Cover: Photo: María Teresa Urueña, Servicio Jesuita Panamazónico

A Ticuna indigenous man looks to the future. Lake Tarapoto, Puerto Nariño, Amazonia

An opportunity to keep in mind the Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region held in October 2019. The theme of this encounter, “New Ways for the Church and for an Integral Ecology,” is directly related to the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the , in particular the care for “our Common Home.”

Published by the General Curia of the Society of Jesus Communications and Public Relations Department Borgo Santo Spirito 4 - 00193 Roma, Italia Tel: (+39) 06 698-68-289 E-Mail: [email protected] – [email protected] Websites: sjcuria.global – jesuits.global Twitter.com/TheJesuits Facebook.com/TheJesuits

Our thanks to all those who contributed to this edition.

Publisher: Pierre Bélanger, SJ Assistant: Caterina Talloru Coordination and graphic design: Grupo de Comunicación Loyola, Printing: MCCGraphics, SS. Coop. – Loiu (Vizcaya, Spain)

October 2019 2020 Jesuits

The Society of Jesus in the world Table of Contents Presentation

A mission of reconciliation and justice based on faith , SJ ...... 8

The pulsating life Pierre Bélanger, SJ ...... 9

• UAPs to streamline formation in South Asia Raj Irudaya, SJ ...... 10

• The Exercises in daily life: spiritual leaven at the heart of the world Christian Grondin ...... 14

• An experience of spiritual conversation Jebamalai Irudayaraj, SJ ...... 17

• Building a consistent culture of care and protection Isabel de Bruin-Cardoso, Joachim Zoundi, SJ and Lawrence Daka, SJ ...... 21

• Francis Center: serving those who are homeless in Detroit Anne Blake ...... 25

• Jesuit inspired movements among central Indian tribes Alexius Ekka, SJ ...... 29

• Transformative education at Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore John J. Ciccone ...... 32 • Youth marching with the marginalized S. Emmanuel, SJ ...... 35

• The river of life is threatened María Teresa Urueña and Alfredo Ferro, SJ ...... 39

• The urgency of the next 11 years to change and to act Sylvia Miclat ...... 43

• STEP: Getting involved in finding solutions to environmental problems Nancy C. Tuchman ...... 46

50th anniversary of SJES

• Introduction: A legacy of Father Arrupe Xavier Jeyaraj, SJ ...... 49

• Silveira House: A flagship of work in Zimbabwe Arnold Moyo, SJ ...... 50

• The JRS mission for reconciliation in the Central African Republic Eric Goeh-Akue, SJ, Paul Marie Bouda, SJ and Laura Lora Ballesta ...... 54

• The Jesuit social apostolate and lack of governance in Africa Rigobert Minani Bihuzo, SJ ...... 58

• Pastoral circle and social apostolate activities in Zambia Pete Henriot, SJ ...... 62

• Learning to collaborate Dani Villanueva, SJ ...... 65

• Fifty years of commitment to social justice in Jorge Julio Mejía, SJ ...... 68 • Only a network can face it! The challenge of migration Javier Cortegoso Lobato and Mauricio García-Durán, SJ ...... 72

• A visit to the future Jorge Cela, SJ ...... 76

• Economy for the care of life: the COMPARTE Network Álvaro Idarraga, Amaia Unzueta and Óscar Rodríguez, SJ ...... 80

• They fought for the justice which springs from faith: some unto martyrdom Juan Hernández Pico, SJ ...... 83

• Jesuit contribution to nation-building in South Asia Denzil Fernandes, SJ ...... 86

• Towards a new dawn with Dalit empowerment Aruldoss Selvaraj, SJ and Marianathan Chinnasamy, SJ ...... 90

• Promoting justice through legal assistance in Ravi Sagar, SJ ...... 94

• Politics of identity, Jesuits and fisherfolk Benny Chiramel, SJ ...... 98

• The journey of the Magi Tony Herbert, SJ ...... 101

• opens its doors to young foreign workers Ando Isamu, SJ ...... 104

• Lay leadership in a Jesuit work in Australia Julie Edwards ...... 108

• Winds of peace from Korea Yon-su Kim, SJ ...... 112

• A mirror named Migration Kim Min, SJ ...... 116 • Learning to promote justice in a Chinese environment Fernando Azpiroz, SJ ...... 119

• Fifty years of creative initiatives Élisabeth Garant, Anne-Marie Jackson, Fred Kammer, SJ and Ted Penton, SJ ...... 122

• Social Christianity in Quebec, inspired by the “” for 40 years Élisabeth Garant ...... 126

• Teach-In for Justice. The commitment of the Ignatian Solidarity Network Kelly Swan and ISN staff ...... 130

• Stopping, looking, touching, speaking Mary Baudouin ...... 134

• Creating “undocu-joy” Anna Brown and Jennifer Ayala ...... 137

• Jesuits for the European common good Martin Maier, SJ ...... 141

• The Xavier Network: responding to the signs of the times Jenny Cafiso and Paul Chitnis ...... 145

• Fight against social exclusion: a challenge for the Society in Western Europe Jérôme Gué, SJ ...... 149

• Advocacy: addressing causes of injustice rather than symptoms Jörg Alt, SJ and Charles Chilufya, SJ ...... 152

• Faith and politics in Venice Edmond Grace, SJ ...... 155

Appreciation and recognition ...... 158 Introduction

A mission of reconciliation and justice based on faith

Dear friends and companions, Dear Partners in Mission, Social Justice and Ecology. It makes visible our desire to be on the side of the poor and the excluded. We want this I am delighted to launch this yearbook of the Society of commitment to be part of every ministry in the Society. Jesus for 2020. All the articles tell one story – the story of Jesus, the story of the Gospel. We put before you a dif- I thank those who sustain our mission generously with ferent narrative for our world: a narrative where the poor their prayers and with their financial support. Without are blessed, where the last are first, where leadership is prayer and without practical support, the Society could about service and where life comes even in the midst of not continue its mission. We are so grateful that we have death and darkness. So much of the narrative of our soci- friends and collaborators around the world who join us in eties today says the opposite. We challenge that narrative. this mission. We do so in every work of the Society, in parishes, so- cial centres, youth work and retreat houses and so much Finally, I pay tribute to my fellow Jesuit companions. Ev- more. The mission of the Society is one of reconciliation ery Jesuit, whether he lives an apostolic commitment, in the and of justice based on faith in the Risen Lord. We want infirmary, the novitiate or through the long process of for- to bring peoples and their cultures together. We want to mation, is trying to follow Jesus with generosity and courage. help them to meet Jesus Christ in a way that brings libera- They start each day, sometimes in places of danger and pov- tion and in a way that helps them also become people of erty, putting their hands into the hand of the Lord, walking reconciliation, peace and justice in every corner of our with Him, healing His wounds as seen in the lives of those world. That desire is nourished every day in our own en- who suffer, offering the consolation of the Risen Lord. counter with Jesus Christ. Thank you for being part of our contribution to the In this Annuario, we introduce you to the four Apos- mission of the Church. Let us remember each other in tolic Preferences for the Society of Jesus for the next ten prayer. years. They were launched in 2019; they are received as a mission from the Holy Father. They give orientations, set our hearts on fire and move us to act. They are signposts Wishing you every grace and blessing, to us – and to you – about our pilgrimage. No doubt, there will be challenges ahead and a call to ever-deeper growth and conversion as we live out the mystery of Christ in our Yours sincerely in the Lord lives. We need not be afraid because we know that Jesus walks with us and that his Spirit inspires our choices and actions.

This year, we mark 50 years since the establishment of Arturo Sosa, SJ a Secretariat for Social Justice, now called Secretariat for Superior General Society of Jesus

8 IHS Introduction

The pulsating life

Among the television memories of my childhood is the And this is all the more true when we move on to the first scientific program offered to young people by Radio- second part of this year’s edition, which celebrates the 50th Canada: La vie qui bat (The life that beats or The pulsating anniversary of the establishment, by Father , life). It was an opportunity to discover the secrets of fauna of the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology. The social and flora, elements of our surroundings that we do not apostolate has always been essentially characterized by notice or that we often take for granted. Yet nature’s life is concrete commitment “at the grassroots level,” as well as what sustains all human activity; it is also a manifestation by research, reflection and intellectual depth. of creation, of God’s presence in the very heart of the world. Accompanying people in difficult situations, taking a stand in favour of those whom technocentric and neoliberal soci- When I started receiving the articles that would con- eties forget, struggling to build networks that strengthen stitute the body of this issue of the 2020 Yearbook of the the social fabric and the commitment to the advent of more Society of Jesus, the title of this youth program came humane societies, all this is a sign of the pulsating life, of to my mind: The life that beats, the life in motion. Our the presence of a spiritual yeast in the heart of the world. annual publication precisely reveals the life that circulates throughout the Society’s body, from one end of the world Moreover, the emphasis given in recent years to the to the other. It is a natural movement, like the one of the attention and even the urgency required by the environ- universe in which we live. We are not always acutely aware mental situation of our planet brings us even closer to the of this, as it is “normal” that all these activities give life to attention we must pay to this life that is beating both in the apostolic body that we form, Jesuits and partners of nature and in human societies. These two “forms of life” Jesuits in the mission that the Lord entrusts to us. are essentially linked, as himself pointed out in his encyclical Laudato Si’: “We are faced not with two Yet, just as the Spirit of creation ensures the perpetuity separate crises, one environmental and the other social, of the continuation of the life of nature on earth, so the but rather with one complex crisis which is both social Spirit of Jesus is equally essential to the human and spiri- and environmental” (№ 139). tual activity of the Society incarnated here and now. On behalf of the Communications Team of the The Yearbook is truly made up of testimonies of General Curia, I wish you to feel this pulsating life incarnation. The Universal Apostolic Preferences unveiled throughout the year 2020. by Father General following a long process of discernment may appear, at first sight, to be the expression of concep- tual wishes or desires. When you read the articles that illustrate them, you quickly understand that they can truly animate, guide and give life to the current commitments of the Jesuits and those who participate in the mission to Pierre Bélanger, SJ which the Jesuits are committed. Publisher

IHS 9 UAPs to streamline formation in South Asia

Raj Irudaya, SJ Assistancy Delegate for Formation in South Asia

UAPs beckoning formation to be They will unleash a process of apos- To be grounded in Spiritual dynamic tolic revitalization and creativity, typ- Exercises and discernment ical of the dynamism of the Society The Society of Jesus has been dynam- to make us better servants of Missio The first preference, “to show the ic right from her inception. Being Dei. I wish to share here how in the way to God through the Spiritual true to her dynamic spirit, the four formation sector of the South Asia we Exercises and discernment,” invites Universal Apostolic Preferences desire to respond to the challenges of the men in formation, whom we call (UAPs) echo that very dynamism. the UAPs. “formees,” to get grounded in God

10 IHS through the Exercises and to grow as men of discernment. The Exercises are a unique Ignatian way of experi- encing God in Jesus, the cynosure of the Exercises. It enables formees to develop and grow in the passionate love of Jesus. Growing in the practice of discernment will help the formees to make right choices in Jesuit life.

Only when a formee grows in this spiritual depth he can credibly show his fellow youth the way to God. We have formulated a graded syllabus of Ignatian Spirituality to be imple- mented from June 2019 in the differ- ent formation stages. This syllabus enables our formees to be in constant familiarity with the Exercises and dis- cernment. This preference both con- firms and gives an emphatic impetus peripheries of society, as Pope Francis transformed. The poor are not mere to our spirituality syllabus. constantly challenges us. objects of our mission but subjects of God’s revelation. As Pope Francis Our association with the poor has written that “we are called to must allow us to be touched and find Christ in the poor, to lend our Radicalizing our closeness with the poor

The concern for the poor received an unequivocal focus since GC 32, giv- ing us the integral emphasis of faith that does justice. That inspired our formation sector to revamp itself by incorporating inculturation, context sensitivity, and immersion in the lives of the poor by focusing on “Formation in Mission.” But over the years it has been diluted in practice, and the for- mation in mission has become just programmatic and not much trans- formative. As a result, many of our formees are not radically touched by the lives of the poor, and they tend to get into comfort zones easily.

In this scenario the second prefer- ence, “to walk with the poor,” is indeed a wake-up call to our South Asia Assistancy to reaffirm and revamp the formation in mission. Coming closer to the poor means going out to the

UNIVERSAL APOSTOLIC PREFERENCES 11 voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them” (see Evangelii Gaudium, 198). In this new light, the Assistancy will revisit and rad- icalize our closeness with our poor in the different stages of formation. One who has not cultivated in for- mation the love for the poor cannot be a Jesuit and much less a servant of Christ’s mission.

Accompanying youth creatively

Most Jesuits in South Asia are involved with thousands of students through educational institutions. While the academic formation is the primary focus, the holistic for- mation to help our youth become responsible citizens and humans is not given the attention it should get. The third preference, “to accom- pany the young in the creation of a hope-filled future,” is indeed a clarion call to our formation to prepare our formees to accompa- ny the youth creatively. With such a proactive attitude the formation sector will provide opportunities to the formees to get more involved with youth both rural and urban, organized and unorganized, who can help them to understand better the epochal change that we are living and its hope-filled newness.

Eco-sensitivity for countercultural formation

Ecological degradation is both social and environmental, and it affects all, especially the poor. The fourth pref- erence, “to collaborate in the care of our Common Home,” enjoins on us

12 IHS the spiritual and ethical obligation to inculcate in the formees a rever- ence and responsibility to care for the earth. A culture of consumer- ism starkly confronts us all today. Ecological care demands of us a different lifestyle that invites us to be close to mother earth, to care for her by warding off our habits, customs, practices that harm her. Creating eco-sense in our forma- tion houses, engaging ourselves in manual labour, keeping the campus green, eco-education, praying in and through nature, encouraging organic farming, waste-water management, use of solar energy, total prohibition of plastics, controlling electronic waste, doing higher environmental studies will find adequate space in our formation to promote a culture of care and reverence for our com- mon home.

Formation in the coming decade

The implementation demands a per- sonal, communitarian, and insti- tutional conversion. Conversion demands that we not merely create changes in others but in our per- sonal lives too because life is mis- sion and mission is life. The forma- tion communities will make viable action plans to integrate the UAPs into formation. The needed commit- ment from each formator and for- mee can creatively implement the UAPs in order to make formation more dynamic, creative, close to the poor, countercultural, youth-friendly, and creation-caring in the coming decade.

UNIVERSAL APOSTOLIC PREFERENCES 13 The Exercises in daily life: spiritual leaven at the heart of the world The Manresa Spirituality Centre, Quebec City

Christian Grondin Director

The Manresa Spirituality Centre (Cen- tre de spiritualité Manrèse – CSM) was founded in 1976 by Gilles Cusson, SJ, a leading figure in the renewal of the Spiritual Exercises in the 20th centu- ry, supported by a team of Jesuits who wished to share the treasure of Ignati- an spirituality with the contemporary world. From its beginnings, the Cen- tre attached the utmost importance to intellectual depth in the interpre- tation of the Exercises, in a sustained dialogue with contemporary culture, as well as to rigor in the formation of spiritual accompaniment. By put- ting the practice of the “Exercises in Daily Life” group approach (EVC, in French, often called in English cir- cles “19th annotation Exercises”), the CSM participated, in an original

14 IHS manner, in a certain democratization of the Spiritual Exercises, making the Ignatian journey and the ministry of spiritual accompaniment more acces- sible to all of God’s people and espe- cially to lay people.

Mostly constituted by lay people today, the Centre’s team of animators forms a community of discernment for the mission within a true Ignatian and Jesuit partnership. Galvanized by the universal apostolic preference of the Society of Jesus which calls for “show- ing the way towards God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment,” the CSM feels deeply called to receive, in a new manner, the grace of the EVC in order to further their implementa- tion in our world in the spirit of the .

Much more than a simple ped- agogical option, the EVC teach us a spiritual pathway providentially tailored to increasingly secular so- cieties. The EVC radically integrate Christian spirituality into the dy- namic of the Ad amorem, this final Contemplation of the Exercises (Nos. 230 and following) which invites us to move towards love in the “dough” of the world and beyond religious affiliations. In the EVC, in a more immediate way than in the “closed retreat,” the world, along with the everyday life that it implies – in its family, professional, social, economic and political dimensions – becomes the subject itself of the Spiritual Ex- ercises. Daily life essentially forces us to discern God’s work in everything and to fully participate in it.

This is why the CSM team feels called upon to “work to welcome our secular society as a sign of the times” (Arturo Sosa, SJ), in order to spread the gift of the Spiritual Exercises and of discernment, primarily in the form of the EVC. And in a group setting. For the uniqueness of the human sub- dialogue: with one’s own life and with huge project to be implemented in the ject must combine with his integration the group as a microcosm, within the coming years. into the social body of the Risen One. setting of a spiritual conversation, Using the words of the Ad amorem, the whose Ignatian originality is ensured Like the deployment of a “for me” of God’s entire work, so es- by the spiritual guide. Listening to cross-curricular expertise, the Spir- sential, must finish in prayer in deeds the Word through biblical readings, itual Exercises and discernment of the “Our Father” which re-situates a fundamental spiritual exercise, can service through the EVC allows the me in the “we” of a humanity to be also be combined with “any method” CSM to embrace the three other ap- made, in the filial relationship of (Sp. Ex. No. 1) favorable to the target- ostolic preferences: work with the Christ’s body. ed goal, including certain ways spe- excluded by supporting any person cifically in tune with contemporary who, in the reality of daily decisions, Group EVC can greatly contrib- spirituality such as art, Zen, pilgrim wishes to become one of Jesus’ disci- ute to building this community con- walks, etc. ples, the Excluded One; take care of nection. In the past few years, we our “common house” by supporting have implemented a practice of read- The Word belongs to no one; it the building of the body of the Risen ing biblical texts together to nourish can only be shared and is developed One; and help young people to dis- the process. A small revolution that by and within the community. It is the cern, together, how God loves our shows that God’s people can interpret ideal place to learn personal and com- secular and plural world through his the Scriptures to discern within them munity discernment which must not actions. the Verb hidden in the world’s flesh. only irrigate the life of the Church but This act of interpretation occurs with also social and political action. It is a www.centremanrese.org

16 IHS An experience of spiritual conversation

Jebamalai Irudayaraj, SJ Madurai Province

For 25 years, Madurai Province Province. Finally, in April 2015, the Province, through his letter dated had gone through serious and pro- Province congregation made a unan- Dec. 19, 2016, “I invite you, therefore, longed deliberations about divid- imous appeal to Father General to in consultation with those involved ing the Province and forming a new split the Province and create a new in the development of the juridical entity, the Chennai Region/ entity. Father General directed the Mission, to study and propose an

UAP-SPIRITUALITY 17 18 IHS apostolic structure that will enhance in the development of JCM sincerely others in spiritual conversation. the growth and quality of our service followed the method in discernment They were converted from indeci- to the people in the Chennai Mission sessions using spiritual conversation sion to a decision and from dilemma are a .” in proposing an apostolic structure to clarity. The process however did for JCM. JCMC made a collective not prevent a small number from Father Provincial appointed a effort to establish the new mission of expressing a feeling of uneasiness Jesuit Chennai Mission Committee nearly 34 units, including universi- and opposing the very idea of divid- (JCMC) to animate the process of ty colleges, professional institutions, ing the Province. This difference was discernment, aiming to create an social centres, spiritual animation seen as instructive direction in the apostolic structure of what would centres, schools, technical institu- sense that the choice of an apostol- become the Jesuit Chennai Mission tions, and parishes, etc. ic structure must be handled with (JCM). Since there were rigid dif- utmost care, and the quality of our ferences of opinion about the future A significant number of Jesuits service and apostolic effectiveness identity of JCM, the JCMC decided had a transformative experience to people must take priority over all to use the method of spiritual con- while they listened to the presen- other justifications. versation and discernment involv- tations on the long history of pio- ing the entire Province. All personnel neering mission activity from 1601, Many expressed that they expe- (nearly 500 members) in the whole in which the old Madura mission rienced consolation by expressing Province at the levels of collaborators, had focused mainly in the northern their opinion freely, for or against, Jesuit communities, Jesuits in four region of the then Madras Province. without any inhibitions. It was zones, the forum of local superiors, In the zonal discernments, a good illuminating to see that we went team leaders, ministerial commission number of Jesuits shared opinions through a process of attentive lis- coordinators, and all those involved freely in groups while listening to tening to everyone’s opinions. Many

UAP-SPIRITUALITY 19 were happy that everybody had anxiety, but this cleared up after the agreement ensued. Thus, a large per- shared concern for the priority for group sharing. Realizing that it was centage of Jesuits in the Province felt service to communities and reached God’s way of leading them to deeper at ease in creating JCM as an inde- clarity about the structure we want- understanding, doubters were even- pendent Region. ed without entering into heated tually willing to give up their own arguments and debates. This exer- ideologies, becoming open to the The Province experienced joy cise of spiritual conversation led to a promptings of the Holy Spirit. At and consolation over the obstacles spiritual renewal, creating a healthy the end we felt unanimously that the cleared and goals achieved. A feeling atmosphere in the congregation, Province was moving in a good and of inner peace and inner freedom towards understanding the views of right direction, journeying together was experienced as we progressed others, leading to a union of hearts with a single goal that unified us all. in spiritual conversation, and many and minds. expressed that the Lord was leading “To show the way to God the Province in the right direction. The Province was totally open through the Spiritual Exercises and The entire process of spiritual con- to the will of God. Throughout the discernment,” one of the Universal versation had enhanced the quality process, we were true to ourselves in Apostolic Preferences, was put into and growth of the apostolic mission sharing, and we were bold enough practice in this process of discern- to serve the people. This enriching to make decisions. The method fol- ment. Interpreting the discours- spiritual experience of being together lowed brought Jesuits who were es took place from April to August that we had shared in the discern- earlier fraught with suspicion into 2018; in all the plenary sessions col- ment process should be continued a spirit of reconciliation. Initially, laborators reported group discern- in all levels of the life-mission of the some members felt a certain fear and ment statements, so that clarity and Jesuits everywhere.

20 IHS Building a consistent culture of care and protection

Isabel de Bruin-Cardoso, Joachim Zoundi, SJ and Lawrence Daka, SJ JCAM - Conference of Provincials of Africa and Madagascar

In August 2017, the Jesuit Conference eral Congregation 36 on the impor- ministries, communities, and aposto- of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) tance, relevance, and urgency of child lates of the Society of Jesus in Africa launched a programme of protec- protection in church and society. The and Madagascar. tion and safeguarding of children primary aim of the programme is to and vulnerable people. The initiative create, promote, and sustain a consis- Making all the ministries, com- responded directly to the call of Gen- tent culture of protection across the munities, and apostolates of Jesuits safe for children and vulnerable adults is a task incumbent on major superiors, Jesuits, and collaborators. This understanding informs the two- pronged approach of the JCAM pro- Arguably the most ambitious gramme. First, it provides training initiative undertaken under this and formation for the leadership of programme is a conference wide the Society and designated child pro- study (baseline survey) to identify orphanages, hospitals, as well as some tection officers (CPOs) and, second, and assess the level of safeguarding ministries that directly depend on it increases technical understanding knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, the conference. Over two months, and equips CPOs with resources and and practices in the ministries, CPOs conducted approximately 65 tools to facilitate safeguarding con- works, and apostolates of Provinc- interviews and participant observa- versations and initiatives for Jesu- es and Regions of Africa and Mada- tion in English, French, Portuguese, its and collaborators within their gascar, as well as underlying factors Malagasy, Swahili, and other local Regions/Provinces. which may enable or hinder a safe- languages. guarding environment. So far, the programme has orga- The study revealed several nized a series of intense training The baseline study was carried dimensions in regard to practices, workshops for major superiors, CPOs, out by the Province/Region CPOs. It knowledge, and attitudes concerning institutional heads, and masters of covered a total of 61 select apostolic child protection and safeguarding, novices. In particular, child protection structures of nine Provinces, Regions, notably gaps in policies and proto- and safeguarding courses and training and formation centres that make up cols and in formation, training, and programmes have been integrated into JCAM across 17 countries. These awareness and the need to create a all the formation centres where Jesuits structures included schools, parish- culturally sensitive and contextually are formed in the conference. es, social centres, children’s homes/ relevant safeguarding environment

Group of participants in a workshop on child protection

22 IHS

in order to achieve the overall objec- tives of the programme.”

Going forward, the programme now focuses on generating creative initiatives to achieve the goal of pro- moting and sustaining a consistent culture of protection, taking into account the end-users or subjects, the felt needs, and new insights. Informed by the Universal Apos- tolic Preferences of the Society, we can say that these initiatives target “the adoption of clear policies for the prevention of abuse, the ongoing formation of those who are commit- ted to mission, and serious efforts to identify the social origins of abuse.”

Fr. Arturo Sosa has defined a consistent culture of protection as “a normal, habitual way of living, relat- ing, working, in which those whom we serve, particularly children, always feel respected, safe, and loved.” This vision is in line with the wishes of Pope Francis to create a culture of care. In the words of Francis, “The Church loves all her children like a loving to ensure a generation free from mother, but cares for all and protects abuse. Essentially, the study validat- with a special affection those who are ed the critical need for formation, smallest and defenceless. This is the education, and training at all levels duty that Christ himself entrusted to of community life, ministries, and the entire Christian community as a governance. whole. Aware of this, the Church is especially vigilant in protecting chil- For many of those engaged in dren and vulnerable adults.” In the this programme, it is only the begin- context of Africa, we aim to rediscover ning of a long process. According to cultural values and to build on existing one CPO, “These are the beginning good practices to create and enhance steps of a very long journey. It’s one a culture of care, protection, and safe- step at a time. Yet we have no doubt guarding. This vision aligns perfectly about the urgency. Our interventions with the UAPs of the Society to guar- need to respond to concrete needs antee “a healthy environment for chil- and real situations.” “Besides,” others dren and young people and create con- stressed, “as Jesuits and collaborators, ditions that allow all to develop their we ought to take seriously the call of full potential as human beings.” The GC 36 to create a consistent culture successful realization of this vision will of protection. This task is incumbent depend on effective continuing collab- on every Jesuit and collaborator in oration among Jesuits, collaborators, the conference. We have a lot to do and partners in mission.

24 IHS Pope Francis Center: serving those who are homeless in Detroit

Anne Blake Chief Administrative Officer

Speramus Meliora; Resurget Ciner- ibus. This translates as “We hope for better things; It shall arise from the ashes.” The phrase is the official motto of Detroit, Michigan, and has been particularly appropriate for a city that has experienced dramatic fluctuations in fortune. In 1990, af- ter decades of economic decline, the pastor of Peter and Paul Jesu- it Church in Detroit helped the city “arise from the ashes” by beginning a ministry for the city’s homeless. The parish operated a small Warming Center for the next 25 years, relying on parishioners to volunteer and do- nate food.

In 2013, the Center was expanded to include an industrial kitchen, show- ers, and laundry facilities. In 2015, Fr. Timothy McCabe, SJ, became the Ex- ecutive Director of the Warming Cen- ter. He changed the name to the Pope Francis Center to honor the pope’s

UAP-EXCLUDED 25 passionate commitment to the home- and let guests share their stories on less. Through generous donations their own timeline. from individuals and corporations, Fr. McCabe has been able to expand As Fr. McCabe and his staff lis- the Center’s services dramatically. It tened to these stories, they realized is now open six days a week and pro- that there is a gap in services for vides two nutritious meals each day. the homeless in Detroit. Most of Guests can meet with social workers, the Center’s guests are chronical- lawyers, medical professionals, foot ly homeless, which means that they care professionals, barbers, and bike have been homeless for more than repair specialists each week. a year or have experienced multiple episodes of homelessness within the The Center also provides flu and past few years, while struggling with hepatitis shots, periodic dental and a disabling condition such as seri- vision clinics, housing support, and ous mental health issues, substance medical education. When Fr. McCabe use disorder, or physical disability. assumed leadership of the Center it It is particularly difficult to help this served 60-70 people each day. Today, group move from the streets to per- the Center serves an average of 175 manent housing, and the city is not people daily. The staff and volunteers prepared to effectively address their focus on building relationships with needs. guests by recognizing each person’s inherent dignity and value. Fr. Mc- In addition, Detroit has recent- Cabe stresses the idea that there is ly experienced a dramatic economic no “us” and “them” – there is only turnaround. Businesses and people “us.” Men and women who are expe- are moving downtown rapidly and the riencing homelessness often describe city is thriving. Sadly, the economic a sense of invisibility. People literally boom has not trickled down to every and figuratively walk over them as level of society. As a result, the city’s they rush past. However, once guests chronically homeless population is enter the Pope Francis Center, they being pushed away from the city cen- are greeted warmly and recognized as ter. The stark economic disparity is beloved children of God. The Center’s striking as we continue to try to an- staff meet each person where they are swer the pope’s call to care generously

26 IHS for the marginalized. According to Fr. McCabe, “Detroit is coming back, and it’s up to us, as Jesuits, to make sure that no one gets left behind.” are not ready or able to come inside To address this need, and after in- due to trauma or mental health issues. tense research and visits to effective Because of the city’s cold climate, the service providers in other cities, Fr. outdoor shelter area will feature heat- McCabe is planning to open a 40-unit ed cement floors and radiant heaters Bridge Housing facility in Detroit. overhead. The campus will also in- Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cin- The shelter will use a “Housing First” clude a medical clinic, medical respite eribus. “We hope for better things; approach and will provide guests beds, a gymnasium, and an urban It shall arise from the ashes.” People with short-term (90-120 days) shelter farm. The facility will be a collabora- who experience chronic homelessness along with complete medical, respite, tive effort between the existing Pope know a lot about living among the psychological, addiction, social, and Francis Center, the city, other local “ashes.” The Pope Francis Center and -training services. The goal of the service providers, and members of its new Bridge Housing facility are program is to help the chronically the surrounding community. While providing them with an opportunity homeless prepare to move from door- the chronically homeless often have to “hope for better things.” ways and overpasses into permanent difficulty trusting people, Fr. McCabe supportive housing. is confident that the relationships that have begun at the Pope Francis Center The campus will include an inno- will make it easier for guests to transi- vative outdoor shelter for guests who tion to the new campus.

28 IHS Jesuit inspired movements among central Indian tribes

Alexius Ekka, SJ Province

Social movements have been the and Ekka, of the Ranchi the Indian army, the Government of backbone of the integral liberation Province inspired and guided the India notified to acquire about 1471 of the tribal people in the central tribal people’s non-violent resistance sq. km of forest land. This displaced zone Provinces in India. First, Jesuits against the Indian Government’s 252 853 persons from their lands Savari Muthu of the Hazaribag Field Firing Range Project in the and homes from 245 villages in the Province, Dharamsheel Kujur hills of Netarhat. At the behest of Netarhat hills. The tribals of the area

UAP-EXCLUDED 29 had already suffered casualties and loss of their crops from their fields for the last 30 years during the rou- tine field firing practices in summer. The people did not want to suffer any more because of the new project.

Consequently, along with the local village leaders, the Jesuits mobilized the affected people to put up a strong non-violent pro- The second successful people’s power generation, yet displacing test against the project. On 23rd movement was against a hydropow- about 51 312 tribal people from 167 March 1994, when the army came er project in the Gumla District of villages. In 1984, XISS organized a in armoured vehicles for the field Ranchi Province. The movement national seminar on the feasibili- firing practices, about 1000 men was pioneered by the Research ty of large dams. There, the affect- and women from the affected vil- Department of Xavier Institute ed people of Koel Karo stated that lages put up a sit-in-blockade and of Social Service (XISS), a pre- there was no resettlement and reha- forced the army to retreat. Jesuits mier B-School in the State and the bilitation (R&R) policy even as the are still involved in the strategic country under the Jesuit leader- hydropower project was in progress. planning and awareness building ship of Van den Bogaert, The Director of the Institute along among the people against any dis- Christopher Lakra, and Alexius with the leaders of the Koel Karo placement. The people’s victory over Ekka. The Government of India movement filed a People’s Interest the mighty Indian army became a had wanted to put up a hydropow- Litigation in the Supreme Court spectacular strategy of non-violent er project since 1980 at the conflu- challenging this state of affairs. protest movement in the State and ence of Koel and Karo rivers with In its verdict, the Supreme Court the country. the expected capacity of 710 MW suspended the construction of the

30 IHS project till its R&R policy was in legacy of the justice mission among place. This judgement was a vir- the tribal people through social tual victory for the people, so they action. The justice mission is also continued their agitation, which integral to all the ministries in the resulted in the cancellation of the central zone Provinces as well as in anti-people hydropower project by the entire South Asian Assistancy of the Cabinet in 2010. the Society of Jesus.

The third case of Jesuit- inspired people’s movement was in the Dumka Raiganj Province under the leadership of Jesuits Tom Kavalakatt, and PA Chacko. The Jharkhand Government acquired of 31 sq km. of land in Pachwara of Pakur District for the Kolkata- based Panem Coal Limited to supply coal to the Thermal Power Plant in the Punjab. The entire move of the Government was against the Fifth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and the Santal Parganas Tenancy Act 1949. Supported by Jesuits, the affected people filed a case in the Supreme Court against the unfa- vourable judgement of the High Court. In a compromise settlement however, the Panem Company was to provide resettlement and rehabili- tation benefits to the affected people in lieu of 112 735 acres of land it had acquired for coal mining. This happened in 2007. But no promis- es were fulfilled by the Company; and when the people demanded their rightful benefits, the Company in collusion with the Government Administration unleashed a reign of terror on them, murdering in the process a dynamic social activ- ist Sr. Walsa John, SCJM, in 2011. Undeterred by such high-handed- ness, the affected people continue even today to demand for justice supported by the Jesuits and other religious of the region.

Under the coordination of the Secretary for Jesuits in Social Action (JESA), the Jesuits of the central zone Provinces in India have kept up the

UAP-EXCLUDED 31 Transformative education at Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy in Baltimore

John J. Ciccone President, Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy

“I think the hallmark of the Acade- experienced as a student over 18 years borhood to the next, as it defines my is its affinity for redemption sto- ago. the educational opportunity and ries, and I am one such redemption future economic mobility for chil- story.” This reflection by Cameron, a Baltimore, like most large U.S. dren in cities. This injustice is born 2001 graduate of Saint Ignatius Loyola cities, lacks consistent quality educa- from decades-long racial and eco- Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, re- tion. Inequality and its resulting dis- nomic discriminatory practices in calls the transformative education he parity are noticeable from one neigh- housing, education, transportation,

32 IHS and public policies. The poor and marginalized carry the burden of these injustices, and in Baltimore, that falls overwhelmingly to young African-American males who live in a city plagued by gun violence, high history, 98 % of Academy students crime, troubling incarceration rates, have graduated from high school, and high unemployment, and little op- 88 % have continued their education portunity to break free from the gen- at the university or other professional erational cycle of poverty. Founded training level. The Academy’s success- in 1993, Saint Ignatius Loyola Acad- ful program relies on small class sizes emy, a middle school serving boys of no more than 15 students, a caring, ages 10-14, began to interrupt that mission-driven faculty, and a rigor- cycle. In the Jesuit Nativity School ous curriculum that provides a trans- tradition, the Academy charges no formative educational experience for tuition and provides an 11-month both young men and their families. school year with longer days, starting The Academy prepares its students at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. to attend excellent high schools near Baltimore and boarding schools on Completing a high school edu- the East Coast that lead to university cation, the most basic education lev- enrollment and to jobs that provide el for work and continued studies, is economic security. Some continue not within reach for many African- their education at Jesuit high schools American males. When the Academy and universities. was founded, less than half the males in Baltimore achieved a high school Prior to attending the Academy, diploma. Over Saint Ignatius’s 25-year students and families involved with

UAP-YOUTH 33 equality. Nearly all of the students are not Catholic; many are behind in their education level; and some have par- ents who are incarcerated. In addition to the very structured four-year Acad- emy program that includes experien- tial learning outside of the classroom and overnight trips, students receive ongoing services for eight to ten years after graduation through the Acade- my’s graduate support program. This includes guidance toward success in high school and university and in finding internships and jobs. Acad- emy graduates work as welders, IT technicians, lawyers, choir directors, financial analysts, and engineers. No- tably, a number of our graduates are teachers, including four graduates currently teaching at the Academy and inspiring the next generation of students. the state education system become attended by children from more pros- far too familiar with schools that do perous neighborhoods. One moth- Cameron, who grew up in a West not accompany them through their er noted of the Academy’s principal, Baltimore neighborhood with high growth and development and whose “She is the first principal who has crime, murder, and incarceration administrators and teachers are quick not judged me.” While their children rates fueled by the drug trade, contin- to judge their backgrounds and fu- attend the Academy, some parents ued his education at a Jesuit universi- tures. These schools often interact make a decision to return to school ty and is married with a young child. with them in ways that send a clear themselves to pursue more formal ed- Many people from his neighborhood message that they are considered in- ucation. The Academy is a school, but become a statistic of the injustices that ferior, and the system itself has little as Pope Francis reminds us, we are pervade those streets. Cameron says, expectations they can and will suc- also called to be like a “field hospital” “Education has been what is exclud- ceed. As students begin their time at in the service of healing the wounds ed from a lot of the statistics of West the Academy, families often experi- of an imperfect society. Baltimore. I know that because I have ence a reconciliation, a consciousness friends in those statistics, both living of being embraced by an institution Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy and deceased. Some of them found that views them fully and provides an has educated hundreds of boys from their place in those statistics while environment with experiences similar families living in poverty who have I was at school from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 to what they see occurring at schools been marginalized by society and in- p.m.”

34 IHS Youth marching with the marginalized All India Catholic University Federation – AICUF

S. Emmanuel, SJ National Director of AICUF

AICUF has been marching with the to deepen the faith of the university affiliated with the Catholic Bishops marginalized people for the past 95 youth. Its aim was “Doing the Truth Conference of India. years. In 1924, Fr. P. Carty, SJ, founded in Charity.” In 1948, it was called All Catholic Youngmen’s Guild (CYMG) Indian Catholic University Federa- From 1952 to 1967, Father Pierre in St ’s College at Trichirapalli tion, and eventually, in 1949, it was Ceyrac, SJ, the well-known social

UAP-YOUTH 35 worker, spearheaded AICUF to new- er heights. He conducted the first na- tional-level leadership camp in 1953 at Mysore. It was during his time that four national-level congresses pated. In an interview in 2012, Father were held in Chennai, Bangalore, and Ceyrac said, “AICUF was started for Mumbai with the following themes: Jesus. He wanted us to work for the “Unity,” “Towards a Better World,” poor; ‘Whatever you do to the least of “Problems of Student Milieu,” and my brethren, you do unto me.” constitution were needed and amend- “Students and Social Justice.” On av- ments were incorporated during na- erage, 2600 student delegates partic- Fr. Lawrence Colaco, SJ, took the tional conventions. ipated in these congresses. In 1965, mantle from Father Ceyrac as Na- Father Ceyrac conducted the first tional Director of AICUF and took In 1968, the second national con- national convention in Madras with initiative to revise the constitution of vention was held in Chennai with the the theme “National Responsibility AICUF, so the federation was divided theme “The India we want.” With two and Commitment,” wherein all the into 14 regions. As AICUF was ex- national-level consultations held in AICUF leaders of all the units partici- panding all over India, changes in the 1970, the aim of AICUF was defined

36 IHS clearly for the upcoming decades. The association wants to contribute to bringing about social change. In a declaration issued after a major sem- inar in Madras, the federation stated: “We are born into an unjust society and we are determined not to leave it as we have found it.” Four commis- sions were set up; they focused on training in leadership for Dalits, refu- gees, Adivasis, and women.

In August 1972, a national sem- inar on “Egalitarian Society” was organized for the students involved in what was called “Project Know India;” and, from 1974, a long-term dream came true in the creation of a National Documentation Centre in Chennai.

In summary, one could identify five phases over the history of the fed- eration:

• the doctrinal period – for the propagation of Christianity;

• the age of personal development – for the dynamism of minority Christians;

• the social work camp period – the opportunity to be in touch with real people, a requirement for the formation of good leaders;

• the highlighting of the preferential option for the poor – with focuses on Dalits, refugees, Adivasis, and women’s rights;

• the realization of the political di- mension and the need to be and act “politically.”

Fr. Claude D’Souza, who was direc- tor of AICUF for a period of 15 years, called the AICUF youth “Prophets of the 21st Century and Harbingers of Hop e .”

UAP-YOUTH 37 AICUF is presently active in 13 states in India, with some 25 000 members, molding the university youth as selfless leaders who will work as agents of social change. Now the fo- cus is on preparing youth leaders for promoting sustainable development goals and environmental conserva- tion strategies. Capacity-building leadership programmes are conduct- ed at different levels. National social exposure programmes are organized during winter and summer vacations on topics like religious fundamental- ism, Indian democracy, Dalit rights, tribal rights, environmental issues, women’s rights.

The AICUF youth also get in- volved in issue-based struggles re- lated to human rights violations. For instance, AICUF’s tribal movement has been collaborating with a 27-year- old tribal movement which has been fighting for land rights. Currently AI- CUF has realized the need to conduct awareness programmes and safeguard Indian democracy. Constitution and minority rights in the context of the rise of religious fundamentalism are crucial.

Eminent ex-AICUFer’s are found in every walk of life still carrying out the mission of AICUF. AICUF is proud of asserting that this is the only non-political Catholic youth move- ment which has stood the challenges of time, and it will be celebrating its centenary in 2024.

38 IHS The river of life is threatened The commitment to the Amazon and integral ecology in action

María Teresa Urueña and Alfredo Ferro, SJ Jesuit Service to Panamazonia

The complexities and problems of the Pan- Amazonian territory, which is usually seen as an uninhabited forest and river basin, are closely linked to its history. It has been wounded by the excessive extraction of natural resources (mining, energy and timber, among others), megaprojects and deforesta- tion, as well as by migration and urbanization. The impoverishment of its population, among other sit- uations that threaten all forms of life, is causing the loss of biological and cultural diversity and environ- mental and social changes on a global scale. It is also important to recognize that the causes of these prob- lems have a global dimension, associated with the capitalist model of accumulation, which demands and depletes the resources of the forest, causing

UAP-COMMON HOUSE 39 damage to the territory and violations This has led us to take up the chal- of human rights. lenge of putting into action the “inte- gral ecology” proposed by Laudato Both the threats faced by si’ when it invites us to recognize that Amazonian peoples and their wealth nature is not separate from us and, are undoubtedly a challenging con- therefore, environmental concerns text for the Society’s mission in the also have a social effect that is often service of faith and the promotion of suffered most by historically impov- justice. Even though the 33rd General erished vulnerable sectors, such as Congregation (1984) expressed inter- indigenous and other forest dwellers. est in ecology, the commitment to the Amazon territory dates back to As for the service of faith and the 17th century, with the missions the promotion of justice, the work of and the presence of outstanding the different presences of the Society Jesuits such as Fritz, a great must be recognized: the Serviço Ação, connoisseur of the Amazon River, Reflexão e Educação Social (SARES to whom we owe one of the most - Service of Action, Reflection complete mappings of the region. and Social Education) in Brazil, “Samuel Fritz” is the name of the the Servicio Agropecuario para la interprovincial community located Investigación y Promoción Económica in Leticia () – in the triple (SAIPE - Agricultural Service for border shared with Brazil and Peru – Economic Research and Promotion) of the Jesuit Service to Panamazonia in Peru and the CPAL networks, (SJPAM) of the Conference of such as the Indigenous Network, the Provincials of Latin America and the Universities and Fe y Alegría. With Caribbean (CPAL). the latter two, joint actions have been carried out in favor of the territory. In its 2011 Apostolic Plan, CPAL As a service to the Church, we sup- made Amazonia a priority. This vast port the strengthening of the Red territory, which involves nine coun- Eclesial Panamazónica (REPAM - Pan- tries, also has the presence, in some Amazonian Ecclesial Network) and of them, of communities and works: participate intensely in the activities of parishes, spirituality centers, social the 2019 Synod (“Amazonia: new ways centers and networks that work with for the Church and for an integral indigenous people, children and ecology”). The synodal consultation youth. Faced with the need to respond went through processes of listening to in a structured manner to the chal- the inhabitants of the Amazon, with lenges and to strengthen the presence reflections that go beyond the ecclesial of Jesuits in the territory, the SJPAM scope of the biome, because they speak was created in 2013. Its goal is “to con- to the universal Church and affect the tribute to the defense and promotion fate of the planet, as the preparatory of the life, rights and territories of document affirms. In this process the indigenous peoples and a sustainable universal Society of Jesus was involved environment in Panamazonia.” From through the networks of universities the outset we have been called to and also Ecojesuit. Undoubtedly, the encourage and energize the Society’s Amazonian Synod will lay the foun- presence in the Amazon and to bet- dations for an outgoing Church with ter serve the territory and its people an “Amazonian face,” that is, a Church through the CPAL networks, focusing that rethinks its methods, is open to on two areas: indigenous peoples and intercultural and interreligious dia- socio-environmental sustainability. logue, and is built by walking with the

40 IHS

indigenous peoples and welcoming respect the indigenous peoples, who ingly becomes a strategic space in the what they have to teach us. with their spiritual and theological defense of the life and rights of indig- riches must be examples and protago- enous peoples. We consider that we We remember the words of Pope nists of practices of change. are on the way to making some of the Francis in Puerto Maldonado, invit- recently defined Universal Apostolic ing us to love this land as a treasure There are many challenges that Preferences of the Society of Jesus a to be enjoyed and not as an object we have as Church and as Society of reality, which will require a greater to be discarded, and to value and Jesus in this territory, which increas- commitment on our part.

42 IHS The urgency of the next 11 years to change and to act

Sylvia Miclat Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change,

With 91 authors from 40 countries and over 6000 scientific references, the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 oC (SR15) by the Intergovernmen- tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shared with the world the most updated, authoritative scien- tific advice to governments in October 2018. It expressed a bottom-line warning to deeply reduce

global net human-caused CO2 emissions by about 45 % from 2010 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2045.

The world has 11 years to limit global warm- ing to 1.5 oC, and the IPCC report says it is pos- sible to avert the irreversible impact on human and natural ecosystems, on people’s health and

UAP-COMMON HOUSE 43 wellbeing. Scientists plans at the community and economists have level while accompa- called the report the nied by broader assis- most important in tance from government IPCC’s history; it ex- and civil society. The pects people to be most effective time to shaken from compla- act is when there is no cency and to be mobi- extreme event, when lized to act. there is no disaster tak- ing place and the vul- The Asia Pacific nerability and violation region with its many of human dignity is ev- small island states in ident and experienced the Pacific, millions daily. of coastal and upland communities in its The 11 years remain- deltas, valleys, and ing call for a change of mountains, and the lifestyle and of attitude natural hazards in its to how life needs to be landscape is particu- lived that involves a larly vulnerable to ex- radical shift from con- treme climate events sumerism to personal brought about by a lifestyle choices that are warming climate and simple, sustainable, and presently experienced caring for what nature in highly susceptible has provided. These are areas. critical in the witness to a life-mission. Flooding and land- slides, sea-level rise, The 11 years remain- the creeping impact of ing must transform the a prolonged drought by linear economic model an El Niño event trans- of “make, use, and dis- late into disasters when pose” to one that is cir- people are caught un- cular and regenerative, prepared because they minimizing waste and do not have the basis maximizing resources to prepare. The most to their fullest value and vulnerable are hardest recovering and reusing hit as there are few op- these resources. tions, and often none, that can secure them The 11 years re- from the shock of los- maining need both ing food sources, hous- personal movements es, livelihoods – if they of the heart and mind survive. and social movements that start from be- The 11 years re- low. There is a growing maining need to have global movement of cumulative action young students going

44 IHS out of their classrooms, encouraged by teachers and parents, and call- ing out their governments for their inaction on climate change. There are eco-agriculture farms where the youth are encouraged to work with the land anew, grow, and produce sustainable nutritious crops, vegeta- bles, and livestock, free from inor- ganic chemicals. Urban agriculture and gardening are also emerging in inner-city communities. Coastal clean-ups and regeneration of man- grove and marine sanctuaries work best with local communities in col- laboration with local governments, the private sector, youth and student groups, and others.

The 11 years remaining should multiply and hasten current efforts in the different works of Jesuits and partners and also give more criti- cal support and attention to the so- cial apostolate where there is col- laboration with social centers, local parishes, community and people’s associations, development-focused organizations, ministries for indig- enous communities, among others. The social apostolate cannot remain an adjunct to the education apostolate and requires a collaboration in equity. The Jesuits have to not only discern and discuss, but act. It is essential to take action through deeds that con- front violations of human dignity and that seek real paths of reconcili- ation and justice. These are essential in moving into a new era where the our common home. Integral ecolo- human right to a stable climate is gy and ecological citizenship are two fundamental, and the youth hope and key points that Pope Francis focused participate in a caring world order. on as points for action, the former Laudato Si’ and the IPCC SR15 an internalizing and analysis of per- are humanity’s roadmaps for action Laudato Si’ called for change sonal lifestyles and attitudes and the in reckoning with a changing climate: and for action three years before latter an engagement outside that is Everyone has a role, and everyone has the IPCC SR15 and urgently spoke necessary to form critical significant a responsibility. Moreover, in the so- of the need for change in lifestyles, movements that can have effective cial apostolate, where Jesuits and part- production, and consumption, for and meaningful change. “The climate ners are asked to reconcile with God, transformation in economic models, is a common good, belonging to all with neighbor, with creation, there is for caring for one another and for and meant for all” (LS 23). massive work to be done.

UAP-COMMON HOUSE 45 STEP: Getting involved in finding solutions to environmental problems

Nancy C. Tuchman Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago

Solutions to Environmental Problems about today’s pressing environmental concern over carbon emissions and (STEP) is an innovative academic problems but also innovate to solve turned it into a student-run biodiesel program that ignites student energy them. For example, since its inception production operation using waste veg- around environmental challenges that at Loyola University Chicago’s (LUC) etable oil from campus and locations they identify positive remedies that they Institute for Environmental Sustain- throughout Chicago. Biodiesel fuel create. Students in STEP not only learn ability (IES), STEP has taken student now powers all LUC campus buses.

46 IHS In the Ignatian spirit, STEP is drains. If inputs and outputs are re- lose hope. The STEP program gives an academic program designed to duced and resources within the box students agency. It helps them iden- move education to action. And like are used and reused more efficiently, tify workable local environmental so many projects inspired by this LUC can be a more environmental- problems and successfully construct spirit, STEP began with a work of the ly sustainable citizen of the natural remedies. With the energy of youth, imagination. LUC faculty conducted world. This was the simple, but vital, even small successes rear hope. To a thought experiment that imagined thought experiment that activated paraphrase Gandhi, students begin the LUC campus as a box wherein the STEP vision. believing that they can be the change all the work taking place on campus that they wish to see in the world. occurs. In order to do this work, re- The next step was to find an inno- sources are needed, such as energy, vative way to put student education Identifying and solving environ- food, water, office supplies, furniture, and action at the core of the vision. mental problems takes time. In a one- computers, and a myriad of other This came with the idea that students or even two-semester course it can be items. These are the box inputs. The would identify an environmental difficult for a student to see the be- box output is waste, the remains of challenge at LUC and students would ginning, middle, and end of a project. the resource inputs after use. LUC build the solution. As anyone who has STEP’s innovative cohort collabora- has three main waste streams: emis- taught environmental science knows, tive model of environmental educa- sions released from smokestacks, the data on environmental degrada- tion addresses this problem. Projects solid waste that goes into landfills, tion is discouraging and solutions of- are designed and developed over and liquid effluents flushed down the ten seem unattainable. Students can multiple semesters. A class cohort

UAP-COMMON HOUSE 47 that identifies and incubates a STEP tion of leaders to solve environmental project hands it off to the next semes- problems requires an approach that is ter’s student cohort. Successive class experiential, data-informed, collabora- cohorts carry the project through tive, and interdisciplinary. multiple semesters until it is com- pleted and incorporated into the op- With STEP as an integral part erations of LUC. This cohort collab- of environmental education at IES, orative model allows students to see it is always exciting to imagine what – and learn from – the development will come next. Students and faculty of the project even when they are no are currently exploring the idea of longer in the course. converting cafeteria food waste and campus landscape waste into biogas Finally, the STEP process gives stu- in order to offset natural gas use on dents an interdisciplinary awareness as campus. Twelve years have created they work through an environmental many such surprises as students have problem. Students learn the process of innovated to solve environmental research and development across mul- problems one STEP at a time. tiple disciplines such as natural sci- ence, public policy, communications, Here is more information on the business, ethics, social science, and biodiesel project and two other education. Inspiring the next genera- STEP projects:

Biodiesel: STEP students developed a business plan for producing biodiesel from campus cafeteria waste vegetable oil. Today, the Searle Bio- diesel Lab produces over 20 % of the fuel for our campus shuttles, elim- inating vegetable oil from our campus waste stream and reducing fossil fuel use.

Uncap Loyola: This two-year campaign began with the STEP stu- dents’ concern about the injustices of water privatization. The result was a campus ban on the sale of bottled water and the installation of 50 water refill stations across campus.

Loyola Farmers Market: Conceptualized and planned by STEP students, the Loyola Farmers Market increases access to fresh, affordable, locally produced foods in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago while supporting small producers who use sustainable practices.

For more information on STEP, visit www.luc.edu/sustainability/initiatives/step

48 IHS INTRODUCTION

A legacy of Father Arrupe

“Will anyone volunteer to go to Bombay to help in an in coordinating and promoting social justice in the entire action research study on the eviction of pavement and Society of Jesus. slum dwellers?” asked my Rector while I was in in 1985. As a young scholastic, least interested in any work The Secretariat that began initially as JESEDES (Jesuit during the festival (puja) vacation in October, but rather Secretariat for Socio-Economic Development) in 1969 has more interested in seeing the city in its festivity, I volun- gone through many changes not only in name – from teered to go. JESEDES to SJS [Social Justice Secretariat] and to SJES [Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat] – but also in God’s ways are strange. He works in and through approaches. We have journeyed more intentionally from our human desires. During this visit, I never expected charity to development and to rights-based social and to receive a shock which would change my life and still ecological action amidst many turbulent yet amazingly influences me today. Witnessing the shanty slum houses grace-filled years. being totally bulldozed, and seeing women and children crying while trying to gather whatever they could salvage Fifty years of the Secretariat (1969-2019) is truly a from the rubble is something seared into my brain. I had historic moment, a Kairos moment as Fr. Arturo says, thought I knew what poverty meant. Many questions not merely for the social apostolate members but also for arose from deep within, but received no answers. That was the entire Society of Jesus. These 30 articles from various the beginning of my inner search and created a genuine social centres and institutions are only examples of the passion for working for justice among the marginalized incarnational spirituality that permeates the social apos- and victimized. The compassion blended with anger and tolate. The articles reflect the deep commitment of Jesuits powerlessness that I felt that day remains with me. This and partners, their amazing ingenuities amidst challeng- was the foundation for my social apostolate. I realized I ing situations. could never be faithful to my vocation without working for the discards of society. This is a moment to gratefully acknowledge the graces received during the past 50 years, recognize the present Similar experiences of dehumanization led numerous challenges and opportunities and to discern the ways to Jesuits and collaborators all over the world to commit implement the UAPs in the coming ten years. On behalf of themselves fully, often at the risk of their own lives, into the Secretariat, I wish that Jesus incarnates himself in our the justice mission. They accompany and serve the poor, lives and in our mission throughout the year 2020. reflect and question the system through research and analysis, raise awareness, and creatively advocate and defend the vulnerable.

Although the social ministry was not new to Society of Jesus, it was Fr. Arrupe, who called Fr. Francisco Ivern Xavier Jeyaraj, SJ in 1968 to set up the secretariat in the Curia to assist him Secretary, SJES

IHS 49 50 IHS AFRICA-MADAGASCAR ZIMBABWE

Silveira House: A flagship of social justice work in Zimbabwe

Arnold Moyo, SJ Zimbabwe-mozambique Province

Fifty-five years have passed since the ing social justice, active citizenship, approaches to programming, fund- founding of Silveira House – Jesuit responsible and accountable gover- raising, and relating to various rele- Social Justice and Development nance and community development; vant stakeholders. Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe. A lot for these challenges have persisted in has changed in the country since its the country since the Centre’s estab- Silveira House started in response founding and a lot has not. What lishment. What has changed though to “knocks on the door” from the poor hasn’t changed is the relevance of is that the operational environment seeking assistance from the local Jesuit the Centre in its mission of promot- has required the Centre to find new community. At the time, the Rhodesian

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 51 (the country’s colonial name) technical and vocational skills train- myself overwhelmed by the grati- Church was discerning ways in ing. The success of these ensured tude ordinary people express when- which the Church could respond that the beneficiaries – individuals ever I visit areas of our operation in more systematically to the plight of and families – became more self- different parts of the country. Some the many, mostly rural, people who reliant and food secure. The agri- would have been beneficiaries of were suffering under the colonial- culture project was particularly suc- Silveira House’s projects ten years ist government. The Jesuits were cessful as the scheme took off like ago, yet they still remain grateful for tasked with establishing a Centre wildfire and within ten years pro- the change that their involvement that would provide such a response. vided food security over a wide area with Silveira House brought to the That responsibility was further del- of the north and east of the country. quality of their life. When listening egated to Fr John Dove, SJ, a man The projects that were started in the to such stories of change, I often feel filled with compassion for the poor development of the Centre include unworthy to be leading an institu- and a passion for social justice. He leadership training, advocacy on tion with such a legacy in so many saw this as an opportunity to teach social and economic policies, and parts of the country and of being a those who knocked on the commu- peace-building. part of its noble history. nity’s door “how to fish” for their own self-sustenance. This marked No metric can adequately mea- My hope is sustained through the birth of Silveira House. sure the appreciation in the hearts listening to these stories of change, of those that Silveira House has particularly in the very challenging Various projects were initiated touched and brought some change economic and political context we in agricultural training as well as in in their lives. I occasionally find have to operate in. A mother who can

52 IHS now afford school fees for her kids centres and civil society organisa- ability. Dependence on donor money from the money she earned from her tions will be hard to justify in the has at times proven detrimental to livestock project; a father who was face of persistent poverty, poor lead- the realisation of our mission. This able to build a proper small house ership and governance in our coun- dynamic of aid-dependence sheds for his family using the skills he was tries. We cannot hope to change light on a contradiction that exists taught; a community that is able to this social condition with the same within development work today: we articulate boldly its demands from methods we have been using for the work towards empowering people but local authorities, and local often end up making ourselves government authorities and the poor we serve charity- who constantly invite us to dependent instead. This flawed offer them training in lead- model, in addition to the ever- ership. These stories serve intensifying donor fatigue, under- to remind us that what we mines the power of the Gospel are doing is worth doing. and impedes the authentic liber- ation of those trapped in poverty. Nonetheless, there is a constant challenge for Thus, while we remain ever social institutions such as grateful for the contribution we ours, especially in Africa, have managed to make to the peo- to be imaginative in our ple of Zimbabwe through Silveira approach to development. House over the years, we remain Africa is a continent that alert to the present and future remains stagnant as far as challenges that confront us. It development is concerned. is, however, our hope that what Millions of its people remain in pov- past decades. The change we wish for was begun 55 years ago will continue erty while other regions have made requires our own metamorphosis. growing in strength for the next 55 great strides in reducing and even years and beyond, for the benefit of eliminating extreme poverty. The We also need to confront the the less privileged, in whatever form reason for our existence as social question of our own financial sustain- that this will take in the future.

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 53 54 IHS AFRICA-MADAGASCAR CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

The JRS mission for reconciliation in the Central African Republic

Eric Goeh-Akue, SJ, Paul Marie Bouda, SJ and Laura Lora Ballesta JRS-RCA

Reconciliation is a central focus in persons and host communities, the ties. For this reason, the reconciliation the strategic framework of the Jesuit peaceful coexistence among the dif- workshops place a great importance Refugee Service (JRS). This apostol- ferent socioreligious communities, the on the need to forgive, on identify- ic priority is visible in the Central formation of leaders for the preven- ing and recognizing harmful prejudice African Republic (CAR), a country tion and peaceful resolution of con- that prohibits coexistence. They also devastated by multiple years of civil flicts, psychosocial support and pro- focus on the importance of tolerance war and extreme poverty. During his fessional formation for demobilized and accepting and respecting others, historic visit to the CAR in November child soldiers. looking beyond religious differences. of 2015, Pope Francis urged for the country to work towards peace and In Lobaye, the coexistence of In Bangui, JRS takes action in the reconciliation. JRS has respond- the different communities has been more volatile neighborhoods (Fatima, ed actively to this call by developing crippled by high tensions among the Boeing) where the conflict between peace-oriented education programs in Christian host families, the displaced Muslims and Christians has result- the areas where they have a presence: Central African population (the ed in numerous deaths, along with in the southern region of Lobaye, in majority of which are Muslim return- the destruction of many communi- Bangui, the capital, and in the cen- ing home), and Congolese refugees. ties. In their work, past executioners tral region of Bambari. They provide The wounds of the past remain open, and victims, Christians and Muslims, a diverse number of programs: the such as the distrust and hate between together reflect on the causes and con- social cohesion of internally displaced the Muslim and Christian communi- sequences of the destructive conflict

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 55 that turns them against one anoth- the crucial aspects of their mission is rebel group. Thanks to the psychoso- er. The main focus of these forma- the support and formation of former cial support, JRS helps demobilized tion workshops is to create advocates child soldiers who have been demo- child soldiers come to terms with for peace, people who understand bilized. In the CAR there are about their actions by working with them the beliefs of the other religions, who 12 500 child soldiers, both boys and through their trauma. They help inte- actively participate in the fight against girls, who are forcefully recruited grate them into schools or teach them violence and discrimination between into rebel groups. In most cases, they a trade, to read and write and to learn Christians and Muslims and against are drugged, abused, and forced to activities that could generate income. other forms of conflict for long-lasting commit crimes, even upon their own There are several steps to the road to peace. families and towns with the purpose of linking them irreversibly to the In Bambari, the center of the Central African Republic, the divi- sion between the different commu- nities is extreme and runs very deep. This is continually being exacer- bated by attacks of armed groups, both Islamic and Christian. One of

56 IHS healing, including reestablishing their I arrived in Bambari together with Grace’s testimony, like other stir- self-esteem and confidence, despite my armed group. I heard about a JRS ring testimonies, is the essential rea- the violence that they committed awareness conference for child sol- son why JRS continues its mission in against others. It also requires learn- diers, and I decided to go and see. the CAR, despite intimidation and vio- ing to control violent behavior so There they offered us a new life and lence. We firmly believe that God is they may have a healthy social rein- that made me think. I became a little moving the heart of this country. Our tegration into school or learning of a less angry and decided to stop fighting mission consists of working together trade with the objective of a return to and learn a trade. With this formation arduously for reconciliation and justice, a normal social life. I have been able to forgive and to start by accompanying with Christ in faith on a better path. If I had stayed in the and hope the vulnerable people whose The testimony of Grace is moving. armed group I would not have sur- dignity has been broken and wounded. She was a demobilized child soldier vived or learned a trade. I know now who benefited from the psychosocial that I am on a good path.” Translated by Mason Smith support and learned to sew. “I was 13 years old when the war began. They killed my father and my mother right in front of me. So, I decided to join one of the armed groups of the Anti- Balaka to avenge my parents. One day,

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 57 AFRICA-MADAGASCAR

The Jesuit social apostolate and lack of governance in Africa

Rigobert Minani Bihuzo, SJ Coordinator of the social apostolate in the Province of Central Africa and Angola

In certain countries, the problem Jesuit social apostolic secretariat pro- refocus its efforts to serve the mission behind urgent social questions is usu- vides Africa the perfect opportunity even more faithfully. ally the lack of governance. Social to build the future of the apostolate work must eradicate this issue at its looking at its past. It could be a pos- In 1949, when Father Janssens, roots. The 50th anniversary of the sible way to renew the program and the Superior General at that time,

58 IHS published Instruction on the Social anniversary of the independence would address, among other things, Apostolate, the majority of Africa of African countries and assessed conflicts before and after the elec- was still colonized and most of the the role of social organizations in tions, support for the victims of war Jesuits were Westerners. At that time Africa. In his opening remarks Fr. and violence along with refugees and Africa was a hotbed of movements Michael Lewis, the president at migrants, prevention against hoard- aimed at gaining independence. Only that time of the Jesuit Conference ing of lands, accessibility to clean a decade separated the publication of of Major Superiors of Africa and water for marginalized groups, the the instruction and the ’60s, a peri- Madagascar (JESAM), assured that fight against climate change and even od when many countries claimed the social apostolate would help the protection of the Congo Basin their autonomy. The political strife address the challenge of poverty, a rainforest. between the people and African intel- consequence of the bad governance lectuals wasn’t at that time the prior- in Africa. Father Orobator, Provincial Even when research led us ity of the emerging social apostolate. of Eastern Africa, agreed, “I would towards new challenges like Boko Jesuits focused their efforts on the argue that a leadership deficit is the Haram and al-Shabaab, the Jesuits “development” of the countries. Even single most formidable obstacle to involved in the investigations came though they were not on the front progress and development in post-in- to surprising conclusions. “Bad gov- line of the work for the independence dependent Africa.” ernance is being mixed with the rise of the continent, various members of radical Islamic fundamentalism. of the Society would participate in The fundamental challenges for This can be seen in the domination forming the social conscience of the the social apostolate in Africa that and corruption of the development African people. were identified in the 2012 June of democracy in these countries. forum would inspire for six years the The consequential factors are unem- With the purpose of continuing action and investigation of the Jesuit ployment of young people, armed the Jesuit story on the African conti- African Social Centres Network services being contracted by indi- nent, in 2012 around 50 African and (JASCNET). The social apostolate viduals and illegal extraction of nat- non-African Jesuits met in Nairobi. would then create new programs on ural resources in Africa by foreign Together they celebrated the 50th all four corners of the continent that parties.” Research performed in over 10 countries has revealed that the increase of this new phenomenon is directly related with the marginal- ization and anger of a younger gen- eration ridden with unemployment and rejection of the political process. Nobody has offered these young peo- ple a different point of view or any reason for them to believe that one day this will change. The bitterness, frustration, and anger of these young people are easily manipulated by Islamic speeches that radicalize and intensify them or by those involved in human trafficking who convince them to emigrate. They are victims of the lack of leadership in Africa and its social consequences.

Since then the social apostolate has introduced programs to effective- ly tackle the lack of governance that devastates the country. Four crucial points were identified.

Firstly, to ground the social apos- tolate in a spirituality of social work with a solid doctrinal foundation,

60 IHS in particular the Social Doctrine of the Church. Secondly, to base the social work on solid social analysis, nothing improvised or spontaneous. Thirdly, to improve all of the tools used in this field to widen the capa- bilities of operation. Fourthly, to master the new ways of communica- tion, including social media which is necessary today to reach the younger generation.

A handbook is used in the socio- political formation program aimed at young Jesuits. Its objective is to pre- pare the future generation of Jesuits so that they consolidate their efforts in that which is capable of producing results that will multiply. We must not lose sight of the fact that the cause of the urgent social questions of today, including poverty, unem- ployment, diseases, and migration, is the bad governance of the African continent. Helping to build the insti- tutions of governance of the African countries could be the key.

Translated by Mason Smith

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 61 AFRICA-MADAGASCAR ZAMBIA

Pastoral circle and social apostolate activities in Zambia

Pete Henriot, SJ Director of JCTR (1990-2010)

When the Zambia Province decid- toward research than action, with a economic scene, the JCTR expanded ed in 1988 to begin a social cen- mixed focus on contemporary social its activities to include four essential ter in Lusaka, just what it would challenges. elements: do and how it would do it was not altogether clear. Starting out with a But in the years that followed, • Research: preparing quality and rather “cloudy” name, Jesuit Centre as Zambia moved from a one- well-respected theological prob- for Theological Reflection (JCTR), party state to a rather tumultuous ings and social science investiga- the original orientation was more multi-party democracy and erratic tions.

62 IHS • Education: disseminating research findings through publi- cations, newsletters, workshops, media presentations.

• Advocacy: engaging the wider public in political pressures for social justice programmes in civil society and church, local, nation- al and international.

• Consultation: advising Church social activities (e.g., pastoral let- ters), testifying before Parliament, serving on civic committees.

As a start to a quick and incom- plete review of the JCTR mission and activity, it might be interesting icant reduction in World Bank debt. that in a recent World Bank report to note some social, economic and And subsequently even more can- Zambia is ranked as the fourth most political changes over the past thir- cellation came through – the conse- unequal country in the world (fol- ty years since its founding. At least quences of JCTR’s cooperation with lowing after South Africa, Namibia some rough figures can help compare the worldwide Jubilee campaign, and Botswana). 1988 and 2018. doing good research, education and advocacy. A figure that surely is a Looking back over more than A sterling example of JCTR’s challenge to JCTR’s mission today is thirty years of JCTR activities, the four-fold approach was the work on seeking justice to deal with Zambia’s immense burden of external debt. In the late 1990s and early 2000s JCTR became a central player in the world Zambia wide effort of the Jubilee Debt cam- paign. The effort was to secure can- 1988 2018 cellation by showing (1) how that debt Population was in fact incurred and (2) what its 8 million Population consequences were for local citizens. 17 million Life expectancy

45 Life expectancy I recall a high level meeting that 60 it was my good fortune to be invit- VIH and AIDS ed to in Washington DC in 1998. in 15 a 49 años VIH and AIDS The President of the World Bank 20 % in 15 a 49 años 12 % was there and he said quite strong- GDP per capita ly to me: “Fr. Henriot, this cancel $409 GDP per capita the debt campaign isn’t going any- $1270 where. The World Bank does not Political parties cancel debts. Hear me: we don’t 1 Political parties cancel debts!” Twelve months later, 20 Zambia received over USD 3 billion in debt cancellation, including signif-

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 63 methodology for implementing these ed the fall into paralyzing national challenging activities could be char- debt situations; social rights were acterised as following the “pastoral described to show why good educa- circle” by engagement in experience, tional opportunities were minimally analysis, reflection and action. This available to the poorer populations. popular social science tool pushed the team to be engaged with import- Reflection: what do these issues ant challenges and not simply stay in mean to people of faith and citizens their office, to ask deeper questions of traditional values were explored of why there were these challenges, to through theological studies, appli- ponder the issues of faith and justice cation of the church’s social teach- arising from the issues, and finally to ing and recollection of the tenets of move toward well-planned responses. Zambian humanism. Ignatian spiri- tuality also influenced the reflection. These four steps of the pastoral circle can be seen in the pursuit by Action: steps for effective dealing with the JCTR team of key issues facing the issues experienced could then be Zambia from its start even to this day. promoted, e.g., through visits to pub- lic officials, popular demonstrations, Experience: the rising debt crisis petitions to push for international was felt in constrained government pressures, publicity campaigns, etc. budgets for health and education; the cost of living exceeded family incomes and hunger was felt; social rights was given low priorities in con- The value of using a pastoral circle stitutional debates; and corruption approach, and its relevance to Jesuit was endemic in so many circles. social apostolate in Africa today and into the future, can be seen in Analysis: surveys such as the “Basic its link to first-hand experience of Needs Basket” showed the unhealthy issues, keen insight into causes and gap between national needs and consequences, clarification through available resources; in-depth study faith focuses, and movement to well of budgetary allocations demonstrat- thought-through responses.

64 IHS AFRICA-MADAGASCAR

Learning to collaborate A European perspective on the evolution of the African social apostolate

Dani Villanueva, SJ Executive vice-president of Entreculturas and Alboan

It is wise to look back in order to a source of excitement and gratitude. – projects of Spanish Jesuit interna- learn from our history. At times we This latter is the case with the expe- tional cooperation – and the African must make peace with the past, but rience of work and collaboration social apostolate. Without doubt, some other times this experience is between Entreculturas and Alboan this is an experience of the Spirit

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 65 acting through people and institu- a) Accompaniment and strength- Centres under the direction Ghislain tions and of how collaboration and ening of the network of social cen- Tshikendwa aiming to achieve greater networks can be of enormous facility ters. In our progressive incorporation coordination and leadership. for the forwarding of the apostolic into the work of the African social mission. centers we learned the importance b) Birth and formalization of Fe of shared dialogue for developing a y Alegría in Africa. In 2017 we cel- Our collaboration with the joint vision with the different social ebrated in N’Djamena the first 10 African social sector is delineat- delegates of the Provinces. Back in years of the movement Fe y Alegría in ed by three fundamental variables: 2005 we took our first steps at the Africa. Few know that Father Vélaz, (1) to approach Africa as a uni- hand of Elías Omondi as coordinator founder of Fe y Alegría, visited the versal apostolic preference which of the social sector JCAM (at that Congo already in the 1970s, and that favors the harmonic orientation of time JESAM-SAS), when great efforts the last three international coordina- our work towards this new mission were made to identify the main chal- tors of the federation FyA have visited focus, (2) the creation of the Mixed lenges for the social sector on the and dialogued intensively with JCAM. Commission from the European continent, whose keys were seen in In these years, Entreculturas and and African Provincial Conferences peace-making and conflict resolu- Alboan have been able to accompany whose aim is to implement instru- tion, along with education, good gov- multiple educational initiatives for the ments formed following the impulse ernance, and interreligious dialogue. vulnerable, many times linked with of collaboration of CG 34, and (3) It is in the next stage, beginning in parishes or rural areas with enormous a vibrant African social apostolate 2009, when structures are begun for difficulties. Stemming from this work with an ongoing structuring process joint work as a conference: commu- we have gotten to know Jesuits, young at the conference level. This is the nication, coordination, documenta- and old, enthusiasts of education as an framework of the incorporation of tion and even the availability of some instrument of social transformation in Entreculturas and Alboan into an eco- common human resources. This was surroundings of maximum vulnerabil- system in which three principal pro- the stage of the creation of the con- ity, and they have been the key agents cesses may be highlighted: cept of Network of African Social of this miracle which got underway

66 IHS formally in Chad (2007) and later in Madagascar (2013), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2014), and today in conversation with Guinea-Conakry, Kenya, Mozambique, , and Liberia.

In this sense our trip in 2009 to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador with eight African delegates of education was very important for knowing the different organizational models of Fe y Alegría in these distinct countries and contexts. After these years of work we have learned to be hinge organiza- tions, serving as bridges aiding pro- vincial and continental leaderships to coordinate and encourage local ini- tiatives and capacities while strength- ening them by means of international connections and support.

c) Progressive evolution of the JRS in the continent. In these years of col- laboration, accompaniment of the four regions of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Africa has also been intensive in the key stage of Africanization of its leadership and progressive settling into the local Jesuit structures. The challenge has been to respond with the JRS to the forced mobility on the continent with a progressive strate- gic view shared always more by other actors of the Society of Jesus.

It is impossible to end this brief article without expressing gratitude for having been part of a true dynam- ic of universal Society, motivated by the concrete needs of a conference and guided by the vision, enthusiasm, and exceptional work of many com- panions and collaborators. Inserted in these dynamics, we understand – and we celebrate – the progressive and promising emphasis on networks and collaboration within the univer- sal body of the Society of Jesus.

Translated by Milton Jensen

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR 67 68 IHS LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Fifty years of commitment to social justice in Latin America

Jorge Julio Mejía, SJ Assistant of the social sector of the CPAL

Since the 60s, young people have In many countries they demanded The general situation touched protested massively against a society democracy and justice, and so began the conscience of many followers of which had made possible the horror of the repression of the military dicta- Jesus. The , the the Second World War, their human torships in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, meeting of the CELAM in Medellín, sensitivity unable to bear the injustice. Bolivia, and Uruguay. and the 32nd General Congregation provoked a change of mentality were not born of Christianity. and an opening of hearts. The sal- The visceral experience of injus- vation of Jesus was not after death, tice and oppression of the poor but after birth. It was insisted that and the enthusiasm for alternative all of our efforts should converge social projects nourished within towards the construction of a soci- us the utopia of transformation… ety in which the people were inte- Our , our spirituality, our grated with all of their rights to community life, relations with equality and freedom. the Church and with the Society underwent painful questioning. In 1968 Father Arrupe and At the same time, we began to feel the provincials of Latin America the effects of the repression of a put us on alert: “The epoch we are system which considered subver- experiencing in L.A. is a moment sive an act of faith in favor of the in the history of salvation. poor…we have helped the poor Therefore, we propose to give to recover their voice, that they absolute priority to this problem might be the protagonists of their in our apostolic strategy” (Carta liberation” (from the Informe of de Río, May 1968, n. 3). news of the province).

All of this generated a very We continued meeting with active social sector. Many Jesuits Jesuit worker-, with those from the Provinces of the region working with indigenous peo- worked with the poor, living with ples, with parish priests, and with and like them. We convoked a priests who thought through meeting in Jiutepec, , the their identity working at a Social July 24, 1982, in order to respond Center. Each encounter left an to this question: “After ten years unforgettable life story written. (following decree 4 of the CG 32) Decisive were the accompaniment what has happened to the poor and analysis of the Social Centers and to us?” The answer is summa- in Central America, Colombia, rized thus: “Motivated by faith and Mexico, Peru, Dominican stimulated by the Church and the Republic and Venezuela. Since Society, we embarked upon the 1949 they have had a mission adventure. The irruption of the assigned by Fr. John-Baptist poor in our lives, their discovery Janssens, SJ: to elaborate diagno- by way of insertion, investigation, ses which ground the work plans and attempts to work with them, for justice and peace. For this it produced a rupture in all of us… was necessary to prepare Jesuits We took the first steps of inserting with special studies. ourselves in the historic current of liberation of our countries and Following the fall of the Berlin found ideals and projects which Wall in 1989, sensitivity to the 70 IHS problems of society changed. New chal- lenges arose: climate change, migration, political polarization. In view of this, the provincials of Latin America and the Caribbean published in 1996 a letter in Mexico on neoliberalism in which they reflect on the criteria and conse- quences of this system, on the char- acteristics of the society that we long for, and indicating concrete tasks in the educational, social, and pastoral fields.

In 1999 the Conference of Provincials of Latin America was founded to promote collaboration among the 12 provinces.

In annual meetings of the social assistants of the Conference of Provincials with the secretary of the Social Apostolate, we have had the opportunity for mutual support and joint thinking about how to respond to new challenges. For example: We decided to participate in the World Social Forum III in Brazil, whose moto was: “Another world is possible.”

After the dictators came the crisis of democracy. A paradoxical nostalgia for authoritarian governments arose, according to a study of the UN. We planned a program of political educa- tion in order to dignify the exercise of politics. It would be carried out in all of the provinces, and the impact of our apostolate evaluated.

The CPAL established its priori- ties: the serious problem of injustice, attention to the Amazon, Haiti, and Cuba, ecological problems, violence, reconciliation and migration.

In the way we plan our work we began to give priority to discernment, moving from the question of “What must we do?” to that of “What is God doing?” so as to dedicate all of our efforts to collaborating with Him.

Translated by Milton Jensen LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Only a network can face it! The challenge of migration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Javier Cortegoso Lobato Coordinator of the Jesuit Network with Migrants of Latin America and the Caribbean

Mauricio García-Durán, SJ Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Latin America

At the end of the 1990s in the tinct capacities and fields of exper- “intersectorial” network that, for Conference of Provincials of Latin tise involving people and institutions greater and better service, not be lim- America (CPAL) we made a tran- from different sectors and apostolates; ited to a given geographic space, nor scendental decision regarding dis- and third, that the same roads and to specific fields in which to offer placed, migrant, and refugee popula- risks in the route are shared by people its contributions, nor by the distinct tions. We questioned our action upon with different reasons for migrating, circumstances of the people accom- contemplating what was happening from situations of poverty to victims panied. in the migratory movements of the of political crises and violence who continent, and we understood vari- need international protection, as well In 2011, the Provincials of the ous situations: first, that the migra- as those affected by natural disasters. CPAL decided that migration would tory reality required a response which be one of the six priorities of their transcended our provincial borders As a fruit of looking at our real- Common Apostolic Plan; the RJM if we wished to assist the flows along ity of human mobility was born the thus found greater legitimacy and their entire journey (origin, transit, decision to create the Red Jesuita con began to feel the greater influence and destination), especially at that Migrantes (RJM - Jesuit Network with of the apostolate with migrants, dis- time the Haitian, Central American, Migrants). It was organized accord- placed persons, and refugees in the and Colombian flows; second, that ing to our interpretation of what the works and plans of the provinces, the complexity of the phenomenon migratory movements demanded: each of us projecting what we could required the unity of action of dis- a necessarily “interprovincial” and do regarding migration.

72 IHS

The network understood that it Furthermore, since 2013, the RJM understand that to work with migrants could not limit its action to accom- has assumed the challenge of a social we had to work with all people; paniment on the migratory route, but and personal transformation; it is nec- from a practical standpoint, through that it had to develop a strategy of essary to create a new culture of hospi- its Campaña por la Hospitalidad advocacy aimed at the transforma- tality. This is something we learn from (Campaign for Hospitality - tion of public policies in the spheres the people, through the gestures of http/historiasdehospitalidad.com) the of migration and refuge, as well as to welcoming, generosity, and selflessness RJM not only strengthened its inter- point to the causes which led so many to which we are witness in the most sectorial logic, but also amplified it, people to make desperate decisions humble communities, who receive especially with an eye to young people and to undergo great risks in their displaced persons, migrants and ref- and the education sector. search for worthy life projects. We ugees with open arms, houses, and speak of an incarnate incidence, to the hearts. These gestures are a challenge This accompaniment of migrants, extent that we legitimize our global which leads us to recognize ourselves refugees, and internally displaced voice from the local level, with the in the other and to understand that persons is one of the sufferings which contribution of the different capacities with our differences we are all broth- we, together with the CG 36, heard of the works in the network: their sci- ers and sisters, we are one human- about in the region. These sufferings entific quality, knowledge of the viola- kind, and, in one way or another, we invite us to work for reconciliation as tions of human rights, communication all proceed from a history of migra- the condition for healing the wounds skills or strategies of development, and tion and encounter. Moreover, the ori- which the migratory processes pro- integration. entation towards hospitality made us duce in millions of people. And this

74 IHS demands of us, from the horizon of faith and justice, to promote pro- cesses of reconciliation in at least five dimensions (personal, spiritual, familial and communitarian, social and political, and ecological) which will empower our healed brothers and sisters to act for themselves in the search for their own alternatives.

In these 20 years of sharing the journey with migrants, displaced persons, and refugees, we have learned from them and verified the need for a network which promotes a structured, quality apostolate that seeks a transformation of struc- tures. Our horizon continues to be a reconciled world with room for all of us.

Translated by Milton Jensen

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 75 LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

A visit to the future

Jorge Cela, SJ

Fe y Alegría (Faith and Joy) is part Congress of Madrid 2018: “With you education of the country improved; of the dream of a “new society,” the Society wishes to visit the future.” because for its founder, Fr. José María “new heavens and new earth,” which Vélaz, SJ, social justice starts with motivates the social and education- When I began to work in Fe educational justice. In our society of al apostolate of the Society of Jesus. y Alegría in 2003, I learned that our knowledge, a person without educa- That is why Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, said objective was not that our students had tion is a sure candidate for poverty, to the delegates congregated in the the best academic results, but that the discrimination, and manipulation. For

76 IHS this reason, the founder said, “We can- the poor receive a quality education 100 religious congregations who col- not give a poor education to the poor.” which allows them to overcome the laborate with the project; the business Father Arrupe, as Superior General of breach of social injustice. community and the popular sectors the Society of Jesus and former com- who assume their civic responsibility panion of the novitiate, wrote to F. We know that the poor are many. to education. Thus, the false dichoto- Vélaz: “I invite you to continue in that In 1960 in Latin America more than my between state public education and spirit of qualitative innovation to the half of the population was poor lucrative private education is broken. service of the growth of the poor as (51 %). In 2016, nearly a third still subjects of their own destiny, children was: 30.7 %. Only a massive response But is it true that quality education of God and builders of a just and fra- can meet the challenge of education can be achieved in contexts of extreme ternal society.” for the poor. It is necessary to gain as poverty? Today it is said that the great- allies the state, the civil society and est obstacle to learning is poverty. The When Fe y Alegría started in the whole population. That is why Fe schools of Fe y Alegría are in all contexts Caracas in 1955, one fourth of the y Alegría was born as a social move- of poverty, including extreme poverty. Venezuelan population was illiterate. ment which calls the entire popula- The students of Fe y Alegría have this Today in Latin America, only Haiti tion, including the poor themselves, factor against them and, despite this, has an illiteracy rate above 10 %. in order to overcome poverty with they achieve better results. The continent has won the battle of education. school coverage, but not that of edu- One proof is the rate of repetition cative quality. Since its origin, Fe y And we are being successful in and drop-out. Fe y Alegría achieves Alegría has endeavored not only to gradually getting different actors com- drop-out rates under 5 %. In con- bring education to “where the asphalt mitted to this form of non-state public trast, five countries of Latin America hasn´t arrived,” but to guarantee that education: the states; the more than have drop-out rates above 25 %. The

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 77 same is true of repetition, which is below 5 %. Only four countries of the region have such a low rate.

Among the contributions of Fe y Alegría to Latin American educa- tion we can speak of the very con- cept of quality education and the pro- grams that promote it; the practice of inclusive education; the contributions to intercultural education, above all in indigenous contexts; the teacher formation systems; models of educa- tion for the workplace, including the training of young people with spe- cial capacities; the networks of rural schools; the forms of community par- ticipation in the schools and of these in the community; the incorporation of the new technologies in the edu- cational process. In Spain there is the formation of the awareness of respon- sibility in international cooperation and in Italy the training of migrants.

With the presence of Fe y Alegría in Africa, a new form of relation with the community, typical of the African cultures, is incorporated. The chal- lenge arises to create new systems of quality adapted to the diverse con- texts of geographical and sociological “frontiers.”

Each national office of Fe y Alegría has a team dedicated to influenc- ing educational policies so that the right of the poor to a quality educa- tion might become a reality. As Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, says: “The work of Fe y Alegría would not be understood if it did not have an influence, gradually and measurably, both in the trans- formation of public education and in the definition and implementation of public policies which make the right to a quality education a reality any- where in the world. It is a local, and simultaneously global, struggle.”

Translated by Milton Jensen

78 IHS LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 79 80 IHS LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Economy for the care of life: the COMPARTE network

Álvaro Idarraga, Amaia Unzueta and Óscar Rodríguez, SJ COMPARTE Network

COMPARTE is a network of the is important to support and encour- • Recover the wealth of diversity. Jesuit Conference of Provincials in age the growing collaboration among • Utilize the bounties of nature in a Latin America and the Caribbean Jesuits and Jesuit apostolates through just and sustainable manner. (CPAL) consisting of 15 social cen- networks. International and intersec- • Strengthen the role of women. ters (CS) present in 15 regions of 10 toral networks are an opportunity to • Prioritize good living conditions countries (Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, strengthen our identity, as we share for all people. Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, our capacities and local engagements , , and Mexico), in order together to serve a universal We develop productive initia- the Jesuit Service to Panamazonia mission” (n. 35). tives in rural areas (coffee, cocoa, (SJPAN), the Work Formation of the banana, honey, dairy and oleaginous Federation Fe y Alegría and Alboan. We align the economic-produc- products) and in urban areas (tex- We are a community of learning and tive initiatives with eight traits of the tile, footwear, and crafts) in gener- action conformed in 2008 to con- alternatives to development that we ally paradoxical situations: commu- struct, together with producer orga- support, utilizing diverse procedures, nities lacking well-being, present in nizations and other allied entities knowledge, and modalities of action, territories of abundance who, pro- (social actors), economic-productive in order to achieve good living con- gressively, fall into ever more abject initiatives as alternatives to the dom- ditions among families who are in poverty. inant development model. situations of exclusion and poverty. From the experience of projects, The 36th General Congregation teams, laity, and Jesuits we generate in its decree 1, “Companions on a • In defense of life: the person and practical know-how which is trans- mission of reconciliation and justice,” his or her dignity in the center. lated into methodologies we then calls us to the renewal of our apos- • Locally based: we construct an disseminate and which give sense tolic life and it is there that we situ- alternative vision based upon the to our way of working together and ate the intuition which animates our local situation. commit fully to the end (En-Red- endeavors. It points out that “Because • Generate capacity for participa- Darnos, meaning both “giving our- of the magnitude and interconnect- tion and decision making. selves through the network” and edness of the challenges we face, it • Support for collective construction. “committing ourselves fully.”)

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 81 Three elements structure our capacities in people, organizations, endeavor: and institutions through the creation of models of solidarity in collabora- 1. Strategic Reading of the tion with diverse social actors. Territory: As the point of depar- ture it proposes the attainment of We promote concrete actions an ordered, overall comprehension of connection and networking, on of the territory; the identification of one hand, for processes of forma- key elements which contribute to the tion, specialized technical assis- construction of alternative economies tance and research, with universi- with local and regional impact, tak- ties of the Association of Universities ing into account potential and chal- entrusted to the Society of Jesus in lenges. Exercise carried out in regions Latin America (AUSJAL) in Mexico, of Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Colombia, and Guatemala, and with Nicaragua. the network of Jesuit Universities in Spain (UNIJES) in the Basque 2. Management of value chains Country, Barcelona, Valladolid, in complete economic cycle in order Madrid, and Andalusia. And on the to obtain control of its products up other hand, for the development of to the social reinvestment of the util- productive processes in conjunction ities. This breaks cycles of interme- with other lines of work of the CS: diation or speculation, favoring the human rights, ecology, migrations, retention of produced wealth and political participation, and inci- confident relations between produc- dence, etc. ers, markets, and consumers. Our experiences in Mexico, Colombia, COMPARTE develops a common and Peru in managing value chains identity and a sense of belonging; it of coffee, cocoa, and dairy products fosters the interchange of experiences, confirm this horizon of action based information, methodologies, and joint on the professionalization of pro- learning; it enables the relation of dif- cesses and products which guarantee ferent actors and stimulates economic- their ongoing quality. productive processes, assuring that they move towards a shared horizon, 3. The multi-actor focus con- indispensable in order to sustain the siders that the consolidation of hope that another, more human and sustainable and robust economic- sustainable, economy is possible. productive alternatives is enabled by the development of appropriate Translated by Milton Jensen

82 IHS LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

They fought for the justice which springs from faith: some unto martyrdom Juan Hernández Pico, SJ

“Consummated in a brief time, the In a 20th century marked by the ways of getting to the root of social plenitude of his life filled an epoch.” prolongation of human life these words problems. Hurtado tirelessly criss- These words were written to illus- also hold true for Alberto Hurtado crossed Chile founding Hogar de Cristo trate the life of a Jesuit saint who (1901-1952). He lived 51 years, 29 (Christ´s Home) and mobilizing the died very young, Stanislaus Kostka, of them as a Jesuit. His dedication to youth. His personality, profound and one of the first of the Jesuit saints of Chile did not prevent him, but rather holy, has marked the Latin American the initial period of the Society of moved him, to travel in order to deep- Church. Cancer cut short his life at the Jesus. en his studies and to learn always more age of 51 in 1952. “I, a shot at eternity:”

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 83 thus he defined his life. He was canon- ly serious and prophetic in a Christian Jerez (†), said: “He is a simple man, a ized in 2005 by Benedict XVI. way. They tried to prevent the armed very good religious with a special cha- conflict promoting agrarian reform; risma for pastoral work and contact It is in this context and legacy of they harbored refugees in the church- with the people of the countryside; he holiness that we are to see the Jesuit es of the capital and also accompa- has the makings of a leader.” of Central and Latin America. nied them in their return journey to El Salvador. They struggled to short- Rutilio’s hard and even bitter life, The martyrs of the UCA in San en the civil war and led the most his conflictive family roots, his identity Salvador were: Ignacio Ellacuría, enlightened political opposition of crisis burdened by a crippling insecu- , Joaquín López y the country. Incapable of appreciating rity…do they not challenge us to take López, Ignacio Martín Baró, Amando their prophetic depth and of valuing very seriously the processes of per- López, and Juan Ramón Moreno. their option for the poor, the top mil- sonal growth, so that we might enter Five were born in Spain, natural- itary chiefs who directed the civil war into the recreation of the experience ized Central Americans, and one, against the revolutionaries assassinat- of friendship in the Lord, of the com- Joaquín López y López, was born in ed them on the 16th of November in a munity of companions of Jesus, with a El Salvador. The work of their lives tragic night. Their lot was to be assas- greater than usual probability of find- was the Universidad Centroamericana sinated together with two women of ing in it the happiness which our call- (UCA) in , although they the people who sought shelter in their ing opens to us? (cf. CG 34, D8, 13). left their mark also in Nicaragua and house that same fatal night. Their fun- Panama and especially in Fe y Alegría. damental option continues to illumi- In face of the threat to the At the UCA, under the leadership of nate the UCA until today. Amazonas by the program of President Ignacio Ellacuría, they changed the Bolsonaro, an extreme rightist, it is character of ECA, the university mag- Of Rutilio Grande, Salvadoran, important to remember F. Carlos azine, making it a journal intellectual- martyred in 1977, his provincial, César Riudaverts. He arrived at the Alto

84 IHS Alberto Hurtado, SJ

Marañon in 1980 and was well loved by the inhabitants of the region. His mission in the service of the Peruvian Amazonas lasted for 38 years. He was 73 when he was assassinated in 2018 upon confronting the people who attempt- ed to steal in his parish, one of whom he recognized as a parishioner. His life leaves us a legacy of selflessness, com- mitment, and responsibility. It was a ser- vice of shared love which will be carried on by other Jesuits and laity who under- took the educational labor at his side.

Before that, the Mexican Jesuit Miguel Agustín Pro, SJ Miguel Agustín Pro had been assassi- Pro spent his incarceration in the same nated in 1927. During his first years as union with God that he had main- a he had to develop his aposto- tained throughout his short life. He late clandestinely in his own country in was executed by firing squad on the times of the anti-Catholic persecution 23rd November 1927, at the age of 36 of various Mexican governments of the years. His burial was celebrated in the revolution. Once he had entered into Ciudad de México with the massive Mexico, he was arrested and accused attendance of the Christian faithful. of the assassination of President Obregón, despite the fact that the These are some of the Jesuit martyrs assassin confessed his crime to the of Latin America and some of the holy police, precisely to prevent Pro from Jesuits who, without ending their life being falsely accused. President Calles, in martyrdom, have been recognized, successor of Obregón, ordered the one and all, as examples of life in Latin continuation of his trial and Miguel America unto the last consequences. Agustín Pro was sentenced to death for the assassination of Obregón. Fr. Translated by Milton Jensen Rutilio Grande, SJ

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 85 SOUTH ASIA

Jesuit contribution to nation-building in South Asia

Denzil Fernandes, SJ

Ever since the began the emergence of a new social order organisations with social knowledge articulating its social thought from in post-Independence India.” With for their own development. It also the encyclical by the founding of the Indian Institute began establishing training and aca- Pope Leo XIII, the Society of Jesus of Social Order in 1951, which was demic centres in various parts of the had been active in social outreach later renamed the Indian Social Insti- country imparting social theory and as part of its pastoral care of Catho- tute and shifted from Pune to Delhi, practice, such as the Xavier Institute lics. However, the seeds of a greater the journey of the Jesuit involvement of Social Service (XISS) in Ranchi. engagement of Jesuits in the social in the social apostolate began. field can be traced to the letter of Efforts to improve agricultural Superior General Fr. Jean-Baptiste production resulted in the establish- Janssens, SJ, on “Instruction on the ment of Action for Food Production Social Apostolate” on October 10, (AFPRO), which is presently run by 1949, which called for a new “social lay people. From the mid 1960s, Jesu- mentality” among the Jesuits that its started social centres in different required revision of Jesuit formation parts of the country. As an illustra- programmes, the education curric- tion, the social centre Ahmednagar ulum in Jesuit schools and colleges, was founded in 1966 to do pioneer- and the opening of specialized cen- ing work to improve the lives of tres of social research and action. the rural farmers and communities through watershed development. In response to this initiative, Fr. D’Souza, SJ, a renowned edu- The quarterly journal Social The secretariat of Jesuits in cator and a member of the Indian Action was also started in 1951 to Social Action (JESA) was formal- Constituent Assembly that approved publish articles that reflect on the ly initiated in 1973 to respond the constitution of India in 1949, was social realities in South Asia. The to the faith and justice mandate called upon by the Superior General institute endeavoured to shape social of GC 32 in South Asia. The social to start an institute to “contribute to policy and empower people and their engagements of Jesuits included

86 IHS non-formal education, self-help ticipative democracy, secularism, plu- communities. One such initiative groups (SHGs), promoting cooper- ralism, and peace building. has been Jan Netritva Pahal (Peo- atives, aquaculture, sustainable agri- ple’s Leadership Initiative) involving culture, biodiversity, protection of the Jesuits have also been engaged social centres of six Jesuit provinces environment, livelihood security, food in relief and rehabilitation after trying to build leadership capacities security, and land rights. floods, earthquakes, and conflicts in of tribals. However, a major social the region. In order to bring all Jesu- innovation has been Lok Manch Besides the development it social centres onto one platform, (People’s Platform) initiated in 2015 approach, Jesuits were also engaged the South Asian Peoples Initiatives that involves 15 Jesuit provinces and in the promotion of human rights, (SAPI) was formed in 2002. It par- regions of South Asia. especially the rights of dalits ticipated in World Social Forums in (untouchable castes), tribals (indig- India and abroad. This initiative has been unique enous peoples), women, minorities, on many counts. First, it is a platform and informal labour. Jesuit centres In recent times, JESA has been of 100 organisations that epitomises also remained active on political working on developing leader- the spirit of collaboration and net- issues such as the promotion of par- ship and empowering marginalised working as it is a collaborative effort 88 IHS perspectives to enable them to access of society. Finally, this initiative is an their rights and entitlements. Third, illustration of global cooperation as it of organisations of Jesuits, dioces- this people’s platform adopts a dual is supported by Misereor and Xavier es, religious men and women, other approach of, on the one hand, ensur- Network partners. Christian denominations, Hindus, ing proper implementation of exist- and Muslims. Second, it has adopt- ing laws and policies, while, on the Today, Jesuits in South Asia ed a rights-based approach ensuring other, engaging in advocacy at the engaged in the social apostolate con- that Lok Manch facilitating partners local level, state level and national tinue to contribute immensely to become catalysts for social transfor- level demanding new socially rel- nation building by empowering mar- mation through the empowerment evant policies and amendments to ginalised communities and influenc- of leaders of marginalised communi- existing social policies and laws for ing social policy discourse in South ties with knowledge, skill, and social the benefit of marginalised sections Asian countries.

SOUTH ASIA 89 SOUTH ASIA INDIA

Towards a new dawn with Dalit empowerment

Aruldoss Selvaraj, SJ and Marianathan Chinnasamy, SJ Madurai Province

The Social Action Ministry in Mad- As a result, in 1974, the Prov- wards Liberation Together with the urai Province went through a sort of ince made a call to chalk out a time- Poor,” with concrete action plans for soul-searching about its ministries in bound, total action programme of each ministry – including the So- the 1960s, deliberating about doing social justice in the province. This cial Action Ministry. “Option for the more than just running schools, col- was further spelt out in the prov- Poor” later crystallized into “Option leges, formation houses, and other such ince congregation in the same year for Dalits” in 1987 with the commit- ministries. A new type of thinking with as, “In the context of India today, we ment “Towards Liberation Together a faith-justice dimension grew from have an urgent obligation to serve the with the Dalits.” This stress towards 1965 onwards. This initiative received poor and to witness justice.” As this “upliftment” of Dalits in general and inspiration and global backing from the programme went forward, in 1984 Dalit Christians in particular led to a Jesuit world with the deliberations of the province assembly approved and series of actions and deliberations in General Congregation 32, in 1974-1975. announced the province vision, “To- line with Dalit empowerment.

90 IHS To narrow down areas of action, ment models to the Province, Church, Dalit children. Our education pro- a study, “The Situation of Dalits in and the wider society in terms of grammes have a three-pronged ap- the Tamil Nadu Catholic Church” framing pro-poor, pro-Dalit policies. proach: formal education for those was taken up under Rev. Anthony One of the greatest impacts is the pos- ready for school, supplementary ed- Raj, SJ, initiated jointly by the social itive upliftment of Dalit communities, ucation for those not able to cope action and higher education min- transforming them from political ig- (Evening Study Center model), and istries. As a result of this study and norance and powerlessness to a po- special schools for dropouts, regard- ongoing programmes and trainings litically sharp and unified group that less of age, who would eventually join among Dalit Christians, the Dal- can negotiate with political parties the mainstream courses. This phase of it Christian Liberation Movement and also challenge local governing positive practical action encouraged (DCLM) was launched in 1989. This body elections. It is very heartening us to respond more proactively in es- led to the province congregation in to witness that these leaders have, in tablishing regular institutions in for- 1990 officially postulating “The -for general, demonstrated great integrity, mal, technical, and higher education mation of a dependent region in the commitment, social acumen, sharp sectors. Northern Tamil Nadu” as “this would cultural sensitivity, and developmen- be a logical culmination of what we tal perspectives in their local admin- Thus, the social action ministry has have been talking about so far with istration, in spite of strong pressure concretely visualized and verbalized regard to the Dalit question” so that from divisive caste and communal the spirit of faith and justice. With- “the seriousness of our concern for forces. in the Province, it helped to sharpen the Dalits should not remain in emp- our commitment to the poor and to ty promises.” Education being the basis for refocus us from the poor in general emancipation and development, the to Dalits in particular and to zero in The social action ministry has social action ministry encouraged the on Dalit Christians. Perhaps the most now contributed significant uplift- Dalits by actually providing space for important contribution is the creation

SOUTH ASIA 91 of the Chennai Mission’s “con- tinuous search” to discover target groups and bring them forward for emancipation, as a concrete expression of our commitment.

Additionally, the Chennai Mission undertakes social ac- tion initiatives among the Iru- lar tribes, inter-state migrants, and overseas migrants and has established a social research centre for Dalit entrepreneurs. Many Jesuits in the social ac- tion ministry have prepared and equipped potential men and women, religious and la- ity, through workshops and seminars. Thus, our Jesuits have become pioneers and role models in working out the “modus operandi” of social action as an example for other congregations.

In making an overall as- sessment of the past five de- cades, it is very heartening to note that the Jesuit Madurai Province social action min- istry has gained great mo- mentum, in terms of policies, priorities, and commitment in service to Dalits, Adivasis, women, children, and oth- ers of the most marginalized sections of society. Its impact has gone beyond the Madurai Province to other Provinces, congregations, and Catholic Church structures, helping them modify their plans, poli- cies, and priorities.

92 IHS

SOUTH ASIA INDIA

Promoting justice through legal assistance in India

Ravi Sagar, SJ Kohima Region

In 2002, a group of Garo tribal ref- Since 2007, I have worked to ob- ugees approached me to be their at- tain the Minority Status Certificate torney in a Public Interest Litigation for over 300 educational institutions (PIL) in the Gauhati High Court. in Northeast India. Jesuit lawyer K. They represented over 10 000 refu- M. Joseph of Patna Province has gees living in Sojong village in the been defending the rights of minori- Karbi Anglong District of Assam. ties and resisting the interference The government of India had allotted of the state in the administration the forest land for their dwelling in of their educational institutions in 1947. The state government wanted central India. He has also success- to evict them in 2002, claiming they fully freed several bonded labourers had occupied reserved forest land. from the clutches of landlords. The On May 22, 2005, the court directed Jesuit lawyers of Madurai Province, the government not to disturb their through Legal Action, Advocacy possession until an objective deci- Services (LAAS), have been fight- sion was taken. To date they enjoy ing similar battles to free bonded possession. labourers and claim equal rights for Dalits. A handful of Jesuit lawyers have similarly not only taken up individ- Jesuit lawyers actively defending ual cases for the protection of civ- the rights of the poor have inspired il and political rights but are also other religious to take up legal min- engaged in protection of the so- istry. Of over 1000 law graduates in cio-economic and cultural rights of India who are religious, about 300 the poor, the marginalised, and the are practising in various courts. Of vulnerable. some 80 Jesuit law graduates, 20 are

94 IHS actively engaged as lawyers, while others are making use of their studies in the apostolate assigned to them, with special focus on rural areas.

In 2004, the Bar Council of India refused the entry of priests and nuns into the legal profession, stating that their very way of life is a profession and an advocate cannot practice two professions simultaneously. After 14 years, on September 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of India upheld the order of the Kerala High Court stat- ing, “Legally qualified religious can practice as advocates and there is no bar on them in doing so.” The pre- siding judge in the High Court had said, “I feel that the entry of such persons, will only add lustre to the profession. The profession needs selfless dedicated persons to take up the causes of the downtrodden and of environmental protection, with- out being concerned with the fee p ai d .”

Creating legal awareness through legal literacy sessions and publica- tions disseminating useful legal in- formation had a multiplier effect on other institutions. They too pub- lished booklets to educate the masses on various legal remedies in simple non-legal language. When the law on “the right of children to free and compulsory education” was enacted, UNICEF invited Kohima Region’s Legal Cell for Human Rights to con- duct 100 sessions in rural areas to disseminate legal provisions on this legislation. In some centres, Jesu- it lawyers have been training Para- Legal Persons, who take the law straight to people’s homes. Formal training and field work perfected their skills in helping people to claim their rights.

In 2017, the Karnataka Prov- ince established St. Joseph’s Col-

SOUTH ASIA 95 lege of Law (SJCL), the first Jesuit modern-day legal education kept in tribals in Gujarat, the first Jesuit Law College. To expose students mind. lawyer in India, P. D. Mathew, con- to real challenges, the rigorous ceived the idea of giving legal aid to contemporary-progressive curric- Inspired by the spirit of GC 32 the poor and studied law in 1976. ulum is designed with the needs of and moved by the plight of the poor In 1981, his legal aid programme

96 IHS gained popularity even among educated people. Thus, his en- deavour brought the law to the doorsteps of ordinary people in their own language. The modest monthly legal magazine, in easily understandable language, start- ed in April 1984 has grown into a monthly periodical called Legal News & Views.

In September 2018, respond- ing to the increasing violation of human rights under the right- wing government in Delhi, the Indian Social Institute Delhi es- tablished the Centre for Human Rights & Law (CHRL) to inter- vene in issues and problems faced by minorities, women, children, tribals, Dalits, and other exclud- ed sections of society. While cre- ating awareness and promoting human rights through literacy sessions, training, and network- ing and encouraging dispute res- olution out of court, CHRL will take up inevitable litigations and provide support to like-minded organizations.

These varied efforts of the Karnataka Province and Kohi- ma Region on legal assistance, instruction, and training help the disadvantaged find their own voices and make them clearly heard. In the presence of inequal- at Indian Social Institute Delhi child labourers. Travelling to even ity, we in the Province continue grew as the Department of Human the remotest places in the country, to join our voices with those dis- Rights & Training. It facilitated PILs he trained persons to become “first- criminated against and together to uphold the human rights of the aid lawyers.” Over 250 small book- call for justice and work towards a voiceless, especially bonded and lets in a legal education series have better India.

SOUTH ASIA 97 SOUTH ASIA INDIA

Politics of identity, Kerala Jesuits and fisherfolk

Benny Chiramel, SJ Kerala Province

The question of identity has formed group to claim power. For long, below 50 years into Sabairmala the core reflective process of the power elite in Kerala used to come Temple. Jesuits, especially the founding from groups with hallowed identi- fathers, who had a tough time defin- ties, and the so-called “low caste” As learned from history, in ing who they were. Being members people of Kerala never dared to the Portuguese colonial times, the of the Society of Jesus meant for challenge the stigmatizing social Jesuits could not do much to change them being people who have large- structure they were living in. But the socio-cultural standing of the ly transcended their identities. They movements spearheaded by enlight- poor fisherfolk in the mainstream were men who belonged to certain ened people such as Sree Narayana society. Though the converts got a nationalities, cultures, and nobilities Guru and Ayyankali gave new voice new layer of identity as people hav- but ready to go anywhere for mis- to the inarticulate millions who suf- ing a new religion, almost all other sion. What has been the response of fered low collective esteem for cen- layers of identity, namely social, eco- the Society of Jesus, Kerala Province, turies. The process of liberation has nomic, and cultural, remained the to this vexed problem of politics of entered a crucial phase now where same without altering their position identity in their own context? upper caste-based groups have start- in the mainstream caste-based soci- ed using democratic institutions to ety. Until recently the marine fisher- Politics is primarily concerned derail the process of emancipation, folk of Kerala have been one of the with power. Individual or group- as was evident in the recent mobi- most marginalized communities of based identity helps a person or lization against the entry of women Kerala. The fisher people’s struggle

98 IHS of 1980s was primarily for assert- ing their right for a life of dignity. The Jesuits of Kerala influenced the struggle in a significant man- ner both as participants in the actual struggle and as catalysts to prepare the groundwork for such a struggle. People like the Late Fr. Thomas Kocherry, C.S.S.R., whole-heartedly acknowledged the contribution of Jesuits in the collaborative efforts of the many vanguard religious men and women who fulfilled their calling to work for a more inclusive soci- ety. Jesuit priests such as Dominic George and Paul Valiyakandathil were some of those in the fore- front of action. Navadarshan was a unique programme designed by another Jesuit priest, Dominic Gomez, for conscientising the coastal people by their own children and youth. And other Jesuit educational and cultur- al ventures such as Fishermen’s Development Programme and Studies (FIDES), AICUF Centre at , Sneharam at Anjengo, and Loyola Social Work Projects at Poovar helped the fishers improve their prospects. The writings of P. T. Mathew, SJ, and Mathew Aerthayil, SJ, have contributed to the socio-cultural and politi- cal analysis of the life of the fish- ers, the former focused on the cultural moorings of their faith perspective and the latter on the political dynamics of fish work- ers’ struggle.

Of late, there has been a lull in the movement phase of the fishers’ struggle in Kerala. In the context of the shrinking resource base of the marine fisheries sec- tor, the impact of climatic change as seen in the aftermath of the recent cyclone Ockhi, increasing

SOUTH ASIA 99 social and communal conflicts all along the seacoast, Kerala Jesuits are challenged to have a fresh analysis of the present fish- eries scenario. Gone are the days when the problems connected to depletion of marine resourc- es were considered manageable through governmental measures. The present attempt of Kerala Jesuits to include the fishing com- munities in the national platform called Lok Manch and in the Global English Learning (GEL) programme of Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) is indicative of their resolve to create trained and committed leadership. Identity is a socially constructed reality, and identity-based denigration of the mukkuva fishing community can be tackled only if their collective and personal esteem is improved. This process will eventually help them share resources and power with people of other mainstream communities creating egalitarian social structures. Their bargain- ing and negotiation skills in the aftermath of the Ockhi disaster showed their protest potential for ensuring their rights. With the lessons they learned from the Ockhi disaster, many of the fish- ers risked their lives and saved about 60 000 lives during the great flood in Kerala in August 2018. While they are being hailed for their bravery and nominat- ed even for a Nobel Prize, many of their community members are lagging behind on the margins of Kerala Society as landless and homeless. Their legendary contri- bution is yet to be translated into their collective social capital.

100 IHS SOUTH ASIA INDIA

The journey of the Magi

Tony Herbert, SJ Hazaribag Province

It is the feast of the Epiphany, so I take up T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Journey of the Magi,” a narration, in first person, of the Magi’s expe- rience of searching and finding the new born Child. Eliot’s words de- scribing, as they travel, their lack of sleep, loss of comforts, and gnaw- ing doubts could well describe the journey of many Jesuits engaged in social action: “Sleeping in snatch- es, / With the voices singing in our ears, saying / That this was all folly.”

As we recall and celebrate 50 (or, more accurately, over 400) years of our Jesuit social engage- ment, it might be fitting to cast a glance at the experience of the Magi.

The joys of finding the Child are well familiar to social activists – the hospitality of people, their spontaneous generosity even with

SOUTH ASIA 101 sion to the poor” and the actual reali- ty. From the slums at the other end of town, their hutments on the banks of a stinking rivulet, he might come back to his Jesuit house with its state-of-the art facilities. It is not the contrast that makes it difficult; each has its own log- ic. It is the difficulty in communicat- ing and sharing about what happens to him as he moves from one world to the other.

Again, he may begin to see the world from a different standpoint and become more critical. If he is on the streets long enough, he begins to see the world from the viewpoint of peo- so little, their warmth in accepting experience. Maybe we have watched ple there. Their worldview becomes us, their undoubted development and our close companions drop out; thus, his own, and he begins to look back growth, their optimism that inspires this jubilee might be an occasion to critically at his own world from that us with hope and joy in the midst of recall those who have left, “no longer viewpoint. the impossible, their mutual sharing at ease here,” but who have remained that is so life-giving they exemplify steadfast in their Gospel commitment All these experiences give the so- the Beatitudes. to the poor. cial activist a sense of alienation, like the Magi, who “returned to their plac- If the joy of finding is there, it is One factor is the nature of social es, these Kingdoms, / But no longer contrasted with the harshness of their work. By its very nature, it will never at ease here, in the old dispensation, journey, the “hard time we had of it… finish. Unlike a job with a closure to / With an alien people clutching their just at the worst time of the year,” as its tasks, social engagement is open- g o d s .” the poem says. “This Birth was hard ended; the needs of people are limit- and bitter agony for us, like Death, our less. Further, we cannot always tell if The invitation of the star and death.” our work is having any results; there is the harsh journey led the Magi to no easy score board. that which fulfilled their hopes. What is this death for the social ac- The invitation to our “option for tivist? It could be the death of self-giv- On the streets or in the villages, the poor,” to embrace the excluded, ing experienced by anyone, anywhere, the social activist enters the world of is a search through dying that gives in any ministry, but when it goes to the people, the Other from himself. There life – to us and to others. “Were we “nobodies” on the margins, it is par- he is challenged to do on the terms led all that way for Birth or Death?” ticularly demanding – and rewarding. of their world, not on those of his Moreover, many have actually shed own. Their world may be very differ- The Magi found a new possibil- their blood in death as they struggled ent from his, in culture, in economic ity, a liberating freedom, their birth for faith and justice, not just our Jesuits, class, in ethnicity, in religion, in lan- through the death of a journey that but sisters and other men and women, guage, or in a mixture of several. He took them to the Child, and it was Catholic, Protestant, across the board. is challenged to enter it, and he may never the same again. For such a constantly feel out of place in it. birth many a social activist, Jesuit – It could be finding oneself out of present, former – or whoever would step with the mainstream church or Another death may be living the endorse Eliot’s concluding line: “I Society – a disconcerting but frequent ambiguity our Jesuit rhetoric of “mis- should be glad of another death.”

102 IHS

ASIA-PACIFIC JAPAN

Japan opens its doors to young foreign workers

Ando Isamu, SJ Tokyo Jesuit social center

A short while ago, Japan’s Catholic Our center introduced them to in Japan alone we have hundreds of Justice and Peace Commission orga- a private labor union, and after two thousands of Brazilians, Peruvians, nized a national annual gathering in months of negotiations they obtained and other Latin Americans. the City of Nagoya. Among 17 dif- 80 % of the remuneration due to ferent workshops dealing with vari- them and are now well established in Several years ago, JCAP selected ous social issues, our center’s migrant different jobs. “migration” as a priority issue. Since desk was asked to organize a work- then, the Jesuit network for migra- shop on migrants in Japan. To our tion, comprising seven active coun- surprise, the one-day workshop was Jesuit Network on Migration in East tries, was established. Besides the attended by about 60 people with dif- Asia activities with vulnerable migrants ferent experiences. conducted in each country, the net- The East-Asian and Pacific region work has done research and pub- We presented a 15-minute video – or the Jesuit Conference of Asia lished books on families of migrant for discussion focused on the unjust and the Pacific (JCAP) – where our workers left alone back in the send- dismissal of four foreign workers Jesuit Provinces are located, is a very ing country and migrants returning from their jobs. To my surprise, for strategic region, from the point of to their place of origin. years they had been doing two extra view of migration. Japan, Korea, hours of work daily without been Taiwan and Australia, mainly, are The third topic is “brokerage” in paid. Frustrated and without hope in countries accepting migrant workers, the region. Now, since the numbers such a situation, they complained one the rest are countries sending work- of Vietnamese coming to Japan for day to the president of the company, ers. Millions are moving around the work, under the name of “trainees,” and they were dismissed on the spot: whole region seeking jobs and safe- has greatly swollen to over 200 000 “Get out from here! You are fired.” ty. Different from other countries, in the last five years we decided to

104 IHS do research in to study The challenge is that Japan seri- how so many young workers of poor ously lacks manpower, and most rural areas could manage to come to countries in our region of East Asia work in Japan. We spent, in all, more ees of developing economies that has are jobless. When Japan provides fair than seven weeks in Vietnam, after attracted lots of criticism inside and human conditions to live and work doing something similar in Japan outside Japan, due to the fact that it on its territory and provides salaries with the assistance of Vietnamese is being used to bring cheap labor to with the same or similar standards living here. Part of the findings will Japanese companies suffering from as ordinary Japanese workers receive, be printed in Brokers, the third book serious lack of manpower. The for- both sides will be gaining. of the Jesuit network, which will mer idea was to provide technical appear soon. training to young people of develop- Today as I am writing this arti- ing economies so that they could use cle, a Tokyo newspaper has pub- In the early ’90s Japan started an the skills acquired in Japan to devel- lished two long articles on foreign educational system for young train- op their countries. workers in Japan. One refers to the

ASIA-PACIFIC 105 results of a research done nationwide by Kyodo News Agency. One of the main results of the survey concerned the two priority fields desired for the foreign workers to come to work : first (56 %) “nursing-care” and sec- ond (50 %) “agriculture and fisher- ies.” Both are fields young Japanese refuse to work in due to hard condi- tions and low reward. Construction work followed.

Everything considered, much work could be done to assist so many thousands and thousands of

106 IHS young foreign workers. Filled with dreams to assist their poor families back home and to grow more to build a better future, they risk their own lives. Our center is short in person- nel and in funds, but our options for the last 10 years have been legal assistance with lawyers and educa- tion in language training for the most vulnerable. One of our latest dreams is to open a Seminar House Center oriented to migrant workers. Maybe when this Year Book sees the light, this dream will finally have come true!

ASIA-PACIFIC 107 ASIA-PACIFIC AUSTRALIA

Lay leadership in a Jesuit work in Australia

Julie Edwards CEO, Jesuit Social Services

I am personally and professionally the margins, healing people, being the way: putting the focus on rejected passionate about my job. It is my inclusive. and despised people and letting sym- vocation. I’m a Catholic and a social bolic actions do the talking for him worker. Through my work and life Through leadership positions about who matters and what matters. experiences long before arriving held over a number of years I had at Jesuit Social Services in 2001, I learnt a little about what works well Only after coming to the role valued good practice. Jesus is my and how to foster leadership in oth- of CEO of Jesuit Social Services, model – reaching out to those on ers. The actions of Pope Francis point however, did I see that one of my

108 IHS main tasks as leader was to foster the Christian, Catholic, and Jesuit identity of the organisation. Good practice, the sort enacted by Jesus, needs good organisations if it’s to be consistent and sustained beyond the good work of particular individ- uals. By Jesuit identity I don’t mean branding the organisation with reli- following of Jesus to staff in a way gious symbols or using “religious that they can readily engage with; language” at every turn. I mean second, translating that engag- making the Catholic, Ignatian, and ing story into what it means for the Jesuit tradition – with its knowl- organisation and its members here edge, wisdom, and practice – overt, and now for our identity, for what we contemporary, accessible, and use- do and how we do it. ful, especially for the staff and vol- unteers who live and work daily in When we get this right, our supporters. It shapes how we fund the context of a Jesuit community identity influences everything. It our work, how we treat resources service organisation. In short, I was influences how we understand our (including financial investments), called to “democratise” it: to use the purpose, our strategic direction and and how we care for the earth and key I’d been given to open the trea- organisational priorities. It shapes for one another. sure box of Ignatian and Jesuit heri- how we form respectful, account- tage to our broader staff group, with able relationships with people who A community service organisa- the variety of faiths, cultures, and use our programs. It decides what tion infused with a Jesuit identity has philosophies they brought to Jesuit programs we provide and who we enormous potential to do good and Social Services. partner with to deliver them. It bring about positive change in the orders how we advocate to address world. Our Jesuit heritage encourages For me that required making a structural injustice; how we recruit, us to be free, to discern, to choose the “double translation” – first, present- induct, and develop our staff and greater good. The social sector and ing the Ignatian story based in the how we engage with volunteers and the broader community need this.

ASIA-PACIFIC 109 110 IHS In our society, community service our staff who engage with the world and bring nutrients down to the organisations must compete for sur- and its peoples. roots. Similarly, our engagement vival, for lucrative contracts, and for with the world through our staff of growing their “businesses.” The deep In the tree the roots fuel the various faiths and cultures feeds our roots that organisations like Jesuit rest of the tree. But that is not roots in Catholic and Jesuit identity, Social Services have can anchor us the whole story. The leaves trap and ensuring that the tree stays alive and in living values – if we find ways to transform the energy of the sun flourishes. make these accessible to people.

I believe that Jesuits, too, need community organisations infused with their identity. The social apos- tolate is a vital expression of “faith doing justice” and of Jesuits’ com- mitment to reconciliation with God, neighbour, and creation.

With diminishing numbers of Jesuits overall and fewer Jesuits working in the social apostolate, this critical dimension of Jesuit mis- sion risks being weakened. That is a cause for concern. The Society increasingly relies on lay people to lead and staff its apostolates, includ- ing the social apostolate. This, how- ever, is an opportunity, not a loss. It enables Jesuits to put into practice in their organisations the commit- ments enshrined in recent General Congregations. These include lay collaboration, working in partner- ship with women, and engaging in intercultural and interreligious dia- logue with staff.

So many people, women and men, want to partner with their Jesuit colleagues to bring to life the commitment of “faith doing jus- tice.” I have found the tree to be a powerful image of our organisa- tion’s shared identity. The roots rep- resent our Catholic, Jesuit identi- ty that gives us our strong founda- tions. Though they are usually not visible, without them we would be ungrounded. The part of the tree above the ground is what people see – our organisation, our programs, our advocacy. The leaves represent

ASIA-PACIFIC 111 ASIA-PACIFIC korea

Winds of peace from Korea

Yon-su Kim, SJ Korea Province

The Korean peninsula became in- North, there was no opportunity for dependent from the 36-year-rule of ties with . So I decided Japanese colonization on August 15th to do a Ph.D. course on North Korea 1945, with the end of World War II. Studies. Although it was not easy, I However, the joy of liberation did not managed to finish the course in Feb- last long. The peninsula was divided ruary 2018. Since the summit between into two parts along the 38th parallel, President Moon of South Korea and with the US Army stationed in South Chairman Kim of North Korea in Korea and the USSR Army in North April of that year, the relationship be- Korea. After the three years of the Ko- tween the South and North has been rean War in the 1950s, the division of improving. So I think it was God’s will Changchung Cathedral was built in the Korean peninsula has lasted until to lead me to do the Ph.D Course on Pyeongyang. In the 30 years from now with an internecine feud between North Korea at this timely period. My then until now, the Association has the two parts. dissertation is about the characteris- regularly performed the Sunday cel- tics of the Catholic Church in North ebration of the Liturgy of the Word, In 2010, the Society of Jesus in Korea. but without a priest. There exist ar- Korea established a National Recon- guments in the South Korean Cath- ciliation Apostolate Committee to The Catholic Church there dis- olic Church about the fidelity of carry out a mission of peace. I have appeared after the Korean War, but the North Korean Association of the been chairman of the committee since it was restored in the late 1980s. In Catholic Church to Catholic belief March 2013; but due to the cold re- 1988, the Association of the Catho- because it and the Changchung Ca- lations between the South and the lic Church was established and the thedral are under the control of the

112 IHS North Korean authorities and co- cades of the military dictatorship after the development of the Church in the operate with them politically. I re- the Korean War, and some journalists North. searched and analyzed the society of report the realities of North Korea in the Catholic Church in North Korea a distorted manner even today. So, it In October 2015, I had the op- and studied effective methods of ap- is necessary for the Korean people to portunity to visit the Changchung proaching it. have an understanding of the actu- Cathedral and celebrate Mass there. I al situation in the North. I especial- visited it with priests of the Catholic After finishing my dissertation, I ly try to reveal the real situation of Priests’ Association for Justice (CPAJ) have been asked to give lectures in the the Catholic Church in North Korea of South Korea, which was organized South about North Korea. People in and give lectures to people of various informally to foster peace and justice the South have been taught about the status about the role that the Catho- in the 1970s during the period of the North in distorted ways during the de- lic Church in the South can have for military dictatorship in the South. We

ASIA-PACIFIC 113 met the chairman of the Association of the North Korean Catholic Church, Kang Ji Young (Paul), a lay believer, who had been newly appointed chair- man of that organization. We also visited several places in Pyeongyang, such as a children’s hospital, a folk vil- lage and a horse-riding club.

The most shocking event was the celebration of Mass in the Changc- hung Cathedral. Inside, there was the altar, a huge picture of Jesus Christ and the tabernacle, but the taber- nacle had been empty for 30 years. On the walls around the altar, there was a picture of the Blessed Mary and one of St. Joseph hold- ing the baby Jesus in his arms; and the Stations of the Cross were hung around the church walls. The people who attended the Mass were mostly

114 IHS baptized by the leader of the Cathe- Universal Apostolic Preferences, “Rec- dral because there were no priests. onciliation has been a central, intrin- They attended the Mass, sang hymns sic dimension of the pursuit of Justice, sincerely, and received Holy Com- that is, of the earnest efforts to restore munion devotedly. What I thought the fine fabric of manifold relations was unique was that they did not that constitute the human being ac- wear the obligatory badge of Kim Il- cording to the original design of the Sung and Kim Jung-Il during the Lit- Creator. The mature fruit of Recon- urgy. This is unacceptable in North ciliation is Peace.” He reminded us, Korean society. If they do not wear moreover, that the 36th Congregation that badge, they go to jail. But the places “at the center of our life and North Korean authorities have given mission the ministry of reconciliation permission not to wear it while they in Christ which God the Father real- are in the Cathedral. This is evidence izes through the Holy Spirit.” Though that the authorities have some recog- the Korean peninsula is a small nition of the autonomy and unique land, it will play an important role status of religion. in spreading winds of peace over the whole world just as the little town of Father General Arturo Sosa has Bethlehem has done as the birthplace said in his letter On Discernment of of Jesus Christ.

ASIA-PACIFIC 115 ASIA-PACIFIC korea

A mirror named Migration

Kim Min, SJ Korea Province

When I went to Jeju Island last year, one of the most popular resort areas in Korea, I watched a Muslim selling sushi in the market. I realized that he was one of around 555 people who had fled from the civil war in Yemen and had arrived at Jeju. Their arrival made the Koreans flabbergasted. In a long history, the Korea peninsu- la stood back from migration. Only after being colonized by Japan did Korea join more actively in dynam- ic demographic movement. Korea had been a sending country rather than a receiving country. Korea has sent quite big numbers of refugees to Japan, the United States, and Middle East countries. The situation changed suddenly. Koreans began realizing the fact that they have new good neigh- bors with the nice title of “migrant workers.” It was 1988. But refugees! And Muslims! The first reaction of ordinary Koreans was a feeling of being flabbergasted. This was fol- lowed by a feeling of anger.

The presence of Muslims in Korea has not been recognized. During the Korean War, Turkey sent their troops to help South Korea, and

116 IHS this was the beginning of the his- tory of Muslims in Korea. Their numbers are still insignificant. In Korea, there are 200 000 Muslims including 30 000 Korean Muslims. The presence of Muslims usu- ally fails to draw attention from Koreans. However, when one Korean worker was beheaded by a Muslim terrorist group in Iraq in 2004, the image of Muslims was stigmatized in Korea. Therefore, the Korean people consider the Muslim as a ghost-like-being. It is miserable image, and it is fear- ful and dreadful for the Muslims. Their presence was kept out of sight. Journalists shaped this image of Muslims in Korea very successfully. However, the refugees were suddenly at the gate of the Korean peninsula.

According to a poll of June 2018, 49 % of South Korean peo- ple opposed accepting Yemenese refugees, and 39 % were in favor of accepting them. When the government allowed them to have a license to work, the Korean people protested against the government’s policy. They argued that the government allowed the refugees to steal the jobs of its own people. The per- son whom I met in the market was one of the people with this painful background.

Apart from their trag- ic background, the profile of the man’s work is very interest- ing, because I never imagined that a Muslim could work in a restaurant that sells sushi. I asked myself, “Sushi ... Is it haram or halal? Is it legal for Muslims to touch Sushi?” I still don’t have an answer.

ASIA-PACIFIC 117 I could catch a strange feeling of their Japanese names and go to the at others. , Japan, Korea, and familiarity. What was it? I soon real- ordinary schools in Japan. But North Singapore are the sending countries. ized that the scene of Jeju was quite Koreanophile Zainichi are very tough Meanwhile, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, similar to that of Shimonoseki. The and brave. They insist on their Korean and Singapore, but not China, are Zainichi are the foreign residents in name, and some go to their own suffering from demographic crisis. Japan. When I went to Shimonoseki school. The problem is that their grad- The influx of migration is inevita- last year, the purpose was to build uation has no legal recognition. So, ble. Otherwise, the only option is an area of agreement for our mis- they have great disadvantage when self-destruction. That is the reason sion of reconciliation with the North they try to go on to higher education. why Abe Shinzo, the Prime Minister Koreanophile School. I remembered of Japan, issued a new migration the story of old generations and of It is strange that South Koreans policy that welcomes more migrant teenagers, a story of discrimination protesting to the Japanese govern- workers to the country. More and of their struggle to preserve their ment about the rights of their fellow migrants will rush into these coun- identity as Korean. I already men- Koreans in Japan urge the Korean tries. The presence of migrants and tioned the similarity between the ref- government to stop allowing refu- refugees is a wonderful chance to ugees in Korea and the image of ghost. gees to enter Korea. The term “double look at ourselves clearly and a mer- The image of Zainichi also has the standard” can be applied perfectly in ciful opportunity to live the pro- image of a ghost: obscure, dangerous, this case. phetic life. The unfriendly approach and dreadful. The South Koreanophile to refugees/migrants that we per- Zainichis were usually hesitant to The refugees and migrants are ceive in our society ironically invites show their identity openly. They have a mirror of how we treat and look us to follow the way of the cross.

118 IHS ASIA-PACIFIC CHINA

Learning to promote justice in a Chinese environment

Fernando Azpiroz, SJ chinese Province

In these lines I would like to share reflections about three images with roots both in the Ignatian tradition and the Chinese culture. They express my personal learning and integra- tion of those Ignatian elements that have influenced the way I carry out our mission in China. These images and learnings are expressed in three The Ricci Social Services Logo is Chinese characters: to learn to dia- inspired by three Chinese characters: logue with the different, represented Humanity, Collaboration, and Today by the character “Ren” (仁), which Chinese character Ren (humanity) means “humanity;” to learn to hope for the improbable, represented by the character “Wang” (望), which means “hope;” and to learn how to become useless by building a sense of being To live a faith that promotes justice also “together for mission,” represented bigger the gap between these two means to operate and make decisions by the character “Dao” (道), which persons, the stronger this experi- amidst difficult and challenging envi- means “the Way.” ence of becoming human. In my 13 ronments. When confronted with such years in China serving in Ricci So- environments, a variety of images will Since the time of Matteo Ric- cial Services, I have been blessed to fill our feelings, imagination, minds, ci Jesuits have been attracted to the be in close relationship with people and hearts. Ignatian spirituality pays character Ren 仁, which represents who were very different from me. special attention to the discernment of a person with a number two. What Leprosy-affected persons, children images, when we are still searching for makes us human is the relationship and adults living with HIV/AIDS, meaning as a previous condition be- with the other. Modern Confucian- the Chinese sisters serving them, sex fore looking for solid solutions to con- ists express this as the capacity to workers, government officials, etc. crete problems. feel with another person’s heart. The After all these years, it is impossible

ASIA-PACIFIC 119 Fr. Fernando working the land for me to understand myself without together with his leprosy-affected But dialogue does not work that them. They have become part of who friends in southern Yunnan Province fast in China, so I had to start “to I am and how I understand our mis- (March 2018) learn to hope for the improbable.” sion, which is the source of our Jesu- When we started our service to peo- it identity. Many of them, including ple affected by leprosy in China 30 government officials, have become years ago, conditions were terrible. my friends, my mission companions, Even the leprosy patients could not and my best teachers. To dialogue understand why the sisters who work with our differences has meant a long us – is deep inside our Jesuit DNA. with us wanted to come to the most process of understanding what unites It is not merely a way of negotiating desolated places in China to stay and us, what complements us, and what with challenging contexts in order to live with them. “When are you going pushes us in opposite directions. This achieve our mission. Dialogue has to leave?” was the common question dialogue has meant the construc- been and is in itself a fundamental they asked of those heroic sisters in tion of a space of mutual freedom part of our mission of reconciliation those days. The same happened when that has transformed and deepened and justice, as expressed in General we started to serve HIV/AIDS pa- our identities. Dialogue – especially Congregation 36. tients 15 years ago, or women at risk with those who seem to be against five years ago. The Chinese character

120 IHS The Way of the Sage King Book of Lao Tse, chapter 17

for hope depicts a scholar looking at the moon but standing firmly on the ground. For me, this has meant to love the present and its circumstances and to hope for the future, to serve and to dialogue every day with the present reality, knowing that by doing so we were preparing ourselves for the gift of the future. Hope has been one of the most important words in our re- cent congregations and one of the big- it by ourselves.” A core element in Ricci Social Services’ 30 years of ser- gest gifts I have received in my mis- our Jesuit way of proceeding is the vice in China is evidence that it is the sion in China. building of an apostolic body for the continuity of a whole community and mission. The mission which does not of individual persons that makes This brought us to my third char- not belong to us – is not entrusted to a mission progress. acter: to learn how to become use- individuals, but to the whole apostol- less. Lao Tse wrote that the best rul- ic body. The Jesuit way here coincides To learn to dialogue with the dif- ers are those whom the people hard- with the Chinese way, or Dao (道), ferent, to hope for the improbable, ly know exist. “The best ruler stays “the Way of the Sage King.” This is and to become useless. I am still far in the background, and his voice is very important when mutual trust away from graduation. As we say in rarely heard.” When he accomplishes needs to be built in a Chinese context China, the longer you live, the more his tasks the people declare: “We did where everything changes very fast. you have to learn.

ASIA-PACIFIC 121 CANADA - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Fifty years of creative initiatives The Faith-Justice mission in the U.S. and Canada

Élisabeth Garant, Anne-Marie Jackson, Fred Kammer, SJ and Ted Penton, SJ

The 1960s social apostolate had Provinces committed men to Latin three features. First, a few “labor America. priests,” often at universities, focused on workers’ rights, pov- In 1965, Gaudium et spes erty, and race. Second, some par- stressed the “joys and hopes, ishes served the Hispanic and griefs and anxieties” of the poor. African-American poor and Facing segregation, poverty, and Native American missions. Third, the Vietnam War, our provinces answering the call of Pope Paul VI, became more involved in inner- city parishes, civil rights and anti- war activism, and social outreach. Provinces named provincial assis- tants and committees on social ministry and investor activism. They urged all apostolates to pro- mote justice.

GC32 taught that “action for jus- tice is the acid test of the preaching of the Gospel” (1975). Intentional small communities opened to live among the poor. The first of many Nativity Schools began for middle- school boys in Manhattan. Jesuits

122 IHS engaged in community organiz- The mission of Christian Life ing, founding the Pacific Institute Communities incorporated faith- of Community Organizing network justice. The Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and similar local groups. The Center begun in 1956 in Alaska, expand- of Concern opened in Washington, ed nationally and internationally. D.C., for social analysis, education, Lay colleagues began increasingly and advocacy. In the Centre to assume leadership roles in many justice et foi was founded in connec- ministries. tion with the longstanding maga- zine Relations. In the Jesuit When the Salvadoran Army mur- Centre for Social Faith and Justice dered six Jesuits in 1989, we better opened, later to become the Jesuit A refugee sponsorship program understood the call to work for jus- Forum, which continues to lead began in Quebec, initially to wel- tice. Universities developed memori- dialogues on faith-justice issues. come the Vietnamese boat people. als and students mobilized for advo- Numerous Jesuits staffed the social Many parish-based social ministries cacy. The killings drew many to share offices of the U.S. and Canadian were founded in the 1980s, includ- peace and justice stories at the yearly bishops’ conferences. ing Holy Name Church in Camden, School of the Americas protests in New Jersey, Georgia, giving rise to the Ignatian In 1980, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, Parish in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Solidarity Network. In Quebec, the started the Jesuit Refugee Service. and Dolores Mission in Los Angeles. mission of international solidarity

CANADA-UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 123 begun in the 1980s continues through the work of Mer et Monde. With the overthrow of Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986, French Canadian Jesuits returned to Haiti, where many young men began entering the Society. Social engagement there grew into extensive networks of Jesuit Migrant Service, Foi et Joie schools, and CERFAS, a social center.

cation and job experience to low- income students – the network now numbers 35 schools! In 1998, the Ignatian Spirituality Project start- ed offering retreats for people expe- riencing homelessness. The Kino Border Initiative, a collaborative project of Mexican and U.S. Jesuits, women religious, and dioceses, began to accompany migrants and to advocate for just immigration poli- In 1990, Pope John Paul II’s Peace cies in 2009. with God, Peace with All Creation boosted environmentalism. Organic In the new century, the Jesuit farm communities were already Secondary Education Association thriving – at la Ferme Berthe included “teaching and acting just- Rousseau in Quebec and at the ly” as a criterion for What Makes a in , Jesuit School Jesuit (2000). In 2000, Fr. Ontario, which integrates ecology Peter-Hans Kolvenbach challenged into its spiritual ministry. In 2002, 400 delegates from 28 universities at Wheeling Jesuit University in West the Justice in Jesuit Higher Education Virginia launched the Appalachian Conference to make faith-justice Institute to promote the building of transform their institutions, and healthier, more sustainable commu- they have responded in numerous nities in the region. ways. The Jesuit Social Research Institute, for instance, was found- In 1992, Homeboy Industries ed in New Orleans in 2007 with a was founded to offer hope, job train- focus on issues of race, poverty, and ing, and support for former gang migration in the region. In 2015, members in Los Angeles. That same Loyola University Chicago added an year in Quebec City, La Dauphine innovative two-year associates pro- began to welcome and assist home- gram – Arrupe College – for low- less youths. In 1995, the Ignatian income students. Volunteer Corps started providing volunteer opportunities and Ignatian These 50 years spurred many formation for those 50 years and creative initiatives to embody the older. The first Cristo Rey Jesuit faith-that-does-justice, helping High School opened in 1996 in Jesuits and colleagues walk with the Chicago, bringing college prep edu- poor and marginalized.

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Social Christianity in Quebec, inspired by the “Centre justice et foi” for 40 years

Élisabeth Garant Director of Centre justice et foi

In the 1980s, with the disappear- for a centre for studies, research and Thus was born the Centre justice et ance of the activities linked to the social analysis around the magazine foi (CJF - Justice and Faith Centre) in Institut social populaire (Popular Relations (founded in 1941), a library 1983. Social Institute), which was the for- created in 1945 and called upon to mer École sociale populaire (Popular become a centre for documentation From 1985 on, a new line of Social School, created in 1911), a on social issues, and a series of public activities began to develop, dedicat- group of Jesuits relaunched a project debates known as Soirées Relations. ed to questions of immigration and

126 IHS justice et foi is the fact that, since its creation, it has always been an intermediate space for reflection and social commitment, which allows the encounter and cross fertiliza- tion of academic and community knowledge. For more than 35 years, some 300 public debates (Soirées Relations) have been organized in Montreal, but also in other regions of the province of Quebec, not counting nearly 40 seminars, read- ing clubs, summer sessions, study days and colloquia, in which speak- ers from various sectors of society have participated to discuss funda- mental issues together.

Through its positions and pub- lic activities, the CJF is an original and respected actor on the social and ecclesial scene. At a time when the spaces that favor the maintenance and development of a society and a Church in solidarity are shrinking, its team continues to animate citizen debates in which everyone, regardless of their beliefs or personal convic- tions, is invited to mobilize in the name of justice, the common good and human dignity. The CJF is the bearer of an original reflection on religion and transcendence in a secu- lar context, a reflection that few orga- nizations in Quebec are able to bring into the open.

The CJF also brings together socially committed Christians for pluralism, fruit of a prophetic dis- as those of a growing cultural and moments of reflection and celebra- cernment on the part of the found- religious diversity. tion. It is a meeting place for believ- ers of the social centre. This sector ers of different religious traditions of the CJF, now called Vivre ensem- A crossroads for reflection, com- and has also been animating, for the ble (Living Together), offers unique mitment and celebration last three years, the Maria’M group: a expertise to accompany the Church feminist dialogue between Christians and society in Quebec in the face of One of the dimensions that con- and Muslims that makes it a pioneer- the challenges of hospitality, as well stitute the originality of the Centre ing project.

CANADA-UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 127 Significant contributions to Quebec debates in Quebec society, making Thirty years ago, the magazine society several notable contributions to fur- Relations denounced the impover- ther the evolution of public poli- ishment of Quebec and the growing Since its foundation, the CJF has cies and mentalities. Below are two disparity between its regions in a been an important actor in the many examples: shocking report entitled “Le Québec

128 IHS ceptable situation. The initiative A strategy of working in networks forced the government to reveal and coalitions information about regional inequal- ities and led some political leaders The CJF participates in various to take citizens’ demands seriously. committees, coalitions and solidari- ty networks; it maintains links with In March 2013, Vivre ensem- grassroots organizations that pursue ble proposed a study day on objectives similar to its own. Team Islamophobia. This phenomenon, members are also invited to give lec- denounced and documented at the tures, within their specialty, on the international level, was absent from occasion of activities programmed by public debates in Quebec. The CJF other agencies. team wondered about the partic- ularities of its appearance in our It is in this collaboration of context. In order to denounce the all the members of the team with exclusion mechanisms at work and others that reflection and action to get out of the false representa- are enriched, becoming more per- tions that feed this Islamophobia, tinent, more in conformity with a photographic report entitled the aspirations of those affected. “QuébécoisEs, musulmanEs... et It is within these solidarities that après...” (Quebec muslim (wo)men... the work of promoting the CJF is And then what?) was created, as most effective, allowing us to create well as an educational guide. These with others a balance of forces that cassé en deux” (Quebec split in two). teaching materials were used in makes possible a change of mentali- Following this publication, the CJF more than 60 different settings with ties and policies. organized a tour of the regions to conferences and awareness-raising mobilize numerous organizations activities to better understand Islam For more information, see < cjf. and citizens to denounce this unac- in Quebec. qc.ca>

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Teach-In for Justice The commitment of the Ignatian Solidarity Network

Kelly Swan and ISN staff

Since 2004, the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) has been inviting individuals and institutions to respond to the reality of suffer- ing in the spirit of the UCA martyrs. But ISN’s evolution began almost a decade earlier with the first “Ignatian Teach-In,” initiated by a former Jesuit near Fort Benning, a United States military base in the southern U.S. The base was home to a mili- tary training school for soldiers from Latin America where 19 of the 26 sol- diers who killed the Jesuits received training funded by U.S. taxpayers.

The event, which came to be known as the Ignatian Family Teach- In for Justice (IFTJ), came to fruition in 1997 under a large tent about a mile from the gates of Fort Benning, providing a space for attendees On November 16, 1989, six Jesuits, tyrs were killed for their commitment from the Jesuit network and beyond their housekeeper Elba Ramos, to standing with the marginalized to learn more about the issues fac- and her 15-year-old daughter through their teaching, research, and ing Central America while joining Celina Ramos were murdered at public discourse that regularly called together in prayer and fellowship. the University of Central America attention to the realities of human (UCA) in El Salvador by U.S.-trained rights abuses and oppression inflicted In the early 2000s, the Jesuit Salvadoran soldiers. The UCA mar- by the Salvadoran government. Conference of the United States – as

130 IHS it was then called – developed a fea- sibility study to explore the idea of building on the energy of the Teach- In and the growing interest in a more explicit expression of the faith and justice mission of the Jesuits. Just a few years earlier, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, then Superior General of the Jesuits, had given his famous “Justice in Jesuit Higher Education” address at Santa Clara University, and there was a growing desire among institutions to explore collaborative work on this front.

With positive feedback and a hunger for the idea of a Jesuit- Ignatian network that would work for social justice, the Ignatian Solidarity Network was founded in 2004. ISN was intentionally initi- ated as a lay-led organization that would work in partnership with the Jesuits and their institutions across the U.S. It was intended to mobi- lize people who were inspired by the Jesuit faith and justice mission to work more collectively in solidarity with their marginalized brothers and sisters throughout the world. A tent was chosen as the symbol of ISN, emphasizing the idea that the work of the network could move with the signs of the times, responding to contemporary issues of justice, wherever they may be. As the network has grown, ISN tradition. Alumni gatherings allow And move it did. As IFTJ grew, has initiated a broad range of pro- those who have connected with the the gathering left the tent for a larg- grams designed to gather members Jesuit network or Ignatian spiritual- er convention center. In 2010, the of the Ignatian-Jesuit network for ity to stay connected to those roots gathering then moved from near formation and collaborative work and explore living “a faith that does Fort Benning to Washington, DC, for justice. High school and college justice” as they move forward in allowing the Ignatian family to gath- students, faculty, and staff have an life. er in proximity to the U.S. capitol to opportunity to network and inno- incorporate legislative advocacy as a vate with peers from across the U.S. ISN continues to respond to the method of working for justice. IFTJ and beyond at annual leadership signs of the times, venturing more continues to be held in Washington, summits. Staff and parishioners each year into the virtual realm. The DC, gathering nearly 2000 people gather periodically to discuss best network continues to grow, engag- each year to learn, pray, network, and practices for engaging their parish- ing nearly a quarter million people advocate. es in justice work in the Ignatian each year via social media, webinars,

CANADA-UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 131 132 IHS livestreamed programs and networking events, and active digital news and blog series.

ISN has mobilized this growing network to respond to the suffering of others as Ignatian advocates – prioritiz- ing issues surrounding immi- gration – including engage- ment with the root causes of migration in Central America, criminal justice reform, and environmental justice. This response includes direct advo- cacy and action campaigns, paired with coalition-building and sharing of best practices both in person and through virtual gathering spaces.

Clearly, there is much work to be done by this broader net- work of Jesuit institutions and Ignatian-inspired partners as the legacy of the first gath- erings of the Ignatian family under the tent continues to grow. The Jesuit martyrs con- tinue to guide ISN’s work, offering an example of what it means to respond to the reality of suffering – yesterday, today, and in the future.

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Stopping, looking, touching, speaking The Encuentro Project – El Paso, Texas

Mary Baudouin Provincial Assistant for Social Ministries (USA-CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PROVINCE)

From the front porch of the barely separates these two cities and the vantage point of the Encuentro Encuentro House in El Paso, TX, the countries of the United States House it is impossible to tell if the you can see Ciudad Juárez, glimps- and Mexico. A large red X sculpture structure is in Mexico or the United ing the slim Rio Grande River that is visible in the distance, but from States. (It’s in Mexico.) On the streets

134 IHS surrounding the Encuentro House, Spanish is heard more often than English. From the moment you walk from the street into the Encuentro House, there is a sense of being in two worlds, two cultures, two realities at the same time, in the same place.

This house is the home of the Encuentro Project, a new collabora- tive and intercongregational ministry involving the Jesuits of El Paso, the Marist Brothers of the United States and Mexico, and the Hope Border Institute, a grassroots community organization working in the El Paso- Ciudad Juárez-Las Cruces region that seeks to bring the perspective of to bear on the social realities unique to this bor- der region. The Encuentro Project, which opened its doors for its minis- try of encounter in December, 2018, offers programing and lodging for border immersion experiences for groups from high schools, universi- ties, and parishes. The project aims to help participants gain greater under- standing of the complex history and present reality of migration in the border community and to challenge the borders in their own communi- ties that marginalize immigrants and refugees. The project draws its inspi- ration from Pope Francis’ call for a “culture of encounter” to address the fear and indifference that marginalize migrants and refugees.

Immersion programs are typical- ly four to six days in length and are tailored to the needs and ages of par- ticipants. Each experience typically includes:

• Direct work or encounter expe- rience with asylum seekers, migrants, or refugees, either in an area emergency shelter or deten- tion center or through the educa- tion and social service programs

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offered by El Sagrado Corazon, hands of Mexican children just expressed the feelings of many of the Jesuit parish in El Paso on the other side of the border, the Encuentro participants who • Education in Catholic Social children who may have parents visited the shelter during their Teaching on migration or relatives living in the United trip. “There weren’t divisions just • Analysis of the push-pull factors States but who can not cross the because they had passed through causing migration from Central border themselves. In a recent the wall or crossed a borderline. America and Mexico into the visit by students from Jesuit There was no ‘us’ and ‘them.’ United States College Preparatory School in There were simply parents sharing • Opportunities for deepening Dallas, Mexican children passed understanding glances as children understanding of border/migrant their puppies to the young men made messes out of cookies and realities through site visits, through the wall that they could juice. They were weary travelers including a trip to or across the not pass through. appreciative of clean sheets and the U.S.-Mexico border • Sharing Eucharist with men and promise of a good night’s sleep.” • Evening reflection and prayer women being held at a detention using the examen. center. Lena Chapin, the leader of a recent immersion trip for adults sponsored by the Ignatian The Encuentro Project hopes to give Solidarity Network, described the many more people the opportunity Under the leadership of director significance of this encounter for to have the kind of encounters with Fr. Rafael Garcia, SJ, the Encuentro her: “As we entered into commu- migrants that will move them from Project is profoundly impacting par- nion with these men and women indifference and inaction to genuine ticipants’ attitudes toward and under- and shared signs of peace and compassion and understanding, the standing of the harsh realities faced by brief conversations, internal and kind of experiences that Pope Francis migrants at the southern border of the external borders faded into the called for in one of his daily medita- United States through experiences like: background. We were Christians, tions given in September 2016: “If I family, one body of Christ.” do not look – seeing is not enough, • Being in the presence and hear- no: look – if I do not stop, if I do not • Visits to “the wall,” where partici- ing the stories of asylum-seekers look, if I do not touch, if I do not pants can reach through the huge at a shelter after being released speak, I cannot create an encounter steel slats separating the United by Immigration and Customs and I cannot help to create a culture States and Mexico and touch the Enforcement. Ms. Chapin of encounter.”

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Creating “undocu-joy” The Center for Undocumented Students at ’s University

Anna Brown and Jennifer Ayala TCUS (USA-Northeast Province)

It began, perhaps, in the early 2000s, with a sea of T-shirts that read “Why sleep when you can’t DREAM?” In a campus “sleep-out,” students chal- lenged their peers and professors to pay attention to undocumented immigrant communities and the need for legislation that forges a clear pathway to citizenship (at that time called the DREAM Act, focus- ing on minors). We hear the echoes of these calls today, the acoustics taking on an ever sharper reso- nance, in the work of the Center for Undocumented Students (TCUS) at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ.

CANADA-UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 137 The founding of TCUS was not unlike that of the Catholic Worker as described by Dorothy Day: A community of students, facul- ty, and staff sat around a table in our Social Justice House and spoke about how we might better under- stand and tend to the needs of immigrant students at Saint Peter’s. The work was kindled by student organizing efforts; scaffolded by a research report conducted by our fellow Jesuit universities urging edu- cators to support undocumented students; concretized in the creation of the physical space of TCUS; and sustained by immigrant youth lead- ers who guide, inform, and ground these efforts.

The resources available for TCUS are minimal by convention- al standards. TCUS is situated on the second floor of the university’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – Kairos Social Justice House; donations fund a good part of its budget, and stu- dent leaders and faculty/staff volun- teers primarily staff it. “La Casita,” as some of us affectionately refer to TCUS, houses an unparalleled rich- ness, however, that is found in the students who lead it and in the Saint Peter’s community that loves its stu- dents. There is no more excellent a gift than love, and TCUS gives us the opportunity to practice on a daily basis the love for one another – regardless of one’s station in life – that Jesus spoke of and lived in his life.

The works of TCUS include edu- cating staff and faculty on ways to support undocumented students; helping TCUS students gain access to financial aid; hosting legal clin- ics; facilitating healing circles; co- sponsoring lectures, vigils, and social justice teach-ins; and offering retreats through campus ministry.

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Perhaps most important, TCUS offers a physical space of warmth and welcome, unapologetically naming who we are serving. TCUS invites the larger Saint Peter’s com- munity to be bridge-builders rath- er than wall-builders. Our desire is to invite more people to the table, share a meal, and build a beloved community rather than to detain, deport, and exclude our immigrant brothers and sisters.

Amidst all of the tragedy and catastrophe that has been inflicted on the community, our students remind us that we need to create and main- tain space for what one DACAmented (DACA = Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) young woman expressed as “undocu-joy.” They remind us that we need to be cou- rageous, creative, and daring, which they show by example. As in the case These students – and many of our The final two lines of Fr. Daniel of the founding of TCUS, it is our stu- other students – are the civil rights Berrigan, SJ’s poem “Prayer for the dents and recent graduates who are leaders of our day. Further, they Morning Headlines” are: “Seed Hope. leading the way in this struggle for powerfully exemplify the Christian Flower Peace.” Father Berrigan well justice. Two of our recent graduates, imperative of laying down one’s life expresses what animates TCUS for example, are lead organizers with for the sake of another. These efforts at Saint Peter’s University. Despite the Cosecha community, a commu- are not because of TCUS but are modest means, the example set by nity that struggles for the dignity and attributed to the strength, endurance, our students shows us that the world protection of all immigrants. These and resistance of immigrant youth does not have to be a place of hatred, two students have protested peace- organizers who push us all to do bet- exclusion, violence, and impoverish- fully and, in so doing, risked arrest ter, to remember why we as educa- ment. We can engage in works both and deportation. They have also tors are here, and to ensure that our large and small that show otherwise, walked 250 miles to Washington, DC, commitments move beyond words which is to say, to shine brightly, to engaged in weeklong hunger fasts, or kind intentions to fruitful action. share our gifts, talents, and resources, and orchestrated community support Even, perhaps especially, when it’s and to welcome all who knock at the for families torn apart by detention not personally or institutionally door. and deportation. Current students are “safe.” To walk hand-in-hand with continuing this fight at the local level; our students and to accompany them along with the immigrant rights group is both joy-filled and humbling. We Make the Road NJ, they are fighting must persevere in this work. for – and winning – access to state financial aid and, most recently, a statewide minimum wage increase.

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Jesuits for the European common good

Martin Maier, SJ JESC

Since its beginnings, the Society Brussels committed to building In Paris, in 1534, Ignatius of of Jesus has been a European Europe. At a time when Europe is Loyola consciously gathered, in his project. Today, eight Jesuits from in deep crisis, the challenge is con- group of friends, members from dif- six European countries work in siderable. ferent European countries. This group was the mother cell of the Jesuit order, JESC wants to offer a vision the JESC wants to be “the voice European in its origins, but soon and transmit values for Europe. of the voiceless” in Europe. According universal in its missionary dynam- European unification, after the to official statistics, more than 100 ic. Therefore, it is not surprising that two deadly wars of the first half million men, women and children in there have been Jesuits accompany- of the 20th century, was a project the countries of the European Union ing the European unification project of forgiveness, reconciliation and live in poverty. To reflect and act on since its inception. One of the pio- peace. The founding fathers, most- this painful issue, JESC works closely neers was Father Jean du Rivau, who ly Catholics, were inspired by the with the interparliamentary group on founded in 1949 in Strasbourg the principles of the Church´s social extreme poverty and human rights in Secrétariat catholique pour les prob- doctrine: human dignity, the com- the European Parliament. Inspired by lèmes européens (Catholic Secretariat mon good, solidarity, subsidiari- Pope Francis´ encyclical Laudato si’, for European Problems). In 1956, ty. Welcoming the delegations that JESC now gives greater importance to the Office catholique d’information signed the Schuman Declaration in the link between ecology and justice sur les problèmes européens (OCIPE 1950, Jean Monnet summed up this and publishes Eco-bites (a monthly - Catholic Office for Information on vision: “We are here to do a com- online newsletter). European Problems) was created. mon work, not to negotiate benefits With the transfer of the European but to seek our benefit within the Another important dimen- institutions to Brussels, an office was common benefit.” This is the golden sion of JESC is to bring together opened in that city in 1963. Since rule of the European project. and accompany groups reflecting 2012, the European Jesuit office is on a refounding of Europe. One of called JESC (European Jesuit Social In keeping with the Jesuit com- them is called Passion pour l’Europe Centre), currently made up of a team mitment to faith and justice and (Passion for Europe). Its members of three Jesuits and five lay people. the preferential option for the poor, have written a programmatic text

142 IHS entitled Redécouvrir le bien com- awareness of the common mun européen (Rediscovering the good, which it seems to European Common Good), based have lost. These challeng- on the speech of Pope Francis on es were the main theme of the occasion of the award of the a session organized in 2018 Charlemagne Prize in 2016. On at the spirituality centre the basis of this text an import- La Pairelle, near Namur, by ant debate was organized at the JESC and the group Passion Chapelle pour l’Europe in November pour l’Europe. As an intro- 2018 with Herman Van Rompuy duction, the Christian roots (President emeritus of the European of this European common Council), Archbishop Jean-Claude good were recalled and, to Hollerich, Pastor Christian Krieger inspire the common search and Marie de Saint-Chéron as repre- that characterized this very sentatives of the Christian Churches special weekend, it closed with at a European level. a Eucharistic celebration in several languages and an Our Now that Europe is going Father prayed in the languages through a deep crisis, which is of all the participants, as a great simultaneously political, econom- sign of unity. ic and of identity, the challenges it has to face demand more than ever A new JESC program a common approach and a keen is aimed at training future European leaders. It combines elements of political for- mation with community life, spiritual formation and social commitment to the most disadvantaged. Ideally, this program will help to reform the spiritual, social and political life in Europe, orienting it towards the search for the common good. Pope Francis, in one of his discourses on Europe, quoted a passage from the Letter to Diognetus, which dates from the beginnings of Christianity: “Christians are in the world what the soul is in the body.” This is reminiscent of the expression attributed to Jacques Delors: “Give Europe a soul.” The work of the Jesuits in Brussels is based on the hope that today´s Christians can live up to that task.

For more information: www.jesc.eu

On the European Leadership Program: www.jesc-elp.eu Twitter: JESC | Jesuit European Social Centre

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The Xavier Network: responding to the signs of the times

Jenny Cafiso Director of Canadian Jesuits International

Paul Chitnis Director of Jesuit Missions, Britain

When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2013, the Xavier Network (XN) liaised with the Philippines Jesuit Province to determine if and how they would respond. That started a five-year effort which saw the Xavier Network work in partnership with the Jesuits in the Philippines on a multi-year, multi-million dollar project to help those affected by Haiyan.

The Xavier Network brings together 13 Jesuit mis- sion offices and international development organiza- tions of provinces in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Our raison d’être is to foster international solidarity based on justice. While many of the member organiza- tions have existed for decades, the XN was established in 2004 in the belief that we can be more effective by

EUROPE 145 146 IHS working together. Our collaboration is the fruit of a patient, sometimes difficult effort to work together but one that has enormous potential.

We are distinct agencies, with different histories and structures, but we bring experience of working alongside Jesuit partner organiza- tions which accompany the poorest and most marginalized people in the world. In this sense, the XN is an embodiment of the second of the Jesuit Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs): walking with the poor and excluded. Our mission is guided by the church’s understanding of integral human development and inspired by the Society’s commitment to recon- ciliation and justice.

Our tradition, experience, and presence within our own coun- tries and overseas makes the Xavier Network highly individual. We choose to collaborate not only for pragmatic reasons but also because so many of the issues that impoverish or marginalise people are global.

The development of a joint approach to emergencies is one of four areas of collaboration in the Xavier Network. The others are inter- national programs, advocacy, and volunteering.

The network supports hundreds of projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We also support common strategic projects of the Society of Jesus in the Global South that foster networking, institutional strength- ening, innovation, and social trans- formation. The network actively col- laborates with international Jesuit organisations such as JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service), Fe y Alegría, AJAN (African Jesuit AIDS Network), and the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network, among others.

EUROPE 147 A fourth focus is volunteer- ing. Pope Francis reminds us that “Jesus wants us to touch human misery (…) to enter the reality of other people’s lives.” Many Xavier Network members run volunteering programmes in the Global South to help people be transformed toward a commitment to justice. In 2018, the Xavier Network had over 60 volun- teers overseas.

There are challenges. The differ- ences between the members’ capac- ity, history, and type of work slow down our progress. A second chal- lenge is how to balance the diverse local expressions of work and the need to respect the Jesuit structure deeply rooted in the Ignatian mis- We are working on a common be delayed.” The UAPs state that the sion while making the best use of approach with our partners around promotion of social justice is “a nec- the technical skills, procedures, and funding, project implementation, and essary dimension of the reconcilia- experience which exist in main- accountability. A current priority is tion of individuals (and) peoples.” We stream organisations. the development of a common policy advocate both at the national and the on child safeguarding in our organiza- international level. We have lobbied Three strategic issues, among tions and in the projects we support. our governments to protect human others, will dominate our thinking rights defenders in Honduras; XN in the near future: first, how to build A third focus is advocacy and members have collaborated on the stronger partnerships with Jesuit awareness-raising. Pope Francis need for tax justice in Africa. Others provinces in the Global South so that writes: “The need to resolve the have campaigned to secure justice in there is a greater level of equality, rec- structural causes of poverty cannot the mining sector. iprocity, and accountability between us; second, how to increase the par- ticipation of southern partners in the network to improve understanding and increase collaboration; third, how to achieve the greatest impact with our limited human and financial resources.

It has been said that St. Ignatius possessed “great energy in under- taking extraordinarily difficult tasks, great constancy in pursuing them, and great prudence in seeing them to completion.” The Xavier Network aspires to nothing less in exercising its collaborative and Ignatian leader- ship.

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Fight against social exclusion: a challenge for the Society in Western Europe

Jérôme Gué, SJ Province of French speaking Western Europe

It is the end of the schoolyear. The school failure, exclusion and being rel- This is what we experienced in whole team of the Toulouse produc- egated to poor neighborhoods. Two the Loyola Formation network, made tion school is gathered in front of the years later, they have their first diplo- up of about fifteen formation centers secretary’s computer. She clicks and ma and will find work in a valued pro- of this type within the Province of we discover that all our students have fession at the forefront of the aeronau- French-speaking Western Europe obtained the professional diploma as tical industry. Joy for these young peo- (EOF), how powerful Ignatian ped- industrial mechanics of milling lathe ple, joy for the whole journey we have agogy is with young people in dif- operator. We are then filled with great made together, but also the joy of that ficulty. The social mix is also an joy. These young people came to us good news that tastes like the Gospel: important lever: among these cen- at the age of 15 or 16, discouraged, the most marginalized in society can ters are the production schools that lacking self-confidence, after years of have a place in it. the Institut Catholique des Arts et

EUROPE 149 150 IHS Métiers (ICAM - Catholic Institute of Arts and Crafts) wanted to open in each of its six engineering schools in order to truly offer a place to these young people, in the midst of university students.

No matter how rich our west- ern societies are, they are continu- ally generating exclusion. Thus, the social apostolate of our Province tries to fight against this, especially by demonstrating that the most frag- ile, the most marginalized, have their place, first and foremost in our insti- tutions and communities. The battle has not been won, because we our- selves are also affected by this funda- mental mechanism of our societies.

The education sector faces a major challenge: expanding recruitment in some of our large schools in affluent asylum seekers seeking integration. the proximity to the excluded allow neighborhoods to prevent us from The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has us to interact with them and learn further reinforcing a kind of social promoted the reception and accom- to see the world from their point of inbreeding. Some schools in France modation of asylum seekers in fami- view. have taken action in this direction: lies and, consequently, also in quite a opening small classes for pupils who few of our communities. Going to meet these people in have dropped out of school or who their neighborhoods is a challenge for come from abroad, cooperation with Together with this, our Province our Province, since most of the Jesuit a school in a very poor neighborhood, has been marked by the commitment companions, due to their mission, are etc. Evidently, there is still much to of working priests since the 1960s. mainly associated with well-to-do or be done. In Belgium, things are mov- Through their work, their commit- very well-to-do social milieus. The ing faster, because now the law forces ment to labor unions and their place great weakness of Christianity in pop- schools to have a significant percent- of residence, some Jesuit companions ular environments, the decrease in our age of young people from disadvan- joined those who were at the bottom numbers, the concern to train elites taged backgrounds. of the social ladder and from whom and many other factors have led us to the Church was far away. Today they this situation. This openness is also happening are retired, they are elderly; some still little by little in other fields of the work as volunteers in associations. Here are two movements of the apostolate. For example, the spiritu- The inheritance that they have left social apostolate of our Province: ality center of Penboc’h, in Brittany, us consists of a few small community on the one hand, to try to include has just been re-founded with the insertions in social housing in very these people in our communities and project of welcoming disabled peo- working-class neighborhoods. Living institutions, in order to allow them ple or people in precarious social sit- there are companions who often have to recover a link with the established uations as well as executives from another mission, sometimes in the society; on the other hand, for some the business world. The Magis house, parish of the district or participating Jesuit companions, to live simply in which we have just inaugurated in in local associations, and, in the Paris their neighborhoods or to have a the heart of Paris, welcomes students region, some Jesuit scholastics. The principal social activity working for for pastoral activities, young profes- gratuitousness of the daily presence, their integration and for greater jus- sionals who practice coworking and the simplicity of this way of life and tice in society.

EUROPE 151 EUROPE

Advocacy: addressing causes of injustice rather than symptoms

Jörg Alt, SJ German Province Charles Chilufya, SJ Zambia-malawi Province

Advocacy is different from lobby- who do not have access to the movers indirectly involved in it. Given the ism: While lobbyists try to procure and shakers of today’s world. This, Society of Jesus’ growing awareness advantages for those individuals or however, is still both humiliating and of the need for advocacy, the procu- businesses who pay them, advocacy is patronizing, since those on whose rator of the German Jesuitenmission, pleading for justice on behalf of those behalf advocacy happens are at best Klaus Väthröder, felt the need in 2010

152 IHS to look for cooperation with African institutions at eye level so “that research results and advocacy have effective practical benefits for society and the environment” and “serve the poor” (35th General Congregation, Decree 3, No. 35).

He therefore approached the then-President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM), Michael Lewis, asking: “Is there an issue of mutual interest for Africa and the Jesuitenmission which could be the focus of joint research and advocacy?” The choice was even- tually between migration and the link between tax justice and pover- ty. The decision eventually was taken in favour of the latter because of the assumption that Africa would not need any developmental aid if African governments were able to tax peo- ple and businesses adequately and prevent illicit financial outflows. This, then, would also stem migra- tion. Cooperation partners were the Jesuitenmission, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (Lusaka, © Photo: L’économiste maghrébin Zambia), and the Jesuit Hakimani - 2016 Centre (Nairobi, Kenya). The research phase lasted from 2012 to 2018.

Research results proved our holders to move assets across borders in the second half of 2018, their first hypothesis to be correct: There is while tax administrations lack legal and most important goal was to curb more money leaving Africa illicitly and resource capacities to enforce illegal migration from Africa. What and illegally every year than is enter- legal compliance. was lacking was an adequate treat- ing the continent via both develop- ment of the root causes of migra- mental aid and foreign direct invest- The empirical results of our tion: If there were more resources to ment. And even though the three research, in combination with a invest in public goods and services, participating countries were very dif- social-ethical reflection based on the the upgrading of infrastructure ferent, we stated a number of mutual principles and norms of Catholic or the handing out of grants and problems: Inequality in our countries social teaching, soon proved appli- loans for the establishment of small is on the increase while tax admin- cable to a number of advocacy ini- businesses, etc., migration pressure istrations are incapable to tax pri- tiatives. The most recent brought would decline. vate and corporate wealth holders in once more together the two origi- accordance with the principle of abil- nal areas of interest for our trans- Jesuit Fathers Charles Chilufya, ity to pay. The impotence of the tax continental cooperation, namely Jörg Alt, and Avelino Chico therefore administrations is, among other rea- migration and financial flows. When drafted a letter plus a detailed backup sons, because the mobility of capital Austria took over the presidency of note in which we emphasized the fol- enables private and corporate wealth the Council of the European Union lowing points:

EUROPE 153 • Illegal migration is also a market This will prevent profit-shifting mechanism: As long as there is the and increase corporate social desire for illegal out-migration, accountability. as long as there are service pro- viders (“traffickers”), and as long • Increasing transparency of finan- as there are employers of illegal cial flows from Africa to member migrants, fortifying borders will states of the European Union will not stop this movement. It will at assist African states to tax pri- best increase risk and price. vate and corporate wealth holders Superiors from Austria and Germany better and in that way improve signed the letter. • Remittances of legal and illegal domestic resource mobilization. migrants have enormous impact As was to be expected, we could on poverty reduction in their • Increasing cooperation between not persuade the Austrian presi- countries of origin and need European and African tax admin- dency of the Council of the EU to therefore to be harnessed as a istrations, e.g. in joint tax audits, amend their priorities, but we could potential source for development. will better pierce the “corporate increase awareness among church veil,” behind which all sorts of and developmental groups about • In consequence of the above, illicit and illegal practices can be the issues, gain their support, and legal alternatives to migration hidden, and improve the uncov- thus succeed in increasing our sup- should be developed. ering of aggressive tax planning, port base on which we will be able tax avoidance, tax evasion, and to build our future advocacy efforts. • Rather than securing shareholder other malpractice. We will try to combat the root caus- profits from investment in Africa, es of structures of injustice rather European governments have to than being content to heal or miti- ensure that those investing in The current president of JCAM gate its symptoms. Africa are accountable to their (Jesuit Conference of Africa and workforce and to the communi- Madagascar), Agbonkhianmeghe More information: ty within which they produce. Orobator, SJ, and the Provincial www.taxjustice-and-poverty.org

154 IHS EUROPE ITALY

Faith and Politics in Venice

Edmond Grace, SJ Faith and Politics Workshop

The view from the rear of the Jesuit shop in 2006 did we realise that there Every two years, in late August, a University Hostel in Venice does the is more to Venice than meets the eye. lively interesting and good humoured soul good, and the front door opens There are no cars, no loud engines, group of young adults from differ- onto a charming piazza complete no irritating swishing of tyres; if you ent countries around Europe spend a with a magnificent baroque church. do hear a boat engine, it is muffled week in Campo dei Gesuiti. What do The decision to hold the Faith and and made friendly by the water. As they have in common? You could call Politics Workshop there was easily the days pass, silence seeps in and it altruism, idealism, public spirited- made, but only during the first work- you can really begin to listen. ness, but it involves taking an interest

EUROPE 155 ing, and in the afternoon we invite three speakers – with backgrounds in electoral politics, public administra- tion, and civil society – to come and talk about living their faith in these three different areas of public life.

On Thursday morning, an input on Christ as a public figure is fol- lowed by a visit to Saint Mark’s Basilica. This magnificent building is itself an expression of the relation- ship between faith and politics from a very different time and culture. That difference provides food for thought. At the end of the visit, everyone is encouraged to spend an hour or so on their own, in silence, to reflect on what they have seen and heard. in things beyond their own immedi- and of Europe. On Tuesday after- ate needs or those of their family or noon, each national group presents Friday morning is spent prepar- neighbourhood. The workshop seeks itself on its own terms; it tends to be ing for a conversation with some- to provide them with the resources lively. On Wednesday morning, there one who has experience of public necessary to engage in public ser- is an input on Church social teach- life at a European or international vice “in a world damaged by sin.” The means to achieve this end is Ignatian spirituality.

A highlight of the week is the daily experience of shared reflec- tion in a small group. As the days go by, trust grows and, with it, a willingness to speak about deep- er issues, to encourage each other, and to share new and valued insights. Another significant daily moment is the period of silent prayer in the evening. The Eucharist is celebrated each morning and, while it is not a required part of the programme, it is attended by a good proportion of the participants.

The first few days are given over to reflecting on where we come from – our own individual stories, the changing role of faith in European culture, the stories of our countries

156 IHS level. They have included Pat Cox, former president of the European Parliament, Romano Prodi, for- mer president of the European Commission, Hanna Suchocka, former prime minister of , and Luc Cortebeeck, former pres- ident of the International Labour Organisation. This session gives the participants a sense of what it is like to deal with those practical reali- ties, which few of us can influence directly, but which none of us can ignore.

Saturday is our final day togeth- into place around a programme the Society and the rewards it can er, and in the evening we celebrate based on the Spiritual Exercises. The bring. the closing Eucharist in the beauti- outcome was a tribute to both the ful baroque church of I Gesuiti. In challenging nature of networking in The Faith and Politics Workshop one way, it dwarfs our little marked something of a turning group, but in another way point. The Society’s mission to we fill it. Afterwards there promote justice has been pri- is a party, and everyone is marily understood as one of ready to celebrate. accompaniment and advocacy, but Faith and Politics is about The Venice Faith and the formation of leaders who are Politics Workshop drew capable of accompaniment, of much of its inspiration advocacy, of listening to those from the Politique et Bonnes on the margins and capable of a Nouvelles sessions in Aix- consistent service, which is gen- en-Provence in France. It erous, joyful, and discerning. was adapted to a European context by a group from By the end of that first work- five different countries. shop those of us in the organ- Four of the original five ising group sat down to review already knew each other the week. There was a real sense well, but when we came of achievement and companion- together for our first plan- ship and a quiet awareness of ning session in 2004 we another group of friends who found our task much more had walked the streets of this difficult than we expected. city four centuries ago. Their It turned out to be a deeply dream of going to Jerusalem frustrating weekend, but it was disappointed, but their dis- was redeemed, literally in appointment led to something the last 60 minutes, when new, which made our friendship everything seemed to fall – and this workshop – possible.

EUROPE 157 Appreciation and recognition

The days when Jesuits could give the impression that they could do everything on their own are long gone. For decades, the Society of Jesus has opened spaces for collaboration. Lay men and women, as well as from varying religious con- gregations, participate in the apostolic activities of the Jesuits. Jesuits themselves become collab- orators with others in a mission that goes be- yond them, the mission of Christ in this world.

At the end of this overview of Jesuit commit- ments, in the spirit of the Apostolic Preferences and in the service of social justice and ecology, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all those who have supported us. The Society’s benefactors are an essential part of the preser- vation and development of the works. This has been the reality since the time of Saint Ignatius who did not hesitate to travel long distances to meet benefactors to share the vision and mis- sion of the Society in seeking their help.

Financial support is important, but so is the support of prayer. Our gratitude is therefore expressed to all those people who pray for the Jesuits. Those who pray for the advancement of the mission that the Lord entrusts to the Soci- ety – often through Pope Francis – participate in our collective discernment. This discernment directs us in our responding to the needs of the world through the means and with sensitivities appropriate to our times. 

Do you want to help the Jesuits and their partners in mission? Your support is greatly appreciated.

■ To make a donation, contact the Development Office or the treasurer of the Jesuit Province where you live. The staff will advise you on how best to do so in accordance with the tax laws and regulations of each country. Contact details of Jesuit Provinces can be found online.

■ And above all, pray with and for the Jesuits. “Sacred Space” and “Pray as you go” are examples of wonderful online tools utilizing Ignatian spirituality and are available to you. © JRS EUROPA 157

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