Welle, Jason, S.J.

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Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 44 Article 179-1-2013Faith in the Future: New Frontiers for Social Justicein Jesuit Higher EducationJason Welle S.J.Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationWelle, Jason S.J. (2013) "Faith in the Future: New Frontiers for Social Justice in Jesuit Higher Education," Conversations on Jesuit HigherEducation: Vol. 44, Article 17.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol44/iss1/1726 ConversationsFormation for justice has been a part ofJesuit education from its beginning. AsRonald Modras writes in IgnatianHumanism: “The early Jesuits were notbent on fomenting social revolution,but they were conscious of beingreformers. They saw education as ameans of producing good leaders andcitizens for society and good priests for the church.” Inlate nineteenth and early twentieth century, Jesuit col-leges in the Unites States adapted the Ratio Studiorum,while staying true to its formative principles, to keeppace with changing realities in American higher educa-tion, replacing the standard seven-year European modelwith differentiated high school and university four-yearcurriculums, allowing students to explore broader sub-jects through elective courses.By the time Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, former supe-rior general, addressed Jesuit educators at Santa ClaraUniversity in October 2000, Jesuit education had under-gone another shift. A well-rounded classroom educationwas no longer seen as adequate in a rapidly changingworld; contact and practical experience were now consid-ered vital to holistic education. Inspired the SecondVatican Council’s call to engage the world, Jesuit universi-ties found both inspiration and consolation in Fr.Kolvenbach’s words: “When the heart is touched by directexperience, the mind may be challenged to change.”So with service and justice well ingrained in theIgnatian pedagogy and in Jesuit universities today, whatmight the future of social justice look like? Perhaps theanswer can be found in the address given by the currentsuperior general, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, in Mexico City in2010. He likewise comments in that address that Jesuit uni-versities have recognized the need to move beyond anintellectual education and provide opportunities for directcontact. However, Fr. Nicolás also reminded representa-tives of Jesuit universities then that a Jesuit university is notmerely an intellectual institution, requiring “learning andintelligence, imagination and ingenuity, solid studies andrigorous analysis,” but that it is also a “‘ministry or ‘aposto-late’: in the service of the faith, of the Church, of thehuman family and the created world that God wants todraw more and more into the realm of his Kingdom of lifeand love.” Fr. Nicolás reminds us of the 32nd GeneralCongregation of the Jesuits, which states: “The mission ofthe Society of Jesus today is the service of faith, of whichthe promotion of justice is an absolute requirement.”While it is true that many universities include faith inthe articulation of their missions, in phrases such as “Faiththat does Justice,” it is also true that for many of our stu-dents, the social justice mission is disconnected from itsfoundation in Catholic principles. I would suggest that areinvigoration of the service of faith, that is, the ministryaspect of the mission of Jesuit universities, is the nextstage in the development of the proyecto social (as notedby Fr. Nicolás in Mexico City) for our universities.Renewal of the Catholic faith identity of our Jesuituniversities cannot be expressed merely in terms ofnumbers of Catholic students nor by stately chapels onour campuses. It also cannot be limited to the scholar-ship and instruction of Catholic theology, although thatJason Welle, S.J., is a contributor to The Jesuit Post, anonline magazine about Jesus, politics, and pop-culture,the Catholic Church, sports, and Socrates–about making the case for God (better: letting God make thecase for himself) in our secular age. It can be accessedat: www.thejesuitpost.orgFaith in the FutureNew Frontiers for Social Justice in Jesuit Higher EducationBy Jason Welle, S.J., in cooperation with The Jesuit Post1Welle: Faith in the Future: New Frontiers for Social Justice in Jesuit HPublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2013Conversations 27is certainly essential, especially as Catholictheologians engage in dialogue and investi-gation across disciplines. Furthermore, mostof our schools reflect more and more thereligious diversity of the United States andthe global community, and we are rightlysensitive that the service of faith not bereduced to proselytization. So in what waysmight we renew Catholic faith identity in ouruniversities in a diverse environment?To answer that, I suggest the example ofanother Jesuit who has risen to prominencerecently: Pope Francis. In particular, threemoments in his first two weeks as Bishop ofRome present a model for our universities toengage the ministry of faith in the promotionof justice.• In his mass at a juvenile detention facilityon Holy Thursday, Pope Francis demon-strated these two principles in action bywashing the feet of prisoners, both menand women, including Muslim youth.• At an audience with journalists he said:“Since many of you are not members ofthe Catholic Church, and others are notbelievers, I cordially give this blessingsilently, to each of you, respecting theconscience of each, but in the knowledge that each ofyou is a child of God. May God bless you!” • In his audience with ecumenical and interfaith leaders,he spoke of “promoting friendship and respectbetween men and women of different religious tradi-tions…There is much that we can do to benefit thepoor, the needy and those who suffer, and to favor jus-tice, promote reconciliation and build peace.”Furthermore, the different faith traditions can worktogether “to counter the dominance of a one-dimen-sional vision of the human person, a vision whichreduces human beings to what they produce and towhat they consume: this is one of the most insidioustemptations of our time.” He went on to identify non-believers who, while searching for truth, goodness,and beauty, are partners is the cause of human digni-ty, peace, and the care of creation.In these instances, Pope Francis articulates a model forbringing together the faith and justice aspects of the Jesuitmission. It respects the individual conscience of believerswithout obscuring or compromising Catholic faith and iden-tity, and it engages people of all faiths and backgrounds ina dialogue not only about justice but also about a multidi-mensional vision of humanity. And it offers the service offaith in the promotion of justice to all members of society,regardless of background or religious identity. Without faith,Pope Francis explained in his first homily, the Church and byextension her institutions, including our Jesuit universities,are nothing more than “charitable NGOs.” We are set apartby the magis, the search for more: more meaning and moretruth and more beauty in humanity and humanity’s works,including those of justice and mercy.In the last 100 years, Jesuit universities have demonstrat-ed a characteristic adaptability to suit the mission to the par-ticular situation, all the while staying true to the foundingidentity of Jesuit colleges and universities in forming ethicalleaders for a complex world, both through rigorous academ-ics and opportunities for service. In the next 100 years, ouruniversities have another opportunity to demonstrate thatsame adaptability by enacting a renewal of “the service faith,of which justice is an absolute requirement,” in a pluralisticculture. Fr. Nicolás, in his Mexico City address, noted that“this commitment to a dialogue between faith andculture...has always been a distinguishing mark of Jesuitlearned ministry.” In doing so, he recalls Pope Benedict’swords to the Jesuits that our mission is to serve “those placeswhere ‘faith and human knowledge, faith and modern sci-ence, faith and the fight for justice’ meet.” Therein lies thefuture of social justice in Jesuit higher education. ■Xavier University. Gregory Rust2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 44, Iss. 1 [2013], Art. 17http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol44/iss1/17

Faith in the Future: New Frontiers for Social Justice in Jesuit Higher Education

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Faith in the Future: New Frontiers for Social Justice in Jesuit Higher Education

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