Nature of Jesuits

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I have heard of the Jesuits in diffrent lights, That the are the sophisedcated theologians or Church Militants (in army scince not die hard Catholics). Does anyone know where I could look up this kind of stuff about the Jesuits and what they are really like?

From what I understand the “Extreme Oath of a Jesuit” was brought before Congress in 1913 (or Some year abound then) and that it was found to be false. Does anyone know where I can find this (I tried googleing it up and all the things I got just say what it was and that it was brought before Congress and is silent about what Congress said about it)?

Thanks and God bless.
 
Jesuits are a divided religious order. Some, like Fr. Mitch Pacwa (of EWTN fame) are very orthodox. Others, like the ones who tend to staff many big name Jesuit Universities (the ones from Notre Dame, for example), seem to question the Faith every chance they get, and put up with heterodoxy so much that their goal seems to be to make people lose their faith.

That being said, the Jesuits, no matter how orthodox they are, are an order that likes to think things through- to come up with theological explanations for things that many people do not like to even touch on. I personally don’t like thinking things through as much as they do- I prefer to appreciate the mystical part of the faith- and read about it, captured in writing (particularly the writings of Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross) rather than try to figure out how everything works.
 
I think that a search of the Forums will turn up some info on the Oath. It was a topic of discussion within the past year. The Jesuits were founded by St. Ignatius Loyola and have been considered the right hand of the Pope for many years. In this country they run a number of Universities including Georgetown, Marquette, Fordham, and University of Detroit. They are active in the missionary fields including among the Indian Reservations in the Dakotas. They have a number of retreat houses including one at Lake Elmo Minnesota where I have made over 30 annual retreats. After the reformation it was the Jesuits who brought many Germanic Countries back into the Church including Bavaria and Austria which are today still strongly Catholic as opposed to Prussia and some North Western German States.
I believe it takes twelve years of study and formation before a Jesuit priest is ordained. Most if not all of them have an advanced degree in science, math, physics, or the humanities including theology or philosophy. I have also known a number of Benedictines as my children and wife attended either a Jesuit or Benedictine University. In my opinion the Jesuits are intellectually more rigorous while the Bennies are maybe a little more empathetic. Their orthodoxy varies somewhat with the individual, but I have yet to personally meet one who I would call heterodox in their belief and teaching. Like everywhere else you will find a few heterodox as well as radtrads in either order. 👍
 
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m134e5:
Jesuits are a divided religious order. Some, like Fr. Mitch Pacwa (of EWTN fame) are very orthodox. Others, like the ones who tend to staff many big name Jesuit Universities (the ones from Notre Dame, for example), seem to question the Faith every chance they get, and put up with heterodoxy so much that their goal seems to be to make people lose their faith.

That being said, the Jesuits, no matter how orthodox they are, are an order that likes to think things through- to come up with theological explanations for things that many people do not like to even touch on. I personally don’t like thinking things through as much as they do- I prefer to appreciate the mystical part of the faith- and read about it, captured in writing (particularly the writings of Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross) rather than try to figure out how everything works.
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Notre Dame is a University run by the Holy Ghost fathers. It is not a Jesuit institution and McBrien is, thank the Lord, not a Jesuit.
 
oh. I knew Gonzaga was Jesuit-run (and it’s pretty liberal too)- for some reason I thought Notre Dame was too.
 
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m134e5:
oh. I knew Gonzaga was Jesuit-run (and it’s pretty liberal too)- for some reason I thought Notre Dame was too.
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Actually, the University of Notre Dame, my Alma Mater, was founded by and continues to be under the direction of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and not the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) or the Congregation of the Holy Ghost.

I am a proud graduate of a Jesuit High School and have always found the Jesuits to be Men of God who try to incorporate the intellect with the spirituality of all of us. The Jesuits see God in everything and St. Ignatius, through his Spiritual Exercises, teaches us how to look inwardly for God’s voice and His will for our lives.

Peace, Bill
 
I know we shouldn’t generalise because of a few examples but my wife and several friends of mine in different locations have all had similar experiences at Confession when the priest was a Jesuit. They all found them to be scolding and lacking in compassion.
 
My Parish is run by Jesuits. I have been in parishes run by diosian priests. I find the jesuits are by far more committed, creative and imaginative. More charismatic, more open to the people and far more loving. That said, no doubt there are some jesuits who have moved dangerously far from the teachings of the Church. We had one very charismatic jesuit in India who you might have heard of-Tony D’mello, who wrote a number of books. he seemed to have gone too deep into Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, for from teaching Christ as the sole and only Master, towards the end of his life he started writing about many Masters, no sin, only ignorence, no hell, no punsihment for sins as there were no sins-he has many followers, is much admired-but still taught a wrong and dangerous philosophy especially for those who were not well grounded in their faith.
 
Montie Claunch:
I have heard of the Jesuits in diffrent lights, That the are the sophisedcated theologians or Church Militants (in army scince not die hard Catholics). Does anyone know where I could look up this kind of stuff about the Jesuits and what they are really like?

From what I understand the “Extreme Oath of a Jesuit” was brought before Congress in 1913 (or Some year abound then) and that it was found to be false. Does anyone know where I can find this (I tried googleing it up and all the things I got just say what it was and that it was brought before Congress and is silent about what Congress said about it)?

Thanks and God bless.
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Montie,

I can refer you to an excellent blog site where you will learn, first-hand, the thoughts of the Jesuits. You can even ask the questions you want answers for. Go to www.youdupedmelord.com.
Hope this helps
Bill
 
rwoehmke said:
In this country they run a number of Universities including Georgetown, Marquette, Fordham, and University of Detroit. They have a number of retreat houses including one at Lake Elmo Minnesota where I have made over 30 annual retreats. After the reformation it was the Jesuits who brought many Germanic Countries back into the Church including Bavaria and Austria which are today still strongly Catholic as opposed to Prussia and some North Western German States.
I believe it takes twelve years of study and formation before a Jesuit priest is ordained. 👍
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Rwoehmke, my hubby is intending to go on a retreat in demantraville Minnesota. A Father Jim Flaherty, Jesuit from Marquette in Wisconsin is scheduled to lead it that weekend. Do you (or anybody else) know if this is a good solid Catholic retreat? Does anybody know Fr.Jim Flaherty? It’s SO hard to make time for a retreat, and I’d hate my hubby to come away from it thinking he wouldn’t want to do one again sometime (it’ll be his first silent retreat)
 
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