Filipino Mayette G has lived in Rome, Italy for almost 25 years. She is a single mother of three grown children, two of whom are in the Philippines. She is also living testimony of the strength of a programme conceived to empower Filipino migrant workers when they finally return to the Philippines for good.
“It is outrageous that new cluster munitions are still killing people in Syria and Yemen in 2016 and causing so many new refugees,” said Sr Denise Coghlan RSM, Director of Jesuit Refugee Service Cambodia.
The Cluster Munitions Monitor for 2016 released on September 1 documented this use and also the progress being made in stockpile destruction, clearance and assistance to enhance the quality of life of the survivors.
The Vietnam Jesuit Province has eight new Vietnamese priests. The new Jesuit priests, who were ordained on August 25 at the Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, are Fr Anthony Pham Ba Hoc, Fr Dominic Nguyen Quoc Kinh, Fr Joseph Nguyen Tuan Phuc, Fr Thaddeus Nguyen Van Yen, Fr Francis Xavier Nguyen Thanh Vu, Fr Anthony Tran Thanh Tan, Fr Vincent Nguyen Minh Phuc and Fr Peter Nguyen Van Tang.
When the Jesuits in Cambodia gathered for the usual days of prayer, discussions and celebrations in honour of St Ignatius this year, one interesting outcome was the decision to practise a unified, symbolic action to strengthen the Jesuit witness of working for ecological conversion. Such would be a communal response to the Holy Father’s invitation towards care for our common home in Laudato si’. So, during the meeting held from July 27 to 29, they decided that this symbolic action would take the form of giving up the use of plastic straws.
Ladislas Nsengiyumva SJ was ordained to the priesthood in Holy Family Catholic Church in Taipei, Taiwan. The ordination on July 30 was presided by Most Rev John B Hung Shan-Chuan, Archbishop of Taipei, with Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Provincial of the Jesuit Chinese Province concelebrating the Mass.
July 30 was a day for rejoicing for the Jesuits of the Jesuit Independent Region of Timor-Leste, and not just because of the Feast of St Ignatius the next day. That Sunday was the ordination to the priesthood of Sidelizio (Side) Ornai Pereira SJ, and every Jesuit in the country travelled to his hometown of Baucau to celebrate the first Timorese Jesuit ordination to the priesthood since 2010. Jesuits from other parts of Asia Pacific also travelled to Timor-Leste for the ordination.
The Australian Jesuit Province recently welcomed a new priest into its ranks. Justin Glyn SJ was ordained priest in the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph in Auckland, New Zealand on August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration. He was joined by his family, and by many other Jesuits who travelled there for the occasion.
For 25 years, the Jesuit prison ministry in Thailand has been accompanying foreign prisoners primarily through providing counselling and companionship. Today, the programme serves about 1,200 prisoners spread across in 10 prisons in Bangkok and other provinces, and two prison hospitals.
This year, the team encountered a number of challenges.
The two and a half weeks of MAGIS and World Youth Day have greatly influenced my spiritual mind and my point of view of the world. When I first saw the poster for the meeting, I was in Paris, France studying as an exchange student. Thinking that it would be difficult to attend since I was not with the Korea group, I envied those who could participate in it and quickly forgot about the event.
