| India’s diversity, poverty set Jesuit
course
By JANINA GOMES
Mumbai, India
It was in January 2000, or close to it, that the number of Jesuits
in India surpassed for the first time the number of Jesuits in the United
States. At that time -- at the dawn of the new century -- the Jesuits of the
South Asia Assistancy became the largest assistancy in the world.
In 2001, there were 3,973 Jesuits in South Asia: 2,211 priests,
1,455 scholastics (students), and 307 brothers. Among them, 269 are novices
filling out the assistancy, which covers India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
While there were no official celebrations, the new tallies have
brought noticeable new pride in this part of the world. When one talks about
the shift, leading Jesuits here often see significance in these new trends that
go beyond the numbers.
As elsewhere, India’s Jesuits are still best known for their
educational apostolate, with 181 primary and secondary schools, 18 technical
institutions, 32 universities and 8 seminaries. Loyola College in Chennai is
perhaps the best science college in India; St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai
is known throughout India for its arts and science programs.
But increasingly, the Jesuits of India are getting into radically
new social apostolates, working with and helping to empower the
“untouchables,” or dalits, as well as impoverished women and
children. Following the lead of the 34th Congregation of the Jesuit order, they
are increasingly becoming active in social justice-related activities,
including environmental causes, throughout India and elsewhere. They have a
“friends of the trees” program in Bihar, are involved in watershed
development activities in Maharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, and are
working to solve ground water problems in West Bengal.
At the South Asian Assistancy Assembly in October 2001, the Jesuit
leadership identified specific goals for their mission, including solidarity
with the poorest of the poor -- the dalits, tribals and women. To gain
greater leverage, they agreed to network with like-minded agencies, promoting a
“culture of dialogue” to participate in community life that went
beyond traditional ministries.
“Being first or largest brings its own sense of satisfaction,
and the Jesuits of South Asia are not immune to it,” Fr. Lisbert
D’Souza, president of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, said recently.
“Nevertheless, with this feeling of contentment, there is also a
heightened sense of responsibility for the universal society and its
mission.”
Traditionally, India has seen an influx of foreign Jesuits, mostly
from Europe and North America. Today, that is changing. “There is now a
realization and an acceptance of the fact that we must now be contributors in a
big way to the mission of the church beyond our countries,” said
D’Souza.
When the major Jesuit superiors gathered in September 2000, many
were quick to seek personnel for short- or long-term service from the Jesuits
of South Asia. In the past two years South Asian Jesuits have gone to work in
Africa, Cambodia, Guyana, Russia and Japan.
These new responsibilities come at a time when the demographics of
the local provinces are shifting. “While there is no dearth of numbers
seeking admission to the society in South Asia, questions need to be asked
about the capacity of recruits for some of the specialized services that have
been the hallmark of the Jesuits down through the centuries,” D’Souza
said. He noted a shift among those entering the society from the middle class
to the socially, economically and academically less advantaged tribal and
dalits who now jointly constitute nearly 60 percent of the new
candidates.
D’Souza said the society needs to “evolve patterns and
strategies that will prepare these young men for the distinguished service
Ignatius requires of Jesuits -- and this not only for South Asia but for the
whole world.”
Fr. Cedric Prakash is the director of Prashant, a center for human
rights, justice and peace in the state of Gujarat in western India. He
expressed both clear purpose and pride in his work and the place of the India
Jesuits in the world today. He said India is blessed with a rich diversity in
cultures, languages, backgrounds and religions, and the Jesuits are constantly
involved with these cultures, especially with the poor and the marginalized. It
is India’s diversity and poverty that is setting the society’s course
today.
In a couple minutes, Prakash rattled off names and places where
Jesuits in Gujarat are working to empower the poor and bring greater dignity to
their lives. One cannot work with the dispossessed, he said, without standing
up for human rights and social justice.
Fr. Joe Antony, editor of the Jesuit South Asian magazine,
Jivan, as well as the Catholic newspaper, The New Leader, said,
“One realizes the importance of respecting and learning from other
faiths.” Dialogue is the pathway to counter sectarian politics and
religious fundamentalism, he said.
If the work of the Jesuits here is increasingly measured by their
commitment to the poor, the heart of what they are telling the world has to do
with lifestyle and spirituality. Fr. Francis de Melo, provincial of the
Jesuit’s Bombay province, speaks about India and Asia’s rich
spiritual heritage. He noted that even as the West becomes
“postmodern,” it is also entering an age that longs for “the
deepest experiences of life and the powers of the universe.”
De Melo said that the eastern way of thought matches many of
Ignatius’ insights. “Where the West plans and strives to ‘get
what one wants when one wants it,’ the Eastern way is to flow with life
and the unexpected that life continuously brings,” he said. He finds this
notion very close to the Ignatian idea of indifference and obedience, he said,
that of flowing wholeheartedly with God’s Providence.
“Where the West sets a high goal and struggles to reach it
fast, there is the Eastern way of kaizen, the continuous, natural growth
that doesn’t struggle to a target, but enjoys the process of allowing life
to expand, naturally like a tree, always putting little shoots at the tips of
each of its thousand branches -- no stressful grabbing at a pre-fixed target,
just natural growth, not slow, not fast, leading to results that usually exceed
planned targets,” de Melo said.
He likened this to the continuous reaching out for
“God’s greater glory.”
De Melo said the Jesuits of India could contribute through their
own mission and lifestyle this vision of the East to the world. He said they
are now challenged to be Asian Jesuits rather that simply Jesuits in Asia.
Janina Gomes is communications manager at the Indo-Italian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mumbai, India. She contributes regularly to
the “Speaking Tree” column of the Times of India, a column
devoted to philosophy and religion.
Related Web site
Bombay Jesuit
Society
www.bomjesu.org
National Catholic Reporter, November 01,
2002
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