Loyola 2005: Meeting of Major Superiors Bulletin n. 2 November 28, 2005
CHRONICLE: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005
MORNING SESSION
At 9:30, the chairman for the day, Fr. Stefan Dartmann, opened the plenary session. After the opening prayer, Father General addressed the assembly for one hour and twenty minutes. His talk was divided into two parts. In the first part he dealt with the Ignatian principles for apostolic activities in the Society while in the second and longer part he offered an overview of some of the present activities in which the Jesuits are engaged.
The basic principle for apostolic activity is to help people to obtain from God the fulfilment of their ultimate end. But to make this possible, Ignatius reminds us that the instrument must be united with God. Father General quoted the “untranslatable” expression of K. Rahner which characterizes the Ignatian spirituality as rooted in a positive, amicable and joyous relationship with the world. Ignatian spirituality, Father General added, “does not insist on seeking God outside of created things, but rather finding Him in them and recognizing fully their autonomous existence in a state of dependence as created objects”.
These principles of our spirituality challenge the opinion of some outsiders who, noting the Society’s involvement in so many institutions and works, tend to look at us as a kind of multinational enterprise engaged in businesses or, perhaps, as a benevolent non-governmental organization. This impression is reinforced when in the living out of our charism, we accept the responsibility for managing and administrating our works. That is why, according to Father General, we must constantly remind ourselves that we are an apostolic body dedicated to the service of God.
It is in the light of this charism inherited from Ignatius and his companions that the assembly of Major Superiors is asked to evaluate the endeavours that we are undertaking in response to God’s call.
Then Father General examined some of the Jesuit activities: education, the intellectual apostolate, the social and communication activities, pastoral services, Christian Life Communities, the Apostleship of Prayer and inter religious dialogue.
His overview led Father General to conclude that the wide diversity of ways adopted by the Society of Jesus throughout its entire history shows its apostolic commitment as Christ’s servants, friends and companions. Father General stated that “our apostolic network remains impressive and continues to bear fruit”. That conclusion does not ignore the fact that the Society remains fragile and it may be even more fragile in the years to come”. Most of the time, he said, we are working beyond our human and financial potentiality. Being over worked, we do not give enough space to our life in the Spirit.
A final word was dedicated to the need to guarantee the quality of our formation, an issue that will treated during the coming days.
At the end of his talk, Father General invited the members of the assembly to reflect on what he had said and to discuss it in groups. He will take into consideration their observations before giving final form to his report on the Society.
Before closing the morning session, to be followed by a period of prayer and personal reflection, the Secretary of the Assembly announced the results of the election for members of the Steering Committee:
Fathers:
- Bafuidinsoni Maloko-Mana, Central Africa
- Baranda Guillermo, Chile
- Orbegozo Jesús María, Venezuela
- Devadoss Mudiappasamy, Madurai
- Huang Daniel Patrick, Philippines
- Dartmann Stefan, Germany
- Silva Gonçalves Nuno, Portugal
- Hylmar Frantisek, Bohemia
- Chojnacki Gerald, New York
- Dardis John, Ireland
AFTERNOON SESSION
In the afternoon session, dedicated to comment the allocution of Father General, the names of the three members of the assembly in charge of drafting the recommendations to be submitted to Father General were announced. They are: Frs. Nicolas Adolfo (Conference of Provincials of the East Asia and Oceania), Zaglul Jesús Miguel (Antilles) and Kerhuel Antoine (France).