[ ECOLOGY ] ECOLOGY AND JESUIT MISSION / Shibata Yukinori (Jesuit Social Center Tokyo)
BULLETIN No.155
ECOLOGY
ECOLOGY AND JESUIT MISSION
Shibata Yukinori (Jesuit Social Center Tokyo)
Beginning this year 2010 the Social Justice Secretariat, located at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome, changed its name to "Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat," showing a new determination to take ecological issues seriously. As a first step, the Secretariat established the "Jesuit Mission and Ecology Task Force" mentioned on page 5 (Headlines) of this Bulletin, consisting of 5 Jesuits and one lay woman. The co-conveners of the Task Force were Fernando Franco SJ (Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology) and Paul Locatelli SJ (Secretary for Education).

Jesuit General Congregations and Ecology
The impetus for establishing the Task Force came from General Congregation 35 (2008). Its Decree 3, "Challenges to Our Mission Today - Sent to the Frontiers," deals with ecology as a contemporary social problem. Issues like reconciliation with creation, over-exploitation of natural resources, environmental destruction and indigenous peoples, and ecologically displaced people are thoroughly discussed there. Decree 3 is seriously concerned about the close links between poverty and the destruction of the environment and it urges Jesuits to promote studies and activities focused on the causes of poverty. In addition, Decree 3 indicates special "global preferences" like reconciliation, Africa, China, the intellectual apostolate, and migration and refugees.
One might get the impression that Jesuit involvement in ecological issues has just started but, in fact, it began about ten years ago. On the other hand, the Franciscans have had a much older ecological involvement.
General Congregation 34 (1995) took a serious look at the social issues of the time in its decrees: "Our Mission and Justice," "Our Mission and Culture," and "Our Mission and Interreligious Dialogue." Even though ecological issues were included in the decree on "Our Mission and Justice," it was considered necessary to publish another document entitled "Ecology," recommending to Fr. General that a study be made regarding issues like how our Ignatian spirituality provides us with a foundation for a universal response with regard to the contemporary debate between development and ecology (which is often posed as an opposition between First World desires and Third World needs). There was also the issue of how our apostolates can contribute in their specific ways and can also further effective collaboration. The study was also to include how ecological issues affect our lifestyle and decisions made in our institutions. The results of this study were to be communicated to the whole Society.
In 1999 the document "We live in a broken world. Reflections on Ecology" was published by the Social Apostolate Secretariat (Rome) in Promotio Iustitiae no.70. Our Tokyo center did a Japanese translation of the document that was sent to all Jesuit communities. Please refer to: http://www.sjweb.info/sjs/index.cfm


"We Live in a Broken World"
This document (A4 size, 80 pages) takes an overall view of ecology and provides the basis for Jesuit involvement in ecological issues. The following is a summary of the booklet.
  1. Our reading of ecology. What do "ecology" and "environment" mean today?
  2. Ignatian spirituality. A foundation for a universal response.
  3. Apostolic contributions and collaboration. Jesuit intellectual and social apostolate, retreats, dialogue and networking, formation.
  4. Community lifestyle and institutional decisions. How ecology challenges our lifestyle and the decisions that we make in our institutions.
  5. Orientations for our way of proceeding. How effective ecological awareness may grow and spread through our Jesuit way of proceeding.
The monograph concludes with an account of the ecological thinking of the GC 34 and various Jesuit ecological involvements.
The booklet also presents short thought-provoking contributions concerning ecology from 37 Jesuits all over the world. Fr. General Nicolas and Fr. Semoto from Japan also contributed some brief remarks.

Jesuit Responsibility and Ecological Issues
Ten years later, in March 2009, a survey "Jesuit Responsibility for the Environment" was conducted by the Social Justice Secretariat.
The Ignatian Ecology Network (IEN) was created at the beginning of 2007 in order to prepare material on ecology for GC 35. Between March and December 2007 eight two-page fact sheets were written on ecology-related topics as a basis for reflection before and during GC 35. These concerned climate change, biodiversity, pollution and public health, agriculture, desertification, floods, landslides, forests, and Catholic social teaching and ecology.
The mailing list was subsequently used to keep members informed. In September 2008, the Social Justice Secretariat sent a summary of GC 35 statements on ecology to the IEN. Added to the summary were some questions for the 166 members of the network. Some 30 replies were received, 22 of which were summarized in the document "Jesuit Responsibility for the Environment - A Survey."
The report summarizes the suggestions of the respondents: raising awareness of the issues, reflecting on ecology, educating towards ecology, strengthening the ecological aspects of our spirituality, practical action for communities, action within the governance and networks of the Society, the possibility of creating a network structure at Curia level. The following three suggestions were mentioned by several people. Since most of the replies came from the northern hemisphere, the issues are representative mostly of the lives and possibilities of Jesuits in that part of the world.
  1. An issue that each individual Jesuit and each community can take responsibility for. Air travel is a major contributor to global warming. The Society could reduce its own ecological footprint drastically through networking activities and by conducting some of its meetings via teleconferencing and video-messages. This can be implemented at all levels of governance, starting immediately.
  2. An issue that needs to be discussed within the framework of "ordinary governance." A number of people have mentioned the need to establish structures within the Society at Curia, regional, and local levels. These new structures will be most fruitful (at any level) if the need for them is strongly felt, as it was when Fr Arrupe approached the refugee issue with prophetic insight.
  1. An issue that needs some planning and re-allocation of resources within provinces and communities. Energy audits and Environmental Impact Statements to assess the ecological footprint of communities, works, and provinces should lead to ways of conserving resources and introduce renewable energy practices.
Further suggestions included the use of the term "ecology," additions to be made to the text of GC 35, practical action by communities, and reflection on visibility. The ecological involvement of Jesuits is also introduced here.

Seven-Year Plan concerning Ecological Issues
In November 2009 the Social Justice Secretariat published a document for the whole Society presenting the current worldwide activities of Jesuits under the following title, "Seven-Year Plan for Generational Change for the Society of Jesus." This eight-page document gives some indication of the great number of initiatives undertaken by Jesuits and Jesuit communities and institutions around the world.
  1. Faith-consistent Use of Assets - land, investments, medical facilities, purchasing and property
  2. Education and Youth - including school buildings, curricula, nature teaching and camps
  3. Pastoral care - including theological education and training, rediscovering past traditions and wisdom, and helping people adapt to new situations in areas where climate change makes this necessary
  4. Lifestyles
  5. Media and Advocacy
  6. Networking in the field of ecology
  7. Academic research
  8. Celebration
As mentioned above, there has been a wide range of concrete initiatives, from reducing foreign travel or implementing evaluation reports on environmental effects to the student initiatives that led to the creation of an Environmental Advisory Council at Seattle University or to the "Tarumitra" (Friends of Trees), a Jesuit-run organization with ECOSOC status at the UN. Also worth mentioning is another Jesuit-run body in the Philippines called "Environmental Science for Social Change," which works closely with local populations, mostly indigenous.
As mentioned above, there has been a wide range of concrete initiatives, from reducing foreign travel or implementing evaluation reports on environmental effects to the student initiatives that led to the creation of an Environmental Advisory Council at Seattle University or to the "Tarumitra" (Friends of Trees), a Jesuit-run organization with ECOSOC status at the UN. Also worth mentioning is another Jesuit-run body in the Philippines called "Environmental Science for Social Change," which works closely with local populations, mostly indigenous.
Part 2 of the document is an invitation to the whole Society of Jesus and consists of the following eight suggestions with regard to each of the points listed above.
  1. Faith-consistent Use of Assets
    We will run our retreat centers in an ecologically sensitive way, procuring food as much as possible from local organic, fair-trade sources and making sure that the buildings are audited according to local eco-standards. This will benefit nature as well as the retreatants seeking to experience God there.
  2. Education and Youth
    We will seek to inspire the next generation to commit themselves to environmental protection. We shall do this not only through our teaching and research but also by making our universities, school buildings, and grounds environmentally friendly.
  3. Pastoral care
    We will set up a commission of Jesuits, religious, and lay collaborators to write on Ignatian Spirituality and the environment, using the Spiritual Exercises in particular. We will encourage all those in theology and spirituality to reflect and write on how Ignatian spirituality and theology take creation seriously (finding and serving God in all things).
    We will promote and give priority to days of prayer, retreats, and liturgies centering on the themes of Sustainability and Ecology for both Jesuit communities and apostolates.
    We will encourage the giving of Eco-retreats as part of the programs of all our retreat centers.
  1. Lifestyles
    We will carry out energy audits and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) to assess the ecological footprint of our community, our works, and our province. This will lead to adopting ways of conserving resources and of introducing renewable energy practices.
    We will first comply with local mandated civil sustainability practices and then attempt to surpass them.
    As air travel makes a significant contribution to global climate change; we will factor this into our planning and promote alternative ways of communication.
    Our social centers and NGOs will be the first to commit themselves publicly to recycle all their paper, reduce their carbon footprint, derive 35% of their energy from renewable resources, offset their air travel by planting trees, and replace their fleet of cars with energy-efficient ones, within a given timeframe.
  2. Media and Advocacy
    We will publicize and show our appreciation for what is being done by Jesuits, both in our immediate areas of influence and beyond. We shall start by making public Part 1 of this document. We will monitor regularly what is being done in this area in our educational centers and our research institutions as well as in our pastoral and social works.
  3. Partnerships and creating an environment department
    We will do all we can to establish structures within the Society at Curia, regional, and local levels to act on our concern for the environment under the guidance of the Task Force being established by Father General.
    We will use our extensive network of parishes, schools, JRS, JVC, etc. to piggy-back on existing projects and institutions already involved in promoting environmental sustainability. We will publish examples of "best practices" and details of where further advice and assistance can be obtained
    We will designate a certain percentage of the grants made by the Curia ("FACSI") in any one year for projects related to "healing the land," or to setting up locally or regionally a specifically designated environmental fund.
  1. Academic Research
    Continuing in the learned tradition of Jesuits like Teilhard de Chardin, we will encourage special studies, particularly among Jesuits, in environmental science and related fields such as environmental law, environmental economics, population studies, environmental anthropology, etc.
  2. Liturgical Celebration
    We will announce this "Seven-Year Plan" for the Society of Jesus in November 2009 at a special Mass at the Gesu Church in Rome and in Jesuit parishes around the world.
    Possible occasions for Jesuit environmental celebrations could be the anniversaries of two people who were closely involved, in very different ways, with the environment:
    Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, who died on April 10, 1955 in New York City.
    Georg Kamel, SJ, who died May 2, 1706.
In this way the Society of Jesus finally took a great step toward becoming involved in ecological issues. It was not an early start, but neither was it too late. I pray that such Jesuit commitment, stressing spirituality and ordinary life, scientific research and action, education and networking might be implemented constantly in various possible ways.
  
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