Kolvenbach Mirrors King

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach’s “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education” hold even more similarities than one might immediately think. The two are both very obviously rooted in the Christian faith, but while Dr. King’s letter is widely regarded as a call to action, Rev. Kolvenbach’s speech also calls attention to injustice within Jesuit institutions, and asks for change.

In one of his more poignant points, Kolvenbach states that “Injustice is rooted in a spiritual problem,” (Kolvenbach, 33). This is immediately reminiscent of Dr. King’s “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1). Kolvenbach elaborates by telling his audience that while Jesuit institutions of higher education have not necessarily lost sight of that, they must still redirect their efforts. As the world changes, and more and more marginalized groups’ rights are being recognized, more work must be done to ensure their safety and protect their newfound space to grow. Kolvenbach very eloquently explains that while Jesuit education has always valued the whole person, “the whole person is different from the whole person of the Counter-Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, or the 20th century” (Kolvenbach, 34). 

Of course, this isn’t to say that Jesuit institutions have failed in any way. Early on in his speech, Kolvenbach states the Society of Jesus’ main goals are and have always been “the service of faith,” and “the promotion of justice” (Kolvenbach, 25). Those goals simply take more effort in this day and age. Looking towards Dr. King’s plight, his seemingly effortless act of peaceful protest was considered overly radical, and his calls for malicious compliance were treated as terroristic. Kolvenbach’s appeal for a more active commitment to justice may seem arduous, especially within a community widely known for being stuck in its ways, but caring for the whole person and fighting for that person’s justice, can, has, and must continue to be done.

 

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