A new Jesuit priest in Singapore
5 Sep 2017

A new Jesuit priest in Singapore

by | posted in: Formation, Province News | 0

The Jesuits in Singapore-Malaysia celebrated the ordination of Fr Jerome Leon SJ on August 19 in the Church of St Ignatius in Singapore. Archbishop William Goh celebrated the Mass and presided over the ceremonies. He reminded the new priest to “depend on the Lord” in his priestly ministries, saying, “in your imperfections and inadequacy, this is where people will see the glory of God”.

Fr Leon entered the Society of Jesus in 2007 at the age of 40. “I am what you might call a late vocation,” he said, “but I am also a ‘young’ Catholic, as I was baptised only in 2004.”

Putting the person back into the dynamic cycle of life
29 Aug 2017

Putting the person back into the dynamic cycle of life

by | posted in: Province News, Reconciliation with Creation, Social Justice | 0

“If you think climate change is bad, you’re not prepared to live in this world at all,” said Fr Pedro Walpole SJ in an interview recently, pointing out that climate change is but one of nine factors that can push the earth out of circulation. The other eight are ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, land-system change, biogeochemical flows, stratospheric ozone depletion, freshwater use, atmospheric aerosol loading and chemical pollution.

New hymn evokes First Companions
28 Aug 2017

New hymn evokes First Companions

by | posted in: Province News | 0

Two Australian Jesuits have composed a hymn about the first companions in Venice, an important image in the deliberations of General Congregation 36 and one that runs through Decree 1 (nn.4, 6, 7, 39).

As Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ has said in reflecting on the General Congregation, it is an image that “conveys beautifully” the reality that “life and mission are inseparable for those who choose to follow Jesus Christ in the Society of Jesus in the service of the Church”.

Jesuits Among Muslims discuss Islamist radicalism
23 Aug 2017

Jesuits Among Muslims discuss Islamist radicalism

by | posted in: Interreligious Dialogue, JCAP News | 0

Radicalism was a central theme in the meeting of the Jesuits Among Muslims (JAM) group held in Mojokerto near Surabaya, Indonesia. About 20 people including Jesuits from Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Pakistan, India, Nigeria, Italy, Spain, Germany, Turkey and Algeria came together from August 7 to 11 to experience and learn about the Muslims living in an Islamic context that is different from the Arab.

Promoting a holistic dialogue between Jesuits and Buddhists
21 Aug 2017

Promoting a holistic dialogue between Jesuits and Buddhists

by | posted in: Interreligious Dialogue, JCAP News | 0

Jesuits from different parts of the world gathered in Cambodia recently to dialogue with Buddhist monks, engaging them on three levels – academic, spiritual and practical. This holistic approach to inter-religious dialogue is one that has prevailed in the regular Christian-Buddhist Workshop of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific for many years.

Addressing the “bookends of rejection” in Australian history
14 Aug 2017

Addressing the “bookends of rejection” in Australian history

by | posted in: Indigenous Ministry, Migration, Province News, Social Justice | 0

Australian Jesuit Provincial Fr Brian McCoy has announced a project to bring together the Jesuits’ concerns for Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers, which he describes as “the bookends of rejection” in Australian history.

The first bookend, Fr McCoy said, is the arrival of the First Fleet of convicts and military from Britain in what is now Sydney in 1788.

Working with Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan to help their country
11 Aug 2017

Working with Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan to help their country

by | posted in: Migration, Province News, Social Justice | 0

Once a year, the lilt of the t’rung and the rise and fall of the sounds of the danbau transport audiences at a charity concert in Tokyo to the mountain regions of Vietnam. The performers are Vietnamese migrant workers in Japan, and this year’s concert featured a choir called “Cecilia”, that usually serves at the Vietnamese Sunday masses at St Ignatius Church next to the Jesuit Tokyo Social Center.