USJ appoints new deans confirming Emilie Tran and Father Eleutério’s replacements

The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) has officiated new appointments for deans and coordinators of academic programs, confirming the replacements of professor Emilie Tran and Father João Eleutério, as the Times reported earlier.
Emilie Tran was the dean of USJ’s Faculty of Administration and Leadership, who has now been replaced by professor José Alves, although she will continue to work in the university as a professor.
The changes don’t stop there. As reported by the Times last month, professor Arnold Monera has replaced Father João Eleutério as dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies, which was formerly known as the Faculty of Christian Studies.
The faculty had recently changed the name on its website, despite maintaining the former dean’s message. Now this has been replaced by professor Arnold Monera’s message, in which he cites scholar F. Max Mueller: “Whether we descend to the lowest roots of our own intellectual growth, or ascend to the loftiest heights of modern speculation, everywhere we find religion as a power that conquers, and conquers even those who think they have conquered it.”
He praised the need to understand religion, recalling that “wherever there is human life, there is religion.”
Professor Monera added that the recently renamed Faculty of Religious Studies (FRS) would provide a venue within USJ “for the exploration of the historical, intellectual, social and cultural aspects of the various religious traditions.” “Being situated in Macau, FRS continues the long tradition of dialogue between faith and culture,” it reads.
USJ has always taken pride in the former faculty of Christian Studies, as it was the only local institution focusing on the theological studies of a particular religion. People from different countries across Asia, where Christians are persecuted, would meet at the University of Saint Joseph for these theological studies.
The new dean, professor Monera, is a lay theologian from the Philippines, who joined USJ in 2008, teaching modules and courses on Scriptures, Theology and Biblical Greek. Professor João Eleutério is a Portuguese scholar who formerly served as secretary of the Faculty of Theology at the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP).
According to our sources, changes to the faculty’s deans have been justified by the rector’s office with the significant amount of work and responsibility that such posts entail. Therefore, USJ believes these posts should be offered under a rotation scheme.
The reason for the faculty’s change of name remains unknown. A sociologist and expert on religion in China at Purdue University, quoted by AP, recalled that authorities in mainland China are intensifying the crackdown on Christian churches. Professor Fenggang Yang hinted that this could be seen as an extension of an ongoing campaign to suppress the growth of a civil society in the country.
Yang added that the churches might have become a target because Chinese Christians are more likely to assert their rights.
In the U.S. Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report for 2013, China is portrayed as a country where religious freedom is restricted. U.S. Diplomats also argued that there was societal discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief and practice.
On the other hand, Macau is portrayed as a city where religious freedom is generally respected. The report mentions the University of Saint Joseph and its offering of Christian studies.
When Father Peter Stilwell was appointed USJ’s rector back in 2012, he reinforced the role played by the university in bringing together theology students from different Asian countries, such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore. He added that it would be important to strengthen such ties.  CP