Synodal journey with Christ: Karnataka province sammelan inaugurated  

On : 2023-12-29

Karnataka province sammelan, held after a gap of six years, was inaugurated on December 28. The theme for the three-day sammelan was ‘Synodal journey with Christ towards reconciliation and justice’.

In his welcome address, provincial Fr Dionysius Vaz said that the sammelan would help to ‘foster our union and discern our relevance.’ Quoting Fr R.C. Chako SJ, he said, “When Jesuits gather, Society of Jesus gathers and when the Society of Jesus gathers, the spirit of the Society gathers.”

Fr Vaz further added that the sammelan was God’s blessing. “I see the sammelan having the following purposes: to strengthen our bonds, to bring freshness to the province, to discern on the future challenges, to see how we can bring about growth in the province and to see what future direction the province needs to take,” he said.

In her keynote address, Dr Brinnel D’Souza from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, called upon the Jesuits of Karnataka province to be a prophetic voice in the wilderness. “There should be space for critical thought and academic freedom in your institutions. Your institutions must be accessible to the most vulnerable. You must strive hard to end poverty and work towards improving human development wherever possible,” she added.

Answering a question on what could be done in a situation where Jesuits feel vulnerable in running institutions and the fear that the present dispensation may come after them, Dr D’Souza said that it was important to stand for certain value system. “Constantly compromising on our values for a so called greater good is indeed a way of being slave to a system. If you want to run your institutions like any other private enterprises, then what is unique about your institutions?” she asked.

Earlier, Fr Melwin J. Pinto and team led the group to mingle with one another through a creative ice-breaking session. The coordinator of the sammelan Fr Prashanth D’Souza explained the dynamics of the three-day programme.