The Planet is our Home

We have a mission of reconciliation with God, with others and with creation. We also have many new challenges and opportunities, including technology as a new learning paradigm, the importance of educating global citizens, and a new way of working: networking. These are just some of the messages offered by José Mesa SJ, the Secretary of Primary and Secondary Education at the Curia, who offered a keynote talk at the JCAP Colloquium which took place July 8th through the 12th in Sydney, Australia.

Jesuit and partner schools from 9 different countries participated in this colloquium, titled The Planet is Our Home, which focused on Reconciliation with Creation, a priority engagement for the Jesuit Asia Pacific Conference.

Chris Gleeson SJ, Provincial Delegate for Education and Mission Formation in Australia, mentioned in his welcome letter that the organizers wanted to give maximum exposure to the fact that care of the environment is an integral part of the Jesuit Mission.

“We recognize that this priority, while it is an uncomfortable pebble in the shoe for some, touches the core of our faith in and love for God, making it impossible for us to be disinterested spectators as the drive to access sources of energy and other natural resources increasingly damages the earth, air, water, and threatens the future of our planet.”

Pedro Walpole SJ, Jesuit environmentalist, gave a keynote address on “Simplicity and Sustainability” mentioning that our “response to the environment has to be something out of joy and simplicity, not out of coercion and the weight of the responsibility.”

These keynote presentations among others can be found at the JCAP colloquium website: http://www.jcapcolloquium.org/

Some notes for this post are based on an article written for the Australian Province Express Newsletter. 

Photo from Xavier Jesuit School in Cambodia.