July 20, 2020 — The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities accepted St. John’s College, a Jesuit junior college located in Belize, as its 28th member institution.

July 15, 2020 — The floors of Brigham and Women’s Hospital are hushed, says chaplain Stephen Nicholson, SJ.

Working through shareholder activism, the Jesuits West Province recently helped pass a shareholder resolution to hold GEO Group, one of the largest for-profit prison and detention center operators in the U.S., accountable for human rights and treatment of detainees.

This month, the Jesuit Migration Network is highlighting the voices of migrants working in essential industries. Their stories demonstrate sacrifice, courage and endurance

This past summer, I traveled to the Arizona-Mexico border for a service trip with seven other students from Walsh Jesuit High School in Northeastern Ohio. I naively thought that I was extremely prepared for the immersion trip and  that I wouldn’t learn much.

Poverty, ecological destruction, labor exploitation — these issues are the roots of global injustice. They create a forest of social ills that feels overwhelming and impenetrable. The spread of coronavirus has further confirmed how systemic injustice makes communities especially vulnerable to harm.

May marks the fifth anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si’. Through this landmark encyclical, Pope Francis called the Church and all people to transform our relationship with creation by responding to the “cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

Cinthia Padilla-Ortiz is no stranger to advocacy meetings. As a DACA recipient and community activist, she has met with state and U.S. Congressional representatives from her home state of Tennessee and has lobbied for immigration reform on Capitol Hill. But coronavirus has forced these typical avenues for advocacy online.

June 15, 2020 — Mornings at Pope Francis Center start just after 6 a.m. The skeleton crew of workers line up to have their temperature checked, then they change into work clothes that are laundered on site every day. Finally, they don gloves and masks and get to work preparing for the 7 a.m. breakfast. Each day Pope Francis Center (PFC) serves over 200 people experiencing homelessness in the Detroit area, providing daily meals, health and hygiene services and hospitality.

“As a black man living in America, the video of George Floyd’s suffocation cues unhealed experiences with police in this country and makes me less optimistic that change between the Black community and the police will soon change,” writes Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ, for the Jesuit Post. “Being Black in America should not mean we walk in fear of death. But it does. It should not mean we have less access to breath. But it does.”

June 9, 2020 — In the wake of recent protests calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice, many activists are calling for sweeping criminal justice reforms. Black and Brown communities are disproportionately targeted through the criminal justice system, including manifestations such as mass incarceration, police brutality or social assistance bans due to previous convictions.

Today is the feast day of St. John Francis Regis, a 17th-century French Jesuit known for his zealous missionary efforts and his care for the poor and marginalized, especially at-risk women and orphans.