Kolvenbach in Conversation with Khanna

Throughout his address to the Conference on Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach discusses the concept of comfort and how it exists within the Jesuit community. Much like our responses in class to Miranda’s question about whether we believe suffering needs to be seen in order to move towards decolonization and liberation, Kolvenbach argues that Jesuits and those studying at Jesuit universities need to see the suffering and injustice in the world in order to become active promoters of justice. 
In her writing, Khanna makes the case that if people pay attention to their visceral, instinctual reactions, they can gain a greater sense of self and community and work toward liberation. Through exploring what makes us the most comfortable, we can experience the highest forms of growth and progress. Kolvenbach says that students of Jesuit universities need to meet this uncomfortable feeling head on, and interact with those who have different experiences than them. He writes, “When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection,” (Kolvenbach 34). For Kolvenbach, seeing and personally connecting with other people’s suffering is the only meaningful way to mobilize and start rhetoric around topics like decolonization and liberation. 
Kolvenbach emphasizes that this is not comfortable. He acknowledges that the Jesuit Order has contributed to corruption in some places, and that he– among others– has been quick to ignore their actions. Ignoring, overlooking, and avoiding is not the path to justice, though. Justice is only achieved through facing the uncomfortable within yourself, within your community, and within society. Those initial areas of discomfort are the first areas where you can begin to create change. 

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