Curia Secretariats

Fr. Anthony da Silva, SJ

Fr. Gerald R. Blaszczak, SJ

Fr. Francisco Javier Álvarez, SJ

Fr. Michael Garanzini, SJ

Fr. José Alberto Mesa, SJ

GC 35 and the Mission

FR. GENERAL

Govt of the Soc.(Cura Personalis)

General’s Council

Major Superiors +Conference Presidents

Local Superiors

Mission of the Soc.(Cura Apostolica)

Commission for Mission(3 Assistants + 3 Secretaries)

Secretariate for FAITH(3 Assistants + Secretary)

Secretariate for JUSTICE(3 Assistants + Secretary)

Secretariate for COLLABORATION

(3 Assistants + Secretary)

JUSTICE

COLLABORATION

FAITH

MISSION

At the service of FAITH

For the promotion of JUSTICE

In COLLABORATION

with all

Mission

WHY

• It’s about RELATIONSHIPS ; CONNECTIONS• Old Testament Theology of covenant• New Testament Theology of Discipleship• St. Ignatius and Collaboration with Lay Persons• Vatican II and Theology of Laity in the Church• GC 34 (decree 13) + GC 35 (decree 06)

WITH WHOM?

• With Fellow-Jesuits: Provinces, Conferences • Jesuit Networks, e.g. JRS, Fe y Alegria, AIDS …• Ignatian Family = other Religious with Ig. Spirituality; Lay Organizations (CVX/CLC…)• Alumni Associations• Jesuit Volunteers• With “Others” i.e. Women and Men of good-

will who ask/need our help in non-Jesuit Works

WHERE

• Nationally and Internationally • Collaboration between apostolic Sectors, for

example: educational, social, pastoral, inter-religious, retreats … etc

HOW

• Formation Programmes in Collaboration for Jesuits as well as others (non-Jesuits)

• Attitudinal change: work in subordinate roles• Cultural openness and tolerance for diversity• Willingness to share Resources: human,

financial, educational, infrastructural…etc• The three dimensions of FAITH, JUSTICE and

COLLABORATION to be present in all our Works.

GC 35 and the Mission

International Colloquium on Jesuit Secondary Education

Boston, July 30th

Good education for allPatxi Álvarez sjSecretary for Social Justice and Ecology

• The first Jesuits thought their missions would be short and flexible. They did not foresee schools:

“…because the members of this Society ought to be ready at any hour to go to any part of the world where they may be sent… they ought not to take on the care of souls… However, nothing prohibits them on a single occasion from hearing the confessions of a whole monastery for special reasons”. (Const 588)

Following God’s call…

• In 1548, they were called in Messina to found the first school to give instruction to the children of the city

• At the death of St. Ignatius there were more than 40 schools in different cities .They were the first schools

• For centuries the Jesuits gave instruction to the leading classes in many countries contributing to the growth of these societies

• Ignatian Spirituality has always been the ground of this education, helping persons grow

Following God’s call…

They were called to educate

• In the last centuries, education became a right of every person that the State had to provide

• But many poor children do not receive it

• In 1955, Abraham Reyes –a construction worker–offers his house to Fr. Vélaz sj:

“I offer my house as a school if you bring the teachers…”

• Fe y Alegría began like this. Today more than 1 million poor children receive education through FyA

• In the last decades dalits and adivasis in India have become students in many Jesuit schools

Following God’s call…

Called to teach the poor

• 70 million children do not go to school

• Girls suffer more than boys in this regard

• Another 70 million do not finish school

• Sometimes because they cannot pay

• Handicaps have far less opportunities

• Lack of quality education in many places

We cannot reach all these people

… but we may be able to do something

Following God’s call…

Are there still calls today?

Contributing to the mission of recent General Congregations

1. A universal horizon: quality

education for all

2. Education that aspires to improve our societies

3. For the benefit of the least

advantaged

4. Promoting green schools

In our schools we educate a number of students, but we aspire to a quality education for all the children

The world is not only our house;

The world is everybody’s house.

Our commitment requires not only that we educate, but also involves our demand of quality education for all

advocating politically so that all children may receive good education,

without discrimination on economic or ethnic grounds

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

1. Quality education for all

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

2. For the improvement of our societies

“We do not want successful

professionals

in failed societies”

(A university president to graduating

students)

We educate students to contribute to a more just and harmonious society

We are doing this in many ways:

• Offering our students the possibility of being involved in social services;

• Involving them in local citizen’s initiatives;

• Encouraging parents’ associations and the larger educational community to engage in social justice activities;

• Offering parents and students the possibility of participating in Ignatian lay communities that make a commitment to Church and society;

• Doing all this in alliance with other works of the Society, in order to demonstrate corporate credibility and to establish a social base for sharing horizons and values.

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

3. For the benefit of the least advantaged

Ignatius always asked Jesuits to discern the best service they could offer. They should see:

1. where there is the greater need;

2. where more fruit can be produced;

3. where there is a greater duty to make return for what has been received;

4. where our service can be multiplied more

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

3. For the benefit of the least advantaged

If our education is really good – as we believe – we should offer it first and

foremost to children with fewer opportunities

This is what is asked of us by our Ignatian and Jesuit tradition

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

3. For the benefit of the least advantaged

Our most long-lived institutions have to examine whether our Jesuit presence continues to be needed

Most likely our students would receive a quality education even if we were not

there

Perhaps we do not need to be there, and there are children in other places

who are waiting for our arrival

Contributing to the mission of recent Congregations

4. Promoting green schools

Some aspects that may be introduced are the following:

• Taking care that the educational space is free of pollution and toxic materials;

• Using materials and resources that are recyclable; using clean energy and designing sustainable buildings;

• Where possible, creating some green space on the campus where the students can learn about nature and care for it;

• Offering courses on ecology and the environment; introducing students to the beauty of creation and the need to care for it.

Offering a universal visionin a fragmented world

In our Jesuit tradition this universal vision is what was offered in the Ratio

Studiorum.

It is a vision that develops character, provides a critical perspective, encourages hope for the world,

and moves people to collaborate.

We still need something of that sort

Should not we try to work together in an endeavor as important as this one?:

A meaningful visionThat takes complexity into accountThat brings hope for a better world

That calls for our commitment

Thank you!អរគុ�ណច្�ន!