Encounters in Myanmar
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Korean Scholastic Benedict Kim Kundong SJ shares his encounters with people and places in a trip he made around Myanmar, after his regency in Yangon.
Challenging times for the Myanmar Mission
Many may have thought the battle won when Aung San Suu Kyi was free to appear in public, when hundreds of political prisoners were released, when dissidents were free to return home from exile abroad, when censorship and sanctions were lifted, when elections were held, and as parliament sits to draft a new constitution. In reality the work of rebuilding Myanmar is just beginning.
Supporting the Myanmar Church with ARC
A socio-pastoral resource centre has been set up to help the Church in Myanmar meet the emerging new challenges in the country. Established by the Jesuits in Myanmar, the Animation and Resource Centre (ARC) aims to produce resource material and build up a knowledge centre to serve the Church; Karuna Myanmar Social Services (KMSS), a faith based social network established by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar to serve the poor and the needy; and other organisations.
Searching for a state to belong to
Ibrahim*, a young man of 32, has been in Cambodia for nearly three years. His home is Myanmar, more specifically Arakan state. He is Rohingya. He is part of a Muslim minority from Myanmar, which has faced persecution for decades. Many consider them to be stateless, as Myanmar does not recognise people of this ethnicity as citizens.
Missioned to the Conference
The Conference team is expanding and strengthening. Consultations between the President and Provincials over several months have resulted in the missioning of Jesuits from various Provinces to core positions in the Conference. This generosity of spirit will greatly help the Conference to keep the Society in Asia Pacific oriented towards the service of faith and the promotion of justice.
The appointments announced by Conference President Fr Mark Raper SJ in December are:
Loikaw Church – a journey of faith
Fr C Amal SJ, an Indian Jesuit missioned to Myanmar, was recently in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah state, where many of our Myanmar scholastics are from. He offers this reflection on the Church there.
Loikaw – a timeless land
Fr C Amal SJ, an Indian Jesuit missioned to Myanmar, was recently in Loikaw, the capital of Kayah state, at the request of the Bishop to accompany 102 diocesan priests in retreats. He offers two reflections on Loikaw, where many of our Myanmar scholastics are from. This first reflection is on Loikaw, the second reflection is on the Church there.
17 Jesuits ordained deacon
Seventeen Jesuit scholastics were ordained deacon in Manila on September 8. They were an international group from nine Provinces and Regions in three Conferences, Asia Pacific, South Asia and Africa. Six of the new deacons are from the Philippine Province and the other 11 from Arrupe International Residence (AIR).
Funding shortfall leads to education gaps
A funding pitfall in education for the Burmese refugees along the Thai border may negatively affect their preparedness to go home.
The focus of the international donor community is shifting from the camps towards Burma, and a lack of sufficient resources has forced many organisations working in the camps, such as Jesuit Refugee Service, to make cutbacks to critical programmes like schooling.
Reflecting on governance arrangements
Typhoon Vicente reached Hurricane Signal 10 overhead as the half yearly Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) Major Superiors’ assembly continued calmly indoors in Macau’s Colégio Mateus Ricci in the last week of July. From the meeting room window, the bright umbrellas of some of Macau’s annual 30 million visitors could be seen at the Ruins of St Paul, a reminder of the 500-year Jesuit history integral to the identity of the former Portuguese colony that is now a Special Administrative Region of China.