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shawn34_a
Guest
If their intentions were so admirable, how come they were shut down in Italy? So why didn’t they chose martydom like the apostles and do what was right? Only in the Russia did they continue the order. It was immediately after Napolean (professed Catholic) fell that they reinstate the order.Yes. (So are the Franciscans, and the Carmelites, and the Benedictines.)
They were suppressed in Portugal because of their opposition to slavery in South America - they were preventing Portugese settlers in Brazil from enslaving the native peoples, which was putting a damper on productivity (and profits) in the area. This was hitting the King of Portugal in the pocket, because he was wanting to collect taxes on the profits from slave labour in South America. So, he appealed to Pope Clement to suppress the Order of St. Ignatius (aka the Jesuits) and leave his people free to take slaves. Pope Clement caved into this pressure because of political considerations - immediately (although he had been in robust health up to that point) he became extremely ill, and died. Poison was suspected, but no evidence of it was ever found.
His successor immediately reinstated the Jesuits, and decreed that it is a mortal sin for Catholics to keep slaves.![]()
It was not the successor to clement for that was pius VI. It was Pius VII that reinstated the Jesuits.