An experience of synergy among development officers
27 May 2014

An experience of synergy among development officers

by | posted in: JCAP News | 0

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.

A Filipino practice of faith
27 Mar 2014

A Filipino practice of faith

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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.

Building back after Typhoon Haiyan
25 Feb 2014

Building back after Typhoon Haiyan

by | posted in: Social Justice | 0

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.

Attending “school” in a plantation
25 Feb 2014

Attending “school” in a plantation

by | posted in: Education | 0

It was a hot day but that did not bother the group of men who were setting up a tarpaulin tent. Along the sides, some women were cooking lunch over an open fire for their husbands. “Tomorrow is the last day of school. The kids will have their report delivered and then a long break until February,” said Klemens, the head of the community here. In the past year, the children had learned how to read, write and do simple mathematics in the makeshift wooden building they call school, located in the middle of an oil palm plantation in Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.

Learning about liturgical music
31 Jan 2014

Learning about liturgical music

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Ten Jesuits recently spent 10 days learning about liturgical music, actually composing pieces as an assignment.  They learnt about about the principles of liturgical music and musical composition, teaching music and conducting choirs.  They were asked to write songs for liturgical use, which were performed in a recital and used at the Mass at the conclusion of the workshop.

Philippine Jesuits begin commemoration of the Restoration
31 Jan 2014

Philippine Jesuits begin commemoration of the Restoration

by | posted in: Province News | 0

The Jesuits in the Philippines have responded to the call of Father Adolfo Nicolás, Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, to all Jesuit communities to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Restoration of the Society in 2014 “with humble and sincere gratitude to the Lord, with a desire to learn from our history, and as an occasion for spiritual and apostolic renewal”.

The role of structure and infrastructure in disaster reduction
10 Dec 2013

The role of structure and infrastructure in disaster reduction

by | posted in: Social Justice | 0

There is now an awareness that after typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit central Philippines on November 8, infrastructure broke down, and not just roads and bridges, but also communication channels, power, water, transportation. Economic structures where subsistence co-exists with poverty also broke down, and there is now the immediate challenge for people to build livable structures as their housing. Structuring a whole response of sustainable cities and villages as a reality, beyond an architectural print-out, is the challenge the country faces.

Rebuilding after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)
28 Nov 2013

Rebuilding after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)

by | posted in: Social Justice | 0

Three weeks after Typhoon Haiyan (“Yolanda” in the Philippines) wreaked widespread devastation on the Philippines, the survivors are slowly beginning to pick up the pieces.

The official death toll of 5,500 as of November 27 makes the typhoon the deadliest storm in the country’s history – and the number of dead is expected to increase. 

Developing Ignatian teachers
27 Nov 2013

Developing Ignatian teachers

by | posted in: Education | 0

Teachers from Jesuit schools in Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, Timor-Leste and Cambodia, including four Jesuit priests and one scholastic, recently gathered in Sydney, Australia, for an Advanced Ignatian Teaching Programme. The five-day workshop, which began on November 11, was conducted by teachers and staff of St Ignatius College, Riverview.