Tag: Australia

Ignatian Teachers’ Program in Sydney

The Ignatian Teachers’ Program (ITP) was held on November 11 to 15 at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview in Sydney, Australia. Located near Lane Cove River, St Ignatius’ College has beautiful Jacaranda trees on the campus. Walking along the main building and the rose garden allowed each participant to savour the long tradition of this Jesuit school.

There were 18 participants from the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Macau and Hong Kong. Most of them were experienced teachers, with a few school directors, administrators and school chaplains.

The workshop began every morning with a meaningful prayer session guided by John Gills, the school’s Director of Religious Formation. The specially designed prayers helped the participants each day to open themselves to the movements of the Holy Spirit. After all, the discernment of the Holy Spirit’s promptings is at the very core of Ignatian Spirituality, which is the basis of Jesuit Education.

On the first day, the participants were asked to reflect on the history and tradition of the Ignatian approach to teaching – or what we call Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP). The IPP pays special attention to the context of the students. Participants reflected on how the IPP enables them to accompany their students, to know their needs and to promote learning more effectively.

The most striking experience for many of the participants was the “Through the Eyes of the Student” Program. The participants shadowed a student assigned to them, learning through observation what the students experienced. It was a challenge for many because they should focus on the students without criticising them. They were not supposed to tell the students what to do. Rather, they were asked to listen and to try to find how the students felt. At the end of the day, we were all grateful for this one-day one-of-a-kind experience. We became more aware of our students’ needs and we gained new insights about learning and teaching through this unique experience.

There was also a session where participants shared their experiences and practice of the IPP in their respective schools. Aside from learning about the diverse ways IPP is implemented, the participants learned from each other. For example, students can practise the Examen in various ways depending on the school’s context. We felt encouraged that each Jesuit school was concerned about their students’ holistic growth including participation in social services for the poor in their societies.

For example, students from Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu High School are required to work in Jollibee fast food as part of their service, offering their wages to support poor families. Students from Kolese Kanisius volunteer to clean up rubbish on the public streets of Jakarta.

The participants realised not only the diversity of their situations, but also their unity as a worldwide community dedicated to a common mission. It was important to build the network of each school.

After the sharing, the educators visited the teachers of the school’s special education unit – providing yet another opportunity to learn a different way of accompanying our students.

On our last day, Jennie Hickey, Executive Director of Jesuit Education Australia, introduced the education apostolic work of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. She insisted that Jesuit education was a mission for the service of the poor as St Ignatius of Loyola and the First Companions had intended. The Society of Jesus has always worked for faith and justice.

There are many challenges in carrying out this mission as fewer Jesuits work in schools today. It is important for Ignatian educators to realise that they are called to dedicate themselves to the mission. Though our contexts are different, we still share the common mission.

We ended the five-day workshop with a Eucharistic Celebration in the school chapel. We thanked the Lord for the abundant graces that we received. Besides the formal sessions, we appreciated the informal conversations and sharing among ourselves during the breaks and over the meals. [JCAP Education]

Fr Clement Tsui SJ is the Education Delegate of the Chinese Province.

The gift of education in Cambodia

2019.06.Sophea-in-middle-with-two-school-friendsIt has been 20 years since the surrender of the Khmer Rouge, but Cambodia remains deeply scarred by decades of war and conflict. One of the poorest countries in the world, it has vastly inadequate healthcare and education infrastructure. Just one in four young people finish high school and even fewer in rural communities. Sometmes children as young as 10 years old engage in unsafe and heavy work, labouring on construction sites or farms. Even if children stay in school, the standard of education in government schools is extremely low. Students at 11 or 12 years old often still can’t read or write.

Fr Quyen Vu SJ with students
Fr Quyen Vu SJ with students

Sophea is one of many Cambodian children struggling to get an education. She lives in a rural area with her mother Mony, a single parent, who had little education herself and works as a day labourer, often travelling great distances to find employment. To educate her four children would cost $4 a day, or 80 per cent of her income. She faces a choice no one should have to make: Should I feed my children or educate them? Mony’s children, like so many others, know they must help out from an early age. The eldest child usually stops schooling to help supplement the family income. Sophea had started government primary school but could not attend regularly. She and her older brother had to find work to help Mony care for their two younger siblings.

One day Jesuit Service Cambodia (JSC) found Sophea in a bottle factory working with her mother. JSC’s outreach team travels around to poor villages in search of families that need help. They identified Sophea as a scholarship candidate for Xavier Jesuit School.

In 2015, the Jesuits opened Xavier Jesuit School (XJS) in Banteay Meanchey, one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia.

“Our goal is to convince students that you sacrifice a few years now, but then you can help not only yourself, but your family,” says Fr Quyen Vu SJ, the school’s director. “Through education these students can go on to have skills, a career, a profession.”

The school encourages independent thought instead of the usual rote-learning taught in Cambodian schools. It strives to empower students, strengthening their hearts and minds so they can learn, grow and contribute to the new future of Cambodian society.

In addition to traditional subjects like mathematics, English, chemistry, physics, biology, history, geography and agriculture, students also learn Khmer, music and art.

Recently, Sophea won an international environmental drawing contest. This is her award-winning illustration of life in Cambodia.
Recently, Sophea won an international environmental drawing contest. This is her award-winning illustration of life in Cambodia.

Currently 530 students attend XJS from kindergarten to Year 12. Within three years, Fr Quyen hopes to increase that to 1,210 students. XJS is committed to serving the poorest of the poor with at least 20 per cent of the student cohort to receive free education through scholarships, such as those provided by Jesuit Mission Australia.

Scholarships ease the burden for very poor families. In the short-term, families have the benefit of one less mouth to feed, while in the long-term young people help lift their families out of poverty as they use their education to become teachers and future leaders.

Sophea had a tough first year at school. She was 16 but still in Year 7, which meant she had to study with peers three or four years younger than she was and often academically more advanced. She also struggled with her guilt about leaving her mother and younger siblings.

But Mony’s vision for her daughter is strong. She encouraged Sophea to be brave and to dream of a worthwhile future. After a year, Sophea began to take younger children under her wing, and soothe their worries with her jokes and games. Today the change in her is dramatic.

“She is so full of joy!” reports Fr Quyen. “Her hard work and determination are paying off.”

Two years ago Sophea was working as an unskilled labourer. Now, she’s thriving.

To learn more about Xavier Jesuit School and the support provided by Jesuit Mission Australia, visit https://jesuitmission.org.au/program/xjs/

A call for a compassionate and humane Australian society

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With the Federal Election in Australia on May 18, the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), in which Jesuit Social Services takes a lead role, has issued a statement calling for a “commitment from all sides of party politics to language and policies that reflect a compassionate and humane Australian society”.

The statement draws on the words of Pope John Paul II and calls for a change in the way Australia sees, treats and lives together with people seeking asylum.

“[W]e need to heed the words of Pope John Paul II ‘to see Christ in every brother and sister in need, to proclaim and defend the dignity of every migrant, every displaced person and every refugee. In this way, assistance given will not be considered an alms from the goodness of our heart, but an act of justice due to them’”, the statement said, quoting Pope John Paul II’s speech to the participants in the Assembly of the Council of the International Catholic Migration Commission in 2001.

CAPSA urges the incoming Federal Government “to legislate and make policies that are fair and compassionate” adding that the “[d]iscriminatory treatment towards people seeking asylum who have arrived by boat to Australia is unnecessary for the security of our borders. It is possible to be both fair and kind.”

The organisation lamented the current situation of people seeking asylum in Nauru and Manus islands and the “thousands of vulnerable individuals and families who are at risk and suffering destitution due to Government support being removed and no longer offered”.

The statement said it is everyone’s challenge “to use language and to act in a way that consistently acknowledges the human dignity and preciousness of each person who seeks asylum”.

Australia is the first country from the Pacific region to serve on the UN Human Rights Council.

CAPSA calls on political leaders and policy makers to re-work the way Australia complies with its international obligations and the personal needs of those who seek asylum.

“Australia’s current policies and processes relating to those seeking asylum, with distinctive discrimination against those who arrived by boat, cannot be characterised as fair – nor can the large sums of money spent on detention centres, both onshore and offshore”, they said.

The organisation reiterated its commitment to serve, assist and journey with people seeking asylum and refugees across the health, education, pastoral and social spheres.

“The Catholic community stands ready to continue our work of welcome. Our political leaders must introduce and champion policies that complement the wonderful work that so many Catholic parishes, schools, organisations and congregations do to welcome and accompany people newly arrived to this country.”

Read the full statement here.

Voices from Leadership by Conversation workshop

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What better way to practice cura personalis than to use an approach to Growth Coaching that is based on ‘listening to the self, to others, to creation and to God?

This was the premise of the second workshop on Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm organised by the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Education Secretariat. The workshop combined Ignatian conversation with Growth Coaching and best practices on feedback giving.

The idea first emerged in Kamakura, Japan, where a team from St Ignatius’ College, Riverview, Australia conducted the Ignatian Teachers Program.

“The group agreed that a module on coaching and mentoring based on the Ignatian ministry of holy conversations would respond to an important need among educators in our Asia Pacific schools, and so here we are!” shared JCAP Education Secretary Fr Johnny Go SJ.

Twenty-six educators from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau and Indonesia had gathered at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview for the workshop, which was held from November 11 to 17.

Fr Ross Jones SJ, Rector of St Aloysius and former Rector at Riverview, set the tone by talking about St Ignatius of Loyola’s ministry of holy conversation.

Bill Hobbes drew from his vast experience working with the former Jesuit Secondary Education Association in the United States to help the participants grow in self-awareness and understand the dynamics within organisations.

Scholastic Bagus Sugiyono SJ, a first-year regent at Kolese Kanisus in Jakarta, was grateful for the theoretical and practical things he learnt at the workshop. “There are several new insights that I got on how to practice cura personalis for students, as well as teachers,” he said.

Mandy Yu from Estrella do Mar in Macau was “excited and thankful” for the experience to “deepen my spirituality and help me grow”, and is looking forward to applying what she learnt in her school and in her teaching.

The participants were also joined by so-called “Companions” from Riverview who helped to model what coaching based on Ignatian conversation is like. The participants’ first-hand encounter with these expert practitioners proved to be a powerful learning experience.

“I still find it amazing how Ignatian Conversation can be seamlessly linked to Growth Coaching and how feasible it is in our own school setting,” shared Chaveli Ventosa Dela Cerna of Xavier School, Philippines, who found many possibilities for faculty and staff formation in Jesuit institutions.

Irene Cheung, Principal of Colégio Mateus Ricci, appreciated the new approaches she learnt in coaching and listening, as well as the use of tools such as the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator. “The feeding forward bridge,” she added, “is what I most want to master and apply.”

Likewise, Antonius Agus Sulistyono from St Peter Canisius Minor Seminary of Mertoyudan, Indonesia, said that the “feeding forward conversation taught me how to make others better and to lead them to God”.

For many of the participants, the workshop was an opportunity to examine their leadership style.

“I was able to step back and reflect on how I can be a better companion to the teachers and students I work with and how I can lead them to be better partners in the mission,” shared Chuchay Rolan-Lugapo of Xavier School, Philippines.

Vivian Cheng of Wah Yan College, Hong Kong hopes that after the workshop, “each one of us can be a better companion to our students and colleagues”.

For Ag Prih Adiartanto, Principal of De Britto College, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, his most valuable takeaway was, simply, learning how to listen.

Maan Estrellado-Domingo of Xavier School, Philippines shared a similar realisation: “It is not my brilliance, but the love that I put in the conversation that matters”.

The next education workshop will be on communal discernment from April 26 to May 2, 2019 at the Seven Fountains Retreat Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The way forward for JCAP

2018.02.JCAP-Major-Superiors-Sydney

Discernment. Collaboration. Mission. These three words were used frequently during last week’s Major Superiors Assembly of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific. From beginning to end, the meeting was a period of grace, a time for the major superiors to step aside from their province concerns and come together to discern how best to move forward as one Jesuit Conference of provinces, regions and missions in the Asia Pacific region.

2018.02.Smoking-Ceremony
The host, the Australian Province, arranged a special opening for the meeting held in Sydney from January 22 to 26. Leaving their laptops and papers in the meeting room, the major superiors went outdoors for a ceremony to acknowledge the land of the Kuringgai people and a smoking ceremony conducted by Kaleb Taylor.
The first morning was devoted to an examen of their life and mission in the six months since their last meeting in July. The major superiors spent half an hour in quiet, before coming together in small groups for spiritual conversations.

From this prayerful beginning, they covered considerable ground over the rest of the week. They spent time talking about how they would discern the universal apostolic preferences in their provinces and as a Jesuit Conference, as requested by Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ in recent documents. They reviewed a self-assessment of JCAP’s Way of Proceeding as asked in General Congregation 36, Decree 2. The underlying aim of this study is to ensure that governance in the Society of Jesus is constantly renewed to “better serve and support the Society’s mission, the Missio Dei”.

“The self-assessment showed us our giftedness, but we also realised our weaknesses and the invitations of the Spirit to move forward,” said Fr Tony Moreno SJ, who took over as President of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific in November 2017. “We will continue to assess ourselves as a conference as we discern the way forward for JCAP.”

The Major Superiors had a full week of discussion.
The Major Superiors had a full week of discussion.

Fr Oh In-don SJ shared a proposal to Father General for the development of a structure for collaboration in the universal Society of Jesus. He was JCAP’s representative at the Task Force for Collaboration meeting in Rome in October 2017. Fr Oh stressed that the proposal is about collaboration with non-Jesuits and that the need for Jesuits to collaborate is not because of declining numbers. It is about the Missio Dei.

They received a briefing on China and agreed on initial first steps towards developing a way of proceeding. They received updates on the apostolic plan for the East Timor region and the consortium of major superiors supporting it. They spoke too about the juridical status of Myanmar and agreed that more discussion is needed of the options presented.
The various JCAP apostolic priorities were also reviewed. They considered how to proceed after Fr Greg Soetomo SJ presented the Islam policy paper. They reviewed the formation report and agreed that the Leadership Development Programme would have a second run. They received an update on JCAP communication including the new website and newsletter and approved the proposal to convene a province communicators meeting this year.

The update on the two newest JCAP priorities was especially appreciated. It was good to see that the Ignatian Spirituality Network set up last year now has an expanded core team and three priority initiatives, one of which is to compose a spiritual profile of Jesuit ministries, akin to “What Makes a Jesuit School Jesuit?” They also watched a video on the recently concluded Magis Asia Pacific gathering in Cambodia. Magis Asia Pacific is the main programme of JCAP’s Youth Ministry. The major superiors asked that the core team discuss what else the ministry can do, so that it is not only based on one programme.

“The JCAP apostolic plan (2014 – 2019) gives preferential attention to migration, reconciliation with creation and youth. We continue to pursue movements in these areas and, in the light of the 36th General Congregation, we want to mainstream reconciliation and justice into our life and mission,” said Fr Moreno.

JCAP President Fr Antonio Moreno presided Mass at St Aloysius College on Australia Day.
JCAP President Fr Antonio Moreno presided Mass at St Aloysius College on Australia Day.

They also received updates on the East Asian Pastoral Institute in the Philippines and the St Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate in Vietnam, both of which are raising funds for renovations.

Later in the week, Australian Provincial Fr Brian McCoy SJ and his consultors provided an insight into the workings and challenges of the Australian Province.

The meeting concluded on January 26, which is Australia Day. That night all the participants in the assembly gathered at St Aloysius College – along with some Jesuits and lay partners from across the Australian Province – to celebrate a liturgy led by Fr Moreno, followed by dinner on the rooftop terrace with expansive views of the Sydney harbour. The harbour, lights and fireworks provided an impressive backdrop to conclude a very full week of discussion.

“There was some twenty-three of us at Peter Canisius House for the week, representing the rich texture of the different Provinces of JCAP,” said Fr McCoy. “These are valuable meetings. They remind us of our wider Jesuit mission and the friendships and partnerships we wish to build and strengthen across our Conference and the wider Jesuit world.”