What does it mean to be an Asian Jesuit? This was what 15 scholastics strove to understand better during the nearly month-long East Asia Theological Encounter Program (EATEP) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. As Fr John Shea SJ, former EATEP Director, … Continued
Shanghai, with its population of 24 million, is home to a multitude of religions, from Buddhism and Islam, to Christianity and Baha’ism, to Hinduism and Daoism, and many more. A new book, “Shanghai Sacred: The religious landscape of a global … Continued
Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ referred to himself as a pilgrim when he visited the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific last year. “St Ignatius used to call himself ‘the pilgrim,’ someone actively searching for the will of God. I would … Continued
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.
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.
Landing in Siem Seap on the second leg of his first trip to Asia Pacific, Fr General Arturo Sosa quickly found himself in completely different setting. From Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country with about 350 Jesuits and many institutions and collaborators, he was now in a largely Buddhist country, with a small cohort of 26 Jesuits working with a modest number of collaborators.
Fr Arturo Sosa SJ kicked off his first official trip to Asia Pacific as Superior General of the Society of Jesus with a visit to the world’s most populous Muslim nation – Indonesia. Fr Sosa, who spent most of his three-day visit from July 11 to 13 in Yogyakarta, stressed that he was there “to learn and not to teach”.
Jesuits in two Jesuit Conferences have agreed to collaborate on a research project to promote better understanding and dialogue among Muslims and Christians in Asia. The 10 Jesuits from the Conferences of Asia Pacific and South Asia came to this decision during the meeting of the Jesuits among Muslims in Asia (JAMIA) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from December 26 to 30, 2016.
Religious extremism has been on the rise in Indonesia. Recently, Muslim hardliners have been staging massive protests in Jakarta demanding the arrest of the city’s governor, a Christian standing for re-election, for allegedly insulting the Koran. These protests can be viewed in part as a test of religious tolerance for Indonesia, a land of diverse cultures and religious plurality. In this context, dialogue is all the more important, and here Fr Franz Magnis-Suseno, an 80-year old Jesuit missionary, excels.
Indonesian scholastic Tiro Daenuwy SJ shares what he learnt from his immersion experience in an Islamic boarding house in Garut, West Java, Indonesia. The five-day immersion held from July 29 to August 2 is a vital part of the Asia Pacific Theological Encounter Programme, a formation programme in contextual theology with a focus on Islam that is conducted annually by the Jesuits in Indonesia. Part 2.