The New Jesuit Mission
by Dr. Jeff Mirus, January 25, 2008
.
This is an excerpt of a much larger piece.
.
The Pope and the Jesuits
You have to be a certain age to remember these things, but even my youngest readers may remember Benedict XVI’s admonition a few days ago to the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, just before they elected their new Superior. Benedict said “it could prove extremely useful that the general congregation reaffirm…its own total adhesion to Catholic doctrine, in particular…the relationship between Christ and religions…” (see Emphasizing the Black in “Black Pope” and Benedict XVI’s Letter). As we will see, one might almost believe the Holy Father was asking the Jesuits not to elect somebody like Fr. Adolfo Nicolás.
But elect him they did, and according to Fr. Nicolás, Christianity is in crisis in Asia “because our message is not made visible in our life.” If this referred to the hypocrisy of Christians who undermine the gospel by their sins, it would be wholly unobjectionable. But unfortunately Fr. Nicolás defines the Christian message as “compassion and service” (which “unknown thousands” already exemplify in “Other Religions”) and “forgiveness and service” (which in the Church has “given way to a complicated system of controls”).
You have to be a certain age to remember these things, but even my youngest readers may remember Benedict XVI’s admonition a few days ago to the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, just before they elected their new Superior. Benedict said “it could prove extremely useful that the general congregation reaffirm…its own total adhesion to Catholic doctrine, in particular…the relationship between Christ and religions…” (see Emphasizing the Black in “Black Pope” and Benedict XVI’s Letter). As we will see, one might almost believe the Holy Father was asking the Jesuits not to elect somebody like Fr. Adolfo Nicolás.
But elect him they did, and according to Fr. Nicolás, Christianity is in crisis in Asia “because our message is not made visible in our life.” If this referred to the hypocrisy of Christians who undermine the gospel by their sins, it would be wholly unobjectionable. But unfortunately Fr. Nicolás defines the Christian message as “compassion and service” (which “unknown thousands” already exemplify in “Other Religions”) and “forgiveness and service” (which in the Church has “given way to a complicated system of controls”).
A key sentence reads as follows:
The natural field for this crisis is the Pastoral field, where, to our own shame and consternation, norms and obligations seem to occupy much more space in preaching and directives from the Pastors than joy, hope and freedom; where learning (often less than intelligible and seldom interesting) doctrines occupies more space than communion, service and hospitality.
.
Forgetting the Good News
This passage captures the quintessential loss of faith characteristic of modernist theologians.
Forgetting the Good News
This passage captures the quintessential loss of faith characteristic of modernist theologians.
The message of Christianity is here reduced to an amorphous blend of service and compassion directed toward a worldly salvation from unfortunate social conditions. This notion of salvation is often called “liberation” (Benedict also asked the Jesuits to adhere to Catholic doctrine regarding “some aspects of the theology of liberation”). Fr. Nicolás argues that Catholic theology “has failed to integrate serious knowledge with the more liberating ways of religious wisdom.” He asserts that “the real spiritual Masters of all ages are more keen in teaching the way to God than in giving answers to questions about God,” and claims that Asia “has produced an incredible wealth of such ‘Ways’.”
Religion is, apparently, all about praxis and not at all about truth.
Read the full article entitled The New Jesuit Mission at Catholicculture.org
No comments:
Post a Comment