BILBAO: Deusto University

• On the 27th of January, the University of Deusto in Bilbao inaugurated a modern library and research center; it will be open to students and to those from the worlds of entrepreneurship and culture. The official opening was a grand cultural event presided over by the king and queen of Spain. During the benediction, Mons. Ricardo Blázquez, bishop of Bilbao, underlined the importance of culture in the relationship of faith and social life. In his speech, Fr. Jaime Oraa, university rector, recalled the origins of Deusto, 122 years ago, and its role in the Church and civil society: more than 70,000 students have been educated in a variety of professions. Now the university is committed to undertake new challenges in civil society and is looking at ways to enhance Christian humanism which is the basis of the pedagogical tradition of the Society of Jesus through an encouragement of its’ students natural talents, cleverness and creativity. The new library is one proof of this commitment: it has 900 thousand technical resource books, a reading room for 1,000, 44 rooms for private scholarship and 16 group work rooms. The architect is Rafael Moneo of Tudela (Navarra), an internationally renowned professor at Harvard University. Generous contributions towards the project came from the entrepreneurial and financial worlds.

BURUNDI: First Anniversary

• On 19 January SYM, Service Yezu Mwiza, (in Kirundi language: “Jesus, good, able and in power”) celebrated its launch and first year of activity; the Apostolic Nuncio was present for the event. SYM began in 2008 when the Rwanda-Burundi Region of the Society of Jesus assumed responsibility for a comprehensive AIDS ministry from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) who had established it seven years earlier. Based in Bujumbura, the project reaches eight of the poorest, least accessible rural parishes around the capital of Burundi, serving more than 800 people with HIV and their families, as well as orphans and vulnerable children. In addition to this commitment, part of the work includes prevention and awareness-raising in parishes.

INDIA: Saint Xavier School and College

• Saint Xavier School and College, run by the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, celebrates 150 years of service. From humble beginnings, they have grown into leading educational institutions in India and are rightfully proud of their contribution to the cause of education and the promotion of culture in Bengal. These twin institutions have produced many leading educationalists and other alumni who are the pride of their alma mater. On the occasion of the sesquicentennial, the library is mounting an exhibition on Saint Xavier including rare books, photographs, periodicals, manuscripts as well as paintings. The Goethals Indian Library and Research Society, located on campus is likewise celebrating a centennial service. It has a collection of 18,800 rare indological books, manuscripts and periodicals. The library has 70 categories of book ranging from voyages and travels to India, history and Indian folklore, to astronomy, medicine, law, etc. It is the only place where the complete set of Daniell’s Oriental Scenery Plates (144 in number) are available. They depicts the beauty of India through the antiquarian lenses of Thomas and William Daniell who came to India in 1795.

LUXEMBOURG: Meeting of Provincials and Treasurers

• From 6 – 8 February Luxembourg hosted the meeting of Provincials and Treasurers of the West European Assistancy. The topics included: the financial challenges facing provinces in the context of mission during this period of stress, reflection on funding the mission as Jesuit numbers decrease and a consideration of ways to respond to the call to effectively share financial resources with the wider Society. In October 2008 during the annual meeting of Assistancy Treasurers Frs. Jan Bentvelzen, Provincial of Holland, and Fr. Daniel Sonveaux, Provincial of South Belgium were present, and this meeting was conceived. On that occasion the need for a stronger collaboration between provincials and treasurers to better handle the challenges the Society faces today was underlined.

ROME: A New Blessed

• Soon the Church will have five new Blessed. Among them will be the “Venerable Servant of God” Bernardo Francisco De Hoyos, professed priest of the Society of Jesus. He was born on 21 August 1711 in Torrelobatón, a little village 25 km. from Valladolid, and he died of typhus on 27 November 1735, when he was only 24 years old. His reputation as a holy person stems from his extraordinary mystical life and his promotion of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

VENEZUELA: Eight Young Boys Killed For a Motorbike

• Eight young boys dead and one injured; that’s the “calculus” of the tragedy that occurred on 24January in Onia, a neighborhood of the village El Vigía. A group of young boys were eating together when a military jeep arrived and the soldiers shot them.

The victims, aged 4 to 20, some of whom were students and alumni of the Scuola Tecnica Santiago de Onia run by Fe y Alegría, suddenly found themselves attacked by soldiers. It appears the military was looking for a group that had stolen a motorbike and erroneously mistook the students for the thieves, without making the necessary inquiries.

It is yet a further demonstration of the level of violence present in Venezuela; this incident generated outrage and dismay throughout the country. The presumed perpetrators of these murders, all police officers, were arrested, and the government stated that everything will be done to guarantee an objective and fair trail. Manuel Aristorena, Director General of Fe y Alegría, working in the region with a program of peace education (Un corazón para la paz y la vida) declared in his message of solidarity for the families involved and to the school, “we ask for a clear description of the events and for justice, but we have no desire to seek revenge. The path of violence will never bring peace to us. It is necessary to continue to educate the heart of our students and representatives, since it is inside it that violence hides. This is in accord with the logo coined by Fe y Alegría for the new year: “chase away violence we have in our heart”.

BRAZIL-AMAZONIA: REFLECTION ON WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

As mentioned in our previous Bulletin, the ninth edition of the World Social Forum (WSF), took place in Belém do Pará (Brazil) from January 27 to February 1, with a total of 130,000 participants from 142 countries. They were representatives of social unions, associations, churches and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After six days of meetings and discussions the Forum ended with a call for the 20 richest countries of the planet to reform the economic system that is shared with the poorest countries. We asked Fr. Sergio Sala, a student of theology in Belo Horizonte and who was at the WSF, to offer us some insights on the meeting.

First of all, which was the role of the Jesuits in this Forum?

In total 120 Jesuits, friends and collaborators, from 28 different countries, participated in the Forum; they took a very active role. On January 30th they held an “Ignatian Day” filled with many working sessions. Father Fernando Franco, Secretary for Social Justice, explained the evolution of Jesuit and their collaborators’ participation in the WSF; Father Roberto Jaramillo, Regional Superior, described the presence and mission of the Jesuits in Amazonia; this was followed by a period of exchange and discernment on the theme Reconciliation with Creation (GC 35, Decree 3, no. 31-35). In the afternoon we had a session on the theme Religious Faiths and Defense of Life in Amazonia (January 24-27); we prepared a message to the Society of Jesus, and the day ended with a fascinating Eucharistic celebration organized by indigenous groups of India and Amazonia.

How can be summarized the final message of the Forum?

The delegates’ conclusions can be summarized in three points: faith pushes us to social commitment and to political participation: this requires formation and militancy; faith contributes to a new model of development for the world; our network has to be improved because it shown to be indispensable for a critical analysis of reality and for a more effective strategy. Among the many proposals emerging from working groups, the assembly highlighted the following: 1) increase collaboration among universities and indigenous cultures; the hope is the creation of a new indigenous university of Amazonia, or at least the opening of new degree programs on environment and sustainable development in existing universities; 2) to strengthen the équipe, a group of lay and religious visiting indigenous populations via boats; 3) to cultivate a new creation spirituality which will bring to life the “ecobionomy”, as Frei Betto called the good administration of our life, of our world, of our relationship with God.

Indigenous people has played the leading role during the Forum and also in its final message

The protection of indigenous people has to be considered a commitment for everyone, first of all because a person should have his rights respected and secondly because the preservation of the rain forest is linked to their continuation. These folks have lived symbiotically with nature for centuries, while the rest of humanity preferred to react against nature and create a physical and cultural rift with the environment. We have to learn from them to respect and take care of Amazonia. Jesuits are understood to have an important insight: they have ministered to the indigenous people of Amazonia for a long time, and therefore have an important role to play in their defense. But this is something one cannot do all at once. From the novitiate onward, young Jesuits should be educated according to the new “ecobionomic” paradigm and our educational institutions should consider seriously the protection of Amazonia, which has become an apostolic priority both for the Society of Jesus and for the universal Church. It is not only a question of sending Jesuits to work there. It is necessary to work as advocates at various levels. To this end, the Secretariate for Social Justice, together with Ocipe, have organized a meeting among experts to draw up a declaration to prepare for this year’s UN Summit on environment in Copenhagen. For further information: http://preforumfenamazonia.wordpress.com.