The Holy Founder

The Holy Founder
St. Ignatius of Loyola

Welcome the "Reforming the Jesuits" blog.

This blog has the objective of reforming the Jesuits. The logic is first to show that the Jesuits need to be reformed and second to consider the means needed to achieve that end.

Why should non-Jesuits be concerned about reforming the order?
The Jesuit order like any religious order has as an end to serve Christ by serving His Church. The members of the Church have the right to control the quality of the service that it is receiving.

The service that the Catholic faithful receive comes from institutional decisions and from individual Jesuits. Many love the traditional Society of Jesus, her saints, her mysticism, and her history but are dismayed by the direction taken by the current management. Many have been served by pious orthodox Jesuits but are scandalized by others. It seems that there is an identity crisis. The very institution does not know what its ends are. While the documents of the order are clear, institutional discipline has broken down, some members are confused and leaders have refused to lead.


What should be done? Some argue that the Society should be suppressed again. That would be a shame. Given that the name of the Society of Jesus in Spanish is La Compañía de Jesús, maybe what should be preferred is a hostile takeover of the Company. That does not seem possible. During the crazy post VCII days some Orthodox Spanish Jesuits advanced the proposal of the establishment of a reformed ordered following the example of the Carmelites and Trapists, others proposed the foundation of "strict observance" provinces.


This blog aims to apply moral pressure advancing arguments for what seems to be a clear truth: the Jesuits need reformed. Then it invites brain storming looking for possible solutions. Ideas are powerful but prayer is more powerful. We invite readers to pray. Invoke the Jesuit saints.

Followers

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Response to a reader

A reader asked if I had any suggestions for changing the Jesuits. The purpose of this blog is to look for ideas. I'm not smart or holy enough, the Holy People of God however have the resources to come up with proposals.

At first glance the options seem to be:
1) The suppression of the Society, which B16 will not do.
2) An intervention by the Holy See naming key superiors.
3) A hostile takeover by young orthodox Jesuits.
4) The foundation of a reformed order
5) The foundation of reformed strict observance provinces.

It would seem however that any change will take effect only if the faithful apply pressure to: individual Jesuits, Jesuit superiors, Bishops, and the Vatican. Right now it seems like the elephant in the living room that everyone ignores.

What do the readers think?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Also, there are many Masons whose alliance with the Jesuits and the Jews has never been uncovered. Why do you speak of reform when extinguishing these monsters is necessary?

Anonymous said...

I'm a fan of San Roberto Bellarmino myself. #1, why bother if it's already dead?
#2 same thing as #1
#3 I have thought of this. But who are they if underground and I can't help? #4 I have thought of this, but how, given #3? #5 I have not thought of this specifically because I think #5 = #4. I betcha we could meet easily...not far from the body. I'll be back...anonymous

Anonymous said...

I am late to this blog, but will add my comment nevertheless.

Since the Jesuit Order answers (Not!) only to the Pope, one would think that the ready solution is that Benedict 16 abolish this order entirely. Instead, on January 18, 2008, the Pope chose the feeble option of writing a letter to the Jesuit superior general, in which he politely asks that "it could prove extremely useful that the General Congregation reaffirm, in the spirit of Saint Ignatius, its own total adhesion to Catholic doctrine, in particular on those neuralgic points which today are strongly attacked by secular culture, as for example the relationship between Christ and religions; some aspects of the theology of liberation; and various points of sexual morality, especially as regards the indissolubility of marriage and the pastoral care of homosexual persons."

Does anyone think this polite letter from Benedict 16 is going to work?

In the meanwhile, the rot continues....

So, my vote is for hanging.

Anonymous said...

Since the Pope won't do anything beyond writing a letter, then my vote is for a "hostile takeover" by the good (vs. young) Jesuits. Not all young Jesuits are good, and there are good older Jesuits, such as Frs. Joseph Fessio & Mitch Pacwa. Where are these good Jesuits? And are they doing anything to reform their order?

For that matter, why is this blog discontinued? The last blog was November of last year (2007).