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The Fading Jesuits

MAKING news is not new for the Jesuits. They have long been called ‘the First Legion’ and ‘the Vanguard of the Church.’ But now the Jesuits​—the strongest and, to many outside observers, among the most interesting of the Roman Catholic religious orders—​are making different kinds of headlines.

Today, even many of the Jesuits themselves are expressing fear that their Order is fading away. What prompts those feelings?

Diminishing numbers, for one thing. In 1966, there were over 35,000 Jesuit brothers, scholastics and priests around the world. Now there are only about 31,000. Those quitting have included eminent men of their ranks. And every indication is that the number will continue to dip. In fact, the American Jesuits have recently cut back the number of seminaries from five to three because of a lack of students.

Peering into Jesuit History

The Society of Jesus, as it is called, was founded by Ignatius of Loyola in the year 1540. Right from the start the Jesuits were unique among the religious orders. Most orders before them were contemplative, stressing prayer and monastic living. But Ignatius’ society was to be geared for action. Thus, it became the first order in the Church specifically to offer itself to the pope for any special work that he may have in mind. So, too, Jesuit vows not only include those for poverty and chastity, but special stress is placed on vows of obedience to the pope. To carry out their broad commission, Ignatius knew that something else was also needed: Flexibility.

Jesuits were to go all over the world and to fit into all kinds of work and not to feel restricted to just ‘priestly duties.’ To facilitate their adapting to various conditions, the distinctive garb such as that worn by monks and friars in other orders was largely abandoned. In time the Jesuits came to be found in business, the arts, in social work and in many other occupations. However, they have gained prominence in two particular fields.

Their missionary work in Asia, Africa and the Americas has become almost legendary. And, secondly, they are known as educators and intellectuals. Even critics of the group have admitted that a Jesuit education is a preferred education.

Whatever the Jesuits have turned their hand to doing, they have usually done quite well. Interestingly, this very success has created many of their problems. In what ways?

Success Creates Problems

To many Protestants, the Jesuits have appeared to be no more than a subtle but very powerful and successful arm of Rome. It cannot be denied that part of their original purpose for existing was to counter the Protestant Reformation. The late Joseph de Guibert (himself a Jesuit) noted: “It is, of course, beyond doubt that Ignatius had a dread of Protestantism. He resolutely opposed even every tendency resembling or favoring it.”

Jesuit popularity has stirred others against them. When dictators and Communistic governments come to power, the Jesuits are often among the first to suffer, sometimes because of their assumed strong connections with Vatican City. However, particularly in recent decades, individual Jesuits usually have operated with broad latitude and even somewhat detached from the Vatican.

The Jesuits’ successes have sometimes made for them enemies even right inside the Catholic Church! Pressure against them was so strong that the pope banned the group between 1773 and 1814. Why this intense internal hatred? Largely it resulted from jealousy. Their motto, “For the greater glory of God,” implies that they will do more than even other dedicated religious orders. Such a spirit has not always met with the best reception, even among “friends.”

So opposition and problems are not new for the Society of Jesus. But at this point Jesuits or those interested in their many works must exercise special discernment. It is relatively easy to toss off current problems as just variations on a theme that is centuries old. But such an attitude can also be dangerous. Why? Because the situations the Order faces today really are different from those of the past.

Today’s Different Situations

Today Jesuit is squared off against Jesuit as strong political rivals. There are two Jesuits, for instance, in prominent U.S. government positions. One, Dr. John McLaughlin, accuses the other, Representative Robert F. Drinan, of ‘raping justice’ and of having “the open-mindedness that . . . the Sanhedrin had toward Christ.”

The civil rights demonstrations of the 1960’s and early 1970’s in some cases drove wedges between Jesuits. Thus, after Jesuit Dan Berrigan was accused of plotting to kidnap a high U.S. government official, a New York Times report noted that in his home order “some of the older men angrily urged that he be thrown out of the order. . . . younger priests who have supported the Berrigans, voiced the belief that the charges could not possibly be true.” Similar political division among Jesuits now appears in the Philippines.

Then, too, there are divided opinions on moral matters. Jesuit John McNeill publicly approves of homosexuality and would even condone some form of homosexual ‘unity ceremony.’ Such views distress conservative elements.

There is such division in the order today that Jesuit Kenneth Baker, editor of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, says: “Ten years ago when you met a fellow Jesuit, you knew that he was a brother and that his experiences and thoughts would be like yours. Now when you meet a Jesuit for the first time, it’s like the mating dance of the crabs​—trying to find out if the other crab is male or female.”

Now add to this unusual combination of conditions another fact: In the past when the Jesuits had problems, the Church itself was strong and firm. But now the whole Roman Catholic institution is in trouble. One of the most noted Jesuit scholars, John L. McKenzie, says that the Church’s hierarchy has lost its power and “they’re running scared.” More Jesuits than ever before have become critics of the Church that they vowed to serve.

So, does it seem wise just to pass off today’s decline in the Order as part of the same pattern as the past? Hardly. But what​—other than the general problems facing the whole Church—​is truly at the base of the Jesuits’ decline?

Source of the Problem

What might be called the ‘Jesuit distinction’ is rapidly disappearing. In what way?

Well, the Society of Jesus has by its actions taken to itself the words of Christ about his followers being ‘in the world, but no part of the world.’ (John 17:11-16) That admittedly presents no small challenge. But in the process of trying to be Jesuit priests, while also active in other endeavors of the world, there is always the possibility that the priestly role will slip into a secondary position. When that happens, where is the distinction between the Jesuit and the average layman in the same profession? There is none. But has this actually happened? Fellow churchmen seem to think so.

For instance, the Catholic magazine Commonweal reviewed the book The New Jesuits by George Riemer in 1971. The book is a series of eleven interesting interviews with intelligent Jesuits in different fields. What did the reviewer, John L’Heureux, conclude? We read:

“Nowhere in the book . . . is there any indication of why these men are priests or why they are Jesuits. With all the talk about hyphenated priests (priest-sculptor, priest-lawyer, priest-politician), we wonder what is on the front end of that hyphen. Is being a priest just something you are, like being Irish or white or fat? Is being a Jesuit like belonging to a rather exclusive gentleman’s club? Doesn’t the priesthood and the Order make you different . . . ?”

Who will deny that this reviewer asks some legitimate questions? Do not his observations indicate that the Jesuits are no longer simply in the world, but, instead, are actually a functioning part of it?

Further revealing that the Order is indeed part of the world is the statement by the head of the Order, Superior General Pedro Arrupe. He notes: “The phenomenon” of current problems facing the Order “appears less astonishing if we place it squarely within the framework of all that is happening in the world, and not merely within the Church today.” [Italics ours.] Does not the superior general’s admission show that the Order is so tied into the world socially and morally that it suffers as the world suffers?

Sincere Jesuits know that these questions are not asked in any spirit of belligerence or ill will. Rather, they are brought up to prick self-examination, which is so vital in these unique times. Actually, life is involved.

What Jesuit does not remember the words of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount? He said of his followers: “You are the salt of the earth. But what if salt goes flat? How can you restore its flavor? Then it is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”​—Matt. 5:13, New American Bible.

With any distinction between Jesuits and the rest of the world all but gone, frankly, how can they, like salt, be a real instrument for preserving the earth from moral decay? That is not possible. Such words of Jesus deserve special consideration since no one wants to be part of an organization that is “trampled underfoot.”

The self-examination that the current situation calls for is, understandably, not easy. But for everyone genuinely interested in “the greater glory of God,” it is an absolute necessity.