Theological Reflection
The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice aims to inform policy formation, by the Gospel and the traditions of Ignatian Spirituality and Catholic Social Teaching.
As the First Decree of the 36th Jesuit General Congregation states, for Jesuits, “compassion is action, an action discerned together.” It continues, “we know that there is no authentic familiarity with God if we do not allow ourselves to be moved to compassion and action by an encounter with Christ who is revealed in the suffering, vulnerable faces of people, indeed in the suffering of creation.” Reflecting theologically on such truths is the beginning of our work in the JCFJ, the foundation of all we do, and it determines the means of our work as well. We cannot be Christians who are untouched by questions of injustice and we cannot oppose that injustice by unjust means.
C.S. Lewis once said,
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
At the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, we believe that our religious convictions are not private concerns, but must shape how we act. If – as Christians do – we declare that God became a man who was homeless, then that commits us to fighting homelessness in our society. The Christianity we enact is not that of consoling believers of heavenly bliss as a prize for the injustices endured on Earth.
Author: Kevin Hargaden