Fr. Sosa: Let us All Unite in Building a Future Full of Hope
BY ISN STAFF | February 20, 2024
“Let us all unite in building a future full of hope,” said Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa in a message released by the Jesuit Curia in Rome for the 2024 World Day of Social Justice.
Initiated in 2007, the United Nations General Assembly established the World Day of Social Justice to promote efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity, and access to social well-being and justice for all. The UN’s celebration of the 2004 World Day of Social Justice includes a global online event titled, Global Coalition for Social Justice: Bridging Gaps, Building Alliances.
Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, S.J., of Venezuela, was elected the 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus at the Jesuits’ General Congregation 36 (GC 36) in Rome on October 14, 2016. Fr. Sosa leads the Society of Jesus, the largest religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church.
Fr. Sosa’s dedication to social justice has been demonstrated throughout his vocation as a Jesuit. During his tenure as the rector of the Universidad de Frontera in Tachira, situated approximately 600 miles from Caracas, Venezuela, near the Colombian border. During this time, Fr. Sosa facilitated an apostolic initiative that fostered collaboration among communities on both sides of the border. Additionally, he was deeply committed to organizing Jesuit universities across Latin America into a cohesive network aimed at combating poverty and nurturing youth leadership.
The Ignatian Solidarity Network was founded in 2004 as an independent organization working in partnership with hundreds of Catholic universities, high schools, and parishes across the country, with a deep commitment to co-laboring with the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in the United States and their network of secondary schools, colleges and universities, parishes, and other ministries. Each fall, ISN welcomes nearly 2,000 young people to Washington, D.C., for the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, the largest annual national Catholic social justice gathering in the United States. Over 75 institutions sponsored by the Jesuits across the U.S., Canada, and beyond attend the Teach-In each year.
[SOURCES: Jesuit Curia Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States]
