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| The 35 General Congregation |
Exposcit
debitum of Pope Julius III, July 21, 1550
From experience, the Society
has learned that pivotal to its fidelity in chastity has been
the strong though humble and simple devotion to the Blessed Virgin
that has flourished among us since the time of St. Ignatius.
General Congregation 34, "Chastity in the Society of Jesus,"
§247
Although serving God our Lord
much out of pure love is to be esteemed above all, we ought to
praise much the fear of His Divine Majesty, because not only
filial fear is a thing pious and most holy, but even servile
fear -- when the man reaches nothing else better or more useful
-- helps much to get out of mortal sin. And when he is out, he
easily comes to filial fear, which is all acceptable and grateful
to God our Lord: as being at one with the Divine Love.
Saint
Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 18
When Ignatius wondered in Barcelona
whether he should study and how much, it was a question of whether
after his studies he should enter a religious order or go through
the world as he was. And when he thought of entering a religious
order, then he thought and desired to enter one that was corrupt
and unreformed ... to be able to suffer more, and also perhaps
thinking that God would help them.
Autobiography of
Saint Ignatius Loyola, §71
The fervour that characterized
our beginnings, manifested in Ignatius and in his friends in
the Lord, must also be apparent in our present day. Father Nadal,
speaking in the name of the first Jesuits, noted that the Society
is a light shining forth from Christ. It fills our beings, arouses
strong desires and urges us to work for the salvation of all
in a mission received from the Vicar of Christ on earth.
Introductory
Allocution of Father General Peter Hans Kolvenbach
to
the Congregation of Procurators, Sept 17, 1999.
Today the Jesuit is a man whose
mission is to dedicate himself entirely to the service of faith
and the promotion of justice.
General Congregation 32, "Our
Mission Today," §41
In like manner, we are to [call
to mind the] sin of one who went to hell because of one mortal
sin. Consider also countless others who have been lost for fewer
sins than I have committed.... Enter into conversation with Christ
our Lord. Recall to memory that of those who are in hell; some
came there because they did not believe in the coming of Christ;
others, though they believed, because they did not keep the commandments.
St. Ignatius Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, §§52,
71.
In the years after final vows,
the ordained Jesuit experiences all the pressures and complexities
of priestly ministry in the Society: he will probably be engaged
in a ministry which makes constant and exhausting demands on
him.
General Congregation 34, "Jesuit Identity and Ministerial
Priesthood," §189
Such men should be appointed
superiors who enjoy a good reputation and authority among their
subjects.
Complementary Norms, 340
We do not publish this decree
because we judge that infidelity in chastity is widespread within
the Society of Jesus. On the contrary, we are convinced that,
despite the challenges and testings of these years, fidelity
in chastity characterizes the life of the Society today as it
has characterized it in the past.
General Congregation 34, "Chastity
in the Society of Jesus," §228
It would be unreasonable for
traveling Jesuits to expect local people to view their conduct
as it would be understood in their own native land.
General
Congregation 34, "Chastity in the Society of Jesus,"
§255
Respect for the dignity of the
human person created in the Image of God underlies the growing
international consciousness of the full range of human rights.
General Congregation 34, "Our Mission and Justice,"
§55
And touching our Society, be
it known that we have made a league -- all the Jesuits in the
world, whose succession and multitude most overreach all the
practices of England -- cheerfully to the carry the cross you
shall lay upon us, and never to despair your recovery, while
he have a man left to enjoy your Tyburn, or to be racked with
your torments, or consumed with your prisons.
Saint Edmund
Campion, S.J., final address to the Privy Council, 1581
The Society expects from every
Jesuit not only fidelity to his vows but the normal public signs
of this fidelity. Jesuits should embody in their ministry and
in their lives an unequivocal "professional" conduct
(modestia) that manifests their commitments as priests
and as religious. Their manner of proceeding -- both as a community
and as individuals -- ought to preclude any ambiguity about their
lives, enabling those to whom they minister to rely instinctively
upon their disinterestedness and fidelity.
General Congregation
34, "Chastity in the Society of Jesus," 187
As servants of the Gospel, we
are channels of the creative Spirit working in and through our
persons to build the body of Christ.
Introductory Allocution
of Father General to the Congregation of Procurators, Sept 17,
1999
Obedience is to be offered by
all promptly, cheerfully, and in a supernatural spirit, as to
Christ.... Our holy Father Saint Ignatius desired that
we should all excel in the virtue of obedience. Accordingly,
with all our force and energy we should strive to obey, first,
the Sovereign Pontiff, and then the superiors of the Society,
not only in matters of obligation, but also in others, even at
the mere hint of the superior's will, apart from any express
command.
General Congregation 31, "The Life of Obedience,"
§277f.
In the light of our tradition,
we can say that no ministry which prepares the way for the Kingdom
or which helps to arouse faith in the Gospel is outside the scope
of Jesuit priests. In recent years we have come to recognize
that it is for the priest, as sign and minister of the Lord's
active presence, to be present in or to collaborate with all
human efforts which help in establishing the Kingdom.
General
Congregation 34, "Jesuit Identity and the Ministerial Priesthood,"
§172
Since Vatican Council II, at
the request of the Church itself, consecrated life has not ceased
being in motion. Still today, even under the pen of certain of
our confreres, publications are not lacking which describe our
deeds, and especially our misdeeds, in this time of permanent
upheaval, showing a certain nostalgia for the times of stability,
when the orientation of a religious institute seemed more sure
of itself.
Final Allocution of Father General to the Congregation
of Procurators, Sept 23, 1999.
The mission of the Society derives
from our continuing experience of the Crucified and Risen Christ
who invites us to join him in preparing the world to become the
completed Kingdom of God. The focus of Christ's mission is the
prophetic proclamation of the Gospel that challenges people in
the name of the Kingdom of his Father; we are to preach that
Kingdom in poverty.
General Congregation 34, "Servants
of Christ's Mission," §31
Few are called to the life of
a Jesuit, but for the man who is called, chastity only makes
sense as a means to greater love, to a more authentic apostolic
charity.
General Congregation 34, "Chastity in the Society
of Jesus," 236
Each Jesuit enriches the Society's
mission and contributes to what Saint Paul calls "the priestly
service of the Gospel of God."
General Congregation 34,
"Jesuit Identity and Ministerial Priesthood," §163
In Jesus Christ, we can accept
the magnitude of this challenge: to work at the integration of
faith and justice, to strive to understand how the Gospel is
to be inculturated, to embark with new zeal on the task of interreligious
dialogue, to continue to join our professional and pastoral skills
to the Ignatian way of proceeding. The Crucified Jesus reminds
us that in weakness and vulnerability God's love can shine forth
mightily.
General Congregation 34, "United with Christ
on Mission," §7
No community life is possible,
however, and no renewal can be truly fruitful unless each Jesuit
"keep before his eyes God, and the nature of this Institute
which he has embraced and which is, so to speak, a pathway to
God." His vocation summons each Jesuit to find privileged
time and space to pray with Christ, as friend to friend, learning
from this encounter how to be a servant of his mission.
General
Congregation 34, "United with Christ on Mission," §11
The task for the Jesuit priest,
in the midst of these multiple demands, is to continue a life
of faith and a generous and humble service of Christ. Even if
he is not primarily involved in direct pastoral service of others,
it will help him to keep his priestly identity alive if he is
able to minister regularly to a sacramental community; lay people,
especially the poor, build the personal faith of those who serve
them.
General Congregation 34, "Jesuit Identity and Ministerial
Priesthood", §190
General Congregation 34, "Servants of
Christ's Mission", §15
Father General Pedro Arrupe, S.J., in a BBC interview by Malcolm Muggeridge, January 25, 1970
In these years, throughout the
Society, we have been purified in the faith by which we live,
and have grown in our understanding of our central mission. Our
service, especially among the poor, has deepened our life of
faith, both individually and as a body: our faith has become
more paschal, more compassionate, more tender, more evangelical
in its simplicity.
We never go into politics, never;
politics as such. It is true we try, for instance today, in the
whole question of international justice, to help the underdeveloped
countries and so forth. We are for truth, for justice. If you
call politics this high idea of justice, fine. But if you speak
of politics in the sense of parties, or working for governments,
we are completely out of this.
Father General Pedro Arrupe, S.J., in a BBC interview by Malcolm Muggeridge, January 25, 1970
I think former Jesuits
are Jesuits. You don't leave. I really believe that. Ignatius
recognized that laymen are the core of the Society. Although
it's not necessarily true canonically, I would say they are Jesuits.
Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., quoted in Company Magazine, Fall 2000, p. 22.
Nor can it be said that the pope
was speaking of matters that do not involve our faith, since
the essence of his teaching directly concerns the human and divine
dignity of man and of love. In the enormous crisis of growth
which envelops the whole world, the pope himself has been what
the entire Church must be, and Vatican II affirmed, "both
a sign and a safeguard of the transcendence of the human person"
(Gaudium et Spes, §76). For this reason the service
we as Jesuits owe to the Holy Father and to the Church is at
the same time a service we owe to humanity itself.
Letter of Father General Pedro Arrupe, S.J. to the whole Society,
on the encyclical Humanae vitae, in Acta Romana Societatis Iesu. Vol. XV, Fasc. II, 1968
10 comments:
Thank you, Joe. This is a great post. Contrast this statement w/ the excerpt from the PBS interview
w/ FFrs. essio and Martin:
The Society expects from every Jesuit not only fidelity to his vows but the normal public signs of this fidelity. Jesuits should embody in their ministry and in their lives an unequivocal "professional" conduct (modestia) that manifests their commitments as priests and as religious. THEIR MANNER OF PROCEEDING- both as a community and as individuals -- OUGHT TO PRECLUDE ANY AMBIGUITY ABOUT THEIR LIVES, ENABLING THOSE TO WHOM THEY MINISTER TO RELY INSTINCTIVELY UPON THEIR DISINTEREDNESS AND FIDELITY.
--General Congregation 34, "Chastity in the Society of Jesus," 187
MARGARET WARNER: Explain the reasoning here. If a man, a young man, a middle-aged man, for that matter has been celibate for some time and is vowing to remain celibate as the Church requires to be a priest, WHY DOES IT MATTER TO THE CHURCH IF IN HIS HEART HE IS HOMOSEXUAL OR HETEROSEXUAL?
REV. JOSEPH FESSIO: Margaret, that's a wonderful question. First of all, it should be clear to people that the Catholic Church has taught from the beginning that homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral, against God's plan, against the natural law and are serious sins, and that, therefore, a tendency to indulge in those acts, or desire for them, is an objective psychological disorder.
Now that is a hard saying. It's something that goes against what a lot of people think but that's what the Church teaches. Now the reasons for that are very deep and more than we can go into here but they go to the very Trinity itself of God as being both union and fruitfulness and Christ incarnate, the Son of God being the bridegroom of His Church.
The Church has a very, very high view of sexuality in marriage. Paul expresses that in his epistle to the Ephesians that it's a great mystery, a man and a woman, Christ and the Church. And so the document at the very beginning says that when a man is ordained, he doesn't just perform the functions of a priest. He actually becomes united with Christ, the bridegroom of the Church, and, therefore, to have a relationship to the Church's bride, which is an ordered relationship, you have to have someone who has got that kind of affective maturity who also has an ordered relationship as a man to the bride which is his Church. So those are the fundamental reasons for it.
MARGARET WARNER: Meaning he would be heterosexual in orientation, though celibate?
REV. JOSEPH FESSIO: Yes, because that's the normal orientation that corresponds to the finality of human sexuality.
The problem is that we can't any longer rely on their fidelity. If the faithful cannot trust their priests then souls are imperiled. After my conversion, I had such a longing to be taken through the Exercises. I still do. I was referred to someone but was too frightened to go near a Jesuit. I feared for my soul.
God Bless Fr. Fessio. How he has paid and paid for his fidelity. May God reward him.
What does this mean--"How he has paid and paid for his fidelity"?
Fr. F. asserts that homosexuality is "an objective psychological disorder" but he cannot base his claim on psychology.
Our truth is Jesus Christ. The foundation of the Catholic Church is comprised of sacred scripture, revelation, traditon, not the American Pychiatric Association.
Joseph keep us well informed. Here is an excerpt of an article he posted about Fessio:
History Lesson, Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.
US Jesuits' action against Father Fessio sparks worldwide protests
AD2000 Report
A protest letter, dated 21 March 2002, and signed by 155 prominent Catholics, among them academics, editors, authors and clergy from around the world, expressed "serious concern at the disciplinary action taken by the Society of Jesus against Father Joseph Fessio" and declared that "thousands of faithful Catholics are shocked and dismayed by the action against Father Fessio, who has forthrightly and consistently defended the Catholic faith."
The letter was sent to top Vatican officials, including Cardinal Ratzinger, to Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco, Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach SJ, the world leader of the Jesuits, and Fr Thomas Smolich SJ, provincial of the California Province of the Society of Jesus.
It said: "This disciplinary action was apparently triggered by Father Fessio's effort to start a small college that would be explicitly faithful to Catholic teaching. The determination to undermine his initiative can only strengthen the conviction that *** highest Jesuit authorities tolerate open dissent and opposition to the Church within their own academic institutions."***
The letter called for Father Fessio's reinstatement. Earlier, two weeks after the announcement by Ignatius Press (San Francisco) of the creation of Campion College, FATHER FESSIO WAS INFORMED BY HIS PROVINCIAL, FATHER SMOLICH, THAT HE WAS BARRED FROM HAVING ANY ROLE WITH THE COLLEGE AND WOULD BE RE-ASSIGNED AS AN ASSISTANT CHAPLAINTO A 40 BED HOSPITAL NEARLY 400 MILES AWAY. Campion College was set to become the latest success story for the Jesuit priest who had founded Ignatius Press, the St Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco, Catholic World Report, Catholic Dossier and the Adoremus Society. Before Campion College even opened its doors, three universities had agreed to accept its credits, Cardinal Christoph Schšnborn, editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, had praised it and the new college was attracting students and donors. Father Fessio's abrupt transfer followed a controversy that had begun at the University of San Francisco's Great Books program - the St Ignatius Institute - just over a year ago. Father Stephen Privett SJ ended his first 2001 semester as the University of San Francisco's new President by firing longtime St Ignatius Institute Director John Galten and assistant director John Hamlon. In protest, all six core faculty members of the Institute resigned and an appeal was made to the Vatican about their concerns. In January 2002, the Congregation for Catholic Education sent a letter to the university listing conditions under which the Institute should proceed. Father Privett claimed that the letter was "Vatican approval" of his actions. But less than a month after the Vatican letter, Father Fessio and Ignatius Press announced that Campion College would open a half-block away from the University of San Francisco.
Next, in a letter dated 11 March, the California Jesuit provincial, Father Smolich, notified Father Fessio that "Campion College was not and is not part of your assignment from the Society of Jesus, as determined by me as your provincial. You are to have no role, public or private, in Campion College, just as Campion has no relationship with the Society of Jesus." Fr Smolich then informed Fr Fessio he was to be transferred to Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte, California, effective from 1 May. Father Fessio was permitted to remain director of Ignatius Press for the time being, but Fr Smolich warned, "if your work as director of Ignatius Press cannot be kept separate from the affairs of Campion College I likely will not permit you to continue with Ignatius Press." Father Fessio responded: "I am at peace ... I am a Jesuit. I will obey. I will strive to fulfill both the letter and the spirit of this new mission." He later commented: "I have a chance to do something that I didn't want to do. I'm looking forward to doing what I have been asked to do as a Jesuit. That will make me a better Jesuit and will be pleasing to God." Commentators outside the Jesuit Order, and even the Catholic Church, were less philosophical. Stanley Kurtz of National Review declared: "More than anything else, the attack on the renowned Father Fessio by his own Jesuit order gives dramatic proof of the extent to which Catholic liberal education is endangered by political correctness from within the Church itself. "I am not a Catholic," he added, "but I am a defender of classic liberal education, and of the right of traditional religion to hold a place in such an education. The spectre of an ostensibly Catholic university destroying the single small centre of traditional Catholic learning remaining on its campus seemed to me to embody the death of fairness and true intellectual diversity in the contemporary academy." Jonathan Kirsch, reviewing a recent book on the Jesuits in the Los Angeles Times, noted that the order in the United States was in demographic free fall, with former Jesuits now outnumbering active Jesuits, while the more orthodox Jesuits who stay and seek to recover the order's original spark find themselves in exile. It was ironic, he said, that the dissenters in the order, who rose to power through disobedience to papal authority, are now using their power to repress orthodox Jesuits like Father Fessio, lest their revolution inside the Catholic Church in the US "grind to a halt". Link to original story (here)www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2002/may2002p9_993.html
He was also outsed from Ave Maria University. Fr. Fessio does not subscribe to the notion that sodomy is a "gift from God", as do his superiors in the Society.
What a very sad and depressing article.
I knew the Society of Jesus was filled with homosexuals and heretics, but I was not aware of the extent of the corruption.
Superiors who have allowed these pathetic creatures to demonstrate their hatred of the Church will have a lot to answer to when they meet their God face to face.
The sodomites rule and run the order, Anonynmous. This is an old article in which Jesuit Paul Shaugnessy reviews the book "Passionate Uncertainty". It is well worth re-reading as it reminds us of the the scope of the damage that homosexauls in the Society have inflicted on the Church. The title of the article is:
"Are the Jesuits Catholic"
A Review of Passionate Uncertainty
June 3, 2002, Vol 7, No.37. by Paul Shaughnessy Published in the Weekly Standard
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Conten...1/295pzsns.asp
I thought Fr. F. took a vow of obedience. Shouldn't he have gone anywhere his superiors assigned him? In any case, your definition of "suffer" seems a little off. I don't think Fessio "suffered" a day in his life.
I love it that he was ousted by Ava Maria "University"! He even got the boot from an uber-conservative institution (I can't refer to it as a college or university).
As for the use of the word "psychology": please drop it then when referring to homosexuality. You are not basing any of your views on social science research.
I think you may have missed Fr. Fession's statement above:
"Fr Smolich warned, if your work as director of Ignatius Press cannot be kept separate from the affairs of Campion College I likely will not permit you to continue with Ignatius Press." FATHER FESSIO RESONDED: "I AM AT PEACE ... I AM A JESUIT. I WILL OBEY. I will strive to fulfill both the letter and the spirit of this new mission."
I scarcely imagine someone of Fr. Smolich's, or Fr. James Martin's ilk, doing the dame.
It sounds like he got his fan club to complain. The guy is an egomaniac. But, hey, I like his free spirit!
Why do you think that Fr. Martin or Fr. S. would not honor their vow of obedience? Do you have evidence of this?
maria knows everything look how pretty she is
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