International News

AUSTRIA: A SPACE TO LISTEN AND LOOK AHEAD

One of the Jesuit Universal Apostolic Preferences named is to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future. Many possibilities are offered within various cultural contexts. A few months ago, the Jesuit College in Innsbruck created the “Laboratory of the Future,” a residential program where young adults can take stock of their lives, reflect on their future, and explore ways to participate in creating a better world. They do this by rereading their own lives—with the help of the Spiritual Exercises offered by the Jesuits—and living in a community setting that incorporates various activities such as mountain hikes. It’s an open space that allows young people to discover their own spiritual path and explore their image of God.

KYRGYZSTAN: SUPPORTING CHILDREN, MUSLIMS, AND CHRISTIANS ALIKE

The country of Kyrgyzstan is hardly ever mentioned in the news, yet there is a Jesuit presence there: the Children’s Leisure and Rehabilitation Centre. Its astronomy camps are very popular with the young people of the region, but the center’s main work is to welcome children with various disabilities, physical and psychological, offering their parents a time of respite. Located not far from one of the country’s main Islamic centers, the children’s center also welcomes groups of young Muslim boys and girls, while remaining careful to avoid any suspicion of proselytizing—a “diplomatic” challenge that is in line with the Jesuit tradition of serving everywhere and taking into account the varied circumstances of peoples and cultures.

GLOBAL WORLD: BREATHING TOGETHER FOR THE SEASON OF CREATION—A PRAYER VIGIL

In the spirit of Pope Francis who, since his encyclical Laudato Si’, has been urging us to take care of our common home, a number of Jesuit organizations from various continents came together on September 25 for a prayer vigil: “Breathing Together for the Season of Creation.” Moderated by Xavier Jeyaraj, SJ, secretary of the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology, the program was broadcast in English and Spanish on YouTube and Facebook at three different times over a 24-hour period. Reflections from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, the United States, the Amazon, and Australia, among other places, invited participants to prayer and personal conversion. (See: https://bit. ly/vigil-world)

INDIA: PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF THE MARGINALIZED IS DANGEROUS!

In the early morning of October 9, Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ, an 83-year-old Jesuit, was arrested in Ranchi, India, by anti-terrorist police forces and later imprisoned in Mumbai. Why this arrest and imprisonment? Because for the past fifteen years Fr. Stan has been defending the rights of tribal populations that have often been ignored, expelled from their lands, and deprived of their rights. Other defenders of Indigenous rights have also been arrested and falsely accused of having links with Maoist extremist groups. Peaceful marches have been organized in support of Fr. Stan. To read the statement of the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology of the General Curia in Rome, go to (https://bit.ly/p-stan)