemical weapons programme was accurate, delegates told the Security Council today, underlining that questions remained about the use of such weapons in that country. Discussions between the OPCW Technical Secretariat and the Syrian Government were continuing, although they had not led to the resolution of any of the remaining issues regarding the completeness and accuracy of Syria's initial declaration, said Thomas Markram, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament A􀃗􍝡airs. Stressing that resolving those outstanding issues would allow for shared con􀃒􍉤dence in Syria's declaration across the international community, he emphasized: "The persistent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria underscore the need to identify solutions and reach agreement on an appropriate accountability mechanism." The OPCW Fact-Finding Mission was continuing its work and was currently in Damascus looking into allegations of the use of chemical weapons that were brought to the attention of the OPCW Director-General by the Government, said Mr. Markram. The next report of the Fact-Finding Mission would be submitted when it considered that it had su􀃕􍕣cient information and was in a position to draw a conclusion. In the meantime, the Syrian Government had continued e􀃗􍝯orts to destroy the two remaining chemical weapons production facilities in the country, he said, adding that destruction of those facilities was expected to be complete within two to three months from the start date and would be veri􀃒􍉥ed by OPCW. Expressing concern that OPCW was still unable to verify Syria's initial declaration on its chemical weapons programme, the representative of Sweden noted there were still a number of serious outstanding issues that had yet to be resolved. Speci􀃒􍉣cally, the Director-General last month reported that the initial 5 outstanding questions had grown to 22, including the case of the Syrian Scienti􀃒􍉣c Studies and Research Centre. Emphasizing that sarin and chlorine stocks did indeed exist in Syria, France's representative said that the country had either deceived the Council or pursued a clandestine chemical weapons programme. Given those two options, France called on Syria to respond to all unanswered questions, "and there are many of them". The Damascus-based regime's responsibility for the use of chemical weapons had been publicly and unambiguously established by the Joint Investigative Mechanism and any attempt to discredit its clear conclusion could not change that reality, he said, stressing that impunity for those who used chemical weapons was not an option. The speaker for the United States said a few years ago, a single chemical weapons attack would have united the Council in shock and anger, but now there was a regime that used them "practically every other week". Letting one regime o􀃗􍜠 the hook emboldened others, she said, adding that the world was rapidly sliding back to a time when people lived in fear of colourless, shapeless gas leaving them gasping for air. Her country refused to believe that the Council could not come together once again on chemical weapons, despite di􀃗􍝥erences between its members. Echoing those concerns, the United Kingdom's representative noted that, in the absence of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, there was no proper channel to ensure accountability. Substantive gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in Syria's declaration remained and the seriousness of the situation had increased over time. Turning to the recent poisoning in the town of Salisbury in her country, she said no explanation had been provided as to how a military-grade nerve agent had come to be used to sicken two people. There should be no more victims of chemical weapons attacks, whether they took place in the war zones of Syria or in an English town, she stressed. The representative of the Russian Federation said that the conclusions of the Joint Investigative Mechanism were nothing more than a pre-ordained, pre‑programmed result aimed at accusing the Syrian authorities. The Russian Federation was unable to support extension of the Mechanism's mandate in an unchanged form, he said, highlighting that his delegation had proposed a speci􀃒􍉣c alternative and circulated a draft resolution which was currently "in blue". Syria's representative said that his Government had ful􀃒􍉬lled its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Council resolution 2118 (2013). It had eliminated its chemical weapons programme in record time, which was a 􀃒􍉲rst in the history of OPCW, he stressed, and the Joint Investigative Mechanism had con􀃒􍉲rmed that fact in its June 2014 report. The 5/21/2018 Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Ac… https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13276.doc.htm 2/5 Syrian Army did not use chemical weapons nor did it possess them, rather they had been used against civilians by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), Nusrah Front and other associated entities. Also speaking today were the representatives of the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Ethiopia, China, Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, Poland, Equatorial Guinea and Peru. The meeting began at 10:03 a.m. and ended at 11:47 a.m. Brie􀃒􍉮ng THOMAS MARKRAM, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament A􀃗􍝡airs, said that the Syrian Government had continued e􀃗􍝯orts to destroy the two remaining chemical weapons production facilities in the country. Destruction of those facilities was expected to be complete within two to three months from the start date and would be veri􀃒􍉥ed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), he said, stressing that the long-awaited and veri􀃒􍉥ed destruction of the two facilities was an essential step towards the full implementation of Security Council resolution 2118 (2013). Discussions between the OPCW Technical Secretariat and the Syrian Government were continuing, although they had not led to the resolution of any of the remaining issues. "The OPCW Technical Secretariat continues to be unable to con􀃒􍉲rm the completeness and accuracy of Syria's declaration," he said, underscoring that resolving those outstanding issues would permit shared con􀃒􍉤dence in Syria's declaration within the international community. The OPCW Fact-Finding Mission was continuing its work and was currently in Damascus looking into allegations of the use of chemical weapons that were brought to the attention of the OPCW Director-General by the Government, he said. The next report of the Fact-Finding Mission would be submitted when it considered that it had su􀃕􍕣cient information and was in a position to draw a conclusion, although those conclusions would not entail attribution of responsibility in those cases where the use of chemical weapons was determined. "The persistent allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria underscore the need to identify solutions and reach agreement on an appropriate accountability mechanism," he emphasized, adding that the Secretary-General and the High Representative for Disarmament A􀃗􍝡airs had repeatedly underlined the need to avoid impunity and ensure that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons were identi􀃒􍉥ed and held responsible. Statements NIKKI R. HALEY (United States) said the Council often talked about chemical weapons, but she worried that sometimes it lost sight of the human side of chemical weapons attacks. A century had lapsed between the 􀃒􍉲rst use of chemical weapons in the First World War and the chemical weapons attack in Khan Shaykun one year ago today, and in that time, several international instruments sought to prohibit such weapons. The international community dared to believe that once day chemical weapons would be relegated to the history books. Then came Syria, where shared disgust led the Council to adopt resolution 2118 (2013) requiring the scheduled destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, followed in 2015 by the creation of the Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapons Use in Syria. The United Nations found that the Assad regime, as well as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), had been responsible for the use of chemical weapons, and the Council dared to believe that consensus over the use of such weapons would hold. "But, we know what happened next," she said. The Assad regime continued to use chemical weapons, with one Council member shielding that regime from the consequences. The world today was a more dangerous place, with the Assad regime dropping chlorine bombs on men, women and children, she said. A few years ago, a single chemical weapons attack would have united the Council in shock and anger, but now there was a regime that used them "practically every other week". Letting one regime o􀃗􍜠 the hook emboldened others, she said, adding that the world was rapidly sliding back to a time when people lived in fear of colourless, shapeless gas leaving them gasping for air. Even as the Council remained deadlocked, some had stood up to demand accountability, with the General Assembly approving an impartial mechanism to investigate serious crimes in Syria and France establishing a partnership against impunity for the use of chemical weapons. At the same time, people in Syria were facing the terrifying reality of such heinous weapons. She invited Marmoun Morad, a Syrian physician who treated victims of the Khan Shaykun attack, present in the Council chamber this morning, to stand up, and saluted him for his courage and determination. He was present today to be an inspiration for all Council members, she said, adding that, if Mr. Morad was not going to stop treating victims of chemical weapons attacks, then the Council must not stop working to eliminate such weapons and to hold to account anyone, anywhere who used them. Concluding, she said her country refused to believe that the Council could not come together once again on chemical weapons, despite any di􀃗􍝥erences between its members. KAREL JAN GUSTAAF VAN OOSTEROM (Netherlands) recalled that Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention almost 􀃒􍉶ve years ago, having promised to destroy and abandon its chemical weapons programme; yet month after month there was news that the Syrian regime's declaration could not be considered complete or accurate. One year ago, the Assad regime carried out the heinous 4 April 2017 chemical attack against Khan Shaykhun that resulted in the deaths of about 100 innocent Syrian civilians, including many children. The use of chemical weapons should never go unpunished, he stressed. The Council must act upon the conclusions of the Joint Investigative Mechanism and the outcomes of the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission. Further, the Council must intensify its e􀃗􍝯orts to achieve a mechanism that could continue the meticulous work of the Joint Investigative Mechanism. 5/21/2018 Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Ac… https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13276.doc.htm 3/5 KAREN PIERCE (United Kingdom) recalled that the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission had concluded that sarin had been used at Khan Shaykhun and the Joint Investigative Mechanism had concluded that the Syrian regime was responsible for that attack. After more than four years of work, OPCW had yet to verify that Syria's declaration was accurate. Gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies remained which were not trivial points of minor detail — they were substantive and the seriousness of the situation had increased over time. There could be no impunity, she said, pointing out that, in the absence of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, there was no proper mechanism to ensure accountability. There was still no explanation provided as to how a military-grade nerve agent had come to be used in the poisoning in Salisbury. There should be no more victims of chemical weapons attacks; whether they took place in the war zones of Syria or in an English town. KAIRAT UMAROV (Kazakhstan) said that the use of chemical weapons was absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances. His delegation was pleased that during the reporting period there had been some progress towards the destruction of the remaining two chemical weapons production facilities in Syria, although, at the same time, he expressed concern about the lack of progress in clarifying all outstanding issues regarding the Government's initial declaration. The Council had not yet restored its investigative potential, he noted, stressing the need for every e􀃗􍝯ort to be made to 􀃒􍉮nd common ground on the issue. It was extremely important and necessary to overcome all di􀃗􍝥erences among Council members that prevented the complete elimination of the threat of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. FRANÇOIS DELATTRE (France) said the responsibility of the Damascus-based regime for the use of chemical weapons had been publicly and unambiguously established by the Joint Investigative Mechanism. Any attempt to discredit and to cast into oblivion the clear conclusion of the Joint Investigative Mechanism could not change that reality. Emphasizing that sarin and chlorine stocks did, indeed, exist in Syria, he said that country had either deceived the Council or pursued a clandestine chemical weapons programme. Given those two options, France called on Syria to respond to all unanswered questions, "and there are many of them". Reiterating his country's full support for OPCW, he said the use of chemical weapons was a moral o􀃗􍝥ense that undermined the fundamental standards of international law, as well as the credibility of the non-proliferation regime. A taboo had been broken in Syria, as in Salisbury and elsewhere. He went on to emphasize that impunity for those who used chemical weapons was not an option. Their use against civilians was a war crime and a crime against humanity, and perpetrators must be held to account. If there was an area in which the Council's credibility was at stake, it was chemical weapons, he said, delivering an urgent appeal for Council members to overcome their political di􀃗􍝥erences and put an end to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. That much was owed to civilians, who were the main victims of such weapons, and to the international non-proliferation regime. MANSOUR AYYAD SH. A. ALOTAIBI (Kuwait) said that, due to divisions within the Council, the justice he had hoped for in the Khan Shaykun incident had "vanished into thin air". The continued use of chemical weapons in Syria four years after the adoption of resolution 2118 (2013) was unacceptable. His delegation backed any mechanism that could achieve consensus in the Council and hold those responsible for committing such crimes to account, according to the principles outlined in resolution 2118 (2013). Indeed, the draft resolution tabled by the United States contained such elements. As such, he called on Member States to use that draft as the basis for future negotiations on any such mechanism. Stressing the importance of bringing perpetrators of chemical crimes to justice, he expressed support for the work of Joint Investigative Mechanism in assisting in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes in Syria and looked forward to hearing the results of its 􀃒􍉲rst report, which would be discussed on 17 April in the General Assembly. TEKEDA ALEMU (Ethiopia) expressed concern for the "barbaric" chemical attack in Khan Shaykun one year ago and called for those responsible to be held accountable. Without a uni􀃒􍉥ed response from the Council, damage to the chemical weapons disarmament and non-proliferation regime could not be repaired. He expressed hope that the Syrian Government — with the support of OPCW — would eliminate its two remaining stationary above-ground facilities. In that connection, he reiterated the importance of continued communication between OPCW and the Syrian Government with the ultimate objective of addressing remaining gaps and inconsistencies. Meanwhile, it was imperative that the investigative work of the OPCW's Fact-Finding Mission continued on all allegations of chemical weapons use. Nevertheless, the Council had to address the current institutional gap by creating an independent, impartial and professional investigative mechanism that could identify all State and non-State actors responsible for such crimes. WU HAITAO (China) said that his delegation was greatly concerned by the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria and 􀃒􍉲rmly opposed the use of such weapons under any circumstances. Recent incidents of suspected use of toxic chemicals were deeply concerning, and in that regard, establishing a new investigative mechanism to 􀃒􍉮nd out the truth and prevent the recurrent use of such weapons was of vital importance. All parties should continue to insist that the Security Council and OPCW should be the main channels for addressing the use of chemical weapons. He hoped that the Syrian Government would continue to cooperate with OPCW on the resolution of the initial declaration and properly resolve the outstanding issues. Political settlement was the only way to resolve the Syria issue, and in that context, the international community should support the next round of Geneva talks. JUAN MARCELO ZAMBRANA TORRELIO (Bolivia) expressed concern about the latest reports of alleged uses of chemical weapons in Syria and believed that there could be no justi􀃒􍉣cation for the use of such weapons, irrespective of the circumstances. His delegation strongly supported the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission and called on all parties to ensure an investigation could be carried out in a transparent and e􀃗􍝥ective manner. However, there was still the need for a mechanism 5/21/2018 Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Ac… https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13276.doc.htm 4/5 to identify the perpetrators so they could stand trial before the competent bodies. The Security Council must not be politicized or exploited on that issue, he said, calling on the parties to seek greater dialogue to create an investigative mechanism. The only way to resolve the con􀃓􍍩ict was through a political process led by the Syrian people. CARL SKAU (Sweden) said the failure to agree on a new, independent and impartial attributive mechanism for chemical weapons use in Syria cast a particularly dark shadow on the Council. He condemned the continued and repeated use of chemical weapons in Syria, which constituted a serious violation of international law and a threat to international peace and security. Regarding the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013), he expressed concern that OPCW was still unable to con􀃒􍉲rm whether Syria's initial declaration on its chemical weapons programme was accurate and complete. Indeed, there were still a number of serious outstanding issues. More speci􀃒􍉣cally, the Director-General last month reported that the initial 5 outstanding questions had grown to 22, including the case of the Syrian Scienti􀃒􍉣c Studies and Research Centre. He went on to express deep regret that the Council had failed to agree on an extension of the Joint Investigative Mechanism, which was essential to protect the international disarmament and non‑proliferation regime and ensure accountability. BERNARD TANOH-BOUTCHOUE (Côte d'Ivoire) said cooperation among the Syrian Government, OPCW and the United Nations O􀃕􍕣ce for Project Services (UNOPS) aimed at the destruction of remaining chemical weapons production units was encouraging. He also thanked those States which had contributed to the Syria Trust Fund for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons. However, major challenges persisted, he said, urging Syria to continue its cooperation with OPCW to address outstanding issues, including the destruction of remaining chemical weapons facilities. Any use of chemical weapons was a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a violation of hard-won international standards banning such weapons. He encouraged OPCW, the Fact-Finding Mission and the Syrian Government to continue their cooperation, and called for a political settlement to the Syrian con􀃓􍍩ict. PAWEL RADOMSKI (Poland) said his delegation had taken note with utmost concern that the OPCW Technical Secretariat had been unable to con􀃒􍉲rm whether declarations submitted by Syria were accurate and complete. Once again, Poland joined the Secretary-General in calling on Syria to extend its fullest cooperation with the declaration assessment team. A clear message must be sent that the use of chemical weapons by anyone would not be tolerated, and the international community must be empowered to address each and every chemical weapons attack and to hold perpetrators accountable. Poland believed that the United States draft resolution was a good basis for further discussion on investigating the use of chemical weapons. He emphasized that the credibility of the non-proliferation regime, as well as collective security were at stake. Poland also hoped that those responsible for the reckless act in Salisbury would soon be held accountable. ANATOLIO NDONG MBA (Equatorial Guinea) said the use of chemical weapons posed a clear threat to international peace and security. The divergent positions of Council members had demonstrated that the end to the use of chemical weapons in Syria hinged on an inclusive political agreement. His delegation a􀃕􍕲rmed the urgent need for an investigative mechanism, calling it a collective responsibility and moral obligation to the victims of the con􀃓􍍩ict. He called for Council members to recall their important role in the promotion of international peace and security. VASSILY A. NEBENZIA (Russian Federation) said it would be constructive to conduct a thorough analysis of the Khan Shaykhun incident and the consequences of that event in the context of global and regional security. The circumstances around that incident remained obscure. The so-called work done by the Joint Investigative Mechanism could not be taken seriously by professionals. The conclusions of that Mechanism were nothing more than a pre-ordained, pre‑programmed result aimed at accusing the Syrian authorities. They ran counter to the laws of physics, chemistry, aviation, ballistics and explosive matters. Experts did not travel to the location where the incident occurred and they had built their guesses on information received from armed groups and dubious structures that supported terrorist groups, including the white helmets. The Russian Federation was unable to support the extension of the Joint Investigative Mechanism mandate in an unchanged form, he said. Armed groups had amassed considerable capacity in chemical warfare. His delegation had proposed a speci􀃒􍉣c alternative to the former Joint Investigative Mechanism and circulated a draft resolution which was currently "in blue". The urgent need was to conduct an analysis of the production of chemical weapons by non-State actors, as well as their e􀃗􍝥ective use of those toxic substances. Nevertheless, Western colleagues were insisting on the recreation of a mechanism that was convenient for them and that would rubber stamp their own conclusions. International law fell to pieces when suspicions became the queen of evidence. Countries continued to con􀃒􍉤dently announce that chemical weapons were being used by Damascus, despite the absence of evidence and the clear political and military objectives behind such allegations. Lastly, he called for a Council meeting on Thursday regarding the incident in Salisbury. GUSTAVO MEZA-CUADRA (Peru), Council President for April, speaking in his national capacity, said chemical weapons attacks were atrocities committed in open de􀃒􍉡ance of the non-proliferation regime, as well as a threat to international peace and security which the Council could not allow. He expressed Peru's concern about the accuracy of the Syrian Government's declarations, adding that the Syrian authorities must be encouraged to provide all information without delay. Paying tribute to the Fact-Finding Mission, he said its work must be complemented by an independent mechanism that would make it possible to assign responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in line with international law. 5/21/2018 Questions Remain over Syria's Chemical Weapons Programme, Security Council Hears, as Speakers Call for Agreement on Suitable Ac… https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13276.doc.htm 5/5  MOUNZER MOUNZER (Syria) said Syria had ful􀃒􍉬lled its commitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Council resolution 2118 (2013). It had also always fully cooperated — in a positive, transparent and 􀃓􍍥exible manner — despite great challenges and a complicated and di􀃕􍕣cult security situation. The Syrian Government had been able to eliminate its chemical weapons programme in record time, which was a 􀃒􍉲rst in the history of OPCW. The Joint Investigative Mechanism con􀃒􍉲rmed that in its June 2014 report. But, rather than commending the Government for its e􀃗􍝯orts, some Council members — including the United States, which had not destroyed its chemical arsenal, United Kingdom and France — had mastered the art of deception and misinformation to dominate the world and take it back to the era of colonialism and trusteeship. They were investing in new Council meeting formats with one clear goal: to obstruct the Syrian army's progress against armed terrorist groups which they supported. He referred to theatrics staged by "white helmets" whose claims about the use of chemical weapons in eastern Ghouta coincided with its liberation from armed terrorist groups. Recalling the incident in Khan Shaykhun, he said the Joint Investigative Mechanism had refused to visit that location, relying instead on false witness statements and so-called open sources whose work was unfounded and lacking in credibility. His Government had insisted before the Council and the OPCW Executive Council that it condemned the use of chemical weapons and any other weapon of mass destruction for any reason in any place. The Syrian Army did not use chemical weapons nor did it possess them, he said. Rather, they had been used against civilians by ISIL, Nusrah Front and other associated entities. He said his Government had sent the Council and specialized agencies 130 letters on the possession, production and use of chemical weapons by armed terrorist groups, but, unfortunately, it never got an answer regarding measures that the Council might take against those States which facilitated terrorist access to such weapons. He went on to ask how the United States, United Kingdom and France could claim to be committee to justice while having carried out "blood-curdling attacks" in several countries in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean over many years. The partnership against impunity established by France represented an attempt to set up a politicized parallel mechanism that would serve the interests of States opposed to the Syrian Government, he said. His Government was committed to implementing its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and it would continue its war against terrorists regardless of political blackmail and cheap attempts to exploit the su􀃗􍝥ering of the Syrian people. Concluding, he asked the representative of the Netherlands why no information had been provided about chemical agents aboard an aircraft that fell on Amsterdam in 1992, creating an orange-coloured explosion. For information media. Not an o􀃕􍕣cial record.

Issue 49.3 of the Review for Religious, May/June 1990. ; REVIEW I:OR RELIGIOUS (ISSN 0034-639X) is published bi-monthly at St. Louis University by the Mis-souri Province Educational [nslilule of lhe Sociely of Jesus; Editorial Office; 360~ Lindell Blvd., Rm. 428; St. Louis, MO 63108-3393. Second-class postage paid at St. Louis MO. Single copies $3.50. Subscriptions: United States $15.00 for onc year; $28.00 for two years. Other countrics: US $20.00 for one year: if airmail, US $35.00 per year. For subscription orders or change of address, write: Ri~vn-:w FOR R~uc, ous: P.O. Box 60"/0; Duluth, MN 55806. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RF:VlEW vok REI.I~;IOt~S; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, MN 55806. Ol990 REVIEW voR REt.l~;Iot~s. David L. Fleming, S.J. iris Ann Ledden, S.S.N.D. Richard A. Hill, S.J. Jean Read Mary Ann Foppe Editor Associate Editor "~ Contributing Editor ~.~o' Assistant Editors Advisor\, Board David J. Hassel, S.J. Sean Sammon, F.M.S. Mary Margaret Johanning, S.S.N.D. Wendy Wright, Ph.D. Suzanne Zuercher, O.S.B. Ma\'/June 1990 Volume 49 Number 3 Manuscripts, books fl~r review and correspondence with the editor should be sent to REVIEW ro~ REt.l~aOt~s; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63108-3393. Correspondence about the departmenl "Canonical Counsel" should be addressed to Rich-ard A. Hill, S.J.; J.S.T.B.; 1735 LeRoy Ave.; Berkeley, CA 94709-1193. Back issues and reprinls should be ordered from REVIEW VO~ REI.tC;IOt~S; 3601 IAndell Blvd.; St. I~mis, MO 63108-3393. "Out of print" issues are available from University Microfilms Internalional; 300 N. Zeeb Rd.; Ann Arbor, M1 48106. A major portion of each issue is also available on cassette recordings as a service for the visually impaired. Write tn the Xavier Society for the Blind; 154 East 23rd Street; New York, NY 10010. PRISMS . Questions play an important part in our biblical tradition. The first question presented in the Bible is the one which God directs to us hu-man beings, "Where are you?" In the gospels, Jesus" question, "Who do you say that I am?," demands a response from every Christian, per-haps more than once in a lifetime. "Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for?" challenges us in our sorrow and our dis-appointments. "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" pricks the con-science of sinner and saint alike. Not all questions are neatly answered. For example, "how does one pray" and "how does one love" have pieces of answers which together make up a simple but intricate mosaic that stretches as far as human ex-perience can reach. Jesus, in trying to share with us his experience of God, seemed to be most at home in everyday images of the living world around us and the parables which capture some basic human experience writ large. Who does not remember a woman sweeping a house for a lost coin? That is the way God searches out each of us in our lost moments. Who has not been touched by a story of a person, robbed and left half-dead by the roadside, and the various passers-by among whom there is one who cares? From such a parable, we all know a little better what it means to be neighbor. Stories, symbols, and images become so often the prisms whereby we gain new or fresh insight into some of our deepest human and divine realities. Some of our authors in this issue are directly led into their reflec-tions by a question. "What is a priest?" led Richard Hauser, S.J., to his considerations on the "Spirituality of the Ministerial Priesthood.'" Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O., is making a report on the Religious Life Futures Project as he looks at the question "Where is Religious Life Go-ing? . Whence Come the Candidates?" stirs Gabrielle Jean, S.C.O., to focus once again on the instrumentation for the screening of candi-dates for the priestly and.religious life vocations. William Mann, F.S.C., raises the question "Brothers, Do We Have a Future?" and enters into his own religious life experience to provide a response. If I could make five wishes for a new novice director, Melannie Svoboda, S.N.D., asks, what would they be? Her answer to that ques-tion is her article "Wishes for a 'Novice' Novice Director." Mary Polu-tanovich, D.C., faces the questions, "do the poor need the artist'? does 321 322 / Review for Religious. May-June 1990 the artist need the poor? how is Christ served and the gospel preached by this charism?" Her reflections are captured in her article "More than Bread: Art, Spirituality, and the Poor." Religious imagination unveils how God may be working in "The As-sociate Movement in Religious Life" according to Rose Marie Jasinski, C.B.S., and Peter C. Foley. Thomas F. McKenna, C.M., seeks out meta-phors as he tries to stimulate our thinking about "Images for the Future of Religious Life." Correcting some metaphors may be important in our understanding of "Obedience and Adult Faith" as presented by James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead. Other authors in this issue suggest creative ways to pair a deeper un-derstanding of violence and ministry as a response, the connection be-tween the stages of conversion and the gift of tears as imaged in the spiri-tuality of Catherine of Siena, naming experiences that represent the sur-rendering of ourselves to the Divine Other, discovering the gifts and the pitfalls of praying through a tradition which is non-Christian, and re-flections on the historical sweep of foreign mission involvement and its effect on the renewal movement in women religious congregations dur-ing the past quarter-century. It is true that questions sometimes only lead to more questions. But questions also lead to ways of responding that affect the direction of our lives and our ministry. Some questions can truly affect our relationship with God, with our fellowmen and women, and with our world. Perhaps our authors will raise some of those questions and also provide us with some of those images which will call forth such a personal conversion. The God who asks questions is also a God of surprises. Our Pentecost prayer: recreate in us your own Spirit, Lord. David L. Fleming, S.J. Spirituality of the Ministerial Priesthood Richard J. Hauser, S.J. Father Richard Hauser, S.J. is Chairman of the Theology Department at Creighton University in Omaha. Nebraska. His last article in Rv.\,lv.w FOR R~.L~(;IOUS was pub-lished in July-August, 1986. His address is Creighton University: California at 24th Street: Omaha, Nebraska 68178. [~uring a recent board meeting of the Emmaus Priest Renewal Program I had a disconcerting experience. The discussion moved to the question: what is a priest? For the next hour we worked in vain to come to a con-sensus. In exasperation someone said, '~No wonder priestly morale in the United States is so low. We don't even know what it means to be a priest?" At that point the Emmaus board commissioned me as their theo-logical consultant to put together a five-day retreat on priestly idefitity and spirituality. Immediately I found myself resisting the task, claiming ignorance of the topic. This resistance was even further disconcerting. Since I have been a priest more than twenty years and writing on spiritual topics for almost as long, why wouldn't I have something to say on the spirituality of the priest, supposedly my own spirituality? Gradually I realized that my hesi-tancy had many roots. First I was self-conscious about my identity as priest because rightly or wrongly as a priest I have felt under attack by two very important movements in the Church, the lay movement and the women's movement. As a result I have inadvertently downplayed this aspect of my identity so as not to occasion criticism from these groups. Further as I reflected on the documents of Vatican II, I became more aware that they gave thorough treatment both to the roles of the lay per-son and the bishop in the Church but have said very little about the role 323 :324 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 of the priest. Though Vatican II did set some new directions for a recon-sideration of the identity of the priest, it did not develop this theology to any great extent. Finally I saw that many currents in the Church have subtly made me hesitant to reflect on the area: the debates on priestly celi-bacy and married clergy, the prevalent--and inadequate--theology of the priest as the "holy man" set apart in a separate caste to "mediate" grace to the laity, the tendency to "clericalize" most ministries in the Church, the ecumenical movement. I should also note that as a priest from a religious congregationl had defined my spirituality almost solely by the charism of n~y order and therefore neglected aspects of spiritual-ity related to my role as priest of the universal Catholic Church. In this I suspect I am typical of many religious order priests. The following reflections are an effort toward a theology of priestly identity and spirituality. I believe the lack of such a theology has had dele-terious effects both on morale of many current priests as well as on re-cruitment of future priests. The American bishops in their statement is-sued 1988 "Reflections on the Morale of Priests" agree that there is a morale problem: " . . it is aiso clear to us that there exists today a se-rious and substantial morale problem among priests in general. It is a prob-lem that cannot be simply attributed to one or another cause or recent event, but its profile and characteristics can be clearly described, and its presence needs to be addressed directly." It is my conviction that one of its causes is an ambiguity about what it means to be a priest. These reflections attempt to address that problem using guidelines from Vati-can II as well as recent documents from the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee of the American bishops. All Christian spirituality flows from incorporation into the Body of Christ through faith and baptism. The priest's spirituality is no excep-tion. Basically, then, priestly spirituality is Christian spirituality. How-ever, since the priest has a special role in the Body of Christ it is appro-priate to discuss how this role specifies the practice of Christian spiri-tuality. But an integral examination of priestly spirituality must first situ-ate the priest within the Body and only then discuss the aspects of spiri-tuality proper to the priest as priest. This article is concerned with priest-hood in the Roman Catholic Church; hence the terms Body of Christ and Church have primary reference to this community. Body of Christ: Priest as Member Priests are members of the Body of Christ. Their dignity as mem-bers of the Body has frequently been obscured by treatment of their spe-cial role within the Body. The Decree on the Ministt3, and Life of Priests Ministerial Priesthood / 325 from Vatican II clearly situates the priest's leadership role through ordi-nation within the priest's membership in the Body through the sacra-ments of initiation: "Therefore, while it indeed presupposes the sacra-ments of Christian initiation, the sacerdotal office of priests is conferred by that special sacrament through which priests, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are marked by a special character and are so configured to Christ the priest that they can act in the person of Christ the head" (par. 2). Membership and leadership must be seen together for comprehensive understanding of priestly identity and spirituality. It is significant that Vatican II chose the image of the Body of Christ to discuss priestly identity and ministry. This image highlights both the equality of all in the Body as well as the difference of roles in the Body. The equality of all members within the Body is clear: "There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given all of you by your call. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and works through all, and is in all" (Ep 4:4-6). Equally clear is the difference of roles within the Body: "There are dif-ferent gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" ( I Co 12:4-7). Furthermore Paul's image of the Body of Christ highlights the Spirit as the source of all life within the Body. Membership in the Body flows from the Spirit received through faith and baptism. Specific roles (charisms) within the Body flow from the special gifts given by the Spirit to different members of the Body for the sake of the entire Body, Finally, the Church as the Body of Christ shares Christ's mission. This mission so clearly presented in all the Gospels is serving the king-dom of God. Each member is called by baptism to assume a share of re-sponsibility by accepting ministry according to his or her specific charisms. This ministry is oriented to serving the kingdom of God both within the Body of Christ itself as well as beyond the Body in the world. The example is, of course, Jesus himself. Jesus ministered to his disci-ples; the washing of the feet in John's gospel is the most dramatic exam-ple of his role of service to his disciples. Still this concern for his own in no way lessened his ministry toward those outside his community of followers; his preaching, healing, and love extended to everyone he en-countered. These reflections presume that the priest's basic identity is that of a member of the Body of Christ and consequently the priest's ba-sic spirituality will be living that identity. 326 /Review for Religious, May-June 1990 Body of Christ: Priest as Leader As members of the Body of Christ priests have received the Spirit incorporating them into the Body and giving them charisms for the ser-vice of the Church and of the kingdom. What, then, differentiates the priest's identity and spirituality from that of other members of the Body? Most agree that ministerial priesthood in the Church implies a permanent office flowing from charism and formally recognized by the Church. The very important statement of 1977 from the Bishop's Committee on Priestly Life and Ministry "As One Who Serves" expresses the consen-sus well: "In summary, the holder of an office in the Church would be (1) a person endowed by the Spirit, (2) with personal gifts (charisms), (3) called to a public and permanent ministry, and this call is formally recognized by the Church" (par. 20). The fact that this office implies a role of leadership in the community is also agreed upon by the magis-terium and by most theologians. Yet there remain theological disagree-ments on the relationship of the priest's role as head of the Body (always with the bishop) to the Body itself. The discussion is focused on a pas-sage from The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church from Vatican II: "Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in de-gree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hier-archical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated. Each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ" (par. 10). Since this article is concerned primarily with the spirituality of priests as leaders of the Body--an identity that is acknowledged by most--it does not seem necessary to treat the doctrinal disputes. Christian spirituality flows from response to the Holy Spirit, the sanc-tifier. Priestly spirituality is simply the priest's effort to respond faith-fully to the Spirit in living the priestly identity as defined by the Church. The Church teaches that ordination establishes the priest in three new, distinctive, and permanent relationships: with Christ, with the Church, and with the world beyond the Church, This identity today includes-- for both diocesan as well as religious order priests--a call to observe the evangelical counsels. Since observing these counsels affects the living out of the three basic relationships, they must be discussed with them. It should be recalled again that this discussion focuses on those aspects of priestly spirituality that distinguish the priest as priest; it does not fo-cus on aspects of spirituality common to all Christians through baptism. Priest and Christ: Person-Symbol of Christ the Head of Body Through ordination the priest is established in a new, distinctive, and permanent relationship to Christ: the priest becomes the person-symbol Ministerial Priesthood / 327 of Christ, the head of the Church. Priests receive an anointing of the Spirit which enables them to act in the name of Christ the head. Thus priests are empowered to act in persona Christi. "As One Who Serves" makes the crucial observation that priests can be the person-symbol of Christ the head of the Body only because of their membership in the Body: "It is only because of the Church that the priest can be said to act in persona Christi. He is called to be an effective sign and witness of the Church's faith in the reconciling Christ, who works through the Church and through the one whom the Church has sent to be the steward of its gifts and services" (par. 22). It is the Body of Christ that is holy through the presence of the Spirit. The priest, as the preeminent head of this Body, becomes the symbol of the holiness of the Body. And as head of this Body, priests can now act in persona ecclesiae and so also in per-sona Christi. Through ordination the priest is established in a special relationship to Christ. As head of the Body, the priest becomes an "effective sign" or sacrament of Christ's authoritative presence in the Church. All aspects of priestly spirituality flow from this relationship. Since it is the role of a symbol to make present what it represents, the priest is called by the Church through ordination to awaken Christ's presence within the com-munity in all service for the community. Consequently all priestly min-istry to the Church must be done in a way that awakens faith within the community. This awakening of faith in others is possible only if the priest has a deep relationship personally with Christ. The biggest chal-lenge of priestly spirituality is becoming internally the Christ symbolized externally. To a great extent the effectiveness of priestly ministry flows from a heart transformed by the Spirit and then ministering to others. All Christians desiring to follow Christ fully are called to observe the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience within their own state of life. The priest is no exception. However, the priest's ob-servance of the evangelical counsels is orientated toward conforming the priest more closely to Christ and so increasing effectiveness as the person-symbol of Christ the head of the Body. The priest today is called by the Church to celibacy and so to meet personal affective needs in ways con-sonant with the celibate state. Christ is the model of priestly celibacy in his relationships with the Father, his community, and his apostolate. Above all the celibacy of Christ was founded on his relationship to his most dear Father, Abba. From within this intimate and often solitary pres-ence before his Father Christ's entire life flowed. Christ's relationship to the Father is the model for the priest's relationship to Christ. As 328 / Review jbr Religious, May-June 1990 Christ's heart flowed instinctively to the Father, so does the priest's heart flow to Christ and the Father. Love unites without obliterating personal distinctiveness. As Christ was able to say "The Father and I are one," and as Paul could say, "I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me," so the priest prays to become equally one with the Father and Jesus. By em-bracing celibacy the priest imitates Jesus in allowing sufferings of fail-ure, loneliness, and isolation to foster even deeper intimacy with God and with Jesus himself. Christ is the model of priestly celibacy in his relationship to his com-munity. He looked to certain of his apostles and disciples for the per-sonal support he needed to sustain the failures and loneliness of his min-istry. So Christ is the model for priests in developing deep human rela-tionship, especially with fellow priests. Finally Christ's affectivity was also directed toward those he served. We recall how Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he was not able to draw the chosen people of God to himself as a mother hen draws her chicks to herself. In embracing the vow of celibacy the priest strives to imitate Christ in each of these three dimensions of affectivity and so become a more effective person-symbol of Christ as head of the Body. To be faithful to the call of today's Church to live this identity of person-symbol of Christ we priests must ask some basic questions. First, do I see my vocation primarily as a call to become Someone, Christ, and not merely as a duty to perform certain ministerial functions closed to others? The Church today is saying to priests that who we are is more primary than what we do; presence has replaced power. We are being called to be so configured to Christ that our actions radiate his presence and so awaken awareness of God's own love. Have I built into my daily life the rhythms necessary both to grow continually in knowledge and love of Christ and to allow this knowledge and love to permeate my ac-tions? And second, have I actively embraced my celibacy'? Do I cherish my celibacy as a gift intended to foster intimacy with Christ and the Fa-ther and thereby increase my effectiveness as a person-symbol of Christ in my leadership? DO I imitate Christ in meeting my affective needs pri-marily in my relationships with Christ and the Father and with my pres-byterate? Do I allow myself to be supported by and do I support my fel-low priests'? Do I allow the crosses of celibacy to deepen intimacy with Christ? Priest and Church: Servant-Leader of Body Through the anointing of the Spirit at ordination the priest is also es-tablished in a new, distinctive, and permanent relationship to the Church: Ministerial Priesthood / 399 the priest becomes the servant-leader of the Church, the "effective sign" of Christ the head of the Body. As the preeminent leader of the community the priest thereby acts in persona ecclesiae. This leadership of the Body is marked by four functions essential for the community. The priest is called to serve the Church by proclaiming the Word of God, by presiding at worship, by pastoral care of the People of God, and by fa-cilitating the different charisms within the Church. But the priest's lead-ership will take many differing forms depending on the talents of the priest and the needs of the community. The American bishops high-lighted the importance of sensitivity to varying forms of priestly leader-ship with which the Spirit endows priests: "All priests are endowed by the Spirit in various ways to serve the People of God. There are forms of leadership . The gifts differ and each must discern in the Spirit how he has been gifted. No one has all the gifts. Some seem to disap-pear in the history of the Church; some are transient even in the lives of priests" ("As One Who Serves," par. 32). Christ is the model for the priest's leadership of the Church. Just as Jesus' love of the Father impelled him to live for the Father's kingdom, so does the priest's love of Christ impel the priest to live for the Body of Christ. The priest wil.I, furthermore, exercise leadership in the same way Jesus exercised leadership--through service: "The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve--to give his life in ransom for the many " (Mk 10:45). And through the special anointing of the Spirit in ordination Christ now stands with the priest empowering the priest to be an "effective sign" of Christ in all ministry to the Church. Thus the priest can fulfill the vocation to be the sacramental symbol-person of Christ actually awakening Christ's presence in the community through his .daily service. In a new way since Vatican I! priests are being called to facilitate service and leadership of others within the Church. The role has been com-pared to that of a conductor of an orchestra: "The conductor succeeds when he stimulates the best performance from each player and combines their individual efforts into a pattern of sound, achieving the vision of the composer. The best leader is one who can develop the talents of each staff person and coordinates'all their efforts, so that they best comple-ment each other and produce a superior collective effort" ("As One Who Serves," par. 46). In facilitating ministry of others the priest is not unlike Christ who prepared the disciples and then sent them off on their own. The priest recognizes that the Spirit in baptism incorporates mem-bers into the Body and simultaneously gives them differing gifts of min- 330 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 istry for the Body. Yet according to the above document the priest re-mains the one "in whom the mission of the Church, and therefore its ministry, finds focus and visibility" (34); thus the priest acts within the community preeminently in persona ecclesiae. To enhance the priest's effectiveness as a person-symbol of Christ, the Church calls the priest to evangelical obedience through the promise or vow of obedience to their bishops or ecclesiastical superiors. This prom-ise or vow of obedience places the priest in special union with the uni-versal Church and so enhances the ability to act in persona ecclesiae. The priest symbolizes the unity of the entire Church in Christ: the local parish or community, the diocese, the national Church, the universal Catholic Church. In addition, the priest symbolizes the continuity of the Church through the ages from the apostles and Peter to the present-day bishops and pope. It follows from this that the priest must fully own this position in the Church by loving, protecting, and defending it at every level and, even when called to prophetic criticism, by doing so with love. While acknowledging the Church's faults and foibles past and present, the priest still believes that it is the privileged place of the Spirit's activ-ity in this world for the kingdom of God: "I for my part declare to you, you are "Rock," and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it" (Mt 16:18). The model for the priest's obedience is again Christ. Nothing stood between Christ and doing his Father's will. The priest's obedience is to God. The priest is convinced that the will of God is now revealed through the authoritative structures of the Church. In obeying these structures the priest is obeying the Father. The priest's obedience to the bishop or ec-clesiastical superiors gives eloquent testimony to the belief that Christ continues to work through the ages within the authoritative structures of the Church. By embracing the promise or vow of obedience the priest refuses to allow any personal desire not in accord with God's will as ex-pressed through Church superiors to determine actions. The sufferings of obedience to God's will are accepted and offered to the Father in the same manner as Christ's. To be faithful to living this identity of servant-leader of the Body we priests must reflect on our underlying attitudes toward ministry. First, do I truly see myself as servant to my community, that is, do I radiate the attitude of Christ who came to serve and not to be served'? Do I strive to be an effective servant-leader in each of the four major ministerial roles, that is, teaching, presiding at worship, pastoral care, facilitating gifts of community? Or do I find myself holding back in some particular Ministerial Priesthood / 331 aspects of my ministry'? Have I identified charisms of leadership that are unique to me and used these in a special way for the Church? Do I fully grasp that as a person-symbol of Christ in my leadership role I can trust that Christ stands behind each aspect of my ministry enabling me to be an effective sign of his presence'? Second, do I embrace my promise or vow of obedience? Do ! see it as a gift enhancing my effectiveness as a person-symbol of the universal Church, the Body of Christ'? Do I love the Church and protect and defend it at every leve~? If necessary to criti-cize, do I speak in love? Is my obedience ultimately to the Father? Do I allow the crosses of obedience to conform me more totally to Christ'? Priest and Society: Promoter of Justice in the World Through ordination the priest is established in a new, distinctive, and permanent relationship to Christ and to his Church. Contained in this iden-tity is a new relationship to the world beyond the Church. Because the priest now acts in persona ecclesiae and in persona Christi, the priest becomes the preeminent witness of the Church's and Christ's concern for the world. Vatican II and subsequent documents of the Church both on an international and national level have put increasing emphasis on this aspect of the Church's mission. The statement of the World Synod of Bish-ops in 1971 entitled Justice in the World is apt: ". action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully ap-pear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or in other words, of the Church's mission." The priest today is called to integrate this dimension into ongoing ministry. The American bishops echo this thrust by presenting their descrip-tion of the priestly ministry under four co-equal divisions: To Proclaim the Word of God, To Preside at Worship, To Serve the Christian Com-munity, To Serve Humankind. The last-named section begins as follows: "The Church is called to serve all of society: that is its mission and the hope of its ministry. While the priest may have a certain primary respon-sibility to the Catholic community which he serves, nonetheless he has been sent by Christ and the Church to all people who comprise the larger community in which the parish community exists. The concern for all people gives reality to the presence of the risen Lord" ('~As One Who Serves," par. 50). The priest has a double role in this ministry to humankind. As ser-vant- leader of the Body tile priest is called to be engaged personally in actions on behalf of justice to witness most effectively to the Church's concern. In addition, the priest is called to facilitate action and leader-ship by others for the transformation of society. Church teachings ac- 339 / Review Jbr Religious, May-June 1990 knowledge that time constraints may limitthe priest's personal involve-ment but also point out that the apostolate within society is also most ap-propriate for the laity: "The apostolate of the social milieu, that is, the effort to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws, and structures of the community in which a person lives is so much the duty and responsibility of the laity that it can never be properly performed by others. In this area the laity can exercise an apostolate of like towards like" (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, para. 33). In addition to working for justice throughout society, the priest is called to have spe-cial concern for the poor: "Although the presbyter has obligations to-wards all persons, he has the poor and the lowly entrusted to him in a special way. The Lord himself showed that he was united to them, and the fact that the Gospel was preached to them is mentioned as a sign of his messianic a.ctivity'" (Decree on the Miniso3, and Life of Priests, par. 6). Again Christ is the model of the priest in this dimension of minis-try. Jesus' concern for others was not limited to his immediate commu-nity of disciples. He continually extended himself beyond his followers to others. His entire ministry is marked with personal compassion for any person who came to him in need. In addition to his one-on-one concern for others, Jesus also spoke out against society's injustices. At times the condemnation was marked by actual disobedience to laws when he viewed them as contradictory to the revelation he received from his Fa-ther. Indeed, his criticism was so threatening to the establishment that it eventually precipitated his death. And finally the Gospel reflects that Jesus had special care and concern for the poorest of the poor, the out-casts of society. The parable of the Last Judgment testifies to the cen-trality in Jesus' eyes of service to the hungry, thirsty, shelterless, impris-oned. To enhance the priest's effectiveness as a witness of Christ, the Church asks all priests to have special concern for evangelical poverty within their own priestly vocation, diocesan or religious. And again the model is Christ himself. Christ was poor. He let no material desire or possession come between himself and doing the Father's will. He was detached from possessions in order to be more free to serve. And Christ chose to live a simple lifestyle, perhaps to be more approachable by the poor or to witness to the sufficiency of the Father's providence for his material needs, taking his cue from the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Through embracing evangelical poverty the priest refuses to al-low any inordinate attachment to food, clothing, shelter, possessions to Ministerial Priesthood / 333 affect service of the kingdom either within or outside the Body of Christ. With this inner quality of heart the priest thus becomes an even more ef-fective witness of Christ to the Church and world. To be faithful and responsive to the call of promoting justice in the world we priests must ask whether we have adapted to this rather new dimension of priestly ministry. First, does my ministry include leader-ship in witnessing to Christ's concern for the world both through actual "hands-on" service to promote justice in society as well as through fa-cilitating service of my congregation? Most especially am I an effective sign in witnessing to Christ's concern for the most needy and under-privileged of my parish and my society'? Second, what is my attitude to evangelical poverty? Do I desire to imitate Christ by adopting a simple lifestyle? Do I embrace evangelical poverty as a gift because it conforms me more closely to Christ and so makes me a more effective symbol-person of Christ in my leadership, especially in his concern for the poor'? Do I allow the crosses of poverty to deepen my bonds with Christ'? Ministerial Priesthood: Challenge and Consolation The challenge of priesthood is perhaps greater today than ever be-fore. In the ministry of leadership for the Church the priest is called to become the person-symbol of Christ and so live and serve in a way that awakens awareness of God's continual presence and love both for the com-munity and for the world. A recent document from the American bish-ops catches the immensity of this challenge putting it in the context of the role of the pastor today: "The pastor in the parish today becomes-- whether he knows and likes it or not--a religious symbol to his people. The pastor becomes a religious symbol of tradition, the keeper and speaker of the revealed Word in all of its rich expressions. He becomes the religious symbol of God's care for his people, expressing compas-sion for the wounded and outrage at injustice. He becomes the religious symbol of order, calling the community to an effective stewardship of its gifts and shared use of its resources" ("A Shepherd's Care: Reflec-tions on the Changing role of Pastor," 1988). But if the challenge is immense, so is the consolation. Through or-dination the priest exists in a new, distinctive, and permanent relation-ship to Christ, to the Church, and to society. But like all sacraments the sacrament of orders confers the grace it proclaims and signifies. There-fore, priests have the immense consolation of knowing that the Holy Spirit stands behind them enabling them to live this threefold relation-ship conferred at ordination. In their relationship to Christ, the Spirit en-ables priests to be configured to Christ poor, celibate, and obedient and 334 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 so be more powerful person-symbols of Christ. In their relationship to the Church, the Spirit enables priests to be effective servant-leaders in the fourfold dimensions of priestly ministry: proclaiming the Word of God, presiding at worship, caring for the pastoral needs of community, and facilitating charisms of the community. Finally in their relationship to society, the Spirit enables priests to be eloquent witnesses of Christ's care for.the world in promoting justice in society and most especially in serving the poor both personally and in their leadership of the Body of Christ. Priestly ministry, like all ministry, is a charism, a gift of the Spirit. The challenge for us priests is living in a way that facilitates the Spirit's action. We must take a serious look at our daily schedules and ask whether they, in fact, foster our living in tune with the Spirit, thereby growing in knowledge and love and Christ and so radiating a Christ-presence in all our ministry. Being fully effective sacramental signs of Christ demands daily attention to our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. And this may require rearrangement of our schedules, especially to assure we have the leisure to grow in an ever deeper union with Christ whom we sacramentalize in our leadership. A recent document from the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee pointedly advises us that the crite-ria for the effectiveness of our ministry ought not be the quantity of our work but its quality: "One of the most probable causes of difficulties with spirituality in a priest'~ life today is simply his ability to find (or at least justify) sufficient time to spend in solitude and prayer. A consci-entious priest, especially when under pressure of incessant demands, can forget that the quality of his work is more important than the quantity. What people are looking for in him more than anything else is a spiri-tual guide and model who will help them come to know the Lord and find his peace. Thus he must be, first of all and above everything else, a man of God's peace. Regular time each day for prayer, meditation, and spiritual reading is a sine qua non for the unfolding in a priest's life of an authentic Christ-centeredness" ("The Priest and Stress," 1982). There are many ministries in the Body of Christ. The priest's is but one of these, yet it is distinctive. Only the priest is called by today's Church to a ministry of leadership whose essence is symbolizing Christ's presence. Hopefully a deeper appreciation of this calling will have its ef-fect on morale of current priests as well as attract many others to this vo-cation. Where is Religious Life Going? M. Basil Pennington. O.C.S.O. Father Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O., is well known for his conferences and writings on centering prayer. His address is Assumption Abbey: Route 5: Ava, Missouri 65608. This is a question that is being asked with concern not only by religious themselves and the Church at large but even by the wider community. One significant indication of this is the fact that a secular foundation has recently given a secular university over a half million dollars to study the question. Lilly Endowment, Inc. has awarded Boston University a $575,000 grant to have its Center for Applied Social Sciences serve as the site to study the question "Factors Influencing the Transformation of Religious Life in the Catholic Church in the United States." This cur-rent research grant follows the successful completion of an earlier $100,000 planning grant. It is almost twenty-five years since the close of the Second Vatican Council which called for an adaptation and renewal of religious life. In that time the average age of members of many religious congregations and monastic communities has increased dramatically while the number of members has decreased just as dramatically. Many traditional works of religious have been called into question. New works have been un-dertaken and the whole understanding of mission reconsidered by some groups. The sense of separation from the laity is greatly diminished. Lay persons take a much greater part in the life and mission of religious and religious generally feel closer to the active lay Catholic. What does all this portend for the future'? More importantly, what must religious do in order to be truly renewed, adapted to the twenty-first century Church, so that they may continue to bring to the Church 335 336 / Review Jot" Religious, May-June 1990 and to society as a whole the gift that they are? The proposal submitted to the Lilly Endowment set forth six basic or broad objectives for the study: I. Identify the interpretative schemes used by reli-gious to describe the meaning structure of their commit-ment and their perceptions of the distinctions of religious life in relation to the other ministerial roles in the Church. The interpretive schemes will be examined from the perspective of the psychological, theological, and or-ganizational changes that have occurred over time, with special attention to the degree to which religious orders are becoming more or less distinct. 2. Describe and analyze the psychological, struc-tural, and organizational changes that have occurred and those yet to occur both in religious life in general and within congregations in order to predict the future shapes of religious life. 3. Identify individual religious who are perceived as the emergent leaders of religious life and explore with them systematically the changes that have occurred and must yet occur if religious life is to remain a vital social and ecclesial reality. 4. Describe and analyze some effects of change and perceptions of religious life on the commitment of in-dividual religious, former religious, and recent candi-dates to religious life. 5. Describe the environmental influences on re-ligious life in the United States, including cultural shifts that influence commitments, the supply and demand econ-omy for religious service, and the enhancement of the role of the laity in the Church within the historical con-text of theology. 6. Provide a paradigm for developing strategies of leadership that will enable leaders to move the pro-cess of renewal that was begun in Vatican II through a process of systematic transformation. The term "interpretive schemes" may not be familiar to many but it refers to a very important factor in religious life. Interpretive schemes are made up of the understanding the members of the group or commu-nity share in regard to the world and their place in it. They are primary Where is Religious Life Going? in drawing the members together, giving them a shared sense of belong-ing. These guide religious as they interpret their own past and look at their present environment, select their value priorities, and allocate their resources. Oftentimes these interpretive schemes are not explicitly articu-lated by a group. They are revealed rather in the metaphors the mem-bers use to describe their community, the stories they tell and the rites they celebrate. Transformation involves a shift in interpretive schemes. The pro-posal describes transformation as "qualitative, discontinuous shifts in organization members, shared understandings of the organization, accom-panied by changes in the organization's mission, strategy, and formal and informal structures." Transformation usually begins with a crisis that unfreezes dominant organizational members' current interpretative schemes by presenting a significant challenge to their validity. The Sec-ond Vatican Council did this to religious. But not the Council alone. The transition from the modern to the postmodern era, one of the three great cultural shifts in the history of humankind necessarily brought on a "cri-sis" for all human organizations. The next step in the transformation pro-ess is the development of alternative interpretative schemes leading to new types of action which in turn leads to changes in the structure of the organization. There is likely to be considerable conflict among the origi-nal and developing interpretive schemes and the subgroups espousing them. Leaders of the community will necessarily have a large impact on the process and its outcome. If they support only one perspective they are likely to decrease the potential creativity of the transformational pro-ess and the sense of belonging and involvement of the members whose perspectives have not been taken into account. If they try to separate out the different perspectives they are likely to perpetuate splints within the community. If they facilitate the interaction among the conflicting per-spectives they will increase the chances of paradoxical outcomes of trans-formation, of new and creative shared understandings, of a truly renewed and vital religious life. During the course of the process members will experience discomfort both with the ambiguities and the confusion. The conflict of understandings and those who espouse them will create ten-sions. But when (and if) a new synthesis is reached that is experienced by the whole group as acceptable, there will not only be a sense of satis-faction but there will be a new force in the community for life. In its study of the factors influencing the transformation for religious life, the study is going to give special attention to two: the environment, 338/Review for Religious, May-June 1990 that is, the factors external to the community that impinge on it in some way and can effect the transformation process by inducing the crisis and affecting the development of new interpretative schemes, and the lead-ership. Two types of leadership within the communities need to be and will be considered. There are formal leaders, those who are designated to see that the roles, resources, and necessary structures are maintained to provide for both the mission and the members. Emergent leaders are members who are generally recognized in the community as complemen-tary to the formal leaders, but distinct from them in purpose and func-tion. These often act as catalysts for new ideas within the community and, as such, are seldom selected by the membership to represent them. The study hopes to explore the underlying changes in interpretive schemes both qualitatively and quantitatively arid at several levels: within the social institution of religious life as such, within individual congre-gations, and within individual members of religious communities. This will involve questionnaires, regional meetings, and individual interviews to be carried out over the course of the next two to three years. The proposal sees as the outcome of the project: I. Identification of the normative beliefs about reli-gious life and how they will likely shape the future of re-ligious life in this country. 2. Build a national comparative data base of all male and female religious that includes current demographic data, membership information, existing and emerging structures, current member attitudes on multiple dimen-sions, and projections for the future. 3. Enable the leadership of religious communities to identify in the current context paradigms of planning that enable transformation, consolidation, merging, or extinc-tion. 4. Label the changes that must yet occur if reli-gious life is to remain a vital social and theological gift to the Church into the next millennium. The results of the study will, of course, be published and generally available to interested parties. But the researchers hope also to work with organizations and groups of religious to consider and further explore the findings. The principal researchers for the project are David Nygren and Miriam Ukeritis. Father Nygren is a Research Associate at the Center for Applied Social Science, a unit of the Graduate School of Boston Uni- Where is Religious Life Going? / 339 versity. He has been a member of the Congregation of the Mission (Vin-centians) since 1968 and has served his congregation in many capacities over the years. He holds six academic degrees. Sister Miriam, a mem-ber of the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph of Carondelet, is com-pleting a term as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Harvard Community Health Plan, Boston. She is a clinical psychologist by profession and has served as a director of the House of Affirmation in Hopedale, Massachu-setts. Besides the extensive facilities of the Center for Applied Social Sci-ence, the researchers will be aided by a National Advisory Board which includes Archbishop Thomas Kelly, O.P., the newly elected chairper-son of NCCB's Committee on Religious; Abbot James Jones, O.S.B. of Conception Abbey; Howard Gray, S.J., former provincial of the Detroit Province, five religious women, two brothers, a monk and two represen-tatives from the Lilly Endowment. The Advisory Board will meet regu-larly with the researchers to assess the results of their work and offer guid-ance to the pursuit of the project. The success of the project will, of course, depend largely on the col-laboration of religious, both as groups and as individuals. But the bene-fits that they can hope to reap from it are considerable, so such collabo-ration is well assured. However, they will not be the only ones to profit from the study. Reviewing the expected outcomes it is easy to see why the Lilly Endowment and a community oriented university are willing to make such a considerable investment in this study. If the study does suc-ceed in producing the results it projects, there can be little doubt as to the significance of the contribution it will make not only to the Church but to society as a whole by enlivening and promoting the social outreach which depends so heavily on the leadership and support of the religious communities. Whence Come the Candidates? Gabrielle L. Jean, S.C.O. Sister Gabrielle Jean, S.C.O., last appeared in these pages with her article. "'The Alcoholic Religious Woman," in September/October 1985. Her address is 715 Per-shing Drive: Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Over the past several years, authoritative articles on the assessment of can-didates for the priestly/religious life have appeared in Catholic periodi-cals. Kraft (1978)~ clearly stated the differential role and competencies of the psychiatrist and psychologist relative to evaluation and treatment of religious personnel. While both professional groups are involved in therapy, the psychiatrist focuses on the abnormal behavior while the psy-chologist deals with a much broader range of human behaviors. The psy-chiatrist's forte lies in his medical expertise and pharmacological arma-mentarium; the clinical psychologist's educational background provides for research and evaluation of human behavior, especially personality as-sessment. Kraft strongly recommended that such professionals have a working knowledge and appreciation of the role of spirituality in the life of religious men and women. Values incongruent with those of the cli-ent could prove prejudicial to his or her ongoing spiritual growth. A more recent article by O'Connor (1988)~- addressed the appraisal of candidates with attention directed to the formation process, the test-ing of the applicant's spirit, assessment of his or her motivation and fit-ness for the chosen institute. The key elements lie in the interactional pro-ess of interview and dialogue. The present article focuses on the instrumentation for the screening of candidates, that is, the psychological tests selected for that purpose. It is intended to inform superiors, vocations directors, and formation teams of the rationale and philosophy inherent in the selection of instru- 340 Whence Come the Candidates? / 34"1 ments; a "model" battery will then be suggested. Do the candidates come from the general "normal" population or from a psychiatric pool? The choice of instruments such as the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory), TAT (Thematic Apper-ception Test) and Rorschach Inkblots reflect the latter since they are stan-dardized or normed on a psychiatric or dysfunctional population. Granted, they provide valuable information (in terms of impairment), but would it not be more helpful for the formation teams to know the strengths and weaknesses of the personality of their candidates? Would they not be in a better position to maximize the psychological and spiri-tual growth of their charges with a positive set of data on them'? If one begins the psychological screening process with scales normed on a psy-chiatric population, the results can only reveal the extent of the pathol-ogy found in that individual when compared to psychiatrically impaired individuals. The strengths of the personality are clouded by the pathol-ogy and the formation personnel are left to ferret for themselves the per-sonal resources of the recruits. Personality measurement is a typically American phenomenon; it originated in the United States and has evolved greatly, especially since the early 50s. Its scope includes both personality inventories (standard-ized on the general population) and instruments designed more specifi-cally to detect the presence and extent of behavior pathology. The re-spective personality theories provide the background for such instruments and caution the user relative to the holistic nature of the person. Because of the importance of the psychological screening process, further clarification seems warranted, especially since Vatican II alerted to the need of heeding the advances made in the behavioral sciences. So-ciology and psychology do shed scientific light on human behavior both as individuals and in groups. Purpose and Ethics Tests are standardized tools for the measurement of individual dif-ferences in intellectual, emotional, social, and motivational aspects of behavior. Personality assessment focuses primarily on the emotional ad-justment, social relationships, motivation, attitudes, interests, and val-ues of the individual. The American Psychological Association has codified ethical prin-ciples to govern psychological testing. Many personality tests are re-stricted to qualified users, and the qualifications vary with the type of test. The rationale is that test scores should be released only by and to persons qualified to interpret them. The candidate is entitled to know the 342 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 information he or she revealed in the testing. Knowledge of the test scores only may be emotionally disturbing to the candidate; they should be properly interpreted to him or her in a situation that allows for dis-cussion of the results. Many personality instruments and measures of emotional, motiva-tional, or attitudinal traits are necessarily disguised; the subject may re-veal characteristics about the self without realizing that he or she is do-ing so. It is of primary importance that the examinee have a clear understanding of the use that will be made of the test results, who will receive the report, and how long it will remain in his or her file. Quot-ing directly from the Ethical Standards of Psychologists: "The psycholo-gist who asks that an individual reveal personal information in the course of interviewing, testing, or evaluation, or who allows such information to be divulged to him, does so only after making certain that the person is aware of the purpose of the interview, testing, or evaluation and of the ways in which the information may be used." No report should be sent without the consent of the examinee through a "release of confiden-tiality" form. The receiver of such information is bound by confiden-tiality; the information is privileged; if the examinee agrees to release such information, it is because it will be handled as privileged commu-nication. Evaluation: Testing, Interviews, or What? There are many arguments for and against testing, and I wish to share my biases with you; I do so willingly because psychological test-ing is my area of specialization and, therefore, I feel better qualified to support them than I would be in other areas of psychology. The arguments I would advance in favor of a sound testing program are these. First, it serves to provide an appraisal of candidates who feel attracted to the religious/priestly life. Secondly, it can help the candidate gain insight into his or her own behavior. Thirdly, it can serve as a basis for counseling in view of overall personal growth. The reservations I would have to comprehensive testing are many; my remarks here pertain primarily to candidate assessment for the priestly/religious life. ( I ) Psychiatric screening should not be required of all candidates; if the findings on the personality inventory suggest more than average pa-thology, a psychiatric instrument could be used to determine the extent of the pathology. If psychiatric screening is required for all candidates, are we not suggesting that our pool of subjects lies in the "disturbed" group? However, I favor scheduling a psychiatric interview/evaluation Whence Come the Candidates? / 343 for applicants to monastic life. The withdrawal from the world implied in the lifestyle could attract individuals ill-equipped for social inter-course. (2) There is a danger of categorizing people for life, very much like the penal system where no room is allowed for growth and change. (3) In the hands of poorly trained people, these instruments are ex-tremely dangerous. Granted that most formation personnel would not ad-minister the tests themselves, there is still grave danger that reports will be misinterpreted. People with little sophistication in this area tend to put more faith in the instruments than is warranted. (4) The use of test information for acceptance/refusal makes sense only if the results are validated by information from other sources: let-ters of reference, observed behavior, and the like, No matter how good and competent that psychiatrist or psychologist is, the dynamics of grace elude measurement, and everyone involved in the assessment process must be mindful of this fact. (5) I would not advocate involvement in a screening program unless there is a willingness to share the information with the candidate. A good policy is to provide a feedback interview to discuss the test findings with the examinee. Should the evaluation be psychodiagnostic (with the use of psychiatric questionnaires), the feedback would then be provided by the therapist who would be in a better position to decide on the timing for such disclosure. In all such work, Catholic psychologists consciously strive for the fundamental attitude which Pope Pius XII advocated in 1953: 'Psychotherapy and clinical psychology must always consider man as a psychic unity and totality; as a structured unit in itself; as a social unit and as a transcendent unit, that is to say, in man's tending towards God.' ,3 Candidate Assessment We are reminded through the Second Vatican Council documents that the unity of the Church thrives on the variety of gifts in its mem-bers. In Perfectae Caritatis, it is explicitly stated that religious are to bring "to the execution of commands and to the discharge of assign-ments entrusted to them the resources of their minds and wills and their gifts of nature and grace" (PC, Art. I). The text is supported by Paul's I Corinthians: "All these gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit, distributing them separately to each individual at will" (I Co 12:l I). The decree on religious life was intended for all religious men and women, whether in the ranks or in authority. It must be admitted; how- 34"4 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 ever, that when it comes to acknowledging the "special gift of each," we are somewhat in the dark. The Superior/Director/Coordinator is ex-pected to be respectful of the Giver of gifts by avoiding arbitrary assign-ments. The religious man or woman may be an individualist who feels that one owes it to oneself to fulfill the self in the sense of using one's gifts for personal enhancement and satisfaction; a correct interpretation would lead one to regard all gifts as intended for service to the commu-nity and to the whole Church. A scientific way of arriving at a knowledge of these gifts is psycho-logical testing and evaluation. I would set as one of the primary func-tions of candidate assessment: the identification of the assets of the indi-vidual. There is room for screening out undesirable applicants but this aspect of screening should not supersede the screening in of those who have great gifts of heart and mind to use in the service of the Church. As a marginal note, may I add that it is usually enlightening for the vocation directors (or whoever requests the assessment) to subject him-self or herself to the whole process. It may be an eye-opener as to the anxiety-provoking experience of personality assessment. For some cli-ents, self-disclosure is a very traumatic experience, and counseling may be advised. For most who have been exposed to testing in all forms, the whole procedure is taken in stride. Criteria Used What are we looking for in a good candidate to the priesthood/ religious life? The criteria have generally been clearly stated by the vari-ous religious groups, rectors of seminaries, experienced masters in the formation of candidates, and vocation directors. In general, they can be grouped as follows. ( 1 ) Intelligence I think we are justified in looking for average intelligence or better; without it, a religious professional cannot grasp the import of his or her commitment to Church service within the framework of a religious life-style. During the assessment, the candidate's intellectual efficiency is con-sidered in the light of one's intellectual potential. Does the client oper-ate better in a situation where conformity is rewarded or where auton-omy and independence are viewed as positive behaviors? The individ-ual's cognitive style is also studied along with factors capable of reduc-ing his or her mental efficiency such as anxiety, perfectionism, compul-sivity, or poor thought control. (2) Personality Here, it is important to have inventories/questionnaires standardized Whence Come the Candidates? / 345 on a non-psychiatric population; the candidate is not expected to live in a psychiatric ward! Instruments are usually selected which address prin-cipally the personality characteristics important for social living and so-cial interaction. Attention focuses first on personal integration: the individual's self-concept as covered by such factors as social presence, sociability, self-acceptance, sense of well-being. The candidate's social maturity and re-sponsibility come under scrutiny in a cluster of scales tapping socializa-tion, self-control, and tolerance. Temperamental variables such as per-sistence, cooperation, aggressiveness, tact, moodiness, impulsiveness, and adaptability are given some attention. The motivational aspects of the applicant are usually considered in a separate scale covering the home environment, career, religion, social endeavors, needs, values, and in-terests. A social-religious orientation is usually a more favorable indica-tor of a true call than a political or power orientation. (3) Sexuality This area is considered critical for today's candidates who will com-mit themselves to a celibate life. Projective techniques (disguised tasks) are used in this case to assess the basic sexual orientation of the candi-date and impulse control. The leads provided by the test data are openly discussed with the candidate in view of verification of the findings and subsequent recommendations. Not all information gathered in the inter-view need to be reported; problems resolved earlier fall in this category. (4) Magisterium The candidates are also queried about their attitudes toward author-ity, toward the Church and her teachings, and toward the ministry or apos-tolate. Feedback The feedback interview can be used advantageously to cover impor-tant areas such as interpersonal relationships: at home, at school, and at work, and for the older candidates, relationship to the local church. The individual can be further interrogated relative to anger and hostility: what triggers his or her anger and how is it handled? Recommendations for the proper handling of st.tong emotions are usually in order. The area of sexuality is probed further: orientation, ~,ex education, if given (when, by whom), dating history, the applicant's understanding of celibacy/ chastity, and his or her readiness to make the commitment to a celibate life. The last area tapped in the interview pertains to "spiritual evolu-tion," or the applicant's personal spiritual journey. When was he or she first attracted to the Church, (rites, sacraments, music, service, and so 346 /Review for Religious, May-June 1990 forth) and how did that attraction grow (or lapse) in the course of his or her life? Conclusion It is obvious to whoever has read up to this point that the evaluation/ assessment of candidates is serious business and a time-consuming propo-sition. Is it not worth the effort for a lifetime of service to the Church? The full day of testing and the few hours needed for the feedback/ interview are little when one considers the benefits to be derived through a lifetime of dedicated service to others. It is a rewarding task tbr the examiner who is constantly confronted with the promptings of grace in the life of today's young people. NOTES ~ William F. Kraft, "'Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Religious." R~vw.w FOR RF.LIGIOUS, Vol. 37, (1978), pp. 161-170. 2 David F. O'Connor, "Appraising Candidates for Religious Life or Priesthood," Human Development IX (Fall. 1988), pp. 26-30. 3 Address of His Holiness Pope Plus XII, "On Psychotherapy and Religion," Fifth International Congress on Psychotherapy and Clinical Psychology (April 13, 1953). Converted i come into Your glorious presence Changed, Newly dressed In Your garments, Feeling strangely at home there. Delighted, excited, I am waiting . . . Longing once more For Your kiss of peace. Sister Columba Howard St. John of God Convent P.O. Box 14 SUBIACO 6008 Western Australia Wishes for a "Novice" Novice Director Melannie Svoboda, S.N.D. Sister Melannie Svoboda, S.N.D. is currently dividing her time between teaching and writing. She served as novice director for six years. Her address is Notre Dame Academy; Route One, Box 197; Middleburg. Virginia 22117. For six years I was novice director for my religious community. During those years, the number of novices I had was anywhere between nine and one. As I reflect back on my experience as novice director, especially now that I have a little distance from that ministry, I ask myself, "What advice would I give to a new novice director--to a novice novice direc-tor? What would I wish for him or her?" There are many things I could say, much I could wish for. But if I had to limit myself to five words of advice, five wishes, what would they be? My answer to that question is this article. Warning.t Self-knowledge. Beware.t And give thanks. In my second year as novice director, I made my annual retreat as usual. During my first one-on-one conference, the retreat director asked me what my min-istry was. When I told him I was novice director for over a year, he smiled and said, "Well, well! I bet you've come to a beck of a lot of self-knowledge this past year!" His words struck me. They encapsulated something I had been experiencing, but something I had not yet been able to name: formation ministry has a terrible and marvelous way of en-couraging growth in self-knowledge--and this growth is usually accom-panied by discomfort, confusion, or even pain. Prior to becoming novice director, I had been a successful teacher and free-lance writer. It was easy for me to begin to find a good meas-ure of security in my obvious successes in these two areas. Success has 347 348 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 an insidious way of leading us into a kind of "spiritual coziness." My success tended to give me the illusion that, indeed, God is in his heaven, I am in my classroom or at my typewriter, and all is well in the world. Formation work, which was both new and challenging, had a way of nudg-ing me (sometimes even shoving me) out of my complacency. I noticed my prayer becoming less pharisaical: "I thank you, Lord, that I am so successful!" and more "publican-ish": "Lord, now what do I do? Help!" As disconcerting as this growth in self-knowledge was at times, I see it now as a very real blessing for me. There is another reason why formation work was such a challenge for me personally. Both teaching and writing have goals and objectives by which one can, to an extent, measure one's success. Are my students learning? Yes. Are editors accepting my articles? Yes. The'n I am doing something right. I am a success. But formation ministry does not have such clear-cut ways of measuring success. In fact, by some measures, I was quite unsuccessful as novice director. Were novices flocking to our novitiate now that I was director? No. In fact, the formation team and I were not even accepting all of the few that did apply. Once they came to our novitiate, did they stay'? No. Some stayed, but many left. And, worse yet, some of the ones that did leave, ! even encouraged to leave. Formation ministry forced me to redefine success. More than that, it caused me to question how much l needed success in order to minis-ter. The ministry of formation challenged me to devote time, energy, and creativity to a work that, for the most part, did not give me the steady encouragement of measurable results. It called forth new kinds of strengths in me--such as patience, trust, letting go, and greater depen-dence on others who could help me. I needed such qualities which might otherwise have remained undeveloped because of apparent outward suc-cess. Decisions, decisions! Shortly after receiving my appointment as nov-ice director, I met my own novice director in the lunch line at our pro-vincial house. She had been a novice director for more than twenty years. Now, confined mostly to a wheelchair, she continues to serve the com-munity in the mailroom and archives. When she saw me in the lunch line, she took me aside, wished me well, and then said, "Just remem-ber: as long as you believe your decisions are right before God, that's all you've got to worry about." In those few words, my novice director had gotten to the core of for-mation ministry: the making of decisions. For me, the crux of being nov-ice director (and I use the word "crux" intentionally) was having to Wishes for a Novice Director I 349 make a decision that affected the future of another human being. Of course, I knew that I was not totally responsible for deciding whether a woman should remain in our novitiate or leave. The novice herself played a paramount role in that decision. I also knew full well that I had other people I could and did consult for valuable advice and input. I also realized that the provincial and her council ultimately were responsible for this decision. But despite knowing these things in my head, I still felt in my heart that the decision whether a novice should stay or leave was essentially mine. For me there was nothing ever easy about making such a decision--one way or the other. And there certainly was nothing easy about being the one to tell a novice that she could not stay--especially if she was unable to understand why. As I told my provincial superior onc+ after the council had decided to let a candidate go, "You're not the one who has to look into her eyes and tell her. I do." For me personally, this was the greatest challenge as novice direc-tor: trying to make the right decision for each individual. It meant I also had to face the possibility that, despite my conscientiousness and my good will, I could, indeed, make the wrong decision about someone. I had to ask myself, "Do I trust God enough that ! can be at peace with every decision I make? Can I entrust even a possible wrong decision to his love and creativity?" I never fully appreciated what a burden this was for me until I no longer bore it. After | left formation work, I was given other big respon-sibilities- among them was being local superior of a rather large com-munity. But, so far, none of these new responsibilities quite compares with the responsibility I felt as novice director: having to make a deci-sion that profoundly affects the future life direction of another person and a religious community. At the risk of sounding pious, this is a burden we cannot bear alone. As my own novice director implied, we make our decisions before God. I add: we also make them with God. With hoops of steel. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius gives some beautiful advice to his son, Laertes, before he sets out on his own. His words of advice should be given to every new novice director: Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel. l, iii One of the greatest needs of a novice director is friends. Hopefully, most novice directors enter their ministry with a "generous supply" of good and loyal friends. But even if this is the case, a novice director soon 350/Review for Religious, May-June 1990 learns that the ministry of formation has some built-in obstacles to the retention of friends. First of all, as novice director, I was in a ministry all by myself. No one else in my community did exactly what I did. As a teacher and writer, I had enjoyed the camaraderie of other sisters in my community who were actively engaged in the same ministry. We swapped stories, shared ideas, and encouraged each other in our com-mon ministry. But when I became novice director, I suddenly had no one. There is another reason for the sense of aloneness that novice direc-tors sometimes feel. Much of our ministry involves things we cannot talk about or share with others. Even our schedule may prevent us from so-cializing with our friends. For example, as a teacher I looked forward to weekends when I had a little time to "unwind" with my sisters and friends. But as novice director, my weekends suddenly became my busi-est time. That was when 1 had classes with the novices, I tried to see them individually, and I "socialized" with them. These factors cannot be allowed to become excuses fo~" losing touch with our friends. But they are challenges for us to find new and creative ways to "grapple" our friends to our souls "with hoops of steel." Eventually, I did find considerable support from novice directors in other religious communities. Sometimes when we got together, we tended to "talk shop." We found ourselves talking only about problems in formation and expressing to each other worries and frustration. This has its place, of course, but we soon realized we needed each other not merely to "gripe with" but also to "play with." As a new novice di-rector, find ingenious ways to hang on to your old friends, and be ready and eager to make new ones. The wideness of the sea. One of my favorite old hymns says this: "There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea." I think we could paraphrase those words and say. "There should be a wideness in a novice director's life like the wideness of the sea." A nov-ice director could be tempted to live in a very narrow world--a world no larger than his or her novitiate. Do not succumb to this temptation. It is important for a novice director to receive some professional prepa-ration for the ministry of formation. Yes. It is also vital for him or her to keep abreast of developments in the field of formation. Definitely. But we novice directors must not limit our input solely to formation. My ad-vice is to widen your world. Get involved with other groups of people, with issues besides formation and religious life. As novice director, for example, I taught a course in pastoral ministry at our college almost Wishes for a Novice Director / 351 every semester. The course met once a week in the evenings. Teaching that course was extremely healthy and beneficial for me. When I was not teaching a course, I was often taking a course. Some of these courses had nothing to do directly with formation. I also continued to write arti-cles for publication--the vast majority of them riot on formation. I know other novice directors who widened their world by being life guards at swimming pools, music ministers in parishes, volunteers in soup kitch-ens, or teachers in seminaries. As directors, we need ample time for a ministry of formation, true. Bui we also need time to extend our bounda-ries beyond the walls of the novitiate and our religious community. Let them love you. So far I have said nothing specifically about the novices themselves. As novice director, you must love your novices. Sometimes your love will take the form of gentleness and kindness. Other times it will assume the shape of firmness or even apparent hard-ness. Whatever form it takes, love is essential. This goes without say-ing. But there is a flip side to this fact that gets too little attention: allow your novices to love you. Be open to their love. More than that, encour-age it, welcome it. As directors we can become overly conscious of our role as director, as formator. We can shield ourselves from the give-and-take of relationships by setting strick boundaries with our novices. I am director, you are directee. I form you. I love you. Formation becomes a one-way street. When we do this, we are forgetting this great truth about formation: while we are helping to form our novices, they are also helping to form us. If we allow them. My novices helped form me in many ways--sometimes gently, other times almost roughly. They formed me by their honesty and humility-- especially in the one-on-one sessions I had regularly with each one. I was always amazed at how the novices were, for the most part, incredibly honest with themselves. By their honesty, they encouraged me to be more honest with them. During my six years, I found myself trusting the novices more and more. I had always basically trusted other people, I believe, but my six years as novice director only encouraged this atti-tude. The novices ministered to me at times in my need. One time a friend of mine in the community was dying of cancer. I left her infirmary room one night on the verge of tears. Shortly afterwards I ran into one of my novices in the hall. My initial reaction was to put on a cheerful front and hide my tears from her. After all, I was her director. In fact, I was the one who had dried the tears of this particular novice on more than one 359 / Review for Religious, Mav-Jttne 1990 occasion. But when I saw the concerned expression on her face, I was unable to hold back my tears. I cried, "Nadine's dying." Without a word, she took me in her arms and held me for a few minutes, comfort-ing me. In one way, it was a reversal of roles, but I still treasure the mem-ory of that moment when I allowed the novice to minister to me. Sometimes novices will love us in "tougher" ways--challenging our judgments, questioning our decisions, asking us to explain something we would just as soon leave unexplained. As novice directors, we must be open to that kind of love, too. My father, now retired, spends much time growing things on my par-ents' three-and-one-half acre plot of land. He grows apple trees, exotic grapes, peach trees, English walnut trees, and'the like. He once told me, "I get a kick out of figuring out how to help things grow." I would hope that every new novice director could say something similar: "I get a kick out of figuring out how to help people grow." My final wish for the "novice" novice director is this: May you figure out (often through trial and error--plus the help of God's grace) how to help (not "make" or "'force") people grow. And, in the process of your helping, may you yourself grow in faith, hope, love, and much joy! Retreat at Glenstal Abbey I have no preacher here but only quiet trees that pray one solemn silent so-be-it frown cell, from sap, from sinewed standing stem frown bough and branch from twig and sprig all said all summed in this brief silent now. The Master called and with the stars each answered to the limit of every limned lettered lace-like latticed leaf: "Here 1 am." Cothrai Gogan, c.s.sp. Naraiga Catholic Church Box 220 Limuru Kenya, Africa The Associate Movement in Religious Life Rose Marie Jasinski, C.B.S., and Peter C. Foley Sister Rose Marie Jasinski. C.B.S. is currently director of the associate community for the Sisters of Bon Secours and president of Bon Secours St. Joseph Hospital and Nursing Care Center in Port Charlotte, Florida. Peter C. Foley is presently working as a free-lance consultant and facilitator for religious congregations, dioceses, and parishes. Correspondence should be addressed to Associate Membership Office: Sis-ters of Bon Secours: 1525 Marrionsville Road: Marriottsville, Maryland 21104. The task of the imagination, specifically the religious imagination, has been described as naming, even "composing," the real. Another way of saying this is that the religious imagination unveils where God is at work among us. Stories of God at work, and of the unfolding of a real-ity whose scope and power have not yet been imagined were told in May 1989 at the Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, Maryland where more than 100 Directors of Religious Associate Memberships, and associates too, gathered to share the histories of their associate move-ment. It was the first such gathering of lay people and religious designed .just to explore how spiritualities or charisms of the Church, previously identified with particular religious congregations, were being assimilated by groups of lay people who claim the identity, history, and traditions of a particular spirituality as their own. The reality that emerged is that the traditional spiritualities are alive and well, even flourishing, but in ways we had not imagined. Most congregations reported more applicants to the associate program than to the congregation, and some associate members outnumbered the sisters themselves. But even more striking than the rapid growth of associate memberships was the intensity of the 353 Review for Religious, May-June 1990 commitment brought to them. These were not casual or sentimental re-lationships- it was clear that there was great personal significance in be-longing to an evolving spiritual community. This powerful movement has been quietly erupting within the Church for the last ten to fifteen years. Among the groups gathered to-gether in May we discovered associate members of women, men, sin-gle, married, of various professions, of differing faiths and even a few clergy and religious of other congregations. Associate membership tends to look and act differently within individual religious communities. The basic ingredient, however, is a strong emphasis on forming bonds be-tween laity and religious around a specific charism and mission; attempt-ing to live out that spirit and charism in one's particular lay lifestyle be-comes a significant piece of the "bonding" together. An area of richness that was shared by the groups in May was the expressed felt need and desire to journey together toward deeper spiri-tual growth. The word "together" here is significant and seems to be gaining in popularity. While indeed there still lingers the sentiment that "sister is better at this than I am" we discovered also that the notion that "the same Spirit moves among all of us" is gaining ground as well. Of course, this growing sense and desire for "bonding" also tends to blur the distinctions between laity and religious which is a challenge for some and a gift for many. Developing a sense of community was an important and, at times, a primary reason for approaching associate membership. For some it is the lack of community experienced in the local parish setting; for others it is the desire to deepen their prayer life that initiated the attraction. This sense of community and "bonding" that begin to take shape between the lay and religious members is encouraged and strengthened through regular times of coming together to share prayer, ritual, reflections, Eucharist, and other social feastings. Along with these activities the de-sire to have a "significant" role within the religious community is also exerting its influence among laity and religious. Participating in commu-nity decision-making, committee functions, chapter meetings and the like were not an uncommon topic at our May meetings. The area of service or ministry had a broad range of response among the groups. For some it was an integral part of the associates" role; for others it almost appeared as a distraction from the original intent of spiri-tual development; and still others seem to be on a progressive path of moving through spiritual development outward to "mission.'" This brings us to the progression of "gerierations" that is becom- The Associate Movement / 355 ing evident to those people who have been around this movement ['or a period of time. A pattern appears to be evolving within the associate move-ment. The first generation seemed to be people who wanted to be "filled up" spiritually plus a few who just could not say "no" to sister in those communities where the religious extended the invitation to join. In this generation the religious were looked to for the leadership. The second generation seemed to move more deeply into spiritual development in that the laity and religious have journeyed that path together as equals. The third generation emerges as associates become active in, or are in-vited into, various ways of participating in community life itself. Spiri-tuality as well as leadership is shared. A fourth generation seems to be spiritually motivated and supported by a faith community to go out in mission to share the charism. Throughout this progression of generations has remained a growing, though sometimes ambiguous, sense of commitment--ambiguous in that it is not always clear if the commitment is to the congregation, to the lo-cal community, to the associate community, or to individual sisters. And growing in that there are those rich experiences when associate members feel they have no choice but to live the charism--they have become so imbued it is as though "the charism has me!'" It seems most desirable for each group to grow in its own understand-ing and expression of, and comfort with, the focus of its commitment. While all groups expressed uncertainty about the long-term embodi-ment of their spirituality, they were equally comfortable with a sense of journeying together, accompanying ehch other in a life of prayer, shar-ing, and service. This was the area of greatest commonality among the participants. Otherwise their differences were so great that many of our assumptions about the associate movement were exposed and dispelled. Our first assumption was that a healthy associate program needed to be closely knit to the sponsoring congregation, starting with a strong for-mation program (conducted by the sisters), ongoing liaison with or lead-ership from the sisters, and some degree of monitoring of prescribed norms of behavior. Not so. Although many of these chara~:teristics were present in most programs, there were some that were not even started by the sisters, much less "managed" by them. A "healthy" and vigorous program depended more on the quality of the relationship between indi-vidual lay person and sister (living or dead) than on the sophistication of its organization and structures. The spirit or charism of the congrega-tion was passed on most effectively, it seemed, from person to person. In one group, the "formation" program consisted primarily of one-to- Review for Religious, May-June 1990 one storytelling on the part of the retired sisters with the prospective as-sociate. Another had an adoption structure, in which the associate and sister became family with each other. Another assumption was that there were sisters, on the one hand, and associates on the other. But for some, the associate membership con-sisted of lay people and those sisters who chose to join it including, in-terestingly, sisters from other congregations. These groups, obviously, had no trouble "getting sisters involved"--one of the more common problems expressed. The sisters were free to commit themselves to this other expression of their charism, or not. Another surprise was the range of expectations or requirements for associates to "keep up their membership." Many groups had calendars of annual events that included monthly meetings, annual retreats, "home-coming weekends" with all the sisters at the motherhouse, and some even offering weekly prayer meetings. But it was clear, due to geo-graphical movement of both sisters and associates, that the real and ef-fective criterion of memberships for some groups was the intention and commitment of the individual associate. In a movement like this there is a lot of giving and receiving. Who is giving? Who is receiving'? The obvious answer is that the congrega-tion is extending itself to others, including them, giving them something that they could not have by themselves. The opposite seems to charac-terize many of the groups reporting. The more the sisters listened to what was going on in the desires, dreams, and active faith life of their friends and dedicated collaborators, the more they received. Their own appre-ciation of their congregational charism and history was renewed and en-livened. Many sisters reported "receiving their charism back" from their lay associates. And, on a more pragmatic vein, the more the con-gregation included its associates in governance and community struc-tures, the greater the commitment of time and energy of the associates to the religious group. Finally, we had assumed, of course, that we were talking about per-sons of the Christian faith when we were discussing associates. Not so. A number of congregations reported including not only non-Catholic Christians in their associate programs, but also non-Christian persons. How could this be? We did not ask. If we had had the time, we would have asked three other questions: -What human behaviors facilitate the "passing on" of a charism from person or group to another'? -This seems to be more a women's movement than one The Associate Movement / ;357 commonly or equally shared by men and women. If so, how does it relate to the larger feminist or women's move-ment? And, also, how is it related to earlier women's movements in the history of the Church? -Are congregations that have a vital and active associate membership capable of having an equally vital and ac-tive group of "lay volunteers"? We ended the May meetings with no conclusions other than it was very good to get together and share what is happening; that some groups would initiate regional networks: and that we should all meet again in two years to hear the continuing story of the associate membership move-ment. As participants and observers we rejoice and hope to see the continu-ing openness to the Spirit-filled variety of associate memberships in the Church. A variety that may lead us to a fifth generation of associate mem-bers and "religious" sharing community: living together in a variety of many different ways, providing a variety of different services, praying in a variety of different styles--all through the power of one Spirit-- one baptism. Sunrise When the earth tipped its rim this morning, letting the sun in, filling itself with color and.light, You handed it to me; putting my mouth to the other side, I drank the dawn wind, the morning sun rising, dripping with glory. Then handing the cup back to You, I wiped the drops from my mouth, touching my lips again with Your light: Satiated with splendor, so glad of Your love. Sister Columba Howard St. John of God Convent P.O. Box 14 SUBIACO 6008 Western Australia Images For The Future Of Religious Life Thomas F. McKenna, C.M. Father Thomas McKenna, C.M., is an assistant professor in the theology department at St. John's University in New York. He has also served as novice director for the Eastern Province of the Vincentians. His address is Vincentian House: 101-25 104th Street: Ozone Park, New York 11416. One of the signatures of any age is the time-dimension to which it is drawn. At a given period, a culture is fascinated by past, present, or what is to come. For a number of interwoven reasons, religious life in this pres-ent age is taken with the future. The harder times it has fallen upon in filling up its thinning ranks and the upsetting wonder about what forms will take it into the next. century raise questions which only forward-looking answers will give. Add to this the growing appreciation that the origins and, therefore, the identity of religious life lie in visions precisely about what could be, and the reasons for concern about that future be-come all the more apparent. Often enough, these worries and hopes find expression in a search for what is termed "The New Image.'" That taken-for-granted inner land-scape which grounded the operations of a congregation for generations is less and less able to hold the center. Members realize that some new image is required, a different "root metaphor"~ which once in place will again provide that clear prism through which the apostolates, govern-ance, prayer styles, and, indeed, the very self-concept of the order can be freshly perceived. In his book on the meaning of history,2 Theodore White describes the precariousness of trying to peer into the future from the only van-tage point available, the present. He invites the reader into a small boat 358 Images of Religious Life / 359 bobbing up and down on the swells of the mid-Pacific, thousands of miles from any coast. Inside, the waves lifting and lowering the boat feel much the same, but in fact they are not all alike. Some are only surface ripples blown up for a few hundred yards or even miles. Others are surges left from mid-ocean storms out still farther over the horizon. They, too, will smooth out and die. But others still are the tips of deep running transoceanic currents. They were born in the river canyons of continents two thousand miles to the east and will crest on the shores of another coast four thousand miles westward. The historian is the person who thinks himself able to read which of the waves are shallow and so eventually will fade, and which reach to the floor of the sea and so will roll on into the future. While the bases for his judgments are not the kind which can serve up airtight predictions, they are rooted eno'ugh in pres-ent conditions to get him beyond clairvoyance. His knowledge of the cur-rents and tides enables him to give some backing for claims about what will continue beyond the horizon. This article intends to feel for some of those currents. While there are any number of root images which might be the synthesizing meta-phors on which religious life will be carried into the future, there are some which because of their ancient lineage in the religious movement on the one side and their attunedness to present society on the other show promise beyond mere guesswork--though, to be honest, not perhaps be-yond wishful thinking! The metaphors to follow can stand by themselves, but are more use-ful when anchored in the first. Connecting them sequentially allows for a certain priority but also for enough interaction that each can be a cor-rective for the others. The Religious Infiltrators of the Culture The scenario here is one body of people led forward by a common vision who insert themselves into the dead spots, so to speak, of the world of another group. They attempt to work their variant view into the places in the dominant culture which are spiritually empty and hunger-ing for freedom and new meaning. The sportscaster's phrase "in the seams" catches the idea. In a zone defense, players are assigned to cover certain sectors of the field or rink. The weakest points are along the bor-ders of zones because that is where confusions and even collisions be-tween the defenders are most likely to occur. The pass or shot is aimed "in the seams" between the zones; it is put "in the crease" at the edges of the coverage where the system most often breaks down. This analogy places religious among those believers who carry the 3BO / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 cause of Mystery to those border areas in a culture. Into those margins where the prevailing world view has lost its depth or has failed in nerve, religious bring the riches, appropriately enough, of religion. They are the outriders of the culture, the hikers along the margin where moder-nity has unraveled and is dealing death rather than life. The orders are among the entrepreneurs of the Mystery in a resistive society. This last figure brings out the assertive and perhaps even aggressive side of the image. Not intimidated by the muscular idols of the culture, religious purposefully seek out opportunities for evangelization and join with other groups who struggle to inculturate kindred values. They are convinced of the profundity of what they carry and so actively search out the soft spots in a society for chances to penetrate. Opportunistically, they move into the seams. In the description of the mid-ocean sailor, we spoke of the need to justify the use of a particular image. Why does this metaphor show more promise than another'? In this case, what signs of the times recommend the infiltrator over competitors'? Both negative and positive warrants come to mind. The negatives cluster around a foreboding sense of the spiritual bank-ruptcy of certain sectors in the modern world. By modern we connote here modernity, that whole ethos born in the Enlightenment and bred in the industrialized West whose place in history is slipping off its assumed highest perch to a level of one era among others, but one, indeed, whose effects are threatening to annihilate the gains of all the rest. Interestingly, this critique is being mounted by commentators who truly admire many of the accomplishments of the modern era such as freedom, communi-cation, labor saving devices, democracy, and so forth. They counsel not so much a nativist return to some pre-technological world, but rather a move beyond technology. To that end, they make the case that within the soil of the very blessings modernity bestows are sprouting the mostly unnoticed seeds of its own destruction. The most noxious plants on the American scene are being fed by the system of total capitalism. When left unchecked, they poison the very kind of moral character needed to sustain the democratic society in which capitalism flourishes. Among the more widely known critics are Robert Bellah and his as-sociates3 who have detailed the ways in which individualism threatens to remove its communal counterbalance, republicanism, from the ethi-cal arena in American life. A flattened self, the person as a "bag of needs" disconnected from other subjects and unable to collaborate from motives beyond self-gratification is the narcissistic prospect. Barbara Hat- Images of Religious Life / 36"1 grove's depiction of the "New Class" analyzes the ways which the spe-cializing and rationalistic tendencies of the baby boomer culture can shut down its own best possibilities.'~ In a more popular vein are the addresses of Franciscan preacher, Richard Rohr, who of late has been announcing "the death of the liberal agenda."-s An inability to cooperate with any-one besides an elite few, an idolization of personal feelings, and a per-fectionistic search for the fullest experience and/or the flawless process are some of the disturbing undersides he fears now beginning to surface. A more philosophical warning is being sounded by a group known as the Post-Modernists. Taking negative expression in its Deconstruction-ist variety,6 the critique is more optimistically stated by a group who call themselves, fittingly so, the Constructionists.7 Affirming the benefits of modernity, they also desire to move beyond its pitfalls and so join the assault on individualism. Their particular contribution is not only to have analyzed further its pedigree and progeny, but to have proposed means by which it can be overcome. There is an anthropomorphism in the culture, they contend, which immoderately subordinates the whole of creation to its human part. The attitude denies any "inwardness" to what is not human, thereby remov-ing nature's intrinsic value and laying it open to the worst kinds of ex-ploitation. The social counterparts of this dominative style are the patri-archal rules in society, assumptions which prevailed in all ages but get honed to their sharpest edge by the competitive, rationalistic, and ef-ficiency myths of the present.8 Powering everything are the twin dynamos of economism and con-sumerism. The blanket moral pardon granted the so-called side effects of the free market (steered by its invisible hand of self-interest) is ex-tended to all sectors of life. Social, aesthetic, moral, and religious issues are approached as if their ultimate bearings were also supply and de-mand. The pressures to define self by possessions, to regard the public good solely as economic wealth, and to eliminate concern even for one's posterity are some of the more chilling prospects when the profit princi-ple is transmuted into the universal moral touchstone. Such a world, in a Constructionist phrase, has lost its enchantment.9 Emptied of mystery and dulled to the wisdom of the best of its myths, it can no longer re-spond to the deeper hopes and so begins to feed on itself. Modernity's prospects: a superficial and morally spinning world set on a disastrous course that of itself modernity is powerless to change. If the infiltrator metaphor stayed only with condemnations, its indict-ments could have the ring of a culture-bashing fundamentalism which 369 / Review for Religious. May-June 1990 railed against the society but did not involve itself in it. Happily, these critiques are simultaneously stirring up a kind of religious revival or at least the beginnings of one. ~0 In the so-called secular disciplines for in-stance, there is a growing movement to sacralize the world. Proponents in the natural sciences for one, awed not only by the indeterminacy of things but also by their interconnectedness, are proclaiming a newly dis-covered mystery in creation. Various schools of psychology for another are reclaiming a spiritual base. Educational circles are feeling a surpris-ing pressure for more theology and religion courses at secular universi-ties. ~ These and other indications mark a widening search for values which are rooted in something other than the economic. This quest has a prag-matic ring to it inasmuch as the conviction is spreading that religiously grounded foundations are the only ones on which lasting social change can be built. Interestingly, the revival appears to have gathered greatest momentum among Roman Catholics. A 1987 Gallup poll names them as the denomination which feels most able to provide religious leadership in American society because of both the wide backing they accord their bishops' social teachings and because of the stronger communal bonds they enjoy. ~- In sum, there is on a number of fronts a growing unease about the spiritual vacuum in the culture together with initial signs of an initiative to fill it. Motivation for the renewal is not the self-righteous and con-demning sort, but comes from culturally sympathetic people who at the same time sense the dissonance between their own religious experience and the hollowness in key sectors of modernity. This analysis was done to indicate possible points at which religion could be inserted into the culture. Such intersections hold invitations for religious to join with other subgroups in society~3 in witnessing to firmer grounds of meaning. Carrying in their traditions such wisdom as the in-terrelationship between humans and the rest of creation, the universal dis-persion of spiritual energy, the immanence of the divine feminine, and the riches which cannot be packaged as a commodity and which flow out of the acts of loving and hoping, members of orders do not come empty-handed to those vulnerable seams. Nor do they come alone. The infil-trator is meant to work alongside of other servants of Mystery who are soon discovered to be, in Thomas Merton's phrase, "the monks' natu-ral allies in the world.''~4 If this line of thought sounds familiar to the religious reader, it is likely because something of the sacred time of his or her beginnings is hnages of Religious Life / 36:3 evoked. All founding persons were in effect entrepreneurs of religion in a culture. The desert journeys of the monks as response to the dying and brutal fourth-century society, the ingenuity of the mendicants in evan-gelizing a world of new city-states, the missionary fervor of the congre-gations of the seventeenth century reaching across from the Old World to the New--all these were tides taken at the ebb to penetrate a weak-ened and changing society. The crisis of meaning in American culture today and some initial responses to it present new windows of opportu-nity for would-be refounders. What special qualities are required of these so-called otitriders of re-ligion? In an essay on the future of spirituality, ~5 Karl Rahner addressed the situation of believers living in a time of sociological diminishment. Their faith must be sustained by what he termed "a solitary, immediate experience of God." They are to be new types of mystics whose con-viction does not come from any place other than the hearts of their own existence. Infiltrators are, therefore, marked in the first place by a per-sonal experience of God. Their second trait might be called culture-friendliness. Refounding persons exhibit that certain feel for the divine possibilities in society, that willingness to mix it up with the shapers of meaning in the wider world. While they are not uncritical of the age, their more basic desire is to engage it in order to move quickly into the spiritual openings it presents. But infiltrators also have blind spots. A common one is to so con-centrate on the strategy and practicalities of insertion into a culture that they lose sight of the sources of the salvation they bring it. Two further images, each able to stand on its own, speak more pointedly to ways of listening for the Word which religious carry to the world they would serve. The Navigator A type of spiritual sensibility long associated with the religious move-ment is at the core of this metaphor. To arrive at it, we add to Theodore White's image of the boat bobbing in the mid-Pacific the lore surround-ing certain revered individuals in Polynesian culture known as Naviga-tors. Now gone, these adventurers were the last repositories in their so: ciety of the secrets of open ocean sailing. Without modern navigational instruments, they could make landfall on a tiny dot of coral thousands of miles across the seemingly trackless Pacific. Anthropologists found their basic talent to be an ability to read the movements of the waves. Through a long and spiritually intense initiation, they learned to tell the crucial difference between the surface disturbances and the ocean- 364 I Review Jbr Religious, May-June 1990 spanning bottom currents which led in definite directions, changed head-ings with the seasons, and were deflected as they ran past the archipela-goes that speckled the Southern Seas. From their minuscule platform on the raft, they could judge which of the great ocean waves to follow and which to let roll past. In terms we will use, these were the special ones who could read in the present which movements had the long-range prom-ise and which would not reach the far shore of the future. Joseph Campbell speaks of an analogous phenomenon in other primi-tive societies which today might come under the title recruitment. While undergoing the long initiation to adulthood, one of the adolescents suf-fers a kind of nervous breakdown. He seems to take things too seriously. He does not see reality the way his peers do and is not in step with their pace and general rhythms. Observing this, the elders remove him from the group--and make him their religious leader! Their intuition, says Campbell, is that the youngster is picking up the contours of another world. He is reading signals from a different depth and perceiving a pic-ture of the way the tribe could be when at its very best. In the language of the previous example, this person becomes the tribal navigator, not just in sailing but in all things, because he can discern directions com-ing 'back from the future,' directions which the rest of the clan recog-nizes as valuable and even salvific. In this metaphor, religious are among those special ones with sensi-tivity for what of God's future is just over the horizon. Intuiting the source and goal of the divine good working in the world, their faith vi-sion focuses more on the da~vning of God's presence than on its fruition in the present. To paraphrase Karl Rahner, they are among the first to catch the glimmer of the morning light on the far mountain which will eventually turn into the brilliance of day. ~6 Following him again, these are the eschatologically inciined believers whose intimations of God's grace which comes from beyond the world creates the saving tension with those disciples whose more incarnationa[ faith celebrates the pres-ence of that grace already come. ~v Two signs of the times which in an obverse way recommend the Navi-gator are the sleek idol-making machines of secularism and materialism. To those driven by them, all observable ~:eality is explainable in terms of itself, and things (including persons perceived as things) hold the high ground of ultimacy. To counteract this massive message, there is great need for the relativizer, the individual who cherishes the good of this world but who also spots its incompleteness and inability to save. These are the ones who catch the presence of the world-to-come in the midst hnages of Religious Life / 365 of the world-that-is-here and so can accept the graciousness of the pres-ent while rejecting its different pretensions to absoluteness. Groups who can "name grace''~8 because they know the difference between groundings which are ultimate and penultimate help save a world which too indiscriminately mixes the two. And indeed, has it not always been one of the liberating functions of religion to lead people into places where, in one writer's imagery, "they can transcend the mazeways they have known to glimpse new visions of what may be"?~9 If this metaphor again seems an old friend, it is because it carries strains of both a classic description of religious communities and of a strong trait in the spiritual experience of their founders. Magisterial docu-ments depict religious orders as witnesses to the world-to-come, as fore-tastes of the kingdom's fullness, and as apostles of the transcendent.2° The innovative apostolic strategies of founding women and men sprang from their ability to see the world which hemmed in their contemporar-ies against the backdrop of the better one illuminated by the light of the coming kingdom. The ancestry of religious life is heavily eschatologi-cal. Witness to that faith-dimension is needed in every age but for the reasons discussed above crucially so in this one. The community which images itself as Navigator values discern-ment. As a group it not only spots the religious possibilities and then im-plements them, but lays explicit hold of the power and source of its vi-sion. It is a mobile group, able to roam free, and has a lower than usual need for the security and predictability of set roles. Its critique of the status quo will disturb those less attuned to the future and it will line up more quickly with other visionaries in the world and Church. For all its sensitivity, such a community also has its limits. Naviga-tors can so focus on the land over the horizon that they miss some of the places they travel through in the present. Eschatological types have their eyes on the better world ahead and tend to be impatient with the slow birthing process needed to bring that world to light of day. In the lan-guage of psychology, they can be perfectionistic, enamored of the ideal, and intolerant of development toward it. In theological talk, they are tempted to angelism, imagining they can detour around the process of history instead of laboriously going through it.2~ Often enough, naviga-tors need to be brought back down to the agitated ocean surface and re-learn the wisdom of the journey itself. Enter the next image, a specialist in the art of journeying. The Lean and Light Remnant The title draws the scene for this third metaphor. It is the Israelite 366/Review for Religious, May-June 1990 people on a long and ragged trek across the desert. Their march this time is not toward the new Promised Land but toward their old one, having just been released from their captivity in Babylon and now heading back to rebuild a ruined Jerusalem. They have little to carry because recent slaves do not amass many possessions. They rely on no social standing other than the dubious kind of the refugee. Most telling, because so many of their kin fell off the trail on the way to Babylon or chose to remain behind there, their numbers are hardly the kind to pose a threat to world order. For all that, they are grateful for their station because they have learned from their experience and their prophets that dispossession and pilgrimage have a way of opening hearts to Yahweh. They are the Remnant. Not lamenting their losses nor ashamed of their smallness, they are in some measure even glad for them because these deprivations have proved to be better teachers about what counts before their God than the power they wielded generations ago. These travelers have no preten-sions of overwhelming their world with multitudes or even talent. What they have to offer is what they are constan,tly aware of receiving, the di-vine mercy and sustenance. At best, they see themselves as catalysts, tiny enzymes in a large mass, invisible and unobtrusive. They are satis-fied on the circumference of society because their ordeal has convinced them that circumferences can often enough in God's eyes be near the cen-ter. The fit between Remnant and the orders of the 1990s is the obvious demographic one of diminishment. Not just on the way, smallness is al-ready here. To begin to extol the benefits of shrinkage at such a time could be written off as a kind but unreal attempt to console the dying, a thought which most likely occurred to Babylon-bound Israelites as they heard the same sentiment from their preachers. But to at least some of them, the truth of the claim proved itself over time. That proof is being given again today in a number of testimonies to the spiritual good which can come of vulnerability and powerlessness. One especially forceful witness is given by the liberationists who in their own pragmatic way have unearthed the riches at the margins. The poor evangelize the wealthy, the no-accounts unlock the Gospel's mean-ing for people of consequence, the small, ordinary, and forgotten ones are revealed as standing at the hub of the kingdom's activity. The very meaning of insignificant is transposed. Another more quiet testimony comes from Jean Vanier and his years of living with the handicapped.22 These sociologically most invisible of Images of Religious Life / :367 people have their own ways of making very visible the presence of grace in creation. The precariousness of their existence and their survival-need for the compassion of others lays bare the essence of how it is be-tween God and all of humanity. Such little people, when cared for and allowed to progress on their own terms, turn out to be large gifts to the caretakers. Gospels such as these are advancing the claim that diaspora time is the spiritually best time. Facing the onset of their own smallness, reli-gious communities could do worse than take to heart this winter spiritual-ity. In its bleakness they might come to see another kind of beauty and in its silence a call to a more anonymous style of influencing the world around them. Is this not the climate in which most all orders and con-gregations began? In the desert where smallness reveals itself as bless-ing by keeping the group real, minority status does not allow social and numerical superiority to figure in its estimation of success. Pilgrim com-munities of the coming decades will have both grieved the loss of high visibility and learned better to rely on their own inner experience as sus-tainer and guidepost. Like the tiny band of emigres approaching the out-skirts of Jerusalem, they will recognize their smallness as the lean and light condition which best suits them for the task of building their old/ new city. Scripture experts tell us that when the exiles entered the settlement, they found others already there, both their own who had been left be-hind as well as others who over the decades had wandered in. To move to our final metaphor, we add the following piece of imagination. Because the project of reconstructing the Temple and city would re-quire more arms than these pilgrims could supply, they realized they needed the help of the resident aliens. But the Jews also noted that these foreigners possessed building skills different from their own which might add much beauty to the final product. The New Jerusalem could better be built collaboratively. The last image is at hand. The Square Dance The picture here is of a swirling group, moving to the rhythm of the same tune and the shouts of the one caller. The dancers begin as a single couple, then join larger and still larger circles, change to other partners along the way, then come back to the original two--and repeat the cycle again and again. While at the beginning the steps and switches are a bit ragged and the caller's instructions hard to understand, the promenaders do not drop out because the energy spreading across the floor has caught them. They know best the partners they came with, but they also know 368 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 how much more dance there is when they can join hands with other cir-cles and be part of the bigger whirl in the room. They trade some of the freedom of couple-dancing for the chance to be part of something larger to which they now know they can contribute. The dance metaphor speaks of new ways for the religious communi-ties to be together, both with themselves and with others. Beginning within the circles of their own congregations, they move out to other prov-inces and communities, to laity, to their natural families, couples, friends outside their order, co-workers, to other Infiltrators, Navigators and Remnants both Christian and non. The image encourages them to listen for the rhythm which matches the cadence of their own religious experi-ence no matter where in society it is sounding. With a graciousness, they let go the hands of the community partners with whom they began so that these too are free to step off into the bigger enterprise. But they are also happy to welcome them back when the time for regrouping comes round again. Each member of the congregation sacrifices some independence, convinced that the overall cause is worth the initial unsettlement and risk. The sign of the times for Square Dance is quite simply its present existence. Many congregations have already moved the borders on their maps of inclusion. Associates, service corps, laymission extensions, in-terprovincial apostolates, joint ventures by men's and women's branches of the same order all testify to the shifting sense of what it means to be-long. If the initial enthusiasm for widening circles produced some overly fluid boundaries, it did enlarge perceptions of membership. This stretch-ing permitted groups to recognize certain natural allies outside their walls who were in effect anonymous carriers of the community charism. A more recent attempt to strike a better balance between centrifugal and cen-tripetal forces has sought to tie tighter but still flexible bonds between the members. One fine instance is the recent essay by George Wilson which tracks the sharp change in attitudes of Jesuits about inclusion.-~3 The image of a single closed circle embracing all the spiritual, profes-sional, familial, apostolic, and even recreational aspects of communal life has largely been supplanted by another of many smaller circles, some not connected to each other and most tellingly not to the Jesuit one. Be-longing no longer means fitting everything inside the one ring of total community but rather negotiating between the different circles (for ex-ample, professional societies, local living group, non-Society friends both male and female, the world Jesuit fellowship, and so forth), espe-cially between those of one's primary and secondary commitments. hnages of Religious Life / 369 Useful as it is on the intra-community level, a Square Dance model also serves the wider society, Any truly collaborative venture on behalf of issues other than the group's self-preservation is a prophetic word to a culture so tilted away from the ability to cooperate by the weight of individualism. And could it not also be that arguments within religious communities themselves against widening the circle (phrased at times as the loss of needed autonomy or dilution of our special spirit) are partially an echo of the privatist bias in the wider society? Whatever the case, the move to collaborate for reasons beyond self-interest is not only evangeli-cally countercultural, but hearkens back to that surrender to something greater which gave rise to the religious movement in the first place. People of the Square Dance have a mind for the communal. The op-posite of in-house types who require the safety of same-sex, walled-off environments, they still maintain primary loyalties to their own, Their toleration for fluidity in boundaries is high. They have opted to learn ne-gotiation between different memberships rather than to close ranks around the one. This insight that collaborative communities are in a position to infil-trate the individualistic culture completes the circle. The Square Danc-ers widen the Remnant's sphere of influence. Both look to the Naviga-tors for the source and direction of their projects. And all three join in the Infiltrator's attempt to bring the depth of the kingdom to the shallow places of the world. It is time to conclude. Conclusion Nearly twenty years ago when reflecting on the spirituality of the fu-ture, Karl Rahner predicted that whatever forms it takes, it "will remain the old spirituality of the Church's history."24 He meant that even though the relationship between the different parts of Christian existence will shift, its essential elements (for example, adoring the incomprehensible God, following the suffering and triumphant Lord, protesting the world's forms of wealth, power, and pleasure, living within the Church, and so forth) will remain. In a somewhat reverse way, the same holds true for the different images of religious life with which we have been playing. These paradigms do not submerge those components which the recent Vatican document termed "Essential Elements,''25 but they do recon-figure them. Communal living, for instance, is linked to mission in a much different way in a Square Dance framework than it had been in more tightly inclusive forms of the Augustinian one-heart-and-one-spirit tradition. It is precisely that repatterning which makes all the dif-ference. For it allows religious the suppleness not only to set new courses 370 / Review for Religious, May-June 1990 by the waves of the future moving past them, but also to take conscious advantage of the momentum those waves contain. To return to Rahner, religious life will and will not remain the same. Its refounders are those people who through freshly imaging its possibilities will keep the reli-gious movement intact and at the same time reshape it into its most us-able form for the coming age. The overall interplay between the images seems an apt point on which to conclude. The Remnant calls the Infiltrator to remember the hum-ble conditions under which the message is given; the Infiltrator in turn cautions the Remnant against enshrining smallness as a value unto itself. The Navigator supplies the direction for the Infiltrator; the Infiltrator pow-ers the boat which the Navigator might be content only to steer. All three are vitalized by community living, but now expanded into its Square Dance form. Our attempt has been to suggest culturally relevant paradigms which might anchor 'newly emerging syntheses for religious life. If these par-ticular ones do not speak to individuals or communities, they might at least trigger the power of other imaginations to discover even deeper ly-ing metaphors which can again hold the center for this ancient and ever new blessing in the Church. NOTES ~ Thomas Clark, "Religious Leadership in a Time of Cultural Change," Religious Life at the Crossroads, David Fleming, ed. (New York: Paulist Press, 1985), p. 169. 2 In Search of History (New.York: Harper and Row, 1978). 3 Habits of the Heart (New York: Harper and Row, 1985). 4 The Emerging New Class (New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1986). 5 "Religious Life Of The Future," Origins, Sept. 22, 1988 (Vol. 18, no. 15) pp. 234-239. 6 For a general sketch of this school and its leading proponent, Jaques Derrida, see Religion and Intellectual Life, Wint

Despite a meticulous process in place to ensure aid worker safety in Gaza, the leading cause of death in the humanitarian sector over the last 11 months has been Israeli airstrikes.

Of the 378 aid workers killed worldwide since October 7, more than 75 percent have been killed in Gaza or the West Bank, according to the Aid Worker Security Database. The number of humanitarians killed in Palestinian territory in the last three months of 2023 was more than the deadliest full year ever recorded for aid workers. This includes an Israeli airstrike Wednesday Sept. 11 on a school being used as a shelter in Nuseirat in Central Gaza. According to reports, 18 were killed, including children and six UNRWA aid workers, the deadliest single event for that organization since the start of the war.

Israeli attacks on aid organizations have become routine, despite systems in place to avoid humanitarian deaths. Through a process called deconfliction, aid groups coordinate with warring parties to avoid being attacked. Popular deconfliction mechanisms used by aid groups in Gaza include clearly marking their assets, arranging their movements with Israeli authorities, and sharing their location with the Israeli military.
However, a disturbing pattern has emerged: Aid groups share their coordinates with Israeli authorities and then are attacked by the IDF at those same coordinates.

Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), told the United Nations Security Council in February that "this pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence." Forty-eight hours earlier, a 120mm Israeli tank shell exploded in a MSF facility in Khan Younis, killing two people and severely injuring six others. It was the second time a MSF facility had been attacked by Israeli forces.

The White House is aware of this trend. In May, a Biden administration report to Congress noted the following:

"One specific area of concern is the impact of Israel's military operations on humanitarian actors. Despite regular engagement from humanitarian actors and repeated USG interventions with Israeli officials on deconfliction/coordination procedures, the IDF has struck humanitarian workers and facilities. While Israel repeatedly committed to improve deconfliction and implemented some additional measures, those changes did not fully prevent subsequent strikes involving humanitarian workers and facilities."

"Concern" might be too strong a word to express the White House's interest in preventing humanitarian deaths. The same day successive Israeli precision drone strikes killed seven aid workers, including one American citizen, from World Central Kitchen — a humanitarian group founded by Chef José Andrés — Biden approved the transfer of over 2,000 bombs to Israel.

Humanitarian organizations can be based in a Western country (including one upon which Israel relies for weapons), have a direct line to the IDF, follow all deconfliction procedures to a T, and still be attacked by the IDF. And when they have been, the Biden administration has done nothing but issue words of concern from the briefing podium. This lesson is not lost on aid workers: After a nurse from Project Hope was killed by an Israeli airstrike in March, the organization's director of emergency response and preparedness asked his staff if they wanted to start sleeping in a zone deconflicted with Israeli authorities. All of the staff members said no.

What follows is a non-exhaustive list of 14 Israeli attacks on known aid worker locations compiled from media reports, organizational statements, and independent investigations. Reporting by the New York Times and Human Rights Watch was especially valuable. In each case, the aid groups had notified Israeli authorities of their location and movements, their vehicles or facilities were clearly marked as humanitarians, and were often operating in Israeli-designated "safe zones," but they were attacked anyway by Israeli forces.

The Biden administration held Israel to account for zero of these 14 incidents.Fourteen times aid groups were attacked after giving the IDF their locationNovember 18, 2023: Israeli forces attacked a convoy of five clearly-marked MSF vehicles, killing two MSF staff members. MSF had coordinated the convoy's movement with Israeli authorities and followed the route prescribed by the Israeli military. MSF staff members saw no military targets in the area when they were attacked. MSF requested an explanation from the IDF but received no response.December 8, 2023: The Israeli Navy fired at facilities affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah with 20mm cannon rounds, damaging the west side of the two buildings. UNRWA officials had repeatedly shared the coordinates of the buildings with Israeli officials, including on the same day of the attack. Agency staff told Human Rights Watch that they were unaware of any military targets in the area. Afterwards, the Israeli military said the attack was carried out by mistake.December 16, 2023: An IDF tank fired several rounds at the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Teresa (Missionaries of Charity), part of the Holy Family Catholic Parish compound in Gaza. The attack displaced the 54 disabled people sheltering there, leaving some without the respirators "that some of them need to survive," the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement.An aid worker was reportedly injured in the attack. Later that day, an Israeli sniper killed two women sheltering at the church, shooting one woman as she tried to carry the other to safety. When others in the church ran toward the women, Israeli snipers shot them too, wounding several, including two children. Pope Francis condemned the attack, calling it "terrorism."Emails between Catholic Relief Services and U.S. Senate staff obtained by Politico show that Catholic Relief Services (one of the largest Christian aid organizations operating in Gaza) had provided the coordinates of the two buildings to Senate staffers, who then relayed that information to the IDF. The IDF confirmed the location of the buildings that Catholic Relief Services requested for protection. The aid group also provided aerial photos of the facilities directly to Israeli authorities. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem Church said they shared their GPS coordinates with the IDF several times before the attack.December 28, 2023: A convoy of U.N. aid vehicles were shot at by Israeli forces in central Gaza as it was returning from delivering aid in the north. The vehicles were clearly-marked with U.N. insignia, traveling along a route designated by the Israeli military and had coordinated its plans with Israeli authorities beforehand.January 8, 2024: An Israeli tank fired at a clearly-marked MSF shelter in Khan Younis housing more than 100 staff and their family members, killing a five-year-old girl. MSF had previously notified the IDF of the shelter's location. Israeli forces denied that they fired a round at the shelter, but remnants of an Israeli-made tank shell were discovered right outside the building.January 18, 2024: An Israeli airstrike struck a residential compound housing staff from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated safe zone. The blast injured several workers and severely damaged the building. As a result, six emergency medical workers had to leave their posts, and IRC and MAP surgeons suspended their work at Nasser hospital. Forensic evidence suggests the munition used in the attack was a U.S.-made 1,000-pound MK-83 bomb, reportedly dropped by a U.S.-made F-16 aircraft. British officials had used high-level diplomatic channels to ensure the compound was deconflicted with the IDF. A month before the strike, the Israeli military explicitly reassured aid staff through text messages that they were safe. "We're aware of the location" of the compound, a message from an IDF official read. The MAP employee then clarified whether the building is still safe. "Yes," replied the IDF official.Israel provided six different — and often conflicting — explanations for the attack. It said it wasn't operating in the area; it said it was attempting to hit a target next to the MAP-IRC compound; it said it wasn't actually a bomb but a piece of the aircraft fuselage. The IDF told The New York Times that they didn't strike the location at all.January 31, 2024: Israeli forces bombed the offices of the Belgian development agency, Enabel, completely destroying the building. Handicap International, an NGO, had offices in the same structure. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said that Israeli authorities "knew very well that Enabel's offices were located in this building." Earlier that day, the Belgian government announced it would not suspend funding for UNRWA, after the Israeli government claimed without evidence that UNRWA staff had participated in the October 7 massacre.In mid-February, Israeli forces claimed it had not bombed the Enabel building, but that it was destroyed when they blew up the building next door for an unspecified military reason.February 5, 2024: Israeli ships shelled a clearly-marked UNRWA convoy, damaging one of the aid trucks. The convoy was stopped at an Israeli-designated holding point when it was shelled. UNRWA had coordinated the convoy's movement with Israeli authorities. As a result of the attack, UNRWA had to pause its operations in northern Gaza for nearly three weeks, affecting 200,000 people. Israeli authorities later acknowledged the attack and said it had put in place "prevention measures" to prevent another incident. The next month, the Israeli government blocked UNRWA from providing any food assistance to northern Gaza.February 20, 2024: Two family members of MSF staff were killed when an Israeli tank fired a shell at a MSF shelter. Seven others, mostly women and children, were injured. A large MSF flag was clearly visible on the side of the building. Israeli forces provided MSF with no warning before the attack and no explanation afterwards.March 9, 2024: An Anera employee was killed in his home along with his six-year-old son and several neighbors in an Israeli airstrike. The building was registered with the Israeli military as a "sensitive site." Email records show that Anera had repeatedly shared coordinates and photos of the staff shelter with the IDF, including days before the strike. A precision-guided munition was likely used in the attack.April 1, 2024: Multiple precision Israeli drone strikes on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy killed seven aid workers, including an American citizen. The Washington, DC-based group had coordinated its route with the IDF beforehand. The vehicles were struck in a deconfliction zone controlled by the Israeli military. WCK founder José Andrés said Israeli forces targeted his colleagues "systematically, car by car." Forensic evidence backs up Andrés's claim. "This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place," Andrés said, pointing to the fact that it was clearly-marked humanitarian convoy with colorful WCK logos on the vehicle roofs, and the 1.8 kilometer distance between the first and the third car in the convoy, each. It was "very clear who we are and what we do," he added.IDF Spokesman Danial Hagari said WCK had "coordinated everything correctly with the IDF in advance" and blamed "internal failures." President Joe Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths, and called on Israel to investigate itself. But for WCK's founder, "The IDF cannot credibly investigate its own failure," Andrés said.April 9, 2024: A clearly-marked UNICEF aid truck was reportedly hit by Israeli gunfire south of the Salah Al-Din checkpoint. The vehicle was at a holding point when it was struck by several bullets coming from the direction of the Israeli checkpoint. The IDF had approved the convoy beforehand. The Israeli military denied that its troops had fired the shots.August 27, 2024: A U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) convoy came under fire near an Israeli checkpoint at the Wadi Gaza bridge. As the vehicles approached the checkpoint after receiving multiple clearances to proceed, Israeli troops opened fire, hitting one WFP vehicle at least ten times. Several bullets struck the vehicle's windows, just above the clearly-visible U.N. insignia and WFP logo emblazoned on the side doors. Israeli officials blamed a "communication error" for the attack.August 29, 2024: An Israeli airstrike on an Anera aid convoy killed four Palestinians as it was en route to the Emirati Red Crescent Hospital. The route was coordinated and approved by Israeli authorities. Israeli officials claim the lead car the IDF struck was carrying many weapons, but there was no indication that weapons were present. The IDF provided Anera no warning before carrying out the attack.

The Pentagon is in the midst of a massive $2 trillion multiyear plan to build a new generation of nuclear-armed missiles, bombers, and submarines. A large chunk of that funding will go to major nuclear weapons contractors like Bechtel, General Dynamics, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. And they will do everything in their power to keep that money flowing.This January, a review of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program under the Nunn-McCurdy Act — a congressional provision designed to rein in cost overruns of Pentagon weapons programs — found that the missile, the crown jewel of the nuclear overhaul plan involving 450 missile-holding silos spread across five states, is already 81% over its original budget. It is now estimated that it will cost a total of nearly $141 billion to develop and purchase, a figure only likely to rise in the future.That Pentagon review had the option of canceling the Sentinel program because of such a staggering cost increase. Instead, it doubled down on the program, asserting that it would be an essential element of any future nuclear deterrent and must continue, even if the funding for other defense programs has to be cut to make way for it. In justifying the decision, Deputy Defense Secretary William LaPlante stated: "We are fully aware of the costs, but we are also aware of the risks of not modernizing our nuclear forces and not addressing the very real threats we confront."Cost is indeed one significant issue, but the biggest risk to the rest of us comes from continuing to build and deploy ICBMs, rather than delaying or shelving the Sentinel program. As former Secretary of Defense William Perry has noted, ICBMs are "some of the most dangerous weapons in the world" because they "could trigger an accidental nuclear war." As he explained, a president warned (accurately or not) of an enemy nuclear attack would have only minutes to decide whether to launch such ICBMs and conceivably devastate the planet.Possessing such potentially world-ending systems only increases the possibility of an unintended nuclear conflict prompted by a false alarm. And as Norman Solomon and the late Daniel Ellsberg once wrote, "If reducing the dangers of nuclear war is a goal, the top priority should be to remove the triad's ground-based leg — not modernize it." This is no small matter. It is believed that a large-scale nuclear exchange could result in more than five billion of us humans dying, once the possibility of a "nuclear winter" and the potential destruction of agriculture across much of the planet is taken into account, according to an analysis by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.In short, the need to reduce nuclear risks by eliminating such ICBMs could not be more urgent. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' "Doomsday Clock" — an estimate of how close the world may be at any moment to a nuclear conflict — is now set at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it's been since that tracker was first created in 1947. And just this June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a potential first step toward a drive by Moscow to help Pyongyang expand its nuclear arsenal further. And of the nine countries now possessing nuclear weapons, it's hardly the only one other than the U.S. in an expansionist phase. Considering the rising tide of nuclear escalation globally, is it really the right time for this country to invest a fortune of taxpayer dollars in a new generation of devastating "use them or lose them" weapons? The American public has long said no, according to a 2020 poll by the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation, which showed that 61% of us actually support phasing out ICBM systems like the Sentinel.The Pentagon's misguided plan to keep such ICBMs in the U.S arsenal for decades to come is only reinforced by the political power of members of Congress and the companies that benefit financially from the current buildup. Who decides? The role of the ICBM lobbyA prime example of the power of the nuclear weapons lobby is the Senate ICBM Coalition. That group is composed of senators from four states — Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — that either house major ICBM bases or host significant work on the Sentinel. Perhaps you won't be surprised to learn that the members of that coalition have received more than $3 million in donations from firms involved in the production of the Sentinel over the past four election cycles. Nor were they alone. ICBM contractors made contributions to 92 of the 100 senators and 413 of the 435 house members in 2024. Some received hundreds of thousands of dollars.The nuclear lobby paid special attention to members of the armed services committees in the House and Senate. For example, Mike Turner, a House Republican from Ohio, has been a relentless advocate of "modernizing" the nuclear arsenal. In a June 2024 talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which itself has received well over a million dollars in funding from nuclear weapons producers, he called for systematically upgrading the nuclear arsenal for decades to come, while chiding any of his congressional colleagues not taking such an aggressive stance on the subject.Although Turner vigorously touts the need for a costly nuclear buildup, he fails to mention that, with $305,000 in donations, he's been the fourth-highest recipient of funding from the ICBM lobby over the four elections between 2018 and 2024. Little wonder that he pushes for new nuclear weapons and staunchly opposes extending the New START arms reduction treaty.In another example of contractor influence, veteran Texas representative Kay Granger secured the largest total of contributions from the ICBM lobby of any House member. With $675,000 in missile contractor contributions in hand, Granger went to bat for the lobby, lending a feminist veneer to nuclear "modernization" by giving a speech on her experience as a woman in politics at Northrop Grumman's Women's conference. And we're sure you won't be surprised that Granger has anything but a strong track record when it comes to keeping the Pentagon and arms makers accountable for waste, fraud, and abuse in weapons programs. Her X account is, in fact, littered with posts heaping praise on Lockheed Martin and its overpriced, underperforming F-35 combat aircraft.Other recipients of ICBM contractor funding, like Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers, have lamented the might of the "far-left disarmament community," and the undue influence of "anti-nuclear zealots" on our politics. Missing from the statements his office puts together and the speeches his staffers write for him, however, is any mention of the $471,000 in funding he's received so far from ICBM producers. You won't be surprised, we're sure, to discover that Rogers has pledged to seek a provision in the forthcoming National Defense Authorization Act to support the Pentagon's plan to continue the Sentinel program.Lobbying dollars and the revolving doorThe flood of campaign contributions from ICBM contractors is reinforced by their staggering investments in lobbying. In any given year, the arms industry as a whole employs between 800 and 1,000 lobbyists, well more than one for every member of Congress. Most of those lobbyists hired by ICBM contractors come through the "revolving door" from careers in the Pentagon, Congress, or the Executive Branch. That means they come with the necessary tools for success in Washington: an understanding of the appropriations cycle and close relations with decision-makers on the Hill.During the last four election cycles, ICBM contractors spent upwards of $226 million on 275 extremely well-paid lobbyists. For example, Bud Cramer, a former Democratic congressman from Alabama who once sat on the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, netted $640,000 in fees from Northrop Grumman over a span of six years. He was also a cofounder of the Blue Dog Democrats, an influential conservative faction within the Democratic Party. Perhaps you won't be surprised to learn that Cramer's former chief of staff, Jefferies Murray, also lobbies for Northrop Grumman.While some lobbyists work for one contractor, others have shared allegiances. For example, during his tenure as a lobbyist, former Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Trent Lott received more than $600,000 for his efforts for Raytheon, Textron Inc., and United Technologies (before United Technologies and Raytheon merged to form RX Technologies). Former Virginia Congressman Jim Moran similarly received $640,000 from Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.Playing the jobs cardThe argument of last resort for the Sentinel and similar questionable weapons programs is that they create well-paying jobs in key states and districts. Northrop Grumman has played the jobs card effectively with respect to the Sentinel, claiming it will create 10,000 jobs in its development phase alone, including about 2,250 in the state of Utah, where the hub for the program is located.As a start, however, those 10,000 jobs will help a minuscule fraction of the 167-million-member American workforce. Moreover, Northrop Grumman claims facilities tied to the program will be set up in 32 states. If 2,250 of those jobs end up in Utah, that leaves 7,750 more jobs spread across 31 states — an average of about 250 jobs per state, essentially a rounding error compared to total employment in most localities.Nor has Northrop Grumman provided any documentation for the number of jobs the Sentinel program will allegedly create. Journalist Taylor Barnes of ReThink Media was rebuffed in her efforts to get a copy of the agreement between Northrop Grumman and the state of Utah that reportedly indicates how many Sentinel-related jobs the company needs to create to get the full subsidy offered to put its primary facility in Utah.A statement by a Utah official justifying that lack of transparency suggested Northrop Grumman was operating in "a competitive defense industry" and that revealing details of the agreement might somehow harm the company. But any modest financial harm Northrop Grumman might suffer, were those details revealed, pales in comparison with the immense risks and costs of the Sentinel program itself.There are two major flaws in the jobs argument with respect to the future production of nuclear weapons. First, military spending should be based on security considerations, not pork-barrel politics. Second, as Heidi Peltier of the Costs of War Project has effectively demonstrated, virtually any other expenditure of funds currently devoted to Pentagon programs would create between 9% and 250% more jobs than weapons spending does. If Congress were instead to put such funds into addressing climate change, dealing with future disease epidemics, poverty, or homelessness — all serious threats to public safety — the American economy would gain hundreds of thousands of jobs. Choosing to fund those ICBMs instead is, in fact, a job killer, not a job creator.Unwarranted influence in the nuclear ageAdvocates for eliminating ICBMs from the American arsenal make a strong case. (If only they were better heard!) For example, former Representative John Tierney of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation offered this blunt indictment of ICBMs:"Not only are intercontinental ballistic missiles redundant, but they are prone to a high risk of accidental use…They do not make us any safer. Their only value is to the defense contractors who line their fat pockets with large cost overruns at the expense of our taxpayers. It has got to stop."The late Daniel Ellsberg made a similar point in a February 2018 interview with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:"You would not have these arsenals, in the U.S. or elsewhere, if it were not the case that it was highly profitable to the military-industrial complex, to the aerospace industry, to the electronics industry, and to the weapons design labs to keep modernizing these weapons, improving accuracy, improving launch time, all that. The military-industrial complex that Eisenhower talked about is a very powerful influence. We've talked about unwarranted influence. We've had that for more than half a century."Given how the politics of Pentagon spending normally work, that nuclear weapons policy is being so heavily influenced by individuals and organizations profiting from an ongoing arms race should be anything but surprising. Still, in the case of such weaponry, the stakes are so high that critical decisions shouldn't be determined by parochial politics. The influence of such special interest groups and corporate weapons-makers over life-and-death issues should be considered both a moral outrage and perhaps the ultimate security risk.Isn't it finally time for the executive branch and Congress to start assessing the need for ICBMs on their merits, rather than on contractor lobbying, weapons company funding, and the sort of strategic thinking that was already outmoded by the end of the 1950s? For that to happen, our representatives would need to hear from their constituents loud and clear.This article was originally published at Tom Dispatch and was republished with permission.

 The Conference of Defence Associations Institute made a splash this week with an open letter "Call for Action: Canada's National Security and Defence in Peril."  It made a heap of news given who signed it: a heap of former ministers of defence, a bunch of ambassadors and high ranking civil servants, and several retired generals and admirals (tis funny to me that the title of the piece omits the squids and skimmers):I respect the hell out of many of the signers as well as folks at CDAI, which as been a terrific partner of the CDSN.  However, I have quibbles, both minor and major, which I would have shared this morning on the radio had the host not gotten the wrong talking points--he asked me about Elon Musk and the CBC.  While it was fun to rant about bad faith actors engaged in vice-signalling, I did prep for the interview and didn't want to waste it, so here's some thoughts about this piece.  First, I want to address a few specific gripes before getting to the larger context.The letter talks about our military capabilities being woefully inadequate to protect our landmass.  That is not only true, that will ALWAYS be true.  How so?  The primary military threat to Canada are missiles launched by Russia/China/North Korea.  We can't stop those.  No matter how much we spend, we can't because we don't have ballistic missile defenses.  The Americans have been working on such defenses since Reagan's Star Wars speech, and they really haven't made much progress on it.  So, we should be clearer about what are the threats and what we need to defend ourselves from those threats.  The biggest threats to Canadian lives and property are stuff outside the military domain: climate change, pandemics, and cyber attacks (while the military has a cyber role, we should not be spending the scarce commodity of disciplined, trained people in uniform on jobs civilians can and should do).  People can cite Russian investments in the north, but we have to keep in mind that they have a whole lot of north to defend.  I do really worry about a war with China, but that is a China-Taiwan conflict that will spillover, and we will never have a navy big enough to make a dent in that conflict.  I say all this, even as I agree with the basic premise--we need to spend more.  But there are some difficulties with that, as I get to, below."We have also fallen short in meaningful contributions to burden
sharing for the collective defence and security of our allies and
partners." Oh really?  What burden has Canada shirked?  Canada paid the third highest price of any ally in Afghanistan and had far less restrictions until it became a training mission.  Canada is one of four framework nations organizing the defense/deterrence/reassurance missions in the Baltics and Poland.  While our contingent has been smaller than the others, the resulting need to organize many smaller and less respected (sorry) contingents has earned Canada a heap of kudos for stepping up when France refused to do so.  Canada has played a leading role in training Ukrainian forces before the Russian invasion of 2022 and since.  Canada has shipped a comparative level of arms and ammunition and other supplies to Ukraine.  When people say Canada has not burden-shared enough, they really mean Canada hasn't spent enough on its military.  But that is not "burden-sharing" because spending on our own military really does not lift the burden that much from the others.  Here's a secret: the US would spend as much as it currently does even if Canada doubled its spending.  Indeed, given the domestic political dynamics driving American defense spending, I am pretty sure that if each and every US ally spent the equivalent of 2% of GDP on defense, the US would still spend about the same.  Which branch of the US military will say: hey, our allies have spent more, we don't need to spend as much?  Which defense contractors?  Which Senators and Representatives?  And, yes, the easiest way to make progress to 2% is to tank the economy since it is all about spending relative to one's economy.  If one's economy grows pretty well, one might find one spending more money absolutely but not relative to that metric.  Canada is spending more on its military than it was a decade ago--more dollars, even if not a greater % of GDP.  More importantly input measures are dumb.  See Anessa Kimball's book for more on the craptastic nature of the 2% conversation.Canadian civil-military relations conversations don't really address the challenges posed by having retired senior officers take political stances the same way these are raised in the US.  But perhaps they should.  If JC Boucher and I get funding, we will be studying whether the signals sent by retired officers cause Canadians to think that they are speaking for the active military.  If so, well, damn.  Because then the military is seen, rightly or wrongly, as taking a partisan stance.  And that ain't good. Folks can say this is a bipartisan letter since it has both former Conservative and Liberal politicians signing it, but nope, that doesn't do the trick since this letter is calling on this government, this party, to do better.  It does not call on Parliament to get its house in order even as the role of parliament in Canadian defence is so much weaker than damn near any other democracy.  So, this is critical of this PM and the Liberal party because they are the ones in power.  Speaking of the former ministers, how many of them are responsible for the current mess?  How many of them cut spending, pushed back procurement processes, under-invested in procurement expertise, and so on?  Most of them?  All of them?  So much easier for them to criticize this stuff now that they are no longer beholden to parties and no longer running for office. Which gets to the part that is most unrealistic: "the Government must radically accelerate timelines for procurement..."  Um, through magic?  A great application of Green Lantern theory.  DND doesn't have enough people to do the procurement stuff to buy the
equipment and such.  So, that needs a heap of work to make happen before one can spend the money. If one were to magically allocate $15b more, the current staffing at DND couldn't spend it.   Ok, the larger context.  The letter is right that the latest budget is disappointing from a defence/security perspective as it had no new money.  In my humble opinion, the gravest threat to the Canadian military is its recruitment and retention crisis.  That being short 16k people means not only that the CAF can't do as much, but that those in the CAF are stressed.  Stressed by having to do multiple jobs, stressed by not being well served by various offices that are understaff, and so on.  These pressures are likely to make it harder to retain people and harder to recruit, which will exacerbate the crisis--a downward spiral.  It would seem to me that while throwing money at the problem won't solve it, it probably could help.  Increase pay, increase benefits, spend more money on recruiting efforts, improve military bases, etc.  I do wonder what is happening to the money that is supposed to be going to the 16k soldiers, sailors, and aviators who aren't in the CAF.  Anyhow, that is one place where the money should be going.  Another key part of the current context is that the Defence Policy Update is late and has generally been an opaque, underwhelming process.  Canada should have a quadrennial process--to review how well the last four years went and whether goals were attained, why DND/CAF fell short, and plans for improving as well as responding to new developments.  Instead, the DPU was going to be, from what folks have gleaned, a sales pitch for spending more money on NORAD modernization (which is necessary but won't actually lead to us being much safer due to that aforementioned missile defence problemo).  We will only be able to evaluate the DPU after it comes out.  The previous review was much better than expected.  Maybe people liked it since it didn't make any hard choices as it didn't force any real tradeoffs.  But it did cost out the spending for the various programs and was pretty transparent.  Of course, when rolled out, much was made of putting personnel first in the document to suggestion putting personnel first in reality, but then Trudeau kept around a Defence Minister who kept around a Chief of Defence Staff that was abusing his power and engaged in sexual misconduct.  So, the proof is in the doing, not in the words on the page.Finally, the political pressures run against most of this.  If we wanted good ships fast and less expensive, we'd buy them from countries that are good at that.  Instead, notice how the ship building is pitched by this government (and by the previous one, just not quite so starkly): That graphic is the cover for the 2015 Liberal Defence Platform.  Notice the purpose of naval investments--jobs.  Not ships.  Jobs.  Not defending maritime approaches.  This is one of the primary reasons why Canada doesn't have the equipment the CAF needs--that decisions are made about jobs and votes. Stephen Harper's plan was to capture Halifax and Vancouver via the shipbuilding program, but now all the parties are held hostage by Irving, Seaspan, and now Davie shipyards.  Folks can argue we need this capacity to maintain and upgrade the ships, but the choice to do it this way is incredibly expensive and ... no frigates (the AOPS ships the navy didn't really want are mostly broken).  When we do import stuff, there is an urge to Canadianize it to make it fit Canadian standards.  So, now we have helicopters that are too heavy.  Oy.  The military always wants to put as much stuff as they can, so that the equipment can operate in all kinds of scenarios since they can only get one type of plane, one type of ship, and so forth.  But that goldplating makes the systems more expensive and less effective.  Again, choices need to be made, which might mean that a ship is good at one thing and not so good at another.  Because you know.... 👉While this government is not great at delivering, most of this is hard-wired into Canadian politics.  Which party is going to get more votes by spending more money on defense?   "We believe this could be best accomplished on a non-partisan basis and would have broad public support."  Um, no.Structural problems can't be fixed with just a call to arms and a smidge more political will (whatever that is).  Maybe this letter might impact those writing the Defence Policy Update, but that impact is likely to be on the packaging as the money is already set.  Trudeau has already made the decision for this year, and given the context--the war in Ukraine, the DPU, etc--I doubt that next year will be any different as we get closer to the next election.  I get the frustration of those signing this letter. I share it.  I write blog posts out of frustration.  Other folks write open letters.  But move the policy needle?  I think not.          

Full list of authors: Acharyya, A.; Adam, R.; Adams, C.; Agudo, I.; Aguirre-Santaella, A.; Alfaro, R.; Alfaro, J.; Alispach, C.; Aloisio, R.; Alves Batista, R.; Amati, L.; Ambrosi, G.; Angüner, E. O.; Antonelli, L. A.; Aramo, C.; Araudo, A.; Armstrong, T.; Arqueros, F.; Asano, K.; Ascasíbar, Y. Ashley, M.; Balazs, C.; Ballester, O.; Baquero Larriva, A.; Barbosa Martins, V.; Barkov, M.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Bastieri, D.; Becerra, J.; Beck, G.; Becker Tjus, J.; Benbow, W.; Benito, M.; Berge, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bernlöhr, K.; Berti, A.; Bertucci, B.; Beshley, V.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Bissaldi, E.; Biteau, J.; Blanch, O.; Blazek, J.; Bocchino, F.; Boisson, C.; Bonneau Arbeletche, L.; Bordas, P.; Bosnjak, Z.; Bottacini, E.; Bozhilov, V.; Bregeon, J.; Brill, A.; Bringmann, T.; Brown, A. M.; Brun, P.; Brun, F.; Bruno, P.; Bulgarelli, A.; Burton, M.; Burtovoi, A.; Buscemi, M.; Cameron, R.; Capasso, M.; Caproni, A.; Capuzzo-Dolcetta, R.; Caraveo, P.; Carosi, R.; Carosi, A.; Casanova, S.; Cascone, E.; Cassol, F.; Catalani, F.; Cauz, D.; Cerruti, M.; Chadwick, P.; Chaty, S.; Chen, A.; Chernyakova, M.; Chiaro, G.; Chiavassa, A.; Chikawa, M.; Chudoba, J.; Çolak, M.; Conforti, V.; Coniglione, R.; Conte, F.; Contreras, J. L.; Coronado-Blazquez, J.; Costa, A.; Costantini, H.; Cotter, G.; Cristofari, P.; D'Aimath, A.; D'Ammando, F.; Damone, L. A.; Daniel, M. K.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Caprio, V.; de Cássia dos Anjos, R.; de Gouveia Dal Pino, E. M.; De Lotto, B.; De Martino, D.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; De Palma, F.; de Souza, V.; Delgado, C.; Delgado Giler, A. G.; della Volpe, D.; Depaoli, D.; Di Girolamo, T.; Di Pierro, F.; Di Venere, L.; Diebold, S.; Dmytriiev, A.; Domínguez, A.; Donini, A.; Doro, M.; Ebr, J.; Eckner, C.; Edwards, T. D. P.; Ekoume, T. R. N.; Elsässer, D.; Evoli, C.; Falceta-Goncalves, D.; Fedorova, E.; Fegan, S.; Feng, Q.; Ferrand, G.; Ferrara, G.; Fiandrini, E.; Fiasson, A.; Filipovic, M.; Fioretti, V.; Fiori, M.; Foffano, L.; Fontaine, G.; Fornieri, O.; Franco, F. J.; Fukami, S.; Fukui, Y.; Gaggero, D.; Galaz, G.; Gammaldi, V.; Garcia, E.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gascon, D.; Gent, A.; Ghalumyan, A.; Gianotti, F.; Giarrusso, M.; Giavitto, G.; Giglietto, N.; Giordano, F.; Giuliani, A.; Glicenstein, J.; Gnatyk, R.; Goldoni, P.; González, M. M.; Gourgouliatos, K.; Granot, J.; Grasso, D.; Green, J.; Grillo, A.; Gueta, O.; Gunji, S.; Halim, A.; Hassan, T.; Heller, M.; Hernández Cadena, S.; Hiroshima, N.; Hnatyk, B.; Hofmann, W.; Holder, J.; Horan, D.; Hörandel, J.; Horvath, P.; Hovatta, T.; Hrabovsky, M.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Humensky, T. B.; Hütten, M.; Iarlori, M.; Inada, T.; Inoue, S.; Iocco, F.; Iori, M.; Jamrozy, M.; Janecek, P.; Jin, W.; Jouvin, L.; Jurysek, J.; Karukes, E.; Katarzyński, K.; Kazanas, D.; Kerszberg, D.; Kherlakian, M. C.; Kissmann, R.; Knödlseder, J.; Kobayashi, Y.; Kohri, K.; Komin, N.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; Lamanna, G.; Lapington, J.; Laporte, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Lenain, J.; Leone, F.; Leto, G.; Lindfors, E.; Lohse, T.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; Lopez, A.; López, M.; López-Coto, R.; Loporchio, S.; Luque-Escamilla, P. L.; Mach, E.; Maggio, C.; Maier, G.; Mallamaci, M.; Malta Nunes de Almeida, R.; Mandat, D.; Manganaro, M.; Mangano, S.; Manicò, G.; Marculewicz, M.; Mariotti, M.; Markoff, S.; Marquez, P.; Martí, J.; Martinez, O.; Martínez, M.; Martínez, G.; Martínez-Huerta, H.; Maurin, G.; Mazin, D.; Mbarubucyeye, J. D.; Medina Miranda, D.; Meyer, M.; Miceli, M.; Miener, T.; Minev, M.; Miranda, J. M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Mizuno, T.; Mode, B.; Moderski, R.; Mohrmann, L.; Molina, E.; Montaruli, T.; Moralejo, A.; Morcuende-Parrilla, D.; Morselli, A.; Mukherjee, R.; Mundell, C.; Nagai, A.; Nakamori, T.; Nemmen, R.; Niemiec, J.; Nieto, D.; Nikołajuk, M.; Ninci, D.; Noda, K.; Nosek, D.; Nozaki, S.; Ohira, Y.; Ohishi, M.; Ohtani, Y.; Oka, T.; Okumura, A.; Ong, R. A.; Orienti, M.; Orito, R.; Orlandini, M.; Orlando, S.; Orlando, E.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Pagano, I.; Pagliaro, A.; Palatiello, M.; Pantaleo, F. R.; Paredes, J. M.; Pareschi, G.; Parmiggiani, N.; Patricelli, B.; Pavletić, L.; Pe'er, A.; Pecimotika, M.; Pérez-Romero, J.; Persic, M.; Petruk, O.; Pfrang, K.; Piano, G.; Piatteli, P.; Pietropaolo, E.; Pillera, R.; Pilszyk, B.; Pintore, F.; Pohl, M.; Poireau, V.; Prado, R. R.; Prandini, E.; Prast, J.; Principe, G.; Prokoph, H.; Prouza, M.; Przybilski, H.; Pühlhofer, G.; Pumo, M. L.; Queiroz, F.; Quirrenbach, A.; Rainò, S.; Rando, R.; Razzaque, S.; Recchia, S.; Reimer, O.; Reisenegger, A.; Renier, Y.; Rhode, W.; Ribeiro, D.; Ribó, M.; Richtler, T.; Rico, J.; Rieger, F.; Rinchiuso, L.; Rizi, V.; Rodriguez, J.; Rodriguez Fernandez, G.; Rodriguez Ramirez, J. C.; Rojas, G.; Romano, P.; Romeo, G.; Rosado, J.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Russo, F.; Sadeh, I.; Sæther Hatlen, E.; Safi-Harb, S.; Salesa Greus, F.; Salina, G.; Sanchez, D.; Sánchez-Conde, M.; Sangiorgi, P.; Sano, H.; Santander, M.; Santos, E. M.; Santos-Lima, R.; Sanuy, A.; Sarkar, S.; Saturni, F. G.; Sawangwit, U.; Schussler, F.; Schwanke, U.; Sciacca, E.; Scuderi, S.; Seglar-Arroyo, M.; Sergijenko, O.; Servillat, M.; Seweryn, K.; Shalchi, A.; Sharma, P.; Shellard, R. C.; Siejkowski, H.; Silk, J.; Siqueira, C.; Sliusar, V.; Słowikowska, A.; Sokolenko, A.; Sol, H.; Spencer, S.; Stamerra, A.; Stanič, S.; Starling, R.; Stolarczyk, T.; Straumann, U.; Strišković, J.; Suda, Y.; Suomijarvi, T.; Świerk, P.; Tavecchio, F.; Taylor, L.; Tejedor, L. A.; Teshima, M.; Testa, V.; Tibaldo, L.; Todero Peixoto, C. J.; Tokanai, F.; Tonev, D.; Tosti, G.; Tosti, L.; Tothill, N.; Truzzi, S.; Travnicek, P.; Vagelli, V.; Vallage, B.; Vallania, P.; van Eldik, C.; Vandenbroucke, J.; Varner, G. S.; Vassiliev, V.; Vázquez Acosta, M.; Vecchi, M.; Ventura, S.; Vercellone, S.; Vergani, S.; Verna, G.; Viana, A.; Vigorito, C. F.; Vink, J.; Vitale, V.; Vorobiov, S.; Vovk, I.; Vuillaume, T.; Wagner, S. J.; Walter, R.; Watson, J.; Weniger, C.; White, R.; White, M.; Wiemann, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Will, M.; Williams, D. A.; Wischnewski, R.; Yanagita, S.; Yang, L.; Yoshikoshi, T.; Zacharias, M.; Zaharijas, G.; Zakaria, A. A.; Zampieri, L.; Zanin, R.; Zaric, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zechlin, H.; Zhdanov, V. I.; Živec, M.--Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of Sissa Medialab. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. ; We provide an updated assessment of the power of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to search for thermally produced dark matter at the TeV scale, via the associated gamma-ray signal from pair-annihilating dark matter particles in the region around the Galactic centre. We find that CTA will open a new window of discovery potential, significantly extending the range of robustly testable models given a standard cuspy profile of the dark matter density distribution. Importantly, even for a cored profile, the projected sensitivity of CTA will be sufficient to probe various well-motivated models of thermally produced dark matter at the TeV scale. This is due to CTA's unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolutions, and the planned observational strategy. The survey of the inner Galaxy will cover a much larger region than corresponding previous observational campaigns with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. CTA will map with unprecedented precision the large-scale diffuse emission in high-energy gamma rays, constituting a background for dark matter searches for which we adopt state-of-the-art models based on current data. Throughout our analysis, we use up-to-date event reconstruction Monte Carlo tools developed by the CTA consortium, and pay special attention to quantifying the level of instrumental systematic uncertainties, as well as background template systematic errors, required to probe thermally produced dark matter at these energies. © 2021 The Author(s). ; We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following agencies and organisations: State Committee of Science of Armenia, Armenia; The Australian Research Council, Astronomy Australia Ltd, The University of Adelaide, Australian National University, Monash University, The University of New South Wales, The University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Australia; Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, and Innsbruck University, Austria; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC), and Instituto Serrapilheira, Brasil; Ministry of Education and Science, National RI Roadmap Project DO1-153/28.08.2018, Bulgaria; The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency, Canada; CONICYT-Chile grants CATA AFB 170002, ANID PIA/APOYO AFB 180002, ACT 1406, FONDECYT-Chile grants, 1161463, 1170171, 1190886, 1171421, 1170345, 1201582, Gemini-ANID 32180007, Chile; Croatian Science Foundation, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, University of Osijek, University of Rijeka, University of Split, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Croatia; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, MEYS LM2015046, LM2018105, LTT17006, EU/MEYS CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_013/0001403, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/18_046/0016007 and CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000754, Czech Republic; Academy of Finland (grant nr.317636, 320045, 317383 and 320085), Finland; Ministry of Higher Education and Research, CNRS-INSU and CNRS-IN2P3, CEA-Irfu, ANR, Regional Council Ile de France, Labex ENIGMASS, OSUG2020, P2IO and OCEVU, France; Max Planck Society, BMBF, DESY, Helmholtz Association, Germany; Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science and Technology, India; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), MIUR, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF-OABRERA) Grant Fondazione Cariplo/Regione Lombardia ID 2014-1980/RST_ERC, Italy; ICRR, University of Tokyo, JSPS, MEXT, Japan; Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Netherlands; University of Oslo, Norway; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, DIR/WK/2017/12, the National Centre for Research and Development and the National Science Centre, UMO-2016/22/M/ST9/00583, Poland; Slovenian Research Agency, grants P1-0031, P1-0385, I0-0033, J1-9146, J1-1700, N1-0111, and the Young Researcher program, Slovenia; South African Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation through the South African Gamma-Ray Astronomy Programme, South Africa; The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Spanish Research State Agency (AEI) through grants AYA2016-79724-C4-1-P, AYA2016-80889-P, AYA2016-76012-C3-1-P, BES-2016-076342, ESP2017-87055-C2-1-P, FPA2017-82729-C6-1-R, FPA2017-82729-C6-2-R, FPA2017-82729-C6-3-R, FPA2017-82729-C6-4-R, FPA2017-82729-C6-5-R, FPA2017-82729-C6-6-R, PGC2018-095161-B-I00, PGC2018-095512-B-I00; the \Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa"program through grants no. SEV-2015-0548, SEV-2016-0597, SEV-2016-0588, SEV-2017-0709; the "Unidad de Excelencia Maria de Maeztu" program through grant no. MDM-2015-0509; the "Ramon y Cajal" programme through grants RYC-2013-14511, RyC-2013-14660, RYC-2017-22665; and the MultiDark Consolider Network FPA2017-90566-REDC. Atraccion de Talento contract no. 2016-T1/TIC-1542 granted by the Comunidad de Madrid; the "Postdoctoral Junior Leader Fellowship" programme from La Caixa Banking Foundation, grants no. LCF/BQ/LI18/11630014 and LCF/BQ/PI18/11630012; the "Programa Operativo" FEDER2014-2020, Consejeria de Economia y Conocimiento de la Junta de Andalucia (ref. 1257737), PAIDI 2020 (ref. P18-FR-1580), and Universidad de Jaen; the Spanish AEI EQC2018-005094-P FEDER 2014-2020; the European Union's "Horizon 2020" research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 665919; and the ESCAPE project with grant no. GA:824064, Spain; Swedish Research Council, Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at Lunarc (Lund), Sweden; State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Switzerland; Durham University, Leverhulme Trust, Liverpool University, University of Leicester, University of Oxford, Royal Society, Science and Technology Facilities Council, U.K.; U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, Barnard College, University of California, University of Chicago, Columbia University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute for Nuclear and Particle Astrophysics (INPAC-MRPI program), Iowa State University, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington University McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, The University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, U.S.A. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreements No 262053 and No 317446. This project is receiving funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programs under agreement No 676134. ; Peer reviewed

Summary The report focuses on solidarity between adult generations, more specifically what responsibility adult children have towards older parents, how responsibilities should be divided between the family and the welfare state, and how the two impact on each other. Data was collected through the European comparative study OASIS, Old age and autonomy - the role of services systems and intergenerational family solidarity. The project was financed through the EU fifth framework program, and carried out in Norway, England, Germany, Spain, and Israel. Individual level data were collected via parallel surveys (interviews) among the urban populations aged 25 and over in each of the five participating countries. National samples counted about 1 200, around 6 100 in total. The older participants (aged 75+) were oversampled to represent around 1/3 of the samples.The project was motivated by the assumed threat to family solidarity in late modern and individualist society (Chapter 1). Of particular interest is the relationship between the family and the welfare state. What is a reasonable and sustainable balance? These questions need be studied in context, hence a comparative approach was seen as appropriate. The countries were therefore selected to represent different family cultures and welfare state regimes. They are located along a north-south axis, which according to Reher (1998) divides European families into a southern more collectivist form, and a northern more individualist type. The five countries also represent different welfare state regimes; the social democratic (Norway), the liberal (England, and the conservative-corporatist (Germany), to stay within the Esping-Andersen typology (1990). Spain has as yet a less mature welfare state, while the fifth country, Israel, is a mixed model.The macro conditions of the countries are assumed to be reflected on the invidual and interpersonal (family) levels. Preferences and practices are assumed to be more or less congruent with the already established traditions, and to be more conform for the older than for the younger generation. The present balance is assumed to be fluid and under pressure from demographic and social change in all countries, but more so in countries that are later in these developments and are now confronted with more rapid changes. These assumptions are in OASIS explored in the strength and character of intergenerational family solidarity, and in the ideals and realities of the family-welfare state interaction.Welfare states differ in the responsibility they ascribe to families (Chapter 2). Some put the family in a dominant position, others assume that the welfare state should protect against dependency upon the family. The OASIS-countries are differently located along this dimension, hence they represent different opportunity structures for family life and elder care. They are facing similar challenges, but are inclined towards different solutions. Germany and Spain tend to favor familistic solutions, and give the state a subsidiary (Germany) or even a residual (Spain) role. They have legal obligations for adult children towards older parents and low levels of services on areas that are by tradition a family responsibility, like long-term care. England and Norway have no legal obligations between generations and higher levels of services on traditional family areas, in particular in Norway. Israel is a mixed case, with legal obligations as in Spain and Germany, but also with rather generous service levels.Are these patterns reflected in public opinion and personal preferences? Do people support the established policies, or do they push for change? Of interest is also to investigate consensus and contrasts in attitudes within the five countries, for example between women and men, the younger and the older. Knowledge about actual help provision is important, but so also is knowledge about norms and attitudes because people tend to act accordingly if opportunity allows it.The intergenerational solidarity model (Bengtson & Roberts 1991) is employed as a research instrument and measures solidarity along six dimensions - structural, associational, consensual, affectional, functional, and normative solidarity. Ambivalence has more recently been introduced as an alternative perspective (LöƒÂ¼scher & Pillemer 1998). Intergenerational relations are seen as inherently ambivalent and characterised by mixed feelings and contradicting expectations that family members need to cope with. These adaptive changes may have been misinterpreted as a breakdown of family solidarity in stead of a change in how solidarity is expressed.Affectional solidarity (Chapter 3) is considerable. Both parties say they feel very close, but parents more so than children. Conflict levels are low as seen from both sides of the relationships, while both parties - and in particular the children - allow a difference of opinion without this being seen as a threat to the relationship. The presumably tighter spanish family shows primarily in structural and associational solidarity. Generations live closer and have more often contact in Spain compared to the more northern countries. This is mainly explained by the higher co-residence rates in Spain, but shared living is often enforced more than chosen, and is then more likely an indicator of (lack of) opportunity than of solidarity.Exchange of help and support (functional solidarity) is substantial in all five countries, and not less so in the northern family (Chapter 3). Exchanges are integral parts of daily life of nearly any family, but roles and resources change over the life course. Older people tend to be in the receiving end, but act also as providers of support. Starting out from the adult child perspective, the findings show that most adult children have provided one or several types of support to older parents during the last year. Emotional support is the most frequent form of support, followed by instrumental help. Only few children provide personal care to older parents, probably because few parents are this frail, and if so, they may already have moved to an institution. Adult children are as a general rule the net providers in the exchange relationship to older parents; they give more than they receive. Older parents provide first of all emotional support to adult children, and in some countries (Norway, Germany, Israel) also money. Instrumental help is flowing upwards in the family line, financial support flow downwards if and when pension levels allow it.Normative solidarity (Chapter 4) is indicated by the support for filial obligation norms; the extent to which adult children are obligated to help their older parents. The majority support such norms in all five countries, but more so in Spain and Israel than in Norway, England, and Germany. This trend is consistent with Rehers (1998) suggestion that the southern family are tighter than the northern. The main impression is, however, that normative solidarity is substantial also in northern countries, even in a universalist welfare state like Norway. This is even more so as the samples were drawn from large cities, and do not include smaller towns and rural areas which may be assumed to be even more familistic. Hence, neither urbanisation nor welfare state expansion seem to have eroded filial obligations.The focus in Chapter 5 is on what people find is a reasonable balance of responsibilities between the family and the welfare state, and what their personal preferences are. Public opinion is found to vary considerably between the countries. The welfare state is seen as the main responsible in Norway and by a (smaller) majority also in Israel. A more even split is favoured in the other three countries. A common trend is that the majority in all five countries favours some form of complementarity between the family and the welfare state, but the complementarity takes different forms. The welfare state is assumed to have the major responsibility in Norway and Israel with the family in a supplementary role. Itö''s the other way around in Germany and Spain, with England in an intermediate position. Attitudes are more or less congruent with the actual policies, but public opinion leans more heavily towards a welfare state responsibility than is presently implemented. The contrast between ideals and realities is greater in low-service countries, implying a greater tension between policy and opinion in these countries.Gender differences are small; hence the female dominance in actual care provision is more likely imposed upon them, not chosen. Age differences are also modest. Older people are not more traditional (familialistic) than are the younger. Spain is an exception, while Norway has high degree of consensus in these matters across gender and age. The older generation is in fact more inclined to push responsibilities on the welfare state than are the younger. Personal preferences lean even more towards services than do the more general attitudes. The great majority of Norwegians state a preference for services over family care if they should come to need help in old age. A corresponding majority would prefer institutional care over living with a child if they could no longer live by themselves. Preferences are more moderately biased towards the welfare state in three of the other four countries. Spain stands out with a majority in favour of family care, but only among the older generation.Chapter 6 analyses the actual distribution of help to elders in need. The family and the organised services are the dominant sources of help, but in different combinations. Families are dominant on all leves of needs in Spain, while services - and then mainly public services - are the major source of help among the most needy in Norway. The total help rate (from all sources) is higher in a high-service country like Norway than in a family dominated system like Spain, while the volume of family care is only moderately lower in Norway, indicating that service systems and families tend to supplement rather than substitute each other. There is little or no support in these trends for the idea that older people are diserted by their families and pushed over on services as a secondary option. Family solidarity need not be threatened by alternative or complementary services, and each party may have qualities that are not easily replaced by the other. Hence complementarity is more likely than substitution.Considering that affection and exchange levels are rather substantial in five otherwise different countries, they indicate that solidarity is general and considerable although not universal. While country differences are moderate in the more general features of solidarity, they are far larger in the more concrete attitudes about how policies and services should be organised. If this is a valid observation, then intergenerational family solidarity may have a rather stable and general character, but find different expressions in practice when circumstances and conditions change. This suggestion indicates a need to clarify what should indeed be ment by solidarity. We have therefore in the concluding Chapter 7 conducted a series of factor analysis in order to explore the solidarity concept and model. The findings give conditional support to a simplified variant of the solidarity model. A general finding is a four factor solution. Affection comes out first and includes consensus. Conflict comes out next as a distinct factor. Third is a joint factor for structural and associational solidarity, while giving and receiving support (functional solidarity) is the fourth factor. Normative solidarity is in most cases not included in any of these factors, and is apparently a distinct aspect of intergenerational relationships that may be combined with different ways of relating to each other.Family life has been, and to some extent still is, structured by material necessities and enforced duties which makes it difficult to separate the truly solidary motivations from external pressures. These are among the reasons why it is difficult to compare families across time and cultures. Solidarity may be easier to observe and separate from external pressures today than in earlier times, but the mechanisms and processes that have produced the solidary patterns may have become more complex. ; Rapporten belyser solidaritet mellom familiegenerasjoner, nærmere bestemt hvilket ansvar voksne barn har for eldre foreldre, hvordan ansvarsdelingen mellom familien og velferdsstaten er, og hvordan den etter befolkningens syn bør være. Ligger det en trussel mot familiesolidaritet i framveksten av velferdsstaten og økt individualisering? Rapporten tar også opp hvordan familien og velferdsstaten påvirker hverandre, og hva vi i mer teoretisk forstand skal forstå med familiesolidaritet. Dataene ble samlet inn gjennom det europeisk komparative prosjektet OASIS, Old age and autonomy - the role of services systems and intergenerational family solidarity. Fem land med ulik familiekultur og velferdspolitikk deltok i studien, Norge, England, Tyskland, Spania og Israel. Dette gir muligheter for å studere forholdet mellom familie, velferdsstat og aldring under ulike betingelser. Et tilfeldig utvalg av storbybefolkningen i alderen 25 år og over ble intervjuet i hvert land, ca. 1 200 i hvert land, til sammen ca. 6 000.

The paper features three short essays. The fi rst essay is dedicated to the 60th Anniversary of Doctor of Historical Sciences I. L. Izmailov. The second essay contains a critical review of the version proposed by Polish researcher V. Sventoslavsky concerning the actual use of "combat poison gases" by the Tatar-Mongols in the Battle of Legnica (1241). Based on the information provided by Polish historian of the 15th century Jan Dlugosz, the version has no substantial grounds. The third essay contains an overview of the not always positive experience of characterization by Ukrainian researcher, Doctor of Historical Sciences Ya.V Pilipchuk (Kiev)of a complex of weapons of the ancestors of the medieval Ingush. A simple list of the known categories of weapons of the Ingush ancestors does not ensure a clear understanding of the process and dynamics of their military development, simplifying the understanding of the complexity of its formation. Ya. V. Pilipchuk, avoiding the demonstration of the historiographical heritage of his predecessors, is also subject to unjustifi ed inaccuracies. For instance, they include claims about the use of "guns and cannons" by Emir Timur in Georgia. All this makes the publications considered by the researcher to be the works of questionable scientifi c quality. ; Предлагаемая статья состоит из трех небольших очерков. Первый очерк посвящен 60-летнему юбилею доктора исторических наук И.Л. Измайлова. Второй очерк содержит критический обзор версии польского исследователя В. Свентославского о реальности использования татаро-монголами в битве под Легницей (1241 г.) «боевых отравляющих газов». Построенная на сведениях польского историка ХV в. Яна Длугоша версия не имеет никаких серьезных оснований. Последний, третий очерк содержит обзор не всегда позитивного опыта характеристики украинским исследователем – доктором исторических наук Я.В. Пилипчуком (г. Киев) комплекса вооружения предков средневековых ингушей. Простой перечень известных категорий вооружения предков ингушей не дает ясного понимания процесса и динамики развития их военного дела, упрощая осознание всей сложности его формирования. Я.В. Пилипчук, уходя от демонстрации историографического наследия своих предшественников, допускает и неоправданные неточности. Среди них есть утверждения об использовании, например, эмиром Тимуром в Грузии «ружей и пушек». Все это превращает рассматриваемые им публикации в работы сомнительного научного качества. Библиографические ссылки Археология Евразийских степей. 2017. № 5. 355 с. Басов В.И., Нарожный Е.И., Тихонов М.П. О двух типах наконечников копий с территории Северного Кавказа // МИАСК. Вып. 2 / Отв. ред. Е.И. Нарожный. Армавир: РИЦ АГПИ, 2003. С. 105−111. Воронин Н.Н. Крепостные сооружения // История культуры Древней Руси. Домонгольский период. Т. I: Материальная культура / Под ред. Н.Н. Воронина, М.К. Каргера и М.М. Тихановой. 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This dissertation examines how smallholder farming livelihoods may be more effectively leveraged to address food security. It is based on empirical research in three woredas (districts) in the Jimma Zone of southwestern Ethiopia. Findings in the chapters that follow draw on quantitative and qualitative data. In this research, I focus on local actors to investigate how they can be better supported in their roles as agents who have the ability to improve their livelihoods and achieve food security. This general aim is operationalized through three research questions that are addressed in separate chapters. The research questions are: (i) How do livelihood strategies influence food security?; (ii) What livelihood challenges are common and how do households cope with these?; and (iii) How do social institutions, in which livelihoods are embedded, influence people's abilities to undertake livelihoods and be food secure? Using quantitative data from a survey of randomly selected households, I applied a number of multivariate statistical analysis to determine types of livelihood strategies and to establish how these strategies are associated with capital assets and food security. Here I view livelihood strategies as a portfolio of livelihood activities that households undertake to make a living. The predominant livelihood in the study area was diversified smallholder farming involving mainly the production of crops. Food crops such as maize, teff, sorghum, and in smaller quantities – barley and wheat, were primarily produced for subsistence. Cash crops namely coffee and khat were primarily produced for the market. Based on our analyses, we found five types of livelihood strategies to be present along a gradient of crop diversity. Food security generally decreased with less crops being part of the livelihood strategy. The livelihood strategies were associated with households' capital assets. For example, the livelihood strategy with the most number of crops had more access to a wider range of capital assets. They had larger aggregate farm field size, and were more involved in learning with other farmers through informal exchange of information and knowledge. The status of food (in)security of each household during the lean season was measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). A generalized linear model established that the type of livelihood strategy a household undertook significantly influenced their food security. Other significant variables were educational attainment and gender of household head. The findings contribute evidence to the benefits of diversified livelihoods for food security, in this case, the combination of diverse food crops and cash crops. Smallholder farming in southwest Ethiopia is beset with process-related and outcome-related challenges. Here, a process-related challenge pertains to the lack of different types of capital assets that people need to be able to undertake their livelihoods, while an outcome-related challenge pertains to lack of food. The most frequently mentioned process-related challenges were associated with the natural capital either as lack in necessary ecosystem services or high levels of ecosystem disservices. Farming households typically faced the combined challenges of decreasing soil fertility, land scarcity, die-off of oxen due to diseases, and wild animal pests that raided their crops and attacked their livestock. Lack of cash was also common and this was associated with an inability to access goods and services that households needed to address other problems. For example, lack of cash prevented households from buying fertilizers or replacing the oxen they lost to diseases. Confronted with multiple and simultaneous challenges, households coped by drawing on more readily accessible capital assets in order to address a lack. This process is here referred to as capital asset substitution. The findings indicate that when households liquidate a physical asset in order to gain cash which they then use to address other challenges, the common outcome is an erosion of their capital asset base. Many households reported having to sell their livestock to buy fertilizers, as required by the government, without seeing an increase in their harvest. The same process of liquidating capital asset to purchase food particularly during the lean season, also led to erosion of capital assets. On the other hand, when households drew on their social capital to address the challenges, they tended to maintain their capital asset base. The local didaro system is one such example in which farming households with adjacent farm fields synchronize their cropping timing and pool their labor together to address the problem of wild animal pests. Human capital, for example, in the form of available labor was also important for coping. Protecting and enhancing natural capital is needed to strengthen the basis of livelihoods in the study area, and maintaining social and human capitals is important to enable farming households to cope with challenges without eroding their capital asset base. Smallholder farming in southwest Ethiopia is embedded in a social context that creates differentiated challenges and opportunities amongst people. Gender is an axis of social differentiation on which many of the differences are based. Since the coming into power of the currently ruling Ethiopian political coalition, important policy reforms have been put in place to empower women. This includes the formal requirement that wives' names are included in land certificates. Local residents reported notable changes related to gender in the last ten years. To make sense of the changes, we adapted the leverage points concept which identifies places to intervene in a system with different depths and effectiveness for changing the trajectory of a system. Using this concept, we classified the reported changes as belonging to the domains of visible gaps, social structures, and attitudes. Importantly, changes within these domains interacted, suggesting that changes facilitate further changes. The most prominent driver of the changes observed was the government's emphasis on empowering women and government-organized interventions including gender sensitization trainings. The changes toward more egalitarian relationships at the household level were perceived by local residents to lead to better implementation of livelihoods, and better ability to be food secure. The study offers the insight that while changing deep, underlying drivers (e. g. attitudes) of systemic inequalities is critical, other leverage points such as formal institutional change and closing of certain visible gaps can facilitate deeper changes (e. g. attitudes) through interaction between different leverage points. This can inform gender transformative approaches. While positive gender-related changes have been observed, highly unequal gender norms still persist that lead to women as well as poor men being disadvantaged. Social norms which provide the basis for collective understanding of acceptable attitudes and behaviors are entrenched in people's ways of being and doing and can therefore significantly lag behind formal institutional changes. For instance, daughters in southwest Ethiopia continued to be excluded from land inheritance because of long-standing patrilineal inheritance practices. This impacted on women's abilities to engage in smallholder farming in equal footing as men. Norms influenced practices around access and control of capital assets, decision-making, and allocation of activities with important implications for who gets to participate, how, and who gets to benefit. Landless men also faced distinct disadvantages in sharecropping arrangements where people involved often have unequal socioeconomic status. Processes that facilitate critical local reflections are needed to begin to change unequal social norms and transform smallholder farming to becoming more inclusive and egalitarian spheres. To more effectively leverage smallholder farming for a food secure future, this dissertation closes with four key insights namely: (1) Diversified livelihoods combining food and cash crops result in better food security; (2) Enhancing natural and social capital is a requisite for viable smallholder farming; (3) Social and gender equality are strategically important in improving livelihoods and food security; and (4) Institutions particularly social norms are key to achieving gender and social equality. Because the livelihoods-food security nexus depend on people's agency in their livelihoods, this dissertation concludes that livelihoods should be recast as critical spheres for expanding human agency and that conceptual development as well as formulation of suitable tools of measurement be pursued. ; Diese Dissertation untersucht, wie der Lebensunterhalt kleinbäuerlicher Landwirte effektiv gestaltet werden kann, um Ernährungssicherheit zu unterstützen. Sie basiert auf empirischer Forschung in drei woredas (Bezirken) in der Jimma Zone im Südwesten Äthiopiens. Die Ergebnisse der folgenden Kapitel resultieren aus quantitativen und qualitativen Daten. In dieser Forschung fokussiere ich auf lokale Akteure und untersuche, wie sie besser darin unterstützt werden können, ihren Lebensunterhalt zu verbessern und Ernährungssicherheit zu erreichen. Das übergeordnete Ziel wird durch drei Forschungsfragen operationalisiert, die in den verschiedenen Kapiteln behandelt werden. Diese Forschungsfragen sind: (i) Wie beeinflussen Strategien des Lebensunterhaltes die Ernährungssicherheit? (ii) Welche Herausforderungen gibt es in der Sicherung des Lebensunterhaltes, und wie bewältigen Haushalte diese? Und (iii) Wie beeinflussen soziale Institutionen, in denen Lebensunterhalte verankert sind, die Fähigkeiten von Personen, ihren Lebensunterhalt zu bestreiten und Ernährungssicherheit zu erreichen? An quantitativen Umfragedaten von zufällig ausgewählten Haushalten führte ich eine Reihe von multivariater Statistik durch, um die Strategien des Lebensunterhaltes zu bestimmen und herauszufinden, wie diese Strategien mit Capital Assets und der Ernährungssicherheit assoziiert sind. In dieser Arbeit verstehe ich Strategien des Lebensunterhaltes als ein Portfolio von Aktivitäten die zum Lebensunterhalt des Haushaltes beitragen. Die meistverbreitete Aktivität zur Sicherung des Lebensunterhaltes in der Studienregion war diversifizierte kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft, hauptsächlich bezüglich der Ernteproduktion. Nahrungspflanzen wie Mais, Teff, Hirse und in kleineren Mengen Gerste und Weizen, wurden hauptsächlich zur Subsistenz angebaut. Marktkulturen, namentlich Kaffee und Khat, wurden hauptsächlich für den Markt produziert. Basierend auf unserer Analyse identifizierten wir fünf Typen von Lebensunterhaltstrategien, die entlang eines Gradienten gelegen sind, der durch Vielfalt der Anbaufrüchte charakterisiert ist. Generell gesehen verringerte sich die Ernährungssicherheit umso weniger Anbaufrüchte Teil der Lebensunterhaltstrategie waren. Die Lebensunterhaltstrategien sind assoziiert mit den Capital Assets des Haushaltes. Zum Beispiel hatte die Lebensunterhaltsstrategie mit der höchsten Nummer von Anbaufrüchten mehr Zugang zu einer größeren Zahl von Capital Assets. Sie hatten größere Felder und waren stärker involviert im gemeinsamen Lernen mit anderen Landwirte durch informellen Austausch von Informationen und Wissen. Der Status der Ernährungs(un)sicherheit jedes Haushaltes innerhalb der mageren Jahreszeit wurde durch die "Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS)" gemessen. Ein verallgemeinertes lineares Modell (GLM) etablierte, dass die Typen der Lebensunterhaltsstrategien, die ein Haushalt unternahm, signifikant ihre Ernährungssicherheit beeinflussten. Andere signifikante Variablen waren Bildungsstand und Gender des Haushaltoberhaupts. Die Ergebnisse unterstützen den Befund der Vorteile von diversifizierten Lebensunterhalten für Ernährungssicherheit, in diesem Falle, in Kombination mit unterschiedlichen Nahrungs- und Marktpflanzen. Kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft in Südwest-Äthiopien ist geplagt von Prozess- und Ergebnis-bezogenen Herausforderungen. Eine Prozess-bezogene Herausforderung bezieht sich auf den Mangel von unterschiedlichen Typen von Capital Assets, die Personen brauchen um ihren Lebensunterhalt zu bestreiten, während eine Ergebnis-bezogene Herausforderung sich auf den Mangel an Nahrung bezieht. Die am häufigsten genannten Prozess-bezogenen Herausforderungen waren assoziiert mit Naturkapital, entweder als Mangel an notwendigen Ökosystemleistungen oder als hohe Verluste durch Ökosysteme. Landwirtschaftliche Haushalte haben typischerweise die kombinierten Herausforderungen von sich verringernder Bodenqualität, Landknappheit, Wegsterben von Ochsen durch Krankheiten und Wildtieren, die Felder überfallen und Viehbestand angreifen. Geldmangel war ebenfalls geläufig, und dies war assoziiert mit der Unfähigkeit auf Waren und Leistungen zuzugreifen, die gebraucht werden, um andere Probleme anzugehen. Als Beispiel verhinderte Geldmangel Haushalte vom Düngemittelkauf oder davon, durch Krankheit verlorene Ochsen zu ersetzen. Konfrontiert mit multiplen und gleichzeitig auftretenden Herausforderungen, bewältigten Haushalte diese durch die Heranziehung leicht verfügbarer Capital Assets, um diesen Geldmangel zu adressieren. Dieser Prozess nennt sich Anlagenaustausch. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass wenn Haushalte ein physikalisches Vermögen liquidieren um Geld zu bekommen, um andere Herausforderungen zu bewältigen, sie häufig eine Erosion ihrer Anlagegrundlage erfahren. Viele Haushalte gaben an, Viehbestand verkaufen zu müssen um Düngemittel, wie von der Regierung gefordert, zu kaufen ohne dass sie eine Steigerung in ihrer Ernte wahrnahmen. Der gleiche Prozess der Liquidierung von Anlagegegenständen um Nahrung zu kaufen, vor allem in der mageren Jahreszeit, führte ebenfalls zur Erosion der Anlagegrundlagen. Wenn Haushalte jedoch ihr soziales Kapital , einsetzten, um die Herausforderungen zu bewältigen, blieb ihre Anlagegrundlage meist erhalten. Das lokale didaro-System ist ein Beispiel, in dem landwirtschaftliche Haushalte mit benachbarten Ländereien ihre Erntezeit synchronisieren und ihre Arbeitskraft zusammen tun, um das Problem von Ernteverlust durch Wildtiere zu adressieren. Humankapital, als Beispiel, in Form von vorhandener Arbeitskraft war ebenfalls wichtig zur Bewältigung der Herausforderungen. Schutz und Verstärkung des Naturkapitals ist notwendig, um die Grundlagen der Lebensunterhalte in der Studienregion zu verstärken, und der Erhalt von Sozial- und Humankapital ist wichtig, um landwirtschaftlichen Haushalten eine Bewältigung ihrer Herausforderungen zu ermöglichen, ohne ihre Anlagegrundlagen zu erodieren. Kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft in Südwest-Äthiopien ist verankert in einem sozialen Kontext, welcher differenzierte Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten zwischen den Personen kreiert. Gender ist eine Achse der sozialen Differenzierung, auf der viele Unterschiede basieren. Seit der Machtübernahme der derzeit regierenden Äthiopischen Koalition wurden wichtige politische Reformen in Gang gesetzt, um Frauen zu stärken. Dies beinhaltet die formelle Verpflichtung, dass die Ehefrau namentlich in Landzertifizierungen genannt wird. Lokale Einwohner gaben sichtbare Veränderungen bezüglich Genderaspekten in den letzten 10 Jahren an. Um diese Veränderungen zu verstehen, benutzen wir das Konzept der Interventionspunkte – leverage points – um Bereiche zu identifizieren, in denen in einem System mit unterschiedlicher Tiefenwirkung und Effektivität interveniert werden kann, um die Richtung des Systems zu ändern. Anhand dieses Konzeptes klassifizierten wir die angegebenen Veränderungen als zugehörig zu den Domänen des sichtbaren Mangel, sozialen Strukturen, und Einstellungen. Wichtig war, dass Veränderungen innerhalb dieser Domänen interagierten, was darauf hinweist, dass zukünftige Veränderungen vereinfacht werden könnten. Der auffälligste Treiber der observierten Veränderungen war die Hervorhebung der Stärkung von Frauen der Regierung sowie von der Regierung organisierte Interventionen, einschließlich Gender-Sensibilisierungstraining. Die Veränderungen hin zu egalitäreren Beziehungen in den Haushalten wurde von lokalen Anwohnern wahrgenommen als das Herbeiführen von besserer Durchführung der Lebensunterhalte, und verbesserten Fähigkeiten Ernährungssicherung zu schaffen. Die Studie eröffnet Einsichten, dass während die Veränderungen von tiefen, unterliegenden Treibern von systemischer Ungleichheit (z.B. Einstellung) notwendig ist, können andere leverage points wie formale institutionelle Veränderungen und Lückenschluss sichtbarer Mangel tiefere Veränderungen (z.B. Einstellungen) durch Interaktion zwischen verschiedenen leverage points erleichtern. Dies kann transformative Ansätze zu Gender informieren. Während positive Gender-bezogene Veränderungen festgestellt wurden, existieren dennoch ungleiche Gendernormen, die Frauen wie auch ärmere Männer benachteiligen. Soziale Normen, welche die Basis für kollektives Verständnis akzeptierter Einstellungen und Verhalten bilden, sind tief verwurzelt in der Lebensart- und weise der Bevölkerung und können daher stark hinter formellen institutionellen Veränderungen hinter her hinken. Zum Beispiel werden Töchter in Südwest-Äthiopien immer noch, aufgrund von langbewährten patrilinearen Vererbungspraxen, von der Vererbung von Ländereien ausgeschlossen. Dies beeinflusst die Fähigkeit von Frauen sich gleichberechtigt in kleinbäuerlicher Landwirtschaft zu engagieren. Normen beeinflussen Praktiken bezüglich Zugang zu und Kontrolle über Anlagegegenstände, Entscheidungsfindung, und Verteilung von Aktivitäten mit wichtigen Implikationen bezüglich wer in was und wie partizipieren kann, und wer davon einen Vorteil zieht. Männer ohne Landbesitz sehen sich ebenfalls mit bestimmten Benachteiligungen gegenübergestellt, vor allem im Bezug zu Übereinkommen der Halbpacht, in welcher involvierte Personen oft ungleichen sozioökonomischen Status haben. Prozesse, die kritische lokale Reflektionen vereinfachen sind notwendig um Veränderungen ungleicher sozialer Normen anzustoßen und kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft in Richtung Inklusivität und Egalität zu transformieren. Um kleinbäuerlicher Landwirtschaft zu einer ernährungssicheren Zukunft zu verhelfen, schließt diese Dissertation mit vier Einsichten, namentlich: (1) Diversifizierte Lebensunterhalte, welche Nahrungs- und Marktfrüchte kombinieren, resultieren in erhöhter Ernährungssicherheit; (2) Steigerung des Natur- und sozialen Kapitals ist erforderlich für rentable kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft; (3) Soziale und Gendergleichheit sind von strategischer Bedeutung, um Lebensunterhalte und Ernährungssicherheit zu verbessern; und (4) Institutionen und insbesondere soziale Normen sind Schlüssel, um Gender und soziale Gleichheit zu erreichen. Da der Nexus von Lebensunterhalt – Ernährungssicherheit abhängig ist von der Handlungsfähigkeit der Personen bezüglich ihres Lebensunterhaltes, schließt diese Dissertation, dass Lebensunterhalte als kritisch wichtige Sphäre menschlicher Handlungsfähigkeit gesehen werden sollten, und das hiervon die konzeptionelle Entwicklung wie auch die Formation passender Messwerkzeuge angestrebt wird.

Streptococcus suis es una bacteria Gram positiva asociada con una amplia variedad de enfermedades en los cerdos, como meningitis, artritis, bronconeumonía, endocarditis, poliserositis y septicemia. Además, es un agente zoonótico emergente que causa infecciones graves en personas en contacto directo con porcinos infectados. Hoy en día, el control se basa fundamentalmente en el tratamiento con antimicrobianos e implementación de medidas sanitarias en la granja afectada. Se ha sugerido que S. suis puede ser responsable de la propagación de genes de resistencia a patógenos humanos importantes como Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae y Streptococcus agalactiae. El uso extensivo de antimicrobianos en medicina veterinaria se considera una de las principales causas de la aparición y propagación de microorganismos resistentes. De este modo, la Unión Europea prohibió el uso de antimicrobianos como promotores del crecimiento animal (Comisión Europea, 1831/2003). Una de las estrategias propuestas para la reducción es el uso de aceites esenciales (AE) solos o combinados con agentes antimicrobianos (AMB). Los aceites esenciales son extractos de plantas obtenidos por destilación al vapor y compuestos por una combinación de terpenos, aldehídos y alcoholes, muchos de los cuales son volátiles. La actividad de los AE depende de la concentración de los componentes principales, las partículas presentes en las trazas y la distribución del aceite en las bacterias, lo que determina el tipo de reacción y la respuesta biológica inducida. La acción antimicrobiana incluye la inhibición de una vía bioquímica común, la inactivación de las enzimas microbianas, la filtración de la membrana celular y el aumento de la permeabilidad de la membrana. La investigación de esta tesis doctoral consiste en evaluar el potencial de varios aceites esenciales y sus principales componentes activos como alternativas antimicrobianas contra Streptococcus suis. El primer objetivo fue el estudio cualitativo del potencial antimicrobiano de ocho aceites esenciales contra las cepas de campo de S. suis, mediante la determinación de la zona de inhibición por contacto directo y gaseoso (método de difusión en disco y método de la placa de Petri invertida) y su comparación con el test ANOVA de medias repetidas. Los aceites con una actividad inhibitoria significativamente mayor fueron el tomillo rojo y el tomillo vulgar (Ø media de la zona de inhibición 34,2 y 33,2 mm, respectivamente), seguido de orégano (Ø media de la zona de inhibición 29,4 mm). Canela, menta y clavo (Ø significa 16,5; 16,4 y 15,8 mm, respectivamente) mostraron un potencial antimicrobiano similar, aunque fue significativamente menor que los anteriores. Se obtuvo buena actividad de la fracción volátil de tomillo (rojo y común) y orégano (Ø medio 23,3–25,7 mm), mientras que se observó una débil o nula inhibición para menta, albahaca, romero, canela y clavo. Este es uno de los primeros estudios que selecciona AE con actividad antimicrobiana contra varias cepas de campo de S. suis. Los cuatro aceites con mayor potencial antimicrobiano en el ensayo de difusión en disco se seleccionaron para su estudio cuantitativo. El segundo objetivo de la tesis fue evaluar la actividad antimicrobiana de los aceites esenciales seleccionados y sus principales componentes activos (carvacrol, timol y cinamaldehído) contra 60 cepas de campo de S. suis, de origen humano y porcino. Mediante microdilución en caldo Infusión Cerebro Corazón (suplementado con un 0,15% de agar para facilitar la dilución de los aceites y la lectura de los resultados) se determinó la concentración mínima inhibitoria (CMI) y mínima bactericida (CMB). La relación del efecto concentración-tiempo fue determinada por la curva de muerte de los diferentes productos, para establecer la dinámica de su acción microcida. La susceptibilidad de todos los aislamientos de S. suis analizados en este estudio sugiere un comportamiento muy homogéneo de las cepas frente a los AEs y sus principios activos. Los resultados obtenidos demostraron el carácter bactericida de todos los productos ensayados (índice microcida = 1-2), confirmando el potencial antimicrobiano descrito para otras especies de Streptococcus. Los valores estimados para la CMI90 y la CMB90 destacaron especialmente la actividad del timol y carvacrol frente a los demás productos. Entre los aceites, los mejores resultados se observaron con el orégano y los tomillos. Todos los productos, excepto el cinamaldehido, mostraron una fuerte y rápida actividad, logrando la erradicación virtual (eficacia 99,99%) a dosis de 2 y 4 veces la CMI en sólo 1-5 minutos de exposición. En base a los resultados obtenidos, los productos ensayados en esta tesis tendrían carácter bactericida concentracióndependiente. Como tercer y último objetivo, se evaluó el efecto de la combinación de los aceites esenciales seleccionados y sus principales componentes activos con los antimicrobianos utilizados habitualmente en las granjas porcinas. La prueba de tablero de ajedrez (checkerboard) se usó como base para calcular el Índice de la Fracción de la Concentración Inhibitoria (FCIíndice), cuyos resultados se interpretaron en base a los criterios de la EUCAST (2000). No se detectó efecto antagonista entre los AEs y los antimicrobianos probados. La mayor potenciación positiva se obtuvo para la gentamicina, que mostró sinergismo (0,375-0,5) y aditividad (0,563-1,0) con los cuatro aceites esenciales. En el caso de la oxitetraciclina, los mejores resultados se obtuvieron al combinarla con canela: efecto sinérgico en 2/5 ensayos (0,313 y 0,5, respectivamente) y efecto aditivo en los demás AE. La combinación de penicilina o trimetoprimsulfametoxazol con los aceites esenciales mostró aditividad o indiferencia El estudio de la interacción entre antimicrobianos y principios activos tampoco mostró efecto antagónico, si bien sólo se observó sinérgismo entre la gentamicina y el timol (FCIíndice = 0,5), con una reducción de 4 veces en la CMI de ambos productos. En general, los AMB combinados con AE mostraron mejores resultados que los AMB combinados con los principios activos. Estas diferencias podrían explicarse por la variedad de mecanismos de acción atribuibles a la compleja composición de los aceites esenciales. La interacción positiva observada entre los antimicrobianos convencionales, como la gentamicina y la oxitetraciclina, y los aceites esenciales como la canela, el orégano o los tomillos (vulgar y rojo) respaldarían su uso combinado para el control de las enfermedades por S. suis en granjas porcinas con una importante reducción de la dosis efectiva de ambos productos. ; Streptococcus suis is a Gram-positive bacterium associated with a wide variety of pig diseases, such as meningitis, arthritis, bronchopneumonia, endocarditis, polyserositis and septicaemia. In addition, it is a zoonotic agent that causes severe infections in people related to infected pigs and is responsible for an increasing number of human infections. Nowadays, the control of this microorganism is based on antimicrobial treatment and sanitary measures implemented on the affected farms. It has also been suggested that S. suis may be responsible for the spread of resistance genes to important human pathogens as Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus agalactiae. The extensive use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine is considered one of the main causes of the emergence and spread of resistant microorganisms. In order to reduce the use of antimicrobials in pig farming, the European Union banned their use as animal growth promoters (European Commission, 1831/2003). There is an important pressure to reduce the use of antimicrobials in pig farming worldwide, with the aim of avoiding the development of bacterial resistances. One of the strategies proposed for the control of these pathogens is the use of essential oils (EOs) alone or combined with antimicrobials agents (AMBs). Essential oils are extracts of plants obtained by steam distillation and composed by a combination of terpenes, aldehydes and alcohols, many of which are volatile. The activity of the EOs depends on the concentration of the main components, the particles present in the traces, and the distribution of the oil in the bacteria, which determines the type of reaction and the biological response induced. The antimicrobial action includes the inhibition of a common biochemical pathway, inactivation of microbial enzymes, leaking of cell membrane and increasing the membrane permeability. The main goal of present PhD thesis is to assess, among natural products, the potential of various essential oils and their main active components as antimicrobial alternatives against Streptococcus suis. The first objective was the qualitative study of antimicrobial potential of eight essential oils against 20 field strains of S. suis by means of determination of inhibition halo after direct and gaseous contact. Selection of oils with greatest antimicrobial potential for their subsequent quantitative study. The ntibacterial inhibition was determined by the disk diffusion method. Furthermore, the effect of the volatile fraction of every EO was studied with the inverted Petri dish method. The antibacterial activity was evaluated by measuring in millimetres the diameter of the inhibitory zone. The repeated- measures ANOVA test was used for the selection of the four essential oils with the highest antimicrobial potential in the disk diffusion assay. The oils with a significantly higher inhibitory activity were red thyme and common thyme (Ø mean of inhibition zone 34.2 and 33.2 mm, respectively), followed by oregano (Ø mean of inhibition zone 29.4 mm). Cinnamon, peppermint, and clove (Ø mean 16.5, 16.4, and 15.8 mm, respectively) showed a similar antimicrobial potential, although it was significantly lower than the previous ones. Good activity was obtained from the volatile fraction of thyme (red and common) and oregano (Ø mean 23.3–25.7 mm), whereas a limited or absent inhibition was observed for peppermint, basil, rosemary, cinnamon, and clove. This is one of the first studies that selects EOs with antimicrobial activity against several field S. suis strains. The second objective was to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of the selected essential oils (oregano, red thyme, common thyme and cinnamon) and their main active components (carvacrol, thymol and cinnamaldehyde) against 60 field strains of S. suis, of human and porcine origin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were performing using the broth dilution method, and to facilitate the dilution of the oils and the reading of the results Brain- Heart Infusion broth supplemented with 0.15% agar was used. The concentration-timeeffect relationship was determined by the time-kill curve of different products, to establish the dynamics of their microcidal action. The susceptibility of all the S. suis isolates analysed in this study suggested a very homogeneous behaviour of the strains against the analysed products. The results obtained demonstrated the bactericidal character of all the products tested (microcidal index = 1-2), confirming the antimicrobial potential described by other researches. The estimated values for the MIC90 and MBC90 emphasized the activity of thymol and carvacrol compared with the other products. Among these oils, the best results were observed for oregano and both thymes. All products, except cinnamaldehyde, showed a strong and rapid antimicrobial activity, achieving virtual eradication (99.99% efficiency) at doses of 2 and 4 fold the MIC in 1-5 minutes of exposure. Basing on the results obtained in time-kill curve, the products tested in this thesis would have a concentration-dependent bactericidal character. As a third and final objective of this Doctoral Thesis, we assessed the effect of the combination of selected essential oils and their main active components with the conventional antimicrobials commonly used in the control of infections in pigs. The checkerboard test was used to calculate a Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Index (FICIndex) and the results were interpreted according to EUCAST (2000). No antagonist effect was detected. The best FIC values were obtained with gentamicin, since synergy (FICindex 0,375-0,5) and additive effect (FICindex 0.563-1.0) were detected with the four essential oils. For oxytetracycline, the best results were obtained in the interaction with cinnamon, with synergistic effect in 2/5 assays (FICindex 0.313 and 0.5, respectively) and additive effect in its interaction with the remaining EOs. The combination of penicillin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole with the essential oils showed additive or indifferent effects. The study of the interaction of antimicrobials with active ingredients included 60 combinations. No antagonistic effect was detected, although only a synergistic effect was observed when combined gentamicin and thymol (FICindex = 0.5), with a 4-fold reduction in the MIC of both products. In general, the combination of AMBs with EOs showed better results than the combination of AMBs with the main components of EOs. These differences could be explained by the variety of mechanisms of action attributable to the Essential Oil compounds and the possible synergism between them. The positive interaction observed between conventional antimicrobials, as gentamicin and oxytetracycline, and essential oils as cinnamon, oregano or thyme (common and red) would support their combined use for the control of S. suis diseases in pig farms with an important reduction in effective dose of both products.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein) ; Carriers of large recurrent copy number variants (CNVs) have a higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. The 16p11.2 distal CNV predisposes carriers to e.g., autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. We compared subcortical brain volumes of 12 16p11.2 distal deletion and 12 duplication carriers to 6882 non-carriers from the large-scale brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging collaboration, ENIGMA-CNV. After stringent CNV calling procedures, and standardized FreeSurfer image analysis, we found negative dose-response associations with copy number on intracranial volume and on regional caudate, pallidum and putamen volumes (β = −0.71 to −1.37; P < 0.0005). In an independent sample, consistent results were obtained, with significant effects in the pallidum (β = −0.95, P = 0.0042). The two data sets combined showed significant negative dose-response for the accumbens, caudate, pallidum, putamen and ICV (P = 0.0032, 8.9 × 10−6, 1.7 × 10− 9, 3.5 × 10−12 and 1.0 × 10−4, respectively). Full scale IQ was lower in both deletion and duplication carriers compared to non-carriers. This is the first brain MRI study of the impact of the 16p11.2 distal CNV, and we demonstrate a specific effect on subcortical brain structures, suggesting a neuropathological pattern underlying the neurodevelopmental syndromes. ; 1000BRAINS: 1000BRAINS is a population-based cohort based on the Heinz-Nixdorf Recall Study and is supported in part by the German National Cohort. We thank the Heinz Nixdorf Foundation (Germany) for their generous support in terms of the Heinz Nixdorf Study. The HNR study is also supported by the German Ministry of Education and Science (FKZ 01EG940), and the German Research Council (DFG, ER 155/6-1). The authors are supported by the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association (Svenja Caspers) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement 7202070 (Human Brain Project SGA1; Katrin Amunts, Sven Cichon). This work was further supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the Integrated Network IntegraMent (Integrated Understanding of Causes and Mechanisms in Mental Disorders) under the auspices of the e:Med Program (grant 01ZX1314A to M.M.N. and S.C.), and by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, grant 156791 to S.C.). 16p.11.2 European Consortium: B.D. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (NCCR Synapsy, project grant Nr 32003B_159780) and Foundation Synapsis. LREN is very grateful to the Roger De Spoelberch and Partridge Foundations for their generous financial support. This work was supported by grants from the Simons Foundation (SFARI274424) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_160203) to A.R. and S.J. Betula: The relevant Betula data collection and analyses were supported by a grant from the Knut & Alice Wallenberg (KAW) to L. Nyberg. Brainscale: the Brainscale study was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research MagW 480-04-004 (Dorret Boomsma), 51.02.060 (Hilleke Hulshoff Pol), 668.772 (Dorret Boomsma & Hilleke Hulshoff Pol); NWO/SPI 56-464-14192 (Dorret Boomsma), the European Research Council (ERC-230374) (Dorret Boomsma), High Potential Grant Utrecht University (Hilleke Hulshoff Pol), NWO Brain and Cognition 433-09-220 (Hilleke Hulshoff Pol). Brain Imaging Genetics (BIG): This work makes use of the BIG database, first established in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 2007. This resource is now part of Cognomics (www.cognomics.nl), a joint initiative by researchers of the Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, the Human Genetics and Cognitive Neuroscience departments of the Radboud university medical centre and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen. The Cognomics Initiative has received supported from the participating departments and centres and from external grants, i.e., the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (the Netherlands) (BBMRI-NL), the Hersenstichting Nederland, and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The research leading to these results also receives funding from the NWO Gravitation grant 'Language in Interaction', the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreements n° 602450 (IMAGEMEND), n°278948 (TACTICS), and n°602805 (Aggressotype) as well as from the European Community's Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement n° 643051 (MiND) and from ERC-2010-AdG 268800-NEUROSCHEMA. In addition, the work was supported by a grant for the ENIGMA Consortium (grant number U54 EB020403) from the BD2K Initiative of a cross-NIH partnership. COBRE: This work was supported by a NIH COBRE Phase I grant (1P20RR021938, Lauriello, PI and 2P20GM103472, Calhoun, PI) awarded to the Mind Research Network. We wish to express our gratitude to numerous investigators who were either external consultants to the Cores and projects, mentors on the projects, members of the external advisory committee and members of the internal advisory committee. Decode: The research leading to these results has received financial contribution from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (EU-FP7/2007–2013), EU-FP7 funded grant no. 602450 (IMAGEMEND) as well as support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement no.115300 (EUAIMS). DemGene: Norwegian Health Association and Research Council of Norway. Dublin: Work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI grant 12/IP/1359 to Gary Donohoe and SFI08/IN.1/B1916-Corvin to Aidan C Corvin) and the European Research Council (ERC-StG-2015-677467). EPIGEN-UK (SMS, CL): The work was partly undertaken at UCLH/UCL, which received a proportion of funding from the UK Department of Health's NIHR Biomedical Research Centres funding scheme. We are grateful to the Wolfson Trust and the Epilepsy Society for supporting the Epilepsy Society MRI scanner, and the Epilepsy Society for supporting CL. Haavik: The work at the K.G.Jebsen center for neuropsychiatric disorders at the University of Bergen, Norway, was supported by Stiftelsen K.G. Jebsen, European Community's Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement no 602805 and the H2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement numbers 643051 and 667302. HUNT: The HUNT Study is a collaboration between HUNT Research Centre (Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology), Nord-Trøndelag County Council, Central Norway Health Authority, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. HUNT-MRI was funded by the Liaison Committee between the Central Norway Regional Health Authority and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the Norwegian National Advisory Unit for functional MRI. IMAGEN: The work received support from the European Union-funded FP6Integrated Project IMAGEN (Reinforcement-related behaviour in normal brain function and psychopathology) (LSHM-CT- 2007-037286), the Horizon 2020 funded ERC Advanced Grant 'STRATIFY' (Brain network based stratification of reinforcement-related disorders) (695313), ERANID (Understanding the Interplay between Cultural, Biological and Subjective Factors in Drug Use Pathways) (PR-ST-0416-10004), BRIDGET (JPND: BRain Imaging, cognition Dementia and next generation GEnomics) (MR/N027558/1), the FP7 projects IMAGEMEND (602450; IMAging GEnetics for MENtal Disorders) and MATRICS (603016), the Innovative Medicine Initiative Project EU-AIMS (115300), the Medical Research Council Grant 'c-VEDA' (Consortium on Vulnerability to Externalizing Disorders and Addictions) (MR/N000390/1), the Swedish Research Council FORMAS, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, the Bundesministeriumfür Bildung und Forschung (BMBF grants 01GS08152; 01EV0711; eMED SysAlc01ZX1311A; Forschungsnetz AERIAL), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG grants SM 80/7-1, SM 80/7-2, SFB 940/1). Further support was provided by grants from: ANR (project AF12-NEUR0008-01—WM2NA, and ANR-12-SAMA-0004), the Fondation de France, the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, the Mission Interministérielle de Lutte-contre-les-Drogues-et-les-Conduites-Addictives (MILDECA), the Assistance-Publique-Hôpitaux-de-Paris and INSERM (interface grant), Paris Sud University IDEX 2012; the National Institutes of Health, Science Foundation Ireland (16/ERCD/3797), USA (Axon, Testosterone and Mental Health during Adolescence; RO1 MH085772-01A1), and by NIH Consortium grant U54 EB020403, supported by a cross-NIH alliance that funds Big Data to Knowledge Centres of Excellence. MCIC: This work was supported primarily by the Department of Energy DE-FG02-99ER62764 through its support of the Mind Research Network and the consortium as well as by the National Association for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD) Young Investigator Award (to SE) as well as through the Blowitz-Ridgeway and Essel Foundations, and through NWO ZonMw TOP 91211021, the DFG research fellowship (to SE), the Mind Research Network, National Institutes of Health through NCRR 5 month-RR001066 (MGH General Clinical Research Center), NIMH K08 MH068540, the Biomedical Informatics Research Network with NCRR Supplements to P41 RR14075 (MGH), M01 RR 01066 (MGH), NIBIB R01EB006841 (MRN), R01EB005846 (MRN), 2R01 EB000840 (MRN), 1RC1MH089257 (MRN), as well as grant U24 RR021992. NCNG: this sample collection was supported by grants from the Bergen Research Foundation and the University of Bergen, the Dr Einar Martens Fund, the K.G. Jebsen Foundation, the Research Council of Norway, to SLH, VMS and TE. The Bergen group was supported by grants from the Western Norway Regional Health Authority (Grant 911593 to AL, Grant 911397 and 911687 to AJL). NESDA: Funding for NESDA was obtained from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (Geestkracht program grant 10-000-1002); the Center for Medical Systems Biology (CSMB, NWO Genomics), Biobanking and Biomolecular Resources Research Infrastructure (BBMRI-NL), VU University's Institutes for Health and Care Research (EMGO+) and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, University Medical Center Groningen, Leiden University Medical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH, R01D0042157-01A, MH081802, Grand Opportunity grants 1RC2 MH089951 and 1RC2 MH089995). Part of the genotyping and analyses were funded by the Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.Computing was supported by BiG Grid, the Dutch e-Science Grid, which is financially supported by NWO. NTR: The NTR study was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), MW904-61-193 (Eco de Geus & Dorret Boomsma), MaGW-nr: 400-07- 080 (Dennis van 't Ent), MagW 480-04-004 (Dorret Boomsma), NWO/SPI 56-464-14192 (Dorret Boomsma), the European Research Council, ERC-230374 (Dorret Boomsma), and Amsterdam Neuroscience. OATS: OATS (Older Australian Twins Study) was facilitated by access to Twins Research Australia, which is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Enabling Grant 310667. OATS is also supported via a NHMRC/Australian Research Council Strategic Award (401162) and a NHMRC Project Grant (1045325). DNA extraction was performed by Genetic Repositories Australia, which was funded by a NHMRC Enabling Grant (401184). OATS genotyping was partly funded by a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Flagship Collaboration Fund Grant. PAFIP: PAFIP data were collected at the Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain, under the following grant support: Carlos III Health Institute PIE14/00031 and SAF2013-46292-R and SAF2015-71526-REDT. We wish to acknowledge IDIVAL Neuroimaging Unit for imaging acquirement and analysis.We want to particularly acknowledge the patients and the BioBankValdecilla (PT13/0010/0024) integrated in the Spanish National Biobanks Network for its collaboration. QTIM: The QTIM study was supported by grants from the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD050735) and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (486682, 1009064). Genotyping was supported by NHMRC (389875). Lachlan Strike is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA). AFM is supported by NHMRC CDF 1083656. We thank the twins and siblings for their participation, the many research assistants, as well as the radiographers, for their contribution to data collection and processing of the samples. SHIP: SHIP is part of the Community Medicine Research net of the University of Greifswald, Germany, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grants no. 01ZZ9603, 01ZZ0103, 01ZZ0403 and 01ZZ0701), the Ministry of Cultural Affairs as well as the Social Ministry of the Federal State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and the network 'Greifswald Approach to Individualized Medicine (GANI_MED)' funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant 03IS2061A). Genome-wide data have been supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant no. 03ZIK012) and a joint grant from Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany and the Federal State of Mecklenburg- West Pomerania. Whole-body MR imaging was supported by a joint grant from Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany and the Federal State of Mecklenburg West Pomerania. The University of Greifswald is a member of the Caché Campus program of the InterSystems GmbH. StrokeMRI: StrokeMRI has been supported by the Research Council of Norway (249795), the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (2014097, 2015044, 2015073) and the Norwegian ExtraFoundation for Health and Rehabilitation. TOP: TOP is supported by the Research Council of Norway (223273, 213837, 249711), the South East Norway Health Authority (2017-112), the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Stiftelsen (SKGJ‐MED‐008) and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), grant agreement no. 602450 (IMAGEMEND). We acknowledge the technical support and service from the Genomics Core Facility at the Department of Clinical Science, the University of Bergen ; Peer Reviewed

Capítols 1 i 7 escrits també en anglés ; The spatial decision-making process for the purpose of planning, policies, plans, or territorial programs, is intimately tied to the concept of location in the respective geographical space, mainly because many aspects such as natural resources; raw materials, infrastructure, proximity to markets, weather, culture, safety and strategic areas, among others, can be determined, and directly or indirectly related, based on spatial locations. Because of this and assuming that the geographical space constitutes a complex system, it is necessary that the spatial decision-making process intended for achieving aspects of location of goods and services, and/or events for the aforementioned purposes, is carried out in an interdisciplinary way, preferably through participation and consensus from the involved stakeholders involved.In this thesis, an applied research is presented that had as main purpose to provide an archetype that supports the process of spatial decision-making through the spatial consensus by diverse social actors, specially in regard to the location of goods, services and/or events. The archetype, based on the spatial version of the Delphi method modified, has as main characteristic the use of the opinions from a group of experts to solve a problem in the context of the decision-making process and / or in the framework for foresight while also considering the geographical aspect, all of this in order to reach a consensus in regard to the identification of an optimal location in a limited part of a territory.By following the Design Science Research methodology (DSR) and by adopting as auxiliary methods, Documentary Research and Reuse-Based Software Development, an artifact called Geospatial System of Collective Intelligence (SIGIC) was devised through which a collective intelligence behavior could be induced into multidisciplinary groups not experienced in the use of geotechnologies, and for the purpose of locating goods, services, and / or events through the spatial consensus from the participants. After having evaluated the artifact in five different spatial decision situations, two of them in Italy for the location of an air quality monitoring station, and for the zoning of the street prostitution process; two of them in Ecuador to determine the location for the installation of a booth for the screening of HIV and to state the location of booths for the annual initiative for blood collection, and finally, one more in Antarctica, Greenwich Island to determine the location of goods and services to plan the activities of the Scientific Station Pedro Vicente Maldonado.The main results exhibit that even multidisciplinary groups without previous experience in the use of geotechnologies can interact with these tools to study and determine through consensus of their spatial opinions, the potential location of goods, services and / or events in a given territory, thus achieving in this way a process of Collective Spatial Analysis as support for spatial decisions, mainly in aspects related to planning, organization, and use of resources in the territory, and even for the evaluation, preparation, or adoption of policies, plans, and corresponding programs. ; El proceso de toma de decisiones espaciales con fines de planificación, políticas, planes o programas territoriales, está estrechamente vinculado con el concepto de la localización en el espacio geográfico respectivo, principalmente porque en base a las ubicaciones espaciales se pueden determinar y relacionar directa e indirectamente, muchos otros aspectos como son los recursos naturales, las materias primas, la infraestructura, la proximidad al mercado, el clima, la cultura, las áreas estratégicas y de seguridad, entre otros. Por esta razón, y asumiendo que el espacio geográfico constituye un sistema complejo, es necesario que la toma de decisiones espaciales destinada a lograr aspectos de localización de bienes servicios y/o eventos para lo fines antes mencionados, se efectúe interdisciplinarmente, preferentemente a través de la participación y consenso de los actores involucrados.En esta tesis se presenta una investigación aplicada que tuvo como propósito aportar un arquetipo para coadyuvar en el proceso de toma de decisiones espaciales por medio del consenso espacial entre diversos actores sociales, primordialmente con respecto a la localización de bienes, servicios y/o eventos. El arquetipo, basado en la versión espacial del Método Delphi modificado, tiene como característica principal el uso de las opiniones de un grupo de expertos para resolver un problema en el contexto de toma de decisiones y/o marco de previsión considerando el aspecto geográfico, con el objetivo de llegar a un consenso respecto a la identificación de una ubicación óptima en una parte limitada del territorio.Siguiendo la metodología de Investigación en Ciencia del Diseño (DSR por su acrónimo en Inglés) y adoptando como métodos auxiliares la Investigación Documental y el Desarrollo de Software Basado en la Reutilización, se ideó el artefacto llamado Sistema Geoespacial de Inteligencia Colectiva (SIGIC), con el cual se logró inducir y coordinar un comportamiento de inteligencia colectiva en grupos multidisciplinares no experimentados en el uso de geotecnologías, con el propósito de localizar bienes, servicios y/o eventos mediante el consenso espacial de los participantes. Este artefacto se evaluó en cinco situaciones diferentes de decisión espacial: dos en Italia, para la ubicación de una estación de monitoreo de calidad del aire y para la zonificación del proceso de prostitución de calle; dos en Ecuador, para determinar el lugar de instalación de un puesto para pruebas de tamizaje de VIH y para establecer las ubicaciones de puestos para la campaña anual de colecta de sangre; y una en la Antártida, Isla de Greenwich, para determinar la ubicación de bienes y servicios con fines de planificación de actividades de la Estación Científica Pedro Vicente Maldonado.Los principales resultados exhiben que grupos multidisciplinares sin práctica en el uso de geotecnologías pueden interactuar con estas herramientas para estudiar y determinar a través del consenso de sus opiniones espaciales, la probable localización de bienes, servicios y/o eventos en un territorio determinado, conformando de esta manera un proceso de Análisis Espacial Colectivo como soporte a las decisiones espaciales principalmente, para aspectos de planificación, organización y empleo de recursos en el territorio o bien para la evaluación, preparación o adopción de políticas, planes y programas correspondientes. ; El procés de presa de decisions espacials amb fins de planificació, polítiques, plans o programes territorials, esta íntimament vinculat amb el concepte de la localització en l'espai geogràfic respectiu, principalment perquè en base a las ubicacions espacials es pot determinar i relacionar directament i indirecta, molts altres aspectes com són els recursos naturals, les matèries primeres, la infraestructura, la proximitat al mercat, el clima, la cultura, les àrees estratègiques i de seguretat, entre d´altres. Per aquesta raó, i assolint que el espai geogràfic constitueix un sistema complex, és necessari que la presa de decisions espacials destinada a aconseguir aspectes de localització de béns serveis i/o esdeveniments per els fins anteriorment esmentats, s'efectui interdisciplinariament, de manera preferent mitjançant la participació i consens dels actors involucrats.A aquesta tesi es presenta una investigació aplicada que va tenir com a propòsit aportar un arquetip per coadjuvar en el procés de presa de decisions espacials mitjançant el consens espacial entre diversos actors socials, primordialment respecte de la localització de béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments. L'arquetip, basat en la versió espacial del Mètode Delphi modificat, té com a característica principal l'ús de les opinions d'un grup d'experts per resoldre un problema en el context de presa de decisions i/o marc de previsió considerant l'aspecte geogràfic, amb el objectiu d'arribar a un consens respecte a la identificació d'una ubicació òptima en una part limitada del territori.Tot seguint la metodologia d´Investigació en Ciència del Disseny (DSR per el seu acrònim en anglès) i adoptant com a mètodes auxiliars la Investigació Documental i el Desenvolupament de Software Fonamentat en la Reutilització, es va idear l'artefacte anomenat Sistema Geoespacial d'Intel·ligència Col·lectiva (SIGIC), mitjançant del qual es va aconseguir induir i coordinar un comportament d'intel·ligència col·lectiva en grups multidisciplinaris no experimentats en l'ús de geotecnologíes, amb el propòsit de localitzar béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments mitjançant el consens espacial dels participants. Aquest artefacte es va avaluar en cinc situacions diferents de decisió espacial: dos a Itàlia, per a la ubicació d'una estació de monitorització de qualitat de l'aire i per a la zonificació del procés de prostitució del carrer; dos a Equador, per determinar el lloc d'instal·lació d'un posat per a proves de tamisatge de VIH i per establir les ubicacions de llocs per a la campanya anual de col·lecta de sang; i una a l'Antàrtida, Illa de Greenwich, per determinar la ubicació de béns i serveis amb fins de planificació d'activitats de l'Estació Científica Pedro Vicente Maldonado.Els principals resultats exhibeixen que grups multidisciplinaris sense practica en l'ús de les geotecnologíes poden interactuar amb aquestes eines per estudiar i determinar mitjançant el consens de les seves opinions espacials, la probable localització de béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments en un territori determinat, conformant d´aquesta manera un procés d'Anàlisi Espacial Col·lectiu com a suport a les decisions espacials principalment, per aspectes de planificació, organització i ocupació de recursos en el territori o bé per l´avaluació, preparació o adopció de polítiques, plans i programes corresponents. ; Il processo decisionale spaziale ai fini della pianificazione, delle politiche, dei piani o dei programmi territoriali, è strettamente legato al concetto di localizzazione dello spazio geografico di riferimento, principalmente perché in base alle ubicazioni spaziali possono essere determinati e si relazionano direttamente e indirettamente, molti altri aspetti tra i quali le risorse naturali, le materie prime, le infrastrutture, la vicinanza al mercato, il clima, la cultura, le aree strategiche e di sicurezza. Quindi, assumendo che lo spazio geografico costituisce un sistema complesso, è necessario che le decisioni spaziali volte ad ottenere aspetti per la localizzazione di beni e servizi e/o eventi per i fini prima menzionati, siano effettuate in maniera interdisciplinare, preferibilmente attraverso la partecipazione e il consenso tra le parti interessate. In questa tesi viene presentata una ricerca applicata che ha avuto come proposito fornire un archetipo per aiutare nel processo decisionale spaziale per mezzo del consenso speciale tra diversi attori sociali, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la localizzazione dei beni, servizi e/o eventi. L'archetipo, in base alla versione spaziale del Metodo Delphi modificato, ha come caratteristica principale l'uso delle opinioni di un gruppo di esperti per risolvere un problema nel contesto del processo decisionale e/o di un quadro di previsione considerando l'aspetto geografico, con l'obiettivo di giungere ad un consenso riguardo l'identificazione di una posizione ottimale in una parte limitata del territorio. Seguendo la metodologia della Ricerca Scientifica di Progettazione (DSR con il suo acronimo in inglese) e adottando come metodi ausiliari la Ricerca Documentaria e lo Sviluppo del Software Basato sulla Riutilizzazione, è stato messo a punto l'artefatto chiamato Sistema Geo-Spaziale di Intelligenza Collettiva (SIGIC), con il quale è stato possibile indurre e coordinare un comportamento di intelligenza collettiva in gruppi multidisciplinari non sperimentati nell'uso di geo-tecniche, al fine di localizzare beni, servizi e/o eventi attraverso il consenso spaziale dei partecipanti. Questo artefatto è stato valutato in cinque situazioni diverse di decisione spaziale: due in Italia, per l'ubicazione di una stazione di monitoraggio della qualità dell'aria e per la zonizzazione del processo di prostituzione di strada; due in Ecuador, per determinare il luogo di installazione di un centro per i test per l'HIV e per stabilire le ubicazioni di centri per la campagna annuale di donazione del sangue; e una in Antartide, nell'isola Greenwich, per determinare l'ubicazione di beni e servizi al fine di pianificare le attività della Stazione Scientifica Pedro Vicente Maldonado. Dopo aver valutato l'artefatto in cinque differenti situazioni di decisione spaziale, i principali risultati mostrano che i gruppi multidisciplinari senza pratica nell'uso di geo-tecniche possono interagire con questi strumenti per studiare e determinare attraverso il consenso delle loro opinioni spaziali, la probabile localizzazione dei beni, servizi e/o eventi in un determinato territorio, formando così un processo di Analisi Spaziale Collettiva principalmente come supporto alle decisioni spaziali, per gli aspetti di pianificazione, organizzazione e l'uso delle risorse in il territorio o anche per la valutazione, la preparazione o l'adozione di politiche, piani e programmi corrispondenti. ; Postprint (published version)

Ladies and GentlemenGood morningAt the outset of my speech, I'd like to personally welcome all the respected attendees, from our home country Iran and abroad, respected invitees from ISESCO and the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, researchers and scientists from Iranian universities, editor-in-chiefs of ISC-indexed journals from Iran and the regional countries, my colleagues from ISC and RICEST and all those who participated in one way or another to make this unique event come true. I firmly believe that bringing inspired people together in a forum like this would ensure that ISC always remains at the cutting edge.Before I commence I tend to name those humble people for whose association and help we here at ISC are so proud as well as grateful. To me, such public thank you is a veiled declaration of intimacy with those who have been in a position to lend assistance to ISC since its establishment in 2008.First, my sincerest thanks go to H, E, Dr.Othman Altwijiri, Director General of ISESCO for the key role His Excellency played in the establishment of the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC).Second, I am much indebted to Dr.Faiq Bilal, Director of Science Directorate of ISESCO, for his contribution to the holding of this conference.Third, my appreciations Vahid Ahmadi, the MSRT's Vice-Minister for Research and Technology, for full support of ISC and its programs. Also, I am appreciative of the helps we received from Dr, Salar Amoli for producing Visa for our respected guests from the OIC countries.Finally, I thank my colleagues at the ISC and RICEST, the editor-in-chiefs of ISC-indexed journals, researchers and colleagues from Iranian universities and all the attendees without whose presence this whole program could be nothing but a fail.The idea of founding a citation center to assess research performance of OIC countries' research output was first conceived in the third Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research, held in Kuwait City, State of Kuwait, between November 19-21, 2006. There, the delegate from the Islamic Republic of Iran took the initiative and put forward the idea of founding such a center to assess OIC countries research performance. This idea was welcomed by all members of ISESCO and was hence included in the agenda.The proposal was worked on successfully and put on the table during the fourth Islamic Conference of Ministers of Higher Education and Scientific Research, held in Baku, Capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in October, 2008. During that meeting, the proposal was discussed and verified with absolute majority and the I. R. of Iran was bestowed with the responsibility to establish such a citation center. And that is in brief how ISC was established in Shiraz, south of Iran.ISC seeks to assess research performance of OIC countries. Great strides have been made by the directing body of ISC to provide the infrastructure required for the successful fulfillment of this objective.I am obliged here to avow here that ISC's achievements during its short life have been phenomenal, in need, owing to the constant help and support received from Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology as well as Iran's High Council for Cultural Revolution. These two supporting bodies guaranteed ISC's accomplishments by adopting scientific, administrative and financial policies required.Assessment of research performance is a complicated phenomenon involving an array of variables and indicators. In general, citation systems – like ISI, Scopus and ISC - undertake various types of assessments and rankings through a number of indicators including researchers, scientific journals, subject fields, universities, research institutions and countries. Currently, ISC ranks third, after ISI (from Thomson Reuters with a history of more than half a century) and Scopus (in the Netherlands, with a history of about two decades) in the whole world. Both ISI and Scopus are well known citation systems embodying a number of interesting products and services of which the scientific community can avail it. Despite these advantages, they fail to cover local languages and concentrate only on English resources. In contrast, ISC, despite its short history, has endeavored to cover languages other than English as well. The long term objective has of course been to cover all national languages in OIC has been produced such that it can be expanded, on demand to cover OIC languages. No doubt, this is time-taking process due to the linguistic difficulties embedded in such practices. This difficulty is well justifiable when we observe that even global ranking systems like ISI and SCOPUS have avoided local languages despite the long time and better resources they have had for development.I would like to announce here that ISC currently processes journals in three languages, i.e. Persian, Arabic and English and seeks to cover French shortly since it is used in a number of OIC countries. This is a non-stop process and having covered French we will seek to include other languages from the OIC region.Having OIC region as its scope has not acted of course as a restriction for the realm of our activities. Interestingly, we have been receiving requests from non-OIC countries (including America, England, Finland, Poland, Russia, India, …) as well to have their journals indexed in ISC. So, the regional ISC has now upgraded into a global ranking system ranking universities, journals, etc. from all over the world.To date, 1117 Arabic journals, 1056 English ones and 403 journals from other languages are indexed in ISC. The number of Iranian journals indexed in ISC is also remarkable – 1046 journals affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, 331 journals from the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Training, and 250 journals affiliated to the Islamic Azad University.This simply means that ISC currently indexes more than 4000 journal titles from Iran, OIC and of course non-OIC countries. Of course, this sum is a fraction of the whole journals available in the international scientific community, and hence not that bulky in its present status, nevertheless it provides good ground for implementation of various types of scientometrics analyses and will provide more information as we move on.It is axiomatic that development of citation systems is time taking process. By this I am not focusing on issues like budget, building, etc. since such requirements have always been provided to ISC by the Iranian government with ease and on demand. Rather, I would like to focus on the time required to develop the software needed and of course the need for man power who have a good grip on scientometrics analysis.Regarding ISC's software, it has been developed by our own staff here. We consistently improve and enrich it by adding new features and new products. Regarding the staff, the M.S. program for Scientometrics was commenced at RICeST last year. Currently 12 students are studying in this program and this trend will be continued to train the man power required to fill-in-the-gap between ISC and ISI (and Scopus) in the shortest time possible.An important scheme here at ISC is to open up its branches in ISESCO member states to accelerate the enlargement of ISC database. This will, of course, require training of expertise in Scientometrics for which I am honored to introduce our M.S. program for Scientometrics. This program, in the long run, intends to train staff from the OIC countries to represent ISC branches in their relevant countries. I invite here the respected participants from the OIC countries to assist by introducing to us, through their universities, interested students who wish to attend the program.An important point I wish to share here on the present conference is that not many journals from OIC countries are indexed in ISI and Scopus. From among those which are indexed, journals with an IF from only a minority. Since the establishment of ISC, citation analysis has come under focus not only in Iran but also in OIC countries. Journal seek to publish original research with the objective to promote the status of science in the society, to increase scientific and research collaboration among research and scientific institutions in Iran and the OIC countries and expand knowledge frontiers. Attaining this objective depends greatly upon the scientific and research infrastructure of each member state.As specified in its charter, ISC has been bestowed with the responsibility to hold workshops and seminars to improve the status of ICS-indexed journals and, of course, facilitate journal submission by interested bodies to ISC. The present conference is indeed the second of this type- the first one was held two years back- which is being held for editor-in chiefs of scientific journals from Iran and the OIC region.The respected editor-in-chiefs here are invited to make the best use of the potential available in universities, research institution and societies to enhance the status of their journals. To enhance the quality of journals, a number of steps need to be taken:The editor-in-chiefs as well as the editorial boards of scientific journals should be picked up from among outstanding scientific figures. These people are those whose effort cans most contribute to the enhancement of scientific journals.Another point of great moment in enhancing the status of academic journals goes back to the nature of the peer-review process. Qualified and experienced referees can guarantee the quality of articles – and their originality as well.Yet another important issue pertains to the referencing mechanism used in journals. Studies undertaken on the referencing issue reveal that journals quite often do not follow in-text and out-text citation standards. Inconsistencies are observed among journals, even between different issues of a given journal and even at times between different articles of a single journal issue. To ease indexing in ISC, journals need to abide by citation standards. Mismatch in out-text citation may not cause any problem in information databases but they can be a big problem in citation systems like ISC. Hence, it is highly recommended that ISC-indexed journals move towards adapting sort of citation standards. One further point contributing to the quality of journals goes back to the issue of author affiliations. In general, author affiliation is drawn on in a number of research areas including ranking of universities and research institutions, production of science maps, assessing research quality, ranking authors, departments, etc.During the past few years, the increase in the volume of journals has been astronomical. We witness that journal editors are showing ever increasing tendency towards e-publishing. The reasons for such tendency are two-fold: First, journals try to keep abreast of the recent trend in publishing namely the open access movement. Second, journals are faced with budgeting problems and such constraints have forced them to adopt e-publishing as a substitute policy. E-publishing is today deemed as a routine in many countries of the world especially emerging scientific countries.Today, electronic copies of a large number of scientific journals are freely accessible. E-publishing is easier, faster and requires less budgeting. An inherent advantage of e-publishing is that it provides the grounds needed for crawlers to retrieve journals and to use the data for indexing purposes. For e-publishing to perform maximally, there is of course a need for an online journal submission system by the use of which journals can receive articles, send them for peer-review and also form their own online archives for later reference and use.Plagiarism is also deemed as an important issue in the scientific community today as it has been for so long. This phenomenon can harm the quality and status of journals. Indexing systems are apt to exclude journals from their systems due to plagiarism traces observed in them. Thus, it is a must for editor-in-chiefs of journals to be familiar with plagiarism, plagiarism detecting software and the strategies needed to avoid or at least minimize this problem in scientific production process thereby guarantee the copyright issue.Before closing my speech, I would like to make some proposals:1- To establish a publishing agency, with international scope, to publish scientific and research journals from the OIC countries. This will facilitate their indexing in ISC substantially and will be a great help to journals financially.2- To establish ISC local branches in different OIC countries.3- To encourage consistent interaction between ISC and journals with the aim of enhancing the quality and status of ISC-indexed journals.4- To schedule regular visits to ISC (for ISC-indexed editor-in-chiefs) and to OIC countries (for ISC directing body or staff to mark the problems and to make proposals for their removal).5- To hold ISC's conferences in OIC countries. ISC will help financially to hold such conferences.6- To use ISC for citation analyses, science mapping and scientific and research performance assessments in the OIC countries.7- To hold workshops at national and international levels to publicize research and scientific potential of the OIC countries, especially their universities and research institutions. Thank You

Capítols 1 i 7 escrits també en anglés ; The spatial decision-making process for the purpose of planning, policies, plans, or territorial programs, is intimately tied to the concept of location in the respective geographical space, mainly because many aspects such as natural resources; raw materials, infrastructure, proximity to markets, weather, culture, safety and strategic areas, among others, can be determined, and directly or indirectly related, based on spatial locations. Because of this and assuming that the geographical space constitutes a complex system, it is necessary that the spatial decision-making process intended for achieving aspects of location of goods and services, and/or events for the aforementioned purposes, is carried out in an interdisciplinary way, preferably through participation and consensus from the involved stakeholders involved.In this thesis, an applied research is presented that had as main purpose to provide an archetype that supports the process of spatial decision-making through the spatial consensus by diverse social actors, specially in regard to the location of goods, services and/or events. The archetype, based on the spatial version of the Delphi method modified, has as main characteristic the use of the opinions from a group of experts to solve a problem in the context of the decision-making process and / or in the framework for foresight while also considering the geographical aspect, all of this in order to reach a consensus in regard to the identification of an optimal location in a limited part of a territory.By following the Design Science Research methodology (DSR) and by adopting as auxiliary methods, Documentary Research and Reuse-Based Software Development, an artifact called Geospatial System of Collective Intelligence (SIGIC) was devised through which a collective intelligence behavior could be induced into multidisciplinary groups not experienced in the use of geotechnologies, and for the purpose of locating goods, services, and / or events through the spatial consensus from the participants. After having evaluated the artifact in five different spatial decision situations, two of them in Italy for the location of an air quality monitoring station, and for the zoning of the street prostitution process; two of them in Ecuador to determine the location for the installation of a booth for the screening of HIV and to state the location of booths for the annual initiative for blood collection, and finally, one more in Antarctica, Greenwich Island to determine the location of goods and services to plan the activities of the Scientific Station Pedro Vicente Maldonado.The main results exhibit that even multidisciplinary groups without previous experience in the use of geotechnologies can interact with these tools to study and determine through consensus of their spatial opinions, the potential location of goods, services and / or events in a given territory, thus achieving in this way a process of Collective Spatial Analysis as support for spatial decisions, mainly in aspects related to planning, organization, and use of resources in the territory, and even for the evaluation, preparation, or adoption of policies, plans, and corresponding programs. ; El proceso de toma de decisiones espaciales con fines de planificación, políticas, planes o programas territoriales, está estrechamente vinculado con el concepto de la localización en el espacio geográfico respectivo, principalmente porque en base a las ubicaciones espaciales se pueden determinar y relacionar directa e indirectamente, muchos otros aspectos como son los recursos naturales, las materias primas, la infraestructura, la proximidad al mercado, el clima, la cultura, las áreas estratégicas y de seguridad, entre otros. Por esta razón, y asumiendo que el espacio geográfico constituye un sistema complejo, es necesario que la toma de decisiones espaciales destinada a lograr aspectos de localización de bienes servicios y/o eventos para lo fines antes mencionados, se efectúe interdisciplinarmente, preferentemente a través de la participación y consenso de los actores involucrados.En esta tesis se presenta una investigación aplicada que tuvo como propósito aportar un arquetipo para coadyuvar en el proceso de toma de decisiones espaciales por medio del consenso espacial entre diversos actores sociales, primordialmente con respecto a la localización de bienes, servicios y/o eventos. El arquetipo, basado en la versión espacial del Método Delphi modificado, tiene como característica principal el uso de las opiniones de un grupo de expertos para resolver un problema en el contexto de toma de decisiones y/o marco de previsión considerando el aspecto geográfico, con el objetivo de llegar a un consenso respecto a la identificación de una ubicación óptima en una parte limitada del territorio.Siguiendo la metodología de Investigación en Ciencia del Diseño (DSR por su acrónimo en Inglés) y adoptando como métodos auxiliares la Investigación Documental y el Desarrollo de Software Basado en la Reutilización, se ideó el artefacto llamado Sistema Geoespacial de Inteligencia Colectiva (SIGIC), con el cual se logró inducir y coordinar un comportamiento de inteligencia colectiva en grupos multidisciplinares no experimentados en el uso de geotecnologías, con el propósito de localizar bienes, servicios y/o eventos mediante el consenso espacial de los participantes. Este artefacto se evaluó en cinco situaciones diferentes de decisión espacial: dos en Italia, para la ubicación de una estación de monitoreo de calidad del aire y para la zonificación del proceso de prostitución de calle; dos en Ecuador, para determinar el lugar de instalación de un puesto para pruebas de tamizaje de VIH y para establecer las ubicaciones de puestos para la campaña anual de colecta de sangre; y una en la Antártida, Isla de Greenwich, para determinar la ubicación de bienes y servicios con fines de planificación de actividades de la Estación Científica Pedro Vicente Maldonado.Los principales resultados exhiben que grupos multidisciplinares sin práctica en el uso de geotecnologías pueden interactuar con estas herramientas para estudiar y determinar a través del consenso de sus opiniones espaciales, la probable localización de bienes, servicios y/o eventos en un territorio determinado, conformando de esta manera un proceso de Análisis Espacial Colectivo como soporte a las decisiones espaciales principalmente, para aspectos de planificación, organización y empleo de recursos en el territorio o bien para la evaluación, preparación o adopción de políticas, planes y programas correspondientes. ; El procés de presa de decisions espacials amb fins de planificació, polítiques, plans o programes territorials, esta íntimament vinculat amb el concepte de la localització en l'espai geogràfic respectiu, principalment perquè en base a las ubicacions espacials es pot determinar i relacionar directament i indirecta, molts altres aspectes com són els recursos naturals, les matèries primeres, la infraestructura, la proximitat al mercat, el clima, la cultura, les àrees estratègiques i de seguretat, entre d´altres. Per aquesta raó, i assolint que el espai geogràfic constitueix un sistema complex, és necessari que la presa de decisions espacials destinada a aconseguir aspectes de localització de béns serveis i/o esdeveniments per els fins anteriorment esmentats, s'efectui interdisciplinariament, de manera preferent mitjançant la participació i consens dels actors involucrats.A aquesta tesi es presenta una investigació aplicada que va tenir com a propòsit aportar un arquetip per coadjuvar en el procés de presa de decisions espacials mitjançant el consens espacial entre diversos actors socials, primordialment respecte de la localització de béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments. L'arquetip, basat en la versió espacial del Mètode Delphi modificat, té com a característica principal l'ús de les opinions d'un grup d'experts per resoldre un problema en el context de presa de decisions i/o marc de previsió considerant l'aspecte geogràfic, amb el objectiu d'arribar a un consens respecte a la identificació d'una ubicació òptima en una part limitada del territori.Tot seguint la metodologia d´Investigació en Ciència del Disseny (DSR per el seu acrònim en anglès) i adoptant com a mètodes auxiliars la Investigació Documental i el Desenvolupament de Software Fonamentat en la Reutilització, es va idear l'artefacte anomenat Sistema Geoespacial d'Intel·ligència Col·lectiva (SIGIC), mitjançant del qual es va aconseguir induir i coordinar un comportament d'intel·ligència col·lectiva en grups multidisciplinaris no experimentats en l'ús de geotecnologíes, amb el propòsit de localitzar béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments mitjançant el consens espacial dels participants. Aquest artefacte es va avaluar en cinc situacions diferents de decisió espacial: dos a Itàlia, per a la ubicació d'una estació de monitorització de qualitat de l'aire i per a la zonificació del procés de prostitució del carrer; dos a Equador, per determinar el lloc d'instal·lació d'un posat per a proves de tamisatge de VIH i per establir les ubicacions de llocs per a la campanya anual de col·lecta de sang; i una a l'Antàrtida, Illa de Greenwich, per determinar la ubicació de béns i serveis amb fins de planificació d'activitats de l'Estació Científica Pedro Vicente Maldonado.Els principals resultats exhibeixen que grups multidisciplinaris sense practica en l'ús de les geotecnologíes poden interactuar amb aquestes eines per estudiar i determinar mitjançant el consens de les seves opinions espacials, la probable localització de béns, serveis i/o esdeveniments en un territori determinat, conformant d´aquesta manera un procés d'Anàlisi Espacial Col·lectiu com a suport a les decisions espacials principalment, per aspectes de planificació, organització i ocupació de recursos en el territori o bé per l´avaluació, preparació o adopció de polítiques, plans i programes corresponents. ; Il processo decisionale spaziale ai fini della pianificazione, delle politiche, dei piani o dei programmi territoriali, è strettamente legato al concetto di localizzazione dello spazio geografico di riferimento, principalmente perché in base alle ubicazioni spaziali possono essere determinati e si relazionano direttamente e indirettamente, molti altri aspetti tra i quali le risorse naturali, le materie prime, le infrastrutture, la vicinanza al mercato, il clima, la cultura, le aree strategiche e di sicurezza. Quindi, assumendo che lo spazio geografico costituisce un sistema complesso, è necessario che le decisioni spaziali volte ad ottenere aspetti per la localizzazione di beni e servizi e/o eventi per i fini prima menzionati, siano effettuate in maniera interdisciplinare, preferibilmente attraverso la partecipazione e il consenso tra le parti interessate. In questa tesi viene presentata una ricerca applicata che ha avuto come proposito fornire un archetipo per aiutare nel processo decisionale spaziale per mezzo del consenso speciale tra diversi attori sociali, soprattutto per quanto riguarda la localizzazione dei beni, servizi e/o eventi. L'archetipo, in base alla versione spaziale del Metodo Delphi modificato, ha come caratteristica principale l'uso delle opinioni di un gruppo di esperti per risolvere un problema nel contesto del processo decisionale e/o di un quadro di previsione considerando l'aspetto geografico, con l'obiettivo di giungere ad un consenso riguardo l'identificazione di una posizione ottimale in una parte limitata del territorio. Seguendo la metodologia della Ricerca Scientifica di Progettazione (DSR con il suo acronimo in inglese) e adottando come metodi ausiliari la Ricerca Documentaria e lo Sviluppo del Software Basato sulla Riutilizzazione, è stato messo a punto l'artefatto chiamato Sistema Geo-Spaziale di Intelligenza Collettiva (SIGIC), con il quale è stato possibile indurre e coordinare un comportamento di intelligenza collettiva in gruppi multidisciplinari non sperimentati nell'uso di geo-tecniche, al fine di localizzare beni, servizi e/o eventi attraverso il consenso spaziale dei partecipanti. Questo artefatto è stato valutato in cinque situazioni diverse di decisione spaziale: due in Italia, per l'ubicazione di una stazione di monitoraggio della qualità dell'aria e per la zonizzazione del processo di prostituzione di strada; due in Ecuador, per determinare il luogo di installazione di un centro per i test per l'HIV e per stabilire le ubicazioni di centri per la campagna annuale di donazione del sangue; e una in Antartide, nell'isola Greenwich, per determinare l'ubicazione di beni e servizi al fine di pianificare le attività della Stazione Scientifica Pedro Vicente Maldonado. Dopo aver valutato l'artefatto in cinque differenti situazioni di decisione spaziale, i principali risultati mostrano che i gruppi multidisciplinari senza pratica nell'uso di geo-tecniche possono interagire con questi strumenti per studiare e determinare attraverso il consenso delle loro opinioni spaziali, la probabile localizzazione dei beni, servizi e/o eventi in un determinato territorio, formando così un processo di Analisi Spaziale Collettiva principalmente come supporto alle decisioni spaziali, per gli aspetti di pianificazione, organizzazione e l'uso delle risorse in il territorio o anche per la valutazione, la preparazione o l'adozione di politiche, piani e programmi corrispondenti. ; Postprint (published version)