Work To Change Society, World Jesuit Chief Tells Alumni

(Tues.14 Nov.2006):- The head of the global Catholic religious order of the Jesuits has called on the alumni of this network to stand up against injustice, dedicate their lives for others, and be agents of social transformation. “In a world where might is right, and the weak are suppressed, where maxmising profit often seems to be the sole goal, we need the values of integrity, honesty, a commitment to peace and justice,” said Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach. The 78-year-old Jesuit Superior General was speaking to alumni in the Indian city of Margao, during his tour of Goa this week. The Jesuits, or the Company of Jesus as they were once known, work in 112 nations on six continents - mainly in education, intellectual contributions, missionary work, and increasingly in human rights and social justice. There are an estimated 20,000 + Jesuits over the world. On November 12, Fr. Kolvenbach met most of the 142 Jesuits of the Goa Province and their families. He noted that his visit came, when the world was celebrating the 500th birth anniversary of Francis Xavier, the sixteenth century Basque missionary-saint and the first Jesuit who came to Asia and landed in Goa. “Help us in our mission of service to all of God’s people,” he told alumni. “No celebration of the 500th anniversary of Francis Xavier could be complete without a visit to Goa, where he first set foot,” Fr. Kolvenbach added. He referred to his predecessor, former Superior General, Spanish Fr. Pedro Arrupe saying: “Fr. Arrupe insisted that Jesuits must produce men and women as agents of social transformation. “Use your training and talents to further the good of the human family, particularly those unable to help themselves,” he said and announced plans to upgrade Goa’s two Jesuit schools into junior colleges, to work for the children of migrants, especially the poor, who settle in Goa from the neighbouring areas of Karnataka.
Fr. Kolvenbach was elected Superior General in 1983, during the 33rd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus. On February 2, 2006, Kolvenbach announced that with the consent of Pope Benedict XVI, he intends to step down in 2008, the year he will turn 80.