An important area of concern for the Philippine Jesuits is the continuing poverty and marginalisation of indigenous peoples, the largest concentration of which can be found in Mindanao, southern Philippines. The island is home to 18 indigenous tribes whose lives and cultures are threatened by pervasive military conflicts between government and rebel groups, and the degradation of their natural environment.
Anastasia* is from Latin America. A few years ago, she married a Japanese man in her country and in April 2015, they took their toddler son to Japan to visit his grandparents. While they were in Japan, they took their son for a general medical check-up and found out that he had a heart problem. They went to the United States and Latin America for second and third opinions, but could not decide on the best treatment for their son.
The 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus concluded on November 12 with a Mass of Thanksgiving at St Ignatius Church, a parish run by the Society of Jesus in Rome.
Collaboration in the Society of Jesus can be understood in different ways. Often it refers to collaboration with others, with companions, with collaborators or—in general—with those with whom the Jesuits share their responsibility in mission. But in other instances, the Jesuits speak of the necessary collaboration between their own organisations and governance structures in order to respond to global issues that cannot be addressed at the local level. In this latter case, the reference is to interprovincial cooperation (GC 31, D.48) and international collaboration (GC 33, D.1).
Eleven Jesuits were ordained to the Order of Deacons on October 29 in the Church of the Gesu, Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. The new deacons are Soo Young Park, Changmo Cho, Chang-hyon Lee, Kyoung-Woong Peter Park, Anthony Ochen, Leslie Joseph Bingkasan, Stephanus Advent Novianto, Harvey Mateo, Martin Licup, Felipe Yohan Jr and Roseller Atilano Jr.
“The Society of Jesus can develop only in collaboration with others: only if it becomes the least Society that collaborates. We want to collaborate generously with others, inside and outside of the Church, in the awareness, which comes from the experience of God, of being called to the mission of Christ Jesus.”
On November 8, Fr Christopher Soh SJ officially becomes Regional Superior of the Malaysia-Singapore Jesuit Region (MAS), taking over from Fr Colin Tan SJ who has completed his six-year term.
Fr Soh was ordained on July 30, 2005 and professed his final vows on July 4, 2011. He is a popular homilist, and his blog, “Breaking The Word”, began as a response to people asking for a copy of his homilies.
Reconstruction efforts are gathering pace in Nepal more than a year after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country on April 25, 2015, causing massive destruction of infrastructure and killing more than 9,000 people. The Nepal Jesuit Social Institute (NJSI) has been actively involved in relief and rehabilitation work and is now concentrating its efforts on supporting the building and rebuilding of schools, hostels, houses and women’s shelters in different districts.
Four hundred years after Francis Xavier died on an island off the mainland, the Jesuits continue to dream of establishing good relations between the Church and China. According to Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Provincial of the Chinese Jesuit Province, it is a dream too for Francis, the first Jesuit Pope.
Jesuit Mission is working with local Catholic Church groups to provide urgent emergency response to families affected by severe floods in Central Vietnam. Over 600,000 people have been directly affected by the floods, with an estimated 100,000 houses fully submerged.
