Equity as a Jesuit Cornerstone for Health
I teach a social determinants of health class, which examines the ways that societal structures undermine health for certain populations, including the poor, undereducated, women, people of color, the disabled, LGBTQ+ communities, immigrant groups, and rural populations, to name a few.
In study after study, the evidence is striking and can’t be denied. Twice a week, I lay out the foundations of this knowledge for students, describing the evidence going back decades that inequity breeds illness.
How jarring it is, then, when the word ‘equity’ has been disparaged and systems designed to address inequity are being dismantled? As a member of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), we at Gonzaga agree to uphold characteristics of a Jesuit institution, which include a commitment to pursue “racial justice, equity, and inclusion." I’m left wondering… How do I uphold my commitment to Jesuit values, addressing the glaring reality of illness among marginalized groups, with current events that ignore this reality?
We can look to Jesuit scholars, thinkers, leaders, and our own university commitments to give us guidance and hope.
As part of a Jesuit university community, we at Gonzaga are not only allowed to discuss these topics- we are required to. In the words of Jesuit priest Father Sosa, “the Jesuit university is a project of social transformation" that moves “toward the margins of human history, where it finds those who are discarded by the dominant structures and powers.” (1) As participants in this social project, we are called to the service of faith and the promotion of justice, which must be integral to our inner lives as individuals as well of our community.
In a 2018 address, Father Sosa reminded us that “the university … is a privileged space for exercising human freedom. Freedom to search and find the paths of social transformation.”(2) I’m heartened by this statement … that we are not expected to already know these paths, that they don’t already have to appear before us, well-lit, and well-travelled. Father Bryan Massingale encourages us to “be a sign of courageous hope”, as “hope sustains us in the dying that is necessary to rise to new life.” (3) He goes on to say that we are part of a 340-year relay race of justice-seekers … that we receive the baton from those who came before us and pass it on to those who will come after us.
We may not be the ones who break the tape at the finish, but hope comes alive when we do our part in this moment before passing the work forward.
In what small or large way will you commit to being a sign of courageous hope, through the service of faith and promotion of justice, in your inner life as an individual and as member of our community?
References:
1.AJCU’s Guide for Mission Reflection
2.Father Sosa’s “The University as a Source of Reconciled Life” (2018)
3.Father Massingale’s “Being Signs of Courageous Hope” (2022)
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