THE INITIATIVE, WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE IN OCTOBER, WILL REPRESENT AN IMPORTANT STEP FOR THE JESUIT ORDER.
Newsroom (12/02/2025 18:03, Gaudium Press) In a letter addressed to the entire Society of Jesus, the Superior General of the Jesuits, Father Arturo Sosa, has summoned the major superiors to a world summit scheduled to take place from October 17 to 26 in Rome.
During the meeting, various topics will be discussed, including the life and mission of Jesuit religious, the vow of poverty, sexual abuse in their communities and the role of women in their apostolate, among others. This will be the third such meeting promoted by the Society of Jesus, the other two having been held in 2000 and 2005.
An important step for the Jesuits
According to Father Sosa, this meeting will represent “an important step in the process of discernment of the life-mission of the Society of Jesus inspired by the 36th General Congregation”, which exhorted the Jesuits to “respond courageously to the signs through which the Holy Spirit is guiding us to serve the mission entrusted by the Lord Jesus to the Church”.
Other points highlighted by the Superior General were “the examination of the meaning and challenge of the vow of poverty, together with the revision of the Statutes of Religious Poverty of the Society of Jesus and the Instruction on Administration and Finance”, topics which, according to Father Sosa, the Holy Spirit has been drawing to the attention of the Society of Jesus.
Abuse in the Society of Jesus
Finally, he said that in recent years “it has been difficult to become aware of the presence of all kinds of abuse in all the social contexts in which we live and work. It has been difficult to recognize their presence in our communities and apostolic works”.
He assured, however, that “important steps have been taken: recognizing each case, adopting appropriate measures, facilitating processes of justice and reconciliation. At the same time, programs have been developed to prevent possible cases and strengthen ‘safe environments’ in apostolic works.” (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
