Proposed Guidelines for the Future of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae)


These guidelines were accepted by a majority of those present at a meeting held at Drongen, Belgium, on August 20, 1979. They are presented as an updating of the Magna Carta of Loyola, which was approved at Bilbao, Spain, on July 31, 1956, by several hundred former students of Jesuit schools and later approved by the then Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

In accepting these guidelines, we are conscious that it is as christian Alumni(ae) that we accept them. We recognise that there are tens of thousands of former students of Jesuit institutions who draw their deepest convictions and faith from other sources; we invite them to join with us in pursuing those goals and objectives which are consonant with their own beliefs. The christian, we believe, is called to service the entire human family, in cooperation with all men and women of good will.
As former students of Jesuit educational institutions, we are beginning to understand our role in the Church as co-workers with Christ in a world that sorely needs his love, his justice, his healing word (Vatican II). We believe that our growth must go beyond academic excellence and beyond professional expertise: precisely that we may become more vitally involved in the critical decisions of our time, decisions that help to form the hearts and minds of the human community. As former students of Jesuit schools we appreciate the quality of our training in the tradition of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. We have learned that we are called to be men and women for others in imitation of Christ. By becoming such we help to extend into the modern world the spirit of the Jesuit educational tradition as derived from the Spiritual Exercises of St.Ignatius.
We judge that the World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae) is called to work with Jesuits throughout the world for the promotion of the work of the Church and of the Society of Jesus. We feel, however, that the work of this World Union requires a clearer focus in its service of the people of God. We recognize the wide diversity of local and national contexts in which we live and therefore insist on flexibility in our choice and use of means in working to achieve the following goals and objectives, proposed as guidelines for our common purposes.

Goals
  1. As former students of Jesuit schools with special ties to the Society of Jesus, we wish to share the apostolic mission of the Society.
  2. We seek to express our faith-commitment in the context of our understanding that "love of God which does not include love for the least of our neighbors is a farce" (Father Pedro Arrupe, "Men for others").
  3. We seek to foster Jesuit education as important in service of the Church, for we see it as a most effective means for the formation of principled and committed young people in those values which lie at the base of sensitive service to the human family.
  4. We believe that bonds of fraternity within the World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae) should serve to encourage and stimulate our common efforts.
Objectives
More specifically, to achive these goals we believe that efforts such as the following might be initiated by Associations of former students:
  1. programs of continuing education in:
    1. updating an understanding of faith, theology, Scripture, Church teaching, ect.;
    2. the practical implications of faith, i.e. ethics, morality and exercise of civic responsability;
  2. service projects selected to meet the needs of the people of God as an expression of the faith that does justice;
  3. programs in support of the just exercise of parental rights of freedom of choice in education of their children;
  4. support, encouragement and promotion of Jesuit institutions of education; encouragement of vocations to the Society of Jesus so that the apostolate of Jesuit education can continue;
  5. ongoing communication among, and meetings of members of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae).
Some practical instructions
It remains our conviction that the guidance of a Jesuit Ecclesiastical Assistant, a Delegate of Father General, is vital to this international movement. Further we believe that a Secretariate of the World Union should continue to fulfill the functions of animation and communication internationally.
One important means to achive the encouragement and communication required is the periodic meeting of the World Union members. Precisely because the mission of the Church and of the Society of Jesus which we share (service of faith and promotion of justice) is so challenging and requires ongoing growth in understanding and spiritual maturation, the guidance and active involvement of Jesuits at both provincial and local levels is imperative.