A new Jesuit initiative was recently launched to foster collaboration in making the right to quality education for all a reality across the world. In our world today, 62 million children do not go to school, 250 million children finish primary school without knowing how to read or write due to the poor quality of education and 751 million of people aged 15 and above cannot read or write, and two thirds of them are women.
Fifteen Jesuits from Asia, Europe, and Africa recently gathered in Senegal to discuss relations between Muslims and Christians. It was the first time the Jesuits Among Muslims (JAM) group was meeting in sub-Saharan Africa, and Senegal is a predominantly Muslim country. Only five percent of the population is Christian.
What do Pope Francis’ visit to Korea, interreligious dialogue, social justice, Jesuit formation, and religious life have in common? They are some of the significant moments for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific in 2014 and the ones we have chosen to highlight in our 2015 annual report. As is our practice, we also have a reflection from our President Fr Mark Raper SJ on the year that has passed.
The China study abroad program offered by The Beijing Center (TBC) was recently ranked among the top five exchange programs for university students in the United States.
In response to the dramatic increase in the number of unaccompanied children arriving in the United States from Central America over the past few years, Jesuit Refugee Service is collaborating with 13 Jesuit law schools in the US to address the issues faced by these child migrants.
Weeks after Typhoon Maysak hit Micronesia at the end of March, the people are still struggling to pick up the pieces and recover from the destruction.
With sustained winds of 160 mph, Super Typhoon Maysak struck the Pacific region just before Easter, causing severe damage throughout Micronesia. Maysak struck the island of Chuuk on March 29, bringing down communications system from the island, and hit the island of Yap on March 31. Jesuits from the USA Northeast Province, the Province of Indonesia, members of the Jesuit Volunteer Corp and residents of Micronesia staff the two schools that suffered losses.
Ten tertians from nine provinces recently completed the 2014-2015 Asia Pacific Tertianship in Manila. For six months, from September 7, 2014 to March 6, 2015, the tertians were engaged in ministries, chosen with the guidance of their spiritual directors. These were varied and included working in prisons, migrant service, orphanages, parishes, high schools, hospitals, and with indigenous people’s ministry.
The Centre for Child Protection, based at the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, is at the forefront of the Catholic Church’s global response to prevent the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable persons.