Four Jesuits from the Philippine Province were ordained on June 3 at the Oratory of St Ignatius of Loyola, Loyola House of Studies. Fr Roseller L Atilano SJ, Fr Martin A Licup SJ, Fr Harvey C Mateo SJ and Fr Felipe B Yohan Jr SJ were ordained by His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila.
In recent months, Indigenous Peoples in Cabanglasan, Bukidnon in Mindanao have had the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding their rights in a series of gatherings organised by the Philippine Province Jesuit Indigenous Peoples (IP) Ministry, the local government of Cabanglasan, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and other civil society organisations.
Ignatian educators from four countries in Asia Pacific recently gathered in the Philippines to learn how to apply communal discernment as an added dimension to the decision making process in their schools.
Joy. That is what 25-year old Crisanto Lacaba feels as he looks forward to the completion of San Ignacio Culion Ecoville at the end of this year. Finally, he and a hundred others living on Culion island in Palawan, all survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines) in 2013, will be able to move into new homes built inland.
“My family can feel secure even when the typhoons come,” he said, remembering his family’s experience when Haiyan destroyed their home situated along the coast of Barangay Osmeña, along with almost 5,000 other homes.
It was a celebration of spiritual and cultural diversity as representatives of different faith traditions came together for the launching of Sacred Springs, a dialogue institute of spirituality and sustainability located in the Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Manila.
Rebuilding lives and rekindling hope. This is the motto of the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service Foundation Inc (PJPS) based in the New Bilibid Prisons Reservation, the national penitentiary. Like other Philippine prisons, the inmates are crammed in hot, dark and poorly ventilated cells.
The prison compound has a capacity of about 10,000 inmates, but it is housing more than 24,000. The overcrowding means the inmates have to sleep in shifts.
Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ marked his golden jubilee as a priest on March 17 in a manner in keeping with his characteristic humility. The simple celebration comprised Mass in the Oratory of the Loyola House of Studies concelebrated by Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific President Fr Mark Raper SJ and Arrupe International Residence Fr Renato Repole SJ and dinner in the AIR refectory.
“It is a joy for us to celebrate you Nico. I hope you enjoy it too, even if you do not like to be the centre of attention,” said Fr Raper as he began his homily.
Ateneo de Davao University is building a new campus for its senior high school that is being touted as the first environmentally responsible school in the Philippines. The campus has been designed to create a contemporary, sustainable and transformative learning environment following Pope Francis’ environmental directives in his encyclical, Laudato si’. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 15 and the school is expected to be completed in May 2019.
The Philippine Jesuits have joined the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in condemning efforts to revive the death penalty.
On December 3, the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) concluded its nine-month celebration of 50 years of being faithful to its original purpose and mission – to form pastoral workers to go back to their local churches and “set the world on fire” with new attitudes, knowledge and skills to effect transformation.
“We have accomplished this in unique ways, especially with the participatory multicultural community living,” said EAPI Director Fr Arthur Leger SJ.