Between 28th February and 2nd March, 12 representatives of the network of Jesuit Social Centres in Europe gathered in Dublin for a three-day in-person meeting. The gathering aimed to develop a deeper common understanding of the issues at stake in the upcoming European elections, to share initiatives and identify possible collaborations. The question of preserving democracy in view of growing polarization and extreme views was at the centre of attention. Inputs from two experts, on the topic of interaction between migration and politics in Ireland and on impact-oriented communication, helped to deepen the debate. The meeting was also the occasion for the participants to discover the realities, challenges and accomplishments of Jesuit social works in Ireland, through meetings with the teams of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice (JCFJ) and of JRS Ireland. The participants also met with the Irish Provincial, Fr. Shane Daly, for a common Mass. Contributing to the success of the session was the outstanding Irish hospitality, orchestrated by the director of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Kevin Hargarden, and the entire JCFJ team. To all, “go raibh maith agaibh” (“thank you” in Irish, literally “may good be at you”!) 

The Loyola 2022 Justice & Ecology Congress took place from 28th March to 1st April! The event hosted more than 200 participants at the birthplace of Ignatius of Loyola to discuss social justice, sustainability, migration and spirituality. The participants joined from all over the World from numerous Jesuit works: Academics, Social Delegates, directors of Social Centres, etc. The aim of the Loyola 2022 Congress was to strengthen the Jesuit mission and seek better ways to implement the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPS): Showing the way to God, Walking with the Excluded, Journeying with Youth and Caring for our Common Home. The program was very diverse and rich. The president of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials, Franck Janin S.J., intervened in the opening session: "Let us take hold of this Congress. Let us be actors in it. Let us put depth into it. Dare to intervene, to speak out. As Pope Francis says, “go forward, make noise”.  The main topics discussed during the Congress were: - “Integral Ecology: Our Common Home” with the Jesuit and socio-political activist Jörg Alt SJ, a group of youth climate Jesuit volunteers, Sabin Bieri, social geographer from Centre for Development and Environment and Javier Arellano Yanguas researcher from Universidad Deusto.  - “Refugees and movement of peoples: on the way” with Fr. Fabio Baggio from Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and Amaya Valcárcel and Michael Schöpf SJ from the Jesuit Refugee Service International (Italy).  - “Changing hearts, minds and systems” - The day started with a morning prayer and an invitation to participants to join different rounds on workshops from various speakers, focused on several topics  from ecology to sustainability, migration, justice and spirituality. Learn more

The directors of the Jesuit Social Centres of Europe gathered in Brussels on May 6-7 for two full days of meetings and field visits. The meeting focused on two topics: Listening to the cry of the poor and taking action to protect our Common home (our Planet). The daily work of Jesuit Social Centres concentrates on three main areas of work: research/reflection, education and publishing while advocacy activities transversally cut across these areas by establishing and nurturing relationships with elected officials and other socio-political actors in order to respond to unjust structures that exist within society today. The Directors who attended this conference were from: Aggiornamenti Sociali (Milano), Centre Avec (Brussels), Centre de Recherche et d’action sociales (CERAS, Paris/Saint Denis), Centro cultural Brotéria (Lisbon), Cristianisme Justícia (CiJ, Barcelona), House of Dialogue (Budapest), Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC, Brussels), Zentrum für Globale Fragen (at Hochschule für Philosophie, Munich). The work of the conference started sharing regional and country updates and a presentation by Baudouin Van Overstraeten, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Belgium, who talked about the dead-ends of migration policy in this Country. Listening to the cry of the excluded To move from theory to practice, Fr. Rožič along with the other directors and members of his staff went to Parc Maximilien and Gare du Nord. They met with people in need at the Gare du Nord, they then listened to the witnessing and requests of Helen Trabelssi, one of the leaders at the humanitarian hub of the Citizens’ Refugee Support Platform, a Belgian civil society initiative that provides food and medical treatment to migrants and homeless people. Another social issue of great importance in Brussels is the prevention of extremism. For that reason, the Directors had a door-to-door tour and dinner in Molenbeek, the neighbourhood in Brussels known for having hosted terrorist involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks of 2015 and 2016. The UZinne project hosted the Directors and Jesuit Social Centers staff in a squatted house along the canal’s former industrial neighbourhood. The menu was based on the concept of avoiding the waste of food. Every day UZinne collects unsold ingredients from supermarkets. The project also offers artistic projects in painting, photography and music. Listening to the cry for our Common home On Tuesday morning on 7 May, the Directors had breakfast with Philippe Lamberts, MEP and Co-President of the European Greens and Free Alliance Group. To learn more about the young people demonstrating for a better planet, the group of Directors also met with Bénédicte Rossetti, a Belgian school teacher involved in mobilisation for climate action and justice.  “The aim of the meeting was to listen to ourselves and to the world - said Peter Rožič SJ - we can live better if we share our experiences as Directors and most importantly as peers.”