Nicolas: I'm not Elvis

Here’s a link to the complete text of Father Adolfo Nicolas’s freewheeling meeting with the press, on Jan. 25, in which he says, among other things, that he’s neither Father Kolvenbach, Father Arrupe, or even...Elvis. "Some journalists say that I am like Arrupe, or like Kolvenbach, half and half, up to fifty percent; it would not be a surprise if someone said I am 10% Elvis Presley. All of this is false. I am not Fr. Arrupe. I love Fr. Arrupe, I admire him, he has influenced me, I had him as my Superior for four years in Japan, and in fact I had known him earlier, in studies, when he talked to us about the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.....but I am not Arrupe." And his plans for the future? "About the future there is little I can say. The reason is simple: I have just begun. When in the Congregation meeting they speak of Father General, I always think they mean Fr. Kolvenbach; I do not yet realize that it is me. My current attitude is to listen, listen and obey. As you know, the General Congregation has authority over Fr. General. During the General Congregation I am subject to the Congregation. If the Congregation tells me what needs to be done, what direction to take in the future, I should obey, that is my mission. Therefore what is important to me now is to know what the General Congregation wishes; as well as how to respond to the challenges that the Holy Father has sent us, about which we are reflecting very seriously, so as to give a response that can help the Church, not ourselves." The full text of the interview can be found here, on Creighton’s website: "Full Text: Nicolas Meets the Press" Above: Father Nicolas and Father Kolvenbach on the rooftop of the Jesuit Curia. Photo by Don Doll, S.J.