St. Ignatius was adamant about removing as many temptations as possible for Jesuits to seek leadership positions in the church, since he had seen what ambition did to some of the churchmen of his time. Thus, when Jesuits pronounce their final vows, they make an additional promise against "ambitioning" for jobs, and even to turn in anyone who has been "ambitioning" or campaigning. So with no electioneering permitted, how to surface names for the right candidates in the General Congregation? The "murmurationes" is an elegant answer to that. Delegates speak to one another about Jesuits who are seen to have the right mix of strengths and talents to be General. It's an efficient process that quickly surfaces good names. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, for example, was elected on the first ballot in 1983.
Link to Rev. James Martin, S.J. full blog post (here)
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