I met Bishop Stephen Chow during the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus in October 2016. At the time, I was looking for Jesuits who could write about China in La Civiltà Cattolica from first-hand experience, and I approached him to ask who I could contact. He soon became Provincial of the Jesuits of China, and our conversation continued. I always received balanced and wise views from him, capable of considering the picture of the Chinese situation and...
The Lebanese state is collapsing day by day, and the phenomenon continues to intensify. Meanwhile, the financial crisis the country is going through is considered by the World Bank to be one of the worst in the world since 1850.[1] In 2022, more than 80 percent of the population lived below the poverty line; the Lebanese pound lost 95 percent of its value in three years; GDP declined by 6.7 percent in 2019, 20.3 percent in 2020, and 9.5 percent...
Those mysterious things within Thoughts are part of us, accompanying us, advising us, but also disturbing us, discouraging us. Some people are so tormented by them that they cannot find peace, are unable to get rid of them and thus are prevented from leading a peaceful, active life. This is certainly not a new problem; Christian spirituality has long dealt with it. St. Ignatius, thinking back to the decisive episode in his life that led him to work out the...
During the second day of his apostolic trip to Hungary, on April 29, Pope Francis met with the country’s Jesuits. Around 6 p.m. he entered the Nunciature Hall, where 32 Jesuits were gathered, including the provincial, Fr. Attila András. He then greeted many of them, one by one. The meeting began with words of welcome from Fr. András, who presented the situation in the province. Then the pope thanked him and said, “Now ask the questions you want. Thank you!"...
Pope Francis and the ‘piecemeal world war’ With the so-called “special military operation,” as Putin calls the bloody conflict he provoked in Ukraine (which has so far produced more than 200,000 dead and wounded on each side and some 18,000 civilian casualties),[1] the frightening specter of war, which we thought had been eradicated forever from our continent, suddenly returned to the heart of Europe. In fact, it had never altogether disappeared. One need only think of the conflicts in the...
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is the international organization of the Society of Jesus that has the mission to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees and other displaced people around the world. During 2021, thanks to its donors, JRS brought aid to 999,518 people in 57 countries, with 80 million euros spent on programs and services out of 83.3 million raised. We interviewed Father Thomas H. Smolich, who has led JRS since October 2015 and who will pass the baton...
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