WHAT IF JESUIT SUPIERORS FOLLOWED THE MARINE CORPS' PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP?

ONE WAY TO REFORM THE JESUITS WOULD BE TO REFORM JESUIT SUPERIORS. FEWER GIRLIE MEN AND MORE MANLY MEN. THEY SAY THE THE MARINE CORPS BUILDS MEN. MAYBE A START WOULD BE TO FOLLOW THE MARINE CORPS PRINCIPLES OF LEADERSHIP.

COMPARE THESE PRINCIPLES TO THE JESUIT SUPERIOR OF YOUR CHOICE.


BEARING

Definition. Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.
Significance. The ability to look, act, and speak like a leader whether or not these manifestations indicate one's true feelings. Some signs of these traits are clear and plain speech, an erect gait, and impeccable personal appearance.
Example. Wearing clean, pressed uniforms, and shining boots and brass. Avoiding profane and vulgar language. Keeping a trim, fit appearance. Keeping your head, keeping your word and keeping your temper.

COURAGE

Definition. Courage is a mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a Marine to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.
Significance. Knowing and standing for what is right, even in the face of popular disfavor, is often the leader's lot. The business of fighting and winning wars is a dangerous one; the importance of courage on the battlefield is obvious.
Example. Accepting criticism for making subordinates field day for an extra hour to get the job done correctly.

DECISIVENESS

Definition. Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forceful manner.
Significance. The quality of character which guides a person to accumulate all available facts in a circumstance, weigh the facts, choose and announce an alternative which seems best. It is often better that a decision be made promptly than a potentially better one be made at the expense of more time.
Example. A leader who sees a potentially dangerous situation developing, immediately takes action to prevent injury from occurring. For example, if he/she sees a unit making a forced march along a winding road without road guards posted, he/she should immediately inform the unit leader of the oversight, and if senior to that unit leader, direct that proper precautions be taken.

DEPENDABILITY

Definition. The certainty of proper performance of duty.
Significance. The quality which permits a senior to assign a task to a junior with the understanding that it will be accomplished with minimum supervision. This understanding includes the assumption that the initiative will be taken on small matters not covered by instructions.
Example. The squad leader ensures that his/her squad falls out in the proper uniform without having been told to by the platoon sergeant. The staff officer, who hates detailed, tedious paperwork, yet makes sure the report meets his/her and his/her supervisor's standards before having it leave his desk.

ENDURANCE

Definition. The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship
Significance. The quality of withstanding pain during a conditioning hike in order to improve stamina is crucial in the development of leadership. Leaders are responsible for leading their units in physical endeavors and for motivating them as well.
Example. A Marine keeping up on a 10-mile forced march even though he/she has blisters on both feet and had only an hour of sleep the previous night. An XO who works all night to ensure that promotion/pay problems are corrected as quickly as humanly possible because he/she realizes that only through this effort can one of his/her Marines receive badly needed back-pay the following morning.

ENTHUSIASM

Definition. The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty
Significance. Displaying interest in a task, and an optimism that it can be successfully completed, greatly enhances the likelihood that the task will be successfully completed.
Example. A Marine who leads a chant or offers to help carry a load that is giving someone great difficulty while on a hike despite being physically tired himself, encourages his fellow Marines to persevere.

INITIATIVE

Definition. Taking action in the absence of orders.
Significance. Since an NCO often works without close supervision, emphasis is placed on being a self-starter. Initiative is a founding principle of Marine Corps Warfighting philosophy.
Example. In the unexplained absence of the platoon sergeant, an NCO takes charge of the platoon and carries out the training schedule.

INTEGRITY

Definition. Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles. The quality of truthfulness and honesty.
Significance. A Marine's word is his/her bond. Nothing less than complete honesty in all of your dealings with subordinates, peers, and superiors is acceptable.
Example. A Marine who uses the correct technique on the obstacle course, even when he/she cannot be seen by the evaluator. During an inspection, if something goes wrong or is not corrected as had been previously directed, he/she can be counted upon to always respond truthfully and honestly.

JUDGMENT

Definition. The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound decisions.
Significance. Sound judgment allows a leader to make appropriate decisions in the guidance and training of his/her Marines and the employment of his/her unit. A Marine who exercises good judgment weighs pros and cons accordingly to arrive at an appropriate decision/take proper action.
Example. A Marine properly apportions his/her liberty time in order to relax as well as to study.

JUSTICE

Definition. Giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.
Significance. The quality of displaying fairness and impartiality is critical in order to gain the trust and respect of subordinates and maintain discipline and unit cohesion, particularly in the exercise of responsibility as a leader.
Example. Fair apportionment of tasks by a squad leader during all field days. Having overlooked a critical piece of evidence which resulted in the unjust reduction of a NCO in a highly publicized incident, the CO sets the punishment aside and restores him to his previous grade even though he knows it will displease his seniors or may reflect negatively on his fitness report. (Also an example of courage.)

KNOWLEDGE

Definition. Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.
Significance. The gaining and retention of current developments in military and naval science and world affairs is important for your growth and development.
Example. The Marine who not only knows how to maintain and operate his assigned weapon, but also knows how to use the other weapons and equipment in the unit.

LOYALTY

Definition. The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, and unit, and to one's seniors, subordinates, and peers.
Significance. The motto of our Corps is Semper Fidelis, Always Faithful. You owe unswerving loyalty up and down the chain of command: to seniors, subordinates, and peers.
Example. A Marine displaying enthusiasm in carrying out an order of a senior, though he may privately disagree with it. The order may be to conduct a particularly dangerous patrol. The job has to be done, and even if the patrol leader disagrees, he must impart confidence and enthusiasm for the mission to his men.

TACT

Definition. The ability to deal with others without creating hostility.
Significance. The quality of consistently treating peers, seniors, and subordinates with respect and courtesy is a sign of maturity. Tact allows commands, guidance, and opinions to be expressed in a constructive and beneficial manner. This deference must be extended under all conditions regardless of true feelings.
Example. A Marine discreetly points out a mistake in drill to a NCO by waiting until after the unit has been dismissed and privately asking which of the two methods are correct. He/she anticipates that the NCO will realize the correct method when shown, and later provide correct instruction to the unit.

UNSELFISHNESS

Definition. Avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.
Significance. The quality of looking out for the needs of your subordinates before your own is the essence of leadership. This quality is not to be confused with putting these matters ahead of the accomplishment of the mission.
An NCO ensures all members of his unit have eaten before he does, or if water is scarce, he will share what he has and ensure that others do the same. Another example occurs frequently when a Marine receives a package of food from home: the delicacies are shared with everyone in the squad. Yet another form of unselfishness involves the time of the leader. If a Marine needs extra instruction or guidance, the leader is expected to make his/her free time available whenever a need arises.

A quote from the Archbishop of Denver

To start the ball rolling. To reform the Jesuits they need to get back to the military ideal. La Compañía de Jesús - as it is called in Spanish - is called a company to express its military ideal. Here is a long quote from the Archbishop of Denver in an address to the USAFA:

Knighthood is an institution with very deep roots in the memory of the Church. Nearly 900 years ago, one of the great monastic reformers of the Church, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, described the ideal Christian knights as Godly men who “shun every excess in clothing and food. They live as brothers in joyful and sober company (with) one heart and one soul. … There is no distinction of persons among them, and deference is shown to merit rather than to noble blood. They rival one another in mutual consideration, and they carry one another’s burdens, thus fulfilling the law of Christ.”ii

Bernard had few illusions about human nature. And he was anything but naïve. Writing at the dawn of the crusading era, in the early 12th century, he was well aware of the greed, vanity, ambition and violence that too often motivated Europe’s warrior class, even in the name of religious faith.

Most of the men who took up the cause of aiding eastern Christians and liberating the Holy Land in the early decades of crusading did so out of genuine zeal for the Cross. But Bernard also knew that many others had mixed or even corrupt and evil motives. In his great essay “In Praise of the New Knighthood” (c. 1136), he outlined the virtues that should shape the vocation of every truly “Christian” knight: humility, austerity, justice, obedience, unselfishness and a single-minded zeal for Jesus Christ in defending the poor, the weak, the Church and persecuted Christians.iii

Our life today may seem very different from life in the 12th century. The Church today asks us to seek mutual respect with people of other religious traditions, and to build common ground for cooperation wherever possible.

But human nature -- our basic hopes, dreams, anxieties and sufferings -- hasn’t really changed. The basic Christian vocation remains the same: to follow Jesus Christ faithfully, and in following Jesus, to defend Christ’s Church and to serve her people zealously, unselfishly and with all our skill. As St. Ignatius Loyola wrote in his “Spiritual Exercises” -- and remember that Ignatius himself was a former soldier -- each of us must choose between two battle standards: the standard of Jesus Christ, humanity’s true King, or the standard of his impostor, the Prince of This World.

There is no neutral ground. C.S. Lewis once said that Christianity is a “fighting religion.” He meant that Christian discipleship has always been -- and remains -- a struggle against the evil within and outside ourselves. This is why the early Church Fathers described Christian life as “spiritual combat.” It’s why they called faithful Christians the “Church Militant” and “soldiers of Christ” in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Church needs men and women of courage and Godliness today more than at any time in her history. So does this extraordinary country we call home in this world; a nation that still has an immense reservoir of virtue, decency and people of good will. This is why the

Catholic ideal of knighthood, with its demands of radical discipleship, is still alive and still needed. The essence of Christian knighthood remains the same: sacrificial service rooted in a living Catholic faith.

A new “spirit of knighthood” is what we need now -- unselfish, tireless, devoted disciples willing to face derision and persecution for Jesus Christ. We serve our nation best by serving God first, and by proving our faith with the example of our lives.

end of quote

I propose that to reform the Society first needs to re-establish a Military Mysticism.

I am back.

I have been away for a long time. I thought I would begin again to post new entries.

The first question is: What would the reformed Society of Jesus look like?

The Oregon Province of the Jesuits feels the effects of failed policies.

$50M Priest Abuse Deal Reached in Alaska

The AP reports that:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A Roman Catholic religious order has agreed to pay $50 million to more than 100 Alaska Natives who allege sexual abuse by Jesuit priests, a lawyer for the accusers said Sunday.

snip snip---
Wonder who that could be? The Oregon province of the Society sold out it's spiritual patrimony exchanging it for psycho-babble. Among American Jesuits they are distinguished by their group-think and psychological laden language.

The news report says:
The settlement with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus is the largest one yet against a Catholic religious order...

The settlement does not require the order to admit fault, ... None of the priests were ever criminally charged.

The sexual abuse allegations involved 13 or 14 clerics and spanned nearly 30 years, from 1961 to 1987, Roosa said. The children's ages ranged from 5 years to teenage.

snip snip-----

The Oregon Province has flaunted in the past and continues to flaunt the Church's instruction on the ordination of homosexuals.

Key members of the Province have said that it is not a homosexual problem but a celibacy problem. While it is true that some of the abuse in Alaska was of girls, that was a minority.

Maybe they will respond to a 50 million dollar wakeup call.

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?

Another corrupt Jesuit supported by corrupt superiors

Priest admonishes Jesuit who announced his homosexuality: "the Mass is not your personal stage"


Front Royal, Va, Nov 9, 2007 / 12:06 pm (CNA).- Father Thomas J. Euteneur, president of Human Life International (HLI) has written an open letter to a Jesuit priest chastising the cleric for using a homily at a student Mass to declare that he was homosexual.

Father Thomas Brennan, SJ, at a Sunday evening Mass at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia tied his announcement to the Diversity Week being celebrated by the Jesuit university. He said his homosexuality was one of the "worst-kept secrets" on campus, though he neglected to explain in his homily Catholic teaching about homosexuality.

Fr. Euteneur explained the reasons for his letter to Fr. Brennan, saying that the Jesuit priest's public declaration justified a public response.

Rebuking the inappropriate way that Fr. Brennan made his announcement, the HLI president said "Holy Mass is not a forum for your self-expression. You chose the sacred liturgy and the pulpit reserved for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the launching pad for your personal testament to homosexuality, when by your own admission this was hardly a secret to anyone. One wonders if you would have inflicted details of your personal life on a friend while officiating at his wedding or any other sacred occasion. The effect would be the same: the derailing of the focus of attention from the host to you. You’ve read the same documents I’ve read about the liturgy, and all of them say the Mass is not your personal stage."

Fr. Euteneur explained the nature of the sacrament of Holy Orders, saying that a priest becomes "another Christ" and witnesses with his very body the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In his letter he also questioned Father Brennan about the priestly sacramental witness of his sexuality. Fr. Euteneur suggested the Jesuit priest had disordered motives for embracing the celibate state:

"A heterosexual celibate renounces his natural desire for wife and children in order to serve the Bride of Christ in a direct spousal relationship. A homosexual celibate renounces an unholy desire for members of the same sex: that is a renunciation of a disorder, not the embrace of a Bride."

Fr. Brennan was also rebuked for his neglect of his congregation's needs. "When even a celibate priest chooses to go public about his homosexual identity as an expression of “diversity” or “pride,” the faithful are rightfully confused and scandalized. Not only do you owe them an apology, you owe them a better example of priesthood," Fr. Euteneur said.

In closing Euteneur urged Fr. Brennan both to be a priest who teaches clearly and unambiguously about Catholic teaching on homosexual acts, and to become a strong and loving father for his congregation.

Snip snip---------

Fr. Euteneur is very charitable. I think that Justice is due. Either Fr Brennan lied in order to be ordained, in which case he received the Sacrament of Holy Orders at best illicitly and at worst invalidly. Or he told the truth to his Jesuit superiors and they covered for him lying to the Bishop who ordained him. In that case the effect is the same but implicates other guilty parties. Church teaching is clear: a homosexual should not be ordained. In this case there is no ambiguity. Some criticize Church teaching asking questions about the definition of "homosexual". In this case the subject himself makes a self assessment. Brennan cannot defend himself nor can his superiors defend their decision saying that he has some psychological confusion and it is not clear that he is homosexual. Rather he clearly states that he is.

The question now is what to do with a priest illicitly or invalidly ordained. It would seem clear that the first step should be to suspend his priestly faculties. Secondly, Brennan and his Jesuit superiors should be punished for their mis-representation of a candidate for ordination. Someone must be held responsible for a sacrilegious ordination.

Does the Archbishop of Philadelphia have the courage to confront the perps and apply the proper canonical remedy? The faithful of his Archdiocese need to be protected from a self admitted lier and sexual deviant. Even if Brennan is chaste in his sexual life he and his superiors have clear moral problems with the 6th and 8th commandments. What would be the content of his moral preaching and teaching? False preaching and teaching is at least as bad as sexual abuse. Saint Thomas Aquinas says it is even worse. Will the Archbishop of Philadelphia be a good shepherd or will he follow the example of the former Archbishop of Boston?

Reason 1,769,006 for reforming the Jesuits

A prominent Jesuit priest accused of sexually victimizing teenage boys who were his valets as he traveled the world leading Roman Catholic spiritual retreats was taken into federal custody yesterday in Chicago.

The priest, the Rev. Donald J. McGuire, was charged by the federal authorities with traveling to Switzerland and Austria to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. Father McGuire was convicted last year of sexually abusing two high school students on trips to Wisconsin.

He was free on parole awaiting an appeal.

If convicted on the new federal charge, he could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Father McGuire, 77, has spent much of his career directing retreats for laypeople and members of Mother Teresa’s religious order. He entered Federal District Court in Chicago yesterday leaning on a walker and wearing a blue suit, without a priest’s collar.

An assistant United States attorney, Julie B. Ruder, called him a flight risk and a danger to the community. Magistrate Judge Arlander Keys decided against releasing him on bond.

Victims’ lawyers released documents this week that showed that as far back as 1969 parents had contacted Jesuit officials to report that Father McGuire was behaving in sexually incorrect ways with their sons.

The order also received complaint letters from parents in 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

In that time, Father McGuire traveled alone with teenagers as young as 13, usually sharing a room and often a bed, according to the affidavit unsealed yesterday.

The actions continued despite orders from his Jesuit superiors in the Chicago Province in 1991 instructing Father McGuire not to travel on overnight trips “with any boy or girl under the age of 18 and, preferably, even under the age of 21.”

In 2001, Father McGuire was ordered not to travel or share a room with anyone younger than 30.

Investigators in the United States attorney’s office in Chicago interviewed three men who said that as teenagers they traveled with Father McGuire to dozens of states and overseas, often cleaning his laundry, cooking, helping him shower and giving him massages and shots for diabetes.

They said Father McGuire repeatedly showed them pornographic magazines and movies, sexually abused them and intimidated them into remaining silent.

Sometimes after the abuse, he would perform the rite of absolution. One of the reported victims said the first time Father McGuire molested him was at confession, when he was 9. The parents had considered it an honor when the prominent priest mentored their sons.

The boy who reportedly traveled with Father McGuire to Switzerland and Austria roomed with him in a Jesuit residence in Evanston, Ill., in 1999, starting at age 13, and stayed until 2003.

That was one year after the Catholic bishops of the United States declared that all priests credibly accused of abuse should be removed from ministry service.