The Jesuit Major Superiors of South Asia, gathered for their Annual Conference in Godavari, Nepal (23-29 Feb, 2020). They were appalled to learn of the recent communal violence in the capital city of Delhi where at least 4 7 people lost their lives, hundreds have been wounded and many more are made homeless with huge property losses. They stated that the various accounts of the apparent complicity of the police forces in the violence, and the inexplicable postponement of legal procedures for four weeks are deplorable.  The concerned citizens know that the hate speeches and divisive polities of the recent elections in Delhi, the all-pervasive hate-politics and mob lynching of the last one decade and the attempts to appropriate 'nationhood and religion' for majoritarianism would all lead to inconceivable consequences for the body politic. The Jesuit Major Superiors of South Asia urge the Centra! Govt to immediately withdraw the hastily enacted discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), and initiate a process of dialogue with all concerned.  Meanwhile they invite all concerned citizens, especially the Indian Jesuits and their Institutions i) to initiate processes of reconciliation among peoples and religions, ii) to continue serious study and research on the ramifications of CAA and NRC for the conceptions of nation, citizenship and the Constitution, iii) to join peaceful protest movements opposing CAA, NPR and NRC whenever and wherever possible, iv) to support rescue works in the areas affected by communal violence.  They pledge to protect the integrity of the Constitution and to preserve the ethos of the nation that was shaped by the founding fathers and mothers of their motherland after prolonged struggles and sacrifices for independence, and has been nourished by sages and saints of many religions from time immemorial. Now is the moment of reckoning for India to reassert its soul of diversity, variety and the eternal quest for the Ultimate.  They believe that anti-CAA Movement will sustain itself as long as it remains non-violent yet courageous, resistant yet listening, audacious yet non­divisive, fearless yet compassionate. The "Godavari" Statement was signed by Fr. George Pattery S.J., President of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, on March 5th 2020.

Prof. Austen Ivereigh will be the main guest in a special Webinar on "Querida Amazonia: A path to inculturate and transform the Church" The Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat at the General Curia of the Society of Jesus in Rome organizes this Webinar on Tuesday 10th March at 16.00 hrs Central European Time. Language: English. Austen Ivereigh is a UK-based Roman Catholic journalist, author, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER There will be an input from Austen and then a chance to write in some questions to which he will respond. Jesuits and all our partners in mission all welcome. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Austen, author of The Great Reformer and Wounded Shepherd.

After almost 120 years as a Jesuit culture magazine, Brotéria came out of the paper and moved to Bairro Alto with the desire to become the meeting point between the Christian faith and contemporary urban cultures. The new cultural space of the Jesuits, located in the heart of Lisbon, was opened to the public on January 25th, in a former Palace and is the result of a partnership with the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Lisbon. This is a project that has been under construction for two years, but which began to be dreamed and thought about almost thirty years ago. The opening program was born from the relationship with the street, since the cultural activity of Brotéria will try to give voice to the concerns of people who are entering the cultural game that is offered, where there is space for time, spontaneity and discussion. It included conferences about urban life, the relation between tradition, women and the city with the church, artistically performances and DJ actuation.   Until May the gallery will have an exhibition where the historical journey of Brotéria is recreated. The magazine will continue its regular publication. The Portuguese President of the Republic made a private visit to the new cultural center during the inauguration days. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa underlined the importance of putting the different dimensions of live in relation with one another as desired by the new cultural center. "What we believe is that the relevance of Brotéria as a cultural agent depends on constant attention to the urban reality, from a multiplicity of angles, always cemented in five strands of activity: research, dialogues, communication, spirituality and gallery", explains Fr. Francisco Mota SJ, director of Brotéria, adding that "for this to happen, we have a group of people we call Observatory, which meets regularly to listen to reality. We need to continue to nourish a joint reflection that guarantees the vitality, relevance and organicity of all the activity promoted by Brotéria. Then it is from this collective and plural view that new initiatives emerge and from which the themes explored in the programme emerge. Each theme is this: a process of integrated, dynamic and collective research and reflection that takes advantage of the multidisciplinary character of the centre and the programming to look for possible paths to the initial question brought by the exercise of listening to reality". The space includes a gallery, a bookshop, a cafeteria with a patio and rooms for debates, conferences or meetings, among which two large halls stand out, both with worked ceilings and capacity for 80 people each, and the Leather Room, the ex-libris of the building, with walls fully lined with worked leather. The building will also host the famous and vast library of the Jesuit community, which contains more than 160 thousand volumes that are now more accessible to the public. The top floor of the building will house the Jesuit Community House involved in the life of Brotéria. From research to debate, from art to spirituality, through digital and paper communication, Brotéria brings together people from different areas and sensibilities, as well as different institutions, with the desire to generate social transformation. It will be energized by a team of Jesuits in collaboration with people of various ages and areas of interest. For society, Brotéria hopes to be a place of plural, intelligent and creative dialogue, where cultural work has a social impact, be it through awareness raising, research and publications, as well as local intervention projects. For the Church, Brotéria hopes to be a place of theological and aesthetic reflection, with a contemporary language.

On February 3rd to 6th, 2020, over 30 educators from nine European countries attended a four-day Conference on “Learning by Refraction,” a 21st-century approach to Ignatian Pedagogy proposed in a book of the same title by Fr. Johnny Go SJ and Ms. Rita Atienza of the Ateneo SALT Institute in Manila. The four-day conference, organized by Mr. Brian Flannery, Education Delegate of the Irish Province, was held at Mount St. Anne’s Retreat Centre in Killenard, just a couple of hours’ drive from Dublin. Half of the participants were from Jesuit schools in Ireland, while the remaining half  flew in from Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. The European delegation was led by Ms. Ilse Dekker, the Education Secretary for JECSE (Jesuit European Committee for primary and Secondary Education). Introducing a novel approach Fr. Johnny Go, one of the authors  of Learning by Refraction, introduced the novel approach to the participants, walking them  through the framework of the new approach and selected exercises from the workbook. The participants were encouraged to focus on the context of their work, to reflect on their teaching practice, and to exercise their own judgment as to which of the strategies discussed could help them promote better learning among their students. The discussions were frank and rich, and while coming from different contexts, the participants shared the same strong desire to understand this Ignatian approach to learning and teaching, and to allow it to inform their teaching. Reflection and action The conference focused on the two defining ingredients of “refractive  learning”: Reflection and Action. The teachers were challenged to design their courses in such a way that students would  be empowered not only to construct meaning by reflecting  on what they have learned, but also to use them and apply them in the real world. Bellarmine Centre for Learning and Teaching The participants took a break on the third day to visit the oldest Jesuit school in Ireland, Clongowes Wood College, County Kildare, founded in 1814, where they visited the newly built Bellarmine Centre for Learning and Teaching, a  space especially designed for innovating learning and teaching. The visit showed the participants the possible innovations they themselves  could undertake if they promoted the practice of Ignatian Pedagogy. As pointed out by Gabriel Codina, former Jesuit education secretary: “The first Jesuits went to ‘the supermarket of education’, to find the best ingredients and recipes for an educational approach consistent with their spiritual experience.” One of the key takeaways from the conference is that we who are teachers in Jesuit schools are expected to do the same today. IPP – Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm Among the things best appreciated about the workshop was its practical approach. One participant said, “In my country we speak a lot about IPP, but we don’t know practical examples.” Another noted “a much deeper insight regarding the IPP, and – as a consequence – a higher esteem for this approach of teaching and learning. IPP has become more concrete for me and more accessible, less ‘artificial’.” Future Already there are discussions about a possible  trainers’ training workshop especially after the publication of the Spanish and French versions of this teacher’s workbook. This Conference on “Learning by Refraction” was also a great opportunity for the participants to reflect on–and  discuss–the Jesuit mission of education in light of the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus.  It enabled them to discuss, in particular, what it might mean “to accompany young people” and “to show them the way to God” in today’s world.

An Arabic-language prayer app has launched this week It is a collaborative effort between Christian Life Communities and Jesuits working across five countries and offers similar content to Pray As You Go, the app launched by Jesuits in Britain in 2014. These are the yet existing language versions of Pray as you go Inji Fayez (President of Christian Life Community in Egypt), is one of the coordinators of the new app: “Christian Life Community in Egypt and the Jesuits in the Middle East were involved in putting this app together with the help of lots of friends and choirs from Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. We pronounce the app in Arabic as “Fi Tariqi Osally”, which means ‘On my way, I pray”. We would like the world to know that everyone involved in this project is doing it totally voluntarily with lots of love and passion and that we are feeling God’s blessings in every step.”  Emma Holland, who produces Pray As You Go, said: “We are thrilled that Fi Tariqi Osally has joined us as the tenth language version of Pray As You Go. The successful launch is the result of many countries working together at a time when the need for collaboration is most critical.” Those wanting to listen to the app can do so here: iOS Android Website  

The EU Green Deal and the contribution of religious actors. On the 28th of January, at the European Parliament, in the framework of Parliament’s Article 17 dialogue with religious and non-confessional European organisations, First Vice President Mairead McGuinness called on JESC Secretary of Ecology Edmond Grace SJ to briefly present developments in the Common Home Dialogue that was first announced at a the meeting on 25 September.Fr. Grace has worked with Mr. Willem Vriesendorp of Sustainable Public Affairs and a number of business leaders on a Charter for Change. It aims to bring business and the Church together around the theme of ‘integral ecology’ in line with the Green Deal. The Charter will be completed shortly and then presented to the new Commission and the new Parliament. You can see a recording of the entire livestreamed Dialogue Seminar here Fr. Grace’s contribution can be found here: