Celebrating Memories of Fr Pedro Arrupe
Beirut-Lebanon: Fr. Pedro Arrupe will always be remembered for all that he embodied and stood for. He was a deeply spiritual person with a great commitment to justice; he was a very ‘human’ person who reached out to others with compassion. As the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, in the immediate post Vatican II era, Fr Arrupe provided not only the Jesuits, but also the Church and the entire world, with a visionary leadership; for him, ‘the service of faith and the promotion of justice’ was central to discipleship.
Fr Arrupe abhorred violence. He was in the midst of the nuclear holocaust, which destroyed Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. Fr Arrupe wrote in a book, ‘I lived the atomic bomb’, his experiences the day of the tragedy and the following months. He was able to touch pain and suffering in a very profound way. He wrote “they (the authorities) did challenge us when they said: “Do not enter the city because there is a gas in the air that kills for seventy years.” It is at such times that one feels most a priest, when one knows that in the city there are 50,000 bodies, which, unless they are cremated, will cause a terrible plague.
There were besides 120,000 wounded to care for. In light of these facts, a priest cannot remain outside the city just to preserve his life. Of course, when one is told that in the city there is a gas that kills, one must be very determined to ignore that fact and go in. And we did.” Fr Arrupe never stopped speaking and writing against violence and war, particularly nuclear warfare. In 1970, twenty-five years after Hiroshima, he warned against weapons of mass destruction remaining in the hands of the military around the world; he said, “the only sure guarantee that they will not be used is their non-existence.”
Fr Arrupe was concerned about refugees. In the late seventies, he was “struck and shocked by the plight of thousands of boat people and refugees” in South East Asia fleeing war and persecution. In a letter addressed to the Universal Society on 14th November 1980 he said, “that this situation constitutes a challenge to the Society we cannot ignore if we are to remain faithful to St. Ignatius’ criteria for our apostolic work and the recent calls of the General Congregations”. He went on to add, “the help needed is not only material: in a special way the Society is being called to render a service that is human, pedagogical and spiritual. It is a difficult and complex challenge, the needs are dramatically urgent”. In that same letter, he established the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) spelling out its primary aims and objectives. He wanted the Jesuits to “accept this letter and the request it makes in a spirit of alacrity and availability”. Besides service, accompanying the refugees and doing advocacy for them would be the core mission of the JRS.
Fr Arrupe was grounded in a faith that does justice. The liturgical readings of today (the Fifth Sunday) are very symbolic. Prophet Isaiah (58:7-10) reminds us to, “share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own “The Psalmist(112:4-9) sings, “his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord; his heart is steadfast; he shall not fear; lavishly he gives to the poor, his justice shall endure forever” St Paul is forthright(1 Cor 2:1-5),“my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God”. Jesus is clear (Mt 5:13-16)”You are the salt of the earth! You are the light of the world: your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” So coincidental, so prophetic- yet all of them so poignantly and beautifully reflecting Fr Arrupe: the man, message and mission. Is the Lord telling us something?
Fr Arrupe died on February 5th, 1991; today, as we celebrate his memories, we need to thank God for gifting this exceptional person to the world. As we revisit the depth and wealth, which was Fr Arrupe, let us pray to him to intercede for us. We live in troubled times: the refugees, the displaced and the excluded are treated as ‘unwanted and criminals’ by many; the ‘nuclear threat’ looms as a possible reality, as never before. Injustices are being mainstreamed even as ‘faith’ is drowned in the cacophony of loud prayers and empty rituals.
Our world today, more than ever, desperately needs the inspiration and motivation of a saint like Fr. Pedro Arrupe!
About Author: Fr. Cedric Prakash sj – Advocacy & Communications , Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) MENA Region, Rue de L’Universitie Saint-Joseph, Beirut-Lebanon