In November 2019, the Jesuits celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ creating the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, but accompanying vulnerable and marginalized communities has marked the whole history of the Jesuits since its earliest origins. Grounded in the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius and our relationship with God, Jesuits and lay companions are challenged to follow the Gospel call to love our neighbor, to become friends with those living in poverty, those suffering, those outcast. These relationships are the foundations of our work to promote justice and reconciliation in the world. Our faith gives us the courage to respond to this suffering with joy and hope.
Our faith call to confront the structures of our world that perpetuate poverty and injustice is the embodiment of God’s love and saving mercy.
As the Jesuits declared at the 32nd General Congregation in 1975: “The mission of the Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement. For reconciliation with God demands the reconciliation of people with one another. ”While there are several ministries connected to the USA East Jesuits directly serving communities, the work of social ministries is integrated into Jesuit communities, parishes, middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities across the East coast. As Jesuit Superior General Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ wrote in his introduction to the 2020 Jesuit Annuario, Jesuit social ministries “makes visible our desire to be on the side of the poor and the excluded. We want this commitment to be part of every ministry in the Society.” For this reason, the province is focused on creating opportunities for collaboration between institutions, across our apostolic sectors, and beyond. During an audience with Jesuit social ministries leaders in 2019, Pope Francis reminded us, “the purpose of the social apostolate is more than to solve problems. The Social apostolate exists to promote processes and encourage hope. We are called to open the future, inspire possibilities, generate alternatives, and help us to think and act differently. ”To discuss this work across the USA East Province, contact Nick Napolitano, assistant for justice and ecology. For regular updates on this work, sign up for our justice and ecology newlsetter.
Pope Francis embraces Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, superior general of the Society of Jesus, during a meeting with editors and staff of the Jesuit-run magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, at the Vatican Feb. 9, 2017. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano, handout)
In February 2019, the Jesuits launched four universal apostolic preferences (UAPs), received as a mission from the Holy Father, to guide the work of the global Society over the next 10 years. The UAPs are:
Inextricably interrelated, the UAPs are orientations for every Jesuit, each of our ministries, and all lay collaborators, intended to set our hearts on fire and move us to act. They are not a strategic planning checklist, but away of being to focus all our apostolates. The preferences go beyond doing something- rather they are about personal, communal and institutional transformation.
Social ministries leaders have vital experiences and voices to bring to prayer, spiritual conversations and communal discernments about animating the UAPs. We are called to bring the cries of the poor, the young and the Earth that we hear in our accompaniment and work for justice. Through collaboration with our community, organization and interfaith partners, we can work towards the transformational change the UAPs ask of us.
Fr. Patxi Alvarez, SJ, former Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology for the Jesuits in Rome, talks about five processes through which Jesuits and colleagues promote justice in our world today:
We are called to accompany Jesus at the margins, walking with those who are suffering, vulnerable, and excluded. Our desire is to be in solidarity, to build kinship, to become friends with people living in poverty.
Our Gospel call demands that we respond to the needs we encounter daily through service, meeting these immediate needs. But we know that our response must go further.
We need research that inspires new possibilities, generates alternative ways of doing things, helps us to think and act differently. Our research must be grounded in the realities of the world we encounter, carried out from the perspective of those in poverty, for the sake of bettering their lives.
The purpose of awareness raising is to analyze and examine the most pressing justice issues of our time, bringing in voices of marginalized and impoverished people whenever possible. We seek to build bridges as we work towards reconciliation. Education for justice is a prerequisite to developing structural responses.
If we want to respond to global issues, advocacy is required, which needs preparation, deep research, and the credibility that only stems from being close to the victims of our world.
The Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN) is a vital partner of the Province and our institutions in our effort to promote justice in the world today. Through prayer, online and in-person programs, and advocacy campaigns, ISN fulfills its mission to network, educate, and form advocates for social justice animated by the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the witness of the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador and their companions. Middle and high schools, parishes, colleges and universities and individuals can join in this work.
In the USA East Province of the Jesuits, we are blessed with a number of incredible research institutes, programs and service centers that bring our Jesuit communities and institutions into close contact with those who are marginalized and living in poverty. Learn more about these partners in ministry by clicking the links below.
In 2019, the Society of Jesus announced four new Universal Apostolic Preferences that will guide its mission for the next 10 years. One of these preferences was “To collaborate in the care of our Common Home,” a call to protect the environment. To help answer this call, we will be sharing a series of monthly ecology reflections produced by Fr. John Surette, SJ, a member of the USA East Province.
For the past 30 years Fr. Surette has been giving retreats and workshops on the Interface of Cosmology, Geology, and Spirituality as well as on the Divine-Human relationship, the Human-Human relationship, and the Earth-Human relationship. All of his recent retreats have been inspired by Pope Francis who, in his recent letter on the environment, has urged Catholics to develop an ecological dimension to their spirituality.
Jesuit Antiracism Sodality (JARS) East is a community that catalyzes racial justice in the USA East Province of the Jesuits through prayer, relationship-building, accompaniment, and racial reconciliation. JARS is open to Jesuits, colleagues, and friends co-laboring towards personal and institutional transformation. The following goals help to focus our efforts:
1) Offer opportunities to integrate Ignatian Spirituality and antiracism work in prayer.
2) Cultivate engagement and collaboration across province apostolates and between Jesuit communities to support antiracist initiatives.
3) Organize and promote workshops and resources to foster accompaniment, racial reconciliation, and healing.
Receive monthly spiritual reflections, notices about upcoming events, and other news from JARS East.