信仰和正义的斗争

迪伦·布林24年在El Ocotillo的反思. (图片由BC校园事工提供)

One of 电子游戏软件’s hallmark service-immersion programs has resumed for the first time since January 2020, affirming  for a new cohort of 电子游戏软件 students the deep ties of the Jesuits to El Salvador.

通过Arrupe国际沉浸式学习, 两组由大约12名BC大学本科生组成, 两名成人导师, and a community partner visited the Central American country from May 25 through June 2. 对学生来说, the trip was the culmination of a yearlong commitment to the Arrupe program that included weekly community building and education, 以及持续的信仰形成.

“我们最初的计划并没有把我们带到萨尔瓦多, 但COVID激增迫使我们转向,” said Campus Ministry Associate Director Ryan Heffernan. “给n how closely connected El Salvador is to some of the themes of our immersion program, it was an ideal place for us to resume post-confinement,” and provided a meaningful experience for both students and in-country partner organizations, 他补充说.

通过沉浸, 主题为“信仰与正义的斗争”," students learned how faith communities in San Salvador and Morazan advocate for human rights, 从内战时期(1972-1992)到现在, 据校园部长艾米丽·伊根说, 谁负责Arrupe项目.

Partner organizations included CRISPAZ (Christians for Peace in El Salvador), an ecumenical faith-based organization dedicated to building solidarity between the Church of the poor and marginalized communities in El Salvador and communities in the United States, 加拿大, 澳大利亚, and other countries; and the Center for 全球 Education and Experience, 谁在中美洲有区域电子游戏正规平台中心, 墨西哥, and Southern Africa offer programming which emphasizes social justice and community engagement.

“Arrupe participants learn about the complex realities of the countries we visit by hearing the stories of our hosts in their own words, 在他们自己的空间里. Those moments of encounter and accompaniment allow us to foster a spirit of mutuality,据赫弗南说. “我们希望如此, by taking part in the yearlong program and visiting with our partner communities, students are prepared to put what they have learned into action—embracing [the late Superior General of the Society of Jesus] Pedro Arrupe's call to be a person for and with others.”

Among the groups’ robust roster of activities was a visit to the Jesuit University of Central America to pay homage to the six Jesuits and two lay women martyred there in 1989 during the Salvadoran civil war. The BC contingents also met with UCA students for discussions. 

Victoria Newell '22 in front of the Jesuit Martyrs grave at the University of Central America.

 “The legacy of the martyrs continues to influence the work we do at Jesuit institutions around the world, so introducing current 电子游戏软件 students to that is deeply important,赫弗南解释道.

Participants also met with members of the Committee of Family Members of Migrants who have died or disappeared, to hear from those who have lost loved ones trying to migrate to the U.S. They visited the gravesite and home of Saint Oscar Romero, 做弥撒, and had a homestay in the rural community of El Ocotillo, with which BC has had a relationship for more than two decades.

A significant aspect of their faith formation experience was evening prayer and reflection—which is grounded in Ignatian spirituality and invites students to pay attention to the way God is calling them on the immersion and beyond. The aim, according to organizers, is that students translate their learning into action.  

That goal is affirmed by the experience of Victoria Newell ’22, CRISPAZ小组的学生领袖.