The Potential of Jesuit Networking

Have you ever thought what would happen if the works of the Society of Jesus could coordinate to create a global common project? Are you aware of the possibilities that concerted action offers to organizations like ours, present in many countries? Do you imagine the advantages that derive from this in the service of faith and the promotion of justice? These are only some of the questions that lie behind the proliferation of the international networks we have been witnessing in the past few years throughout the broad apostolic body of the Society of Jesus, some of which we have been evaluating these days.

“Interconnection is the new context in which to understand the world and discern our mission”. This type of networking is coming to be seen as a new apostolic way of proceeding that enables better collaboration at global and regional levels in the service of the universal mission. These are new initiatives that connect people and institutions in such a way that they enable the implementation of action as a global and interdisciplinary body, where collaboration raises apostolic structures to a level of organization which, going beyond its local provinces and environments, achieves a regional or global scope and impact.

“Our society is structuring its principle functions and processes around networks”. No one can deny that we live in an ever more connected world in which the processes of globalization, together with the effect of the information and communication technologies have fired connectivity and networks of interdependence at all levels. “Our society is structuring its principle functions and processes around networks”, said the sociologist Castells. This new emphasis is affecting the development of forms of work in all types of organizations, including the Society of Jesus and the Church. According to Father General, “Interconnection is the new context in which to understand the world and discern our mission”. The new potential for mission arising from these new kinds of collaboration changes the context within which the Society of Jesus understands itself, its mission, and above all its structures. This is the rationale for the Jesuit Networking Project, which aims to strengthen international collaborative ventures within the Jesuit apostolic body.

The Jesuit Networking Project is a commitment from a group of institutions to work under the umbrella of the Secretariat of Collaboration to accompany the Society of Jesus in its transition towards a networked ecosystem. For this we offer a space to reflect and promote content about apostolic networking, fostering potential collaboration dynamics within our apostolic body. If you or your institution is thinking on these lines, please get in touch at www.jesuitnetworking.org and join the conversation.