For Jesuits, abuse scandal is giant real estate opportunity

Home to Philadelphia's Archbishops since 1935; soon to be Jesuit owned

In 2007, when the Archdiocese of Boston was looking to raise cash to pay off its clerical abuse liabilities, the Jesuits of Boston College helpfully offered to buy the archbishop of Boston's residence and 65 surrounding acres for $400 million.  Recently, as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia looks to raise cash for the same purpose, the Jesuits of St. Joseph's University have offered $10 million for its archbishop's residence and 9 surrounding acres.   Another thing to note is that the price of an archbishop's residence is dropping like a rock.

Guess I touched a nerve

St. Ignatius Loyola

Over at America they're up to their usual nonsense, posting a press release from a Soros funded group as though it were true, much less news.   No comments had been posted, so I decided to be the first.  I wrote "Would that America transmitted Catholic teaching with as little demurral as they do the press releases of the Soros-funded Center for American Progress."  The comment was removed within the hour.


UPDATE:  Justin Martyr suggests we (few, we happy few) all have a go at posting the removed comment verbatim.  I call this inspired, and I expect America's response will be instructive to observe.

UPDATE 2: We have America's response (see comments), and, as predicted, it is instructive.
Query: is it pointless snark to characterize a comment as "pointless snark?"

UPDATE 3: Please stop trying to post the comment at America.  A truce has been declared (see comments). 



St. Ignatius Loyola, pray for us.

What Jesuits watch on tv

 St. Aloysius Gonzaga doing what Jesuits used to do before the invention of tv

America gives 1200 word review to tv show.  Can you guess what it is?  Hint: it's not on the Military Channel. 

Jesuit inculturation in the Reductions

Ruins of La Santisima Trinidad de Parana, built by Jesuits in what is now Paraguay

In the 16th century, amidst the jungles of South America, Jesuit missionaries laid out elaborate, intelligently planned cities, built Baroque cathedrals, established musical conservatories and composed baroque sacred music incorporating native motifs.  All this was done to evangelize the Guarani and Chiquito peoples, who, the Jesuits discovered, had a special appreciation for musical and architectural beauty.  Eventually, the Jesuits were expelled, and the cities fell into ruins, but the music has recently been re-discovered.  Sandro Magister has more here.

Jesuits display remarkable aptitude for self-delusion

 Jesuit cemetery at former St. Andrew-on-Hudson Seminary and Novitiate (now a cooking school)

At their recent 35th General Congregation, they blamed catastrophic drop in US numbers on everything from "consumerism" to "mobility" of US society.  Cardinal Newman Society has more here.

St. Ignatius Loyola, pray for us.

New apostolate for Jesuits -

                            “Sacred Heart of Jesus with Saint Ignatius Loyola and Saint Louis Gonzaga”  by Jose de Paez

                                                         Not the sort of Jesuits CNN would have on speed dial.

Answering CNN's stupid religious questions.

I guess they find this easier and more fun than spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart.  I wonder what Our Lord thinks of it?

St. Ignatius Loyola, pray for us.

"World Ends; Women, Minorities Hardest Hit" dept.

                                           Love us! Love us!  We're liberals!

The Jesuits' magazine, "America," can't resist these types of stories.  Here's the latest, and one from last week. 

I guess you're always the last to realize you've been reduced to self-parody.

Jesuits sell Gospels for 9 million pounds

Probably their last copy, too.  They won't miss it.

Want to show your concern for the poor?

Call your congressman.  According to the Jesuit magazine "America," that's all it takes.  No wonder so many people are liberals; it's so easy!  And it makes you feel so good!  And you don't even have to spend your own money!

The Jesuits and Harry Potter

According to the Jesuit magazine "America," Harry Potter is Christian.   However, from the Jesuit viewpoint, Harry Potter is not as amazing as Lady Gaga, since he lacks her capacity for inaugurating world peace.

If the Jesuits spent more time praying before the Blessed Sacrament and less time sitting around watching "Entertainment Tonight" they might find their heads less crowded with farcical notions.

Jesuits receive unexpected cash infusion

Expert believes Campion Hall painting was done by Michelangelo.  Estimated value: 100 million pounds.

Will the last Jesuit in Europe please turn out the lights?

                      Which glorious old church will the Jesuits have to abandon next?


The rapidly imploding Society of Jesus has evacuated the archdiocese of Toledo in Spain.

Jesuit Expert: Catholic schools must be more Catholic

Great idea!   Let's start with Jesuit colleges and universities.

America magazine pins its hopes for world peace on Lady Gaga

                                      If she can't end war, who can?


Having discarded devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in order to concentrate on promoting social justice, the Jesuit editors of America magazine note with dissatisfaction that there continue to be wars in the world.  The editors find this incomprehensible, since they distinctly recall Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Art Garfunkel, and even Paul McCartney singing songs about ending war.  In near despair, America magazine now turns to (who else): Lady Gaga.

I kid you not.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Jesuits (Part 6)

We have seen how the Jesuits, having been selected by Our Lord Himself to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart, and after having dedicated themselves to this work with great success for almost three hundred years, have in recent decades largely dropped this mission, though without explanation (see here , here, here and here).

St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was himself deeply devoted to the adoration of the Heart of Jesus in the Eucharist.  The following is taken from "The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist" by Fr. John Hardon, SJ (full text here):

"In 1540, a few weeks before the Institute of the Society of Jesus was formally approved by Paul III, [St. Ignatius Loyola] wrote to the citizens of his native town of Azpeitia, exhorting them to a greater devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. “I beg and entreat you,” he said, “by the love of God and by the respect which we owe Him, to apply yourselves to serve Our Lord Jesus Christ with all the fidelity of which you are capable, and to venerate His Divine Majesty with the deepest respect, above all in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which He is hidden in all the greatness of His divine and human natures, wherein He is present as entirely, as powerfully and as infinitely as He is in heaven.”'

The Sacred Heart and the Jesuits (cont.)

Twenty years after Arrupe, the Jesuits take stock.   The New England provincial offers a shocking critique here.  Sample: "too many of us do not pray daily, celebrate or attend Mass daily."   Sounds like they desperately need to restore devotion to the Sacred Heart.  Let's pray they recognize this before it's too late.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Jesuits

                                              

The Strange Case of Pedro Arrupe, SJ

We have seen how the Jesuits, having been selected by Our Lord Himself to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart, and after having dedicated themselves to this work with great success for almost three hundred years, have in recent decades largely dropped this mission, though without explanation (see here , here, and here).

A great shift in the mission of the Society of Jesus took place during the Generalship of Pedro Arrupe, (elected Superior General in 1965; resigned 1983).   For leading this re-direction of the Society, Arrupe is considered by many to be the "second founder" of the Jesuits.  In 1975, at the 32nd General Congregation of the Society, the decree establishing the Society's new focus, called "Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice" was issued.  According to this decree, the promotion of justice in the world was henceforth to be the central focus of the Society.  Needless to say, the decree "Our Mission Today" does not mention devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

The decree claims that "in one form or another, [the promotion of justice in the world] has always been the mission of the Society."  To support this claim, the decree makes a general citation to the Formula of the Institute of the Society of Jesus (approved by Pope Julius III and inserted in the Bull Exposcit Debitum, July 21, 1550).  The Formula is the fundamental charter of the Society, to which all subsequent organizational documents must conform.  The citation is vague deliberately, because there is no specific support for the claim in the Formula.  Here is a sample of the Formula so that you may judge the extent to which "promotion of justice in the world" is part of the Society's mission as stated in its fundamental charter:

"Whoever desires to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the Cross in our Society, which we desire to be designated by the Name of Jesus, and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth, should, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity, poverty and obedience, keep what follows in mind. He is a member of a Society founded chiefly for this purpose: to strive especially for the defence and propagation of the faith and for the progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine, by means of public preaching, lectures and any other ministration whatsoever of the Word of God, and further by means of retreats, the education of children and unlettered persons in Christianity, and the spiritual consolation of Christ's faithful through hearing confessions and administering the other sacraments. Moreover, he should show himself ready to reconcile the estranged, compassionately assist and serve those who are in prisons or hospitals, and indeed, to perform any other works of charity, according to what will seem expedient for the glory of God and the common good."

However, Pedro Arrupe had not forgotten about the Sacred Heart.  In 1981, he reminded his fellow Jesuits of this devotion, spoke of his personal devotion to the Sacred Heart, and pleaded with the Society not to abandon it.  Arrupe stated he had "always been convinced that what we call ‘Devotion to the Sacred Heart’ is a symbolic expression of the very basis of the Ignatian spirit," and stated further that devotion to the Sacred Heart is "one of the deepest sources of vitality for [his] interior life."  Nevertheless, Arrupe admitted that as General he had spoken and written little about it.  The reason for this reluctance, Arrupe said, was the knowledge that "[i]n recent years the very expression ‘Sacred Heart’ has constantly aroused, from some quarters, emotional, almost allergic reactions."  So, the "second founder" of the Society, the General who shifted the mission and focus of the Society, appreciated the great value of devotion to the Sacred Heart.  However, he didn't mention it because it got an "allergic reaction" from "some quarters."

Later that same year, Pedro Arrupe suffered a stroke.  For two years, the Society was governed by Blessed Pope John Paul II's personal delegate.  In 1983, Pope John Paul II accepted Fr. Arrupe's resignation as General.  Of the 28 Superior Generals of the Society, Arrupe was the first to resign his office. 

Didn't St. Ignatius say something about "thinking with the Church?"

I guess that's something else Jesuits threw overboard along with devotion to the Sacred Heart.  Here's an example of the Jesuits' new approach: "Jesuit leadership defends pro-abortion organization denounced by Mexican cardinal."
No wonder the Jesuits are dying. 

The Apostleship of Prayer and the US Jesuits

In our discussion yesterday of the Sacred Heart and the Jesuits, we mentioned the Apostleship of Prayer.  This group was founded in 1844 AD by Jesuit scholastics who were restless in their studies and impatient to get on with missionary work.  Their spiritual director, Father Francois Xavier Gautrelet, S.J, instructed them that they could begin their supernatural work of saving souls right away through the supernatural means of prayer.  Fr. Gautrelet told the young scholastics:  "Be apostles now, apostles of prayer! Offer everything you are doing each day in union with the Heart of our Lord for what he wishes: the spread of the Kingdom for the salvation of souls."  Fr. Gautrelet taught the scholastics to offer each day in union with Christ's sacrifice of the Mass by means of a Daily Offering prayer (see below).  Since the 1880's, the Apostleship of Prayer has also prayed for the monthly intentions of the Pope.  The moderator general of the Apostleship of Prayer is the General of the Society of Jesus.

There are now two forms of the Daily offering prayer.  This is the "Traditional Daily Offering of the Apostleship of Prayer:"

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

This one is simply called "Daily Offering of the Apostleship of Prayer:"

God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world.  May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love.  With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father this month.  Amen.

One notices that the second prayer omits any reference to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and refers to the 

"Heart of Jesus" rather than the "Sacred Heart." 

A possible reason for these omissions may be found in the FAQ section of the Apostleship's US website.  The answer to the question "What is your connection to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?" reads, in part:

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque had famous visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that she confided to her confessor, the Jesuit priest St. Claude de Colombiere. Later she spoke of an apparition in which the Blessed Virgin Mary asked her to commit her particular message to the Jesuits for propagation to the world. The Jesuits have always taken this commission seriously and have carried their love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus to mission fields throughout the world. In some places the Apostleship of Prayer is known primarily as a spreader of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That's fine, but our first mission is to teach the spiritual program of offering oneself every day for the world, the Church, the intentions of other Apostles of Prayer, and the express intentions of the Holy Father each month.

In other words, they've dropped spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus from their mission.  One wonders why.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Jesuits

About twenty years ago I tagged along with a friend making a visit to a Jesuit priest who resided in an infirmary for elderly Jesuits on the campus of Fordham University in the Bronx.  I noted with surprise that the infirmary was one of the more imposing buildings on the campus.  I learned from my friend that the infirmary building previously had housed the offices and printing plant of a magazine called "The Messenger of the Sacred Heart."  The Messenger was published by an organization founded and run by Jesuits known as the Apostleship of Prayer.  As the size of its former offices would suggest, the Messenger had once been very popular.  In the 1920's, when the building was erected, the Messenger had a circulation of 350,000 in the United States.  However, it has since become defunct.  The Apostleship of Prayer survives; indeed it claims 40 million members worldwide.  Moreover, 50 different Messengers of the Sacred Heart are still published around the globe.   However, it appears from their website that devotion to the Sacred Heart has been somewhat de-emphasized. 

From its earliest days, the Society of Jesus had promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart.   For example, in 1691 Jesuit Father John Croiset wrote the highly popular "The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus," and Fr. Joseph de Gallifet, a Jesuit who had also been a student of Fr. Colombiere, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's confessor, helped promote the devotion in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.   As recently as the 1950's,  Jesuits such as Carl J. Moell assisted in editing Papal encyclicals relating to the Sacred Heart.  These days, however, one senses that the Jesuits' ardor for this devotion has markedly diminished.

Whatever the current Jesuit view of Sacred Heart devotions may be, the following words of Carl J. Moell, S.J. remain as true today as when they appeared in the Jesuit magazine "America" in 1956 (full article here):

Underlying all these statements is the recurring theme: devotion to the Sacred Heart is an extraordinary remedy providentially given to us to meet the extraordinary evils of the modern world. Prayer alone is not enough; we must use all natural, human and social means at our disposal to bring about a lasting peace and a better world order. But all natural means will fail of their goal unless we give the primacy to the supernatural, unless we recognize the inadequacy of merely human means and, in the words of Leo XIII, look to that "most happy and holy sign, the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, crowned by a brilliant cross set among raging flames. In this Sacred Heart we should place all our hopes; from it too, we ask and await salvation."