SJES ROME

Roberto Jaramillo, SJ, Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology, has announced the appointment of Fr. SM John Kennedy, SJ, to lead the Jesuit Integral Ecology Initiative (EcoJesuit) within the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN). John Kennedy, a Jesuit priest from the Madurai Province in India, is currently the Province's Delegate for Education and the Jesuit Conference of South Asia's Delegate for Ecology. We extend a warm welcome to John Kennedy.

More than 20 countries across Europe have come together in Rome to participate in a conference dedicated to the Church’s ongoing efforts to protect the most vulnerable.

Addressing COP29 on behalf of Pope Francis and the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin urges urgent climate action, linking environmental protection to peace, justice, and global solidarity, and warning that indifference enables injustice.

The Jaboticaba Agricultural Family School in Brazil reuses water for sustainable food production in a semi-arid region. Since 1993, it has combined agroecology with wastewater treatment to enhance food security and educate students. The project promotes environmental sustainability and aims to influence public policies in line with Pope Francis’s call for integral ecology.

The Jesuits for Climate Justice call for urgent action: make the Loss and Damage Fund effective, cancel climate debt, and advance just energy transitions. Inspired by the visions of Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, and Ignatius of Loyola—who “found joy in the ‘praise, reverence, and service’ of all God’s creation”—James Hanvey, SJ, invites us to celebrate life’s interconnectedness and protect our common home together.

It is from Latin America and the Caribbean that we present and disseminate this recently published work, the fruit of a two-and-a-half year working group that brought together Universities linked to AUSJAL and Social Centers linked to RCS (Jesuit Social Centers Network), all participants in the Conference of Provinces of Latin America and the Caribbean (CPAL). The work, which involves ten countries and 15 organizations, looks at the relationship between the environment and corruption in our continent innovatively, analyzing our challenges in the light of Integral Ecology.

Simón Pedro Martínez Jara, Jesuit priest and Director of the Centro de Estudios Paraguayos Padre Antonio Guasch (CEPAG) in Paraguay shares his experience promoting agroecology to care for the common home. Since joining CEPAG in 2022, his mission has focused on supporting agroecological producers, rural women, and youth in vulnerable areas. CEPAG promotes simple and sustainable lifestyles, researches climate change impacts, and promotes sustainable agriculture through initiatives like the MAGIS Youth Encounter and partnerships with universities. Simón views his mission as a gift, allowing him to contribute to environmental care and help local communities create a hope-filled future.

Fr Roberto Jaramillo SJ, Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES) of the Society of Jesus in Rome, was in Jakarta recently. His visit provided an opportunity for dialogue with about 40 staff members of Sahabat Insan, the Jesuit centre for migrant workers. Their conversations centred around Laudato sí’s recommendation, paragraph 63: exploring local cultural wealth to develop an ecology capable of addressing the damage done to the Earth.

The worldwide Ignatian community came together to issue a Global Statement reinforcing climate justice commitments and outlining three crucial demands for COP29 and COP30: an effective Loss and Damage Fund, Debt Cancellation for climate efforts, and a Just Energy Transition. This Global Statement was endorsed by numerous individuals and institutions, such as the Presidents of the six Jesuit Conferences, numerous Provincials and their Socii, the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network on Ecology (Ecojesuit), the Social Justice Ecology Secretariat in Rome, and hundreds of dedicated members of the Ignatian Family. Sign the Global Statement now and call for change!

MEXICO CITY (OSV News) -- An Indigenous Tzotzil priest and peace activist was murdered after celebrating Sunday Mass in Mexico's southern Chiapas state, where the Catholic Church has denounced government inaction in the face of rising violence. Father Marcelo Pérez, who ministered in Indigenous regions rife with territorial conflicts and later denounced drug cartel violence, was shot dead Oct. 20 by two assailants on a motorcycle as he drove away from the Guadalupe church in San Cristóbal de las Casas, according to Mexican media reports.