Chastity in the Society of JesusA Summary of Decree 8, from the 34th General Congregation of the Jesuits
This is just a small portion of the summary, I think it gives you an idea of the Jesuitspeak that will be at G.c.35
What follows is a summary of Decree 8, one of 26 Decrees dealing with the Mission of the Society Jesus today issued by the 34th General Congregation [GC34] of the Society of Jesus. The congregation met in Rome in the first three months of 1995. Its work affects the immediate future of Jesuits worldwide. Introduction Today "men and women experience their sexuality as a gift which enables them to express intimate love and commitment." There remain, however, questions and doubts "about the meaning and value of priestly or religious chastity." Though challenges exist, the Jesuits of GC 34 remain convinced that "fidelity in chastity characterizes the life of the Society today" as it did so in the past by God's goodness.
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The Call to Chastity
The Call to Chastity
For Ignatius, members of the Society are "rooted in a fundamental detachment and a determination to serve God totally" made possible by a deeply personal love for Christ. Jesuits are called to "embody in his life that singleness of vision and readiness for mission which is the Ignatian understanding of the angels." Jesuits are called to this gift of God to a discipleship and renunciation in freedom for the universal charity of God towards all men and women.
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The Apostolic Character of Chastity
The Apostolic Character of Chastity
Consecration to God through chastity witnesses to Christ's comprehensive engagement of human beings. It is a prophetic reminder of our eternal life with God. Chastity is, therefore, essentially apostolic. Chastity reinforces the value of marriage. "Both point to a love and fidelity deeper than sexual expression and of which Christian marriage and religious chastity are divergent and sacred realizations." Human love freely offered to all is a powerful sign leading others to God. Thus, the Jesuit lives in radical apostolic availability.
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The Matter and Meaning of the Vow of Chastity
The Matter and Meaning of the Vow of Chastity
The vow of chastity "arises from and is based upon a conscious and free decision under grace." For the Jesuit, this "vow entails the obligation of complete continence in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven."
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The Cost of This Discipleship
The Cost of This Discipleship
The loss of conjugal intimacy, denying himself a family and affective bonding are painful choices for the Jesuit. Other joys are possible but cannot remove all of the void. He lives in a solitude that can be both desert and cross. The poverty that flows from the vow of chastity completes and fulfills his life but it comes at a great cost.
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Normative Principles and Guidelines:
1. Familiarity with God and friendship with Christ grow with a life of prayer.
Guidelines: Jesuits should "seek the conscious presence of the Lord" private prayer as well as community prayer, through the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation, an annual commitment to the Spiritual Exercises and a devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
2. Community life supports a life lived in the denial of wife and children. Thus, apostolic chastity cannot be lived in a life withdrawn from others.
Guidelines: "Our houses are to be communities where the life of prayer and the interchange with one another of religious values habitually characterize daily life." Communities ought to be hospitable while at the same time observing a certain privacy.
3. The life of ministry strengthens our attachment to the Lord. This attachment is the source of chastity. Chastity is our way of relating to others.
Guidelines: The manner of proceeding of a Jesuit "ought to preclude any ambiguity about their lives, enabling those to whom they minister to rely instinctively upon their disinterestedness and fidelity." It is important that those in ministries such as spiritual direction, counseling or therapy keep appropriate professional boundaries. Cultural differences require sensitivity on the part of Jesuits.
4. "Discernment and self-discipline are imperative for fidelity in chastity."
Guidelines: Religious discretion entails the practice of the examination of conscience, mortification, and custody of the senses. Any failure in fidelity to the vow can afflict others cruelly.
5. Spiritual maturation goes along with affective maturation. This latter "means the development and the integration of all the forces and emotions of the human personality."
Guidelines: The individual Jesuit is responsible for his own human growth. He should not attempt to isolate himself from life's challenges and crises. He must give his feelings and creativity appropriate expression and develop an educated sensibility for the humane achievements of life. He must avoid a lifestyle that puts him under excessive affective stress or necessitates his suppressing his own feelings, thus leading to some kind of psychic disturbance. Friendships can "support a life of dedicated chastity" and "deepen the affective relationship with God." Spiritual direction is essential. Superiors "can further in their communities an atmosphere of understanding and of friendship."
6. The Account of Conscience and Spiritual Direction are critical.
Guidelines: There should be mutual confidence and openness between Jesuits and superiors. Spiritual directors must be appropriately trained. Jesuits will be "as effective in helping others to lead a chaste life" as the Jesuit is faithful in his integrity and awareness of his own innermost self. "Chastity is a shared responsibility of all Jesuits to safeguard seriously and to further through their mutual fraternal support and friendships as well as through the aid they offer superiors in their care for their companions and for the Society."
7. The admission of candidates into the Society as well as their possible dismissal depend on a realistic examination of a person's charism and character for a life demanding celibate chastity. The ability of superiors to carry out their responsibilities depends on the openness of both candidates and fellow Jesuits.
Normative Principles and Guidelines:
1. Familiarity with God and friendship with Christ grow with a life of prayer.
Guidelines: Jesuits should "seek the conscious presence of the Lord" private prayer as well as community prayer, through the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation, an annual commitment to the Spiritual Exercises and a devotion to the Blessed Virgin.
2. Community life supports a life lived in the denial of wife and children. Thus, apostolic chastity cannot be lived in a life withdrawn from others.
Guidelines: "Our houses are to be communities where the life of prayer and the interchange with one another of religious values habitually characterize daily life." Communities ought to be hospitable while at the same time observing a certain privacy.
3. The life of ministry strengthens our attachment to the Lord. This attachment is the source of chastity. Chastity is our way of relating to others.
Guidelines: The manner of proceeding of a Jesuit "ought to preclude any ambiguity about their lives, enabling those to whom they minister to rely instinctively upon their disinterestedness and fidelity." It is important that those in ministries such as spiritual direction, counseling or therapy keep appropriate professional boundaries. Cultural differences require sensitivity on the part of Jesuits.
4. "Discernment and self-discipline are imperative for fidelity in chastity."
Guidelines: Religious discretion entails the practice of the examination of conscience, mortification, and custody of the senses. Any failure in fidelity to the vow can afflict others cruelly.
5. Spiritual maturation goes along with affective maturation. This latter "means the development and the integration of all the forces and emotions of the human personality."
Guidelines: The individual Jesuit is responsible for his own human growth. He should not attempt to isolate himself from life's challenges and crises. He must give his feelings and creativity appropriate expression and develop an educated sensibility for the humane achievements of life. He must avoid a lifestyle that puts him under excessive affective stress or necessitates his suppressing his own feelings, thus leading to some kind of psychic disturbance. Friendships can "support a life of dedicated chastity" and "deepen the affective relationship with God." Spiritual direction is essential. Superiors "can further in their communities an atmosphere of understanding and of friendship."
6. The Account of Conscience and Spiritual Direction are critical.
Guidelines: There should be mutual confidence and openness between Jesuits and superiors. Spiritual directors must be appropriately trained. Jesuits will be "as effective in helping others to lead a chaste life" as the Jesuit is faithful in his integrity and awareness of his own innermost self. "Chastity is a shared responsibility of all Jesuits to safeguard seriously and to further through their mutual fraternal support and friendships as well as through the aid they offer superiors in their care for their companions and for the Society."
7. The admission of candidates into the Society as well as their possible dismissal depend on a realistic examination of a person's charism and character for a life demanding celibate chastity. The ability of superiors to carry out their responsibilities depends on the openness of both candidates and fellow Jesuits.
Guidelines: Superiors should try to probe issues of emotional strain and inner distress of candidates. Anyone not able to live the vow of chastity with integrity should leave the Society. Those who repeatedly violate chastity should leave. Superiors should challenge those involved in inappropriate relationships.
Recommendation to Father General "Establish a commission of experts who can examine thoroughly the issues attendant on the fidelity and credibility of chastity in the Society and on a sound affective formation of young Jesuits and those already formed."
Link to the full synopsis (here)
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