The prison ministry is the focus of the latest issue of Promotio Iustitiae painting, as Social Justice and Ecology Secretary Fr Patxi Álvarez SJ said, a picture of the quiet work Jesuits and lay collaborators have been doing to serve people in prison.
“The Jesuits, and the laypeople that they collaborate with, have a longstanding tradition of serving people in prison, dating back to the first companions of Jesus,” said Fr Álvarez.
“The world is our house.” This phrase used by early Jesuit Jerome Nadal appropriately begins a section on Jesuit work with indigenous communities, the special focus of the 2017 Yearbook of the Society of Jesus.
“So, where is home for you?” Upon hearing this question, Sediqa broke down in tears. This seemingly innocent question brought back the only vague memory she has of the home she left when she was four. Being Hazara, a Shiite ethnic group in predominantly Sunni Afghanistan, she and her family were forced to flee the land they called home. Now 24 years old, Sediqa is stranded in Cisarua, West Java, Indonesia, the last stop in her seemingly endless journey through Pakistan, Iran and to the promised land that seems more and more distant as the time passes.
Ateneo de Davao University is building a new campus for its senior high school that is being touted as the first environmentally responsible school in the Philippines. The campus has been designed to create a contemporary, sustainable and transformative learning environment following Pope Francis’ environmental directives in his encyclical, Laudato si’. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 15 and the school is expected to be completed in May 2019.
The Philippine Jesuits have joined the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in condemning efforts to revive the death penalty.
The Irish Jesuit Province has signed up to participate in Flights for Forests, the carbon-offset programme developed by the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. This is one of the results of the Jesuit Provincialate’s decision to commit to reflecting critically on its use of air-travel in response to Pope Francis’ invitation to us all to acknowledge our environmental responsibility.
Barnabé Hounguevou is a scholastic from Benin, West Africa staying in Arrupe International Residence. He was one of 39 participants in the Scholastics and Brothers Circle Workshop held in Seoul, South Korea from December 19 to 28, 2016.
On January 13, Father Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, joined the community of Centro Astalli (Jesuit Refugee Service Italy) in commemorating the International Day for Migrants and Refugees at the Church of Gesù, the Mother Church of the Society in Rome.
“This moment presents an important invitation to the Society of Jesus to accompany, with its few resources, and to share in the anxieties and hopes of the refugees here in Italy and everywhere in the world,” said Fr Sosa at the event.
In the two years since it was set up, Jesuit Social Service (JSS) in Timor-Leste has embarked on several projects to promote community development and empower the poor to become self-sufficient. Water and sanitation is one of four priority areas and a key project aims to provide communities with access to clean water.
The Justice in Mining Network is conducting a survey of mining activity and related issues in communities where Jesuits have a presence either individually or through institutions. The survey, which is open to Jesuits and Jesuit institutions, seeks to identify the key concerns around mining and its related impacts in areas where there is a Jesuit presence.