Creating a network among the European Centers of Social Thought and Action in Brussels

On Thursday, January 14, there took place in Brussels a meeting of several centers of social thought and action of the Society of Jesus in Europe. The purpose of the meeting, convoked by José Ignacio García, was to reinforce the bridges that have been created among these centers and to establish new common projects. These centers share some important characteristics: they have their own teams for treating questions related to the dialogue between faith and social justice, they have means for publishing and diffusing their thought (courses, journals, websites, etc.), and they have projects of public advocacy and social transformation. Matters discussed in the meeting included the participation of the centers in networks such as EUROJES and Scribani, the consolidation of projects such as the “Faith and Politics” courses, and the establishment of thematic reflection groups shared among the centers. Attending the meeting were the following: José Ignacio Garcia sj and Martin Maier sj (Jesuit European Social Center - Brussels),  Michael Shöpf sj (Institut für Gesellschaftspolitik - Munich),  Szabolcs Sajgó sj (Faludi Ferenc Akadémia - Budapest), John K Guiney sj (Centre of Faith and Justice – Dublin), Bertrand Heriard sj (Centre de Recherche et Action Social (CERAS) – Paris),  Giacomo Costa sj (Aggiornamenti Sociali – Milan), Nicoletta Purpura (Instituto di Formaziona Politica "Pedro Arrupe" – Palermo), Frédéric Rottier (Centre AVEC – Brussels), Xavier Casanovas and Jaume Flaquer sj (Cristianisme i Justícia – Barcelona).