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Pope Benedict’s demise marks a significant turn in the global history of the Catholic Church.   Some referred to the death as concluding an interesting era in the modern Church where two popes, vastly different, coexisted—one resigned and the other in power, one conservative and the other liberal—in the tiny confines of the Vatican.  The historical significance of this period is best portrayed through the film The Two Popes, a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles.  The film stars Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, respectively, and depicts the relationship between the two men as Benedict prepares to step down as Pope and the events leading up to the 2013 papal conclave, at which Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as Pope.  The Two Popes isn’t just a history lesson about the power of diplomacy within a church; it is a thought-provoking display of mercy, acceptance, and friendship. Its deliberate portrayal of two men who couldn’t be more different, yet found a middle ground to help move the Church forward, is fascinating and heartfelt.  Throughout the film, they engage in private conversations in which they discuss their differing views on the Church and its future, but ultimately come to an understanding and a mutual respect for one another’s perspectives. The film emphasizes the importance of dialogue and understanding in resolving differences and finding common ground.  In real life too it was moving to see how Pope Francis showed respect and affection for his predecessor and how Pope Benedict gracefully inhabited the role of ‘emeritus.’

Pushpa Joseph

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Can Social Media transform? Does it need to be transformed? Can it be a site of Encounter? The cover story for our January issue tries to understand how social media can enhance our mission as a Church.

Let me start with the word encounter.  In the spiritual sense of the term, it simply means to run into; and running into God is the best thing that can happen to us!  To go deeper, God Encounter in the biblical understanding are encounters with the persons of the Holy Trinity – the Father, Son and Spirit.  It is not about a one-time dramatic experience but an ongoing leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Can social media take us to God? Let us look at the following example.

Carlo Acutis, the Italian teenage computer whiz has been touted as the patron saint of the internet.  What did he do to gain this accolade? He not only created a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles but he also shared through the media site his encounter with the Trinity every day as he celebrated the Eucharist. For us, the Eucharist is the tangible presence of God, the Father, Son and Spirit, whose very nature is relational, with us.  For God, to be God, is to be connected.  This relationship is a living relationship, a feeling relationship and a pulsating life-giving relationship. It is not a limiting network, but an expanding one.  Jesus in becoming one among us made every relationship sacred, transforming all networks into His living body.   Media becomes social because humans invest in it. And wherever life is present God is there too.   That is why Carlo Acutis was able through social media to communicate the throbbing energy of this relationship between the Father, Son and the Spirit through the miracles that he encountered and witnessed.  And incredibly he himself became a miracle that healed Mattheus from Brazil who was born of a pancreatic defect.  During his beatification ceremony the Cardinal who delivered the homily said, “Carlo used the internet in service of the Gospel, to reach as many people as possible.”  This teenager saw the web as a place to use with responsibility without becoming enslaved and as a site that led to encounters of the Divine in all people, in all life.

Pushpa Joseph

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Social Media is having a major influence on society in the 21st century‚ enabling people to engage with each other radically in new and different ways. Social media is a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. People use social media to stay in touch and interact with friends, family and various communities. Businesses use social applications to market and promote their products and track customer concerns. People socialize and interact with others in their day-to-day life be it their family, friends, colleagues, or even strangers. The age of writing letters is gone. Social Media has become such an integral part of our lives that people actually cannot live without it. The Digital 2022 April Global Report found that there are 4.65 billion social media users on the planet. That’s 58.7% of the global population, many of whom are using social media as a primary source of information. The thing about social media that appeases the majority of the crowd is its user-friendly features. From advanced countries to under-developed countries, each country is using the force of social media to enhance life of the people.

K. John Don Bosco

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Introduction

In today’s technological world we are called to be limitless in our imagination.   Higher education offers an example.   Blending the best of face-to-face instruction with the flexibility of online and digital  learning have  enhanced the higher education experience for learners, and prepare them better for the world of work.

With the advancement of technology, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and  COVID 19, education is continually evolving and transforming itself.  These have impacted  education everywhere, leading to growing trends in how students  learn.  The pandemic forced educational institutions to think of online classes. Much before this, education was undergoing changes with the development of educational technology.  Many of the temporary changes that emerged during  the pandemic would be the future and how students would learn.   They look for knowledge of technology, skills training which would ensure a well-paying and rewarding career.  Institutions begin to  realise that experience-based learning is more suited for interaction between students and teachers.  Classroom material would be delivered online and technology oriented learning would be the future.

Fr V Joseph Xavier SJ

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What is Social Media?

Social Media is just a reflection of who we are. It is networking or connecting to people. It is a dialogue, not a monologue. It creates communities. It creates a comfortable and entertaining atmosphere, helping people improve their social skills, providing interesting information for users to learn and expand their knowledge, and most importantly, to establish new forms of interpersonal relationships. Social media has created radical changes in the life of individuals. The emergence of the internet as a network for communication has brought profound transformation in society. We are always updated on the latest happenings of the world through it and become more socially aware of the issues of the world.

Positive Impact on Religious Formation

In this digital world, social media is a necessity, not a luxury. It is said, “Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.” It gives birth to a new way of learning, thinking and establishing relationships. Yes, our formees are coming from the Z generation, marked by the internet. Generation Z dominates online searches for information on the post-millennial generation. According to a study, people belonging to the Z generation are more accepting and open minded, pragmatic and creative, progressive and idealistic.

Sr Benny D’ Cunha UFS

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As an educationalist, with interest in women’s development ranging from grassroots to higher education, I believe that the possibility of women using and creating social media spaces is a progressive notion and a way forward towards the goal of women empowerment. The internet has emerged as a critical tool in determining ones’ identity, social status, career success and to stay connected in a globalized world. In this digital age it is essential even for women to be internet savvy in order to survive.

Positive Change in the lives of women

Social networking sites have played a pivotal role in groups, communities and the society at large. These innovations have ignited social change and changed the lives of women.

1. A space for Self-expression

The results of the rampant spread of social media phenomenon also saw women who have had limited access to education, employability, barriers such as caste/class/gender, language and mobility, have access to social media. Encountering multiple forms of discrimination, it became an important space particularly for assertion of identities. It enabled women to express their ‘voice’ in more suitable, convenient, appropriate and in largely uncontested spaces.  Women like Meena Kandasamy, award-winning writer, Christina Dhanraj, co-founder of Dalit History Month project, Ginni Mahi, famous pop-singer, Meena Kotwal, award-winning independent journalist, Kiruba Munusamy and Disha Wadekar, human rights lawyers, amongst countless others use social media as a space for self-expression.

Prof. Sandra Joseph

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The New Year is a time to make a fresh start. It is a time to renew our thoughts, minds and souls, because it is a reminder that though all things are transient, we can still reinforce the good of the past and plan as far as we can, for a better future.

The last year has been bleak. The looming threat and the continuing fear of the Corona virus and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, all things that we had not expected, dampened our spirits and morale. These events of the past year have resulted in great damage to economies, waning employment prospects, disrupting supply chains, rise in commodity prices and inflation. The poor and the children, many orphaned by COVID have been the worst hit by these developments. Children have had tremendous learning setbacks, by missing out on school.  The average household has had to cope with unbearable hardships leaving lasting pain. Not to speak of the social disorientation and problems created by the time spent in social isolation.

The start of the New Year does not seem promising either. Yet, we have to learn to adapt to changing circumstances and learn to cope with pain and hardship. The news today is all very negative. In the midst of all this, can we retain our sanity and somehow manage to cope, with stress, mental anguish and emotional imbalance, as we negotiate the new difficulties we will meet with in the New Year?

Janina Gomes

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Aha! A fresh and lovely morning! Teena (name changed) threw her hands up and down in the air as she came out into the courtyard to relish the newness of the morning. She had slept well that night and that was a great success for her!  It is a year and a half since she is suffering from depression and is under medication. Her need to take medicine itself aggravates her helplessness and anger. At the age of 56 she misses her children who are settled abroad. She feels too tired to get up in the morning, to cook meals or to do any work. All her skills and education seem to be a mere waste.  She doubted if her husband loved her at all with those wrinkles appearing on her face and hands.

I have been reaching out to Teena for a while now.  Also, with a few other women in their late middle age and older, who go through immense stress; a battered wife even at the age of 63 years, a mother with a 22-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome, a widow struggling to bring up her children, families with heavy bank loans and some others submerged in loneliness and fear as they are left alone at home. If only one could touch their lives in some small ways!

Women at this age group became a priority for the two of us Good Shepherd Sisters as we found them as a stuck, hidden and ignored group in the so-called developed society in Kerala. This awareness paved the way for a new beginning. A Day Care Centre was initiated to accompany the elder women.  This new venture in consultation with the needy in itself was empowering for all. We welcome them cordially; have a lot of games, sing-songs, dance, creativity session, relaxation besides counseling and group work. Just three months since its establishment, this Centre proves to be an effective forum for unconditional support, wellness and empowerment for the attendees.

Sr. (Dr) Shalini Podimattam RGS

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The phrase ‘New Beginnings’ denotes that there were old starts. This may mean that one is not satisfied with the earlier beginnings and would like to have a new beginning, or a new situation.  New challenges in life require new beginnings in order to move forward in one’s life journey. New beginnings have hope, expectations and have certain goals. New beginnings are the result of certain understanding and insights such as—Self Evaluation, Situational Evaluation, Mission Evaluation and so on. Certain events and certain seasons motivate one to a New Beginning. This Christmas season may we be motivated to have resolutions for New Beginnings. The need to have a new beginning will differ from person to person and from group to group. One such need for a new beginning is shared in this article.

Extra Money – A Persistent Slogan

Today the focus, the goal of the people in general is— ‘Make Money.’ Is making or earning money a bad thing? No, it is not; rather it is an essential one. But today there is a craving for ‘Extra Money.’ A salaried person wants to have some ‘Extra Money,’ a business person wants ‘Extra Money,’ a Producer of a commodity wants ‘Extra Money,’ a consumer wants ‘Extra Money,’ people involved in social work want ‘Extra Money,’ people involved in spiritual activity want ‘Extra Money,’ people’s representatives from grass root to the top want ‘Extra Money,’ the voters want ‘Extra Money’ and in short, given the chance, it appears that every one of us wants ‘Extra Money’ which is not ours, which is not legal and which is not right.

This ‘Extra Money’ is usually in the form of bribe, adulteration, cheating, duplication, low quality, buy one get one free, lottery, donations, corruption, horse trading, operation, selling the votes, freebies and so on.  But every one of them justifies the ‘Extra Money.’ This increasing craving for ‘Extra Money’ is one of the main causes for many of the evils that are found in society. This is one of the biggest hurdles in the way of change—be it Social or Political Change.

K. John Don Bosco

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Christmas, for me, symbolizes a season of new beginnings, inviting us, to be hope to those who have lost hope and to restore dignity to those who are marginalised at every front.

My Great Desire

It has always been my great desire to do something for women’s empowerment. God placed me in Gujarat through my congregation to work with the most underprivileged Adivasi women. Since 1999, I have been involved in making efforts for empowering Adivasi women through skill education, leadership training and wider outreach to the village communities.

WEST – For the Underprivileged

I was happy, during this academic year, to collaborate with a Jesuit centre in Rajpipla, Gujarat in developing a programme called Women’s Empowerment for Social Transformation (WEST). It is a training programme for young women from the marginalised sections of the society, especially Adivasi women, to become lawyers and social workers. It is a five-year programme and in the first year, language and computer skills are given along with the training for transformation based on Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of education – self and social transformation.  Our outdated education systems have not contributed to the socio-economic development of Adivasi women.  And so, the WEST programme envisages a paradigm shift from the traditional education system in creating situational changes. Through this programme young women are trained to develop an ideology of change and value formation so that they are equipped to work for the transformation of their own society, to assert their rights and gain a rightful place in the society. As trained women in their respective professions, they will be the decision makers. This will provide them with space and expertise and thus they will break traditions and taboos in a non-threatening manner. It will become a naturally nurtured and accepted women leadership in the community. It will promote gender equality.

My Contribution

I taught life skills to these young women to develop their confidence and be focused. I could notice a positive change in their attitude and perspective after conducting a series of sessions with them. The common notion is that Adivasi women are not ambitious and are not  motivated to persevere in their career. It was an uphill task for me in the beginning to motivate them and get them on track. I was happy that I could help them to persevere in their studies.

Sr Magy Allessu DHM

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