Veronique illon/The Hoya A Jesuit discusses the world poverty epidemic and other international affairs with a student over dinner in Riggs Library Sunday evening.
Riggs Library was full Sunday evening as Jesuits from around the world dined with Georgetown students and discussed issues relating to globalization and poverty.
The dinner, as a part of the Woodstock Theological Center’s Global Economy and Cultures Project, was an opportunity for Jesuits and students to ask each other questions in a relaxed environment.
The evening opened with speeches by Daniel Porterfield, senior vice president for public affairs and strategic initiatives, and the director of the Woodstock Theological Center, the Rev. Gasper Lo Biondo, S.J.
“Globalization has opened access to communication across borders. But in the world there is still great injustice,” Lo Biondo said. “We have with us a group of Jesuits who are addressing the question of what is happening.”
Lo Biondo encouraged the students to “pick the brains of the Jesuits” and requested that the Jesuits “ask tough questions of the students.”
The Jesuits at each table facilitated a wide-ranging discussion that touched on diversity, inter-religious dialogue and the role poverty plays in society.
At one table, the Rev. Fernando Franco, S.J., a Jesuit from India, responded to a student’s question about war and religion by saying that religious leaders can always play a positive or negative role in a potentially violent situation.
“Some of these clashes involve people from two religions in connivance with leaders from both sides,” he said. “Without the support of these leaders, the violence would not go on.”
Tanzanian Jesuit Rev. Sosthenes Luyembe, S.J., pointed out that many of the problems facing Africa today are the result of colonial interference.
“With the creation of artificial boundaries in Africa, this created a tension between – for example – Kenyans and Tanzanians, which was completely unnecessary and just added to conflicts.”
Throughout the evening Porterfield and Lo Biondo roamed the area listening to conversations and occasionally adding their own input to the discussion.
Lo Biondo said that the dinner was an extension of the Global Economy and Cultures project, a long-term undertaking of the Woodstock Theological Center. This project is meant to investigate the role globalization plays in the lives of people around the world.
“We work with more than 30 Jesuits on this project and the idea is to gather narrative data about how the global economy actually operates in the lives of poor and marginalized people around the world,” he said.
Lo Biondo said that he felt globalization can have both positive and negative effects.
“What we hope is that all people can benefit from the good aspects of globalization,” he said. “There is still a lot of poverty in the world and one of things we try to do is focus on how people are being creative in dealing with the situations they face and the way cultural values are being engaged.”
The evening ended with remarks from Porterfield who said that throughout the discussion he had seen “evidence of the promise of globalization.”
Most students said they enjoyed the evening and had learned much from the conversation at their tables.
“It was very informative and made me think about all the social issues going on,” Tham Luong (MSB ’08) said. “These people have really witnessed what’s happening, and the world, and they’re very friendly and down to earth.”
