Reuniting families separated by detention
4 Oct 2016

Reuniting families separated by detention

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

Seeing divided families is a painful sight and this is often the case in immigration detention centres where women and men are held in separate detention cells. For 25 years, the Jesuits have been working closely with the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) in Bangkok to facilitate the release of detainees and help them return to a life of dignity and freedom with their families. Two years ago, Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific handed over responsibility for this work to the Jesuit Foundation – Prison Ministry Thailand.

Jesuits in Korea and Japan confront ethnic reconciliation
27 Sep 2016

Jesuits in Korea and Japan confront ethnic reconciliation

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

August is a symbolic month dedicated to peace movements in Japan. Seventy-one years have passed since the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, but the dropping of the first two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945) are still vividly remembered.

A group of 34 Jesuits, half of them from Korea and the rest from Japan gathered in Shimonoseki, in the west of Japan from August 23 to 26 to heal wounds occasioned by the worst historical relationship between both countries and to search for closer cooperation.

A beacon of hope
26 Sep 2016

A beacon of hope

by | posted in: Interreligious Dialogue, Social Justice | 0

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 1.

Ateneo de Davao University underscores commitment to the environment
26 Sep 2016

Ateneo de Davao University underscores commitment to the environment

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

The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is home to an abundance of natural resources, chief among them are forests and aquatic resources that sustain and nourish ecosystems. But big agricultural developments and large-scale mining activities have resulted in land dispossession of indigenous communities, violence and environmental degradation.

An urgent call to stop the use of cluster munitions
2 Sep 2016

An urgent call to stop the use of cluster munitions

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

“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.

A new way of being a Jesuit conference
23 Aug 2016

A new way of being a Jesuit conference

by | posted in: Indigenous Ministry, Interreligious Dialogue, Reconciliation with Creation, Social Justice, Spirituality | 0

One might have thought they would be exhausted after two long days of immersion, talks and group work, but the third and final day of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) sustainability conference saw ideas coming fast and furious on how sustainability in Asia Pacific can be increased. A bright flame had been lit in the approximately 140 participants from across Asia Pacific.

Giving up plastic straws in response to Laudato si’
23 Aug 2016

Giving up plastic straws in response to Laudato si’

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

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.