So, what do you think that Jesuits need to change? What kind of reform do we need? Please, readers, weigh in. I would like to hear from you, at the beginning of this Lent, what you think is the primary kind of renewal that we need. I have often been curious about how outsiders view us. Positions are often so extreme -- intense love and intense hatred. So I thought this would be a beneficial activity for us. Please offer your experiences and observations in the comment box. Thanks.
Link (here) and let him know what you think?
Here are some excerpts from Nathan's COMBOX in response to his question.
Anonymous said...
According to the quite scathing article Are the Jesuits Catholic? by Paul Shaughnessy, S.J, "the number of priests who jump ship each year roughly equals the number of entering novices; the number of Jesuits who die annually is twice as high as either." The Jesuits are indeed in trouble. .
B Catholic said...
For starters, most Jesuits do not dress like religious, which you yourself noted. Other than working out and while in house, I'm not sure if there is a time when a priest or religious should ever be in lay clothes.
Secondly, most Jesuit liturgies are filled with liturgical abuses.
- Deirdre Mundy said...
- Though part of the problem with the 'image' (not reality) of the Jesuits is all the show-boating, beloved by the media guys who seem to be willing to say anything for attention. From the inside, they might look like "Crazy old uncle so-and-so" and people might just roll their eyes at their exploits, but from the outside, they become the face of the Society of Jesus. They probably even scare off some vocations.
I have known several Jesuits. I grew up with Father Thomas and he taught us and expected much from us. Then there are other Jesuits who when I seek advice from them, I find that instead of advice, they are making excuses for me and watering things down, even telling me that my sins aren't sins (when they really are:)
A Jesuit Fan said...
I don't know that I qualify as a "true" outsider given that I went to a Jesuit University and currently work in a Jesuit apostolate.
What I think the Jesuits need is a return to the roots of the order, a simplification and a revitalization. For many have gone too far left over the years and the reason there are so many issues is many Catholics are more center or to the right.
For too many liturgical abuse, decent from church teaching, hostility to the Church and the hierarchy is the norm rather then the exception. Now I am not saying the society as a whole is like this, I owe the credit of my own discernment of vocation, and the mere fact I am still Catholic to a couple of good solid Jesuits but there are a few that I think Francis Xavier or Ignatius would have run out of the Society on rails.
Anonymous said...
The 2002 article I mentioned in the first comment also points to a big elephant in the living room: the Jesuits are currently an organization of mostly gay men, many actively so. (I do not know this for a fact. This is the contention of the author, a Jesuit priest.)
The Jesuits simply can't survive as a religious club for gay men, even if they are chaste. I'm not saying everyone with same sex desires must be driven away, but it can't be the case that the percentage of Jesuits with same sex desires greatly exceeds the population average if the Jesuits are to survive.
Paul Shaughnessy is one of those orthodox Jesuits who, a long time ago, felt the need to seperate himself from the regular communities and apostolates of the Society and minister as a priest in other venues. Since I (as a young Jesuit in formation) don't know what he went through, I can't judge his decision.
It does seem that many such Jesuits are often bitter about their experiences which then colors their views of the Society. They focus excessively on the negative and, most importantly, they have no clue as to what the younger men are like..
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