Workshops 2011

We are done! (for now)

The satisfaction and relief expressed in the faces of leaders, Core Group members and observers speak volumes about the hard work of the last six days. It will be sad to part but good to get some rest. Many of us will meet again in 2012, and in the meantime, there will be many, many … Continue reading →

The Challenge of Advocacy: memories of a struggle in the 1980s (George Mutholil SJ)

The Loyola GIAN workshop is my first formal contact with the Network initiative, other than reading about it in the newsletters or listening to some talk or other. Beginning with the presentations of Julian, the presentations and much more the group work in the core group have given me a new understanding of the challenge … Continue reading →

Sunday and Monday in pictures

Hear the cry of the Poor, and help them tell their story – not yours! (Tom Greene SJ)

The title of this piece is a refrain for me as I advocate on behalf of the poor and marginalized. It developed from the experience of watching Nelio (not his actual name,) a young Honduran boy in immigration court in Houston, Texas. His case had been called up and he sat alone at the Respondent’s … Continue reading →

In the steps of Saint Ignatius the advocate

This morning, José Ignacio García SJ took us on a tour of the birthplace of Saint Ignatius, the house where his family lived and where he had his conversion experience after his leg was shattered by a cannon ball. At four different “stations” around the house, we listened to texts from Saint Ignatius to find … Continue reading →

“And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Loyola”

They started arriving in Bilbao on Monday, the 13th of June 2011. From Kinshasa to Seoul; Bogota to Boston; from Melbourne to Madrid; Lusaka to London: they all streamed into Bilbao for onward travel to Loyola. The first to arrive was Augustin Kalubi SJ and the last was MK George SJ today. They are members … Continue reading →

See you in Loyola!

Who are the people coming to Loyola for the General Workshop? Some of them we know already, others we are looking forward to meeting for the first time in June. From India, we will be joined by D.M. Solomon SJ, the director of the JOHAR Human Resources Development centre in the state of Jharkhand; Walter … Continue reading →

Getting started in Rome (4-9 April)

The Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat organized a workshop to discuss the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN) from 4-9 April at the Curia in Rome. One aim of the workshop was to bring together the leaders of the five advocacy networks: Governance of Natural and Mineral Resources (GNMR), Right to Education, Migration, Ecology and Peace … Continue reading →