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| July 31, 2003 |
Happy Feast!The JesuitUSA Newsletter and Company Magazine hope that all of their readers will have a joyful and blessed celebration on July 31, the feast of St Ignatius Loyola, founder of Society of the Jesus.
Ignatius entered in his heavenly reward on July 31, 1556. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622, together with St Francis Xavier.
Georgetown University and Iberoamerican University in Mexico City have agreed to undertake joint research on Mexican-US migration issues.
Migration issues are important in Mexico because money from Mexicans living in the United States is Mexico's biggest source of foreign income, said Fr Enrique Gonzalez Torres SJ, rector of Iberoamerican University.
Key issues for Mexicans in the United States are legalization of Mexican workers and getting health care and other basic services for undocumented Mexicans, Fr Gonzalez said.
Areas of joint research will include "justice for immigrants here in the United States" and why Mexicans are migrating in large numbers, he said.
Under the agreement, the universities will set up joint graduate degree programs, summer institutes, faculty and student exchanges, workshops, and joint research projects.
Susan Martin, director of Georgetown's Institute for the Study of International Migration, said both universities are hoping to sponsor workshops in early 2004 as the first step in joint studies. Planned long-term programs include a series of summer institutes on Mexican-US migration problems.
Fr Gonzalez said the agreement is part of an effort by the Jesuits to increase cooperation on international migration issues. He said planners hope to incorporate Central American Jesuit universities into the program. [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
Seattle University's (SU) 11th annual Science Splash! summer camp program for girls runs for four weeks, July 21 through August 13. Thirty eighth-grade girls participate in hands-on activities related to environmental engineering, aerodynamics, mathematics, and computer technology.
In the first week, students learned about Puget Sound water quality issues. They did field research on local streams and then analyzed data in SU's science labs. In the second week the girls did a variety of physics experiments under the guidance of SU faculty and Boeing engineers. A science fair caps off the three weeks spent at Seattle University before the girls head to camp on Bainbridge Island for a week of games, crafts, and science.
"It is heartening to see the influence the Splash program has had," said Sr Kathleen Sullivan, Splash program director and SU associate director of mathematics. "We recently surveyed former Splash students and 80 percent indicated they had career goals in non-traditional fields such as math, science, engineering, and medicine." [Source: Seattle University]
Indian Jesuits hope to work soon on education in Afghanistan in collaboration with local associations and NGOs in the country. "All being well, we hope to start in October," said Fr Lisbert D'Souza, Jesuit Provincial of South Asia.
After a fact finding mission in February, the Jesuits approached the Afghan government. Fr D'Souza explained: "We were welcomed warmly. We had feared some diffidence in this Muslim country in which our desire to serve might be seen as proselytism, but it was not. The highly appreciated work of Catholics in Afghanistan, such as Caritas for example, has paved the way for our mission. The Afghan minister of education welcomed the idea of a Jesuit presence to contribute to the cultural and human development of the people."
In July a delegation of four Jesuits visited Afghanistan to see how a community can be established. [Source: www.jesuits-europe.org]
Wheeling Jesuit University President Fr George Lundy SJ stepped down as president on July 31 to become Provincial Assistant for Higher Education for the New Orleans Province in January of 2004. Fr Joseph Hacala SJ, rector and senior advisor to the president at Wheeling Jesuit, will serve as interim president. [Source: Wheeling Jesuit University]
In June, a 16-member delegation from the University of San Francisco traveled to El Salvador and heard first-person accounts of the country's brutal past from survivors of a civil war that left more than 80,000 people dead.
The delegation met with a wide range of El Salvador's citizens, including a Supreme Court justice, former guerrillas, and parish priests.
"Two-thirds of the world's inhabitants are poor and this trip was an opportunity for university leaders to look at the world through their eyes. This was a catalyst to promote fresh thinking and moral reflection on how we as university leaders can help educate our students to strive for social justice," university president Fr Stephen Privett said.
A statement from the group said they returned with a renewed commitment to develop educational opportunities that promote the university's goal of "educating hearts and minds to change the world." [Source: CNS. Do not repost electronically]
The Jesuit Curia in Rome recently published a compendium of statistics on the educational institutions of the Society. The document defines "Jesuit" in fairly broad terms. It included not only Jesuit apostolic works, but also the institutions which share the Ignatius vision and spirit, draw upon a common heritage, and foster the mission of the Society, regardless of their juridical ties to the Society, their structure of governance, or their ownership.
In additional to the traditional educational categories: Higher Education, Secondary Education, and Primary Education, the document includes a broad category called Networks. This latter category includes some of the newer and more innovative initiatives. They include a number of different enterprises in India, the Fe y Alegria centers in Latin America and the Nativity Schools in the United States.
A brief numerical summary of the worldwide involvement of Jesuits in these educational enterprises is given below.
| [1998] | [2003] | [% Difference] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institutions | 1,611 | 1,934 | + 16.70% |
| Students | 1,583,555 | 2,132,664 | + 25.75% |
| Jesuits involved | 4,568 | 4,561 | - 00.15% |
| Others involved | 74,256 | 123,985 | + 40.11% |
[Source: Secretariat for Education, Jesuit Curia, Rome]
JesCom -- Jesuits and Communications. Those of you who are accustomed to the JesCom name might be surprised by the logo above which shows the expanded concept of a network of Jesuits (& Friends in the Arts &) Communication. We need a broad vision of Jesuits working with lay colleagues in a world in which people can move freely through fields of communication that were once separate. Our hope is that this site will encourage a sense of community among those who share Ignatius' gift of finding God in all things--from digital bytes to writing to the traditional arts.
JesuitUSA News is a service of Company Magazine. In addition to the print edition, almost all of the items in Company Magazine can be viewed via the World Wide Web at www.companymagazine.org or www.companysj.com. Any correspondence concerning this mailing list should be sent to the editor at news@companysj.com . The newsletter is available to all Jesuits, to those who work with them, or to those who are simply interested in what they are doing. Tell your friends; the price is right! If you are requesting addition to the list, please include your real name as well as your email address. If you are changing your address, please include YOUR NAME as well as both the NEW and the OLD email addresses.
The editor of this Newsletter is Richard VandeVelde SJ who is ably assisted by Ms Rebecca Troha, Assistant Editor. They would both like to remind you of the following useful WWW links for items of Jesuit interest. Many of these links will lead you to others.
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