'Jesuits have made Church's option for the poor in India'
Published : March 23 2009
Published : March 23 2009
By Fr.Giuseppe Bellucci
Following is an interview with Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, who visited India recently.
Father Nicolás went to Goa where he experienced a most moving celebration of Mass at the altar of St. Francis Xavier. In his homily, Father General said how deeply touched he was to "celebrate the Eucharist at the altar of Saint Francis Xavier, with his body behind me and today's Jesuits in front of me." The homily focused on the heart, "in Asia, people want to see, and if our preaching does not touch the heart and does not show itself in actions and in behaviors, words have no efficacy." After a short stop in Mumbai visiting the Jesuits, Father General returned to Rome. When he was back, I asked him two short questions. We present his responses and offer our wholehearted thanks for his availability.
What are your impressions about the Society after this first trip to India?
India continues to challenge any simplistic effort at easy classification. The variety of peoples, cultures, traditions, styles, etc. is so great that one cannot but admire the ease and naturalness with which people live side by side. It is the kind of naturalness that one would expect from very mature and experienced communities.
The Jesuits share in this multi-cultural life, with the advantage that the underlying social or caste distinctions are practically invisible, even if realism encourages us to think that they are not totally and definitely absent. Christian or human maturity is never the fruit of good will alone.
My visit has not covered the whole territory of India. But the little I have seen makes me think that the Society of Jesus in India has made its own the Church's option for the poor. I have been in touch with more Dalit and Adivasi people and communities in my visits than with any other groups. The Jesuits are quite committed to these communities with a very simple and deeply inserted presence; and working on creative and life-giving projects that contribute to education, access to energy and water, community building or human dignity and rights.
Another encouraging factor is the ease with which our men refer to deeper spiritual realities in the midst of life, apostolic work or social concerns. The Indian spiritual traditions have left in its people such a sense of the divine that it does not take much effort to detect it in conversations as well as in many other social expressions of their life.
Which are at the moment the most important problems and the challenges the Society has to face in India?
The challenges are many and complex. To name a few, I note:
- Leadership at a time of deep and drastic social and cultural change within India itself and in relationship to the rest of the world.
- The demographic change within our ranks, and the implications this has for the spiritual as well as academic training of our men, who come to us with different cultural tools and even differently trained brains and/or sensibilities.
- The development of a deeply Indian and Christian Philosophy and Theology, without weakening the ongoing communion and conversation with the rest of the Church.
- As the communication and cooperation among the different Regions and Provinces develops and grows, greater coordination will be needed to ensure that truly qualified and creative men are assigned to the training of Jesuits and the most influential apostolates of the Assistancy.
- The preparation of Jesuits in different areas of Spirituality, Theology and Other Sciences, who could become resource persons for the whole Society of Jesus and could be invited to other parts of the world to assist.
Following is an interview with Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, who visited India recently.
Father Nicolás went to Goa where he experienced a most moving celebration of Mass at the altar of St. Francis Xavier. In his homily, Father General said how deeply touched he was to "celebrate the Eucharist at the altar of Saint Francis Xavier, with his body behind me and today's Jesuits in front of me." The homily focused on the heart, "in Asia, people want to see, and if our preaching does not touch the heart and does not show itself in actions and in behaviors, words have no efficacy." After a short stop in Mumbai visiting the Jesuits, Father General returned to Rome. When he was back, I asked him two short questions. We present his responses and offer our wholehearted thanks for his availability.
What are your impressions about the Society after this first trip to India?
India continues to challenge any simplistic effort at easy classification. The variety of peoples, cultures, traditions, styles, etc. is so great that one cannot but admire the ease and naturalness with which people live side by side. It is the kind of naturalness that one would expect from very mature and experienced communities.
The Jesuits share in this multi-cultural life, with the advantage that the underlying social or caste distinctions are practically invisible, even if realism encourages us to think that they are not totally and definitely absent. Christian or human maturity is never the fruit of good will alone.
My visit has not covered the whole territory of India. But the little I have seen makes me think that the Society of Jesus in India has made its own the Church's option for the poor. I have been in touch with more Dalit and Adivasi people and communities in my visits than with any other groups. The Jesuits are quite committed to these communities with a very simple and deeply inserted presence; and working on creative and life-giving projects that contribute to education, access to energy and water, community building or human dignity and rights.
Another encouraging factor is the ease with which our men refer to deeper spiritual realities in the midst of life, apostolic work or social concerns. The Indian spiritual traditions have left in its people such a sense of the divine that it does not take much effort to detect it in conversations as well as in many other social expressions of their life.
Which are at the moment the most important problems and the challenges the Society has to face in India?
The challenges are many and complex. To name a few, I note:
- Leadership at a time of deep and drastic social and cultural change within India itself and in relationship to the rest of the world.
- The demographic change within our ranks, and the implications this has for the spiritual as well as academic training of our men, who come to us with different cultural tools and even differently trained brains and/or sensibilities.
- The development of a deeply Indian and Christian Philosophy and Theology, without weakening the ongoing communion and conversation with the rest of the Church.
- As the communication and cooperation among the different Regions and Provinces develops and grows, greater coordination will be needed to ensure that truly qualified and creative men are assigned to the training of Jesuits and the most influential apostolates of the Assistancy.
- The preparation of Jesuits in different areas of Spirituality, Theology and Other Sciences, who could become resource persons for the whole Society of Jesus and could be invited to other parts of the world to assist.
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