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As part of JJCICSI’s 25th anniversary celebration, the first in a series of four Silver Café talks was held last August 6, 2009 at JJCICSI Conference Room A in the Ateneo de Manila campus, Quezon City. It was attended by some 18 participants (past and present staff members, board members, Jesuits and NGO colleagues/partners). Fr. Robert Rivera, SJ., JJCICSI Associate Director, introduced the talk and the speakers for each topic and emceed the program. Fr. John J. Carroll, SJ, current senior research associate, discussed the founding of ICSI in 1984 while Fr. Silvino “Junjun” L. Borres, SJ, a Jesuit priest assigned to ICSI during his seminary years shared his experiences with JJCICSI as a social apostolate organization of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. An open forum was conducted at the end of each talk which served as a venue for fruitful exchanges between the speakers and the audience.

The Founding of ICSI

“It is good to look back to help us understand who and what we are as an institute”
--Fr. John J. Carroll, SJ

Fr. Carroll vividly remembered the beginnings of ICSI which could be traced back to the events of pre-EDSA I. During those days the nation was, according to him, in its “tipping point but divided.” The bishops then felt that there was so much confusion about various issues and ideologies, and therefore, a need to promote gospel values during those times as a moral binding force. It was through the vision and initiative of then Jesuit Provincial Superior Fr. Bienvenido Nebres that a research and advocacy-oriented institution founded on the Catholic Social Teachings was conceptualized. This eventually led to the establishment of the Institute on Church and Social Issues (ICSI), now known as John J. Carroll Institute on Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI).

Fr. Nebres together with Fr. Carroll and Bishop Francisco Claver were the original nucleus of the group that was first quartered in the mezzanine of Dela Costa Hall at the Loyola House of Studies. The formal blessing of the office took place on July 31, 1984. The Institute initially had five staff members, followed by another 12 members. They were a group of Jesuits and lay people trained in the social sciences and economics to do research and advocacy on current and pressing issues, and to provide light and guidance for the Church and society.

The first joint effort of the institute since its founding was a seminar on Philippine labor in light of Pope John Paull II’s encyclical “Laborem Exercens” which became the basis for the first issue of “Pulso” a series of social analyses and policy papers published by JJCICSI until the present. JJCICSI also crafted modules that analyzed the key players and probable scenarios after the snap elections of 1986. These were mimeographed, circulated and recopied. From then on JJCICSI’s works continued to appear in various columns of Business Daily, The Manila Chronicle, and The Philippine Daily Inquirer. JJCICSI also had a quarterly news magazine called Intersect where research outputs of the program areas are published.

Fr. Carroll described the work in JJCICSI as “lots of fun, excitement and pressure” as the institution’s responsibilities become more specific in areas of publications, small enterprises, urban development, rural development, environmental economics and church and family life.

Jesuits in JJCICSI: As a Jesuit Social Apostolate

“…in advocacy work, one cannot just listen to emotions; it must be grounded on facts and studies”
-- Fr. Silvino L. Borres Jr., SJ

Many Jesuits have been assigned in JJCICSI over the past years. For a number of these Jesuits, JJCICSI has been a part of their priestly formation. Fr. Junjun Borres, for instance, was assigned to the Institute while doing theological studies. During the Silver Café he shared his personal experience on how JJCICSI helped shape his skills in advocacy work.

For Fr. Junjun, his one-year exposure in JJCICSI prepared him to do advocacy work while serving as executive director of the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS). As president of the Coalition Against the Death Penalty, he was active in the campaign to repeal the death penalty law. He is grateful for the kind of training he had in JJCICSI as he recognizes and emulates the work ethic of Fr. Carroll and the entire institution.

Fr. Junjun reiterated the basic principle that “justice is not served in the death sentence; it is served when relationships are restored.” He did this work with PJPS and his main strategy was to train and organize family members of death row inmates who, according to him, were the frontliners in the advocacy. For Fr. Borres, one of the key elements of advocacy work was letting people listen to the issue through appreciation of facts, following and keeping it up, and knowing and building on networks.

It had been a long and arduous road for this advocacy. However, these efforts bore fruit with the successful repeal of the death penalty. Fr. Borres affirmed that what kept them going were the values of justice and truth which he believes are also the distinct features of JJCICSI. He believes that after 25 years, the same commitment to justice and truth still prevails.

BACK TO ANNIVERSARY PAGE

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DAY 1
The Founding of the Institute by John J. Carroll, S.J.
JJCICSI as a Social Apostolate by Silvino L. Borres, S.J.

DAY 2
Philippine Electionsby Atty. Carlos P. Medina
Of Forests and Frontiers by Ruth Esquillo-Ignacio

DAY 3
Population and Development by John J. Carroll, S.J.
The Environment by Pedro W. Walpole, S.J.

DAY 4
Urban Land Reform by Marlene Gatpatan-Bedia with Percival C. Chavez
Overseas Migration by Jeremiah M. Opiniano