For all of you we pray that the grace-filled Christmas will accompany you to the promising new Year of 2006
@ JCEAO OFFICE
To contact Fr. Joe Quilongquilong, the Secretary of the EAO Assistant, please use this correct address quilongquilong@unigre.it. You may also use the address from the Jesuit Curia network for easier communication: joseq@sjcuria.org.
We are very blessed with the long years of service of Fr. Tom Steinbugler at the JCEAO. We joyfully celebrated his 76th birthday last Dec 27 with a lunch at the office. Frs. Joseph Doan (Regional Assistant for EAO), Zuloaga, John Mace, and Jeyaraj Rasiah joined the party.
In January, Fr. Riyo goes to Beijing and will spend several months there getting to know the Chinese culture. Then he goes back to Indonesia to receive a new assignment from his home province on top of his current appointment as Assistancy Secretary for Secondary Education. Good-bye Fr. Riyo! Thank you for being a wonderful Socius. (Fr. Riyo can be contacted thru riyo@jesuits.net effective January 2006. His cell phone number will no longer be accessible.)
And we welcome Fr. Pham Minh-uoc with a wish for a good start as the new Socius.
@ EAO SECRETARIATS (AJCU-EAO, China Desk, Ignatian Spirituality Animation, Inter-religious Dialogue, JEC-EAO, JESCOMEAO, Social Apostolate)
Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities-East Asia and Oceania (AJCU-EAO)
Dec 28-30, Fr. Dan Ross, AJCU-EAO Secretary, came to the Ateneo. He updated the EAO staff on his recent activities. He also met with Fr. Ben Nebres, President of the Ateneo de Manila University, in line with the continuing collaboration of Jesuit universities in the region.
Jesuits Engaged in Social Communication in East Asia and Oceania (JESCOMEAO)
More than two months ago, Mr. Augy Loorthusamy, Assistant of Fr. Jerry Martinson, had trouble breathing and sleeping. Western doctors could not do anything. He was advised to go to India where an ayurvedic (herbal) doctor discovered that he was suffering from exhaustion; his digestive system was down and his lungs were strained. He spent 19 days there undergoing ayurvedic treatment. His condition is now improved. Augy further wrote, “…now I am resting and I am on a strict vegetarian diet. I lost 10 kilos in weight. At least now I can sleep at night without pills given by western doctors. I forgot I was 60 years old. I am now taking only herbal medicine. I have to take it easy.”
For you, Augy, our prayers for your full recovery.
On Dec 29, from Fr Jerry Martinson: “A story from the amusing world of Chinese television. After 15 years of grinding out different renditions of a daily English teaching TV series for China, I was asked to do something different. A news anchor for a Chinese satellite channel asked me to share my reactions to the death of Pope John Paul II on their evening news. He asked me to wear a black suit and Roman collar instead of the usual ‘Uncle Jerry’ costume. Two weeks later, he called again for another interview and mentioned that many viewers in China had called in asking, "When did Uncle Jerry become a priest?" Well, now they know . . .”
Fr. Jerry also wrote that with the help of generous benefactors, Kuangchi successfully up-graded its TV studios with new digital equipment plus a new coffee/cake shop and patio outside the main entrance where everyone can meet and relax during breaks. KPS is about to complete its 4-part TV documentary on Paul Xu Guangqi (Hsu Kuangchi), a great Chinese Catholic statesman and intellectual of the late Ming Dynasty and close friend and colleague of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci. On a personal note, Fr. Jerry said that his mother has recovered very well from difficult surgeries. Many thanks for your prayers.
@ INTERNATIONAL WORKS (AIR, EAPI, EAO Tertianship)
Arrupe International Residence (AIR)
Deacon Roy Fernando returned to Sri Lanka Dec. 9 after completing his studies at Loyola School of Theology.
Eight Jesuits capped their 55th year in the Society with a Dec. 10 Mass and dinner here at Arrupe. Fr. Huang, Philippine Provincial, presided at the Mass for Frs. Carlos Abesamis, Guido Arguelles, Joaquin Bernas, Rafael Borromeo, Jesus Fernandez, Francisco Perez, Thomas O’Gorman and James Meehan, who entered the Society in 1950.
Arrupe and Musmos (a group of Ateneo college students working for street children) organized a Christmas party for some 150 Cubao street children at San Jose Major Seminary covered courts on Dec. 11. Eleven Arrupeans are involved in this apostolate. Every week they cook food and organize games for more than 100 children.
Ephpheta Foundation for the Blind was among the dozen caroling groups who spread Christmas cheer for us Dec. 16-23.
Arrupeans in the San Jose Manggagawa apostolate presided at the parish’s “Simbang Gabi” paraliturgies for children. Chinese, East Timorese and Sri Lankan scholastics spent many hours preparing for the Dec. 15-22 services conducted entirely in Tagalog.
We hosted a Christmas party for our workers and their families on Dec. 22. The family of Bill Lee (MAS) here on a 5-day visit from Singapore also joined the celebration. Bill’s niece taught Arrupeans how to make party balloons of various shapes and sizes for the children.
On Christmas Eve, we reflected on God’s love in a simple but meaningful prayer service in our chapel. A number said they were also moved by panunuluyan (Filipino Christmas pageant) incorporated in midnight masses of neighboring parishes.
Several of us have visited our “families” in the apostolate and urban poor exposure areas of Navotas, Sapang Palay and Payatas during this Christmas time. On Christmas Day itself, Bill Lee’s mother, sisters, and niece treated us to home cooked bak ku teh (pork rib tea soup), chicken rice and other Singaporean delicacies.
We observed silence 1:00-2:00 pm on Dec. 26 to remember the victims of Asian tsunami disaster.
Fr. Dexter Gray (SRI) and Francis Hjtjaru (MYN) were the winners in the first Arrupe International Residence Billiard competition. They beat Andi Tarigan (IDO) and Thang Pham (VIE) in the nail-biting final on Dec. 26. Some 20 people joined the tournament organized by Nathan Thurairasa (SRI) and Ling Khui Shing (MYN).
On 21 Jan, Fr. Dexter returns to Sri Lanka. Replacing him as Minister is Br. Dinh Ngoc Tinh(ASL).
@ ASSISTANCY COMMON AREAS (Cambodia, East Timor, Myanmar)
Cambodia
Fr. Heribertus started the pastoral work in Siem Reap some years ago, serving only a small number of Catholic families. As a good pastor, he made efforts to build the community. His hard work paid off. They now have a new simple church and the number of parishioners is increasing. During his visit, Fr. Joseph Doan witnessed that the new church overflowed with people who came to join the Christmas celebration in the morning of Dec 25. More than three hundred Catholics, young and old, local and foreign, joyfully participated in the Christmas Eucharist.
East Timor
The search for a piece of land suitable for the future Jesuit school is going on. Meanwhile, Fr. Ruedi Hofmann is looking for another place for the future-enlarged Casa Producao Audiovisual. Ideally, the school and the CPA should be close to each other for ease in collaboration, but it seems that it is not easy to find a place big enough for both in the city of Dili.
Myanmar
The team in Yangon is temporarily reinforced by the presence of Fr. Lito Salazar (NYK) as he spends his Tertianship exposure in Myanmar.
During his recent visit, Fr. Doan urged for a serious reflection about the candidacy program. How can we prepare the candidates for the future without uprooting them from their own cultural setting? How can we help them be ready before entering proper formation?
@ PROVINCE/REGION (Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia-Singapore, Micronesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam)
Australia
Br. Ian Cribb, the present Socius wrote, “We are in the process of closing the Jesuit community at the Provincial office. At present there are only two of us remaining in the community, the superior and me, the minister, consequently we no longer have a cook and are reluctant to take visitors. I was only reflecting the other days that I now live in a perfect community, no subjects and no problems. I will finish up as Socius at the end of the year and move to a new assignment. By the end of February 2006 the Power Street community will no longer be. It will remain a place of work.” By mid-January, Fr. Peter Hosking will assume the position of Socius.
On Saturday, Dec 03, Dinh Trung Hoa, Kim Tae-jin and Seok Yo-seop were ordained deacons at St. Ignatius Richmond by Bishop Christopher Prowse. Kim Tae-jin and Seok Yo-seop are members of the Korean Province, and for three years have studied in Australia at Jesuit Theological College in Melbourne. Before they became Jesuits they studied science and computers respectively, and both did military service in Korea. Tae-jin worked for two years with the Jesuit Mission in Cambodia. They will complete their studies in Melbourne in the first half of 2006 before returning to Korea.
Hoa came to Australia as a refugee in his late teens, returned to school for two years and was accepted into medicine. After graduation he joined the Jesuits in Australia, and worked for a year in East Timor. He has subsequently studied bioethics at Monash University, and after his Ordination will undertake further studies in this field in the United States.
The Ordination involved Australian and Vietnamese choirs, and was followed by lunch and a party featuring food and music of the different cultures which met at the occasion.
China
In December, the Delegate for China was appointed. Under the new province structure, the Delegate is under the Provincial of the Chinese Province and resides with the Provincial.
Indonesia
There are now two schools of theology, one in Jakarta and another in Yogyakarta. Some scholastics have to pursue theological study in the new setting in Jakarta while others follow the traditional path of doing their theology in Yogyakarta. This set-up caused the scholastics to raise questions about their theological formation, e.g. the process involved, the accompaniment during formation. On Dec 20, the scholastics, together with the formators, met in St. Ignatius College, Yogyakarta to talk about these issues. Hopefully, the discussion helped clear any lingering doubts that they had about their formation.
Micronesia
Dec 03, “Xavier Day”, is always a special time for Xavier High School. It is not just a day to celebrate the feast of their patron, St. Francis Xavier, but also a time to share joy and spirit as a big family of Xavier High School’s community. However, Dec 03 2005 was a moment different than it was before as the Jesuits worldwide started the celebration of the Jubilee Year 2006, a commemoration for St. Francis Xavier, St. Ignatius Loyola, and Bl. Peter Faber, the founding fathers of the Society of Jesus. With the same intention, Xavier Day 2005 was dedicated by the Jesuits of Chuuk to be an opening ceremony to the Jubilee.
The celebration started off with a concelebrated mass, followed by various games. In the early evening the community gathered to learn more about the founding fathers thru narratives, slides and songs. After which, was the praying of the Litany. The day ended with a feast in the traditional huts, where everyone just relaxed, socialized and enjoyed the meal.
The big crowd on this day represented all the members of the big family of Xavier High School. It reflected the same spirit that bound the founding fathers, the same spirit that binds the Xavier family in friendship as friends in the Lord.
Philippines
The long awaited news was finally released: Fr. Jose Mario Francisco will be the new president of the Loyola School of Theology, replacing Fr. Vic Salanga. He will take office in June 2006, the beginning of the next school year. With his significant experience of the assistancy, we hope that Fr. Mario will further enhance theological studies deeply rooted in the Asian context as well as enriched by the values of the universal church.
Thailand
Fr. Martin, the regional superior of Thailand and major superior of Myanmar, spent Christmas Day in Arrupe International Residence, visiting his subjects. Also coming from Bangkok to Manila are Fr. Pitoyo and Fr. John Shea, on Dec 26-29. Both are the key persons for the East Asian Theological Program (EATEP), which will hopefully be launched in September 2006. In Manila they met with Fr. Vic Salanga, the incumbent president of Loyola School of Theology and Fr. Mario, the next president of LST. They also met with Fr. Francis Rasiah Jeyaraj, the director of EAPI. These meetings tackle possible collaboration with these institutions.