Our educational institutions will shape our students into agents of social change, preparing them for concerted social action and thus paving the way to mass movements which will bring about the desired liberation. They will, in their admission policies actualize our preferential option for the poor, by "giving a privileged place to the weak" who are poor, economically and academically and form them "as men for others, stamped with the Ignatian hallmark of excellence and relevance" ; they will challenge the existing educational system into reorienting itself in order to respond to the crying needs of today's society. They will also promote research in those branches of arts, sciences and relevant pedagogy which would help build a just social order. Aware as we are of the great structural constraints we work under, we have real apprehensions as to how effective our educational institutions could be in bringing about the desired social change through social action. Yet, responding to the greater call to be pioneers and prophets, we engage ourselves in the momentous task of liberation with a readiness to pay the price the kingdom demands.
(Excerpts from THE STATEMENT OF THE JESUIT MADURAI PROVINCE ASSEMBLY HELD AT
ST. JOSEPH'S COLLEGE, TIRUCHIRAPALLI ON 27-28 DECEMBER 2008)
We stand at a critical moment of Earth's history and we perceive more clearly than ever before that Mother Earth is groaning under the impact of environmental degradation. We also note with grave concern that Mother India is being subjected to the onslaught of communalism. The cry from the wounded Mother Earth caused by the unprecedented environmental destruction through depletion of natural resources, desertification, global warming, pollution and widespread displacement of people caused by ill-conceived developmental initiatives is echoed across the universe (GC35 D3/33). In fact, the very survival of the earth community is being endangered. This calls for urgent intervention with effective advocacy to restore the environment as the sacramental site of salvation. In today's global context of growing fundamentalist ideologies based on religion, the secular and pluralistic image of our own country is being tarnished with ever increasing virulence.
We need to counter this. We should not be mute and passive spectators to the violation of human rights in our country but act as a protest force raising our voices unitedly against such inhuman acts. In this context, we pledge to promote the culture of dialogue and reconciliation across various sections of our country appreciating pluralism. We hope thus to build up a harmonious and equitable society which upholds the inalienable human rights and dignity of all. We acknowledge humbly that our response so far to the ecological disaster and the onslaught of fundamentalism has been minimal and uncoordinated. We are grateful to all people who, with their enduring search for human dignity, permit us to accompany them in this historical striving for eco-restoration and human solidarity.
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