Global Friends in Action, a small NGO founded by Michael T. Kelly SJ, has launched a new program called 37&More, which provides care for children orphaned by AIDS in a large slum on the edge of Kabwe, Zambia. The program will protect and provide support for orphans and vulnerable children, who, in the shanty town of about 60,000 inhabitants, are among those worst affected by HIV/Aids. Read more »
Almost 18,000 Indians from four different ethnic groups in the Roraima region of Brazil are being forced to leave their reservation lands. Roberto Jaramillo Bernal SJ, Regional Superior of the Amazon Region, has launched an urgent appeal to defend them. Certain people with business interests in the land are trying to overturn the Presidential decree legitimising Indian reservations. Last week ten Indians were killed on their property by mercenaries, and a number of others were seriously wounded. Roberto asks for messages supporting the Indians to be sent to President Lula, to the Justice Minister, and to the members of the Supreme Federal Court. See below for details of the campaign. Read more »
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Ireland is holding an event this Thusday to mark a successful end to the work of the Community Links project over the last five years. Initially created in 2002 as a JRS response to the needs of refugee and migrant families arriving in Dublin’s inner city, an external evaluation concluded that the project had, in fact, achieved many of the aims for which it was established. JRS will continue the work of integration for immigrants and asylum seekers through other projects, and is organising the event to thank the Community Links staff and volunteers. Read more »
Brian Lynch speaks to Dr Richard Leonard, SJ, Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting in this month’s edition of The Word magazine: “Young people especially ‘are not lacking in an openness towards otherness and transcendence’ as evidenced by the predominance of science fiction and fantasy films at the top of box-office charts for the past three decades. Star Wars, The Matrix, Harry Potter; each incorporates altered states of reality, the existence of evil, and the need to confront it. ‘The generations who no longer go to Church are not lacking in the appreciation of a big story – and the Church has the biggest story in town. We actually have the biggest story there is. So it’s not what we’ve got to say; it’s how we’re saying it’.”
The Irish School of Ecumenics is holding a two-day conference this month on Why Marriage? Love and Justice in 21st Century Ireland. On the first day, Wednesday 21 May, there will be a public lecture on ‘Equality and Just Love: A Framework for a Christian Ethic’ by Professor Margaret Farley of Yale Divinity School. It will take place in the Walton Theatre, Arts Block, TCD, at 7.30pm. All are welcome. The booking form can be downloaded from the ISE website.
Two job opportunities have opened up in Slí Eile, the Jesuit young adult ministry. The first is for a Musical Director for the Gardiner Street Gospel Choir, an award-winning choir which consists of almost forty young adults and a full band. The second position is for a Project Worker who would develop and facilitate the many events, projects and programmes which Slí Eile organises throughout the year. These include local and international volunteering projects, theology workshops, and retreats. The closing date for both applications is Tuesday 20th May 2008. For full details, read below. Read more »
Sr. Vivian Atime, a Missionary Sister of the Holy Rosary, joins the Jesuit Communication Centre on a voluntary basis to gain work experience in her area of specialization, which is communication. She graduated with a degree in Social Communication from Tangaza College, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. She specialized in Print Journalism. Vivian is from the middle belt part of Nigeria, known as Benue State. Read more »
As part of its Arrupe Seminar Series, Manresa has invited Ronald Modras, Professor of Theology at St Louis University, to be principal speaker at a public seminar on Transforming Education. Professor Modras will lecture on ‘Ignatian Humanism’. In his book of the same name (full title: Ignatian Humanism: a Dynamic Spirituality for the 21st Century), he stresses the fact that Jesuit spirituality is rooted in a humanism which values the secular world, the diversity of world cultures, and scholarship of every hue. Professor Modras’ lecture will take place at the National College of Ireland (Mayor Street, IFSC, Dublin 1) on Saturday 24 May at 11.00am. To register for this seminar, go to Jesuit.ie’s Modras page.
Dr. Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher, launched the new book edited by Fr. Michael Hurley SJ, The Irish School of Ecumenics 1979-2007, on Thursday 1 May in Belfast. In his speech Michael noted that “the history of the School is the history of its growing involvement in Northern Ireland”, and that political peace and Christian unity were prominent concerns from the very beginning. See photos of the launch on the ISE website.
Paul Pollock SJ, the regional superior of Burma, has just returned from visiting the Jesuit houses in Yangon, where, despite minor damage due to the cyclone, they are thankful for no casualties. There are three Jesuit houses in Yangon, the country’s largest city and most important commercial centre. Paul reports “The storm hit on Friday night and by Saturday morning, Yangon was a devastation.” Most roads were inaccessible, especially due to falling trees. The 21 candidates at Canisius House joined local people in clearing roads and fixing properties. Read more »
The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice (JCFJ) is holding a seminar entitled Women in Prison: the Need for a Critical Review, on Thursday 22 May, 5-7pm, in the Bar Council Law Library, Dublin 7. The keynote speaker is Baroness Corston, author of The Corston Report, a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The seminar is being held in the context of Irish Government plans to double the number of places for women in prisons. They include the relocation of the main prison for women, the Dóchas Centre, to an enlarged facility in the proposed prison complex at Thornton Hall, and the building of a new prison at Kilworth, Co. Cork. The venue is the Bar Council Law Library, Distillery Buildings, Church Street, Dublin 7. There is no charge for this event, but registration is requested: prisonseminar@jcfj.ie; tel: 01-855 6814. Further details at: www.jcfj.ie.
Noah Bunn was sentenced on Friday 2 May to five years imprisonment for his arson attack on the former Jesuit headquarters in Eglinton Road, Dublin. He has been in custody since April 2007 and, with remission for good behaviour, it is expected that he will serve a further thirty two months in prison. Justice Katherine Delahunt refused him leave to appeal the sentence. First reports: Press Association, Irish Independent
RTE 1’s Drivetime gave extensive coverage to a group of Belvedere students who have been teaching English to immigrants. In a seven-minute slot on 25 April, Drivetime’s Nicoleen Greer described this unique project, jointly arranged by Belvedere and the Jesuit Refugee Service. She interviewed Michael O’Neill, one of the participating student-teachers, and a couple of the immigrant students – who are highly appreciative of the service. Eugene Quinn, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, spoke too, stressing that the venture was greatly beneficial both to the school students and to the immigrants. The Drivetime segment can be heard on the RTE website. Click on ‘Dublin students in new language initiative’.
