| Cancun: Jesuits at the WTO |
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The WTO's Fifth Ministerial Meeting broke down on September 14; and Cancun
passed into history as a site where protest was strongly made, if not duly
heard. A delegation of Jesuits from the International Jesuit Network for
Development (IJND) present at the meeting wrote, together with the International
Gender and Trade Network (IGTN), daily reports of what was happening. A
communication signed by a number of bodies including IJND clearly rejected
the official decisions when it declared 'Substantive changes vigorously
proposed by the developing countries have been totally ignored. We reject
the revised ministerial text.'
| Quito: Integration, yes, but with dignity |
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In July 2003 a group comprising Jesuits, other religious, and lay women
and men met to discuss the theme 'Another development is possible, another
integration is possible,' at a seminar organized by the Jesuit Social Apostolate
in Latin America. The subject of critical scrutiny was a project for a
free trade market area within the Americas, covering 34 countries with
a total population of 800 million people. The imbalance in terms of technology,
capital, and know-how between the North and the South, the lack of transparency
in the negotiations, the total neglect of fundamental developmental aspects
such as ecological impact, labor conditions, social plans and migration,
and the fact that a facade of commercial liberalization masks intents of
protectionism, all make it unacceptable to the poor. The task for Jesuits
and their collaborators is now to help build a new, more united Latin America
and to keep in sight a new ethical horizon.
Dobogokoe, Eurojess:
Dreams of a United Europe |
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When European Jesuits in Social Science (the Eurojess) met at the end of
August in Dobogokoe, Budapest, they found that 44 Jesuits from 22 provinces
had come to the meeting, all concerned with one issue: the elements that
unite and divide Europe. A major point of interest was the role of religion
in the new humanism needed for Europe.
Toronto:
Globalization and Catholic Social Teaching |
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Has Catholic social teaching taken account of changes sweeping through
this globalized world? How relevant are the stands we take in these new
contexts and have our horizons widened? To reflect on these questions and
plan the publication of a collection of papers and case studies that might
throw light on these matters, 26 people (of whom 15 were Jesuits and five
were women) met at a three day international seminar organized by the Jesuit
Faculty of Theology in the University of Toronto and the Jesuit Center
for Faith and Justice in Guelph, Canada.
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| Cairo: Population, ethics and Islam |
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What stand should we as Jesuits take in new inter-religious, multicultural
contexts where population growth surges ahead in some countries and drops
dramatically in others? What is our ethical imperative, especially vis-a-vis
Islam? To discuss some of these questions the Jesuit network International
Population Concerns (IPC) organized a September colloquium in El Cairo
in Egypt.
Fr. Stan D'Souza used UN data to show that a burgeoning young population
in less developed nations faces danger from AIDS, to say nothing of educational
and employment problems; and that developed countries with very low growth
rates would have to deal with problems relating to pension provision schemes,
a diminishing labor force, and health care for the elderly.
The colloquium was a joint venture of the Secretariats of Social Justice
and Inter-religious Dialogue.
| Paris: CERAS centenary |
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CERAS (Centre de Recherche et d'Action Sociale), the Paris-- based center
for research and social action is a hundred years old, spanning the life
of a movement called 'Action Populaire,' engaged with the workers' movement.
Centenary celebrations began in mid-October by first looking back at the
past and then forward to the future. They culminated in a panel discussion
on "Justice and Christian Faith."
| Education and the practice of voluntary service |
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ALBOAN (Educacion y Voluntariado), the Institute of Human Rights Pedro
Arrupe (Deusto University, Bilbao), and the Institute of Development and
International Cooperation (Hegoa) are all involved in a common project
called "Giza Garapena-Compartiendo Experiencias" (Sharing Experiences).
The goal of the project is to learn from experiences of development and
to arrive at a proper methodology for their analysis.
[HEADLINES is published by the Jesuit Social Justice Secretariat (Rome).
It is being sent to 10,700 addresses in 130 countries. It is also available
at <www.sjweb.info/sjs>]
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