A Theological Cooperation Working Group has been formed to review Jesuit theological formation in Asia Pacific and develop realistic ideas to upgrade the quality of theology taught to scholastics in this part of the world.
The group of 12 Jesuits actively involved in theological formation met with JCAP President Fr Mark Raper SJ from April 17 to 19, and will henceforth meet once a year. It was agreed that members are to be specifically delegated by their major superior and are expected to be deans of theological schools empowered to take and implement decisions.
The group discussed the impact of the changing distribution of Jesuits in the Conference on formation, and the growing difficulties of sustaining seven theologates for about 100 scholastics. Resources that are available or needed, and that can be shared among schools of theology were identified, and practical plans for closer collaboration among theology faculties were formulated.
Much time was spent examining the progress made on the implementation of the International Theology Program (ITP) at Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Manila. Ten major points were identified for further implementation, including a survey to be made of expectations of young Jesuits with regard to the ITP.
Currently about half the scholastics in the Conference receive their theological formation at Loyola School of Theology and it is vital that their studies be both excellent in terms of methodology and content, and distinctively Asian.
The internationalizing of the culture, programme and faculty at LST has been the major focus of discussion as the ITP was put in place. The faculty has been challenged to reflect on the various Asian contexts and how these might affect their teaching, and how the teaching of Asian theology can be combined with further research and writing in this area. The aim is that, the ITP will, when fully functioning, produce Jesuit priests who will return to their own contexts with the skills to reflect on them in theological ways and provide further data for those who work at the level of research and writing.
The other six Jesuit Schools of Theology in the Conference have different histories and a variety of missions, but it is imperative that young Jesuits studying in those schools receive quality theological education that is also well contextualized in Asia. Closer cooperation is needed among all the schools of theology, with a priority on building up the ITP program for the benefit of the majority of theologian scholastics in the Conference.
It was agreed that the ITP and the Asian mandate would evaluated annually in the following areas – courses on Asian religions and church history, and on pastoral issues in Asia, core courses containing Asian themes, allowance for the scholastic’s culture made in assessments, exchange programmes, the use of adult learning methods in the pedagogy, graduate research with an Asian emphasis, faculty researching Asian theologies, and the development of Asian resources in the LST library.
The group also discussed the importance of having a Delegate of Studies for the Conference and the positive impact he could have at all stages of formation. The Delegate would be supported by a small group of Jesuits to be chosen by him and representing different sectors. The search for a Delegate has begun.
For more information on the Loyola School of Theology, visit www.lst.edu.
Top photo: The Theological Cooperation Working Group. Front L- R: Hasto Rosariyanto IDO, Benedict Jung Kang-yup JCAP, Nguyen Hai Tinh VIE, Thomas Lee Kyou-sung KOR, Louis Gendron CHN, Peter O Pojol PHI, Hartono Budi IDO. Back L – R: Michael Smith ASL, Juan Haidar JPN, Mario Francisco PHI, Robin Koning ASL.