Phil Lawler On The Washington Post Article

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Despite the catastrophic decline in membership in the Society of Jesus, the Post happily passes along the party line, suggesting that while the Jesuits can’t seem to attract young men into their ranks, still they continue to exercise considerable influence, through the various schools and universities they control. There are no longer many Jesuits teaching at those schools, and the attitudes prevalent on campus would shock a Jesuit—or a Jesuit-trained student—of previous generations. That doesn’t matter. The important thing is the Jesuits still have clout, and the “Jesuit tradition”—a phrase that seems as malleable as the “spirit of Vatican II", and usually connotes the same things—is upheld

But even as the Jesuits brace for near-extinction in this part of the world, their ideals are spreading.

For the Washington Post, “this part of the world” means the area inside the Washington Beltway. For Jesuit institutions the clientele can be described more specifically as generally well educated, affluent, mostly Caucasian, ethnically Catholic.

Link (here) to the full piece at Catholic Culture.