What is Stauros?

It has now been just one year since I joined the staff of Stauros, U.S.A. It has been a year of new friends, new learnings, new understandings, new ventures. I came here with some trepidation, concerned about following a person with the special charism of Fr. Flavian Dougherty, C.P. But the warm welcome from my co-workers, the support and encouragement from the Passionist Congregation, the hospitality of the Catholic Theological Union community, as well as an almost immediate feeling of "belonging," all provided the framework to give me a "feel" for Stauros, and to help me achieve a "fit" in the Stauros organization.

I have spent a great deal of time reviewing various Stauros documents--Notebooks, reports, minutes of meetings, correspondence--all the written minutiae that even a small organization can acquire within a few years. This helped me attain some understanding of what Stauros really is, what this organization is all about. The Stauros, U.S.A. Mission Statement, in particular, clarified both the purpose and the scope of this very unique institute. It seems to me to be very appropriate to share some of this with you, our readers and our friends. The Notebook has focused on many different forms of suffering, but never has an issue centered on Stauros itself. I would like to point out that while it is true that Stauros is defined as an organization, a not-for-profit corporation, I believe that it is truly an organism, a living thing. Living things have life, they grow, they develop; Stauros has life, it has grown, it is developing. Much of that must be attributed to the dedication and devotion of the first Executive Director, Fr. Flavian Dougherty. It is with love, with gratitude, with affection that we dedicate this issue of the Stauros Notebook to Father Flavian.

Because the Mission Statement describes so well the charge that is given to Stauros, we will quote frequently from that Mission Statement. Rather than identify our source each time, quotes from the Mission Statement will be in bold, italic print.

Stauros was founded in Belgium in 1973 by the Passionist Congregation, a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers. One of the purposes was to establish a resource center which would further the study of the theology of the Cross, the theology of suffering. This research is indeed being done and through it, some very significant contributions have been made. However, from the beginning, Stauros was intended to not only research the theology of suffering, the problem of human suffering, but, also, to challenge human suffering, to attempt to alleviate it, to help those who suffer attain a better quality of life. A significant statement in a letter of one of the founders is "there cannot be a narcissistic theology which reflects endlessly on itself without confronting the world of real suffering and of human history." That sentence as well as the following words from the Mission Statement make it very clear that Stauros was meant to confront suffering in a practical as well as a theoretical way. STAUROS is an ecumenical research institute that intends to investigate the challenge of human suffering. For that reason it wants to facilitate dialogue with suffering people. . .

Listening to the voices of those who suffer has been crucial to the history of Stauros, U.S.A. Under Fr. Flavian's direction, and in collaboration with others, Stauros sponsored several congresses and seminars. One of the most significant of these, and one that gave Stauros a focus and foundation, was held at the United Nations in 1980. The UN named 1980 as the International Year of Disabled Persons and the congress was in preparation for that event. Speakers and attendees as well were persons with disabilities; they both spoke out of and listened out of their own experience. It was through preparing for and conducting this symposium that Fr. Flavian came to realize the special suffering of persons with disabilities--the misunderstandings, the discriminations, the injustices, the alienations, and, in particular, the exclusions--that were a part of their lives. This was Stauros' initial involvement with persons with disabilities; it was an involvement that contributed greatly to Stauros' living out its mission. (The voices of those who suffer) instead of being disregarded or silenced, should be listened to and acknowledged for their intrinsic desire for and direct manifestation of life.

Shortly after the UN symposium the Stauros offices moved to Chicago and located at Catholic Theological Union. CTU was established in the late 60's as a seminary for religious congregations of men. It quickly developed into a school of ministry for both men and women, religious and lay. The move to CTU only strengthened Stauros' involvement with persons with disabilities and it opened new vistas. A course on Biblical Perspectives of Sickness, Disability and Healing was added to the CTU curriculum, Disability Awareness Days were initiated, the CTU/Stauros Israel Bible Study Program for Persons with Disabilities was introduced, and publication of the Stauros Notebook began. The Notebook is a significant means of conveying the mission of Stauros. It addresses suffering from a scriptural and theological position as well as from the point of view of those who suffer; it reflects on suffering from a world-wide perspective. Suffering continues to be a hurting reality for many people all over the world, not just in poverty-stricken areas, but also in affluent societies. It may arise from a variety of causes - physical, psychic or social. But common to all acute suffering is the experience of a profound crisis that hardly can be solved when suffering people are left by themselves. We witness, however, that people in situations of suffering, be they disabled persons, sick, aging or dying people, oppressed or marginalized groups, are often excluded from the mainstream of life. They are thus burdened with an additional suffering, that of not really belonging anymore to the community of the living. This all too common attitude can be overcome only by looking for and cherishing the life that continues to pulse in all suffering. So much life is wasted because its persistent presence is not recognized amidst suffering. When people are hurt and cry out their pain, we are confronted with life at its deepest level. Such encounter occurs also when we are privileged to witness inner vitality and exemplary courage in and despite suffering. Assistance to suffering people requires readiness to be with them and to learn from their experience.

That last phrase, "to learn from their experience," encapsulates a very profound principle: reverse evangelization. We all learn from those to whom we believe we are ministering. This principle needs to be a part of all our relationships. There is no one from whom we do not learn. Reverse evangelization is also inclusion. Exclusion, being left out, being ignored, passed over--this is a part of the life of persons who suffer. Being heard is inclusion; being involved is inclusion. Suffering can't always be removed, pain can't always be taken away, but inclusion, acceptance, acknowledgment, "being with," can improve quality of life, can help people cherish life.

From the beginning Stauros was intended to be an ecumenical institute. While dialogue with those who suffer is an essential element in its mission, so, too, is dialogue with religious traditions. . . . in the course of history (religious traditions) have continuously tried to face the challenge of human suffering. Within the wide range of organizations and institutions that are committed to caring for suffering people, the religious dimension may be regarded as a significant perspective. Stauros was founded out of the Passionist Congregation's special charism of re-living and remembering the Passion of Jesus. That Passion both encompasses and transcends all suffering. It is said that our world is becoming a global village. That applies not only on economic and social, but also on religious levels. In our days we are given opportunities to reach out and to be enriched by the wisdom that other cultures and religions have accumulated in the course of time.

Reflection on the words of the Mission Statement only reinforces our conviction that Stauros is meant to challenge suffering of any kind; that through our Notebook, our programs, our correspondence, our connection to other organizations, we are fulfilling our mission. It is a mission with almost boundless parameters, but all are bound, in some way, to human suffering. Our affirmation of the need to care for the earth is supported in these words: Because so much needs to be done to save our planet earth and to allow all people to live a humane life, we cannot but be supportive of all the efforts towards that end.

The closing paragraphs of the Mission Statement become the context out of which we direct our activities. Indeed, the final two sentences comprise a Missioning Statement--a missioning of all of you who are a part of Stauros, all of you whose voices we want to hear, all of you who are loved for who you are.

Dialogue with other religions presupposes the will to share, and thus, on our part, to deepen the Christian tradition with regard to the challenge of human suffering. The Gospels give a central place to Jesus' Passion and death, but they relate them unambiguously to His solidarity with the poor, the sick, the disabled, the dying, the grieving, those isolated and alone. The Gospels suggest that Jesus died because of the way He lived. By keeping the memory of Jesus' Passion, that central event of Christian faith, we are directed toward the same categories of suffering people in our days. Jesus' Cross is the end of a process. If we do not go through that process, then the cross which we accept may not be the Christian Cross. Jesus does not suggest that His followers should seek pain. He rather makes it clear that if they remain His disciples, they will not have to seek it; it will seek them.

The mission of Stauros is at the heart of Christian faith, of which the Cross is the most distinctive feature. But Christian spirituality is not a spirituality of suffering; rather it is a spirituality focused on the following of Jesus. That is not an easy road to take, but it is a road that inaugurated the Kingdom of God, a road that leads to Life and to the Resurrection.