Early in his papacy, John Paul II made some efforts to redirect the Society of Jesus toward what he saw as greater obedience to his leadership. Where do things stand now?

-- Richmond Angier (richmond145@aol.com), February 19, 2001

Answers

Jmj Dear Richmond,
There has been no noticeable difference, in my opinion. The situation is heartbreaking. It is good for St. Ignatius Loyola that, being in Heaven, he cannot suffer. If that were not true, he would be in almost as much pain as a soul in hell, knowing that the order he founded in the 1500s has been overrun by the very lack of love for Catholic truth that he fought in the final decades of his life.

The Society of Jesus appears to be in deep trouble. My impression is that less than 10% of Jesuits are fully orthodox Catholics -- but the good ones are GREAT (e.g., Joseph Fessio, Kenneth Baker, Mitchell Pacwa). In the 1980s, the pope named a new Superior General of the Jesuits [informally called "The Black Pope"], Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, but is seems that he has not made a difference.

There are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S.. Of these, I know of only one that has NOT been ruined. All the rest -- including my alma mater -- seem to have been overrun by radical feminism, leanings toward a Marxist form of "liberation theology," a lack of respect for the Magisterium, etc.. When I last visited my University, the dorms were being shared by both sexes, pamphlets recommending the use of condoms against AIDS were on display in the Student Union, the Jesuit-staffed parish across the street had "liturgical dancing," the student newspaper had a huge, illustrated article describing and recommending various forms of contraception, the campus radio station had a program promoting "gay and lesbian issues" (its theme song being Labelle's "Voulez-vous couchez avec moi?"), etc..

The one good Jesuit school in the U.S., as far as I know, is the University of Scranton. Maybe another visitor here can bring us good news about the recovery of one of the remaining 27 Jesuit institutions in the U.S.: Boston College, Canisius College, College of the Holy Cross, Creighton University, Fairfield University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Gonzaga University, John Carroll University, Le Moyne College Loyola College in Maryland, Loyola Marymount University, Loyola University Chicago, Loyola University New Orleans, Marquette University, Regis University, Rockhurst University, Saint Joseph's University, Saint Louis University, Saint Peter's College, Santa Clara University, Seattle University, Spring Hill College, University of Detroit Mercy, University of San Francisco, Wheeling Jesuit University, Xavier University.

I found the following Q&A, from less than six months ago, at the EWTN Internet site:
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Question: According to some conspiracy theorists, the Jesuits are accused of everything from espionage to assassination. Is there any historical truth to these allegations? ...

Answer by Warren H. Carroll, Ph.D on 09-19-2000:
Tragically, the Jesuit order was deeply infiltrated by the Modernist heresy in the 20th century. It has given much grief to our present Holy Father, as amply documented in George Weigel's great biography of him, WITNESS TO HOPE. Not a single Jesuit appeared for the canonization in Rome of the great Jesuit St. Claude de la Colombiere in Rome, which I attended in 1991, and American Jesuits have boycotted ceremonies honoring the great American Jesuit Father John Hardon (for whom we all should pray, since he may be entering upon his mortal illness [He died 12/30. JFG]). But I do not think Jesuits are involved in any sensational plots. Most of these conspiracy theories make very bad history. - Dr. Carroll
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God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), February 22, 2001.

I am a radical feminist in that I am rooted in the gifts of the feminine. I attended Marquette University and have been destroyed by their lawyers for standing up for a conservative Jesuit, Richard Roach. Your labeling women as radical feminists feeds into peoples fear. Why do you hate the feminine? Are you gay? Do you hate your own feminine side? The Jesuits in my experience at Marquette are not Catholic and Liberation Theology gives them a cause to feel important and it has little to do with feminism.

-- teresa doyle (authordoyle4@yahoo.com), June 17, 2001.