Asia Pacific has been dubbed the world’s engine of growth, but at what and whose cost?
China has been hailed by the world as an economic success story. Three decades of uninterrupted growth has lifted more than 600 million people out of poverty, and although there are still roughly 150 million people living in poverty in the country, China’s economic success is the envy of the developing world.
Pope Francis is at the centre of a new national television series that began airing in Taiwan on April 16. Entitled “Oh My God – Hello Pope!”, it was developed by Jesuit-run Kuangchi Program Service (KPS) which believes this is the first weekly TV series in Asia about the pope.
The Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific is inviting Jesuits, collaborators and friends to participate in a conference on sustainability. Entitled A Call to Dialogue on the Sustainability of Life in the ASEAN Context, the meeting will be held in Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta from August 8 to 10, 2016.
There are things happening in small and distant places around the world that speak out for a more sustainable world. They go unheard in a globalised world, but does that mean they failed? Like the “ooze of oil”*, activities of the youth are slowly and imperceptibly drawing people and nature together.
Educate Magis has released a video that showcases some of the work being done by Jesuit schools around the world in response to Pope Francis’ call for young people “to care for creation not only as responsible citizens, but also as followers of Christ”.
“If I do not see him, I will not believe, said Thomas.” (John 20,25). Well said, Thomas. Seeing is believing. We can identify with Thomas.
Yet how is it that on entering an empty tomb, Peter and the disciple with him, the one Jesus loved, saw and believed? How can a tomb that is empty be a cause of belief? Can the absence of Jesus be a source of energy, joy and love?
Jesuits and Buddhist monks and nuns came together in early March to share and dialogue on ecology and religions in a workshop organised by the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.
Organised locally by Fr Lawrence Soosai SJ of the Patna Jesuit Province, the three-day workshop was held in India, in the city of Bodhgaya where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, and which is one of the holiest of Buddhist cities.
Fr Claudiu Jani Miklós SJ from the Independent Region of Romania was one of six tertians in the recently concluded 2015 to 2016 Asia Pacific Tertianship in the Philippines. Before tertianship, Fr Miklós was Spiritual Director of the Diocesan Roman Catholic High School Hám János of Satu Mare for four years. He shares with us a reflection on his tertianship experience.
The Jesuit Refugee Service in Europe has launched a new campaign entitled “Journeys of Hope”. Through it, JRS Europe aims to highlight the individual voices, hopes and dreams of people seeking a new, safe life in Europe, by recounting their personal stories and experiences.
The Apostleship of Prayer has launched an app to encourage people throughout the world to pray every day for the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church, as expressed by the Pope in his monthly prayer intentions.