MANILA, Philippines – The head of the Jesuit order named a Filipino priest, Father Primitivo Viray Jr., as his lieutenant in Asia-Pacific, succeeding another clergyman from the Philippines who had served in this role for six years.

The Venezuelan-born Father Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits, named Viray president of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP).

Viray succeeds another Filipino Jesuit, Father Antonio Moreno, who has been JCAP president since 2017, according to Sosa’s June 13 decree that was publicized on Monday, June 19.

Viray is currently the head of the 220 Jesuit priests and brothers in the Philippines. Moreno was also his immediate predecessor as the Philippine Jesuits’ provincial superior. 

Founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola and his companions in 1540, the Society of Jesus is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, whose more than 16,000 members include Jorge Mario Bergoglio or Pope Francis. In the Philippines, they run a network of schools that include Ateneo de Manila University, one of the country’s leading universities. 

“I thank Father Jun for his generous availability and readiness to accept this new mission. Given his gifts, the conference is in good hands with the grace of God. I am confident that he will be the leader that JCAP needs in the years to come,” Moreno said in an official announcement.

Born in Quezon City, Viray has served the Society of Jesus in various capacities across the Philippines, including as president of Ateneo de Naga University and as local superior at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. He holds a master’s degree in rural development studies from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

In the public sphere, Viray is one of the Catholic priests who has taken a stand on sociopolitical issues. Along with other Ateneo presidents, Viray urged then-president Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 to “act judiciously” in enforcing martial law in Mindanao. Three years later, Viray signed a statement by Ateneo and La Salle presidents against the anti-terror bill, which eventually became law.

As provincial superior, he also sent Jesuits to the Sacred Heart Mission Station of the Diocese of Kalookan, one of the hotspots of drug war killings during Duterte’s watch, at the invitation of Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, according to JCAP. “This enabled Jesuits to have greater engagement with the marginalized, including those affected by the war on drugs,” JCAP said. 

JCAP is one of six Jesuit conferences coordinating the mission of the Society of Jesus around the world. The conference connects 1,600 Jesuits, or around 10% of the order’s members worldwide, in the following territories: Australia, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Viray’s appointment as JCAP president adds him to the growing list of Filipino clergymen in global or regional leadership roles, as the Catholic Church’s center of gravity shifts to the global south. These Filipino priests include Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization at the Vatican, and Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III, head of the Dominican religious order. – Rappler.com