News

Jesuit Network with Migrants Central America and North America (RJM CANA) shared the first four months of the year report (January – April 2024): "They have been months of a lot of work to face the challenges in the migration context characterized by an increase in the migratory flow in vulnerable conditions throughout the region, however, also These have been months in which the fruits of networking have been confirmed".

One year, after the people of Sudan were plunged into extreme humanitarian emergency following the outbreak in mid-April 2023 of fierce fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), JRS and several Christian organisations, have published a statement regarding the situation.

Paglaum is the project proposed by Dulungan Youth to the Reconciliation with Creation network program in Asia Pacific Conference. Here is the progress of this project aimed at conducting a writing workshop to prepare young people to communicate the forest conservation efforts of the indigenous communities of Central Panay Mountain Range.

From April 5 to 7, the Jesuit Radio Network in the Dominican Republic met at the facilities of the Loyola Polytechnic Institute (IPL) in San Cristóbal. During the meeting, the construction of a shared itinerary that seeks to focus on collaboration and contextualized radio communication marked by the Apostolic Preferences approved by the Society of Jesus for the coming years was highlighted.

The worldwide network of Jesuit organisations, Xavier Network, involved in responding to humanitarian crises around the world, expressed shock at the April 2 killing of 7 aid workers delivering essential food aid. "We cannot be silent." Xavier Network joined the global Jesuits' call for "an immediate ceasefire, for negotiations and for the beginning of a process that will bring freedom, liberty and justice for all in the Middle East, the only road to true peace."

On Wednesday, April 10, the European Parliament voted on the European Pact on Asylum and Migration. JRS Europe directors jointly opposed the pact and urged European institutions to reject it: "We cannot support a system that will allow the systematic detention of thousands of people, including children, at the EU external borders."

Despite challenges posed by the current conflict in Southern Lebanon, Joseph Nassar SJ reports that the Ain Ebel Centre, in collaboration with the Order of Malta and the local Municipality, remains faithful to its mission to provide healthcare, humanitarian efforts and agricultural initiatives. Its mobile dispensary serves 30 villages with essential medical services. Comprehensive training programmes promote human development and resilience.

On the memorial day of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, J. Baptiste, a Jesuit genocide survivor from Rwanda, shared his story of the tragic event. On behalf of fellow Rwandans, he concluded with a prayer: "My prayer today is to find the last remains of the victims…, then [this] commemoration will mean something different. Only then will our wounds heal and the ongoing reconciliation process move faster."

The Cartagena Declaration, adopted in 1984, emerged in response to the growing displacement crises in Latin America. Its importance lies in its expanded approach to defining a refugee, recognising the causes of displacement beyond armed conflict events. Despite progress in these 40 years, implementation challenges of the recognition criteria and the commitments made in the adopted plans persist.

For April, the Holy Father chose to pray particularly for women, the recognition of their dignity and role in society: "Let us pray that the dignity and worth of women be recognised in every culture and for an end to the discrimination they face in various parts of the world".