October 28, 1984

The head of the Jesuit order says he strongly supports Latin American theologians and church workers who seek to promote social justice. And he says the teachings known as the theology of liberation must be ''recognized as possible and necessary.'' The Vatican recently criticized some elements of liberation theology as relying too heavily on Marxist analysis, but it affirmed the church's fight against oppression in Central and South America. The Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, chosen as Superior General of the Jesuits a year ago, said in an interview in New York last week that the order would continue to aid efforts for social justice in Latin America.

IT is difficult to say what infuriates Patrick Mahoney and John Rosso Sr., Suffolk County legislators, more about the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society: their perception of the society as an inefficient bureaucaracy or their frustration with the society's attorney in charge, who is too independent for their tastes. What matters is that, by airing their skepticisms about the society's effectiveness, as well as the competence of the attorney in charge, John Middlemiss Jr., they hve place the future of the society in jeopardy. Next year's proposed county budget makes a commitment only to some form of legal aid for the poor, and Mr. Mahonney and Mr. Rosso are taking advantage of that flexibility to present their own alternative programs for legal aid. According to Gregory Blass, a Suffolk County legislator, the fate of the society will be even more precarious if the Legislature does not decide what form of legal aid it wants by Nov. 2, when the Legislature is scheduled to vote on next year's county budget. Mr. Blass said that, under county bylaws, the only person who could amend the county budget was the County Executive. 'If we let it go past Nov. 2, we'll in effect leave the decision about legal aid in the hands of one man, Peter Cohalan,' Mr. Blass said.

IT was a busy time in the Jahnke home in Monroe last night, when more than 40 antique clocks had to be reset for Eastern standard time. Paul W. Jahnke, owner of ''Grandfather Time,'' a clock repair business, stopped the pendulum on each of his clocks for one hour and then started them all up again. ''As a general rule, do not set the hands of a clock backwards,'' Mr. Jahnke advised. ''You may end up bending the lever arms and throwing the striking mechanism off.''

TOKYO '' Projecting unerasable impressions is our business,'' says Ushio Amagatsu, the impish director, choreographer and lead dancer of Sankai Juku, a five- man troupe that performs in the postwar Japanese dance style known as Buto. Mr. Amagatsu does not especially enjoy explaining what his company does, but his succinct summation says much about the distinct style of Sankai Juku, a style that skillfully uses the shocking and the grotesque to create powerful images, frequently of evolution and birth. A Sankai Juku performance is infused with often spectacular moments, meticulously choreographed and carefully manipulated, that scramble the emotions. Heads shaved and bodies powdered with with rice flour, the company's five men look unformed, not quite human. They writhe, roll back their eyes and grin demoniacally, They also perform some jaw-dropping feats, notably their now famous scene from ''Jomon Sho (Tribute to Pre-History),'' in which four of the dancers, almost completely nude, hang suspended upside- down from the theater rafters and are lowered slowly to the stage. As with much Sankai Juku does, this is presented to equal effect both in theaters and outdoors, where the dancers have dangled from office buildings, temples and museums.

The international effort to help famine victims in Ethiopia has accelerated dramatically in recent days, with governments offering food, transport planes and other aid, and thousands of ordinary Americans pledging contributions. In New York, officials of relief agencies yesterday said there had been an outpouring of donations for the stricken Ethiopians, ranging from the $5 weekly allowances pledged by two girls to the $10,000 offered by a publisher. Officials of American relief agencies said it had been years since they had been so overwhelmed with offers of help. Staff members and volunteers have worked beyond midnight and over the weekend to handle the deluge of telephone offers.