The Xavier Network: Jesuit Solidarity and Emergencies

In the last 40 years, the Society of Jesus and our institutional world have been witnessing a progressive orientation toward stronger regional and global cooperation. This is not just a consequence of globalization and information technology but mainly an intrinsic evolution of our reflection on the common mission and our growing awareness of the global dimensions of our apostolic body. Part of this process is the creation of supra-provincial networks to facilitate dimensions of our mission that demand attention from a more universal perspective.

The Xavier Network is one of the structures aimed at coordinating part of the international solidarity within the Jesuit body.

Xavier Network is one of the structures aimed at coordinating part of the international solidarity within the Jesuit body. Twelve Mission Offices and NGOs from Europe, Canada and Australia form this growing network which supports mission and development work all around the world and, together with other global networks as Jesuit Refugee Service or Fe y Alegría, is playing a key role as a channel of global solidarity for those humanitarian emergencies – such as in Haiti, Philippines or South Sudan – where local Jesuit organizations have been involved.

Our experience has been that times of disaster are important moments where the universal Society of Jesus and the whole Jesuit mission world express their solidarity and bond beyond all kinds of frontiers and differences. There are some important lessons regarding our way to respond to emergencies:

1. The first and most important response must take place with and from the Jesuit communities and institutions present at local level.
2. Our care for disaster victims must be both practical and spiritual, paying attention to all dimensions of the person, no matter their religious beliefs.
3. We are always open to cooperate humbly and generously with others locally and internationally.
4. Beyond spontaneous exchanges of information and experiences, we’ve understood the importance of formal processes for information sharing.
5. Any project we take responsibility for, should follow professional standards of transparency and accountability.
6. The international dimension of the Society should be used for awareness, media attention, prayer services, volunteer work, advocacy campaigns…
7. The financial help of the whole Society of Jesus can be key for the phases of early recovery or rehabilitation, when big agencies are already gone.
8. We should reflect on the long term and the root causes, work on disaster preparedness and warning systems, train people, change behaviors…

This week we have a meeting in Switzerland to discuss our strategic partners and strategies. We really believe that improving our way of working together could help us better offer our compassion, solidarity and service.
The 8 key points of this post are taken the Father General’s letter “The Service of the Society of Jesus in times of disaster,” http://www.sjweb.info/imagesNews/2012-03_12Mar12_ENG.pdf
The photo shows a boy who was a victim of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Philippines. The organization that responded to this crisis and coordinated all the efforts of the Society of Jesus was Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB).