Suchergebnisse

Las barreras no arancelarias (BNAs) afectan en particular a los países en desarrollo debido a la mayor dependencia de estos en relación con los mercados de los países desarrollados, así como también a su menor influencia en los foros del comercio internacional. Las BNAs tienen una importancia creciente en el comercio mundial de pescados debido al aumento de las transacciones internacionales de esos productos. Las exportaciones mundiales de pescados se duplicaron entre 1998 y 2008, pasando de 51,5 a 101,9 miles de millones de US$. Este artículo intenta analizar el impacto de las BNAs creadas por la Unión Europea sobre las exportaciones brasileñas de pescados. Se basa en el método de inventarios integrado al modelo ARIMA. Los datos se refieren a barreras técnicas obtenidas en la base de datos TRAINS/UNCTAD y a las exportaciones brasileñas recolectados en la base de datos ALICEWEB. Los resultados indican que esas medidas presentaron impacto negativo solamente para pescados frescos. Se supone que las BNAs impuestas por la Unión Europea todavía no tienen efectos relevantes sobre las exportaciones brasileñas. Incluso para pescados frescos, no es posible certificar con exactitud que la reducción en el volumen fue causada por las BNAs, porque podrían estar involucrados otros factores. Sin embargo, el rápido aumento en el número de barreras no arancelarias a las importaciones de mariscos en el mercado europeo representa un riesgo potencial para el crecimiento de las exportaciones brasileñas. Por otra parte, dado que gran parte de la acuicultura brasileña se está desarrollando dentro de los ecosistemas complejos como el Amazonas, existe la posibilidad de nuevos obstáculos no arancelarios relacionados con las nuevas exigencias medioambientales. Estos resultados acentúan la necesidad de incorporar otras variables en el análisis de BNAs, con el objetivo de perfeccionar la medición de sus efectos. ; Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) affect particularly developing countries because of their market dependence on developed countries and their minor influence over the international trade forums. NTBs have an increasing importance in world trade of fishery products due to the rise of the international transactions of these products. World exports of fishery products doubled between 1998 and 2008, from US$ 51.5 billion to US$ 101.9 billion. This article aims to analyze the impact of NTBs implemented by EU on the Brazilian exports of fishery products. The methodology used was based on the inventory approach integrated to the ARIMA model. The data used refer to technical barriers obtained from the TRAINS/UNCTAD database and to the Brazilian exports collected on the ALICEWEB database. Results showed that these measures presented negative impact only for fresh fish. We can suppose that NTBs imposed by Europe still do not have relevant effects on Brazilian exports. Even for fresh fish, it is not possible to state accurately that the reduction in volume was caused by the introduction of the NTB because other factors can be involved. However, the rapid increase in the number of NTBs to seafood imports in the European market represents a potential risk to the growth of Brazilian exports. Moreover, given that much of the Brazilian aquaculture is being developed within complex ecosystems like the Amazon, there is a possibility of emerging new NTBs related to environmental constraints. These results emphasize the need to incorporate other variables in the NTB analysis in order to improve measurement of its effects. ; Les barrières non-tarifaires (BNTs) affectent particulièrement les pays en voie de développement, étant donnée non seulement leur plus forte dépendance vis-à-vis des marchés des pays développés, mais aussi leur moindre influence au sein des instances du commerce international. Les BNTs présentent une importance grandissante dans le commerce mondial des produits de la mer à cause de l'augmentation des transactions internationales de ces produits. Entre 1998 et 2008, les exportations mondiales des produits de la mer ont doublées, en progressant de 51,5 à 101,9 billions de dollars américains. Cet article tente d'analyser l'impact des BNTs créés par l'Union Européenne sur les exportations brésiliennes des produits de la mer. La méthodologie est basée sur celle d'inventaire, intégrée au modèle ARIMA. Les données concernant les barrières techniques ont été obtenues auprès de la base de données TRAINS/UNCTAD et celles des exportations brésiliennes ont été recueillies dans ALICEWEB. Les résultats montrent que ces mesures présentent des impacts négatifs uniquement pour la catégorie poissons frais. Il est supposé que les BNTs mises en place par l'Europe n'a pas encore d'effets significatifs sur les exportations brésiliennes. Même pour des poissons frais il n'est pas possible d'affirmer avec exactitude que la réduction du volume a été causée par les BNTs, parce que d'autres facteurs peuvent être en cause. Néanmoins, la forte augmentation du nombre de BNTs pour l'importation des produits de la mer dans le marché européen s'avère un risque potentiel pour le développement des exportations brésiliennes. De plus, étant donnée que l'aquaculture brésilienne se développe essentiellement dans des écosystèmes sensibles tels que l'Amazonie, il existe un risque d'émergence de nouvelles BNTs liées à des contraintes environnementales. Ces résultats mettent en évidence le besoin d'intégrer d'autres variables dans l'analyse des BNTs afin d'améliorer la mesure de leurs effets. ; As barreiras não-tarifárias (BNTs) afetam particularmente os países em desenvolvimento devido à maior dependência destes com relação aos mercados dos países desenvolvidos e também à sua menor influência nos fóruns de comércio internacional. As BNTs apresentam uma importância crescente no comércio mundial de pescados devido ao aumento nas transações internacionais. As exportações mundiais de pescados dobraram entre 1998 e 2008, passando de 51,5 para 101,9 US$ bilhões. Este artigo visa analisar o impacto das BNTs criadas pela União Europeia sobre as exportações brasileiras de pescados. A metodologia correspondeu à abordagem de inventário, integrada com o modelo ARIMA. Os dados se referem a barreiras técnicas obtidas na base de dados TRAINS/UNCTAD e a exportações brasileiras coletadas na base de dados ALICEWEB. Os resultados mostraram que estas medidas apresentam impacto negativo apenas para peixes frescos. Supõe-se que as BNTs impostas pela Europa ainda não têm efeitos relevantes sobre as exportações brasileiras. Mesmo para peixes frescos, não é possível afirmar com exatidão que a redução no volume foi causada pelas BNTs, porque outros fatores podem estar envolvidos. No entanto, o rápido aumento do número de BNTs às importações de pescados no mercado europeu representa um risco potencial para o crescimento das exportações brasileiras. Além disso, dado que grande parte da aquicultura brasileira está sendo desenvolvida dentro de ecossistemas complexos, como a Amazônia, existe a possibilidade de surgirem novas BNTs relacionadas a restrições ambientais. Estes resultados enfatizam a necessidade de incorporar outras variáveis na análise de BNT a fim de aprimorar a mensuração dos seus efeitos. ; 35-52 ; manoel.pedroza@embrapa.br ; renata.barroso@embrapa.br ; roberto.valladao@embrapa.br ; semestral

Desde que, la semana pasada, el entonces ministro de Agricultura, Wagner Rossi, presentase su renuncia a la presidenta Dilma Rousseff, por primera vez desde que ésta asumiese en el cargo, la prensa internacional comenzó a observar la situación brasileña desde una perspectiva más objetiva.Quedaron atrás los ditirambos y los elogios sobre las supuestas maravillas del "boom" brasileña y comenzaron a señalarse las falencias y claudicaciones de una sociedad desigual, sin tradición democrática, la omnipotencia de una clase política altamente corrupta y que todavía cobija en partes del territorio (como en el Amazonas o en infinidad de favelas) el uso indiscriminado de la violencia como modus operandi, entre otras cosas.El disparador de esta nueva lectura del Brasil "progresista" parece haber sido la repentina consciencia de la opinión pública y de los medios que, con la renuncia de Wagner, ya eran 6 ministros renunciados y casi un centenar de altos funcionarios detenidos en 8 meses de gobierno y, en la aplastante mayoría de los casos, el tema de fondo era el estallido de noticias sobre severos delitos de corrupción.Los analistas se dividieron rápidamente en varios grupos de acuerdo a distintas interpretaciones que intentaban responder a la obvia pregunta: ¿Cómo era posible que la presidenta Rousseff se encontrase, repentinamente, atrapada en este salpicadero?Un primer grupo de analistas optó por recordar que Dilma Rousseff llegó a la presidencia enancada en la figura de un Lula altamente exitoso, pero que, en lo que hace a su recorrido personal, sólo parecía dotada de una buena experiencia de "gran funcionaria" de alto nivel, eficaz, eficiente y buena tomadora de decisiones técnicas. No hay hasta la fecha, en el historial de Rousseff, un solo ejemplo de cargo eminentemente político y, menos aún, electivo.Esta interpretación de una presidenta Rousseff prácticamente inexperta en materia política resulta ser, al menos para nosotros, un tanto ingenua. La Sra. Presidenta, aunque se haya destacado fundamentalmente como funcionaria, no deja de tener un "buen kilometraje" en el mundo de la política. Recordemos que, para poder usufructuar del "priísta dedazo" de Lula hubo de caminar seguramente por sobre varias cabezas y que, pocas semanas antes de su elección, su propia oficina en la Casa Civil era denunciada por tráfico de influencia y corrupción. O sea que la mitología de una Rousseff que sería la encarnación humana de la lógica racional burocrática weberiana, al menos a nosotros, no nos resulta convincente.Hay un segundo grupo de analistas que, aunque continúa haciendo hincapié en la existencia de algunas limitaciones en el manejo político de la presidenta, lo hace de manera más convincente.En efecto, cuando se señala, por ejemplo, que Rousseff "…está empantanada en el marasmo de Brasilia…", en realidad a lo que se alude no es exactamente que la presidente no sabe como lidiar con los conflictos políticos en general.De lo que se trata es de señalar que, muy probablemente, lo que está sucediendo es que después de ocho meses de presidencia, el "establishment político" de Brasilia (como en Washington, en Londres, en París, en Buenos Aires o en cualquier parte), que existe como una suerte de "casta" en la que, más allá de diferencias partidarias e ideológicas, predomina un "esprit de corps" altamente selectivo, haya decidido recordarle a la presidenta que es una simple "parvenue" recién llegada al sistema, que Planalto no puede funcionar como Versalles, autónomo y desprovisto de todo sistema político que le proporcione legitimidad y que, más le vale comenzar a ocuparse de la clase política. Después de todo algo muy parecido le sucedió a Clinton en su primer gobierno, para no recordar más que un ejemplo.Para los analistas que optaron por esta interpretación de la crisis política brasileña, "la explosión" de los escándalos de corrupción está organizada y forma parte de una política de cuidadoso "acoso" a la presidencia. Una suerte de primer"reminder" de que, en ningún país del mundo, gobierna el presidente sólo, más allá de las apariencias. Esta interpretación no es de descartar porque, evidentemente, la sincopada aparición de los escándalos, los distintos partidos comprometidos en ellos, etc., no parece haberse distribuido al azar.La tercera forma de interpretar "los líos de Dilma" que los analistas han manejado, es bastante más favorable para la figura presidencial. Ella mejor que nadie sabe, perfectamente, que su posición política actual se la debe a Lula. Que su presidencia es, como decíamos más arriba, el resultado de un "dedazo" digno de cualquier presidente priísta de hace algunas décadas. En esas condiciones, no resulta impensable imaginar que Dilma Rousseff haya comenzado prudentemente a intentar "separarse" de la imagen de su "padrino". Un elemento que abona la plausibilidad de esta hipótesis es que Rousseff viene cultivando sistemáticamente una imagen de cercanía con Fernando Henrique Cardozo, el antiguo presidente que fue quien realmente echó las bases institucionales para el auge brasileño actual.Pero la figura de Lula es fuerte y no tiene muchos puntos débiles a nivel de la opinión pública. Una de las pocas debilidades de los gobiernos petistas de Lula fue el altísimo nivel de corrupción que reinó durante su transcurso y la ostensible permisividad del presidente de entonces para con los casos de corrupción que surgieron. Es más, todo el sistema de alianzas tejido por el PT para poder controlar el Legislativo y poder gobernar fue un esquema cuasi mafioso basado en el uso y abuso de los fondos públicos. En esas condiciones, ¿porqué Dilma no habría de haber elegido, precisamente, el tema de la corrupción como el terreno privilegiado para "diferenciarse", clara y nítidamente, de su desprolijo y grandilocuente mentor?La táctica no es para nada desacertada. Aunque la opinión pública brasileña, como tantas en América Latina, Asia y África, están totalmente resignadas a que sus sistemas políticos se sirvan con la cuchara grande en los fondos públicos, ello no significa que no estén atentos, especialmente sus clases medias, a aquellas señales que puedan indicar que esta deplorable situación puede sufrir siquiera algún pequeño síntoma de mejoría.Si Dilma Rousseff apunta a eso, solamente a eso, es decir a debilitar el esquema corrupto que sostuvo los dos primeros gobiernos del PT, entonces la presidenta está apostando fuerte e inteligentemente en el sentido de ganar su propia independencia política del pasado que la propulsó a la presidencia.Lo que, sin embargo, Rousseff debería evitar a toda costa, es que sus gestos de rechazo de la corrupción pasada fuesen interpretados como la señal de que se trata de una presidenta que viene "…a sanear la política brasileña…", que se presenta como "…la moralizadora de gobierno…" o "…la encarnación de una nueva política, ahora si, pautada por la transparencia…". Estos extremos serían fatales para la presidencia de Rousseff. Rechazar el esquema de corrupción pasado para reemplazarlo por uno nuevo, igual, más o menos corrupto, es una operación perfectamente imaginable para que sea realizada por un presidente del PT. Jugar con la idea de que la presidente va a "terminar con la corrupción en el Brasil" se nos antoja como una peligrosa aventura ya que el sistema político brasileño está, todavía, a muchísimas "millas morales" de nada parecido al respeto de la ley.

Wann, wo, wie, für wen und warum macht man Theater? Fünf leitende W-Fragen stecken in der aktuellen Buchpublikation von Eugenio Barba und Nicola Savarese die titelgebenden fünf Kontinente des Theaters ab. Das vorliegende Resultat – ein umfassender, großformatiger und an Bildmaterial reicher Band – der jahrzehntelangen Zusammenarbeit und intellektuellen Komplizenschaft zwischen dem Gründer des Odin Teatret und dem Theaterwissenschaftler erschien 2017 auf Italienisch und liegt inzwischen in englischer, französischer, rumänischer und spanischer Übersetzung vor. Ein Zitat von Eugenio Barba auf dem Umschlag der 2020 erschienenen französischsprachigen Ausgabe, das mit einem impliziten Verweis auf Paul Gauguins gleichnamiges Gemälde beginnt, lässt Ziele und Struktur der Publikation erahnen: "Woher komme ich? Wer bin ich? Wohin gehe ich? Um diese Fragen zu beantworten, müssen wir die unzähligen Formen, Erfahrungen, Überreste und Rätsel, die uns die Geschichte unseres Berufs vermacht hat, aus einer anderen Perspektive betrachten. Nur auf diese Weise können wir einen persönlichen Kompass bauen, um die fünf Kontinente unseres Berufs zu durchqueren […]". (Übers. LB) Die Beitragenden des Buchs stammen allesamt aus der italienischen Theaterwissenschaft und dem Umfeld des Odin Teatret, der ISTA bzw. der Fachzeitschrift Teatro e Storia. Neben den Herausgebern exemplarisch zu erwähnen sind Fabrizio Cruciani († 1992), Ferruccio Marotti, Ariane Mnouchkine, Franco Ruffini, Mirella Schino (die 2008 das Odin Teatret Archive gegründet hat), Ferdinando Taviani († 2020) und Julia Varley (seit 1976 Truppenmitglied des Odin Teatret). Savarese zeichnet in seinem Vorwort den über 20 Jahre umspannenden Entstehungsprozess des vorliegenden Buchs nach. 1996 wurde in Gesprächen mit italienischen Theaterforschenden der Wunsch ausgedrückt, das strukturelle und gestalterische Prinzip der seit 1983 mehrfach wiederaufgelegten, überarbeiteten und in zahlreiche Sprachen übersetzten Anatomia del teatro von 1983 (dessen erneuerte Version den Titel L'arte segreta dell'attore. Un dizionario di antropologia teatrale trägt) aufzugreifen, um wiederum die Techniken von Akteur*innen zu studieren, allerdings unter einem veränderten Blickwinkel: Standen im Theateranthropologie-Lexikon körperlich-mentale Techniken und prä-expressive Qualitäten im Zentrum, widmet sich Les cinq continents du théâtre der Geschichte und Gegenwart von Theater aus der Perspektive der "techniques auxiliaires" (S. 7) der materiellen Kultur von Akteur*innen. Welche sind aber diese Hilfs- bzw. Nebentechniken? Es handelt sich um die strukturellen, organisatorischen, sozialen, räumlichen, ökonomischen, politischen Faktoren von Theaterarbeit, die im Buch auf transhistorische und transkulturelle Weise präsentiert werden. Les cinq continents du théâtre ist ein eigenwilliges Buch. Mit seinen ca. 1400 Abbildungen, seiner Gleichwertigkeit von aufeinander Bezug nehmenden Bild- und Textelementen, seiner Bibliografie, seinem Namens- und Stichwortverzeichnis ist das Ergebnis weder ein Lexikon noch ein Bildband oder ein theatergeschichtliches Handbuch. Raimondo Guarino wählt in seiner auf dem Buchdeckel zitierten Rezension den stimmigen Begriff Almanach, um die Zusammenstellung aus verschiedensten Textsorten, wissenschaftlichen Analysen, Dialogen, Chronologien, Anekdoten, Bildern und vielsagenden Bildlegenden zu kategorisieren. Sechs Kapitel ("Quand", "Ou", "Comment", "Pour qui", "Pourquoi", "Théâtre et histoire") und ihre insgesamt über 130 durchnummerierten Unterkapitel präsentieren auf mäandernde Weise Aspekte des Theaterschaffens weltweit. Das konsequent heterogene Bildmaterial im Buch umfasst u. a. Satellitenaufnahmen von Sonneneruptionen, Buster-Keaton-Filmstandbilder, Hoffest-Kupferstiche, Saalpläne, japanische Holzschnitte, historische und zeitgenössische Fotografien von (Toten-)Masken, prähistorischen Skulpturen, Lipizzaner-Dressur, balinesischen Neujahrsfesten, Eintrittskarten, Butoh-Tänzer*innen, Theaterbränden, Fronttheater, sowie Gemälde und Grafiken zu Publikums-Krawall, Schausteller*innen, Hinrichtungen, römischen Zirkuselefanten, sowie acht Seiten mit Sonderbriefmarken zu Ehren von Schauspieler*innen und Dramatiker*innen. Die Lektüre eines konventionellen theatergeschichtlichen Buchs suggeriere, so die Herausgeber, dass alles klar, quantifizierbar und in Form von Ursachen und Wirkungen beschreibbar sei, "[m]ais sous cette évidence rassurante coule une histoire souterraine que ne se laisse pas enfermer dans les interprétations linéaires élaborées a posteriori." (S. 10) Das erste Kapitel des Buchs widmet sich textuell und bildlich dieser unterirdischen Geschichte aus der Perspektive der Zeitlichkeit: Wann wurde und wird Theater gemacht? Markante Momente von zeitlicher Gebundenheit in der europäischen und internationalen Theatergeschichte werden skizziert, religiös-politisch motivierte Festkalender mit ihren kleinen oder größeren Zeitfenstern für Theaterpraxis beschrieben. Gemeinschaftliche Feste als Unterbrechung des gewöhnlichen Zeitverlaufs – Dionysien, Karneval, Narrenfeste – mit ihrem Simulakrum sozialer Unordnung finden im ersten Kapitel ihren Platz, sowie ein Panorama diverser Ursprungsmythen (Europa, Indien, China etc.) von Theater. Wann haben Menschen begonnen zu tanzen, zu repräsentieren, sich zu kostümieren und zu maskieren? Inwiefern sind Theater und Schamanismus, Halluzinationen, Trancezustände historisch miteinander verbunden? Der vermutliche "Bocksgesang" der antiken griechischen Tragödie wird im Sinne einer theateranthropologisch interessierten, alternativen Etymologie nach Vittore Pisani auf die illyrischen Wurzeln trg (Markt) und oide (Gesang) zurückgeführt. Diese Herleitung verknüpft die Ursprünge des westlichen Theaters mit einem konkreten Beruf – der Straßendichter, Rhapsoden, fahrenden Sänger – und bietet eine Verbindung zu den buddhistischen Erzählkünstlern zur Entstehungszeit dramatischer Kunst im asiatischen Raum. Es folgen historische Abrisse zur Entwicklung des Mäzenatentums, hin zum Bezahltheater (mit Verweis auf Raufereien um Gratis-Theaterkarten) und der Funktion von Impresarios (u. a. Domenico Barbaja, Lewis Morrison, Sergei P. Djagilew, Loïe Fuller, Max Reinhardt). Vier farbig unterlegte Seiten bieten eine "petite anthologie de la censure" (S. 44) mit Schlaglichtern auf ausgewählte Fälle, darunter Auftrittsverbote für Frauen, der Theatrical Licensing Act (1737), die Theaterzensur in Frankreich von der Revolution bis zu Napoleon, die kirchliche Zensur in Lateinamerika ab der frühen Neuzeit, das Kabuki-Verbot in Japan unter US-amerikanischer Besatzung nach Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs im Sinne der antimilitaristischen Umerziehungsideologie und die Anekdote der Rettung des Kabuki durch den US-Amerikaner Faubion Bowers. Das zweite Kapitel streift erneut die bereits erwähnten Genese-Mythen, die Entwicklungen von Berufsschauspiel und von Theater in Innenräumen, allerdings aus der Perspektive der Orte und Räume für Theaterpraxis. Wo finden Akteur*innen ihren Platz? In Baracken, Kellern, sogenannten Laboratorien und Ateliers, unter freiem Himmel, in Theaterarchitekturen, auf Straßen etc. Die erste Doppelseite des Kapitels zeigt eine suggestive Bilder-Montage, bestehend aus einer Saalansicht des Teatro San Carlo in Neapel, dem (bescheiden-funktionalen) Saal des Teatro Experimental de Alta Floresta sowie dem (repräsentativen) Teatro Amazonas in Brasilien, das laut Bildlegende 1896 eröffnet wurde, mit importierten Dachschindeln aus dem Elsass, französischen Textilien, Stahl aus England, Marmorsäulen und -statuen aus Italien. Die Autor*innen der folgenden Unterkapitel nehmen die Kreisform zum Anlass für Überlegungen und Bebilderungen zu Genese-Mythen, Stadtentwicklung, frühen Publikums-Konstellationen, Rundtänzen, antiken Theaterbauten. Mittels Freilufttheater, Bänkelsängern und Scharlatanerie wird die Entwicklung vom Verkauf von Produkten zum Verkauf von Aufführungen illustriert, gefolgt von Rückgriffen auf die Spielorte der frühen Neuzeit durch Vertreter*innen der historischen Avantgarden (u. a. Wsewolod Meyerhold, Jacques Copeau). In einer theaterhistorisch internationalen Rundumschau werden in Kürze die Spielorte mittelalterlicher Aufführungspraktiken sowie erste Theaterbauten in England, Frankreich, Spanien, Indien, Japan, China, den USA, Lateinamerika, Italien thematisiert, bis hin zur Entwicklung der Konvention der Guckkastenbühne bzw. des Rang-Logen-Theaters, basierend auf Renaissance-Interpretationen antiker Theaterbauten, und nicht auf den Spielpraktiken von Akteur*innen. Mirella Schino argumentiert, dass "das Theater im italienischen Stil [das Rang-Logen-Theater mit Guckkastenbühne, Anm. LB] als autonomes Denkmal seine Entstehung dem abstrakten Wunsch verdankt, bedeutungsvolle Orte für die ideale Stadt zu schaffen. Es entstand als eine Reflexion in Verbindung mit der Architektur – mit der Nostalgie eines Ursprungs im griechischen und römischen Theater – und nicht in Verbindung mit der Aufführung und der materiellen Kultur der Schauspieler" (S. 132, Übers. LB). "[l]e théâtre à l'italienne, en tant que monument autonome, doit sa naissance à un désir abstrait de créer des lieux signifiants pour la ville idéale. Il naît comme une réflexion liée à l'architecture et non au spectacle et à la culture matérielle des acteurs, avec la nostalgie d'une origine dans le théâtre grec et romain." (S. 132) Das dritte Kapitel fragt nach dem Wie. Wie wird man Akteur*in? Wie wird theatral agiert? Bücher für Akteur*innen, über Trainings- und Arbeitsmethoden seien "compagnons de voyage" (S. 158) und böten manchmal, wie z. B. Antonin Artauds Das Theater und sein Double, "des mots-talismans" (S. 158) die auf intuitive Weise bei der Orientierung helfen. Acht farbig unterlegte Seiten bieten eine Gegenüberstellung von "acculturation" und "inculturation" (S. 160) als mögliche Wege zum Theaterberuf, sowie einen Überblick zu Ausbildungsarten (Meister, Gurus, gegenwärtige Schauspielschulen und Theaterlaboratorien), Techniken und theateranthropologischen Ansätzen. Der Wandel der Techniken der Akteur*innen seit dem 19. Jahrhundert wird unter dem – in der deutschsprachigen Theaterwissenschaft wenig geläufigen – Begriff der "Grande Réforme" (erste Phase 1876–1939, zweite Phase 1945–1975) bearbeitet und illustriert. Eine umfassende Chronologie historischer Ereignisse und theatergeschichtlicher Wegmarken zeichnet Entwicklungen ab Richard Wagners Gesamtkunstwerk-Konzept nach, über die "fondateurs de traditions" (S. 169) zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts bis hin zu experimentellen Truppengründungen und Praktiken der 1970er-Jahre, im Zeichen eines Neuauslotens von retheatralisiertem, von der Literatur emanzipiertem, gattungsübergreifendem Theater. Das Kapitel befasst sich aber ebenso mit dem Naheverhältnis von technischem und ästhetischem Wandel, etwa im Fall des Bühnenlichts, sowie mit diversen Spielmodi (Clowns, Puppentheater, Maskentheater) und dem Spiel mit Requisiten (wobei das Taschentuch und der Stuhl jeweils eine eigene Bilder-Doppelseite in Anspruch nehmen), denn "[l]es objets possèdent l'acteur", sie sind "seine Prothesen, seine Auswüchse, seine Fesseln, die den Akteur dazu zwingen zu reagieren, das Gleichgewicht zu verlieren, zu übertreiben, zu vereinfachen" (S. 216, Übers. LB). Das Publikum steht im Zentrum des vierten Kapitels. Zuschauer*innen in allen Aggregatszuständen werden bildlich dekliniert: wartend vor der Aufführung, Schlange stehend, raufend, gähnend, weinend, enthusiastisch, als Attentäter. Verschiedene soziale Schichten als Zuschauer*innen und ihre jeweilige Sitzordnung (z. B. im Kolosseum, in einem Teehaus in Peking) werden beschrieben, sowie Verhaltensweisen von teilnehmendem Publikum im Karneval und als "spect-acteurs" (S. 288) bei Augusto Boal, aber auch die Sonderform des unfreiwilligen Publikums, etwa von Performances im öffentlichen Raum. Ein Exkurs zu Epidemien und Theaterpublikum – mit Verweis auf Pestepidemien zur Zeit der Entstehung von Berufsschauspiel in Europa – präsentiert das Foto eines Mundschutz-tragenden Publikums einer Aufführung in Taipei im Kontext der SARS-Epidemie 2003. Auch die Frage nach dem Theaterpublikum in politischen und sozialen Ausnahmezuständen wird beleuchtet, vom Fronttheater, Aufführungen in Gefangenenlagern, Gefängnissen, NS-Konzentrationslagern, bis zu aktuellen Fällen, u. a. 2015 im türkischen Flüchtlingslager Midyat und anlässlich einer Hamlet-Aufführung im Flüchtlingslager "La Jungle" in Calais 2016. Warum überhaupt Theater machen? Was ist der Motor dieses anstrengenden Tuns? Das fünfte Kapitel, eines der lesenswertesten des vorliegenden Buchs, beginnt mit dem Gemälde Die Gärtner von Gustave Caillebotte nebst Fotografien der mutwilligen Zerstörung von Theaterbauten und der Rekonstruktion von historischen Theatergebäuden, begleitet von einer Überlegung zur Gärtner-Metapher in Shakespeares Othello (der Körper als Garten, der Wille als Gärtner) und bei Rudyard Kipling (Gärtnerarbeit müsse oft kniend gemacht werden). Die ökonomische Begründung wird nahegelegt – denn europäisches Theater sei nicht aus dem griechischen Ritual entstanden, sondern auf italienischen Märkten des 16. Jahrhunderts. Hinweise auf ästhetische und vor allem ethische Beweggründe für Theaterschaffen im Zuge der "Grande Réforme" und die Utopie des "éternel premier pas" (S. 299) bilden die Basis für das umfangreichere Unterkapitel "Petite encyclopédie sur l'honneur de l'acteur" (S. 300), in welchem Individuen präsentiert werden, die inmitten von und trotz Diskriminierung, Sklaverei, politischer Unterdrückung und Verfolgung, sozialer Missstände als Theaterakteur*innen aktiv waren bzw. sind, u. a. Ira Aldridge, Patricia Ariza, Josephine Baker, Wsewolod Meyerhold, Norodom Bopha Devi, Hedy Crilla, die Moustache Brothers. Die Autor*innen gehen ebenfalls in Kürze auf Verbindungen von Sexarbeit und Tanz bzw. Schauspiel in verschiedenen Ländern ein, sowie auf Theater "in der Hölle" (Gulag, NS-Konzentrationslager), auf kolonialistische "Menschenzoos". Zwölf farbig unterlegte Seiten, betitelt als "Florilège sur la valeur du théâtre" (S. 324), überlassen schließlich Theaterleuten das Wort und geben Textauszüge von Adolphe Appia, Antonin Artaud, Julian Beck, Walter Benjamin, Augusto Boal, Bertolt Brecht, Peter Brook, Enrique Buenaventura, Jacques Copeau, Isadora Duncan, Hideo Kanze, Sarah Kane, Jewgeni B. Wachtangow, Ariane Mnouchkine und anderen wieder. Das Reise-Motiv bestimmt die anschließenden Unterkapitel, von den Fahrzeugen und Gepäckstücken reisender Truppen über die geografischen und kulturellen Reisen von Theatermasken, bis hin zu Reisen von Körpertechniken mittels Tourneen, Exkursionen, internationaler Streuung durch ehemalige Schüler*innen bzw. Flucht und Exil (illustriert durch eine Karte der zahlreichen Exil-Stationen Brechts 1933–1947). Beerdigungsprozessionen als letzte Reise sowie die Weitergabe und Übersetzung von Theatertechniken in Form von Büchern, Zeitschriften, Spiel- und Dokumentarfilmen beenden das Warum-Kapitel. Das sechste Kapitel, "Théâtre et histoire. Pages tombées du carnet de Bouvard et Pécuchet" (S. 370), dient primär der Wiedergabe von Bildmaterial, das durch seine Anordnung und Kontrastierung zum Sprechen gebracht wird: Internationale Briefmarken und (Presse-)Fotografien bilden die Basis für Doppelseiten zu Theater und Aufständen, Protestbewegungen, Kriegen, Theatermasken und Schutzmasken (Gasmasken, Sturmmasken, Maskierung als Anonymisierung bei Demonstrationen), Theatergebäuden und massiver Zerstörung durch Tsunamis oder Bomben. Theaterbrände, ikonografische und mediale Inszenierungen von Hinrichtungen, die Thematisierung des Holocaust auf der Bühne folgen. Anstelle von Theatergeschichte werden im Abschlusskapitel Theater und Geschichte (im Sinne von Teatro e storia) als Montage präsentiert. Die letzte Doppelseite ist schwarz unterlegt: Links ist ein Foto von Frauen mit Schminkmasken in El Salvador zu sehen, die gegen das herrschende Abtreibungsverbot protestieren, rechts ein Porträtfoto von Pjotr A. Pawlenski mit zugenähtem Mund, begleitet von einem Abschlusszitat von Barba. Es werde immer einige Personen geben, die Theater als Mittel praktizieren, um ihre eigene Revolte auf nicht zerstörerische Weise zu kanalisieren; Personen "die den scheinbaren Widerspruch einer Rebellion erleben werden, die sich in ein Gefühl der Brüderlichkeit verwandelt, und eines einsamen Berufes, der Verbindungen schafft" (S. 395, Übers. LB). Jedes Kapitel des Buchs wird eingeleitet von einem Dialog zwischen zwei Stellvertreter-Figuren von Barba und Savarese: Bouvard und Pécuchet. Es handelt sich um die Protagonisten eines posthum veröffentlichten satirischen Romanfragments von Gustave Flaubert – zwei Pariser Kopisten, die sich zufällig auf einer Parkbank kennenlernen und voller Enthusiasmus und Naivität ein gemeinsames Projekt in Angriff nehmen: aufs Land ziehen und Landwirtschaft betreiben. Als frenetische Leser wollen sie immer mehr erkunden und kultivieren ihr zerebrales und oberflächliches Wissen in den Bereichen Gärtnerei, Schnapsbrennerei, Chemie, Zoologie, Medizin, Archäologie, Politik, Gymnastik, Religion, Theater etc. Die Wahl dieser Stellvertreter durch die Herausgeber bringt eine durchaus sympathische Ironisierung ihrer Positionen und künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Biografien mit sich, aber auch eine verbesserte Zugänglichkeit für Leser*innen mittels der lockeren und teils amüsanten Dialoge. Die niederschwellige und im Konkreten fußende Methode der fünf W-Fragen als roter Faden für die Arbeitsweise am Inhalt und an der Struktur des Buchs, sowie die Wertschätzung von heterogenem Bildmaterial für die Erkundung von Theaterpraktiken machen Les cinq continents du théâtre für Forschende (insbesondere für jene, die mit Ansätzen von Barba/Savarese noch nicht eng vertraut sind), für Theaterpraktiker*innen und für Studierende zu einem ausgezeichneten Entdeckungs- und Orientierungsband.

AMÉRICA LATINAFalleció el ex presidente argentino Néstor Kirchner.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/americas/28argentina.html?_r=1&ref=world http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11467331.htm http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719324.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10627873 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/27/argentina.kirchner.dies/index.html?hpt=T2 http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/muri-el-ex-presidente-argentino-nstor-kirchner_8214081-4 http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2010/10/27/nestor-kirchner-est-mort_1432037_3222.html http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1319033 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/27/1894171/former-argentine-president-nestor.html http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027800,00.htmlEl cólera se expande entre la población de Haití.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/autoridades/creen/brote/colera/puede/estar/estabilizandose/Haiti/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_1/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/23/haiti.cholera/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39823732/ns/health/ http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/epidemia-de-clera-en-hait-an-no-ha-alcanzado-su-pico-segn-la-oms_8213700-4 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/27/1894505/aid-meant-for-red-cross-in-haiti.htmlVenezuela, el país más corrupto de América Latina.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/ndice-de-percepcin-de-la-corrupcin_8204040-4Hugo Chávez toma control de plantas de firma estadounidense.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/chvez-llama-a-movilizacin-de-apoyo-a-expropiacin-firma-de-ee-uu_8212760-4 http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/41B9F5C4-E92A-4E3D-BD52-6AEE034B5B7D.htm?id={41B9F5C4-E92A-4E3D-BD52-6AEE034B5B7D}13 internos mueren acribillados en un centro de desintoxicación en Tijuana.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39828239/ns/world_news-americas/ http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/internos/mueren/acribillados/centro/desintoxicacion/Tijuana/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_4/Tes http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318562Se seca un afluente del Amazonas.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/seca/afluente/Amazonas/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_2/TesEn una ajustada victoria, la izquierdista Villarán se queda con la alcaldía de Lima.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/_portada/noticias/68B22954-A2BF-450B-9614-2FC9548050E3.htm?id={68B22954-A2BF-450B-9614-2FC9548050E3}Recta final de la campaña presidencial brasileña.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Serra/prepara/ultimo/asalto/elpepuint/20101024elpepiint_10/Tes http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39809473/ns/world_news-americas/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1317498Congreso español instó a Venezuela a cooperar en lucha contra Eta.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/congreso-espaol-inst-a-venezuela-a-cooperar-en-lucha-contra-eta_8209502-4Se desvanece el huracán Richard.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826998/ns/weather/Piñera condecoró como héroes a los 33 mineros.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318546Por decimonoveno año consecutivo, la ONU condena el embargo contra Cuba.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/2186E090-C048-40D6-84AE-7BB6A965BDAC.htm?id={2186E090-C048-40D6-84AE-7BB6A965BDAC}Irán y Bolivia amplían alianza estratégica.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/6D820549-4140-4223-9837-5A2C3AC8E8C9.htm?id={6D820549-4140-4223-9837-5A2C3AC8E8C9}Censo nacional tuvo lugar en Argentina.Para más información: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11634631ESTADOS UNIDOS / CANADÁElecciones federales, estatales y locales en los Estados Unidos.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Obama/cierra/campana/electoral/democrata/alertando/peligro/republicano/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_2/Teshttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318728 http://clesnes.blog.lemonde.fr/2010/10/26/obama-et-le-slurpee-des-republicains/ http://electionsamericaines.blog.lemonde.fr/2010/10/26/les-quatre-reines-du-tea-party/ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/us/politics/27money.html?_r=1&hpLos crímenes de Irak se revelan al mundo.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/estados-unidos/wikileaks-divulga-nuevos-videos-sobre-supuestos-abusos-en_8208420-4 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/crimenes/Irak/revelan/mundo/elpepuint/20101024elpepiint_1/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/10/22/wikileaks.iraq/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39810329/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318265EUROPALa Unión Europea explorará vías de acercamiento a Cuba.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318560 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/UE/explorara/vias/acercamiento/Cuba/elpepuint/20101025elpepunac_3/Tes Osama bin Laden lanza advertencia contra Francia.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/osama-ben-laden-lanza-advertencia-contra-francia-en-mensaje-de-audio_8213900-4 http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719288.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11636408Para Gorbachov, Putin obstaculiza la democracia rusa.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/europe/27russia.html?ref=worldLa Unión Europea abre sus brazos a Serbia.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/UE/abre/brazos/Serbia/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_7/TesAprueban en Francia la controvertida reforma de pensiones.Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/10/27/nouvelle-journee-d-action-jeudi-alors-que-la-loi-est-votee_1432127_3224.html#ens_id=1305816 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/europe/27france.html?ref=world http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719283.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11633178La protesta cuesta a Francia entre 200 y 400 millones de euros.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39834068/ns/world_news-europe/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318549 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/protesta/cuesta/Francia/200/400/millones/euros/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_5/TesClegg pide una investigación sobre las revelaciones de Wikileaks.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Clegg/pide/investigacion/revelaciones/Wikileaks/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_4/TesFrancia busca ofertas de energía nuclear en Libia.Para más información: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/22/content_11447748.htmFrancia expulsó a más de 8.000 rumanos en la primera quincena de octubre.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Francia/expulso/8000/rumanos/primera/quincena/octubre/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_9/TesPolicía sueca captura asesino serial.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/23/sweden.serial.shooter/index.htmlBajos niveles de aprobación a Sarkozy en Francia.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39821364/ns/world_news-europe/Un falso periodista traspasa barreras de seguridad de Merkel.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/45A90191-A8AB-4D88-999B-52A080FC9248.htm?id={45A90191-A8AB-4D88-999B-52A080FC9248 ASIA- PACÍFICO/ MEDIO ORIENTEEl Gobierno afgano recibe "bolsas de dinero" de Irán.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Gobierno/afgano/recibe/bolsas/dinero/Iran/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_8/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/25/afghanistan.iran.money/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39827533/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318614 http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/el-juego-de-irn-en-la-crisis-afgana_8212340-4Desastres naturales azotan Indonesia.Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/portfolio/2010/10/27/seisme-tsunami-et-eruption-volcanique-frappent-l-indonesie_1431646_3216.html#ens_id=1431527 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/asia/28indo.html?ref=world http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/asia/tsunami-tras-el-terremoto-de-75-grados-en-indonesia_8196960-4 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826538/ns/world_news/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39831929/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027758,00.html http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719300.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11634150 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11461633.htmIrán comienza a cargar combustible para poner en funcionamiento reactor nuclear.Para más información:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-nuclear-20101027,0,1194581.story http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27nuke.html?ref=world12 muertos por ataque en Pakistán.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/23/pakistan.violence/index.html http://www.mundologistico.net/s-asociaciones.htmlIrán restringirá la enseñanza de ciencias sociales por ser consideradas "occidentales".Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39820011/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/Los chiíes revalidan su peso político en el reino de Bahrein.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/chiies/revalidan/peso/politico/reino/Bahrein/elpepuint/20101025elpepiint_8/TesProtestas en China contra el control de Japón de islas en disputa.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826813/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/25/japan.china.islands.dispute/index.htmlEl alza del yen acelera cambios en Japón.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318538"New York Times" analiza los recientes diálogos entre las Coreas.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/asia/28korea.html?ref=worldIrán: en espera de una reforma económica.Para más información:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027393,00.htmlAl Qaeda presente en la frontera de Arabia Saudita con Yemen.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27saudi.html?ref=worldSe estima que Al Qaeda posee 400 militantes en Yemen.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39819857/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/Principal figura del gobierno iraquí de Saddam Hussein es condenado a la horca.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27iraq.html?ref=world http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/33062911-B9C0-441B-8F0D-9C7B66F19900.htm?id={33062911-B9C0-441B-8F0D-9C7B66F19900}http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/condenado-a-muerte-tarek-aziz-viceprimer-ministro-de-saddam-hussein_8203960-4 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/26/content_11461028.htm http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-aziz-execute-20101027,0,4941766.storyDos semanas de inundaciones en Tailandia dejan como resultado 57 personas muertas.Para más información:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11466185.htmÁFRICAEstampida en juego de fútbol mata a 7 personas en Kenia.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/24/kenya.soccer.deaths/index.htmlNuevos obstáculos a enfrentar por gobierno de Sudán.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/23/sudan.referendum/index.htmlPiratas somalíes capturan 2 barcos.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39819344/ns/world_news-africa/ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/25/content_11451293.htmOTRAS NOTICIASThe Economist presenta su informe semanal: "Business this week".Para más información: http://www.economist.com/node/16648201?story_id=16648201 CNN publica la sección: "Impact your world".Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/impact.your.world/"La Nación" analiza: "Los acuerdos en el G-20".Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318389

AMÉRICA LATINAFalleció el ex presidente argentino Néstor Kirchner.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/americas/28argentina.html?_r=1&ref=world http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11467331.htm http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719324.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10627873 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/27/argentina.kirchner.dies/index.html?hpt=T2 http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/muri-el-ex-presidente-argentino-nstor-kirchner_8214081-4 http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2010/10/27/nestor-kirchner-est-mort_1432037_3222.html http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1319033 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/27/1894171/former-argentine-president-nestor.html http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027800,00.htmlEl cólera se expande entre la población de Haití.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/autoridades/creen/brote/colera/puede/estar/estabilizandose/Haiti/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_1/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/23/haiti.cholera/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39823732/ns/health/ http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/epidemia-de-clera-en-hait-an-no-ha-alcanzado-su-pico-segn-la-oms_8213700-4 http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/27/1894505/aid-meant-for-red-cross-in-haiti.htmlVenezuela, el país más corrupto de América Latina.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/ndice-de-percepcin-de-la-corrupcin_8204040-4Hugo Chávez toma control de plantas de firma estadounidense.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/chvez-llama-a-movilizacin-de-apoyo-a-expropiacin-firma-de-ee-uu_8212760-4 http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/41B9F5C4-E92A-4E3D-BD52-6AEE034B5B7D.htm?id={41B9F5C4-E92A-4E3D-BD52-6AEE034B5B7D}13 internos mueren acribillados en un centro de desintoxicación en Tijuana.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39828239/ns/world_news-americas/ http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/internos/mueren/acribillados/centro/desintoxicacion/Tijuana/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_4/Tes http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318562Se seca un afluente del Amazonas.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/seca/afluente/Amazonas/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_2/TesEn una ajustada victoria, la izquierdista Villarán se queda con la alcaldía de Lima.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/_portada/noticias/68B22954-A2BF-450B-9614-2FC9548050E3.htm?id={68B22954-A2BF-450B-9614-2FC9548050E3}Recta final de la campaña presidencial brasileña.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Serra/prepara/ultimo/asalto/elpepuint/20101024elpepiint_10/Tes http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39809473/ns/world_news-americas/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1317498Congreso español instó a Venezuela a cooperar en lucha contra Eta.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/congreso-espaol-inst-a-venezuela-a-cooperar-en-lucha-contra-eta_8209502-4Se desvanece el huracán Richard.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826998/ns/weather/Piñera condecoró como héroes a los 33 mineros.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318546Por decimonoveno año consecutivo, la ONU condena el embargo contra Cuba.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/2186E090-C048-40D6-84AE-7BB6A965BDAC.htm?id={2186E090-C048-40D6-84AE-7BB6A965BDAC}Irán y Bolivia amplían alianza estratégica.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/6D820549-4140-4223-9837-5A2C3AC8E8C9.htm?id={6D820549-4140-4223-9837-5A2C3AC8E8C9}Censo nacional tuvo lugar en Argentina.Para más información: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11634631ESTADOS UNIDOS / CANADÁElecciones federales, estatales y locales en los Estados Unidos.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Obama/cierra/campana/electoral/democrata/alertando/peligro/republicano/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_2/Teshttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318728 http://clesnes.blog.lemonde.fr/2010/10/26/obama-et-le-slurpee-des-republicains/ http://electionsamericaines.blog.lemonde.fr/2010/10/26/les-quatre-reines-du-tea-party/ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/us/politics/27money.html?_r=1&hpLos crímenes de Irak se revelan al mundo.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/estados-unidos/wikileaks-divulga-nuevos-videos-sobre-supuestos-abusos-en_8208420-4 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/crimenes/Irak/revelan/mundo/elpepuint/20101024elpepiint_1/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/10/22/wikileaks.iraq/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39810329/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318265EUROPALa Unión Europea explorará vías de acercamiento a Cuba.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318560 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/UE/explorara/vias/acercamiento/Cuba/elpepuint/20101025elpepunac_3/Tes Osama bin Laden lanza advertencia contra Francia.Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/osama-ben-laden-lanza-advertencia-contra-francia-en-mensaje-de-audio_8213900-4 http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719288.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11636408Para Gorbachov, Putin obstaculiza la democracia rusa.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/europe/27russia.html?ref=worldLa Unión Europea abre sus brazos a Serbia.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/UE/abre/brazos/Serbia/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_7/TesAprueban en Francia la controvertida reforma de pensiones.Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/10/27/nouvelle-journee-d-action-jeudi-alors-que-la-loi-est-votee_1432127_3224.html#ens_id=1305816 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/europe/27france.html?ref=world http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719283.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11633178La protesta cuesta a Francia entre 200 y 400 millones de euros.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39834068/ns/world_news-europe/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318549 http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/protesta/cuesta/Francia/200/400/millones/euros/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_5/TesClegg pide una investigación sobre las revelaciones de Wikileaks.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Clegg/pide/investigacion/revelaciones/Wikileaks/elpepuint/20101024elpepuint_4/TesFrancia busca ofertas de energía nuclear en Libia.Para más información: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/22/content_11447748.htmFrancia expulsó a más de 8.000 rumanos en la primera quincena de octubre.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Francia/expulso/8000/rumanos/primera/quincena/octubre/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_9/TesPolicía sueca captura asesino serial.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/23/sweden.serial.shooter/index.htmlBajos niveles de aprobación a Sarkozy en Francia.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39821364/ns/world_news-europe/Un falso periodista traspasa barreras de seguridad de Merkel.Para más información:http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/45A90191-A8AB-4D88-999B-52A080FC9248.htm?id={45A90191-A8AB-4D88-999B-52A080FC9248 ASIA- PACÍFICO/ MEDIO ORIENTEEl Gobierno afgano recibe "bolsas de dinero" de Irán.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Gobierno/afgano/recibe/bolsas/dinero/Iran/elpepuint/20101025elpepuint_8/Tes http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/25/afghanistan.iran.money/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39827533/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/ http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318614 http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/el-juego-de-irn-en-la-crisis-afgana_8212340-4Desastres naturales azotan Indonesia.Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/asie-pacifique/portfolio/2010/10/27/seisme-tsunami-et-eruption-volcanique-frappent-l-indonesie_1431646_3216.html#ens_id=1431527 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/asia/28indo.html?ref=world http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/asia/tsunami-tras-el-terremoto-de-75-grados-en-indonesia_8196960-4 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826538/ns/world_news/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39831929/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027758,00.html http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/719300.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11634150 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11461633.htmIrán comienza a cargar combustible para poner en funcionamiento reactor nuclear.Para más información:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-nuclear-20101027,0,1194581.story http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27nuke.html?ref=world12 muertos por ataque en Pakistán.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/23/pakistan.violence/index.html http://www.mundologistico.net/s-asociaciones.htmlIrán restringirá la enseñanza de ciencias sociales por ser consideradas "occidentales".Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39820011/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/Los chiíes revalidan su peso político en el reino de Bahrein.Para más información:http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/chiies/revalidan/peso/politico/reino/Bahrein/elpepuint/20101025elpepiint_8/TesProtestas en China contra el control de Japón de islas en disputa.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826813/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/10/25/japan.china.islands.dispute/index.htmlEl alza del yen acelera cambios en Japón.Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318538"New York Times" analiza los recientes diálogos entre las Coreas.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/world/asia/28korea.html?ref=worldIrán: en espera de una reforma económica.Para más información:http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2027393,00.htmlAl Qaeda presente en la frontera de Arabia Saudita con Yemen.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27saudi.html?ref=worldSe estima que Al Qaeda posee 400 militantes en Yemen.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39819857/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/Principal figura del gobierno iraquí de Saddam Hussein es condenado a la horca.Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/world/middleeast/27iraq.html?ref=world http://diario.elmercurio.com/2010/10/27/internacional/internacional/noticias/33062911-B9C0-441B-8F0D-9C7B66F19900.htm?id={33062911-B9C0-441B-8F0D-9C7B66F19900}http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/condenado-a-muerte-tarek-aziz-viceprimer-ministro-de-saddam-hussein_8203960-4 http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/26/content_11461028.htm http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-aziz-execute-20101027,0,4941766.storyDos semanas de inundaciones en Tailandia dejan como resultado 57 personas muertas.Para más información:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/27/content_11466185.htmÁFRICAEstampida en juego de fútbol mata a 7 personas en Kenia.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/24/kenya.soccer.deaths/index.htmlNuevos obstáculos a enfrentar por gobierno de Sudán.Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/23/sudan.referendum/index.htmlPiratas somalíes capturan 2 barcos.Para más información:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39819344/ns/world_news-africa/ http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-10/25/content_11451293.htmOTRAS NOTICIASThe Economist presenta su informe semanal: "Business this week".Para más información: http://www.economist.com/node/16648201?story_id=16648201 CNN publica la sección: "Impact your world".Para más información:http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/impact.your.world/"La Nación" analiza: "Los acuerdos en el G-20".Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1318389

Con independencia de los motivos que haya tenido la canciller alemana, Ángela Merkel, para promover el viraje repentino en política energética, lo cierto es que navegó sobre una ola de consentimiento pocas veces vista en la historia de Alemania Federal. A título de ejemplo, no hubo prácticamente políticos activos que se opusieran a la decisión; las objeciones provinieron, sobre todo, de aquellos que querían acortar aún más los plazos. Tampoco existió una oposición significativa de empresarios e industriales, salvo, naturalmente, de las compañías directamente involucradas. Y una encuesta reciente dio por resultado que el 87 por ciento de la población acompaña la medida y le asigna una función ejemplar (retomaremos este punto en la próxima entrega). Es notable el contraste existente entre Alemania y Francia en la materia. Francia tiene la mayor concentración de plantas nucleares de Europa (58 en total, ninguna a más de 200 kilómetros de la otra). A la vez, cuenta con depósitos de basura radioactiva poco seguros. Según un informe emitido por el canal de televisión Arte, en mayo de este año, en el predio de la planta de Centre de la Manche, clausurada en 1994, existen 527.225 metros cúbicos de basura radioactiva enterrados a muy poca profundidad y sin los mayores recaudos. En Bretaña, Alsacia y Lemosín (Limousin) es posible hallar grietas no cercadas o señalizadas con carteles de advertencia, que contienen restos de plutonio. Ya el número y la distribución de las plantas exigen un continuo traslado de material radioactivo a lo largo y ancho del país (que se mantiene en secreto para evitar complicaciones). Por último, la agencia de seguridad nuclear francesa (ASN) registra unos mil accidentes radioactivos anuales de grado 2 en una escala de 0 a 7 (el accidente de Fukushima correspondería al 7 de esa escala). Sin embargo, a excepción de grupos marginales, nadie cuestiona seriamente la energía nuclear. Cuando, en marzo de este año, Alemania anunció el cambio de política energética, las autoridades francesas reiteraron su confianza en su propia industria nuclear. Por su parte, la prensa se mofó del "miedo alemán". ¿Existe un miedo excesivo en Alemania con respecto de la energía nuclear? En este punto las opiniones están divididas. Hay quienes piensan que se exageran las consecuencias de las emanaciones radioactivas. Esta discusión cobró fuerza sobre todo a partir del accidente de Chernóbyl. En esos días el viento sopló en dirección oeste y trajo material radioactivo en cantidades alarmantes. Las regiones más afectadas fueron aquellas donde se produjeron más lluvias en las semanas y meses que siguieron al accidente (Baviera y la Selva Negra). Las autoridades comunales y estaduales se vieron desbordadas por el reclamo de la población, que pedía instrucciones confiables acerca de los productos que se podían consumir (se informó que la leche y las hortalizas provenientes de Europa del Este estaban altamente contaminadas y se prohibió su importación), y el comportamiento que se debía adoptar en lugares abiertos; por ejemplo, ¿se debía permitir a los niños salir al recreo o jugar en los parque infantiles? Para peor, el manto de secreto que rodeó a la catástrofe de Chernóbyl en sus inicios -la primera información se obtuvo por mediciones suecas y al principio se pensó que había ocurrido un accidente en alguna planta propia-, incrementó los miedos: ¿ardía aún el reactor accidentado y seguían esparciéndose las nubes radioactivas, o ya estaba todo bajo control?El problema de las radiaciones es que nadie sabe a ciencia cierta cómo actúan y en qué concentración son peligrosas. Si se constatan varios casos de leucemia y cáncer de tiroides en las cercanías de una planta nuclear, ¿es consecuencia de las radiaciones o simple casualidad? Hay informes que indican que a cierta distancia de las plantas nacen menos niñas que el promedio general. ¿Coincidencia o resultado de las radiaciones? Se sabe que aún hoy los hongos silvestres de Baviera y algunos animales de caza que los comen están altamente contaminados. ¿Se pueden consumir sin peligro o conviene no hacerlo?Incluso los casos más estudiados, como las consecuencias directas del accidente de Chernóbyl, arrojan resultados muy diversos. La Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica (IAEA) dio una cifra de víctimas que los expertos consideran ridícula: 56 muertos entre trabajadores y niños de las cercanías. Una comisión ucraniana sostiene que murieron 34.499 obreros de rescate. La Organización Mundial de la Salud calcula que la cifra de muertos entre los obreros de rescate asciende a 50.000. La Academia Rusa de las Ciencias estima que el número de enfermos de cáncer se eleva a 270.000, de los cuales 90.000 fueron o serán fatales.En otros casos de accidentes o pruebas nucleares no se conocen cifras oficiales (entre los primeros, los accidentes de Windscale, Inglaterra, en 1957, y de Harrisburg, USA, en 1979; entre las segundas, las realizadas en el Atolón Bikini en 1946, en el desierto de Nevada en los años 50, en Rusia Blanca por las mismas fechas, en el desierto de Argelia en 1960, etc.). Todos ellos podrían haber aportado más información a la obtenida en Hiroshima y Nagasaki sobre lo que ocurre cuando los seres humanos están expuestos a radiaciones muy fuertes en períodos cortos de tiempo. En cambio, se han estudiado bastante exhaustivamente las consecuencias de una exposición prolongada a concentraciones bajas de radioactividad (en la zona aledaña a la planta de Majak, Rusia, donde en 1957 se produjo el tercer accidente nuclear más serio de la historia), y los resultados fueron menos graves de lo esperado.Pero no fue con Chernóbyl que se originó el rechazo a la energía atómica en Alemania, ni tampoco fue entonces que se comenzó a hablar de las radiaciones y sus consecuencias, sino ya en los años cincuenta y sesenta, cuando se desató la carrera armamentista entre los Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. Lo particular de Alemania (y del "miedo alemán") es que la frontera entre las zonas de influencia de las dos grandes potencias atómicas atravesaba su territorio y lo partía en dos, y que los estrategas de la guerra nuclear trazaban planes que implicaban su total destrucción en las primeras horas de una conflagración mundial. Los planes soviéticos consistían en barrer el territorio de Alemania Occidental con bombas nucleares, de modo que las tropas blindadas llegaran hasta Holanda en menos de 24 horas. Para explicar mejor la diferencia que se mencionó arriba, en Francia el poderío nuclear se asoció desde siempre al papel rector de una gran nación (cuando se hizo la primera prueba nuclear, el presidente de Gaulle exclamó: "¡Hurra! Desde hoy Francia es más orgullosa y poderosa!"), mientras que en Alemania se lo vivió como un peligro mortal inminente en varios momentos de la guerra fría. Se entiende entonces que Alemania no se contagiara tan fácilmente del entusiasmo que en los años cincuenta acometió a varias naciones de Occidente, por las posibilidades que le abría a la humanidad el uso "pacífico" de la energía nuclear. El punto de partida fue un famoso discurso que el presidente Eisenhower pronunció ante las Naciones Unidas en 1953, en el que anunció que los Estados Unidos pondrían sus conocimientos a disposición de otros países para promover su desarrollo. A ocho años de la destrucción de Hiroshima y Nagasaki, esta técnica de exterminio masivo pasó de buenas a primeras a ser un factor de progreso. En 1955 se realizó una conferencia internacional en Ginebra a la que asistieron 1500 delegados de 73 países. La imaginación de los expositores no tuvo límites: la energía atómica permitiría tornar habitable los desiertos y el Ártico; alimentaría de energía a pueblos perdidos del Amazonas; la locomotoras, los aviones y hasta los autos serían propulsados por pequeños reactores; explosiones controladas permitirían abrir canales, bahías para puertos y túneles para acceder a riquezas naturales situadas a grandes profundidades. El símbolo de esta renacida confianza en el progreso fue el Atomium de Bruselas, construido para la exposición mundial de 1958. Walt Disney se sumó a esta ola con un cortometraje de dibujos animados que se titulaba "Nuestro amigo el átomo" y se mostró en las escuelas.Gran Bretaña y Francia se plegaron inmediatamente a esta técnica para ambos usos: pacífico y militar. En Alemania regía la prohibición de construir plantas atómicas y procesar uranio, debido al pasado nazi. Cuando se levantó esta prohibición, uno de los técnicos que colaboró con el régimen nazi, el premio Nobel de física Werner Heisenberg, convenció al canciller Konrad Adenauer de que Alemania no podía permanecer ajena a la energía nuclear si no quería rezagarse como nación industrializada. A tales efectos se creó un ministerio propio (Ministerio de la Energía Atómica- Atomministerium). Uno de los ministros de la época, Siegfried Balke, advirtió que, en el futuro, quien no dispusiera de energía atómica no vendería ni una aspiradora.Sin embargo, el entusiasmo de los políticos y de algunos científicos no prendió en la población y tampoco en la industria. Sobre todo la industria se mostró escéptica por los costos altísimos de instalación de las plantas (que comenzaban a dar réditos recién 25 años más tarde). Uno de los directores de la empresa RWE (que actualmente gestiona y vende energía nuclear) profetizó que los costos de la eliminación de los residuos radiactivos serían tan elevados como la construcción y el mantenimiento de las plantas. Sólo a finales de los sesenta, luego de enormes sumas invertidas por el estado en plantas experimentales y promesas de subvenciones, la industria se acercó a la energía nuclear, pero nunca se cumplió el deseo de sus promotores de que el 80 por ciento de la energía fuera de esa procedencia (en 2009 representaba el 22,6 por ciento de la energía total; ese año en Francia llegaba al 86,6 por ciento). Y nunca consiguieron que la población la aceptara sin restricciones.*Sociólogo político. Graduado en la Universidad Libre de Berlín.

Com objetivo de socializar parte da produção cientifica acadêmica apresentada e debatida por professores, pesquisadores e estudantes de pós-graduação no II Seminário Internacional Sociedade e Fronteiras (SISOF), realizado no âmbito do Programa de Pós-Graduação Sociedade e Fronteiras (PPGSOF), da Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR), estamos publicando o Volume 2 do Dossiê Sociedade e Fronteiras pela revista Textos & Debates. Assim como o Volume 1, os textos aqui reunidos foram apresentados no II Seminário, que nessa edição contou com a junção de outros eventos, o 4° Encontro da Região Norte da Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia (SBS), e a II Semana de Humanidades (CCH/UFRR), transcorridos no período de 11 a 14 de novembro de 2014.
O evento, com o apoio da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), através do Programa de Apoio a Eventos no País (PAEP), teve como tema: Fronteiras Contemporâneas: desenvolvimento, conflitos e sociabilidades nas Amazônias, incorporando ao debate importantes reflexões sobre questões chave que perpassam por tais conceitos e que ensejam, para sua melhor compreensão, um debate interdisciplinar.
Assim, os textos aqui reunidos foram apresentados em diversas mesas redondas, seminários temáticos, minicursos e grupos de trabalhos, sendo que os quatro primeiros desse Dossiê foram apresentados na mesa Sociedades, saberes e colonialidades nas Américas. O primeiro, Ciências em Sociedade: diálogos interculturais e ecologias de saberes perante ameaças neocoloniais, de João Paulo Dias, pesquisador da Universidade de Coimbra, nos traz uma relevante e apropriada discussão, com base em Boaventura de Souza Santos, sobre a "descolonização" da ciência, tendo em vista uma nova prática de "neocolonialismo científico". Deste modo, o autor nos remete a uma reflexão sobre o papel da ciência na sociedade "num contexto onde as novas forças neocoloniais ligadas as pressões de mercado limitam o exercício de uma ciência pública e cidadã". Frente a tantos desafios, desde o direcionamento de financiamentos a áreas mais de interesse do capital do que das sociedades, ao produtivismo atrelado à publicações em periódicos de determinadas bases e editoras, há um desvio da pesquisa da suafunção central em que a "ciência deve estar ao serviço dos interesses públicos e coletivos".
Na sequência temos o texto do professor da Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Lino João de Oliveira Neves, A necessária desconstrução da colonialidade nas Amazônias e nas Américas que, em continuidade com a discussão sobre "saberes e colonialidades", apresenta a necessidade "urgente de desconstruir as múltiplas situações de colonialismo que ainda hoje submentem o viver de grande parte da população nas Amazônias e nas Américas", bem como "da necessidade de desconstruir a perspectiva colonial de produção do conhecimento, e, assim, questionar a colonialidade em todas as suas dimensões", tendo em vista que estas questões perpassam a vida das pessoas que habitam esses espaços e também a produção de conhecimento gerado a partir desses espaços.
Dando continuidade a esse debate temos a contribuição de Bruno Sena Martins, da Universidade de Coimbra, com o tema, Emancipação, Sul e Pós-colonialismo. Partindo da premissa de que "as configurações do mundo contemporâneo estão indelevelmente marcadas pelas linhas de desigualdade que se sulcaram na relação colonial" o autor trata, em seu texto, sobre "as assimetrias que dividem o Norte do Sul". Ao desenvolver uma discussão que percorre uma trajetória que vai do surgimento da Antropologia a descolonização dos saberes, o autor apresenta a "epistemologia do Sul" que, assim como a "epistemologia das ausências", possa permitir "aceder a conhecimentos alternativos que não chegaram a ocorrer porque foram impedidos de surgir, e a alternativas que foram marginalizadas e desqualificadas".
Por fim, sobre a temática que versou essa mesa, Jorge da Silva Macaísta Malheiros do Instituto de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território da Universidade de Lisboa, brinda-nos com o texto Território, poder e dinâmica espacial: diferenças e complementaridades entre geografia política e geopolítica. Discorre sobre a Geografia Política, procurando estabelecer o quadro de elementos que diferenciam esta área disciplinar da Geopolítica. Apresenta uma análise crítica de fundamentos epistemológicos, objetivos, escalas e sujeitos de investigação que servem de base para uma leitura comparativa e dinâmica, bastante apoiada em autores portugueses, das características da Geografia Política e da Geopolítica que permite estabelecer um quadro final de diferenças e complementaridades. Esse primeiro bloco nos remete, então, a necessária reflexão sobre as assimetrias Norte/Sul, colonialismo/descolonização, saberes distintos, para que possamos ter uma efetiva e reconhecida produção de conhecimento sobre outros alicerces.
O segundo bloco de textos fornece elementos para o debate sobre as fronteiras e as migrações. Abrindo esse bloco o texto de autoria de Ada Cristina Machado da Silveira e Edileuson Santos Almeida utiliza-se do estudo comparado para debater a temática das Comunidades de comunicação: nação e fronteiras do (des)encontro. Apresenta uma aproximação inicial sobre a realidade comunicacional e midiática do denominado Arco Norte do Brasil apontando as condições de fronteira e sua exposição no cenário da globalização, a presença das matrizes de cultura autóctones e a "espaciotemporalidade" própria dessa região com suas dificuldades de atualização frente à midiatização.
João Carlos Jarochinski Silva e Liliana Lyra Jubilut dão continuidade ao debate com o texto As fronteiras do Norte do Brasil e o acesso aos Direitos Sociais. O artigo foi baseado na pesquisa de campo do projeto "Pensando o Direito: Desafios à efetividade dos direitos fundamentais". Os autores apresentam um detalhado mapeamento institucional, normativo e estrutural e a análise dos obstáculos para efetivação do atendimento e acesso dos migrantes, apátridas e refugiados aos serviços públicos no Brasil. Destacam alguns subsídios para o aperfeiçoamento de políticas públicas e enumeram diversas dificuldades de acesso aos Direitos Humanos, enfrentadas pelos migrantes em algumas áreas de fronteira da Região Norte do Brasil.
Ampliando as reflexões em torno da questão das migrações, Alessandra Rufino Santos nos apresenta a temática do Tráfico humano e contrabando de migrantes em regiões de fronteiras. Frente a atual conjuntura dos deslocamentos humanos, a autora nos convida a uma ampla reflexão sobre os mecanismos de condução dos deslocamentos, cada vez mais controversos e apropriados pelo mercado ou por redes especializadas no tráfico e contrabando de migrantes nas regiões de fronteiras. A autora alerta que a economia política das migrações ou a exploração comercial dos migrantes tornam-se elementos convergentes tanto no contrabando quanto no tráfico humano com destaque especial para as situações de exploração sexual comercial de homens e mulheres.
Com o título Imigração de jovens mulheres brasileiras na Guiana Francesa: entre categorizações etno-nacionais e estratégias de integração nos "espaços de integrabilidade" da sociedade de recepção, Brigida Ticiane Ferreira da Silva nos apresenta a trajetória de oito brasileiras instaladas na Guiana Francesa, em situação de miscigenação conjugal. Trata-se de um estudo instigante e complexo que busca identificar a maneira como as brasileiras se percebem no meio profissional e social através de representações construídas a partir das experiências de contato com diversos grupos presentes na Guiana Francesa.
Arieche Kitiane Silva Lima e Francilene dos Santos Rodrigues nos brindam com o texto Vozes da migração: relatos das guianenses em Roraima. Segundo as autoras, a migração internacional implica em transformações intensas nas relações, nas hierarquias sociais e étnicas. Nessa perspectiva abordam a temática do deslocamento internacional de populações de países pertencentes à Pan-Amazônia, em especial as implicações desse fenômeno nas relações familiares enfocando a perspectiva das mulheres guianenses. Identificam os arranjos familiares, as vivências transnacionais e demais estratégias que permeiam os vínculos familiares durante o processo migratório que demanda a construção de atitudes e comportamentos considerados adequados para lidar com as novas dinâmicas migratórias transfronteiriças que implicam na ruptura de modelos ideais, a ressignificação dos papéis familiares e o estabelecimento de novos arranjos na família.
Dando prosseguimento à temática das migrações de fronteiras, Maria Lúcia da Silva Brito e Carla Monteiro de Souza avançam com as reflexões sobre a relação entre memória, cultura e identidade de uma imigrante guianense residente há mais de vinte anos no município de Boa Vista, capital do estado de Roraima. Com o título quase poético Os fios de memória de Rose: uma imigrante guianense em Boa Vista –RR, as autoras debatem as questões de memória e identidade com aporte teórico na Linguística Aplicada, nos Estudos Culturais, nas Ciências Sociais e nos estudos migratórios.
De acordo com Mariana Cunha Pereira "os desenhos espaciais das cidades fronteiriças de Bomfim e Lethem revelam que a espacialidade reflete como operam a economia e as trocas simbólicas nas fronteiras". Com o texto intitulado Bonfim (Br) e Lethem (Gy): economia e trocas simbólicas de espacialidades marcadas pela diversidade, a autora afirma que economia, no sentido das relações comerciais, mas, também a economia política denuncia as relações identitárias e de poder entre os moradores das duas cidades. A autora registra as narrativas e documentações fotográficas sobre as duas cidades e seus moradores e observa as trocas simbólicas entendidas como saberes e valores que circulam nas espacialidades fronteiriças.
O texto A imigração estudantil em regiões de fronteira: as experiências contemporâneas de Foz do Iguaçu - PR e Boa Vista – RR, de Pedro Marcelo Staevie apresenta o paradoxo das migrações estudantis observadas em dois extremos do Brasil: a Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-americana (UNILA), em Foz do Iguaçu e a Universidade Federal de Roraima em Boa Vista. O artigo debate a importância do ensino superior no "chamamento" de imigrantes (estudantes) para estas duas cidades que experimentaram nas últimas décadas um intenso fluxo imigratório.
O último bloco de textos é composto por dois artigos que discutem temáticas consideradas transversais nos estudos da fronteira Pan-Amazônica. O primeiro texto tece importantes considerações teóricas sobre as estratégias de dominação, mais especificamente sobre a ideologia racista e a sexista. Gênero e raça: dominação, resistências e pressupostos teóricos, foi o título escolhido pelas autoras Iana dos Santos Vasconcelos Eliane Silvia Costa para realizar uma breve revisão bibliográfica sobre a temática das ideologias racista, de gênero ou classe, que se diferenciam, hierarquizam e subjugam grupos sociais considerados ideologicamente inferiores e proporcionam privilégios para aqueles tidos como superiores.
O segundo e último texto desse bloco, de autoria de Adriano de Freixo, intitulado: Ecos do luso-tropicalismo: a presença do pensamento de Gilberto Freyre no discurso da lusofonia, nos convida a ampliar o conceito de fronteiras para o "além-mar" chegando em Portugal, onde, nas décadas de 1980 e 1990, procurou-se construir uma espécie de consenso nacional em torno da ideia da lusofonia, com uma releitura, em novos parâmetros, do discurso secular da originalidade da cultura portuguesa e das marcas que ela deixou no mundo, a partir das grandes navegações dos séculos XV e XVI. Para legitimar tal ideia, amplos setores das elites culturais e políticas lusitanas procuraram em experiências passadas ou em escritos de intelectuais e pensadores portugueses e estrangeiros as bases discursivas que lhe dessem sustentação. Dentre esses pensadores, destaca-se o brasileiro Gilberto Freyre, com as suas teses sobre o lusotropicalismo e sobre a especificidade do "modo português de estar no mundo", que acabariam se tornando o principal arcabouço intelectual da lusofonia, ao serem ressignificadas em um contexto pós-colonial.
Esses breves recortes de cada um dos textos são um convite à leitura detalhada de cada um dos artigos que compõem esse segundo volume do Dossiê Sociedade e Fronteiras. Representam um esforço de síntese de temáticas amplas que podem ser aprofundadas com a leitura criteriosa de quem deseja conhecer mais as fronteiras da Pan-Amazônia e suas transversalidades.

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Para más información:http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/13/actualidad/1384367435_310249.html La popularidad de Hollande se desploma y complica su mandato. Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1638370-la-popularidad-de-hollande-se-desploma-y-complica-su-mandato La UE se plantea lanzar una misión militar contra el tráfico de inmigrantes. Para más información:http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/15/actualidad/1384545086_960667.html Estocolmo ignora la ofensiva populista y abre las puertas a los refugiados sirios. Para más información:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24954702http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/13/actualidad/1384366494_958825.html Accidente de avión en Rusia deja al menos 50 muertos. Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/accidente-areo-en-rusia_13199476-4http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1639121-cayo-un-avion-en-rusia-hay-al-menos-50-muertos Economías italiana y española bajo la lupa de la Unión Europea. Para más información:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/business/international/in-first-economic-review-italy-and-spain-get-warnings.html?ref=world&gwh=1E21AA30DC3309825D80414F38C1D6CChttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24954867 Piden tres meses más de prisión para los activistas de Greenpeace. Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2013/11/16/soutien-mondial-pour-les-30-militants-de-greenpeace-detenus-en-russie_3515125_3244.htmlhttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/1638547-piden-tres-meses-mas-de-prision-para-los-activistas-de-greenpeace Albania rechaza desmantelar las armas químicas de Siria. Para más información:http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/14/actualidad/1384462285_751906.htmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24963241http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/15/actualidad/1384543782_976845.html Doce inmigrantes murieron en naufragio en Grecia. Para más información:http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/nafragio-en-grecia-deja-12-muertos_13189435-4 Luego del atentado contra un fotógrafo, la web del diario Libération sufrió un ataque. Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1639429-francia-un-hombre-ingreso-a-un-diario-y-disparo-contra-un-fotografoEl SPD promete ser el contrapeso de Merkel en la UE. Para más información:http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/15/actualidad/1384541528_684685.html Tensión social en Francia: se multiplican las protestas. Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1637402-tension-social-en-francia-se-multiplican-las-protestas ASIA- PACÍFICO/ MEDIO ORIENTE Devastador Tifón pasa por Filipinas dejando miles de muertos. Para más información:http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/16/21491646-typhoon-haiyan-aid-begins-trickling-into-desperate-philippines-communities?litehttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-11/13/content_17103311.htmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24972707http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/index.html?hpt=wo_c1http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/el-mundo/2013/busqueda-de-sobrevivientes-en-filipinas-un-infierno-966074.htmlhttp://www.eluniversal.com.mx/el-mundo/2013/onu-justifica-disparidad-en-numero-de-muertos-por-tifon-966059.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/11/11/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan-map.html?ref=world&gwh=69698C955BEC7E67E77D3A5D938E277Ahttp://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/14/actualidad/1384418137_846403.htmlhttp://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/asia/evacuacin-en-vietnam-por-llegada-del-tifn_13174615-4http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1637979-filipinas-se-extienden-los-saqueos-y-el-exodo-en-las-zonas-afectadashttp://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21453110-typhoon-haiyan-hundreds-of-unidentified-victims-buried-in-mass-graves?lite China anuncia históricas reformas. Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2013/11/16/xi-jinping-relance-la-chine-sur-la-voie-des-reformes_3514971_3210.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/world/asia/china-to-loosen-its-one-child-policy.html?ref=world&gwh=2B49B07D7864F930C4A1F223F1490E2Chttp://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/asia/china-autoriza-a-parejas-tener-dos-hijos_13189638-4http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1638484-china-elimina-los-campos-de-trabajo-y-la-politica-del-hijo-unicohttp://www.eluniversal.com.mx/el-mundo/2013/impreso/gobierno-chino-pone-fin-a-politica-de-hijo-unico-84868.htmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-24957303http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/world/asia/china-one-child-policy/index.htmlhttp://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/15/21474076-china-to-relax-one-child-policy-as-part-of-economic-social-reforms?lite Continúa el sangriento conflicto en Siria. Para más información:http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/15/21477555-syria-rebels-linked-to-al-qaeda-apologize-for-beheading-fellow-fighter?litehttp://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/world/meast/syria-opcw-roadmap/index.htmlhttp://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/15/21477555-syria-rebels-linked-to-al-qaeda-apologize-for-beheading-fellow-fighter?litehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24966482http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-11/14/content_17105303.htmhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17258397http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/world/middleeast/syrian-governments-forces-gain-but-a-siege-war-goes-on.html?ref=world&gwh=5227ABD8C910BB150831563C2CB573FB Irán firma un acuerdo para permitir mayores inspecciones nucleares. Para más información:http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/11/negotiations-iranhttp://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/medio-oriente/acuerdo-para-permitir-inspecciones-nucleares-en-irn_13176975-4http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1636926-las-potencias-e-iran-postergan-el-acuerdo-por-el-programa-nuclearhttp://www.lanacion.com.ar/1637404-acuerdo-entre-iran-y-el-oieahttp://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/14/actualidad/1384453882_678598.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/meast/iran-nuclear-talks/index.htmlhttp://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-11/13/content_17101616.htm Diversos ataques suicidas sacuden Irak. Para más información:http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/14/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/meast/iraq-violence/index.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/world/asia/explosion-in-kabul.html?ref=world&gwh=A938AA5C45C2B6391D21BCB3AA7F53FFElecciones en Maldivas.Para más información:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24974019 Producción de opio en Afganistán ha alcanzado récords. Para más información:http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/13/21425925-afghanistan-opium-production-hits-record-despite-billions-spent-to-combat-trade?lite Burma liberará 69 prisioneros políticos.Para más información:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24955227 Comienzan a desmantelar la central atómica de Fukushima. Para más información:http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1636213-comienzan-a-desmantelar-la-central-atomica-de-fukushimahttp://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/asia/japan-fukushima-visit-hancocks/index.html ÁFRICA Nuevos choques entre milicias elevan la cifra de muertos en Trípoli.Para más información:http://www.lemonde.fr/libye/article/2013/11/16/libye-les-affrontements-se-poursuivent-a-tripoli_3515079_1496980.htmlhttp://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2013/11/15/actualidad/1384551515_377437.htmlhttp://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/15/21484827-dozens-dead-in-clash-with-libyan-militiamen-in-tripoli?lite Morsi asegura que sigue teniendo poder legitimo para gobernar Egipto. Para más información:http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/13/world/meast/egypt-morsy-president/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2013/11/16/egypte-les-freres-musulmans-appellent-au-dialogue_3515094_3212.htmlhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24938948 Egipto levanta estado de emergencia. Para más información:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-11/13/content_17101535.htmCiclón en Somalia deja 115 muertos. Para más información:http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/15/world/africa/somalia-cyclone-deaths/index.html?hpt=iaf_c2Marinos estadounidenses secuestrados en costas de Nigeria Para más información:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24971765http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/09/21367485-hunt-for-a-ghost-ship-nbc-news-spots-abandoned-us-vessel-in-nigerian-creek?lite 1 en 5 africanos paga sobornos para acceder a seguridad, sistema de salud y educación Para más información:http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/14/21453375-1-in-5-africans-forced-to-pay-bribes-for-police-health-care-education-report?lite OTRAS NOTICIAS "The Economist" presenta su informe semanal Politics this week. Para más información:http://www.economist.com/news/world-week/21589930-politics-week

Dear readers, authors and reviewers,As usual in RESI's issues, vol. 9, n. 2, brings papers from authors from many different institutions. This time, the authors of the ten papers come from eleven different universities. This provides clear evidence of the journal's spread of reach and capilarity. What calls the attention now is the fact that three of the papers were submitted in English, although there are Latin Americans among their authors. There are at least five other papers going through the review process right now that were also written in English in spite of their authors being native speakers of Portuguese or Spanish, which increases or perception that there is a trend towards that.RESI's editors consider this a very positive movement, because it increases the visibility of the journal among a broader audience. The fact that RESI pioneered the adoption of DOAJ, now the leading indexer of open access academic journals in the world, and that it started using DOI to identify its issues and papers prior to most other Latin American journals demonstrate our concern in providing more visibility to the research that is carried out in Latin America. Of course, publishing papers in English will make that effort more effective. RESI intends to become a connection hub between our scientific community and that of the Norther Hemisphere. Therefore, papers in English will always be very welcome.In spite of that, we would like to stress our commitment with the publication of sound research developed in Portugues or Spanish, because that is essential for the integration of ibero-american researchers, something which still needs a lot of promotion. We should also highlight that issues involving information systems many times have a relevant cultural component that needs to be addresses by researchers that are familiarized with local realities and generate results that can be discussed with local authorities and society in general. And that is, surely, easier to do using the national language of those concerned. We shouldn't be happy to only import technologies that were developed in "the developed world" (no matter what that means!) adapting them to our local problems without a thorough reflection on their capacity, or even usefulness, in solving them.Therefore, at the same time we celebrate the interest and the courage of our authors to try and express themselves in a foreign language, in order to increase the visibility of their work, we will always be open to papers written by authors in their native language, if we have the technical conditions to review it properly, which currently only happens to Portuguese, Spanish and English. After all, an electronic journal such as RESI can provide international visibility for those who seek it, while also creating a democratic environment for the discussion of local issues with those who have a particular interest on it, which may be less effective if not done in the national language of the stakeholders.Having this reflection been made, we invite our authors, reviewers and readers to keep this "caotic" diversity of languages, perspectives and ideologies which have always characterized the University and now call attention to the papers that comprise this issue, which will be briefly presented in the next few paragraphs:The first paper, "Information systems graduate education and research in Brazil", written by Renata Mendes de Araujo and Márcio de Oliveira Barros, opens this issue with an important issue to all of those involved with graduate education in the Information Systems' field, which is the way we are forming the next generations of researchers in our maters and doctorate programs. In this paper, the authors report their experience in consolidating their graduate school at Unirio. The paper is addressed to researchers that deal with IS from an informatics perspective, but could also interest those who see IS from a managerial perspective.Lisiane Barea Sandi and Amarolinda Zanela Saccol show their concern with the way our society is assimilating new technologies, highlighting the fact that, in spite of the obvious benefits, there are also reasons for concern. In " Information overload due to the adoption of mobile and wireless information technologies and its consequences to sales professionals" the authors use an exploratory survey with 75 sales professionals, trying to analize the impacts of mobile telephony on their quality of life."The influence of managerial work determinants on the perception of fitness between technology and task: an exploratory study" is the work developed by Débora Bobsin, Monize Sâmara Visentini and Mauri Leodir Löbler, where they try to contribute to the understanding of information systems as tools to support the activities that are expected to be carried out by managers in organizations. The authors conclude that the more experience managers have with information systems, the more they consider that technology can affect his/her tasks. Also, the more access a user has to a system, the more he/she perceives the fit between technology and task.In "Motivation to create free and open source projects and how decisions impact success", Carlos Denner Santos Jr. and Kay M. Nelson propose a theoretical model that helps assess the reasons that lead an organization to get involved in open software development projects, so that, in the future, such projects can have their success evaluated in a more objetive way. This is an interesting complement to another paper the first author had published at Revista de Administração de Empresas, v. 50, n. 4, late in 2010.In "Engagement or friendship? The perspective of customers and suppliers about business relationships in the software sector", Rita de Cássia de Faria Pereira, Carlo Gabriel Porto Bellini and Fernando Bins Luce use a very original approach (interviews of pairs of customers-suppliers in the software industry – 14 dyads) to analyze issues concerning their relationships (commitment, trust, adaptation, cooperation, and communication) and contextual factors that may amplify or moderate those attributes (uncertainty, interdependence, and the existence of alternative suppliers).Edimara Mezzomo Luciano, Leandro Pilatti, Maurício Gregianin Testa and Ionara Rech deal with the use of COBIT framework to improving management processes of outsourced activities for both involved companies. The paper's title is " Applicability of COBIT in managing outsourced information technology activities: an investigation based on two multinational companies".Perceiving the influence of information technologies on the way companies organize themselves and coordinate their activities with those of customers and suppliers, Dayane Mayely Silva de Oliveira and Max Fortunato Cohen (UFA), carried out a literature review and mapped 21 technologies that facilitate the integration of production processes and emphasize the collaboration among autonomous organizations. This is reported in: "IT use along the supply chain in conjunction with the major management collaboration techniques".Problems involving information security increase as companies integrate their processes and systems to those of their business partners by means of computer networks. Concerned with that, Alexandre dos Santos Roque, Raul Ceretta Nunes and Alexandre Dias da Silva developed, in their paper "Proposition of a dynamic model for managing security information on industrial environments", a dynamic model for information security management, in which interaction, cooperation and motivation (of upper-management, supervisors and workers) are emphasized in order to meet the new demands of information security management: responsibility, trust and ethics.In an environment of activity/process integration of organizations and their business partners and huge information flow among the interested partiesas discussed in a previous paper in this issue (see Oliveira and Cohen), it becomes essential to adopt information security policies to make sure that information is always available to those who need it and do not fall in wrong hands. Leonardo Guerreiro Azevedo, Diego Alexandre Aranha Duarte, Fernanda Baião and Claudia Cappelli developed a set of criteria and a method to assess tools for management and execution of authorization rules for the access and use of information systems, applying them to a real situation at Petrobrás, one of the leading oil companies in the world, which they discuss in "Evaluating tools for execution and management of authorization business rules".Finally, the paper "Requirements and wished features for software testing tools: a study based on the use of SQFD", authored by Ismayle Sousa Santos, Rodolfo S. Ferreira de Resende, Pedro Alcântara Santos Neto and Clarindo Isaias P. da Silva e Padua presents the adaptation of QFD (Quality Function Deployment), a Quality technique developed originally for industrial products, to sortware development. By means of intelligent argumentation and detailing of all necessary steps for implementing the methodology, the authors make it easy for the reader to understand its possible use in the new field and contribute for its dissimination among the software developers. I wope you all have fun reading the papers in this issue!Alexandre R. GraemlEditor ; Prezados leitores, autores e revisores,O volume 9, número 2, como tem sido usual nas edições da RESI desde a sua fundação em 2002, é marcado pela diversidade geográfica dos seus autores. Desta vez, há onze instituições representadas entre os autores dos dez artigos publicados. Isto evidencia a abrangência e capilaridade deste periódico, agora com a contribuição de autores de seis estados brasileiros: Amazonas, Minas Gerais, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul e São Paulo, além de um norte-americano, do estado de Illinois, nos Estados Unidos. Mas o que chama mais atenção, e talvez já demonstre a preocupação dos autores brasileiros e latino-americanos em aumentar a visibilidade internacional da sua produção, é que três dos dez artigos ora publicados foram submetidos à revista em inglês. Há pelo menos outros cinco artigos de autores de língua espanhola ou português em análise no momento, para eventual publicação em edições posteriores da revista, o que reforça a percepção de que existe uma tendência nessa direção.Os editores da RESI consideram essa iniciativa louvável. O fato de a RESI ser o periódico brasileiro há mais tempo no DOAJ, o principal indexador de revistas de acesso livre no mundo, e de dispor de DOI para todos os artigos publicados nos últimos anos, individualmente, demonstra a nossa preocupação em dar visibilidade à pesquisa realizada na América Latina e para que isso ocorra mais eficazmente devemos começar a explorar mais o idioma inglês, não só no abstract, como sempre foi feito, mas também no corpo dos nossos trabalhos, sempre que possível. O esforço de internacionalização da revista, que pretende ser o principal fórum de discussões da área na América Latina, mas também um meio de conexão da nossa comunidade científica com os pesquisadores do Hemisfério Norte, deve ir nessa direção. Por isso, são muito bem vindos os manuscritos em inglês.Apesar disso, gostaríamos de reforçar nosso comprometimento com a publicação de bons textos em português ou espanhol, porque eles são essenciais para a maior integração dos pesquisadores ibero-americanos, que ainda precisa ser muito fomentada. É importante lembrar que as temáticas de sistemas de informação estão (e em alguns casos deveríam ser ainda mais!) relacionadas a questões culturais que precisam ser exploradas na pesquisa de autores que estejam familiarizados com as realidades locais envolvidas e gerar resultados de pesquisa que possam ser discutidas com agentes governamentais e a comunidade local, algo que, seguramente, ocorre de forma facilitada no idioma nacional. Não basta importarmos tecnologias dos "países mais desenvolvidos" (o que quer que isso signifique!) adaptando-nos a elas sem uma reflexão sobre sua capacidade, ou mesmo utilidade, na solução dos nossos problemas, considerando que foram desenvolvidas em outro contexo e, possivelmente, para outros fins.Por isso, ao mesmo tempo que festejamos o interesse (e a coragem!) dos nossos autores de se utilizarem de idioma estrangeiro para tornar sua pesquisa mais visível no exterior, em uma atitude nítidamente expansionista, também queremos deixar claro que a RESI sempre estará aberta e acolherá com carinho os trabalhos escritos no idioma original do seu autor, desde que tenhamos condições técnicas de avaliá-lo competentemente, o que hoje ocorre para o português, o espanhol e o inglês. Afinal, uma revista eletrônica como a RESI pode fornecer grande visibilidade internacional para aqueles que a procuram, mas também um espaço de discussão democrático que possibilite a comunicação dos seus autores com a sociedade, principalmente nos casos em que houver questões culturais e sociais importantes em discussão, o que pode ficar prejudicado se não no idioma nacional.Feita essa reflexão inicial e o convite para que mantenhamos sempre a "caótica" diversidade de idiomas, de perspectivas e de ideologias que caracteriza a Universidade, gostaria de chamar a atenção de todos para os artigos que compõem essa edição, brevemente descritos a seguir:O primeiro artigo, "Information systems graduate education and research in Brazil", de Renata Mendes de Araujo e Márcio de Oliveira Barros, ambos da Unirio, abre essa edição da RESI discutindo um tema muito importante para os pesquisadores que estudam Sistemas de Informação no Brasil, que é a forma como estamos preparando as novas gerações de pesquisadores em nossos programas stricto sensu. No artigo, os autores relatam a experiência de sua instituição na consolidação de um curso de pós-graduação na área. O trabalho é mais voltado para programas com origem na informática, mas encontrará leitores também entre aqueles que estudam as tecnologias de informação a partir de uma perspectiva de negócios.Lisiane Barea Sandi e Amarolinda Zanela Saccol, da Unisinos, demonstram sua preocupação com a forma como a sociedade está se apropriando das novas tecnologias, salientando que, além dos óbvios benefícios, há também questões preocupantes, que precisam ser discutidas. Em "Sobrecarga de informações geradas pela adoção de tecnologias da informação móveis e sem fio e suas decorrências para profissionais de vendas" as autoras se utilizam de uma survey exploratória com 75 profissionais da área de vendas, procurando analisar os impactos do telefone celular sobre sua qualidade de vida."A influência dos determinantes do trabalho gerencial na percepção do ajuste entre a tecnologia e a tarefa: um estudo exploratório" é o trabalho de Débora Bobsin, Monize Sâmara Visentini e Mauri Leodir Löbler (UFRGS e UFSM), em que procuram contribuir para o entendimento dos sistemas de informação como ferramenta de suporte para a execução das tarefas que compõem o papel do gestor na organização. Os autores concluem que quanto mais aumenta a experiência do indivíduo com os Sistemas de Informação, maior o ajuste percebido por ele, entre a tecnologia e a tarefa que executa. Da mesma forma, quanto maior o acesso do usuário ao sistema, maior o ajuste percebido entre tecnologia e tarefa.Em "Motivation to create free and open source projects and how decisions impact success", Carlos Denner Santos Jr. e Kay M. Nelson (USP e Southern Illinois) propõem um modelo teórico que ajuda a avaliar o que leva uma organização a se envolver em projetos de desenvolvimento de software livre para que, no futuro, seja possível avaliar com mais propriedade o sucesso dessas iniciativas. Trata-se de um complemento interessante a outro artigo publicado recentemente pelo primeiro autor na RAE (v. 50, n. 4, out/dez 2010).Em "Namoro ou amizade? A visão de clientes e fornecedores sobre relacionamentos de negócio no setor de software", Rita de Cássia de Faria Pereira, Carlo Gabriel Porto Bellini e Fernando Bins Luce (os três primeiros da UFPB e o último da UFRGS) adotam uma abordagem bastante original (entrevistas com 14 díades cliente-fornecedor do setor gaúcho de software - 28 empresas ao todo) para analisar aspectos relacionados ao relacionamento entre essas empresas (comprometimento, confiança, adaptação, cooperação e comunicação) e fatores contextuais que podem influenciá-los (incerteza, interdependência e disponibilidade de fornecedores alternativos).Edimara Mezzomo Luciano, Leandro Pilatti, Maurício Gregianin Testa e Ionara Rech (todos da PUC-RS) analisam a forma como a adoção do framework do COBIT pode auxiliar no aprimoramento dos processos de gestão das atividades terceirizadas, tanto pela empresa terceirizada quanto pela que terceiriza o serviço. O título do artigo é: "Aplicabilidade do Cobit na gestão de atividades de tecnologia da informação terceirizadas: uma investigação com base em duas empresas multinacionais".Percebendo a influência cada vez mais intensa das tecnologias da informação sobre a forma como as organizações se organizam para a produção e agregação de valor, Dayane Mayely Silva de Oliveira e Max Fortunato Cohen (UFA), fazem um levantamento bibliográfico sobre o fenômeno, mapeando 21 tecnologias que facilitam a integração de processos produtivos e incentivam a colaboração entre empresas autônomas. Isto é relatado em: "Os usos da TI ao longo da cadeia de suprimentos e em conjunto com as principais técnicas colaborativas de gestão".Os problemas relacionados à segurança da informação aumentam, na medida em que as empresas se informatizam e integram seus processos aos de parceiros de negócios por meio de redes de computadores. Preocupados com isso, Alexandre dos Santos Roque, Raul Ceretta Nunes e Alexandre Dias da Silva (UFSM) desenvolvem, em seu artigo "Proposição de um modelo dinâmico de gestão de segurança da informação para ambientes industriais", um modelo dinâmico de gestão da segurança da informação em que a interação, a cooperação e a motivação das pessoas (alta-gerência, chefes e funcionários) são priorizadas para atender os novos requisitos da gestão da segurança da informação: responsabilidade, confiança e ética.Em um cenário de integração das atividades das empresas com parceiros de negócios e grande fluxo de informações entre elas, conforme discutido inclusive em outro artigo dessa edição (ver Oliveira e Cohen), torna-se essencial que se adotem políticas de segurança da informação, para garantir que ela esteja sempre acessível àqueles que precisam e devem ter acesso a ela e não caiam em mãos indesejadas. Leonardo Guerreiro Azevedo, Diego Alexandre Aranha Duarte, Fernanda Baião e Claudia Cappelli (todos da Unirio) desenvolvem um conjunto de critérios e um método para avaliação de ferramentas para gestão e execução de regras de autorização para o acesso e utilização de sistemas, aplicando-os ao caso real da Petrobrás, conforme relatado em "Evaluating tools for execution and management of authorization business rules".O artigo "Requisitos e aspectos técnicos desejados em ferramentas de testes de software: um estudo a partir do uso do SQFD", de Ismayle Sousa Santos, Rodolfo S. Ferreira de Resende, Pedro Alcântara Santos Neto e Clarindo Isaias P. da Silva e Padua (a primeira da UFPI e os demais da UFMG) apresenta uma adaptação ao desenvolvimento de software da ferramenta QFD (desdobramento da função qualidade), tão defendida pelos guros da qualidade para aplicação a processos industriais. A argumentação inteligente e o detalhamento dos passos a serem executados na implementação da metodologia facilitam a compreensão do seu uso pelo leitor e contribuem para a sua divulgação entre os informáticos. Desejo a todos uma ótima leitura!Alexandre Reis GraemlEditor

A propósito de interés de las humanidades por el estudio del pasado, sin aparente finalidad práctica, reflexionaba Erwin Panofsky ¿Qué por qué habríamos de interesarnos por el pasado? La respuesta es… porque nos interesamos por la realidad. Nada existe menos real que el presente. Para poder captar la realidad tenemos que distanciarnos del presente. En este sentido, creemos en la vigencia y utilidad de la investigación de carácter historiográfico en nuestro ámbito docente, y en consecuencia nos sentimos identificados con el profesor Montes Serrano cuando afirma que "La praxis docente necesariamente ha de enmarcarse en una labor investigadora de doble dirección: el progreso de la propia disciplina y el retorno a los orígenes, para asentar las bases conceptuales y culturales que soporten el desarrollo futuro. Este retorno a los orígenes siempre ha supuesto la búsqueda -más o menos consciente- de una garantía de renovación, de una posible guía hacia el futuro; implica repensar lo que se hace habitualmente, en un intento de renovar la validez de las acciones o principios especulativos de uso cotidiano". Al igual que se ha hecho en otras materias, también constituye una línea de investigación propia del Área de Conocimiento al que pertenezco el trazar la visión historiográfica de nuestras disciplinas, en concreto, de la representación del terreno. Como afirma el profesor San Antonio Gómez "La investigación para la representación gráfica del territorio no sólo debe encaminarse hacia su progreso futuro con el desarrollo de los GIS, sino también hacia sus orígenes históricos". Efectivamente, la implantación de las llamadas nuevas tecnologías en las disciplinas relacionadas con la representación de la superficie terrestre ha acaparado la mayor parte de los esfuerzos en el ámbito investigador, quedando relegados a un segundo plano los estudios sobre la historia de la representación territorial, sus orígenes y evolución, así como los métodos e instrumentos utilizados en el pasado. Consciente de las limitaciones de una tesis y de las mías propias, entiendo que para centrar este trabajo se hace necesario acotar el tema tanto geográfica como cronológicamente. No se trata de hacer este estudio desde un punto de vista cartográfico genérico, en donde lógicamente habría que remontarse a la larga tradición en el Mediterráneo, en lo referente a las cartas que realizaron los cosmógrafos en Sevilla; o a las imágenes que las culturas prehispánicas plasmaron en sus códices, para las representaciones de factura indígena. Decidimos por tanto centrar nuestro estudio en Mesoamérica (espacio) y durante el siglo XVI (tiempo). Las razones de esta acotación se basan, por un lado, en la forma en que se llevo a cabo la Conquista, desde el Caribe como cabeza de puente hacia Centroamérica, y desde allí hacia el norte y el sur del continente. Esto supuso que durante el siglo XVI la producción de mapas y planos que conllevo el proceso de colonización procediera mayoritariamente de estos territorios, coincidentes con lo que posteriormente se denomino Mesoamérica, que comprende los actuales México, Guatemala, parte de Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica y el sur de los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, la acotación espacial en ningún momento deberá impedir que se deje de estudiar algún documento de interés para la investigación. Así por ejemplo, si hay un mapa en donde se representa una región del Amazonas o un plano de una fortaleza en el norte de La Florida o en La Habana, cuyo análisis se considere relevante para nuestros fines, esos documentos sin duda seran incluidos en el corpus a estudiar. La acotación temporal, además de necesaria en cualquier trabajo de este tipo, aquí está justificada al ser precisamente durante el primer siglo de la Colonia cuando se realiza la producción de mapas y planos en los que podemos rastrear los métodos empíricos utilizados para su medición, levantamiento y representación. Anteriormente apenas transcurren ocho años desde el Descubrimiento hasta el fin de siglo, y después –a partir del siglo XVII- las representaciones planimetrías en Hispanoamérica poseen ya, prácticamente, todas las características de las que se realizan en Europa, desapareciendo las influencias autóctonas que se mezclaron, en distinto grado, con las occidentales durante todo el siglo XVI. Ciñéndonos a los inicios de la época colonial española, son tres los estamentos que están realizando levantamientos planimétricos en este tiempo, los cosmógrafos de la Casa de la Contratación, los funcionarios locales de la administración indiana y los ingenieros reales: 1. Los primeros, cuyo título oficial era "cosmógrafo de hacer cartas de navegar y fabricar instrumentos", no se encontraban en ultramar, sino en Sevilla. Se encargaban principalmente de las cartas de navegación, acopiando la información geográfica e hidrográfica obtenida por los pilotos, que los cartógrafos vertían en el padrón real, modelo del que se sacaban las copias para el uso de descubridores y navegantes. Para poder realizar su labor, utilizaban cartas, planos, bocetos y apuntes trazados por los pilotos en sus viajes y que entregaban a su regreso en la Casa de la Contratación. Por tanto iban elaborando la imagen del Nuevo Mundo en cuanto a la definición de su contorno costero. La representación de la "tierra adentro" será precisamente la empresa encargada a los segundos intervinientes. 2. La necesidad de conocer y representar con precisión los nuevos territorios bajo el imperativo de su control y delimitación, así como lograr un mayor conocimiento de la disponibilidad de los recursos que ofrecían, llevo a que, el 25 de mayo del año 1577, Felipe II dictase una real cedula para que se enviase a América una "Instrucción y Memoria" para ser contestada por los oficiales de la Corona, principalmente los corregidores y alcaldes mayores. El objetivo de este cuestionario de 50 preguntas era conocer más sobre los territorios de ultramar. Las respuestas, mejor conocidas como Relaciones Geográficas de Indias, constituyen el mayor cuerpo de fuentes originales de la América española para el siglo XVI. Este conocimiento pormenorizado de los nuevos territorios también implicaba una descripción física de los mismos. Así, en varias preguntas del cuestionario se pedía, según los casos, la realización de mapas geográficos, planos de las poblaciones, delineación de las costas e islas, etc. Aunque los encargados de responder a la Instrucción eran los oficiales de la Corona, la elaboración de mapas y planos –pinturas como se conocían entones- tuvo que encomendarse también a dibujantes indígenas, dada la escasez de mano de obra cualificada para estas tareas durante el primer siglo de la Colonia. 3. Los ingenieros reales estaban designados por el rey para atender a las fortificaciones y edificios administrativos en todo el imperio. Algunos eran traídos de otros países, particularmente de Italia, pero otros eran producto de la rica tradición en la elaboración de mapas surgida en la España del siglo XVI. "Estas imágenes del Nuevo Mundo fueron suficientemente exactas para permitir a los monarcas españoles tomar decisiones sobre los sitios y la protección de las grandes bases militares, particularmente aquellas necesarias para proteger anualmente a las flotas. Cartógrafos como Cristóbal de Rojas y Juan Bautista Antonelli permitieron a la Corona hacer el máximo uso de sus escasos recursos". Los mapas y planos de los ingenieros Reales, dibujados de acuerdo con los principios desarrollados en la Italia del siglo XVI, no tenían nada que ver con las representaciones realizadas en las pinturas que acompañaban a las Relaciones Geográficas, en las que, debido a la mezcla de técnicas indígenas prehispánicas y europeas, se produjo una cartografía sincrética diferente a todo lo que se había realizado hasta ese momento. En muchos de los documentos gráficos que estos ingenieros elaboraron para la construcción de obras públicas civiles y militares también encontramos ejemplos de cómo representaron el terreno donde estas se emplazaban. La Corona española empleo un número importante de arquitectos militares e ingenieros en la construcción y mantenimiento de fortificaciones en todo el imperio, pero sobre todo en América. Estos hombres realizaban reconocimientos sobre el terreno, elaboraban informes y proponían proyectos de nuevas obras o reforma de las ya existentes, como consecuencia de lo cual, trazaban planos que eran enviados a España para su conocimiento y aprobación, de los que sobreviven un número considerable. Se ha articulado la tesis en dos partes, cada una dividida en tres capítulos, acompañada de la presente Introducción, las Conclusiones y las Fuentes Documentales. A continuación se expone someramente el contenido de cada capítulo, la relación de archivos y bibliotecas en las que se encuentran los documentos que constituyen el corpus sometido a estudio, así como los fondos bibliográficos consultados. Lógicamente, en un trabajo de estas características, las figuras (bocetos, mapas, planos,… dibujos en definitiva) que acompañan al texto escrito en absoluto tienen un carácter ornamental, ni siquiera una misión ilustrativa; más bien al contrario en su mayoría, constituyen el propio objeto de estudio. - En la primera parte del trabajo, como cuestión previa introductoria antes de abordar la representación territorial en Hispanoamérica en el siglo XVI, nos ha parecido procedente dirigir una mirada hacia los orígenes históricos de la representación del territorio, desde sus inicios hasta la época en la que centramos el objetivo principal de nuestro trabajo, que abarca todo el siglo XVI. Se ha tratado de seguir, a través del tiempo, el proceso de la representación del territorio y su relieve en las distintas civilizaciones, sobre todo del ámbito occidental, y por tanto antecedentes directos de la europea en general y la española en particular; incidiendo en aquellos conceptos eminentemente gráficos, que influyen en la representación del entorno natural. En esta revisión se ha verificado como el proceso para representar el terreno y su relieve ha seguido una evolución desde unos convencionalismos gráficos empíricos. "…mostrando cómo los mecanismos que intervienen en la representación gráfica están fundamentalmente basados, de hecho, en toda una serie de convenciones prácticas y de fórmulas o recetas de oficio paulatinamente perfeccionadas y codificadas por la experiencia" Esta primera parte se ha dividido en tres capítulos. ▪ En el Capítulo I, "Desde los orígenes hasta el descubrimiento de América" se repasa la representación del territorio desde los orígenes, con la aparición de los primeros mapas, hasta el descubrimiento de América. Revisaremos la forma en que "veían" la tierra, o sus territorios, los pueblos primitivos, las civilizaciones antiguas, el mundo clásico (civilizaciones griega y romana), la Edad Media (mapas T en O, mundo árabe y portulanos), para concluir con la representación en el Renacimiento, antes del descubrimiento del Nuevo Mundo. ▪ En el Capítulo II, "La representación del territorio en la era de los descubrimientos", se continua la revisión iniciada en el primero desde donde este termina hasta principios del siglo XVII. Veremos la revolución cartográfica que suponen los grandes descubrimientos, los más importantes centros de producción de mapas: la Casa de la Contratación de Sevilla, la de Indias de Lisboa, la escuela francesa en Dieppe y la de los Países Bajos. Por último, se realiza un recorrido por la cartografía nacional y regional de los principales reinos europeos. ▪ Finaliza esta primera parte con el Capítulo III, "Técnicas de levantamiento y representación del territorio en Europa", donde, tras exponer los principales sistemas y métodos de levantamiento, aun vigentes, se ofrece una panorámica del estado de la ciencia de la "mensura" en la Europa renacentista, como antecedente directo de los métodos que pudieron ser importados al Nuevo Mundo. Se ha realizado un análisis de los sistemas y métodos de medición y levantamiento de mapas y planos a través de los principales tratados sobre la materia, tanto de la rica tradición renacentista europea como de la española, en la que hemos tenido la satisfacción de encontrar magníficos ejemplos de tratados cuyo rigor científico en unos casos y vertiente practica en otros, nada tienen que envidiar a los de los más afamados eruditos alemanes, flamencos o italianos. - La segunda parte, "Representación gráfica en Hispanoamérica en el siglo XVI", afronta el objetivo principal de la tesis, la representación del territorio circunscrita a Hispanoamérica durante el siglo XVI. Se analizan los diferentes tipos de representaciones que se realizaron a raíz del descubrimiento y colonización del Nuevo Mundo, según los distintos agentes que intervinieron en su realización. A su vez se divide en tres capítulos. ▪ En el Capítulo IV, "Representación del territorio", tras una introducción sobre el proyecto cartográfico de Felipe II, se realiza un recorrido por los diferentes modos de representación del territorio en Mesoamérica durante el primer siglo de la Colonia, desde los antecedentes de tradición indígena prehispánica, hasta los mapas y planos que realizaron los pintores autóctonos o tlacuilos para la Corona española, así como un grupo funcionarios de la administración indiana, en el magno proyecto que significaron las Relaciones Geográficas de Indias; pasando por los mapas del Nuevo Mundo que realizaron los cosmógrafos de la Casa de la Contratación en Sevilla. En estas formas de representar el territorio subyacen en su concepción, toma de datos y elaboración, una dualidad entre empirismo y ciencia, siendo este uno de los criterios de clasificación que se han utilizado. Siguiendo la metodología propuesta, se realiza un estudio individualizado de cada mapa o plano de la muestra, con criterios objetivos. En primer lugar, se parte de una contextualización histórica de cada uno, a continuación, se realiza un examen grafico del plano como tal y, por último, un análisis geométrico tendente a su transcripción y obtención de conclusiones en cuanto los métodos utilizados para la representación del territorio, sobre todo las características graficas, los mecanismos y los recursos empleados en la realización de estos documentos. Siempre que este lo ha permitido, se ha tratado de abordar la conceptualización del lenguaje grafico y el contenido simbolizador del mismo. ▪ El Capítulo V, "La representación del territorio en los proyectos de ingeniería", completa el estudio realizado en el capitulo anterior, estudiando los mapas y planos que se hicieron a raíz de las obras de ingeniería y arquitectura militar en América, que necesitaban de la expresión de superficies extensas para su intervención. Estos documentos estaban dibujados de acuerdo con los principios desarrollados en la Italia del siglo XVI, y por tanto fuera de la cualquier influencia de la tradición pictórica prehispánica. Estas imágenes del Nuevo Mundo fueron suficientemente exactas para permitir a los monarcas españoles tomar decisiones sobre los sitios y la protección de las grandes bases, particularmente aquellas necesarias para dar cobijo anualmente a las "flotas" de Indias. Sin embargo, no se ha realizado un estudio sobre las obras de ingeniería, ni siquiera desde el punto de vista historiográfico, pues sería apartarnos del motivo principal de este trabajo. Se han tratado una serie de obras y sus artífices, pero desde la óptica de su representación grafica en general y de la que del territorio se hace en ellas, en particular. ▪ En el Capítulo VI, "Técnicas de levantamiento y representación del territorio en América", se han tratado de descifrar los métodos, técnicas e instrumentos que se emplearon en la realización de las representaciones del territorio que fueron estudiadas en los capítulos IV y V. Desde el punto de vista de su manufactura, este extenso corpus es de origen diverso: cartas náuticas, mapamundis y planisferios realizados por los cosmógrafos de la Casa de la Contratación, mapas y planos regionales y locales realizados, unos por autores españoles y otros por dibujantes indígenas y, finalmente, los mapas y planos que hicieron los ingenieros y arquitectos militares al servicio de la Corona. Por tanto se rastrean y estudian los métodos utilizados para su realización en cada uno de estos grupos, partiéndose de una primera división en científicos y empíricos. No obstante, dentro de cada uno de estos grupos ha sido necesario distinguir otras categorías al objeto de poder llevar a cabo su correcto análisis. Respecto a las fuentes documentales consultadas, gran parte de ellas son dibujos, mapas, planos y tratados de gran valor bibliográfico e histórico. En esta fase de la investigación nos hemos encontrado con dificultades inherentes a la localización de los fondos y del acceso a los mismos. Es evidente que la lectura de un mapa de gran formato, no resulta fácil si no se consulta directamente el original debido a las limitaciones que impone el manejo de copias reducidas o la escasa resolución cuando se trata de formatos digitales. Aunque desde hace anos se vienen realizando importantes esfuerzos por parte de las administraciones para digitalizar los fondos cartográficos y documentales de los principales archivos, tanto españoles como extranjeros, la tarea es ardua y supone afrontar multitud de problemas derivados de la variedad de formatos, de técnicas y del estado de conservación de los documentos cartográficos, que se suman a los propios de su localización, ya que es frecuente que los planos y mapas estén incluidos en legajos o carpetas y que su existencia en muchos casos se desconozca. El corpus cartográfico documental recopilado para la elaboración de la tesis se encuentra disperso, en su mayoría, por los siguientes archivos y bibliotecas españoles: Archivo General de Indias. Sevilla. AGI. Real Academia de la Historia. Madrid. RAH. Archivo General de Simancas. Valladolid. AGS. Biblioteca Nacional. Madrid. BNE. Archivo de la Casa de Alba. Palacio de Liria. Madrid. Museo Naval. Madrid. Museo Maritimo. Barcelona. Observatorio de la Marina. San Fernando (Cádiz). Servicio Histórico Militar. Madrid. Real Biblioteca de El Escorial. Madrid. Biblioteca Central de la Universidad de Sevilla. Fondo Antiguo y Archivo Histórico. Biblioteca de la Universidad de Valencia. Asimismo, en el extranjero se han consultado numerosos fondos que, cuando ha sido posible, se han examinado presencialmente y en otros se ha tenido que realizar a través de los procedimientos que establecen las distintas instituciones para la consulta bibliográfica o archivística a distancia (fotocopia, microfilm, diapositiva, fotografía o escaneado): Benson Latín América Collection, Universidad de Texas. Austin (USA). BLAC. Archivo General de la Nación. Ciudad de México (México). AGN. Biblioteca Nacional de Francia. Paris (Francia). BNF. Biblioteca Nacional de Viena. Viena (Austria). Biblioteca Laurenciana. Florencia (Italia). Biblioteca Apostólica Vaticana. Roma (Italia). Biblioteca Oliveriana. Pesaro (Italia). Biblioteca del Congreso. Washington (USA). Biblioteca Herzog August. Wolfenbuttel (Alemania). Biblioteca Palafoxiana. Puebla (México). Biblioteca Real de Copenhague. Copenhague (Dinamarca). Biblioteca Digital de Múnich. Múnich (Alemania). Real Biblioteca de Turin. Turin (Italia). Biblioteca Nacional Marciana. Venecia (Italia). Archivo de los marqueses de Castiglione. Mantua (Italia). Archivos Históricos de Guadalajara y Jalisco. (México). Galería Uffizi, Florencia (Italia). The John Carter Brown Library. Providence (USA). The Hispanic Society of America. Nueva York (USA). The Royal Library at Windsor. Londres (Reino Unido). Bodleian Library. Oxford (Reino Unido). The British Library Borrad. Londres (Reino Unido). The Newberry Library. Chicago (USA). Liverpool Museum. Liverpool (Reino Unido). Museo Histórico de la Baja Sajonia. Hannover (Alemania). Instituto y Museo de Historia de la Ciencia. Florencia (Italia). En cuanto a la amplia bibliografía utilizada a lo largo de la investigación, esta se ha ordenado según tres grupos que comprenden las fases en las que se ha ido desarrollando el trabajo, desde los conceptos generales hasta aquellos temas concretos o particulares, finalizando con una relación de los tratados consultados y utilizados como fuente: a. General: se agrupan en esta categoría las obras que aportan una visión genérica al problema de la expresión y representación grafica, y que han servido para fundamentar conceptualmente el discurso; así como aquellas que tratan de la Historia en general, de la historia del Arte y de la historia de la Cartografía. También se incluyen textos que tratan específicamente sobre los métodos y procedimientos históricos de levantamiento y representación del terreno, fuera del ámbito americano. b. Especifica: contiene aquellos textos que abordan la Historia en general, y la de la Cartografía en particular; relacionadas con el descubrimiento y colonización de América. También encontramos textos que inciden en los distintos métodos y técnicas de levantamiento y representación del territorio hispanoamericano durante el siglo XVI. Asimismo incluimos en esta categoría obras que tratan sobre el arte, la arquitectura y el urbanismo en América durante el periodo estudiado. c. Obras monográficas: que están mas directamente relacionadas con el estudio de un documento cartográfico concreto o bien un conjunto de ellos afines y que forman un corpus más o menos homogéneo. Salvo algunas excepciones, por lo general estas obras están enfocadas desde una óptica historiográfica, siendo uno de los objetivos de la tesis realizar el estudio de los documentos cartográficos atendiendo a los mecanismos gráficos de su representación, con especial hincapié en aquellos relativos a la expresión del relieve del terreno. d. Tratados: Ha sido necesario consultar una cantidad importante de tratados, tanto de la época en la que se centra el estudio (siglo XVI), como de fechas anteriores. Aunque en su mayoría tratan de los procedimientos de medición y levantamiento territorial que se desarrollaron y difundieron por Europa en el Renacimiento, también se han consultado obras dedicadas a otras disciplinas como geografía, astronomía, náutica, fortificaciones, etc. Aunque a veces puede resultar incomodo para la lectura, se ha procurado, en todo momento, fundamentar el hilo argumental con referencias bibliográficas, a pie de página, de los autores de los que nos sentimos más deudores en cuanto a las ideas que fluyen a lo largo de las páginas de este trabajo. Hemos intentado dejar patente la concepción de una tesis eminentemente grafica, pero no solo la cantidad de información grafica ha sido el objetivo principal, lo es, por el contrario, la selección y calidad de la misma, así como su sistematización y clasificación. Por último, señalar que un trabajo de investigación de estas características, se sabe que tiene un comienzo y ha de tener un final, pero en sus conclusiones la tesis no es concluyente, el ámbito en el que nace y está inmersa continúa abierto. No se trata por tanto de un producto acabado, cada ejemplo de los estudiados expone ante nosotros un universo propio, rico y complejo donde transcurren tantas sugerencias como son posibles. En ese sentido, esta investigación es en el fondo una provocación para que otras continúen.

Issue 33.3 of the Review for Religious, 1974. ; Review ]or Religious is edited by faculty members of the School of Divinity of St. Louis University, the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, Missouri. Published bimonthly and copy-right © 1974 by Review ]or Religious. Composed, printed, and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $1.75. Sub-scription U.S.A. aad Canada: $6.00 a year; $11.00 for two years; other countries, $7.00 a year, $13.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should be accompanied by check or money order payable to Review ]or Religious in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent Review for Religious. Change of address requests should include former address. R. F. Smith, S.J. Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Editor Associate Editor Questions and Answers Editor May 1974 Volume 33 Number 3 Renewals, new subscriptions, and changes of address should be sent to Review for Religious; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Correspondence with the editor and the associate editor together with manuscripts, books for review, and materials for "Subject Bibliography for Religious" should be sent to Review for Religious; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, SJ.; St. Joseph's Church; 321 Willings Alley; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106. Documents concerning Religious Paul VI Given below in chronological order are four speeches of Paul VI to various groups of religious. The English translation is that of the English language weekly edition of Osservatore romano. TALK TO THE DOMINICANS Due to an opportune initiative of your procurator general, we have the comfort and the joy of greeting you this morning, beloved Dominican supe-riors and parish priests. In the last few days you have been gathered at your second national Congress at Madonna dell'Arco near Naples, to study more deeply the subject of the parish in the spirit of the teachings of the Church, at subject that is highly relevant today, and to meet the most urgent expectations of the Christian people. We are pleased to underline, beloved sons, the special theme you have chosen for your assembly: that is, the connection of the subject treated with the characteristic aims of your great religious family, which came into being about seven and a half centuries ago, to spread and defend the truths of faith by means of the preaching of the Word of God and teaching. You wished to show, therefore, how willingly you have accepted the invitation of the Church to act in depth in this direction with the efficient instruments at your disposal, for the good of the universal Church, of which the parish is a vital sprouting, through the diocese, which is its natural matrix. This aim has guided your reflection on the structures on which every parish community must be based in order to carry out its mission of sal-vation. Foundation of Parish Renewal We wish to encourage you in your resolutions, derived from your study, 513 514 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 regarding the need of an intelligent and methodical catechetics of the faith-ful entrusted to you, which will, in its turn, be a stimulus to the consistent practice of the Christian life. You are certainly convinced that real renewal in parish society cannot take place except by means of deep Eucharistic piety and sincere charity. The foundation stone of the parish community depends precisely on this link, and on the effort to serve one's brothers, seen and recognized in the love of God. Missionary ardor lies in charity. We have had the opportunity several times, beloved sons, to emphasize the principle that the Church is mis-sionary by her nature, her Founder Himself having entrusted her with the mandate of "preaching the gospel to every creature." Like the universal Church, so the diocese and the parish are by their nature centers of evan-gelization. The missionary impulse derived essentially from the universal Church is transmitted to the diocese and from the latter it passes to the parish. From this point of view, the parochial apostolate should be addressed not only to the faithful who attend Church, but will also be directed, in holy zeal, to all the inhabitants of the territory in their concrete situations: environmental, cultural, social, political, and ideological; and it should be characterized by a universalistic approach. Example of Your Holy Founder You do not lack experience. In the course of the centuries your order has distinguished itself, and is still doing so today, not only by its work of ev.angelization directed to those afar off, but also by its missionary activity. You have in the example of your holy founder and in that of your saints--masters of thought and action, pioneers of civilization, zealous pas-tors and spiritual directors--a whole vast range of initiatives, interventions, 9rientations, on which to model your priestly ministry in order to leaven the mass of the faithful entrusted to your care, in harmony with the action of renewal and reconciliation indicated by the Holy Year, which has recently been inaugurated in diocesan communities. May our Apostolic Blessing be a token of divine assistance for all of you as well as for your confreres. TO THE TRINITARIANS We feel we now owe a special, affectionate greeting to the numerous group of superiors and religious of the Order of the Holy Trinity, gathered in Rome to celebrate the ~775th anniversary of the approval of their Rule. Beloved sons! It is always a motive of fatherly satisfaction to meet worthy, well-deserving religious; and we are always grateful to those who, like you; wish to express with their visit confirmation of the consecration Documents concerning Religious / 515 of their lives to Christ and to the Church. Heartfelt thanks for this testi-mony of filial piety. Finding ourself before you, who on this solemn occa-sion have wished to define better the ta~k of your order in the Church and in the society of today, we will say this to you: be faithful to your vocation. This faithfulness obliges you to get in touch again with the original spirit and charism of your institute. Created to redeem Christian slaves and for works of mercy, especially in favor of the poor and pilgrims, it finds in the modern world other forms of slavery for deeming charity that animated the work of your vant. Praise to you who wish to make yourselves commitments of this apostolic ideal, and to live with the Holy Trinity, which is the characteristic of your spirituality. which the message of re-holy founder; is still rele-even better fitted for the it in the intimacy of love note and the living source We hope that you will return to your fields of work in the apostolate with renewed zeal and spirit of dedication; and while we assure you of our prayers, may the blessing you are awaiting, and. which we willingly impart to you "in nomine Domini," be a token of abundant divine graces for you and for all those who are the object of your concern. TO RELIGIOUS WOMEN ON FEBRUARY 2, 1974 Today's assembly of souls vibrating with piety and love of Christ and the Blessed Virgin offers us motives of particular consolation. We wish in the first place to express our greeting to our venerated Brothers Cardinals Paolo Marella, Archpriest.of this Patriarchal Vatican Basilica, Arturo Tabera Araoz, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Religious and for Secular Institutes, and Ugo Poletti, our Vicar General for the diocese of Rome, who, with their presence, so full of significance, give us a new testimony of their pastoral sensibility and their spirit of service to the Church. We also greet and thank the members of the Chapters of the four Roman Basilicas, who, according to the ancient tradition, offer us the symbol of that faith which burns and shine's, radiating from the illustrious temples they represent, and the sign of their sincere devotion to Peter's Chair and Suc-cessor. To Serve the Church Today the joy is renewed fbr us of a spiritual meeting with the great family of the religious women of Rome on the day of the Presentation of the Lord, which has so many points of contact, so many spiritual affinities with your vocation as souls consecrated to God. For this reason we wished to cerebrate with you this feast of light and love, emphasizing the character which we already impressed upon it last year. If you occupied then a priv- 516 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 ileged place in the traditional festive meeting, this year we have dedicated it mainly and almost exclusively to you, beloved sisters. Why? But you know why, nor should we like to repeat what we had the opportunity of telling you a year ago (cf. AAS, 65, 1973, pp. 91-93).' The reason is summed up in a few words, the great, splendid, consoling words of the II Vatican Council, addressed to all religious: "By the charity to which they lead, the evangelical counsels join their followers to the Church and her mystery in a special way. Since this is so, the spiritual life of these followers should be devoted to the welfare of the whole Church" (Lumen Gentium, 44). Yes, beloved daughters in Christ: you are devoted to the wel]are o] the whole Church.t This is your definition, this your glory, this your daily sacrifice, this your goal, this your crown; nothing else, no other motive brought you to give your life to Christ Jesus, through the hands of Mary, but this--to serve, to serve souls, to serve the Church, the whole Church. Vocation of Tolal Offering Those who do not know, or who forget, this reality, may question your state, criticize it, perhaps despise it; but your vocation is here, it is entirely here, in this total offering to the Church, whether your lives are unfolded in the hard-working and crucifying secrecy of enclosure, or take place along the innumerable ways of charity, which makes you tireless and flings you into the service of all human needs. Your virginity--we are using Pope John XXIII's own words, in his address to sisters on the occasion of the closing of the Synod of Rome--your virginity "turns to the sick, the aged, the poor, orphans, widows, adolescents, children: it passes like a luminous and beneficial angel in the wards of hospitals and institutions, it bends kindly and patiently over school pupils, and over the loneliness of the suffering, wiping away tears of which the world knows nothing, kindling smiles and grateful looks. Holy virginity which finds the sure and irresistible way to hearts, to illuminate those without learn-ing, advise the doubtful, teach the ignorant, admonish sinners, console the afflicted, call back the erring, arouse enthusiasm for apostolic and missionary cooperation" (29 January 1960; cf. Discorsi, II, p. 183). We wish to propose this reality to the ecclesial community of Rome, and beyond it, to the whole Church, which must find in you sisters the living example of an existence dedicated to God without compromises and without regrets, with fervor joyfully renewed every morning. But together with this reality we wish to encourage you, who are its pro-tagonists, in order that, if ever the temptation of doubt, discouragement, weakness, imitation of the deplorable examples of others, may have 1For an English translation of the 1973 Candlemas address to sisters, see Paul VI, "Candlemas Address to Sisters," Review [or Religious, 1973, pp. 469-72. Documents concerning Religious / 517 touched you, or, God forbid, weakened your original resolution, you may be able to pit yourself continually against the great tasks you have freely chosen, and draw the necessary energy every day. Complete Availability For this reason, the liturgy of the day makes our eyes, our thoughts converge on Christ, who is the center not only of today's Gospel episode, but of the whole Gospel, nay more of the whole human and divine history. Christ Jesus, who offers Himself to the Father in the fundamental and determining acceptance of His will: His attitude is that of complete avail-ability: "In burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure. Then I said, 'Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,' as it is written of me in the head of the book" (Ps 40:7-9; Heb 10:5-7). Christ, advancing in His Father's temple, carried in Mary's arms--welcomed by the divine love, moved by the Holy Spirit, of great and humble souls such as old Simeon and Anna the prophetess--is the model, the type, the inspirer of every consecration. He draws you powerfully and sweetly to conform to the constant oblation that your vocation requires, He sustains you, He com-forts you, He encourages you, He stimulates you, He reproves you, if necessary. And alongside the divine model of all holiness "whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor 1:30), the liturgy shows us the Virgin of the Presentation, she who, closely united with her Son~s sacrifice, becomes for all virginal souls an example of conscious and generous self-giving, close collaboration with God's plans, silent and efficacious presence alongside the Savior, for the salva-tion of the world. In the morning light of the Gospel episode, which is, as it were, the offertory of the great sacrificial and redeeming act of Jesus' life, Mary is beside her Son, made conscious of her sorrowful role by the prophecy, and already a partner in the Passion in advance. Symbolism of the Candle She calls upon all of you, therefore, beloved daughters, to adopt her interior attitude, to imitate this. complete availability, and asks you, too, never to give up, but to continue joyfully :'along the path you have taken. And so the cand'.e which you bear, with its deep and multiple symbolism, becomes the visible sign of your following Christ and Mary; it is a whole galaxy of little flames, nourished at the very source of holiness and grace, forming a festive and endless .procession in the steps of the Savior and His Mother, casting forth on the world, often greedy and selfish, the light of pure, disinterested charity, of gacrifice without any return, of faithfulness to the grave responsibilities of life with "the evangelical witness" of one's own life, straining upwards to give light and heat, like the flame of the candle. 518 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 We are near you, sisters of Rome and of the world, in this daily ef-fort of yours, for which we raise our humble prayer; we thank you for the place you hold in the Church, for the example you set, for the irradia-tion of the greatest human and Christian values; and we trust that these ideals will find you always ready and trained, always eager to do beiter, always sincere in pursuit of the true evangelical spirit, which qualifies and sustains your consecrated life. May the Apostolic Blessing be a token for you of our great, fatherly benevolence: we extend it to all your other sisters, to the persons and works to which you dedicate yourselves, in order that God's peace and joy may be in all of you. TO THE POOR CLARES With our spirit full of fatherly emotion, we now extend our greeting to the elect group of ~isters, the delegates of the Convents of Poor Clares who have come to Rome from all over the world for the revision of their constitutions. Beloved daughters in Jesus Christ, we welcome you with that affection and esteem which the great family of monastic communities, which you worthily represent, deserves. And we are glad to receive you here, so that we can point you out to the admiration and gratitude of this assembly, for the precious and hidden service you carry out in the Church, passing your lives in silence, prayer, and mortification, for love of Christ and to communicate to the world, though separated from the world, the salva-tion He brought about on the cross. Today more than ever your testimony of faithfulness to the contem-plative ideal means for the faithful the primacy of God and of spiritual life in the complex dynamism of apostolic activities; it means the recog-nition of the spiritual values of prayer, poverty, brotherly love, spirit of sacrifice, and the cross; so that, as the Ecumenical Council, very rightly affirms, you "are the glory of the Church and an overflowing fountain of heavenly grace" (Decree Per[ectae caritatis, no. 7). ff the People of God look to you with these sentiments, you on your side must endeavor to respond to your vocation more and more generously. And that you are striving to" do so is shown by the work of your Con-gress, to which you are applying yourselves in order to give your convents that impetus of renewal, in faithfulness to your genuine monastic traditions, which the Ecumenical Council has requested, in order to carry out more and more fruitfully the role to which you are called in the Church. May the Spirit of the Lord assist you, making you His to 'an ever increasing extent; may the Blessed Virgin, your ideal and model of con-secration to God and of dedication to souls, guide you; and may our Apostolic Blessing, which we willingly impart to you present here and to all your sisters scattered throughout the world, encourage you. Documents concerning Religious / 519 ASH WEDNESDAY TALK TO RELIGIOUS WOMEN We are happy to greet a large group of sisters who have assembled principally from the United States and who come from various communi-ties and represent various forms of religious life--all of whom perform their highly-valued apostolates within the wider and esteemed context of the association of all the Institutes of Women Religious of the United States. Your presence here tl~is morning evokes in us a thought which our great predecessor Plus XII often expressed; the value and importance of religious life and, in particular, the beneficial results that accrue to the whole Church in America through the persevering dedication and humble service of thousands of sisters. In this regard our advice to you today is to realize the contribution that all the sisters can and must make to the Church, to realize that this contribution depends on your being one in Christ Jesus and in the Church-- united with each other and with us. Our message is a call f::~: genuine re-newal, for Christian penance, for complete reconciliation, for the elimi-nation of all divisive faction--in a word, for perfect unity and perfect charity: ". so that the world m~ay believe" (Jn 17:21 ). And so with St. Paul we say to you: ". be united in your convic-tions and united in your love, with a common' purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy" (Phil 2:2). As our thoughts turn with paternal affection to all the sisters of the United States and throughout the world, in their efforts to live in Christ's love and to share it With all men, we cordially impart to you present here with us today our Apostolic Blessing. MARCH 21 TO CARMELITES OF INDIA It is a pleasure for us to :have this opportunity to extend a word of welcome to you, the prior general and members of the Carmelites of MaD' Im-maculate. We are aware of the admirable pastoral work carried out by your con-gregation in India: teaching at all levels, the care of the aged and the sick, the apostolate of the press, as well as running several mission dioceses. For all of this activity on behalf of the Church we thank you from our heart. We are likewise pleased to note that there is no lack of vocations to the priesthood, and we would ask. you to assure your students of our par-ticular fatherly affection. We pray that they will be granted the grace of perseverance and joy in the life of special union with Christ which they have freely embraced. To all of you indeed we give the assurance of a special place in our prayers. As we express once more our particular closeness to you in your work, we cordially impart to yourselves and to all the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate our Apostolic Blessing. Two Renewal Reports Sister M. Bernarda Schneider, A.S.C. and Sister Marie Anne Mayeski, C.S.J. Sister M. Bernarda Schneider, A.S.C., who is the author of the first report given be-low, "A Congregation Seeks Its Common God Experience," is a general assistant of her congregation and resides at Via Beata Maria de Mattias, _10; 00183 Rome, Italy. Sister Marie Anne Mayeski, C.S.J., is the author of the second report given below, "Unity through Diversity and What One Community ls Doing about It"; her address is: Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange; 480 South Batavia Street; Orange, California 92668. A CONGREGATION SEEKS ITS COMMON GOD EXPERIENCE As an effort toward a new type of spiritual leadership, the members of the general administration of the Congregation of Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ carried the following program to the sisters in all their provinces. Background Information The Congregation of Sistcrs Adorers of the Blood of Christ was founded in 1834 in Acuto, Italy. It is an apostolic congregation following the inspiration of Blessed Maria de Mattias, foundress, and of St. Gaspar del Bufalo, co-founder of the Adorers and founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Presently, the Congregation comprises about 3000 members in 12 provinces, five in Italy, three in the U.S.A. (Ruma, Illinois; Columbia, Pennsylvania; Wichita, Kansas), and one each in Liechtenstein, Yugo-slavia, Poland, and Amazonas-Brazil, with a delegation in. Spain, and local communities in Tanzania, Liberia, Africa, Australia, Argentina, Boliva, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico. After the general chapter of July, 1971, the newly elected general 520 Two Renewal Reports / 521 council laboriously worked through a process of self-identity as a starting point for the program of renewal which in the next two years would be shared with every sister in the congregation. Basic Premises of the Program 1. The Church at Vatican II questioned herself seriously regarding her true nature. What was her real identity? Who was she? What kind of "presence" did she have before the world of today? Did she mirror to the contemporary world an apostolic communion of faith and fraternal love and sharing centered in the person of Christ with authority under-stood as unifying service, the image of the Church as Christ founded it? Choosing as most appropriate for our times the expression "People of God" (L.G., Chapter 2), the Council fathers offered guidelines for radi-cal renewal in the form of decrees to each category of the People of God: laity, religious, priests, bishops. The image of Church as communion in Christ can come about only through the efforts at renewal of the members in all four categories. 2. Ecclesial by nature, each religious congregation must search out its own special character in order that it may make its specific contribu-tion to the total Church. 3. It is not enough for a congregation to identify its special charism, it must live it out in an "incarnational" way. The members must be in-formed about the actual human condition of today and be deeply involved in living the Christ mystery in contemporary reality, sharing the pilgrim stance of all the People of God. Objective of the Program and Means The objective of the program was to search together with the sisters for (1) congregational, (2) personal, and (3) local community identity as Adorers of the Blood of Christ here today, making real and living the experience of God of the foundress in order that present-day Adorers may have a special meaning to the People of God in. these times as Blessed Maria de Mattias had for the people of her times. For this purpose, the general team, composed of the general superior and four general assistants, traveled to all the provinces and missions, giving a series of 125 workshops. Each workshop comprised from 12-14 hours of presentation of material, reflection, group work, and prayer. The number of participants in each workshop ranged from 20 to 40, local communities being encouraged to make it together as much as possible. In the space of two years, the entire congregation has made the program with the general team. Elements of the Program The program is based on three elements which are fundamental to 522 / Review Sor Religious, Volume 33, "1974/3 all spirituality: the experience of God, the person's faith response, and reality in all its dimensions. Set up in this manner, the program was an effort toward integration, toward creating an apostolic spirituality which would gradually eliminate the dichotomy which many sisters experience because of previous formation and the calls for intense involvement in today's world. The following is an outline of the program: SPIRITUA LITY 1. EXPERIENCE OF GOD_ area of core faith-vision, charism,'~ renewal a specific aspect of the~ Christ mystery ~ 3. REALITY 2. RESPONSE IN FAITH: .PROGRAM OF LIFE~ prayer (personal and communal) ~ consecration (vows) ~ area of community adaptation ministry ~ ~ penance and conversionJ etc. PRESENCE Explanation of the Basic Elements Experience oJ God. God always takes the initiative in revealing Him-self. It is indispensable to us as a congregation to discover the nature of the initiative that God has taken in the life of the foundress because it is in this experience charism that the congregation finds its deepest identity. In knowing which aspect of the great Christ mystery was confided to the foundress, the sisters of today know who they are and what they are to be to the contemporary People of God. In the process of discernment the sisters probed the core faith experience of their foundress tow discover her specific prophetic intuition of the gospel. Response in Faith: Program oJ Li~e. To become a religious is to decide to give a response to God which includes many elements. Further- Two Renewal Reports / 523 more, to enter a specific congregation means that each response will be colored by the particular God experience of the foundress. The burning question for religious is whether the program of life (prayer, consecration, community, etc.) is actually a response to a deep, living experience of God, or whether it is a structure maintained on the basis of rules, regulations, and tradition without questioning values, priorities~, relevancy. An equally important" question for religious is whether the response to the God experience is actually incarnated in contemporary reality. The sisters were encouraged to use much personal and communal discernment in this area, putting these items on the agenda of their pro-vincial and local assemblies. ¯ Reality. In every age there is an urgency in carrying the Good News about Jesus and His saving message to men. But the message must be given in such a way that it can be understood. This implies the necessity of the sisters knowing contemporary man in his reality: physical, socio-logical, political, religious. What are the hopes and the fears, the aspira-tions and the obstacles to their attainment which men confront today? In the process of discernment, the sisl~ers were led to discover in the con-crete "signs of the times" the appeal which Christ was making. Using the many documents of the Church on social justice and the appeal of the Synod of Bishops, the sisters studied present trends in the ~,arious regions of our "global village." Presence. Presence is that which results from the dynamic interplay of the three elements of spirituality. It is the transparency (or lack of it) of a lived experience of God, expressed in a meaningful response and in-carnated in the day-by-day reality in which the sister lives. Presence is the manifestation of that which one lives deep inside oneself; it springs forth from the-interior participation in the Christ mystery. During the hours of reflection the sisters were led to ask themselves: What does the presence of. our Congregation of Adorers say to the Church? to the world? What does my presence as an individual Adorer say to my sisters in community? What does our presence as a local community of Adorers say to the people we serve in this particular place? Search for Identity on Three Levels Using the three basic elements of spirituality, the sisters searched to-gether for identity as a' congregation, as individual members of the con-gregation, and as local commianities. Congregational Identity. Through the examination of several biographies and particularly through her many letters, the faith vision of the foundress came to the fore: the centrality of the Innocent Lamb of God who carries love to its ultimate consequences in order to redeem mankind. The sisters accepted as an adequate expression for today the ASC charism expressed 524 / Review [or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 in the Constitution of 1968: adoring love toward the Son of God in His mystery of redemption in blood, and redeeming love toward every human person. Personal Identity. "To search for the face of God, to know the God of her personal history and to meet Him in deep personal encounter must be the constant goal of all of us Adorers," says the Chapter Acts of 1971. It is possible to identify ourselves on so many levels (for example, in re-lation to our family, the country of our birth, profession, religious congre-gation, etc.). These are all valid identities, but they are inadequate. The deepest identity of each person is that which comes to her through her personal experience of God. It is that identity proper to her "Biblical name" . . . that word which the Lord pronounced when He called her into being: "To those who prove victorious I will give the hidden manna and a white stone, a stone with a new name written on it, known only to the man who receives it" (Rev 2: 17). The important question in the search for personal identity is not "Who am I?" but rather "Who is Christ to me?" When, through personal experi-ence, we can answer that question, we shall know who we are. A careful stud~, of the text of Matthew 16:13-20 can be very helpful in the search for identity. When Peter through living experience could say that to him Jesus was the "Christ," the Messiah, He who was to found the kingdom, at the same time Peter knew his own identity--in that kingdom he would be the rock, the foundation. Each sister must take into account her own personal reality: the place where she is with its particular social, political, economic, and religious conditions, her own physical situation, her cultural and psychological fac-tors, etc. God comes to each one in her own specific concrete reality, and it is in this reality that she makes her dynamic response to Him. Obviously, God does not give the individual sister an experience of Himself alien to the faith vision confided to the foundress. However, God is infinitely creative and original in His approach to each person; thus the variety of spiritual beauty among the members of the same congre-gation. This pluriform action of God constitutes the basis for the respect due to each sister and the liberty which is necessary in order to permit God's gifts to blossom in each one. When each member of the congregation is striving to live profoundly her unique God experience, then we can say that the congregation is being renewed. But this renewal is an ongoing process because our God is a living God. During the lifetime of a person, God never ceases to reveal Himself, and the person must never cease to respond in a meaningful way. Local Community Identity. Local communities also have an identity which comes to them through a shared experience of God. The sisters in a local community who reflect on the gospel together in the light of the reality of the people they serve will discover that Christ wants to live out Two Renewal Reports / 5:25 a certain aspect of His mystery of liberation in blood in them as a com-munity. As the members of the local community share their reflections on the Word of God, make their regular revisions of life in the light of that Word, and communicate on the level of faith, they will come to be "com-munity," "Church," a communion of faith and fraternal love and sharing, centered in the person of Christ Who Himself being sent by the Father shares His mystery and His mission with them. Concluding Observations The program takes for granted that each province is willing to forego the questionable security of uniformity in order to permit the pluriformity of God's gifts to be manifested in each sister and each local community and to be used for the People of God. It has been. an enriching experience for the general team members to discover and encourage the diversity of expressions of what it means to be an Adorer of the Blood of Christ according to the very different realities of South or Central America, Europe, Africa, Australia,: or the U.S.A. Christ's redemptive love has as many facets as there are Adorers seriously seeking to live it. It is our conviction that it is in this living out of the God experience that genuine renewal takes place in a congregation and that the Church will more fully "radiate before all men the lovable features of Jesus Christ" (Message to"Hurnanity, Fathers of Vatican II, October 20, 1962). UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY AND WHAT ONE COMMUNITY IS DOING ABOUT IT During the summer of 1973 the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, a papal congregation of approximately 400 sisters, held a general chapter to elect officers, evaluate the previous four years which had been lived under the mandate of renewal, and, if possible, heal some of the wounds which had been infl!cted during that time. It was an ordinary event in that many con-gregations throughout the United States were involved in the same pro-cesses: election, evaluation,~ and healing. Yet many of those who partici-pated felt that a surprising degree of success had been achieved ,.in a struggle that many had been ready to concede. Articles have been written in which the clarion call to a radical move has been sounded: religious have been advised to recognize the deep theo-logical differences present in religious congregations, and having recog-nized them to agree (amicably?) to divide along the line of those differ-ences and go separate ways, rather like Lot and Abraham whose flocks and slaves were continually wrangling ov.er pasture space. In reaction against that advice, this article is written in the conviction that the ex-perience of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange is a demonstration that Review for Religious, F'olume 33, 1974/3 differences can be mediated and compromises made so that, in the con-fusion and difficulties that will continue to exist, a congregation united by the history that brought them to this moment, can go forward together. The Chapter of 1968 We had arrived at the present situation in much the same manner as had other congregations. In 1968, in obedience to the motu proprio of 1966, the congregation held an extraordinary chapter of affairs in which widespread changes were initiated: changes in government, in prayer style, in communal living, in dress. The mainfocus of change was in the amount of individual freedom given to the sisters in areas in which they had form~edy been under a superior's authority. There was great sincerity in the enactments of this first chapter. A year of study and prayer on the part of the total congregation as well as elected study commissions prepared the "proposals" which were the con-tent of the chapter discussions. At the same time, there was within the congregation a wide spectrum of readiness to accept the changes. Some sisters had done little reading or listening during the year of preparation; others had eagerly awaited certain changes as outlets to their own rest-lessness. Many, of course, had understood the spirit and purpose of the changes sought by Vatican II. This difference in understanding and implementing the chapter decrees was reinforced by the presence of valid, though often radical, theological differences within the thinking of the members of the community. These theological differences were no more than a microcosmic mirroring of the variety of theological opinions within the Church today; but in a religious congregation, where theology influences life styles, the tensions produced are often greater. This is especially so when the various "schools" of thought tend to look upon each other with suspicions of orthodoxy. Preparations for the 1973 Chapter Conscious of these divisions in thinking, understanding, and accept-ance, and anxious at the same time not to negate the good that had been achieved, the general council of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange moved in the autumn of 1971 to set up the preparations for the general chapter, a full 18 months before that chapter was to take place. Aware that a sensi-tive outsider is often of great benefit where emotions run high, they hired Mr. Bruce Calkins of Communication, Evaluation, Planning. Together with Mr. Calkins they set in motion the first stage of preparation which was a series of c6mmunity-wide discussions in small groups on the issues about which people were concerned. The total con.gregation met in three different places and formed group of 10 or 11; to facilitate these groups a fairly large number of sisters had been personally trained by Mr. Calkins. One essential goal in this training was to prepare the facilitators to accurately Two Renewal Reports / 527 record and report opinion from the group and from individual sisters. The subject matter of the first round of discussions was everybody's hope and fears; each sister was encouraged to speak her desires and apprehensions and every nuance of every expression was included in the written report that came out of the discussions. Later discussions were formulated from the concerns .expressed in this initial discussion. They included the prob-lem of unity and diversity, personal identification with the nature and pur-pose of' the congregation, prayer, identification with the canonical structure of the church, etc. A Communication Center had been set up to process the written ~eports produced by the small group discussions. Again trained by Mr. Calk~ins, a group of sisters collated the opinions expressed in the small groups giving attention both to opinions expressed by large numbers of sisters and the isolated insights of one or few sisters. A typical piece of reporting follows: A. DO WE WANT TO BE ONE CONGREGATION? 1. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange should be one Congregation with an interdependence among individuals, local com-munities, and sub-groups (312 sisters, 36 groups) Comments: In one congregation strength and security are evidenced in: --unity of spirit and goals (70 sisters, 8 groups) --mutual support (56 sisters, 6 groups) --shared talents and resources (37 sisters, 4 groups) --financial support (36 sisters, 4 groups) --support and health care for s~nior sisters (19"sisters, 2 groups) --options for personal choice in apostolic experience (8 sisters, 1 group) If we are one community, there can be continuity in our work (45 sis-ters, 5 groups) The community should continue its work within the Church as a re-ligious congregation, e.g., retain canonical status (10 sisters, 2 groups). A voluntary association of totally autonomous local communities or sub-group may be a possibility,in t~e future (3 sisters, 2 groups). Qualifications: "Interdependence" and "local autonomy" should be understood as they are spelled out in KOINONIA (51 sisters, 14 groups). The statement should be expanded: "One congregation with a spiritual and financial interdependence among members, granting to local com-munities responsible freedom to solve problems and difficulties" (10 sisters, 1 group). There should be partial autonomy as well as interdependence (5 sisters, 1 group). More sub-groups should be encouraged, a certain amount of autonomy given, and the membership be mobile and diverse (5 sisters, 1 group). 5211 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 Geographic sub-groups should be encouraged, a certain amount of autonomy given and the membership be mobile and diverse (5 sisters, 1 group). Power and authority should originate in the local community (3 sisters, 1 grouP). There should be an awareness of and sensitivity to local conditions (4 sisters, 1 group). To this tabulated report, Mr. Calkins appended an analysis of his own and frequently it was optimistic enough to keep us going through tedious days. The analysis highlighted common concerns and identified areas of consensus and disagreement. It also identified compatible differences of opinion and emphasis, and it suggested follow-up questions. Besides ac-cumulating a wealth of data on community opinion for the chapter dele-gates when at last they met, these discussions were a satisfactory forum of self-expression to many people. Most people learned how to articulate their real, often sensitive feelings without being threatened or threatening others. Every member became a part of the decision-making process. At least part of the success of the small groups lies in the very specific questions which, after the first open-ended discussion, were formulated for follow-up discussion. No one was able to evade expressing her personal convictions by a general statement or a pious utterance. For instance, one question on the nature and purpose of the congregation was: "Do you feel confident enough about what it is to be a Sister of St. Joseph of Orange to encourage quali-fied young women to. join the congregation, if you have the opportunity?" Reasons had to be given for one's answer. Another strength of these dis-cussions surely was that each sister's individual qualification or comment was included if she desired. The tabulations and analyses were sent to the congregation as soon as they were completed. Formulating Policy Statements After one year of these discussions and communications, the community elected its forty-six delegates. They quickly formed themselves into com-mittees to handle what seemed to be the critical question of the congrega-tion at this time: Nature and purpose, prayer, communal life, regional dif-ferences (we have sisters in Australia and Papua/New Guinea) and apos-tolate. The task of these committees was twofold: to formulate specific questions to be addressed to the congregation through the instrumentality of a questionnaire; more importantly, to formulate policy statements which would be operative for the congregation during the next four years. The use of the term "policy statement" was masterful. One of the crucial issues today, it seems, is when to legislate and when to motivate. During a chapter it is often necessary to do both at once for questions that are highly personal and yet of common consequence. By calling enactments, "policy Two Renewal Reports statements," something less than legislation but more than exhortation is created. Policy statements are binding, yet they are of broad scope and are implemented with discrimination in individual situations. They set clear directions without binding congregational leadership and individual sisters io detailed (and often untried) methods of implementation. With each proposed policy statement, the'committees identified those responsible for its implementation. They also attached documentation from reputable sources, e.g., conciliar and papal decrees, Scripture, earlier en-actments of the congregation, and reports of the congregation-wide dis-cussion. These policy statements, with the responsibility statements and the documentation were sent to the congregation at large; and every sister was asked to react individually to each of the policy statements. An ex-ample of a policy statement is: POLICY ST.4 TEMENT 111: IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY COME TOGETHER TO SEARCH FOR THE WILL OF GOD AND TO SEEK GROUP DECISIONS FOR ACTION. Implementation and Responsibility: I. The local coordinator sees that community meetings are held regularly so that the members of the group can contribute to authority at the local level and fulfill its responsibility for local community living. Each sister takes seriously her responsibility to contribute to authority at the local level by participating at these meetings. The local coordinator encourages all to share ideas and to promote and articulate consensus within the group. The local coordinator implements decisions made by the local community and helps the members of the group to implement them. DOCUMENTATION: Koinonia, pp. 11, 12, 74. Sacred Congregation for Religious, Decree, February 2, 1972. Sacred Congregation for Religious, letter on Women's Institutes, July 10, 1972. PC ET #25. Summaries of the response of the sisters to each proposed policy statement were ~ivailable just prior to the convening of the chapter. The 1973 chapter As the delegates gathered on July 9th for business sessions (a new executive council had been elected at the end of June), they had the fol-lowing data at their disposal: appropriate Church documents, policy state-ments as responded to by the congregation, results of both the community discussions and of the individual questionnaires. They also came armed with the conviction (heavily documented by the reports from the congrega- 530 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 tional discussions) that whatever the difficulties in working out a com-promise, it was better to remain united than to be divided either officially or unofficially. This conviction contained the implicit recognition that no one's theology and no group's point of view was adequate to the total reality of religious life and each had always to be complemented by another. This recognition is epitomized in the following prayer of St. Augustine which the delegates shared. Let us, you and I, lay aside all arrogance. Let neither of us pretend to have found the truth. Let us seek it as something unknown to both of us. Then we may seek it with love and sincerity, when .neither of us has the rash: ness or presumption to believe that he already possesses it. And if I am asking too much of you, allow me to listen to you at least, to talk with you as I do to beings whom, for my part, I do not pretend to understand. It is difficult to judge which of many chapter processes contributed most to its success. The physical set-up of the chapter room .played its part cer-tainly; chapter delegates were seated around tables in groups of six and two-thirds of the room was set up for observers. With the beginning of each new topic of discussion, the delegates drew cards which indicated at which table they were to sit; so the interaction of'the small groups changed constantly. All business sessions were chaired by Mr. Calkins and the direc-tive presence of a skilled, disinterested person was an obvious asset every day of the chapter. Each day began with 45 minutes of shared prayer, frequently the most peaceful and harmonious minutes of the day! No one will be able to calcu-late the effect of this prayer; it is difficult to doubt the sincerity of people when you have shared prayer with them for that length of time and con-sistently, and recognizing sincerity is the first step in working toward com-promise. All topics of discussion were handled first in small' groups at the tables with recorders giving the results at regular intervals. This meant that people were always articulating a variety of opinions, others' as well as their own; controversial opinions were less likely to be linked to personalities but were simply listed along with more .acceptable opinions, a process designed to "defuse" some of the chapter material. (Of course, individuals could and did speak for themselves; the use of recorders did not obviate individual discussion.) The chapter stayed in informal session until a consensus or near consensus was reached by the group as a whole. No final decision was made by a close vote. Probably there were occasions when some of the people representing more extreme positions gave in out of fatigue rather than conviction but, by and large, the consensus reached truly represented a position acceptable to almost everyone. Thus described, the chapter sessions sound heavy and tedious and often they were; frequently, however, they Two Renewal Reports / 531 were lightened by unintentional humor. After a particularly touchy session, the chair opened formal session with the question, "Are you ready for the emotion?" Another time a sister of rather ample size eloquently (and in-nocently) articulated her position: "I wish to stand heavily on our tradi-tion." In addition to humor, certain symbolic actions brought home to us both the significance and relative insignificance of our decision-making. All dur-ing the sessions a few members of the Congregation traveled back and forth from the Motherhouse to the San Joaquin Valley where they served the ideals of justice for the farm worker and non-violent protest by picket-ing, interpreting, and, ultimately, going to jail. This was a constant re-minder to us that whatever our internal difficulties there were larger needs to be met and we had best get about it quickly. These sisters also served to renew our optimism on days when our vision seemed limited to the picayune. Last Days of the Chapter ,. , During the last week of the chapter the delegates decided to try to dramatize their own vision of the chapter as an instrument of service to the larger community. Consequently, they bought and prepared the food for a "poor feast" which they then served to the rest of the community. The hours spent kneading and baking brea~l in the bakery, chopping the vegetables for "ratatouille" and the fruits for salad were marvelous therapy; and waiting on tables full of friends some of whom we may not have seen for some time, was a joyous experience. This "poor feast" symbolistically expressed the concern voiced during pre-chapter discussion and articulated by the chapter, namely, that we were one congregation with a diversity of opinion, life style, and theologies; that this diversity strengthened our sense of community and gave us better preparation for witness and service; and that we would continue to be one congregation fostering unity through our diversity! Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery Gregory I. Carlson, S.J. Gregory Carlson lives at Hegemann House; 2535 LeConte Avenue: Berkeley, California 94709. Spiritual direction is receiving strong encouragement today among religious communities. In fact there are those, myself included, who see it as an integral part of religious vitality. For this experience to be of genuine help to religious persons, both directors and directees must know what it calls on them to do. Otherwise spiritual direction runs the risk of becoming just another episode in a series of religious fads, perhaps meaningful to those few who have entered into and understood it, but one more disappointing and discarded panacea to those who for whatever reason have not succeeded in assimilating this experience functionally into their lives. What ! propose to do in this article therefore is to give a careful description of spiritual direction and what it involves and to suggest by reflecting on the paschal mystery what place it has in the life of an apostolic religious. I speak prin-cipally from the viewpoint of someone who has profited from excellent spiritual direction through most of fifteen years of religious life--and has learned something too from the lack of it through several important years during this time. What Direction Is Not What I have called spiritual direction is rather specific, and I would therefore like to distinguish it from three other important experiences of religious life: 1. Spiritual direction is not the normal exchange of advice and feedback among friends. Spiritual direction is more regular than these hap-hazard occurrences and sometimes involves things one would not 532 Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery / 533 want to discuss with his or her friends, as well as things to which one's friends are perhaps equally blind. 2. Spiritual direction is not problem-solving or decision-making. Both of these call for advice from the person consulted. They tend to fix on one area of a person's life and to occur at crisis periods. 3, Spiritual direction is not psychological counseling. Many of us will find it worthwhile to analyze under competent care the history and dynamics of our own feeling patterns. This counseling tends again to fix on problem areas and to seek a solution in terms of under-standing one's own history or modifying one's behavior. It can go on and does without any reference to God. While each or all of these experiences may be involved in spiritual direction at a given time, there is a core of spiritual direction that is different. What Direction Is What is spiritual direction then? It is a conversation in which, with the help of another, a person expresses his or her experience of faith and dis-cerns its character and movement. Let us look briefly at the three central elements in this description. 1. This is a conversation, not simply an account read off to someone, and each party has a distinct part to play in it. Though the purpose of this conversation concerns the growth of one of its partners, the faith, commitment, and experience of both are actively at work. 2. The first purpose" of this conversation is the expression of one's experience of faith, its clarification and objectivization. If we want to come to grips with and appropriate what is going on within us, we have to try to express it, conceptualize it even, frame it in some kind of words, even as we realize that the words will never fit the experience adequately. Put another way, spiritual direction is an opportunity we give ourselves for the precise purpose of raising more and more of our experience to a level of faith. Our purpose here is by no means to get a firm conceptual hold on or control of God, but simply to recognize in faith the extent and depth of His presence in our lives. This is not an escapist head-trip that tries to intellectualize reality, but a patient effort to recognize God in all the complexity of His presence to us, on all the levels of our being. Words are simply our normal tools for expressing this, tools that have a way of com-mitting us and challenging us to stand up to what we express with them. At its best, spiritual direction is one place where we can put aside rhetoric and admit with full honesty what we are experiencing. 3. The second purpose of this conversation is discernment upon our experience of faith. Granted the honest expression of what we are experiencing, can we see better wha~ is happening in our lives with 534 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 God, where He is leading us, what rhythms and patterns our rela-tionship shows? What sort of overall direction has our relationship been developing? Where do the moods and movements that carry me away from God arise? What kind of decision has led me to Him in the past? Here the partners in the dialogue of spiritual direction can bring to bear all the wisdom of Christian tradition concerning the discernmei~t of the spirits that work upon a person. Such are, for example, Ignatius Loyola's rules that for a person seeking God peace is the normal and basic touchstone of His lead, or that a person should learn to see the pattern of the developments in his or her life by looking back over their beginning, middle, and end, or that one's prayer should follow the line of consolation. Again, this sort of scrutiny of our continuing experience of God is not a matter of box-ing Him in, of trying to find some categories that will define for good what He is and how He works, but rather a matter of picking up some sense of the rhythm and pattern, of the dynamic of His touch upon us. What this scrutiny teaches us is, among other things, to be ready for the surprises by which the God of Christian tradition has distinguished Himself. The Director's Role As it is the role of the person seeking spiritual direction to submit his or her experience to scrutiny, to probe patiently, and to admit courageously both the ver.y good and the evil things that he or she sees, both the very surprising and~ the routine elements of his or her experiences; so it is the role of the director not to teach, not to advise, not to judge, not to direct, not to decide, not to belittle, but (1) to ask those questions that will help the directee to clarify his or her own experience and discern its meaning and (2) to suggest at times a possible interpretation for what is going on in the directee's life. It is of course one of the commonest facts of human inter-change that the overarching pattern of my experience is sometimes closed to me as I live in the midst of it. I may need someone to suggest this meaning; once it is suggested; only I am in a position to judge whether it is right or wrong. It is finally the role of the director (3) to encourage the directee. I repeat: the director does not direct. I retain the word "direction" in discussing it here simply because it is the traditional terminology for this particular area of religious life. "Counseling" comes closer than "direction" to describing this reality, but it unfortunately suggests that the relationship centers on getting advice from someone who knows my life better than I do. Any suggestion that I give to another person some of my unique re-sponsibility to understand and shape my life misrepresents real spiritual direction. Seen at one level, what we are really seeking is self-direction, but at a deeper level, even "self-direction" does not do justice to what we are Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery / 535 describing. Godloves each of us in a unique way and finds surprising ways to lead us to life and service, ways neither we nor others could have dreamed of. The point at issue then is not simply how we direct ourselves but how we facilitate God's direction of us. And this is precisely what spiritual direction tries to do: to facilitate God's own direction of us in our lives. Qualities of a Good Director To whom should one go for direction? There are advantages at times to having someone outside one's own community; one particular advantage is that with a priest director, one can relate one's direction to sacramental confession. Still, in general, it seems better to choose someone from one's own religious community and even within one's present living community if it is not too small. The reason is simPle: in normal circumstances a per-son with whom one is in frequent and general contact will know him or her better than an outsider and can therefore listen and understand more perceptively than others. What should one look for in this director? 1. Most importantly, a director should be someone you can trust as well as someone who trusts you and respects you. It should be some-one who can help to support in you a living sense that God loves you, since the whole purpose of direction is to let the love with which God loves you shine through your life and lead you to greater in-timacy with Him. 2. A director should be someone with experience, both broadly human experience and specifically religious experience, as a basis for understanding what he or she hears. 3. A director should have balance, prudence, and discretion. 4. Finally, a person should look for a director with compassion. There are such persons in religious communities right now, and there is no reason why their fellow religious should hesitate in asking them to be of service as directors. Some Suggestions Let me add four particular suggestions on how to make spiritual direction as helpful as it can be. First, e~xpect it to be difficult. Honest self-revelation to another human being should be difficult. Yet the experience of knowing this difficulty and still going ahead--and finding the understanding and trust of another--is a worthwhile experience of Christian community. Appropri-ating our own experience and sharing it with others go together, and the support and challenge we find in sharing our life with someone else is a powerful help in appropriating it for ourselves. A good way to begin a session is by describing your prayer. Spiritual direction is, of course, pointless if you do not pray, that is, if among the other forms of your prayer you do not have some time for quiet and per- 536 / Review [or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 sonal listening to the Word. A second form of prayer that has special value for. spiritual direction is quiet personal prayer toward the end of the day directed to sensing the pattern of the day, to feeling how God and I have interacted during it. Many people find keeping a journal a good way to make this prayer.' The best way to become aware is to articulate, and a journal can help us not only to become aware of God's work in us at the moment but also to get some sense of the overall movement at the end of a given month or year. This movement will of course be individual: everyone's interaction with God develops in a rhythm that is his or her own. A good spiritual director has no preconceived idea of what he or she wants or expects to hear: the director is simply there to help the directee get into closer touch with the individual rhythm of his or her own life with God. After prayer, a good place to start a session is with the cutting edges of my life. Often a good immediate preparation for a session of spiritual direc-tion is a quiet period of prayer in which we simply let ourselves become aware of what we are feeling. The purpose of the prayer and the session is to see and admit where God fits into this. Am I at peace? What is bothering me? What unfinished business is lying around in the corners of my life? What problems am I facing and how do I react to them? What decisions lie before me, and how do I feel about them? There is always ample mate-rial for conversation and reflection if we let our lives, especially our emo-tional and social lives, surface in the presence of God. Finally, a good director will ask from time to time what the directee thinks of their relationship. This gives the directee a chance to say that the director is too judgmental, too restrictive of appropriate matter for con-versation, not challenging enough, not compassionate enough, not willing to share his or her own experience. A good director will open the door to this kind of feedback regularly; but even when it is not sought, a directee should feel encouraged to offer it. Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery The paschal mystery is the pattern of our lives, not just of some ideal life we should be living and not just of someone else's life. Being a Christian means living out this mystery revealed dramatically in the fate of Jesus Christ. Spiritual direction is an occasion to find, recognize, and assent to this mystery as we live it. It is a mystery: it is revealed to us by God, and we find it only in assent to Him and His word. It is good for us to put our-selves into the position of Martha and to be asked "Do you believe this?" This is, as we have seen, the first question put to us by the spiritual direction situation. Here we can attempt to articulate and express the faith we live l[Edilor's hole: For one treatment of journal keeping and the life of prayer, see Edward J. Farrell, "The Journal--A Way into Prayer," Review /or Religious, v. 30 (1971), pp. 751-6.] Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery / 537 by. But this mystery is not opaque, not superimposed on our "real" life; we believe it is the real pattern underlying the surface meaning of events, and we can progressively understand and enter into it. With Augustine and Anselm, we believe in order to understand. And all this is only an applica-tion of what we said earlier about the second purpose of spiritual direction: discernment upon our faith experience. It is good for us to have an occa-sion, a time and a place, where we can try out loud with another person to get hold of the mystery we find shaping our lives. How is Christ's paschal mystery the pattern of our lives? Let me suggest three ways as they pertain to the work of spiritual direction. Dying and Finding New Life The culminating event of Jesus' life was a matter of a seed falling into the ground and dying and giving birth to new life. In the face of the onslaught of death He trusted in His Father and found that His Father saved. In dying He found a new and fuller life given Him by His Father. Now we are dying every day. Growing up means, among other things, giving up, giving up many of the things we have loved and enjoyed, like any number ot~ immediate satisfactions and the security and dependence we knew as children. Every decision we make during our lives involves the same threat that becomes overpowering in death: we ,lose something. We suffer the loss of immediate contact with our friends, we suffer the loss by death of those we love, we suffer the pruning of one alternative to let the other grow, we move from one kind of work we enjoy to another that has greater responsibility for other people, we give up particular hopes that have proved unrealistic. We go, in the words of one of Bergman's charac-ters, step by step into the darkness, and every decision is a new step into the unknown. And as we move on into later life, the pattern is the same: loss. We lose our quickness and agility; our minds and limbs suffer an in-evitable hardening. We give up the effectiveness we once enjoyed and the communication with others that we cherished. At last we must give up all that we have had to face the darkness unarmed. Responses to Death In the face of the death that is at work in our lives right now, we can respond by turning away, forgetting it, denying it in the style contemporary American culture has developed into a high art. Or we can let it under-mine our love for and commitment to life and turn instead to subtle de-spair and cynicism at the deepest levels of ourselves. Or we can do what Jesus did: face it squarely with hope in a God that can save us and all that is beautiful and cherished. If we face it squarely, we can see in many of our little deaths that they are an entrance into new life. Giving up one alternative leads us to growth; a step into the darkness brings light into our lives and those of others. That is what Jesus experienced, and it is a 538 / Review [or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 pattern o1~ our experience. It is good for us to have a chance in the spiritual direction situation to confess this honestly to ourselves and to see in the concrete details of outown experience how this mystery is at work. And this is precisely what we commit ourselves to do in spiritual direction: to attempt to confess and to understand. Let me spell this out for one critical area of our experience as religious. Many religious find after some years of religious life marked perhaps by a youthful enthusiasm and exuberance that they are faced with the in-creasing revelation of levels of themselves that are not easy to look at: they find layers of anger, fear, and hostility that they had not suspected in themselves. Even more basically, they discover gradually the depths of ¯ evil in themselves: their own resistance to God and His love becomes more and more patent. They feel a sense of shame over what they are and wonder if they can continue a life that seems to them to have become a sham. They can deny these things and turn away from them into a kind of schizophrenic religious life with God and joy and service in one part and a lot of muck in the other. Or they can settle into quiet and bitter despair over.the levels of themselves which God seems unable to reach. Without an opportunity for explicit articulation of our experience in the light of our belief, such schizophrenia and despair are indeed possible. The alternative is to face these things squarely and honestly with trust in a God that can save. We can raise even this stratum of our experience to a level of faith, admit its existence, invite God to save even this, and submit ourselves with patience and trust to the mysterious way He has chosen for saving us. In the language of Gestalt psychology, we can try in the context of spiritual direction to appropriate this part of ourselves, claim it as our own, refuse to leave it as an absurd and gnawing force in our lives, bring it to closure or completeness by seeing it as one area where God asks us, as He asked Jesus, to submit to death with trust in Him. The areas and ways in which this surfaces will be different in each of our lives, but for each of us it is here in the concrete experiences of death that the paschal mystery of Christ is at work. Finding God Looked at from another side, the paschal mystery for Jesus was His discovery of the full presence of God. The cross says that God was most present to Jesus at a time when a good Jew would have been least aware of Him, in the experience of death. The paschal mystery is the overturn-ing of the traditional Jewish view--a view we all have quite naturally-- that Yahweh is simply not involved in death. Here, where we least expect His presence, He makes His power felt with ultimacy. In His weakness Jesus realized experimentally the full power o1~ God. Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery / 539 The same mystery is at work in us. Our lives are a matter of finding God at work in more and more areas of our life. This includes finding Him where we did not suspect that He could be at work, finding Him in our own weakness and emptiness, and finding Him finally in the experience of death. Gerard Manley Hopkins catches this Christian experience in the final lines of the opening stanza of "The Wreck of the Deutschland": ¯ . . and dost thou touch me afresh? Over again I feel thy finger and find thee. In fact we religious have singled this element out to be thematic for our lives. In the midst of a world that has generally given up the search in disappointment, we proclaim boldly that we have found Him and dedicate our lives to a continual rhythm of seeking and finding Him afresh. Over again we feel His finger and find Him. By our vows we choose a kind of life that is gathered around this experience. We must be clear about this. The kind of experience out of which re-ligious dedication grows and on which it is nourished is not a matter of a simple career choice, based on certain talents and aptitudes and ex-pressed in an easily definable role; a person does not become a religious as he or she would become a teacher or a doctor. Nor is it simply a matter of willingness to work for God, hoping somehow that what we do is done for Him and serves His purposes. It is rather a matter of radical openness to and experience of Him through faith at the deepest levels of ourselves. God is not just our business or our goal. Prior to being" men and women from God and working for Him we are men and women of God, and that means people who believe they are touched by Him, in contact with Him. God is the atmosphere in which we live, a part ot~ who we are; our goal is that to encounter us is for the men and women we meet somehow to en-counter God. The life we are trying to live means that the peace, the joy, the energy, the hope that surrounds us is a living invitation to others to come like us under the influence of a loving Father and a redeeming Brother. Apostolic Religious ' A religious is a person for whom finding God is thematic, who con-tinues to reflect on his or her ongoing experience of Him. Apostolic re-ligious, one could well argue, possess the special charism both ,of being, an occasion for encounter with God for the men.and women~they meet, of being quite palpably men and women of God, and of putting their faith at the disposal of others, of articulating in humanly effective terms the presence of God in human life. Now this ability to put our faith at others' disposal obviously demands that we assimilate our experience of God at a very deep level, that we get a real feel for it. A stereotyped articulation of our faith will be as uninviting to others as it will be, eventually, cloying for us. If what we proclaim and what we live are to match each,, other, 540 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 then we need an occasion to reflect on, articulate, and understand our find-ing of God. And that is precisely what spiritual direction is. As we all know, people are drawn to our life and our belief far more by what we do than by what we say. Christianity is lived in service to other people. Still, there does come a time, frequently in our kind of life, when someone--impressed, invited, or puzzled by our lives--asks what it is all about. That is a critical moment. The answers we give this person have to square with what he or she has seen in us. To give this kind of witness to the faith we live by demands that we do ongoing reflection and discernment upon our faith experience. Putting that faith at the disposal of others is not easy, °but it is the task to which we as apostolic religious are called. If religious are called to occasion encounter with God and to put their faith at the disposal of others, then it is part of the charism of our kind of vowed life to be spiritual directors, again for want of a better name, for the community of faith. The Christian, declared or anonymous, should find in us what we have talked about finding in a spiritual director: an experienced, patient, trusting listener to and supporter of people's belieL People come to us with their own experiences of faith and insights into it, and they are seeking precisely those things spiritual direction is meant to give: an opportunity to be listened to, to get hold of something too difficult to work out within oneself alone, to be taken seriously as a believer, to be encouraged in" the difficult struggle of faith. The best way to school ourselves for this service is to submit ourselves to the process of spiritual direction. Serving Others Let us look at the paschal mystery from one other side. In his death and resurrection, Jesus climaxed the life he lived as the suffering servant not only of Yahweh but of his fellow men. Here on the cross he poured out his life literally for others: he became accessible to all men here as the revelation of God's saving work. This is the pattern of our lives as Christians: learning more and more to give our lives for others and so to be a revelation for them of God's saving work. This is a joyful and fulfilling experience, but it costs con-stantly. Every day presents a new invitation to mature and healthy gener-osity, to overcoming our selfishness and putting more and more of our-selves at the disposal of others. The concrete forms of this invitation are different in each of our lives, and they change and develop as life goes on. At one time it is a matter of choosing what concrete form of service allows us to help people most; at another time it is a question of how we can be there most for the others in our community; at still another time we will have to confront traits of ours that are hardest on other people. These are not minutiae separate from the action of God; rather they are pre- Spiritual Direction and the Paschal Mystery / 541 cisely where the mystery of Christ's dying and living for others is present now. They have therefore to be faced with all .the seriousness, imagination, and generosity we can bring to the task of pouring ourselves out for others. If prayer is a chance we give ourselves in the midst of busy lives to hear and ponder these challenges to service, spiritual direction is a further chance to admit to another person how serious the challenges are, to give shape through words to our imaginative glimpses into how we can respond, and to express out loud our commitment to respond generously. This all looks so easy and so clinical as I discuss it here. My point is that the mystery of Christ's dying and rising takes place now precisely in the give and take, the tears, the anger and frustration, the joy too of the real decisions and passions of our lives. Our calling challenges us to submit just these things to the vision of faith that stands before Jesus' Father and says "This is your work" and that learns to see in our own dying and living for others the extension of Jesus' action here and now. Letter to a Person Beginning Spiritual Direction Gerald E. Keele Father Gerald E. Keefe is spiritual director at The Saint Paul Seminary; 2260 Summit Avenue; St. Paul, Minnesota 55105. The article is a letter that Father Keefe gives to each person beginning spiritual direction with him. Dear Friend in Christ, Please accept this letter as an attempt on my part to offer an explanation of some ideals that I hold about spiritual direction. I would like to make it as personal as possible, personal insofar as I sense your presence while ~ write, personal insofar as I want to make transparent my thoughts about this sacred privilege. Trinitarian Spiritual Direction I try to be Trinitarian in offering spiritual direction. What do I mean by that? I mean that from the Church's contemplation of the Triune God certain realities emerge that are worthy of our adoration and imitation. We learn that Father, Son, Spirit are personal in their relationships; they hold each other as equals; they are distinct from one another; they are in deep, perfect union with each other; they are One. Spiritual direction strives to reproduce these divine relationships in the human, but Spirit-filled, dialogue that occurs. It is important that the communications be personal. We try to avoid generalities, abstractions, intellectualizing that render the communication impersonal and sterile. Both of us must strive to speak from our interior convictions or lack of them. We are not two computers exchanging informa-tion but two persons trying tO grow in faith and love together. Like Jesus 542 Letter to a Person Beginning Spiritual Direction / 543 in His post-resurrection appearance to the Apostles we want to exclaim, "It's really I" (Lk 24:39). For the relationship to be personal we must adore and imitate the equality that Father, Son, Spirit celebrate with each other. Both of us must strive to overcome any feelings of superiority or inferiority that would damage the Trinitarian ideal we cherish. We must strive to accept our fundamental equality with each other. Equality without Sameness ° When both of us do this we can enjoy a certain relaxation. We do not have to put on pretences or airs but simply be ourselves. We can have ex-changes that ai'e honest, humble, accepted. We are not threatened ~it all, because we see each other as equals. Our conversation at once has the en-couragement that comes from an equal. We begin to fulfill the command of Christ, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 23:39). When we avoid being'above or below one another we can enjoy what it is to cherish an-other person as you do yourself. Equality makes this possible. This equality is not sameness or blindness. This equality discovers, ap-preciates, and celebrates the distinctions that are present between us, just as Father, Son, Spirit thrill at their distinctions. The distinctions do not loom up as threats but rather as cause for rejoicing as we recognize our otherness. Our differences of age, authority, position, talents, grace are not cause for fear or separation but rather become stimulation and excite-ment to share in a complementary way our personal gifts. God's gifts are always meant to'be shared, to become mutual, to build up the Body of Christ. Gifts that are isolated quickly diminish and vanish. Gifts that are shared increase and endure. When we prayerfully strive to make our relationship reflect the personal-ness, the equality, the distinctions of Father, Son, Holy Spirit we will begin to experience some of the joy that St. Paul felt in the counseling that he offered to others. It will unite us in Christ. It will enable us to realize be-tween ourselves what St. Paul expressed unabashedly to his people in state-ment of fact. "You have a permanent place in my heart" (Phil 1:7), as well as in his request, "Keep a place for us in you~ hearts" (1 Cor 7:2). Trinitarian Dialogue: I Am Son If we have accepted the Trinity as the basis for our relationship, then we should strive to give expression to this in our dialogue. Paradoxically I will often act as Son to you. What do I mean by this? I mean that just as the Son is the reflection, the exact likeness, the glory, the splendor, the word, the obeyer of the Father, so will I strive to be like that toward you. I will encourage you to be Father by initiating whatever thoughts, con-victions you have about your life and then 1 will strive to respond toward you with the same fidelity that the Son responds to the heavenly Father. 544 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 I want to do this so well that you might exclaim in some silent, equivalent way, "This is my own dear Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Mt 17:5). I want to become word for you, not word for myself. You can see yourself in me. I have become the reflection of you by words. You have the privilege of seeing yourself mirrored in the faithful, attentive words of another person. This mirroring enables you to see your-self more objectively and clearly. The understanding, the acceptance that you receive by my response to you should bring delight even though in the process your flaws might become more apparent. The hope that I carry is that my responses will help you to "become perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). My being Son to you enables you to grow in the likeness of the Father, to strive, to become what Jesus was, "the exact likeness" (Heb 1:3), of the Father. Trinitarian Dialogue: I Am Father There are other times when I will act as Father to you. I will initiate thoughts and suggestions that seem to fit your life.In these moments I then seek your response, your sonship, your word. I want you to recapture what I have. said so that I know you understand. I will draw from experiences of my life, from my prayers, my reading, my studies to be a good father to you. I crave to see you accept what you behold in me and adapt it to yourself. I pray that the experiences of my life bear fruit in your life. When we become conscious of a Father-Son dialogue between us it is something deeper than role playing. It is our effort to respond to the Father and Son who abide within each of us. It is an effort to be caught up into the very life of God: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son wants to reveal him" (Mt 11:27). The Father in me reveals the Son in you: "This is my beloved Son" (Mt 3:17). The Son in me reveals the Father in you: "No one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son wants to reveal him." What happens to me also happens to you as we are caught up in the mutuality of Father and Son. The Brooding of the Spirit So long as we are attentive to each other with the fire and breath and love and anointing of the Holy Spirit we will be drawn together in deep dialogue. The Spirit broods over us like the bright cloud of the Transfigura-tion and we witness and participate in the dialogue of Father and Son as intimately as the Apostles, though not as dramatically as they in this splen-did moment of adoration. Yet we can say to one another in an accom-modated way "In your light we see light" (Ps 36:10) and "Deep calls unto deep" (Ps 42:8). I know that both of us must grow in holiness together. Just as St. Paul was edified by the faith of his people and his people were edified by his Letter to a Person Beginning Spiritual Direction / 545 faith so also do 1 feel that our faith should be mutually revealed and shared so that both of us mature in Christ, put on the mind of Christ, grow in the stature of Christ. In spiritual direction we stand together or fall together. There is no lukewarm middle ground. Ways of Preparing Yourself There are different ways in which you might review your life in prepara-tion for our visits together. John Wright, S.J., suggests the way of faith, hope, charity. Faith would cause you to discuss the prayer that you experi-ence daily. Hope would suggest that you share your difficulties, sufferings, disappointments, and failures with your spiritual director. Love would prompt you to focus your life on community. These are just organizational suggestions as obviously the three are intimately related and overlap. Another way of organizing a review is to consider word, sacrament, community and try to perceive your living of these ideals. Still another way could be your contemplation of Father, Son, Sp!rit to see how you responded to their distinct influence in your life. Did I re-veal the Father by initiating, generating, creating, planning, providing? Did I reveal the Son by responding, obeying, articulating, reflecting, mirroring? Did 1 reveal the Spirit by animating, uniting, exciting, anointing, enlighten-ing, comforting? You may well develop some organizational procedures of your own. The main thing is that you can obtain as rounded a view as you can about yourself. This review you can make in moments of prayer or extract from your journal if you keep one. Prayer Together Finally I would like to suggest that at every spiritual-level conversa-tion we have that we pray together. We are trying to discern the mind of God. It seems proper that we approach God in prayer, seeking His blessing on our humble efforts. This should give an unction and direction to our dialogue that will make the total conversation prayerful and sanctifying. I would also like to give you assurance that I will pray for you fre-quently, and by name, to our heavenly Father. I earnestly solicit your fre-quent prayers for me. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellow-ship of the Holy Spirit be ours together. Sincerely, Father Keefe Beginning Spiritual Direction David L. Fleming, S.J. David L. Fleming, S.J., is Co-director of the Institute of Religious Formation at the School of Divinity of St. Louis University; 3634 Lindell Boulevard; St. Louis, Mis-souri 63108. With renewed interest in the role and importance of personal spiritual direc.-_ tion for religious men and women, many questions arise about the prepara-tion for such an undertaking. Questions from those who are considering entering into a spiritual direction relationship include: (1) What should I do to get ready? (2) Will my spiritual director tell me what to do? (3) What should I expect from such a session? Preliminary Considerations Spiritual direction aims at helping a person to make a more whole-hearted response to the drawing power of God's love which continues to be active in each person's life until the day of ultimate union with the Trinity has been accomplished. This way of defining spiritual direction, like every definition, presupposes a number of attitudes upon the part of those who enter into a spiritual direction relationship. It is obvious that we should have some awareness of our own presuppositions before we begin, since what we presuppose greatly affects the kind of answer we will give to our questions. Although there are many ways of summing u~ ex-pected attitudes preliminary to direction, one helpful pattern would in-clude the four areas of: (1) a faith context, (2) God's care, (3) Incarna-tion now, and (4) continual vocation. Let us examine each of these areas. A Faith Context In Christian spiritual direction, life is viewed far more as a mystery of God's forgiving love to be lived than as a problem or a series of problems 546 Beginning Spiritual Direction / 547 of personal development to be solved. Both director and directee enter into this spiritual counseling relationship within a faith context. Faith as God's gift provides a way of knowing which on the one hand cannot ignore the human knowledges which we are capable of attaining, but on the other hand is not bound by the limitations of such knowledges. For example, there is a way in human maturity for a man to come to a certain acceptance of his limitations and even of his own evil tendencies and actions. He comes to claim them as his own and is not incapacitated by them even though he feels helpless before them. There is another whole process in faith by which man the sinner can accept the evil and powerlessness which is a real part of him. This man has a confidence, not directly in himself, but directly stemming from a faith which experiences the power of a love-acceptance by a redeeming God. Consequently, this faith context invades every avenue of our approach to life. Without it, spiritual direction becomes mere counsel-ing-- a good, but not a Christian treasure which direction is meant to be. God's Care As a Christian believer, each of us sees a world that truly is held in the hands of a provident Father. More than that, the idea that every hair on our head is numbered gives concrete expression to a God whose con-cern for each man touches every area of his personal life. When a person enters into the process of direction, he brings an attitude that at least at the level of belief, if not at the more desirable level of experience, allows him a certain "relaxedness" before God. Although spiritual direction may have to help correct some crippling notions of a man's images of God, minimally he gives a notional assent to being wrapped round by the loving care of God. Without some basis of trust, great doubt will cloud even the feasibil-ity of trying to search out God's lead for the good of one's life. Spiritual direction flows out of the presumption that God will ever remain faithful not only in His provident care for a world He has redeemed but also in His personal concern for the sinful person that I am, one who has been formed by his word to call Him "Abba." Incarnation NOW Another presupposition to the notion Of Christian spiritual direction lies in the acceptance that salvation for all men continues to be mediated through their fellowman. This presupposition is just another way of stating the one double commandment which leads to eternal life: love of God and love of neighbor. By God entering so fully into human history that we recognize Jesus Christ as true God and true man--the same who took on the human condition so completely even to death on a cross and now to an everlasting resurrection, mart has so clearly become a part of God's way of salvation that we acknowledge the mystery of people even anonymously mediating the saving presence of Christ. The explicitness of this belief is 548 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 portrayed not just in the last judgment scene of Matthew 25 or Saul's con-version in Acts 9, but also more especially in the Pauline doctrine of the Body of Christ. Priests, preachers, and confessors have always been rec-ognized by the Christian community to be particularly caught up in this mystery of God's mediating power. Spiritual direction, too, is one of these specialized instances when we enter into that mystery of God's ordinary working through our fellowman to lead us along the path of salvation. At the same time, we as Christian believers remain aware that God does touch us very directly in experiences that are penetratingly clear in their effect, while we remain confused to find words which might help us to express it or concepts which might lead us to understand. Knowing the ~3bscure power of our own religious experience, we enter into spiritual direction because we expect that it will gradually aid us in understanding, expressing, and responding to the signs of God's action. In the spiritual direction situation, we know a confidence not primarily in the theological training or counseling technique of a particular director, but rather in the faith that God ordinarily has" us work out our salvation through just such a human director with all his own personal faults and virtues. And so with both parties being caught up in this now-experience of the Incarnation, the director in prayer and in humility will try to assist in uncovering and more deftly identifying the direct and indirect movements of God in one's own personal life. Continual Vocation It has always been evident in the Jewish-Christian tradition that special callings are made to various men and women by God. A/though some con-troversies have arisen about the seriousness of the obligation to respond to such a calling, it has never been denied that such a call on God's part comes from love and can be answered on man's part only from the same free gift of love in return. Particularly as we view our lives of specialized service in the Christian community, we religious are concerned to respond ever more fully to the continual promptings of a jealous God who desires noth-ing more than the total gift of ourselves. Because we believe this is the context of faith in which we live, we enter into spiritual direction desirous to be ever more aware of this continuing call from God. We have in direc-tion the very method and means by which we can come to an understanding of how we not only have reneged on our response but also how we can give answer more full-heartedly. We become accountable in a most incar-nate way, and so we are given new eyes to see with and new hearts to make our response. These presuppositions to spiritual direction, which we have selected, already identify much of what the direction sessions will continue to be about. After all, the four areas cover attitudes which take us to the full depths and l~,eights of our Christian vocation. Perhaps, still, it would be Beginning Spiritual Direction / 549 helpful to point out a few of the other main elements around which spiritual direction is focused from its very beginnings. Approaching the First Interview Presuming that I have begun to clarify in my own mind the presupposi-tions of spiritual direction given to me by my Christian faith horizon, I shou!d focus my first concern upon the area of my prayer life. Do I pray? Dc. I attempt to pray? Do I at least say some prayers? Such questions as these may well be the subject matter of the initial session. But they can also be questions I check myself on before 1 enter into the spiritual direc-tion period. Some directors state dramatically that they do not take some-one into direction unless they give evidence that they pray. A basic condi-tion for .spiritual direction is the sincere desire to lead a life of prayer. Certainly without the fundamental context of prayer the reality of spiritual direction so fades that it quickly falls into trifling talk or gripe sessions. Prayer always remains like the water source which irrigates the entire area so that growth can take place. No matter what crises may arise in the spiritual life, prayer itself ever remains at least as an essential part of the resolution. And so spiritual direction is concerned with the prayer life of an individual from the first session till the end of one's life. Since prayer is the speaking out of my love respons.e to God, it often needs the objectification and clarification which a spiritual director can give or help me to make. As I try to tell a director about my prayer life, per-haps I will be made aware if I use words to hide behind because I am fear-ful to remain quiet in the presence of God. Or perhaps I am fooling myself by trying to hold myself in great stillness where God too is being kept without. There are many ways in which I can find myself in doubt or con-fusion about my own prayer life and its rhythms of growth. For religious, spiritual direction is meant to be of special help in this area more than in any other. In beginning spiritual direction, I also may be asked to sum up my personal history, concentrating especially upon my religious journey up to the present. Each of us does have a personal salvation history, and the director may find it very helpful if I can fill him in on God's action in my life both through human situations of fami!y and education as well as re-ligious experiences of prayer, retreats, and good works. There is no doubt that my response to God is lived out in all the areas of my life--my physical well-being, my emotional and intellectual framework, my social contacts, along with those specifically religious practices of Mass, sacraments, and prayers. Expectations To move into spiritual direction, then, is not so general that it is a matter of "finding someone to talk with." At the same time, spiritual direc- 550 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 tion, like prayer, is not some esoteric practice that has a fixed and rigid agenda of things-to-be-done. Between these two extremes, we are now try-ing to respond to a practice embedded in Christian spiritual tradition with renewed vigor and interest. Within a faith horizon, spiritual direction takes in the whole of my life so that I as a total person might grow in my loving relationship with God. Once I am in this process, I realize that some spiri-tual directors will be more helpful at a particular time in my life than others. I realize, too, that there is no one indispensable director other than God himself. I become aware that ongoing spiritual direction is of greater need in my life some times than at others. My expectations of spiritual direction are reflected in my understanding of Christian growth. No instant magic, just life-giving grace. Occasional breakthroughs that may be dramatic, but always solidifying growth that needs the patience of time. To hold myself accountable to a human director, to find objectification, clarification, and sometimes instruction--these are true and valuable expectations, and they remain expectations to be fulfilled throughout the course of my life. An Enduring Value Spiritual direction has no time limitations on it. We never totally out-grow it; and so it does not become outmoded according to the progress we have made in the spiritual life. The need is present throughout our lives because we are Christians who journey by faith. The regularity or intensity cf spiritual direction in our lives does vary, and the advantage of recog-nizing its continuing importance will allow us to seek it as a matter of course during such moments of greater need. Spiritual direction is one of the ways we most immediately touch the Incarnation in our own lifetime. For us to ever approach it lightly or to reject it as of no value is to find ourselves undermining the deepest roots of our Christian faith. Poetry Sister Mary Ellen Dougherty, S.S.N.D. Sister Mary Ellen, S.S.N.D., a faculty member of the College of Notre Dame of Maryland lives at 6401 North Charles Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21212. Mary Magdalene She was accustomed to their eyes, the blatant desire, the averted glance, those who wanted her without shame and those who did not want to want her. She was not a woman for nothing. This man was different. There was no activity of lust in his eyes, no cool pit of disdain, only a vast and promising sky, with stars for the homeless, and a place for the wounded to fly. She was not a woman for nothing. 551 552 / Review [or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 Promise in the Dark Gently the priest leans over the bed. Pop, what would you like us to pray for? The hearts of his eyes fasten on the knowing aged stare. For God to take me home, his father says in clear diluted tone. We'll pray the third joyful mystery, then that God will take you home. And he begins. Our voices rise and fall with his like footsteps hushed by evening snow. Gravely the old man listens. May the blessing of almighty God . And the words like stars are full of promise in the dark. Finally the priest bends softly to kiss his father's head. For God to take me home, the old man says. For God to take you home, his son replies. The Roots of Christian Prayer Jes6s Solano, S.J. Jest~s Solano, S.J., is the International Director of the Apostleship of Prayer and has his office at Borgo S. Spirito, 5; 00193 Rome, Italy. His article first appeared in the 1972 Apostleship o[ Prayer Directors' Service, pages 218-32. The article is reprinted here with permission. Slight modifications have been made in the first paragraph of the article, and the subheadings throughout the article have been added by the editor of Review [or Religious. In this article we will consider the general concept of prayer and fix our attention on what can be called the "ground" of prayer or, as the title of the article expresses it, the "roots" of prayer--in other words, "why?" we pray. Accordingly, the article will first present a general conspectus of what comes under the name of "prayer" without entering into the matter of the different types of prayer and the problems connected with them. Prayer as Conscious Contact with God Under the word "prayer" we include not only petitions or entreaties made to God, but also adoration, oblation, conversion of heart, thanks-giving, love; we take into consideration both prayers which are prolonged for a lengthy period and those which take the shortest space of time; we call prayer that which is carried out in absolute solitude and that which takes place in the midst of occupations and business, private prayer but also community and liturgical prayer; finally we include prayer as an act and prayer which is more a habit. Prayer, then, in the present article signifies conscious contact with God. It is to be noted that we mean praye.r which proceeds from Christian faith. We in no way exclude the possibility that men, who may not have faith in Christ, enter into conscious contact with God. But for the present we are considering only that prayer which comes from the grace of Christ 553 554 / Review for Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 in the Holy Spirit and which is performed by the faithful in the conscious-ness of Christian faith. Our Self-insufficiency as a Root of Prayer The Lord taught us to pray thus: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Mr 6:13); and He asked the Father in our behalf: "I am not asking., but that you protect them from evil" (Jn 17:15). So St. Paul on the faithfulness of God: "But the Lord keeps faith with us; he will strengthen you and keep you from all harm" (2 Th 3:3). Vigilance is closely allied with prayer according to the precept of the Lord: "Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation" (Mt 26: 41); "Keep watch, then, praying at all times." (Lk 21:36). We must certainly struggle against the enemy of salvation, but prayer must accompany this striving because it is quite clear that mere effort on our part is not sufficient for victory. The Council of Trent speaks in the same sense about prayer: "For God does not command the impossible, but His command is a counsel both to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot, and He helps strengthen you" (Sess. 6, cap. 11; D 1536 [804]). And for the gaining of that great gift of perseverance the Council does not neglect to recommend prayer (Sess. 6, cap. 13: can. 16; D 1541-1566 [806.826]). Vatican II asserts that the steady fulfillment of the duties of the Chris-tian vocation of marriage demands notable virtue. "For this reason . . . the couple will painstakingly cultivate and pray ]or constancy of love, largeheartedness, and the spirit of sacrifice" (GS 49). By her public prayer the Church begs aid and grace from God for religious (LG 45). In general, it is said that in all the perils and needs of the faithful they flee prayer]ully to the protection of the Blessed Virgin (LG 66). Nor would the gospel be fulfilled if one were to think of human in-sufficiency merely in the moral order. The Lord wished that "our daily bread" should also be asked for from the heavenly Father (see Mt 6:11; Lk 11:3). Many of the fathers of the first centuries certainly understood this bread as the Eucharistic bread, but there is no doubt that it must refer also to temporal bread. By prayer we are freed from both moral and material difficulties. Quest of Sanctity as a Root of Prayer Vatican 11 stresses the fact that all the faithful have been called to sanctity (see LG 5), and speaks of the relation between objective sanctity, which is also called ontological, and subjective or moral sanctity (LG 40). There is present a perfect connection between the "life" of God which is given to us in baptism and our work and' our personal cooperation. This sanctity, which is proposed to all Christians for attainment could be best described as the unfolding or development of baptismal sanctity The Roots of Christian Prayer / 555 even to the per]ection of charity and the fulfillment of the duties of their proper state (see LG 39-42). The Christian perceives in a special way his own incapacity to attain to such a lofty goal of "perfection." St. John of the Ci-oss does not hesitate to write in various passages of his admirable "dark night" that man cannot even purify himself of the imperfections which hinder a perfect union of love with God unless God Himself accomplishes this purification, with the passive submission of man (see lib.1, cap.3, n.3; c.6, n.8; c.7, n.5). St. Ignatius of Loyola affirms that all our thoughts, all our words and works are intermingled with various imperfections until God grants those holy gifts which He alone gives, and which it is not in our power to have when we wish (Ep. to Francis Borgia, 20 Sept. 1548). Apostolic Work as a Root ot Prayer The Christian also lacks the power to perfect his labor in apostolic enterprises. He who exercises an apostolate cooperates with this in view, that men may be rescued from the powers of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of Christ (see Col 1:13), and that, once justified, they may become day by day more like the image of the Lord (see Rm 8:29). But in this work God gives the "increase" (see 1 Cor 3:6). In that part also, which belongs to us, of "planting" and "watering" we are quickly made conscious of the surpassing inadequacy of human powers, when we seek to touch men truly and speak to their hearts: "[O Lord,] put persuasive words into my mouth" (Est 14:13). Further, the difficulties of apostolic labor are often so grievous that St. Paul could say: "[They] were more of a burden than we could carry, so that we despaired of coming through alive," so that we must rely not on ourselves but in God, "who has preserved us, and is preserving us, from such deadly peril; and we have learned to have confidence that he will prescrve us still. Only you, too, must help us with your prayers." (2 Cor l:8-11). Prayer and Our Existential Solitude The prayer of Christ, so pi'olonged and solitary in the ministry of His public life, remains for us wrapped in mystery. Though he became truly "altogether" like us (Heb 2: 17), we rightly perceive His "solitude" as one of His motivating forces~ because thus He would persevere in prayer "alone" with the Father. This solitude of Christ, besides, stemmed from the fact that what He uttered was not understood by men (see Lk 2:50; Mt 15:16; 16:23; Jn 20:9), and consequently He. went "uncomprehended": "No one knows the Son except the Father" (Mt 11:27). The man who has the faith of Christ sees himself particularly "alone" in respect to the world: "It is because you do not belong to the world. 556 / Review Jor Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 that the world hates you" (Jn 15:19). Vatican II proposes the example of Christ who teaches us "that we too must shoulder that cross which the world and the flesh inflict upon those who search after peace and justice" (GS 38). But these who follow Christ "perfectly" are afflicted with a still more interior solitude, since their transcendent faithfulness is not perceived or judged aright by the majority of those who share their faith. To whom, therefore, can we go save to Him, who dwells in us (see Jn 6:56; 14:20-3; 15:4; 1 Jn 2:24; 3:24), and probes our hearts (see Rom 8:27; I Cor 4:5; Ps 138)? The distinctive solitude of the Christian derives also from the fact that it often remains uncertain how the gospel of Christ is to be applied to complex concrete circumstances of our life. This is particularly true in times of rapid and profound change such as ours. For this the "mind of Christ" is required, and this can scarcely be dis-covered save by constant and intimate contact with God, so that we can make our decisions quasi connaturally according to the mind of Christ. Prayer of Faith as Permanent Response to God Christian faith consists essentially in "receiving" Christ (see. Jn 1:2). This is true of the first and decisive act of faith but goes on to determine all Christian life, which is a permanent response to God, and for that reason is continually directed towards God, ever seeking and accepting Him. What we have noted so far sufficiently indicated this character of Chris-tian faith. Nevertheless, it is helpful to reflect upon it, since this feature constitutes the specific novelty between Christianity and all other religions, and is derived from the fact that Christianity proclaims: "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8-16). Most appropriately St. John adds: "That love resides, not in our showing any love for God, but in his showing love [or us first . . ." (I Jn 4:10). If we ought to accept God, we will try to listen to Him, so that we may know Him and be able to give a response to Him: "See where I stand at the door knocking; i] anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to visit him, and take my supper with him, and he shall sup with me" (Rev 3:20). Prayer and Love for God If we should wish to sum up more explicitly this response of Christian life, we would say that this is the response of personal love toward God and towards Christ. God is not far from any one of us (see Acts 17:27); rather the Holy Trinity dwells in our inmost heart: "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him" (Jn 14:23). The Roots o] Christian. Prayer / 557 These words clearly indicate a context of love from which we readily understand that the presence of God in the Christian is not merely that presence of God common to all things, but a presence of love. That simple presence of God should, therefore, be the common reason why we should keep the eyes of faith open to the reality of such an intimate presence of God and should seek conscious contact with God. But since the distinction between the divine omnipresence and the indwelling of God in the faithful is proposed precisely as supernatural friendship, it is necessary that the relationship of the Christian with God present be a relationship of friendship, which without doubt brings with it conscious and intimate con-tact. For this sense the testimony of St. Paul is of the highest value, and his formula so often repeated, "in Christ Jesus," marks the vital atmosphere of the Apostle, in which he consciously lived his ardent love for the Lord. Prayer and Personal Relations with God The personal aspect seems manifest from the very fact that there is ques-tion of a love which belongs only to a person. Nevertheless, the subject of our inquiry is so important that we ought to dwell upon it a little. The revelation of the Old Testament shows God exalted above all things but at the same time conversing with men from the very time of creation (see Gen 1:28-30; 2:16-7), and this interchange is thereafter developed particularly in the fundamental fact of the "covenant" which God made with His people. The men of the Bible, on the other hand, address God in a completely personal way, as may be seen, among many others, in-the case of Cain (Gen 4:13-4), Abraham (Gen 15:2-3; 18:23-33), Jacob (Gen 32:9-12), Moses (often, especially in Ex and Nb), Josue (Jos 7:7-9), David (2 S 7:18- 29; 22:2-51; 24:10.17), Solomon (I K 3:6-9; 8:23-53), Elias (I K 17: 20-1; 18:36-7), Ezra (Ezr 9:6-15), Nehemiah (Ne 1:5-11), Tobias (Tb 3:2-6; 13: 1-18), Sarah (Tb 3:11-23), Judith (Jdt 9:2-19; 16:1-19), Mor-decai (Est 13:9-17), Esther (Est 14:3-19), Job (Jb 42:1-6). And many other striking examples could be added from the prophets and the Psalms. The New Testament adds an absolutely personal element, in that it shows that the one true God is Father and Son and Holy Spirit, three Persons, with whom the faithful enter into personal relationships. Prayer and Personal Relations with Christ What confers on Christian prayer a particularly personal character is faith in God who became visible and our brother in Christ Jesus. When there is talk of God as such, our reaction is like that of Philip, when he heard the Lord speak of the Father: "Lord, let us see the Father; that is all we ask" (Jn 14:8). We would like to see God. But if God "dwells in unapproachable light, and no man has seen or ever can see him" (1 Tm 558 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 6:16), it still remains true that whoever sees Christ sees also the invisible Father (Jn 14:9). If we as men are to develop personal relations of love we must draw near to Him who is truly infinite God but at the same time was fashioned to the likeness of man, and presented Himself in human form (Ph 2:7). Hence it is also true that devotion to the Heart of Christ may have as a special result a more intimate love for Christ; for there is no more effica-cious way for men either to win love or to foster their own feelings of love than that the hidden personality of another be revealed in its more intimate human aspects. Prayer and Christ in Our Brothers Historical development, under God's direction, has led us to this point, that we acknowledge more and more the personal dignity of all men, and feel ourselves bound to them in bonds of fraternal love. We do not love man as a means, but as a first end, by which we may finally reach the supreme end, surpassing all human things. So Paul VI in the last homily of the session of Vatican Council II, 7 December 1965 (AAS 58 [1966] 59). Christian faith teaches us how the dignity of man rests on his distinctive excellence as the "image" of God, and how it has been raised in us to sub-lime dignity, when by His incarnation the Son of God united Himself in some fashion with every mart (see G$ 12-7; 21-22.34). The faithful man, therefore, who wishes to attain to the ultimate founda-tion of human dignity, discovers Christ, who so loves man, that whatever we do to our brothers He considers as done to Himself (Mt 25:34-46; 1 Cor 8: 12). Brotherly love leads us to the person of Christ Himself who is the center of all religious life on earth. " Thanksgiving, Benediction and Adoration The spirituality of the Old Testament was signalized by thanksgiving and benediction towards God who had performed and continued to perform "marvelous deeds" in favor of the chosen people. The Christian has received such great and such marvelous gifts from God that he could not understand those gifts unless he had also received from God the Holy Spirit to make him understand them (see 1 Cor 2: 12). The Eucharist or thanksgiving rightly constitutes in the Church the cen-ter and the full meaning of the liturgy which in turn is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed (SC 10). A feeling of adoration rises at the same time before Him "who can do inl~nitely more than we can ask or imagine" (Ep 3:20). The words of the Apostle naturally come to mind, which serve to manifest the intimate feelings of our minds also: "How rich are the depths of God--how deep his wisdom and knowledge ~--and how impossible to penetrate his motives or The Roots of Christian Prayer / 559 understand his methods! To him be glory for ever! Amen" (Rm 11:33-6). Vatican Council II lauds in the life of the faithful that "Spirit of genuine adoration" (PO 18; see SC 5-8; LG 28.41.51 ). Repenlance for Sins The Christian knows well by faith how sin is an offense against his brothers and the Church but e.specially against God, and how from this last fact it assumes such gravity, because it is washed away only by the blood of the Lamb (Rev 1:5; 5:9). When man acknowledges that he is a sinner and confesses to himself his own wretched state, what else can he experience save an urgent impulse of returning to the Father who is described by the Lord as running to meet the prodigal son, falling upon his neck and kissing him (Lk 15:20)? One of the deepest roots from which the need of conscious contact with God arises is the heavy burden of sin from which the faithful man wishes to be freed through the grace of Christ while at the same time he wishes to make reparation with Christ for sin itself. But if this is particularly true of more grievous sins, still this is the ha-bitual condition of the faithful, because "We are betrayed, all of us, into many faults" (Jm 3:2). Indeed the Council of Trent speaks of "everyday" sins, which are also called venial (Sess.6 cap.l l: D 1537 [804]). For that reason that phrase of the just is both humble and true: "Forgive us our trespasses" (Mt 6: 12). The Oblation of Life Vatican II, which lays such stress on the personal dignity of man, pre-sents Christian life fundamentally as a participation in the priesthood of Christ, and as it were sums it up and makes it culminate in that "spiritual worship" which is described thus: "For all their [i.e., of the laity] works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, their daily labor, their mental and physical relaxation, if carried out in the Spirit, and even the hardships of life, if patiently borne--all of these become spiri-tual sacrifices., which, during the celebration of the Eucharist, are most lovingly offered to the Father along with the Lord's Body" (LG 34). The value of all human activity in itself, as cooperation with God, is greatly extolled by the Council (see GS 34-6.38), but at the same time mention is made of the personal acts of men by which that activity is offered to God; for what dignifies the human person is precisely that it is conscious of what it does. in Fraternal Union Nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in the hearts of the t~ol-lowers of Christ, for theirs is a community composed of men who are united in Christ, and they love all men as brothers. 560 / Review [or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 The reasons, therefore, which move every man towards God are multi-plied by the fact that every man knows that he is intimately bound with the rest of men, especially with those of one family in the faith (Ga 6: 10), who have experiences like himself. The impetus to having that conscious contact with God is rendered tar more intense by the bond of brotherhood by which we are invited by the Apostle to bear one another's burdens (Ga 6:2), and not only burdens but also joys (Rm 12:15); "If one part is hurt, all parts are hurt with it. If one part is given special honor, all parts enjoy it" (1 Cor 12:26). This solidarity, which can be rendered so effective and rich through the social communications media today, comes to share not only individual but also social needs and joys. From still another source this consciousness of union with the rest of men impels us to prayer. This consciousness, which could be called ana-logically "communitarian," leads likewise to a communitarian expression be-fore God; hence arises the necessity of praying in copnmon, and especially in strictly liturgical prayer, in which full public worship of God is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and its members (SC 7). Hence it is quite clear what a central place the Eucharist occupies in Christian life, the perpetuation of the sacrifice of Christ, offered in behalf of all men to the Father, the sacrifice of the Church itself, the Paschal ban-quet, the efficacious sign of unity. A Sign in a Secularized World The words of Jesus as He was on the point of ascending into heaven: "And you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8) should be considered today particularly as the special motto for Christian life and activity. Vatican lI has many references to such "testimony." Far more than words about God, humble prayer made to Him, without ostentation and with fervent faith, often announces God. For the social nature of man is such that he is considerably influenced by the behavior of others. The Lord has said: "And your light must shine so brightly before men that they can see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Mr 5:16). Prayer is a "direct" or "immediate" sign concerning God. For many good works can be done even by those who do not believe in God, and for that reason the testimony of works announces God less directly. But prayer lacks all meaning if it does not refer to God. Today, therefore, individuals as well as communities feel a new urgency to pray, that they may become a sign of God where it is the fashion to consider a downright "absence of God" as the current and universal "atti-tude of mind" and "atmosphere of society." The Roots o[ Christian Prayer / 561 The Example and Precept of Christ We pass over that conscious and unceasing union of Christ with the Father which is manifested in His explicit statements (see Jn 5: 19-20.30; 6:37-8.46.57; 7:29; 8:28-9; 10:15.29.38; 12:50; 14:10-1.20; 17:8-10), and which is crystal clear from His manner of speaking and acting. The Gospels show Christ speaking with the Father (see Mt 11:25-6; 14: 19; 15:36; 36:39-42.44; 27.46; Lk 23:34.46; Jn 11:41-2; 12:27-8; 17:1- 26); and they record His prayer--even long and very protracted--to the Father (Mk 1:35; 6:46; Lk 3:21; 6: 12; 9: 18.28-9; 11:1; 22:41). Once when Christ was praying, it happened that one of His disciples said to Him: "Lord, teach us to pray. ," and the Lord did so at once: "Say this when you pray: Father, may your name be held holy." (Lk 11:1-2). The Lord Himself explained how we should pray (see Mt 6:5-9), and said expressly: "Ask, and it will be given to you. " (Mt 7:7-11; see Mk 11:24), and: "Whatever request you make of the Father in my name, I will grant. " (Jn 14:13-4; see 15:7.16; 16:23-4.26). Regarding perseverance in prayer, the Evangelist makes clear the mind of the Lord: "Then he told them a parable about the need to pray con-tinually and never lose heart" (Lk 18:1; see 21:36). It is not our intention now to run through what is said about prayer in the New Testament. It is enough to listen to St. Paul writing on the need for constant prayer: ". use every kind of prayer and supplication, pray at all times in the spirit; keep awake to that end with all perseverance; offer your supplications for all the saints, and for me." (Ep 6:18-9). And more briefly: "Never cease praying" (1 Th 5:17; see 1 Tm 5:5). "Giv-ing thanks always and everywhere." (Ep 5:20). The Spirit of Jesus Prays in Us and for Us The Christian is motivated afresh to prayer from the fact that the Spirit of Jesus was sent by the Father into our hearts, crying out in us; Abba, Father (Ga 4:6; Rm 8: 15). The Spirit too "cemes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words." (Rm 8:26-7). This function of the Spirit corresponds to that "intercession" in our be-half which the risen Christ Jesus exercises at the right hand of God, "since he is living for ever to make intercession for us" (Heb 7:25; see Rm 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1). The Church in Heaven Prays Continually The Church of Christ will attain her full perfection only in the glory of heaven. The pilgrim Church still on earth puts in effect its union with the 56:2 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 33, 1974/3 Church in heaven, when with common rejoicing we celebrate together the praise of the divine Majesty (LG 48-50). This union with our brothers, who with the angels in the glory of heaven praise and adore God, is an efficacious reason for the adoration paid by us as wayfarers, which is especially the case, when we celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice (LG 50). There is an additional reason, namely, we ought to call our brothers those who pray for us. For those in heaven "having been received into their heavenly home and being present to the Lord (see 2 Cor 5:8), through Him and with Him and in Him do not cease to intercede with the Father for us." (LG 49). In this respect the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a completely singular place, for "she is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxil-iatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix" (LG 62). The entire body of the faithful should pour forth persevering prayer to her, that "in heaven., she may in-tercede with her Son. " (LG 69). Consciousness of God and Christ in the World and in Us At the beginning we accepted prayer as conscious contact with God. After we considered the Christian roots of this contact with God, it must rather be said that prayer is nothing else than being conscious of God as an absolute reality in the world and in ourselves. So far is prayer from being something forced or artificial that in reality he who has "the eyes of his mind enlightened" by baptism will be brought to see the light of Christ not only in himself and in his brothers but also in all created things (see Col 1:16-20). It would be. sad if the Master had to repeat even now: "Though they have eyes, they cannot see, and though they have ears, they cannot hear or understand" (Mt 13: 13). God and Christ are the foundation of our life, they invite us to personal love, to them our whole existence is directed, union with our brothers in manifol