Is there a problem with Jesuits?

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Michael16

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I practice Ignatian spirituality and I have a deep respect for the Jesuits. But every time I mention Jesuits among other Catholics; it seems that there’s ill feeling about them. This concerns me a little bit. I know the Jesuits were behind the reforms of Vatican 2 and perhaps this has caused some unhappiness towards Jesuits? Please help me out.
 
I have a history with the Jesuits. Fine, fine men. Wonderful teachers.
 
The Jesuits are awesome, very well educated. They work really hard. It takes years before they are fully ordained.

Pope Francis is a Jesuit

To say they were behind the reforms is a bit of a stretch
 
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They have been unfairly maligned in the past.

People who do not understand how Ignatius spirituality works often accuse them of being heretical. They are not.
 
There are certain quarters of the internet that have a knee-jerk aversion to the Jesuits. I think much of it stems from dissatisfaction with many of the high profile Jesuit universities in the U.S. They are not the universities that make the “Newman Guide”.

Does this mean there is anything wrong with St. Ignatius of Loyola or his Spiritual Exercises? Of course not. Even if all the criticism of current Jesuits is taken at face value, that doesn’t mean there is something wrong with the founder and his works.

I wouldn’t take all criticism at face value, though. Even if we want to write-off some of the Jesuit universities whose Catholic identity we question, there are still plenty of Jesuits to rally behind. Fr. Fessio (founder of Ignatius Press), Fr. Mitch Pacwa (EWTN personality), Cardinal Dulles (theologian), Pope Francis. You cannot really make blanket assertions about all Jesuits. As with the Church at large, you have members that are all over the spectrum.
 
Michael16 said:
But every time I mention Jesuits among other Catholics; it seems that there’s ill feeling about them.
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Jesuits tend to push the envelopes of thought and think outside the box. Many Catholics are looking for a faith with clear black-line rules and they don’t want to think like Jesuits. Jesuits make them uncomfortable.

I really wouldn’t worry about it - the Jesuits are not in danger of being suppressed any time soon and if I’d been a man I would have looked into joining the order. I don’t know if I would have followed through, since much of what is set forth as “Ignatian spirituality” these days seems to me to be pretty obvious stuff. Perhaps it is dumbed down for their audiences. But they are an intelligent and fascinating bunch for the most part.
 
Thank you everybody; especially Joe and Tis. I love Fr. Mitch Pacwa and the Holy Father; fine engaging men. I’ll just keep trucking along in my Ignatian spirituality. It’s a natural fit for me.
 
Also Father Spitzer from EWTN is a Jesuit…I have tremendous respect for him. I’ve heard recently that Jesuits ran the gamut from extremely liberal to very conservative, so you can’t make general conclusions about the whole order. I’m glad you are pursuing it…I really don’t know much about Ignatian spirtuality and how it differs from other orders.
 
The basis of Ignatian spirituality, in my understanding; is an awareness of God in everything and inviting God unto my decision making. Seeking God’s will in my life by choosing between two goods. The better good is what God wants for me.

Another basis is magis. What more can I do for God is magis. Doing as much as I can for God and for others is what I take from this.
 
Michael16 said:
The basis of Ignatian spirituality, in my understanding; is an awareness of God in everything and inviting God unto my decision making. Seeking God’s will in my life by choosing between two goods. The better good is what God wants for me.
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Yeah, this to me always seems really obvious. How would one Not be aware of God in everything and everybody?
 
No, no problem. Individual Jesuits, perhaps; same with individual Dominicans, Benedictines, Norbertines, Augustinians, diocesean priests. . .just as there are problems with any individual --man, woman, child, rich, poor, etc.

But there are the stereotypes that probably play a part.

For instance, there’s the old joke about the bishop of a large Northeastern diocese who called in the priests of the local parishes. Among them was a Jesuit, and a Franciscan.

The bishop announced, "In order to raise money for construction of a new cathedral for the diocese, I’m calling for a diocese-wide Novena, and so I’m asking each of you to call on your parishioners during the novena to take a $10 chance on winning this great prize that has been graciously donated to us, a $75,000 Lexus. "

The Franciscan looked puzzled, raised his hand, and said, “What’s a Lexus”?

The Jesuit at the same time looked puzzled, raised his hand, and said, “What’s a Novena?”
 
The Jesuits have more recently been associated with Liberation Theology, which was given a negative assessment by St. John Paul II, and when he was Pope he suspended their constitution and the Vatican took direct control of the Jesuits for several years due to their turn towards liberal ideology. Even more recently they have been associated with dissent from Church teaching - Fr. Martin for example, who has strongly suggested that he disagrees with Church teaching on homosexuality. There was also the leader of the Jesuits who last year said that the Church cannot be trusted to interpret the gospels because no one knew what Jesus really said since we didn’t have tape recorders during biblical times. One of their chief publications, America Magazine, has been accused of propagating heretical beliefs and was at one point sanctioned by the Vatican in the mid 2000s. They have had more than their fair share of controversies.

That being said, there are many faithful Jesuits as others in this thread have pointed out. But I would be very cautious in assuming that any individual Jesuit that you do not know is orthodox.
 
The Jesuits I have crossed paths with in life have been some of the most joyful people I have known.
 
It’s just individual Jesuits, some well known, that have created a problem with going against church teaching. So, sometimes all Jesuits are thrown in the same boat. Plus, it’s the Jesuits that brought us some of the sappy music we see in churches today.
 
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