Is the Society of Jesus in communion with the Pope/Roman Catholic Church?

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I received a translation (translated by Devoted Friends of God Publishing) of an original work by the Society of Jesus and wish to make sure that it is in communion with the Pope/Roman Catholic theology. The book is titled, “Images of the Evangelical Gospels.” It has images, in order of the Gospels, which are recited througout the whole year during the sacrement of the Mass, spread out according to the life of Christ. A quick Wikepedia search revealed the following: The Society of Jesus is a [religious order] of the [Catholic Church] headquartered in [Rome]. It was founded by [Ignatius of Loyola] with the approval of [Pope Paul III] in 1540." Is this reliable?

I also received a three volume set of the Old Testament Books, published by Devoted Friends of God Publishing, which are “capitalizing on a new type of Holy Bible that has become more popular over the last few years (published in 2017) and one that is closer to the original than not. It dispenses with chapter and verse numbers (they weren’t added till the 1200’s), and puts the books that were originally together (1st and 2nd Chronicals, Ezra and Nehemiah, etc.) back into single books.” …… It continues in a subsequent chapter of the forward, “We also rearranged some of the books so that they follow a more logical progression.” This set includes names of OT biblical books that I’m not familiar with, i.e., in the Historical books: the Book of Reigns and The Matters of Days. There catholic seal on the forward or in this set and no reference to any denomination. Is any one familiar with this author and/or these publications? Are they Roman Catholic interpretations?
 
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Yes, the Society of Jesus is in communion with the Pope.
cgillis said:
Is any one familiar with this author and/or these publications? Are they Roman Catholic interpretations?
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I tried a Google search of the publishing firm but returned very little information. It is likely a very small business that is licensing a pre-existing translation for their own use (producing a translation of the scriptures is a very expensive and very long process).

Can you post the first 2-3 verses of Genesis? It can help identify which translation they are using.

As for rearranging books and removing chapter and verse numbering and such, this isn’t an issue per se. They are correct that many other publishers have recently been producing high quality typeset, hardcover and sewn binding Bibles that are meant to enhance the reading of the Scriptures as literature.
 
The first few verses of Genesis from The Reader’s Holy Bible:
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
God said, “Let there be light, " and there was light. God saw the light, and saw that it was good…”
 
I think you will find your first question answered here, on Fr. Felix Just’s website. Like Jeronimo Nadal, the author of the Images of the Evangelical Gospels, Fr. Just is also a Jesuit.
https://catholic-resources.org/Art/Nadal.htm

The other book is an Old Testament that reverts to the oldest known form. The Book of Reigns, for instance, was originally a single book but because it was too long to be written on a single scroll, it was split into four parts which later came to be considered as separate books, named 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.
 
My first time on this forum and certainly not my last! You all are great! God bless you!
 
If the Jesuits weren’t in communion with the RCC, there would be a real problem with that guy wearing a funny white beanie in Rome at the moment. 😜 😱 🤣 (as opposed to all the phony problems).

It would have prevented his episcopal ordination, and since he wasn’t ordained in Rome . . .

fortunately, they are in communion. In fact, they’ve gone more than a century without being suspended (as in the suspension of the entire order, not individual priests).

In their schools, we did used to joke about them as “a partially owned subsidiary fo the Roman Catholic Church.” 😜 :roll_eyes: 😱
 
@cgillis: Chris Gillis, welcome to the forum.

If the book has an imprimatur and nihil obstat from a Roman Catholic bishop, the book is free of moral and theological error.

God bless you and I hope my answer helps.
 
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TheLittleLady said:
Not sure who this “Devoted Friends of God” are, but, the Society of Jesus aka the Jesuits the order of Pope Francis, and thousands of priests/bishops across the centuries.

The Jesuits - Jesuits.org
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The Society of Jesus is a recognized part of the Church. A talk, writing or ministry by a member or group of Jesuits would need to be assessed for its Catholicity by union with its local bishop.
 
dochawk said:
If the Jesuits weren’t in communion with the RCC, there would be a real problem with that guy wearing a funny white beanie in Rome at the moment. 😜 😱 🤣 (as opposed to all the phony problems).

It would have prevented his episcopal ordination, and since he wasn’t ordained in Rome . . .
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Thanks. I needed a good laugh today.
 
I don’t know about the first book but imo I’d steer clear of that Bible. When someone starts rearranging Scripture that’s when my sensus Fidei goes on red alert in my poor brain.
 
dochawk said:
fortunately, they are in communion. In fact, they’ve gone more than a century without being suspended (as in the suspension of the entire order, not individual priests)
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Ok, let’s get our history straight. It has been over 200 years (time does fly) since the order was restored. They were never suspended. In 1773, they were suppressed, ie petmently disbanded as an order “so that the name of the Company shall be, and is, for ever extinguished and suppressed” was the significant quote from the bull of suppression.
However, due to a quirk in Canon law at the time, a papal bull does not take effect in a country until it is officially published. The government of Russia did not allow it to be published, the Vatican never forced the issue, so many Jesuits fled to Russia and Poland and the order survived until it was universally restored by the pope in 1814.

I have a wonderful book, “On the Suppression of the Society of Jesus” that was written contemporaneously with the actual events by a Jesuit priest. It is a fascinating read. In true Jesuit fashion, the author writes very objectively about both the flaws of the Jesuits which played into the hands of the “enlightened” Catholic courts of Europe and the machinations of the politicians of those courts who engineered the suppression. Fascinating.

I believe it was Voltaire who said if he could destroy the Jesuits, he could destroy the Catholic Church in 25 years. The Jesuits were expelled from France in 1764, and the French Revolution started in 1789. You do the math.

I will say that in the 1981, JP II considered some type of suspension of the order, but instead took the unprecedented step if naming an over seer of the order and did not allow them to elect a new general superior until 1983.
 
I knew it was a joke, just thought I would explain the history. And there is a lot of interesting history of the Jesuit order.
 
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And with that, with only two days left on the clock, you win “Understatement of the Year.”

:1st_place_medal:

🤣 😜
 
I understand that newly ordained Jesuits in Rome have a tradition of trooping straight over to Pope Clement XIV’s big fancy tomb in Santi Apostoli to pay their respects and show him Jesuits are still around. I learned this when I was looking at the tomb myself and some Jesuit who was guiding a few tourists came up and started explaining the tradition to them.
 
Your question about Society of Jesus has been answered.
Regarding the Devoted Friends of God, they appear to be a “publishing” firm that basically copies religious books (hopefully paying the licensing fees to do this if the book isn’t already in public domain) and sells the copies through outlets like Lulu.

It’s highly unlikely Devoted Friends of God is doing anything other than just photocopying pages of an earlier book. If the earlier book had the Catholic Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, that will also be in the Devoted Friends of God edition. If you don’t see them, it’s a red flag that the book probably isn’t Catholic. The Bible you describe sounds like one of those “Reader’s Bibles” on “Covenant History” which were developed in the OO’s by Protestants. With the numbering removed and rearrangement of the books, it’s almost impossible to see where Catholic material might have been changed or cut, so I do not reommend any Catholics read that type of Bible.
 
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Thank you all for your prompt responses. The bible/volumes of is a Reader’s Holy Bible and a Christmas present from a dear friend. Although I wasn’t aware that this type of publication was launched by Protestants’, that was my concern. Unfortunately, it does not have the Catholic Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. Sigh! In order to keep from getting confused with my theology, I will stick with my Catholic Bibles for spiritual enlightenment, solace and peace.

May the peace of Christ be with you all and bless you with a safe and happy New Year!
 
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