Jesuit scholastics and brothers from across the Conference gathered in Cambodia at the end of the year to reflect on healing a broken world. Mark Lopez SJ, Chairman of SBC 2012 Core Organising Committee, provides this report of the meeting.
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB), the socio-political arm of the Jesuits in the Philippines, and Ateneo de Davao University recently organized a relief and recovery programme for survivors of Typhoon Pablo, known internationally as Typhoon Bopha. Held on January 8 and 9, the relief programme, Task Force Noah: Pablo, served 1,000 affected families in Compostela Valley. The team was also able to get support from the Tribal Council of each municipality.
The torrential rain that hit the Indonesian capital and its surrounding areas for two consecutive days (January 16 and 17) caused massive flooding in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang. According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), 32 people have died and 33,502 people have been displaced.
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.
The Jesuit Conference Asia Pacific (JCAP) continues to seek venues to strengthen reflection, and network through participation in formation programmes, and institutional and province reviews. In Asia Pacific, there are continuous challenges of social and environmental injustice, limited basic education for the poor, and the needed revision of values in a culture of consumerism.
… this by the tender mercy of our God
who from on high will bring the rising Sun to visit us,
to give light to those who live
in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet
into the way of peace.
Luke 1: 78-79
Love is born in the most unlikely places. A star gives hope to the most unlikely witnesses. Gifts are carried by the most unlikely guests.
As we look towards Christmas and the hope the birth of Jesus brought us, we remember that in Korea, a Jesuit will be spending his Christmas in prison for standing up for justice.
Korean Jesuit Fr Lee Young-chan and five other peace activists were detained by the police on October 24. He had been protesting the excessive force used by the police in detaining a woman activist, and when the police manhandled him, they claimed his resistance amounted to violence. On Oct 26, the court upheld his arrest and denied him bail. His trial is ongoing.
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.
The seafood factory on the southwestern coast of Thailand is sometimes referred to as the “Burmese university in Ranong”. It is one of the few opportunities available to many Burmese migrant children denied an education due to chronic poverty and social pressure.
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: