St Aloysius Gonzaga English Language Institute (SAG) marked a major milestone on July 5, with the granting of its first diplomas in education to 22 students who had successfully completed its three-year full-time Integrated Program. The graduating students received their diplomas from principal guest Bishop Basilio Athai of the Archdiocese of Taunggyi and Fr Mark Raper SJ, Major Superior of the Jesuits in Myanmar.
A network on migration has been formed within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, comprising Jesuit institutions working on the issue – Tokyo Migrant Desk in Japan, Yiutsari in Korea, Rerum Novarum Centre in Taiwan, UGAT Foundation in the Philippines, Sahabat Insan in Indonesia, JRS Asia Pacific, and Jesuit Social Services Australia.
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.
On May 31, a Cambodian national, Chour Damo, 29, pronounced his perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the Society of Jesus, which signify his formal entrance into the order. He is only the second Cambodian to become a Jesuit, after Ham Toeun, who is presently doing his regency in Svay Sisophon, Cambodia. Damo made his vows at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in the Philippines, and is now a Jesuit scholastic.
Fr Thomas B Steinbugler SJ died at about 9:30 am on June 10 in the Jesuit Residence in the Ateneo de Manila University. He had been suffering from severe pulmonary weakness for some time. Fr Tom was born on Dec 27, 1929, entered the Society on July 30, 1948, and was ordained a priest on June 17, 1961.
A documentary produced by Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom) in the Philippines was the only Asian finalist out of 74 nominees around the world for Best Documentary Film at the XXIX International Catholic Film and Multimedia Festival in Niempokalanow in Teresin, Poland.
The Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Manila has begun offering a theology programme through which students, especially Jesuit scholastics, can engage with Asian contexts.
In the mathematics of synergy, 1 plus 1 does not equal 2, but 3 or more. The sum total of the experience and practical know-how of the group is greater than just the added up experience and contributions of the individuals. This was the case at the recent Development Officers meeting, which brought together representatives from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Timor Leste, and Australia with Karen Goh from JCAP and Fr Jorge Serrano SJ from the Curia in Rome joining as resource persons.
French Jesuit Pierre de Charentenay has just completed a year in the Philippines. He offers here his impressions of faith as it is practised in the Philippines. He considers how the numerous massive processions and other major religious practices in the country can be seen as authentic expressions of faith.
Three months after Typhoon Haiyan struck, thousands of people in the islands of Visayas continue to reel from the devastation it wreaked. Debris from wrecked houses still litters the shores of many islands. Makeshift homes made of the same rubble have mushroomed amidst the chaos despite the numerous tents and bunks provided by both local and international aid. Many people in the largely fishing and farming communities still cannot earn a living because they have not been able to replace the boats, crops and equipment destroyed by the typhoon.