In February 2010, the Korean Province founded the Jesuit Research Center for Advocacy and Solidarity (Jesuit Research Center) in order to support field activities and research for justice, peace, and integrity of creation. Recently, the Jesuit Research Center commemorated its 10th anniversary with a seminar on the theme, Rethinking Pedro Arrupe.
Fr Pedro Arrupe is a symbol of reformation in the Society of Jesus, and a source of inspiration for many Korean Jesuits and lay collaborators. Whether they work in the social apostolate, retreat centres, or education, they are able to find a source of energy and inspiration from the words and deeds of Fr Arrupe. In fact, many Jesuits working in the social ministries already consider Pedro Arrupe their patron saint.
Thus, it was but natural for the Jesuit Research Center on its 10th anniversary to take Fr Arrupe as a guiding figure in inviting people to think about social spirituality.
Fr Kim Min SJ started the discussion with a presentation entitled, The Path to Social Spirituality and the Path of Pedro Arrupe. He reminded everyone how General Congregation (GC) 31 was the response of the Society of Jesus to the request of the Second Vatican Council for the renewal of the Church and a return to the source.
From GC 31, it was a long route to GC 32 and Fr Arrupe’s struggle for reformation and reshaping of the Society of Jesus. Fr Min stressed as a key principle in our search for social spirituality, “Men for Others,” Fr Arrupe’s seminal address in 1973, which echoed the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and has since become a Jesuit motto.
Fr Kim Woo-seon Denis SJ, Professor at Sogang University, likewise shared his insights on the life of Fr Arrupe. Pedro Arrupe’s approach to reforming the Church, Fr Dennis said, was through reforming the Society of Jesus. He taught us how to live the tension between mystic and prophetic, faith and justice, west and orient, and so on, said Fr Denis. Fr Arrupe had a special sense of empathy and compassion for others’ pain having experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. When he founded Jesuit Refugee Service in 1980, it was a very natural and logical fruit of his sense of compassion.
What then is social spirituality? Fr Min said it involves a continuous search for the spiritual roots of Jesuit social action, whereby Fr Arrupe’s life and teaching remain relevant in our current ways of searching. For Fr Denis, there are not many kinds of spirituality. “There is a single spirituality, that of loving people and loving the Lord. Pedro Arrupe’s ‘Men for Others’ is an invitation to imitate Jesus.”