In a letter dated 17 May to the Major Superiors of the Society of Jesus, Father General and our Vice Grand Chancellor Arturo Sosa SJ was grateful to receive the announcement of the completion of the process of creating a single university through the union of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute at the Gregorian University. He explains, “This unification process has now entered a new phase: implementation. Sustained effort will be required in the coming years to achieve what the Holy Father asks of us: an even better performing implementation of the three papal missions.”
He goes on saying, “Today we live in a very challenging historical context. Here in Rome there is undoubtedly an increasing internationalization of our institutions and houses. Meanwhile, the Church and the Society of Jesus are facing the enormous changes I alluded to in last year’s De Statu Societatis Iesu. In this context it would be irresponsible to remain in a comfortable status quo regarding our Roman works. Adapting our structures (restructuring), promoting our academic quality, addressing contemporary didactic and pedagogical challenges, carefully integrating contemporary theological and ecclesiological developments into our teaching - all these are absolutely necessary to form new generations for the service of the Universal Church everywhere in the world. All these points are on our agenda in Rome and will be there in the years to come.”
After outlining the needs in terms of professors and students for our restructured Roman University, Father Sosa concluded his message in a spirit of thanksgiving and prayer. “On the feast of Pentecost, we celebrate God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the young Church, so that all its diverse cultures and languages could be understood and appreciated and Christians could go courageously into the world to proclaim the Gospel. On this feast day, I ask the Lord to bless and inspire us in the international and universal missions entrusted to us by the Holy Father and in all the missions to which the Lord sends us in every corner of the world.”
- Read the full story on JesuitsGlobal