There is no institution so old that it has nothing left to learn – and the Catholic Church must commit to learning about and changing its practices in relation to ecological issues. This was the message from Colombian Jesuit Fr José Mesa, Secretary of Primary and Secondary Education at the Jesuit Curia in Rome and one of the keynote speakers at the JCAP Education Colloquium in Sydney.
How we manage our natural resources on this planet, and do so in an inclusive way, is the challenge of present and coming generations. A three-day conference on Transformative Land and Water Governance held in the Philippines in May sought to address this challenge.
Happy Feast of the Ascension of our Lord!
In today’s Gospel from Matthew, our Lord sends his disciples to the ends of the earth with a mission of love and service. Within their lifetime those disciples, despite their simple backgrounds, had overcome all obstacles to tell their story and to share their dramatic message of conversion with peoples at the very edges of the known world. What courage and initiative they showed, strengthened by his parting words – “know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time”.
The Jesuits in Cambodia are finding that planting trees is more than an act of reconciling with creation. Planting trees can foster peace and build bridges by bringing people of different cultures and beliefs together.
The Jesuits in Cambodia have initiated a carbon offset programme in conjunction with the modest seedling nursery set up in Banteay Prieb, the Jesuit-run vocational school for people with disabilities, in late 2012. Primarily intended for Jesuits within the country, volunteers and visiting friends, the carbon offset programme provides an opportunity for air travellers to counterbalance the carbon emissions from their flights to or from Cambodia.
Being a Christian involves obedience. It’s easier to obey a superior we like unless he makes the likeable somewhat difficult. Jesuits, with our special vow, think this affable Pope is easy to follow when he asks us to be revolutionaries; but, when we put “eco-” in front, is it easy? Personally, I share with Francis being a Jesuit, chemist, activist, and Facebook friend; however, he encourages me to do more: extraordinary dedication, intensive focus, and community/team cooperation. We are called to heal our wounded Earth at this time of anthropogenic climate change.
The Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific has published an environmental report that presents a brief overview of key environmental concerns, advocacy initiatives, events, policies and discoveries in Asia Pacific. Titled “Environment Outlook 2013”, the report is based on the responses of Jesuits and collaborators in reconciling with creation, as seen in visits and levels of engagement with Jesuit provinces, institutes and schools in this part of the world in the last months.
Sogang University undergraduate Sol Jee Ahn was at MAGIS and World Youth Day 2013 with a group of 27 pilgrims from Korea. She shares with us how MAGIS helped her feel closer to God and loved as a child of God.
In late June, Singapore suffered from the worst ever haze in its history. The haze came from forest fires in Sumatra, across the Malacca Strait. A row broke out between some government officials in Singapore and Indonesia.