Joseph Owens, S.J. (Father Joseph Owens) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, social worker, and educator who has worked for many years in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. He is the author of ''Dread, The Rastafarians of Jamaica'' (1974), written from 1970 to 1972 while working and living with members of the

Rastafari movement Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...

in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, during which period he discussed theological and philosophical issues with them in order to write a book examining their beliefs in relation to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and the

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. In the book he attempts to allow the Rasta to explain their doctrines in their own words, examining all key doctrines in different chapters. The book is a rich and unique source of material about Rastafarian

belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...

s in the developmental stage of the

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. Owens studied philosophy at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and divinity at Weston College School of Theology, Cambridge, Massachusetts Owens has worked for many years in the Jesuit colleges of

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Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. In recent years he has done numerous translations. He is the translator of the recently published work ''The Gospel of Faith and Justice'' by Antonio Gonzalez as well as the 2013 book by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, ''Open Mind, Faithful Heart.'' In 2019, Owens was listed on a list of Jesuits credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. According to the document, Owens admitted to this abuse, which allegedly took place in the 1970s and 1980s. After a report in 1992, Owens' ministry was restricted in 1993. He continued work in Honduras, including with the organization

Fe y Alegría Fe y Alegría is a federation of local organizations which offer educational opportunities to the poorest sectors of society, along with teacher training and educational radio, in 19 countries. From its main office in Bogota, Colombia, Fe y Alegr� ...

. His ministry was then impeded in 2002, although he continued work in Honduras at

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until 2006.Jesuits USA Northeast Province. Accessed 15 January 2018.
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Published works

* "Literature on the Rastafari, 1955-1974", ''Savacou'' 11-12 (1975):86-115. (Republished in ''New Community'' 6:1/2, 1977/78.) * ''Dread, The Rastafarians of Jamaica'' (1974). * ''The Gospel of Faith and Justice'' (2005), auth. Antonio Gonzalez, transl. Joseph Owens. * ''Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Reflections on Following Jesus'' (2013), auth. Pope Francis, transl. Joseph Owens.

References

External links

* ttp://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/dvorin.html Article (1998) on Rastafarian citing Fr. Owens
''National Jesuit News'', April/May 2005, article by Fr. Joseph V. Owens, S.J.

''Light and Life'' (The Magazine of the Weston Jesuit School of Theology), Spring 2006, p. 13, note showing Fr Joseph Owens, S.J. as having worked in Jamaica and Central America for 26 years

* [https://www.jesuitseast.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20190107100547 Letter from Fr. John Cecero, Provincial of the Northeast Province of Jesuits, accompanying the release of the names of Jesuits credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor] {{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Joseph Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni Rastafari 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits