In a time of cosmetic solutions and weakening commitment to social causes, the recent De Statu Societatis Iesu (DSS) challenges us to reflect deeply: how do we truly heed the call to care for our common home? This question engaged the active country representatives of the Reconciliation with Creation (RWC) network during a meeting held at the Jesuit Curia in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 26 February to 1 March.
To kick off their gathering, the delegates, hailing from Timor-Leste, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, convened with a group of Vietnamese students for a discussion on the environmental crises confronting humanity. The students raised poignant questions, including: Why do we have to take care of our common home? What is the youth’s role in dealing with contemporary environmental issues? How does our consumption affect climate change? Their questions revealed that ecological action was quite new to the culture and context of Vietnam.
As the meeting progressed, the representatives shared about themselves and the ecological work they do. RWC Coordinator Fr Gabby Lamug-Nañawa SJ talked about some of the essential points of the DSS on the Jesuit environmental response. These were further enhanced by Fr Alvin Ng SJ who was himself a delegate to the 71st Congregation of Procurators. The discussions solidified that while Jesuit provinces work on diverse solutions that are specific to the needs of their areas, common threads must be shared within the network to effect meaningful changes.
A major goal of the meeting was to elicit insights from the group on the vision, mission, and objectives of RWC. After careful consideration and deliberation, the working vision and mission were refined to encapsulate the collective aspirations of the network:
RWC Vision: “A world journeying towards ecological conversion and reconciliation with creation, where all people are in communion with one another, especially with God, the poor, and the young, and with all of God’s creation.”
RWC Mission: “Fostering JCAP to be an Ignatian community actively collaborating to address the ecological crises of our time through diverse initiatives, capacity building, and strategic partnerships that strengthen local communities to live in justice, peace, and harmony with creation.”
The group concluded with a review of currently planned activities in light of the vision and mission.
Above the formalities, the face-to-face meeting proved to be valuable in building camaraderie and sharing inspiration within the network that is faced with some of the biggest challenges of our time. It is the hope of the RWC network to amplify the call to care for our common home and ensure the realisation of this Jesuit commitment. [Cesca Lee]