Companions in a mission of justice and reconciliation

12 September 2019

JCIM continues the journey with collaboration and connection

Members of JCIM joined by JCAP President Fr Tony Moreno SJ, with Fr Eric Velandria SJ and Ms Christina Kheng who helped facilitate the meeting

In the last two decades, the Jesuits in Asia Pacific have been working with Indigenous Peoples in Australia and Oceania, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The first meeting was held in 1999: a small group gathered in northern Taiwan, in an Aboriginal village called Chingchuan, which means “Clear Springs”. Fr Michael Czerny SJ, who was then Fr General Peter-Hans Kovlenbach’s delegate for the Social Apostolate, was the facilitator, while Fr Jojo Fung SJ was the first coordinator for the group. Since then, they have journeyed deep into the indigenous ministry, which is richly detailed in the recently released book, Jesuit Companions in Indigenous Ministry 1999-2019 .

Newly appointed coordinator Fr Ambrosio Flores SJ and various members of JCIM met at the beginning of September at the Lucas Renewal Center on the campus of the Ateneo de Manila University. The focus of the discussion was on the Universal Apostolic Preferences. The meeting began with a presentation by Fr Barry Martinson SJ–one of the group’s pioneers–who shared the history of JCIM, accompanied by many wonderful photographs he had taken throughout the years.

The fruits of the group’s discernment and discussion were crystalised in a meeting statement: “On its twentieth year as an apostolic network of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, the Jesuit Companions in Indigenous Ministry journeys with the indigenous ministries of the provinces and regions of the conference, collaborates with other Jesuit networks in the conference and connects with other local and international organizations working with Indigenous Peoples”. Furthermore, the network defined its roles as well as identified goals and actions that will bring JCIM into the next part of the journey with Indigenous Peoples, with the Universal Apostolic Preferences to guide and orient them. 

Share this article

More News

Subscribe to JCAP eNews

Stay Connected with the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.

Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific will use the information you provide on this form to provide news and updates. Please tick the box below to confirm your subscription.

JCAP eNews

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at enews@jcapsj.org. We will treat your information with respect. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at enews@jcapsj.org. We will treat your information with respect. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

GDPR We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.