There is something to be said about coming up with a thoughts and/or a plan through being contrary and using polarization. This is common in certain personality types, and also in business. It’s not that people actually believe what they are saying, but they are presenting the issue as a devil’s advocate.
These kinds of people usually have “command” as a strength, which as a result they tend to be influential, in leadership positions, and are probably good at debating. Their statements could be taken at face value as a result, meaning that instead of thinking their statements as “have we considered this?” people think “they actually think that!”. I could easily see Jesuits having a few of these folks. As a result, some people may see what is said and flip out, when the reality is the person is saying things to help the process of coming to a conclusion.
Oh, you can add His Grace Terrance Prendergast to the list of Jesuits who are awesome.
