My dear friends,
We are happy to release this issue of INI, dated Oct-Dec ’24, on the feast of St. Andrew, the ‘first-called’ apostle.
This issue carries excellent articles written by five Jesuit writers, whose earlier articles in INI and Jivan have been much appreciated.
Fio Mascarenhas asks if the facts revealed to us by biblical and historical research and theology should affect the traditional beliefs that we recall and celebrate in Christmas.
Joseph Lobo reminds us of the original intention of St. Ignatius when he launched the Society’s well-known educational apostolate and asks if the saint’s intention is served by what our educational institutions are actually able to do today.
Xavier Savarimuthu poses a crucial question to all Jesuits in higher education: “As education tumbles into a vortex of digital facades, AI-driven shortcuts, and fractured values, we must ask: Is this the progress we envisioned?” But he also talks about the opportunities offered by the amazing technological progress.
S.M. John Kennedy reminds us of the urgency of the climate problem. He warns us of the dangers that await us if our leaders do not act now to address the serious ecological challenges.
Stanislaus Alla shares with us what is revealed in an interesting book he read recently. Written by a Jailor who worked in the (in)famous Tihar Jail, the book lets us know about what happens to the prisoners, some of whom are innocent. The sufferings of these prisoners remind Stan of John the Baptist and Jesus who too were jailed before being executed.
We will have to celebrate Christmas this year with foreboding anxieties about what will happen to the people of war-weary Ukraine, the innocent Israeli civilians still held hostage by Hamas, and the hapless victims of the retaliatory attacks by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon. With Donald Trump as the President-elect of the U.S. and Vladimir Putin as the unchallenged ruler of Russia and the alarming rise in temperatures and the number of right-wing dictators, we don’t know what will happen to our world. But in celebrating the arrival of the God-Child into our world we are celebrating hope for our world too. A hope-filled Christmas, therefore, and a peace-filled 2025!
– M.A. Joe Antony, SJ